Chapter 176: Chapter 176 — The God of Dreams
The human emperor, with a serious expression, noticed something. He pulled a small amulet from his pocket and activated it.
A deep, resonant sound echoed, like a giant bell. Every emperor trapped in the illusion blinked and opened their eyes.
They all looked at each other, injured and surprised. Some were severely damaged, arms and legs bruised, bodies torn from attacks they now realized weren’t real."What... how...?" one murmured, stunned."They tricked us too easily..." another said, breathing heavily.
From above, Jax descended, floating, laughing."That’s it? You couldn’t even handle that little pressure... you have no idea what it’s like to face me." His voice was cold, mocking, as he approached."You’re too weak."
The emperors regrouped and attacked all at once—a full-on barrage against Jax. Lightning, flames, ice, claws, explosions, beetles, shadows... everything was thrown at him, the sky shaking under the combined power of dozens of emperors.
Jax just smiled and raised his hands. His eyes glowed, and a wave of energy radiated from him, stopping every attack mid-air like they were mere toys."That’s all you’ve got? Boring..." he murmured.
Then the sky darkened. The emperors looked around, confused, as terrifying figures appeared. Their worst nightmares took shape: impossible monsters, twisted faces, creatures born from their deepest fears.
One by one, they began screaming:"No... this can’t be real!""Get away from me!""Damn... you can’t do this!"
Jax watched, floating above them, enjoying every reaction. With a gesture, he hypnotized their minds, making their attacks strike their own allies, creating total chaos."If you can’t handle the pressure of a dream, you don’t even know what it means to face a god," he said with a cold smile.
Every attempt to coordinate failed. Every attack launched now turned against themselves. Screams, roars, and explosions filled the air as Jax, the near-god of dreams, played with them like a master, making it clear that no emperor could stop him.
The Demon King of the Undead, who had pretended to be a corpse all this time, couldn’t stand seeing his ancestors humiliated like that. In anger, he pierced his bony chest and pulled out an ancient talisman, a gift from Neer Zhaal, the god of death.
A portal opened in the sky, and a colossal skull descended slowly, wrapped in shadows and dark power. Its very presence made all the ancestors kneel, trembling before the magnitude of its power.
But Jax didn’t flinch. He stared at it with absolute coldness, unafraid.
The Demon King of the Undead frowned, surprised."How... can you stand firm before me?" he murmured, incredulous.
Jax let out a cold, mocking laugh, arms crossed as he floated."So it was you who cursed inside GRB when I killed Kalamus," he said."You looked stronger back then... tell me, what happened? Haven’t eaten well? Haven’t slept? Or maybe you’re missing some milk for your little bones?"
The colossal skull glowed with a dark aura as the ancestors trembled, but Jax just smiled, enjoying every second.
The god of death, confused, stared at the Demon King and the avatar he had sent."No... this shouldn’t be happening... why isn’t it affecting him?" he murmured, perplexed.
Jax leaned slightly, a cold smile on his face."If you came in person... I’d run without looking back," he said. "But a simple skull that looks like an ugly puppet... isn’t worthy of that."
The emperors trembled. For the first time, they understood the real difference between themselves and Jax.The god of death’s avatar looked terrifying, imposing, but Jax saw it for what it really was: just a body, just an attempt at intimidation.
Jax stepped toward the colossal skull."You better tell all the gods I don’t want them around," he said coldly. "Or I’ll destroy their avatars. How about I show you what I mean?"
His hand filled with golden energy, glowing so intensely it looked like a miniature sun suspended before him.With a single strike, the skull exploded, leaving only white dust floating in the air.
Jax felt something enter his body: the spark of the god of death. It was pure, brutal power. In an instant, his level jumped from 98 to 99.
His power began to boil violently. Every muscle, every spark of energy inside him surged.The sound coming from his heart—the war drums of his very essence—echoed louder and louder, like a call to war no one could ignore.
The emperors stood paralyzed, unable to move, realizing they were now facing something far above them.
While the emperors trembled in fear, the people inside the walls who had believed in Jax as their god sang praises of joy.
Their voices filled the air, clear and strong, like a chorus of hope. Among them, his eight disciples and the chief priestess, Seraphina, knelt, feeling lucky.
All this time, they had doubted Jax’s power, even considering abandoning their faith. But something had stopped them. Now they rejoiced for standing firm; they knew if they had fled, Jax wouldn’t have taken it well, and they would have paid for their sins.
Jax descended toward the wall. It wasn’t a normal wall—it was made of massive golden fragments scattered around, glowing under his power. He looked at the statues they had built in his honor, symbols of devotion and hope.
His thoughts wandered to the warrior with the wooden katana, an old memory that caught his attention. His clone stepped closer and explained:"That strange energy... it may look scary, but it’s just a distortion of space. Nothing truly dangerous. But if you don’t know how to face it, you’d be destroyed without mercy."
Jax smiled faintly, watching how devotion and faith had survived even through doubt."They stood firm... that’ll give them an advantage," he murmured, as the power boiling inside him calmed slightly, yet still radiated an impossible force.
The contrast was clear: emperors paralyzed by fear, and his people, filled with hope and faith, showing that not everything is measured by force or destruction.