First Demonic Dragon - Chapter 1072: Dragon Worship

Chapter 1072: Dragon Worship

If you didn’t live in Tehom, then you would never know.

The way the dragons view their gods is so very different than everyone else.

Abaddon, Ayaana, and now Zahara receive the bulk of the reverence out of admiration and superstition.

The people believe that as long as their marriage remains blissful, their realm will be prosperous. But aside from that, they don’t get many actual prayers.

Nevi’im are largely independent people. Soldiers may pray to their gods before a big battle or a significant event, but otherwise, there isn’t much prayer going on.

Tehom’s main temple frequenters are still the elemental spirits, even after thousands of years.

Their innocence and supposed helplessness make them seem a bit like the abyss’s version of humans. However, Abaddon insists that they are much more precious. Like his house’s own nature spirit, Daphne.

Spirits pray to the dragons for everything that they cannot immediately get their hands on. They don’t just do this with Abaddon and his wives.

His children receive prayers throughout the night and day. But so do the generals.

The heads of the bright legion were offered godhood years ago after an offhanded conversation at dinner one night.

Abaddon remarked about how the soldiers and even the people under them prayed to the generals as if they were gods.

‘A pity we can’t hear them.’ Hajun said.

‘Do you want to?’ Abaddon responded.

‘Not really.’

And that was the end of that. No one else in the room ever asked to be anointed either.

Aside from Asmodeus, who attained godhood on his own, there are no other deities within the Abyssal Pantheon.

The reason why Abaddon had a hard time controlling his anger when he heard Omodaru and Kashiko-ne’s request was that what they wanted was purely exploitive.

There is a theory among the heavens that the worship of certain beings empower gods with differing levels of divine energy.

Though this has never been directly confirmed by Yesh, Asherah, Abaddon, or even Ayaana.

Humans are believed to be the cream of the crop. Enough of their faith is the difference between a river god and Zeus.

Monsters and demons are seen as the bottom of the barrel. Even Camazotz, who has the faith of most vampires, wasn’t actually all that powerful until he became Mira’s pet.

However, dragons are thought to be different.

It’s suspected that if you could have the faith of a sentient dragon, you would unquestionably have a power that equals what humans can give, if not surpasses it.

However, the dragons in the prime universe, without question, either send their faith to Gabbrielle, Abaddon, Ayaana, or no one at all.

Abaddon sees efforts by the gods to coerce dragons into worship as extremely egregious and exploitative. He’s drawn a very bold line in the sand before, letting others know that it’s a mistake that they are better off not making.

And if they tried to subvert his warning… it isn’t as if he wouldn’t know.

Abaddon isn’t one to look past the exploitation of his descendants, whether they come from his universe or not.

But he never in his entire life imagined that his in-laws would come to him, hat in hand, asking for the worship of the race of dragons most precious to him.

They didn’t even know them well enough to understand how they viewed praying to begin with. It was infuriating.

“Are you making a mockery of me?”

Abaddon removed Izanami from his lap and stood up.

“You come here claiming that I should give you a gift in exchange for Iznami as if she is some prized piglet. But you want me to give you access to our people as well…?”

Uncaring, Abaddon walked over the plates and remnants of food that had fallen on the floor.

His sandals crushed the fragments of china underfoot. With every dull crack, he drew closer and closer to his would-be in-laws.

He stopped maybe five feet away from them, with an odd glow emanating from the new jewel in his chest.

Omodaru looked down at his clothes. They were beginning to accumulate strange holes.

The fabric wasn’t being eaten, burned, or destroyed. If you looked at it closely, it was just as if it miraculously wasn’t there anymore.

Maybe it had never been there…

“Be grateful that you still share her blood.” Abaddon snarled. “Lest you would be lying on the floor amongst the fish.”

Kashiko-ne looked towards her husband, trying not to show the amount of anxiety running through her.

Omodaru, feeling the nerves himself, stood up in front of Abaddon despite the substantial height difference.

He clenched his fists and stared straight into Abaddon’s eyes.

“I understand your anger, but I would not have come here and asked for this if my wife and I were not truly desperate. We’re dwindling, Abaddon.”

The dragon’s face remained unchanged.

Omodaru and Kashiko-ne, despite being among the Progenetoi, were not strong when compared to other goddesses. In fact, the power that they did have was beginning to atrophy.

It’s extremely rare, but it does happen sometimes when gods lose their followers. Eventually, their powers start to dwindle. They may still be the oldest of the old, but by the end, they may possess no more power than your average demigod.

Gods aren’t supposed to be tremendously attached to their power, but any god who tells you they aren’t is lying in an attempt to seem vain.

It’s not different from a human man, who may have been in splendid shape in his high school and college days, but suddenly has difficulty walking up a flight of stairs in his mid-thirties.

Power is what defines gods. Many of them don’t know what they are without it.

“We need help. You may find our methods crude, but it is our last option. You are the only one who could help us live with our dignity.”

Abaddon’s gaze finally softened.

He felt a hand grab him from behind, and found Izanami giving him an unwavering look.

He felt himself let go. His rage subsided.

Izanami pulled her husband behind her.

She was the one to face her parents with a plain, unwavering look that didn’t seem like one a daughter would give to their parents.

She took a few minutes to calm down and make sure that all of her words would come out as smoothly as she wanted.

“…I’m sorry you’re both sick. Truly. But we cannot give you that kind of intimate access to our people. And yes, these are my people now.”

Abaddon and Ayaana couldn’t take their eyes off of her if they tried.

Given that their relationship with Izanami was still fairly new, it was moving to see just how much she had bought into not just their family, but the responsibility of their crown as well.

It touched them in a way they didn’t know how to put into words.

“However… we will find some way to help you.” Izanami finished. “It just will not be in the way that you want.”

Kashiko-ne raised her brow. “A-And how will you do that..?”

Izanami looked towards Ayaana.

An imperceptible look passed between the two wives. None but them knew what they were saying.

“…Give us the day. I will have an answer for you then.”

Omodaru and Kashiko-ne shared a look between themselves. They nodded when they realized they had nothing else that they could do.

And in a spontaneous blink of an eye, the two of them were gone, and Izanami let out the biggest sigh her lungs could produce.

She waved her hand over her face, and all of her makeup came off in an instant.

She undid her long kimono and exchanged it for her simpler robe and pants.

Izanami was a person who functioned much better when she was in comfortable clothes.

“Erm… you may have forgotten about someone.”

Izanami glanced over at Amaterasu, who was still sitting in her seat and staring at them like they had all gone crazy.

“If you were sending people home, it would have been nice if you had remembered I was here, too.”

Quickly, Izanami lost her empress-like demeanor and began playing with her fingers like a nervous high schooler. “O-Oh, well… You haven’t visited in so long that I thought you might like to play with your brother for a bit before you go.”

Amaterasu pursed her lips. She stood up and started to fix her own clothes. “Mother, that would be nice, but I don’t have time to do that right now. I have to get the gods under me ready for the trial this afternoon, and-”

The sun goddess’s words trailed off when she felt something in the realm shift.

It was as if a deadbolt had been set on the door.

Izanami smiled innocently. “…Whops. Might as well stay here until we can get that fixed!”

Amaterasu turned towards Abaddon. “Y-You can-”

Ayaana slipped in and wrapped her arms around her husband; pulling him away. “Sorry, dear, I’ve got to give your step-father a check-up.”

“H-He’s not my stepfather!”

“Yeah, yeah…”

The two of them left quickly and Sif followed suit to sate her own curiosity.

That only left Izanami and Amaterasu, the latter of which was smiling as bright as the morning sun.

Her daughter was completely defeated.

“…Fine.”

Today is my official first day as a Georgia Bulldogs fan. Go dawgs!

also everyone tell xaivier’s daughter happy birthday