Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Astral Realm, Star Gods, and Demon Stars
The Astral Realm.
The Absolute God created the Great Mythological World, but the question arises, what lies beyond it? A vast, boundless Sea of Chaos, filled with indescribable dangers and endless worlds. The Greek Pantheon's Mythological World is just one part of it.
This is just one of the countless worlds created by the Absolute God of Chaos, Khaos. However, this might be the largest, which makes it special enough to be called the Great Mythological World.
Under such circumstances, the Great Mythological World cannot come into direct contact with the Sea of Chaos, or it would have long been devoured. Thus, the Astral Realm was formed. The Astral Realm is a vast starry sky on the outskirts of the Great Mythological World, responsible for blocking the dangers from the Sea of Chaos.
At this moment, Hades had arrived at the edge of the Astral Realm. Gazing at the star-speckled yet dark expanse, he didn't dare to step in directly. Instead, he sensed the presence of the Demon Stars. Soon, with a response from the Demon Stars, a wisp of dark purple light guided him into the Astral Realm.
As soon as Hades stepped into the Astral Realm, he immediately felt his divine power being consumed at an alarming rate. This was the uniqueness of the Astral Realm.
The Astral Realm not only prevents external dangers from entering but also stops internal gods from courting death. Without sufficient divine power, entering the Astral Realm is almost certain death. Divine power would deplete rapidly, and once exhausted, the Astral Realm would swallow the intruder, transforming them into a new star.
The countless stars within the Astral Realm, aside from those naturally formed, were actually once adventurous Titan Gods. Before the Titans, there were only eight Ancient Gods, who roamed the Astral Realm freely. But with the birth of the Titan Gods, these new gods had a spirit of exploration.
And the result?
There was no result.
It's worth mentioning.
Each star within the Astral Realm represents a Star God. Star Gods don't belong to the Titan Gods but are considered part of their domain. The reason is simple: the current ruler of Heaven, Sea, and Underworld is the Titan God-King, so the Star Gods are under the Titans. Disobedience means death.
This explains why Hades said the number of Titan Gods is incredibly high. No one knows how many stars exist in the Astral Realm. Besides, the Star Gods don't participate in any wars within the Great Mythological World. They quietly guard the Astral Realm, each star being a small world. To the Star Gods, they are like Creator Gods playing in their own stars, which isn't bad.
After all.
They usually aren't needed, and threats from the Sea of Chaos might appear once in billions of years. As a world within the Sea of Chaos, the Great Mythological World rarely encounters danger.
At this moment, Hades felt fortunate for visiting the Underworld beforehand, where he found numerous divine objects, including those that could quickly replenish divine power.
Otherwise...
He would have perished in the Astral Realm by now. Moving within the Astral Realm is extremely difficult, with divine power consumption a hundredfold or even a thousandfold higher than on land. Fortunately, Hades had naturally grown from a Second-tier God to a True God over the past ten thousand years.
In fact.
Hades' natural growth would be very fast since he was born to be a God-King. He should naturally grow to the level of a God-King, but he currently lacks a crucial core. Thus, he can only reach the peak of a Major God. Without retrieving his core, he can never ascend to higher levels.
As for the original story? Zeus took that core, which is why Hades, one of the three God-Kings, couldn't become a God-King, let alone explore the Ultimate Power or pursue higher levels like the Ancient Gods. He couldn't even reach the Titan Chief God level.
In short.
With the divine objects replenishing him, Hades followed the guidance and, after nearly five hundred years, reached his destination. Dark purple light blossomed, and the once empty starry sky radiated with dark purple light. The star system of Demon Stars welcomed Hades as if their master had returned home.
Hades quickly stepped into the starry sky surrounded by Demon Stars. As soon as he entered, his immense divine power consumption was restored. At the same time, countless divine powers surged into him, quickly replenishing his energy. Not only that, but his level as a True God rapidly rose to the peak of a Major God.
Hades even suspected that if he wasn't missing his core, the vast divine power could have instantly elevated him to the peak of the Titan Chief God level.
"This is the Demon Star!" Hades rarely felt emotional. "This is my destined divine artifact. Only when I reclaim the Demon Star am I truly complete."
Every God-King has their destined divine artifact. When they reclaim it, they are complete. Without any shackles, they become the supreme God-King.
Now.
Hades had retrieved the Demon Star. At this moment, he had reached his theoretical limit. He could feel the terrifying divine power within the Demon Star, seemingly endless.
"Next..."
Hades stood in a dark purple Astral Realm, composed of 108 Demon Stars. He randomly chose a Demon Star and entered it.
Next.
As the master of the Demon Stars, he intended to thoroughly explore them.
___________________
Read Ahead
[email protected]/Mutter