"I don't know how to enter the Dragon Realm. I don't have the key to open it." Dohko finally chose to compromise.
A wise choice. If he kept resisting Meruem, death was the only outcome.
"No matter. Just take me to the place where you once entered the Dragon Realm." It's merely spatial power. The Dragon Realm should be a shadow plane dependent on the main plane.
Probably a space the White Dragon carved out with its own power.
"It's that bamboo grove. If you can find the entrance, go ahead." Dohko led them to a mountain peak, then casually pointed in a direction. After speaking, he closed his eyes and said no more.
"I see. Impressive spatial power." With one glance at where Dohko pointed, Meruem found the so-called key.
"Open, gateway to the Dragon Realm." Spatial power? Sorry, I've got that too. When he obtained Knov's Fourth-Dimensional Apartment, he'd gained a preliminary understanding of spatial power. After learning Flying Thunder God, he'd deepened that understanding further. After acquiring Kaguya's power, he could freely wield spatial abilities.
After experiencing the Nura and Dragon Ball worlds, Meruem's mastery of spatial power was no less than those gods in the Saint Seiya plane—or perhaps even surpassed them.
"That's—the Dragon Realm!" Under Dohko's incredulous gaze, Meruem stepped through the gateway to the Dragon Realm.
"What a beautiful place." The moment Meruem arrived, he discovered that though the Dragon Realm was small—only the size of a city—it was as beautiful as the legendary dwellings of immortals in Chinese Federation myths.
Birdsong and fragrant flowers—a world bursting with life.
"Who art thou? Why hast thou come here?" An ancient voice reached Meruem's ears, and a massive white dragon of the Chinese Federation appeared before him.
"Very strong power—or rather, on a certain level, incomparable to Gold Saints. Though compared to the power within Athena, it's somewhat weaker. But there really are mythical creatures from the Chinese Federation. I wonder if true immortals exist in this world?"
"Hm? Athena! Why hast thou come here? Oh, merely a freshly reincarnated state. Then, outsider, what purpose dost thou have in bringing the goddess to the Dragon Realm?" The White Dragon was indeed one of the few beings in Saint Seiya whose power approached that of the gods.
Though the Dragon Realm once saw rebellion when Hakurei tried to challenge the gods, in the end a single Dohko resolved everything perfectly. While the White Dragon's power was formidable, compared to the mainstream Greek gods of the Saint Seiya world, it fell slightly short.
District Eleven, Star Hill Orphanage.
"Seiya! Stop causing trouble! An important guest is coming today." The orphanage director grabbed the mischief-making Seiya and scolded him.
"Got it, Granny Shimada." Seiya answered obediently. Though the six-year-old was still quite mischievous, he deeply respected Granny Shimada, who had taken in orphans like him.
"Seiya, Seiya—do you know who this big shot visiting our orphanage is?" Standing beside Seiya was a little girl his age named Miho.
"No idea. Who cares?" Seiya rubbed his nose with his right index finger, unconcerned.
"Is that the child? The boy named Seiya?" A black-clad man watched Seiya and murmured.
Though one of Mitsumasa Kido's illegitimate sons, Mitsumasa hadn't fulfilled a father's duties. Seiya and his sister Seika still lived like orphans—though eventually Seiya was separated from Seika. Seiya's childhood was like that of Tenma, the previous Pegasus Saint—an orphan's life.
Or was this the Pegasus curse?
Still, Mitsumasa Kido's feat of siring Athena's five guardians and five Bronze Saints was, in a sense, quite remarkable.
"Is that true? If I go with you, you'll help the other children at Star Hill, and you'll help me find my sister?" Seiya looked up with wide, innocent eyes at the important guest the director had mentioned.
"Of course it's true. But only if you can earn the Pegasus Cloth."
"Ikki, Shun, Seiya, Shiryū, and Hyōga—according to plan, the Five Bronze Saints have all been found. Heh, Athena's five guardians. Properly trained, each will possess power to rival the gods. Of course, there are also some promising prospects in Asgard. With proper training, cultivating a group of warriors rivaling the God Warriors isn't difficult." Indeed, six years had passed since Meruem entered the Dragon Realm.
In those six years, Meruem not only learned Cosmo but also manifested his own Dark Cloth.
Moreover, most members of the Chimera Ant Army were also training in Cosmo.
During these six years, Meruem had integrated the multiple energies within him into a new, unified power. This power completely surpassed any single energy type and possessed endless vitality. Meruem called it "Source," the name inspired by Chairman Netero's "Heart, Technique, Body" from the Hunter × Hunter world.
Some in the Chimera Ant Army also succeeded in mastering this power, though sadly, aside from Meruem himself, Queen Pitou, the two Royal Guards, and Meruem's personal guard—the Dark Unit Twelve Stars—almost no other Chimera Ant could simultaneously merge Nen, chakra, ki, Cosmo, and other energies.
Even the avatar Musashi was no exception. Though Musashi's strength surpassed the Dark Unit Twelve Stars—and even the two Royal Guards might not match Musashi at full power—he couldn't master Nen ability.
Still, Musashi eventually grasped a new power. Compared to Source, it was slightly weaker but not by much—a weakened version of Source.
Among the Chimera Ant Army, aside from grunts, almost everyone could learn Nen, some could master chakra, some ki, some Cosmo.
The most excellent could master this weakened Source—but only a scant hundred. They were also the strongest. Most others combined Nen with one other ability. Meruem developed a similar power for them, close to Source but at best a flawed version.
Regrettably, though their numbers were vast, there weren't enough Cloths for them. Even Meruem, as king, only had a Dark Cloth—let alone the others.
Though far less impressive than the gorgeous Sacred Cloths and God Cloths, a Dark Cloth was still something. At least for those with stronger Cosmo, their manifested Dark Cloths weren't much inferior to Silver Cloths.
Of course, though Source was qualitatively stronger than single energies, mastering the weakened version didn't mean these hundred Chimera Ants could challenge this world's chief gods.
This world had more than just Cosmo—there was the Sixth Sense, Seventh Sense, and Eighth Sense.
As for the Sixth and Seventh Senses, legend said that without reaching the Seventh Sense, no matter how strong one's Sixth Sense Cosmo was, one couldn't win. It was a difference in realm. Meruem was still researching it.
That's why he deliberately cultivated Seiya and the others, and also set his sights on Asgard and other regions.
For instance, Bud of Alcor, one of Odin's seven God Warriors. He once gave Ikki, Shun, and Shaina tremendous trouble in a three-on-one fight—a top-tier God warrior.
In raw strength, even Siegfried, the strongest of the first generation, might not be his match—after all, Siegfried had the fatal weakness of his heart.
In growth potential, he could rival the Gold Soul era God Warriors. Sadly, though the Gold Soul God Warriors were powerful, their opponents were Gold Saints.
Even weakened by Yggdrasil, they still outclassed the God Warriors. No wonder during Seiya's Asgard campaign, Aiolia said he and Milo alone could completely defeat the Asgard God Warriors. The first generation was indeed far weaker than the Gold Soul era.
There was also Dohko's other disciple, Shiryū's senior Wang Hu. Reaching that level without Cosmo was remarkable. Hard to imagine what heights he'd reach if he learned it.
At least no lower than Shiryū.
Incidentally, in six years in the Saint Seiya world, Meruem had built a considerable public-facing force in the mortal world.
Worth mentioning besides that was another matter. In the Saint Seiya SS storyline, humanity had achieved very high technology—on par with modern tech.
But in the quasi-sequel Omega, modern tech completely vanished, regressing below even the 1950s-60s level—in just a dozen-plus years.
It was impossible that the gods weren't involved. Their manipulation was definitely at work.
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