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nAs these few words thundered across the cave, War’s bronze skin drained of color. His aggressive and imposing demeanor, impressive even while in his smaller form, dropped a few notches, as he assumed a more composed posture, with arms laying flat onto the table and legs neatly tucked underneath. His orange yes, once focused on the aspect of Karma, were closed shut the same way his mouth was, for he dared not risk letting out a sound or direct his threatening gaze at the wrong person.

nDaniel too had felt the desire to stay seated, which he indulged by straightening his posture and basking in the newfound desire to look more dignified. Yet, this behavioral change was soon discarded. His hands closed into tight fists as his eyes narrowed in anger. The voice had not only prevented the fight between him and the aspect of War, but had also tried to compel him to obedience, like the sight of a rolled up paper would a well trained dog.

nNot many creatures were capable of such a thing. In fact, only one was. The only creature whose existence was meant to fight a never ending battle against the infinite chaos.

n“You get to live a little longer.” Daniel said, unleashing all his pent up aggression on the now extremely well behaved aspect of War, who took the threat with polite indifference. Then, his attention moved elsewhere. To three more presences that had now made their appearance within the forest of large pillars known, and steps heard.

nWhen these three entities were mere seconds from emerging from the darkness, Daniel leaned towards the young man that sat at his left. A wisp of sound essence that none of the aspects’ mortal bodies could perceive emerged from his mouth, carrying along a message to the latter’s ear in a whisper. “Change of plan. Can you synthesize one of those attacks within your body? And do it quietly?” He asked, his eyes wondering on the various figures in front of him.

n“More than one.” Roley answered out loud, a decision that shocked Daniel for the few moments that preceded the realization that none of the aspects of existence, regardless of nature or rank, seemed to have heard. Roley’s clear voice died a few feet away from the table, killed by the barrier he had erected around them. No sound they made would ever be heard without Roley’s permission.

nAfter a deep breath, Daniel opened his mouth and spoke, “Make as many as you can, then wait for my signal.” Just as he finished speaking, his eyes darted to the back of the u-shaped table, past which three silhouettes had finally appeared. Urgency grew within his mind as he added, “Another thing. Shove those powers as deeply as you can within your body, as far as they know, you are a normal cultivator.”

nRoley was only given a few moments to nod in agreement before light struck the bodies of the three entities, revealing their features. They walked side by side, strolling onto the cold stone with purpose, and heading for the remaining empty seats.

nThe man on the left was the portrait of a scholar, or an immortal of old. He stood at five feet something in height, with a lean build hidden underneath a large cultivator’s attire of different shades of blue. His gentlemanly appearance was partially hidden by an overgrown goatee, long and white with age, and left draping past his chest and down to his stomach, just a few inches shy of his even longer long hair. He held his arms crossed loosely on his chest, carrying a golden brush in between.

nJust above his head, five fist-sized beads of pale blue color orbited in a halo, giving him an air of divinity that, more than any other power present, contrasted that of the man that waked opposite to him.

nSurrounded by uncountable sparks of red color, different than the fiery orange of War or the bloody scarlet of Sacrifice in the savage and chaotic way they moved, was a tall man in his early thirties. He observed his surroundings with feline red eyes, assessing every detail as he strolled towards his seat. His shoulder length hair were pitch black, and shining with grease as they draped over his eyes, hiding a good portion of his manly yet somewhat savage features.

nHe was dressed with nothing but a towel, which he wore uncomfortably, as shown by his constant attempts to adjust it around his lean waist. His nails, grown long and sharp as a tiger’s claws, more than once threatened to make him lose the grip of the piece of cloth, exposing him to the rest. But they never did. Not because he wouldn’t have liked to, but for the same reason he was wearing the towel in the first place. A sign of respect for the man who walked between him and the scholar.

nThe two walked a step behind the third entity, for his pace was too efficient for them to follow without making an unnecessary effort. Yet, they never complained, for complaint was unbecoming to creatures such as them. Entities born from powers birthed by concepts of totality, and high tier aspects within the pantheon of existence. They were the aspect of Sentience, and the aspect of Instinct.

n“Keep an eye on the kid.” Instinct said the moments his cat-like eyes met with Roley’s figure, words he spoke to his right, past the back of the third entity, and towards the old scholar.

n“Just a mortal kid.” Sentience retorted while adjusting the brush in between his crossed arms. The lack of manners in his response indicated that the two of them were either very close, or did not get along at all, to a point where the scholar would discard Instinct’s warning as annoying rambling.

nThat, however, was not the case for the man who walked a step ahead, as Instinct words brought his steady march to a halt. He was a well built man of above-average height, clad completely in platinum heavy armor with gold plating on each edge. His appearance was almost completely hidden, leaving only a t-shaped slit at the frontal part of his helmet for a few details to be revealed. A pair of dirty white eyes, straight brows, and thin lips.

nHanging from his shoulders was a large white-colored cape with golden rivets at the sides and bottom, and a symbol embroidered in the middle. A triangle split within in four smaller triangles, two at the bottom, one upside down in the middle, and one at the top. A milky white power lingered over him, like a heavy liquid that had been dunked into a lighter solution, or extreme heat onto asphalt.

n“Why is that?” he asked with the same authoritative voice he had used to stop War from acting according to his nature. His gaze heavy and threatening to both friends and foes, for his nature was not one for kinship.

nThe half-naked aspect of Instinct shrugged, undisturbed by the man’s demanding tone. “I’ll give you the same answer I always give. Knowing is not in my nature.” He said, confident that his instincts would never prove him wrong.

nSlightly annoyed by man’s unsatisfying yet expected answer, the man in the heavy armor turned back around, and resumed his march, leaving his two companions standing behind.

nSentience once again adjusted the position of his brush, then told the half naked man, “You know that asking is part of his. If you don’t want him to ask, next time remain silent.” He said before resuming his approach, and catching up to the man in heavy armor with long strides.

nThe aspect of Instinct let out a heavy sigh. “If I had a universe for every time we have had this conversation, word for word..” His voice trailed into silence as he too resumed his approach of of the table.

nWhen the three reached the highest platform, which held the portion of the table reserved for the high tier aspects of existence, Sacrifice sprung up on his feet. His feet shuffled as he hastily walked around the edge of the table he had occupied, and stopped once he got to the empty space that separated Daniel’s dirty table from their own.

nHis broad shoulders hindered Daniel’s sight, but only until the three took a sit on their reserved chairs, after which Sacrifice dropped to his knees in reverence, revealing the three sitting figures. Sentience sat straight on the chair located in the left corner, between the seat of honor and the ghastly aspect of Fear, while Instinct sat relaxed on the opposite seat, next to the massive aspect of War whom he nodded at in a carefree manner. The man in platinum armor, of course, occupied the seat of honor.

n“I humbly greet the noble aspect of Sentience, the feral aspect of Instinct, and the just aspect of Order.” Sacrifice greeted them graciously, prompting the remaining aspects of existence to bow their heads in a show of respect at the mention of each of their names.

nSentience nodded back in response, uncaring for the difference in status, while Instinct smiled awkwardly, waving his hand from left to right like a newly-appointed king of previous humble origins. Order, on the other hand, remain quiet. His body still as a statue, while his white eyes moved past the bent figure of Sacrifice and landed on Daniel.

nWhen Daniel’s eyes met his, he immediately noticed his intentions. A deep killing intent that, however, was devoid of any form of hostility. An odd sight, yet quite common in the wild, where a predator would stalk its pray not out of hate, but out of hunger. Those were the feelings of Order-feelings that anyone who had an inkling of his nature would have understood.

nHe was the one born to bring order to the infinite chaos, the most loyal of Fate’s servants, and highest of all the high tier aspects of existence, second only to his liege and the other primordial members of the pantheon. The needed remedy to Chaos, engaged in a losing battle that had gone on since the moment of his birth, for while order was needed, chaos was everywhere.

nDaniel, in his eyes, was nothing more than a bit of chaos he, for once, could fight against.

nThe two looked at one another for a few seconds, after which, the aspect of Order turned to the left side of the table, where the aspect of Authority sat quietly. “You will keep record of this meeting.” He ordered.

nAuthority did not complain, and immediately brought out from underneath the folds of her dress a large green book. Pages were yellow with age, some protruding slightly from its edges and some torn altogether, giving the book a worn look. She opened it gently to an empty page, struggling to keep the occasional breeze from taking away some of the pages, and with a pen nobody had seen her take out, began to write.

n“Witnesses, state your name and grievances.” Order said.

nThe first to stand up was the large man in barbarian attire. He towered over the sitting figure of Order, whom he looked at with respect. “I am War, and conflict is in my nature.” He said before unceremoniously sitting back down.

nFollowing War was the robe possessed by the green mist, which eerily rose to what looked like a standing position. An unpleasant series of voices spoke from the depths of his power, “Fear is my name, and I am here to understand the nature of Karma a little bit better.”

n“The two of us, Control and Authority, share Lord Fear’s intentions.” The woman in the red dress said.

nBy this point, Sacrifice had walked back to his seat, in front of which he stood nervously while trading glances with the aspect of Deceit. After receiving an encouraging nod, Sacrifice finally spoke, “Deceit and I, Sacrifice, oppose the existence of the aspect of Karma. We fight for High lord Fate.”

nSurprised by his words, Order nodded for the first time, applauding his courage for daring to voice his hostility towards a creature he too had to take seriously, as well as for doing so in his liege’s name. Then, after one more glance aimed at confirming that Authority was ready to continue, Order stated, “So it begins, the trial of Karma.”

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