The Dawn of the New World



Mendax led Hao Xuan through the black gates while explaining the various ranks within the sanctum.

That's what this location was called, The Sanctum. It existed outside the bounds of the known realms, somewhere within the deep void.

No one had managed to explore it in its entirety since there were areas that were far too dangerous even for demigods to enter so it was unknown exactly how big it was.

It was a world of its own by all standards, perhaps even exceeding the size of the Origin Planets which were amongst the largest known terrestrial bodies within the Greater world.

After passing through the first gate, they came across a series of interconnected bridges that each had a gate of its own at the end that Hao Xuan had to pass through.

Throughout their journey, Mendax kept a close eye on him while he gave the details.

"Let's start with the classification of the deities first," he began.

"The 'Old Gods' are more or less countless. Their powers, abilities, and domains of influence can be so minute and exact in some instances that you won't even come across them normally. It's also common for them to die or simply cease existing for one reason or another."

He pulled Hao Xuan to the side after they had crossed the second bridge and pointed at the swirling darkness below. When Hao Xuan focused on the spot he could see a very small floating cube rotating at a very high speed.

"We call these the 'Lower Gods' and since they come and go so often we don't even keep track of them," Mendax continued pulling him along.

"After them, we have the 'Higher Gods' and they are much more powerful. Most of them are capable of existing in the material realms and are able to create some sort of an associated physical form to match their powers."

And right on queue they reached the end of the third bridge where Mendax gestured towards a direction in the far right. Once again Hao Xuan focused his vision and after a few seconds of exploration found what he was looking for.

It was a black tentacle monster with the head of a bird hanging from the top of a mountain peak. It was pulling in clouds of chaos energy from the surroundings and throwing them down its gullet with the help of the twenty or so tentacles.

It also immediately felt Hao Xuan's gaze and responded in kind by making eye contact with him.

Hao Xuan could tell there was some sort of 'fold in space' in between them that acted as a barrier so he was safe as long as he stayed on the bridge but that didn't mean it liked being gawked at.

One of its tentacles shot towards them at breakneck speed but Mendax snapped his fingers and the darkness rolled in again, separating them once more.

Hao Xuan could still feel its tentacle coming towards him from somewhere far away as if he had been 'locked on' by that being.

[Do many Old Gods stay within this darkness?] he questioned.

This was the second one they had come across and perhaps there were a lot more hidden around.

Mendax shook his head, "Just the weak ones. If they are too powerful they will be pulled into 'The Sanctuary' along with the rest."

[The Sanctuary?] Hao Xuan repeated, bewildered by the choice of the name.

That was the official title of the castle he had just come from but it didn't particularly feel like a sanctuary to him...

Only after they passed through the third gate did Mendax continue.

"After the Higher Gods come the 'Great Old Ones'. They are immortal, for the lack of a better word since killing even one is nothing short of a miracle. Since the beginning of time only 13 have ceased to exist. I am sure you came across a few of them on your visit," he winked at Hao Xuan knowingly.

"The Great Old Ones are the main line of defense amongst the Old Gods. Their subjects, vessels, and servants make up the vast majority of the beings within the sanctum. Their abilities are extremely varied and powerful but they are just as ruthless as they are strong."

His voice fell while he recalled the glory of the past.

"In the old times each one of them had countless civilisations under their control but now...now there are only a few hundred thousand followers left."

Hao Xuan was waiting for him to point in another random direction to show off some new cosmic horror but that didn't happen. They passed through the last bridge and came to a stop near a stone platform.

It was embedded in the rocky ground on top of an impossibly large mountain that seemed to go on without end. The area looked like it had been shaved off to make enough space for the stone platform.

Mendax walked around the platform and leaned over the edge to peer into the fast-moving sea of red clouds below.