ã€ŠA God&#x27;s Pubã€‹


 A Dragons Dream

    All I write is fantasy.

    None of it is real,

    none of it will ever be real.

    And yet it exists.

    This world is full of wonder,

    never to be real.

    Yet it exists.

    Saji wandered through the twilight of the street. The sky was dark, the asphalt of the street wet from the rain earlier this evening. Countless lights of varying colors were reflected in the small puddles. Numerous advertisements filled the night with their alluring brightness.

    One sign marked the location of a popular fast food shop.

    Another lured bypassing people into a paradise of cheap clothing.

    They were like moths attracted by the attractive colors of hundreds of shining advertisement signs.

    Saji had no interest in them. She had already bought all the clothes she needed, fulfilled every desire she could fulfill at places like this. No, that wasn¡¯t true. There was one last thing left for her to do. She had to satisfy her desire for a strong drink and a small meal.

    She looked around. The fast food shop looked fine, but they had no alcoholic drinks in these kinds of shops. The small grocery store had some inexpensive wine or beer, but it felt cheap drinking on the street and it was pretty cold outside.

    In the end her eyes fell onto a more minimalistic shop, hidden between the bight fronts of two shops of major fashion brands. A light blue neon sign that seemed to have come from the 70ties said:

    A Dragon¡¯s Dream

    She felt like she had heard of this shop. If she remembered correctly it was one of these urban legends produced by drunk teenagers that swore they had seen supernatural things inside.

    If her memory served right, there was a rumor that the shop sometimes disappeared or that certain people could not find it again after visiting it once. It would only appear on wet and cool summer evening or something.

    Well it was summer, and the evening was wet and humid from the recent rain. So maybe the stories were actually true¡­

    On the other hand, they also said that there were fantastic beasts hidden inside and beautiful nude fairies that would seduce you, so it was more likely to be a coincident.

    In truth 90 percent of urban legends could be traced back to the excessive drug consume of certain underaged individuals that felt cool doing illegal activities.

    ¡°People really shouldn¡¯t do drugs¡­¡±, Saji muttered with a small grin on her lips. Despite not believing in the stories she heard she felt intrigued.

    She thought for a moment. It would be fun to visit an urban legend and people said that the drinks and food inside were really good.

    There really was no reason not to enter the shop¡­

    Saji made her decision and directly headed towards the black front door of the shop. There were no windows to the outside, only a single black door and a blue sign saying, ¡®A Dragon¡¯s Dream¡¯. She hesitated for a moment, then she pulled at the door knob and entered through the doorframe.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    From the inside a faint smell of strong alcohol and food entered her nose, followed by the faint sound of jazz music. The room was dimly lit, but it was enough to clearly see the interior of the pub.

    There were about ten or eleven tables of which four were occupied by customers, a bar counter was located somewhat further inside the room. Hundreds of different bottles crammed on the shelves behind the counter.

    At first glance Saji could tell that most were high quality brands worth multiple hundreds of euros. Her expression became awkward.

    This wasn¡¯t something she could afford with her meager allowance as a student of the local high school¡­

    She was about to turn around and leave the pub when suddenly a voice came from behind the counter. The bartender, an elegant young man with dark brown hair, called out.

    ¡°Young lady, please stay! The drinks will be on me!¡±, his voice travelled through the room.

    A few of the guests looked up and spotted Saji¡¯s retreating figure. Muffled sounds of laughter rang out.

    Saji lifted her eyebrows. She was slightly embarrassed by the blunt expressage of the bartender¡¯s intention to pick her up and the humorous looks thrown at her by the other guests. On the other hand, how often would she have the chance to drink expensive alcohol on another person¡¯s tab?

    She slowly turned around and walked to the counter. A coquettish smile curled on her lips.

    The young man smiled back friendly.

    ¡°What would the young miss want to drink?¡±, he asked as she sat down on the barstool.

    Saji grinned.

    ¡°I will trust your judgment.¡±, she knew how to make the most profit out of occasions like this.

    The young man laughed.

    ¡°Fine then!¡±, he immediately grabbed a glass and turned around to choose a few different brewages from the huge number of bottles that filled the entire wall behind the counter. He chose three different bottles, each of them clearly extremely expensive and quickly mixed them into the glass.

    A moment later a light brown liquid with a large ice cube floating inside it was placed in front of Saji. The man reached beneath the counter and pulled out a plate with some snacks on it.

    ¡°I guess the lady are hungry?¡±, he asked gently smiling.

    Saji smiled appreciating and nodded.

    ¡°Very.¡±, she honestly was impressed by the young man¡¯s mannerism.

    He placed the plate in front of her.

    ¡°Sooo¡­ what has lead a young lady like you into this shabby place?¡±, his voice had a teasing sound to it.

    Saji looked amused.

    ¡°So, you won¡¯t even hide your intentions?¡±, her grin was flirtish.

    The bartender shrugged his shoulder. ¡°Why should I hide the fact that I am picking up a beautiful girl?¡±

    Saji laughed at the compliment.

    ¡°Won¡¯t the owner be angry at you?¡±, she asked curious.

    He grinned. ¡°I doubt so. I AM the owner of this small pub.¡±

    Saji didn¡¯t quite believe him.

    ¡°You are?!¡±, she looked at him doubtfully.

    ¡°Sure I am.¡±

    He turned away to make a second drink for himself.

    ¡°I guess you heard what they say about this shop?¡±, he continued to talk even while choosing the drink.

    ¡°A pub that appears and disappears in accordance to the weather and is filled with mystical beings?¡±, Saji answered surprised about the sudden question.

    He suddenly turned around. A bright smile on his face.

    ¡°EXACTLY!¡±

    Saji was seriously weirded out.

    ¡°Em¡­ excuse me?¡±, she shuddered, clearly feeling uncomfortable.

    The young man blinked.

    ¡°Ups, sorry I guess I got a little to exited. It¡¯s been some time since I did something like this¡­¡±, he suddenly began to mutter.

    ¡°When was it again¡­.no that¡¯s to long ago, there must have been another one¡­. Yeah maybe after that¡­ it should have been in 1768¡­¡±, he was talking about things Saji couldn¡¯t quite put a finger on.

    ¡°Anyway!¡±, seemed to have come to a conclusion.

    ¡°It¡¯s been quite a while since I since I did this, to be exact it¡¯s been over three hundred years and I was quite young back then, so I¡¯m not quite sure how to do things like this, but I will just be blunt.

    I am a god, and everything you heard about this pub is true!¡±, he theatrically flicked his fingers and a flame appeared on his hand, dancing around it in small circles.

    Saji just blankly stared at him. ¡°Uh¡­This¡­ is a nice trick and all¡­, but I think I should go now¡­¡±, she forced an awkward smile.

    He blinked for a moment.

    ¡°A trick?¡±, he stared at her.

    ¡°You think this is a trick?!!¡±, his voice got louder as he asked indignantly.

    At this point Saji really wanted to leave this place with it¡¯s extremely weird owner. She honestly wondered if he wasn¡¯t a psychopath. Saji was about to stand up when she suddenly felt someone tap at her shoulder. From behind her an elderly voice rang out.

    ¡°Excuse me could you please turn around? I don¡¯t think you have understood Ji¡¯s point¡­¡±

    Saji slowly turned around.

    She looked right at the head of the Asian version of a dragon.

    Long white whiskers danced in the air as it¡¯s body coiled in the air. Its red mane fluttered despite the lack of wind. She could see it¡¯s clawed front limbs and the sharp teeth inside its mouth.

    A shrill cry emerged from her mouth.

    Behind her the bartender called Ji laughed merrily.

    ¡°Welcome to a god¡¯s pub!¡±

 City of gods and spirits

    ¡°Lady, please calm down, no one here has any intention of harming you.¡±, the dragon faintly moved its jaw as it spoke. It¡¯s long whiskers that looked similar to the one¡¯s of a carp coiled in the air. It was a surreal sight, certainly crazy enough to make you question your own sanity.

    Saji did not stop her shrill cry, instead it became even more piercing and annoying.

    The god called Ji frowned a little.

    ¡°This reaction is more then I anticipated.¡±, despite his frown it was obvious that he found the situation to be hilarious.

    Saji¡¯s eyes darted around. The dragon was one thing, but the other mind-blowing creatures behind it were in no way better. There was a buddha, calmly drinking his tea while observing her with gentle, curious eyes. His wide orange robe did little to hide his astonishingly muscular body.

    This seriously was no buddha anyone would want to start a fight with!

    Next to the buddha sat a small person, reminding her of a gnome. His face was unquestionably ugly with deep wrinkles and disproportionate features. His long-curved nose only deepened the impression of an exceptionally ugly face

    Lastly there was an obese female with ridiculously expensive clothing. Gold and silver seemed to be little more then dirt in her eyes as she was clad in a ridiculous amount of jewelry. Unlike the other two Saji couldn¡¯t put her into a distinct category.

    Every single being in this pub was clearly out of the ordinary and the fact that those three figures had seemed like ordinary customers to her just a moment ago only served to testify that fact.

    She had absolutely no intention of staying here.

    Her long cry abruptly stopped, and she whirled around. A short dash and she had reached the door. Before anyone could do anything, she had opened the door and stepped outside. Her vision blurred for a moment.

    There was noise.

    Millions of voices, some deep others high. Piercing and gentle, whispering or roaring. They all came together to form a symphony of voices that filled the air and enlivened it with vibrant spirit.

    Thousands of languages came together in this unexpected and yet strangely familiar piece of music. They merged and emerged from the sea of other words, they refined themselves until in the end they were the same and yet different.

    Hundreds of sounds filled the air, some loud, others quiet. Steps on the hard ground, the sound of fabric fluttering in the wind, doors that opened and doors that closed. There was no way to identify each and every of that sounds and yet every last of them was a distinct part of what she could hear.

    Her eyes focused.

    There were lights. Billions of them, in every imageable color. They blotted out the sky, filled the vision with their unparalleled might.

    Some came from the millions of windows, others from the thousands of display windows that belonged to the unending number of shops. Hundreds of millions of colorful advertisements seemed to try to outcompete each other in terms of brightness and color. They filled everything that was no window or door, there was nothing that did not have the name of some foreign company or shop on it.

    This was not the street Saji had come from.

    It seemed similar, but the difference between both was almost unimageable.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    If one was earth,

    The other one was certainly the heaven!

    ¡°Sorry but I couldn¡¯t let you go this easily.¡±

    A voice suddenly came from behind her.

    But Saji did not turn around. Her eyes were glued on the sight in front of her.

    She was on one side of a long street. As far as she could see there was an unending line of houses reached towards the horizon. Her eyes wandered up and she saw the facades of the houses reached high up into the dark night sky. Hundreds of meters tall, high enough to reach even the sky, they lined the street in every shape and form.

    There was a Chinese pagoda with at least four hundred stories, bright lights shining from every single of it¡¯s white paper windows. Despite it¡¯s traditional and archaic look there were hundreds of glowing neon signs advertising for the hundreds of restaurants inside of it.

    On the other side of the street was a grey building. Like a wall it filled her view. Only unlike a wall it too was filled with small windows and an unimaginable number of advertisements.

    Buildings like this and others in every imaginable style lined the street and filled it with their unending flood of colors.

    On the multiple hundred meter wide street tens of thousands of creatures walked around minding their own business.

    White foxes walked on two legs as they ate meat skewers from a nearby stall. A tree flouted along the street, an old face on it¡¯s wrinkled bark talking with a young golden dragon. An immortal descended from the sky, walking on the air as if it was a staircase, and disappeared into a coffee shop only to come out with a paper cup filled with hot coffee.

    It was difficult to describe, but the world in front of Saji was too unimageable to be unreal. It was too unreal to be an illusion.

    Without even questioning it Saji had already confirmed that what she saw was the truth and not some kind of crazy hallucination.

    ¡°Lady?¡±, the voice once again spoke.

    Finally, Saji was able to avert her eyes from the scenery in front of her. She turned towards the voice. It was the ¡®owner of the pub¡¯, the bartender who clamed to be a god. From what she had heard from the dragon he seemed to be called Ji.

    ¡°¡­Where am I?¡±, after a moment Saji asked.

    Ji seemed to have expected the question.

    ¡°City of gods, the city of eternal night, City of a milliard opportunities, City of a billion names.¡±, he listed a couple of names.

    ¡°This city has as many names to it as there are beings living inside of it and it is up to you how you want to call it. What is important is that this is a city of gods, spirits and demons. Everything you heard about but never experienced, everything that you could seek, is located somewhere within the boundaries of this city.¡±, his words seemed to contain some sort of attraction as they made Saji feel more and more excited the more the heard.

    Saji was quiet for some time.

    ¡°You said it wouldn¡¯t be easy for me to leave?¡±, she asked.

    ¡°How cloud it be? You are my guest and I want to show you a lot of thing before I can allow you to go.¡±, The same friendly smile remained on Ji¡¯s face. Despite that his words were rather despotic. It made his smile feel more like a mask then an expression of his true feelings.

    Despite that Saji did not feel that the smile was repulsive. It was like a beautifully painted work of art. Something that was supposed to sooth the minds of others without carrying any evil intentions. This young god did not show his true face and hid behind the mask of a friendly smile. But somehow Saji knew that it wasn¡¯t because he had any evil intentions.

    At first Saji did not know what to respond. She did not know what to do. In fact, right now she knew nothing.

    Yet for some reason she couldn¡¯t help but smile. It was a genuine smile, no mask, but instead her true face.

    This was a world she didn¡¯t choose to enter. Some crazy god abducted her out of a whim and introduced her into this crazy reality without leaving her any freedom in the matter.

    Yet it was exciting.

    She knew that from this moment on everything would change for her. There was no telling what would happen, she did not know what she might encounter in this magical world that had suddenly opened itself to her.

    She only knew that from this moment on, everything would change and that it would keep changing for an indefinite amount of time, maybe even forever.

    ¡°Then show me, oh mighty God Ji, just what wonders are hidden within this city!¡±, her bright voice reached Ji¡¯ and merged into the endless sea that was this city.

    For some reason Ji¡¯s expression changed for a moment. Saji did not seem like a young woman that had been brought into an unfamiliar world. In this moment she was like a fish that had returned to the water after living her live on land.

    She really wasn¡¯t what he had expected.

    And that made it even more exciting!

    A bright smile appeared at Ji¡¯s mouth and a strange light shone in his eyes as he made an mannered bow. This time it was no mask and his elegant politeness was no show.

    He was the owner of the pub ¡®A Dragon¡¯s Dream¡¯.

    He was a young god who had lived for multiple centuries.

    He was Ji!

    ¡°It will be my honor!¡±, his smile was genuine and warm.

 Dangers of a gods world

    While the two of them stood right in front of the pub¡¯s entrance a bypassing creature suddenly sniffed a few times. Its nose inhaled the cold air and all the different smells that it contained. The faint but always present smell of white foxes, the strong aromatic smell of the coffee an immortal was carrying a few hundred meters away, the delicious smell of roasted meat and another delicious smell that was very rarely smelled within the city of a billion names.

    The creature¡¯s footsteps abruptly stopped.

    It had a small humanoid body with green skin. Its body looked mangled and thin, while it¡¯s limbs were meager and fragile. An ugly face and a long green nose completed the repulsive appearance of the goblin.

    Yet, despite its weak appearance and thin frame the goblin had the abilities of a real predator.

    As it inhaled the cold night air a certain smell entered its sensitive nose and caused it to shiver in delight. Its ugly face twisted in a strange mix of hunger and excitement. It turned its head following the source of the smell and stared at Saji. The goblin¡¯s mouth opened slightly, revealing its surprisingly sharp teeth. A drool leaked through his open mouth and tainted the brown cloth it had wrapped around it¡¯s skinny body.

    ¡°A human.¡±, it said, a slight tremor in its voice. The creature¡¯s eyes were blood shot while it¡¯s expression became wretched.

    ¡°A HUMAN!¡±, it was unable to restrain itself and pounced towards the two figures standing in front of a black door.

    Within a moment it had crossed tens of meters, displaying power that shouldn¡¯t be possible with its malnourished body. Strangely its muscles seemed to have inflated and its sharp fangs had grown by a few centimeters. Its appearance was still small but other then that it was still something that could haunt people in their nightmares.

    Heads turned around, attracted by the creature¡¯s shouts and the sudden burst of power they could sense from it. Some were curious, others surprised and some just as hungry as the green creature. Hundreds of eyes fell onto the small greenish figure that was darting towards the two humans on the side of the street.

    Yet before any of them could move to do anything Ji had already stepped forward, blocking the green creature¡¯s way. Disdain flickered in his eyes as he looked at the incoming creature.

    ¡°Know your place, lowlife.¡±, he reached out with his hand and directly hit the creatures head. The sound of an explosion rumbled, and something shot across the street until it crushed into the wall of a neighboring building.

    The small body of the goblin had disappeared, leaving only a couple of bloodstains on the other building. If one looked closely they could see a few bits of flesh scattered across the street.

    For a moment everything was silent.

    Then the dozens of eyes averted themselves and the spectators dispersed, each of them minding their own business and heading towards their own destinations. Some of them, those who had also felt the same hunger as the green creature hurried to distance themselves from this place. Yet in their minds they couldn¡¯t help but yearn for a little piece of that delicious human.

    Within a moment everything had gone back to normal and no one cared about the goblin¡¯s miserable death.

    The only difference was that there were some new bloodstains on the ground and the wall of a building.

    Saji¡¯s face paled as she saw a small piece of flesh being picked up by a small human child. It opened its mouth and simply ate it. After chewing twice, it swallowed it. The child nodded its head seeming satisfied.

    Suddenly it turned it head towards Saji. Two red pupils surrounded by black eyes stared at her, filled with the desire to feast on her tender flesh. A creepy smile appeared on its childish face.

    Saji paled even more. She felt a strong desire to vomit.

    Ji turned his gaze towards the ¡®child¡¯. As it sensed his gaze on its body it began to tremble, obviously fearful and apprehensive of the god.

    ¡°Fuck off.¡±, Ji said coolly and turned around. The small ¡®child¡¯ instantly darted away, fearful of the consequences it would have to face if it was too slow.

    ¡°Follow me.¡±, Ji said to Saji while walking back into the pub.

    Saji hurriedly followed him. Staying out without Ji obviously wasn¡¯t a good idea, considering that she was almost killed only a few moments after arriving at this strange city.

    Right now, she painfully had to realize that this city, however beautiful and amazing it might be, was no place for ordinary humans like her. Without someone like Ji protecting her there was no way for her to survive in the world beyond the pubs door.

    As soon as Saji had entered the building the black door closed itself behind her.

    The glamorous city of gods had disappeared and been replaced by the gentle twilight of a god¡¯s pub.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    A hand gently grabbed her shoulder and pulled her further into the room. Ji looked a little worried as he looked into Saji¡¯s eyes. As before his expression was a little to perfect, his concern to realistic to be real.

    Maybe he wasn¡¯t able to show emotions any other way. The thought appeared in Saji¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Everything alright?¡±, he asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry that your first experience in our city ended so badly. Unfortunately, it really isn¡¯t a place where humans like you can go without taking some precautions. There are a few creatures there that enjoy human flesh and all of those are beyond a human means to handle.¡±, Ji apologized.

    Saji was still a little shaken and remained silent for a while. Finally, she shook her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. You protected me after all.¡±, she seemed thoughtful.

    Despite its numerous marvels the city out there was dangerous, yet for some reason Saji really wanted to go back there. It was unreasonable and defied any logic or natural instinct. It was a world that should have been unreachable for her, yet she could experience it. Maybe it was because of this that she couldn¡¯t help but carve to know more about this world.

    Ji read her expression and knew what she thought. He smiled relieved.

    He suddenly went over to the counter and began to search in one of the shelves¡¯ departments. ¡°I will make you a charm that can protect you from these type of being even while I am away. It will be able to ward of most beings you would normally met on the streets.¡±

    Saji nodded thankfully.

    ¡°That would be great.¡±

    Then she looked around the pub once more. The four customers from before were still around. But unlike before they did not sit around the table anymore. Instead they circled around Saji and curiously observed her.

    Even the Buddhist monk took glances at her body.

    ¡°He certainly has taste.¡±, he commented.

    ¡°Of course, he has, not everyone is a monk like you.¡±, the obese lady replied laughing.

    The monk shrugged. ¡°The almighty buddha does not forbid the pleasure of the flesh.¡±

    ¡°She truly is a fine lady¡±, the dragon interrupted with a strangely thoughtful expression. To be honest Saji found it more amazing that a dragon could have such human like expression than the fact that it could speak.

    ¡°Would it not be politer if we introduced ourselves before taking such liberties with the young lady?¡±, the extraordinarily ugly man asked in a formal tone.

    The other three who had been cheerfully chattering suddenly froze on the spot.

    ¡°Thu truly forgot about it?¡±, the ugly dwarf asked amazed.

    The dragon looked especially embarrassed. He stepped forward first.

    ¡°My name is Long Tian, the first of the heavenly dragons. I greet you.¡±, he too suddenly talked formal.

    Next came the obese lady.

    ¡°I am called the sleeping lady. Those from the island of honey worshipped me long before the first civilizations arose in your homelands.¡±, she made a gentle curtsy.

    The monk followed her. His hands formed a formal Buddhist greeting and he made a deep bow.

    ¡°Amitabha. This lowly monk is called Raja. May the great buddha rest within your heart and help you find peace in this world.¡±

    Lastly came the ugly dwarf.

    ¡°It is my pleasure to meet thy lady. My name is Ronald Sherevile.¡±, he was by far the most polite and formal of the four.

    Saji quickly returned the greetings and soon that had engaged into a conversation. The four ¡®people¡¯ had many questions to ask and despite being obviously very old they were very curious. On the other hand, Saji also carved for more knowledge about this new world she had walked into.

    She found out that all four beings were at least over two thousand years old. How old they were exactly they couldn¡¯t or wouldn¡¯t tell her, but from what they spoke of while telling their old stories they had been around during the time of the ancient romans and the first Chinese dynasties. (The first Chinese dynasty was the Xia-dynasty although it¡¯s existence is debated by historians, the seconds dynasty is called the Shang-dynasty and lasted from 1600 b.c until 1100 b.c)

    Mr. Sherevile, the ugly dwarf claimed to have been a close friend of a certain famous english king and his elderly wizard mentor.

    Furthermore, she found out that the sleeping lady and Raja had been mortal humans before somehow ascending to become gods, while Tian and Mr. Sherevile had been born as immortal beings and with the power of a god. As for how a mortal could become an immortal god, none of them talked about the topic.

    It seemed like they weren¡¯t really willing to share this secret to her.

    Saji did not mind. It would have been strange if they just told her how to become immortal after meeting her only one hour ago.

    Of course, there was no way for Saji to verify their age or claims, but there was no real reason for them to lie. Especially Tian, the dragon, was incredible enough even without talking about his age or experiences.

    During the conversation she also found out that Ji was the youngest of them. It was unknown how old Ji exactly was, but it seemed that he had only become a god in the last millennia.

    After almost an hour Ji suddenly interrupted the conversation. He finally came out from behind the counter, carrying a flat stone in his hand. He placed it onto the table in front of Saji.

    The stone had a very flat surface and was snow-white. There was not a single impurity on it¡¯s perfectly smooth surface. On one side hundreds of fine black lines combined together and formed an unfinished circle. It was almost perfect, only a small gab between the two ends of the line hindered its competition. Despite the simple form the lines that formed it were extremely complicated.

    ¡°This talisman is capable of creating two familiars that will listen to your commands and protect you from harm. You have to press it against a part of your body. Which one is up to you to choose. Once the tattoo is placed onto your skin you will be able to control the two familiars I sealed into them. They are powerful enough to ward off most of the beings you can stumble upon in the streets! Of course, there are still powerful beings in the city that could harm you despite the protection of the talisman, but those shouldn¡¯t attack you without reason.¡±, Ji was slightly proud of the talisman.

    ¡°As long as you do not provoke those beings you should be fine.¡±, he concluded.

    Saji looked at the stone.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±, she looked up to Ji and thanked him.

    Then she took the stone into her hand. It was slightly cold and felt like any other rock you could find outside. Yet this one would change her live. A power she couldn¡¯t even dream about until now would be hers to use. A world she couldn¡¯t have dreamed about was ready to be explored by her!

    Saji gathered her resolve and abruptly pressed the stone against the backside of her lower arm.

    She expected burning pain or at least the sensation of small needles piercing her skin. Instead she just felt the smooth, cold surface of the stone.

    Surprised she removed the stone and looked at her arm. It was slightly irritated, a red hint on the pale skin. The small tattoo of an unfinished circle now adorned her lower arm. Hundreds of intricate, fine lines that formed one simple symbol. Black paint on pale white skin.

 Sha the white fox

    A young woman wandered the empty and dark side streets of the large city. Despite the sparse light and many dark shadows that obscured much of her appearance it was without question that she had quite the good looking face and a sexy mature body that would attract many males.

    There were few people aside from her in these desolate parts of the city and the few people present in this remote area of the city were predominately male thug-like figures that enjoyed spending their time drinking in the dark alleys.

    Some looked human like, others had strange limbs filled with power. One had a fish head, with the rest of his body being humanoid. Another one was a member of the intelligent white fox race that was present all across the city. All of them, no matter their race or appearance threw longing gazes to the young lady as she passed their group.

    The fox even went so far as to change his form, one of the many skills they inherited as members of their race. A leave seemed to have appeared from nowhere and fluttered down onto the foxes back. As soon as it touched its white fur, a cloud of white smoke exploded out from the fox¡¯s body and hid it from view. The smoke dissipated as quick as it had come and revealed a young man with white hair and stunningly sharp eyes.

    He was clearly handsome; his facial features were enough to make him a top model in the outside world. There were only two things that were slightly offsetting. One was the strong red eye shadow that surrounded his eyes, while the other was the strange from of his eyebrows. It seemed like they had been trimmed until there was only a small roundish patch of hair on both sides.

    Two bright yellow eyes glittered with vivid colors as they looked onto the receding figure of the young woman.

    The other hoodlums whistled approvingly, many grinning lewdly in response to the fox¡¯s clear intentions.

    The fox did not care about the others or their thoughts, his mind was preoccupied by his plans to make this young lady fall for him. He could tell by her smell that she was a human, but unlike most lowly spirits and weak demons the fox race did not enjoy the taste of human flesh. Rather they looked down onto those who practiced this sort of barbaric behavior.

    What he was after was truly just the girl. He wanted to seduce her and have fun with her.

    When he made his move all the other beings in the street gave up on their own intentions regarding the girl. Sha Tawa, as the fox was called, was the unrivaled boss of this area and none of those low thugs could compare to him. Since this ¡®influential¡¯ figure made his move none of them would dare to have other thoughts.

    Sha put on a friendly smile and walked towards the girl.

    She was truly quite the beauty, wearing her white top and a short skirt. For a moment he wondered why such a beautiful human would come into this dark desolate place. Or rather how could she have come there¡­

    His expression changed as he noticed something. How could a mortal human woman have come to this place without being raped, killed and eaten?!

    He realized this too late. The young lady was only a few steps away from him and had already noticed his arrival.

    She turned around and shot a glance at him. She saw the red eyeshadow and the strangely formed eyebrows combined with the white color of his hair. A small smile blossomed on her nicely curved lips.

    ¡°A fox hm?¡±, her voice was gentle and smooth. Yet Sha felt cold shivers running down his spine.

    He had realized his mistake. A young beautiful human female in a city of gods, spirits and demons. There was only one way she could have appeared at this place¡­

    She had a powerful backer or some sort of magic that could protect her!

    His mood rapidly turned sour. His plans had failed, there was no way he would try to seduce a woman that could probably kill him with little trouble. Of course, he did not show his thoughts on his face. In fact, his smile only became wider and he replied friendly.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°Young lady is right, I am a member of the white fox race!¡±, he made an elegant bow. His expression seemed to be filled with confidence, but in truth he was furiously searching for a way to escape this predicament.

    She laughed.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to hide it, I know that you wanted to seduce me and play with my body before getting away. It¡¯s what you foxes try to do every time you see a woman that fits your tastes.¡±, her eyes seemed to pierce right into Sha¡¯s mind.

    The smile on Sha¡¯s face disappeared as his expression rapidly turned ugly.

    ¡°I-i don¡¯t know what lady is ta-¡­¡±, he wanted to defend himself, but the woman interrupted him.

    ¡°Nothing you have to be embarrassed about. It¡¯s in your very nature to do so.¡±, she stocked. ¡°Unfortunately, I cannot allow a lowly fox like you to sully my body, but I do have a little job for you¡­¡±, she smiled mysteriously.

    Sha calmed down as he heard her words. It did not seem like she would hold a grudge again him.

    His expression changed once again, this time turning into a serious, solemn one. This was business and he would treat the lady as he would treat a business partner.

    ¡°How can I help this lady?¡±, he asked.

    The woman chuckled slightly. ¡°This is more like it!¡±

    Her eyes turned sharp. ¡°I need you to go to a certain pub on the main street. There you shall meet a young human female around 20 years old. Don¡¯t try anything on her, she has the backing of a powerful god. It won¡¯t end well for you if you try anything fishy.

    Your job is to help her find a proper style fitting for this city.¡±

    ¡°A proper style¡­¡±, Sha repeated confused.

    ¡°You want me to help her choose an outfit?!¡±, his voice turned a little high. Once again, he had an ugly expression ruining his fine looks. His pride was hurt.

    ¡°Exactly!¡±, the woman confirmed. ¡°If you do a good job I will help you get a Tibetan fairy for your collection.¡±

    ¡°How do you know about that!¡±, Sha exclaimed in shock. The more this lady spoke, the less he could fathom the extent of her knowledge and the less he could understand her. At this point he was very sure that this lady was no random human female!

    Only few people knew of his fancy for collecting various rare creatures and keeping them as pets. Those who knew about this and knew that he was missing a Tibetan fairy in his collection were even less. Yet this unknown lady knew about it!

    Furthermore, how could a random person he had just met know this much about him? She clearly had come searching for him!

    ¡°I understand.¡±, Sha nodded obediently. ¡°I will do it.¡±

    Not to mention helping some random human girl to pick her outfits, to get his hands on an Tibetan fairy he would even sell his own body and become a prostitute to an ugly old man. There was no way he would miss this opportunity.

    The lady¡¯s smile brightened. ¡°I thought you would answer so, Sha Tawa.

    Search for ¡°A Dragon¡¯s Dream¡±, she will be in there. Tell her that ¡®the sleeping lady¡¯ has send you.¡±

    As soon as the lady said her words, Sha paled. His face became pure white resulting in an even greater contrast to his red eyeshadows.

    ¡°Y-you are the sleeping lady?¡±, his voice trembled in terror. His eyes were wide open and bloodshot, fear flickered inside of them.

    ¡°Oh, I forgot to mention that?¡±, the lady laughed. Suddenly her figure blurred. Her slender body grew and lost its form, changing into the body of an obese woman. Strangely her clothes grew with the rest of her, avoiding the unpleasant experience of them ripping apart.

    Finally, the beautiful lady had transformed into the obese sleeping lady. Her smile still curled on her lips and her eyes remained amiable and calm. Yet Sha was freaking out and trembling.

    Now that she had reverted herself into her original form she clearly wasn¡¯t a mortal human anymore instead the awe-inspiring presence of a god swirled around her.

    ¡°The form I took right now was that human females appearance. With this you should easily find her.¡±, the sleeping lady said, ignoring the obvious fear Sha was showing.

    ¡°I should go now¡­ I expect you to meet up with the girl within the next five hours!¡±, with this the sleeping lady averted her eyes from the trembling Sha and looked into the dark street behind him.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t understand why someone like you would surround yourself with these hoodlums¡­.¡±, she shook her head. ¡°But I shouldn¡¯t meddle in your families matters.¡±, she sighed and walked away, disappearing into nothing after a few steps.

    Sha was left behind, still trembling in fear. His body was soaked in sweat as he cursed his bad luck.

    What had he done in his previous life that some random girl he tried to pick up would end up being a powerful goddess?

    He sighed and shook his head. Then he glanced towards his friends in the side alley. He thought for a moment and once again shook his head.

    ¡°That old wrench is right.¡±, he muttered and turned away from the alley. This type of people truly did not fit his identity. He had only stayed around them to have some fun and pass the time. Now it was time to cut his ties with them.

    His had a wry look on his face. Who would have thought that he would one day end up as a lowly thug? He shook his head, a look of resignation appeared on his handsome features. Yet inside his eyes a hint of ambition glittered.

    He walked towards one of the main streets. Lights became more frequent and more and more shops appeared all around him, their advertisements luring with all kinds of fancy slogans. But he did not notice them.

    He wondered. Just what was that human female that a goddess would go this far just to get her some nice clothes? Why would she even get him to get the job? There were plenty of professionals in the city, millions of experienced beings she could choose from. Why choose him?

    He did not understand. But of course he had a suspicion.

 The way Gods are

    The door opened and Saji came in from the outside. The pub looked the same it always did, with its dim lighting and the low sound of music which came from somewhere in the back of the pub. To be honest Saji hadn¡¯t even entered the back part of the pub yet. Most of the time she either followed Ji to visit strange restaurants and shops selling the weirdest things or she slept in one of the rooms on the second floor of the building.

    Yet she had never entered the back part of the pub. She was curious as to what was located there, but up till now she hadn¡¯t had time to look there. Everyday she would spend almost all of the day wandering around with Ji and returning dead-tired from the exciting things she witnessed.

    Right now, sitting in the front part of the pub were the usual three guests consisting of Long Tian, Raja, Mr. Sherevile. Only the sleeping lady was missing from her usual seat. As for the rest, Tian had taken his human form which was the body of an Asian looking middle-aged man with the typical Chinese mustache every old chinese grandfather in every movie had to have. It was so generic that it looked good.

    Mr. Sherevile looked as ugly as usual as he drunk his black tea while Raja was playing cards with Tian.

    They turned around and smiled at Saji.

    She moved further into the room, making place for Ji to follow her inside the pub.

    ¡°So, did you like the restaurant?¡±, Ji was in a good mood, humming some melody.

    Saji nodded. ¡°The roasted peacock was really good.¡±

    Ji had been taking her to visit a number of restaurants these days and Saji had already adapted to the various strange and somewhat unusual dishes they served. She had to admit that everything she had tasted so far was delicious.

    ¡°You ate five-colored peacock?¡±, Tian suddenly interrupted a longing look on his face.

    (The Fenghuang is a magical bird from Chinese folklore that is sometimes also called peacock or five-colored peacock. It is considered to be the ruler over all other birds and being at the same level as phenixes and dragons.)

    ¡°You bastard Ji don¡¯t you feel you are favoring this girl to much? You have only met her for three days and, yet you have fed her dragon lizards, a flood-dragon and five colored peacock! We have been friends for almost forty decades and you have treated me anything like that!¡±, he really felt that Ji was treating him to bad. To favor some new girl more then a friend he had known for 400 years¡­

    (Flood-dragons are lower dragons from Chinese-mythology that resemble four-legged snakes. They are less powerful then true dragons but have a chance to become one through lucky encounters.)

    Saji had an awkward expression on her face, not knowing what to respond.

    She had realized that those dishes Ji treated her were clearly rare, yet there was nothing she could do. Ji would always order such things for her and wouldn¡¯t accept any objections.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    Mr. Sherevile put down his cup having finished his tea.

    ¡°If you are so desperate to eat five colored peacock I will treat you, but stop blaming the poor child!¡±, as always Mr. Sherevile spoke somewhat formal unlike Tian who would swear and talk however he liked.

    Tian¡¯s expression instantly lightened, a smile blossoming on his face.

    ¡°What are you waiting for, we go RIGHT NOW!¡±, he said excited, grapping Mr. Sherevile by his arm and pulling him from his chair. He rapidly transformed into his true form and coiled around the old dwarf. Then he shot towards the open door.

    Mr. Sherevile only sighed, letting Tian drag him out of the pub onto the street. Then both were gone, only leaving Saji, Ji and Raja inside the room. The door slowly closed itself.

    Ji shook his head grinning.

    ¡°After more then three thousand years he still is little more than a brat.¡±

    Raja nodded his head. He also had a small smile on his lips.

    Saji on the other hand was a little overwhelmed by the sudden development. Despite their age of multiple hundred if not thousand years these gods were very explosive and decisive in their behavior. They really did not resemble the wise and tranquil gods one would expect.

    Ji cleared his throat and faced Saji.

    ¡°I am sorry to say this as I am your host and should entertain you, but I will have to take care of some business now and won¡¯t be able to keep you around for the next few days. You have your talisman, so you can stroll around the city by yourself. If you need help just ask Raja, he will help you.¡±, he looked apologetic.

    Raja nodded approvingly.

    Saji frowned a little. She wasn¡¯t really comfortable with the thought of being alone in the city. There was an unlimited amount of dangers lurking all around the endless rows of streets and alley. But she also knew that she couldn¡¯t expect Ji to be around her all the time. Furthermore, he was right, she had her talisman and even though Saji wasn¡¯t sure just how powerful it was, according to Ji it should keep her safe.

    She nodded hesitantly.

    ¡°I will have to trouble you Raja.¡±, she said to Raja. He smiled encouraging.

    Ji also nodded, satisfied with her response.

    ¡°I will find you as soon as I am done with my business. Until then have fun.¡±, he exchanged a few more words with Raja and disappeared through a door behind the counter.

    Saji sat down on one of the chairs, a light frown on her face.

    She wasn¡¯t sure on what to do now that Ji wasn¡¯t leading her around interesting and new places. On her own it would be hard to explore this gigantic city.

    ¡°You should wait a few more moments, the arrangement that was made for you should arrive any second.¡±, Raja suddenly said. It seemed like he knew exactly what was going on within her head.

    Saji was surprised and confused.

    ¡°What kind of arrangement?¡±

    Raja shook his head. ¡°You will see. Wait only a little more.¡±

    She frowned but chose to listen to him.

    A few minutes went by and she finished a cup of tea Raja had prepared for her. At this time the door to the pub slowly opened, letting in a gush of fresh, cold air. The typical noises of the city flooded the quietness of the pub.

    A face appeared through the door frame. Slender facial features, white hair, a pair black eyes surrounded by red eyeshadow and two strangely shaped eyebrows. He was handsome, but there was a mysterious, or rather strange presence around him.

    The pair of black eyes scanned the pub and fell onto Saji. They seemed to recognize her as the person whom they belonged to instantly went into motion.

    Before Saji could react, he had already reached her and stretched out his hand for a greeting.

    ¡°My name is Sha Tawa, pleased to meet you.¡±

    Due to her surprise she blinked twice before finally reacting.

    ¡°Saji¡­ My name is Saji Revels¡­¡±, she answered somewhat awkwardly, wondering what that handsome young man might want from her. Of course, the handsome part was merely an observational fact¡­

    ¡°What might you want from me?¡±, without realizing she voiced out the question.

    Sha realized the awkward situation he had created and became embarrassed.

    ¡°Well¡­¡±, he scratched his head, blushing a little . ¡°I am supposed to help you go shopping¡­¡±

 Am I qualified now?

    ¡°So¡­ aunty told you to accompany me on my shopping tour and in exchange she will give you some sort of rare fairy?¡±, Saji asked as they walked down a brought street. Left and right hundreds of clothing shops lined this particular street. From what Sha had told her, this was the best place to go and buy clothes within the city. The aunty Saji was speaking about was the sleeping lady. Of course, the sleeping lady had approved of this address, otherwise there was no way Saji would call her as such.

    Sha nodded, also not really sure what the goddess was thinking. It was obvious that she favored this human girl, but that did not justify the price of a Tibetan fairy just to get Sha to help her buy some clothes.

    He was pretty sure that there was another thing behind this, some sort of hook that would make that price reasonable. Nonetheless he was willing to take the risk. For the goddess getting her hands on a Tibetan fairy was somewhat difficult, but nothing too hard. For him, on the other hand, it was almost impossible.

    There were only a few hundred fairies of this race in total and they were highly sought after by various gods and powerful spirits that also enjoyed the collecting of rare beasts and mystic beings.

    No matter what he had to do as long as he could do it, he would do it!

    Without another word he pulled Saji into the closest shop.

    Hundreds of floors, millions of articles. Fabrics, one more beautiful then the next one. Materials, one rarer than the other. An unending flood of styles, cultures and creatures filled these shops, each of them catering clothes for any kind of being, made of any kind of material.

    Somehow Saji felt like she entered into another state of mind. Time lost it¡¯s meaning, accelerating and deaccelerating in a pulsing rhythm. Her eyes blurred confronted by the sheer amount of beauty and variation.

    They walked into one store, only to enter the next one. Clothes appeared in front of her eyes and disappeared. Some they took with them, others they left behind. As time went on everything became a single blur of colors, sounds and forms.

    The only thing she could clearly remember was Sha¡¯s voice as he told her the rules of the cities fashion.

    ¡°You are the familiar of a god and it seems that there are a few more that favor you. As such you also represent those gods with your appearance. Your looks will be linked to those gods and people will judge your appearance where ever you go. In other words, I cannot let you wear one single outfit every day or else you will harm both that gods reputation and the reputation of the goddess.

    On the other hand, the outfit also depends on your relationship with the god who is backing you and your own intention of what your outfit is supposed to say about you.

    You for example are a god¡¯s company. A ¡®friend¡¯ so to say. You should dress more or less flexible, but always wear expensive clothes. Some silk dresses, made from heavenly silk, a couple of different pants. Dragon leather, fabric made of the hairs of a deer with three eyes.

    Oh, this dress, made out of a rainbow should fit you!

    You are one of the few lucky who can be extravagant in this city without being a god so take your chance and enjoy it as long as you can!¡±

    Before Saji had realized it, they had returned onto the damp street. As always, the sky was dark, and the stars shone bright. Inside the city it was always night and for some reason it always felt like it had rained only a few minutes ago. The black asphalt was always wet and there were small puddles of water scattered across the street.

    According to Ji this was because most spirits and demons liked the night and enjoyed a certain amount of humidity in the air.

    Saji took some time to gather her thoughts. She looked on the golden watch that at some point during the shopping trip simply appeared at her wrist. It seemed like she had spent almost thirteen hours shopping!

    Her head was still spinning, and she felt dazed from the experience. She couldn¡¯t remember everything that had happened during the last half day, but what she could remember made her once again realize the wonders hidden within the city.

    At some point she looked down on her self and noticed that she wore completely different clothes then before.

    She wore a pair of tight black leather pants, if she remembered correctly they were made out of the hides of a lower dragon. Her top was a translucent blazer beneath which she wore a plain black bra. The pair of elegant brown leather boots and sunglasses completed the picture.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Saji¡¯s face turned scarlet red, especially when she noticed the thin, black leather collar on her neck.

    ¡°I thought I should wear normal clothes!¡±, she exclaimed in her embarrassment. Then her eyes fell on Sha. The handsome guy was completely buried under a mountain of bags of various colors and sizes.

    His head shot out of the hill of bags and a slight smile played on his lips.

    ¡°This IS pretty normal. Of course, if you don¡¯t like it you can change right here!¡±, a somewhat evil and perverted spark flickered in his eyes.

    Saji turned even redder and anger accumulated inside of her.

    ¡°You wish!¡±, she turned away from Sha and began walking into some direction.

    Sha grinned, amused by her cute reaction. He found himself liking that girls company. She was different than those low-level spirit and demon females he usually kept around.

    But his expression suddenly fell.

    ¡°Be careful!¡±, he could barely exclaim before he was violently thrown against a nearby building. The wall broke and his body disappeared in a pile of grey rubble.

    At the same time, Saji felt immense danger. Without even thinking she touched the tattoo on her left hand.

    Two lights flashed, one white, the other black and blocked the incoming hand that was trying to reach Saji. The hand was violently repelled, and its owner exclaimed surprised.

    At the same time the two lights slowly manifested into two koi, one black, the other white as they circled around Saji. They weren¡¯t big, yet they radiated intense power as they formed a defensive parameter around the young woman.

    Saji herself, was still numb from the shock of the sudden attack and did not move.

    On the other side of the street rubble and dust exploded onto the street, revealing a sea of fire that grew larger and larger. Within that sea of flames the small figure of a white fox emerged, slowly walking out of the partly collapsed first floor of the building.

    ¡°Motherfucker!¡±, Sha¡¯s voice boomed out.

    ¡­.

    Meaning while on the other side of the city Ji arrived in front if a tall skyscraper. Unlike the usual buildings which lined the streets, this one was located in the middle of a grand square, forming the center of the entire part of the city.

    The skyscraper was build in a similar style to those build in New York during the nineteen-twenties, having some resemblance to the empire state building that represented the United States during these times. Of course, that resemblance was intentional. Though it has to be mentioned that this building was far older then the empire state building.

    Ji took a deep look at the old building and closed his eyes. For some time, it was difficult to say for how long, he did not move at all, standing akin to a statue someone had placed in front of the entrance by mistake.

    Finally, he opened his eyes, inhaled, exhaled and went into motion.

    With a single step he somehow crossed the dozen meters left between his former location and the door. Reaching out with his arm he pushed the heavy door open and entered the building.

    Inside, there wasn¡¯t the typical reception area you would expect inside of a skyscraper like this. Instead Ji entered an entirely different world!

    A wide, empty plain stretched into every direction, covered in various tall and small grasses. A clear golden sky hovered over this endless plain, a red sun shining down and nourishing the blue and pink grasses. It was a surreal sight but inside this city it could only be described as fitting.

    There was nothing else in this world, only the strangely colored plain and sky.

    The only exception was a group of people a couple of hundred meters away.

    As soon as Ji entered the building, they had noticed his arrival and turned around to meet this newcomer. One of them, an elderly man with long white hair and a similarly white beard stepped forward. He wore an Chinese robe and his facial features also betrayed his Chinese heritage.

    His expression was tranquil and neutral, but there was a hint of surprise in his deep black eyes.

    ¡°Human god Ji, the genius who became a god 438 years ago. If I remember correctly you became a god at the age of twenty-four?¡±, his voice was just as elderly as his appearance, carrying the attitude of an ancient.

    Ji put a slight smile on his face and nodded.

    ¡°You remember correct, Immortal Huan Po.¡±

    The elder took a deep look at Ji.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°To take my stance to todays matter. This is the human council is it not? Are you not going to decide your actions regarding ¡®that¡¯ matter?¡±

    The elder frowned.

    ¡°You may be a genius, but even so you are not qualified to represent a faction only consisting out of yourself in this council.¡±, he flicked the long sleeve of his robe.

    Suddenly a large amount of pressure built up in front of the elder and formed into a wave rolling towards Ji and seeking to eject him out of the building. The power contained inside this invisible wave was enough to crush a mountain and leave only dust behind of it.

    Yet Ji remained calm in front of this awe-inspiring power. Unhurried he started to speak.

    ¡°I have come as the representative of a total of four factions who wish to express their stance on this subject. These four are:

    The Buddhist faction.

    The Heavenly dragons.

    The dwarf faction.

    And the human gods faction.¡±

    Ji stretched out his arm and inside of his hand a paper scroll appeared. It immediately rolled out to it¡¯s full size.

    A total of four different seals were imprinted onto the white paper. Four powerful presences exploded from the scroll and flooded towards the incoming wave of pressure. The later was immediately crushed, while the four presences continued to attack the elder.

    The elder¡¯s expression turned solemn as he quickly formed a hand seal and spat a bit of his own blood into the air. The hand seal superimposed onto the blood and formed a seal of blood, resembling an Chinese hieroglyph which then flew towards the four presences.

    When the four presences reached the blood seal they did not bash into it as one would expect, instead they seeped into the seal.

    A moment later the seal exploded, resulting in a puddle of blood staining the blue and pink grasses at that location.

    The elder¡¯s complexion turned pale and a tiny amount of blood leaked through his tightly closed lips. There was undisguised anger luring in the two black holes that were his pupils.

    ¡°Am I qualified now?¡±, Ji asked more casual than ever.

 A gods smile

    ¡°This is the council of humans, how dare you involve other races into humanities decisions?¡±, despite having sustained some serious internal injuries Huan Po was still haughtily rebuking Ji.

    Ji shook his head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try your silly excuses, old man. What does race matter in front of power? Can the sects of Jianghu really stand off against the combined might of the heavenly dragons and the Buddhist fraction? I¡¯m not even talking about the human gods and the dwarves!¡±

    The old man¡¯s expression fell, and his face twisted in anger.

    ¡°YOU-¡­¡±, he was about to say something when another member of the council stepped out to stop him. She was a female, with outrageously attractive proportions. A single glance of her managed to silence the grand Immortal Huan Po.

    ¡°There is not need to talk about fighting is there?¡±, she said with her gentle voice.

    ¡°Even though neither the dragons and dwarves are no part of the human race, they have always had a good relationship with our various factions and tribes. Our common history is older then most of those present here. Considering this, Huan Po, do you not think we should allow this young god to represent them in this council?¡±, a beautiful smile blossomed at her lips as she asked the elder.

    Huan Po¡¯s expression turned even darker, yet he averted his eyes from the beauty.

    ¡°Fine.¡±, he answered akin to a small child who had been reprimanded by its parent.

    The beautiful woman nodded, satisfied with the elder¡¯s response. She turned to face Ji.

    ¡°Please come and join us now.¡±, her pleasant voice was honey sweet and stuck in people¡¯s minds for a long time. It made Ji want to throw up. In fact, the lady¡¯s very existence disgusted him more than anything else in the world.

    But there was no sign of that on his face. A thankful and polite smile played on his lips.

    ¡°It¡¯s my honor, Lady of the council!¡±, his voice was amiable and friendly.

    A smile can be beautiful,

    Yet it is wretched.

    A wonderful illusion,

    Hiding truth under a dazzling lie.

    For under that beautiful smile,

    We hide ourselves.

    On the other side of the city explosions were followed by a sea of flames that swallowed entire streets. Screams and cries occupied the darkness of the night, first suppressed then replaced the usual symphony that was unique to this one of a kind city.

    But by now this few streets had changed their identity. They had become a battlefield, filled with the death corpses of innocent onlookers. Hundreds of formations and magical arrays had long since separated the three large streets and hundreds of alleys that had turned into an abys of fire and destruction, from the rest of the city. Blue and white lines, hieroglyphs and sentences written in languages no mortal had ever spoken, blotted out ever centimeter of space and turned the area into an impenetrable fortress of powerful magic.

    Nothing could enter. But more importantly nothing could escape!

    Standing in front of this wall of magic that could even repel the combined power of multiple gods was a young man, staring into the chaos of fire and dust on the other side of the thin blue layer. He had long, jet-black hair bound back in a complicated structure of interwinding strands. His frame was well build, but not too muscular. The only part about his appearance that one could point out was that he was a little small at about 1.7 meters.

    His also jet-black eyes scanned the situation on the other side of the array. For some reason it seemed like he urgently searched for somebody inside this hell of fire. He frowned as he could not find the one he was searching for.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    Four weeks of journey. It took him this long to reach this city from the small village hidden in an unnamed mountain range located in a country unknown to most being alive today. Yet he had travelled from afar to meet one person who lived in the city of a billion names.

    He knew that that person owned a pub and he could recognize that person¡¯s presence. Unfortunately, he neither knew the name of that person, nor the name of the pub that he owned. Despite that he was confident that he could find that person in this almost infinitely large accumulation of buildings and beings.

    To be exact, he was confident in his senses that could feel a bug¡¯s presence from over a hundred kilometers away and his sense of direction that would directly lead him to that bugs location.

    Of course, this city was way larger then just a hundred kilometers, but that person¡¯s presence also was far stronger than a mere bug¡¯s one.

    If one was a tiny star, barely visible to the naked eye, the other was a blazing supernova that illuminated hundreds of galaxies with it¡¯s impossible amount of energy.

    As such it should have been easy for him to find that person even in a city as large as this one.

    Yet when he finally arrived at the city, he realized that that person¡¯s presence had split into two presences, located at different parts of the city. One was larger then the other, but unfortunately that part was currently located in a part of the city that he did not dare to approach. The other was located on the other side of the formerly described temporal fortress.

    To be honest the young man wasn¡¯t even surprised. His only thought was that such an amount of damage was not even close to that person¡¯s real power. On the other hand the presence he felt inside was also too weak to that person.

    Either that person had split his body into two parts, maybe his little toe had gone executing some weak foe while the rest of the body was eating dinner, or that person was consciously hiding his real power.

    What ever it was, the young man had to get on the other side of the array!

    His frown was displaced by a thoughtful expression. He turned his head and caught sight of a panicked large frog who was wearing elegant human clothing. It was jumping around, ordering around about a dozen females of different species as they evacuated the building.

    Most of the arrays that made up the ¡®fortress¡¯ were individual formations and arrays belonging to the various shops and buildings that bordered the affected area. They were usually used to protect this shops from attacks of unreasonable inhabitants of the city and were controlled by the owners of said shops.

    That male frog obviously was the owner of one of that stores¡­

    An idea formed in the young man¡¯s mind and a smile creeped onto his lips. He suddenly disappeared from his location and arrived next to the frog.

    The frog sensed the sudden attack and tried to evade, but before it could use the astonishing power of it¡¯s legs to jump away, the young man¡¯s arm reached out and gripped its throat. The frog¡¯s expression fell as it began to sweat.

    ¡°Y-young M-master¡­ what might this y-young master want from t-this h-humble servant?¡±, he asked with a trembling voice. He could tell that that youth was extraordinarily powerful. If the youth killed him, there was no one who would even dare to take revenge for him!

    The young man smiled.

    ¡°Let me inside that area.¡±

    The frog stared blankly. He slowly lifted his trembling hand and pointed his green finger at the blue array.

    ¡°You want inside THERE?!¡±, the frog couldn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°Yes.¡±, the young man replied tersely. It was obvious that he was annoyed.

    ¡°B-but that¡¯s a ba-eehthtet¡±, the frog began to speak but the youth tightened his grip on the frogs throat.

    ¡°JUST. DO. IT.¡±

    The frog, slowly loosing conscience because of the lack of oxygen slowly nodded. The youth¡¯s grip instantly loosened.

    ¡°Open.¡±, the frog said quickly, afraid of what would happen if he did not act fast enough.

    On of the arrays, disappeared and torrent of heat and dust swept over them. The youth let go of the frog.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±, he made a polite bow and disappeared, leaving the frog standing alone. The female employees instantly came running towards him, dragging him away from the hole in the tight net of arrays. They did not dare to help him when the youth was there, but now they had to ensure that their boss would survive through this ordeal.

    A bizarre look remained in the frog¡¯s eyes as he stare at the opening in the blue wall.

    ¡°Close.¡±, the array reappeared at it¡¯s former location and blocked the hot air and dust from the inside of the ¡®fortress¡¯.

    Inside the roaring sea of fire, the youth strolled towards the source of the presence. The burning flames that raged everywhere seemed insignificant to his body as they couldn¡¯t even burn his clothes. Everywhere he went the sea of fire subsided and formed a clearing around him. It seemed to be intelligent as it did not dare to approach this unusual youth.

    After a few moments the sound of explosions had become louder and the flames became even stronger. It was hard to see any further then a few meters as large quantities of dust suspended in the air worsened the visibility.

    Some distance away a white flash surrounded by blue flames darted towards a large, burly figure with gigantic hands. With one glance the youth could tell that the burly figure was a member of the giant race, while the other was a young fox.

    The youth shook his head. Those two weren¡¯t the source of the presence.

    He looked around. Some distance away stood a young human female, surrounded by two large koi that shielded her from the heat and the energy radiated by the two fighting entities. The youth¡¯s eyes turned sharp.

 Looks deceive

    In the first moment she could not react. It happened too sudden and hit her without any delay.

    After the first few seconds she could not understand. What was happening? Why was Sha buried under a pile of rumble? Why had the two koi suddenly appeared and defended her against that large hand that attempted to grab her? Who was the burly and large man who attacked them?

    Questions exploded in her mind and the rising panic slowed her thought process even more.

    After the first minute she had a rough grasp on the situation.

    The large giant man wanted to hurt her. Sha was fighting him. Those explosions and terrifying energies that rampaged through the streets were the result of the fight. The countless dead bodies and screaming beings that tried to save themselves from the on slaughter were another result of the fight.

    At that moment Saji finally moved from her location.

    She already confirmed that the countless flames that seemed to come from Sha could not harm her due to the two-floating koi that protected her. Aside from that she also knew that those two koi would follow any order she have to them.

    They were the protective talisman Ji had given her almost a week ago.

    A whole week had already passed. The thought scared her. Unfortunately, there is no time to feel scared when two mystical beings engage into a fight right next to one.

    She looked around and noticed a small child that was running out from a burning building. It was a small girl. Her beautiful blond hair had at some point caught fire and a part of it had completely burned off. The remaining part was disheveled and tainted by dust and black ashes.

    She was about to escape when another clash between Sha and the giant produced a shockwave that hurled a wall of flames towards the small girl. Despair glistered in the girl¡¯s eyes as she tried to escape her predicament. Yet, despite her attempts to flee, it was obvious that she couldn¡¯t escape her gruesome fate.

    Saji reacted before it was to late and with a thought one of the two koi shot towards the small girl. It reached her before the flames and transformed a black shield that protected her. The flames receded back to their original location.

    Saji ran over to the girl and wanted to confirm that she wasn¡¯t hurt.

    The girls face was smeared with dirt and covered small scratches, but she was mostly unhurt and seemed more or less healthy. She had a expression of gratitude as she saw her savior walking towards her.

    ¡°Thank you for saving me!¡±, the girl made a polite curtsy.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±, Saji replied, somewhat surprised by the girl¡¯s unusually calm bearing. How could this small girl remain this calm when she had just faced death?

    The small girl smiled strangely.

    ¡°I know this is somewhat inappropriate as you have saved me¡­ but you look so dark delicious! So¡­ thank you for the meal!¡±, she suddenly opened her mouth to an extent that shouldn¡¯t be possible for a human. Her mouth had easy become larger then her entire head. It was a surreal sight.

    Saji¡¯s expression fell as she realized the ¡®girl¡¯s¡¯ intention.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    She backed away as fast as she could, but the ¡®girl¡¯ was faster and pounced onto her. The remaining koi protecting her could not react fast enough and she had already reached Saji. She was about to devour her when a black lightning cleanly severed her head.

    The black koi who had protected her from the flames now beheaded her and ended the ¡®girl¡¯s¡¯ existence.

    Saji¡¯s expression was ugly. She once again realized that inside this city, those who looked nice and friendly could be those who wanted to devour you the most. Of course, those who looked horrifying more often then not also wanted to do so.

    Unfortunately looks were not only deceiving, but straight out irrelevant to a being¡¯s true character.

    Saji swore that she would be more careful from now on.

    She pushed the ¡®girl¡¯s¡¯ dead corpse away from her and recalled the black koi. It came back and resumed its floating course together with the white counterpart. Saji noted that she would have to thank Ji once again, without the talisman she would have ended up dead due to her own ignorance.

    After having done this she kicked the corpse once, just to get rid of the lingering anger she still felt and quickly walked away. She threw a glance over to Sha and the giant who were still intensely fighting. There was an impulse to help Sha in his fight, but she quickly realized that she couldn¡¯t help in a fight of this magnitude.

    The two koi were powerful and could defend against attacks of that magnitude, but their offensive abilities were much weaker. They obviously were something mend for defense. The offensive power they did have was enough to kill a weaker demon like the ¡®girl¡¯, but in front of Sha and the giant it was mostly insignificant.

    Still, Saji had no intention of just standing around, waiting for the fight to end. She quickly scanned the area and saw a few other lucky survivors. Amongst them were a few members of the fox race that hid behind a half-destroyed wall, some beings that Saji could not recognize and a strange young man who was calmly observing the fight between Sha and the giant.

    She took a short look at the unusual youth but decided to ignore him for now. Then she headed towards the three foxes. The wall was a few dozen meters away and the extremely hot flames that roared almost everywhere would have made it impossible to go there if it wasn¡¯t for the two koi opening up a path for her.

    Saji knew that the fox race was one of the largest races in the city and more importantly she knew that they did not enjoy the taste of human flesh. Ji had told her that unlike the weak demons and spirits that preyed upon mortals and consumed their flesh for enjoyment, stronger races such as the foxes did not do so.

    Considering that she had almost died because of one of these ¡®weak¡¯ demons, Saji thought that it was the best idea to first help those of whom she knew that they wouldn¡¯t try to kill her.

    She quickly crossed a street and had almost reached the low wall that was the shelter of the foxes, when an ugly ball of flesh rolled out from behind a smaller stone.

    Saji immediately tensed up and the two koi¡¯s eyes fell onto the pitiable creature on the ground. It was charred, had multiple burn marks and was heavily wounded. The terrifying presence of the two koi made it tremble in fear.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me! I don¡¯t want anything bad from lady!¡±, it¡¯s tiny voice rung out.

    ¡°I just beg lady to take me with you. Please, I will not survive any longer if I stay here!¡±

    Saji lifted her left eyebrow and took a good look at the miserable creature. It was ugly and by the gods it did not look trustworthy, but she couldn¡¯t feel any malicious intent from the creature and there was little harm in just taking it along.

    ¡°Fine.¡±, she said and walked away without saying another word.

    The meat balls ¡®expression¡¯ brightened and it hurriedly rolled over her, careful to stay close the two koi who kept the sea of flames away.

    Finally, Saji reached the low wall and took cover behind it. Three white foxes in their beast form also hid behind it. Two looked fine, but one of them had received heavy wounds from a stray boulder that had been flung away by the nearby fight.

    The three foxes did not attack Saji, but they were vigilant against the unknown arriver. Flames appeared around the two uninjured. Their bodies were tensed up and ready to attack at any time.

    But before Saji could even say anything she felt a hand touching tipping on her shoulder. Her mind shook. Someone had been able to touch her without the Koi noticing it!

    At the same time she could not help but think back to that time in the pub when Tian had done the same.

    She instantly turned around and ordered the two koi to attack whatever it was that had touched her. Two lights flashed and darted behind her.

    ¡°Easy, easy!¡±, a voice rung out from behind her.

    Finally, Saji took a look at the attacker.

    It was the youth from before. He smiled, the two koi caught inside his hands.

 Are you fuckin kidding me?

    ¡°There is a battle in the shopping quarters!!¡±, shouts and cries echoed through the streets as the message of a fierce battle between a powerful fox race member and a giant of unknown background spread across the city.

    Fights were no rarity in the city of a billion names, where hundreds of races and billions of even more particular beings live together, but it was rare for a fight of this level to be held within the compounds of the city. Most powerful figures chose to fight inside the hundreds of hidden pocket realms that were scattered across many low-key buildings, while the fights of weaker beings had no impact on the general security of the streets.

    This time however two powerful being had seemingly out of nowhere begun their terrifying clash and took the lives of hundreds of innocent bystanders.

    Inside a small, but expensive establishment that was widely known for their excellent roasted five colored peacock Tian and Mr. Sherevile enjoyed a feast consisting of hundreds of dishes plates onto the gigantic table in front of them.

    Tian had taken his human form and was wolfing down multiple dishes at a time, his expression being a mix of bliss and happiness. Mr. Sherevile sat next to him and sipped at the unusually strong whiskey in his cup.

    His wrinkled cheeks were slightly red and his eyes unfocused. He was obviously drunk, which was no wonder considering that the ¡®whiskey¡¯ in his cup had 99 percent alcohol inside it. Unlike Tian who was constantly occupied with chewing he was muttering some incomprehensible sentences and sometimes yelling at the beautiful waitresses that from time to time came with more food and drinks.

    Suddenly Tian¡¯s ears perked up like the ears of a cat. He stopped eating and put down his plate. Mr. Sherevile frowned.

    ¡°Y-you fuuull alrady?¡±, he asked surprised.

    Tian¡¯s expression had turned serious. He gravely looked over to the old dwarf.

    ¡°We have to safe Saji. NOW!¡±, without waiting for Mr. Sherevile to respond he transformed into his dragon form and shot out of the establishment. The left alone Mr. Sherevile blinked twice. He closed his eyes for a second, reaching out with his spirit to search for Saji. When he had opened his eyes again his complexion had returned to it¡¯s normal color and his eyes were focused and sharp.

    Without another word, he simply disappeared from his seat.

    ¡­

    Sha was furious. His anger had long since reached a peak and burned even hotter more ferocious then the flames he was constantly creating around himself.

    This fight was ridiculous!

    Originally it should have been easy for him to take out the giant in front of him. Giants were large and had powerful and durable bodies. In terms of toughness and raw strength there were few races that could compare to them if you excluded gods and demigods.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    But even though their physical abilities were extraordinary amongst the countless races, they had no other abilities. For a fox race member who could control a terrifying sea of fire and burn down whole blocks it should have been easy to take care of some brutish berserker, no matter how powerful his body was.

    Yet Sha wasn¡¯t able to reach the giants body. Countless magical shields floated around the humongous mountain of flesh and blocked of most of his flames. They came from almost a dozen talismans that were inscribed onto the rough pale skin of the giant.

    Until now Sha had only achieved to break through two of the 11 shields and the only damage the giant receive was a nasty burn on his back. Sha on the other hand was covered in small injuries and his white pelt was drenched in his own blood.

    He fletched his teeth and channeled his anger into the flames surrounding him. A blue flower of flames bloomed around him and turned into a ray of blue light as Sha made another charge. The temperature around him rose further and further until it melted everything he passed.

    Then he banged into the nine semi-transparent shields. A fierce explosion rung out and a storm of fire and dust kicked up and turned the surroundings into a purgatory. Loud cracks rung out and another five shields broke under the tremendous impact.

    The giant swung its enormous arm and blew the tattered fox into the next building. Another explosion rung out and the entire building collapsed.

    Blood run down the giant¡¯s head and one of his eyes was squashed into a bloody mile of white flesh. His giant body faltered but stabilized. If it wasn¡¯t for the nine shields blocking off most of the impact his head would have exploded into a pile of gore.

    A small moan rung out from collapsed building and Sha, now in his human form rose from the pebbles. A fierce smile played on his lips and a hint of madness fleshed in his blood-shoot eyes.

    ¡°Got you fucker.¡±

    Sha¡¯s body was tattered, his hair disheveled and blood run down from a number of injuries, but his presence was mightier then ever. The crazed smile broadened as another flower of flames blossomed around him.

    ¡­

    Saji stared at the young man in front of her. He was handsome, but something in the way he looked at her made him seem very simple minded. To be honest he somehow looked like a fool.

    Despite that she kept the two koi ready for attack, with a single order they would strike at that unfamiliar person.

    The young man mustered her curiously and especially took a good look at the two-koi next to her. He seemed to realize something as his expression lightened up upon seen the koi.

    ¡°Why do those two koi carry the presence of my benefactor?¡±, he asked innocently.

    Saji took a moment to understand his strange question and who this ¡®benefactor¡¯ was. But then she realized who he was talking about. The two koi came from the talisman Ji gave her. This mend that the presence they could give off was most likely Ji¡¯s and that this strange youth was looking for Ji.

    She was about to reply when suddenly a strong explosion occurred. She hurriedly looked towards the area where Sha and the giant were fighting and saw Sha¡¯s small figure as it was flung into a nearby building.

    Then she saw how the injured Sha slowly rose up from what was left of the collapsed building and his crazed eyes as he stared at the wounded giant.

    ¡°Got you fucker.¡±, his voice, neither loud nor quiet, reached her.

    Her mind raced as she thought of ways to help him. Then she turned over to the youth, her eyes determined.

    ¡°I will tell you if you kill that giant!¡±, she said, hoping that the youth would simply do what he was told.

    And just as she thought he simply gave a nod.

    ¡°Sure.¡±, he smiled and pointed a finger at the giant. A small flash of light appeared.

    Just as Sha was about to head into his final clash with the giant, the later collapsed. A large hole had magically appeared in his head and destroyed his brain.

    Sha dumbfoundedly stared at the rapidly cooling corpse. The raging flames around him simply disappeared and he fell onto his butt.

    ¡°Are you fuckin¡¯ kidding me?¡±, his disbelieving voice rung through the now silent area.

 Kan of the Ta-clan

    A few moments before the giant was killed by the mysterious youth Mr. Sherevile and Tian Long had appeared outside the wall of array that still encompassed the area affected by the fighting. They had hurried here and arrived in record time, yet now they remained standing in front of the glowing hieroglyphs and mysterious star-charts that made up the arrays. It wasn¡¯t that the two gods could not find a way to bypass this impressive defensive mechanism, in fact they would have already done so if it wasn¡¯t for the sleeping lady who was blocking them.

    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡±, Tian growled lowly. They were friends and had remained on good terms for over a millennium, yet now for some reason she was blocking his way. Saji was just a human girl and the time they spend with each other was laughable compared to the lifetime of the three gods present, but not only had he promised Ji to take care of the girl, he himself also liked her quite a bit.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t enough to make him fall out with the sleeping lady, but it was more then enough to become extremely furious.

    Mr. Sherevile next to him was the same. He too glared at the sleeping lady, a somewhat frightening look in his eyes. To a god a mortal¡¯s life was short and insignificant, but once that mortal had become his friend the god would make sure that this insignificant life was not ended prematurely. This held true for almost all gods and especially for one like Mr. Sherevile who was the embodiment of a gentlemen. It was more than just a serious insult to stop him from helping a human whom he regarded as friend!

    The sleeping lady smiled, obviously unimpressed by the two gods¡¯ ire. Nevertheless, the explained herself.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I did not waste money on buying a Tibetan fairy for nothing. That young fox cub is more than enough to defend against a trifling giant.¡±

    The two male gods relaxed a little.

    But Tian wasn¡¯t satisfied with just that ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you stop this from the beginning? There is no reason for making that girl experience this sort of danger, is there?¡±, he said and looked over at the wound riddled Sha.

    The sleeping lady¡¯s expression turned a little dissatisfied. ¡°Oh, please you know me for so many years. In all these centuries did I ever give you a reason to believe that I would ever act without reason?

    We both know that Ji is still inexperienced in this sort of things. He does not understand that keeping a mortal around isn¡¯t as simple as to just give them some protective measures. The girl has to learn how this world works and grow up to be one of us, otherwise at some point of time she will slip up and end up dead.

    As for the fox, I did not expect our old friend to give one of his underlings these many talismans. If it wasn¡¯t for that playthings the young fox would have mobbed the floor with the giant.¡±

    ¡°Then is it not time for you, my dear friend, to finally end this fight?¡±, Mr. Sherevile inquired.

    The sleeping lady shrugged.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed the Ta-Clan member down there?¡±, she pointed at a youth standing next to Saji. Between them and the three gods were a dozen arrays, a few hundred meters distance, two buildings and a screen of fire and dust, but to the gods it was easy to ignore all these obstacles.

    Tian and Mr. Sherevile threw a glance and caught sight of the youth. They visibly relaxed now.

    ¡°Then,¡±, Mr. Sherevile crossed his arms behind his back. ¡°All that is left is waiting for the children to finish, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡­

    The last fires slowly died down and the dust gradually settled onto the ground. The fight had ended in an unexpected fashion and while some were relieved that it was over, others couldn¡¯t accept the kind of unreasonable end.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    To be exact the only person who could not accept it was Sha.

    He had risked his life, was badly injured in the process and generally felt miserable, yet just when he was heading towards the grand finale, another random youth had killed his opponent. It wasn¡¯t that Sha was absolutely confident in winning against the giant and it could have very well been him who would have ended up as a dead corpse when the dust settled, but that did not change the fact that his big moment was stolen by another male.

    He threw an evil look at the youth who did not seem to mind it. In fact, he even smiled condescending. As a male he could understand how it felt having one¡¯s show ruined by some other male

    ¡°Don¡¯t take it personal, the lady asked me to do it, so I did it.¡±, he turned around to face Saji. Sha just spat on the ground.

    ¡°So where did you get that talisman from?¡±

    Saji absentmindedly looked at the dead body of the giant, only a few moments later she finally reacted to the youth¡¯s question. She turned her head and faced the giant, she reached out with her hand and said:

    ¡°First of all, let¡¯s introduce ourselves. I am Saji, ¡®guest¡¯ of the one you are searching for.¡±, a slight smile played on her lips.

    The youth lifted his eyebrows. Then he grinned.

    ¡°My name is Kan Ta, I am a member of the Ta-clan and the one who¡¯s guest you are is my Clan¡¯s savior!¡±, he took her hand and shook it. Saji felt the power behind Kan¡¯s hands and was reassured.

    This young man was powerful!

    If he wasn¡¯t as powerful as a god, he was at least as powerful as a demi god!

    Saji had never seen the true might of a god. The one-time Ji killed the green demon was nothing more then a flick with the finger for a god. The true might of a god¡­ it was something hard to imagine for a mortal girl like her.

    Despite that she somehow knew that Kan was truly powerful even when compared to a god like Ji.

    ¡°So where is my benefactor?¡±, Kan suddenly asked.

    Saji smiled wryly.

    ¡°I have no idea. He said he had to take care of some business and would come back in a few days. You could ask these three!¡±, she pointed behind Kan, where three figures slowly walked through the disintegrating shields and arrays.

    It was the sleeping lady, Mr. Sherevile and Tian Long.

    Kan turned around and saw the three gods approaching. Without another word he fell onto a knee and lowered his head.

    ¡°Kan Ta of the Ta-clan offers his greetings to the exalted gods!¡±, his voice boomed through the area.

    Saji and Sha were shocked. From what they had seen Kan wasn¡¯t much weaker then a god, yet he was extremely deferential towards the three before them!

    It was Mr. Sherevile who spoke out.

    ¡°You may rise, member of the Ta-Clan. You benefactor is a good friend of ours. Unfortunately, you cannot meet him right now, but the time shall come soon enough.¡±

    Kan rose up.

    ¡°Thank you, exalt deity. If it is fine I would like to stay with this woman until benefactor is ready to meet me.¡±, he pointed at the surprised Saji.

    Mr. Sherevile nodded.

    ¡°So, it be then!¡±

    Before anything else could happen, Sha walked over to the sleeping lady. He was still messed up, blood drying all over his body, but somehow, he had a certain dignity to himself that made it impossible for one to look down on him.

    ¡°I knew something wasn¡¯t quite right when you offered me a Tibetan fairy just for going shopping with some human gal. But whatever, I did what you wanted me to do, so now, oh exalt goddess, give me what you promised me!¡±

    The sleeping lady gave Sha a deep look, then she smiled.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it ridiculous that the once powerful fox god has ended up sealed and incapable of dealing with a simple giant?¡±, her voice was gentle, but the words were like nails of ridicule boring down into Sha¡¯s flesh.

    Fury was glistering in his eyes, but he controlled himself.

    ¡°Keep your promise.¡±, he said calmly.

    The sleeping lady lifted her brow, surprised over so much self-control. She flicked her sleeve and a humanoid being appeared next to her.

    It was a small girl with two transparent wings on her back. The fairy had shoulder long black hair and the gentle facial features that typical for Asian faces. She was extraordinary beautiful and despite her small size of only a meter her slender body was already mature.

    The fairy opened her eyes and looked at Sha.

    ¡°You are my new master?¡±, she asked with a voice like a bell.

    Sha nodded. There was excitement in his eyes.

    The fairy flew down and made a deep bow before Sha. The later seemed to be ecstatic as his eyes glistered. It was the type of excitement a collector would have when he found the one rare piece he had been searching for, for the last decades.

    He turned around to face Saji.

    ¡°I am going home for some time. In a month or so I am going to be back!¡±, without any further words he stretched out his hand. The fair understood what he wanted and flew onto the hand. Then both were engulfed by a ball of blue fire and shot into the distance.

 A tune of truth

    After Sha¡¯s unexpected and rash departure Saji, Ka and the three gods wanted to return to the pub.

    But before they could go very far a large mob had surrounded them, blocking off all paths of escape. A lot of people, especially the owners of the buildings that were destroyed in the fight, were furious and violently demanded an explanation and reparation. Some of them looked more threatening then others and it seemed like this would soon evolve into a straight out battle royal.

    Fortunately, as soon as the sleeping lady, Tian and Mr. Sherevile released a bit of their godly presence they immediately covered in fear and their loud and piercing demands died down and turned into ghastly silence.

    Only few of these people could afford to offend a god and none of them would want to offend three gods at the same time!

    As such they had no choice but leave the matter be and feel happy that they escaped this ordeal without losing their little lives. Of course, this did not mean that they were satisfied with this result, but in the end, power was what decided in this city. What would money or an explanation help them when their bodies had already become cold and stiff?

    Having suffered little backlash from the angry mob the group of five returned to the pub without encountering any more problems on their way. Despite that Saji only relaxed and released the tension after the familiar black door of the pub had closed behind them and sealed of the constant barrage of sounds that came from the outside.

    The familiar twilight of the pub and the faint, smooth sound of jazz music engulfed her and made her feel at home. It was strange, the first time she had entered this pub was only a week or so ago, yet it felt more familiar then her apartment in the mortal world.

    Kan curiously looked around the pub and inspected the various brewages on the shelve behind the counter. He had a fascinated expression when he opened one of them and sniffed on the opening.

    ¡°This stuff is strong!¡±, he exclaimed and returned the bottle to its original position. Mr. Sherevile, Tian and the sleeping lady returned to their usual seats and as if nothing had happened the two male gods resumed playing the card game they had left a day ago. The sleeping lady on the other hand gave Raja, who had remained inside the pub for the whole time, a short summery of what had happened.

    The monk was shocked and furious as he found out what had happened during the time he had lazed around in the pub. He immediately stood up and bowed deeply in front of Saji.

    ¡°I have no excuse for betraying your trust. I wasn¡¯t there when you needed my help despite having offered you my assistance. Despite my horrible mistake I hope you can forgive me.¡±, he solemnly asked Saji for forgiveness.

    In his eyes as he had promised Ji to take care of Saji it should have been his duty to protect the girl. Furthermore, he had not only let down Ji, an old friend of his, but also endangered Saji who he already regarded as a friend! He felt extremely guilty for this.

    Of course, it wasn¡¯t really his fault. He did not expect anything like that would happen only 13 hours after Ji left to take care of his business and Saji went on her shopping spree. Because of this he had relaxed inside the pub and hadn¡¯t gone outside. If he had, he surely would have heard of the terrible battle that laid waste to multiple streets and he would have gone and made sure that Saji was safe.

    Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret and now Raja could only apologize to Saji.

    Of course, Saji accepted his apology. In the first place she did not feel like it was Raja¡¯s fault that this had happened. From her point of view there was another person that could be blamed for the recent events as that person clearly knew about the events before they even happened.

    Her eyes fell onto the sleeping lady.

    The obese women noticed her glance and returned the look. As their eyes met a small smile appeared on her face.

    ¡°You knew it would happen.¡±, Saji slowly said. She had guessed it long ago, but the sleeping lady¡¯s smile had asserted her suspicion.

    The sleeping lady nodded gently.

    ¡°Of course I knew it. If I did not know it would happen, why would I promise that pitiful fox cub a rare fairy so that he protected you? I knew it would happen the moment you entered this pub and I have let it happen since Ji intents on keeping you here.¡±, there was no guilt in her voice. She spoke clearly as if she was stating the most obvious facts to a small child who did not understand them yet.

    Raja¡¯s expression changed, and fury appeared on his usually tranquil face. But it disappeared as fast as it had appeared and was replaced by a deep frown. He seemed to have realized something and now was pondering about something.

    Tian and Mr. Sherevile did not react to the sleeping lady¡¯s words and quietly continued playing cards. It was obvious that they already knew about the matter.

    Kan on the other hand had a surprised expression but chose to stay out of the matter. He was an outsider and did not feel it was reasonable for him to get involved in these matters.

    Saji noticed all the different reactions of the people within the pub, but in the end her attention was drawn back to the sleeping lady¡¯s quiet smile. It was no mask. The sleeping lady truly believed that there was nothing wrong with her actions.

    ¡°Why?¡±, Saji asked. She felt disappointed. For the last week she had considered these people, these gods as her friends and even though they hadn¡¯t met for long she felt that she knew them quite well. But now she realized that she knew nothing about them.

    The sleeping lady saw Saji¡¯s disappointment in her expression and shook her head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be sad child. None of us has bad intentions, but in the end, we are gods! How could our behavior be that of a mortal when we have lived for so many lifetimes and experienced so many things? How could you expect to understand our intentions after only knowing us for one week?Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    You have to realize that right now your knowledge and experience is limited to the few years that you have treated upon the mortal world, even worse, you now have entered another world and have to learn and experience many things you did not have in the mortal world.

    Truth to be told neither Mr. Sherevile nor Tian knew about this matter until it was already to late, I did not tell them on purpose as I know that they are too protective of you. They would keep you under their wing until it was to late for you.

    They and Raja have realized it themselves that is why they are silent now.¡±

    Tian and Mr. Sherevile slowly nod. Their expressions were solemn and somewhat sad, but it seemed like they agreed with the goddess¡¯s words. Raja remained silent but Saji could tell that he also could not refute her reasoning.

    She took a deep breath.

    ¡°You still did not explain to me why.¡±, she had calmed down a little. The goddess was right. They were gods that had lived more many centuries experiencing things that she could not even think about. She on the other hand had only entered this world for a week.

    In terms of experience and knowledge she was no more than an infant!

    Of course that did not lessen her disappointment, but now this disappointment was directed as herself.

    The sleeping lady once again read Saji¡¯s expression and nodded approvingly. After years of experience she was proficient in reading other peoples expressions and there were few people who could hide their true intentions from her eyes. One of these extraordinary few people was Ji.

    She waited for a short moment and began to explain.

    ¡°You need to realize that as long as you remain under Ji¡¯s protection few will be able to harm you, but there is still a selected few that would dare to try it. A god¡¯s companion is always prey for the more powerful organizations in the city as they search for a god¡¯s weaknesses and ruthlessly exploit them.

    At the same time if you remain near to Ji you will never become a true part of this world. You will never learn how to live inside it and you will never be anything else then a god¡¯s playmate.

    Ji has too little experience in these matters and he is to proud to ask others for help, this is why he doesn¡¯t realize it. But if you want to survive in this city, or rather if you want to become a part of this world you have to become something that exceeds just being a god¡¯s companion.¡±, she stopped speaking and took a deep look at Saji.

    Saji was silent. Inside her mind she was still digesting the goddess¡¯s words. But she could already tell that what she said made sense. The more she thought about it, the more she understood Raja¡¯s initial reaction. At first, she too was somewhat upset but know that she heard the reasoning behind the sleeping lady¡¯s actions she couldn¡¯t help but accept that she was correct,

    After some time, she finally woke up from her thoughts and once again focused on the sleeping lady.

    ¡°So, what can I do to become a part of this world?¡±, her voice was resilient. It seemed like she had made a decision.

    A look of approval appeared in the obese woman¡¯s eyes as she saw the girl¡¯s determination. Yet her next words left Saji hanging.

    ¡°We will deal with that as soon as Ji has finished dealing with the current matter.¡±, she returned to drinking her tea.

    Saji was left dumfounded. ¡°You can¡¯t tell me this and don¡¯t explain anything to m-¡°. She was about to finish her protest when suddenly a single tone swallowed her voice. As soon as Saji heard this note she forgot her anger and focused on the serene sound.

    It was vibrant and strong, yet gentle and full of soul.

    It had the strong character of true Jazz, something that could touch a person¡¯s heart despite their lack of interest in the genre. This feeling of ease and calm that engulf those who listen to the old masters of Jazz.

    The note changed into another, higher note, then back into a low tone. The speed at which the notes changed picked up and a melody was created. Someone was playing a saxophone in the back part of the pub!

    Saji¡¯s mind shook as she listened to the melody of a single instrument. It was tranquil but powerful jazz. A lonely instrument piercing through the silence and creating a world of sound inside the resulting void.

    The lack of any other instruments made the melody seem lackluster and simplistic, but somehow this simplicity and pureness struck the heart and made it vibrate with emotions. The silence between the notes, the gaps that resulted during the play, all of them turned into parts of an incredible pierce of music that made the soul shake in excitement!

    Tian and Mr. Sherevile had stopped playing cards and closed their eyes to listen to the music. A surprised expression appeared on Raja¡¯s face only to be replaced by enjoyment and tranquility. The sleeping lady likewise enjoyed the gentle and yet powerful tunes, gently sipping on her tea from time to time.

    The whole pub was filled with the sound of a single saxophone playing its song.

    Saji looked around but could not find who was playing. It come somewhere from further back into the pub, around a dark corner and down a short hallway.

    As if in trance Saji followed the tune to its source.

    She soon entered a second room, larger then the one she usually hung around. Just as the other room the lighting was dim, and the furniture had this old new York vibe to it. Tens of tables were scattered around, all of them packed with customers of all races. After dealing with so many different beings Saji could tell that most beings present were gods or at least close to a demigod in power!

    Despite the huge amount of extremely powerful beings inside the room the only thing one could hear was the sound of the lonesome saxophone. Everyone was silently listening to the sound of the saxophone.

    Finally, Saji turned her head and saw the source of the mesmerizing tunes.

    On a small stage stood a single solitary man holding a beautiful silver saxophone. He seemed to have lost himself in the music as his body moved in accordance to the melody.

    There was nothing special about the saxophone he played, no magic or secret method employed to achieve any effect. Still, for some reason the man seemed to have become one with the world. Saji could feel a mysterious presence swirling around the youth.

    Suddenly Raja appeared next to her. He looked at the young man and nodded approvingly.

    ¡°He has found his path.¡±, he said to Saji.

    She responded with a questioning look. Raja smiled.

    ¡°The Daoists call it Dao, the gods call it their True Nature, the magi call it the Pinnacle, while we Buddhists call it Enlightenment. Simply put it¡¯s the way to become an eternal being by finding a universal truth and merging this truth into your own existence. This results in the world accepting you as a part of itself and you become a representation of this particular truth.

    Of course, the paths of the Magi, Immortals and Monks are different then the one of a god, but the end of all paths is the same.

    The gods and buddhas accept becoming a representation and have to abide to the rules governing the world, while the Immortals of the Daoist doctrine and the Magi, who have a more scientific worldview, forcefully separate themselves from their original duty and pursue the path of absolute freedom.

    In the end it is a question of worldviews¡­

    But unfortunately, this young man of the Ta-clan cannot become a god.¡±, Raja shook his head woefully.

    Saji had a shocked expression. Not only because she just found out how to become a god, but also because she realized that the familiar looking young man on the stage was in fact Kan!

    ¡°Why can¡¯t he become a god?¡±, she asked surprised.

    Raja had a condescending expression on his face.

    ¡°In this world there are many beings with special and extremly powerful bloodlines and the Ta-clan is a prime example for this. You should have realized that Kan is very powerful despite not being a god or demigod. In fact, if it wasn¡¯t for his bloodline Kan would have been at the verge of godhood for a long time.

    Sadly, it is impossible for the Ta-clan to produce a god. The power of a species always has a price.

    Right now, Kan has found his own truth and he has passed the criteria to become a very powerful god. Yet because of his bloodline he will never be able to cross the last treshhold. He knows that in the end he will forever remain at the very pinnacle of the mortal, never capable to take the last step into the eternal.¡±, he sighed.

 A dusk of war

    In the city of eternal,

    A mortal¡¯s thoughts shall wander free.

    Caught in beauty and mystery they wonder.

    And the mortal shall not realize,

    The god¡¯s violent eternal struggle,

    Hidden deep beneath.

    After an unknown amount of time passed Kan finally finished his song. A last, beautifully melancholic, note faded into silence. Thunderous applause followed and cut through the brief moment of quiet. More than three dozen gods and demigods rose from their seats. Excitement glowed in many of their faces.

    Kan blinked blankly as he realized how many powerful beings had listened to his performance. His face became incredibly awkward and he flushed a little as he glanced over the ranks. His tensed-up appearance was funny enough to cause waved of laughter coming from the audience. Of course, this only made him more embarrassed. When he saw Saji his expression immediately lightened up.

    He disappeared from the stage and appeared next to Saji.

    ¡°So how did you like it?¡±, he asked smiling, suddenly completely calm and cool.

    Saji had to laugh seeing the obvious change it attitude.

    ¡°It was incredible.¡±, she honestly replied while suppressing the urge to grin. Raja nodded, having the same thoughts.

    ¡°It is regretfully that you cannot become a god or demi god.¡±, the monk said apologetic.

    Kan shook his head and grinned.

    ¡°Being a member of my clan is already enough fortune. The heaven has to threat everyone equally, I cannot enjoy the advantageous properties of my bloodline without paying the price.¡±, he did not seem to feel dejected about his situation.

    ¡°That aside how is this instrument called? I do really like it!¡±, he pointed at the silver saxophone it his hands.

    Saji blankly looked at him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know this instrument?¡±, she asked unbelieving.

    Kan shook his head.

    ¡°I also wonder how to call the style of music I just played. I never heard anything like that before entering my benefactor¡¯s pub. When I wandered around the pub I just found this instrument on the side of the stage and decided I would try to play it.

    I did not expect to almost become a god while doing so.¡±, he smiled wryly.

    Raja suddenly laughed and shook his head.

    ¡°Truly a member of the Ta-clan. Your kin never cease to amaze me with the amount of good fortune and luck you are born with.¡±, he patted Kan¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°This instrument is called saxophone and the style of music you played is called Jazz. In other words, you are currently a sort ¡®demi-god¡¯ of Jazz!¡±, Raja seemed to be very amused about this fact.

    Saji had a very strange expression on her face.

    ¡°You can become a god of a music style?¡±, she asked somewhat amused by the notion.

    Raja grinned as he explained. ¡°The human culture is also a part of this world¡¯s truths and concepts. As such if you reach the apex in a particular field you can also become a god representing this field of human culture. Of course, this type of god is very weak compared to gods who represent a natural law, but nonetheless they are immortal gods who can rival demi-gods in power!¡±

    Suddenly a voice came from behind Saji.

    ¡°I would really prefer it if you stopped calling me and the others weak.¡±, the voice was female and mature. A hint of seductiveness was carried in her words and even Saji felt the need to immediately take a look at the woman who this voice belonged to.

    Raja¡¯s face fell, and he sighed darkly.

    ¡°I really hoped I wouldn¡¯t have to talk with you.¡±

    The voice laughed.

    ¡°Oh, my little cute monk, are you still angry because it seduced you all those years ago? I thought your dharma did not include abstinence so why are you offended by that little sidestep?¡±, the more the woman talked, the stronger the charm hidden in her words became.

    Finally, Saji turned around and took a look at this woman that seemed to have had an affair with Raja.

    She was beautiful, tall and slender. Her body was the incarnation of the dreams of billions of men and her face the target of a girl¡¯s yearning. Especially her large breast made Saji feel a sense of inferiority.

    Her clothing was a simple red dress that wasn¡¯t too revealing, yet for some inexplicable reason it made Kan and Raja flush and turn their eyes away.

    The lady had a friendly but amused smile as she glanced at Saji.

    ¡°So, you are Ji¡¯s new companion hm?¡±, she took Saji¡¯s hand and shook it. ¡°Nice to meet you, my name is Lilith and I am a goddess of temptation. As you can see we ¡®culture¡¯ gods can also be quite powerful in our own fields.¡±, she laughed lightly and pointed at the two men.

    Kan and Raja blushed even more.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Saji shyly shook her hand and introduced herself. The goddess¡¯s overwhelming charm made her feel a strange type of pressure.

    Obviously, the goddess was amused by Saji¡¯s reaction and cuddled her a little.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry girl, I won¡¯t take away Ji, that cold stone won¡¯t accept me anyways. Believe me I have tried.¡±, she said with a reminiscent expression.

    ¡°That said I can show you a few tricks.¡±, she smiled coquettishly.

    ¡°T-thank you¡­¡±, Saji said, still feeling overwhelmed by this woman¡¯s seductive presence.

    Lilith smiled once again and then took her leave.

    Raja breathed out relived.

    ¡°I really hate this woman!¡±, he said with a conviction that made it hard to argue.

    Kan also used his sleeve to wipe away the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead.

    ¡°I have never encountered such a terrifying woman!¡±, he exclaimed clearly terrified.

    The consensus of all three was that they wanted to get as far away from this woman as they only could. Kan brought the saxophone back to the small stage after which the original band, a trio consisting of a god of music, a white fox and a naiad, continued their performance. Then they left the large room through the same hallway Saji had used to enter it. They were followed by the usual faint jazz music.

    When they returned to the original room Tian, Mr. Sherevile and the sleeping lady congratulated Kan on his enlightenment and expression their condolence on not being able to become a true god. Kan politely thanked them but payed no head to their condolence. It really seemed like he did not care about it.

    Soon after he left the pub saying he had to take care of some things.

    Saji also decided to leave the pub alone and wander around the city for some time. She knew it wasn¡¯t a good idea to do so considering that she was attacked only three hour ago, but she ignored the objection of the four gods and went either way.

    She herself did not understand why she did it, but for some reason she just had to.

    While wandering around without any goal or reason a million thoughts appeared and disappeared in her mind. Too much had happened today, too much had happened within the week since she had entered this world of myths and magic.

    Yet she did not feel suffocated by all of this. The thoughts did not feel heavy and dark but light and fleeting as they appeared and disappeared from her mind. She thought about gods, she thought about this world, she thought about herself and about Ji. Her mind wandered just as she did- without any goal or purpose.

    During this time, she looked around and saw all those beings also wandering around the streets. Some had clear goals, a purpose that kept them on their feet as they hurried amongst the flood of existences. Others just lingered around and enjoyed their time, eating and drinking various drinks from the ever around food stalls.

    At some point she too felt hungry and stopped by a cheap ordering some food she did not know. Ji had given her some money she could spend and after her trip with Sha she had realized that it was quite the fortune.

    Having received her strange meal and payed she sat down on a small stone bench located on the side of the street and continued watching the never-ending stream of living beings.

    Not far from her Saji noticed a fairy dancing in the air. The dark sky was her stage and the tune of a fox street musician playing on an ancient zither was her melody. Her beautifully excecuted moves glittered in the sky as she performed to her utter most abilities.

    Yet no one noticed her small figure amongst the sea of people. Only Saji, nibbling on the strange buns she had bought, saw her dazzling performance that was otherwise swallowed by the indefinite and overwhelming city.

    When the fairy finally stopped her dance and looked around, disappointed that no one had noticed her, Saji clapped. A gentle smile was plastered all over her face. The fairy heard the faint applause and turned around, disbelieving joy showing in her eyes and expression.

    She quickly few over to Saji and flew a few circles around the bench.

    ¡°You really liked it?¡±, he cute voice rung out. Two adorable eyes pleadingly stared at Saji asking for acknowledgement.

    Saji smiled and nodded gently.

    ¡°It was beautiful.¡±, she told the truth. The fairy¡¯s performance truly was incredibly beautiful. If it wasn¡¯t for the never-ending noise and flood of people that drowned her under their ever-present city symphony there would have been more people who had noticed her.

    The fairy¡¯s expression lightened up and her small, only 30-centimeter-tall, body straightened up. A proud smile appeared on her cuteish mouth.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±, the fairy said. She felt incredibly sweet inside.

    Saji shook her head. ¡°I have to thank you for the incredible performance!

    What is your name?¡±

    ¡°Alea¡±, the fairy replied cheerfully.

    From that point on the small fairy Alea followed Saji around as they wandered across the endless streets of a city that had no beginning nor end.

    Along the way Saji thought about what she wanted to do. Up till now she had always just followed around Ji or the other gods without taking any steps on her own. It was as the sleeping lady said, she was a visitor in this world, no part of it.

    For some time Saji even pondered whether she even wanted to be a part of this world. She was a human girl, a student with her own live outside this humongous, strange and beautiful city. But she soon realized that going back was no longer an option.

    Who would want to give up a world of magic for the boring life of a mortal?

    Having decided that she wanted to stay inside this world she pondered as to what she could do in the city of a billion names. What she could seek to achieve here.

    It did not take long for her find something...

    ¡­

    While Saji was pondering about her future the sleeping lady sat inside the pub drinking on another cup of tea when she suddenly smiled.

    ¡°That girl realized what she has to do.¡±

    Her words caused the other three gods to smile.

    ¡°She is a clever girl¡±, Mr. Sherevile said nodding, ¡°I expect her to adapt fast!¡±

    The other gods silently approved his words.

    Suddenly the door opened and Kan appeared in the door frame. His breath was ragged and blood was smeared all across his face and clothes. But it wasn¡¯t his own blood but instead that of the person he held in his embrace.

    Mr. Shereviles expression turned pale as he realized who the injured person Kan was holding was. In the same moment Tian presence exploded out combined with a terrifying killing intent that immediately shattered most of the furniture inside the pub. The bottles on the shelve behind the counter loudly shattered and their content poured onto the ground.

    But no one cared. Everyone stared at the barely breathing Ji who was carried inside by Kan.

    ¡°WHO WAS THIS?!¡±, Raja¡¯s awe-inspiring voice shook the building. His eyes were bloodshot, and the usual tranquil expression had turned into a wretched mask of bone chilling ire.

    Even the sleeping lady stared at Ji, the surprise inside her eyes gradually changing into livid fury. Her black hair rose up and danced in strands being carried by the explosive fury that she channeled into her godly presence.

    Four powerful presences filled with incredible killing intent busted out of the pub, into the building and out into the dark night sky. They immediately went on to cover the unimaginable area of the city. Hundreds of magical arrays and shields were breached and destroyed as their pure wrath battled itself through all invisible restrictions that had been set up of thousands of years.

    Billions of creatures cowered in fear while others respectfully worshipped on the ground. Even gods trembled as they felt the intense power that covered the city. They had to bow down and deferentially give way to this incredible wrath.

    What was common for all of them was the incredible shock they felt. All of these creatures realized that something terrible had happened. None of these four presences was normal, each of them represented the very apex of what was possible for a god! To enrage all of them at once was nothing short of suicide!

    When finally, the last shields succumbed, and the last corner of the city was covered by the four presences four bone chillingly cold voices uttered three even more shocking words.

    ¡°THIS MEANS WAR!¡±

    Hundreds of beings immediately died when they heard the words while millions felt their bodies shake under invisible pressure. Blood splattered as they could not suppress the injuries that build up within their bodies.

    What all of them had in common was that they were humans!

    Saji stared in shock as she experienced the wild on slaughter of the four presences. How could she not recognize who they belonged to when she had spent multiple days with them? She immediately grabbed Alea who was paralyzed with fear and run towards the direction of the pub.

 An emperors rage

    Inside the most central and sacred room of an unusually large Japanese temple, a single white fox idly sat on a purple red cushion. Surrounded by the tranquility of the old temple he listened to a single tender voice singing in a language that had long since been forgotten by the world. The notes were faint and pure, soothing the mind and calming the soul.

    Even though there were few archaic beings who still spoke this ancient language to this day, the fox clearly understood each single word.

    It was the miserable story of a long-lasting tragedy, the story of a peaceful tribe''s decline due to the greed of the impure world. The pain of losing one¡¯s kin, the pain of losing even the last remaining shimmer of hope.

    Melancholy glimmered in the foxes round black eyes as he felt the words touch something he had suppressed for a very long time. He pitied the fate of that ancient tribe, but that was not what caused his mood to change. It was the slight but ever-burning wronging that was hidden inside the sadness of misery that reminded him of an old story.

    Ever so slightly the enormous hate and ambition he had buried all those centuries ago flared up provoked by this glimmer of defiance hidden inside the song.

    In front of him stood the singer of the sad melody that had such a miraculous effect on the fox. It was a beautiful and rather tall fairy with rare Asian facial features.

    Those who were more knowledgeable would recognize her as an Tibetan fairy.

    The fairy was completely naked with the only exception being a small black collar on her neck. Magical symbols shone on the black leather and glimmered in the relative darkness of the room.

    She did not seem to be embarrassed by her lack of clothing and simply performed her song. A look of melancholy and longing flickered in her dark brown eyes.

    Suddenly a tremor run through Sha''s fox body and he silently indicated to the fairy to stop her song. She immediately closed her mouth and politely bowed.

    "You can go and do whatever you want inside the forest.", Sha indifferently told her. The fairy bowed once again and walked out of the room, gently closing the door behind herself.

    Sha rose up and trotted down from the cushion. A leave appeared from nowhere and fell onto his body triggering the transformation. In the next moment he had assumed his typical white haired, human form.

    At first, he was frowning, but the more he thought about what he had just felt from the far away city of a billion names, the more the frown turned onto a wide, somewhat sinister smile.

    "That bitch has finally done something she should not have!", As he mentioned a certain woman hate flashed in his eyes.

    "It seems like it is time to repay her for that time.", his eyes flashed, and he incensed the air around himself. Turning into a blue ball of fire he floated in the middle of the room. Suddenly all two hundred doors inside the temple sled open and a blue flash shot outside disappearing into the crimson of the evening sky.

    ¡­

    ¡°The heavenly dragons within the city are already gathering and heading towards us, unfortunately it will take some time to gather those scattered in the outside world. I will have to message every temple and most of the rivers by sending messengers to each one individually!¡±, Tian restlessly coiled in his dragon form when Saji entered the pub.

    After the initial shock that had resulted from the dechlorane of war she had given a bypassing phenix almost all her money, so it brought her back to the pub as fast as only possible. Attracted by the huge amount of wealth the phenix had not only agreed to her offer, but also completely exhausted itself during the short flight.

    As such it had only taken her a few minutes to reach ¡®A Dragon¡¯s Dream¡¯. When she had arrived there, the first thing she saw was a giant array with the form of a dome completely covering the building the pub was located in. Terrifying undulations radiated from the translucent blue surface of the dome, a thousand times more intense than the combined might of all the arrays and magical shields that had isolated Sha and her during the fight with the giant.

    An array of this power was enough to stop a full-blown assault of a few dozen gods!

    The array however did not pose any threat to Saji as it recognized her as ally and let her pass through even while carrying the still terrified and confused Alea.

    Inside the pub she only found the restless and bloodthirsty Tian, a fierce looking Raja and Kan who had at this time already changed into black steel battle gear.

    ¡°What happened?¡±, she asked warily. It was obvious that something horrible had happened or else those three wouldn¡¯t look like they were about to slaughter their way through the entire city.

    Raja turned around and as he saw Saji his features eased up for a moment.

    ¡°Ji was attacked and seriously injured.¡±, his expression remained serious and his voice was grave. There was no time to give lengthy explanations so he plainly told the most central aspects.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Saji¡¯s heart jumped in shock and her mind blanked out.

    She had already suspected that the sudden chain of events had been caused by something that was connected to Ji, but it never crossed her mind that someone could have ever injure him!

    A barrage of important questions appeared inside her mind, each feeling like burning iron as they demanded an immediate answer. But Saji gritted her teeth and focused on the most important of all. She could vividly remember the three words that had rocked the magical world only a few minutes ago.

    ¡°Who is the enemy?¡±, her voice trembled a little.

    Raja looked at her and shook his head. There was pity in his eyes. He really felt bad for this young mortal girl that had been caught up in events that even scared the most powerful of gods.

    ¡°Come with me.¡±, he suddenly crossed the space between them and took Saji by her hand. Turning his head to Tian he halted.

    ¡°I will take her with me while I assemble my Buddhist faction¡¯s forces. For the time being it will be safer if she disappears from the city and stays at the temples.¡±

    Tian slightly nodded his large, fierce looking dragon head.

    With this Raja tightly embraced Saji and recited an ancient Buddhist verse. A holy presence built up around him and golden light suddenly radiated from his body. Underneath his feet a golden lotus bloomed, and abstruse hymns echoed through the room.

    Raja, now a true golden buddha opened his mouth.

    ¡°Amitabha.¡±

    The golden glow intensified until it became impossible to see the two figures within it. Then it suddenly finished, taking the buddha and Saji away with it.

    Only Tian and Kan were left behind inside the pub, both solemn and grave. The usually relaxed atmosphere of the pub was cold and desolate now that it¡¯s owner had almost lost his life. Even here it was obvious that war was lurking on the horizon.

    ¡°So, Mr. Sherevile went on a rampage?¡±, Kan asked respectfully.

    Tian nodded heavily.

    ¡°Only a fool provokes a dwarf¡¯s ire and only a completely suicidal genius manages to provoke the ire of the dwarf emperor. Now that this stupid bitch started a full-fledged war he has to release a bit of energy to clear his head before leading his race into the war.¡±

    Kan nodded with an agreeing expression.

    ¡°A true emperor should have the temper of an emperor!¡±, he really admired this mighty leader that in his eyes had a temperament suitable for his position.

    While the two of them had this solemn conversation in another part of the city blood was tainting the streets. Hundreds of dead bodies were already scattered onto the cold asphalt and over a dozen survivors defended against the furious whirlwind that was continuously attacking them.

    Mr. Sherevile¡¯s hair was loosely fluttering in the wind as he furiously chased after the retreating gods. His eyes were blood red and his face had become a war mask of wrath. A wrath that would destroy anything that provoked it.

    With a powerful swing of his giant axe he created a violent whirl storm that teared at the fleeing god¡¯s and slightly slowed them down. With a second mighty swing he decapitated two and sliced another one¡¯s body into three pieces.

    Horror shone in the dying gods¡¯ eyes as their godly spirit dissipated into the chilly air. Furious and despairing shouts came from the remaining gods as they used every trick they knew to escape this maddened god of death.

    Unfortunately, they had no chance to escape. Suddenly all ten of them felt a dreadful presence closing in upon them. Then, before they could realize it, their heads had already tumbled to the ground. Four pairs of eyes turned glassy as another batch of immortal beings had found their end in this battle.

    Next to Mr. Sherevile the sleeping lady appeared and used a handkerchief to wipe off the blood on her left hand. Unlike Mr. Sherevile she seemed to be calm and collected, no emotions were visible on her aphetic face. Yet if one looked into her eyes one would realize that the burning abyss of rage hidden behind a mask of apathy was in no way lesser then Mr. Sherevile¡¯s was!

    ¡°There is one last snitch I have to kill tonight.¡±, her emotionless voice even caused the maddened Mr. Sherevile to shudder. She was truly a terrifying woman!

    Despite that he simply nodded.

    ¡°I still have to kill a few more until I have completely calmed down.¡±, he said. Unlike his crazed appearance his voice was calm. Scarily calm to say the least.

    The sleeping lady smiled coldly.

    ¡°Have fun.¡±, she faded away from sight.

    The burly figure of the dwarf tightened his grip on the giant axe and shouted a war cry in an ancient language. Then he continued his advance.

    At the same time hidden inside a small and almost unnoticeable alley trembled a seductive human goddess. It was Lilith, the goddess of seduction that once had an affair with Raja. Normally her beautiful face always carried a relaxed smile, but now her tender features had become a mask of horror.

    ¡°I did not know about this!¡±, she screamed in despair as she felt a cold hand tightening around her neck. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she knew that she was about to die.

    ¡°You are one of the more important figures amongst the human council, how is it possible you did not know about this trap? Truly I am disappointed, Ji treated you as a friend and yet you little dirty snitch betrayed him for that crazy old hag!¡±, the sleeping ladies voice was harsh and cold. Even she could just hide her disappointment and rage when confronted with an old friend that had betrayed them.

    Lilith¡¯s sobs became even louder. ¡°I really did not know about it! They did not tell us even after it happened. She must have had decided to take no risks and eliminate Ji with one try!¡±, her voice was breaking as she almost fainted from the stress.

    To bring a goddess, and even a quite powerful one, to this point only showed just how terrifying the sleeping lady was once she moved.

    ¡°That bitch will pay¡±, the sleeping lady mumbled into Lilith¡¯s ears. ¡± And I already know what I will do with you!¡±

    She suddenly injected a fast quantity of her own energy into Lilith¡¯s body and manipulated it to form a complicated seal within the goddess¡¯ body. When the seal was finished Lilith¡¯s presence suddenly shrunk from that of a power goddess to only a little more than that of an ordinary human girl.

    The sleeping lady had completely sealed her powers and even included a couple of seals that made the goddess completely obedient to her orders. Lilith remained to be immortal, but she could not use any of her usual power.

    ¡°I cannot bring myself to kill an old friend who had no other choice.¡±, the lady slowly said.

    Lilith cried even more, but this time because of relieve. She wrapped her arms around the sleeping lady¡¯s legs and thanked her profusely.

    ¡°T-thank you.¡±, she sobbed and shuddered completely drained. ¡°Thank you for not killing me!¡±, she cried even more. It seemed like the psychological shock had left a trauma on her mind. Even as a goddess it would take a long time until Lilith would return to her confident self.

    The sleeping lady had a placid expression, but somewhere amongst the sea of rage and fury there was a sliver of pity. Pity that she had reduced a good friend to this state.

    She silently propped Lilith up and took her hand. Then their figures blurred, and they disappeared. The lonely, desolate alley had once again regained its millennia old

 You cannot stop it

    Raja had moved to fast for Saji to react and the next thing she knew was that after the golden glow had faded, they had appeared at the center of a large, paved square. The ground of the square was made from large, 2 by to meter stone cubes that had been buried in the ground.

    After taking a short look around she saw a number of tall and steep mountains in the distance. What was particular about his mountains was that it was only passible to their peaks as a sea of clouds expanded around them. Furthermore, each of the mountains had a couple of Buddhist temples scattered around the peak.

    It took Saji another moment to realize that they were also located on such a mountain peak and that there was a large group of monks awaiting them a distance away. She turned to face Raja.

    ¡°Where are we?¡±, she asked somewhat warily.

    Raja smiled reassuring.

    ¡°This is Trayastri?sa, one of the seven heavens of the Buddhist faith. Don¡¯t worry here everyone had buddha in his heart, there are no enemies you have to fear.¡±, his speech had become somewhat different from what it normally was. His body too, seemed to be different from what it normally was like.

    (In the Buddhist faith Trayastri?sa is the highest heaven that maintains a physical connection to the mortal realm. Because of this the deva¡¯s in Trayastri?sa heaven involve themselves into worldly affairs, unlike the heavens above who do not do so.)

    In the city of a billion names he seemed to be a usual monk, a mortal being with a tainted mortal body, but here in the realm of Trayastri?sa he was a true buddha, eternal and unchanging in his tranquility.

    Before Saji could say anything else the group of Buddhist¡¯s who had been waiting on the side of the stone square had reached them and made a polite bow followed by a Buddhist greeting. Raja smiling returned to greeting.

    ¡°I immediately have to meet his holiness Sakra.¡±, Raja said with a bit of urgency.

    The Buddhists smiled and nodded. One of them stepped forward.

    ¡°Sakra already awaits you. Please follow me.¡±, he immediately began to move towards one of the many temples on the peak. Raja and Saji followed him in a normal tempo and it only took a short while until they reached a tall golden pagoda that seemed to reach out of the atmosphere into the space.

    The monk then led them inside the pagoda and they began to climb an almost impossibly long staircase. Millions of steps and a few hours later they finally reached the top of the pagoda. Interestingly Saji did not feel tired or exhausted after the ridiculous number of stairs they had to take. In fact, the hours they had spend climbing the pagoda had calmed her previously confused mind and replaced the worries inside her heart with tranquility.

    This was after all a Buddhist heaven, it would be strange if it did not have such an effect on her.

    They had reached the very top of the pagoda, through the windows she could see the black infinity of space and the glittering light of the stars around them. It was a stunning, unreal sight, but not even close to the incredibleness of the hall itself.

    Just as the rest of the pagoda it was made of pure gold with Buddhist scriptures and chants engraved into the walls. Some kind of red paint had been used to highlight the scriptures from the golden background. On the other side of the hall sat a single, tall buddha looking right at them. A tranquil smile played on his lips while his eyes were two churning galaxies that saw through everything in the world.

    Raja walked forward and bowed.

    ¡°Amitabha, oh great ruler of Trayastri?sa. I Rajamtasja have come to call our temples to war in accordance to our agreement with the heavenly dragons of Jianghu, the human gods under the lead of the sleeping lady and the old emperor of the dwarfs.¡±, his voice echoed through the hall and for a short moment disturbed the serene silence.

    (According to Buddhist believes, Sakra is the ruler of Trayastri?sa)

    Sakra nodded.

    ¡°In accordance to the agreement I shall send the devas of Trayastri?sa into the fight against the old lady of the human court.¡±, his voice was faint, but it resounded inside Raja¡¯s and Saji¡¯s mind until it had reached an almost unbearable level.

    ¡°Furthermore,¡±, Sakra stood up from his cross-legged position and a golden radiance appeared around him. He took a step and small golden lotuses bloomed underneath his naked feet.

    ¡°The Buddhist faith shall mobilize every bodhisattva scattered in the mortal world in the fight against that old wrench!¡±, his words instantly shocked both Raja and Saji. How could a holy figure like the ruler of Trayastri?sa, a true holy deva, call someone a wretch?!

    Sakra grinned as he saw their shocked expressions. ¡°Did you thought that just because I am a buddha I cannot talk like a normal person? That wretch is somebody even Buddha Shakyamuni would immediately call a bitch! I don¡¯t think there is any human loathed more then her!¡±, he continued to insult this mysterious woman.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    (Buddha Shakyamuni is the historical buddha who is believed to have founded Buddhism around 600b.c )

    With a mysterious glint in his eyes the grin disappeared from the holy Sakra¡¯s face and was replaced by true and tangible tranquility. Unlike most people and even gods who could not achieve complete control over their own emotions, a Buddhist deva like him did not need to hide his emotions behind a mask. With but a thought he could become a asura of wrath or a buddha of tranquility.

    (Asura are bloodthirsty demons that originate in the Hindu faith and were adapted into the Buddhist faith system. According to the believes a buddha can also turn into an asura.)

    ¡°I have to go and inform the other heavens about this matter. For now, you should both stay in Trayastri?sa until all of our forces have gathered!¡±

    Sakra¡¯s voice seemed to contain a certain magic as both Saji and Raja felt their thoughts blur and their minds become empty. Both calmly bowed and then went on their way down the tall pagoda. Only a few hours later when they finally reached the bottom of the pagoda did they wake up from this strange state.

    It felt like they had been hypothesized.

    The scary part was that even a powerful Buddhist deva such as Raja could not resist the strange magic Sakra had used.

    Raja sighed. ¡°In the end a little monk like me cannot compare to a Buddhist lord such as his holiness Sakra.¡±

    Saji frowned but remained quiet. This Buddhist fraction was very different from what she had imagined.

    ¡°Raja¡­ why do you all hate this ¡®wrench¡¯ and who is she?¡±, Saji suddenly asked.

    Raja froze, and his expression turned uncomfortable. He really did not want to be the one who had to explain the situation to Saji. Ultimately, he sighed a second time. Dragging Saji to a secluded corner he made her sit on the steps of a small building.

    ¡°Fine I will explain it to you.¡±, he slowly said, clearly a little annoyed.

    ¡°Thank you!¡±, Saji said earnestly.

    Raja wordlessly looked at her and shook his head.

    ¡°You have to know it either way. It was just a question of time before one of us had to explain this matters to you.

    Where do I begin?¡±, he thought for a moment.

    ¡°This whole situation is due to a conflict that started almost five hundred years ago and involved the different human factions that are represented in the city of a billion names. Since many millennia there has been a council that represents the human kind in front of the other races and decides the actions our race takes against certain matters of great importance.

    This council is called the human council and was led by one of oldest human gods, a god who had grasped a truth that according to many has already been forgotten in the sands of time. He was one of the most powerful beings in existence rivaling the likes of the first gods that were born as representations of the elements.

    He, the ¡®old man¡¯ of humanity, is also Ji¡¯s teacher.¡±

    Saji was shocked. This was the first time she found out that Ji had a teacher. In fact, this was most likely the first time she found out anything about this mysterious god. Despite her shock she remained quiet and allowed Raja to continue his explanation.

    ¡°Unfortunately, the ¡®old man¡¯ was an eccentric and had an odd temper. He would often do things no one could understand and offended many factions by making decisions that seemed unreasonable to them. Because of this the council soon divided into two factions, one that supported the ¡®old man¡¯ and another one that supported the goddess that is now known as the lady of the council.

    A good part of the human gods under the lead of the sleeping lady, my Buddhist faction and a number of smaller human factions including the Ta-clan supported the ¡®old man¡¯ together with the heavenly dragons and the dwarves who had a long history with the human council.

    On the other hand, the Daoist faction, the magi and another half of the human gods had gathered under the banner of the lady and attempted to overthrow the ¡®old man¡¯.

    At this time Ji was still just a mortal on the verge of godhood so he had no way to interfere into the situation, the ¡®old man¡¯ however could have fought for his position. In fact, both factions were already gathering their forces and preparing for a full-blown war.

    In the end however the ¡®old man¡¯ chose to disappear and leave the position to the lady of the council, bringing all factions who had supported him into an awkward situation that persisted until now. We had a deep enmity towards the lady of the council so there was no way we could take part in the human council and because of this we further separated from the other human factions.

    After enduring for a few hundred years we chose to send Ji, the disciple of the former leader, to negotiate a solution to this persisting problem. We hoped to end this conflict, yet this slut actually dared to attack and nearly kill Ji!

    After 500 years all of us hate her to an extent difficult to imagine for others. This time we will go to war. This time blood will soak the city and we will present her severed head to the ¡®old man¡¯ and Ji!¡±

    ¡­..

    ¡°You have to stop this!¡±, inside a hidden room located inside a low-key building on the edge of the great city, an old man spoke to Tian. He had an imposing presence and the faint aura he radiated was both powerful and dangerous. Yet as he was talking to Tian he was earnestly asking as an old friend.

    ¡°I cannot do this Ryujin and you know that!¡±, Tian gravely shook his head.

    (Ryujin is the Japanese dragon god and deity of the ocean. In japan dragons wield the power of the ocean and often times dragons are thought to be the incarnations of rivers.)

    ¡°It is to late to resolve the situation. Blood has already been spilled on both sides! The only way to end this conflict is by killing many more!¡±, Tian¡¯s eyes were cold and bloodthirsty.

    The old man called Ryujin had a very serious expression.

    ¡°You know what will happen if you clash right now. The city is not prepared for a war of this magnitude. Millions of innocents will die as collateral damages! I don¡¯t care what you or the humans do to each other, but I cannot allow you to endanger every single being inside the city!¡±, his voice was faint, but it carried strength and determination.

    Tian wordlessly stared at him. He shook his head.

    ¡°You really think it is in my power to stop this?¡±, he asked a little helpless.

    Ryujin frowned.

    ¡°Blood will flow and neither you, me or any other force can stop it from happening!¡±

    ¡°There has to be a way!¡±, Ryujin could not accept this kind of answer.

    Tian laughed, but it was a flat and joyless laughter.

    ¡°Even if you combined all other factions within the city, do you honestly believe you can match even one of the two factions you want to stop?¡±, Tian once again shook his head.

    ¡°Wait, brother. Wait until we have sorted out things. Then, and only then you can act!¡±

 maddened Sha

    Heaven and earth shudder profusely,

    Under the mighty roar of a thousand dragons.

    A hundred thousand gods trample the earth

    And what they leave behind is death.

    The city of a billion names had become quiet. Many have fled after the initial declaration of war, others had decided to safe themselves after the extensive purge amongst the human gods. Hundreds of gods had died within only a few days. As response millions of beings, especially the weaker ones fled the city and took cover in other small realms that were scattered across the world.

    Even the other major races, the white foxes, the elves and the giants went into hiding, their gods remaining inside their tightly sealed strongholds.

    No one wanted to get involved into this massive storm that was quickly approaching the city and even those who were adventurous to try were quickly silenced by the crowd as they feared to be implicated with them.

    There has not been an event like this is over three thousand years and many, especially the young and brave amongst the races were exited over a battle of such proportions. Despite their eagerness to join this insane battle they were stopped by the elder generations who still vividly remembered the last time the human faction had experienced a civil war.

    Blood had filled the streets and turned them into rivers, mountains of corpses as tall as the skyscrapers of the city lined the destroyed streets. Thousands of gods had died and yet a million more was ready to battle, to kill and lose their lives.

    It was this seemingly unending stream of gods that had shocked the other races and for the first time make them realize the deep foundation of the human race- the reason why even their mortal offspring was able to reign supreme on the planet for so long.

    Now three thousand years later the human race had once again stepped onto the mainstage of the magical world and drums of war thundered for everyone to hear. The only thing these people could rejoice over was that humanity had never acted against them!

    At the same time the Daoist faction, the Magi and the remaining human gods under the lead of the lady of the council gathered and had started their counter attacks against Mr. Sherevile¡¯s and the sleeping lady¡¯s offensives. Due to that the count of causalities came to an halt and the fierce ambushes on both sides cooled off.

    For the time being both sides had reached an equilibrium and the city returned to the illusion of peace. Even so everyone knew that this brief moment of quiet was only the silence before the storm. Both factions were rapidly gathering their forces for the deciding battle.Stolen novel; please report.

    At this time a single white haired young man walked towards the head quarter of the human council, the tall skyscraper that resembled the empire state building. A bizarre expression played on his face, a mix of graveness and anticipation with a hint of bone-chilling madness.

    He walked onto the completely empty square surrounding the skyscraper and continued until he had reached the center of it, only a few dozen meters away from the massive iron portal that represented many thousand years of human glory.

    ¡°OLD HAG GET DOWN HERE!¡±, his voice towered up to the sky, the words he spoke rocked the earth and made those who heard them shiver in fear. It wasn¡¯t fear of the person who spoke them, but fear of the person who they were provoking.

    Hundreds of beings silently monitoring the square cursed loudly as they hastily fled their position. None of them wanted to remain there when the lady of the council came to destroy that trifling fox. It was already bad enough that an insignificant being like him came here, but why did he have to disrupt the calm and provoke the lion?

    Sha noticed all those retreating beings, but he did not care about them. In his eyes there were nothing but scared bugs, running at the first sight of trouble. His eyes were pinned to the iron gates. Nothing mattered but the person who would come out of them next.

    He stared and waited. His eyes started to turn red as he became more and more furious. His expression fell, and he became pale.

    There was no response.

    Sha almost went insane, his eyes bulged, and his body tensed up. Unimaginable fury rose from the depts of his soul and polluted his mind.

    ¡°HAHAHAHAHA¡±, he suddenly started to laugh hysterically.

    ¡°SO YOU ARE EVEN TO AFRAID TO RESPOND HA?¡±, madness twisted his voice as it reached the sky.

    ¡°YOU FUCKING BITCH WERE BORN BY A SLUT AND YOUR ANCHESTORS WERE ALL CUCUMBERS THAT SOMEONE SHAT ON AND GAVE BIRTH TO YOU!

    EVEN YOUR OWN PARENTS DID NOT WANT A PIECE OF SHIT LIKE YOU AND THREW YOU INTO THE LATRINE, SO YOU CAN BE WITH YOUR OWN KIND. WHY DID YOU CRAWL OUT AND BEHAVE AS IF YOU WERE A REAL HUMAN?!¡±

    Sha continued his abusive language and more and more absurd insults echoed through the city making everyone who heard them wonder just what had happened to this young fox that he hated the lady of the council so much.

    After some time, some may say it was a long time, others it was only a moment, Sha collapsed onto the ground, his face a single mask of madness.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you even kill me? Old hag? You took everything from me and yet you won¡¯t kill me, why? WHY?

    You killed my parents who were mere mortal beasts, you killed my faithful believers who were mere villagers in a remote area. You sealed my divinity and forced me to crawl amongst the mundane. Everything I was, everything I wanted was crushed by you and yet you won¡¯t kill me?¡±, his voice was just a tiny whisper filled with despair at this point.

    ¡°And when I finally wanted to let go and go on, you DID THE MOST STUPID THING EVER AND PROVOKED THE SLEEPING BEAST!¡±, with a last shout Sha seemed to have used up all his energy.

    For some time, it was quiet.

    Finally, a voice echoed down from the towering building.

    ¡°I do not remember you.¡±

    At first Sha did not react. But then he suddenly incinerated. Blue flames exploded from all around him and he turned into a burning god of fury.

    ¡°FUUUUCK YOU!¡±, his voice echoed out and he slammed against the iron gates.

 The calm before the storm

    When Sha crushed into the massive iron portal, a huge boom rang out and a fierce shockwave destroyed multiple smaller trees that were scattered around the square. Yet the portal did not bulge at all.

    How could a treasured gate that represented humanities most exhaled and powerful council bulge under the power of a mere sealed fox god? This gate has blocked the attacks of many, many powerful beings and even though it had sometimes been repaired after those attacks it had survived too many frenzied assaults in all those millennia.

    But Sha did not care about the incredible background of the portal, nor did he care about the unimaginable history that was connected to it. In fact, he did not think at all- his mind was thrown into a chaos of raging ire.

    Over and over again he attacked the gate, each attack more powerful than the last until it started to show actual effect on the gate. A few small scratches and dents appeared where his body slammed into the old metal. If this continued at some point he really would leave a mark on this incredible pierce of art.

    It seemed like this was nothing the countless gods within the tower could allow and suddenly the gates opened with a low thundering sound, giving Sha way into the building.

    There was no doubt about the fact that this was a trap and that Sha would die if he entered, but Sha did not care about it. Without any hesitation he strode into the darkness on the other side.

    It seemed like from the moment he had left his temple he had already discarded his life. If the great war hadn''t happened, if the great god Ji had not been attacked by the council and peace continued to exist at least on the surface of the world, perhaps he would have remained quiet, collecting his various rare beasts and beings. Maybe when enough time had passed he would have forgotten about the matter and found tranquility again.

    But there was no maybe in this matter. When the world went into chaos and the swords were sharpened they had rekindled something Sha had sealed within him.

    There were no regrets as he heard the portal close behind him.

    In the distance the sleeping lady sighed.

    "I pity that cub, in the end he could not let go of the past.", As she said so she broke the arm of the goddess she pressed onto the ground.

    A muffled cry came from the despairing women. Tears had long since washed away any divine pride from her face and now she had become docile, hoping to avoid any more pain. Yet the sleeping lady was merciless.

    Suddenly another goddess entered through a door and handed a towel to the sleeping lady. It was Lilith who had long since resigned to her fate, silently avoiding the other goddess¡¯s eyes.

    The sleeping lady took the towel and wiped off the sweat she had accumulated.

    ¡°So that bastard is still at her side?¡±, she asked the weeping goddess on the ground. She nodded profusely, afraid to feel even more pain if she did not answer the questions of this female demon fast enough.

    ¡°H-he returned about thirty years ago, but they kept it hidden for the most time!¡±

    The sleeping lady¡¯s expression turned a little grave and she seemed to think about something.

    ¡°I hope he won¡¯t notice¡­ But we should have hidden it well enough.¡±, she mumbled lowly. Then she refocused on the goddess. For a mere moment a look of hesitation appeared on her plump face. It almost immediately turned into grim coldness.

    ¡°I truly hope you can rest in peace.¡±, using her bare hands she cleanly severed the goddess¡¯s head. Two shocked, lifeless eyes stared at her in disbelieve. A person vomited, overwhelmed by the sight. It was Lilith who had turned extremely pale as she tried to control herself.

    The sleeping lady calmly stood up.

    ¡°Clean this up and send her head to that goddamn god of truth!¡±, without taking another glance she left the room.

    Lilith trembled a little as she began to drag the lifeless female body out of the room. She could feel the warmth slowly seeping out of the body. In the end she vomited again.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    Inside the famous skyscraper of the human council an old man suddenly turned dark red. For a second, he seemed to be confused, then the confusion turned into fury, anger and finally hate. His eyes reddened, and his veins bulged. For a short moment an awe-inspiring might exploded from his body and shocked the other gods inside the tower. They could sense that a very powerful member of the council had suddenly become very angry.

    ¡°FUCK THIS BITCH!¡±, his voice traveled through the entire building and echoed outside.

    ¡°How dare she? HOW DARE SHE KILL MY GRANDDAUGHTER?!¡±, he seemed to have completely lost his reasoning as he lividly shouted into the air. Terrifying killing intent radiated all around him and send shivers down the spines of the other gods.

    Suddenly another presence exploded out inside the tower and spread out to rapidly suppress the old man¡¯s presence. A almost impossibly beautiful woman walked out of the shadows of a hallway and towards the old man. When he saw her, he seemed to calm down a little.

    ¡°They killed her.¡±, he said hatefully. His voice was still a little bit loud resulting in a hint of displeasure in the woman¡¯s eyes.

    Despite that she simply nodded. ¡°I know.¡±, there was a faint trace of sadness within her voice.

    ¡°I have to avenge her!¡±, the old man said heavily. His breathing was still a little rough from the outburst of rage.

    ¡°I know.¡±, she calmly replied again. ¡°You will have enough chances in the upcoming battle.¡±

    The old man nodded darkly but there was a spark of unwillingness to wait. He wanted to rip this damned fat goddess into shreds!

    ¡°How far have their preparations proceeded?¡±, the lady of the council suddenly asked.

    The old man paused for a moment and seemed to put the issue with his dead granddaughter on the side. ¡°I am not sure.¡±, he said after a short while of thinking. There was a bit of an ugly look on his face.

    ¡°You are not sure?¡±, she lady repeated almost a little comedically. Her eyebrows rose in disbelieve.

    ¡°How can a god of knowledge not know about something of this scale?!¡±

    Now somewhat calm the old man shook his head in annoyance. ¡°I may be a god of knowledge who of all beings in the universe knows most about present and the past, but even for me there are certain limitations and certain boundaries that I simply cannot overcome.

    I know about the thoughts and actions of all mortal beings, I know whenever a coin falls to the ground, I know when a new child is born, or a couple is getting married, I even know of every single speck of dust that has ever fallen on the surface of the moon, but I cannot do the same for the gods! The divine is the only thing I cannot get a grasp on! My ability is neither able to see a god¡¯s inner thoughts nor his actions. The most I can do is monitor the mortals that are around those gods and find out what they know about the god¡¯s current situation.

    Unfortunately for us, our enemies are currently extremely meticulous in keeping away from the mortals and hiding their actions from my eyes. I can only try to use clues and little anomalies to find out about their current state of things.¡±

    ¡°So, what do you know?¡±, the lady asked bluntly.

    The old man was dissatisfied with the lady¡¯s treatment towards him. His eyes narrowed and a strange expression, proud and archaic appeared on his face.

    ¡°I hope you do not forget that it is due to my support that many of the gods have decided to follow you.¡±, there was a faint warning hidden within his words and a tint of threatening.

    ¡®If you do not treat me in accordance of my importance I will just leave and take half of the human gods with me!¡¯

    This sort of message openly being implied by his words.

    The lady of the council¡¯s expression turned sour.

    ¡°There is no need for this is there?¡±, she said somewhat more respectful then before. It was obvious that she could not allow to lose this old god¡¯s support.

    The old man harrumphed and looked pleased.

    ¡°We should just both treat each other with the required respect!¡±, he said now calm. Then his look turned serious.

    ¡°I cannot talk with certainty, but it seems that the faction under that fat slut has already finished gathering inside the city. However, they will wait until the other three factions have arrived before engaging into the last battle.¡°, his words caused the lady to frown.

    ¡°What about the heavenly dragons?¡±, she asked worriedly.

    He shook his head.

    ¡°They are the most mysterious of the whole lot, I could not find out anything about them. Even the location of Tian Long is unknown!

    But what is even more worrying are the Buddhists!¡±, he said gravely.

    ¡°It seems that Sakra is more decisive than we thought. They do not only mobilize the deva¡¯s of his heaven, but also a vast amount of bodhisattva¡¯s all around the planet!¡±

    ¡°How many?¡±, the lady asked.

    He once again shook his head. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the large quantity of them I wouldn¡¯t even have known about it.¡±

    She sighed.

    ¡°It seems that this battle will be harder then I imagined it to be.¡±, her words were heavy, but the look in her eyes made clear that she still believed in their own victory.

    The old man also sighed.

    ¡°We had no choice in this matter. If we took the other four factions in again it wouldn¡¯t have been long and we would have once in again lost our power in the council! After all those years and everything we did for our kind, how can we allow this to happen this easily? Furthermore, I am not convinced that they really would have not held a grudge because of that time.¡±

    Both remained quiet for some time.

    ¡°Was it really wise to leave him alive?¡±, the old man suddenly asked.

    The lady looked at him and was silent for a moment.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t bring myself to kill him.¡±, she seemed to be thoughtful.

 We shall kill

    Ji opened his eyes.

    ¡°Is it time?¡±, his voice was unusually rough. He was laying on a simple bed, hidden  inside a room somewhere in the backside of the pub. Covered in a white blanket he glanced over to the person sitting on a chair next to his bed.

    It was Tian. His expression was cold and serious as he slowly nodded.

    Ji closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

    ¡°Finally.¡±, he seemed relieve. His eyes shot open and he rapidly rose from the bed. The blanket slid down and uncovered a completely bandaged body. Faint bloodstains had become visible through the otherwise purely white bandages. He got up from the bed and looked over to Tian.

    ¡°Go ahead, I need another moment.¡±

    Tian simply nodded and left the room. The door opened, then closed and silence returned to the little room. For some time, the silence continued to remain as Ji stayed completely unmoving. His eyes were empty, and it seemed like his soul had suddenly decided to leave his mangled body.

    ¡°I wonder if it is the right thing to do.¡±, life suddenly returned to his eyes and he quietly mumbled to himself. His eyes were indecisive as if there was something that he regretted but was too late to take back.

    ¡°You decided to go this way in the moment you entered that damned old building.¡±, a voice suddenly came from a corner of the room.

    A strange smile appeared on Ji¡¯s face.

    ¡°Stop putting on your mask, I am your master, what do you think you can hide from me?¡±, the voice sternly reprimanded him.

    The smile vanished like the lie it was and was replaced by bitterness. Ji turned his head and faced the old man that was leisurely leaning on the shelf. Ji¡¯s expression was bitter and regretting, sadness was plastered across his deep eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like this, it was your decision. I never forced you. You wanted my help with that one matter so I helped you undo the seal. Other than this my role in all of this is negligible.¡±, the old man said smilingly.

    Ji stared at him, then shook his head.

    ¡°You are right.¡±, his voice slightly trembled.

    ¡°I choose this as did they.¡±, the trembling stopped.

    ¡°However many million shall die today, however many will be left tomorrow. It was decided by me and it was decided by those that led them. I am at fault, just as much as are those who choose to lead them into this abyss.

    After all¡­ we all knew that this would happen from the moment I entered that damned building.¡±

    "I..., we chose this war to gain power. There is no excuse we can make to cover up this truth.", Ji cold stated.

    A hollow laughed came out of the old man''s mouth and his eyes shone in a strange light. His wrinkled face resembled a wooden mask.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "So, now after 400 years you have finally decided to become an idealist?", His deep voice contained ridicule.

    "So, what if you choose power? So, what if millions are going to die because of this decision? What do you think how humanity became the power it is today?!

    We slaughtered our way through the races, lost billions of our kind and ended the existence of hundreds of unique species. Do you think we were the only ones?

    This is the way the world works! It has always been this way, a struggle to survive while walking the thin line between madness and sanity with only our wretched sense of morals keeping us from the insanity of the world!", the ancient voice stocked for a moment.

    "You... Are still young. I am glad you could feel idealistic at least once in your life, but you have to wake up now or you will not only waste your own existence, but also the existence of all those beings that have followed you.

    Do you honestly think they did not know what this is about? Do you think all those millions of powerful eternal beings cannot see that this is a power struggle, the most mundane and human thing that exists between heaven and earth?

    Of course, they know!

    They still choose to participate in this war. They choose to take the risk of dying in exchange for the benefits they would receive if they survive.

    This is the way our kind has always been. Driven by ambition, driven by the desire to be more than what we were born as. Revolving, changing and advancing while battering for a better future.

    Mortals are born and die in battle or a natural death.

    Gods are born and die in battle or take their lives when they lose themselves in the insanity of eternity!

    You are but an episode in this endless circle of rebirth and change that our race has been experiencing since the very moment it was born from our primitive ancestors!", He stopped speaking and looked at Ji. Archaic wisdom shone in the unmeasurable depths of his eyes, experiences older than every civilization that existed today.

    The young god became quiet as he comprehended the words spoken by his teacher. Finally, an expression of resolve appeared on his face and he bowed before the old man.

    "Thank you for enlightening me!"

    The old man smiled with satisfaction.

    "This is what I ought to do in the first place.", He nodded.

    "Now kill that dump bitch!", His voice faded as the old man simply disappeared.

    Ji nodded gravely and suddenly flames began to burn around him and quickly removed the layers of bandages from his body. Pale, smooth skin became visible beneath, only tainted by some gruesome looking scars.

    It wasn''t that Ji could not heal them. He simply had no interest in doing so. For everything there was a price to pay. This was only a minor faction of what he was about to pay in exchange for his ambitions.

    Ji closed his eyes and removed the hidden restrains he had placed onto himself all those centuries ago. Small booms rang out from all over his body as old seals were broken and hidden power suddenly released.

    His aura suddenly burst out of his completely nude body and began to rise, forming a shocking golden armor that slowly materialized itself around his body.

    When Ji''s aura finally reached its apex and rocked the sky, the armor had completely covered his body and a black helmet protected most of his head.

    "It is time", his bloodthirsty voice rung out and Ji drew upon the power within him to appear outside the building.

    Tens of thousands of heavenly dragons, all similar but slightly different from Tian, had gathered in the vicinity of the building, a small army of a thousand dwarves was waiting in perfect formation, their armor glittering in the light of the still shining advertisements.

    It was a surreal sign. The oh so familiar city with its dazzling lights filled with the armies of factions about to go to war.

    ¡°Where are the Buddhists?¡±, Ji asked Tian who had appeared next to him.

    ¡°They will take a little longer.¡±, Tian was still in his human form, wearing the same Chinese robes he was always wearing. Only the thick killing intent and frigid coldness that surrounded him told of the soon coming battle.

    Ji simply nodded.

    ¡°ATTENTION!¡±, he suddenly shouted

    Immediately all tens of thousands of dragon and dwarves tensed up and saluted towards Ji and Tian. Ji¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he silently surveyed the impressive army in front of him.

    He breathed in slowly.

    ¡°WE SHALL KILL!¡±

    A single shout was followed by 50.000!

 A true dawn

    When human kin fight,

    a dawn shall rise.

    When dragon race coil,

    The heaven shall cry.

    When the dwarf takes his axe,

    The ground shall turn red

    And when the slaughter starts,

    Tears shall turn red.

    While the tens of thousands of voices shook the city, another earth shattering event was already on it¡¯s way. From above the starry night sky of the endless and never-ending city a golden light descended from realm unknown to those that have no visited them.

    The golden light slowly descended downwards, shining akin to a meteorite heading for earth. And indeed, the might that was hidden behind this golden light was enough to shatter mountains and disperse rivers.

    At some point a gigantic array had become visible on the sky above the city. A dome spanning all of it with its intricate and archaic inscriptions. There were no powerful ripples, no awe-inspiring sense of indestructibility to this strangely unseeming giant array. Yet anyone who laid eyes onto it knew of its shocking might.

    Finally, after a few minutes of continuous descend the beautiful golden light touched the ancient formation and for a moment a flash of bright light turned everything into a never-ending, eternal white.

    The large armies beneath remained organized and calm, despite lacking any kind of vision for these few moments.

    A moment later the light disappeared, and millions of eyes fell onto the slowly disintegrating array and the golden light that continued its descend.

    Cries of shock and disbelieve sounded out from all parts of the city, only few could have imagined such an outcome!

    Finally, the giant array completely broke and all of sudden sun light covered the city of eternal light. The always black sky had become blue and the endless stars had been replaced by a single one.

    All of sudden it had become dawn.

    And this dawn was the final sign of what was about to come.

    When human kin fight,

    a dawn shall rise.

    Amidst the chaos that resulted out of almost all remaining beings rapidly fleeing the city, the golden light finally touched the ground only a few hundred meters away from the combined army of dwarves and dragons.

    Another flash of light appeared and within seconds the golden light changed form and became a massive gate made of pure gold. Beautiful ornaments decorated the tall pillars and Buddhist scriptures were skillfully engraved into this masterpiece of art.

    Ji smiled.

    ¡°They have come.¡±

    The door opened and as it did thousands of Buddhist hymns and prayers filled the city. A holy radiance covered the world and announced the descend of a buddha. Strange phenomena occurred all around the gate. Illusory deva¡¯s prayed, wise elders fought with despicable asuras and buddha¡¯s taught the way of Buddhism.

    It was a wonderous sight worthy of one of the mightiest powers amongst the humans.

    As the gates opened, figures started to emerge from within it. Thousands of monks clad in golden armor, similar to the famous shaolin armors that had acquired fame through television. Their bodies were fully trained and a strong will to fight radiated from each of these monks.

    These were the countless bodhisattvas that had been gathered from temples from all around the world.

    Behind them many more Buddhists strode out of the gate, each emitting terrifying power no lesser than that of a god. Finally, Raja, Saji and Sakra stepped out of the gate and followed the many hundred-thousand-man strong Buddhist army.

    Trained and orderly the large army took position next to the dragons and dwarves.

    Raja, Sakra and Saji, followed by a tiny fairy, walked over to Tian and Ji.

    ¡°Where are the humans?¡±, Sakra asked with narrowed eyes. He did not care about his lack of courtesy.

    Ji did not mind the impoliteness. ¡°They are attacking from another location. Mr. Sherevile should arrive here soon. We can attack as soon as he has taken command over the dwarves.¡±

    Sakra¡¯s right eyebrow rose, but he remained quiet. Instead he took a look around.

    ¡°It¡¯s been some time since I last visited this city.¡±, he suddenly said.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    Ji laughed. ¡°Well normally it isn¡¯t as bright as today.¡±

    Sakra also had to laugh.

    Ji glanced over at Raja.

    ¡°Survive.¡±, he said firmly.

    The monk smiled and nodded.

    Then Ji looked at Saji and his expression became a little guilty.

    ¡°Come with me for a bit.¡±, he took Saji by her arm and led her away from the others. She did not fight against it and let him pull her away. Her expression was somewhat unusual.

    Ji naturally saw that and hesitated. He gritted his teeth.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±, he suddenly said.

    Saji was surprised.

    ¡°For what?¡±

    Ji smiled wryly. ¡°For bringing you into a world which I knew would experience war soon. I don¡¯t understand why I brought you here in the first place¡­

    From the very moment you entered my pub I already knew that this war would happen and even I know that it is a bad idea to involve a mortal into a war of god. Yet for some reason I still forced you to remain.¡±, he himself did not know why he did that.

    Saji took a long look at him.

    Then she shook her head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t feel sorry for that. I also don¡¯t know why you did what you did, perhaps that is what happens once you get too old. You do things you don¡¯t understand why you do them in the first place. But is that a bad thing?

    To be honest of course there are dangers in this world where even a pebble could kill me with ease. But on the other hand, how many would give their life to experience the things that I experienced?¡±, she smiled.

    ¡°Why does everything have to be bad or good? It is the way it is, and I don¡¯t regret anything, so I don¡¯t think you should.¡±

    Ji was silent for a little bit.

    ¡°How can a young girl like you be wiser than a four hundred years old idiot like me?¡±, he suddenly had to laugh.

    Saji grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

    ¡°I¡¯m a smart girl, that¡¯s all.¡±

    Ji smiled. But then he turned serious again.

    ¡°Go to the pub, I have made some arrangements for you in case that we lose this war. Kan will also look after you.¡±, he said reassuring

    Saji was quiet for a few moments. Then she nodded.

    ¡°I hope you survive.¡±, she looked into Ji¡¯s eyes and said.

    He smiled wryly. ¡°I also hope that.¡±

    ¡°Also¡­¡±, Saji began speaking.

    ¡°I know that Raja did not tell me the real reason for this war.¡±

    Ji looked surprised.

    ¡°What did he tell you?¡±

    ¡°That you wanted peace, but they instead started this war.

    This is nothing you weren¡¯t prepared for. In fact, I am very sure that this war was your intention from the very beginning. In the end this is just another power struggle, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Ji suddenly had to laugh.

    ¡°What is so funny?¡±, Saji frowned somewhat displeased.

    Ji continued to laugh.

    ¡°Why is it that you are so much wiser than I am?¡±, he ridiculed himself.

    ¡°So¡­¡±, he looked straight into her eyes.

    ¡°Is this a bad reason for a war?¡±, the look in his eyes was provocative.

    Saji shook her head.

    ¡°Why do you always insist on good or bad? It is how it is. You guys chose this war, how is it my place to judge you?¡±

    ¡­..

    ¡°ALL TROOPS. ATTENTION!¡±, Tian¡¯s mighty voice swept over the hundred thousand of gods. Next to him stood Raja, Ji, Mr. Sherevile and Sakra.

    Everything became quiet and all eyes were looking at the five gods in front of them.

    Ji walked a few steps forwards and looked at this great army of gods.

    ¡°Gods of the four factions.¡±, he did not shout and yet his voice was clearly audible to every single god.

    ¡°My name is Ji and I am the disciple of the late master of the council.

    Four hundred years ago the lady of the council rallied her faction and overtook my master, taking the position of leadership over the human race. The Buddhists and many human gods could not accept this, as well as our brothers the dwarves and the heavenly dragons. For four hundred years we have remained silent and did not involve ourselves into these matters. For four hundred years there was peace because we did not want to provoke the conflict.

    Now. I could give the excuse that they started the war. I could claim that we wanted peace and they forced our hand.

    But to let us be honest.

    All of us know what this war is about. All of us know that this is a struggle of power. A war that we wage to satisfy out ambition and to trample on those who took it from us four hundred years ago!¡±

    Everything was quiet.

    Raja was shocked by Ji¡¯s words, as were many of the gods present. They did not expect him to voice it out this clearly. Usually the commander of the army would justify the war with something that would take away the blame from him, but Ji obviously did not intent on doing this!

    ¡°You are surprised.¡±, Ji smiled.

    ¡°Of course, you are. Who would expect such words from me?

    But I am just stating the real reason for this war. A war that all of you chose, knowing what this was truly about.

    We are fighting for ambition. We are fighting so we can regain the power we once had within the human race.

    I don¡¯t want to use false justification and discredit all those who will die in this war.

    They will not die for the pathetic reason that they had to take revenge. They will not die because someone else attacked them. They will die because they choose to take their fate into their hands and change what they are!

    THIS is what is the meaning of ambition. To FIGHT for change. To rick everything for the chance to be more than we already are.

    We are fighting to satisfy our ambition and to crush those who trampled on us 400 years ago!

    For four hundred years we have been suppressed by that damned slut and her followers. We were forced to remain quiet while they decided the course of the human race.

    We had to live mundane lives, incapable of changing anything for the sake of mere peace!

    Now we will fight to change this! Now we will die to change our fate!¡±

    It was scarily quiet. Not a single sound was hearable as Ji surveyed the gods in front of him.

    Finally, a single voice echoed out from the sea of gods.

    ¡°For ambition!¡±

    It was followed by five hundred thousand others.

    ¡°KILL!¡±

    The attack had started.

    Tian, Sakra and Mr. Sherevile immediately took control over their respective armies and led them towards the headquarters of the human council. A sea of warriors, a sea of gods that could shake heaven and earth slowly went into motion and shot towards that certain tall building in the middle of a giant square.

    Naturally the human council did not remain quiet either.

    Tens of thousands of gods began to stream out of their headquarters and formed defensive formations. Hundreds of powerful arrays suddenly sprung up and formed a powerful defense line. More than a million gods on both sides channeled all of their power and released their auras causing in powerful storms being created around the charging armies.

    The first army to engage were the heavenly dragons. Coiling in the air they attacked the defensive arrays and used their incredible bodies to tear apart their human enemies. Magical attacks flashed as the dragon¡¯s used the ancient knowledge of their race to cover the defensive line in a barrage of powerful attacks.

    Hundreds of gods died in a single assault and their blood went on to taint the ground in crimson red.

    At the same time dark clouds gathered on the formerly blue sky above the city. Soon the first rain drops fell onto the violent slaughtering down below and not long after that it had turned into a full out rainstorm.

    When dragon race coil,

    The heaven shall cry.

    While the dragons were slaughtering hundreds of human gods, the also received massive damage by the other party.

    One dragon managed to get through the array and crushed a human goddess between his sharp teeth. A pained cry resounded, then the goddess was death. In the next moment the dragon went on to attack another human god, using magic to create lightning bolts from nowhere. But before the dragon could attack, a sword severed his maned head. Another human god had appeared next to him and now grimly wiped of the blood from his sword.

    Thousands died on both sides and turned the world into an abyss of carnage.

 Short Hiatus

    Death permeated everything. Both sides were caught in a bloody slaughter that slowly but surely dwindled their numbers. Meaning while the strong rain continued and washed everything away, almost as if the world pretended that everything was normal.

    Charge after charge the dragons slammed into the tight defensive structures and tens of them gave their lives to allow the others a short span of unobstructed attacking. They forcefully suppressed the defensive arrays and squeezed through small openings in the defense lines to go on a wild rampage in the enemy lines and kill as many human gods as possible before finally succumbing and dying beneath the hand of another.

    As cruel as the slaughter was there wasn¡¯t a single deserter on both sides. Even after seeing thousands of their fellow gods, beings that had lived multiple lifespans worth of time, they continued to bravely charge against each other and hold their positions against the mad onslaughter.

    Suddenly a deep sound echoed across the battlefield and for the moment the fighting stalled. A large horn was blown and gave the order for the second wave to engage into the enemy lines.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    10000 dwarves immediately went into formation, forming a small sea of metal plates and war axes as they charged forward. At the very front of their assault was Mr. Sherevile, clad in a golden armor and wielding his infamously giant axe. A bloodthirsty smile played on his lips as he cleanly cut the first god into two halves.

    ¡°KILL ALL OF THESE LITTLE BITCHES!¡±, he laughed madly. There was nothing that remembered of his usual politeness.

    The assault of the dwarven gods used its momentum and a powerful ancient dwarf magic to bypass the fighting dragons and destroy a whole row of defensive arrays, uncovering a few thousands gods behind them and making them more or less defenseless against the full-blown attack of the dwarves.

    Mr. Sherevile had transformed into a god of slaughter as he swung his axe around and cleared a path through the enemy rows and quickly led the dwarves and dragons to kill the remaining gods that had been left outside the second row of defenses.

    Tian quickly joined him as they led both the dragons and the dwarves into this one-sided killing.

    In a single charge they managed to kill about 5000 gods while only suffering a little over a hundred causalities. Of course, this was a onetime opportunity as in order to break the defensive arrays they had had to rely on a powerful and difficult to activate magic. At least during this war there would not be another one-sided battle like this.

    (just a short sneakpeek)