A New Era

This era carried no sense of an impending Apocalypse. For Angels, who had more or less attained immortality, time was cheap.

But even for Angels, the events of the past few centuries had made it feel as though they'd lived through another lifetime.

First, the order of the Ancient Gods that had endured for centuries, even millennia, was abruptly shattered. The Vampire Progenitor had killed herself in an explosion along with the Annihilation Demonic Wolf and the King of Exotic Species, and nearly half of the Ancient Gods had died.

A God claiming to be the Creator had emerged, preaching widely and distributing Sequence Potions that could make ordinary beings Beyonders.

Then the Ancient God factions, having recovered from the Ancient God War, had begun to clash with one another. They had also fought over the legacies of the dead Ancient Gods, launching a supernatural race war that lasted for centuries.

In this horrific war, the Giant Race and the Dragon Race had won the greatest victories. Their power had expanded dramatically, allowing them to suppress the other Ancient God races.

After the war ended, the world regained a measure of peace.

According to the records of the Elf Race, this era was known as the Twin Era.

Of course, humanity, an ordinary race, had also flourished thanks to the Creator's preaching. Great human city-states had quickly sprung up across several continents.

Within the largest human city-state, humanity was under the protection of the Creator's Angel of Dreams. There was little need to fear attacks from supernatural races or Monsters.

At the city-state's center stood the largest Church of the Creator, with a shrine to the Angel of Dreams beside it.

In the Dream Church, beneath a Statue of Dreams, an old man in a gray-white robe prayed devoutly.

The old man looked entirely ordinary. His hair was completely white, but still thick, and his eyes were as deep as the sea. They were simply too calm to reveal any emotion.

"Mr. Hermes," a respectful voice came from outside the church. "The Giant Race is here to visit."

Hermes stopped praying and furrowed his brow slightly. "So they've finally come?"

He rose and followed the clergyman outside the church.

"Good day, great God of Dawn and Goddess of Harvest." Hermes bowed to the two towering Giants.

"Hermes!" With the Giant Race now so powerful, God of Dawn Badheil was brimming with confidence. The shadows of the past seemed to have vanished, and he had reclaimed his glory.

"Gods, this isn't something I can decide." Hermes still had to refuse. He despised everything connected to the Ancient Gods and would never work with them.

Besides, getting involved in the struggles between the Ancient Gods was foolish.

"You!" Light of Dawn flashed in Badheil's single eye, and a terrifying Storm of Light seemed to flare within it. The entire city-state trembled!

"I am a follower of the Angel of Dreams." Hermes's expression didn't change. He merely stated a fact.

By now, the Creator's faith had spread across every continent and archipelago, and the Angels under the Creator had left behind countless legends.

The Angel of Dreams was the most mysterious of them all. The Angel had appeared several times over the past centuries, leaving behind numerous tales. In battles against several Subordinate Gods, the Angel had never lost, and had protected many believers.

So far, no one had even guessed which Pathway the Angel belonged to!

This made many Subordinate Gods in the Ancient God factions deeply wary of the Angel of Dreams.

At the name, the Light of Dawn around Badheil grew even more intense. It wasn't fear, but disgust.

"You think I wouldn't dare kill you?" Badheil drew a Greatsword of Twilight from the void and pointed it at Hermes.

Hermes, now a Sequence Three Dream Weaver, watched calmly. Dragon scales seemed to surface on his skin.

The Light of Twilight gnawed at the void. A deadly battle seemed about to erupt, and with the Giants' destructive power, the largest human city-state would be destroyed in the aftermath!

"Enough. Let's all calm down." Omebella's gentle voice quelled the confrontation.

Hermes nodded calmly. Badheil gave a cold snort.

If the Giant King's son destroyed a city under the Creator's protection, it would be a declaration of war against the Creator.

And at this point, the Creator still remained above the fray, taking no part in any of the Ancient Gods' conflicts.

"We once had a fairly pleasant collaboration with Dream. Why don't you ask for his approval first?" Omebella said to Hermes.

"Next time we come, we hope to hear good news." Omebella gave Hermes a slight nod, then left with Badheil.

This was already their second visit. The reason they'd been so patient was their interest in the number of Beyonders humanity had gradually amassed over the past few centuries—and in the Angel of Dreams standing behind them.

Perhaps they even hoped to strike some secret deal with the Creator...

Hermes understood this, which was why he didn't dare agree. The Ancient Gods' struggles were far too dangerous, and humanity's Beyonders, accumulated over centuries of development, were nowhere near enough!

"Come over to the Kingdom of the Creator."

The voice reached Hermes's ears in an instant.

His eyes lit up. He prayed in thanks for Dream's favor, then hurried to the Creator's Heaven.

The Creator's Heaven had now fully merged with this continent, becoming a center of human faith. Nearly all the believers here worshipped the returned Creator.

Hermes had been here before. Soon, a clergyman led him into a Church of the Creator.

Two figures were inside: the Angel of Dreams and the Vice-King of Heaven!

The Angel of Dreams looked just as he had when they'd first met. There was no apparent change, only a greater air of mystery.

As for the Vice-King of Heaven, he was impossible to fathom.

Hermes lowered his head instinctively, not daring to look directly at either of them.

But he wasn't far away, and he faintly heard their conversation.

"...convene the council...the tide of history..."

"...wait for an opportunity...draw their attention...they're ready..."

Many of the words sounded profound to Hermes. He didn't dare try to understand them.

"Let's wait until I've prepared everything." The two figures gradually rose and turned to Hermes.

"I've read the Hermes language you created. It's excellent." Sasrir praised Hermes without reservation.

"Don't just say it. Give him something. He needs to take part this time, too." Truman joined forces to secure benefits for his follower.

"Uh..." Sasrir was briefly at a loss for words. Then he nodded at Hermes. "I suppose I can pay you in advance." Sasrir pulled aside the shadow behind him and took out an eye about the size of a fist.

The eye was quite unusual. Its pupil was pale gold and imposing, and its surface was covered in countless symbols and strange patterns, all connected to the Sea of Collective Subconsciousness.

Staring at the eyeball gave the strange sensation that it was watching you. A powerful Dragon Might surged toward him, as if it could see through every secret in his heart.

It was the eye of a Psychic Dragon—or rather, its Beyonder characteristic!