Rise Of The Spatial Dragon

Bamboo crept so silently that no sound come be heard from his movements. As he walked across the woodlands heading home, he could here small grunts of satisfaction. This was why he was silently stalking, he didn't want his mark to know his presence yet.

Seeing his opportunity, he lunged at his mark, with mischievous intent. Before she could react, Maple felt her face pushed deep into the animal she was eating, causing her to be all bloody and messy.

Angrily, she spun and fought with the intruder, without caring who they were. Of course she knew only those close to her would dare, but whomever they were, they had to pay! As the two wrestled, the mouse that was Barcova squealed but found no freedom. He had to endure the crushing grasp even as the same paw defended murderous blows from what looked to him like a demon.

A few blows later and the general area looked like it had been hit by a tornado. The two massive beasts had all but brought down the trees in their fight, one could imagine how deadly their skirmishes were. Finally ending the fight with a laugh, Bamboo proceeded to join Maple in her meal, not waiting for an invite. Maple also didn't cause trouble but also went back to her eating, after all, the deer she had hunted was enough for both.

Seeing this, the vasil could only think of one word, barbaric!

When they were done, Bamboo told Maple all that happened. At first, Maple had thought he was pulling her leg, after all, all he had in his hand was a mouse, no evidence that it was a vasil shape changer. Although she was stunned how he could come up with such an elaborate ruse.

Barcova wanted to frustrate Bamboo, but the damn thing wasn't fooled, no matter what he tried. He only needed a split second and he would be home free, hence, he had been buying his time. Now to his surprise there were two of them, and if escape had been hard enough prior, now it was all but impossible.

He wondered what possible method he could use to escape the grasp. He had tried gnawing at the paw, only to almost be mauled. He had tried wriggling, but the grip was iron. He really did not want his secret exposed, and become a good law abiding vasil, such a thought made him wan to hurl. He had a true reason to hate his clan, but one he kept close to his heart.

Gnashing his teeth as he really had no option, he decided to be proactive and transform. This caught Maple by surprise who looked at Bamboo with new eyes. He really wasn't lying.

"Listen, Bamboo," Barcova began, all apologetic, "I admit that earlier time was a cheap trick on my part, so I am prepared to make you an offer you can't resist. And no lies this time." That last part was said when he noticed the look of skepticism from both the lavels.

"Don't listen to him, they are very treacherous." This statement was made by Bamboo, when he noticed the look of interest from Maple, something Barcova hadn't seen. Quickly noticing he had a chance, he went into full on babble mode:

"I am not a good person, in truth I am a thief and a fugitive, if you give me back to the vasils, they'll only just kill me." Following which, Barcova promptly proceeded to tell his truth. He had been looking for a yarn to spin, but he realized the truth couldn't me more perfect, and if he somehow failed to escape, parting with his wealth would be the cost of freedom.

At first, Bamboo was skeptic, who wouldn't. He was quite aware of how tricky this little thing could be. However, a little mind control from the shadows finally convinced him to follow the little thing, and together they set off into the forest, where they were being awaited.

What does it mean to be a Faction protector. To rise to the absolute pinnacle of existence in an entire faction. This is what Dane was, or was supposed to have been had his training continued. He wasn't just a protector of some faction, this was the Maa faction, a faction that span across galaxies and had its reach in almost every corner of the universe. A faction who's headquarters spanned across several solar systems, since one couldn't fit all their combined affluence.

As part of the training to become this, Dane had had to go through one of the most complicated and dreaded program, the life and death trials. This was one of the least elected training program, however, should they come out successfully, they gained massive power boosts and insights especially in themselves.

To put it plainly, the life and death trial was where one entered a cycle of reincarnation that led to the individual being born as a mortal. They were supposed to live life without any of the inherent powers that came with being born special and powerful, and from there forge a path of victory. It wasn't important what they were fighting for, but they had to emerge victorious, only then could the conditions for self awareness and exit of the cycle of reincarnation be met, granting the person safe exit back to their own body.

It was said that powerful beings usually did this for spot, as they had ran out of opponents, and for some gods, it was forbidden for them to fight since they could cause massive catastrophe with their attacks. Such people would reduce their powers using reincarnation and fight for victory against one another.

Needless to say, such methods posed a great threat since the reincarnated individual was vulnerable and weak for a time, so measures had been put to ensure the survivor of those trying, though such methods were only available for trainees as they couldn't rescue a truly powerful existence, but then again, if that existence was truly powerful, then they shouldn't need rescuing to begin with.

While it was optional for many in the faction to choose whether to take the trial or not, as a Protector in training, Dane and his colleagues had been made to take the trial, and not just the trial, but trials, plural.

The Maa Faction had interacted and contained several civilizations, different species and cultures, and each was based on certain features. All told, there were nine major divisions, and as a protector, he had to live through and conquer each of these divisions, making him worthy of the title.

What had been a struggle to many always came naturally to him. He was a natural born leader, had charisma and a great ability to rule. These features weren't just on his person, but linked directly to his soul, which meant that wherever he went he would always have these characteristics.

In every division, he was always the first to finish. While others needed at least two cycles, the first being a way to familiarize themselves with the division and the rest to try and conquer, Dane would get by in his first try every time.

What a cycle of reincarnation means is that one got to live a full live as a mortal, with no chance of awakening their immortality since that would trap them in that live. Hence Dane would have no advantage whatsoever, and in one instance, where he gained prominence, he managed to build a kingdom that ruled over all in a planet, including the supers and divine beasts found in them.

It was this single act of accomplishment that led to talk of him being appointed as the next chancellor, for he had shown his leadership ability. He was still a legendary icon in that planet and it had been named after him. It was poised to be presented to him as a gift once he achieved his godhood, but alas, that was never to be.

Dane set aside this lonely thought and the regret that always descended upon his heart every time he thought about his past. For the most part, he was still poised to regain all that he had lost, well, almost all. Some things, once lost, could never be found again.

He reminded himself why he was reflecting on all these. He had once taken over an entire planet, though this time there weren't safety nets in place, he could still do it again. This was why he was here, and even if he failed, he could still try and try again, however, that had never been him.

Going through the list of ways to infiltrate this planet, he couldn't come up with one valid way or point of entry. This was because as the Barcova had so accurately thought, the natives were absolutely barbaric. And why not, they were living in a paradise where they didn't want for anything. A young planet and a young solar system is ripe with resources, and no matter how greedy, they could have their fill. There just weren't enough mouths to feed, so each mouth got its absolute fill. Ultimately, necessity was the mother of invention, but there really was no need.

It was while thinking on this matter that Dane had stumbled upon these two in his walk around the planet, and while he noticed there was anything special about them, this was the first interaction he had seen between the two species. He understood the disdain and inferiority complex, but he couldn't help but smile at the cheap tricks and trump cards presented. This truly was a young world.

Seeing this, he understood that instead of looking down on the natives, he had just gotten an opportunity. This was it, a chance to build this society as he saw fit, bring in his developments and nurture his own army from the roughs that he was presented with. He couldn't help but think that his opening was created by greed of one being.

Still at this point he was conflicted on how to go about properly infiltrating the civilization. On the one hand, he could choose to come in as a god. With the barbarism in place, him taking such a role was almost guaranteed, and he wouldn't have to worry much since he had enough power and might to awe the natives in to worship and submission.

However, this method had obvious drawbacks. First and primary, it was forbidden to take on the role of god if one had not achieved godhood, something not even he understood what it was. This rule was meant to protect the mortals in the universe from just any upstart esper declaring he was a god and demanding worship. Only those who had the credentials to do so could. It was a rule that was enforced by every god. If one was found purporting to be a god and really wasn't they got a fate worse than death, especially since immortals never died.

The other reason was that claiming godhood could only be done as a temporary measure. He planned to slowly build a mighty force and a means to do so was to open up the planet and expose it to the outside at some point. If he came claiming to be a god and it was found out it was all a scam, all the power received from worship would dissipate, causing him more harm than good. He very well knew of the fate of gods who's believers had lost faith in them. He didn't want to go down that road.

Hence, he was thinking of the next big thing, but to be that, he needed to plan his point of entry well, and to prepare the world to receive him. He had a wicked smile as he thought about it, and the two would become a very integral part of his scheme.