Chapter Sixty Two, The Beating of Drums.
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Vera and Wu did not stop at physical training, and exchanging magical techniques.
The two continued to build a bond, passing time together. They conversed, trading ideals, coming to understand one another. They learned of each others people, gaining a general idea of the differences between the two races.
Vera went to the lengths of taking Wu to observe human settlements, as Wu did the same. Despite the ape being rather secluded and sticking to himself, he was still tapped into beast society.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months.
The two advanced together, growing stronger than they could have imagined. Wu progressed in places he never would have thought to if not for Vera. Areas like strategic thinking, government, and even just companionship.
Vera deepened her mastery in martial arts, and learned far more about the Beastkin. She learned of some of their weaknesses and their strengths. The intelligence of the scaled beasts, the strength of the Minotaur..
Surprisingly, she even found out that Wu was the child of a Sacred Beast... The result of mixing the blood of normal beastkin with that of the super evolved Sacred Ones...
With this background, Wu seemed to know a fair bit more than the average ape. He told Vera of the countless Sacred Beasts hidden within the world, and some of his tales of the most powerful ones frightened her.
Those like the story of the Harvester. The tale of the sky demon that rained hell upon the lands thousands of years ago. The story of a creature that assisted in the mass extinction of their world.
It was entertaining, and scary to say the least...
The two spent nearly an entire year together, until they both stepped into a level of their wildest imagination...
Level three!
Upon reaching this level, the two were able to create sigils of kreus on one another, allowing for communication across vast distances.
With this, the two temporarily parted ways.
Vera would start her act of reformation, while Wu would watch from the shadows.
To him, it was rather entertaining.
It took her one year to build a mediocre following. She saved three separate, but nearby settlements. She single handedly stomped the migrating tides of carnivorous beasts, displaying her undeniable authority as a level three human.
She quickly gained the favor and admiration of three towns, bringing nearly two thousand people under her belt.
Faster than she could've imagined, she gained a following, many wondering how she was so powerful, and seemingly, so smart.
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Yet, her answer to all of those that questioned her power was the same.
She was a prophet of God.
She said God came to her personally, telling her she needed to unite the human race. As a whole, the people would function far better. Humanity was meant to be one whole, not countless pieces of one.
She told tales of this God. She detailed the story of how he created the world. How he raised his hand in space, and there appeared the world. How he blinked and there came the stars in the night sky. With a snap, he bore humanity, scattering them around the lower regions of the world. And with another, he created the beastkin, letting them populate the other half.
He let Sacred Beasts evolve, for the Beastkin would need leaders. Yet, he left humanity on its own. He knew that humans were strong enough themselves. Smart enough themselves.
They would stand toe to toe with the beastkin despite not having godly counterparts, for humanity itself was born in god's image.
Humans, are the godly counterparts.
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Sun Wukong sat atop a tree. He had migrated a ways away from his home, hiding within the leaves near Vera's settlement.
The tree swayed, wind blowing, and leaves falling. Of course, the wind fell on deaf ears, never even touching Wukong's skin. There was a field of energy surrounding him, masking his presence and rendering him invisible to the world.
"Marching on to another village are we..." He squinted, a smile on his face.
He was rather proud of his protege.
Proud of his friend.
His tail unraveled from around the tree branch as he prepared to depart. But in that moment, there was a rumbling
The ground shook, the tree violently moving.
He dropped to the ground, trying rather hard to find his stability.
Instinctually he could tell.
This was not the average tremor...
The ground was not shaking, but the world.
Everything was vibrating, and there was a low hum, a sound slowly infiltrating his ears.
It was a battering noise? The sound of drums beating, accompanied with a voice. A low, but clearly noticeable tone. It was a song. Eerily, it instilled fear into Wukong.
He could feel power proliferating itself throughout the lands.
Something had awoken, something far beyond his imagination.
"The Earth God?" He whispered haggardly... He had heard stories of the God of Sacred Beasts, an entity that existed in a different place, standing high above even the most fearsome of Sacred Ones...
"Has he awakened?"
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"If I take over this one, that's another thousand followers... This settlement is decently sized." Vera muttered, strutting away from her territory.
She was happy with her progress, and although her pace seemed slow, she was sure it would pick up soon.
But, rather abruptly, she was taken aback.
The ground started to rumble, nearly knocking her off balance.
Instantly, she was on high alert.
This was not an earthquake.
She could feel this rumbling was intrinsically different. Even worse, a low hum accompanied it. Sounds made their way into her ears, a wonderful, but fear inducing hymn breaking into her mind.
She shivered, a smile slowly creeping up on her face as the beating of drums increased in volume.
"Is there really a God?..." She muttered.
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In a completely different location, atop a mountain on a lost continent. Rather slowly, a pair of eyelids twitched. Almost hesitantly, they creeped open, two golden shining irises gazing out into the world.
There was a sniffle, an intake of air from the mans nose.
"What am I smelling." He questioned, slowly leaning up. He did not feel the warm hands slide off of him as he rose.
He glanced around, taking in his surroundings.
Slowly, his memories came back to him.
Smoothly, his eyes landed on his father, sitting on his throne.
"That would be... Colors? Emotion, life, and perhaps even some of the laws..." The words fell into his ears.
"Your senses were previously too weak... But now being able to experience things on this deep of a level will take a few moments to get used to. Level twenty is far different from level sixteen." He watched Lokreum smile.
He attempted to shake his stupor, but he recognized it wouldn't be that easy.
Like it had been said, he would need a few moments to get used to it all.
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