Update: Sorry, but I'm stuck studying since the virus got my exams pushed back until after spring break ends, which means I am worrying over my exams rather than relaxing that they should have already been over with...so yeah...sigh.


Location: Northern Lands, Nether Star Region

"You think that you all have won here...WHO THE HELL DO YOU ALL THINK YOU ARE?!", a terrifying voice shook the entire continent beneath his feet. Ash, Gary, and Dawn felt the Wise Sage's aura beginning to soar into dangerous levels. Crazed mantras sprouted forth from his body, creating chaotic waves through heaven and earth.

After his limbs were pierced through by Iron Tail - the Wise Sage, Lian, descended into madness.

He felt irritated, annoyed, frustrated, and even shock. Emotions he believed were lost to him through the countless moons were starting to rush back to his mind in rapid expansion.

Never would he had imagined being forced to such a situation by infants!

insects...insects...insects...insects..insects...INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS! INSECTS!

"UNLESS YOU ARE A TITLED GOD OR AN IMMORTAL SAGE! ALL OF YOU ARE MERE INSECTS BEFORE ME!", the Wise Sage denoted in utter rage, struggling to stand up from the pond of his own blood. Lian, in his zealous, ignited his true fate to the absolute extreme. The sage furiously extracted a wisp of burning flame from his body.

The three trainers, seeing the burning fire in Lian's hands, felt a sense of dread washing over them. They peered into something beyond their understandings and it peered back with a smile. Primordial evil slithered across their faces, whispering the words of temptation.

"Pikachu, stop him."

"Quick! Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!"

"Mamoswine, erase him for me!"

Informed of their commands, the three Pokemon attacked. A Thunderbolt, Hydro Pump, and Ice Shard were fired off by their respective owners with the intent of killing the sage.

As the moves were about to hit Lian, the sage uttered a single word, "Useless."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Gigantic bones came bursting out from the ground, forming a rib cage that shielded the Wise Sage from his end.

The trio of trainers, seeing that a sudden anomaly had appeared, wanted to command their Pokemon to attack again, however, the sage was faster. With a drop of his hand, Lian's fate fell to earth, passing through all barriers until its destination.

"HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

The sage, with laughter layered in lunacy, kindled the light of the mantras once more.

Universal Truth Deters Existence!

The myriad heavens formed with the appearance of heavenly magic and universal laws, casting its light down towards where Lian's true fate was located.

Crack!

The area surrounding the Wise Sage started to rupture, bringing out even more bones that connected together to form the skeleton of a Pokemon that resembles the shape of a Cradily. The aura of the dead creature slowly enveloped the world in its terror, as numerous powerful individuals felt a dangerous vibe being emitted.

The dead Pokemon moved its skeletal head to look at the back of the one who had summoned it...suddenly opened its rib cage and stabbed the back of the sage, as if wanting to merge his flesh with its "own".

What was even more strange and startling was that the corpses of humans and Pokemon also came out from the ground in the thousands. They were rotten but their flesh was still on them with the ones nearest to the Wise Sage being the freshest.

"Honorable ancestor Shin...now I see why the Ming Clan's master suddenly vanished into thin air a century ago...how dare you!", Dawn solemnly said when she saw the ruling symbol of the Ming Clan's on the corpse closest to the madman.

A hundred years ago, the Ming Clan brought a case to the World Protecting Palace about their missing ancestor, a Wise Sage at the cusps of immortal ascension. Yet, even with the efforts of the palace, the Ming Clan's master still could not be found...until now.

The heavenly maiden only grew more disgruntled after recognizing even more of the dead bodies around the crazed sage. Peerless generations, invincible characters, invincible generations, and even Wise Sages chosen to be the backbone of the world could be seen dead before her.

The maiden's eyes grew pale-white, as a surging rush of murderous intent raced to her mind.

She was not amused.

"Daring to act against the interests of the world! Mamoswine...sent that traitor to his grave.", Dawn said in a cold voice, deterring all of existence from coming to the Wise Sage's aid. In her eyes, the Wise Sage was already a corpse and anyone deemed dead in the eyes of the Heavenly Enchantress meant just that - dead. Any would-be outsiders who dare to come to the aid of the mad sage would be given execution above the world stage along with their nine generations. Her words were not to be questioned.

"Pikachu, assist Mamoswine."

"Blastoise, follow suit."

Ash and Gary asked of their Pokemon after hearing Dawn. Although they might not know the full story about those corpses, as aspiring Pokemon Masters, they could still sense the corpses giving off the prestige of existences walking the path towards the summit, displaying their importance to Dawn and the world.

"Mamo!"

"Pika!"

"Blast!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The three Pokemon charged in the direction of the Wise Sage with endless vigor with Mamoswine taking the lead. The earth shook with the gigantic creature's every step, even the myriad deities may remember the trepidation from their mortal origins.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA!", the sage laughed uncontrollably at the incoming Pokemon, as his body began to mutate with his skin growing out of proportions in some places while other places were forming innumerable bumps on top of each other...he was no longer an honorable sage, but an abomination. Lian's skin began to climb onto the bones of the rib cage.

Squeak!

The skeletal Pokemon moved its head to face Lian's enemies and the tentacle-like bones surrounding its head propelled at a rapid rate, aiming to kill upon contact.

"Stop it, Blastoise."

"Mamoswine, crush them."

"Pikachu, strike with Volt Tackle."

The three trainers said in a grave tone, as a cold light began to appear upon their eyes.

One Thought to Myriad Realms!

Three heavenly auras erupted to the extreme, as the images of myriad islands fully materialized in an instance with it bestowing their blessings to Blastoise, Mamoswine, and Pikachu.

Blastoise moved the heavens with a supreme Mega Punch while Mamoswine plowed existence with Take Down.

Crush! Crush! Crush!

Blastoise and Mamoswine fended off the tenacious attack, clearing a way for Pikachu. When the two took action, even invincible generations of previous ages would be grounded to dust let alone this.

The yellow mouse jumped and ran along the bone-like tentacles that came afterward, gaining speed and power until electricity coursed through his entire body.

Bizz!

"PikapikapikapikapikaCHU!"

Crash! Boom!

At the moment of impact, the mad sage drew on the essence of the dead bodies, as their flesh merged with him and expanded, absorbing Pikachu's move, which shocked the yellow mouse. In that moment of shock, the sage swung his arms horizontally with a materializing sword, eradicating the light from existence.

Slash!

"Pika", the yellow mouse grunted, having his true mantra's blessing broken, before being sent flying into some distance boulders.

Splatter!

Ash gushed out a mouthful of blood, as he was forced down upon his knee to keep consciousness.

"Ash!"

Gary and Dawn concernedly shouted out, knowing full well of the effects of having the mantra's blessings broken, though that was their mistake.

Slash!

The enemy sage took that opportunity of the two being distracted and slashed once more, splitting the infinite galaxy along the way as Gary and Dawn realized their error.

'Blastoise, block it!"

"Mamoswine, aid Blastoise!"

The two trainers commanded their Pokemon, but it was too late. The moment their voices left their mouth, Blastoise and Mamoswine were still fending off the previous attack while the brilliant horizontal light was only a breath away.

Ting!

Splatter!

The insane sage's slash chucked the two unprepared Pokemon to the ground, ripping the mantra's blessing from their bodies, as Gary and Dawn were forced into a similar state as Ash. A being like Lian only needed a single instance to overturn everything.

"Now I hope all of you are comfortable. The rebirth of a remote legend is at hand.", Lian said with a barely human face, as his body was taking the bodies of all his victims and consolidating them into a large lump of flesh that had him at the center. The skeletal Pokemon behind the crazed sage had already begun to merge with the lump of flesh, emitting a sense of being alive and conscious. It was absorbing the blob of flesh, using the flesh to cover up its naked skeleton and forming new organs to use...it was not dead.

The three trainers had paled-expressions from seeing the sage's plans come to fruition. The trainers and their Pokemon want to try another go at stopping Lian, but they felt an invisible force pressing down upon their. The overwhelming pressure instantiated fear and awe.

"Gahhhhhhhhh!" The beast has embedded itself upon the world, fully terrorizing all of existence with its screech.

It was at that point they knew why their bodies won't move - they met an existence that went beyond their scope.

And it was not just them, since, many powerful figures across the four lands felt alarmed and unnerved at the flood of baleful intent enveloping the sky.

A grim existence had manifested itself on the world!

The skeletal Pokemon had obtained a fleshy body once more, looking similar to that of a Cradily, albeit much larger and having four yellow dots in its crescent opening instead of two. Its growths at the bottom of the body were also longer and sharper, being more like vines that could root themselves in the ground compared to the typical Cradilly. The creature gave off the feeling of an ancient divine beast that dominated above the nine heavens and countless worlds.

"It seems you did not fully exterminate that creature from our world, Little Yue.", in a faraway place that surpasses comprehension, the Benevolent Maiden of Heaven said after seeing the events unfold. It was the same with Rayquaza. They clearly remember the creature that was forgotten through the passage of time, however, during that ruthless era, it treads invincibly across the world until finally meeting its end under Emperor Yue. No one could've predicted that the beast would make such a comeback after being completely torn apart, limb by limb, in Emperor Yue's hands.

Seeing that the emperor had left the job undone, Mew and Rayquaza were personally thinking of paying a visit to the Nether Star Region, until they felt a familiar aura manifesting. The two ancient Pokemon merely sighed, no longer paying any more attention to the conflict.

In a far-off dimension, a figure gradually opened its eyes, as a holy light be-felled existence.

"HAHAHAHA!", the mad sage's sudden laughter, coming from the mysterious beast, could be heard clearly by the injured trio. And after that laugh, the Cradily-like Pokemon's forehead started to twist and turn, forming a human figure...it was the Wise Sage. It appears that only his top half came out, while the rest, including his hands, was still planted in the head of the ancient creature. The sage had a distorted face deep in the grasp of insanity with eyes fully consumed in the dreams of archaic desires.

"Be honored! For you to witness a deity beast from the Nine Worlds! Cradalis, the progenitor of the entire Cradily race upon this planet!", Lian said in an excited and deranged state.

"Now all of you...please DIE!"

An ancient and divine aura suppressed the surrounding area, as grand magic circles appeared from above the sage's enemies, clearing the heavens for bombardment.

The trio of trainers and Pokemon tried to resist but to no avail.

"High Elder! Her Highness is going to die! Please give the order!", a fanatic voice resounded across the palace that sits above earth. At this time, many of the palace members, including its elders, wanted to go to the rescue of their Heavenly Enchantress. As a matter of fact, when they saw their maiden spew out blood, the entire palace went into a frenzied state. They were dying inside for only being able to watch from the palace. They were truly despairing, but their High Elder would not allow them to move.

It may seem as if the High Elder has some motive for his unwillingness to move, however, the one who ordered the palace to not move was the Heavenly Enchantress herself. Her words are the will of the World Protecting Palace and the High Elder will comply with her commands.

Our graceful goddess is injured...our graceful goddess is injured...OUR GRACEFUL GODDESS IS INJURED!

Though the members of the palace may not be willing to comply with their divine maiden's wishes much longer. If it meant death on the world stage, they will not care as long as the Heavenly Enchantress could safely return.

"Calm yourselves, Her Highness will not die until she wills it and besides...someone more qualified is coming.", the High Elder tries to pacify the palace, identifying someone more frightening than imagination was approaching the world. But he was not the only one that observed the changes in the heaven and earth.

From the compounds of many great clans and families, numerous beings were about to resurface to aid Ash and company until they detected a sudden change and held off from emerging.

At the same time as Lian's attack, a godly aura swept across the world, overshadowing the progenitor's ancient prestige. Divine power surged through the ley lines at unprecedented levels. The echoes of ruptures shook the world's foundation, appearing like someone trying to open a door.

In a distant and remote region of the Southern Lands, a godly figure stepped into society once more, causing the stars to dim under his radiance. The hidden temple in the south prostrated at his return when they learned of which supreme giant it was.

With a step, the deity treads the entire region, with another, he reached the edges of the continent. After taking the third step, the invincible figure surmounted time and space, arriving a split second before the activation of Lian's attack and slammed Lian's face with his fist.

BANG! BOOM! CRASH!

The crazed sage was detached from the deity beast and his top half was sent flying into the mountain.

Bizz! Bizz! Bizz!

If one would look closer then they would see that the divine being was clad in lightning. A swarm of fluttering lights gather all around him, blurring everything around the deity in brilliance.

"Titled God...truly, a cut above the rest." From inside the hidden halls of Divine Radiance, a wheel-chaired man murmurs in wonder after catching a faint image of the void-shattering god. A yellow body, painted in a godly aura, with but a thought, traversed the entire empire. The crippled man, at seeing the figure himself, was certain of the reason why they were able to reach the divine realm.

Titled God - many had tried and few has ever achieved such an altitude. These divine existences were the shining stars of a generation, filling the pages with their legends. Individuals capable of battling against Immortal Sages and holding their ground before the might of an invincible Pokemon Master. The man in the hidden hall wanted to see what feats ascended them into godhood, especially the person he saw, remembering on the tales in the great library.

"Lang and the Lightning Clap."

"..."

The man, at the instance of hearing that sweet yet annoyed voice, felt chills crawling up his spines. His mind shut so tightly that he nearly passed out when all the air left him.

"It should have been really important for you to search for, right?"

"..."

"~I mean, it must have been if you decided to leave your fiance with a pack of wolves~."

As he turns towards the door, a book along with an argent woman was presented before him. The man's eyes reflected the illustration of the back of an Electivire with strange markings, but that was just a fleeing glance of what the man actually saw.

"I am sorry!" was what he wanted to say, however, due to their certain history, his body thought differently.

"DEVIL!" The man screams while trying to roll away.

"~Hold it right there, dear!" The woman said in angelic joy before starting her chase as she tossed the book to a nearby desk, revealing a certain bookmarked page with the transcribed words -

God Emperor Lang.

In waking seconds, the world was in upheaval of the collision between the deity beast and the Titled God.

While the fairies and nymphs were scared into hiding by Cradalis, they gathered for the God Emperor, dancing in joy at his arrival and singing hymns at his resurgence. His every movement caused the air to vibrate as if the world could barely contain the power of a god.

"Descendants of the generation, all of you have done a splendid job but let this old soul finish it...isn't that right, Lian!", the congregation of a generation gently speaks as he looked towards the deity beast. The three battered trainers and their Pokemon nodded to the old god and retreated to where they came from, seeing how they were out of place for this divine confrontation.

"HahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahAHHAHAHAhahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHa!", a violent laughter came from deep inside Cradalis when its forehead started to twist and turn again.

And bursting out was the human form of Lian once again, seeing as how he was one with the deity beast, the top half that was deep within the heart of the mountain was merely a vessel that could be regenerated indefinitely.

"Old friend, it seems your greetings are still as heartfelt as ever. I trust that you have already formed your final fate palace, no?", Lian spoke in a moderate manner compared with his usual demeanor. He appeared rather genuine towards someone he knows, especially their generation's god.

God Emperor Lang solemnly looked at the current state of the mad sage before asking, "To go so far...are you really the Lian that I fought from that time?"

"What do you mean, Lang? Don't tell me thAT YOU ARE HERE TO STOP ME FROM FULFILLING MY DESTINY AS WELL?!", Lain's chaotic face returned, as his eyes were burning with an immense desire for destruction.

The God Emperor did not respond to his question, only glaring him down from the distance.

He could not see any semblance from the current Lian and the one from his memory. Long ago, as far as he could remember, Lang saw a man burning with determination to reach the peak. An adolescence that could go toe-to-toe with him at every turn, clashing with great intensity and turning it into a lifetime of camaraderie. He was an individual with a great sense of duty, where even Lord Rayquaza once spoke in great volumes...however, the current form was just a desperate idiot that could not let go of his aspirations.

Bizz! Bizz! Bizz!

Lightning coursed through the arms of the Titled God, as he readies to take action once more, seeing that there wasn't any more point in conversing with an idiot.

"With the help of Cradalis, I will ascend up to the peak. Immortal ascension is MINE!", the eyes of Lian ignited at those words, converging the entire universe towards him.

Eternity Returns to Zero!

Heavenly magic evolved, as universal laws collapsed under the might of the Ninth True Mantra. The myriad heavens erupted in radiance with the coming of the gods and immortals. The demon kings and godfiends came up from hell, drenching the world in their chaotic principles. All of them waited behind the mad sage, while the man in question laughed maniacally.

"Can this mantra even exist in this world?", a peerless generation questioned in shock, as even he, an individual said to be at the height of human attainment, could not discern the nature of this eternal mantra.

It was not just him, but the entire world was shaken by this reveal. Ancient Pokemon deities and legends were awoken from their long slumber by this sudden madness, while heavens-suppressing generations locked onto the Nether Star Region after seeing an unbelievable scene.

"Big Sis, should you not take a look at this? I believe that even Lang would find it difficult to face off against two great forces alone." In the dark shadow of the Halls of Origins, a supreme flood dragon said while gazing in the direction of the Northern Lands. The shadowy figure of a dragon emitted an indomitable feeling as if he alone was invincible atop myriad existences.

After hearing the flood dragon speak, a woman of perfect stature opened her eyes from meditation, scattering a heavenly aura in numerous directions.

She took a few glances in the direction of the Northern Lands before saying in an arrogant tone, "Two great forces? Where are you seeing this from? That pathetic creature could barely think straight let alone have the ability to reach the ninth mantra."

Even though the world was trembling in the wake of the Ninth True Mantra, she did not give it any significance.

"A mantra without substance is worse than trash...Little Lang would do just fine. Rather, why are you not training with the others?", the woman, who appears to be the older one, said to the dragon.

The flood dragon felt a chill going down his spine when he saw his sister's dubious look.

"I'll go to them, Lord Sister.", the frightened dragon hid his tail, mentally understanding the command of this peerless woman.

In the hall where the blood immortal forged creation and gave birth to the ten thousand streams of life. A very ancient being resided in the center, watching the world with her starry, yellow eyes. Her yellow-hair was tied up in a ponytail, as she was dressed in golden robes from the times of Pokemon Master Red. She had an adorable face that seemed to have not aged with time, forever young.

"Although he has reached the ninth mantra, it has no substance...substance but no form. One could say that he had only superficially reached the ninth mantra with incompatible help."

A tiny voice came out from the young child besides the ancient being, holding onto her sleeves, the young child's eyes extended towards infinity.

The golden robed woman smiles and gently rubbed the young child's hair, whispering some inaudible words.

"Come, Lang! And show me the might of a go-"

Bam! Boom!

Before the mad sage was able to finish, Lang took action with a Thunder Punch. The force of impact crushed the interiors of the deity beast, as the entire body was sent crashing into the mountains. What was left in front of Lang was a clear path void of any obstacles, only the soft ground remained.

"DIE!"

Without any warning, a monstrosity appeared behind the back of the god, casting a shadow under the god's radiance. The being looked like the crazed sage, however, it was much larger and more muscular than an average Lian. It was simply a beast in human skin. Lian had completely assimilated with Cradalis, allowing him to revert his entire body back to normal with some deformities, of course.

Lian sought to bring his two fists together, wanting to crush the Titled God between them.

Boom! Rumble!

In the instance the two fists were about to collide with Lang, the God Emperor repelled it with his own hands, causing everything around him to break, as the air exploded inwards.

Lian lost his monumental for a second, which Lang took advantage of by lowering his stance for a jab, turning around, delivered a devastating blow to Lian's monstrous chest.

"UGhhhhhAAAAAAA-"

Crush!

The God Emperor, in the blink of an eye, effortlessly shut Lian's mouth with a kick when he wanted to use a Hyper Beam. And before the mad sage had even a moment to think afterwards, Lang strikes diagonally with another Thunder Punch, sending lightning in whichever way while the crazed beast was struck to the ground with enormous force. The ground shook to the extreme, causing everything to collapse inwards around the two.

"You have already lost your chance during our generation...you have no right to ascend.", God Emperor Lang declared without any hesitation, since it was the truth, striking again with Focus Blast.

Streams of yellow lights gathered around the stretched palm of the Titled God as a blue orb of supreme energy, several times larger than the God Emperor, manifested above the sky and descended upon the battlefield.

BOOOOMMMMM!

A blue explosion enveloped the area, along with Lian and Lang, creating violent winds that crushed anything lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the battle.

After the dust cleared, a massive crater could be seen from kilometers away of the poisonous domain. Inside the crater, the God Emperor towers over the unmoving deity beast, causing electric spikes to course through the air as he begins to unshackle himself. His potential was finally stable enough to maintain his current form on the planet.

Twitch!

Lian's body abruptly twitched.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

His body emits a cracking noise, while his head slowly twists to face his enemy.

"EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT INDEED!" After those words, the mad sage suddenly pushed his body up from the ground, twisting his head back to face the Titled God. His enormous body overshadows Lang as the god's eyes were forced to look up at Lian's face while the former attempts to do the same, but his pupils were constantly twitching all over the place.

"Mad...Lian, you should have given up on that dream of yours when our generation ended...You cannot ascend.", the God Emperor said in a stern tone. He knows, everyone in the latter generations knows -

Wise Sage Lian can never ascend in this life.

He was destined to forever remain on the third rank with little chance to ever climb the world ladder again. This was truth.

But the sage could not accept the reality pushed upon him. He was one of the greatest talents to ever walk the earth after the invincible Pokemon Master Red. He reached the fabled realm of eternity that was considered to be a myth in the current era. While the other sages and gods were only able to receive a single drop of divine blood, he was able to obtain an entire body. And as long as that goddess does not leave the Halls of Origins, Lian believes that there was no one else he dares not to fight.

So, why can't I ASCEND?!

In that distant generation, the young Lian was thought to be unbeatable beneath the second rank. His comprehension of the mantras was sky-high, while his partner was able to discover the next stage in his evolution, uplifting him to the ranks of the few. And yet, the sage failed to be declared invincible and made peerless before the age of 20.

Because of that fact alone, the rest of his achievements in his older years couldn't be attributed to his dream - no matter how hard he tries.

"Why can't I, Lang?" Lain asked the same question as he did many moons ago. The worries of the people, the pains of the planet, the sacrifices of their forefathers, Lian's wish was very simple - it has always been simple.

"I toiled away under the harshest climates, crossed the numerous Fate Calamities, and debated the world's truth with the highest beings on this planet. My achievements are not lesser to any - not Annihilation Day, not Brilliant Day, and not even to the master of the red hall." The sage's face contorted in agony the longer he speaks. He wore his desires with a sense of deep admiration and pride. This was something the world could not take away from him and his old rival knew that very well.

"So...Lang, tell me...why? WHY DOES EVERYONE SAY THAT I CANNOT ASCEND?!" Lian's simple question echoed throughout the entire region and into the ears of the four lands.

BIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

"I will not be denied my DESTINY!"

The sage reached towards the heavens with his hands, bringing the entire expanse of the sky to a collapsing halt. A radiant sword materialized in the sage's palms as his eyes focused in on the God Emperor with a murderous glint.

And the God Emperor returns his stare with a godly aura suppressing the entire domain, forcing all of its inhabitants to kneel in submission.

BIZ!

BIZ!

CRASH!

The sage and god delivered an attack towards one another with astonishing power. The God Emperor's Thunder Punch met Lian's sword to a screeching draw. Their attacks vibrated the earth beneath them with the crackling air busting around the duo.

"Argghhh!"

The God Emperor pushed with unstoppable momentum. In just a fraction of a second, behind Lang, four grand palaces flashed into existence, colliding with the godfiends and immortals of eternity.

Crush! Crush! Crush! Crush!

Four palaces smashed away eternity as Lian was forced back several meters in their exchange.

Once more, after the sage was able to stabilized himself again, his eyes wandered onto the golden palaces displayed behind his old rival.

"One palace to ignite the pathway and four to unite the ascension. You truly are incredible." Lian recited the words of a bygone ancient age as he reminisced about the days he and Lang researched the means to ascending.

"ARGH!" Lian started to attack again with his radiant sword, everlastingness was the notion behind his strikes. He could break mountains and split the continents, but his greatest enemy remained motionless. His eyes diluted as his blood was feeling the drive once again.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Strike after strike, the beast and god leveled the poisonous domain to the ground. Even the people in the surrounding regions were feeling the tremors and ceaseless flow of divine power pushing everything away.

Lian wishes for a weapon to slay the gods and the deity beast grants it.

BOOM!

Lang grants the power to save the world and it reciprocates those feelings.

BOOM!

Lian desires for a body impervious to attacks and the deity beast grants it.

BOOM!

Lang delivers the blow that rends the eternity and it recedes.

BOOM!

Lian wants for fists strong enough to break the heavens and the deity beast grants it.

BOOM!

Lang bestows the shield that blocks all things and it cannot be deny.

BOOM!

"Why can't you just die ALREADY?!" The mad sage grows tiresome as the battle prolongs. No matter what angle or method he uses, the God Emperor will not let up in matching his strikes. The sword strikes were not penetrating, the Hyper Beams were not destructive, the smashes were not hard...NOTHING WAS WORKING!

BOOM!

And with each clash, it seems that he was the one being pushed back. Each blow dealt on the sage's body were accumulating, seemingly ceaseless as the god's attacks.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Lian was frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrated.

BOOM!

Frustrate-BOOMMMMMMMM!

The God Emperor delivered a devastating Thunder Punch to the sage's enormous body, pushing him into the distance.

DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!

The mad sage fumbled inside his mind as he tries to regain control of his body, but after coming to a full stop, Lian saw his mistake.

"DAMN IT ALL!" The crazed sage lividly tries to cover the distance made from the aftermath, still it was not enough.

In the instance Lian realized the problem, the God Emperor moved, electricity coursing through his hands.

CLAP.

"NOO-"

Silence.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

The sage's body was ripped apart along the collarbone; Lian blacked out.

Simple was the motion of Lang bringing his two hands together, everything moved along with his hands, closing on the figure of the mad sage's crazed expression. A sharp sound pierced creation and destabilized the fabric of reality. The heavens-defying feat that made Lang ascend to godhood.

The godly 'Lightning Clap'. A move Lang and Electivire developed during their prime.

The green serpent dedicated to a single goal.

The colossus moving earth.

The leviathan of ancient years.

Even if it was for just a single moment, Electivire was able to incapacitated all three legends at once, earning the praise of a generation and the acknowledgement of ascension. And his unity with his four fate palaces had only strengthen its prowess.

Lang won.

Lian lost.

The mighty sage was rendered into a disgrace by Lang's ascension-building move. He laid in utter defeat. Heaven and earth became bleak in his eyes - forever lost in lust.

Had it been any other time, the sage would've gladly accepted defeat under such a peerless move, even the divine deities couldn't escape the all-encompassing strike...but this was not like any other time.

This was Lian's last chance at immortal ascension.

Allow me to help you...Lian.

But he had lost and not in a graceful manner either. He was defeated by an individual whom he was to rival after ascension. This defeat blew away the last remnants of his dreams.

He was not to ascend.

I will be your power.

The world he and Lang strove towards...well, only one of them ever reached it. The sage, after so many years, felt utterly helpless.

Become my construct.

For his everlasting goal, Lian would do anything.

Let my strength flow through your veins.

And thus, Lian accepted the contract with the deity...Immortal Ascension awaits.

The defeated sage's divine conscious trembled at his foreboding destiny.

He wanted to struggle and struggle some more he did.

Godly magic erupted out from the sage's body with unstoppable momentum, pushing all universal laws towards the ends of the world. Heaven and earth evolved as an endless amount of blood energy emerged from the depths of Lian's true fate - ancient in essence and divine in color. The wild sage's wounds began to heal, closing up the gap made by the Titled God.

Within moments, the sage opened his ey-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM!

Before Lian could even see anything, Lang's Lightning Clap descended again as the world quivers under his strike.

Rumble!

Sacred Nether quaked under the sudden burst of energy that reached the myriad realms.

Since its inception, the magnanimous spirits have always supported the composition of the region's reality, however, on this day, everything broke. Under the god's attack, the fairies ran, the sky cracked, the earth ruptured, and the heavens bled.

Luckily for the citizens, the Heavenly Enchantress predicted that the region wouldn't hold out in the aftermath, so she gave orders to the world palace to evacuate the populace.

Anyone that wished to stay became history from Lang's ascension-building move.

Sacred Nether was no more.

The god-incarnate was anger.

Even after being tempered for nearly 30,000 years, the God Emperor's rage still soared as high as the heavens.

Lang's first clap represented respect towards his old friend and rival. If Lian was fated to fall, then Lang wanted his rival to disappear from this world with pride. He couldn't ask the world for his pardon, but he would let everyone remember who the mad sage fell to - the apex of the world. Lang's second clap represented anything but respect.

The first clap was the congregation of everything he learned through the years.

The second clap was the raw and unchained fury of an individual who was at the peak of the Ancestor stage!

When the Titled God sensed the changes happening to the unconscious Lian, he grew in rage and proceeded to strike.

Mere seconds after his Lightning Clap, Lang moved back his right hand in a throwing position. Electricity courses throughout his body as the god concentrated it into a physical form.

BIZ! BIZ! BIZ!

An incandescent spear emerged in his hand, crackling from receiving its divine power.

"Argh!" Lang grunted before throwing the newly made spear towards Lian.

The throw was fast with the spear searing everything in its wake. The world vibrated through the god's attack, piercing heaven and hell in a single thrust. There was nothing in its way that could even slow down its velocity in the slightest. The ground melted and the surrounding burned from the fallout. Its electric radiance could be heard as rumbling boulders.

BOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!

When the spear collided with its target, the entire upper half of the continent rumbled. Sacred Nether was enveloped in a massive dust cloud from the ensuing burst. Brown particles danced across the destroyed region, suffocating everything that could still be alive after the spear's impact.

BIZZ! BIZZ! BIZZ! BIZ!

An electric discordance vibrated the earth and sky, shaking the region and the grand palaces floating in heaven.

The god's expression darkened at hearing the sparks. Although the dust permeated throughout the region, Lang could tell that something halted his god-slaying spear.

"You cannot deny my destiny." "You cannot deny my destiny."

After the spear was stopped, a terrifying voice echoed across the sky as the figure of the monstrous Lian could be seen alive and standing. His right hand grasped onto the head of the divine spear, keeping it from moving. The spear violently stretched into many shapes and forms, seemingly desperate in its attempt to move, but Lian's stance remained firm. No signs of the sage's trademark insanity could be seen from his solemn expression.

The sage's blood-shot eyes instantiated true fear in gods and demons alike, causing even the four fate palaces behind the God Emperor to quiver. An endless torrents of divine strength continually burst out from his body as it crazily pushed the heaven and earth away in its flood.

Lian appeared naturally ancient and divine. His every movement seemed to contain era-destroying strength.

CRUSH!

With a single grip of his hand, the mad sage easily shattered Lang's spear as he had lost interest in the spear's sudden construction. The fragments slowly vanished into the air, scattering its electricity across the expansive sky.

Lang's spear contained god-slaying momentum, and yet, it was so easily shattered. Those brilliant figures who could catch a glimpse of the vertical spear felt even more unnerved than before.

It was one of the many moves that Lang developed during his time as a god for slaughtering those at or even above his level. Although Lang's god-slaying arsenal lacked the proper foundation of an ascension-building strike, they are still moves created after the ascension. But as if it was just a mere toy, even the full wrath of an enraged god crumbled under Lian's hands.

"Tell me…", Lang's remark got the attention of Lian's vacant eyes, which the then god inquires on his curiosity, "...where was it? The Endless Bone Ridge? The High Heaven's Estate? Or was it the hidden fairy lands in Greater Galar?" The god earnestly inquired on a question he had never been able to solve even after so many years. Lang's godly aura slowly whirled throughout the domain, crashing directly with the true divinity of the elapsing Nine Worlds.

He wanted an answer more than anything else.

The sage, seeing the infinite blossom of rage emerging within the Titled God, responds, "None."

"You may have calculated correctly where my remains scattered after my defeat, but I made contact with Lian long before his ventures...long before his eyes unfurled on this world."

"When you met him, your friend was already my vessel." The sage finished as his words echoed resoundingly inside the god's head. They bounced back and forth within his divine consciousness.

"I see now...no wonder I felt so helpless back then." The god lamented his thoughts to creation.

"No matter how many times I divined his fate...I couldn't reverse it."

"I see now..." The god remarked aimlessly as his voice carried hints of tiredness and relief at the revelation. He wanted confirmation. The truth that could solve the knot in his heart from all those years ago.

"You will die." Lang nonchalantly announced.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

And just like that, the four grand palaces collapsed under his declaration. Golden walls and towers crumbled before his divinity, falling to earth and disappearing from reality. Entire oceans of divine energy poured out from the ruined palaces, flooding the Titled God with an endless stream of power.

One palace to ignite the pathway, four to unite the ascension, and zero to write the beginnings.

In his eyes, the immortals and demons boiled under the scorching heat of his divine strength. His chaotic and godly blood energy tumbled across the eight desolates, destroying everything in the god storm. The remnants of the region: the unfortunate bodies and the ruined cities were swept away. He has returned to the height of his glory - the peak of godhood.

The last connection to his generation finally dissipated.

"Truly astounding...", the deity beast praised as a witness to Lang's divinity, contemplating for a split-second before responding, "...although I would wish to depart from this world after my long hibernation...your wish…and Lian's wish..."

"I shall grant them."

In an instant, the strange phenomenons of the Nine Worlds manifested upon the starry sky. Illusionary islands of various sizes emerged with the ushering of the dream. All of the three thousand worlds surged divine power across in shining brilliance. The infinite galaxy dominated in between heaven and earth, pulling everything towards its universal center. As the true deities and demon kings ascended into higher planes.

Two divinities clashed against one another at the center of the cosmos.

All in the Northern Lands felt unnerved by the sudden and immediate change. The land beneath their feet just couldn't stop trembling. With each passing second, the shaking just becomes greater and greater as the sounds of shock-waves and rumbling seemed to never end. The people even believed the Northern Lands was about to split open if it were to continue.

No matter where they were, be it their houses or shelters deep underground, the inhabitants of the north saw the land shake before their very eyes.

The mountains' occasional jumps.

The clouds' erosion into the distance.

The oceans and seas marching inwards at astonishing rates.

Divine Radiance, Eternal War Temple, Nine Heavens Monastery, and even the Blossoming Pavilion felt their very foundation coming undone.

Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!

Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!

From the highest peak of Divinity Mountain to the simple region of Salandria, all the people and Pokemon saw the gathering of a golden storm, circling the inners of Sacred Nether in a frenzy.

The entire north...no the entire world felt the pulsing of their wills - the beat of a god.

Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!

"I take a step and dream of a thousand more."

"I take a step and enter the dream."

Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum! Hum!

Step-dream!

Their words reverberated across the four lands and the ancient earths, letting them know that the impossible became possible and the possible became certain. Their very presence gestated changes in the fundamental forces of nature. And in an instant, heaven and earth switched. The domain evolved as space distorted across the remnants of Sacred Nether. Nebulous of stars and behemoth islands of gods manifested upon reality as space slowly imploded in on itself.

Hum! Hum! Hum! HUm! HUm! HUm! HUm! Hum! Hum! HUM!

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The gateway opened.

From the skies, the region appeared to reside within a pocket dimension where its exterior outlines broke with normal conventions; the representation of a circled part of a map bring extruded into the third dimension.

Sacred Nether was replaced - shifted to another planetary system as the plane of ruinous logic locked its coordinates to the region's former position. The battlefield was changed...no it evolved to suit the current scale. Immense powers that the world originally would have troubled to support was no longer an issue. Within this illogical realm between heaven and earth, anything was in reach. It was a realm where all descriptors of the mantras was not an illusion but of definite truth. Myriad islands afloat with golden immortals dreaming of the vast expanse.

Regular humans close enough to the region could see the entirety of the insanity. They saw what was always told in the books and fairy tales of old. Divine spirits and heavenly angels traversing the stars with gleam. Giants pushing planets like boulders for enormous distances. There were even fell creatures that painted the starways red with their blood-trenched bodies.

It was terrible.

It was incredible.

It was heaven.

It was hell.

It was anything of the imagination.

Step-dream has occurred.

And it was exactly the result that the god and deity beast wanted. A plane where immortals could be killed and gods could be striped of their divinity.

The cosmic beat of heavenly road was set in tune with Lang and Cradalis...and the emperor made the first move.

The god's eyes glowed in resplendence as he stretched his right arm back with his hand ready to grasp all things. The etched markings on his body started to glow red.

CRASH!

A deafening explosion erupted near the god's hand as a blood-red spear appeared to his side. And it was at this point that everything became silent. The humans looked away from the ensuring battle while the ruinous plane turned their attention towards the sound of the spear...and even they felt fear at the spear's construction. An electric, dripping weapon from the very heart of the blood immortal. Glazing upon its very body erected images of trillions of bones being pile on top of one another as the spear drenched the world in red. Its mere presence emitted chaotic intents and murderous screams of death. The otherworldly beings, especially, were frightened at the prospect of becoming undone by just a mere swing of that hateful weapon.

"The immortal war...how I longed to see those moments for myself." Cradalis regretfully responded to seeing the blood spear. Bathed in the essence of the blood immortal and the blood of trillions, the spear was one of dreadful design. The progenitor knew of its terrible tales.