Dimensional Descent

Familiar

Drake looked down at himself, stunned. He didn't expect that such a thing would happen either, and quite frankly, he had always thought that he would be the last to reach Godhood, if he reached it at all.

Honestly speaking, Drake had always had a small bit of an inferiority complex. He had been with these guys for years, but always as Leonel's backup. He only got in games when it was an all-out blowout, and he would never get the right to start until Leonel graduated first.

However, before he could even get the chance to shine on his own, the Metamorphosis descended right after Leonel's last game, so he had never gotten a chance to see his own true potential.

That said, Drake had never harbored any resentment for that. He had always felt safe and secure by Leonel's side. If not, he would have transferred to another school where he could have gotten playing time instead of chasing after Leonel every step of the way.

It had been years of patience, years of living in Leonel's shadow, and now he had suddenly bloomed in a way he had never expected before.

Looking down at his body, he felt like he had the strength to destroy a world with a casual glance if he so wanted. Recalling various memories, everyone that he had ever feared or didn't dare to battle suddenly became as insignificant as ants in his eyes.

It was well and truly the first time that he had ever experienced something like this. And yet, rather than laughing to himself, he immediately spun around and gave Leonel a huge hug.

Leonel coughed in surprise, all the air in his body flooding out in a torrent.

"Goddamn, rookie. You're gonna kill me."

Drake laughed but didn't let up. In fact, he laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face.

Leonel smiled and patted him on the back. He had never had a disciple before, but quite frankly, Drake would probably be the closest thing. It was funny because Leonel was only a bit older-an age gap that was meaningless now that Drake had actually experienced more life than him.

Even so, he was happy that Drake was happy.

Drake had always been the little brother of their group. He was more reserved than even Allan and he rarely joked around like the others did. Leonel had always noticed this, but it was hard for Leonel to say anything to change that. After all, there were some shadows that people had to walk out of all on their own.

And this time, it seemed like Drake had successfully done that.

It was then that a heart-shuddering pressure descended from above.

Leonel's gaze turned sharp, but when he looked into the skies of the void, it was actually just an edict.

'Hm?'

The confusion flashed across Leonel's face, but it had little to do with the actual subject of the edict.

A golden-green scroll unfurled in the skies and a mighty pressure descended. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

In the end, the contents were as expected. It gave Drake a few days to get his affairs in order and then come to the God Realm... Otherwise, he would be hunted down by the full force of the Umbryx Race.

The Umbryx Race was another God Realm Race that Leonel had learned about. They were expert assassins and probably some of the most fearsome characters in the entirety of Existence.

Of the humanoid Races, they were the most like the Rapax, having bodies that didn't quite feel humanoid at all but were far more alien in nature.

This Race didn't have corporeal forms and had an odd practice of attaching themselves to treasures, many of which were masks. Often, the Umbryx could be found floating around like faceless masks. Some of them chose masks as large as entire worlds, giving them auras more imposing than stars themselves.

It was almost comical in a way, because when Leonel read about them, he couldn't help but think of the Wizard of Oz. Of course, if others knew that he had made such a fool of the Umbryx, they wouldn't take action on their behalf, because the Umbryx would surely kill him on their own.

The true fear of the Umbryx was seen when they left those floating masks of theirs. They were creatures without substance and form. Reality couldn't seem to hold them and they slipped in and out of the Dimensions with ease. They were the only Race in existence that the Regulators couldn't seem to detect.

However, Leonel could only think of them in one way... The lapdogs of the Void Race.

The truth was that as powerful as the Umbryx Race sounded, they were existences that were incredibly frail. In that way, they were a lot more like Savants than God Childes.

The Umbryx were incredibly sensitive to Star Force, so much so that it could be considered a fatal weakness. Second, without an anchor, they couldn't live more than a few days at best. That anchor, being, of course, their masks.

Third, they couldn't fight physical battles. They were known as the silent killers, but that was only because all of their battles occurred within your Ethereal Glabellas, so it would seem as though you died silently, when in reality it was anything but.

Fourth, they couldn't use Forces that weren't granted to them by their anchors. The only exception was if they were in your Ethereal Glabella. Then, they would be capable of snatching your affinities and using them for themselves.

These creatures that the world feared so much... it could be said that they were the one creature that Leonel feared the least.

The decree flared and shook. Then, a beam of light descended toward Drake too fast for anyone to react. It was clear that he was about to be branded.

But Leonel suddenly raised a hand and light pulsed from him.

BANG!

The pillar vanished and raging red Runes spread. Leonel didn't seem to notice them at all because he was still thinking about something from earlier...

Why did that edict look so similar to the ability of his Emperor's Might Lineage Factor?