The Dawn of the New World

If Hao Xuan wasn't already sitting down he would have fallen on his back. It was like the rug had been pulled from beneath his feet and the only thing holding him down was gravity.

"Pits of hell...River Styx...world tree..." he repeated in a daze on the verge of breaking down, "Are you serious? How the hell am I supposed to gather all that?! Even a dozen lifetimes will not be enough!"

But the old woman was unperturbed, almost as if it was all under control.

"Did I not tell you already? This is the final step of a plan that has been in the making for countless eons. And if that human's reputation is anything to go by, he would have already left a way for you to get each of those things," she said in reference to the Emperor.

But to Hao Xuan's ears it still sounded too much like speculation.

"You don't know that. I can't risk my life on something that-"

But the old lady cut him off, "The fact that you are standing in front of me and the one you will meet after leaving this place is proof of that human's ingenuity. If you are capable enough you can trade for one of the articles when you meet him."

Her phrasing left a lot to be desired but it gave Hao Xuan a thread of hope.

"By him, you mean Meng's brother? The one you said was the Fallen One?"

She nodded silently.

"Alright, say he gives me one of the four things then. What about the other three?"

"For those you will have to ask the human."

"Okay...okay...what about the last thing you said? I will have to take them and go to the place where the first Chaos Lord was born, where exactly is that?"

She sniggered at the mere mention of it.

"This is the second reason I believe he thought of everything because...it is a place that only I can send you to. Once you have all the elements come see me. After you take the vow of eternal servitude I will show you one of the two paths that you can take to get there. The journey will be dangerous but a necessary one that will have to be endured alone."

*Tremble*

The entire house shook for an instant as the moonlight was completely extinguished outside of the house and a pitch darkness took over everything.

The old lady turned her head lazily, "Tsk, always so hungry. It looks like they are done with their meal so this conversation must come to an end."

She stood up and Hao Xuan instinctively followed suit.

"The next time we meet you will have to come to my home. There I can use my powers without attracting any unwanted attention. Go now," she said waving her hand, "Meet with the tempter and if you can still keep to your beliefs then we shall see each other soon."

The door flung open and Hao Xuan was pushed outside by a gust of wind. He still wanted to ask some more questions but when he looked up into the sky and saw the faint gargantuan figures coming closer by the second he decided otherwise.

With one jump he landed in front of the portal and immediately went through.

The old woman walked out of the house soon after to peer at the sky with an expression full of fury and rage. The shadows twisted around her before taking a vague equine shape that walked up next to her.

Its blazing eyes were identical to the ones that resided within Claudia's shadow and when that light fell upon the old woman her form began to slowly change, expanding into something entirely different.

"The die is cast," an indistinct voice stated, "Soon the mortal will come knocking again...begging for help. And when he accepts his fate the prophecy will be fulfilled. By their own hands the last seal will be broken and the Old Ones will awaken."

The equine beast stomped its hooves on the ground in jubilation creating tongues of flame that encircled them from all sides.

The old woman was shrouded in a cloak of moving shadows that erupted outwards in a dome, surrounding both her and the beast that were inside the wall of flames.

An exceedingly large limb that resembled a claw fell on their position. Everything for as far as the eye could see was stomped out of existence by the sheer force and yet, her voice still echoed in the surroundings like a looming dagger.

"Soon....soon she will walk the known planes once more, for the last time. Beware...Beware....O' foolish creations....for the Mother of Death is stirring in her sleep."