“Our arrays have detected mechanical scouts and drones within the forest and near the Great tree.” Miria says, standing beside me. I had heard she was coming to tell Aftermath something and was curious, so I decided to join up with her to tell Aftermath whatever she was coming to say.
“They’re scouting us out.” He says, lightly pacing around the room. Or, well, as much as a massive skeletal dragon god can. He isn’t exactly quiet. “They’ve done this before, but not so much as they have. Miria, do you have exact numbers?”
“I do.” She says, handing him a sheet of papers, which he telekinetically takes from her. He looks the papers over in an instant before setting them down on a desk. We are currently in Aftermath’s personal chambers, which have warped into an office for him. Papers and screens showing different sights are everywhere.
“They want war. And they want to get rid of us first.”
“First?” I ask. Then I pause. “First… of the ten clans?”
“Yes.” He nods. “I will need to speak to a certain man within the temple of death. I have an idea. Abhor, Miria, would you like to go with me?”
“I should stay to keep things going smoothly, and will contact you if the invasion begins while you are gone.”
“Yeah, sure, I’ll come.” I say. “Can Snowstorm come?”
“Depends. Does he like magma?”
“No, he doesn’t like- oh, that was rhetorical.”
<{(0)}>
Volca. The capital city where the temple of death rests. Within this city lives the Lavaflows. We are coming to meet up with 3 people. 2 dragons, and one human. We didn’t just fly here, but teleported. That’s one of the benefits of being a god.
“Why can’t you just teleport to the middle of True Prairie and wreak havoc?” I ask him. “You have church people there, so there’s gotta be some way.”
“I only have specific members there.” He says. “And I don’t wish to cause mass chaos and murder countless people if I can help it. If that is what will save MY people however, I will. My people are my priority, not theirs.”
“Fair enough.” I say. No reason to go around murdering everyone. There are innocent people there. People that were lied to and misguided. I’m certainly not going to go around preaching the truth, but still. You know?
The air is hot. Like, very hot. My heat resistance is holding up, luckily. I think it’s going to benefit from all this exposure. We are currently in a cavern. The cavern is roughly a kilometer in height, and 5 kilometers in diameter. The roof is made of magma. Like, still liquid magma, yet it doesn’t fall on our heads. Dragons dive into the magma and out of it all the time, into the chamber. The walls of the cavern is the temple. Doors, balconies, windows, all over the place, with shining red stones, black marble and bricks.
“So, who are we meeting?” I ask.
“Them.” Aftermath nudges me with his tail, then turns me around. I see 2 dragons there. They are incredibly large for dragons. One a bulky, large Lavaflow, the other sleek and elegant.
“Greetings, Lord Aftermath.” The male says, tilting his head downwards. “It has been some many years since we last met.”
“That it has, young Saizmen.” Aftermath says. His form warps into his human form and smiles. “Abhor, this is Saizmen. Elder of the Lavaflows. His wife here is Ashpur, the priestess of death.”
“Hi!” I say, smiling. “I'm Abhor. Wait, he told you that already… uh… hi.” I facepalm. “Sorry I’m not normally this awkward.”
“It’s totally fine.” Ashpur says with a smile. Both change into human forms, though not demidragons. More like humans with a few scales here or there and lizard-like eyes.
“Lord Aftermath, why are you here?” Saizmen asks respectfully.
“Mind if I look around while you explain?” I ask. Aftermath nods and I grin. I wander as the explination starts. I start by making my way to a random wall with a door. It seems, to my magic senses, that the doors all along the walls are like the holes in the canopy above the city. They can lead anywhere. However, feeling about with my magic senses and using my eyes to look at the magic, I notice one door has far more magic, and it's close enough. I walk up to the door. As it was human size, I had to shift to demiform in order to open it and step through. I found myself in a large, long corridor with carvings along the walls. The setup reminds me of the entryway to the temple of life, with the murals of Aftermath. However, these murals were of a different dragon. This dragon had black scales, not a lick of light reflecting from them. His underbelly was blood red and armored. Spikes on his shoulders and elbows, though small. 2 horns on the top of his head, and 2 on his jaw. His head was round, and his eyes were a deep, ancient red. His wings were red, with black and red veins running through it. His tail- no, tails, were tipped with 3 different ends. The first was a barb like a scorpion on the first tail. The second tail was small and diamond-shaped. The third was long and pointed, with 2 grabber edges along its sides. This dragon looked tailor made to kill.
“Our god’s beauty is not to be underestimated, just as his danger is not to be downplayed.” A voice sounds beside me, from the opposite side of the room I had entered from. I turn to see a figure there. A man. He wore a rune-weaved black suit with a red tie. His suit had a hood that covered his face, allowing only the mouth to be seen. His mouth, filled with jagged, blood red teeth, was in a constant grin, flickering and glitching. 2 large horns jutted out of the front of the hood. More like the horns of a demon than a dragon. He had 2 large, black, feathery wings, with what looked to be a deep orange and red galaxy within. 2 long chains extended out from his tailbone like tails. As he walked, a magic circle followed his movements. The only skin I could see were his hands, which were an ashen grey.
“Hello, young timeling.” he says, offering a small bow. I just nod. Was he a demon or something? The way he spoke was like aftermath, but somehow lesser. I was reminded of the other gods on his council. A powerful god, but not a primordial.
“You know who I am?” I ask.
“I do.” He says with a nod. He steps up to stand beside me, staring at the mural directly in front of me, of the black dragon wreaking havoc to an enemy army, while simultaneously protecting a small city.
“So this is the god of death and creation?” I ask.
“Pyronite. That is his name.” The man responds, hands clasped behind his back. His wings partially get in the way.
“And what is your name?” I ask. “You know me, but I don’t know you.”
“Ah, apologies, I seem to have forgotten my manners. My name is Apash. I am a lesser god, and the stand-in for this temple while our god is absent. I am the god of Ash.”
“That leaves me with as many questions as answers.” I say with a chuckle. “Absent, huh?”
“He will return in time. All the absent gods will.” Apash responded, his grin unwavering.
“Which gods are absent?” I ask, turning to the next mural. This one of Pyronite resting within a volcano.
“The god of death, Pyronite. The god of Darkness, Abhorrence. The god of knowledge, Tempris. The god of light, Zephyr.”
“What could make a god go missing, of all things?” I ask, confused.
“They were killed.”
“How can a god be killed?” I ask, confused. “Arent gods immortal?”
“All gods are unaging. They live forever so long as they are not killed. So yes, they are immortal in a sense. However, they can be killed. They will be sent to the afterlife upon death, like everyone else. However, the primordial gods do not go to the afterlife. They reincarnate. They also have descendants. If they choose not to come back, they can let a descendant take the baton.”
“Who could kill a god?” I ask, looking to the next mural, this of a… spire. I recognize that spire. But I also don’t. Its different. Apash seemed to find what I said amusing, judging from his chuckling.
“Many can kill a god, Timeling. Especially other gods. However, some items exist that allow others to punch so far above their weight class that they could kill a primordial. However, you only need to do it once.”
“Why only once?” I ask, still staring at the mural.
“Because after they die, they lose all their power and memories. Only their soul and their karma remains, hurtling along to their next life, where they will be vulnerable tier 1’s again.” He turns to me straight on, and I turn to him.
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“Are you saying…”
“I am not putting any thought into your head. What conclusion you come to is entirely your own.” Apash turns to the mural of the spire. “I believe you recognize this, yes? You’ve seen one similar.”
“I have.” I nod. “How do you know that?”
“I was one of the ones caring for the 10 hatchlings, of which 3 were selected to raise you and your brother.”
“Why hatchlings?” I ask. “That seems irresponsible, to send children to raise even younger children.” This, apparently, Apash found very funny, if him bursting out laughing was anything to go by. Eventually he recovered, his chain tails lashing side to side.
“Oh, I hope lord Abhorrance heard you say that.”He chuckles a bit. “Oh, enough of my games. I say we go meet up with lord Aftermath and the rest of the gods of the temple of death.”
“Oh? What are the other gods like?”
“I will have to point out that not all gods have a focal concept. Some are simply just divine beings, not gods with a domain. For example, Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, while Hannai has no focal concept. Having no concept does not make a god weaker, simply less specialized and more generalized. A god without a concept can do anything to an extent, while a god with a concept has absolute dominion over that concept, and is weak with the opposite of said concept. There exist only 10 gods with more than one focal concept, and those are the Primordials.”
We begin to walk as he talks, from mural to mural, though I do glance back at the spire mural more than a few times.
“You didn’t exactly answer my question.” I point out. Apash grins.
“I didn’t, did I?”
<{(0)}>
War is coming. Or rather, these people are the ones carrying it along. As time goes on I find myself thinking more and more about the people I chose to align myself with. I have no true reason to distrust them. They've been accommodating to me, if to use my power for themselves, yes, but beyond that there hasn’t been much in the area of red flags. However, I haven't spoken to everyone, and I haven’t been everywhere. I also just have this gut feeling. My gut has helped me survive years as an assassin. I don’t know why I didn’t choose the “Assassin” class that was offered to me. I just had a gut feeling and chose “Swordsmaster”. A good thing, too, as these sickles are amazing, though I don’t have sufficient experience with them to truly utilize them to their maximum.
“Something on your mind?” I turn away from where I was looking, watching the preparation down below, to Phoebe.
‘I feel conflicted is all.’ I say. ‘I am confident in my choices. But my gut tells me I shouldn’t be here. That something is wrong.’
“Questioning your loyalties?” She asks, looking back down at the city below. We stand together on an invisible platform she created from condensed air to stand on and watch. “I suppose that makes sense, given where you are from. Other worlders always have unique world views.”
‘I’ve been told that before. Have you met any other-worlders?’
“No, but I’ve heard stories.” She says, sitting down on the platform, her legs dangling listlessly down below. I sit with her.
‘What kind?’ I ask.
“Some are stories of individuals of great power who want to change the world. Other stories of people who fade into the background in order to remain unseen. Some of people who become monsters. My favorite story, however, is of the Marauder of Chaos. A lesser god now, from what I’ve heard. He was once a human. Nobody knows what world he came from, or the time period in that world. My father told me tales of his exploits when I was young.”
‘What was he?’ I ask curiously. Once human… sounds kind of like my situations. Seeming to notice my thoughts she shook her head.
“You are still a sapien, Pyro. The Marauder was not. He was a Wendigo.”
‘Oh, I know what Wendigo’s are. They’re a part of the folklore where I lived. Massive, bipedal deer with a deer skull for a head, and a visible hole in their chest revealing their ribcage and the crystal that served as their heart. Their weaknesses were fire and a wooden stake from what I remember.’
“Everything’s weakness is fire.” Phoebe shoots back with a chuckle. “Fire is fire.”
‘Aren’t undead especially weak to fire though?’
“Well, yes, I suppose.” She admits, watching as a group of people load a bunch of strange crystalline pillars into general Aerolyn’s spatial storage.
‘Is people turning into monsters common?’ I ask.
“By no means. It is possible to artificially convert someone into a monster, but its absurdly expensive, and highly risky, as soul magic is flighty at times, and to turn into a monster always has to manipulate the soul.”
‘So that's why there aren't many sapiens in monster flesh wandering around down there?’
“Precisely.”
‘You said that despite being half dragon now, im not considered a monster. Are full dragons considered monsters?’ I ask, my tail flicking side to side. I frown at my tail and it stills its movement. Still not used to having extra limbs.
“Dragons are… not exactly monsters, no. But I don’t think they are classified as sapiens either.” She says after a moment’s thought. “From what I know, dragons can think, to an extent, yet choose to submit to base and primal instinct over being rational beings. They do, however, give the extra experience that comes from killing a sapien.”
‘Killing a sapien gives bonus XP?’ I ask, frowning. ‘Why are people not going around murdering each other then?’
“Some do. They get put down quickly though. I believe that is the reason for this war. Or, one of them. War simply has so many benefits to the winners, and isn't entirely without benefit to the loser.”
‘You really aren’t helping with my conflictedness.’ I say flatly.
“I suppose I'm not.” She says as she stands. She stretches and sighs. “We should head down there soon.”
‘Yeah, they’ll be asking for me- wait, we?’ I frown, turning to her.
“Of course.” She says with a nod. “If you’re going out fighting then of course I’m coming. What would happen to my kids if you died?”
‘You want to keep me alive so you and your kids will keep recieving the benefits, huh?’ I chuckle. ‘Can’t argue with that.’
“Are, um…” She hesitates. “We are going to have to kill people, you know. Are you going to be ok with that?”
‘Ok with it? No. Am I going to do it anyway? Yes. And with extreme prejiduce. I’m fighting because I have been told to, and because they have given me so much already. What I can give you is because they gave that to me and more already. I know its for selfish reasons, but that doesn’t change the fact that that is what they have done. This is my fight now. It’s time we fight it.’
<{(0)}>
We are led into a large ship. Some sort of battleship, but able to fly. It can fly fast too, at that. The ship is made of solid grey metal, loaded full of cannons, with few windows. Each window, however, is well placed to allow maximum coverage of the ground below. Phoebe recieves a few glances as we pass by, likely due to her… status, lets say. Anyway, they also give me a few glances, but glance away just as quickly. I wear a black hoodie and grey shorts. These clothes are armor in disguise. Not amazing armor, but they are heavily enchanted to provide boosts to my defences, both physical and magical. I also am fully in my demiform, showing off my not being human (anymore(, if I ever was human, I’m not exactly sure if variant races count)). The soldiers and medics and mages all seem to glance at me because they recognize me as being a human species. They glance away when they notice the emblem on my shirt.
I’ve been trained up to be a commander. Not trained for long, but apparently I’m a prodigy. Not something new to me, school was always easy for me when I actually tried. It was also a rush job. I was trained not to command, despite my title, but instead to be a powerhouse, tearing through all the tier 2 creatures we would fight against, and face off against any particular tier 3’s causing our soldiers trouble. Simply put, I’m a wrecking ball, and this great tree is a city. The tier 2’s are the outer brick wall that I must smash down.
‘Mind practicing with me a bit before we go? I think I’ll need it.’
<{(0)}>
I frown as I look over my skills and notice something. My skill: Throughout time[Species max]Legendary, has both checkpoints set. Yet I didn’t set either of them. I shove that to the back of my mind as we enter the meeting room. Gods. That’s the first impression I have. So. Many. Gods. Aren’t gods supposed to be, like, rare? Only one in 500 trillion individuals reach tier 5 on average. So why are there so many gods on this planet with only a few trillion people taking residence here? Actually, why wonder? There’s a demon guy here who can answer.
“Hey Apash? Why does this world have so many gods?” I ask as we approach Aftermath, who sits in a large throne on one of 5 points at the center table. Now that I look around I take in the sheer beauty of the room, as well as its familiarity. 5 points, one of death, one of life, one of light, one of darkness, and one of shifting temperature. Each section has a throne at the strangely shaped table. Aftermath, obviously, sits on the Life aligned throne. There are so many gods that they fill all the Dozens of chairs along the edge of the part of the table in the death section, of which all here sit. All other thrones, and all seats not of the death section, are empty. Looking at that throne of darkness… I feel an urge to sit on it.
“This is the world where the primordial gods live, timeling.” Apash says, chuckling. “Of course gods flock to this planet. Beyond that, many gods are raised here meticulously by the pantheons here already. This planet, you must remember, is by far the most valuable world in all the world.”
“The most valuable planet in the world? That sounds like weird wording. Isn’t this planet the world?” I ask, confused.
“No, Abhor, it is not.” Aftermath says as we reach him. “The world is what we call the combination of every universe, multiverse, and traverse to exist, all together in one mass. The world.”
“Oh.” I say. That does sound important. So what makes this world so valuable?
“Hello Apash.” Aftermath says to the man who I now realize is bowing. “I see you have cared for this temple well. Pyronite would be proud.”
“I am graced by your kind words, Lord Aftermath.” Apash says regally, standing from his bow. “I unfortunately believe I know why you have come to me.”
“Yes, you do.” He sighs, running his bone hand along his armrest. “I would like to ask that you lend me fighters tier 4 and under, minimum of tier 2. I will compensate you for the time and all- if any- losses.”
“Why not ask for gods?” I ask, confused.
“God’s have rules around their existence. Only primordials do not, but they usually remain within their territories to govern and protect them, if they are still alive.” Aftermath says. “Most, though not all, of the gods here have made oaths to Pyronite himself, to protect the temple until his return to power. That means they can not come even if they wished to. What are you staring at?” I pause, then shake my head, turning back to him.
“Sorry, I just… feel a pull.” I say. Most of the gods are listening in on us, though obviously not getting close to the literal Primordial talking to their leader. Most seem curious about the tier 2 dragon just causally standing there with them though.
“A pull? To what?” Apash asks curiously. Aftermath, though, seems to know.
“To the throne in the dark section.” I say. All chatter stops in an instant. Everyone stares at me openly now. And with growing realization. I… think I know why.
“Abhor.” Aftermath says. “Go sit on the throne.”
Name:Pyro Akabis
Level:50/150
Age:16
Titles:Cold-blooded, Enigma, Broken, DEATH, Other-worlder
Soul weapon: Six fingers of Infinity
Strength:103.5
Durability:70
Speed:80
Stamina:60
Intelligence:80
Essence: 42012
Class: Reaper of Creation
Species:BlightBane Demidragon[2/5]
Skills: Enhanced Strength(Medium)Rare, Mind mana Manipulation(Medium)Rare, Death mana bolt(Medium)Rare, Sickle swap(Medium)Rare, Reaper’s boost(High)Epic, Demishift(low)Rare
Techniques: Creation mana manipulation(E), Mind mana manipulation(D), Sicklemancer arts(C), Death mana manipulation(D), Creation mana construct(D),
Mutations: blood of the fallen(B), Heart of Creation(B)\
Name:Snowstorm
Level:50/150
Age:16
Titles:Frostbreaker, knowledgeer, study master, FREEZE, Tier 2 evolution, Humanify, magic prodigy
Strength:150
Durability:150
Speed:150
Stamina:150
Intelligence:172.5
Essence:1,009
Class:Frostbane boxer(Epic)
Soul weapon:Frostbane gauntlets
Species:Frostwing demi-wyvern
Skills: Heat vision(low)Uncommon, Greater enhanced intelligence(medium)Rare, Enhanced knowledge intake(medium)Uncommon, cold resistance(high)Rare, photographic memory(Medium)Rare, swimming(low)Common, split thought(Low)Rare, body temperature reduction(Medium)Uncommon, ice mana manipulation(medium)Rare, Mind magic affinity(Medium)Uncommon, heat shift foundation(Low)Uncommon
Techniques:Swimming(D), Mana manipulation(C), Mind mana manipulation(D), Ice mana manipulation(C), Mana claws(C), Ice spear(C), Iceout(D), Icicle hail(D), Mind bridge(D), Ice mana barrier(C), Heat shift(D), Mana bolt(D), Mana sense(D), Mind mana manipulation(D), Illusion mana manipulation(E)
Mutations: Knowledge intake stomach(B), Multi-Mind system(A)
Spells: Freeze water(Lesser), Frostfield(Lesser), coldsnap(Lesser), amnesia(Lesser), Frost spikes(Lesser)
