The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases-Chapter 531 - 322: The Starry Sky Above

Thanks to Tiamat, David had become a saint in the Prime Material Plane before he even had the chance to ignite his divine spark in this lifetime.

If this had happened in David's own world-line, where divine power laws became strongly associated with faith after the Calamity of Saints, such an immense emergence of widespread belief would likely have been enough for him to awaken some divine nature out of thin air.

Even though this world lacked that rule of strong faith association, this spontaneously emerging 'water flow' still had an impact on David like never before.

In the midst of this deep slumber, David began to dream frequently.

It was common for dragons to dream during their hibernation. Especially under the influence of complex information from the 'Dragon Heritage,' they often dreamt of essences left by their ancestors. This allowed them to learn abilities or experiences vital for a young dragon's survival.

But he was dreaming of Elves... and not just once or twice!

Once David figured out the cause and effect, he immediately felt a headache coming on.

I don't need your faith, damn it!!!

Arrogance

After all, he had no intention of becoming the god of Elves after eliminating the threat from them. He had no desire for it, nor did he disdain doing so.

After all, these beings were very sensitive.

He was afraid that an inadvertent mistake might ruin these long-eared beings, and the ensuing excessive storm of desires would catalyze him into the true Sin of Lust in this world...

Having nothing better to do, and unable to avoid these dreams, David's interest was piqued, and he began to study these pillars of faith—or rather, it would be more appropriate to describe them as threads.

In his own world-line, he had successfully used the divine power guided by two Dragon Gods to ascend to godhood. However, he hadn't even warmed his divine seat before he 'ascended to heaven' on the spot, along with the exploding The Slaying King Star.

Now, this turned out to be a rare opportunity.

To David, these threads of faith seemed like an upside-down, three-dimensional tree diagram.

He could check each one and even link with the believers according to his will.

This must be what it means for a 'god' to answer the prayers of the faithful.

It was a bit like a hacker accessing unprotected host devices one by one, only this was done openly.

But the workload was truly massive; even a god could not possibly attend to each believer's prayers and appeals individually.

This was probably why most gods would establish churches and appoint Pastoral Heads and Chosen of God to manage the clergy. It was for no other reason than to make management more convenient.

Otherwise, if a god had to attend to everything personally, they would die of exhaustion.

David, still a fledgling in terms of godhood, quickly felt drained and tired after dabbling for a while.

Moreover, these spontaneously devoted Elven believers were mostly slaves who had benefited from his anti-slavery law, and their prayers and appeals were largely monotonous and uninteresting.

It was not as enjoyable as watching Eilistraee bathe.

At least her full and graceful figure was enough to pique a dragon's interest. Plus, it was from the believer's own damn first-person perspective—far more engaging than the experience in most 3D games where you mostly just see their backside.

Her status also added to the thrill.

This was Corellon and Rose's own daughter, wow!

Lust

However, no matter how skillful the camerawork, one could get bored after too much viewing. He also grew tired of this space, where the net of faith revealed nothing but a black void. Wasn't there anything else fresh and exciting?

Greed

With that Greed, which in days past allowed him to glimpse the future through the river of time, David suddenly sensed something else.

Following his instincts, he 'raised his head,' but all he saw above was a pitch-black void, nothing else.

It was as if his sight was obscured by dark clouds.

With a sudden, melodramatic fervor, David murmured, "I want this sky to no longer obscure my eyes."

Authority—Arrogance

In an instant, it was as if the dark clouds above had scattered, replaced by a 'brilliant starry sky.'

David was deeply moved by this vast, beautiful sight.

He had once soared into the starry sky to locate The Slaying King Star.

But that so-called starry sky was fake, just part of a galaxy, obstructed by the planar crystal walls of the Prime Material Plane.

Even the real starry sky as seen from Blue Star, limited by the naked eye, offered only a very limited view of the stars.

As Goethe said, there are only two things in the world that can deeply shock our souls: one is the noble moral law within us, and the other is the splendid starry sky above us.

And at that moment, David saw the brilliant starry sky above his head.

A starry sky that belonged solely to him.

Within this starry sky, he felt a calling from one of the stars.

It was a voice that was extremely familiar to him.

"My Lord David Euthyphro," a voice prayed. "I look up from here, I pray from here, for your response and return..."

Hiatt?! David was somewhat bewildered.

Yes, the one praying to him from afar was also an Elf.

However, it was a Drow Elf.

His first follower, in a sense.

The Drow Elf, Hiatt.

But the problem was, this was already his second dimensional traversal!

He had originally planned to ignite his divine spark first, then find a way back...

And now, the connection had just been established?

The surprise was simply too abrupt.

Following various attempts, David realized that through his own Authority, he had indeed traversed the bindings of the river of time and dimensions, enabling him to sense another world-line's pillar of faith.

But no matter how he called out, he could not establish a stable faith link with Hiatt.

Not unless he directly used his Authority to 'transfer' his entire consciousness there.

But David quickly suppressed this tempting impulse.

I can't return now.

At least, not like this!

David admonished himself.

Back when he had temporarily ignited his divine spark, he had barely managed a mutual destruction with that fragment of The Slaying King Star.

Now, at this juncture, barely sending his consciousness back with his Authority would at best make him a Demigod who could 'descend' through his followers.

For the situation in Elariya, where even Bahamut had tried countless times without success, this would be utterly futile.

Under the weight of this great unwillingness, David suddenly became aware of a resonance from the starry sky, a reverberation from many minds.

Could it be... David abruptly looked up, gazing at the starry sky, his eyes widening.

Wait a minute!

If the previous star represented the world-line with him in it, then doesn't that mean...

Instinctively, David looked towards the myriad stars and then focused his attention on the nearest, most brilliant red star.

After a short pause, he opened his eyes again.

In his eyes, there was only savagery and ecstasy.

Yes, in each of these endless stars, there was a version of him.

If one David could not achieve it...

Then what about when countless Davids, all awakened with the wisdom of past lives, strive for the same goal and step into the same river?

It was said that every Dragon, upon igniting their divine spark, could vaguely sense the existence of their counterparts from other planes.

And what he had to do, similar to what Nifadora had done, was to enlighten every version of himself in each world.

Even if, in some world-lines, he inevitably perished as he had in the last world-line, memories and experiences would remain, eventually coalescing into his very own... 'Dragon Heritage.'

Together, they would ignite the divine spark.

Until...

All worlds converge into one.

And then...

Who could stop me then?!

Arrogance

As the David of this world closed his eyes.

The next second, countless Davids...

revealed smiles that conveyed a silent, So, that's how it is.