The Monarch

"Ascending to divinity at this moment is wasting your talent for the rest of your life," Kayden said, sitting as she watched Jordan slaughter some random mortals they had encountered along the way. The mage's talent was insane.

"I still have much room to grow, but I feel divinity is only a single step away. I can ascend whenever I want— as simple as breathing," the young dragon replied.

"Divinity right now would be natural, but being natural means being trapped by the ceiling your talent presents you." Kayden was certain Jordan could easily become a second- or even third-level god simply by breathing and growing normally. But in Atherion, that would be nothing extraordinary. He would just be another among a sea of gods.

"I understand." Jordan would have become a god immediately after massacring that city if he had not been completely destroyed by Kayden in a single move. His arrogance was not without foundation, but his ignorance came simply from his lack of life experience.

The two had been traveling together for several months. For Kayden, it was nothing more than a single breath, while for Jordan, those had been long months of travel and training. Years passed, and without realizing it, Jordan grew at an astonishing pace.

Kayden stayed alert at all times, closely following the boy's growth. His soul was strange, the way he gained power simply inexplicable. Strength came to him constantly, even while he slept. Combined with his relentless will to improve his strength, he grew at a terrifying speed.

Another thing that motivated him each time was witnessing Kayden's strength in action. From his perspective, it was simply incomprehensible for a mortal to be that strong. Second-level gods weren't even opponents for Kayden at that moment—he could massacre them completely. There had not been a single time when Kayden was incapable of killing a god.

There was no mercy in any of his battles. He never bowed his head, no matter how many gods stood on the other side. Little by little, admiration for him grew inside Jordan.

"We are about to enter a relatively large city now. Don't go picking fights for no reason," Kayden warned, staring firmly at the boy in front of her. Jordan was not exactly the calmest of mages.

"Understood, Master Kayden." This was the boy's first experience in a truly large city. Most of the time, they had only passed through some small settlements that Kayden didn't even consider cities.

At this moment, they were walking through an extensive area of black sand. The city stretched for billions upon billions of kilometers. There were trillions of inhabitants and houses, all following a low-rise architectural style with vast underground extensions. It was amusing to see such an enormous city without tall buildings.

Kayden could feel the presence of gods everywhere—millions of them. This truly was a great city. He had already gathered some information: the area was controlled by an ancient family of mages. Every member of this family was required to become a god by the age of one thousand, or else be executed immediately.

This caused an extremely high turnover in their lower ranks. Most mortals were capable of reaching the divine level in that time with the family's resources. The real problem lay in the next stages: they had to become second-level gods within only one million years, and third-level gods within a single trillion years.

It was an extremely short time for the last two steps. At that point, average talent simply could not bring mages to such heights. Only those with true talent could rise to the top of the organization. The real issue was that it took tens to hundreds of trillions of years before gods capable of reaching that level of strength would appear.

"The mortals…" Jordan couldn't find the right word, but Kayden completed the thought for him.

"They're pathetic, aren't they?" Kayden smiled at Jordan's disgust. "They are mages who simply accepted living a mediocre life, protected by the laws of a city. Their risk of death is low, so they only do odd jobs to pay for their stay."

It was amusing that in a world without magic, mortals worked simply to eat. But since almost everyone here could reach the peak of the mortal realm in one way or another, food wasn't the main necessity. The people's greatest need was safety, something only the largest cities could provide to mages.

"Some of them are strong," Jordan noted. He could perceive the number of organizations present in this city within just a few meters. It didn't take much effort for him to see high-level mortals everywhere.

Before Kayden could continue the conversation, a thunderous sound echoed through the city. It was strong enough to stop everything. Kayden and Jordan seemed to be the only ones confused, as nearly everyone else began rushing toward the city center for the event that was about to begin.

"Let's go." Kayden followed the crowd. He had absolutely nothing better to do at that moment. It took only a few seconds for him to arrive at a spatial bubble. Once inside, the space expanded nearly infinitely.

Dozens of establishments offered seats and food to mages. One by one, they filled up. They weren't just a few; billions of establishments of different levels catered to all kinds of people. Some sold cheap beer for poor mortals who had nothing, while others offered divine liqueurs cultivated for billions of years.

Everything depended on one's social standing and strength. Kayden followed his instincts, walking aimlessly for a few minutes until he came across a restaurant that was an immense garden of blue flowers. It had only a few dozen people, a tiny number compared to the thousands filling every other place.

Each god in that place had terrifying strength. They all chatted calmly and seemed to know each other. It felt more like a private environment. But there was a very specific sign at the entrance, something that made Kayden enter without a second thought:

"Only those who are unafraid to leave are permitted entry."