Daji froze as she watched the emperor pinch his right eye. "Oops, I keep forgetting that the emperor doesn't have a monocle. It seems to be a bad habit." The emperor smirked before he stood up and looked at Daji.
"So how did you like story? And what really are you? The woman is Daji no doubt about it, but I'm asking "you" the one behind Daji." Tianzun smirked as Daji went silent.
A chuckle escaped her throat, "Yes you're right. Perhaps you can call me Amaterasu. The goddess of the sun."
Tianzun kept his composure but inside he was already planning an escape. He hadn't gotten to the point he could face Amaterasu head on. At most he was very good at escaping and scheming.
Daji grinned sadistically before she revealed, "You don't have much firepower do you? I'm willing to bet you're only good at running away. It'll be a hassle If I let you run, so I'll kill you now!"
Tianzun felt something go horribly wrong, he knew very well that his powers as of now were mainly suited for scheming and escaping, not head on confrontation, especially since it seemed Amaterasu was hell bent on killing him.
In that moment even for an instant, Amaterasu the goddess of the sun had descended. The emperor instantly died and Daji who had become weakened was in a state of autopilot, a virtual personality.
Tianzun noticed the the goddess descend and cursed, he hadn't planned for this. In that moment, all of his marionettes within the city were being slaughtered one by one by Daji.
A worst case scenario, he could feel his worms dying.
He had to simultaneously deal with Daji and run from Amaterasu.
He sighed only to give up on the city and run.
Amaterasu had located him instantly on sight. While he could conceal things, he hadn't reached that level yet.
The goddess of the sun grinned maliciously as Tianzun hopped from flame to flame and leaving paper figurines everywhere as substitute.
But in the face of overwhelming power, these were all useless.
In that moment he had an epiphany, a gamble. A gamble that would force him to hide for a while. At least it meant he couldn't make any big moves for a few years.
But if pulled off successfully he could possibly promote and buy time. The promotion wasn't guaranteed but it would serve as an escape distraction.
Amaterasu lunged at him with just enough time for him to pull out a cage. More specifically it was the cage that contained a goddess from ancient times. A time and era that had long past.
And as one of the more crucial aspects of that history, he would return it to the current times. Goddess vs goddess.
Since this city was a goner it might as well serve as a battleground between gods.
From the concealment of Sefirah Castle, Tianzun pulled out the cage and broke the seal left by Ereshkigal and Sefirah Castle.
A blinding light appeared as Ishtar was set free. At the same time, his requirements had been met, he had promoted to Miracle Invoker.
Ishtar soon came face to face with Amaterasu. Goddess of Venus vs the Goddess of the Sun.
Ishtar stared at her fading body, then looked at Amaterasu. She immediately figured out what was going on. She grit her teeth as she lunged at Tianzun only to be stopped by Amaterasu.
His ideal scenario had occurred, both prideful bitches and both hated his guts. He banked on the idea gamble that neither would give up their right to hunt him.
Especially since Ishtar didn't belong to this time, her rejection by the world would happen soon and she would be banished.
With a grin he wished to travel to a different country. Both goddesses flipped a switch and launched an attack on him at the same time. Amaterasu's brilliant light and Ishtar's arrow struck him at the same time.
Tianzun grit his teeth and took the attack as he transformed into his mythical creature form for an instant of a moment as he dropped dead in another country. His last expression was a malicious smile as he had heard the shrieks of pain before dying.
~~~~
In that moment Tianzun felt the sting of pain and loss of his body as it reformed within the historical void. He could do nothing but lick his wounds, or rather past wounds, and scheme on future revenge.
By this time, Ishtar no doubt would have long dissipated but Amaterasu was the one he needed to be careful of.
This was no longer a time where he could ascend slowly, this was a rush against time. Either he gains enough power or Amaterasu eventually finds him and kills him.
With that he divined where he currently was before sulking intensely. He had been teleported to Japan. Of all countries, but at this point he had no wishes and was down one resurrection, if he tried anything now...
He shook that thought out of his head before he started rushing for the construction of a town. The town would be called... Town.
His brain was turning the gears faster than ever. If there was one thing he wouldn't need to think of, it was the name of the town.
Strange names appeared everywhere, why not call a town, Town?
Maybe he would have a mayor marionette change it later.
In that instant he appeared in the spirit world and started constructing a town by dividing work among the marionettes. He had already, before the town had even been constructed, decided on a fate trajectory for every single marionette.
Honestly? He was having fun with this ritual. Better than being separated from history for 300 years.
Tianzun watched as the marionette villagers slowly built the town from the ground up. Each marionette was a different villager. He slowly watched as the population grew and the activities increased.
He felt the time was about right as he borrowed the grafting ability of a sequence 1 attendant of mysteries and grafted the entrances and exits to areas in the real world.
This way he would be able to make the simulation even more realistic. Trade and interactions with those outside would allow for more realism.
The goal was to create a real life painting. Something so realistic that people would think it's normal.
Tianzun simply watched hidden within the Sefirah Castle as his hands held the strings of the thousands of civilians within the town.
People had begun to trade and take notice of the town named Town. It soon began to be renowned for it's naming sense.
Peaceful tranquility took over the village as every day the bustling noise of the markets and town squares filled the people with joy and the visitors with amazement.
Such a prosperous village.
That peace was shattered in an instant as a woman came tumbling down and collapsed. Frost and snow followed her in as the villagers looked in shock.
One of the villagers soon carried her in to the town medical bay.
Tianzun looked confused but regardless continued to sleep while controlling each marionette. While smirking as his dreams showed that Daji was still defeated in the end. Not even a god could escape fate.
The man with a god striking whip had struck her down with righteous fury. Tianzun simply watched in glee but realised that perhaps he too was stuck with fate. If he had never weakened Daji by attracting the attention of Amaterasu, then this Taigong Wang would have never been able to defeat the bitch.
With that, he observed the trajectory of the village, especially the newcomer who had arrived. Her nature was clearly not human. In a way, he wanted to see what his marionettes would do.
//Next Chapter: Vestiges of Humanity//
N/A: Sorry for the shitty chapter. I'm really tired and exhausted from exams. Managed to push one out before I get on my flight.