The Monarch

Kayden spoke in such a direct and utterly disrespectful tone that none of the mortals here had been expecting it. They were left speechless for a few seconds—they hadn't been treated like that in many years."Obviously we're here to be trained, Kayden," Kayn replied, raising an eyebrow. He couldn't continue, because Kayden spoke again, this time looking at a specific point in the sky."As long as I don't kill or cripple them, can I train them however I want?" Kayden released a bit of his aura toward the god who was drinking and… doing inappropriate things with several women of different races."Yes, don't worry too much about their complaints. I give you my word that nothing will..." a small pause followed by, "Don't bite that," a cough, "anyway, do whatever you want."The situation was a bit strange, especially for the mortals who had never seen any god interact directly with Lucian. This made them even more impressed by Kayden's strength."Very well," Kayden smiled. "Those who want to be trained directly, raise your hand. Those who only want occasional help can leave." Kayden watched most of them walk away. Only two remained in the end.The dragon and Kayn.Kayn had dark gray skin, with luminous veins pulsing in shades of red beneath the surface, like living lava flowing inside him. A long, muscular tail extended from his spine, balancing his movements with almost feline precision. His eyes burned like fire, and curved horns swept backward from his head, completing the image of a creature made for war.The dragon was smaller than expected, but still imposing, with matte black scales and golden eyes that seemed to observe everything with calm disdain. His wings were always half-spread, as if he didn't fully trust the ground beneath his feet. Thin fangs protruded from his mouth, and his breath carried a constant hint of smoke."Very well," Kayden didn't wait for their answer. "Let's begin."The two suddenly found themselves slammed into the ground at high speed, the sound of their bodies crashing against the grass echoed for hundreds of kilometers.The mages who had refused Kayden's training looked on in horror—they hadn't expected such harsh treatment. No god had ever dared even touch them, especially with the risk of attracting divine karma, but Kayden didn't care at all."You have a decade to get up from that ground," Kayden sat cross-legged in front of them and started drinking tea. "If you fail, I'll deny you any special training in the future."Neither of them could even speak—the pressure on their bodies was immense. It wasn't an aura pressing them down, but a law. This was the law Kayden had learned on Mount Olympus.Weeks began to fly by, and the two remained face-down, their honor shattered into pieces. They hadn't expected Kayden to treat them like this. During this time, a few mortals came to spar with Kayden and...Were utterly destroyed. Kayden showed them no mercy. He pointed out their flaws directly and spat on their talents as if they were worthless. Fights that should have lasted minutes turned into hours of Kayden exposing every weakness they had.There was no fear of karma in Kayden's actions. He destroyed his students, leaving them all literally broken. Any fight with Kayden required medical attention or, at the very least, a few months of recovery. It was terrifying—none of these mages had expected anything like it.At first, resentment toward Kayden began to form. But every time he spoke, the mages noticed subtle flaws in themselves they hadn't seen before. It became clear to everyone that Kayden was on a much higher level. It was enough to draw the attention of even Lucius, who came to speak with him at some point."Where exactly are you from?" Kayden just smiled. He didn't know how to explain it."So far that your name has already been erased," Kayden didn't give any more details, and Lucius didn't ask further."What's your true strength?" Lucius asked a simple question, and Kayden gave a simple answer."Second divine level." It wasn't much, but it wasn't little either. Kayden was somewhere in the middle of the power scale in this world—but his knowledge and the way he carried himself hinted at something far greater behind it."Do you belong to any organization?" Kayden shook his head while continuing to sip his tea."In the future, would you be interested in participating in a battle of the gods?" Kayden raised an eyebrow and started listening to a story."I come from a massive organization. There are different houses within houses and things like that. I belong to a secondary branch of the main branch. So I'm at the top, but… I have no gods by my side. That means I haven't participated in the family games for millions of years. I'm going into the next one, and I'm gathering gods and mortals for this journey.""I see. I charge a rather steep price for my services," Kayden smiled. Lucius also smiled—he doubted Kayden could ask for anything that would leave him empty-handed. But…"Heavenly water and celestial earth."Kayden's simple phrase caused Lucius to lose his train of thought for a few seconds. That was an extremely high price. The god remained thoughtful for a few minutes."Let's wait a while before negotiating again." Lucius could pay that price—but only if Kayden truly proved he was worth it. At this moment, he wasn't sure of that.Kayden just smiled and continued with his own thoughts. He had fought a lot in recent years, and that gave him plenty to review in his mind. Hundreds of battles that he had to go over again and understand what went wrong.The years passed slowly. Kayn and the dragon didn't even have the right to a cup of water during this entire period. Kayden didn't offer a single word of encouragement.Kayn began to rise after a full seven years.