The System Awakens: Rise of the Champion-Chapter 293: Jealous Beasts Of End

Damian raised his hand and pointed it at the huge, monstrous figure frozen at the center of the abyss of Tartarus, radiating overwhelming killing intent and an extremely hostile presence.

"Heed the call of your king."

"Tear yourself loose from timeless restraint."

"Rise from slumber… Typhon."

Damian's voice resounded like thunder flashing down from heaven to earth, followed by an unseeing moment of absolute silence.

In the next instant, everything would change.

The strong, cold wind currents, capable of freezing even the souls of gods, came to an abrupt halt.

Following them, silence reigned, thick and oppressive, accompanied by an eerie, suffocating presence.

For a few moments, it felt as though nothing would happen.

Yet everyone present, even powerful gods like Thanatos and Hypnos, wore expressions of fear and disbelief, as if they still could not accept that what was about to occur was truly happening.

Then, in a single instant, one after another, their numbers rapidly increasing, hundreds of thousands of crimson lightning bolts struck the mountainous figure of Typhon.

In the very next second, an unfathomable presence descended upon Tartarus.

The hellish lands of Tartarus shook violently. The entire realm trembled, vibrating uncontrollably, as though it could barely endure such an existence.

Moments later, cracks began to appear across Typhon's seemingly stone-frozen body, spreading like a spider's web. Within seconds, the fissures covered him entirely.

In an unseeing moment, the cracks suddenly widened, then exploded outward in a single cataclysmic blast, releasing a blinding light.

For one brief second, everything turned black, save for that radiance which illuminated the entirety of Tartarus' eternal darkness.

When the light finally faded, what stood before them was an enormous hydra-like dragon with ten heads and three pairs of massive draconic wings spanning hundreds of meters, vast enough to blot out the sky.

His colossal, serpentine body writhed as his ten heads arched skyward before sweeping downward, scanning every direction as though searching for something, anything, to satisfy his sole purpose.

Destruction.

The moment Typhon realized he had awakened, his ten eyes ignited with yellow-red, threatening energy.

The silence shattered instantly, replaced by a chorus of deafening roars, as if dozens of dragons howled at once.

ROAR!!!

The sheer power of Typhon's roar distorted the surrounding space.

The once-still cold winds suddenly accelerated beyond anything ever witnessed in Tartarus, forming a supernatural hurricane with Typhon at its center.

Hundreds of tornadoes spiraled into existence as countless lightning bolts descended, annihilating everything they touched.

In the following moments, every aspect of the apocalypse manifested uncontrollably, driven by nothing but chaos and destruction, as though the world itself was being erased.

It was the beginning of the end.

"The beginning of the end…"

The god of sleep, Hypnos, muttered subconsciously, as though Typhon's presence alone demanded those words to be spoken in absolute fear.

"His presence… it's even more terrifying than before. H-how could he have grown even stronger while frozen in Tartarus?" Thanatos said, gulping nervously. "How is this even possible?"

"You don't know?" Damian looked at them as though they were idiots. Seeing their confused and terrified expressions, he continued. "Typhon was born from Gaia's negative emotions. He is a god of endings. He possesses an innate ability to absorb negativity to grow stronger."

He gestured toward the raging dragon.

"Sealing him in Tartarus was smart. It freezes anything that appears within it, making it one of the greatest prisons in the universe. But it was also the perfect place for Typhon to grow stronger. If someone other than me had accidentally awakened him, he would have destroyed one or two pantheons easily."

Damian's expression was as casual as it could.

"And even if no one freed him, he would have awakened eventually. He has been continuously growing stronger. Eventually, he would have become so powerful that Tartarus itself would no longer be able to hold him."

ROAR!!!

Damian was about to explain further, but another thunderous roar interrupted him.

He turned just in time to see Typhon's massive wings begin to flap, slowly at first, as if the beast were preparing to take flight and unleash its terror upon existence.

...

Greek Pantheon

Mount Olympus

This was the most peaceful period the Greek Pantheon had experienced in eons, actually ever.

With both Zeus and his father Kronos gone, those two pigs among pigs, the most awful gods to ever exist, Zeus and all who supported his reign had been dragged into the Emperor's specialized dimension, [Descent of the Terrors], where they were tortured for who knows how long before the Emperor finally put them out of their misery.

The remaining gods were ecstatic.

So ecstatic, in fact, that the moment the Emperor left, the so-called good gods immediately began arguing among themselves over who would inherit the territories of those who were no more.

Eventually, they brought their dispute before the Emperor's queens, who now ruled the Greek Pantheon properly, asking them to resolve their little argument.

Safe to say, they were acting like children, making the mother goddess Hera rub her forehead in irritation.

It was a casual day.

Then something happened.

Every god present abruptly stood up, their faces twisted into expressions of sheer terror, as if they had sensed true horror, something unimaginable even in the worst nightmare, coming to life.

"This presence… it… it can't be…"

Apollo, the god of the sun, healing, light, prophecy, music, poetry, and archery, and Queen Artemis's twin brother, muttered in horror.

"The beginning of the end is starting…"

Pan, god of the wild, shepherds, and flocks, spoke in a sorrowful tone.

"Just when you gave us peace, the Heavenly Mother is taking it away…"

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the center of the hall.

Hera and the other goddesses, those who had gathered and become wives of Damian, immediately recognized who she was.

"D-Daughter?" Hera called out in surprise.

"Daughter?" Eden's face turned red, then she snorted.

"Fine. I'll let you call me that."

She shrugged.

"Anyway, Father Dearest is waking up Typhon, so yeah. I came to tell you to ignore him. Typhon is controlled."

With that, Eden vanished from the spot.

"I-Is that the administrator of the system?"

Iris, goddess of rainbows and divine messages, asked shakily.

"Did she just say the Heavenly Son is awakening Typhon? Is he going to unleash him on us?"

"Yeah. That's my daughter, Eden," Hera said calmly.

"It seems my husband is going to subdue or kill Typhon."

She waved her hand dismissively.

"Anyway, let's go back to discussing territories. And no, I will not allow you to erect a golden statue of your naked figure, Iacchus."

She looked firmly at Iacchus, god of ecstasy and rebirth.

"…Oh man," Iacchus sighed, utterly defeated.

Norse Pantheon

"I'm so jealous of your human form, brother."

Jörmungandr, brother of Fenrir and Hela, and one of the dragons of the end in the Norse Pantheon, spoke.

His expression was unreadable.

He was a massive eastern-type dragon with a mostly serpentine body. His head alone was as large as a skyscraper.

"Well, our brother-in-law will help you with that soon," Fenrir said casually, a small smile on his face.

"Sister said he's heading to meet you next. Once he becomes the progenitor of the dragon race, he'll easily give you the ability to take human form."

Suddenly, their eyes widened.

They felt a familiar presence appear out of nowhere, a presence belonging to an extremely powerful Beast of the End.

A massive figure materialized beside Jörmungandr.

It was Nidhogg.

Not as large as Jörmungandr, but still monstrous enough to be called a Beast of the End. The third one of the Norse Pantheon. A western-type dragon, a god of destruction and endings.

"Did you guys sense that?" Nidhogg asked, glancing jealously at Fenrir's human form.

"Yeah… is that Apophis?" Jörmungandr asked, confused.

"Isn't she still imprisoned?"

"I don't think it's Apophis," Fenrir replied, shrugging.

"But that enormous power… it should be Typhon. Looks like he woke up. Such a mindless idiot."

Nidhogg and Jörmungandr stared at Fenrir.

"What?" Fenrir asked, suddenly uncomfortable under their gazes.

"Aren't you worried about Typhon?" Nidhogg asked quietly.

"We Beasts of the End keep each other in check. Unlike us, Apophis and Typhon don't have stable minds. If he starts causing chaos, we'll have to stop him, and he's grown too strong for us to handle. Not to mention, his presence could stir Apophis as well."

"Well, my brother-in-law, the Heavenly Son, recently conquered the Greek Pantheon," Fenrir replied casually.

"I assume he's the one who woke Typhon up. I can sense his presence in Tartarus."

His complete lack of concern made the other two Beasts of the End stare at him speechlessly.

Jörmungandr soon adopted the same casual expression.

"I mean, it's the Heavenly Son," he shrugged.

"He's basically the ruler of the universe. If my brother-in-law woke Typhon, he's probably planning to do something with him."

Nidhogg sighed.

He had to agree. If it was the Heavenly Son, then Typhon was nothing.

Hela shook her head as she watched the three Beasts of the End talk.

"You three have way too much free time," she said flatly.

"Go do your jobs. Don't let my master do your work for you, you lazies."

She stomped away.

The three Beasts of the End turned their heads aside, pretending they hadn't heard a thing.