The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion

"RRRAAAKK!"

A violent screech and roar of a monster reverberated through the abyssal depths of Tartarus, sending vibrations and an overwhelming presence of destruction across all realms connected to it, including every Hell of both the upper and lower planes.

All Hells were deeply connected, as the system of reincarnation used the same channel through which the souls of the damned passed before being distributed among the various Hells according to the pantheons they belonged to.

Usually, this channel carried nothing but wandering souls.

But at this moment, it was not only transporting souls.

It carried something far more terrifying, a destructive, chaotic, unstable aura.

The presence of the Dragon of End, Typhon.

The vibration spread everywhere.

Every demon and being across the Hells sensed it.

The Dragon of End, Typhon, had finally awakened after eons.

Even pantheons like the Celtic, Shinto, and Hindu, who had never been graced by the Heavenly Son, knew of him, who he was, what he was, and what he represented.

They understood immediately that Typhon's awakening could only be connected to one existence.

The only being powerful and daring enough to deliberately awaken the Dragon of End.

Especially one said to be so mindless that destruction, annihilation, and the very concept of End defined his existence.

"He is really awake… He is free…"

Gaia gulped. Even she feared her own creation.

Yes, she had created him, but in a state of unimaginable rage and regret, with nothing but destruction in her heart.

He was born as the embodiment of that emotion, a beast that knew nothing but ruin.

Typhon's numerous monstrous heads began to move, and every motion sent waves of destructive energy rippling through space.

His tail struck the ground, cracking the land into spiderweb-like fractures and splitting it into countless pieces.

His roars distorted space itself along with the very elements.

"He… he is going berserk."

Thanatos, the God of Death, could see the energy of End spreading through the air. Even without actively doing anything, Typhon's mere existence was enough to bring destruction and End.

"Don't worry about it."

Damian casually shrugged and waved his hand dismissively as he raised his palm toward the Greek Dragon of End, Typhon.

In the next second, a thick purple energy emanated from his hand, swirling as if it had a will of its own.

Then it shot forth like a blooming flower, expanding rapidly.

The energy spread across the space like an inverted umbrella, a vast veiling dome, until it completely covered the area around Typhon.

Like the tentacles of a hydra, the energy latched onto Typhon's entire monstrous, mountainous form.

The instant it did, Typhon's overwhelming presence, his destructive and annihilating aura, vanished as if it had never existed.

Typhon began to struggle against the restraint.

His divine concept of End surged into overdrive, attempting to erase the energy binding him, but no matter how much power he unleashed, the purple force would not yield.

More than that…

Typhon could feel himself weakening.

As if something was siphoning his energy, his divine essence,

The very power that made him a god.

A beast.

The Dragon of End.

[Extracting Divine Essence]

[Extracting Divine Essence]

[Extracting Divine Essence]

Damian's Predation did its job as well as it always had.

In fact, it had grown so strong that it was already entering the next phase of its evolution into a far more powerful ability.

Though still in its evolutionary phase, Damian could sense that it was close to advancing to its next stage.

It would probably evolve fully when he ascended into godhood.

Damian casually extracted the Divine Essence from Typhon, the Dragon of End.

He did so continuously, but not completely.

He only removed the excessive amount, the surplus that caused Typhon to lose his mind and give in to his bestial and destructive instincts.

The reason Typhon was so destructive, the reason he had become nothing more than a mindless weapon of End, was because he possessed an overwhelming amount of Divine Essence tied to the Divine Concept of End.

Far more than he should have.

This imbalance caused the concept itself to dominate his soul and consciousness.

In contrast, other Beasts of End like Fenrir, Jörmungandr, and Níðhögg were also immensely powerful, yet they retained control.

Their Divine Essence of End remained within limits, allowing them to maintain their sanity and autonomy.

Typhon, however, was different.

His power over the Concept of End was so excessive that he was not in control at all.

His problem was both simple and impossibly difficult to solve.

The solution was to remove part of the Divine Concept of End from Typhon's soul, not completely, but enough to restore balance.

Enough for him to regain control over his existence and perhaps even develop a true consciousness.

After all, no one knew if Typhon had ever possessed a sane mind. From birth, it might have always been the Concept of End controlling him.

Perhaps he had never truly been himself at all.

The extraction process continued for several minutes.

Gradually, the chaotic aura surrounding Typhon diminished.

It weakened to the point where he was no longer releasing the violent energy that had once consumed everything around him.

[Your comprehension of the Law of End has increased]

[Your comprehension of the Law of End has increased]

[Your comprehension of the Law of End has increased]

[Your Divine Essence reserves increased]

[Your Divine Essence reserves increased]

[Your Divine Essence reserves increased]

The more Damian continued using Predation, the deeper his understanding of the Law of End became.

The excessive Divine Essence he extracted from Typhon was stored within his spiritual space for future use.

Damian had already devoured dozens of gods and goddesses, including those from the Greek and Norse pantheons.

Their abilities, their power, and their essence all belonged to him.

And yet, he had never used any of it.

Because he never needed to.

But once he ascended into godhood, everything would change.

All the divine abilities those gods once possessed, along with the Divine Concepts they ruled over, would become his own.

The moment Damian ascended, he would not need to struggle for mastery or progress.

He would already stand at the pinnacle.

No matter how ancient or powerful the gods of the universe were, they would all be several steps beneath him in terms of Divine Concept progression.

After several more minutes of using Predation on Typhon, Damian had absorbed an enormous amount of Divine Essence, especially the essence of the Concept of End.

Even Damian, the Great Heavenly Son, was surprised by just how much excess power Typhon had possessed.

If he were to compare it, Damian suspected that the amount of energy and essence he had extracted from Typhon's excess alone could equal that of two dozen high-level gods.

And this was just the excess.

If he were to calculate the total amount of energy Typhon possessed, it would amount to roughly six to eight dozen high-level gods.

Damian suddenly kept Predation active for a few more minutes, wanting to extract just a little more of Typhon's energy.

It was energy that Typhon probably would not need anymore, but Damian could use for himself.

He had big plans, things he needed to create on his own, and they required his own power.

Once Damian finished extracting his energy, the total amount he had gathered amounted to about five dozen high-level gods.

While doing so, he had an interesting idea about what he should do with Typhon now that he was no longer out of control and had regained his sanity, or at least something closer to a normal level of sanity.

As he extracted Typhon's energy and essence of End, Damian also analyzed his existence through his authority as the Primordial Progenitor, along with the ability of his Predation to seep into the true nature of anything.

He realized that Typhon was not like Fenrir or his brother.

He was a true dragon born from nature, a pure natural beast.

Damian had an idea about what to do with Typhon, especially regarding his monstrous size.

It was far too flashy.

After finishing the extraction, the energy generated by his Predation surged in his hand.

In the next moment, Typhon disappeared into a sphere of energy made of Predation.

The sphere gradually shrank, compressing Typhon's enormous body until it became the size of a football, floating above his palm.

Damian's eyes focused intensely on the sphere, as if he were doing something to the Typhon trapped inside.

After a few seconds, he released the sphere onto the ground.

The moment it touched the ground, it burst into particles of energy.

From it, a light shot forth before taking the shape of a figure.

It transformed into a dragon, a long-necked western dragon with greenish-blue scales, four legs, and three long tails swirling behind it.

It had a single lizard-like head with two pairs of horns, one longer and more curved than the other.

Its eyes were a deep red with slit pupils.

"Wait… what? This is Typhon?" the goddess Gaia asked slowly, pointing at the small, baby-like dragon that was jumping around and releasing muffled draconic sounds like a dog seeing its favorite human.

Typhon was now about the size of a full-grown wolf.

"Yes," Damian replied, beginning to rub and play with Typhon's long neck.

"But where did his numerous heads go? Is he even a Dragon of End anymore? Why is he so small? What did you do, husband?" Gaia asked, overwhelmed with questions.

"Well, Typhon was a dragon from the beginning. He did not have a human appearance. He was a pure dragon. Once I removed the excessive energy that was driving him out of control, his mind reset like that of a baby. Since his mind is underdeveloped now, I reduced and regressed his growth, turning him into a baby dragon with a single head and three tails, which I personally like," Damian explained.

"Sigh… I see. I do not know how you did it, but I understand what you did. So is he still a beast and Dragon of End?" she asked, sighing deeply as she shook her head and joined Damian in rubbing Typhon's head.

"Yes, but not as strong as before. He is still the strongest one except for Apophis, since she is still in the same state Typhon was in. Also, I had to reincarnate him while keeping his original body, so I had to change the foundation of his existence," Damian said.

"What do you mean?"

"To put it simply, he is now a Demonic Vampiric Dragon God of End," Damian said casually, as if he had not just done something absurd.

"I do not even want an explanation for that…" the poor goddess sighed, choosing not to ask further questions, which caused Damian to chuckle at her reaction.