The Necropolis.......... Apokolips.

Hidden from the surface world, the underground area that represented the last traces of the old world welcomed an unexpected visitor.

From the highest heights this underground cave could accommodate, pulses of rippling red energy spread in a particular spot.

Within the timespan of a second, the pulses grew brighter and brighter, gleaming a violent red as if trying desperately to prevent something from getting in.

Wuonnng!

A red hole suddenly appeared on the ceiling, from the size of a bean, to the size of a basketball, before eventually reaching the size fit for a human being to make passage.

Following which, a figure passed through the portal and fell from the ceiling.

Thud!

Penetrating through the energy shield, Amari landed on the ground with firm feet, dissipating the force generated from falling from such a height and avoiding the noise that would have occurred due to the impact.

“Ok...... That was deeper than I thought”.

Moving his gaze, his eyes came in contact with a gloomy looking cavern.

Everything previously hidden from his senses when he was above ground fell into his ears and eyes at once.

The situation almost made him marvel at the power of the Old Gods.

'No wonder Darkseid never discovered this place after ruling for so long'.

The shield covering these caverns was strong.

Its resistance ability wasn't all that impressive and could be torn apart with enough force, but the concealment capability was astounding.

Everything within this part of the planet was shielded from all sensing capabilities. Unless one particularly powerful individual decided to take a good look.

Amari moved his gaze forwards and all he could see was the cavern like passageway with seemingly no end.

And then it hit him.

Unlike before, Amari could easily sense the Divine energy that permeated the air in this underground world.

The divinity given off by the Old Gods was very rich here. Seeping off the ground and the walls.

This was the Divine energy emitted by Ulgrund. Home world of the ones of old. A world within a world.

Unfortunately, their era was over.

Apokolips that once made up Ulgrund had been transformed into something else after hundreds of thousands of years.

The energy shield itself was slowly being corroded by the negative energy of Apokolips. With enough time, it would vanish, and this place would be made known to the New Gods above.

'Torches?'

The examination of his surroundings didn't reveal much. Looking at the multiple caves that led to different areas, Amari felt a bit underwhelmed.

One would think that the residence of the last surviving old Gods would be similar to a hidden world within a world.

A generally beautiful ecosystem, surviving within the same planet. Kinda like hollow earth. Where Titans towering from tens to hundreds of feet tall roamed freely through the lush green jungles.........

Instead, it looked like a rather spacious medieval dungeon, situated in an underground city.

A spacious dungeon..... But a dungeon nonetheless.

“So much for expectations......”. Amari muttered under his breath.

There were torches lined up in fixed Intervals along the walls.

How these torches were still burning after thousands of years wasn't his concern. But within those intervals, there were dark shadows that couldn't be bypassed.

With the deafening silence and the gloomy shadows, this place came off far more eerie and ominous than the ruins of the Old Gods.

'I can see just fine..... But still….'

Should he attribute it to the place itself? Or was the aura of Apokolips already seeping into this place before the shield disappeared?

At that moment, Amari frowned. Turning his gaze towards the cave tunnels, his expression darkened slightly at the feeling he just experienced.

He was being watched.

Silence reigned for a few moments and Amari's expression eventually returned to normal.

“Oh well”. Seeing the silence, Amari said nothing more and began to walk forward.

He was here to sightsee anyway, so there was no harm in taking a look around the place. The original owners probably wouldn't mind......... Much.

And so, he picked the closest cave and walked in.

.............

Just how long did he walk?

His clear footsteps were the only sound that could be heard in this underground world.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

From one tunnel bend to the other, what fell into his eyes were the ruins of the place.

The deeper he walked, the more spacious this place grew.

Just when he felt he had walked long enough, he felt multiple Presences as he stepped out of the end of the passageway.

What first fell into his eyes was the expansive space. Buildings and towers stretched out far and wide and the largest one was in the very middle, reminding him of the city of the resident Gods in the neighboring universe.

Asgard.

Although ruined, it was truly a sight to behold. You could even see the mountains hundreds of miles away on the other side.

The rivers and streams had dried up, though.

Thud!

The sound fell into his ears.

'Are they finally here?'

His eyes wandered to a certain area and the sound of feet stepping on the ground was clearly projected.

Following which, a figure stepped out of the shadows of the closest ruined structure

Thud!

Thud!

Amari tilted his head at the sight before him.

It had ash like skin tone, bowed its head as it walked and wore tattered clothing that reached its knee with a few sets of metal armor pieces.

The arms drooped beside it as it took every step forward in a lifeless manner. Kinda like a walking corpse.

Amari looked on without saying a word.

When Apokolips was destroyed, he realized that a second world was hidden beneath the planet.

And as such, he certainly wouldn't miss the inhabitants of this once glorious piece of history.

Amari always knew that the Old Gods were still alive. As for the proof.......

The figure suddenly raised its head sharply. Its eyes locked on Amari's figure were pitch black with no irises within. Dark lines stretched from the bottom eyelids all over the face area, giving it a rather disturbing look.

..... Well…. There's your proof right there.

The Dreggs. Also known as the last surviving members of the Old Gods. They managed to survive the destruction of their world many years ago but were rendered mindless as the result.

Originally beings with great power and might in the universe, they were reduced to nothing but creatures akin to zombies. Roaming in the catacombs of their planet for so long without being discovered.

“You're a God.....”. Amari observed the male figure with keen interest, ignoring the obviously disturbing complexion.

“...... Or better to say you were”.

“Rarghhhhh”. As if it could understand his words, The Dregg roared loudly, resounding in the once quiet city. Then, it rushed towards Amari with extreme speed, like a rabid dog.

With a single leap, the ground beneath it cracked as it propelled forward, causing a small area to shatter.

Amari raised an eyebrow.

'Ok...... I stand corrected'. For a mindless God, this thing was strong. Not just strong, quite fast as well.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

With each step, the ground shattered.

And in the blink of an eye, the distance of a hundred meters was covered as it rushed towards him without a trace of hesitation.

Seeing this, Amari's eyes glowed a bright blue.

A vast force expanded throughout the surroundings, before clamping straight on the advancing figure.

The Dregg stopped. Immobilized in the air by telekinetic forces.

Looking at those pitch-black eyes, Amari watched indifferently as it struggled to break free.

Using all of its strength, it tried to release itself with no success.

“A deranged race with great physical capabilities….”. His plain voice was low, seeming as if he were muttering to himself. Judging from the features and what he could make out of this....... Thing in front of him, Amari could conclude that this man was a citizen of Ulgrund years ago.

Just like the Forever people of New Genesis and the Lowlies of Apokolips, they couldn't be considered gods in the truest sense as they represented nothing in particular.

Similar to how Darkseid was the God Of Tyranny and Lonar was the God of Journeys. Scott Free was the God Of Escape and likewise. They gained their Godlike status from the ideals they represent.

(The stronger the ideal, the more power they can draw from the Godsphere, connected to the source)

True Gods all represented a certain belief, ideal, anything to link them to the universe as it was. As long as that ideal existed, they would forever be Gods.

Those who had no ideals to represent were in-between.

Not quite mortal but couldn't be considered a True God either. False God then? Or a race similar to Kryptonians.

And this being before him was one of them. A citizen who managed to survive the crisis but after turning into this, strangely had the same strength and speed as most of the Furies Amari he had faced.

'Why is that?'

He couldn't help but wonder.

'Also......'.

Ignoring the roaring of the Dregg, his thoughts moved, and his Telekinesis began to take effect.

The force immobilizing the old God in the air changed and instead of holding it in one place, began to pull it apart from both sides.

'...... What exactly should I make of you now?'

Rarghhhhhhhhhh!

From the loud, deafening roar, Amari was sure that this Dregg was releasing a pained scream.

The sound of cracking bones fell into his ears and within his glowing blue eyes, the mindless creature was brutally ripped in two.

Blood splattered all over the floor.

Thud!

Followed by the thudding sound created by two halves of a corpse being dropped.

Amari examined the corpse of the Dregg before him, a frown adorning his face. Especially when his gaze laid on the blood of the creature.

'That's blood?' It wasn't surprising why he was surprised as the color of this one was quite different from the norm.

Red...... However, with an aura of orange flowing within it. This was....... Interesting. Looking at the creature's blood, Amari couldn't figure out whether the blood was a result of some kind of poisoning that turned them into what they were now, or perhaps it was something else......

Wait! Something else?

Examining the orange aura, Amari's face showed an expression of realization.

'Those are...... Source marks'.

Rarghhhhhhhhhh!

The loud roars brought him out of his reverie.

Yep, not a roar. Roars.

The once quiet city suddenly seemed to come alive as loud, monstrous roars came from all directions.

Amari's expressionless face showed no change.

He knew of this development a long time ago. After all, this was once the city of Gods. So, undoubtedly, there would be more than one of these creatures.

The ground began to shake rapidly, as if experiencing an earthquake.

And after the one Amari just killed, the second emerged. Then the third, fourth, fifth......... One by one in large numbers, they walked out of the city with pitch-black eyes, tattered clothing and hideous expressions on their faces.

Meanwhile, locked away somewhere within the palace, a figure stared intensely at Amari's figure through the eyes of the Dreggs themselves.