In the Grand Ring Multiverse, within the Heroic Domain, lies the Dragon Court.
A massive silver dragon coiled in the Hall of Eternal Heroes, engaging in silent communication with the Eternal Sun through the Time Alliance Pact.
Garon was somewhat intrigued by the Olympus Multiverse that the Eternal Sun had visited. With the Dawn War concluded, the gods were now in a period of rest and recovery.
"It's a pity. I missed a chance to easily acquire the authority of the sun."
"Oh? Elaborate."
"The Sun God and a Sea God were temporarily stripped of their powers and cast into the mortal world due to their transgressions. Unfortunately, by the time I had regained some of my strength and pinpointed the Sun God's location, his punishment had ended."
"Punishment... To discipline a Sun God—has this multiverse achieved unification?"
The silver dragon's eyes sparkled as he seriously inquired.
"Indeed, the gods here are not as powerful as those in the Grand Ring, but there are many of them."
"Twelve gods here are revered as the masters of all things, residing on Mount Olympus, and are known as the Twelve Olympian Gods."
"Their king is Zeus, honored as the Lord of the Gods and King of Olympus, ruling over the sky, thunder, and weather."
The domains of Zeus overlap significantly with those of the Sky, Thunder, and Storm Lords.
"If he has unified a multiverse, this God-King must be quite powerful."
The Grand Ring Multiverse had never been unified.
"I haven't faced Zeus directly, but from the information I've gathered, he doesn't seem to measure up to the Nine-Faced Dragon God or the Haotian God."
"I understand. It's not that Zeus is particularly strong, but rather that the multiverse he rules is relatively weak."
Garon pondered thoughtfully.
The Eternal Sun paused before speaking solemnly and seriously, "No, Zeus is the third God-King."
"The gods of Olympus are the third generation of deities."
"Above them were the primordial gods of the first generation and the Titans of the second."
"However, the first and second generations, including their respective God-Kings, are either sealed or imprisoned, having experienced internal strife and succession."
"From the information I currently possess, Zeus is not the strongest god in this universe. There could be others, perhaps dormant or forgotten, who are more powerful."
The idea that Zeus wasn't the strongest deity was akin to the Grand Ring Multiverse, where ancient and powerful beings like the Eternal Sun or the Nine-Faced Dragon God had faded into obscurity but could potentially be resurrected under certain conditions. What's visible isn't always the strongest.
"What is the relationship between the first and second God-Kings and the current third God-King?"
Upon hearing Garon's question, the Eternal Sun fell silent for a moment before answering with a peculiar tone, "The second God-King was the son of the first and overthrew him."
"And the current God-King, Zeus, is the son of the second, continuing the tradition of patricide."
"Moreover, many of the Twelve Olympians are Zeus's children, and the second-generation gods include Zeus's siblings and consorts."
"The deities of this multiverse are, let's say, closely bound by bloodlines, but their relationships are very tangled."
"Zeus had seven divine wives, countless mortal consorts, and innumerable illegitimate children. He is quite the libertine."
Garon understood the picture.
"And what's your goal in the Olympus hierarchy?"
"Apollo, the Sun God, is one of the Twelve Olympians and the son of Zeus. The authority of the sun originally did not belong to Apollo but was seized by Zeus from the first Sun God and bestowed upon his child."
The Eternal Sun's tone remained serious.
"…I wish you success."
From the Eternal Sun's words, Garon could infer that Apollo possessed significant strength, being the favored and closely watched child of Zeus. Targeting such a deity in their own territory would not be easy.
"The Grand Ring Multiverse is at peace now. Why not join me in the Olympus Multiverse?"
Garon declined the invitation of the Eternal Sun.
If the Eternal Sun were to seize the sun's authority, Garon, coming from another universe, would likely be considered an accomplice—especially since Garon was the one who brought the Eternal Sun to Olympus. Regardless, Garon did not want to get entangled in the Eternal Sun's conflicts.
Moreover, Garon was trying to break through to quasi-strong divine power.
If he achieved this, he would have enough confidence to visit the Olympus Multiverse without fear of the turmoil. But for now, his focus was elsewhere.
Having been tempered by the crucible of the Dawn War, Garon felt he was not far from achieving quasi-strong divine power.
Perhaps a prolonged period of deep sleep would be enough for a breakthrough.
A profound sense of drowsiness had begun to seep into Garon's soul, making him feel weary and ready to sleep deeply. Whenever this sleepiness came, Garon's overall strength would significantly improve.
"How close are you to quasi-strong divine power?"
"I'm already preparing for the breakthrough."
"For someone like you, there should be no real bottleneck. Success should come easily."
After a brief exchange, Garon ended his communication with the Eternal Sun.
Quasi-strong divine power… He was on the verge of becoming a true pinnacle existence within the divine hierarchy.
Garon looked forward to the scenery at the level of quasi-strong divine power.
In the past, when Garon was weaker, he relied on Time Dragon Reversal in his wars against the elves and giants. However, in this recent war, fiercer than both combined, Garon relied solely on his own power.
The only instance of Time Dragon Reversal during the Dawn War was when it was used by the Faceless King.
"I am gradually growing, becoming stronger, and understanding everything."
This feeling of step-by-step growth was intoxicating.
Soon, the silver dragon coiled within the core of the Heroic Domain, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
Buzzing softly!
Under Garon's will, the vast life energy of the Heroic Domain converged with the waters of the Time River, continuously flowing into Garon's body, forming an extensive and powerful energy vortex.
At the vortex's center, as time passed, the silver dragon's aura rose steadily.
During this period, time flowed swiftly. Spring came and went, year after year, passing by unhurriedly.
Having just emerged from the Second Dawn War, the Grand Ring Multiverse, except for the Abyss, returned to peace and tranquility.
Meanwhile, the restoration of the Prime Material Plane proceeded methodically, as the once scarred landscape slowly healed.
Guided by the gods, the population gradually increased. Having survived the darkness of the Primal Wilds' corruption and the most desperate moments, the mortals of the Prime Material Plane now held an even deeper faith in their gods.
The gods who had fallen in the Second Dawn War were being resurrected based on their contributions, levels of worship, and status, as determined by the Pantheon.
Oghma, the Lord of Knowledge, was the first to be revived, though he needed to recover from his weakened state on his own.
The resurrection of Tyr, the God of Justice, was also on the agenda.
Meanwhile, the resurrection of lesser gods with medium and weak divine power proceeded more quickly. Many had already returned to the Pantheon.
For those gods who performed exceptionally during the Dawn War, promotions were in order.
Several gods of weak divine power were elevated to medium divine power.
Although none of the medium divine powers had gained enough merit to ascend to strong divine power, many had seen their long-stagnant divine ranks advance.
Without the Pantheon's guidance, these processes could have been delayed indefinitely.
Everything was moving in a positive direction.
With the Pantheon's influence, the Grand Ring Multiverse was returning to order, and life was becoming increasingly prosperous.
The Pantheon's status and influence were growing day by day. Even the most humble and downtrodden mortals took pride in having their gods represented in the Pantheon.
However, despite their capabilities, the gods did not waste their power to ensure their followers led truly prosperous lives, focusing instead on efficiently gathering faith.
Hunger, hardship, war, and numbness—these undoubtedly fostered the growth of faith.
Thus, the Pantheon did not compel its gods to bestow blessings upon mortals.
The Pantheon aimed to maintain the normal functioning of the multiverse, not merely ensure peace and tranquility. Therefore, light and dark, good and evil, harmony and chaos, all coexisted.
The Pantheon did not intentionally sway the Grand Ring Multiverse toward goodness or evil, stability or chaos.
Without evil, there would be no good. Without darkness, there would be no light. A complete multiverse required the coexistence of all these elements. Extreme bias toward any one side would lead to significant problems.
Furthermore, the Haotian God, ruler of the Heavenly Court, chose to join the Pantheon and urged other gods to do the same.
Both the Haotian God and the Nine-Faced Dragon God sensed threats from beyond their universe and were determined to avoid another catastrophe like the Dawn War, seeking to consolidate the Grand Ring Multiverse's strength.
The Pantheon was capable of unifying the Grand Ring Multiverse.
Within the Pantheon, the Nine-Faced Dragon God was revered as the Lord of the Gods, while the Haotian God was honored as the Supreme of All Realms.
The Haotian God had no intentions of seizing power. Besides, even if he did, the Heavenly Court lacked enough formidable gods to contest for dominance. The Pantheon's affairs were primarily managed by the dragon gods, led by the Nine-Faced Dragon God
.
Currently, the Grand Ring Multiverse, aside from the Abyss, had largely stabilized.
Both the Nine-Faced Dragon God and the Haotian God had resolved that once the Prime Material Plane had fully recovered, the fallen gods of the Dawn War were revived, and the Pantheon regained its peak strength, they would campaign against the Abyss to eradicate its malignant influence completely.
The Abyssal demons, aware of this impending assault, were more desperate than ever to establish a Demon King to unify the Abyss against the Pantheon.
Thus, the battle for the throne of the Abyss raged on, becoming ever more intense and fierce.
Graz'zt, the Dark Prince, Lamashtu, the Mother of Monsters, and Baphomet, the Beast Lord, formed the Usurper Alliance, clashing against the Worm King, the Queen of Chaos, and the Demon Queen Lolth.
The Usurper Alliance's power rivaled that of any single demon prince.
Earlier, the Undead King, also a demon lord, had been slain by the Usurper Alliance, and his followers had since pledged their allegiance to them.
Seizing the moment, the Lord of the Nine Hells led the devils to nearly complete control of the Infinite Pits, eyeing a role in the Abyssal battle for the throne, seeking to claim the authority meant for demons.
Within the Abyss, entities like the Beholder God and the Warlord of Maztika also harbored ambitions for the throne, subtly maneuvering behind the scenes.
The Worm King.
Lolth and the Queen of Chaos.
The Usurper Alliance.
The Lord of the Nine Hells.
These were the four major factions in the ongoing Abyssal war for the throne.
Additionally, there were the Beholder God, the Warlord of Maztika, and various independent demon lords, as well as gods stirring the pot from the shadows, all contributing to the chaotic state of the Abyss.
Curiously, Demogorgon, the Demon Prince and initial catalyst for the throne war, remained missing.
The war for the Abyssal throne had erupted when the severely injured Demogorgon became a target for other demon princes. As more entities got involved, the conflict escalated into a widespread war.
Now, as demon princes, demon lords, and evil deities clashed, Demogorgon remained elusive, leaving many to speculate whether he was hiding in a remote corner of the Abyss or had already been secretly devoured by another demon prince, adding further uncertainty to the war.
In this tumultuous situation, the gods were more than happy to see the Abyssal demons consume each other.
This was why the Pantheon had made no effort to conceal their future plans to deal with the Abyss. By fueling the Abyss's internal strife, the gods hoped to weaken their adversaries before the inevitable conflict.
Thus, three centuries passed in the blink of an eye. The Prime Material Plane had mostly recovered.
Most gods who had fallen in the Second Dawn War were now resurrected, though they had yet to regain their peak strength.
Additionally, as the Pantheon's core leaders and the dominant faction, the Dragon Gods experienced a significant rise in their faith levels.
True dragons, naturally resilient and powerful, suffered minimal casualties in the Second Dawn War.
Due to their outstanding performance in the war, dragons felt a deep sense of pride, further strengthening their faith in the Dragon Gods.
Beyond the dragon species, many other intelligent beings, impressed by the might of the Dragon Gods, chose to follow them.
The Metal Dragon God and the Immortal Dragon Queen regained their status as deities of strong divine power, also reaching quasi-strong divine power as dragons, becoming top-tier entities second only to the Nine-Faced Dragon God and the Haotian God.
Gods who previously wielded weak divine power were all elevated to medium divine power.
Due to his remarkable performance in the Second Dawn War, Garon was just a step away from achieving strong divine power. He was halfway there and becoming a god of strong divine power was merely a matter of time.
The Dragon Gods experienced the most significant gains, absorbing and consolidating the largest share of the spoils.
Among the gods, there were differences. Now, the Dragon Gods, with their prominent status, more easily garnered faith. Especially with the Pantheon's guidance, the era of dragons being seen as a universal threat was over.
Any texts disparaging true dragons, once discovered, would be destroyed, and their disseminators would be punished by the church.
Today, dragons are synonymous with strength, leadership, bravery, and nobility.
Even the Chromatic Dragons had been redeemed.
Apart from the long-lived races, the short-lived mortals no longer remembered the term "Chromatic Dragons" with its negative connotations. The "evil" label had been dropped, and only "Five-colored Dragons" remained.
The Red Dragon's cruelty was rebranded as regal dominance.
The Black Dragon's cunning was viewed as intelligence.
Even the White Dragon's beast-like mentality was seen as a natural affinity with the wild. The greed shared by all five-colored dragons was reinterpreted as ambition and the drive to improve one's situation. In short, under the guidance of the Dragon Gods and with the cooperation of other deities, all former negative attributes of dragons were now seen in a positive light.
Nowadays, many intelligent kingdoms considered it a great honor to have a dragon appear at their grand feasts and ceremonies, boasting about it as a prestigious accolade.
Collecting wealth had become far easier for dragons.
For instance, by simply attending a king's coronation, offering a few blessings, or bestowing a crown, a dragon could easily receive a substantial reward.
If a dragon showed interest in forming a pact, granting the privilege of becoming a Dragon Rider was an unparalleled honor, even serving as a foundation to establish a nation.
However, only the Dragon Riders knew that their illustrious "knighthood" was, in reality, a position as the dragon's pet. It wasn't that the "knight" had tamed the dragon; rather, the dragon saw the "knight" as its little pet.
A dragon carrying its "knight" was akin to a human placing a pet cat or dog on their shoulder.
Dragons were quite pleased with mortals' eagerness to be their pets.
Moreover, the nations founded by dragons often attracted a multitude of intelligent beings eager to live under a dragon's wing, proud to bask in their glory.
In contrast to the era before the Dragonfall War, when dragons ruled by sheer force and faced constant resistance, dragons now maintained their supremacy through a more peaceful and accepted form of dominion.
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