[There once was a world entirely supported and borne upon the shoulders of the Titans. From the remnants left after it was devoured, Atlas was born.]
[There once was a world that called itself the Realm of the Heavens. To summon the gods and heroes, its guardian Heimdall retrieved the horn hidden deep beneath the dense canopy of the World Tree, Gjallarhorn.]
[There once was a world entwined with fate, where the three-faced Gods could perceive both past and future. Faced with an inevitable end, the three became the Graeae.]
[There once was a world where kings coexisted. It was the seat of the God of War, a realm that could rival Paradise, a stronghold protected from invasion and disaster by divine blessing. There stood the throne of royal authority, the Throne of Kings.]
[And then... there was the barren world chosen as a battlefield, where multiple gods joined forces in an attempt to erase something on a conceptual level. Their failure and subsequent deaths gave rise to Longinus.]
The Soul River, symbolizing the souls themselves, surged and roared with tremendous force, as though it would never cease.
Within one of the hidden micro-worlds, the Dragon Emperor's will stirred awake from its brief slumber.
"They are about to set out and wage war in other worlds. Once they do, they will inevitably be stretched too thin to spare any attention for this realm."
"This will undoubtedly be the best time to strike!"
The Dragon Emperor's voice rang with absolute conviction, brooking no argument.
He raised his head slightly. His heterochromatic eyes resembled blades sharp enough to pierce through endless space and time.
For a fleeting moment, a snow-white dove of peace seemed to flicker in and out of the void, a fresh olive leaf held delicately in its tiny beak.
"Without interference from the world's remnants."
"Now is the time to reclaim the Kuyō Divine Right."
Just then, a completely different voice rang out, thick with contempt.
"Are you truly so certain of victory?"
"Haha. They're nothing but a pack of pitiful slaves bound by so-called faith. No matter how many there are, they're still just slightly larger ants. What is there to fear?"
Faced with the doubt, another voice merely gave a cold laugh before responding.
As servants of the gods, they had to consider the gods' interests at all times.
A divine creation captured by the remnants of Yggdrasil?
It was an intolerable disgrace, like an indelible stain marring spotless white silk.
Such an existence could never be allowed to remain in this world. It had to be eradicated completely and without mercy to preserve the god's majesty and glory.
Still, simply destroying it outright seemed somewhat wasteful.
If it could instead be put to use and turned into precious nourishment for his own advancement, that would be the perfect outcome.
He could eliminate a potential threat while gaining even greater power in the process. There was no reason not to do it.
The closer his God came to this world, the stronger His power became, and the tighter the connection between them grew.
He could feel the Divine Right surging through his body.
"Arrogance is the height of folly!"
A majestic consciousness rebuked him sharply.
"And is cowardice somehow the wiser choice?"
Another consciousness immediately fired back, refusing to yield.
For mortals, conquering the world might amount to nothing more than a passing ambition or an unrealistic fantasy.
They were often blinded by immediate gains, foolishly attempting to bring the entire world under their control with their limited power, only to end in failure.
Those so-called Gods, however, set their sights on loftier pursuits: governing worlds, managing worlds, or even creating them.
Driven by these tedious desires, they employed every means at their disposal, hoping to leave their own mark upon the vast universe.
Yet in the end, they were merely self-important beings. In the eyes of the true God, everything they did amounted to nothing more than a ridiculous farce.
Beyond them were also beings of pure power, devoid of reason and driven solely to destroy worlds for destruction's sake.
Such supreme bestiality threatened everything in existence with annihilation.
But their God, Kuyō, was different. He was a Sovereign who stood above all living beings.
His goal was not conquest, governance, or creation.
It was to devour everything!
The vast and boundless reaches of space, and the endless flow of time.
All that existed in the past, all that existed in the present, and all that had yet to exist in the future.
Living life and cold death alike.
Clear and distinct concepts, as well as chaotic disorder.
All that was good and beautiful, and all deeds that were evil and ugly...
Nothing could escape His endless devouring.
Until, at last, all realms became one, and He alone stood as the singular, supreme existence.
And he, a lowly and insignificant follower, held both reverence and yearning for the God in his heart.
He knew that only by following the path his God had walked, by continuing to devour and evolve, could he ever hope to become the mightiest servant beneath the God's overwhelming power.
And so, he fixed his sights on Enhela.
This being, once regarded as a divine creation but now deemed a failure, would become the stepping stone that carried him toward the pinnacle.
"My other half, you must understand. We were originally an inseparable whole, each dependent on the other for our existence."
"So trust me, and trust yourself. You will never regret it."
"Yes... I won't regret it."
His heterochromatic eyes were complete opposites.
The dark eye gleamed with unrestrained arrogance.
The golden eye, by contrast, was calm and serene, as tranquil as a vast and fathomless starry sky.
Once this journey ended, every story between them, every grudge, affection, and hatred, would finally reach its conclusion.
Like the final curtain falling on a grand performance.
...
In the Theocracy, within a solemn and majestic palace, six Gods sat together discussing the information Zesshi Zetsumei had brought back.
"Then we'll remain on full alert for the time being!"
The God of Death made the decision in a tone that brooked no argument.
His deep voice echoed through the great hall, and the other Gods present nodded slightly in agreement.
They did not know the reason behind it.
But the three compatriots from the Sorcerer Kingdom intended to temporarily withdraw from the world and voluntarily cut off all contact with the outside.
That was hardly welcome news.
After discussing the matter, they decided to make every possible preparation in case something unexpected occurred.
The God of Wind gazed at each of his companions around the table.
At the same time, he repeatedly turned over the information they had just received in his mind.
[Leaving himself a way out, perhaps...]
As his thoughts wandered, he remembered Kuro, the Captain of the Black Scripture, who carried his blood.
After careful consideration, he quietly came to a decision.
...
In the commercial district of the Sorcerer Kingdom, an immensely popular barbecue restaurant was filled with tempting aromas and the noisy chatter of customers.
"Hey, dumb ox, are we seriously just going to sit around here and do nothing?"
The Clear Light Dragon Lord casually stuffed a sizzling piece of meat into his mouth, charred and crisp on the outside yet tender within. He then gulped down a large mouthful of ice-cold Coke and let out a satisfied belch.
With his mouth still stuffed with food, his words came out muffled, though there was a hint of puzzlement in his eyes.
Across from him, the Minotaur Sage rolled his eyes and replied irritably.
"Would you rather go fight desperately for your life, or stay here like this, eating and drinking your fill while taking it easy every day?"
As far as he was concerned, nothing mattered more than peacefully enjoying a comfortable life.
He had no intention whatsoever of getting dragged into all that trouble.
"Uh... Then obviously I'd rather just take it easy!"
The Clear Light Dragon Lord answered without the slightest hesitation, as though spending even one more second thinking about it would be an insult to the very idea of taking it easy.
And really, if he could eat his fill without a care in the world, why would he deliberately go looking for danger?
"Hmph. Knew you'd say that."
The Minotaur Sage gave a quiet snort.
He thought to himself that this guy really was hopeless.
Though, admittedly, he himself was not much better.
Still, everyone wanted different things out of life.
For him, as long as he could enjoy his own peaceful little existence, nothing else really mattered.
"Boss, ten more plates of grilled meat. And don't skimp on the cumin."
While wondering what flavor of abalone he should enjoy tonight, the Clear Light Dragon Lord casually polished off several more plates of grilled meat.
The mountain of empty plates piled up in front of him drew astonished looks from the surrounding diners.
The Clear Light Dragon Lord paid them no attention and continued doing as he pleased.
Compared with fighting, he really did prefer the life he had now.
Eat when he wanted, drink when he wanted, and have fun whenever he pleased.
And when he had nothing else to do, he could always go find his fellow countryman, the newly arrived instructor at the Magic Academy, the Dragon Lord of Radiance, and spend some time bragging with him.
Life really was getting better and better.
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