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Although I trained a lot, the ti I could do it was still pretty short—at most another day. I was able to gain more enlightennt in my [???] Martial Arts, the personal Art I was developing by combining all my powers together. However, the process was taking a significant amount of ti, and I knew I wouldn't be able to complete it on my own in the end.
However, I felt that as long as I could progress through the next two trials, I might be able to finally get enough enlightennt to learn it as a true Martial Arts, or well, that’s my hope.
“Well, anything to say?” the little white crane asked.
“Nothing much, we’re ready to go,” I said. “We trained enough, and we rested enough. Let’s finish this.”
“Yeah, that’s right!” Wai Tian roared, full of motivation.
“I think the sa! Let’s end this,” said Yin Sheng.
“W-We’re more than ready now! We’ve trained, and I’ve grown stronger as well!” Zero One said.
“Trials are made to be completed after all…” Fang Shuan agreed. “Now, guardian of the trials, teleport us to the second trial. We do not need any more pointless talk.”
“Hmph! Do you have to be so an?!” She asked angrily.
“Well, weren’t you the an one here?” I asked. “I an… You just insulted us recently, and-”
“S-Shut up!” she said angrily. “Anyways, the second trial is a combination of two trials together, and because you created a completely new ending for the first trial, it’ll be much more challenging! Like before, you’ll only have 24 hours to complete it, so hurry up if you don’t want to get kicked out. And rember, if you end up dying here, you also die in real life, kekekek!”
She laughed like a little gremlin as she unleashed a bright golden light that engulfed us completely, teleporting us away sowhere else.
If I rember correctly, the first trial was about the last war between the Orthodox Faction and the Demonic Faction that happened before the Apocalypse struck.
Or well, as it would be truly called, the Awakening of this world.
But because the world of Bestia was already so trendously strong, an “Awakening” wasn’t ensued as it was usually happening in other worlds.
And instead, a direct Apocalypse happens, where a trendously strong invading force from a similarly strong world invades another.
Whichever faction wins at the end is given the right to keep their world, which most likely evolves into an Apex World.
So, even if almost everything was destroyed, Bestia won; this is, even if half-destroyed, an Apex World!
But that’s not really important right now; what’s important is what cos after the first trial.
Right after the war, where both factions ended up beating each other and where the Heavenly Empress and the Heavenly Demon battled, ending on a stalemate, there was a ti of peace.
Perhaps a couple hundred years, I believe, based on what I’ve learned from those two… In that ti, they sohow grew close together, and…
I think sothing happened there, and we’re finally about to find out.
FLASH!
The bright golden light turned white, and then it fully dissipated. Once I opened my eyes, I was startled by the screams of soone I knew.
“As I said before, my Detection Abilities are unparalleled; they’re better than yours even!” roared the voice. “I know what I sensed—it was a distortion in space and ti above the heavens! Sothing is happening; these aren’t delusions, you band of orthodox fools!”
It was the voice of the Heavenly Demon.
“I trust your abilities as the Heavenly Demon; in the past years you’ve proven that you’ve tried to and for your sins and forge, perhaps not an alliance, but a treaty of peace between the factions,” said the Heavenly Empress voice. “However, that does not an you can just treat my people like fools! Mind your words!”
“Tch, always so stuck-up with your ideals! What do manners even do in this situation? It doesn’t matter at all how I treat them!” roared the Heavenly Demon. “I am just saying that we shouldn’t be relaxing around now that peace is here… Sothing outside of even our scope might co! Trust , for heaven’s sake!”
“How can we trust your words? Perhaps you’re lying and wanting to ambush us above the heavens, where the atmospheric Ki is very thin or nonexistent, and where our abilities are greatly weakened!”
“Heavenly Empress, we simply cannot trust the words of this evil demon!”
“Although in the last one hundred and twenty years, our world has enjoyed an Era of Peace where both Factions have kept away from one another and where Wars and Conflicts have been greatly reduced, this does not an they have suddenly turned into a new leaf!”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
There were also three more voices of very old n, a council of sorts.
When the light of my eyes finally dissipated, I was able to see the scene in full display.
A huge golden and white hall with dozens of seats surrounding it.
There were four high seats; the highest had the master sitting over there, the heavenly empress.
At her left, right, and in front, below her, there were three other high seats where old-looking n, a council, were talking.
They were an old red panda, a turtle, and what resembled a huge mantis… man. I guess there’s also insect people, huh? First ti I see one.
Right by their sides, below them, were almost ten other mbers of the Heavenly Court, and in front of them was the Heavenly Demon, sitting on a re wooden, old-looking seat.
Well, not sitting anymore; he had stood up and dropped the seat in the ground; he wasn’t being accompanied by anybody, all by himself.
It was honestly a bit sad how they were just nitpicking about everything he was saying. He does indeed have very acute senses compared to anybody else.
He was most likely trying to warn them that the Apocalypse was about to begin; those distortions in space and ti are most likely a result of the Gates about to open.
However, because nobody believes him and they think he wants to ambush them there or sothing, he’s not getting anywhere.
Is this how it went in real history? So because they couldn’t believe his words, they ended up being unable to react in ti against the invasion of the chanical lifeforms.
I guess this is where we’ll change things.
“Hmm…”
I looked around, finding the rest of my friends sitting around the seats alongside the mbers of the Heavenly Court.
So in this altered story we ended up joining them, I believe? And it seems that we all got high positions, as we are wearing pretty fancy gold and silver colored clothes.
Gosh, even my hair is made into a weird ss, covered by bright, golden ornants! I don’t really like this tight clothing at all!
My familiars were right behind , but Fang Shuan seed to be a mber of the Heavenly Court too instead of being treated as my familiar.
Makes sense; he’s not really a beast but a person at the end of the day and soone of a righteous faction of another Murim World, so it's obvious they would recruit him happily as his ideals are very conservative towards “true righteousness.”.
Anyways, I gotta do sothing here…
“Hahh,” the Heavenly Empress sighed; she didn’t seem to like where things were heading. Although she wanted to hear what the Heavenly Demon was saying, the rest of her court hated him so much they wouldn’t let him speak. “Hm? Right, Anna! Do you and your friends, mbers of my council, have sothing to say?”
“Huh? ?” I muttered. “A-Ah!”
I felt slightly shocked; she just asked ; it felt like I was watching a movie until I wasn’t, and I was just asked a question.
“I think we should listen to the Heavenly Demon’s words and believe him, of course!” I said without a shred of mistrust.
“Huh?!” The other mbers of the council all reacted in surprise; even the Heavenly Demon looked at in disbelief.
“R-Really? Well… I appreciate your trust,” he muttered. “Do you trust because you beat back then? What a weird way to trust soone…”
“Don’t make assumptions! I am well aware of your past, Heavenly Demon.” I tried to act like a high and mighty mber of the Heavenly Court. “However, I have also sensed sothing strange above the clouds lately. Changes in space and ti, and so on… So I can’t help but agree with you.”
“R-Really?” the Heavenly Empress wondered.
“Is that true?”
“If Lady Anna says so…”
“Maybe the Heavenly Demon is not wrong?”
“So she noticed it then?”
“She couldn’t possibly lie; she’s an honored pupil of our empress after all!”
The council imdiately changed their thoughts about everything with just a few words.
“Well, we should also ask the others!”
“Yes! What do you think, Lord Fang Shuan?”
“Lady Wai Tian, do you have sothing to say?”
“Lady Zero One, any insight from you would be highly appreciated.”
“Lord Yin Sheng, we would appreciate any words from you too!”
They quickly looked at , as if waiting for a response.
I nodded at them, and they quickly knew what to say.
“Of course, I trust Anna with all my heart!” Fang Shuan said.
“She’s not wrong; I have the feeling there’s sothing trying to co to this world… sothing aiming to INVADE us,” Wai Tian wasn’t subtle at all.
“T-This is… Well, I trust Anna…” Zero One seed slightly sad about what might co next.
“I know that this court has been forged with traditional values for eons, but it is ti to accept new ideas,” said Yin Sheng, surprisingly eloquently. “The possibility of living beings existing beyond our world should have always stayed within our minds. To think that we are alone in the universe is but a foolish and ignorant thought that all of you should have abandoned the mont you awakened as intelligent beings.”
He left everyone speechless with his words. Who would have thought the shyest of the group could just talk down everyone like that?
“Ahem! Yes, I suppose... We should trust him then,” sighed the Heavenly Empress. “Heavenly Demon, Anna, you two will show us the exact area where you sensed that disruption in space and ti, and then I will personally confirm it.”
“If that’s all it takes, sure!” I nodded. “Heavenly Demon, we’ll be counting on you too!”
“H-Huh? Sure…” he muttered, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “Ahem! Well, yeah, if you insist, it can’t be helped. I’ll have to save and help all these sore old n that can’t accept my words for the truth.”
“Very well, we shall go in an hour from now,” said the Heavenly Empress. “Everyone, you’re all dismissed. Heavenly Demon, Anna’s group, co with .”
The Heavenly Empress quickly led us towards her personal temple within the huge floating islands that were the territory of the Heavenly Court.
As we walked there, we began to discuss what had just happened.
“So this is how the scenario starts? Right before the invasion?” wondered Wai Tian.
“Most likely, yes,” I nodded. “We’ve already changed the future again because they’ve trusted the crow right away instead of not doing so and leaving them vulnerable for the first invasion.”
“That’s nice! So where’s the quest though?” wondered Wai Tian.
“Wait for it—Ah, there.”
[You have discovered Floor 3’s Mission]: {Find the Truth about the Spatial Distortions and Stop Whatever is Coming from Them!}
[Your group has found themselves inside the Heavenly Court in the middle of a heated conversation. The Heavenly Demon warns everyone there’s sothing threatening approaching through the skies! You have decided to trust his words and investigate it by yourself with the Heavenly Empress aid.]
[Whatever is on the other side is dangerous and a threat to the World of Bestia; investigate what it is, then prepare to stop it before it invades the world. Depending on how you do it, and if you can stop whatever is coming, the rewards will vary greatly, and so will the next Floor’s Trial.]
[Ti Limit: 24 Hours.]
“So that’s it…” Yin Sheng nodded. “Seems simple, but I can’t possibly imagine how hard it could get if we… really need to fight the machines.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked Zero One. “You’ve been awfully silent…”
“Hmm… I just… Am nervous, fighting my own kind from the past…” Zero One muttered. “Can I really face them?”
I guess it makes sense she feels that way…
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