A Hope

"A-Are you all right?" said one of the concubines to another who had heard about the child. "I-I.... What are we going to do?" she said, trying to relax. "You know what to do," said another with a serious face.

"But he..." she interrupted. "He's not the same; we don't understand him anymore. We should do something, or things will get worse."

"Do you have any idea?"

"Yes, but you will not like it."

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As the day passed, while they were trying to make a child, they stopped when someone knocked at the door.

"Your Majesty, the Golden Tiger God and the Phoenix Goddess have come personally to call you for The Celestial Conclave. There will be an emergency meeting right now."

Hearing this, they looked at each other, and she nodded, knowing it should be important.

While the two were waiting, they heard an overwhelming voice with a slightly angry tone, as if annoyed to be disturbed.

"You'd better hope it's really important, or else."

"You-" As the Golden Tiger God was about to reply, the Phoenix Goddess interrupted.

cough

The Phoenix Empress cleared her throat and replied with a serious expression, "We're not here to fight. Let's not keep others waiting." She gestured as if ready to fly.

As the trio approached, the figure of the Council began to appear.

High above, in the depths of the sky, rose a magnificent structure. A vast expanse of crystal, perfectly flat, shone like a jewel amidst the endless heavens. On this crystal platform floated six majestic thrones, suspended as if in a divine ballet. Each throne exuded its own unique glory and power. Hanging in the air above the crystal expanse, these six thrones formed a circle in the sky, resembling a celestial dance of the divine beast gods. They represented the sacred space where the Divine Beast emperors met.

When everyone sat down, there was a strange atmosphere. The strongest divine beast, the Primordial Dragon, began to speak, "So? What's the emergency?" The Empress of the Sacred Serpent Race replied with a deep sigh, "We just don't want you to see what's going to happen to her, as you might do something stupid that you'll regret." As he heard the word 'her,' he understood immediately. He didn't have time to think about how they found out. The atmosphere around the Dragon God became so tense as he unleashed his full aura, "You dare!?" As he heard this, the Phoenix Goddess became furious, "How could you do such a thing and dare to humiliate all the divine beasts? I knew you were out of line, but this? How could you do this to your race? To us?"

Without waiting a second, the Dragon God turned to leave when he heard the voice of the Golden Tiger God, "You'd better think twice. We'll only cripple your cultivation as punishment if you admit your foolish act." But that didn't stop him from leaving at full speed.

"Tch, how annoying," the Celestial Nine-Tailed Fox said in an annoyed voice.

When he approached the palace, he saw a bloody figure lying on the ground with human gods. She had been poisoned, and all her internal organs were torn apart. She seemed to be in great pain.

It was the Demon Goddess, and he immediately unleashed his full power with a frightened face. But before he could reach her, a group of dragons blocked him. They were palace guardians, his subordinates, and some of the concubines. The Dragon God, whose head was covered in brain fog, shouted angrily.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

The Celestial Emperor, ruler of the human race and leader of the human gods, said mockingly, "Oh, isn't that our supreme dragon? Look at you now. Couldn't you understand what was going on?" His eyes gleamed with amusement as he surveyed his angry face.

Understanding what was happening, the Dragon God's face turned darker and darker, as if no features could be seen. While he was thinking about what to do, as if time had frozen, suddenly a faint voice with a regretful tone echoed, "I.... I am sorry."

Seeing their affection, the Celestial Emperor and others made a disgusted face while the other divine beasts of the Gods came to the area. One of the human gods asked, "So are you just going to surrender or..." He couldn't finish his sentence as an overwhelming pressure spread throughout the place. Everyone froze as they saw the black aura surrounding the Dragon God. It was not their first time seeing this technique, but it felt completely different; they knew some of the soul dragons used the same, but the person who created the technique was clearly in front of them.

'Soulforge Sacrificial Ascension'

This was a Soul Burning technique that made the user many times stronger for as long as their soul lasted.

It was different from the commonly used Blood Essence burning. It was not something that could be easily recovered; if overused, it could directly kill the user's soul.

He didn't have any time to spend, so he directly moved in front of the Celestial Emperor at full speed.

As the Dragon God struck a devastating blow against the Celestial Emperor, the Royal Palace was thrown into chaos. The other gods sprang into action, their divine powers colliding in a fierce battle against the Dragon God's overwhelming power.

In a swift series of blows, three human gods and the Golden Tiger were heavily injured, their forms crumbling to the ground under the relentless assault of the Dragon God. The dragon continent shook with the intensity of their clash, the very fabric of reality threatened by the unleashed power of the gods.

Amidst the chaos, the Dragon God's focus remained unwavering, his eyes fixed on his fallen love. Sensing that time was running out, he made a decisive move, turning to the Demon Goddess lying nearby.

With a surge of energy, the Dragon God lifted the Demon Goddess from the ground and cradled her in his arms as he prepared to flee. The other gods, stunned by his action, as they were sure she was going to die, could only watch helplessly as the Dragon God vanished into the cosmic winds.

As the Dragon God looked for a place to hide, the Demon Goddess lying in his arm muttered weakly, "...stop...." With a frown, he stopped and turned his head to hear, "...I...am...a...dead..... person...."

"N-"

She placed her hand on his cheek and smiled warmly, "...We...both...." Tears came to the Supreme Dragon's eyes, "...it's ....okay....you....can..."

"W-W-Wh?" As the tears started to flow, he couldn't finish his word.

"...use...your...devour...technique..."

She said. Her voice was weaker than before as she was about to die.

Hearing this, he stopped crying. He frowned at her, searching for an answer. 

He understood that she meant the Chaos Devouring Technique. 

It was his forbidden technique which he could not use every time because he would be vulnerable and unconscious while using, he used a couple of times to heal by devouring others , but now even if she was going to die from the poison and the injuries, he would kill her directly by devouring everything she possessed; moreover, it would kill him directly because her Pshyqiue, her blood, her soul could not be suppressed by him and would try to merge with him. It was not that he cared about dying, and he would die, as the late action he took. But he didn't understand why she asked to use that technique.

While he was pondering, she said with a serious face, "..A..hope…" "…for revenge..."

"..A..child...." she said the last word with affection.

As if struck by lightning, his eyes widened in shock as he looked at her to understand what she meant. He calmed down for a while and said, "A celestial soul." he sighed deeply, then looking into her eyes, he slowly cupped her cheeks and kissed her soft lips. Weakly accepting the kiss, she broke into tears as she was filled with happiness.

Without waiting any longer, she broke the kiss and nodded. 

He started the technique and whispered softly 

"Wait for me."