Rise Of The Spatial Dragon

2 days ago.

The human kingdom had held its first meeting. The agenda of the meeting had made it such that absolutely no one would miss it, after all, they grew hearing stories of it. Now fantasy had become reality, how could they not be intrigued.

Many wanted to experience what it was like under their new king. They had never had a kingdom before. To put it more clearly, they never had enough latitude from the wolfkin to attempt to formulate a kingdom. This was simple. While the wolfkins acted as though they didn't care much for the human race, they understood that these were still their enemies. They couldn't afford to be merciful to them, or it would mean their death.

They took it upon themselves to hammer any nail that stood out, and so far it had been going on well. Even the so-called brave warriors had been nothing more than playthings to their Supers. The human race had been suppressed, but, to keep things as they were, they had to remain suppressed.

All this had been well and good until the wildcard named Kedan had appeared. This unknown had changed the power dynamics of an entire region in 3 days. To the humans, he was the undoubted hero, the savior from the yoke of oppression. To the wolfkin, he was a demon from hell summoned by their faithlessness.

Already, several priests and priestesses were spreading the word.

"Repent! Turn from your wicked ways!"

"Time is coming, turn from your wicked ways, seek the face of our God!"

"Only the Wolf God can protect us from the curse that has invaded our land!"

For a long time, Harrow city-state, and other city-states in the region had been consumed by fear. Kedan's actions were just too overpowered that he was able to single-handedly crush all his opponents' will to fight back. All they could do was cower inside. It was at this hour of need that the Wolf God had made a move.

Usually, religious civilizations grew in the form of a Sigmond (S-Shaped) curve. At the start, they would experience massive growth and development both spiritually and economically. At this point, there was a cutthroat competition as people sort to rise above their stations in life, and so on. As a people, they grew to understand each other more and their culture prospered, but this was where things got, tricky.

As more economic developments happened, that civilization and its people would become less dependent on their deity. Many would choose to turn their faces from their God, relying on themselves. Given that the universe was built to accommodate everyone, they would still live on, but they would miss out on the blessings and guidance of the deity that brought them thus far.

Many deities even chose to bring about extinction-level events to their civilizations as a way to bring back worship. It was commonplace for the people to forget their benefactor once they reach their top. This was even more so for mortals whose limited lifespan did not allow them to live long enough to connect the dots, see the bigger picture, appreciate their deity for all they had done for them.

All in all, as development continued, it was rare to have a moment where all the mortals were completely confounded to the point where they all turned to their deity so unanimously, but before they could get there, they needed a final push.

It had begun the following morning. After the news had spread of the utter defeat of an entire city by one man, a deep-set fear had been ingrained in their hearts. While many in other city-states did not believe this happened, at ground zero, Harrow city, they had firsthand information. They couldn't deny that any of this had happened.

They were present when the wolf packs were decimated, when arrows were redirected and when the ground itself worked against them. They had seen themselves fall and remain fallen as they were unable to rise. Seen their human counterparts moving around as though everything was alright, and most of all, they had been utterly powerless to defend as the humans looted all their wealth.

What mortal man could do any of that? How were they supposed to fight against someone who didn't care if he was fighting against an army or an individual? Their prized fighters, the wolves, had been nothing more than small pups to him.

The priests and the faithful had rushed to the shrines, calling unto their god to come and save them. Sacrifices had been offered, prayers had been made, but it seemed as though all this fell into deaf ears.

The wolf God had been listening to all this. What the people didn't know was that their deity was far closer to them than they thought. He was actually in the city, inspecting the damages. He could hear the calls and the cries for help, but he took no action yet. At that point, there was no need to take any action.

However, both He and Astrid were hard at work preparing for the crash they knew would come. This was not going to be an easy fight, and it would mostly be fought by mortals. It was more than just a measure of power, but also influence and ability to train and raise a powerful army from seemingly weak mortals.

It went without saying that this was a must-have skill for a god. Gods were by definition shepherds. The same applied to anyone who was on the path of power. They needed to be able to take on students and refine them to be warriors and integrate them into their army. This was especially so for Faction Protectors.

Such competitions were not uncommon at all. They usually occurred when a non-god with enough status and power tried to encroach on a god's power, the gods even encouraged it since they would by doing so, they would gain support from the people. Of course, if one lacked enough status and power, they would be easily crushed by the deity.

Most religions in the universe had demons and devils. It was a fact that a story, no matter how good, couldn't work unless there was conflict. Therefore, for something as grand and influencing as religion couldn't lack proper competition.

Usually, these were rogue agents of the god in question, but in some cases, especially when the god was so powerful that no one would dare go against them, these agents weren't rogue, just playing a part in the grand scheme of things.

However, the vast majority of these "evil" forces were the invaders who dared invade without proper status. For Kedan, he had only dared to encroach in a god's territory since he had enough status and clout to do that, one of the perks of being a Faction Protector. However, even then, he still had to abide by certain rules. Rules that governed the competition they were in.

On his part, Kedan had also not been idle at all. He had held a grand meeting days after his coronation. It seemed like he was in a hurry, which truly he was. This was because he knew an attack would be coming soon, and he had to get his people prepared. They had gained their freedom, now they had to fight to keep it.

This had been the first thing he said in the meeting. He didn't want to sugarcoat or appease the masses, they needed to know that they were in danger. Some had even gotten comfortable in their newfound status, riding on the transition from war times to peace times.

The comment had resulted in mixed feelings. If the words were said by anyone else, Kedan knew that the people wouldn't be inclined to believe, or wouldn't be so alarmed as they would think, 'we have a hero, what can they do?'

All beings were by nature lazy, choosing to ride on the coattails of others. Kedan wouldn't have any of that. If these people wanted to keep the freedom he had gifted them, they had to take up arms and defend their freedoms and rights. Only then could they earn the right to keep the freedom.

This led to the next all-important matter, the Quest of Keeling. At this point, it was already well known that the Quest, which many had doubted its existence, had been completed. This piece of news had proliferated the entire continent. The naysayers were still there, but many had a sense that there was truth in it.

In taverns and shrines, within family homes, brothels, this news was discussed and dissected. Many weighted the pros and cons of having such an unknown entity enter their world, some being that was so powerful he could be considered a god. For the humans, this was good news and even those that hadn't been present Though some doubts remained, hope was rising.

This was especially true for those that were present through all this. They were living the fairy tale they grew up hearing about and hoping for. Why wouldn't they be excited? Why wouldn't they hope against hope that maybe this treasure was just as magical as was promised, just as awesome!

The man who had caused all this common had announced that he needed a group to be the first to explore the treasure grounds. He had then proceeded, under advis.e.m.e.nt, to appoint those that would accompany him. He didn't have much say over who went really, except that he set a limit of the number to be 200. Secondly, he insisted that Kayla, the captain of the ship and a few sailors he'd seen were quite capable to tag along.

Kaden understood one fact. Being a ruler was tough work! In fact, it was an impossible task unless one applied divine skills. As such, if he was to be in charge of this group, he needed them to step up, and one of the ways they were to do that was by empowering them.

There was nothing as frustrating as ruling a bunch of weaklings who hid their laziness behind their weakness. They would ride on the coattails of the strong and look up to them as heroes. Kedan hated such kind and he wouldn't let this society devolve to that. Even Dane knew this, and Kedan guessed that was one of the reasons his brother left him such a treasure trove.

After their meeting, Kedan got the sense that he wouldn't be getting the full picture of what his brother intended. Of course not, that would have been too easy. He meant what he told his brother, that his loyalty was absolute. He was willing to give his all for the man, fight beside him and if ever a need arose, he would die for him. Truly quite a mortal notion. Kedan had seen the look of gratitude in Dane's eyes, and the farewell.

Kedan also understood that part of the reason Dane left him in such a place, even giving him such treasures. It was a gift for his small brother. Wow, to be able to hand out thrones just because...

At the same time, Kedan couldn't help feeling like he'd just been benched. He was supposed to be the starring role, now he had been given a hearty thank you, a throne as a trophy and been sent on his way. Kedan didn't know what Dane was planning. To put it in another way, Kedan didn't even know that the spell, or its effects, existed. How could one split themselves and turn into some ghost that possesses people?

Dane, the said ghost, was counting seconds as he watched the group leave cave. He was finally free!

Little bird, thank you for being such a sweet ride, bye-bye! For now, Dane thought as he detached himself from the hafiti bird's spirit.