CHAPTER 644

【 A REMINDER 】

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Having obtained the Sword of Damocles, Evé did not linger in the Titan Ruins any longer and instead returned directly to her divine kingdom.

In truth, her decision to descend into the mortal world this time under the guise of Féng was partly because she saw that the players had nearly completed their exploration of the Titan ruins and wanted to retrieve the divine artifact buried within the mausoleum, and partly because she was simply in the mood for a stroll.

It was enjoyable to offer guidance to newcomers she found interesting. They were all her precious “leeks,” after all, so if she nurtured them well, she could reap even more from them in the future.

When Evé returned to her divine kingdom, the three undead bone dragons were already waiting outside the Supreme Temple.

A group of lively elemental fairies fluttered around them, curiously observing the three towering creatures. Some of the bolder ones had even struck up conversations with the dragons.

Mars, the leader of the three, was particularly absorbed in the lively chatter of a golden-haired light-element fairy who was passionately introducing the “Garden of Eden,” the somewhat humorous name Evé had given her divine kingdom.

The three bone dragons appeared quite curious about her divine kingdom. At times, they gazed up at the magnificent, sacred temple; at others, they admired the lush, vibrant flora scattered throughout the domain. The ghostly blue flames within their eye sockets flickered with unmistakable astonishment.

It wasn’t until the flickering, radiant holy light appeared and Evé manifested before them that their attention finally shifted toward her.

Beholding the divine goddess before them, the three bone dragons hastily stepped forward and bowed deeply.

“Your Grace Yggdrasill, you have returned…”

Their tone carried even greater reverence than before, though this did not surprise Eve.

She cast a glance at the now brighter soul flames flickering within their eye sockets and smiled.

“There’s no need for such formalities. Tell me, how are your souls faring?”

Mars, his voice calm yet filled with gratitude, responded,

“We are recovering well, Your Grace. The divine kingdom you have created radiates a most mysterious power—one that greatly accelerates the restoration of our soul flames. I had not imagined such a wondrous realm could truly exist.”

That was, in fact, the very reason their respect for her had grown even deeper.

As ancient beings from a bygone era, these three bone dragons had never truly understood the nature of faith or the purpose of a divine kingdom, nor what such power could accomplish. After experiencing it firsthand, they were left in awe of the wonders of a domain sustained by the power of faith and divine power.

A true god’s divine kingdom is essentially a fusion of the physical and spiritual realms, filled with the energy of faith, which has a profoundly restorative effect on soul-based entities.

And since Evé was the Goddess of Life, the deity most knowledgeable about the laws governing souls, her divine kingdom proved especially beneficial to their recovery.

For the three ancient mythical dragons, whose souls had grown frail after hundreds of thousands of years of confinement, this was nothing short of a miracle.

Naturally, that was precisely why Evé had placed them inside her divine kingdom in the first place—to mend their soul flames and prepare for the restoration of their bodies.

At the same time, she intended to subtly influence their minds through the power of faith that permeated her domain.

After all, faith and divine power suffused every corner of the Garden of Eden, thereby subtly shaping and nurturing the thoughts and emotions of every being that resided within it.

As long as one resided within their Patron Deity’s divine kingdom, Einherjars would gradually merge with the domain itself, while the souls of nonbelievers would also slowly be influenced by its sacred power, thereby eventually becoming believers and aligning themselves with the respective god’s faith.

That being said, Evé did not expect to convert these three bone dragons into her believers purely through the influence of her divine kingdom.

After all, although they were undead, these dragons were still mythical-rank demigods with immense power. Unless they willingly submitted to her, it would be nearly impossible for her to subtly sway them toward her faith.

Nevertheless, she could still subtly nudge their perception of her in a favorable direction.

To properly convert these three, she would leave that task to the players, since she was confident their proselytizing abilities and experience, refined over two years of training, had mastered the art of “persuasion.” Once the dragons regained their physical forms, she would only need to issue a quest and allow the players to handle the rest.

Perhaps she could even turn it into a hidden quest. For instance, any player or guild who managed to successfully deceiv—err or rather, convert these mythical dragons to her faith would receive ten years of the dragon’s protection and be appointed as the guardian of their city.

Eve mused, having already considered the future of the three ancient mythical dragon.

With a gentle smile, she looked at the three bone dragons and said warmly, “Since your souls have now stabilized, come with me.”

Turning, she made her way toward the World Tree at the center of her divine kingdom, which served as the projection of her true body, the core of the Garden of Eden, and the place wherein the divine laws she governed were at their strongest.

It was also the most suitable place to help these bone dragons regain their flesh.

The three nodded and followed obediently, resembling three massive hounds waiting for their meal as they trailed behind Evé toward the radiant illusory World Tree.

Upon arriving beneath it, Eve summoned the Scepter of Life and lightly pointed.

In response, the projection of the World Tree radiated a brilliant light. New green branches sprouted from its trunk, reaching toward the dragons and gently coiling around them.

“Do not resist,” Eve said softly. “You three shall rest for a time, but when you awaken, you will be reborn with your new bodies.”

The dragons nodded and then settled quietly in place, their ghostly blue flames flickering dimly within their hollow eye sockets as they awaited the transformation.

The branches of the World Tree tightened around them, gradually enveloping the dragons and forming three enormous, cocoon-like structures.

Moments later, the branches retracted, leaving the cocoons suspended beneath the trunk of the illusory World Tree, swaying gently as though cradled by invisible hands.

“Reform.”

Evé raised her Scepter once more, directing it toward the three suspended cocoons. Golden light burst forth, cascading over the cocoons in radiant waves. Vitality surged through the air, shimmering like liquid sunlight, as the dragons’ forms began to stir beneath the golden glow.

At the same time, the divine power stored within Eve’s true body flowed outward with unprecedented speed, saturating the surrounding space. The energy pulsed rhythmically, as if resonating with the heartbeat of the World Tree itself, fueling the monumental rebirth that was about to unfold.

A demigod possesses a divine power capacity of up to three hundred units, with more than half of that power inherently concentrated within their physical form, binding their spiritual essence to their body.

Therefore, to resurrect a demigod, one must expend an even greater amount of divine power—at least twice their natural capacity.

Although Eve had gained some understanding of draconic bloodlines by helping the dragons purify their eggs, the constitution of a mythical-rank dragon was still vastly different from that of ordinary dragons.

Had these bone dragons not retained their skeletal forms, with their bones still carrying traces of their original draconic bloodline power, Evé would have found it nearly impossible to reform their bodies.

Even so, reconstructing their physical forms would require an expenditure of at least a thousand units of divine power.

However, considering the long-term benefits of having such powerful allies, it was a worthy investment.

Mythical dragons possessed overwhelming combat strength. Therefore, if they could help her slay even a few demigod-rank demon lords during the upcoming Heavenly-Demonic Crusade, the cost she incurred now would be well worth it.

Furthermore, having such colossal beings on the battlefield would greatly bolster the players’ morale and combat effectiveness.

Apart from everything else, the sheer oppressive aura of a mythical dragon would be enough to strike fear into the masses of demons in its vicinity.

Resolving herself, Evé poured over a thousand units of divine power into the cocoons.

At once, their light intensified, glowing like three small golden suns. Watching the transformation unfold, Eve briefly sensed the time it would take to reform their bodies and frowned slightly.

“Half a year…?”

That was rather long.

After a brief moment of thought, she took out a vial containing mysterious golden blood.

The amount inside had already diminished by a third since she had first obtained it.

Most of the divine blood had been used to analyze the Elven Divinity, allowing her to complete the fragments of knowledge about the elvenkind she inherited through the World Tree.

In addition, she had also granted a single drop to Meryer, helping him strengthen himself in preparation for merging with the Black Dragon racial Divinity.

This time, Eve extracted a dozen more drops of the golden liquid from the vial and cast them into the cocoons.

This divine blood could not only help deities comprehend the laws they govern but could also be used to accelerate the operation of the [Reform] spell.

As the golden blood merged with the cocoons, the surrounding vitality around them grew even more potent.

Evé sensed the change once again and nodded with satisfaction.

“That’s much better. The time has been reduced to a month and a half.”

Now, all that remained was to wait for these three ancient dragons to “hatch” from their cocoons.

Having finished attending to the affairs of the dragons, Evé fell silent for a moment before gently tapping the air.

In response, divine energy coalesced in the space she touched, forming an illusory mirror.

Within the mirror appeared a reflection of a dark castle.

Inside its grand hall, a black dragon lounged lazily upon a golden hoard, yawning contentedly like an oversized orange cat basking on a pillow made of gold coins.

Around it, a dozen busy players worked industriously—some holding steel brushes, others wiping its scales with blankets woven from smuggled golden silk brought from a human merchant—making sure the black dragon’s scales gleamed brilliantly.

It was none other than the increasingly rotund black dragon, Meryer, whose belly was growing ever larger.

Eve’s lips twitched as her voice, calm yet majestic, resonated directly in Meryer’s mind:

“Meryer, how goes your absorption of the golden blood I granted you?”

Startled, Meryer shuddered violently. In a single, fluid motion, he sprang upright from his pile of gold, sending the surrounding players scattering in panic.

“Go, leave—no more scrubbing! This lord requires some alone time! Here, take your rewards and be off!”

As he spoke, Meryer deftly distributed contribution points and dragon saliva rewards to the delighted players, shooing them out of the hall with a wave of his claw. Once the hall was empty, he let out an awkward, sheepish laugh and raised his gaze toward the sky.

“Y-Your Grace, Goddess…”

Eve: “…”

Just one glance at his aura told her everything. This lazy punk had made no progress at all and remained below the Legendary rank.

After a brief silence, she sighed.

“Meryer, I gave you one month to absorb that golden blood and advance to Legendary rank. Otherwise, I may have to consider other options and select another dragon to bestow the Black Dragon Divinity upon.”

With that, she lightly pointed, projecting a vivid vision directly into Meryer’s mind.

It was the image of three massive bone dragons bowing in reverence before her.

The vision vanished as quickly as it came, but Meryer immediately jumped to his feet in alarm.

“W-Who are those bone dragons?! Are they Demigod-rank dragons?!”

His face was filled with disbelief.

“My Lady Goddess, where did you find them? Are you really planning to grant them the Black Dragon divinity?”

Even the laziest of beings could not remain indifferent to the promise of divinity, for obtaining it was not merely a matter of increasing one’s strength, but a crucial step toward ascending to godhood itself.

“That depends on your performance.”

Evé replied coolly.

With that, she severed the connection.

Meryer’s expression shifted several times before he suddenly sprang to his feet and darted out of his castle with the agility of a lizard whose tail had been cut.

Seeing him behave so frantically, the players in charge of roasting his meal were taken aback.

They glanced at the half-cooked bear turning on the campfire and said obsequiously, “Lord Meryer, um… dinner isn’t quite ready yet. Could you wait a little longer?”

But their words were met with a furious roar from the black dragon.

“Out! Out! OUT! I, Lord Meryer isn’t eating tonight! This Lord is going to start training! Hurry, you bootlicking mortals, take that roasted meat and get out of my sight!”

Before they could even react, the black dragon flapped his wings and flew off toward the hill where he usually practiced draconic magic, his tail swaying as he went, leaving the players exchanging bewildered glances.

༺⟐༻

After giving that lazy black dragon a much-needed wake-up call, Eve’s consciousness returned once more to the supreme temple within her divine kingdom.

This time, with a mere thought, she summoned the Titan bloodline power she had obtained earlier.

Though it was called a bloodline power, it was more accurately the manifested essence of a racial law—something that only her, being the Goddess of Life herself could bring into tangible form.

It was not the complete bloodline of the Titans, merely a fragment. Such an amount was far from enough for Evé to “resurrect” an actual Titan.

Of course, she had no intention of reviving those colossal one-eyed beings in the first place.

Instead, she planned to use this bloodline power to enhance the strength of the Behemoths.

With her gaining control of the Desert of Death, the Behemoths residing there had also come under her influence. Many player guilds had taken a liking to these massive, hardworking creatures, adopting them as their magical familiars.

These creatures, bearing faint traces of Titan bloodline, possessed remarkable endurance and defense. Adult Behemoths were at least Silver-ranked beasts, while those with purer bloodlines could even reach Gold rank. Their intelligence also surpassed that of ordinary monsters, making them excellent choices for magical familiars.

Moreover, their robust and tough bodies made them particularly suited for siege warfare, giving them immense potential as instruments of war.

After a moment of consideration, Evé accessed the Exchange Store and added the Titan bloodline power as a new item now available for purchase.

She also added a brief description alongside it:

“Titan Bloodline Power: When applied to a Behemoth, it enhances the creature’s potential and overall strength.

Once purchased, the game system will automatically channel the Titan bloodline power into a Behemoth’s body, empowering it through a divine infusion—provided the beast has already been tamed by a player through a familiar contract within the system.”

Having placed the Titan bloodline power in the store, Evé pondered briefly, then drew out the divine artifact she had recovered from the Titan Mausoleum:

The Sword of Damocles.

The blade shimmered brilliantly, emanating a dominating aura.

“‘Absolute Severance’—the power to cut through anything,” she murmured, narrowing her eyes in contemplation.

From the moment she learned of the sword’s ability, a bold idea had begun to take shape in her mind.

Now, the moment had come to put it to the test.

Grasping the divine artifact, Eve’s form shifted from a mere projection of consciousness into the tangible, fully formed body of a divine incarnation.

Then, with a subtle movement of her will, she departed from her divine kingdom and descended into the mortal realm, toward the depths beneath the World Tree.

She passed through the surface, piercing the earth below, and followed the World Tree’s roots downward until she reached the deepest layer, where her divine roots intertwined most closely with the core of the world of Seigües.

Gazing at the vast, interwoven network of roots, Evé fell into a brief moment of contemplation, weighing the magnitude of what she was about to attempt.

Then, raising the radiant Sword of Damocles high above her head, she swung it down in one decisive stroke.

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