Chapter Text
This was supposed to be the end. The Heavenly Pillar had been mended and The Jade Emperor’s power was split across the world. With that, however, the cycle shielding the universe from primordial chaos had been broken.
Monkie Kid, splitting celestial powers among humans, had passed a piece of himself into every person. As time went on, human civilization evolved, passing that piece across further generations. The little pieces mutated, granting humans the appearance of monkeys.
Monkeys thought they could for once feel peace, but just as everything started to feel normal again, primordial chaos had finally begun to bleed into the universe. It gained a physical form as it spread, covering the world in large magical crystals.
Bloontonium was the name for red crystals so large they could form mountains emanating radioactive energy. They quickly became a scourge on the world, covering most continents in deadly bloons. These balloon-shaped creatures lured unassuming monkeys with their friendly appearance, only to charge at them and explode as the bloontonium gas inside them ignited upon impact.
At first, these new creatures didn’t cause much concern. Their explosive nature was easily countered by simply popping them like a regular balloon. With time, however, they began to grow in layers and speed, demanding more popping power to get rid of, until they eventually grew into huge blimps with the power to destroy villages. The monkeys tried to catch up with the newfound threat, creating a whole military operation and research laboratories dedicated to studying bloons, although to no avail. The bloons seemed to grow in numbers and strength much faster than civilization was able to advance.
As the new plague arose, it caught the attention of the three Mystic Monkeys themselves - Sun Wukong, Six-eared Macaque, and the Monkie Kid. The heroes tried to fight off the oncoming waves by attacking the source directly. Their attempts met with demise. One cannot simply beat chaos from beyond the universe itself.
And so, the Mystic Monkeys began to look for a way to seal it instead. With no Jade Emperor to control the universe, however, they were left pondering. None of them were strong enough to attempt it, so they waited.
Not for a solution, not for a missing puzzle, but a glimmer of hope. Hope that all wasn’t lost, just yet.