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*flip* *flip*

The black-haired man in dragon-themed robes paged through the documents he'd been given. His sharp features remained stoic the entire time, though the two on the opposite side of the table could see the anger growing in his eyes. While the man was good at hiding his emotions, his robes reacted to them anyway, as the dragons woven into the silk seemed to move around angrily and release soundless growls and roars. After reaching the end of the documents, he wordlessly handed them to the younger man standing behind his chair.

The younger man received the documents without comment and started to pour through them as well. He was the spitting image of the other man, only younger, and his reactions while reading were similar as well. Both of them had their long and silky hair tied into a simple ponytail behind their back, and their appearance would likely incite a riot among any of the mortal worlds and kingdoms. Both of them were splendid examples of immortality and divinity bringing out the best in one’s appearance, practically exemplifying the tall, dark, and handsome description. Even among divines, these two would be considered quite good-looking, and their immaculate appearance reflected a certain amount of vanity and pride typical of their race. Both appeared fully human on the outside, but everyone present knew that to be just a front.

“I’m assuming this is all verified.” The sitting man spoke. His godhood was very obvious as he did nothing to hide it, though he also didn’t flaunt it either. It was what and who he was, and he didn’t care to hide it.

"As much as it can be just from our end," Shiva replied, allowing his own divinity to meet the dark man's on equal grounds, sharply dividing the room in two. They were currently in one of the private meeting rooms of the Grand Assembly. "We of course can't be certain until you raid some of the places mentioned by those we interrogated and in the documents we found. For all we know, the information could be outdated by now.”

The younger man in dragon robes leaned a bit forward and spoke quietly. Not quietly enough that the other people in the room couldn't hear, but quietly enough that it was clear his words were meant for the older man only. "Father, while it is difficult to believe some in the House Draconis involved with vile things like this, some of this research…" He left the rest unsaid.

“Yes, I could easily imagine certain parties in our House interested in certain parts of it. Especially the methods for trying to improve bloodline purity. The goal is something most dragons can understand even if the methods used are not.” The older man admitted grudgingly. That bit of information in particular was enough to convince him that this was real.

For dragons, the power of your bloodline was very important. The purer and more powerful the bloodline, the more powerful you could become as a dragon. It was also a fact that few dragons liked to openly speak about, but there was a clear hierarchy among the different kinds of dragons. And the more powerful your bloodline, the more powerful type of a dragon you were. Metallic dragons hatched only metallic dragons, but a Gold Dragon, for example, could lay eggs that birthed other kinds of metallic dragons, even if it was more likely to hatch more Gold Dragons. And while the difference between a Brass and a Bronze dragon wasn’t great, the difference between a Brass and a Gold dragon was rather notable, not to mention Platinum or the more evolved magical metal types. The same held true for chromatic and gem dragons. An average Azure Dragon dwarfed White and Blue dragons, and that was just the physical side. If a Brass dragon could purify their bloodline, they could theoretically evolve into something greater either when ranking up or when they performed certain rituals. It was rare for a dragon to be from the magical metals when newly hatched, but even Brass Dragon could evolve into one in rare circumstances. It was rather obvious why some dragons would go to almost any length to improve their bloodline.

“I’m going to assume that you didn’t bring this up just to force concessions out of us, seeing as you’re directly admitting that your house was also involved in the research and all this other mess." The sitting dragon stated. As the current leader of the House, even if House Draconis was for all intents and purposes impossible to fully rule over, it wasn't uncommon to get requests from other heads of house for negotiation. Still, this wasn't what he had expected when the leader of House Titannica had requested for this meeting. The presence of the girl at Shiva’s side had given him hope of another kind of negotiation.

“No. It would be foolish to try to blackmail someone with information that implicates us as well. We’re trying to organize a concerted effort to excise this tumor instead. We’ve already cleansed our own House. Now we want to deal with the other Houses.” Shiva explained briefly.

“The recent purge of Kronus and his allies.” The younger dragon suddenly stated in realization. “We were led to believe that was due to a power struggle over the heir position, but it seems we were mistaken.” He glanced toward Karna standing behind Shiva. Only the heads of the two houses and the heirs were present.

“It was tied to the fight for the position of heir where all this came to light, so that information wasn’t entirely wrong.” She said suavely. The others realized the wordless implications. The struggle for power had provided a convenient excuse for this larger purge.

“So. Kronus was involved in all this.” The sitting dragon waved at the documents, now on the table between the two groups. “You’ve also hinted at other houses being involved, but I noticed that all mention of them was left out of the documents.”

“We’re protecting their privacy for now. As you might expect, some will not react as calmly as you have. It helps keep them calm if we haven’t already announced their names to everyone else. You’ll note that we’ll be providing you with the same protection. However, since we wish to make this a concerted effort, we will bring everyone together once we have buy-in from everyone involved.” Shiva explained. This was all Karna’s plan, so he was just acting as the mouthpiece.

“And if a house refuses to work together, or their leadership is involved?” The younger dragon asked, before realizing the answer himself. “Ah, you’re going to turn the Golden Order on them. I can only imagine how they would react.”

The Golden Order was one of the mostly Human organizations that were rather upright in their morality and willingness to fight to uphold their values. It wasn’t uncommon for them to fight other houses over sins committed in the past. “And since you’ve already punished those involved in your house already, the Golden Order would be more than happy to assist.” The older dragon finished. “What a neat little arrangement.”

The two dragons considered the options before them for a time, and both Shiva and Karna were happy to give them the time required. They would want to consider something like this properly as well. Finally, the sitting dragon seemed to reach some conclusions. “Dealing with this matter on our end is a little more complicated than it was for you. House Draconis isn’t as unified as the other houses. Even I can only really guarantee the cooperation of the Gem Dragons, and my reach into the other two groups is limited. We’ll need to bring the others in on this.”

As the home of all dragons, perhaps the most powerful of all magical beings, the house of the dragons had more theoretical power than most others, but they’d always suffered from a lack of unity. Chromatic and Metallic dragons really didn’t get along, and there were many types of dragons that didn’t neatly fall into the three main categories and thus felt left out. There were also magical races that weren’t exactly dragons but were still hanging on the fringes of the house in the hopes of gaining acceptance, or eventually becoming dragons themselves.

“On the positive side, I don’t think this problem has spread too far just yet.” The younger dragon pointed out. Keeping secrets within the house between the three main factions was just as difficult as finding unity after all. And if it had spread wide, then they’d heard about it already.

“Still, we’ll need more time to prepare to deal with this issue than other houses.” The older dragon grunted.

“That’s why we came to you first.” Shiva nodded in agreement and understanding. That too had been Karna’s idea. This was also part of their plan to forge an alliance with the dragons.

The older dragon looked up towards Karna. “I can’t help but notice that this all came about just as you decided to take your position as the heir. A bit of a surprise that one, but it seems you’re a catalyst for change in many ways. Your crusade also shook things up, and I haven’t seen the Grand Assembly get this excited about anything for a while. You know, you could always come to House Draconis instead of hanging out with the Titans. I can almost guarantee that you’d rise to become the God of Metallic dragons in a relatively short order. The lure of a Celestium Dragon, not to mention a Stellar Dragon at that, is a powerful one. Who knows, you might take over my position as the overall leader eventually.”

The gods of the dragons were a bit of a special case. They were only really worshipped by dragons, and related races such as Dragonlings, Dragonborn, Wyrms, and some Saurians and Lizardmen. Their believers were more limited, but also very powerful. Every major dragon type had their own god that they worshipped in particular, as well as venerating the other draconic gods in general. The Silver Dragons venerated the God of Silver Dragons, while at the same time paying their respects to even the chromatic gods. They also had one major True God for each of the three main types, the God of Metallic Dragons, the God of Chromatic Dragons, and the God of Gem Dragons. Usually, but not always, the most powerful member of each type became their God, though different dragon types also valued other qualities.

The older dragon present was not just the leader of House Draconis, but he was also the God of Gem Dragons, while his heir was the God of Obsidium Dragons. Two of the dragon gods had joined Karna’s crusade before, and they’d both come from the metallic dragons because her Celestium scales technically placed her in the metallic category, even if cosmic dragons like her were considered a separate category on their own.

"While the offer is intriguing, I have assumed my place as the heir of House Titannica," Karna responded in a show of loyalty. It would’ve reflected very badly on her if she’d accepted the offer.

“There strictly speaking isn’t a rule to say you can’t be part of more than one house, but we can leave that discussion for another day.” The older dragon knew this was not the time or the place. “We will take this up with the other dragon gods.”

Shiva and Karna knew this was as much as they would get at this point. The dragons would need to confirm the information before committing to anything anyway. As they exited the room, Shiva allowed a smile on his face. “That went much better than I expected. I know the dragons have been interested in getting you to be a part of their house, but I didn’t realize they wanted it badly enough to even consider allowing you to be part of another house.”

“There’s a reason they found the research on blood purity to be a believable gateway to more sinister topics. They’d approve me for the same reason, as any progeny I’d have with a dragon would be guaranteed to become powerful. They also want to know how my bloodline is so pure even with my other bloodlines. Besides, even if we give the dragons grief for their pride and other failings, they can be quite intelligent and far-sighted. They can see that the fight for the throne might be tilting my way. And some of them have memories of my Names as well.” Karna stated.

Shiva realized this was the closest she'd ever come to confirming that she might be Sacred Lady somehow returning from the grave. He also knew this would likely be as much of a confirmation as he'd ever get. "Now that we've talked with the most important party we know of being involved in this, what’s your next plan? I know the Grand Marshall is planning another crusade, but that’s not going to happen quickly.”

“Aside from the heir duties I’ve now taken on?” She asked with a smile. She’d need to represent their house in many social engagements just to name the most obvious duty. Her elevation needed to be officially announced to other parties after all.

"Aside from those, of course," Shiva confirmed.

“I’ll need to help Tsumi recover. The energy from the Netherworld is difficult to remove, and even Envy was affected despite her brief exposure. Tsumi will need a long time to recover even with my help. I’m also going to try and increase my personal power. Currently, I'm the lowest-ranked of the serious contenders for the throne, and I need to close that gap as much as possible to be seen as a viable alternative. On that note, when I do get to the point of ranking up, I'll need a place to do it. Preferably a place that you don't mind getting destroyed." One of the benefits of their group reaching full divinity was that it hastened their journey towards the next rank. It didn't hasten everyone, as many people had reached the extent of their potential by the time they became gods, but none of her core allies had that problem as they were reincarnators. It was an open question how far Tsumi and Arjuna would be able to reach, and they’d already fallen behind.

“We have dedicated secure places for just such a purpose inside our territory.” Shiva pointed out. “They’ve been built to withstand the rigors of ranking up and even tribulations.”

“I’m afraid you misunderstood me. I was quite serious when I asked you to suggest a place you didn’t mind getting destroyed, but I should’ve been more specific. There’s a good chance the entire world will end up destroyed or at least uninhabitable. And this won’t be something that can be contained by reinforced walls.” She turned to face the old True God, looking him straight in the eyes just to make sure he understood she wasn't kidding or overexaggerating.

"I have to ask, what kind of rank-up did you have in mind? I already know your Aura Technique allows you to take on other bloodlines. What kind of bloodline are you considering that would result in such devastation? I assume this isn’t about your magic or Qi." He asked while thinking about possible places.

“My previous form was that of a Sacred beast. The natural thing to do is to go in the opposite direction.” She hinted.

“But don’t you already have several forms that are considered Beasts of the Apocalypse? Why is this one different?” He frowned.

Beasts of the Apocalypse were considered such because they were in many ways the anathema of Gods, so it was natural to think of them as the opposite of something Sacred. However, he was wrong in this case. Sacred didn’t necessarily always equal gods. "Opposite in a different way. Not the opposite of gods, but the opposite of the Sacred Beast. Something profane."

Shiva, knowing how powerful Karna’s earlier forms were, had to swallow at the thought of what she might have in mind. He could think of a handful of possibilities. “How profane are we talking about? Because this might create some issues when you reveal it to others.”

“Very.” She couldn’t help the malicious smile. She was going to go back to the lives where she earned some of her worst Names for inspiration.

--------

"Could you repeat that?" The Grand Marshall looked up from the maps that he'd been studying with Wisdom and stared at the messenger.

“The forces of Netherworld have retreated from the front we share with them.” The messenger in golden armor of the Host repeated, quite understanding the confusion. He was feeling the same after all.

“What do you mean retreated? They’ve ceased attacks? They’ve buggered off completely? What? I need some details.” The titan asked impatiently.

“We can’t fully determine that yet. Our scouts are still trying to find out the full extent of the situation, but the generals decided it was important to let you know as soon as possible. We can say with certainty that their attacks have stopped and that we have not found any sign of them so far so at least the areas near the front are abandoned.” The messenger reported. He wasn’t fully briefed on the situation either as he’d been sent off in a hurry.

“When did this start?” Wisdom asked. There was some kind of plan afoot. And it was imperative to discover how late they were in reacting.

“The attacks stopped a couple of days ago. The full disappearance of their forces was noticed a few hours ago. So far as the generals were guessing on current information, it seems the enemy has withdrawn all the way back to the Netherworld, but that is still speculative.” The messenger made sure to mention the speculative nature of the information. It wouldn’t do to report something as a fact when that wasn’t the case.

“Whatever is going on, we’re quite late in responding.” The Grand Marshall realized. A certain possibility occurred to him. “Return immediately and have every border fort go into full code red. I want as many countermeasures against rank 14 beings in place as quickly as possible.” The front lines could’ve retreated to avoid getting caught in an attack by such beings.

“Yes sir. Sir, they’re going to ask what to do with the worlds the Netherworld has suddenly vacated.” The messenger pointed out.

The Grand Marshall knew they would, but he didn't have a good answer. "Tell them to prepare a full defense. We don't want to overextend over a few worlds and then end up allowing a breach because our defenses were not fully prepared. If they really have withdrawn, then they'll either attack some other way, or the worlds will still be there once we get a better handle on things. Don’t let the allure of couple worlds bait you.”

The messenger gave a salute and left in a hurry. “What do you think is going on?” Wisdom asked, his mind running wild with scenarios as well.

“I’m not sure. It could be a reaction to your little crusade, but…” The Grand Marshall allowed a frown on his face. “That feels too good to be true.”

“Hope for the best, prepare for the worst?” Wisdom asked.

“Something like that. I’ve long since learned that if your enemy does something unexpected, then it’s rarely positive news for you. The problem is that I don’t know what the ‘worst’ is in this case, so I can’t prepare for it.” He tapped the plans they had been making. Wisdom had been quite useful with all this planning of the second crusade. He’d need to remember to tell Ynnead to keep the man around. “These are now most likely useless though. Or at the very least, we’ll have to change the target. They could work against the Inferno in theory…”