Son of the Hero King

[Nihil’s Dimension]

In a world filled with crimson light coming from a looming blood moon of ominous proportions, Hypnos was standing in front of Nihil’s cocoon, observing her current state.

She had been healing inside the cocoon since her deadly bout in the Astral realm. However, for some odd reason, her healing speed seemed to have progressed significantly, like a rapid shift in gears.

Still, the state of her recovery was hardly of importance for the reincarnated god.

What bothered him at the moment was something of far higher importance than Nihil's well-being.

“I lost contact with my avatar,” Hypnos muttered as he adjusted his monocle. His expression was still calm but it was hard to hide the tumultuous waves that were visibly shifting in his head, fueling his unease and apprehension.

“So, I was not the only one.” A feminine voice resounded behind him.

“Zwei. Did you finish your task?” Hypnos asked but Zwei simply shook her head.

“I tried establishing my territory in Nihil’s dimension as you suggested but it was a failure. This dimension is not stable enough to contain a territory.”

“A failure, huh…” Hypnos released a sigh. He wasn't disappointed by the outcome. It was something he already expected. Dimension under the control of a Dimensional mage where nothing but Minor space orbiting around the main realms.

The rules and laws inside were incomplete and for that reason, they couldn't support the creation and growth of a new Territory.

Still, it was quite a shame. After all,

“If you try to establish your Territory in the Astral realm, the goddesses will immediately find you.” He said.

Zwei was different from the other believers of Chaos. Titans and the Chaos spawns did not create a territory when they reached the equivalent of the Demigod realm.

This was why they could flee and hide in the abyss with no fear.

But Zwei belonged to the forces of Order initially, and as such was beholden by its law. Unless she established her territory, she would always be considered an incomplete demigod.

“This is troublesome but shouldn't we worry more about the loss of our avatars? Honestly, I am quite surprised by this outcome.” Zwei grinned as she cleaned her ear with her pinky.

She didn't care much about Hypnos' goals and machinations. Truthfully, she didn't care much about becoming a demigod either.

She had already planned to visit the abyss later on and establish a territory there if necessary.

Fighting against the horrors hidden there would be quite a novel experience.

What she cared about at the moment was, “Despite you berating Nihil for her failure, it seems like your grand master plan faced quite the unexpected setback wouldn't you say?”

She cackled out loud like the delinquent she was, “You sacrificed the precious essence of Chaos to convert a Blessed in its entirety but the man is dead for good. We have no divine weapons in our hands. Our Avatar died mysteriously and we do not have the slightest bit of information or clue as to what happened at all.”

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She looked at Nihil, “Meanwhile, the goddesses by now should be more or less aware of your presence and the Mortal realm will be more careful about our approach. Creating another functional Avatar at the demigod level will take a few months and plenty of divine power. Divinity is pretty scarce since no one worships you any longer. A King rank Avatar might do but well, it seems like fodder at this point with what happened to our avatars.”

Hypnos gazed expressionlessly at Zwei. He could see the madness in her eyes. Despite everything she seemed to genuinely enjoy the current situation.

Truly, “You are really a crazy bitch.” He spat with clear distaste.

“I will take this as a compliment coming from you.” Zwei showed no care despite being insulted.

“Say, how do you think our Avatar died? Surely it must have been in an epic way? Besieged by enemies on all fronts, fighting against traps we could not have imagined. Squeezing every last drop of blood and energy until inevitably falling at the end by the endless assault of our enemies. A battle like no other. One worth to be remembered for decades to come.”

The more she spoke, the more excited she became. Hypnos closed his eyes. It seemed like he was only surrounded by dumb and crazy maniacs.

Honorable death? What could be honorable in dying?

Only someone who never died could say something so stupid and distasteful.

He caressed his throat with a determined expression.

He would not die again. He would rise back to the throne of gods and reach true immortality this time around.

But for that, they needed a stronger power. Something that could face even the all-extinguishing power of the End in all its glory.

Otherwise, they would forever live with a shadow of death looming over their lives at every turn. Never knowing if or when Adam would awaken and start his slaughter all over.

“I will send a Duke-level Avatar. I should be able to condense one in a week or so and let it roam the mortal world for some time. We need information. We need to know what happened in this forsaken battlefield and more importantly— we need to decide on our next course of action.”

He gazed at Nihil, still sleeping in her cocoon.

This naive woman was essential in the many plans he had. She was one of the cornerstones he could not afford to let go.

Ideally, he would have preferred to use the seven divine weapons instead but it did not matter.

They would make do with what they had.

“I have no other choice.”

The number of sacrifices necessary to replace the missing divine weapons would be… staggering, to say the least. So much that even if they sacrificed the entire mortal realm, it still might not be close enough.

They needed something more. They needed….

Hum?

A grin split his face as he realized just where they needed to go to find what they required.

The body closest to godhood if the reincarnated gods were not added. The nearly perfect being, created with the image of Chaos in a body that belonged to the forces of Order.

The Mother of Thousands of Monsters.

“We need to unseal Echidna’s body.” He said.

It would take some time, yes.

However, time was hardly a problem for them. They simply had to sink in the shadows while they prepared for what was to come.

You won the first round.

Hypnos thought of the prince of Lustburg. He did not know what the prince had done to annihilate their avatars, but whatever it was, victory was theirs at the moment.

This was something Hypnos had no choice but to accept.

Even so,

“We will be the last ones to laugh.”

He would make sure of it. He would not let a mortal humiliate him a second time.