Beastmaster of the Ages

In the Upper Star Ruin, deep in the endless darkness, a black palace, formed by countless celestial patterns, floated between the sky and earth like a nova source. Within this symbol of supreme power, a colorful celestial lake churned. Its galaxy-like waters gurgled and bubbled like magma, and every bursting bubble unleashed a thunderous roar.

At the center of the lake lay a colossal cosmic god, his body stretching for tens of thousands of meters like a towering mountain. Each of his middlekin astrons was a tiny star a centimeter in size, and together they formed this astral giant. The ninefold hell-ring on his chest spun gently, disturbing the calm surface of the water with its ripples. As the man sank beneath the surface of the lake, his starlike eyes opened, unleashing two brilliant beams of dark light towards the sky.

He lay there for a long, long time.

Some time later, a group of cosmic gods arrived and entered the palace, their faces solemn and unpleasant. Upon approaching the lake, they fell to their knees and said, "Greetings, Imperator Yin."

The waters of the lake undulated, forming waves.

"What’s the situation like?" The astral giant’s voice resounded like a bell.

"It’s bad, really bad." A cosmic god elder sighed.

"The statistics are in. Presently, a third of the contracts have mysteriously failed. No matter what they do, they can no longer summon ghouls. And that number is going up. At this rate, we’ll be unable to connect to Hell within a year or two," said another white-haired cosmic god elder.

"It’s not that simple. Our standing among the three divine races was built on Hell. Losing it would lead to a great reduction in our entire race's strength. We stand to lose our position as being the strongest individually, and may be removed from the three divine races altogether. Even though the Heavenly Dao dictates how resources are allocated, the five pantheons may have other plans. I'm afraid the wonderians and ashuras will give us a hard time. We specters have always been a marginalized faction among the eight, and our relationship with the Virtue Pantheon is strained at best.” The third cosmic god elder's frown grew more pronounced with every word. He appeared to be on the verge of weeping.

"You’re missing the crux of the issue!" Taking a deep breath, the fourth cosmic god elder said, "There's a flaw in the Heavenly Dao. Its control over laws and regulations has weakened, and its repeated mistakes in the allocation of resources have caused internal conflict. The wonderians and Virtue are already upset with us for benefiting from its oversight. We can't afford a mishap at this critical moment. If the Heavenly Dao fails, many will try to take advantage of the situation."

The cosmic god elders' expressions grew troubled as they looked at the astral giant in the lake. The devas were once fearless, but crisis now loomed over their race like a dark cloud. Their knowledge of the changes in the Heavenly Dao gave them a clear view of just how dire the situation had become.

"Everyone sees the glory of the Eightpart Pantheons and our unity in controlling the Upper Star Ruin, but they’re blind to our rising internal conflicts. No outside push is needed. Should the Heavenly Dao fail, we’ll descend into chaos." Another cosmic god elder sighed.

The atmosphere was heavy with gloom.