The gazes of the deities of the Astral Plane fell upon the crown of thorny flowers atop the head of the silver dragon, stunned by Garon's request.
Undoubtedly, Garon's demand was audacious.
The Astral Plane is unlike ordinary outer planes; it's one of the largest and most expansive.
The Astral Plane, the Sea of Chaos, and the Abyss are the three largest outer planes. The environments of the Sea of Chaos and the Abyss have limitations, but the Astral Plane allows for unrestricted movement, holding significant strategic value. Many common planar transportation spells use the Astral Plane as a transit point.
The Astral Plane is home to many intelligent species.
However, throughout history, there has never been a ruler of the Astral Plane.
Garon understood what it meant to be the ruler of the Astral Plane and the difficulty of his request.
The silver dragon blinked and added, "It doesn't have to be the Astral Plane. Any complete outer plane would suffice. I'm not picky."
Indeed, he wasn't picky.
Yet, becoming the ruler of any plane is no easy task.
"I have shaped the rules of many planes in the multiverse."
"However, with the passage of time, these rules have evolved on their own, becoming unfamiliar to me."
"But one thing remains constant."
"Every plane has a core. If you can find and control this core, you have a chance to become the ruler of that plane."
This approach is rather forceful.
To control the core, one must subdue the plane's will rather than earn its acceptance.
Gaining the plane's acceptance often requires fulfilling many conditions set by the plane's will.
"You wish to become the ruler of the Astral Plane. I can help you find the core of the Astral Plane, but it will take time to fulfill. Subduing the core and gaining the plane's will's acceptance will ultimately depend on your own strength."
The Nine-Faced Dragon God smiled slightly as he spoke, not questioning Garon's desire to become the ruler of the Astral Plane.
In fact, according to Garon's request, the Nine-Faced Dragon God could have helped him become the ruler of other outer planes much more easily. However, he did not choose the simpler option.
"Thank you, Chief God."
Garon had heard of the concept of a plane's core.
It has no fixed form or location, elusive and hard to pinpoint. Many powerful entities have tried to find a plane's core but failed, which is why there are so few plane rulers.
Given the vastness of the Astral Plane, finding its core is even more challenging.
Even for the Nine-Faced Dragon God, locating the Astral Plane's core would require significant time and effort.
"Anything else? Besides wanting to be the ruler of the Astral Plane, since that is a reward that cannot be immediately fulfilled."
The Nine-Faced Dragon God's tone remained gentle as he asked.
Upon hearing this, the other gods displayed envious expressions.
Naming Garon as the champion was a fair decision.
But now, the generous rewards offered to Garon revealed the Nine-Faced Dragon God's personal favor, even willing to seek out the core of the Astral Plane for him instead of opting for an easier alternative, which showed his partiality.
The Nine-Faced Dragon God did not hide his favor towards Garon.
As the leader of the gods, he had no need to conceal his intentions.
Initially, Garon wanted to refuse, feeling that his request to become the ruler of the Astral Plane was already quite extravagant.
However, before Garon could decline, the Nine-Faced Dragon God added, "Don't refuse. This is a reward for being the Dawn Champion. The Pantheon will not shortchange any god who has contributed to maintaining order in the multiverse."
Refusing would be somewhat inappropriate.
Rewarding Garon generously served to uplift this rising star of the dragon pantheon and encourage the other gods.
Looking at the gentle smile on the Nine-Faced Dragon God's face, Garon nodded slightly and said, "I have a divine avatar, as you know. Its divine rank has reached fifteen, placing it among the top-tier intermediate gods, just one step away from becoming a powerful deity."
Pausing for a moment, Garon continued, "My final request is to elevate the Time Dragon God to the status of a powerful deity."
The Nine-Faced Dragon God's face remained calm, his voice soft. "It's only a matter of time before he becomes a powerful deity. With the Pantheon's support, his elevation can be achieved immediately."
Elevating a deity's rank, especially to the level of a powerful god, is no easy feat.
However, since the Time Dragon God was already progressing toward becoming a powerful deity, this could be accomplished more easily.
As for how to elevate a deity's rank?
There are primarily two methods: bestowing more domains or increasing the intensity of belief.
When not merged with the main Garon, the Solar Domain is managed by the Time Dragon God. Additionally, the Time Dragon God holds other domains, so there's no need for further enhancement in this aspect.
Regarding faith, most mortals do not distinguish between Garon's main form and the Time Dragon God.
Many beings attribute Garon's achievements to the Time Dragon God, which is why his faith level is on the verge of entering the powerful god threshold.
Once the Nine-Faced Dragon God issues a decree, mobilizing the Pantheon, and the gods collectively guide and increase faith in the Time Dragon God, he can naturally step into the ranks of powerful deities.
This is one of the efficiencies brought by the Pantheon's unification of the gods.
When the gods unite to guide the faith of countless beings, they can elevate a subordinate deity's rank.
In the second Dawn War, some gods were promoted from minor to intermediate status primarily due to the Pantheon's control over the direction of faith.
In the past, a divine pantheon could promote lesser gods through internal cooperation. However, with the establishment of the Pantheon, the combined efforts of the gods now hold enough power to elevate a top-tier intermediate deity, provided there is a corresponding massive amount of merit since this requires concentrating many resources of the Pantheon. It cannot be given lightly.
"Thank you for the Chief God's reward."
Garon nodded slightly.
If the Time Dragon God could successfully enter the realm of powerful deities, merging with this avatar would grant Garon more strength in his complete form.
… Once, when I created the avatar of the Time Dragon God, my initial idea was to separate extraordinary power and godlike power, advancing together and reaching greatness with the divine avatar... Unknowingly, I have achieved my wish and am about to complete this goal... Garon mused silently.
"You deserve it."
The Nine-Faced Dragon God smiled faintly.
With the rewards for Garon confirmed, the Nine-Faced Dragon God looked around, his expression gradually becoming solemn.
"It has been over three hundred years since the end of the second Dawn War."
"It was a brutal war, one for which we paid a heavy price to barely win."
"I believe the events during the Dawn War are still fresh in everyone's minds."
For some ordinary intelligent beings, the cataclysm that struck the Prime Material Plane might have faded from memory over the centuries. But for the long-lived species, the grim war still lingered in the dark recesses of their minds, not to be uncovered lightly. To the gods, the second Dawn War felt as recent as yesterday.
"The Primordial God lay dormant for ages, returning to incite the second Dawn War."
"We failed to anticipate this and were caught off guard, leading to the heavy losses we suffered."
The Nine-Faced Dragon God paused and exchanged a glance with the stern and imposing Heavenly Emperor.
Then, with calm eyes, the Nine-Faced Dragon God looked at the assembled deities and continued, "To prevent a recurrence of a disaster like the second Dawn War, to uphold the Pantheon's majesty, and to ensure the eternal glory of the gods..."
"From now on, I, along with the Supreme Deities of various realms, will lead the Pantheon to systematically eradicate the hidden threats lurking within the multiverse."
Upon hearing this, the gods showed subtle reactions, starting to grasp the purpose of the Nine-Faced Dragon God's convocation of the Pantheon.
The grand gathering of the deities in the Pantheon was evidently not just to honor Garon. The Nine-Faced Dragon God wouldn't convene the Pantheon for such a matter; a simple communication between avatars would have sufficed.
"The Abyss, since its inception, has been a malignant scourge upon the multiverse."
The Nine-Faced Dragon God's voice was steady and calm.
"The evil emanating from the Abyss is uncontrollable, constantly eroding numerous planes and causing significant harm to the multiverse's operations."
"If we do not bring the Abyss under control, sooner or later, it will trigger another catastrophe, one no less devastating than the second Dawn War, perhaps even worse."
Seated at the head of the Pantheon, the World-Shaping Dragon surveyed the room, his gaze stern. "Following the defeat of the Primordial God, the Pantheon's next crucial target is the Abyss."
The dragon pantheon has never been known for waiting passively for threats to manifest.
The wars with the elven and giant pantheons were mostly initiated by the dragons.
Rather than wait for the Abyss to strike, it's better to seize the current chaos in the Abyss and take the initiative to secure the future.
"What say you all? Are you willing to continue following the Pantheon in purging the Abyss and eliminating this latent danger?"
Seated closest to the two top-tier gods was the high council of gods. The Elven Chief Deity, Corellon, spoke first. "The Abyss has always been a
threat that the gods cannot ignore, but it was impossible to tackle due to a lack of leadership."
Before the Pantheon was established, without a leader with sufficient influence and resolve, a campaign against the Abyss was unlikely to succeed.
"Now, with the guidance of His Majesty Aeon and His Majesty Haotian, the elven gods are willing to take the lead in the Abyssal campaign!"
The elven pantheon collectively expressed their support for the assault on the Abyss.
"The orc pantheon, the fey pantheon, the dwarf pantheon... all stand ready to follow the lead of the Pantheon."
Various pantheons declared their stance, and independent gods without pantheon affiliations also voiced their agreement for the campaign against the Abyss.
The gods were all aware of the Abyss's potential threat. The Primordial God and the Abyss were the two major threats capable of undermining the gods' dominion. With the Primordial God dealt with, the remaining threat was the Abyss.
Once the Abyss is successfully subdued by the Pantheon, the gods' rule over the Grand Multiverse will reach its zenith, ushering in a more glorious and prosperous era with a firmly established dominance.
The atmosphere within the Pantheon grew increasingly enthusiastic.
Some gods expressed a desire to descend upon the Abyss immediately, to start their crusade against the demons, subdue the Abyss, and remove the last obstacle to divine rule.
Bolstered by their victory in the second Dawn War, the gods' morale was high, eager to capitalize on their momentum to secure the Abyss.
"Everyone, please remain calm."
"Before launching a full-scale campaign against the Abyss, there are some scores from the second Dawn War that need to be settled."
A smile played on the Nine-Faced Dragon God's face, but his gaze was sharp and piercing as he spoke.
"The Queen of Air and Darkness, the Lord of Earth Elementals, the God of Heart's Devourer, and the Demon Queen of Spiders... those who attacked us during the second Dawn War cannot be allowed to escape."
During the second Dawn War, some malevolent gods, believing that the Pantheon and the Primordial God would be evenly matched and likely to suffer mutual destruction, attempted to exploit the conflict for their own gain, either by creating chaos or directly attacking the gods.
Unexpectedly, the Pantheon and the Primordial God did not end up destroying each other.
While the Pantheon did pay a price, they ultimately defeated the Primordial God, and the price they paid was not irreversible. Over time, it would naturally recover and wasn't overly severe.
Thanks to the Pantheon's existence, under its governance and coordination, the gods who had fallen during the second Dawn War were gradually being reborn and restored.
Much strength has already been regained.
The Sun and Flame God had been slain by the Eternal Sun.
Over the past three hundred years, several minor and intermediate malevolent gods had been dealt with.
Now, the focus remained on four powerful deities.
Among them, the Queen of Air and Darkness, the Lord of Earth Elementals, and the God of Heart's Devourer are ancient and formidable, while the Demon Queen of Spiders ascended to a higher rank just before the second Dawn War.
The Demon Queen of Spiders, Lolth, is the fallen deity of the drow.
Originally, she was an intermediate god.
Ironically, her elevation was partly due to the dragon pantheon.
After the war between dragons and elves, the first step in the resurgence of dragons resulted in the elves' crushing defeat. Millions of elves lost their homes on the Prime Material Plane, retreating to Arvandor under the relentless assault of the draconic legions.
The war's damage led to a decline in trust towards the elven gods, coupled with the covert influence and seduction of the Demon Queen of Spiders. Shortly after the war with the dragons, there was a massive fall of elves into darkness.
By usurping the faith of the elven gods, the Demon Queen of Spiders ascended to the rank of a powerful deity.
During the second Dawn War, the Demon Queen of Spiders attempted to assassinate Corellon, the chief elven deity. However, due to his considerable power and vigilance against the Demon Queen, her attempt failed.
The Elven Chief Deity had always known that the Demon Queen of Spiders would never miss a chance to kill him.
The gods despised those who had betrayed them during the war, and discussions on how to deal with these traitors were soon underway.
Before long, a consensus was reached among the gods.
The four powerful deities had no alliances among themselves. To deal with them, the Pantheon, leveraging its capabilities, could gather the gods and directly assault their divine realms.
Among them, the Lord of Earth Elementals and the God of Heart's Devourer were stronger, while the Queen of Air and Darkness and the Demon Queen of Spiders were somewhat weaker.
The gods decided to deal with the Queen of Air and Darkness and the Lord of Earth Elementals first.
Since the God of Heart's Devourer and the Demon Queen of Spiders resided in the Abyss, after dealing with the Queen of Air and Darkness and the Lord of Earth Elementals, they could use the pretext of resolving internal divine affairs to enter the Abyss, capture these two malevolent gods, and test the Abyss's reaction before the full-scale campaign begins.
After further discussions, the gods finalized the specifics regarding the assault on the divine realms, including the strategy, timing, and the powerful deities who would participate.
With the plans in place, the gods returned to their divine realms to prepare for the upcoming reckoning with the malevolent gods.
In conclusion, the Pantheon's meeting reaffirmed the current peaceful state of the multiverse, setting the primary agenda to prevent cosmic calamities, with the primary goal of subduing the Abyss. It also established the need to settle scores with the four powerful malevolent deities as an essential task.
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