Tournament of the Gods

Rememberance

  Change'e walked as fast as she could, clutching her sides as she was bruised and injured all over, she was dressed in a white robe which was stained all over with blood, her hair was a mess, it looked like it hadn't be groomed for weeks.   "Sun Wukong, that i***t," she gritted her teeth.  "He's playing all the gods like fools, how couldn't I have seen it earlier?  I going to the gods will make it too obvious, I am sure he must have anticipated that, I have to find a way to stop him, Zhangshun Shan, he's the mortal who killed my husband, that much I know, Sun Wukong could have made it more discreet if he wanted, the fact that he didn't make it like that means he wanted me to find out, he must have been taking a risk with the hope of me trying to meet Zhangshun Shan direct but there should be other ways I can go about it," Change'e dropped to the ground, she was in one of the lower heavens, the scenery was full of floating white and golden clouds.  "I have to find a way to uncover his plans but now," she thought, it was then that it hit her.  "I was once eavesdropping on Xiwangmu and her complaining moments ago that some souls were missing from the underworld, she mentioned the number seven, when Zhangshun Shan came here, he was accompanied by eight other people, I viewed the time events of Ashley who was with him but the remaining seven all belonged to the fallen Omniverse meaning that the possibility they all died was high, maybe, Sun Wukong had found a gateway to the underworld and resurrected those seven, if I could find a way to restore the memories of one of them possibly Qui Si as she was his first wife in the historical events of the fallen Omniverse, I would also convey my message to her, she could get it to Zhangshun Shan and when that's done, I will be one step closer to letting all the gods know just what kind of person the monkey king really is but what if that's why Sun Wukong wants me to do, maybe if I relay an encrypted message to Pangu in her memories, I doubt Sun Wukong would have considered that it what about if he already had, well, I just have to a blind leap of faith and hope that it all turns out well."

Change's told herself as she disappeared away from the place where she stood.

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Qui Si was breathing heavily where she laid down, while she was unravelling the hair that killed Quan Chi, it had drained her immensely of her spiritual energy.   "I have to use that patch of hair to restore my energy back," she thought as she began to crawl on the ground towards the hair which had dropped, moments after she had defeated Quan Chi, she had immediately fallen and collapsed to the ground, the hair was a few metres away from her, Qui Si looked over in Sui Wenyan's direction, she too was scathed badly, she looked like if enough medical attention wasn't given to her soon, she would also die.

"Sui Wenyan," Qui Si cried as she kept crawling towards her hair.  "I am sorry for how I have always treated you, I never meant any of it, I was always jealous of you, you were much prettier, smarter and had better luck with men, I didn't intend for any of this to happen, I swear, I am gonna bring you back, we shall win this race together and the Tournament, then we shall return back to our home world and..." Qui Si stopped crying as she had held the hair, now all that was left was to use it.   "This wouldn't be hard," she thought to herself.  "Krigo is one of the most difficult cultivation yet I easily learnt it, all I require is focus and I need to find a way to tap into the energy of this material, once that's done, I will be able to understand how it works and I shall be able to bring back Sui Wenyan."

"I wouldn't advise you to do what you are conceiving in your mind," Qui Si heard a feminine voice, she turned towards the direction of the voice, listed outside the barrier that Quan Chi had created, she saw the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life, her hair was neatly packed in a stylish bun, she was dressed in overflowing white robes with clear sky blue eyes and heart shaped thin lips, she was indeed beautiful in every regard, it was Change'e.

"How can you see me?" Qui Si muttered.

"How can I not," Change'e smiled sweetly.  "The barrier is but a (infinity - 100)D construct, I am a 2A being, I am above every dimensional plane of existence, their hax do not bound me as I am above the roots and essence of it."

Qui Si struggled as she held the hair.  "Only the gods are 2A beings but why would any of them be concerned with one of the participants or am I being decieved, but it doesn't make sense, the fact that this woman can see the barrier when not being inside shows that she's fundamentally higher than (infinity - 100)D, if she wanted to kill me, there were countless ways she could have gone about it and I doubt the hair would be of much use to her, for now, I will play along." Qui Si thought as she looked at Change'e.  "Only the gods are 2A beings, since you said you are a 2A being, the crest on your hair pin depicts the moon and the form you chose, then it must be you, you are Change'e, goddess of the moon and beauty, am I right?" She asks.

"You are correct but that's not what is important as of the moment," Change'e began.  "As a gesture of good will," Change'e pointed to Sui Wenyan.  "Your friend has been completely healed and so also have you, I am afraid to inform you but this tournament isn't as it seems, it's much more and the stakes are much higher."

"What do you mean?" Qui Si thought as she got her feet, she was shocked seeing as she was standing.  "Wow, I didn't expect to regain my full strength so fast, in fact, I even feel more refreshed than ever, this must be the power of a god."

"For instance, if any participant from any team in the tournament dies, his Universe or home-world will be instantly obliterated," Change'e replied her.  "The Omniverse isn't just composed of universes, there are also infinite planes of every type of higher dimensional existence ranging from 4D planes to as high as Infinite dimensional planes located in each one, every lower creature has the potential to be a god if they prove themselves worthy, one of the gods is jealous of that and doesn't want any competition against his grand selfish plan, as a result, he intends to destroy every thing in all of existence that's capable of interfering with his plans."

"Why are you telling me this?  There's nothing I can do, I am but a mere 3D being, I could barely hold my own against another human, what chance do I now stand against a god."

"You misinterprete," Change'e laughed scornfully.  "You are obviously utterly weak and pathetic, there's nothing you can offer in terms of power but your husband, he's the real deal, he's the one Sun Wukong fears, he was able to take down Xiwangmu easily, only him can stop Sun Wukong."

Qui Si felt bad when she heard the scornful laughter of the goddess but she couldn't blame her, it wasn't as if the goddess was completely wrong, there was nothing she could offer against fighting an omnipotent being.

"She said husband, what does she mean, I am still single but Zhangshun Shan did take care of Xiwangmu easily back when we were about to start the tournament, is that whom she's referring to as my husband, ahhh, I wish, someone like Zhangshun Shan could never accept someone as unattractive as me not when a beauty like Sui Wenyan is still alive," Qui Si thought.

"You really have forgotten all that occurred from your past life, haven't you?" Change'e smiled at her.  "For your information, you were Zhangshun Shan's first wife and the only woman he cared about after his mother passed away."

"You are a god and all but right now, you are just sounding very stupid."

"Silence!!!!" Change'e said but it wasn't one feminine voice that spoke, it was as if an infinite number of different genders of different tones spoke at once, the voice caused Qui Si to shudder where she stood, she was visibly trembling as fear gripped her.

"Thou shall not insult a goddess," Change'e told her disapprovingly.  "You died and came into the underworld, somehow, you and six others were able to get your lives back but not your past memories."

Qui Si tried to speak but she couldn't, she was frozen and shaking at the same time.   Change'e walked towards her and as she did, the very grounds began to tremble, soon, she got to her position, placing her right hand on her head, Qui Si could feel a rush of memories from an other lifetime, she could remember being born, growing up with two studious parents, falling in love with a White-haired kid at age 10, she remembered sacrificing her blood, being enlisted in the nation's army, she remembered being forcefully married to Zhangshun Shan but she had loved it, she remembered being in Excalibur, she remembered her past friendship with Sui Wenyan, new friendship with Wenren Yu and Phile.  Hell, she could remember everything.

"And that's that," Change'e smiled as she retracted her arm, Qui Si looked towards the ground, she began to breathe heavily.  "How do I know those aren't false memories, you are a god, you have the power to manipulate mind at will."

"But of what use will that serve me."

"I don't know, maybe you find it amusing."

"I know you don't believe me and frankly, I can't relate with that," Change'e began, as she said that, Qui Si squeezed her face as if to say that's not exactly helpful.  "But you have to, there's a message I need you to help me to get across to Zhangshun Shan, he's the only hope..." Change'e realized something, there was nothing on Qui Si's mind and also, there was no movement or thoughts going on in the omniverse she was in charge of, she constantly viewing everything in her omniverse(some of the other gods like Hou Yi was very lackadaisical about his), also Qui Si appeared frozen and it wasn't of her own volition, she extended her prescence so much that it covered the entire 1A plane but every participant appeared frozen and motionless. She tried to access the energy of whosoever caused the time stop but none of it was linked to any of the gods, it was something far more sinister and simpler.

She looked behind her and couldn't believe the sight before her, it was an army of the angels of dark.

"This is impossible," Change'e muttered to herself.  "Only Xiwangmu had the power and authority to control a spawn of dark riders and yet they are right before me, I was wrong in thinking that Sun Wukong couldn't anticipate my move, if anything he had already anticipated all I could do, he predicted that I would try and return someone's memories and once I did, these army would instantly show up, they completely negate every form of omnipotence and invulnerability, I can't beat them but how did Sun Wukong manage to get them, only Xiwangmu is supposed to be able, were we wrong about Sun Wukong, is he even stronger than Xiwangmu?" Change'e thought to herself but she knew she had to run, immediately, she disappeared, she reappeared in one of the highest heavens, it was characterized by tress with different breeds of flowers as the leaves, the sky appeared clear and there was nothing like a sun or moon in the sky.

"There's no way those beings can come here, only gods and the Jade Emperor are allowed here," Change'e thought to herself but she was in for a surprise as almost immediately, those beings showed up right beside her, she couldn't see their faces as they were all encloaked in a dark miasma.

"This is bad," Change'e thought to herself.  "I have already tried to wipe them from existence but it keeps failing, also whatever attack I launch against them nullifies almost immediately as it surfaces, I have to find a way to escape this situation."

Whilst she was thinking, a volley of arrows suddenly appear overhead above her, Change'e dodged all the incoming arrows as fast as she could but she was slow to one as one pierced her right leg, she had tried to stop time so the arrows could be still but it was impossible as every form of hax(mind manipulation, reality manipulation, space manipulation, conceptual manipulation, just name it), it all becomes useless before the prescence of the dark riders or their attacks.  Change'e groaned in pain but she kept running as fast as she could, the arrow was still stuck in her leg but she ran into the cluster of trees around.  "I intentionally chose this location as it's surrounded by trees, the riders of dark are not omnipresent or omniscient meaning that I can actually escape and hide here, Pangu usually comes here, when he does, he will be able to help me."

The dark riders stopped as they saw disappear into an area concentrated with lots of trees, their expressions were unreadable but they scattered around, they couldn't talk but they had a strange and unknown means of communicating with each other.

Change'e was hiding at the back of one tree, she was breathing heavily, she had removed the arrow that pierced her leg, she couldn't will the wound to heal because it was caused as a result of an attack from one of the riders of dark.

"Sun Wukong, I swear, I am going to kill you and I will do it slowly so much that you would rue the day you were born!!!" Change'e cursed.

Just as she said that, she quickly dodged, there was a dark rider behind her.

"I had intentionally said what I did aloud, sensing the riders us impossible as they are completely mysterious creatures, that's why I had to find a way to lure them whenever I wanted to attack," Change'e thought to herself as she rolled towards the rider, the rider switched the spear he was holding to a sword, he tried to swipe towards her but she evaded easily, with the other arrow that was in her right arm, she pierced his left leg.

Change'e jumped backwards and she was glad she did at the moment she did as once she did, the rider has quickly emanated an AOE attack which destroyed everything without a radius of 30 miles, Change'e looked at the point she had stabbed.

"Sure enough, there's an injury where I stabbed, I guess it's a blessing in disguise that I was actually stabbed by the arrow," Change'e thought to herself.  "It means even the warriors themselves are also vulnerable to their attacks, with that knowledge, how about I put it to good use," Change'e smiled as she screamed as loud as she could, immediately a bulldozer appeared and began to excavate the ground, she quickly entered and almost immediately the excavated place was sand-filled, almost immediately, a volley of arrow appeared overhead killing the rider which was there with her but she was safe as she was underground, Change'e once she was sure there was no more attack happening on the ground, she quickly came up, as fast as she could, she summoned a quiver and a bow on her body, running through the area, she packed as much arrows as she could.

"While I was still married till Hou Yi, he thought me how to use the bow and arrow, I was once lackdasiacal and didn't see the use of it as I knew it was only a matter of time before I gained godlike powers but now I see the use, indeed, no knowledge is a waste, what makes knowledge a waste is the inability to apply it," Change'e smiled to herself as she ran forward, taking three arrow from the quiver, she puts it into her bow and stretched it to a considerable length, she spotted two riders about 130 metres northwest, releasing the arrows from the now she was holding, she released the arrows in her direction, the dark riders were hit square on their foreheads, they vanished into nothingness.

Change'e grinned to herself, she thought she had completely the advantage as she kept running.

"If I keep this up, hiding between the trees and occasionally, popping my head out to attack the dark riders where they least expect, it will only be a matter of time before I completely kill all of them, it doesn't matter what Sun Wukong sends against me, I shall always triumph, I rose from a mere patron of the gods to become the beautiful goddess of the moon, I can do anything so long I put my mind to it."

Change'e spoke too soon as almost immediately, all the arrows which she had disappeared from the quiver, that wasn't the only development, she found herself bound to the ground by black tentacles, she was surrounded by an innumerable number of dark warriors.

"Don't tell me I was playing according to their whim," Change'e thought as she realized what has happened.  "They intentionally wanted me to know that they too could also be affected their attacks, they knew they had the advantage of numbers, what was left was how to apply it, they can also call back their attacks and also sense where their arrows are, when I killed those last two dark riders with the arrows, I had stupidly given up my location so they had immediately ambushed me, I have lost," Change'e thought, her face clearly downcast.

She could hear a dark rider coming towards her, he had his spear drawn out and it planned on stabbing her chest.

Just while she had lost all hope, an army of different exotic breed of animals such as giant rabbits (jade rabbits), liarm beasts, dragons, dinosaurs and even 100 feet tall ostriches suddenly appeared, they appeared to be locked in a deep confrontation with the dark riders, Pangu suddenly appeared behind the dark warrior which had his spear drawn out, he used a dark arrow to stab it's head, it vanished, Pangu took it's spear and freed Change'e.

"My familiars can only hold this creatures for a short while and none of my godly abilities work on them, the dark riders are prohibited from entering the underworld, only in there can you find refuge," Pangu told her, as he did, a portal suddenly materialized beside him.

"Thank you so much," Change'e said, tears apparent in her eyes.

"There would be time for that later, right now, get to safety," Pangu told her as he easily lifted her off the ground and threw her inside the portal, Pangu looked at his animals as they were getting slaughtered and they were not even able to take down a single dark warrior.

"Time to retreat," Pangu told himself as he disappeared.