The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

David felt like this time he had really screwed up.

But not completely.

Because after his "soul departed," he wasn't summoned by the cold Styx River, as legend would have it.

Instead, he ascended right where he was... Quite literally.

His consciousness passed directly through the cave's barriers, through the clouds, and just as he was about to shoot into uninhabited outer space, POP! It was as if he had pierced through a layer of the world's membrane.

He arrived in a world of crystal-clear silver skies in all directions, a dazzling and splendid realm.

...I couldn't have gone straight back to my home in the Astral Plane, could I? David murmured uncertainly to himself.

According to the knowledge described in the Dragon heritage, their kind, the Sed Ponga, originated from a clan of Red Dragons stationed in the Astral Plane.

They had maintained a mutually beneficial yet ambiguous relationship with the Githyanki, abiding by the covenant signed by Ephelomon, a Red Dragon Vassal of the Chromatic Dragon Queen, and the first Githyanki Emperor, Valakis.

For instance, they would team up to raid a Spirit Suckers city-state, plunder fleets traversing the Astral Plane, or even be hired to directly participate in wars on certain planes.

As a result, under the joint deterrence of the current Lich Queen Valakis VII, these war-crazed Sed Ponga had become quite infamous throughout the Astral Plane and many other planes as well.

However, David quickly realized that this was not his 'destination'.

His consciousness was still 'ascending'.

Before long, he felt as though he had pierced another layer of the Multiverse's membrane.

POP! He arrived at a majestic place filled with towering peaks reaching into the clouds and immeasurably deep fjords.

It was the turn of winter to summer; the blazing sun directly melted the mountaintop glaciers. Gushing meltwater mixed with ice surged into the arid land, then, through secret underground channels, quietly flowed towards a sacred forest.

In the distant, vast expanses, countless figures were constantly fighting.

Strangely, whenever they fell, they would rise again the next morning to continue a battle that would never end.

They died in battle and were reborn for battle.

The flame of war was thoroughly ingrained in their blood.

What awaited them, it seemed, was only the endless crucible of war, until they were chosen and elevated higher.

At that moment, David understood where he was.

The Outer Plane, the heroic domain of Ysgard—the Garden of Joseph.

A land filled with heroic legends.

It was also the glorious land where those battle-hungry souls from many planes fought their eternal battles after death.

But David had barely grasped this when, for the third time, he pierced through yet another barrier.

This time...

David felt himself go deaf, blind, lose his sense of smell, and become numb to everything...

He couldn't even feel his own existence anymore.

What had been a relatively clear memory now rapidly became chaotic and blurred, as if slipping into a dream.

At that moment, David felt like Phoenix Ikki after being struck by Virgo Gold Saint Shaka's Divine Dance Treasure Wheel—Sensory Deprivation. It was as if he were in a void.

This was a place not even recorded in the Dragon heritage.

It was also a region beyond the perception of mortal beings.

David could only rely on his so-called 'sixth sense' to feel that he was still 'ascending' at that incredibly fast speed.

Faced with this unprecedented situation, David started to feel uneasy. If I keep rushing on like this, when will it ever end?

It was then that he suddenly sensed something appearing in front of him, growing larger and larger.

Damn, I'm about to collide with it!

But at the moment of collision, several Authorities in his mind triggered simultaneously:

[Authority—Jealousy]

[Authority—Greed]

[Authority—Gluttony]

David felt as if he had pierced through another membrane.

Only this time, it was surprisingly tough.

Then, acting on instinct, he devoured something.

And then, a roar that transcended the realm of sound echoed from behind him, "ARRRRGH! Despicable thief! Get back here! Fight me face to face!"

David was instantly bewildered. Wasn't I supposed to be deaf?

"Damn! Can someone tell me what the hell is going on!"

He didn't know if it was because of whatever he had 'eaten' earlier.

David realized that there was suddenly light before his eyes.

Gradually, his senses seemed to slowly adjust to this void.

Only when he had adjusted did he notice that this place was not empty.

On the contrary, this place seemed even more splendid and extraordinary than the Astral Plane.

The entire void was like an invisible ocean, drifting with thousands of orbs of various sizes. Each possessed an abstract form. Some resembled libraries with endless corridors. Others looked like floating islands with towering trees. Fortresses constantly echoed with the sounds of forging, and some realms were as precise and orderly as clockwork machinery.

For example, the orb that currently seemed to be chasing him from behind was filled with roars of fury from different people, just like in the Garden of Joseph before.

Only, in the Garden of Joseph, those battle-crazed individuals had let out roars of joy, rage, or exhaustion for themselves. The roars behind him now were clearly furious, embodying the sentiment of "Sharpen my spear and share a common foe!"

Remembering how he seemed to have inadvertently stumbled upon and devoured something, and how afterward he could suddenly vaguely sense the strange noises here, David finally had a dawning realization. "Damn it, the thief they were talking about just now... could it be me?"

"Be careful, you've just ascended. Don't run off in that direction anymore; it's even more dangerous over there." As he seemed to pass by a full moon, a gentle voice suddenly reached him.

But by the time David heard it, it was too late; he seemed to have plunged into an even more chaotic region.

Then it was as if he had burst into a place covered with a spiderweb-like structure.

Luckily, David was as small as dust, and having 'awakened' his perception, he immediately spread his invisible wings and shuttled ceaselessly through this chaotic and disordered land.

But soon a heart-palpitating sensation washed over him. He controlled his consciousness to plummet downward, dodging a colossal wall that blotted out the sky.

After getting far away, he finally 'saw' that it was a spider's chelicera, so vast it seemed to have no boundaries!

"Don't run, little one. Come visit my home; it's quite large, you know? KEKEKEKE," a voice teased.

Crap! Had he crossed dimensions again?! David was somewhat baffled.

He also felt that the voice just now sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere. But at this moment, with his 'soul departed,' he hardly had any brain capacity left and couldn't recall where he might have heard it.

Just as David was tiring from dealing with the continuous webs stretching across the sky and was about to be caught by the giant spider behind him, he once again sensed an aura of pure malice and filth drifting around.

At the same time, another familiar female voice arose, "Oh, isn't this my vanquished foe? To think you'd actually start a divine war over a mere mortal city-state. I'm rather looking forward to it."

"Get lost, Tiamat! Do you really think I don't dare to wage war against you?"

Tiamat? Tiamat? The name felt incredibly familiar, yet David couldn't quite place it.

"Little one, run for your life," Tiamat said, her tone domineering yet casual. "Whether it's Rose or me, if we catch even a sliver of information, the plane and location of your ascension to godhood will be completely exposed. Or are you, this newly ascended little Demigod, ready to pledge allegiance to me? I would welcome you with open arms."

"You're going too far, Tiamat! That is my prey!!!"

"What's all this 'mine' and 'yours'? If I catch him, he is mine, Tiamat's," she retorted.

Just as David saw that he was about to crash headlong into what looked like a pillar of creation amidst the stars, in a daze, he seemed to hear someone calling out, "Wake up! Wake up quickly!"

"Saphistouin! My boy! Don't leave me."

"If you die, how am I supposed to face your sister?" the voice sobbed. "WAAAH!"

"Ah! It's all because of me! If you're dead... I won't live either!"

"Stop! Wan Tsai, quickly hold her back! Don't do anything stupid! Look, the master isn't completely dead yet, is he?"

...

Huh? That's right, I shouldn't be dead yet!

Just as he was about to collide with the mountain-like dragon claw, David abruptly opened his eyes.

He found himself back in the cave.

However, the bizarre recollection still filled his mind. But, with his perception limited, he found the memory rapidly fading.

So, he hurriedly dismissed the Drow Mage and the somewhat agitated Winter Wolf. Only his Silver Dragon father remained, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying. David recounted his bizarre experience and sought answers from him.

Upon hearing it all, his father, Attilicia, was also stunned. He looked at his son, who seemed to have just awoken, and said in a dry, incredulous tone, "If your description is correct...

"That place should be a dimension within the Multiverse unique to spirit and philosophy.

"It is... beyond the Outer Planes.

"It is the dwelling place of the gods.

"Also known as... the Pantheon!"

"The Pantheon?" David was startled too.

Attilicia then, with dawning realization, sized David up and asked in a baffled tone, "Kid, don't tell me you just ascended to godhood? But how is that even possible!"

"...I have no idea!" David was even more confused.

As father and son looked at each other in bewilderment, David suddenly thought of a way to test his theory. He asked his adoptive father, "By the way, Rosinde's body... it hasn't been buried yet, has it?"