Beastmaster of the Ages

In the Upper Star Ruin, deep in the endless darkness, a black palace, formed by countless celestial patterns, floated between the sky and earth like a nova source. Within this symbol of supreme power, a colorful celestial lake churned. Its galaxy-like waters gurgled and bubbled like magma, and every bursting bubble unleashed a thunderous roar.

At the center of the lake lay a colossal cosmic god, his body stretching for tens of thousands of meters like a towering mountain. Each of his middlekin astrons was a tiny star a centimeter in size, and together they formed this astral giant. The ninefold hell-ring on his chest spun gently, disturbing the calm surface of the water with its ripples. As the man sank beneath the surface of the lake, his starlike eyes opened, unleashing two brilliant beams of dark light towards the sky.

He lay there for a long, long time.

Some time later, a group of cosmic gods arrived and entered the palace, their faces solemn and unpleasant. Upon approaching the lake, they fell to their knees and said, ”Greetings, Imperator Yin.”

The waters of the lake undulated, forming waves.

”What’s the situation like?” The astral giant’s voice resounded like a bell.

”It’s bad, really bad.” A cosmic god elder sighed.

”The statistics are in. Presently, a third of the contracts have mysteriously failed. No matter what they do, they can no longer summon ghouls. And that number is going up. At this rate, we’ll be unable to connect to Hell within a year or two,” said another white-haired cosmic god elder.

”It’s not that simple. Our standing among the three divine races was built on Hell. Losing it would lead to a great reduction in our entire race’s strength. We stand to lose our position as being the strongest individually, and may be removed from the three divine races altogether. Even though the Heavenly Dao dictates how resources are allocated, the five pantheons may have other plans. I’m afraid the wonderians and ashuras will give us a hard time. We specters have always been a marginalized faction among the eight, and our relationship with the Virtue Pantheon is strained at best.” The third cosmic god elder’s frown grew more pronounced with every word. He appeared to be on the verge of weeping.

”You’re missing the crux of the issue!” Taking a deep breath, the fourth cosmic god elder said, ”There’s a flaw in the Heavenly Dao. Its control over laws and regulations has weakened, and its repeated mistakes in the allocation of resources have caused internal conflict. The wonderians and Virtue are already upset with us for benefiting from its oversight. We can’t afford a mishap at this critical moment. If the Heavenly Dao fails, many will try to take advantage of the situation.”

The cosmic god elders’ expressions grew troubled as they looked at the astral giant in the lake. The devas were once fearless, but crisis now loomed over their race like a dark cloud. Their knowledge of the changes in the Heavenly Dao gave them a clear view of just how dire the situation had become.

”Everyone sees the glory of the Eightpart Pantheons and our unity in controlling the Upper Star Ruin, but they’re blind to our rising internal conflicts. No outside push is needed. Should the Heavenly Dao fail, we’ll descend into chaos.” Another cosmic god elder sighed.

The atmosphere was heavy with gloom.

”Haha.” Imperator Yin let out a cold chuckle. ”That which is long divided must unify and that which is long unified must divide. Cycles of unity and separation are unavoidable. We’ve forced unity for too long. A split is inevitable, and it’ll come in our generation. Stay calm. In tumultuous times, showing weakness first doesn’t guarantee defeat.”

The cosmic god elders breathed a sigh of relief.

”You’re right. We’ve carved out our own path as specters and prospered to this day through sheer will and tenacity. We devas fear nothing.”

”Our trials may be immense, but the other seven factions aren’t as cohesive as they appear. Our decline will inevitably provoke a conflict between the wonderians and the ashuras. While the wonderians foolishly believe they can conquer the cosmos on their own, the ashuras and Sin Pantheon have already formed a pact to seize power. Starfall and Sundown have also formed a close bond.”

Amid the lively discussion, Imperator Yin’s head surfaced from the lake. ”The Eightpart Pantheons have only remained unified and controlled the Upper Star Ruin until now thanks to the Heavenly Dao’s impartial checks and balances. How else could the eight factions thrive? The Heavenly Dao was established by the flameyellow divinities, and without true unity, a universal nation is nothing more than a fantasy. When that bubble bursts, the collapse will be instant.”

”Imperator...” The group of cosmic god elders stared at him blankly.

”Are you suggesting Flameyellow will experience a true revival? But we were also traitors who contributed to the fall of Flameyellow. Will they pardon us if we surrender?”

Imperator Yin’s cold gaze swept across the cosmic god elders. ”What nonsense! How could we surrender to Flameyellow?”

”What do you mean then, Imperator?”

”An imperial star in decline, an absurd successor, and a rabble of slaves and descendants of exiled criminals—what right do they have to unify the world and demand our surrender? They’re nothing, not even a fraction of one of our factions,” Imperator Yin said in a deep voice.

Hearing Imperator Yin’s words, the cosmic god elders looked at one another in silence.

He stared up at the starry expanse, eyes blazing as he said, A temporary loss may be our path to survival. Everyone knows we’ve suffered heavy losses so we’ll retreat, close our doors, and observe the situation. Launching an offensive is out of the question but we can stay inside the astralguard formation and hold our position. When they’re exhausted from war and the Heavenly Dao collapses, who’s to say the devas won’t be the supreme ruler of the universe?”

His words alone transformed bad news into good news. The cosmic god elders looked at one another, the gloom in their eyes replaced by enthusiasm.