Chapter 217: Gods And Dragons
All around the world, heads began to turn and look toward this new source of power.
The few Demons who managed to gather were stunned. They heatedly discussed the implications.
Some felt that this must have been the birth of this timeline's first Tier 9 creature. Some others believed that Asmodeus himself had managed to break into this timeline.
In a dark cavern, somewhere deep below where the Phugtal Monastery once stood, a strange creature was roused from a deep slumber. Its head turned and looked toward the source of this strange disturbance.
Somewhere in the west, an ancient power was awakening. The creature rose and stretched its stiff muscles. Its actions caused the entire cavern to shake.
'How long hassss it been?'
The creature looked down into the small pond next to which it had been sleeping. This pond was one of the few sources of Mana left on Earth.
Its reflection showed in the bright blue water. Its body looked like that of a Human man, its height being just over seven feet.
The man looked down at his body. The scales that made up his skin were covered in thousand-year-old dust and grime.
'To think that the Great Vritra hasssss been pushed to thissss.'
Many thousands of years ago, the "God" Indra had attacked the great Dragon, driving him into hiding. All because Vritra had stolen some of their precious liquid Mana.
The self-named "Gods" had slaughtered many ancient creatures for trying to gain a bit of power for themselves. The Gods had finally caved in and separated the worlds, taking most of the energy out of reach of the other Races.
Vritra was one of the many who didn't participate in the war against the Gods. Indra had injured him too deeply, and he'd been in hiding all this time.
When the seal was placed, Vritra was forced into a deep slumber. There wasn't enough Mana on Earth for a creature like him to survive.
Vritra spread his senses out, finding that the cavern and Mana pool before him had expanded to ten times their original size.
'I sssssee... the ssseal hasss sstarted to break.'
*Sigh*
"This human will need guidance."
Apate looked at the scene with pity. Whoever the Demon was could have at least stuck around to make sure the trial had ended well.
She floated into the skies and looked at the world below her.
'It's much smaller than it was in my time. My brothers and sisters really took everything worth taking.'
She shook her head sadly. Apate had never agreed with the way the Gods treated the other Races.
Resources were meant to be shared by all, not hoarded by a select few. She had been chased away and almost beaten to death but managed to find a safe place to hide.
The Gods then spread her name as a being of deceit, causing her life to be a constant struggle. When she heard about the Gods splitting the world, she'd found a place to hide away from their senses.
Similar things had happened to many of the Gods or Goddesses that were thought poorly of. In fact, those were the only ones that attempted to help the other Races.
Most were dead, but there were still a few that had ended up in other worlds. Apate had been living all of this time in the world of the Undead.
"Hmm..."
She looked in another direction.
"It seems that one of the Dragons has remained on the Human planet this whole time."
She spread her senses around the planet.
"Four... Six... Nine... It looks like only nine of the higher Races managed to hide away before the split. But what are these other creatures..?"
She could sense small groups of Demons, Beasts, and a Race that she didn't recognize. All of these creatures were much more powerful than the others on the planet.
'It looks like the seal has only broken for a few of the weaker planets. So why are there so many creatures above Tier 4...?'