(Profound Sky Continent: Wasteland Of Death)
(3rd Person Pov)
Acnologia having walked through the portal before appearing in an unknown land. A pair of golems then manifested before him as they both charged towards Acnologia who looked intrigued. Especially because they looked like average humans made out of stones, but their faces were a mix between human and dragon.
"Hoh? You're both even stronger than Huanji Wuyu. However…."
(Boom!)
Acnologia caught both of the golems fists being pushed back slightly. A large grin on his face as he yelled.
"I'm still the superior fighter of us both!"
Acnologia leapt into the air grabbing both the golems skulls before twisting their heads off their stone bodies away as they both crumbled into dust before four new golems emerged. They attacked Acnologia who's grin stretched wider as he raised his index and middle finger causing all four golems fists to freeze before it even touched Acnologia.
"Hrrm. Not exactly on the same level as Gojo, but that's fine, I still have much more time to improve my technique."
Acnologia proceeded to destroy the other four watching as they turned to dust only for eight more to appear.
"Oh hoh? Do they consistently multiply by two everytime? What a blessing, I get training dummies to practice my magic."
Acnologia snapped his fingers freezing the eight golems in time before he accelerated the golems time until all eight turned to dust then sixteen appeared and charged straight to Acnologia who cracked his knuckles.
"Let's Dance mongrels!"
—(Break)—
Over the next several hours Acnologia spent his time experimenting with both his time and space magic. Unaware that each of these draconian golems were already at the Divine Origin Realm, a whole realm above the Sovereign Profound Realm. Acnologia hummed watching as five hundred and twelve of these Divine Origin Realm warriors tried to reach him but were stopped due to the spatial barrier he had constructed to keep them from reaching him.
"No wonder infinity was so difficult to maintain twenty four seven. To keep a barrier like this up without rest is not only a massive strain on one's energy reserves, but also mentally taxing. No wonder the six eyes is needed to maintain infinity. But even now, I'm nowhere near the level of precision as Gojo since all I'm doing is keeping them away from me by increasing the spacial distance between us not infinitely dividing it.
Trying to replicate infinity is also difficult because trying to constantly divide space I have to filter it in a way to let gravity, sound, air come through. And I can't even replicate red, blue or purple due to the sheer complexity of the technique that the six eyes help with. Man, those eyes are really such a cheat."
Acnologia sighed before perking back up as he dispelled the space he stretched between himself and the other five hundred and twelve dragon warriors as he charged straight into their formation ripping and tearing through stone warrior after stone warrior with a maniacle and gleeful grin as he laughed full of excitement.
"YES! THIS IS GETTING ME SO EXCITED! COME ON YOU BUNCH OF ROCKS! HARDER! TRY HARDER TO HURT ME!"
(BOOM!) (SHATTER) (POOF!)
Acnologia spent the next few minutes destroying all five hundred and twelve Dragon Golems. Of course, Acnologia still sometimes got struck but the damage was negligible and once all of them had been destroyed, the ground trembled as a single massive Stone General wearing armour and wielding a massive stone sword.
Acnologia's instincts screamed at him as raised his arms to protect himself, and faster than he could react, the stone pillar smashed into his arms, a sickening (Crack) was heard as Acnologia was sent crashing into the wall behind him.
"Hehehehe…. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YOU FUCKING BASTARD! I'M THE DRAGON KING ACNOLOGIA! I WONT FALL TO MEASLY STONE!"
(Rock Types are super effective against flying types lmao)
The Stone General Acnologia fought was in the Divine Origin Realm, a whole three realms above Acnologia's Sovereign Profound Realm. The fact that Acnologia even survived the first strike was a testament to his durability as a Dragon. Acnologia lunged to the stone General, his power of time healing his shattered arms.
He could have easily killed this stone General using his power over time, but he wanted a fight. One that would get his heart racing.
"DRAGON KING'S ROAR!"
Acnologia shot a massive blast of his Dragon Slayer magic barely pushing the Stone General back before dispelling the spell as he appeared directly in front of the massive stone General, cocked his fist back and swung it with his full strength, yet only managing to send it skidding. And then, several Dragon Warriors were summoned by the General and sent to attack Acnologia who's expression turned Cheshire at this point in excitement.
"YES! YES! BRING ME THE EXCITEMENT I DESIRE! LET ME WATCH AS I KILL YOU WITH MY BEAR HANDS!"
Acnologia's voice echoed throughout the cave as he crushed the summoned Dragon Warriors in a single attack and charged straight to the General who swung his sword only for Acnologia to vanish.
(BOOM!)
Acnologia appeared behind the General using his space magic to compensate for the vast difference in physical ability between them both. And everytime it attacked, Acnologia would vanish and attack from a different direction yet no matter how much he attacked it, the stone General not only took no damage, but it kept summoning those damned minions of his and Acnologia was getting tired. And soon, hours will have passed without any success.
(Huff) (Huff) (Huff)
Despite his exhaustion, the thrill, the exhilaration, the pain of every strike he made that failed to harm the golem only made him all the more excited as he vanished using spatial manipulation as the massive stone sword crashed down where he stood.
"Guess it's time to take things seriously."
Acnologia wiped the sweat from his face taking a deep breath the sword of the stone General Slashed at Acnologia only for it's own arm that was holding the stone sword to be cleaved instead. He had manipulated space so that the Stone General had struck it's own arm severing it as Acnologia appeared directly in front of it clenching his fist and gritting his teeth, he compressed space and punched the Stone General causing it's entire self to explode as Acnologia landed and chuckled.
"It seems I still have much to more to grow in the near future. But man, that was a tough fight. Who knew I'd almost gotten killed by a rock. Now then…. What's nex- Hrrm?"
Acnologia felt a gaze upon him as his dark blue eyes met as a pair of enormous, azure-blue eyes that opened in the darkness of the trial space.
"Oh? A dragon? And one who is still able to sustain their existence despite being a soul? I take it you're the one who summoned those golems? They were really fun to fight against so thanks. So tell me, what kind of Dragon are you? You certainly aren't a push over since you managed to make that giant stone golem that nearly killed me."
The Azure coloured eyes in the trial space spoke up.
"Complete my trial and I shall answer all your questions. The second round will begin. Your objective is to slaughter ninety nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine beasts. You have one year to complete this challenged, fail within a year and and you'll be killed. Complete this quest and you will over onto the final stage of this trial."
Acnologia watched as far as his eyes could see, an endless wave of monsters of every kind. Wolves, Bears, Falcons, Lions and more. And they were all as strong as the Stone General.
(BADUMP) (BADUMP) (BADUMP)
The Dragon King felt his heart throbbing but not in fear, but in overwhelming excitement. It pulsed with a strong sense of joy at facing monsters he knows he couldn't harm normally. His body morphed into a partial draconian form. His entire body covered by the scales of his dragon form, long sharp claws replaced his hands, and his wings manifested behind him as he roared in his hybrid form.
"I ACNOLOGIA THE DRAGON KING OF APOCALYPSE GLADLY WELCOME ANY CHALLENGER WHO DARES AIM FOR MY LIFE! WITNESS THE FUTILITY AS I DEVOUR YOUR FLESH AND INDULGE MYSELF ON YOUR BLOOD!"
(BOOM)
Acnologia vanished from where he stood. He appeared high above the skies.
"Eternal Flare!"
Acnologia casts thousands of stars which rain down destruction. But he knew with these beasts being superior to himself, so he used space magic to make his attack strike the beasts from within
(Squelch) (Drip)
Several beasts died, as their brains were blown out from inside their skulls causing blood and brain matter to fall out their ears and nose. Acnologia in his hybrid form clenched his fists together as he compressed space and charged straight into the horde of infinite beasts, every punch and kick ended up with the beasts blowing up in a gory mess as Acnologia licked the blood of the monsters that dripped down his face as he was charged at by an infinite horde of beasts.
—(Break)—
(One month later)
(CRUNCH) (GUSH)
It had been full month since Acnologia began the second trial. He sat atop a mountain of corpses, in his human form. In his hands, were the remains of a bear profound beast at the Divine Tribulation Realm. In this past month he's killed so many beasts and devoured their meat and drank their blood helping him break through into the Divine Origin Realm.
When he broke through, he felt a "Sensation" of his body, allowing Acnologia to perceive the laws and energy of a "Superior World". His physical ability had also grown tremendously, finally allowing him to fight against these beasts. Make no doubt they were still undoubtedly superior to Acnologia in terms of raw physical might, however, Acnologia where once he held no ability to even harm them, his dragon physiology and the boost he got from breaking through into the divine origin realm helped him stand against them without instantly being killed, and finally tear through their tough meat.
"Ugh. Bear meat again? This is the second time I'm eating a bear I hunted. Hopefully this doesn't continue to happen."
Blood dripped down Acnologia's chin as he tore meat off the bone of the monster he just killed. He had already lost count of how many beasts he's killed so at this point he's just killing as many as he could without using any of his time hax as he was finding excitement at being able to fight to his heart's content.
Right now, Acnologia was able to eat peacefully due to keeping the infinite number of monsters at bay using spatial manipulation. After he was done with his meal, he threw the bone away, stood up and stretched his body.
"Alright. I guess that's enough training for now. Let's end this challenge and go for the final one."
Acnologia channeled the power of time into his attack.
"Arcane Dragon Kings Roar!"
In an instant, the breath attack was fired, Acnologia dispelled the space spell that had been keeping the monsters at bay only for a few of the monsters to be struck before all vanishing and in an instant, Acnologia found himself in an entirely unfamiliar location. He frowned not recognising this location.
"A cave?"
"It's been a long time hasn't it Acnologia?"
Acnologia froze for a second as he turned around eyes wide as he saw a young woman with brown hair and blue eyes. She wore a white dress with yellow patterns that barely reached her thighs, and long white heels.
"You are…."
Sonya smiled brightly as she spoke.
"I'm Sonya, the little girl to whom you promised that you would slay every dragon on earth to avenge me."
—(Break)—
(Insert Return By Death Sound Effect)
Acnologia watched the young woman in silence, he recalled from Acnologia's memories of the little girl who was fatally wounded and being bullied by a group of Dragons. He recalled the "true" Acnologia killing them all, the promise to the child he failed to save that he will kill every dragon alive to avenge her.
"You were dead. This is the cave where I saw you die."
She shook her head.
"Almost dead. But I was saved."
"By one of the Dragons who survived…."
She smiled softly at Acnologia's answer.
"Aminus was his name. Like myself, he too was on the verge of death so he forcefully transported himself into me. Making me his vessel, and the two of us survived.
He was ultimately killed by another Dragon Slayer, and at the end of his life, he gave up the rest of his power to heal me and let me live to make up for the four hundred years of being his vessel."
"Get to the point."
Sonya pouted at Acnologia's flat words before her smile returned as she turned away and spoke.
"I wanted to thank you. You kept your promise and really hunted down so many dragons for me. But I think that's enough. I know you were beaten. You don't have to carry the weight of that power anymore. Come, take my hand and liberate yourself of the burden of being a Dragon Slayer.
Join me as that kind doctor who weapt for someone so insignificant and weak that he'd promise to hunt down every dragon just to keep your promise. You don't have to kill just to kill, let go of all that hatred. Your only hurting yourself, and you can once again save those who need you like you did all those hundreds of years ago."
Sonia reached out her hand to Acnologia, but all Acnologia did was close his eyes.
'I see…. A test of the heart.'
Acnologia opened his eyes and finally answered.
"No. I will have to refuse your offer Sonya."
Sonya said nothing as she pulled her outstretched hand back and questioned.
"May I ask why?"
Acnologia sighed.
"Because I am not the Acnologia you knew. I understand what your trying to tell me. But there's a difference between the old Acnologia and myself.
Where he used his power purely out of a desire for revenge, I seek power purely to grow. I'm not sure exactly if I'll ever be willing to part with these new found powers, because with this power I have been able to live so much more freely than I could ever remember."
Sonya blinked at Acnologia's words processing them as she hummed.
"I see. So you aren't him huh?"
Sonya turned her back to Acnologia stretching her body
"Maaaaannnn! And here I thought I'd finally be able to thank Acnologia for what he did four hundred years ago."
Sonya's words were cheerful as she turned back to face Acnologia tilting her body to the side, a big smile on her face.
"But that's alright. To me, your still the Acnologia who promised a little girl he just met that in her name all dragons shall be slayed. Hihihihihi."
She stood straight and walked up to Acnologia as she outstretched her hand, a bright smile plastered on her face.
"Thank you Acnologia for saving me four hundred years ago. Now, before we part ways once more, can I at least have you make me a second promise? As the Acnologia you are now?"
Acnologia raised an eyebrow and gave a helpless smile as he answered.
"Alright, what is it?"
Sonya's smile grew even wider as she replied.
"Promise me that with this new life of yours, you'll live it to your fullest. No more revenge or hatred fuelling your journey. This also means no more going around killing every Dragon you can find. Can I trust this version of Acnologia to promise me that?"
"Despite knowing I'm not him?"
Sonya shook her head, hand still outstretched.
"You are still Acnologia. No matter what you may say at the end of the day you go by Acnologia, you sound like him and you look like him. So by process of elimination you are him."
Acnologia hummed.
"How straightforward. But alright, from now on I am Acnologia."
He nodded his head and took Sonya's outstretched hand.
"Alright. I promise you, little girl I'll live my life to the fullest. Though the Dragon Slaying aspect will be rather difficult because I've grown to become quite the battle maniac."
Sonya puffed her cheeks in indignation, flailing her arms, and stomping her feet as she spoke.
"Who are you calling little girl? I'll have you know I'm also four hundred years old."
Acnologia snorted.
"You may be four hundred years old, but I'm not only a whole hundred years older, when I first met you, you were a little girl. So by process of elimination you are a little girl compared to myself."
Sonya stuck her tongue out to Acnologia.
"Hmph! Don't you know it's rude to talk about a woman's age!?"
Acnologia waved his hand dismissively.
"Yes. Yes. Whatever you say."
"Pfft…. Hahahahahahaha"
Sonya burst out laughing for a few minutes before she wiped the tears, and spoke.
"Alright. I guess this is goodbye."
Acnologia nodded his head as he spoke.
"I'll grow stronger. So much stronger that I can prevent a second tragedy such as the one my village and yourself faced. Strong enough that not even the God of this world can interfere with me. I will become powerful enough even the thought of harming anyone I care for will be met with overwhelming dread and fear."
Sonya nodded her head.
"Then, I'll keep you to your promise. Take care Acnologia."
She waved her hand to Acnologia as she turned around and walked ahead. Watching her walking away Acnologia pondered for a bit before he called out.
"Sonya."
Sonya paused her steps turning around to look at Acnologia quizzically.
"Yes?"
Acnologia looked a little awkward before he sighed and replied.
"I'm not sure how my former self would have reacted or felt seeing you, but at the very least, I'm glad to know you are alive, and have managed to grow up. Don't forget to live your life to it's fullest."
Sonia stared at Acnologia for a few seconds before she burst out giggling.
"Thank you Acnologia! I promise you I will live my life to it's absolute fullest, there's no way I will ever take it for granted!"
Sonya gave Acnologia the brightest smile he'd ever seen before a question popped into Sonya's mind.
"Actually…. Acnologia? Could you tell me what your name was before you became who you are now?"
Acnologia seemed surprised by her question. His mind scoured through all the memories of his past life in search of his name. However, he found none. The only thing he recalled were the various stories he read, the games he played, and the anime he watched.
"My name is….."
—(Break)—
Acnologia opened his eyes as he once more met the Azure eyes of the Dragon God's.
"So…. I take it we can finally have a heart to heart Dragon?"
The Dragon God's voice boomed all over.
"Indeed Acnologia. As promised, I shall answer your questions. But first, your rewards for completing this trial."
Three drops of solid blood appeared before Acnologia. He took a look at them before he took all three and shoved them into his mouth swallowing it and in an instant an intense pain crashed over him. His body felt like it was on fire as he endured the pain.
Due to already having a dragon's physiology, the process of the Dragons Blood only took a few hours to upgrade Acnologia from being a Dragon Slayer to a True Dragon. One who no longer bears the weakness of motion sickness due to his human and draconian senses now being in equilibrium. The Dragon's blood also helped him break through into the third step of the Divine Origin realm as Acnologia huffed in slight exhaustion.
"The rewards have been granted. Now ask any questions you may have, and if it is within my knowledge I will answer them."
Acnologia sat on the ground staring at the pair of Azure eyes.
"The third trial…. You used Acnologia's memories instead of my own…. Is it because I don't remember who I am?"
The Dragon God stayed silent for a few seconds before he answered.
"So you noticed huh? That is correct. The third trial is a test of one's character, after all, I don't intend to allow anyone to acquire my legacy. I intended to use your memories to create a scenario with which you were forced to make a choice, an ultimate decision. But your memories aren't complete. The only thing I saw were those unique stories you've read and watched. Thus, with only the memories of the body you possessed being available and most clear, I used it and a bit of your own memories to create that last trial."
Acnologia nodded his head.
"I see. Could you tell me more about this world?"
The Primordial Azure Dragon fixed its colossal, azure gaze upon Acnologia, its voice resonating with the weight of eons. It did not speak of a mere mortal world, but of a sanctuary forged by the hand of the Evil God Ni Xuan.The Dragon God explained that this Blue Pole Star was the first world Ni Xuan ever created—a "birthplace" he cherished so deeply that he moved it across the vast reaches of the Primal Chaos to hide it from the eyes of those who would see it destroyed.
It was a world the Evil God had shielded with his own supreme power, turning it into a hidden vault for the universe's most forbidden treasures.The voice echoed through the cavern, revealing that the planet was chosen as a final "tomb of miracles."
Because of their bond with the Evil God, the Dragon God and the Phoenix had been allowed to leave their own undying legacies within its soil. They believed that while the Era of Gods fell into ruin and the True Gods faded into dust, their essences would remain safe here, protected by the planet's abnormal divine concentration.
The Azure Dragon concluded by stating that this world was the ultimate sanctuary, a place where the flickering embers of the ancient era were kept alive. To the Dragon God, the Blue Pole Star was not just a planet of water and air, but the last bastion of hope where the Evil God's blood and the dragon's soul would wait for a destiny yet to be written.
Acnologia digested what was told to him. This was a pretty great surprise, the history of mankind contradicts what this Dragon is saying. Nonetheless, Acnologia stood up as he stretched his body.
"Tell me. Past the Sovereign Profound Realm, what exists beyond that rank?"
"While I never bothered with the cultivation ranks mortals of the divine realm name, I suppose it shouldn't be too difficult to help you grasp a better understanding of this higher world. There are Seven Divine Profound Realms represent the transition from mortal existence to the "Divine Way".
Each realm generally consists of 10 levels, with the exception of the Divine Tribulation Realm, which has only 9.
The Divine Tribulation Realm would be on the level of the stone General you fougt against. Now as for what they are. We first have the Divine Origin Realm, the Divine Soul Realm, Divine Tribulation Realm, Divine Spirit Realm, Divine King Realm, Divine Sovereign Realm, and lastly the Divine Master Realm.
Beyond the Seven Divine Profound Realm, there exists the level of powers seen only during the Ancient Era Stages. Those being the Divine Extinction Realm, and lastly the True God Realm.
But understand that reaching the last two are nigh impossible. I'd recommend you focus on the Seven Divine Realms instead. After all, you've already entered the Divine Origin Realm."
Acnologia seemed surprised.
"So this power is that of a Divine Origin Realm cultivator huh? Alright then, I guess I'll be taking my leave for now. Thanks Dragon."
As Acnologia stood up, the Dragon God pondered to himself before making his judgement as he spoke.
"Hold on. There is one more trial I want you to take."
Acnologia who had just dusted his pants after getting up looked at the Dragon God with a raised eyebrow as the Dragon God continued.
"I want you to find a sword. This sword is known as the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword. The reason I want you to find this blade is because my daughter Shen Xi has been sealed inside of it, both her physical body and soul. I want you to free her. The sword is located deep within the Well Of Samsara. That is your last trial. Do you accept it?"
Acnologia could hear the exhaustion in the voice. A father who's been searching for someone to save his daughter for who knows how long. Acnologia pondered it before nodding his head.
"I'll accept it. However, I don't even know where this Well Of Samsara exists. So unless you can help me out, your sending me on this trial blindly."
Soon the pair of Azure eyes turned into a long eastern Azure dragon who spoke.
"It is located deep within the Dragon God Clan and the Dragon God Clan exists within the Divine Realm. However, as you are right now, you are still far too weak.
Continue to survive, grow stronger, and when the day comes where you possess the necessary strength, fulfill this last trial of mine. And to help you grow stronger at an even faster rate, I shall give you my bone marrow and soul origin.
With these two, your potential will grow even greater than it is now. And one more thing. I do hope you don't kill every dragon you will come across in the near future. Almost all of them will be connected to the Dragon God Realm and they are my people. Farewell Acnologia, and keep your power suppressed as you walk this world. The power of those beyond the Monarch rank could bring about harm to this world and invite unsavory gazes from those of the higher realms."
Acnologia watched as the Azure Dragon God faded away as both his bone marrow and soul origin entered his body.
The pain wasn't as bad as when he first took the blood, but it was still intense. And now with the addition of the Soul Origin, and Marrow his cultivation broke through into the fifth level of the Divine Soul Realm.
He clenched and unclenched his fists. It seemed like he'd broken through into another realm. However, just as he was prepared to leave the trial grounds, his entire body vanished appearing in an entirely new dimension not even Acnologia recognised.
"Where is this?"
Acnologia frowned. Scanning the endless void. He still had his magic and space time manipulation, but for some reason he can't seem to escape.
And just then he sensed it. Powerful presence that exists all across the dimension. He turned around and saw thousands of beasts, unique species, treasures, and gods of various levels of power. And for some unknown reason he couldn't quite tell, he knew that the only way he was leaving this dimension is by hunting down every last one of them.
—(Volume 1: END)—
(An: Finally done with this first volume! And it's four thousand six hundred words! I'm so glad to be done with this damned volume. I couldn't finish it yesterday because my cousin just graduated and I wanted to attend their convocation.)