Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]

Earth

Five Years After the Change

The Essence thickened as the Planet's Core grew and the Mana in the air continued to rise. The Core was beginning to reach the end of D-grade and would soon break through into C-grade.

Its final designation was set to reach B-grade, but it would be some time until it accomplished that. The growth would be slow, for anything other than gradual would be catastrophic. To both the planet and the denizens that resided upon it.

Something so delicate required time.

Time for change to happen. For growth to explode into being, wane into rest, and explode once more.

Five times did this cycle happen. Five revolutions had passed until the time came for the Core to increase in grade once more. It wasn't only the Core that had improved, either. Everything that walked upon its surface had improved, in one way or another.

They had to, as the continually increasing magic and essence in the air forced them to adapt and grow.

Whether that be by fighting for territory, treasure, dungeons, or plain old ego, they were forced to grow and change just as the Core was.

D-ranks grew more and more common. Humans and Beasts both. Or monsters, as some had dubbed them. The process began with the lucky few beasts who had made their home in the right location, but more importantly, those who had been able to hold it.

The mana-rich areas, locations of power, places where mana gushed forth in great fonts. Any beast's instincts would crave such a place, but it was only the lucky few who held them. The strong, the cunning, or the enduring.

Humans, though, grew in more ways than only power. They rebuilt what they had lost, reestablished the great cities they were known for. Carved from stone their place in the world and had begun to expand.

Beast and Human alike reached the new Rank of power just as the Core was evolving to the next. They were catching up, and it would soon become them who were reaching further than the Core could keep up with.

Its head start was gradually being ground down. Whatever touch that had graced it with such a prime boost could only do so much.

The last of the Denizens to break into this new Rank were the Spirits. Only recently born, but quick to rise in power. Especially in certain places where their growth was most favorable.

The First Earth Sprites were making the transition to Earth Spirit and Elemental. Then the other elements would come to match.

A Tree towering over the others that birthed from it a powerful Dryad. The young Dryad even had the aid of a City at its roots and a Druid to help it grow.

Nymphs and Naiads were spreading throughout the forests and rivers while Earth and Wind Spirits spread through the Land and Sky.

Five Years of Mana had changed the Planet in such a way that it was nearly unrecognizable from Before.

Some of the people spent their time trying to bring back what was lost, while others forged ahead with what they were given. Others still grasped both the Old and the New and tried to hold on tight.

Pylons began to spread for the first time since the people first returned.

It began with a new Village here, or Outpost there, but they soon began to spread everywhere land was available. Cities expanded, Villages grew, and Towns were born in places they weren't before.

From a constant decline of Pylons on the Planet, they began to rise in number once more.

Roads were reestablished, linking City to City. Trade moved through the Land as it was once more opened up. Some Walls were still insurmountable, but with time, they too would be broken down.

As one such obstacle had recently been overcome just over a year ago. The mountains that ranged far to the north and south on one of its continents had been dug through to reconnect them once more.

___

Vasariametz

Dominion of Demons.

Even with his Power, it took a long time to reach Desmodius's Kingdom from the land of the Dwarves. Vasaria hesitated to call it a Kingdom as it wasn't really one in the natural sense. Demons had their own sense and hierarchy that didn't match the normal standard and it could hardly be considered the same as a normal Kingdom.

Still, he reached it eventually, even if it took him over a year to get there. He could have done it faster, but the situation didn't call for such measures.

He shifted his attention over the newly integrated Planets every once in a while, but nothing exciting was happening currently. There were a few that recently underwent their Assessment, but that excitement had passed. There were a few oddities that stuck out and were enough to draw his gaze, but there was nothing to write home about.

After reaching the land of Demons, Vasaria didn't make himself known immediately. He lingered about, watching and catching up on things he had missed while he was along the front. His perception was vast, and he could see more than people expected him to.

It was always a hassle talking to her for that exact reason. He always had to spend time catching back up.

The more he learned, the wider the grin on his face became. The Demonic Pantheon was one of the larger Pantheons, and Vasaria would have checked in on them anyway, but it was in their interactions with other Pantheons that the true joy was to be found.

Their constant invasions and Wars were always a source of good entertainment, and it seemed that times had been heating up as of late. A few new fronts had opened up on some frontier planets and Vasaria could see more demons gearing up for an extended campaign.

Learning what he could, he finally made himself known and dispatched with his sneaking. Vasaria was certain that Desmodius hadn't known he was there, but the Demon showed no reaction to having another God appear inside his Domain.

The Demon had gotten used to it at this point. This was far from the first time Vasaria had done this.

"I was wondering when I would see you, Vasaria. You are later than I thought." Desmodius was in his humanoid form, which made conversation and interactions easier. It was like he had known Vasaria was coming.

His horns swooped back over his hair in the flair he was known for. His robes were elegant and expensive. While some mortals thought Demons savage and barbaric, they had enlightened beings among them. The most powerful, mainly, as they had experienced the most interactions with other enlightened races.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

While turning to face Vasaria. His dark skin showed none of the signs of age and only bore a scant few scars from battles long past, prompting Vasaria to remember how the Demon got them. There were only a few things that could force a God to scar, and to have persisted this long... The Fracturing War had hit the Demons harder than most.

Their race didn't just sit out of a fight, like others had during that trying time. They jumped headfirst into any skirmish, big or small. Their numbers had been hit the worst following the War, but they also saw the largest growth of those who survived. Desmodius included.

The heavy Demonic taint in the air wasn't the most pleasant, but it was a spring breeze compared to the taint of the void he had just come from.

"I arrived, did I not? That is the important thing. I've also come to see the excitement!" Vasaria declared and smiled at the friend he hadn't seen in too long. Seeing Skadi again had brought mournful memories, but Desmodius brought fond ones. Of the times they had spent together, fought together, and sometimes, fought each other. That may seem counter intuitive, but neither held a grudge. Living as long as they had, fighting one another was bound to happen.

"It's good to see you, old friend," Vas said.

Vasaria wasn't fond of most of the Demonic Pantheon, but there were a few he liked. Fewer still he would call a friend, but Desmodius was one of them. Most weren't any better than the inferior beings they ascended from, but the rare few rose above that.

"And you as well, even if you usually bring headaches in your wake," Desmodius said with a laugh.

Now that stealth wasn't required and Vasaria openly appeared, he could split his power and send off a few Projections to the other places he wished to visit. His full power had been needed to stay hidden from his friend, and now that it wasn't required, his Projections shot off to go visit the others. He wouldn't sneak on everyone. Not yet, at least. Some took it more poorly than others. While it was sometimes fun to do it anyway, regardless of their reactions, now wasn't the time.

Desmodius saw the shift in power and shook his head, "To the other two, I presume? You were always good at playing both sides."

Vasaria smiled, "It's not playing both sides if I only watch. You know that."

The Demon was right in his assessment. Vasaria sent one of his Projections off to the Holy Pantheon and another off to the Faction of Light. All three had warred in the past, and it looked like they were gearing up for it again. Two of the new frontier planets had been the Faction of Light's Dominion and another under the Holy banner.

Integrations livened things up like that. Even in otherwise unaffected sectors, things had gotten shook up.

Now that he was here, he didn't need to use his own power to peer at the New Planets, as Desmodius had a Scrying Pool open and already watching. The resources involved were high, even for some younger gods, but Desmodius was not young. He hadn't been young in a long, long while.

Vasaria reached out with his power to take a peek, and the Demon let him.

"How do your ilk fare?" Vasaria asked, poking around the new Demon Planets. He'd seen them before, but the Scrying Pool made his search easier and more in-depth.

"They are not my ilk, they're barely infants, and you know that." Desmodius dismissed. There was a certain distance between when one ascended to godhood. Mortals felt so different, even if it was the race you had ascended from.

That distance was greater for Demons, as there was already no love lost between the members of their own Race.

"I admit, though, they make it exciting. They've already started expanding." Desmodius grinned and drew the Pool towards the current active battles between the Demons and an assortment of other races.

The Pool split into two, then again into four, and again into eight, just to see all the active battles. Demons against humans, demons against dwarves, demons against spirits. It was a lively time on some of the new Planets.

Well, lively for Vasaria. The people he was watching perish wouldn't consider it so.

"I've noticed," Vasaria said, "Over a dozen tries on a few different Worlds."

"It's not our fault if they invite us in. You'd think they would learn to stop, but they never do." Desmodius smirked, but Vasaria poked around a bit more through the Scrying Pool, pulling a few of the split sections away to view something else. It was much easier to see than his previous poking around while on the move.

There were a few current Demon foot holds on Worlds they were attempting to expand to, but those didn't really draw the eye. Demonic expansion was as common as Elves growing forests or Dwarves carving into mountains.

It was when they ran up against opposition that it became intriguing. Specific opposition, too.

"How fares this Planet, Desmodius?" Vasaria centered the Pool on a Planet he had come to watch more often. It was one of the few worthy of attention.

"Of course you choose that one. Don't even get me started," The Demon huffed, "The Holier-than-thou assholes are already contesting us there. Even the Lightbringer," He spat the word in contempt, "Has dipped a toe into the waters. The bastard Blessed an ant!"

It brought a smile to his face. Vasaria's predictions proved true, as all three Pantheons were making a bid for the same planet. The Angels and Demons got in through their usual manner of being Summoned, but the Lightbringer did so deliberately, through a Blessing. The action wasn't lost on any who took note.

A God giving Blessings to people so... weak, didn't usually happen, but the Faction of Light did so more than any other. It seemed that now that the denizens were D-rank, the Lightbringer was going to try his hand.

Co-opting a previous Religion and twisting it to his whims was something Vasaria should have seen coming.

Vasaria scoffed at the mere thought of Blessing someone so lowly, but the Lightbringer and his tactics were known to reach so low on occasion. Bringing a B-grade world into a Faction's fold also wasn't anything to scoff at.

Even for the top Pantheons. If it worked.

He absently noted that the Planet he was looking at was the same one the holder of Ymir's technique resided upon, but it wasn't anything all that important. At best, the Human would be a D-rank, and he had much further to go to do anything impressive. It was finishing the technique that was all but impossible, not the beginning.

The rest of the Planet was also gearing up to be interesting. After a looksie with the Pool, he noted that the Lightbringer wasn't the only one to start his Blessings so early.

Flameclaw had given one of his ilk a hand and even deigned to help evolve the lizard's Bloodline while he was at it.

"I see Flameclaw found a contender," Vas pointed out.

Desmodius chuckled, "Yes, the lizard managed to evolve into one of his blood. The Blessing was natural after that."

Dragons, Vas lamented in his head. They always did whatever they fancied. Even if it was wasting a Blessing just to see an interesting fight later down the road. Most Dragons weren't so fickle as that, but Flameclaw was one of them. They were a long lived race even before they ascended, which made them even more taciturn or eccentric.

Vasaria stopped the Pool on something interesting. "I didn't expect to see Prydwen's touch here."

Prydwen wasn't like the Lightbringer or Flameclaw. The god didn't usually get involved with integrations like the other two did. He also didn't usually hand out his Blessings so easily and to someone so low. He was usually caught up in his own Kingdom and rarely turned his gaze toward the newly integrated.

"Take a closer look, and you will see the reason. I had the same thought myself before I found out why." Desmodius commented with a hint of distaste.

Vas focused the Pool on the man in question to see a regular human. The region he resided in was nothing special, a generic peninsula that could be found on any Planet. Islands dotted the sea surrounding it, and mountains were strewn here and there.

Listening in, it was apparently called Greece. An odd name, but who was Vasaria to judge? People thought the places of his Homeworld were odd, back when it was still around.

Not seeing anything special in the man's appearance, he scanned him more intently and finally noticed what he was looking for. In his blood sang a Bloodline Vasaria had to recheck just to be sure he wasn't mistaken.

"His blood." Vasaria realized. Now it made sense why Prydwen took note and extended a Blessing. The Bloodline the Human held was rare, even for those in Prydwen's Kingdom, where it was first found. A Human exclusive Bloodline.

"Tch, humans," Desmodius complained. He detested their trait ever since the race had risen to prominence.

Vasaria didn't mind it if it was done honorably. There were a few Kings and Queens of Man, some even High Kings, he'd put down himself for some of their practices. Keeping other enlightened beings as slaves to harvest parts and blood from wasn't right, no matter who was doing it.

The Agreement put most of that behind them, but there were always those pushing the bounds, trying to skirt it. On both sides, too. They were handled harshly and unanimously.

It was hard to keep the grin from forming. Desmodius may despise it, but Vas couldn't help but grow intrigued. Prydwen was also a friend, and seeing him take part in this was going to be interesting to see how it played out.

There were a few other things of note, Blessings by other Gods and the like, but those weren't as interesting to Vas. None of the other Blessings were from people he particularly liked or cared about. Some were by people he didn't even know and he had to prompt Desmodius to figure out which Pantheon or Power the belonged to.

Still, with the Projections he had sent out, he'd see what they amounted to anyway, and it would be fun to watch. One here, with Desmodius to watch the Demon's side, one with the Lightbringer to see the Faction of Light's side. One with the Holy Pantheon, and one with Prydwen.

No matter what, Vasaria would have a front row seat for the action.

He'd send off a fifth to make the rounds, but he knew where the action would be.