Woooong!
The light cluster fully permeated the totem and caused it to float into the air.
A powerful light then burst forth from the totem.
Zeke turned his head away from the intense brilliance.
"The seal has been released."
As the light dimmed slightly, he turned back to gaze at the cluster. The totem, which had resembled a small clay doll, now multiplied.
Rumble rumble rumble—
The mound of earth swelled rapidly and grew like an inverted tower.
Arataso, who watched from behind, retreated in alarm as the presence of the Earth God intensified.
"W-what the hell is that…?"
He stammered as he kept backing away. Arataso was so startled by the divine dragonʼs power that he ultimately retreated into the Green Sword on his own.
Zeke stowed the Damascus Sword and Green Sword in his inventory before he turned his attention to the increasingly defined mound of earth.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!
In no time, the massive heap had nearly taken full form.
Zeke realized what it was.
"Itʼs the form of that statue I saw in the Forest of the Forgotten." A deerʼs body with ox hooves.
The divine form reformed at a size several times larger than the statue he had seen in the woods.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Once the mound fully shaped its body, a dragonʼs face emerged last, complete with horns and eyes.
Light flickered in the earthen eyes, and auspicious clouds bearing a sacred aura drifted around the divine dragonʼs form.
At that moment, a message appeared.
[The divinity of the sealed Earth God is liberated.]
[The Earth God Gaia regains her divinity.]
[With the liberation of the Earth God Gaia, the continentʼs earth stabilizes.]
[The earth regains its strength, and elementals along with phantasmal species will return to their nests.]
Zeke was startled by the messages.
"The elementals and phantasmal species that vanished did so because the Earth God was sealed, losing their home."
With the Sea God, Forest God, and now Earth God forgotten and sealed away, the continent had lost so much.
Even more astonishing was that most races, including humans of the phenomenal world, had been completely unaware of these facts.
"Narak has been manipulating the continentʼs history for ages, sowing discord. They schemed to keep us from remembering the gods, to prevent the phenomenal world from regaining its power."
Only with the return of these sealed gods could the phenomenal world realize what it had lost.
At that point, the Earth God descended from the air and slowly approached Zeke.
She regarded him with compassionate, luminous eyes.
[The Earth God Gaia gazes upon the Immortal.]
[The Earth God Gaia expresses deep gratitude to the Immortal.] The divine dragon form bowed its head toward Zeke.
Startled by the gesture, Zeke bowed his head in return and greeted her.
"Given Ishtarʼs strict laws, I thought the Earth God would be quite rigid, but she feels even more serene than the other divine dragons."
[The Earth God Gaia seeks to access the Immortalʼs Kabbalah System. Do you approve the connection?]
Zeke was taken aback by the sudden message.
No other divine dragon had attempted such direct access, but he quickly approved it.
[The Earth God Gaiaʼs connection is approved.]
[A portion of the Earth God Gaiaʼs memory data is shared. Would you like to view the data?]
"Memory data?"
Unsure of what it entailed, Zeke sensed that Gaia wished to convey something to him.
He agreed to view the data.
[The Earth God Gaiaʼs memory data is replaying.]
In an instant, the scene before Zekeʼs eyes shifted to another landscape.
"This again."
He had experienced something similar before.
"Is this the Earth Godʼs memory?"
As the holder of a dragon heart, Zeke could immerse himself in the Earth Godʼs essence, even though it was just a recollection.
A deep, gentle, and soothing energy spread through his entire body, prompting him to close his eyes softly.
"This is the power of the Earth God. A force that seems capable of embracing everything."
Zeke sensed the serene yet profoundly powerful strength within it.
But then, a discordant energy disrupted the tranquility.
It was a jarring, noisy intrusion into the harmonious world, like a clashing note in a symphony.
He opened his eyes again, and a new vista unfolded.
The perception was entirely different from human sight.
He could see in all directions and comprehend everything within that domain.
And before him stood the alien presence that shattered the harmony.
[Gaia, now only you remain.]
The intruder wore pitch-black armor.
Immersed in the Earth God, Zeke recognized the entity.
"Siemens Apollyon."
The Hercion enveloping his form differed from the present, but Zeke could sense it was unmistakably the Hercion of Goddess Theia.
At the same time, to his astonishment, Zeke detected a familiar aura emanating from Siemens Apollyon. "Abel?"
It closely resembled the energy that had flowed from Abel during their previous clash. Zeke realized it was draconic in nature.
"Could it be… that the dragon heart implanted in Abel is the same as the one Siemens Apollyon implanted in himself?"
Siemens Apollyon had seized a contract dragonʼs heart and embedded it in his own body, transcending human limits.
He had become the first dragonkin.
Abel, too, had awakened as a demon-dragonkin through Narakʼs consecration rite, implanting a cursed dragon heart into himself.
"The Narak bastards. To create a vessel for the Demon King, they preserved the dragon heart once implanted in Siemens Apollyon."
Zeke felt their terrifying obsession with resurrecting the Demon King.
At that moment, Siemens Apollyon raised his sword.
[Earth God Gaia. Once I seal your divinity, I will be reborn as the true king.] Zeke recognized the sword Siemens lifted.
"Itʼs the one from the Draker Familyʼs secret chamber that the Family Head and I visited— the sword that couldnʼt be drawn."
Arthur Draker had claimed it was the sword of the progenitor Shattan Draker, but the truth was otherwise.
"That sword belonged to Siemens Apollyon." Whoosh!
Black flames erupted from the sword in Siemens Apollyonʼs grasp.
Zeke, embedded within Gaiaʼs form, sensed an ominous aura from the surging black flames.
"What is that? It doesnʼt feel like dragon power. Some kind of authority?" Siemens Apollyon unleashed the sinister black flames toward Gaia.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
The black inferno swirled and dyed everything in darkness.
Gaia summoned the clouds enveloping her body to quell the flames.
But that was insufficient against Siemens Apollyonʼs black fire.
Gaia twisted her form to evade the blaze, yet the flames clung tenaciously.
The black fire adhered to her like savage beasts, sinking fangs into her shape and tearing at her essence.
Zeke, within Gaiaʼs body, felt the agony as if his own soul were being ripped apart. "Urgh!"
Powerless to act, he could only grit his teeth and endure the pain.
Gaia desperately tried to escape the flames, but to no avail.
The black fire gradually hardened her form.
Then, suddenly, Siemens Apollyon ascended into the air.
Gazing at the rigidified Gaia, he declared,
[Gaia, you are indeed different from the other divine dragons. But it matters not. My authority cannot be defied, even by the Earth God.]
With those words, a black box materialized before Siemens Apollyon. Tsssss—
Gaiaʼs solidified form began to be drawn into the black box.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
The shattered earth clumped inside the box and soon reformed into the shape of a clay totem.
As Siemens Apollyon extended his hand over the box, a lid formed spontaneously, sealing Gaiaʼs divinity within.
Siemens Apollyon turned to the light cluster floating before him and said,
[For now, I cannot destroy your soul, but once I claim the kingʼs power, I will annihilate the souls of you divine dragons and return you to nothingness.] Woooong!
Gaiaʼs soul, stripped of her divinity, could not move under the pressure exerted by Siemens.
Moments later, as Siemens Apollyon drew closer and reached toward Gaiaʼs soul, he intoned,
[Sleep, Earth God. Sparing you pain is the utmost mercy I can offer.] With that, Zekeʼs vision went black, and nothing was visible.
"Huh?"
Zeke snapped back to awareness.
The restored form of Gaia gazed at him.
Having peered into the divine dragonʼs memory, Zeke felt dizzy.
At that moment, Gaia exhaled a gentle breath.
Woooong!
The clouds that had enveloped Gaiaʼs body softly wrapped around Zeke.
He inhaled a subtle, soothing fragrance from them.
Thanks to it, his mind cleared, and the dizziness subsided.
Zeke bowed to Gaia.
"Thank you, Gaia. Iʼm fine now."
As his words ended, the iridescent clouds coalesced and seeped into his body.
[The Earth God Gaia bestows a reward upon the Immortal.]
[The Earth God Gaia grants the Immortal the title 'Guardian of the Earth.ʼ]
[All phantasmal species and elementals regard the Immortal fondly and will offer aid.] [Due to the title 'Guardian of the Earth,ʼ the active skills 'Lightning (Grade A+)ʼ and 'Lionʼs
Roar (Grade A)ʼ combine to evolve into 'Thunderstroke (Grade S).ʼ]
[Achievement Quest Mission completed.]
[As a quest mission reward, you acquire the Earth God Gaiaʼs sacred relic.]
[As a quest mission reward, receiving the Earth Godʼs blessing transforms the authority Fortuity into the authority Fortune.]
[A special random box is granted as a reward.] Woooong!
Gaia slowly bowed her head toward Zeke.
[The Earth God Gaia prays for the Immortalʼs journey to be safe and prosperous.]
As the message appeared, Gaiaʼs form dissolved into light and merged into the earth.
Unlike the other divine dragons, Gaia did not remain in a divine realm but embedded herself in the land, seeming to exist everywhere.
Zeke examined the rewards from Gaia.
"Two Grade A skills merged into a Grade S skill. And the authority Fortuity evolved into Fortune…"
Zeke checked the details of the authority Fortune.
―Authority Information―
Fortune: Assists in realizing the userʼs strong will and aspirations.
Zeke tilted his head at the description.
"Itʼs hard to grasp what this authority does exactly."
With Fortuity, it activated on its own during critical moments regardless of his intent, making it difficult to wield deliberately.
Fortune seemed more advanced, but its applications still werenʼt entirely clear.
Zeke pulled out the sacred relic he had received as a mission reward from Gaia.
"Itʼs that totem from the box."
He sensed the auspicious energy dwelling within the totem.
From Poseidon, he had received the Yeouiju; from Hermes, the statue; and now from Gaia, the totem.
He had obtained sacred relics from all three divine dragons.
"I know how to use the Yeouiju, but what about the statue and totem?"
Pondering, Zeke decided to ask Hades later and stowed the relics in his inventory for now.
He then reviewed the final message once more.
"Special random box. Now I have all five."
With five special random boxes, he could upgrade them into an extra-grade random box.
Extra-grade random boxes yielded legendary items, greatly bolstering his forces.
Zeke opened the crafting window and inserted the five special random boxes along with other materials.
"Phew."
Pressing craft brought up a message indicating the process was underway. Minutes later, the special random boxes had transformed into an extra-grade random box.
"Success!"
Zeke retrieved the extra-grade random box from his inventory.
"Alright, letʼs see whatʼs inside."
Taking a deep breath, Zeke slowly opened the box.
A message appeared then.
[The userʼs strong will activates the authority Fortune.]
[Under Fortuneʼs influence, the random boxʼs outcome changes.]
[Deriving the optimal result suited to the user.]
As the authority Fortune activated, dazzling multicolored light and pink smoke billowed from the box.
"I wonder what legendary artifact will come out."
Eager, Zeke waved away the smoke to peer inside.
Moments later, what emerged from the random box was a single sword.
Zekeʼs eyes widened in shock as he examined it.
"This is…?"
It was the very sword Siemens Apollyon had wielded in Gaiaʼs memory, now before him.