Мастер Исандер
Verse and Dimensions: Stories
Of course, this led to the being ending up in prison and getting committed to asylums in several of the lifetimes, but he simply ignored all the “ignorant” mortals who tried to tell him he was not mentally sound for doing and believing what he did. After mastering the ability to retain knowledge over the course of multiple loops, the being then went on to hone the ability of retaining physical items and resources as well, being able to build up an entire Universe-spanning empire over multiple lifetimes. All of this temporal tampering of course started to cause the Universe’s oscillation to begin deteriorating and breaking down, now that its infrastructure was being exploited and compromised. As the being noticed this, he decided it was finally time to expand outward, and leave behind crumbling ruins of his native universe.
Having used his amassed power to exit his universe, the being advanced into other universes as he then began to conquer vast regions of the Multiverse. Eventually, he took over the entire Multiverse too, and advanced into a megaversal conquest. It was during this period of his exploits that he encountered a multiversal goddess named Uavvalz, who was originally a mortal from a non-Earth planet in her universe that ascended through waging a cosmic conquest of her own. She too was in the business of war and expansion, and so naturally the being perceived her as a rival. The two engaged in numerous scuffles along the warpath, setting their armies against each-other. Eventually, this proxy battle subsided into more of a rivalry and competitive teasing, as the being began to gain respect for Uavvalz. This respect soon became admiration, which happened to be a mutual feeling that Uavvalz also shared. The two eventually joined forces, fighting alongside each-other in their conquest rather than against each-other. Uavvalz ultimately became the being’s lover, and his most trusted confidant. He opened up to her in a way he had never done to any other woman or being in general. Uavvalz also opened herself to the being, sharing secrets with him that she would have never told to anyone else. They both felt – knew that they were meant for each-other at every level and aspect of existence; that they were “soul mates”, or whatever the equivalent term would have been.
Eventually, the being became powerful enough to exit his monocosm in his conquest, upon which he began to search for other methods to increase his power as he ascended the Archverse Chain. As he amassed more items from various civilizations and cultures throughout Existence, augmenting himself with them, he took on an increasingly exotic and ornate appearance which evolved into an entirely unique style unto itself.
Although an incredibly powerful individual, he still was nonetheless mortal at this metatime.
The being wandered aimlessly through Existence, scouring many Verses for knowledge and resources to increase his power further. While the things he uncovered gave him great boons, he still was mortal. Uavvalz started becoming concerned with the being’s almost obsessive lust for power. Although she was by no means opposed to any of the wealth and resources that they gained in increasing rates, she was worried that the being may have been starting to bite off more than he could chew. When Uavvalz confided in her lover with these worries, the being surprisingly did not react defensively or take any offense. Uavvalz was the only being whom he did not treat with disrespect or prejudice, and he actually respected all of her opinions. The being reassuringly told her not to fret; that he would never want to endanger her and that he would lay down his own life before sacrificing hers. To this, Uavvalz responded that she would gladly do the same.
Finally, after ascending the Archverse Chain high enough, the being met an entity known as the Interpreter, who recognized the being and realized he was the one whom the Recruiter had rejected. The being demanded to know why he was disqualified, displaying the power he had gained in his conquests to the Interpreter. The Interpreter, with a stonewall expression, simply told the being to his face that he was "not worthy". The being, incredibly furious, suddenly lashed out at the Interpreter, attacking him viciously. In his rage, he defiantly screamed that the Recruiter was a liar. Although Uavvalz also provided backup in the battle, the being still made the mistake of underestimating the Interpreter, and the Interpreter made quick work of him.
The being, forced to retreat, was angered and hurt in pride. It was then that the being had an epiphany. He decided that he did not care what others said or thought about him. Worthy or unworthy, he was still determined to become a known and respected ruler across the cosmos. He realized that he didn’t need the help or approval of any special entities to do so, and so afterwards he largely minded his own business in matters concerning the Recruiter and Interpreter, instead building up his forces privately in a relatively isolated Archverse cohort.
The being and Uavvalz soon grew a large-enough empire that they were content with just stopping there, unofficially retiring from conquest and instead focusing on leading their citizens. They were happy with this outcome. By then, the being had almost entirely forgotten about his brother and the dealings with the Recruiter and Interpreter, when tragedy suddenly struck.
One metaday, an incomprehensible force called [REDACTED] seized the being’s empire, raising siege on it and decimating his forces. After nullifying and eroding all the defenses, [REDACTED] personally confronted the being. [REDACTED] revealed that his attack was in retaliation for the being having assaulted The Interpreter, upon which [REDACTED] declared his intention to “rectify certain inequities”. The being was horrified by even the very presence of [REDACTED], which was enough to cause him severe disorientation. Still, determined to not retreat as he had done in his last battle, the being stood his ground and challenged [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] then attacked the being, targeting him with devastating erasure attacks that the being barely dodged. Collateral damage from the battle destroyed countless archverses in the being’s empire, reducing them to nothing. Finally, when it seemed like the being was cornered, [REDACTED] prepared to finish him by impaling him on a spike that would erase him. However, before [REDACTED] was able to close in on the being, Uavvalz suddenly intercepted the spike’s trajectory by entering its path. She took the spike instead rather than the being, completely ran through by it. Both the being and [REDACTED] froze amidst this unexpected turn of events, metatime itself seeming to have stopped. After studying the being and his dying lover with a seemingly amused curiosity, [REDACTED] claimed that this was a satisfactory-enough “exchange” for him to spare the being, as he believed to have already taken more than enough things equal to the being’s life. [REDACTED] suddenly disappeared along with the spike, blinking out of sight. When the spike was removed from Uavvalz, she fell into the being’s arms, and he held her close to him. He watched as her gaze became more distant, and cracks of corruption formed all over her body as if she were an old chipped painting. Pieces of her gradually fell away and faded, but the entire metatime she looked right into the being’s eyes. She seemed to try to tell him something…but it was too late. She completely dissolved before she could finish. The being stared down at his hands even long after the last bits of Uavvalz had dissipated, frozen in shock and his mouth agape. The one living thing which he truly cared for, and felt was the only one that had cared for him, was completely gone, ripped away from him. And not just the Uavvalz that died in his arms. Every version and iteration of her in Existence, at every possible level and aspect of it, was gone. There was no bringing her back, no way of resurrecting or recreating or replacing her. The being was completely and utterly broken by this. Just when he had the smallest sliver of a chance at happiness, it had been destroyed right before his eyes.
He felt nothing but pure rage, grief and shock. So great was this rage, that he couldn’t even lash out. His anger extended to a level beyond that. The being was so overwhelmed by his rage that he could do nothing but continue to kneel on the ground, blurring out everything else around him. Everything that led up to this metamoment, all the suffering and adversity he had been through prior, it finally built up to its peak and erupted out of him. He surrendered to the Pain and Hatred he held within him, letting it seep into his heart and permeate his soul. He tossed his head back and cried out in a fearsome howl of rage, cursing Existence itself for what had been done to him. He was appalled that the cosmos could allow such tragedy to happen, and to him of all beings.
The being now had no other purpose left in his existence, other than to avenge what he had lost and take what he felt he deserved. He was previously content with leaving the Recruiter and Interpreter alone after his last encounter, but after what had just happened, he had no metaspace for forgiveness or mercy. He harnessed his pain into his motivation. Now, more than ever, he was determined to prove them all wrong, and in fact be even greater than them. He began searching all of Whateverse for even more ways to increase his power. However, such a broad task was easier said than done, and the possible trails leading to power quickly began to run dry. The being looked everywhere he could have possibly searched, carefully examining every single nook and cranny throughout the various verses within Whateverse. But even despite the thorough investigation, he found and gained very little power. Still, he refused to cease his search, holding onto his burning desire for vengeance as a driving motivation to continue.
After aimlessly wandering for a long metatime, the being had become weakened and fatigued. Delirious, he “stumbled” into a mysterious cave-like Verse in a remote part of the Whateverse. As if in a dreamlike state, he slowly walked through the Verse, observing all the horrific yet beautiful formations around him. At the center of it resided a structure which the being’s mortal vision perceived as something like a plant, seeming to bear fruit. The being was incredibly hungry after coming all this way, and so he weakly crawled towards it. He was powerful but, again, still mortal; and with that came mortal weaknesses such as hunger, dehydration and exhaustion. The being could not think straight. He didn't care if this fruit killed him, and was convinced that he needed to put something, anything in his stomach. As he chomped into the fruit and gulped it down, the being then realized that he did not consume a fruit at all, but rather a Stage I seed of the External Hazard. The being screamed as the Hazard hijacked his form, beginning to mutate him. However, the fear soon subsided, when the being felt an all-too-familiar sensation: pain, pure and unbridled. The pain was excruciating, but it was nowhere near as deep as the grief he felt for all that he had lost. In fact, he welcomed the pain and embraced it, as the pain made him stronger and sharpened him like a weapon. Through this willing acceptance of the hazard, the being achieved full symbiosis, controlling and containing the mutations within him. The result was an entirely new being, one who was far bigger, better and stronger than the previous. A full incarnation and expression of his pain and rage. In fact, this wasn't a new being, but a new God.
And so, as this new form came with a whole new identity, the being would refer to himself henceforth as The New God.
Before the War
As he now shared a link with the Hazard, the New God learnt of all its secrets. Namely, he discovered the source behind The Recruiter, The Interpreter and [REDACTED]: an Aspect Lord called Apex. Furthermore, Apex was responsible for Existence, or rather Whateverse, and also was the source of all the bothersome characters which The New God had encountered prior. When the New God had first cursed Existence for his suffering, he thought it to be nothing more than an empty malice; but now it seemed as though he would be able to back his words. The New God also learned that the External Hazard was considered a serious threat against Whateverse. This was the reason Apex was trying to recruit beings; to aid him in fighting against the Hazard. With this knowledge, the New God finally realized how he could have vengeance on those he believed to have wronged him. He went on to wage a secret war against Apex, weaponizing the External Hazard against his enemies to do so. Before, the Hazard on its own was incredibly dangerous and volatile. But now that there was an intelligence and organization behind it, the threat was significantly compounded and increased.
The New God built an even stronger empire than his previous one, using the Hazard to enthrall many of his subjects to make them more obedient. His subjects comprised races and entities at all levels of Existence, from Universes to Tracons and everything in between. Humans, Supergods, even low-level Aspect Lords and all other sorts of entities were among his forces.
It was then that stories began to be whispered all throughout Whateverse of the sheer horror that “The New God” struck into the hearts of beings, and of the chaos and despair trailing him in his wake. Many claimed that one would instantly die of terror just by gazing upon his true face, among other feats. Although most of these recounts were exaggerated, the New God nonetheless appreciated the boost in respect and fear for him that came from it.
During this metatime, the New God learnt of Apex's search for a being to serve as their champion, and the 7 specific criteria they had in mind – Courage, Justice, Mercy, Generosity, Faith, Nobility and Hope. The New God scoffed at this, believing he fulfilled those virtues better than anyone else could. He had the courage to die in an infinite amount of ways, and suffer through grief and loss in a way that nobody else had. He carried out Justice by destroying those who wronged and opposed him, and taking his revenge. He showed mercy by giving his enemies a quick death rather than torturing them. He was generous to his subjects by allowing them to continue existing if they obeyed his orders. He was noble by default, having originally been born into a noble family. And above all, he was the symbol of Hope for Whateverse that would be realized under his rule.
The New God then finally learned of the whereabouts of his brother, tracking him down after scrying his location with the Hazard. He found that his brother was still in the process of training to become a Transcendent Deity, preparing to fight against the External Hazard. The New God could not help but feel annoyed (and admittedly slightly intimidated) that his brother had already become nearly as powerful as himself through far less effort and training. But what upset the New God even more was that it appeared that his brother had completely forgotten about him. He never asked about him, never talked about him, and never even thought about him. The New God was emotionally wounded by this, solidifying the belief that his brother no longer cared about him, if he ever did before. He decided that he would finally make his presence and purpose known to his brother, and all of Whateverse’s leaders. This would happen when his brother was sent on a practice mission by Apex to neutralize a minor attack by the External Hazard. The New God took direct control of a certain Hazard Servitor among the fray, and as it fought his brother he spoke through it. The New God’s voice taunted his brother, calling him by a very specific nickname from their childhood that only he could have known. Of course, the New God received the expected reaction of immense fear and confusion from his brother. But he was surprised to see his brother react by lasing out and slaughtering all the other enemies set against him. The New God internally smiled, knowing he had shaken his brother and exploited his insecurities, making him question himself. With the information that his brother brought back to Apex, the New God’s presence was finally officially made known to Whateverse’s inhabitants, and thus the war of Existence began in earnest.
War Against Existence
It was at this point that the Dragon Pi suddenly arrived at the New God's base. As the Dragons were aligned with Apex, The New God and his forces at first mistook Pi to have been sent by Apex to attack them, and so he tried killing him. However, Pi was able to explain himself and clear everything up before he could have been seriously harmed. Apparently, Pi was intrigued by the Hazard, and worshipped its source, Najha-Tebah, as a great deity. He perceived the New God as a “champion” of Najha-Tebah, and wanted to serve beneath him to learn the ways of pleasing his deity.
After hearing Pi's explanation, the New God was intrigued. Pi was a Dragon, an incredibly powerful Aspect Lord – yet he was also one which seemed very naïve and easy to manipulate, making him an efficient weapon if in the right hands. The New God figured that Najha-Tebah was surely nothing more than an infinitely self-destructive mind of a being who might not even be alive, manifesting itself as powerful parasitic creatures. As far as the New God God was concerned, Najha-Tebah, whatever its true nature may have been, was irrelevant and inconsequential to his plans. All that mattered was that the External Hazard was a powerful weapon, one that he could use to his advantage; And to him, so was Pi.
So, the New God lied to Pi and told them that, yes, he too was in fact but a humble servant of the mighty Najha-Tebah, and he would be willing to take Pi in and teach him the ways of enacting the will of their deity. This ruse was successful, and from that point the New God began training Pi in methods of manipulating and controlling the External Hazard to yield specific results in certain aspects. As metatime passed, the New God found that Pi was in fact extremely skilled in manipulating the Hazard, surpassing the abilities of even himself. Pi was able to "cultivate" Hazard seeds in a "garden", and through this method most of the New God's Hazard seeds were from then on modified and mass-produced with Pi's techniques, even inventing experimental seeds that did not occur naturally.
Among the New God's numerous schemes included the spreading of an engineered Hazard Plague which could even infect beings as powerful as Dragons, the poisoning of Whateverse's largest primary resource supplies, and other various acts of terrorism with the Hazard.
Eventually, the New God decided that it was metatime to take the battle directly to his enemies, and in full force. He sent Pi on a mission to attack Whateverse's Capital and exterminate all the Dragons allied with Apex. However, Pi got carried away in his mania and committed a genocide of nearly every single Dragon in The Barrelplex. This caused him to become sidetracked, and what Dragons remained in the Barrelplex were all ones in Whateverse specifically. Then, to add insult to injury, Pi had been defeated by none other than the New God's brother, who's power had increased significantly.
Upon learning of this in Pi's report to him, The New God confined him within his palace, forbidding him from participating in the rest of "his" war. Even if Pi wasn't recovering from injuries, the New God still would have done this. He viewed Pi's defeat, even despite the significant blow dealt to the enemy, as an embarrassment and a stain on his public image. If the New God was going to win, then he was determined for it to be a perfect landslide victory.
Defeat
Eventually, The New God finally decided to personally exact his revenge on those who "wronged" him, and launch his final strike. He gathered his forces, and led his entire army in an assault against the very heart of Whateverse itself. The Dragons, at least those which survived Pi's initial genocide, had all now fled and gone into hiding, thus leaving Apex's forces weakened significantly.
The New God's incursion upon Whateverse alerted the Interpreter, which went to directly confront the New God. The New God held nothing back in his attacks against the Interpreter, instantly engaging in battle with him. All of the New God's built up anger, frustration, and ego was unleashed upon the Interpreter with full force. The New God viciously attacked his opponent with Judgement, repeatedly damaging him with the weapon. He entered a manic frenzy, continuing to brutalize the remaining constituents of the Interpreter even long after he had been destroyed, until eventually reducing it to nothing.
With the Interpreter now gone, there was no being to determine and regulate Reality in Whateverse. More importantly to the New God, however, there was nothing to determine that he was unworthy. This caused Whateverse to become unstable as it began deteriorating, with no force or being to regulate or determine its rules. This advantage heavily favored the New God more, since Reality was now but a subjective term. This meant that the New God's power was determined by how everyone else perceived him. And since nearly all beings feared him, the New God had become a nigh-unstoppable force. He fed off their fear and pain, using it to fuel his own power as he laid waste to Whateverse. Even The Dragonguard, the most valiant Transcendent Deity warriors, soon fell to him, and with that the morale of Whatevese had fallen to its very lowest. By then, it seemed as tough victory was practically guaranteed for the New God. However, there yet stood one final challenge in his way.
For the very first metatime in a long metatime, the New God and his brother finally came face to face. Two brothers, who once started out as the closest of friends, now were the most bitter of rivals. Facing his brother, the New God wavered for just a metasecond. But then, he realized that his brother held the armor and title of Knight. Not only had he ruined The New God’s lives by abandoning him, but he also seemingly had the audacity to steal the position that was taken away from him. He remembered all that The Knight had set into motion by choosing to leave him behind. The New God was convinced that his brother was the sole cause of all he had been through; and for that, he deserved death. And so, he charged in without relent or mercy, furiously attacking The Knight. The New God brought down Judgement upon the "false hero”. The Knight was quick on his feet however, swiftly dodging and sidestepping the blows as he parried the New God. Everything they had been through together in their previous lives before, was now meaningless. A friendship and brotherhood meant to last forever, now was worthless. Even as chaos and anarchy unfolded all around the two, they were only concentrating on their fight with each-other. The Knight all the metawhile tried to convince the New God to give up on his plan and surrender, trying to tell him that there was still a chance for him to turn back. But the New God still did not heed, only focusing on killing the Knight. The Knight, realizing that The New God had no intention to surrender, finally stopped holding back, putting his full effort into his attacks against the New God. The New God was surprised and caught off guard by this, staggering at first, but he quickly regained his composure. The two now shared the common objective of killing each-other. Countless archverses fell in their battle, entire civilizations and realities quaking beneath them. But even so, the battle raged ever onward. The New God managed to knock The Knight off his feet, leaving him vulnerable. Just as The New God was about to bring Judgement down upon The Knight and finish him, The Knight quickly slashed his sword down the New God's chest, opening a massive wound.
As the New God stood in this predicament, one which was quite shameful to him, he glared intensely at the Knight with rage. The New God then realized that this metamoment was the perfect opportunity to enact a ritual to ascend into Nonexistence and truly become divine. Nonexistence was, after all, that from which the Dragons had originated, and they were at their most powerful in that state. Furthermore, and deeper down in The New God's heart, he also had a small hope – that being even if Uavvalz was completely gone from Existence, she could have possibly been outside it. A perfect storm had formed to create this very small and fast-expiring window of opportunity, which would grant him a true victory in this war if performed correctly. He realized that killing The Knight didn't matter to his plan, and decided that it wasn't worth the effort. The New God attempted to enact the ritual as he intended to ascend by drawing upon the belief and support of all his subjects, gloating to The Knight all the while. However, what the New God failed to consider was the fact that none of his subjects were truly loyal to him. He was arrogant, rude, and selfish among many other things, and the only thing which kept all his subjects under his servitude was mental enslavement. The Knight exploited this, convincing all The New God's subjects to withdraw their support and instead give it to The Knight at the last metamoment. This caused the New God to become severely weakened, as he lost all the power he drew from the fear and respect of others. And so, the ascension ritual went horribly wrong. His form became distorted and worn away, chipping like an antique vase as he became increasingly vulnerable. The last thing that the New God felt was The Knight’s blade driven through his chest, impaling him as he was trapped in Nonexistence.
He was by no means dead, but since he was not a Transcendent Deity, he was incapable of comprehending or traversing Nonexistence. This process also injured him and stripped him of nearly all his power, and thus he was largely considered defeated at that point.
Aftermath
Still, even as Whateverse resumed its existence business as usual without him, the New God continued scheming. He could still see all that was occurring, and what he saw only further angered him. Things like other Transcendent deities being potentially sought out, and Pi having usurped his power in his absence. The New God refused to let his efforts go to waste. He was determined for beings to continue feeling his wrath, and so by using the bare traces that remained of his power to manipulate the void of nonexistence around him, as well as utilizing the techniques of creating Hazard creatures, the New God invented entirely new beasts. A race that would serve as his legacy and outlast him – a legacy which was Constant.
The New God sent many of these beasts into Whateverse, where they performed tasks such as seeking out and killing mortals who could potentially have ascended to prevent them from "stealing" his position, as well as numerous attempts to assassinate Pi. While many mortals were slaughtered by the New God's creations, none of them were able to get to Pi, who seemed to always have been one metastep ahead.
It mattered not however, as eventually the orders given out by the New God from Nonexistence would eventually halt. The New God had seemingly disappeared for good, but what truly happened to him may never be known.
Weapons
Judgement
"Judgement" is the title of the New God's signature weapon. It represents and embodies all of his pain, cruelty and malice, the very essence of these qualities being a part of the blade. The blade itself was created by binding a specialized External Hazard seed to a jagged segment of Trosinium. The length of the weapon can extend itself by lashing out in tendrils at targets, the tendrils being capable of corrupting and eroding most obstacles. The New God often threatened his subjects with the blade, whipping them like a slave master. Or just for personal amusement.