"Finally, it's my turn!"
Outside the world barriers of Erathia, Muria stood atop the inter-world teleportation array constructed with the combined resources of three races, gazing up at the endless dark void.
Dark, vast, and desolate—this was Muria's impression of the void. However, it wasn't entirely black. Dotted across the darkness were shining worlds, glowing with a brilliant and captivating radiance.
"Stop staring. It's time for you to get ready to go!" A gentle voice came from behind Muria. He turned and saw his dragon grandmother, Arista.
"Grandmother!" Muria greeted her, unsurprised by her appearance, as she had likely come to see him off.
"Ah, seems like we've skipped a step?" With Arista's arrival, Muria's grandfather Demos followed. He scrutinized Muria for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction.
"I remember that according to Titan tradition, every Titan preparing to venture into the void to achieve Epic status receives a strand of primal power to understand its effects."
"There's no need for that. He's already experienced primal power several times, and he's even used a drop of it himself. It would be a waste of resources." A towering figure appeared on the metal continent, its voice booming like thunder. It was Muria's Titan grandfather, Archimonde, Lord of the Wilds.
"Uh..." Muria's mouth twitched. While it was true he had once passively endured a drop of primal power, he hadn't actively used it. At his current level, using primal power again would surely yield a very different experience.
"Oh, by the way, how are my parents doing?" Muria suddenly remembered his parents. Ever since they ventured into the void, he had heard nothing about them and didn't know how they were faring.
"Rest assured, they're doing well. They've successfully acquired their first drop of primal power and are already half a step into Epic. They've reincarnated into a second world and are accumulating more primal power to strengthen their foundation."
"Together again in the same world?" Muria felt a pang of jealousy. He truly envied his parents for being able to face hardship and reap rewards together.
"Alright, it's time to go. Stop stalling!" Another Epic-level figure arrived. This was his wife's grandfather, the Seraph Aludiba, who had also come to see him off.
With his grandfathers' urging, Muria ascended a pyramid, standing atop its flat, square summit. The metal continent beneath him began to tremble, drawing in the wandering energies of the void, forming a dazzling stream of light.
This time, Muria was embarking on his journey alone. There were no other legendary beings joining him. After all, legendary beings at their peak were rare, and most, even upon reaching their limits, chose to pursue godhood rather than becoming an Epic. Those seeking to become Epics often spent a long time preparing before entering the void.
"Wait!" Just as the lower half of the pyramid was enveloped in radiant light, Muria remembered there was one important detail he hadn't asked about.
"Grandfather, Grandmother, what is the world I'm descending into like? You haven't told me!"
"Muria, we selected this world because it's ideal for someone seeking to become an Epic!"
"And what is this world like?" Muria wanted to know more specifics about the world he was about to enter. By now, the pyramid beneath him was almost entirely covered in light, and the teleportation array was activating rapidly.
"It's a very peaceful and tranquil world!" His grandmother Arista managed to say this one sentence before the entire pyramid lit up. Muria was suddenly engulfed by an overwhelming flow of power.
Boom!
The torrent of dazzling energy enveloped Muria, tearing through the void and propelling him into the dark expanse outside Erathia's patrol perimeter.
...
When Muria regained consciousness, he found himself surrounded by a warm liquid, enclosed in a soft, dark space. He also felt incredibly weak.
It wasn't that something was wrong with his body—he quickly realized he no longer possessed the power to burn mountains or boil seas. He had fallen back to the level of a mortal, and even more thoroughly than when he had sealed his son Aeolos.
His current state was even more fragile than his previous life as a mortal because now, he was merely a fetus, not even fully developed.
"So this is the secret art of the Sky Demon... It's truly remarkable! The one who created this technique was truly a genius!" Muria couldn't help but marvel at his situation as he pieced together what had happened. His current state was the result of using the Sky Demon's secret art.
This art sealed all his power, leaving only his basic consciousness, and allowed him to be reborn in the target world as a native, preventing him from being rejected or suppressed by the world.
Otherwise, with Muria's power, any world he entered would suppress him, as he would be considered an extremely dangerous entity. Only his birth world, Erathia, would allow him to come and go freely without any form of suppression or rejection.
"But where is my sealed true body?" Now that Muria had successfully entered the target world and secured a legal identity as a native, he began searching for his true form.
He soon discovered it, curled up in the heart of his still-developing fetal body. His enormous, towering form, a fusion of Titan and Dragon King bloodlines, was folded tightly, all its power and aura concealed.
Muria could sense that he could awaken his true form and regain his power at any moment. However, he also had a strong feeling that if he dared to reveal his true legendary strength in this world, he would be met with overwhelming suppression and eventually expelled, leaving him empty-handed.
"So, I really have to start from scratch..." Muria mused. He found the experience somewhat interesting, though the novelty didn't last long. Soon, an overwhelming fatigue washed over him, and he felt the urge to sleep.
"What a fragile body!" Muria sighed helplessly and drifted off. Even someone as powerful as him couldn't do much while still in the form of an unborn fetus.
...
"Ahhh!"
A woman's cries of pain echoed from a treehouse, and outside, a man paced anxiously. As a male, there was little he could do to help with childbirth, especially without any experience in such matters.
"How much longer will it take for the baby to be born?" The large, muscular Ikon male slammed his fist against a tree trunk, his frustration evident. He was the mate of the female Ikon inside the treehouse, currently giving birth.
"Calm down, Batu. No matter how anxious you are, it won't help. It's your mate who's giving birth, not you," an elderly Ikon with a hunched figure and wrinkled face chuckled, trying to soothe the younger man.
"If you really want to help your mate, I suggest you go hunt some Sky Chain Birds. Both your mate and your soon-to-be-born child could use the nourishment."
"Father, you want me to go hunting at a time like this?"
"Of course. It'll calm your nerves, and the game you bring back will be a great gift for your child, helping them grow strong!"
"I understand!" The large, blue-skinned Ikon, Batu, nodded. He whistled, and a giant winged bird descended from a tall tree, crouching at Batu's feet. Batu mounted the bird and soared into the sky.
As he left, the anguished screams of his mate, enduring the pain of childbirth, continued from the treehouse.
Inside the treehouse, the female Ikon was struggling with labor, while the child in her womb was also in a bit of a predicament.
"I'm... stuck!"
An awkward situation had occurred with Muria. Though he spent most of his time asleep, there were brief moments when he was conscious. During these periods, he had used his newly acquired body, vastly different from any humanoid form he had ever encountered, as a basis to create a simple technique for circulating his blood energy.
It was a casual act to pass the time, and with his knowledge and experience, creating a cultivation method tailored to an unfamiliar species wasn't particularly challenging.
However, this trivial act had caused a huge problem for his mother. Muria's body was larger than the average Ikon infant, and during natural childbirth, he had gotten stuck.
"Next time, I won't do something so unnecessary!" Muria vowed, feeling rather uncomfortable. He had learned his lesson.
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