Klaus's shock doubled. "Dragon God?" he stammered, finally finding his voice, though it cracked. He looked around the impossible space, then back at the small figure, his mind reeling.
"what the heck, this is not what I signed up for when I decided to go for a night walk, fck why does every bizarre thing happen to me, whoever transmigrated me will never be able to have kids, this is my fckin curse"
He felt his own heart beating a frantic rhythm in his chest, a very real, very alive feeling.
"what do you mean, 'inheritor'?"
He spoke in a stumbling tone, his voice rough, his questions coming out in a desperate rush.
He needed answers. His mind, used to making quick and smart decisions, was completely overwhelmed by this event. He tried to grasp onto anything familiar, but there was nothing. Just endless dark and him floating in it and now a damn dragon god blabbering something.
The Dragon God sighed. It wasn't a human sigh, but a vast, echoing sound that seemed to pass through the void itself, a sigh that carried the weight of eons, of countless ages.
"Such basic question, asked by such a weak mind"
the deity replied, a hint of disappointment in its tone. The words didn't feel like an insult, just a simple statement of fact.
Klaus felt a pang of annoyance, mixed with awe. Weak? I just killed a C-Rank cultist! But then he looked at the boundless stars, at the small, powerful being before him, and the word 'weak' suddenly made sense.
He was infinitesimally small here. "All I can tell you, mortal, is that somehow, my legacy has reached you. You have been chosen. For reasons, you are far too weak to comprehend or know, the path to becoming the next Dragon God has been laid before you."
The Dragon God floated closer. Its small form still radiated overwhelming power, a pressure that wasn't physical but mental, pushing down on Klaus's very consciousness.
Klaus felt a strange, profound force around him, not painful, but immense, as if he were standing before a living universe, a force of nature condensed into a child's body.
He instinctively braced himself, though against what, he didn't know. His bodies weightlessness felt oddly separate from his racing thoughts. He tried to focus and calm his breathing, even though there was no air to breathe in this void.
The Dragon God's voice deepened, its presence seeming to expand, filling the vast emptiness around them. It was as if the cosmic realm itself was listening.
"Understand this mortal all dragons, every single one you know or have heard of, are creatures of magic. They possess an incredibly high natural affinity for magic, a connection to the very fabric of existence that few other beings can match."
"magic?? I haven't seen such talk about magic in my world, power there is just defined by the rank of your skill you awaken or gain through skill books"
The questions swirled, but he held his tongue, knowing more words would just bring more scorn from the dragon for his 'weak mind' so he looked ahead at the next words of the magical being in front of him.
"I was the first. The Progenitor. The first ever dragon to exist. From me, all dragon kind sprang."
The small figure paused, as if reflecting on a past that stretched beyond mortal understanding, a history that dwarfed the concept of centuries or millennia.
"My true name, though rarely spoken now" it continued, its voice a low rumble that vibrated through the vastness, making Klaus's very bones feel like they hummed in resonance
"is the Devouring Dragon God. I am equivalent to the gods of your universe, beings who shape reality itself"
"Gods who shape reality?"
Klaus's mind struggled to contain this information. His world had awakened, hunters existed, but the idea of true gods and universal laws and something similar along those lines else entirely, far beyond the power of any awakened being he had ever heard of.
"And with my family, my children, I rule over countless universal laws, overseeing the fundamental principles that govern creation and destruction across myriad realities"
The scope of this declaration was mind-boggling. It wasn't just Earth, but countless realities. Klaus felt a cold fear mix with utter awe. He had stumbled into something far, far bigger than he could have ever imagined. His 'cheat' suddenly seemed like a tiny spark in comparison to this.
The Dragon God then spoke quickly, its form beginning to shimmer, its outlines blurring against the distant stars, as if its presence in this realm was not meant to be prolonged.
"You must focus, inheritor. Time that I have is limited and All will be uncovered for you, as long as you gain strength. That is the key. Strength. It is the only path to knowledge in this lineage." The small deity pointed a tiny, clawed finger towards the scattered colored lights in the distance. Klaus's eyes followed the gesture, seeing the pulsing dragon marks.
"I had nine children, ten true heirs, born from my essence. Each of them, in the primordial era, before time began as you know it, ruled over certain fundamental elemental laws."
As the Dragon God listed them, the corresponding colored lights floating across the space pulsed brightly, each one resonating with the spoken element: "Ice, Water, Fire, Darkness, Light, Space, Time, Earth, Wind, Thunder "
"Your task now is to inherit the laws from each of my children. You must inherit their legacy, understand their essence, and master their domain, one by one.
As long as you successfully achieve the complete inheritance of each element, you will become the undisputed God of that element at least that is guaranteed"
The Dragon God looked at Klaus, its ancient eyes holding a spark of something unreadable, a challenge and a promise all at once. "Once you master everything, once you have claimed the full inheritance of my nine children, then and only then, will you be given the Dragon God's legacy as the final step. Only then will you truly become what you are destined to be."
The small figure of the Dragon God seemed to shimmer, its form growing transparent, merging into the starlight. Its voice, however "The path is long, weak inheritor. Do not falter."
Klaus was left to ponder, floating in the dark cosmic realm. The distant, pulsing dragon-head symbols were still there. The overwhelming burden of a divine destiny he had never asked for settled heavily on him. He felt powerless, unable to move or speak.
Suddenly, the Dragon God's form solidified slightly more. his voice came again, clear and firm. "You have no choice in this, inheritor. The path has been chosen for you. Even if you try to refuse, this inheritance will never leave you. It is bound to your very soul."
Klaus felt a new wave of frustration. "No choice?" he asked, his voice rough. "Why? And if you're alive, why do you need an inheritor?Why not just do whatever this is yourself?"[1]
He looked at the vast emptiness, then back at the small, powerful being. The questions felt clumsy, but they were real.
The Dragon God looked at him, and for a moment, Klaus felt a flicker of something that might have been pity.
"I existed in the primordial past, mortal. This you see now," the deity said, gesturing to its own shimmering form is merely a projection of my will into your future. A sliver of my consciousness sent forward through time. It will disappear soon, when this conversation ends."
The words were simple, yet they held immense weight. Klaus's mind struggled to grasp the idea of a being existing outside of time as he knew it. "Other matters cannot be disclosed to you currently. Your mind is not ready. Your strength is not enough."
The Dragon God then shifted slightly, its gaze focusing intently on Klaus. "To guide you on this long journey, a system has been designed for you. It will provide you with the necessary information and support. It will explain things further, as you grow stronger and ready to understand."
Before Klaus could ask another question, the Dragon God floated swiftly towards him. The small, horned figure stopped directly in front of Klaus. Without a word, the Dragon God raised its tiny, clawed hand. Its index finger, tipped with a sharp, black nail, reached out and gently touched Klaus's forehead.
The moment the nail made contact, a surge of raw, immense energy coursed through Klaus. It wasn't painful, but it was overwhelming. It felt like a river of pure power flowing into his brain, rushing through his very being.
His vision blurred with flashes of light and abstract symbols. He heard a roaring sound, like a waterfall, in his ears. It was too much information and too much power to digest all at once. He couldn't process it. He felt his consciousness waver, stretched to its breaking point.
Through the roaring and the light, he heard the Dragon God's voice, now fading, becoming distant. It sounded like a whisper carried on an impossible wind. "Take care, kid. Maybe we'll meet one day."
Then, with a sudden jerk, the light vanished. The roaring stopped. The feeling of weightlessness was gone. Klaus felt a jolt as his body hit something solid. He gasped, sucking in air. The smell of wet earth and faint river water filled his nose.
He opened his eyes slowly. He was lying on his back on the riverbank. The moonlight shone down on him. The grass was cool and slightly damp beneath him.
He was back. He slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position, his head was throbbing. He looked around. The river flowed calmly nearby. The trees stood silent. Everything was exactly as it had been before the orb.
He looked down at his hand. The small, white orb he had taken from the storage ring was gone. It was nowhere to be seen. He checked his other hand.
The storage ring was still there on his finger. He stared at the empty space where the orb had been, a strange sense of loss filled him.
His back still ached from the earlier knife wound, and his skin felt gritty from the sewage water and river mud. He needed new clothes.
He remembered the storage ring. He hoped there was something inside. He concentrated on the ring a thought forming in his mind. A few items shimmered into existence on the grass beside him.
There were some plain, dark trousers and a simple, oversized shirt. They were much larger than his size, clearly meant for a bigger person, but they were clean.
He quickly put them on. The clothes hung loosely on his thin frame, almost comical, but they covered him. He didn't care about how he looked.
He just needed to get back to the inn. He looked around one last time, making sure nothing was left behind.
Then he walked quietly, keeping to the shadows of the residential streets. The night was still deep, silent. No one was out. He moved like a ghost, his new agility making his steps almost soundless. He felt a strange combination of exhaustion and a buzzing energy under his skin.
As he walked, a faint, translucent blue screen had appeared in front of his eyes at some point in time.
SYSTEM INTEGRATION IN PROCESS....
[1] who the heck tries to reject becoming an overpowered dragon? ... stupid Klaus.