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Chapter 283: Ancient History
🕑 Added 2023-10-12 17:34:01 +0000 UTCBefore Jack’s eyes stood the most imposing force he’d ever witnessed. Two A-Grades—at least, that’s what he assumed they were—led over a hundred B-Grades into battle, and they seemed certain they would lose.
Facing them were just seven figures. They were humanoid in shape but made of shiny gray metal. They had longer limbs than humans, smooth torsos, and faceless heads with only a single orb—an eye—dominating their center. They wore no clothes, and given their uniform build, they were completely identical save for the symbols engraved in their foreheads—all seemingly random, two-digit numbers ranging from twenty to seventy.
These were robots.
They stood in eerie silence, all side-by-side, noy moving or speaking. They were cold like machines were supposed to be. Just like the scholarly man before he revealed his power, their bodies exuded no aura of the Dao whatsoever.
“Are those the Immortals?” Jack asked. “But I thought they protected the Ancients!”
“Many things you thought were wrong,” the Sage replied softly. His words were tinged with sadness. “Just watch.”
Jericho, who looked like a younger version of Old Man Spirit, floated ahead. There was no negotiation, no speech, no preamble to the battle. He simply raised his mace and shouted, “Charge!”
The over a hundred B-Grades attacked as one. They crossed space near-instantly and unleashed their skills. Jack was almost blinded by the radiance—he suspected that only being in a vision saved his eyeballs from boiling.
The two commanders stepped forth as well. Jericho, who had already been at the forefront, swung his mace so calamitously that an entire stretch of space was encased in metal. It was so massive that it compared to the nearby planet in size, and when it exploded, the impact was world-shattering.
The scholarly man—Norax—spread his arms wide. Instantly, green light suffused space, filling it with a vitality that did not belong. Living creatures of all shapes and forms spawned everywhere. Jack could see space monsters, various animals, even mythological beings like dragons. They were nothing more than solid illusions, but each of them could easily annihilate him, and they were thousands.
Facing all these attacks, the seven robots reacted completely in sync. They released their own auras, each robot matching Jericho and Norax in scope and breadth of power. When they clashed, the Dao cried around them, unwilling but forced to participate in a battle between its beloved children.
Jack could not make out the nature of each robot’s powers. Everything was so overflooded with energy that his Dao perception went amok, and even his eyes were useless. Spacetime was curving and bending wildly. Reality was fluctuating and unraveling. The world itself struggled to endure this battle of colossal forces, giving birth to cracks and tears leading to a terrible, void blackness.
The battlefield was a mess. Everyone teleported around at speeds Jack could not distinguish, navigating the extremes of this broken reality. Jack saw B-Grades get sucked in the tears of space and disappear forever. He saw them combining forces to unleash terrifying beams through multiple wormholes, and saw their Daos combine in symphonies of indescribable majesty.
The robots casually strolled through. This broken reality was their backyard, and the almighty B-Grades were just pests. One of them waved a hand, decimating a dozen cultivators before they could even see the attack coming. Another dodged a storm of space cracks like it was nothing, while a third simply took them, sucking in the cracks instead of getting sucked into them itself. Meanwhile, four of the robots were contesting the two commanders in a world-shaking battle dominated by powers that Jack couldn’t even recognize.
He did not understand what he was watching. All he knew was that the starship around him, along with every other starship in sight, had disappeared, destroyed just by being at the fringes of this battle. Only the jade scroll remained, protected as it was by the scholar’s powers.
The nearby planet was assaulted by loose energy remains. It went from a lush, highly-technological haven to a burned, wounded landscape within seconds. Sword scars were carved on its surface, each hundreds of miles long. Palm-shaped craters flattened mountains. An ocean evaporated while another froze over. Smoke stopped rising as all oxygen was sucked out of the atmosphere. The greenery was decimated. The cities collapsed. Entire continents smashed together to create earthquakes visible from space. Eventually, dust filled the air, so much that Jack could no longer see.
Within seconds, Trial Planet had been destroyed. It had transformed from a place of harmony and beauty to the ruined terrain he witnessed himself when first landing on it. Everything on the surface had died.
Only now did a hurricane of Dao envelop the planet, shielding it from the worst but far too late to stop the disaster.
Jack tried to look up at the battle and understood nothing. Almost all of the B-Grades were dead, or at least, he could no longer spot them. Six of the robots were now pressuring the two commanders, who dyed the world around them green and silver with their Dao. The robots surrounded them, cutting off every avenue of retreat and methodically neutralizing all attempts to fight back.
The scholar, Norax, screamed as his entire body suddenly imploded. The universe released a mournful moan. The very fabric of space detonated around the body, erupting in an explosion eclipsing all others. Trial Planet was struck and sent flying away like a pool ball, barely remaining whole due to its Dao shield. The jade scroll under Jack and the Sage was also sent flying at such speed that, near-instantly, the chaotic battle became a distant explosion of multi-colored light in the vastness of space. They could no longer make out anything.
“We can leave now,” the Sage said, his voice slow by weight. He pulled back. Jack followed numbly, and suddenly he was back in a small underwater cave of Hell, awe-struck in his tiny corner of the world.
The Sage waited patiently. Jack took his time. A few moments later, he asked, “What happens next?”
“A few million years of the jade scroll flying through space before someone accidentally recovers it. I believe it would be boring to watch.”
“That’s not what I mean, Sage!” Jack replied. “What about the battle? Who won? Why were they fighting? Who were they?”
“Many questions, for some of which you already have an answer.” The Sage shook his head. Suddenly, his homeless visage didn’t suit him at all. He was wise, far wiser than he showed. And old—so very old.
“I need you to tell me,” Jack insisted.
“The cultivators you saw were the Ancients and some of their most loyal allies, who stood by their side even when facing extinction. The robots were the Immortals. And they won, as they did for almost every battle of that time. Jericho, the Silver Mace, was captured and eventually struck a deal with the Immortals, abandoning his pride to help guide the future generations. He is, as you correctly assumed, the person you know as Old Man Spirit—for even his name is forbidden now. But those are all things you understood already. I guess the only question that really matters is, why were they fighting?”
Jack nodded slowly. He was still struggling to regain his composure, but he had enough of it to articulate his mind. “The Ancients created the Immortals. The Old Ones exterminated the Ancients. The Immortals then created the System and launched a revenge crusade against the Old Ones, forcing them out of System space. That’s what I know. That’s what I’ve been told. Was it a lie?”
“What do you think?” the Sage replied with a sad smile. “Is history wrong, or is the vision you saw false?”
“Just tell me, Sage. I am not in the mood for games.”
“Very well. Keep in mind that I will not reveal the entire truth, but most of it, enough for you to understand—and prepare yourself, for this will take some time.” The Sage took a deep breath as if preparing to retell a particularly painful story.
“In the beginning, there was nothing, until the Dao birthed the universe and the twelve Old Gods with it. Divine, as their name implies. Near-omnipotent, if not omniscient. They were born fully grown and at the peak of their power, given everything from the start. They were immortal incarnations of the Dao itself, brought into existence as the sole occupants and arbitrators of an empty world.
“The universe had already been set in motion, and the Old Gods, needing nothing, lived in it. They saw the first stars and galaxies form and die. They saw the endless wheel of time turning, endlessly turning, grinding everything into dust and birthing it anew. The Old Gods also interacted with the nascent universe. Over billions of years, they explored their powers—the twelve cardinal directions of the Dao—and carved out a world in their image. They created and ruined the balance, but it did not matter, for they were alone, surrounded only by rocks and gasses. Being immortal, they had no such emotions as fear or boredom—they were content to let the years pass, one billion at a time, as the universe expanded, grew, and evolved.
“Until the first of the Old Gods, Enas, the God of Life, decided to utilize his gift as well. Descending on one of the many planets of one of the many galaxies, he first borrowed the power of his siblings to make it habitable. He moved the planet to the right trajectory and altered the solar environment around it as best as he could. He then shaped the planet in a way of his liking. He created water. He created oceans.
“Finally, when he thought the planet was ready, he opened his divine mouth and breathed on it. The first spores of life were planted then. Tiny organisms, so small you couldn’t even see them, but alive nonetheless. They existed in a world made for them to thrive. Then, satisfied with himself, Enas left to tour the cosmos, giving his children the time they needed to evolve.
“Of course, to Enas, death was not a concept. He hadn’t realized its existence yet, as everything he knew was eternal. In his mind, the organisms he’d birthed were one creature which would change and evolve over time but never truly die. He did not perceive it as a collection of individuals, but as a single entity.
“So, he left. Millions of years passed. Billions. His children grew from solitary cells to animals, inhabiting the ocean and land, evolving into real existence. He kept visiting from time to time, but he was disappointed; in his eyes, these creatures were mindless, no better than the rocks and galaxies he was used to seeing. Was that truly life?
“Until one point in time, when he was away, and the major evolution was reached. It is unknown how or why. Even he is not certain, for this was more than he hoped for. However, no matter how it occurred, the fact remains that the first truly intelligent species were born—and they were later called Ancients as a sign of respect, but actually, they were humans.”
“Are you talking about Earth?” Jack interrupted. “Because the entire thing you described is oddly familiar.”
“Not Earth, no, though the circumstances were very similar. But we’ll get there.”
“Okay.”
“Humans appeared, and all was going well. However, they remained under the complete influence of Enas’s Dao and perception. They were not individuals, but one collective, mostly mindless entity. Unfortunately, Enas was not the only Old God looking after them.
“Axelor, the second of the Old Gods, the God of Entropy, had always felt an odd connection to the living creatures Enas had created. He’d studied them since their birth, even more than the God of Life himself—a fact known to Enas, for they were siblings, and they had no rivalry.
“It was due to Axelor’s attentiveness that, when humans appeared, he was the first to notice them. With these intelligent beings, the calling he felt was almost compulsing. He descended to the planet and watched them exist, watched how this sole entity that called itself “humans” passed through countless generations. He felt that something was missing, something pertaining to his domain, but what?
“Axelor looked deep inside himself for the missing piece—and though he did not find it, his divine instinct guided him to what he should do. Knowing he was tampering with Enas’s creations in a way that the God of Life would not approve of, he reached into this nascent world and used his Dao to infect a single fruit—an apple—which he then handed to the humans. The moment one of them consumed it, they all did, and thus received Axelor’s gift: individuality. He had made each human an entity of its own. They were now more than a species; they were individuals carrying their own thoughts, emotions, and drives, frequently contrasting each other.
“The moment they became individuals, a new concept was birthed into the universe: death. The fruit of Axelor’s domain. As he sensed the first human wither and die, he rejoiced, for he had discovered something new about himself. Something he’d taken away from Enas.”
“So this Axelor guy is the devil,” Jack said.
“This “guy” is an entity on a level you cannot even fathom. Do you want to interrupt me, or do you want to hear the rest of the story?”
“Sorry.”
The Sage coughed in his hand and kept going.
“Enas sensed the creation of death as well and rushed over, but it was too late. Purging individuality from his creations was impossible. The only way would be to destroy and remake them from scratch, but that would take too long. He heavily berated Axelor for his rush actions, and that was the first time two Old Gods fought each other—though only with words, for now.
“In the end, the other Old Gods stepped in to mediate. Axelor realized his mistake and apologized to Enas, who chose to forgive him as long as he promised to never interact with his creations again. Axelor agreed happily—but he had lied. For, deep inside him, he knew that death was the apex of his domain, and that he should never abandon it. He had zero intentions to hone his promise, but he bade his time.
“And so, humans were now individuals. Enas settled down to watch them more closely, limiting his leave, for the humans were advancing so fast they were almost impressive.
“Enas watched the humans as they discovered fire and the wheel. He saw them advance from tiny tribes of hunters and gatherers to agricultural communities, even forming towns and cities. He saw them invent writing, ships, and domestication. And he also saw them make weapons. A lot of weapons.
“In Enas’s heart, he was overjoyed by his creations, which he began to truly love like children. However, he was saddened by their lust for war. They wasted no opportunity to kill each other. His world of life was infected by a terrible urge towards death, and no matter how he tried, he could not escape that. He intervened multiple times to teach them kindness. He pleaded with them, urged them, and commanded them. When those didn’t work, he even went so far as to exterminate the vast majority of humans, leaving only the kindest alive, in the hopes that Axelor’s gift would disappear without fertile grounds, or that the remaining humans, though individuals, would choose a life of peace over war.
“But it was all for naught. Humanity seemed determined to destroy itself, and though Enas was greatly saddened, he had no choice but to accept it. Rage burned inside him for Axelor, but since he had already forgiven him, he could not vent. Disheartened, he decided to leave the humans again, in hopes that their evolution would have combatted Axelor’s gift by the time he returned. And so, he left, and time went on.
“However, Enas did not know that Axelor had always been acting in the shadows. Through his connection to the gift he gave humans, a connection which Enas had never realized existed, Axelor kept pushing them into violence and death. He urged them into wars. He fed visions of grandeur and power into the simple minds of their leaders. He made them turn against their fellow humans and transform their world into something that resembled Axelor’s domain more than it did their original creator’s. Seeing Enas’s distress at failing to cure his humans, Axelor consoled him and apologized repeatedly on the surface, but deep inside, he was happy and satisfied.
“When Enas left the world of humans, Axelor limited his influence, as it was no longer necessary, but remained close. Time went on. Axelor’s gift drove progress, and within less than five millennia, the humans had evolved to a state where they started expanding across the galaxy. They had created technology that the Old Gods wouldn’t even imagine existed and somehow used their weak little bodies to dominate the universe. Finding no other forms of life outside their home planet, they even launched millions of self-replicating capsules into space, filling them with the most resilient and elementary lifeforms they could find. That is how almost all life in the universe was created. That is how your Earth was created as well, though the capsules took hundreds of millions of years to travel between galaxies. That is why the Ancients are revered as the ancestors of every living creature in the universe.”
“Fascinating. So on every planet of the universe, life originated from the same starting point, the same set of single-cellular organisms.”
“Mostly. Can I continue?”
“Sorry.”
“After the Ancients conquered their galaxy and started expanding, more time passed. They reached the peak of technology. They did not interfere with life on other planets until it reached the space-faring stage, at which point they gently introduced themselves. Over a few hundred million years, the Ancient Galaxy was filled with life, all of which worked together with the Ancients. Of course, the occasional wars and genocides were always present, but life was perpetuated.
“It was only then that Enas, finally thinking enough time had passed, returned to inspect the state of the humans he’d created. To his surprise, where he’d left stick-wielding monkeys, he found a gigantic, galaxy-spanning civilization. He was overjoyed and proud of them. So proud, in fact, that he descended to meet them in person. And that’s when everything went wrong.”
Comments
Ted Burgess
He says early on in book one (I think when he took Jack to lunch and introduced him to Dao infused food) he was essentially a chronic schizophrenic by earth standards, but when the system came the voices he had always heard in whispers actually clarified and made sense. Turns out he wasn’t crazy, after all.
Namorat
At first I thought Sage was simply gifted and fell in with the church. Then I thought he had been contacted even before the rest of the world was integrated… but „That is how your Earth was created as well, though the capsules took hundreds of millions of years to travel between galaxies.“ So he was never a human from earth? Planted like the Animal Kingdom scions?
