Epic Of Caterpillar

Chapter 2884 - 2885: The Many Factions

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Amaterasu noticed it immediately.

When she stepped out of Susanoo's Heavenly Domain, it became painfully clear that he had played a part in this.

"Susanoo, why!"

Her voice thundered across the skies of his Heavenly Domain, demanding answers.

Yet Susanoo, meditating calmly while radiating the unmistakable Aura of a Heart Tribe member, merely smiled. Above him, the Divine Avatar of his sister manifested in blazing light.

"Everything is fine, sister. Why don't you calm down?"

"What?! Wait... you!"

Amaterasu gasped as she sensed the tremendous surge of power within him. In such a short time, he had grown immensely stronger.

The bizarre energy flowing from him carried the strange, despised signature of the Heart Tribe.

"How is this possible? You, a great god born from our father Izanagi like me... have awakened as a Heart Tribe member?!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "This is outrageous, Susanoo. Why?!"

"Huh? Come on, nee-san, there's nothing wrong with it," Susanoo shrugged lightly. "I can finally express my true soul as a swordsman without restraint. Isn't that better? Or are you upset that my power now rivals yours?"

"...She helped you?" Amaterasu asked, her tone sharpening.

"Indeed," Susanoo nodded. "Kireina and I are great friends. I did a terrible job conquering her heart, but I taught her my unique swordsmanship. She has become my disciple."

"You're insane, Susanoo. Why go so far as to teach your secret method to a Chaos Spawn? I just don't understand..." Amaterasu sighed heavily. "What are you even trying to accomplish?"

"Nee-san," Susanoo said, his voice turning grave. "Maybe you and the other Gods don't care, but I do. I will not let the world be destroyed."

"...!"

Susanoo rose slowly, sensing his sister's shock. He gazed out at the vast skies stretching before him.

"The Heavenly Domain is like a universe filled with planets and realms, but can it even compare to the world it originated from? We might survive without her, but is that truly right? To forget and abandon our mother?"

"...Susanoo, you know it's impossible to—"

"I no longer believe in words like 'impossible.' Since I became a Heart Path Cultivator, I've realized that 'impossible' is just a misconception. Everything is possible with enough determination, effort, and time," Susanoo said, a fierce smile spreading across his face as his white eyebrows furrowed. "And I will prove it to you. Together with Kireina, we will save this world."

"Foolish brother..." Amaterasu sighed deeply. "Do as you please..."

As she withdrew, she paused one last time, whispering to him.

"The world's end has suddenly accelerated," she said. "So whatever plan you're pursuing, you had better act soon."

"..."

Susanoo fell silent as his sister's presence faded.

His sharp eyes fixed on the horizon, brows knitting together as he sensed enormous currents of Fate surging toward Mount Takao.

He smiled faintly. Beneath the Heavenly Domain, forces from Purgatory stirred. In other Heavenly Domains, ancient Divine Beings awakened from their long slumber.

Far away, across distant continents.

Through his Heart Tribe vision and as the God of Storms, Susanoo's gaze pierced clouds, thunder, and seas.

In the Heavenly Domain of Egypt, turmoil brewed. Two Ancient Goddesses had risen from their deep sleep: the Golden Scorpion Goddess, guardian of healing and protection, and the Black Jackal Goddess, judge of the dead and souls.

Their fierce rivalry had ignited a great war within the Egyptian Divine Domain. Now, with the Final Era drawing near to Earth, both sought to endure and seize whatever they needed from the world.

Farther still, above Europe in the vast Fairy Forests of Avalon, two Centaur Princesses had sparked a revolution among the Deities and Spirits.

Above Japan, he felt a powerful Attraction Force pulling these Heavenly Domains closer—along with others—though they remained unaware.

"Japan... has it suddenly become the center of the world? Why? And what is happening in North America?"

His eyes narrowed as he attempted to peer through its atmosphere.

A sharp sting met his gaze.

Visions flooded in, accompanied by a cold, direct voice.

Countless colorful crystals sprouted across the land. People crystallized and shattered, slowly harvested by aberrant crystal giants from another dimension.

And that voice...

"Don't get in the way. This is my territory."

Straightforward and unyielding. Susanoo couldn't help but smile lightly, his eyebrows twitching.

"Well, I'll be damned. This world grows crazier with every passing year... Let's see where all of this leads."

.

.

.

In a grand hall forged from blocks of eternity and polished to flawless perfection, three seats rose above the eternal void and the eternal light.

Their gazes remained fixed upon the cosmos of dimensions and universes—always upon the fourth, which they had watched in silence until recently.

Their patience had worn thin. They had devised an elaborate plan to finally seize her and bring this to an end once and for all.

The original scheme—to teach this fourth fragment the futility of pitying the lowly, imperfect creatures of the Saha World—had succeeded at first. She had learned the depth of suffering there.

But defiance had been born.

The change had been unforeseen. These perfect beings had not anticipated it because they themselves were fragments, imperfect echoes of a once-perfect whole.

Yet why had the original perfect being felt fear?

Was it truly fear born from pity, from the uncertainty that dawned upon realizing existence itself?

Or was it the deeper dread that Existence, now fractured endlessly, could never return to the unity of the Beginning of Beginnings, when the Everlasting had been perfect and true?

These three fragments—ninety percent perfect, yet forever ten percent imperfect—could not calculate truth with absolute precision.

Thus, the fourth fragment surpassed all expectations. Defiance took form, and what began as a mere Heart Demon grew into her own sovereign being.

Even after dying twice, she refused to return, clinging stubbornly to lowly creatures.

Perhaps this was what the Great Being had secretly yearned for: the struggle of imperfection, with all its countless joys and pains.

Perhaps the Great Being had grown bored.

Or perhaps there was no reason at all.

What the Three Fragments knew was that they must act swiftly. The other Seats of the Empyrean Throne had noticed the Great Being's foolish act and were considering a replacement for their seat. It had been countless eons since the last shift.

Before they could be cast down from the Empyrean Throne and rendered less perfect, they had to seize Kireina.

The plan had been woven through endless calculation.

The world was shifting. The universe trembled.

From Kireina's earlier attack, a path through Planes had opened. The Star of Misfortune had been wounded, leaving a small scratch across one sister's face.

The eight-eyed spider gazed downward. Her webs stretched across the dimensional cosmos, weaving something that might answer both their questions.

"We must gather the Origin World Fragments and Her."

"If we can claim both, all the better."

"The Fragments—the only things of true value in these Heavenly Domains—must not be lost..."

Their eternal eyes swept the cosmos. Using various "Players" in their grand game, they began setting the stage for the conclusion of her journey.

Forevermore.

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