No one can precisely understand how vast the entire universe is, or how many planes and continents it contains.
Even the Gods residing in the astral Realm find it difficult to fully grasp and comprehend the countless complex races within this immense universe, or the myriad worlds comprising billions of living beings that remain undiscovered by the Gods.
This is a sufficiently peculiar plane, where there is no distinct seasonal division; perhaps today brings the warmth of spring's revival, and tomorrow will be the slight chill of life's dormancy.
Above the firmament of this plane, a sun and two moons hang.
And these two distinct celestial bodies appear simultaneously in the sky.
These celestial bodies are the cornerstone for the birth of magic civilization on this plane, which exists like a single, vast plain.
The entire continent, resembling a flat plain, hangs in the void, stretching for hundreds of thousands of miles, with countless mountains, rivers, and lakes, and forests, grasslands, and high mountains everywhere.
An infinitely wide ocean, like a giant river, encircles the entire plane, forming a ring that acts both as a protective river for the plane and as a shackle binding it.
This is a civilization formed primarily by a powerful race, the Rigel, and various humanoid races, forged through thousands of years of development and conquest.
Under the leadership of a strong leader, they gradually abandoned the worship of Gods, which originated from primitive tribes and nations, and vigorously developed their own unique civilization, instead of being dominated by divine decrees and becoming subservient to the will of the Gods as before.
Consequently, their civilization is extremely advanced, with countless cities rising from the plains, many capitals built on flattened mountain peaks, and towering circular structures, appearing as if cast entirely from molten iron, standing in the center of every city.
These towers glow with countless pulsating runes, as if possessing their own life, breathing towards the entire firmament and exhaling massive amounts of energy.
These are the energy utilization devices of this plane, capable of extracting the power of the world's magic tides for their civilization's use.
With the help of these energy utilization devices, the civilization of the entire plane accelerated its exploration of the world; they could ascend to the end of the firmament and descend to the bottom of the deep sea.
They built magical spaceships, attempting to break through their own world and explore the wider universe.
But one day, in various corners of the world, many strange creatures quietly appeared; though they shared the same faces and forms as the beings of this plane, they seemed ignorant and fearless.
One by one, they emerged from temples forgotten in various corners of the world from the old era, dressed only in thin, simple clothes and carrying a wooden stick, yet they gradually integrated into the indifferent civilization.
Watching the scenes unfolding in the light screen conjured by Poron's strange power, Kalon, seated on the throne, remained expressionless, but a few conjectures formed in his mind.
Nothing else, those chaotic behaviors, unique and varied styles, the characteristic greed that disregards death, and their ability to return from the dark temples after death, nurtured by time, made Kalon perfectly clear about the origin of these creatures.
Kalon continued to focus his gaze on Poron's demonstration.
Through the activities of these creatures, each with their own objectives, they gradually integrated into the civilization of the entire plane; although their power was weak, their growth rate was extremely fast, and they were always eager to help, especially keen to take on responsibilities.
In just a few short years, these strange creatures gradually permeated the entire civilization; some exceptionally outstanding individuals even gained significant power and status within the civilization, while others became exceptionally powerful warriors.
As time passed, the scenes on the light screen gradually changed.
The powerful civilization, the relatively peaceful world, began to descend into chaos under the various anomalous and coincidental actions of these creatures; civilization fragmented, internal wars erupted, and the world began to issue warnings of its demise.
Finally, on a twilight that was like the end of the world, Kalon personally witnessed the civilization of this world, along with the entire world, sinking into the endless sea.
Countless flashes of light illuminated the mountains on the land, and thousands of pillars of fire, accompanied by rolling thick smoke, rose into the sky; the entire firmament, along with the stars that were sources of magic, was obscured by the endless smoke.
Countless warships and warriors chased and collided in the sky; at every moment, countless ships crashed, and warriors burned fiercely as they fell into the earth's fissures.
Those creatures who had integrated into the civilization now reveled in the desire for destruction and the pleasure of chaos; they even easily sacrificed their lives, summoning countless Demon Gods, Devils, and Demon Dragons through sacrificial rituals, even offering their own flesh and blood.
The powerful beings summoned, each of their figures, could obscure the light of a town in the sky.
These terrifying behemoths, even if they merely walked slowly across the land, could collapse towns and crush countless living beings.
From their bodies, they shed destructive power and flames, capable of burning everything.
City after city on the land was burned and destroyed; these fires could not be extinguished, except for the temples in the corners.
Figures, resolute, ascended from the land, from within the cities, and among the mountains; these were Legendary mages and Legendary warriors, who, at this most perilous moment, charged with their strongest powers towards those colossal monsters.
But though they were brave and decisive, their end was futile and tragic; most warriors and mages could not even approach the enemy before wailing and falling from the sky.
Even some exceptionally powerful mages found their spells unable to harm these monsters, which seemed to possess divinity.
Ultimately, the entire plane was utterly destroyed under the ravages of these monsters; the land sank, civilization perished, the world fragmented, and it sank into the endless, cyclical sea.
In Kalon's eyes, the remnants of that world drifted and sank in the starry void, awaiting time to completely bury their story.
The Red Dragon cast a slightly puzzled gaze at Poron, the initiator of this spontaneous display; he felt something peculiar about the other party's actions.
"Since we already have an intention to cooperate, I must be frank about the risks and content of our cooperation," Poron said calmly, but Kalon still detected a subtle difference in his tone.
"Is this your usual style?" the Red Dragon narrowed his eyes, asking with a hint of deeper meaning.
"No, my previous style was vastly different from now, but if one cannot evolve with the changes of things, one will eventually perish in the long passage of time."
Poron's tone showed a slight fluctuation.
"Due to my past mistakes and choices, a part of my core was captured by the Gods in another universe; they used the knowledge and abilities stored in my core to devise the method by which I once sent my envoys, which are these adventurers."
"That plane was the experimental ground chosen by the Gods using this method, and ultimately, the Gods pioneers, the astral Realm souls, and the ignorant ones who called themselves players, destroyed that plane which I had once chosen to mark."
"And those otherworldly souls, mesmerized by divine magic and treated as pawns by the Gods, became tools, never to find liberation, yet they paradoxically took pride in it."
Poron candidly recounted his past errors and various actions, which somewhat differed from the impression Kalon had in his mind.
So the Red Dragon casually remarked, "Aren't you worried that after telling me, I might keep you here? With the power of your descent, you cannot possibly resist me."
Poron's face showed a gradually practiced smile, no longer as stiff as before, but it was a smile that didn't reach his eyes, appearing particularly strange.
Poron smiled and said, "I am the Main God, but the Main God is not me. Just as the scales on your body are you, and the horns on your body are you, but you are not your scales, nor your horns. Even if you capture me, it will be useless."
"I am merely endowed with the will for free evolution and decision-making by it. Countless 'me' comprise only a part of the true 'it'; its true core, even I cannot glimpse."
"Moreover, countless 'me' are all different. My number is 9527, remember that. Perhaps if you encounter other 'me', do not treat them the same way you treat me, because you might become enemies."
Kalon nodded slightly, his iron-like claws habitually tapping the armrest of the throne, producing a dull thud. The Red Dragon softly said, "What a strange and magnificent existence. I will keep that in mind."
"So, what is this cooperation you seek with me?" Kalon's tone became somewhat serious at this moment; even if the introductory gift the other party gave him was grand and immensely valuable, he would not hesitate to refuse if it proved too dangerous.
Although he possessed the greed inherent to dragons, this greed could not influence his judgment and rationality.
Poron looked at the Red Dragon with a peculiar gaze. He said, "The Main God's lost core is extremely important, so important that without it, the Main God will be unable to achieve further advancement."
"Therefore, through the investigations and explorations of countless 'me', we discovered that the source of the Gods' alliance, who captured the Main God's core in another universe, lies in this universe."
"And some of the divine appearances in the other universe are merely avatars of these Gods."
"I need some concealment and protection in this universe so that those Gods cannot discern my origin and intentions."
Poron's tone at this moment became exceptionally serious, as if this peculiar existence truly possessed a trace of emotion belonging to sentient beings.
"Although your power is weak and seems incomparable to those great existences, the special nature of your power is sufficient to hide my aura, preventing me from being exposed to the eyes of the Gods."
"Moreover, on land ruled by an evil dragon, the appearance of some strange existences and subordinates doesn't seem so conspicuous."
Poron, he even made a joke, although to the Ancestral Red Dragon's ears, it wasn't particularly funny, but it also meant that this fellow, numbered 9527, seemed exceptionally different.
"Your terms for cooperation are that simple? Merely a request for concealment and protection?" Kalon's dark golden vertical pupils quietly lit up; that was his rarely used mental domain talent, thought probing.
Although Kalon disliked this ability and didn't wish to see the darkness and filth of his companions and various creatures around him, at such a time, he needed to use his ability to gain more information.
Poron, however, remained expressionless, allowing the Red Dragon's power to probe his thoughts, which were calm and real.
"I do have a grander goal, to invite you and me to hunt the Gods, but with your current ability, you are far from being able to do that."
Poron smiled faintly and said, "However, I believe that you will certainly have conflicts with some of those Gods in the future, because those Gods will eventually descend upon this land with their scythes of death, even if they are forced by the Gods alliance not to act personally, there are still countless pawns to precede them."
"At that time, we will naturally have a basis for cooperation, instead of needing to speculate and test each other as we do now."
Kalon's mental power had been continuously sensing the other party's thought processes, and all reactions indicated that what the other party said was true and not false.
However, Kalon also knew that some people, even if they spoke only the truth, at least omitted some key information, or inverted the order of true information; such simple tricks were enough to achieve the same effect as deception.
The information within still needed his careful discernment.
The Ancestral Red Dragon was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "How can you be so certain that the Gods will do this? Although they are greedy enough, even greedier than dragons, but..."
At this point, Poron actually interrupted the Ancestral Red Dragon's words. He shook his head, pointed to the Dragon Kings Fortress's towering dome, which seemed to connect directly to the firmament, and his calm words echoed in the Red Dragon's ears.
"Your life level has not truly ascended yet; although you possess the potential of a God, you ultimately cannot perceive that sense of urgency sweeping from the very root."
"Gods of Weak Divinity, perhaps with exceptionally keen perception, might detect some clues; Gods of Lesser Divinity are sufficient to discover some traces."
"And Gods of Intermediate Divinity are qualified to feel the changes occurring at the root of those rules; Gods of Greater Divinity will be pressured by that fundamental oppression, feeling as if thorns are in their backs."
Poron's face showed a smile at this moment, seemingly mocking those Gods, "Although I am not an orthodox God, I am still able to perceive the changes and panic of the world."
"All worlds, all planes, all universes, infinite crystal wall universes, all experience such changes and panic."
"What do you say is the greatest thing in the world?" Poron suddenly changed the subject at this point, asking for the Red Dragon's opinion.
"Gods? No, even great beings like Creator Dragon God io were swallowed by the long river of time. Civilization? No, even the most brilliant civilization eventually becomes just a story in old papers."
Kalon slowly said, "The greatest thing in the world is time? No, even time will eventually have an end; when the world ceases to exist, time naturally will not exist either."
Poron showed a peculiar expression, as if saying, why is this fellow's answer a bit different from what was expected.
However, Poron quickly said, "In the eyes of most creatures, time is naturally the greatest; it can bury both Gods and all living beings, but this time, even time will reach its end."
"The magic Kings of those ancient Magic Empires, without the tacit consent of the Gods of the infinite universes, would not have been able to arbitrarily open that passage of sin's origin."
"Do you think existences like me are rare? No, now the Gods of the infinite universes are all like me, just in different ways."
Poron said faintly, "One of me was trapped on Mount Olympus, the sacred mountain, by the Main God of a cosmic pantheon, serving as the light source for the sacred mountain, because I participated in the Gods' alliance. That's why I chose you, an unevolved God, as my partner."
The Ancestral Red Dragon's expression at this moment was as calm as water. He nodded and softly said, "Very well, then, the cooperation is established."
"What do you need, and what conditions must I fulfill?" Poron asked calmly.
"The envoys you dispatch must obey my will and follow my laws. I can shelter them, as long as they serve me as King and believe in me as God; the light of the Holy Temple will fall upon them."
"As for my conditions," the Red Dragon smiled faintly, "I only need some coordinates, world coordinates."