EPIC: 2353 (Patreon)

Ushering an abrupt end to Yuri's search for Madara and Eve, the voice of Shiroyasha echoed through the ruins of the former Little Garden, stating, "The Hidden Condition, Defeat or Seal the Demon Dragon God, has been achieved by Ha Yuri of the Wolhaiksong Community. All remaining Players will now be given a choice. You can either advance to the final elimination round or abstain. But worry not. Those who choose to forgo the finals can request a stay of one week to continue exploring at their leisure. This is a rare opportunity, so make what you can of it."

"There goes my chance to show off..." said Izayoi, casually evading the serrated edge of a flaming sword more than 300m in length. He was still trapped within the Ginnungagap, undergoing the trials of Aurgelmir, so he wouldn't be able to participate in the finals unless he gave up obtaining the ancient giant's legacy.

"It's probably for the best," contended Seiunn. "As exceptional as you are, it will be some time before you can realistically compete with the entities occupying the lower-digit Gates."

"Don't tempt me..." said Izayoi, catching the massive flaming sword with his palm. Then, with considerable ease, he punched in the direction of the sword's wielder, a fire giant standing more than 500m in height.

Though Izayoi's fist came nowhere near the giant, the shockwave it produced caused the upper half of the colossal being to explode, white-hot magma erupting from what remained of its torso.

Deciding to make use of the giant's sword, Izayoi flipped it through the air as if he were tossing a baton, kicking the rounded pommel with enough force to send it flying through the bodies of several additional giants like a beam of orange-hued light...

Seeing the sword impact the ground, creating an explosion larger than any bomb produced by the humans of his world, the usually confident grin on Izayoi's face diminished slightly. He still had a long way to go to reach the top, but the more powerful he became, the more detached he felt.

Like a much younger version of Vahn, Izayoi had reached the point where raw, destructive power seemed meaningless. His motivation for becoming stronger was to punish the wicked and protect the weak, but with Vahn in the picture, there was only so much he could do without arbitrarily placing the children of his Community in danger.

"Maybe I should pick up forging..." muttered Izayoi, raising his hand over his head to produce a pillar of energy that quickly grew to more than ten kilometers long. His surroundings had abruptly changed from an ancient battlefield to a seemingly endless tundra populated by mountains of ice and snow that quickly revealed themselves to be slumbering giants. The one closest to him exhaled a frigid breath that caused the air to solidify into a solid block of ice, but Izayoi was unaffected by the pervasive chill as he swept the pure white pillar of light through the giant, shattering it like a fragile ice sculpture...

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With a large portion of Players being eliminated by Azi and his clones, fewer than a thousand chose to participate in the Finals, the majority of which represented two and three-digit Communities. There were a few outliers, such as Yuri, Laulau, and Scathach, but they were an exception as most Players understood the futility of trying to compete against even the weakest member of an Inner-gated Community.

Standing near the center of the massive circular platform that would soon serve as a battleground, Kurma wore a conflicted look as she was relieved to be rid of the threat of Azi, at least for a time, but annoyed to have failed in her mission to recover the World Anchor. Now, unless they could collect enough Sun Authorities to produce a new one, half of Creation effectively belonged to Vahn...

Appearing at Kurma's side, Siddhartha wore a comparably relaxed smile as he stood with his hands behind his back, stating, "What you fear will not come to pass. But, even if it did, life will endure. After all, no matter how dark things may appear at dusk, there will always be a new Dawn..."

Instead of responding to Siddhartha's words of wisdom, Kurma raised her head alongside nearly every other Player in the Finals. Everyone expected the final competition to be a free-for-all, but they soon learned the truth as Shiroyasha's voice echoed across the battlefield, stating, "In the spirit of fairness, the event organizers and myself have determined that the final round of the Pandemonium Gift Game will pit all remaining Players against the Representative of the Aldrnari Empire, the Ethereal Queen. Additionally, so long as a single Player remains after the one-minute mark, it will automatically be considered a victory for the majority."

Though Shiroyasha's words sounded ridiculous to those observing the Pandemonium Gift Game, everyone participating in the Finals thought she was being unreasonable in a different way. They could all see the Ethereal Queen standing in the air with her spear, hovering above the center of the battlefield, and the moment they gazed at her, even the proudest Players understood they had no chance of enduring a full minute.

"Impossible..." muttered Kurma, subsequently dropping to her knees. As a Pure-Blooded Dragon, the thought of facing a powerful opponent should have exhilarated her, but all she felt while looking at the Ethereal Queen was a form of hopelessness beyond despair. It was like she had abruptly become a normal human, staring in awe as the Sun that had watched over her people for eons exploded. She was frightened, but she couldn't help feeling she was witnessing something beautiful and majestic at the same time...

As Shiroyasha announced the start of the final match, no one, not even Yuri, made a move. They were all transfixed by the aura exuding from the Ethereal Queen, who, after fifty-three seconds, adopted a faint smile and said, "There is a certain wisdom in resigning yourselves to your fates..."

Punctuating her words, the Ethereal Queen swept her spear in an overtly casual gesture, producing amethyst-purple flames that swept across the battlefield instantly, consuming everything in their wake. A few with Gifts that influenced causality or made them indestructible tried to resist, but in the presence of one of the few 'absolutes,' no power derived from another could hope to endure more than a moment...

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While the majority of the Little Garden's residents were paralyzed in awe or disbelief after seeing some of the most powerful beings in the Divine Realm reduced to little more than fodder, Vahn abruptly appeared in front of a hooded figure whose visible hands and feet resembled appendages doused in mercury.

"So, you've come..." muttered the figure, raising its head to reveal a hazy mirror instead of a face. Several other mirrors decorated its body, forming a necklace around its neck and shoulders, but its most prominent feature was the tattered, extremely ancient-looking sword in its left hand.

"I am the Fulcrum," said the mirror-faced entity. "The one who maintains the balance between those who stand at the pinnacle and all other beings in Creation. To advance beyond this point, you must relinquish half of your power and authority..."

Shaking his head, Vahn casually attested, "That may be the way things are, but change is one of the fundamental aspects of reality. I shall allow you to continue serving as the Fulcrum, but from this moment forward..."

Taking a seat on the throne that had appeared behind him, a golden light exuded from Vahn's eyes as he stated, "I am the only one that sits on this side..."

Though Fulcrum was initially confused by Vahn's words, it didn't take long for it to realize what the latter had done. If it had eyes, they would have been round as saucers. Instead, after a moment of hesitation, it turned to face the eight entities that had manifested behind it.

"There cannot be a single being that stands above all of Creation..." said a thin, inordinately beautiful, statuesque figure seated atop a thick platform resembling the stalk of a giant lotus. The figure's body appeared to be an emaciated man garbed in the traditional red robes of a Buddhist monk, but the longer you looked at them, the more 'uncertain' that observation became. Conceptual entities changes form based on the expectations of those observing and interacting with them, so when Vahn adopted a smile and prepared to answer, more than half the group looked exactly like him.

"I do not plan to stand above anyone," said Vahn, meeting the gazes of each entity within the group as he added, "Rather, I intend to stand 'with' everyone..."

Owing to their omnipotence, spanning all things within Creation, everyone in the group immediately understood what Vahn was saying as 'memories' predating the First Dawn materialized in their minds. They had thought he was the 'New Dawn,' but as they looked back and reflected on the birth of the current Order, they found him staring back at them with a smile.

For the briefest of moments, a period so small that the concept of time couldn't be applied to it, every single being across all of Creation had the same light exuding from their eyes as Vahn's. This was most apparent to True Buddha, representing the concept of Universal Oneness, but due to Vahn allowing the rest to know, the knowledge was hardcoded into their very existence.

"So that's how it is..." muttered Indra, appearing much like his counterpart in the Outer Gates but with four arms, three eyes, and scarlet hair instead of his traditional purple locks. He had always suspected that Vahn might be their origin, but even if that wasn't the case, it was now an immutable truth.

"I cannot accept this," said a petite, arrogant-looking woman with black and white hair that vaguely resembled horns. Her abyssal-black eyes reflected no light, but they gave the impression they could see through all things as their owner glared at Vahn with a defiant look.

Meeting the petite figure's gaze, Vahn's expression softened as he said, "The desire for change is a good thing. However, if you choose to come at me, there are two things you should know..."

Though the entire group instantaneously knew what he was going to say, Vahn effectively made it a fundamental aspect of reality by stating, "I will neither resist nor step down from my post. You are welcome to stab, slice, seal away, or even devour me. I will endure everything, and once you get tired, I will comfort you as any father should..."

Feeling emotions she hadn't experienced in eons, the dichromatic woman charged toward Vahn with reality-bending speed, her seemingly delicate right hand transforming into the claw of a black dragon as she attempted to rip his head off. Her true identity was that of the Primordial, Chaos, but she had been given a second title to explain the sudden emergence of Pure-Blooded Dragons in the Divine Realm, elevating her to the position of Progenitor Dragon God.

True to his words, Vahn offered no resistance even as Chaos ripped his head from his upper body. Ordinarily, Chaos would have used that as an opportunity to tear him to shreds, but she abruptly stopped, cold sweat running down her face and body as Vahn's memories of being torn apart were transmitted to her. At the same time, she also felt his compassion, love, and boundless tolerance, creating an indescribable sense of conflict within her heart as he rematerialized and casually decreed, "Only those who can empathize with the people they trample upon deserve to stand at the pinnacle of Creation..."

And with those words, Empathy became the 'core' representing all who held and aspired to obtain Divinity...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'The act of creation will always be more meaningful than destruction...','PvP in Diablo Immortal be like...','Vahn, aka, the Dragon God of Consequence...')