The play started off pretty well all things considered, [Illusion Magic] and alchemical products as well as unique animals created by wizards for the play made things a whole lot more interesting than when it was just a bunch of regular humans and props, Jacob briefly wondered what a movie here would look like but then realized that it'd probably just be the same, just that it would presumably turn into a mix of CGI and magic.

Even then, it's not like movies are needed in this world if the play in front of him is just this good- seriously, magic was the difference between a bland play to one with a nice atmosphere, good sound effects, and amazing visuals. Terrain constantly shifted thanks to illusions, people can grow from small to big at a whim thanks to polymorph, and animals can genuinely act as literal dragons when they're made to look like one with the reflected abilities of the creature.

With that being said, Jacob didn't believe that the man in front of him used anything related to shapeshifting magic even with his 7 foot height. He honestly just believed that the guy is a bodybuilder that liked to fight, as evidenced by the way he smiled while kicking the Drake in front of him in the face, causing its neck to fly upwards.

And before it could go down, with a loud, "AHHHHHHHHH!!!!" - the man proceeded to jump, shatter the "stone" floor of the stage, and then headbutt the scaly chin of the Dragonoid.

A giant tail half the size of Jacob lashed out and hit the large man in the chest, causing blood to flow down his tanned skin but even with that wound (and hit, Jacob's pretty sure his lungs are bleeding now,) he grinned and charged at the drake once more, this time he unsheathed his sword and hit the beast in the palm as it attempted to swipe him with its claws, the tip of his sword dug into flesh, drawing blood.

The blood spilled like a fountain when he kicked the hand away and freed his sword before charging the drake once more.

As the man ran, the Drake tried to hit him but all of it proved futile against the agile barbarian,

A tail swiped was dodged with a swift jump to the side,

The slash of a clawed hand was evaded without moving because the man simply kicked it away,

Then, when they both met, the Drake bent its head downwards for a powerful bite but the man simply rolled forward and dodged before gathering his bearings by digging a hand through the floor, once he stopped moving, he bent his legs and with another loud- "AHHHHHHHH!!!!!" - he jumped and slashed the Drake's neck.

"This is honestly worth more than what we paid for," Jacob said as he watched a man built like a house "slay" an adolescent drake with a glowing blue sword filled with runes. The drake was supposed to be a bad guy named Lievientien who is supposed to be a deadly wingless Dragon that can still fly thanks to its own magic. Also, according to Asya, the guy had a tragic backstory, being born disabled without wings and all that, but persevered and eventually turned into what he is when he first appeared in the story.

Meanwhile, the guy wielding a sword is supposed to be Yavneck? Mavneck? - The God of war basically, who to the Gods, is the brute that they send to their enemies or someone that they wanted dead.

"I agree, I never thought I'd ever see someone being able to play Moleck so well," Asya, who by now had her second serving of the roasted meat, replied with a nod, "also, I think that maybe the people here take all of their money back from the things they sell, not just the tickets,"

"You're probably- rifghft." Jacob- who by now had his third serving of the food yet still hadn't slowed down his eating, - agreed as he stuffed his mouth full of meat.

Silence came down and the conversation stopped as the two of them focused back on watching the play unfold, Asya looked eager as she leaned in for the next part of the story, saying, "You know, when I was young, I never realized that this thing had a story,"

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Jacob chuckled, "Yeah, I get that." He replied, "I just watched things without a single care for plots when I was a kid too." He said as he eyed the stage.

Now that Lievientien has died, the story shifts and the stage goes dark once more, yeah, that guy was the first of the creatures to threaten all of creation, a giant wingless dragon that somehow reached the Ethereal Plane even though Dragons are the gods of the physical and cannot affect nor touch anything ethereal but in exchange, are downright invincible and unmatched when it comes to anything physical.

Of course, that does mean that magic can kill them so... yeah, they're pretty angry at anyone who lives on the Ethereal plane, who are uh, immune to physical attacks because of the spirit-like nature of their body. And according to the story, the Dragons are pissed at their situation and have been doing their best to wield magic since the moment that they knew what it was, and of course, being the Gods of the physical world, are unable to do so.

And as for how Lievientien managed to wield it? Who knows? It wasn't explained because the Gods told no one about it.

Jacob's best guess is that the guy is probably a bastard child between a God of the Ethereal and a God of the Physical, which made some sense given that the Gods practically censored his origin and powers.

On that note, Jacob wondered if there are other bastard children between Gods as the lights on the stage turned a dark blue and the play resumed. The scenery had changed once again, and this time, it was in the meeting room of the Gods: A large, circular table sat at the center of the stage, and all around it are various chairs meant to represent each deity, such as a rotating chair made of bronze for Horos, a couch for Vaina, a white and pristine wooden chair for Clarah, and a beanbag for Moleck which is uh-

Cute, Jacob deemed, though apparently it was because barbarians didn't have chairs and since the people wouldn't want to believe that Moleck sat on the floor crosslegged even with his supposed stature being just fine to see across the table without a chair- said stature is around 9 foot or so when put in the physical plane according to most of the priests that follow him, - and that refusal made them decide to give the God a bean bag.

Jacob held back a chuckle as the towering, seven foot tall man made of muscle placed his ass on the bean bag, causing it to get sandwiched between his large frame and the floor and as expected of a tardy brute, Moleck was the last guy to actually arrive and sit down on the table, with the first of them being a conversing pair in the form of Clarah and Horos- what the conversation was about, Jacob and the rest of audience are left unsure, most likely because of religious reasons.

And with Moleck's arrival, the meeting between Gods finally started, with Horos speaking first, "I learned a few things-" a wave of chuckles ran through the audience, "- and now, I have a few things to say," the music turned from the soft music of a lute to the intense stringing of a heavy guitar that slowly picked up in strength and rhythm as the seconds went on.

"The Foundation has officially been ruined," said Horos, voice serious, "and now, some innocent creatures have turned into monsters, souls warped and twisted to form Dungeons, and Demons now roam the lower planes, born from the loose strings of some of our creations,"

"Hmm..." Moleck hummed, "That isn't as bad as it sounds? Dragons exist,"

Horos shook his head, "it isn't," he agreed, "however, I want to say that monsters and demons being born and manifesting on the physical plane aren't the only thing that we should worry about,"

"And what else are we supposed to worry about, exactly?" Aila, the High Goddess of Truth, Justice, and Mountains asked.

"Monsters now roam the ethereal plane, ones that'll drive regular men and women mad from simply being seen, and not only that, they're powerful enough to threaten even us, Gods of Madness, I like to call them." Of course, the first reactions of all the other Gods to that news was a doubtful raise of their eyebrow, but Horos outright ignored that and continued explaining, "and they'd prefer to be more... physical," Horos emphasized, most likely wishing that his fellow deities would protect their creations, "but before the physical world, I would very much like it if all of you protect yourselves first," he added, "and thus, it is with all my heart when I say that I want to warn all of you to be careful,"

"Don't need it," Moleck said as he stood up, "and so do my followers, we'd just beat them till they no longer want to live," the man who played the God flashed a grin.

"Well, wasn't that a mistake huh?" Asya suddenly commented right next to him, "Some of those Gods are now gone, take a guess as to why."

Jacob nodded, "so this is real?"

"Somewhat," Asya answered.