The 89th layer of the Abyss, the Shadow Sea.
In this eternally dark, gray world lies an infinite expanse of pitch-black water, resembling shadows. Here, the faint wails of countless spirits, vengeful souls, and ghostly fish can be heard.
A faint and flickering beam of moonlight descended through the space, reaching the surface of the Shadow Sea. However, the heavy, motionless water obstructed it, preventing a precise lock on the Dread Lord. Instead, it could only illuminate a broader area.
Six gods hovered in the sky, gazing down at the still, unruffled expanse of the Shadow Sea, which appeared as calm and stagnant as dead water.
Divine radiance emanated from each god's body, casting light into the gray and gloomy sky, momentarily bringing some vibrant hues to the Shadow Sea.
"Lord Aio, Lord Celestial Emperor."
"The Shadow Sea is not an ordinary layer of the Abyss. The abyssal-infused waters here will weaken us further."
"However, the Ancient God of the Deep has his lair in the Shadow Sea."
"Do we continue to press on? Both the Dread Lord and the Ancient God of the Deep are gravely injured."
The Shadow Sea is a potent layer of the Abyss, where the deep, bottomless ocean poses dangers even to deities.
"No need to delve deeper into the Shadow Sea; we'll keep them pinned in the ocean."
The two supreme gods agreed.
This Second Dawn War had claimed countless divine lives, with even deities suffering heavy casualties.
The war's outbreak was closely tied to the Ancient God of the Deep and the Dread Lord.
The Ancient God of the Deep had been the spiritual leader, orchestrating the primordial gods' resurgence, while the Dread Lord had been their martial champion, resisting the combined forces of the gods.
If they could seal away the Ancient God of the Deep and the Dread Lord, the primordial gods would lose their backbone, making a third Dawn War highly unlikely.
Focusing on the area locked by the Silver Jade Disc, all six gods prepared to strike, their supernatural powers surging within them.
The Nine-Faced Dragon God was the first to act.
From his multifaceted head, which embodied all dragon traits, his dragon jaws opened slowly.
The Nine-Faced Dragon God inhaled deeply, drawing in invisible chains of rules laden with heavy abyssal energy, transforming them into a corrosive power.
Rule Breath: Abyssal Breath.
Infused with abyssal laws, the breath took on a dark purple hue, staining the gray space of the Shadow Sea. Enhanced by the abyssal plane, it surged forward, evaporating the ocean and creating a bottomless black hole.
Almost simultaneously, the Celestial Emperor attacked as well. Wielding the Heavenly Sword, he slashed continuously, each strike carving rifts into the Shadow Sea that stretched infinitely, dividing the ocean. As the waters vaporized, the surrounding sea slowly converged, creating a strange and mesmerizing sight.
The Elemental Lords of Wind and Fire, along with the Elven and Fairy Chief Gods, also launched their assaults.
Their massive, overwhelming attacks stirred the previously calm Shadow Sea into turmoil, vaporizing billions of tons of seawater.
Under the combined, unrestrained onslaught of the six powerful gods, the Shadow Sea could no longer bear the strain.
The sheer force of so many gods unleashing their full power exceeded the capacity of a single layer of the Abyss, even one as vast as the Shadow Sea.
Crack! Crack!
Visible, lightning-like fractures spread across the space. The Shadow Sea layer seemed like a porcelain vessel riddled with cracks, ready to shatter at the slightest touch.
Beneath the heavy waters, in the depths of the Shadow Sea, the Dread Lord and the Ancient God of the Deep felt the turbulent, vortex-like currents. An involuntary tension gripped their hearts, making it impossible to maintain their composure and calm.
Both primordial beings were in dire straits, gravely injured and on the brink of collapse. The Shadow Sea was their last refuge. If they couldn't find safety here, fleeing to other layers of the Abyss would be futile against the relentless pursuit of the gods.
Currently, it seemed no demon lord was willing to offer them aid.
Even the demon princes of the Abyss were unwilling to provoke the supreme gods. They had their own internal conflicts to manage and didn't want to invite new, powerful enemies, which would be akin to self-destruction.
Moreover, rescuing the Dread Lord and the Ancient God of the Deep offered little benefit to the demon lords. The primordial beings sought to return the multiverse to its original, chaotic state, whereas the demons aimed to consume the outer planes with the Abyss, making it the sole reality.
Their goals were fundamentally incompatible, making them adversaries rather than allies.
"This Great Ring Multiverse is incredibly powerful..."
Feeling the upheaval in the Shadow Sea, the Ancient God of the Deep, hidden in a submarine canyon, thought to himself in a moment of crisis.
"... Countless ages have passed since I followed the Lady of Pain into the Great Ring Multiverse... When will the rulers of the Old Universe hear my call and bring the Great Ring under their dominion?"
The Ancient God of the Deep was one of the foreign deities mentioned by the Lady of Pain, not originally from the Great Ring Multiverse.
In the Old Universe, the Ancient God of the Deep was a cosmic ruler, one of many overlords.
During the conquest of the Lady of Pain's multiverse, the Ancient God of the Deep pursued her into the Great Ring Multiverse.
In the primordial era of the Great Ring Multiverse, the primordial gods and the newly emerging deities vied for dominance.
During the First Dawn War, the Ancient God of the Deep recognized the deep-rooted power of the Great Ring Multiverse—a formidable finite multiverse, many times larger than typical finite multiverses.
After arriving in the Great Ring Multiverse, the Ancient God of the Deep posed as a primordial being, quietly gathering intelligence about the Great Ring while attempting to communicate with the overlords of the Old Universe, hoping to relay information back.
Unfortunately, something seemed amiss in the Old Universe. The overlords had fallen into slumber and had yet to respond to the Ancient God's calls.
In the meantime, while waiting for a response from the Old Universe's overlords, the Ancient God of the Deep, now a foreign entity deep within enemy territory, strategized ways to weaken the Great Ring Multiverse from within.
After careful consideration, the Ancient God set his sights on the defeated primordial beings.
He positioned himself as their spiritual leader, guiding the inherently antagonistic primordial beings to reignite the Second Dawn War, hoping for a mutual destruction scenario between the primordial gods and the new deities.
If both sides could be significantly weakened or even annihilate each other, it would ease the eventual invasion by the Old Universe's overlords.
However, events did not unfold as the Ancient God had hoped.
The gods emerged victorious. Despite suffering some losses, they secured a decisive win in the Second Dawn War, far from the mutual destruction the Ancient God had envisioned.
For instance, top-tier deities like the Nine-Faced Dragon God and the Celestial Emperor remained unscathed.
Moreover, the Goddess of White Night and the Goddess of Black Night, despite their internal conflicts and the drop in their power levels, managed to regain much of their strength during the war.
And then there was Garon Aurelian, the Eternal and Time Dragon, whose multiverse-spanning dragon legion posed a growing threat, continually expanding in strength and potential. These would be the Old Universe's greatest obstacles in the future.
"The establishment of the Pantheon under the leadership of the Dragon God system has successfully subdued the primordial gods. Although the gods have suffered some casualties, they are poised for greater development and prosperity in the future."
"Sooner or later, unless something unforeseen happens, the Great Ring Multiverse will unify under the Dragon God system... At that point, the Old Universe, vertically connected to numerous finite multiverses, will face a significant threat from the Great Ring."
"... This multiverse-spanning dragon legion... Damn it! Without them, the prime material plane would have shattered, leading to mutual destruction between the primordial gods and the deities."
The Ancient God of the Deep's face grew grim, shrouded in an indescribable darkness.
The Old Universe is a unique finite multiverse, vertically aligned with the infinite multiverse, making it the closest and most accessible to other finite multiverses.
In the vast darkness of the infinite multiverse, due to mutual distrust and a thirst for resources from other multiverses, encounters between finite multiverses often result in one devouring the other or mutual destruction.
Peaceful coexistence and collaboration are rare and can almost be ignored.
The Ancient God of the Deep had encountered numerous finite multiverses, and among them, the Great Ring Multiverse stood out. This was despite the internal disunity within the Great Ring, with frequent conflicts between gods and quasi-divine beings.
If the Great Ring Multiverse were to unify and then come into contact with the Old Universe, it would spell disaster... a scenario the Ancient God of the Deep wished to avoid.
Regrettably, the Second Dawn War orchestrated by the Ancient God did not cripple the Great Ring Multiverse. Instead, it led to the resurgence of the Nine-Faced Dragon God, establishing the Dragon God system's dominance and founding the Pantheon. Once the damage from the Second Dawn War is healed, the gods' power in the Great Ring Multiverse will reach a new peak.
Boom!
In the tumultuous Shadow Sea, the Dread Lord broke through the surface, besieged by the six gods. His injuries multiplied, his movements slowed, and his once formidable aura waned.
Sim
ultaneously, another faint beam of moonlight pierced through the planes, illuminating a different part of the Shadow Sea.
"Aio, Celestial Emperor, and all gods who have ventured into the Abyss."
"The Ancient God of the Deep is hiding here. Let's take this opportunity to eliminate both the Dread Lord and the Ancient God, ensuring the primordial beings can never rise again."
The gentle, clear voice of the Goddess of White Night reached the ears of the six gods.
In the depths of the Shadow Sea, amidst the rolling, chaotic waves, the Nine-Faced Dragon God, the Elemental Lords of Wind and Fire, and the Chief Gods of the Elves and Fairies continued their relentless assault on the Dread Lord.
The Celestial Emperor, however, turned his gaze towards the area where the Ancient God of the Deep was hiding. His cold, amethyst-golden eyes glowed with divine light, and the Heavenly Sword in his hand gleamed with sharpness.
Through the heavy waters, the Celestial Emperor's piercing eyes seemed to lock onto the Ancient God of the Deep, even piercing through the surrounding shadows to reveal his true form.
Heaven and Earth in Harmony, the Center of All Realms!
Behind the Celestial Emperor, a mystical ring, seemingly at the center of the entire Great Ring Multiverse, began to rotate.
The Central Ring shifted space, lifting the endless, heavy waters of the Shadow Sea into the air, revealing the canyon depths below.
With the waters of the Shadow Sea suspended, the Ancient God of the Deep was exposed, his heart filled with dread.
A premonition of death hung over the Ancient God.
In the prime material plane, where the rules applied equally to gods and quasi-divine beings, the Ancient God of the Deep could still contend with the Celestial Emperor. However, on outer planes, the Ancient God was no match for him.
In the Old Universe, the Ancient God of the Deep was not among the supreme rulers but was a leading entity, comparable to a quasi-divine being of level 19, just a step away from level 20. Under the Great Ring Multiverse's suppression, he was reduced to barely level 19.
This difference, seemingly small, was an insurmountable chasm.
Meanwhile, the Celestial Emperor gazed coldly down at the Ancient God of the Deep, his body igniting with purple-gold flames, his divine majesty awe-inspiring and unassailable.
Purple-gold supernatural power infused the Heavenly Sword, its edge concealed but its danger at its peak. To the Ancient God, it felt as if a blade was already at his throat, sharp and chilling.
Dark Abyss!
Black, shadow-like water materialized out of thin air, boundless and swirling between the Ancient God of the Deep and the Celestial Emperor. It emitted a cacophony of maddening whispers, mutterings, and wails, like an abyss that could devour the minds and spirits of all beings.
Any ordinary being, even a legend or demigod, who looked into this abyss would have their soul consumed instantly.
The Celestial Emperor, his will unbreakable, remained unfazed, though his brow furrowed slightly.
He swung his arm, locking onto the Ancient God of the Deep and slashing through the air.
Heavenly Sword, Banish All Evil!
Sizzle!
For a moment, time seemed to stand still.
In the next second, the purple-gold sword light cut through the Shadow Sea, cleaving the Dark Abyss and flashing across the Ancient God of the Deep's body.
The shadows twisting around the Ancient God froze.
He lifted his head, staring with deep hatred at the impassive Celestial Emperor.
"Asathoth, Zyg'gha, Mn'gha, K'thga..."
"If you can hear my call, O rulers of the Old Universe, awaken from your eternal slumber."
"Open your eyes and gaze upon this ununified Great Ring Multiverse. Destroy it and avenge me!"
"..."
Crack! Crack! Purple-gold sword marks crisscrossed the Ancient God's body.
At the same time, on the brink of death, the Ancient God's inner voice calling out to the Old Universe reached an unprecedented intensity, reaching out through his connection with the gods of the Old Universe, leaving the Great Ring Multiverse.
"Asathoth, Zyg'gha, Mn'gha, K'thga..."
"Asathoth! Zyg'gha! Mn'gha! K'th..."
The desperate call was abruptly cut off.
Along the purple-gold sword marks, the Ancient God's body disintegrated, collapsing into fragments, his most subtle consciousness plunged into darkness, devoid of thought.
"It was you, after all, the evil god from the outer universe."
The Celestial Emperor's eyes narrowed slightly, catching a faint whisper from the Ancient God of the Deep that transcended multiversal boundaries in his dying moments.
His expression grew even graver.
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