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Verse and Dimensions: Stories
Pi
Pi was an Aspect Lord that once resided among the inhabitants of the Whateverse, before ultimately becoming a worshiper of Najha-tebah and The External Hazard. As the self-proclaimed "champion" of Najha-Tebah, Pi believes that it is his divine duty to enact its will, and spread the influence of the Hazard all throughout The Barrelplex.
History
Early Nonexistence
In the “beginning” (if such a chronologically linear term were applicable), Pi was the pure concept of Subjugation. This concept, and infinitely many others, did not Exist, instead residing in the state of Nonexistence. As a natural progression, similarly-formed concepts attracted each-other, clustering into larger conceptual spheres. The operator of the sphere in which Subjugation resided was the concept of Leadership. Leadership initially had difficulty in regulating the conceptual sphere, so Subjugation suggested revoking the free will of all the contained concepts. Leadership was inclined to agree, although Subjugation may have partially manipulated it in a certain capacity. There was a strong conceptual magnetism between Subjugation and Leadership, which resultantly transpired into a close relationship. This relationship elevated Subjugation's status within the conceptual sphere. It served as the sphere's secondary operator, entailing that it only answered to Leadership itself. By proxy, Subjugation gained significant influence over the sphere, allowing it to more proficiently perform its sole function – subjugate.
Whateverse and the War with the Hazard
A point came in which Leadership resolved to transfer the entire conceptual sphere into a certain Archverse, for the purpose of combating a threat which had arisen there called the External Hazard, and by proxy gaining greater influence.
Subjugation was weary of such a prospect. As Nonexistent concepts, the potential and capability for what they could accomplish was limitless. Interacting with this archverse and intervening in its affairs would transform them into Aspect Lords, severely lessening and simplifying them. By incarnating, labels and definitions were applicable, and as such were limiting. Furthermore, Subjugation opposed involving itself in struggles underneath them, much less those that it had no investment in. However, loyal to Leadership, Subjugation ultimately followed along with the other concepts and accepted this new role – not that it had a choice. Upon entering the archverse, all the members of the group compressed themselves into simplistic comprehensible forms in order to be compatible with Whateverse, thus becoming the group of Aspect Lords known as Dragons. Leadership became the Dragon known as Mu, while Subjugation became the Dragon known as Pi.
The Dragons performed a significant role in combating the first wave of the Hazard, destroying Seeds and Servitors alike with their Flames. The Dragons' Flames were in fact the most effective and efficient method for disposing of the Hazard.
Immediately following their first conflict with the External Hazard, Pi began to feel a strange sensation. It was something which he had never experienced before – unknown, yet strangely familiar. It was a stirring, as if something long-dormant was starting to awaken within him. Pi initially attempted to dismiss this building sensation and proceed with his standard functions, but it became increasingly difficult. He eventually began to sense subtle ideas and suggestions within his own mind, telling him he was entitled to a much greater status than what he currently had, and that he was yet to tap into the true potential of what he could accomplish. It was as if he had a higher purpose, a duty to fulfill. It was difficult for Pi to fully comprehend it, but he felt…called upon. He felt important and needed in a way which not even Mu could have done. However, fearing ridicule or concern, Pi never informed anyone of this and kept everything to himself.
After Apex permitted free will within Whateverse, Mu was ultimately "forced" to follow suit by popular opinion so as to prevent outrage, and so he too granted free will to all the Dragons. While many of the Dragons were pleased with this change, Pi was not. In fact, he was the least pleased. Pi was the closest Dragon to Mu, which had given him a greater level of influence over all the others. Although he could not have resisted the commands of his master, subservient Dragons could not resist Pi's own commands either. However, since free will had now been granted, all of the supposed loyalty professed to Pi by the other Dragons suddenly seemed worthless, and that the only thing which made the Dragons follow Pi was their lack of free will. In actuality, this was the truth. Embodying Subjugation, Pi was extremely volatile and coarse, and practically no being would ever desire to willingly follow him.
The beginnings of a deep-seated/seeded resentment germinated within Pi. He initially had doubts about Mu’s plan to migrate into Whateverse, but he wanted to believe him. Now, they were all stranded, bound to definition and forced to participate in the whimsical songs and dances of insignificant specks. Even worse, they had seemingly failed in the task they originally came to Whateverse for. His pride was severely degraded, as the voices inside him started rising – and he began listening more closely.
It was near this period that an adversary known as The New God emerged, beginning to wage war against all of Whateverse by weaponizing the External Hazard. This was the worst possible metatime for Apex and the Dragons to be divided amongst themselves, so Mu made another announcement. Essentially, he proclaimed that even with free will, the Dragons were still expected to follow his rules, and if they did not like it then they were more than free to leave. Upon this offer being presented, Pi begrudgingly left the group abruptly. He may have felt humiliated by the lack of loyalty the other Dragons had towards him, and it was even more awkward that Pi was the only one to leave. However, that was not his true motive. In reality, Pi wished to align himself with the New God. After extended periods of meditating upon his inner voice, Pi concluded that the source of the External Hazard, a being known as Najha-Tebah, was a divine force, and that Pi himself was specially chosen to enact Najha-Tebah’s will as a holy warrior. Pi believed that his divine intuition was guiding him towards the New God as a trainer and mentor to help lead him closer to his ultimate destiny. Now that free will had been granted to him, he could finally follow the path which he believed was laid out for him. He told the others that he was going off "in search of answers" – not necessarily a lie – before departing.
Joining The New God
The -verse from which the New God operated was very well-hidden. After thoroughly searching Whateverse, Pi finally located the New God. Upon arriving in the domain, the New God and his forces mistook Pi to have been sent by the other Dragons to attack at first, and so he engaged in combat with him. However, Pi evaded major conflict by explaining the reason for his presence and clarifying his intentions. After hearing Pi's explanation, the New God paused for a metamoment, as if contemplating something. Then, he optimistically told Pi that he would be willing to take him in to teach him the ways of enacting the will of Najha-Tebah, and pleasing their lord.
From that point, the New God trained Pi in manipulating and controlling the External Hazard to yield specific results. As metatime passed, Pi discovered that he was highly skilled in manipulating the Hazard, almost innately as if he were attuned to it. He was even able to cultivate Hazard seeds en masse in "gardens". From then on, most of the New God's Hazard seeds were modified and mass-produced with Pi's techniques, even inventing experimental seeds that didn't naturally occur.
As the result of Pi's rapidly increasing renown and reputation, he quickly rose to become the New God's second-in-command. By this point, Pi was absolutely immersed in his ideals and beliefs, and professed unwavering loyalty to the New God and Najha-tebah. As a demonstration of this, Pi decided to embark on a "holy pilgrimage" as he wandered Whateverse, searching for a place of power where he could be as close as possible to his lord.
Eventually, after traveling through the deep void of a ω·4 -verse, Pi felt himself drawn to something at its very center. It was a dark churning pool of a logical plasma substance, the pure essence of the External Hazard. Some mortals may have crudely labeled this substance as “nightmare liquid” or even “pain juice”, but Pi perceived it as a divine nectar. He could feel the pool itself calling out to him, inviting him to enter it and rest for only a metamoment. Pi approached the pool, and interacted with a small portion of it. After absorbing some of the substance, it rapidly devolved into savagely consuming it, as if he had the mortal needs of hunger and thirst. Then, Pi fully submerged his entire avatar in the substance. The feeling was akin to a rite of passage. Pi felt the liquid detoxifying and cleansing him of his past sins and ignorance, illuminating him with the very enlightenment of Najha-tebah itself. When the experience concluded, he emerged from the pool as an entirely different being. His power was increased exponentially, though at the cost of malforming his avatar with grotesque mutations – but he considered this only a small price to pay.
Upon returning to The New God, even he was shocked by Pi’s transformation, though also impressed by the extent of his commitment to the cause. For his first assignment in this new era of his existence, the New God commanded Pi to perform the ultimate act of loyalty: exterminating his own kin. The Dragons' Flames posed a threat to the spread of the Hazard, and so all Dragons aligned with Apex had to be killed.
Pi was initially hesitant to accept this mission. Then he quickly remembered how the others ridiculed and disrespected him, and did not even care when he left. It was a most egregious insult to him. Although many would claim that his infection by the Hazard likely amplified and distorted his“delusions”, Pi believed that he in fact was finally perceiving reality for what it truly was. And so he obliged The New God, setting off to accomplish his task.
Eventually, Pi finally arrived at Whateverse’s capital, shocking all that bore witness to his new form. While many of Pi’s former acquaintances cringed in disgust at the display, Pi claimed that he had in fact evolved into the best version of himself, as he proceeded to massacre the Dragons and wreak havoc. Pi lost himself in his destructive mania, and practically none of the other Dragons could last in a battle. Mu, the one which was most capable of defeating Pi, instead fled like a coward, which greatly amused Pi. The Transcendent Deities were made quick work of as well, barely able to even defend themselves. When least expected, another figure appeared, boldly challenging Pi. This being seemed to be a “knight” of sorts. Pi had only met the knight once before, when he had first arrived to Whateverse to begin training to become a Transcendent Deity. Like with all mortals, Pi viewed him as insignificant and incompetent. Besides that, he had only learned some details about the being based on what the New God had told him, and from that information he was made out to be an enormous jerk. It mattered not however, Pi intended to kill him all the same just as with the rest of the fodder. He and the knight dueled viciously, “claw” clashing against “blade” and thought clashing against form. Despite the knight’s resolve and determination, it was for naught against Pi, which eventually overpowered and befell the knight. With the knight out of his way, PI resumed his genocide of the Dragons. Carnage of the most brutal nature continued ensuing, until two Dragons named Alpha and Omega confronted him.
Pi sneered as he was about to fight and kill them in what he perceived to be an unfair battle, but then the unexpected occured. In their unity, Alpha and Omega merged into a single Dragon, Alphamega, and charged towards Pi, igniting their Dragon Spark and detonating an explosion. Pi was completely caught off guard, swept up by surprise and confusion in the fleeting metamoments that the explosion consumed him. Dragons weren't supposed to do this, he thought. They were all supposed to be too proud, too stubborn, too arrogant to die. They would rather die gloriously in battle than to charge towards it deliberately. But these two, they were not like Pi, or like how Pi perceived the rest of the Dragons. They were pure, and willing to sacrifice themselves to stop him. The blast blinded Pi, and also crippled and weakened him.
As Alphamega collapsed, their essence interacted with the battered and unconscious but still-living form of the knight. Whatever power may have been in the essence instantly healed the knight, reinvigorating him and greatly boosting his power. With Pi weakened and the knight empowered, the scales of favor were now level between them. The knight more than proved himself in battle, as he quickly defeated Pi and impaled him. Before the knight could finish him off however, Pi was able to teleport himself away and to safety.
The Defeat of The New God – and the Rise of Pi
When Pi returned to the New God, he relayed to him all that had happened on his mission – even the embarrassing details. The New God was disappointed and angered with Pi for not only failing his initial task (23 dragons besides himself still remained), but more-so for falling before The Knight. Thus, Pi was effectively suspended for the rest of the war, due to both the injuries he received as well as not proving his competency to the New God.
All of the damage that had been sustained to Pi's avatar thus forced him to assume a lesser, anthropomorphic form in his more vulnerable state.
Although he may have not been able to participate in any more action, Pi now had much metatime to plan and reflect. And that he did much of. The first of Pi's epiphanies was that his recklessness and impulsivity nearly led to his destruction, by a being who seemed least deserving of the accomplishment. Worse, his avatar was now blocked from fully entering any -verse below Whateverse as the result of his crippled state. Due to this, he realized that it would be safer to devise a long-term strategy with the end goal in mind, enacting his plans from afar by subtly manipulating events and influencing cosmic politics.
Pi's second realization was that the New God was disingenuous in his claims to serve Najha-Tebah. It became apparent to him after re-evaluating many of their interactions that the New God was taking advantage of him, and playing on Pi's beliefs to achieve his own selfish ends. Although he was infuriated by this blasphemer, Pi knew that he could not simply attempt to overthrow the New God – he had already learned a difficult lesson about spontaneity. Rather, Pi would have to silently and patiently await the perfect opportunity.
That opportunity arrived sooner than Pi expected, at the end of the New God’s campaign. After dealing a significant blow to Apex’s forces by killing The Interpreter, the New God perceived this as the perfect chance to seal his plan. He attempted to enact a ritual in which he would ascend into nonexistence, drawing upon the belief and support of all his subjects. However, what the New God failed to consider was the fact that none of his people were truly loyal to him. He was an even more disliked leader than Pi had been to the dragons, and the only thing binding them all under the servitude of the New God was Pi’s yellow flame. The only being who had actually genuinely liked and was loyal to the New God was Pi himself, though that had already been long-ruined. And so, the ascension ritual went horribly wrong, with the New God trapping himself in Nonexistence.
Pi wasn't present to witness this, but he nonetheless observed it with his Omniscience. And when he did, he smugly basked in vindication. Pi perceived this unfortunate event to have been a divine punishment delivered to The New God by Najha-Tebah for his unworthiness of being a servant and for making a mockery of him. Now with the New God out of the way, his entire empire was left behind. Pi, which was the second-in-command, was naturally and rightfully entitled to inherit it, and continue the New God’s work in the way that Najha-Tebah truly intended. With the New God’s entire empire now in Pi’s possession, he knew that being too public in his plans would topple everything, and that the manner in which he conducted his work should be much more subtle and discreet. This allowed for Pi to infiltrate many parts of Whateverse over the course of Metatime. There were of course some threats which still remained, such as the remaining Dragons, The Knight and Apex, but all of these beings had no capability or willingness to confront him, and so he did not pay mind to any of them.
Up to present, Pi has dutifully carried out his given “missions” to spread the External Hazard – and with it, the influence of both himself and Najha-Tebah – all throughout Whateverse, creating and siring many villains and monstrosities of his own in the process. Although Pi has never directly interacted with Najha-Tebah, he knows, in his heart of hearts, that when his work is done, he shall ascend his former state and possibly beyond, and be directly rewarded by Najha-Tebah for his duties.
But his work is yet incomplete. Everything that Pi has done as part of his plan over the course of Cosmological history is soon to finally come to a head, as the final phase of his plan nears ever closer. There is a dark storm starting to gather…and Pi is bringing The Thunder.
Powers/Abilities/Resources
Pi owns and cultivates somewhat of a "garden" of Hazard seeds, both of the normal variety and experimental anomalous ones. He stockpiles and harvests these seeds for the purpose of spreading influence and amassing an army. Like how a gardener would breed generations of plants to yield specific desired properties, the seeds cultivated by Pi have been bred, altered and customized over time to serve specialized purposes.
Pi also owns great chalices filled with the burning Flames taken from his former fellow Dragons. He also has his own Flame, the Yellow Flame, which subjugates targets to his own will. With these flames in his possession, Pi can manipulate, direct and command the flames and their power with great skill and effectiveness.
Pi's presence is often signified to lesser beings by a disembodied voice rather than a visual appearance. And when he speaks, the sheer insanity of his voice is often enough to outright destroy those who hear it.
The Knight
The Knight is the very first ascended mortal in Whateverse. He was a Transcendent Deity and a veteran in the Whateversal war, having played a key role in the defeat of The New God.
History
Early Life
The true identity of The Knight is long lost, but many other details still remain.
The being who would eventually become The Knight was once a human mortal, native to a version of Earth which was eternally trapped in the Middle Ages. This meant that no matter how far into the future it was, nothing about science/culture/society would ever progress past a medieval state. It was in this backdrop that the being was born sometime in the 5300s AD, alongside his twin brother, into a wealthy noble family in a kingdom somewhere in Europe. As only the family lived in the estate, and the servants were not the most interested in making friends, the being's closest friend and confidant was his twin brother. The two brothers almost seemed tailor-made for one-another as if by design, sharing many common interests. For all their similarities, though, there was still the one thing that they could never agree upon: what they wanted to do with their lives. The being wanted to live out a quiet and mundane adult life, while his brother had big aspirations to be a hero. His brother would always go on about how one day, he would become a protector of the people, idolizing the knights that guarded their kingdom. The being laughed at his brother's dream, thinking it to be unlikely for either of them to ever experience any kind of adventure.
The being was later proven wrong when his brother was granted a position as a paladin; and quite easily, as his noble blood essentially granted knighthood automatically, without any training or practical experience necessary. The being wasn't surprised by this, so much as he felt somewhat miffed. He believed that his parents always put his brother first before himself, and felt that if he asked to get any profession rather than his brother, his parents would have refused. However, this didn’t really matter to the being as he already preferred to bear the noble house's name.
The task of representing and maintaining nobility was a difficult but rewarding one for the being. Although he himself did not have much personal fortune, since he needed to devote most of the expenses towards taxes and other mundane things, he still enjoyed the comfortability as well as the social authority and respect that his position commanded. He was never much for social activities, especially considering his sheltered upbringing, so he rarely ever went out much unless for business matters. Still, the two brothers often visited each-other from time to time, remaining close even if physically distant.
At the end of his life, looking back on it, the being had little comments to offer. To him, he did what he did, lived how he lived, and that was how the cookie crumbled. No matter how many times he repeated this to himself, the being could not shake the feeling that his life had been wasted. A faint sensation told him that perhaps he could/should have done something bigger and/or better with his life than what he accomplished. The being figured that there was no point in caring at this point, since it was too late to change anything now, and he died.
There was, of course, more to this than would meet the eye. After the deaths of the two brothers, existence still persisted without them. Everyone else proceeded to go about with their lives. The Sun continued shining, and the Earth continued turning. In the grand scheme of the Universe’s functioning, nothing about the two brothers was significant or important to it. Still, as was inevitable, the Universe and everything within it would ultimately succumb to entropy, collapse and die. However, this is not where the story would end. The universe which the two brothers occupied was an Oscillating universe. Meaning that after the Universe died, it resulted in the creation of a brand new universe from itself, in which all the details were the exact same as the previous universe. This was essentially an enormous self-repeating universal Time Loop.
The above description of events was roughly the formula for how every single lifetime played out for the two brothers. Nobody within the Universe, including the brothers themselves, were aware of this loop, having no memories of the previous Universes in the current one. To them, their current cycle was the only lifetime they ever lived in. All the cycles were largely the same, and the one major thing which remained constant throughout them all was the two brothers' lifelong friendship.
That is, until a certain loop came around. In this specific lifetime, shortly after the brothers reached adulthood, they were visited by an comprehensible entity. The being, due to living in a medieval culture and thus having strong religious convictions, at first mistook the entity to be some sort of agent sent from “God” to “smite” them. As it turned out, only half of that perception was partially true. The being cowered in fear before the entity, until she told the two brothers that there was nothing to fear, introducing herself as "The Recruiter". The Recruiter vaguely told the pair that "Existence itself" was at stake, and she was in search of virtuous mortals who could have the capability of fighting the threat which was encroaching upon it. The being was confused and dumbfounded upon hearing this. He figured that surely the Recruiter, whoever she was, was making a mistake. He did not believe himself to be seen as "worthy" otherwise. He felt that he was just a normal person, and by all means his brother seemed even more likely to qualify than him. The being's brother had always been the one with aspirations to be some great hero, while the being lacked those such ideals.
With that, the Recruiter put both of the brothers through a series of tests and trials. To the being, many of these tests were incredibly vague and abstract puzzles, and he had no idea how they were even supposed to determine his worthiness. Still, he tried to complete them, and to his surprise he passed the tests without even using much mental effort. Somehow, for some reason, only this one of the pair passed the trials. The being was astounded that he had beaten his brother by a complete landslide. At first, he figured that it was surely just stupid astronomical luck. The Recruiter assured him otherwise, telling him that the tests were specially designed in such a way that one could not cheat, accidentally win or intentionally lose. With that, the Recruiter then told the being to come with her, to follow his "destiny". The being looked back at his brother, seeing a sadness in his eyes. The being felt guilty about leaving behind his brother, as well as the rest of his family; but if he really had a higher calling like the Recruiter told him, then he felt somewhat obliged to follow it. And so, the being reluctantly departed from his Universe with the Recruiter. The Recruiter assured the being that he shouldn't worry about how his family would feel, telling him that it would be taken care of but neglecting to share what exactly she did to guarantee that. This somewhat put the being's mind at ease, as he followed the Recruiter more willingly.
The being was then transported to something infinitely beyond all that he thought could be, which overlooked the entire Whateverse, overseen by the Aspect Lord known as Apex; it was Apex's "headquarters", so to speak. The being was amazed by just how much there was beyond his former perception of Reality. The being was then presented to Apex, which commanded the being to kneel before them. The being obliged, and after seemingly inspecting him, Apex spoke. They told the being that they were in search of warriors to help them in combating the threat to Whateverse known as the External Hazard. These warriors that Apex were assembling were (or rather would be) known as Transcendent deities. In particular, Apex was in search of a potential Transcendent deity to serve as their champion, to help lead all the others. They had a very specific criteria for the set virtues that their hypothetical champion would have to exude – Courage, Justice, Mercy, Generosity, Faith, Nobility and Hope. Apex concluded that they had no idea who or what this champion would be, or when the champion would appear, but nonetheless asked the being if he would strive towards those virtues. Reluctantly, he agreed, and with that Apex commanded the being to stand up. The being obliged, and he was then imbued with immense boons and power by Apex. The being found it hard to believe that he was given great power, such that could destroy entire Verses at will, so quickly. When the being asked Apex why he was bestowed with this power, Apex replied with the statement that the being only was given enough power to not be killed in his training.
Apex went on to elaborate that while the being may have been the first one to have ascended and been recruited into Apex’s forces, he was not yet a Transcendent Deity; that was going to require a period of long and intensive training.
Training
The work was far from over, and the being did not have long to relish his new position. As previously stated, he was still very much mortal despite his great power. The being still had to train before he could "earn" his official status as a Transcendent Deity.
With that, the being was brought before a group of powerful Aspect Lords. The closest thing that the being's perception could quantify these entities with, based on his prior knowledge and experiences in the environment he grew up in, were mighty mythical Dragons. And therefore, the being perceived them as such. The being was told that he would train under the instruction and supervision of these Dragons. The leader of the group, Mu, took a liking to the being, and stated that he was in good care. The being excitedly asked if he would ever get to mount him in battle, to which Mu replied with a hard "no". The being would then meet Pi, Mu's second-in-command. Pi looked down at the being quite condescendingly. He was confounded that the inhabitants of Whateverse were supposed to be placing all their faith in a mortal, and this mortal specifically. Such an idea was completely ridiculous to him, but nonetheless he played along and feigned optimism.
The being primarily received his combat training under Tau, the warrior of the Dragons. It was under Tau's guidance that the being came to know nearly everything there was about the art of war and combat. But this was but only one aspect of the training. Although Tau trained him in fighting, the being learned in various other areas underneath other different Dragons. Under Chi he learned inner balance and tranquility, under Omega he learned compassion and mercy, and so on and so forth.
Admittedly, the being found many of these lessons confusing, wondering how they would be practical in the actual situations he was going to be put in. Furthermore, he felt increasingly discouraged as many other entities were going on to become Transcendent Deities while he, the first one to have been recruited, still was in training. This led to him completely throwing himself into training. He did not allow himself to think or do anything related to his training, leaving room for nothing else in his life or mind. Because of this, the being failed to remember or care about anything else. Even still, this led to very little improvement in skill.