Tianzun grinned as Zelretch soon disappeared. He relaxed and gazed into the abyss of the white fog. Every Monday at 3:00pm, they would meet and chat. Just a friendly meeting.
Little did he know, the hunger for power was attracting a vast amount of outer deities to group together. The eldritch gods continued to eye Earth from a distance as they started sending their own powers in order to work around the barrier of the universe.
~~~~
Tianzun sat silently, it was a rare occasion, he was troubled on what to do. He observed as Mizukume became known as Tamamo-no-Mae and served as the first lady in waiting. The emperor himself was a marionette. A marionette had had made to carry out his pettiness.
Yet, after observing for a while. He hadn't seen her. Or rather perhaps, it wasn't satisfying? With a casual thought, he inflicted a curse upon the Emperor as he fell ill.
Even now he still wasn't sure. He was perhaps trying to convince himself. He detested that woman with all his heart, or whatever could be considered his heart. Yet, even after all these provocations, there was still no trace of the deity Amaterasu.
If he hadn't identified her origins, he wouldn't have ever thought she was Amaterasu.
Did this woman, with no memories of her time as Amaterasu nor power of Amaterasu qualify as Amaterasu?
His face scrunched up in discomfort. He was petty, but he wasn't the type to not differentiate situations. The strings of the marionette went limp as the Emperor Toba collapsed under a curse.
This would be his last little test, if by then, no signs of Amaterasu appeared...
There was no point in all this.
The guards immediately noticed the declining state of Emperor Toba as they called in Abe-no-Seimei who immediately pinpointed the problem as a curse.
Tamamo herself, who had woken up one morning with a pair of fox ears on her head was shocked. Tianzun watched her confused look with increasing displeasure. It was like taking revenge on someone who had wronged you, only to have found out they had amnesia and didn't know anything at all.
You could argue that they weren't even the same people. Yet those fox ears withheld him from interfering yet. The night loomed over as Abe-no-Seimei sealed her fate. She ran and ran. At first she encountered her old village, hoping to seek help from them.
Each of them simply stared at her before they all nudged their right eye before all of them committed seppuku and apologised in the name of the Emperor. Tamamo's eyes shook in pain as she heard the approaching army. They chased her to the fields of Nasu with the hounds growling and barking after her.
The tears that emerged from her eyes as she attempted to reason with them. The 80,000 men army charged at her. Tianzun continued to watch coldly as he smirked, "Looks like there's some Amaterasu in there~" He whistled as he sipped tea.
"Alright! Let's do this!" She yelled as the fields of Nasu slowly began to dye red. The flowers and ground soaked in the nutrients of human blood. Tianzun watched her ferocity as she ripped a soldier's throat out before burning another into cinders.
One by one, the soldier's perished as a thick cursed layer began to form. No doubt about it, it was some form of power from Amaterasu. Not much but a sliver of resemblance.
This was more formed from the determination to kill all those who came within the boundaries. Tianzun simply smirked as the second wave soon came. Arrows continued to rain down for three days.
In that moment he made his decision.
Time slowed to a a mere crawl as grey fog emerged into reality.
"Do you know who you are?" A voice came from the grey fog. Tamamo watched as the arrows raining down on her slowed down. A black and yellow robed man emerged from the fog and nudged his monocle.
Tamamo instantly put the link together, "The villagers, you cursed them?" She growled with fury. Tianzun's facial expressions broke for a moment, Tamamo caught the small expression of surprise.
"Why are you so surprised about it?" She questioned. Tianzun smirked, "You really have changed, or rather, perhaps you aren't even the same person. Amaterasu would never care about such insignificant ants in her eyes." He pondered out loud.
Tamamo looked just as confused. Tianzun hummed a bit as he explained, "I orchestrated your entire childhood life. The entire village is me, or rather my marionettes and the occasional avatar."
Tamamo's eyes widened in horror as Tianzun relished in that expression temporarily. That trick never got old. "I was your father, I was your mother, I was your aunty, I was the shopkeeper, I was the kind old lady that gave you treats, I was the bird that nested on the roofs, I was the chief... I was all of them."
Tamamo's face was filled with horror, "You had intimacy with yourself just to give birth to me?" Tianzun gagged as his composure broke, "Wrench, that's the first thing you think of? And no, I only took over after you were born. I have boundaries." He glared.
"But why me?" She asked. Tianzun gestured to the grey fog. "You will die, no doubt about it. History and destiny dictates that you will die here. I suppose I no longer have any reason to torment you, Tamamo-no-Mae. My grudge is with Amaterasu, not you."
The grey fog displayed certain scenes that concerned her from the historical void projections.
Tamamo went silent, "I see, no it certainly makes sense. To think my origins were such complications. I suppose I thank you Celestial Worthy for your forgiveness." She bowed as she stared at the ever edging arrows and that sharp glint of an enchanted arrow.
Tianzun snorted in mockery, "I believe in a fair and equivalent exchange. It is not forgiveness. Perhaps we will meet again some day in the future. I believe that you hate Amaterasu just as much as I do."
The grey fog disappeared and the ticking of a phantasmal clock resumed.
The enchanted arrow pierced her heart and the blood of one more soaked the fields.
~~~~
Sefirah Castle:
"I see, so in the end that's what happened." Zelretch remarked as he lounged about on one of the chairs. Besides Zelretch was a new figure, not someone who was joining, but a temporary guest.
It had been many years since that moment had passed. Tianzun would say he was relatively free from troubles.
The mage association had good ties with the Church of Mysteries-
In that instant, he felt it. Something had intruded upon his pathway. No not intruded but perhaps walked upon the pathway. A disgusting feeling welled up from his gut. Anger permeated through every single pore of his body.
Maggots emerged from his face before stabilising again. Tentacles with numerous symbols emerged from under his cloak. The two guests within Sefirah Castle had felt it. The Lord of Mysteries was furious.
Zelretch had seen this deity petty before, but he had never been this furious within Zelretch's long life span.
The grey fog within Sefirah Castle rumbled in response to his anger.
It seemed that someone had hunted down his low sequence avatars and taken in the characteristics. Hence, why he felt someone else on his pathway. His gaze pierced through into reality as he realised that someone had concealed the outer gods.
In an instant he sent the two guests back to reality as he himself emerged from the Spirit World.
It only took a moment to slaughter the ones who had ingested the characteristics and retrieve them.
He gazed at the cosmos above earth. His fury only ignited further as he swore to humiliate all of them. He gazed at the one who had concealed the others. "I'll turn you into a curtain." He smiled menacingly at the space above.
He continued to rise above as he met the eight outer gods staring hungrily at him. He knew exactly why they were targeting him. Stability and existence.
They hungered for his pathway and sefirah.
Zelretch and Brishisan watched as they finally realised why the world had tolerated an outer deity.
The world needed a pillar.
Countless tentacles emerged as the outer gods flinched for a moment. Hunger and madness overtook their rationality.
Tianzun's tentacles writhed and expanded in response as grey fog emerged into reality. His golden eyes of restrained madness glowed with splendor through the empty space.
His voice echoed his ravings to the other outer gods in a declaration of mockery.
"The outcome's already written. Try it, if you think it'll change anything."
//Next Chapter: The Lord of Mysteries//