Heavenly Capital Peak soared above the clouds, higher than every peak around it. Snow and ice covered its summit year-round and never melted.
The founding patriarch of Jade Sun Mountain was nearing the end of his lifespan. Unable to reach the Void Step realm, he had chosen, disheartened, to sit in meditation and pass away on that summit. His reason was simple: Heavenly Capital Peak was the highest point nearby, the place closest to the Ninefold Heavenly Firmament. Dying there would be some consolation for all his past efforts.
Yet when he reached the summit, he saw a vision that changed his life.
Two people were playing a game of chess atop Heavenly Capital Peak. Both had the air and bearing of immortals, and immense power showed in their every gesture. They sat high on the summit, each placing pieces as they battled across the board.
Their pieces carried power so great one could only look up in awe. Between one player's fingers burned a brilliance like the great sun and stars in the heavens; on the other's fingertips lay only the deathly stillness of a void that froze all things.
The founding patriarch of Jade Sun Mountain stared at their fingertips in terror. The blazing true fire was like the legendary great sun, bearing heat that could destroy everything and a pull that could swallow everything whole. One glance was enough to shake his soul. The stillness that froze all things seemed to embody the abyss into which everything would ultimately fall. Its mere existence filled his heart with despair.
What manner of beings were these two, and why were they playing chess atop Heavenly Capital Peak?
The founding patriarch did not know and had no way of knowing. His entire mind had been drawn into their game, where