CHAPTER 49: DESCENT OF THE GODS
Some minutes earlier, on the day of the apocalypse.
Within a white space. An endless, sterile void where distance and depth seemed to lose all meaning.
One figure after another appeared with bright flashes as they were summoned into this featureless expanse.
Each of them had their appearance hidden behind a veil of shifting, iridescent mist that distorted the light.
After the tenth person appeared, no other person was summoned. The space remained quiet as no one spoke. Each of them were powerhouses, ones that controlled several worlds and were worshipped as gods.
Yet, despite their appearances being thoroughly hidden, the subtle aura leaking around them pointed to the factions they belonged to. Some of them were surrounded by a viscous, ink-black pressure that felt like the weight of a thousand sins pressing down on existence.
Some seemed to be one with nature, exuding a pleasant aura carrying the scent of blooming jasmine and the vibrant hum of ancient forests.
Yet even among them, there was one figure who stood out. One who, despite not leaking any aura, made the hearts of these impossibly powerful figures beat loudly in this space.
Thankfully, they didn't have to feel like they were on pins and needles for long, as they all disappeared with a bright flash.
.....
They found themselves floating above a blue planet, one surrounded mainly by water with only three super large landmasses. The world appeared like a fragile jewel suspended in the void.
They didn't linger for a moment. The sight was not impressive to them at all, as they simply did what the system wanted from them.
They stood around in a circle and soon after, a formation lit up beneath them, tearing into the world's natural defenses. With the sound of glass shattering, a massive rift tore into space, and soon after, they appeared beneath a blue sky, the world around them overflowing with life.
But that wouldn't last for long.
With flashes, each of them disappeared as they went their own ways. From beginning to end, no one shared a word, despite the fact that many of them would wish for nothing more than to tear into each other.
.....
In another location.
The most feared person among those godly figures suddenly appeared high in the sky, above floating clouds. They released their perception, an invisible wave of absolute authority sweeping across the globe, cataloging every soul in an instant.
A feminine voice, soft and graceful---one that could only be imagined from a divine goddess---suddenly came from the veiled figure.
"That bastard... I finally found him."
The language was foreign, but if any outsider were to hear such crass words from this mighty figure, they would rather bang their heads into mush than blaspheme her sacred image. Yet the emotions hidden in the voice could not be concealed. Joy, anger, and most importantly...
Longing.
The figure was just about to break through space and appear before what---no---who she had been looking for, when her luck suddenly screamed at her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she felt this reaction once again, one she hadn't experienced for hundreds of years. It was the only reason she was in this region, and why the system had included her in the first place.
'How?'
Her eyes turned in a certain direction, and her luck continued to flare wildly, beckoning at her to move quickly. She became even more surprised when she felt two connections to herself in this world. She hadn't noticed instantly because she had been looking specifically for that person. But now that she did sense them...
"It can't be..."
With that thought in mind, she broke through space and instantly appeared on another continent. The location was remote, with grassy fields spanning wide for kilometers. But directly below her were three massive buildings---well, massive for this little world. In her eyes, they weren't even qualified to be small,the concrete structures resembling crude toys abandoned in a sea of swaying emerald grass.
She took in the entire place in less than a picosecond, and soon her gaze fell on a boy on the topmost floor of the building, her sight piercing through walls and steel as though they were nothing but glass.
What she saw made her eyes twinkle.
She saw a monster barrel toward the young child. Seeing an undead of such tier appear already at the beginning of this world's awakening, her brows couldn't help but furrow lightly.
'The beast seems to be of the elite rank? Why is its rank so high already?'
Her eyes widened slightly as she thought of something. She quickly spread her perception out once more, covering the entire world. Even the so-called gods who entered this world with her couldn't feel her senses. But she didn't care about them, as her lips parted slightly. She had shown more emotions in these three seconds than she had displayed in decades.
'How is this possible?'
'There is more than one human with a starting legendary class?'
This revelation shocked her to her core. Just one such presence was worthy of being the world pioneer---that was the norm. But she could already count several figures with legendary classes, one of whom even seemed connected to her. And the worst part was, that was only among the humans. She could also sense a few beasts with such prowess.
'There is even a child with a legendary talent?'
Her eyes shifted slightly, as if piercing through space and obstacles, her gaze soon landing on a blonde-haired girl with matching cold eyes. The scene beneath her appeared frozen in time, as the rushing undead still had a leg raised mid-step.
'There is something unusual about this world.'
Her perception left the sentient beings and focused on the world itself. She felt it instantly.
The formation of many natural treasures---treasures that could only be found in an awakening world---ones that drew the heated gazes of powerful factions in the universe. But what was unusual was that it would normally take some time before such treasures formed, yet they were already showing signs of appearing at the very start of the apocalypse. Didn't that mean more remarkable ones would appear later? Maybe even those of legendary rank?
Suddenly...
'Huh?'
She felt as if someone had gazed at her for a moment. It was just for a short time that could not be appropriately measured. But that was more than enough to alert her, because it should have been impossible. Not even the gods that had arrived with her were possible of such feats. Her senses swept over the academy once more. However, she didn't find anything that would warrant the feeling of being watched, but she did find something disturbing.
'This undead...is not normal.'
She could not place her finger on the problem exactly, which was very unusual.
Feeling her luck still pinging loudly like a beacon, she could only focus her gaze back on the scene beneath her as she watched events unfold.
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