Yip of Yore

Yip of Yore is a tall, lean humanoid, described as having longer-than-average arms, which grant him extended reach in melee combat.

Yip of Yore is a cunning schemer and storyteller. He is a god who “works with stories to craft a situation in which he has a victory”. Outwardly, Yip is often jovial or sarcastic tone, but can quickly become cold and ruthless.

Philosophically, Yip is a relativist about truth. To Yip, perception is reality, and history itself is just a storyline that can be edited. This ethos underpins his entire approach – he seeks to define the narrative in every situation.

Manipulative and deceptive, Yip has no qualms about betraying allies or twisting truth to build his legend. He even went so far as to betray and kill his closest friend and rival, Altius, in order to usurp the man’s sword and glory for himself. Yip then rewrote Altius' legend with himself as the hero. The Viper points out that this shows Yip's willingness to "kill the real heroes of the world to make [himself] look better."

Yip's extreme ambition leads to him to not only want to merely be a god; He wants to become the first Primordial Killer- a slayer of one of the nigh invulnerable Primordial gods- a feat that would cement him as an untouchable legend. To this end, Yip targeted the Malefic Viper. Yip is bold and even arrogant in this goal as The Viper had just emerged from eons of seclusion and was deemed the most vulnerable of the Primordials.

Despite his ruthlessness, Yip can acknowledge talent in others. He privately admired Jake Thayne (the Viper’s Chosen) as extraordinary in every sense, even lamenting that such a human wasn’t under his own banner. In Yip’s eyes, genius recognizes genius, though that respect is ultimately secondary to his ends. Everyone, be they friend or foe, is a character in Yip’s story – and he will play the villain, the hero, or the puppet-master as needed to achieve his “happy” ending.

During the 92nd universe, Yip emerged as an exceptionally promising mortal. He quickly distinguished himself in System events and trials, notably playing second best to another rising star, Altius of the Blade. While Altius was a prodigy in combat, Yip excelled in strategy and politics. This dynamic came to head during Nevermore, where Altius beat Yip and claimed the title Peerless Conqueror of Nevermore. However, in a later system event where it became clear that Yip would be forever second to Altius, Yip betrayed his friend and killed him. Using "Usurper of Legends", a Transcendent skill Yip acquired due to intense jealousy, he managed to steal the titles and legends of Altius as well as Altius' famed sword. Later, as a reward for a system event, Yip received a ring which hides his aura of a Transcendent. He then rewrote the narrative of his final encounter with Altius – spreading a tearful tale that Altius had nobly gifted Yip the sword just before he died.

Upon ascending to godhood, Yip destroyed the pantheon of his former patron god, including the patron himself. In doing so, Yip demonstrated that he was capable of fighting Godkings and willing to destroy those who knew the truth of Yip's early life and might affect the legends Yip would later spin.

By the beginning of the 93rd era, Yip of Yore was considered a peak god in the multiverse – a “rising star” who might one day challenge the "Old guards" (Powerful gods that ascended in the earliest eras of the multiverse). This would change the status quo of the multiverse. Due to his rapid ascension and the audacious feats in his spreading legends, Yip became known as a crazy genius.

Eager to benefit from the latest universal integration, Yip gave his True Blessing to Ell'Hakan, a nahooom with a powerful bloodline that allowed him to manipulate the emotions of others.

Quickly approaching a wall in his Path and desperate for a way to progress, Yip enthusiastically attempts to capitalize on the return of The Malefic Viper to the multiverse. Viewing the Primordial as washed up and greatly weakened, Yip designed a plan targeting the Viper in order to acquire the title of "Primordial Slayer." Yip’s approach to this herculean task was not to charge in recklessly, but to script the ultimate tale that would empower him to victory.

To this end, Yip of Yore:

• Challenged Valdemar to a duel and survived, sparking a legend that he can survive a clash with the strongest Primordial.
• Exchanged punches with The Malefic viper following the Viper's killing of the Brimstone Hegemon.^[1] This allowed Yip to assess the Viper's strength, build tolerance to his poison, and paint himself a hero who failed to save the Hegemon from the evil Primordial. At this point, Yip and the Viper agreed to have proxy war via their Chosen.
• Blessed a number of Earthlings to support Ell'Hakan's failed invasion of Earth. This marked the start of Yip's efforts to build a story of heroes working to librate the multiverse of the Viper's evil control.
• Crashed Jake's Chosen ceremony and declared his intentions to become a Primordial Slayer by killing the Viper. He also emphasized a declaration of support he just signed with Valhal. During this encounter, Yip managed to sense that Jake had heretical leanings, making him hopeful Jake might denounce his patron.
• Landed an attack on The Starseizing Titan. With his weapon "Hero Sword" managing to cut the normally untouchable Primordial, a legend began to spread that Yip had a weapon capable of hurting a Primordial.
• Encouraged his god followers to bless mortals in the Milky Way during the Prima Guardian event to strengthen Ell'Hakan's influence in the galaxy and increase the chances of he and his loyal followers earning the five administrator spots.

Yip of Yore finally engages the Malefic Viper in a full-on battle. By this point, the narrative conditions are ripe: the whole multiverse has been primed to believe that Yip can defeat the Viper. Yip enters this battle in his most powerful form, wielding the overcharged Hero Sword and every trick in his arsenal.

Throughout the confrontation, Yip proves a dangerous foe, even able to wound the Viper. He also appears to be able to resist the Viper’s venomous attacks, forcing the battle to be decided by force and strategy rather than powerful one-hit toxins. Additionally, Yip’s story-weaving in combat created several moments where it seemed the fates themselves bent in his favor. However, facing a being as mighty and experienced as Vilastromoz, Yip’s advantages could only take him so far.

The Malefic Viper had millennia of power behind him (and, critically, a perfect memory due to his bloodline that made him personally immune to Yip’s reality-warping abilities). Ultimately, Yip of Yore was defeated and slain by the Malefic Viper^[2]. True to form, even in defeat, Yip set up one last plot: upon his demise, his Chosen Ell’Hakan performed a Usurper Ritual to absorb a portion of Yip’s divine Records and power.

In the end, Yip of Yore’s campaign left a significant mark on the multiverse: he proved that with enough cunning, even a younger god could threaten a Primordial. Further more, his actions set many other significant events into motion. His story became legend, albeit a cautionary epic retold by those who witnessed the “Primordial War” between Yip and the Viper.

• Hero Sword (Legendary): A major component of Yip’s combat power, this soulbound weapon was tied deeply to his personal legend. Carried since Yip was mortal, he has recrafted it multiple times at critical junctures in his rise. Each reincarnation of the blade was tailored to overcome specific obstacles. Yip fed the sword the very records of his growing legend to empower it.

• Library of Records (Divine): Yip's divine realm further reflects his nature: it takes the form of a vast library, symbolizing Yip’s dominion over stories and knowledge. This realm of books and records underscores that Yip’s very existence is tied to the accumulation of narratives.

• Narrative Manipulation: Yip’s signature ability is the manipulation of reality through narrative. This power can manifest subtly or overtly. Yip has been known to alter historical records and collective memory. In combat, his narrative power gives him unpredictable moves; he can strike in ways that seemingly defy causality, illustrating Yip’s ability to bend time or fate in a localized way. This made Yip exceptionally tricky to fight – one could never be sure if an attack was feint, an illusion, or a literal rewrite of the immediate future.
• Transcendence and Preparation: Like all high-tier gods, Yip of Yore has at least one Transcendent ability or state tied to his Path. Yip uses his to maximize every advantage and make all possible preparations, molding himself into a being specialized in killing the Malefic Viper. This included rapidly increasing his own power and acquiring countermeasures for the Viper’s most infamous weapons, such as his poisons and malefic curses. By the time of their duel, Yip had seemingly nullified many of the Viper's tools and abilities. In short, Yip came to the battle with full knowledge of his enemy and tailor-made tactics to counter him.

• Martial and Magical Skills: Though scheming is Yip’s forte, he is also a formidable fighter in his own right. As a mortal, he competed at the highest levels of System events against other prodigies, honing a mix of combat and political skills. In melee, Yip is swift and precise. He can weaponize shockwaves and energy like any deity, and his divine mana is refined and potent. Yip’s defenses are also noteworthy. He sparred against Valdemar, the famed Wargod Primordial, and survived to tell the tale, indicating top-tier durability and combat instincts, even when raw strength is not in his favor. Furthermore, his experience battling gods and Primordials means he’s accustomed to cosmic-level techniques. He recognized and analyzed skills from other Primordials’ legacies (such as Valdemar’s Fangs of Man skill which Jake displayed), showing a deep knowledge of the powers at play.
• Affinities: Yip doesn't have a particular affinity he favors, instead using many different kinds. He's incredibly skilled in most of the high-concept affinities, especially space and time which both have auxiliary connections to his primary concept of bending reality to his will. Many of Yip's attacks take on a silvery light.^[3]

Yip of Yore is a true deity (a full God on the Empyrean Steps) but notably not a Primordial. He is relatively young for a god – roughly one era old – yet in that short time he acquired a fearsome reputation. In fact, Yip is acclaimed as possibly “the most talented person to ever rise to godhood,” a prodigy among the divine. His rapid ascent through the ranks of power was unprecedented, and he grew in strength faster than perhaps any god before him.

Yip’s Path revolves around stories and legends. As a God of Stories, Yip has the ability to influence the “Records” of reality – essentially the System’s memory of events – bending perception and history to suit his designs. This means Yip can literally orchestrate events like a grand playwright: by laying down foreshadowing and symbolic “building blocks” in advance, he can later force reality to conform to the storyline he wants. In practical terms, his divine Path allows him to alter fate and fact, making lies become truth and ensuring the tale ends in his favor – provided his power is great enough to enforce it.

Yip’s affiliations are defined more by the stories he creates than by formal alliances. After ascending, he did not join any existing major Pantheon; instead, he made himself a central figure of his own legend. Tellingly, Yip eliminated loose ends from his early days: the god who had originally given Yip a Blessing (his one-time patron) belonged to a pantheon that Yip later annihilated, thereby erasing most records of Yip’s humble origins. This act of purging his past – wiping out an entire pantheon – shows the lengths Yip went to curate his mythos. By the time of the modern story, Yip’s divine identity is self-made and unencumbered by any patronage: he stands alone as a god, albeit one who occasionally collaborates with others for his schemes.

While Yip can grant blessings to his followers (his Chosen, Ell'Hakan]], is proof of that), his true focus is on self-evolution. He sees slaying a Primordial as the key to reaching “the next level” of existence. Indeed, Yip’s campaign against the Viper is as much a personal evolution as it is a power-grab – a trial by narrative fire to transcend the normal limits of a god. Yip is a renegade storyteller god: young but exceedingly potent, unaligned with any greater pantheon, and walking a unique Path that treats reality as something to be authored and edited at will.

• According to Artemis, Yip of Yore was one of the extremely rare prodigies to already have a Sacred rarity skill at C-grade.^[4]

Key Quotes and Philosophy: Throughout the narrative, Yip of Yore’s views and ambitions are articulated in his own words. Some of the most revealing canon quotes include:

• “Reality is what we perceive. It’s what we believe… so who’s to say what we remember to be true isn’t the actual truth?” – Yip of Yore
• “Why did you kill him, take his sword, and act the hero afterward?… You’re not a damn hero; you’re just an actor who would gladly kill the real heroes of the world to make yourself look better.” – Malefic Viper confronting Yip about the murder of Altius the Blade
• “As the slayer of a Primordial… I would perhaps even make a few allies should I succeed.” – Yip of Yore
• “Any situation could be rewritten, meanings twisted, and plans retconned… as long as the right building blocks were laid down.” – Narration describing Yip’s Path.
• “Yip of Yore had made all the preparations possible, made himself into a being specialized in killing the Malefic Viper, and grown faster than any other god in the process…” – Narration on Yip’s preparation.
• "The 92nd Era, the one just before your universe, had Yip of Yore, a fucking lunatic of major proportions who killed half a pantheon the second he became a god himself-and from what I've heard, he hasn't stopped being batshit crazy since." -The Malefic Viper describing Yip to Jake while explaining the quality of gods across the eras. This is long before Yip decides to pick a fight with the Viper.

• The Primal Hunter (web novel, Vol. 9–10, Chapters 963, 995, 1004, 1013–1017)
• Official Author Commentary