The grand hall of the Celestial Court shimmered with ethereal light, its towering pillars carved from translucent crystal.
An air of unease rippled through the assembly as Elder Hong, an ageless figure stepped forward.
His presence alone silenced the low hum of whispered conversations.
The Celestial Empress sat upon her golden throne, her expression a mask of composure, though the faint crease between her brows betrayed her inner turmoil, that couldn't be seen as a result of the veil she wore.
"Speak!" the empress instructed.
"…And that's the prophecy," Elder Hong said.
Elder Hong, the great priest of the Immortal Buddhist River Flowing Sect.
The only elder in the last four millennia to have comprehended the great dao of truth, and whose cultivation realm remained a mystery.
Elder Hong had a sagely aura revolving around him.
If you looked into his eyes, they were pure white as if there were no pupils contained within them. Wearing a long monastic robe with a bald head, he held long beads as he chanted a sutra just immediately after he gave the report to the whole court.
Despite his calm demeanor, the words that had just been spoken by him struck utter fear into the hearts of those that were present within the courts.
Gasps erupted among the assembly. Some immortals clutched their robes, others whispered anxiously, their respective auras dimming under the weight of his words.
As a commotion ensued with different powerhouses murmuring to themselves, the Immortal Empress finally spoke.
"Silence!"
Elder Hong stopped chanting his sutra and looked up.
There stood a massive golden throne radiating a crushing presence.
A veil covered the face of the Celestial Empress, yet it felt as if she was staring into the very soul of all those who were seated and present within the courts.
Well, except for Elder Hong as he didn't even seem to notice her gaze.
"The Asura spirit," She continued, "is no ordinary foe. It is a calamity that devours realms and leaves nothing but desolation in its wake." The empress added clearly stating the obvious.
"Is what you said true?" she asked.
"All that I have revealed is but a mere prophecy. Its coming to fulfillment or not is left for fate to decide," responded Elder Hong.
The Celestial Empress pondered upon this fact as she knew the intensity of what was at stake.
"Should we allow the Asura spirit to be born, the tragedy that occurred two eons (billion years) ago is bound to repeat itself. This certainly cannot happen, at least not while I am on this throne. I must do something and fast; if not, the devastation that is bound to occur will be massive," the Immortal Empress thought inwardly.
"And where were the traces of the Asura detected?" the Immortal Empress asked.
Just then, an elder of a rather prominent sect spoke out from the mid-left wing of the grand court.
"Your Imperial Majesty, we have not been able to locate the traces from the Sky Mirrors Peak for a while now, but…" Elder Fem paused.
Seeming impatient to hear what he had to say, the Celestial Empress immediately followed.
"But what?"
"But just before your summons, we detected faint traces of an Asura. Although it's not yet confirmed if it's a spirit, as it was too faint and borders towards the end of this grand cosmos," Elder Fem responded.
"And where was this detected?" the Empress asked.
At this point, Elder Hong, who was still standing at that time, turned to look at Elder Fem of the Radiant Mirror Sect.
As Elder Fem felt his gaze, he turned for a few seconds. He tried to understand the underlying message that Elder Hong was trying to pass across, all to no avail.
Turning to the Empress, "It was detected along the world border of a lesser world… The Forsaken Saints World," Elder Fem stated.
Gasps
A sigh escaped Elder Hong's lips as he seemed to sense the impending misfortune that was about to happen.
Sadly, he wasn't in authority to do anything about it.
Just then, another elder belonging to the same sect as Elder Fem, the Radiant Mirror Sect, stood up and said:
"Although according to our investigation, the world spirit of the World of Forsaken Saints is dead," the elder said.
The Immortal Empress suddenly came to a realization, which happened simultaneously amongst the others present within the courts that understood the goal of the Asura.
"Since the World of Forsaken Saints' spirit is dead, that means the Asura must want to possess the world and grow. I certainly cannot allow such to happen. The consequence would be unimaginable," the Empress thought after weighing the consequence.
"Besides, how could a world still function when its world spirit is dead?" the Empress thought but had to discard that thought as soon as it came, as there were more pressing matters to attend to.
"Seems like I have no choice but to do that," the Immortal Empress murmured softly, but it was still heard clearly by everyone in the room.
"I officially issue a verdict. You are to…" Just then, Elder Hong interrupted her, which shocked not only her but also everyone present in the room.
"I don't think that is a wise decision, Your Majesty," Elder Hong said.
As she furrowed her eyebrows, she asked why, only for Elder Hong to begin chanting the sutra again before coming to a pause. Then he answered her.
"While the terrors that the Asura spirit caused a great calamity to our world and the cosmos beyond two eons ago, it was because it was controlled by 'HIM.'"
"This is vastly different because it will inherit a world itself, and while that is true, we can rather observe than make rash decisions that could cause the downfall of this empire. We do not want that, right? Or do you?" Elder Hong said as he began reciting the sutra again.
The Empress became livid but quickly concealed it. The Empress couldn't do anything, especially due to Elder Hong's importance.
Considering that he was the only one who understood the Dao of truth in the empire, his value was irreplaceable.
Now the Empress had to calmly analyze what Hong said. She knew that barely anything said by Hong had ever turned out to be false information, so it was left up to her to judge.
Another thing that struck a chord with her was the fact that Elder Hong said that it would cause the downfall of her empire.
This fueled the fire by increasing the threat level of the Asura spirit in the heart of the Empress.
Now desperation clouded the mind of the Empress as she sought out a way to uproot the thorn before it even grew, thereby making a decision based on emotions and not logically.
Finally making a decision despite the warnings of Elder Hong, she made her verdict.
"By the authority granted upon me as the Celestial Empress of the Immortal Celestial Court, I, Cleopathra the 5th, hereby order the annihilation of the World of Forsaken Saints and issue a decree to all present to report anything that relates to the Asura spirit!" Cleopathra said.
A royal scroll materialized in her hands, with the words she had just said printed within in vivid for all to see.
"There is nothing I can do. Alas, your destruction is certain," Elder Hong thought inwardly.
With that, he began chanting a sutra, but then a weird phenomenon occurred where the moon, sun, and a rainbow merged, creating a sort of spectacle.
But just as the merge was complete, an utterly horrific scene spread across the heavens.
The sun and moon dyed blood red; they seemed to be in some sort of eclipse.
There it happened…
Ashrill scream spread across the heavens,
KRIAAAAAY
Causing everyone to feel a sense of dread.
While no one was harmed, this day came to be known as the day of the heavens' cry.
For one hour, the world remained in this state, and suddenly everything vanished and returned to normal.
The Empress especially felt that this was a warning to her. How she could tell, she didn't know, but just as she was about to ask Elder Hong, she discovered that he wasn't in the court anymore and seemed to have just vanished.
Making a mental note to pay him a visit in due time.
Cleopathra made adequate preparations for the descent of the immortals to the lesser world where the World of Forsaken Saints could be found.
Even as immortals, they were not above certain laws, such as descending to a lower realm.
Not only would they be restricted, but they would barely last for minutes in such worlds as the world spirit would immediately dispel them.
Sadly, that wasn't the same for the World of Forsaken Saints as its world spirit is dead.
Still, it would require a lot of resources to send immortals to such a lower world.
Considering that they would also investigate the peripheries of such worlds, this only added to the already huge resources.
The court summons ended, and each individual returned to their respective powers to further spread the happenings of that day.
As every single cultivator in the Immortal Celestial world heard and saw the heavens cry and the strange phenomenon that occurred.
***
"Are you ready?" Cleopathra asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty. We shall not disappoint you," the five immortals said.
Each of the five immortals was above the immortal ascension realm, and while they were the weakest in terms of cultivation rank in this world, each was a powerhouse that could flatten a lesser world with just a snap of their fingers.
"I expect good news on your return then," Cleopathra said.
Just then, they opened a spatial tear in space and tore through the void, vanishing from the Immortal Celestial World.
"I CANNOT ALLOW THE EXISTENCE OF THE ASURA AT ALL COSTS… I SWEAR IT," Cleopatra said.
***
Beneath a certain mountainous peak, Elder Hong sat silently under a cave as he chanted the sutra.
As soon as he sensed the spatial tear in the void, he vanished and appeared at the top of the mountain peak, gazing into the distant horizon.
"It is finally time… What are you scheming, old monster?" he asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer.
When he sensed that the five immortals at the ascension realm had disappeared from this world, he returned to his cultivation, except this time a smile spread across his face.
This deeply contrasted the calm aura surrounding him.