The Dawn of the New World

Baba Jezda walked up to the portal but paused to gesture for Hao Xuan to go in first.

"You can't remain here for much longer, go first."

Hao Xuan wiped the sweat from his brow and wordlessly walked through the portal, stepping out into the dark forest where her hut was supposed to be.

Moments later the others followed after him but Baba Jezda's brow immediately furrowed even though there was nothing out of the ordinary in sight.

She turned towards the frowning elder and ordered in a low voice, "Taisi, check if there are any others."

"Yes, my lady," he gave a quick bow and walked straight into a tree, completely disappearing within.

She turned to the other elder with the walking stick, "Illya, guard the exit in case we need to retreat."

He nodded with some effort, "Yes...senior sister."

It was strange to see a much older man calling Baba Jezda older sister when he could easily be mistaken for her father but Hao Xuan had more concerning things at hand.

Taking a few steps forward he looked around in confusion upon smelling something in the air, "It smells like...cinnamon?"

Baba Jezda walked up beside him, her figure almost doubling in size.

"Stay behind me. That is how the scent of divine blood is often perceived by mortals. But for us it is akin to putrid flesh...the advance party must have already arrived."

She grabbed her cane from the side and lightly tapped on the ground to unseal its true form.

It was made mostly from shaved bones and interconnected ribcages with three small human skulls at the top, each one outfitted with brilliant jewels in their eye sockets.

It gave off a powerful yet suppressive aura that made Hao Xuan's heart skip a beat. In fact the entire land reacted to its presence, trembling in awe and fear.

"Come," she muttered before lightly waving the cane.

The trees began to uproot themselves and moved out of their way, clearing a path straight to the hut.

Hao Xuan gingerly followed behind her as they made their way through the burnt cinders that were left after a deadly battle.

There were clean cuts in the ground that still harbored such copious energies that could evaporate him on contact. Meanwhile, white holy fire singed the outer regions of the forest where no tree monster would dare encroach.

As they came closer the holy fire was pushed back by a gentle golden flame. It was much smaller in size and less in quantity but still managed to hold back the holy fire without much effort.

Baba Jezda let out a breath of relief upon seeing the figure that stood at her doorstep.

"Well, this is a surprise...but it always is, isn't it?" she remarked while letting her guard down.

Hao Xuan stepped out from behind her to see who she was talking to. It was a dark-skinned man dressed in all black that was not much different from a choir robe including the white tabs around the collar and cuffs.

He was holding an unadorned silver longsword with a golden handle, standing in front of a pile of corpses that belonged to some angelic beings with pure white wings that were now dirtied by the mud. (Image posted in Authors notes and Discord)

There were four of these angelic beings and even though they were already dead, Hao Xuan could feel their killing intent like a blade on his throat.

If he had to guess each one of these was at the level of a True God and somehow, this weak-looking scholar of a man annihilated them without incurring any injuries.

The man looked up and their gaze met. His eyes were exuding a dim golden light.

'I have seen those before,' Hao Xuan thought just before the man spoke up.

"Greetings, Champion of Darkness. It is a pleasure to 'finally' meet you in person."

Hao Xuan frowned, his voice was far too familiar and was enough to jog his memories.

"You were there, speaking for the 'King in Yellow' at the inauguration."

"Indeed I was," he smiled, "My master has sent me here to make sure that everything passes as it should. My name is Yami. I would have come earlier had someone not tried to flee," he finished by looking at Baba Jezda but she didn't even try to hide it.

"You cannot blame an old woman for trying but...I knew you would find us regardless. Nothing can be hidden from 'him' and as such, you. Take your time while I prepare for the final destination. Come," she gestured for Hao Xuan to follow but Yami did not moved out of the way.

"Would you be so kind as to leave Lord Jin in my care for the time being? There are a few things I must relay to him," he finished with a charming smile but his demeanor said otherwise.

***

Author's Notes:

All images are posted in the Official Discord.

Link: . gg / AHdSBFQ

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Reference Image Link: . com/564x/c9/2d/1b/ c92d1b7dd6bf5fb64fa33651e6a9d3ce. jpg