In Pandora's world, which had once been primitive and undeveloped, a profound transformation had occurred over the past century. With the technological assistance from Earth Star's civilization, the Ikon race had advanced rapidly. They learned to build cities, shifting from tribal to urban life, and communication barriers caused by distance were shattered.
Due to lessons from Earth Star's environmental degradation and the Ikon people's innate reverence for nature, Pandora's appearance from above remained mostly unchanged. They prioritized preserving their natural landscape, preferring to spend extra resources rather than harm the environment to create urban convenience. Cities were strategically placed in barren, sparsely vegetated areas, and some Ikon even proposed building floating cities using massive anti-gravity devices to avoid touching the land.
This ambitious plan to construct "Sky Cities" received unanimous support, and the project took off in earnest. In a cost-saving effort, some Ikon even began constructing space cities outside the planet, attracting human scientists who admired the Ikon's dedication to protecting Pandora's ecology. As a result, a massive metal city began taking shape in Pandora's orbit, with hulking cargo ships shuttling between Pandora and this giant construction site, ferrying building materials.
At that moment, a glimmer of golden light appeared in the distant darkness, rapidly expanding into a golden tide sweeping through the starry expanse. The wave enveloped everything, and all movement froze, as if time itself had stopped.
Within this stillness, a majestic figure emerged, calmly observing the scene that his power had suspended.
"Time stopped? No," Muria shook his head slightly. "This isn't true time stoppage; I didn't halt time itself." This experiment was a test of his newfound strength, attempting to immobilize everything in a specific area, creating an effect that mimicked time's cessation.
For those with powers weaker than his own, this ability was a devastating weapon. But against beings of equal strength, it would have little effect—a tool of limited value for Muria, who had no need to display divine feats to gather worship.
"Only an epic can contend with an epic!" After briefly testing his epic powers, Muria acknowledged the inherent limitations of this technique, which held godlike power over lesser beings but was ineffective against true equals.
"My work here is done; I'm ready to depart. Now it's time to claim my due reward." Standing near the nascent space city, Muria extended his hand toward Pandora below. For someone like him, compensating effort with a reward was only natural. If a world dared deny him his due, he would have no qualms about demanding it with force.
Since Muria wasn't born of Pandora, he owed it no obligation. He had helped its civilizations evolve, granting it potential and qualifications for advancement. Claiming a drop of primal power as compensation was far from excessive.
Unlike Earth Star, Pandora's world consciousness responded promptly to his gesture, and the entire world trembled. Vibrant streams of blue-green light rose from all corners, converging upon Muria's extended hand. Once more, he saw a scene much like what he had experienced with Earth Star, though this time, the light streams seemed even more robust.
When the radiant primal power crystalized in his hand, however, he realized it wasn't any different from the drop obtained from Earth Star.
"Hmm," Muria muttered, unsure what to make of this. Despite his greater benevolence toward Pandora compared to Earth Star, the essence he received seemed the same. Keeping these thoughts in check, he closed his hand around the primal power.
Once again, a complete reflection of Pandora appeared in his mind's eye, gradually disassembling to reveal every law underpinning it, with nothing concealed. This time, Muria discovered that Pandora's laws were more refined, rigorous, and included certain laws absent in Earth Star's framework.
When Pandora's image finally returned to normal, his comprehension of the laws had deepened, and a hazy framework of world laws flickered faintly within his consciousness.
"Not a wasted effort, indeed!" Muria smiled at the world below. His time observing Pandora's laws had lasted almost twice as long as it had on Earth Star, yielding more than double the insights.
"Meow!" Just then, a soft, familiar meow sounded, something he hadn't heard in a long time.
"Mrow-King!" Muria turned and saw a massive, purple-black dragon break into the golden realm he had created, looking at him with reluctance.
"Master, are you really leaving?" Over the years, the Mrow-King's gratitude toward Muria had grown immensely, as its once unimaginable status and achievements had all stemmed from Muria's intervention.
"My task here is complete, and I've gained what I came for. It's time for me to go," Muria replied with a gentle smile, gazing at the purple-black dragon god. The Mrow-King wasn't just Pandora's first god; it had also ascended to be Earth Star's first god, a dual-world deity—a rare and enviable starting point.
"Could you stay a little longer?"
Muria sidestepped the question with a smile. "Fulfill your role well—protect humanity and the Ikon people. Honor your duties as a god! Through these two intelligent species, you'll have further opportunities for advancement. They can support each other's progress, and with their entry into the interstellar age, they can expand to other worlds. As their patron god, your divinity will strengthen as they grow."
While gods tied to faith cannot leave their world, their worshippers can. A god's influence extends wherever their followers reside. In the Mrow-King's case, its current sphere of influence was limited to Earth Star and Pandora. But as its worshippers, the Ikon and humans, ventured beyond, its domain would grow accordingly.
However, this expansion through followers carried inherent risks, as the void held many civilizations stronger than one's own. Clashing with a more advanced civilization during an expansion could spell disaster.
"Continue to work hard, and learn to be a good god! Perhaps we'll meet again someday!"
With that, Muria stretched out his hand, piercing the void. Now, he possessed the strength to tear open space itself.
A torrent of energy surged from the rift he had opened, widening the tear into a large gate—a gateway to the void, radiating twisted waves of spatial energy.
Without hesitation, Muria stepped through it. This portal connected to a vast nexus created by the Titans, Seraphim, and Metal Dragons—the All-Realms Transit Hall. As a new epic, Muria hadn't yet developed the power to traverse worlds alone, so he had to rely on external aid for his return.
The moment Muria vanished into the portal, the golden world he had imposed shattered, and all that had been frozen resumed motion. However, a small commotion arose as those affected noticed their sudden temporal loss.
Muria had always clarified that his technique was not true time control but simply the forced halting of matter within a defined area. Even so, he'd never believed that any entity could truly master time.
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