BEYOND THE BEYSTADIUM

Prologue: The Spirits

Long before humanity became the dominant race of the world, there were the spirits.

These spirits took the form of creatures that appear to only exist in myths and legends like dragons, demons, deities, and invincible warriors. Just like humans, they had emotions, ate and drank, had children and can either be good or evil. Though they were far more faster, stronger and had abilities a human couldn't possibly have. The spirits also lived longer than humans, living up to hundreds and thousands of years.

When mankind crossed paths with spiritkind for the first time , they were horrified of them due to their unnatural abilities. The humans feared that the spirits would bring about the end of the world with their powers, so they wished to get rid of them, calling them devils.

The evil spirits embraced their title as 'devils' and reeked havoc onto humanity, destroying farmlands, spreading plagues and sparking hatred among human beings. They were savages and sadists, enjoying how humans could turn against each other so easily. They would drink, laugh and party around whenever conflict arose. They were truly evil.

The benevolent spirits could do nothing but watch. Though they had the desire to protect the helpless humans, they did not have the will to fight, for killing and warfare were not in their pure souls.

All of this would change however. Emerging from a cave deep within a secluded jungle, were four spirits that seem to glow as bright as day. The creatures that lived in that jungle were mesmerized by their appearances, as if they were angels from heaven itself.

Then one of the spirits, a female spoke, "Spread your words of us to the spirits beyond this jungle but do not let the evil ones know, for they have ill intentions. If you see one going after you, flee. Flee until they tire and could no longer catch up to you."

The jungle spirits quickly spread their message to the other spirits. With their swiftness, they were able to evade the evil spirits and news of the four spirits spread like wild fire amongst the benevolent side of spiritkind while the evil side remained ignorant in their cruel pleasure.

When all of the good spirits arrived at the jungle, the four mysterious spirits revealed themselves as Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo and Uzume. Amaterasu, the elder one, explained that they had been in the cave, preparing to lead them against the evil spirits. At first, the lesser spirits were struck with fear. They explained that they didn't want to fight their own kind like the humans. But then the four noble spirits spoke;

"In everything we do, there is a reason why we do it." - Uzume

"Like spirits and humans, reasons can be either good or evil." - Susanoo

"Your actions do not reflect who you are, it is your intentions." - Tsukuyomi

" The action is the body, the intention is the soul. If your intentions is to protect, then stand up, and strive to protect!" - Amaterasu

All of the spirits were touched by their words, some even shed tears. One by one, the spirits stood up, their hearts filled with confidence and determination. They, with a loud cheer, agreed to fight the evil side of their kind, with the four noble spirits as their leaders.

When the day of the battle arrived, the evil spirits, lead by the cruel and violent Typhon, were shocked to see their benevolent counterparts clad in armour and wielding weapons. They then laughed, thinking that was just a petty threat and that they were still cowards. The devils attacked first, but were shocked to see them fight back. Amaterasu's army began ripping through the hellish savages. One by one, the evil spirits fell to the Noble Four's weapons and the weapons of the lesser spirits.

Typhon, leader of the devils, was slain by Amaterasu. However, his stubborn and relentless soul refused to leave the living world. The four siblings chose to solve this problem by trapping his soul into a dark stone. The stone was sealed in Tartarus, a dark prison located in the underworld, along with the other devils who still lived. The evil spirits will rot there, either till their untimely deaths or till they atone for their crimes against man and spiritkind.

The war was over, but that didn't resolve anything between them and mankind.

Mankind still hated them and blamed them for all the calamity they went through. Some of the spirits tried to take on human forms to try and co-exist with them, but they were often times caught and killed because their black tears had exposed them.

"DIE YOU DAMN DEVILS! THIS IS FOR ALL OF THE TROUBLE YOU'VE CAUSED! MAY THE EARTH BE IN PEACE WITHOUT YOU!" they would cheer, as the spirits burned alive in agony.

The spirits who once wanted to protect the humans felt betrayed and saw them as ungrateful. Amaterasu advised the spirits not to attack the humans, for that would only fuel their hatred even more. They all agreed.

A few decades later, after seeing the oppression their kind had to suffer from the humans, Amaterasu and her siblings decided that they will find a land where spirits can thrive in peace without human disturbance. Many of the spirits followed them as they travelled all around the world searching for the perfect land. They finally stumbled upon a wide and breathtaking area of the earth, covered in green forests, flowery plains, volcanoes, wide bodies of water and cold tundras. It was a land far beyond mankind's reach. They settled the land and built barriers that only allowed spirits to enter. They called this abode, Aether, the great beyond, and made the four noble spirits their rulers. In the center of the land, they built Suria Castle, where the siblings would rule from.

For 400 years, the four of them maintained their kingdom, with Amaterasu being seen as the most serene ruler, as she was the wisest and fairest of the siblings. In the span of their rule, they had many descendants.

Because of this however, the siblings faced a heavy dilemma.

They realized that death hadn't come for them yet. If they were to rule any longer, they feared that their children would rebel against them to claim the throne. And fighting their own children was not something they looked forward to.

So what did they do after 400 years?

The siblings decided to voluntarily exile themselves and lend their kingdom to their children and grandchildren. They knew that their descendants won't let them down, for they had proven themselves to be loyal to their ancestors. Legend has it that the four of them vanished into the hidden garden known as Takagamahara. Though they had left their kingdom, The Four Noble Siblings still watched over their people through the dreams of their children.

Years after the Noble Siblings disappeared, their descendants were separated into four royal families.
The descendants of Uzume created the House of the Dawn, the descendants of Susanoo birthed the House of the Storms, Tsukuyomi's grandchildren made the House of the Moon and Amaterasu's descendants gave rise to the House of the Sun.

The four families had some disputes amongst each other over the centuries. In the end, however, they managed to work together in order to protect the peace that their ancestors had always wished for, for both their kind and later, mankind.

Till the present era, the descendants of the four noble siblings continue to rule over this mystical domain, maintaining the peace for generations to come.