The Dawn of the New World

"What he is? Like the kind of person or species or race-"

Hao Xuan was confused by the question and that confusion did not lessen whatsoever in the next few seconds.

"No, WHAT he is. When you hear his name what do you expect to see?"

"I guess a...man draped in yellow? Or an entity with similar color schemes? I'm not sure what you mean."

"Exactly that, the second one! The Nine are supreme beings existing far above the realm of our understanding but they can still have physical forms and some even prefer them over the alternative. My master, the 'King in Yellow' gets his name from where he was born."

"In...the color yellow...?"

"Haha, sadly no. But that would certainly be something, wouldn't it?" Lord Yami let out another laugh before continuing his explanation in much the same jovial manner, "He was born from the yellow river, the river of time."

'!!!'

Understandably, Hao Xuan was quite shocked to hear that.

"It would be quite difficult for me to explain more about his existence when you haven't even peered behind the veil so I shan't bother. But know that he is not time itself and yet, he is not much different. What you are about to do, that journey you will embark on will change everything. I am here to try and explain to you what COULD happen as a result of your actions in the past so you are better prepared."

Hao Xuan would be lying if he said he gave his actions that much thought. All he wanted was to go back into the past to save everyone that died on that planet. Those specific events should not have had too many consequences for others if changed but that wasn't the case anymore.

Now Baba Jezda was sending him almost 700 years into the past to try and stave off the tide of Maymun's demon army. This affected not only the greater world but almost the entire universe.

"The future will be completely different!" he gasped at the realization.

He froze mid-stride as all the possibilities rushed through his mind.

'But won't that affect me as well?! What if I was never born and got erased from history? What if I never went to the Mei Kingdom or lived on the outskirts with the Khan family? What if the Ancients never brought us back in the first place?! I would- nothing will be the same!'

Lord Yami could tell exactly what he was thinking.

"That won't happen," his words brought Hao Xuan back, "What you're thinking won't happen because of two reasons. What goes on in the abyss has very little impact on the outside world unless there is a war. And since there has been no war OUTSIDE of the abyss since Maymun took over it won't have any adverse effects on you."

"Secondly, you come from the Origin Planets. Access to them is not only particularly strict but also overseen by the Ancients and they would not allow anything outside to have an effect there. You should be fine for the most part."

Hao Xuan let out a breath of relief but there was still one other thing left.

"What about outside the Origin Planets? How much would things change there?"

Lord Yami thought about it for a second before shaking his head.

"There is no way to anticipate that. You could step on a bug in the past and could erase that entire planet. If it was not actively being sheltered for the last few hundred years then there is no way to tell."

Hao Xuan's eyes swiveled left and right as he tried to connect the dots.

'The planet was discovered only a few years ago since it was lost in deep space until then. That SHOULD count but what if we weren't the ones who found it? How do I- there is so much that could go wrong...'

Things had suddenly gotten a lot more complicated.

Seeing him suddenly go silent instead of rejoicing gave Lord Yami a pretty good idea of what was going on.

"Have you ever thrown a stone in a flowing river?" he asked out of nowhere.

'???'

"....not that I can recall."

"Time and water, they flow in much the same manner...as I'm sure you will realize sooner rather than later. Throw a pebble and it will get dragged away by the current or sink to the bottom without changing anything. But throw a large enough boulder and it could change shift the course of the river. Do you understand?"

Hao Xuan nodded, "I think so. If I am successful it will be comparable to the boulder, right?"

Lord Yami let out a sigh, "If you are successful, it will be akin to picking up the river and placing it in a completely different place going a new direction. But that is not what you should be concerned about."

He looked Hao Xuan right in the eye, "What happens to the fish from the first river? What will happen to you in a world- in a TIME where you did not exist?"