Sovereign of the Karmic System

The disembodied voice spoke respectfully, and reassuringly, yet it deeply alerted the three ancient elementals, who almost instinctively unleashed their power in an attempt to inspect their surroundings. If someone had been there listening to their conversation, they had failed to feel their presence.

Like a supernova fighting the darkness of infinite space, the ancestor of light began to shine with impossible brilliance, lighting up the entire hall, and leaving only a few feet of isolated patches of shade for his dark companion to inspect. The spatial elemental, on the other hand, was even more confused. Due to his nature he was the member of the trio with the highest awareness, yet, he too at first had failed to find the source of this voice.

Fortunately, his powers went far beyond what his senses could perceive.

After the initial shallow search, the spatial ancestor expanded the range of his search, and started to explore the most secretive and hidden parts of the planet. Sure enough, mere seconds later, his attention landed on the deepest parts of the Lord’s Palace. A cubic room of smooth stone hidden in a long forgotten dungeon, inside which a meek looking man sat with his legs crossed, covered in thick roots.

“It is him..” the ancestor of the dark elementals said to his bright companion, moments after the spatial elemental had found the voice’s source.

One of the few secrets the three elemental ancestors had been made aware of before joining the elemental army, was how in one of his numerous legendary feats of power, the Lord had managed to liberate an enormous amount of elementals from the tyrannical control of one of the most despised entities in the multiverse. A champion of Destiny whose dominion was the use of mana, making him the natural enemy of all elementals in existence, who went by the name “The Elementalist.”

When the Lord and the Elementalist met, the former had long heard of the latter’s name. After all, he was the notorious enemy of the elemental kind, whom he had vowed to lead. Even his name was used to scare young elementals.. “Evolve, or the Elementalist will come get you!” They were told. Yet, contrary to popular belief, when the then smaller Elemental Army met the enormous legions of enthralled elementals, no blood was shed.

Both leaders had immediately recognized the value of the enemy’s army, and had immediately sought to take control over it.. Be it to use it, or to free it. A civil conversation was what the Elementalist had proposed to solve their divergences, but while he held out a hand in friendship, the other was hidden behind his back, gripping the knife he intended to stab the Lord’s back with.

But, alas, despite the Lord following every request he had pushed forward, putting him right in the middle of the champion’s schemes, the Elementalist soon came to realize that what he had come to face was not one of his biggest opportunities, but his biggest threat.

Albeit successful in capturing the Lord’s army, when it came to the assassination of the Lord himself, the champion was shocked to say the least. He was the Elementalist. He controlled natural mana like no one else before him! A look was all it took for the most loyal members of the Lord’s army to fall under his control, puppets for him to use. Yet, when it came to comparing powers, the Elementalist felt the true meaning of inferiority.

Where he was a wave, the Lord was an ocean, where he was a boulder, the Lord was a planet, and where he was a blaze, the Lord was the sun.

When faced with such powers, the Elementalist found himself unable to fight back, as he felt that the clash did not feel to be against a cultivator capable of wielding the elements, but to be against the elements themselves. It was like he was fighting primordial nature.

After this confrontation, the Elementalist was quickly captured, and forced to spend his time as a prisoner under the threat of the Lord’s powers. Had he wanted to escape imprisonment, a few stone walls and a handful of roots couldn’t have stopped him. He simply did not dare to.

While most elementals had long forgotten about him, that was not the case for the ancestors, who were made aware of why the Lord had kept him at such a close range.

Despite his failings in both control and power when compared to his captor, there was one thing the Elementalist excelled at, and that was his ability to balance mana. A skill that the Lord had found most useful during his many attempts at merging the essences of light and darkness into the very fragile equilibrium within his body.

The ancestors of Light, Darkness and Space had never met the Elementalist. They knew he was kept prisoner, but they had joined far after he had been vanquished. For that reason, they had never seen his powers. This, paired with their naturally elitist and arrogant nature as the highest members of the rarest types of Mana, had caused them to look at the Elementalist, meek and polite, as someone who could not keep up with his reputation.

Someone they need to guard themselves against, but need not fear.

As they began wondering why the Elementalist had finally come in contact with them after so many years, the three ancestors quickly realized that, if left to their own accord, they would still be left with no ideas. So why not listen to him? They soon agreed.

In a moment, the three elementals disappeared from within their Palace, and reappeared within the dark and cold room. One next to the other, they stood in front of the caged champion. Around them, a barrier that separated the universe they were occupying, from a different one. A spatial barrier no power or sound could ever hope to breach.

“Speak.” The ancestor of light commanded. His tone was holy, yet threatening.

The Elementalist did not explain straight away. Instead, he stood as well as he could in the little room he had, and bowed respectfully towards the three elementals, causing them to feel elated.

While the existence of an elemental ancestor was akin to the sighting of an impossibly unique unicorn among unicorns, they were not feared. Not because they did not possess power, but because their sheer existence was little more than a myth. In comparison, everyone knew who the champions of Destiny were. How their domineering behavior and infinite resourcefulness had turned them into the number one enemy of any living being within the multiverse. Had the three elementals been granted a wish, they would have wished for their existence to be respected and feared as much as that of a champion of Destiny.

To see a being such as himself bow his head respectfully did nothing but inflate their ego beyond what one would believe possible.

This elation did not last long, however. For while the ancestors were arrogant, they were not stupid.. And the Elementalist was known to be as dangerous as he was sly. Yet, in silence, they waited for him to speak.

As he finished bowing, the Elementalist once again sat with his legs crossed. Standing was, after all, too uncomfortable. He had long since noticed the mistrust in the eyes of the three elementals, yet he did not care. He was not there to make friends, he was there to find an ally among his enemy’s enemies.

“I have a sure way for you to rid yourselves of the cultivators plague, as well as earn the credit for saving your kin from Horror’s horde.” The Elementalist muttered with a matter-of-fact tone. His humility had gone, and only an honest slyness remained. He then added, before the three could ask how, “Steal the cultivator’s idea. Seal the universe, but do so after the arrival of Horror’s army.”

The three elemental ancestors were confused. Especially the spatial ancestor, whose barely human features began to morph into what appeared like a frown. “Elaborate.” He commanded with a hint of irritation.

As a being of primordial spatial essence, the ancestor had long thought of the idea of using the same method the humans were using to seal the universe. In fact, he had thought about it way before the cultivators had set foot on the universe. However, he had soon given up on it, for it was not feasible. He possessed the power and skills to seal the universe, but unfortunately, he still possessed a single mind, and a mind alone could never match the use of a large-scale formation.

Even with the right resources, and the ability to set up the formation, he would have had to focus his entire existence on keeping it operating.. Lest it would fall apart, opening the universe once more.

The Elementalist was also aware of this, so he happily obliged. “It is quite simple, actually.. Horror’s horde has tunnel vision. The moment they enter this universe, their entire might will be focused on one job and one job alone.. To slaughter what they perceive to be the rulers of this universe. Or in this case, the ones who are closest to the portal.”

The ancestors quickly began to catch on. Before any of the three could ask any question, however, the Elementalist turned towards the spatial elemental, and added, “While the two armies engage in battle, it should be easy for you to seal the universe, preventing Horror himself from setting foot in it. What will be left of the winning army should not be a problem for your… personal army.”

*SPAH* Out of the blue, the Elementalist clapped his hands, then extended them outwards as if simulating an explosion, “And boom! You are heroes.” He exclaimed.

The three ancestors looked at one another, noticing a visible shared interest.

They thought this was not a bad plan. Yet, there were two problems with it. And the biggest one lied in their transparent companion, who said,  “I am unable to seal the universe.”

“You can’t, but I can.” The Elementalist retorted. “I can set up their formation.. I just need the spatial treasures the cultivators possess. I would assume obtaining them, while they are busy fighting Horror’s horde, should require you little more than a snap of your fingers.” He then added, snapping his finger loudly and clearly.

“What do you gain from this?” The dark elemental asked, unconvinced.

The Elementalist looked at his surroundings, then let out a slow sigh. “I get to slip out of the universe. And that is your assurance that I will set the formation properly.. Because if I failed, the Lord would be able to follow me. I am free, and you are the one who got rid of the elementalist. Surely, most of them should still be wary of my existence.”

All in all, the plan was to the elementals’ liking, as it was the only plan that did not require them to submit or fight to the death against the Lord, the cultivators’ army, or Horror’s horde. It was risky, but the paths that yield the best results were always ridden with risks.

The three thought it over, trying to consider whether there were parts in which they could improve on. While distrustful of the Elementalist, they did not doubt his goals, after all, above all else, the champions of Destiny were known for their extremely high survivability. A quality that was so prominent, that it was almost impossible to doubt.

After fleshing out the details for what felt like hours, the four beings were close to coming to an agreement, when the dark silhouette reminded.. “No matter how viable this plan is, it won’t matter if the cultivators seal the universe themselves. We cannot allow for the truce to come to be.”

The elemental’s words seemed to amuse the Elementalist, who smiled creepily before adding, “I have a plan for that too..”