The dark, deep cave was like an eternal abyss that swallowed all light.
Even Ignis Scorrath—no, he should now be called "Obsidian," a name that had echoed in the system's prompts for countless years.
Even when Obsidian opened his eyes, all he saw was the same old darkness.
It wasn't that he wanted to leave; it was that he couldn't.
Just like every morning throughout these countless years—if there even was such a thing as "daytime" in this damned place—as soon as he dared to step out of the cave entrance, an indescribable fear would surge into his heart like a raging tide, as if something in the world was waiting for him, and once he went out, utter annihilation awaited him.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host Obsidian, for completing the final daily quest [Meditate in Darkness · Year 5672]. Reward: Divine Power Shard × 1."
The familiar mechanical female voice interrupted Obsidian's contemplation.
He paused slightly, then felt a strange sense of lightness spread throughout his limbs, and even the Shadow Power within him quietly surged.
"Today's system, why is its voice so... gentle?"
"Ding! The quest chain [Trial] has been fully completed. The system is about to initiate shutdown procedures. Thank you, Host, for your cooperation and efforts over five millennia. As a parting gift, you are now awarded: [Demiplane] × 1."
"?!"
Obsidian was completely stunned.
Wait, wait a minute, after more than five thousand years, the system that treated him like a working dragon was actually saying it was going to run away?!
"I still don't even know who I am, System, don't leave!" Obsidian roared instinctively, his deep, metallic dragon roar shaking the entire cave slightly. Crushed rocks rattled down from the ceiling.
However, the system's prompt remained devoid of any emotional fluctuation:
"Ding! Compensation has been fully distributed. Disconnecting soon—"
"Detecting Host has reached the Divinity Ascension Threshold."
"Opening [Divinity Panel]..."
Along with the last sentence, a torrent of bright information suddenly poured into Obsidian's consciousness.
The scorching information stream surged into his mind like a flood, and Obsidian felt a dizzying sensation, as if his soul was being torn apart and reassembled.
He abruptly threw his head back and let out a roar of pain, the sound wave a sky-shattering dragon's cry that penetrated the earth's veins and shook mountains.
In that instant, his body began to change dramatically.
First, bone reconstruction.
Each vertebra emitted a dull clicking sound, gradually being enveloped by black-gold light, transforming from a rough, rocky texture into something like iron and jade, as if it were the divine bones forged by a master craftsman.
Next, scale metamorphosis.
His originally dull and coarse dragon scales, under the baptism of divine power, peeled off one by one, only to be reborn one by one.
The newborn scales were like starlight armor shining in the deep night, with mysterious golden patterns interwoven on their surface, resembling dragon script and divine decrees.
It was no longer the scales of an ordinary black dragon, but the shell of a god.
Then, bloodline surging.
The dragon blood that had been dormant within him, stimulated by some power, ignited and began to circulate wildly. He could feel his will roaring in the depths of his bloodline—
You are no longer a mortal dragon.
Finally, the awakening of the heart core.
In the deepest part of his chest, a dark energy core quietly awakened. It wasn't a heart, but a crystalline body symbolizing "divinity."
Burning, sacred, indifferent, majestic.
Those qualities belonging to a "god" slowly merged with his original untamed dragon nature.
His entire body was surrounded by flames woven from light and darkness, undergoing a complete metamorphosis.
The rocks beneath his feet had completely melted, revealing a purple magic array that slowly rotated, densely covered with symbols and engravings not belonging to this world.
At this moment, he finally understood—
He was "advancing."
Not in level, not in cultivation, but in... the sublimation of his existential tier.
"Is this... Divinity Ascension?"
He murmured, complex emotions flickering in his dragon eyes.
Immediately, the suppressed virtual panel in his mind reappeared:
[Divinity Panel]
—Divinity Candidate in progress... ① [Lord of the End]
② [Abyssal Whisperer]
③ [flame keeper]
Current Status: Observation Period. Selection can be made once divinity is stable.
Obsidian frowned.
He wasn't a fool; the names of these "divinities" didn't sound like something mortals could achieve. But the problem was—
Just as he thought the burning sensation had finally ended, a warm torrent silently spread from the depths of his sea of consciousness.
It turned out that the final transformation was of the soul.
Compared to the metamorphosis of the physical body, it was a higher-level baptism.
His soul, like a dust-covered scroll, slowly unfurled under the guidance of divine power. Cracks of memory flashed, collapsed, and reassembled in his consciousness.
He felt as if he was caught in the reverse current of an ancient flood, truly "waking up" from a long slumber.
He finally remembered.
He... did not belong to this world.
He was once a human, an ordinary urban youth, living in a world without magic or dragons, working, commuting, eating instant noodles, and playing games day after day.
Until one day, after opening a magnificent treasure chest on a Thursday morning, his vision went black, and when he woke up again, he had become a pitch-black dragon egg.
Yes—he had transmigrated.
How long ago was that?
Thousands of years? Tens of thousands of years?
Five thousand six hundred seventy-two years, four months, three days, twenty hours, thirty-four minutes.
Obsidian's mind was clearer than ever, and a precise time instantly surfaced.
From the moment he hatched, he had lived this long.
And it was from that moment that he was forcibly bound by the system, thrown into this cave, and began the long torment called [Trial].
"Daily Quest Update: Lie still and meditate. Do not go outside."
"Completion Progress: 1 / Infinite."
At first, he struggled and roared, trying to leave, but each time he was forced back by that terrifying sensation.
As time went on, he became numb.
"Daily Quest Update: Ponder 'Who am I?'."
"Daily Quest Update: Summarize the relationship between dragons and gods."
"Daily Quest Update: Attempt to control the Shadow Power within your body."
He gradually accepted the system's "training," living day by day in the lightless world, like an ancient beast chained up, constantly thinking, constantly settling.
And in that endless solitude, he memorized every crack in the rock walls, every subtle change in the flow of magic.
He even... began to try to communicate with the system and reverse-engineer its rules.
That wasn't just cultivation; it was a prisoner's struggle against fate.
And now, all of it was finally over.
"System... where exactly did you send me?" He closed his eyes, finally picking up the question from before.
His soul, scoured by divine power, felt as if it had shed heavy armor, revealing an unprecedented clarity.
He could recall the shock of first realizing he had reincarnated as a dragon, the frenzy of his first dragon roar, and even the name, appearance, and streets of his hometown from his human life resurfaced one by one.
But he was no longer that human.
Whether human or dragon, he had transcended the scope of conventional races.
He was a god.
Even if he was only a "demigod" now, the qualitative change in his soul had already crossed the boundary of living beings.
He slowly raised a claw and gently waved it, and the magic in the cave rippled like water, manipulated by him as easily as an arm.
That wasn't just magic; it was more like a "command"—some ineffable rule.
Everything had changed.
He looked down at the empty [Divinity] section on the Divinity Panel, silent for a long time.
Silence finally enveloped the entire cave once more.
Obsidian curled up on the stone bed, the last ripple of divine power slowly sinking deep into his body.
The surrounding magic, though still boiling, could no longer pose any threat to him.
He opened his eyes, as if able to see through the surface of reality and directly perceive the deeper textures of the world.
But he showed no ecstasy, nor did he roar with excitement—instead, there was an incredibly calm scrutiny and restraint.
Everything the system had taught him over his long years now became exceptionally clear. He finally understood that those seemingly meaningless meditations, contemplations, and divine spell constructions were not torment, but rather... preparation for war.
[Post-Divinity Ascension Guidance · Phase One]
① Find a safe place, settle your true divine body, and enter slumber.
② Condense an avatar, walk among mortals, and gather sources of faith.
③ Establish the rudimentary form of a church, and spread your divine name.
The prompts on the Divinity Panel were as if etched onto his soul, impossible to ignore.
Obsidian remained silent. He didn't know the world's attitude towards "gods," nor was he clear if his existence would attract jealousy, expulsion, or hunting.
Perhaps he had no enemies, or perhaps "certain existences" had already detected his anomaly... But—
"Only a 99% survival rate? How is that different from suicide?"
As a Divinity Ascender who had lived for thousands of years and been honed in solitude, caution was already his instinct.
Rashness was never his style.
"I'll go with my own ideas first. The system's matters... I'll consider them later," he mused inwardly.
He was once human, an ordinary young man from Earth, as ordinary as could be. Though that world had no gods, countless prophecies and myths told him: true gods never act rashly.
They hang high in the clouds, silent, only casting a glance of "interference" when inevitable fate approaches.
Now, he should be the same.
However, when his divine sense extended slightly and touched the world outside the cave, he vaguely felt an unidentifiable sense of repulsion.
It was an indescribable subtle discomfort, like a higher-level law whispering, "You are not welcome here."
He did not venture deeper rashly.
The system had given no warning, and the world had not yet shown hostility. But the Divinity Ascender's intuition told him he must remain vigilant.
The problem was—he couldn't condense an avatar yet.
Divine power needed faith to be maintained;
Faith needed the influence of mortals to be nurtured;
Influencing mortals... required understanding the world first.
He concluded: "To take this step, my true body must go personally."
This was not ideal.
A divine body, though powerful, was too conspicuous; he didn't want to easily expose his secrets, nor did he want to clash with unknown forces too early.
But at this moment, without divine power as "fuel," all conceptions of avatars, divine realms, and churches were impossible.
His Divinity Ascension was merely the beginning, far from completing a closed loop.
"Then I'll be careful," he slowly stretched his dragon wings, his gaze deep and calm, "It's just spreading a religion, not destroying the world."
Obsidian took a deep breath, then slowly reined in the already restrained divine power within him.
The originally surging dark energy was suppressed little by little, ultimately maintained at the bare minimum—just enough for his movement, so as not to attract the attention of powerful beings outside.
He took his first step, his dragon claw landing on the hard rock with a dull thud.
Boom—
The entire cave seemed to sense his will, suddenly trembling violently!
Crushed rocks rattled down, dust flew everywhere, as if this cage that had imprisoned him for thousands of years finally let out its last, unwilling wail at the moment of his departure.
"Heh, finally... free," Obsidian bared his dragon maw, revealing a savage and exhilarated smile.