Prologue 1

*WHoommmMm *

*AAHAHHH*

*zzmmmm*

Rellandus can no longer differentiate the sounds of pandemonium around him through his ringing ears.

As if his world has slowed down, he sees warriors, which he figures belong to different sides due to the colors their armors represent, fighting each other mostly in the skies and some on land.

They hack, slash, stab, and hit each other with all sorts of energy infused attacks. Some are attacking in the distance using bows and arrows of light, and some are summoning shields and barriers of crystals to protect their allies.

*shlnk*

He feels a dull pain land on his body, pulling him out of his daze, making his world resume to its usual speed.

His ears also stop ringing and the muffled sounds turn to screams, explosions, and battle cries.

The dull pain on his body then turns sharp, making him realize that there is now a gash across his abdomen which he figured was caused by a sword technique powerful enough to cut through his leaf-colored Celestial armor.

While his injury is only a flesh wound and is in no way life threatening, the pain brought his mind back to clarity and remembers that he is in a battlefield.

He does not know if it was due to being hit somewhere on his head, or was hit with some strange mental battle technique that made him forget for a moment, that felt like eternity, that he is supposed to be fighting, defending his home against the enemies.

He then looks at a group of three warriors in front of him, all wearing blood-colored armor, looking at him in either shock, surprise, or apprehension. He figures that it must be their teamwork that caused him to become muddleheaded which led to his light injury, and they were shocked to find that he shrugged endured their attacks much easier than they thought he could.

"HAAHHH!" He then infuses grandmist energy throughout his body to boost it.

He is about to charge when, *bam* something explodes on his back and he is sent crashing to the ground that was a few leagues below him just a moment ago.

"RELLANDUS!" He hears a familiar voice call out to his left side and as he looks, he sees a comrade, no, a friend, crawling towards him.

He would have been glad to see Mecento if it is not for the missing chunk of Mecento's head.

The helmet that the man has always been proud of wearing prior to the battle, now looks like useless scrap of metal, ready to fall out of the man's head at any moment.

"Rellandus." Mecento calls out again after reaching Rellandus.

"Mecento." Rellandus quickly gets on his feet, casts an illusion around them to hide from the enemies in the sky, and proceeds to apply a healing technique on his friend's head.

"No need for that, my friend. I won't … *ACK*" Mecento's words is interrupted as he coughs out a mouthful of blood, forcing him to lie on his back.

Rellandus looks at Mecento's body and realizes that there is also a hole in Mecento's chest.

"Ahhh…" Mecento breathes out in relief after clearing his lungs of blood.

"I won't last long. My self-healing is not working. A God King most likely did this." He informs Rellandus.

"*badump*" Rellandus's heart stops for a moment and his stomach sinks and he looks around in panic to find that God King; a being that is one of the few that stands on top of the God King Territories.

Only a being of that magnitude can render his, Mecento's, and the others' treasure armors, useless, so he should get himself and his side away from the area soon, if it is even possible.

Soon enough, he sees a glowing figure of a lone woman in the distant sky, shooting arrows upon arrows of overwhelming power and speed, on the green-armored warriors of his realm. He can feel that that person seems to be more powerful than his seniors who have reached godhood.

Seeing the woman's weapon, it is obvious to him that it was her that caused the fatal injuries on Mecento.

Thankfully, it looked like he was not the first to realize the presence of that being and his comrades are starting to flee the battlefield. The evacuation of his allies causes the enemies, and that God King, to overlook him and Mecento.

"What in the Void is a God King doing here?!" Rellandus grits his teeth in frustration and fear.

"Doesn't matter… Here." Mecento suddenly grabs Rellandus's hand and Rellandus feels a mixture of coldness and warmth spread from Mecento's hand to his being.

"Mecento you…" Rellandus's eyes widen in disbelief at what Mecento is doing.

"Take it. Take my cultivation so you can finally break through. At this point, you need this more than I do." Mecento smiles.

"You…" Rellandus can only relent and kneel next to his friend.

If Mecento wants to do something, like giving away something, nothing can stop the man. And in this situation, accepting Mecento's gift is all that he can do to respect the man.

*bboomm*

The two friends are interrupted when something crashes just a few steps away from them, forming a small crater.

The two become apprehensive, feeling that that something, or someone, is a Celestial Realm Cultivator just like them.

The next moment, "NNGAAHH!" they hear a defiant grunt and cry come from the crater and a male warrior wearing a shiny green armor crawl out from it.

Rellandus and Mecento are relieved for now, seeing that the man belongs to their side and will not interrupt whatever they are doing.

"I know you two… I know you, Rellandus." The warrior recognizes Rellandus especially.

"You know me?" Rellandus is surprised.

"Of course. One of the few Celestials who has the potential to become a God King." The warrior answers with a wince.

"If you mingled more with others, you would have already established a huge faction among the Celestials in our realm." Mecento chuckles.

"…" Rellandus does not address his fame as he notices that the stranger is hiding great pain and he assesses him.

Soon, he finds out that the warrior, just like Mecento, has a hole on the chest despite the man's treasured armor.

"You're…" Rellandus is about to address the injury but, "What are you two doing?" the warrior asks instead.

The question however is rhetorical as the warrior recognizes what he is seeing immediately.

"Then let me… Heheh…" The man chuckles before leaping towards Rellandus and lays his palm on Rellandus's body, passing his cultivation.

"You…" Rellandus is speechless.

"I'm not in any better shape than your friend here." The warrior smiles bitterly.

"And I may not be as strong as him, but I hope this helps you." The bitterness in his smile turns to hope.

"What's your name?" Rellandus can only ask, seeing the man's resolve in doing the same thing that Mecento is doing.

"Carain." Carain states his name as he removes his helmet with his free hand.

"Carain… Carain, The Reckless." Mecento chuckles in recognition.

"That's me." Carain chuckles in return.

"Pleased to meet you…"

"Mecento."

"Mecento… Mecento, The Lucky. Hah! Finally ran out of it, huh?" Carain chuckles as he coughs out blood.

"Nice to make a new friend before I go." Mecento smiles weakly in return before turning his attention back to Rellandus.

"Rellandus. Live through this. If there is an afterlife, if we meet again there, and if I find that you didn't become a God King, I'll shove my foot in your behind." It is not long after he said that that his remaining life, and energy, finally leaves him.

"…" Rellandus smiles bitterly, oddly consoled by the smug smile that remained on Mecento's face.

"I'll join the man soon." Carain says weakly, feeling his vitality quickly draining.

Rellandus can only nod.

"I know we are most recent acquaintances, but … Can you do something for me?" Carain asks.

"Anything." Rellandus nods.

"I left a will in my storage ring before the war started." Carain starts.

"You wear a storage ring?" Rellandus asks out of curiosity, after all, Celestials like them no longer need storage rings.

"Ah. You must think you'll live beyond today, huh." Carain chuckles.

"Once I die, my inner world and my treasures are gone too. It'd be dumb to store my will in it."

"Oh…" Rellandus smiles bitterly at Carain's thinking.

"Anyway…" Carain brings the subject back to his request.

"I know that my friends, my family, may already be dead. Maybe our home might also be destroyed… But. Just in case…-"

Rellandus interrupts, knowing the man's intention. "I can't promise, but if I live through this, I will settle it for you. The least I can do to repay you for helping who is practically a stranger." He assures.

"Good enough for me. Thank you." Carain smiles as the last of his life leaves his body.

"Thank you, Mecento, Carain." Rellandus stands up with a renewed strength and conviction.

Looking around, he finds out that the battlefield is now bare, only populated by the bodies of the fallen allies and enemies.

Feeling safe, he closes his eyes.

His body becomes translucent as he starts infusing the energy he acquired from his friends, to his cultivation.

*Boom*

A muffled explosion reverberates inside his body as he breaks apart the last shackle of the Celestial Realm and finally ascends to become a budding Exalted Celestial.