The Dawn of the New World

1395  Champion of-

Baba Jezda watched on with interest as their bodies briefly went taut while the substances around their heads slowed their rotations down to a crawl.

Eight whirlpools formed within the sea of clouds above the island, directly over the positions of each of the attendants.

The air went still and the silence fell over all of creation as everything stopped altogether. The candidates and everyone not on the island froze in whatever position they were in.

The red sand-like material around Lord Cerritos lightly rumbled while his raspy voice echoed through the surroundings twice. It sounded like he was talking once and then another voice from somewhere far away was repeating the same thing a moment later.

'You dare...call upon us...?'

Baba Jezda immediately fell to her knees, "Forgive my impudence, your greatness. I only asked for an audience because I had no other choice. Please allow me to say a few words to justify my blunder. And if, by the end, you still think I deserve to be punished, then I will willingly offer up my essence!" and finished by slamming her forehead on the ground.

'Hahaha...you think...I need your permission...to embody your essence...?' he almost seemed amused.

"I dare not!" she exclaimed, "But it is all I can offer!"

While all the others watched on with disinterest, only the golden-eyed attendant chose to speak up on her behalf. The first echo of his voice sounded like that of an old man and the second of a young child.

The substance surrounding his head resembled a stream of flowing golden water that was brighter than any of the others here.

'Let it be, brother. Speak mortal, why have you called upon us?'

"Thank you, your greatness," Baba Jezda slammed her forehead once more into the ground for good measure before sitting upright.

"I bring with me a mortal, and with him a way to end the demon Maymun's reign upon the Abyss."

The figure of Lord Cerritos turned towards the platform where he could see Hao Xuan's image being reflected in the pool of water.

'He should have belonged to me. I have more claim to him than any of the others,' he muttered unhappily.

"I am but a mere servant following the commands of my mistress, your greatness."

'Enough of your brown-nosing, mortal,' the golden-eyed attendant's voices firmly ordered, 'It is wasted on us. Is that the sole reason you have asked for us?'

"Most sincerest apologies, your greatness. Yes, it is the main reason, we are in dire need of change. The Gods and Demons continue to push us out and sooner rather than later it will be too late to do anything about it. We must act now!"

A peal of laughter that sounded like the grating of a metal on a hard surface sounded from almost every other figure.

'hAhAhAhAhA!'

Baba Jezda's brow knitted in confusion. She assumed they had misunderstood her but when she tried to speak up the golden-eyed attendant silenced her.

'There is no such thing as [too late]. We are eternal! We were here before before them and we will be here after. Why reason is there for us to intervene when we can outlast all of creation?'

The utter disregard in their voices reminded her of the first time she had met her mistress. At that time she felt like a germ talking to a human but now, after all these countless years of servitude she was not so easily disparaged.

Her servile expression disappeared and the tone of her voice became icy cold.

"Then...what if I told you, my mistress stirs in her chambers? Would that change anything?"

The laughter immediately stopped and they all turned to her at once.

'Do you understand the meaning of those words, mortal?' the golden-eyed attendant doubtfully questioned.

"Yes, your greatness. Above anything else, that is the reason I am here."

'...and you have proof of this?'

"Indeed. The boy holds the answer. Please see for yourself," she motioned towards Hao Xuan's image.

'I will,' Lord Cerritos immediately stepped forth.

He swiftly extended a hand towards the platform to activate some hidden feature known only to them. The next moment the inky liquid began to stir and Hao Xuan's frozen figure ascended from its watery depths the next moment.

The 'gazes' of all other beings were pulled towards him.

A very small stream of the red sand-like substance separated from Lord Cerritos's head and flowed over to him. It carefully circled around his body from the bottom up and when it reached his head an explosion of pitch-black matter pushed it away.

This black matter was constantly changing its consistency from solid, to liquid to gas but it never left Hao Xuan's body.

'It is true!' the golden-eyed attendant lightly exclaimed, 'She has chosen a Champion...the second Champion of Darkness has been anointed!'

As the black matter rolled down his body, whatever power that was keeping him in check was pushed away returning him to normal.