“That was a close call.” Noah chuckled, wiping the sweat budding on his forehead. It wasn’t from the heat, but the anxiousness that grabbed hold of him.

It was truly a close call. One second later, and they would be food for the mysterious beast.

“I would have won.” Thraz slapped the axe against his open palm.

“Pal, you wouldn’t even be considered a snack,” Noah said as he began inspecting the ruins that they had entered.

He was in front of a pillar that obviously once had some kind of symbols etched onto the sandstone, but time, or something else, had destroyed it.

Looking closer, it did seem like something had purposefully destroyed it. From the top to the bottom, sword marks cut through the images, making them impossible to read.

Or maybe they were scratch marks?

“I would be more than a snack!” Thraz postured forward.

Noah turned from the old sandstone pillar and said with a playful smile, “So you wouldn’t have won then? You just admitted to being food for the monster.”

“I–” Thraz stuttered, then grumbled. “I would be poisonous! Yes, I will be like a thorned fruit. If the monster dares eat me, I will kill it from the inside.”

“Yeah, sure,” Noah scoffed at the absurd declaration. “And I will be the king of the world.”

Thraz turned silent for a moment, before saying, “that is a lofty goal. I will help you achieve it.”

Listening to the words, Noah smirked before moving further into the ruins. They were heading toward a large hill where the paved path underfoot was leading to. Most of it was covered in jungle vines, so he had to hack away at them to clear the path. Thankfully he had a trustworthy dragonborn with a rare profession by his side.

Chopping into another vine with his spear, Noah glanced at Thraz. “Why? Wouldn’t the dragon king Bor want you to become the king of the world?”

“Ha,” Thraz spat. “You humans have small dreams. I won’t just be a lord of this world, I will become the ruler of all the worlds. Only then can I claim my right as Bor’s descendant.”

“How strong is Bor?”

“Stronger than you can ever imagine.” Thraz stopped chopping as his eyes hazed over. “Dragon king Bor is a Sovereign.”

“A sovereign?”

“Yes, a sovereign. Don’t you have ears?” Thraz shook his head before continuing. “A Sovereign is a ruler of a set of planets. It is their domain where they become stronger with the help of their worshippers. If anything threatens their system, it is their responsibility to protect it.”

Noah whistled in shock. He couldn’t even imagine the strength it would take to take command of one planet, let alone multiple of them.

Then that meant that each Sovereign was ranked by how many planets they were in charge of. The more planets they had, the stronger their influence would become, the more power they would obtain.

The stronger would get stronger, and the weak would be absorbed by the other Sovereigns. It sounded like a cut through operation marred with bones and blood.

Noah could hardly deal with a Level seventy hallowed zombie, so his mind turned numb at the thought of the wider universe. Or in this case, multiverse. It was an unfathomable concept.

What was stopping a Sovereign from arriving on the planet, and wiping out everything in existence? Or from them absorbing the planet's natural resources, killing it without even having to lift a finger on the residents of the world.

Just the thought caused Noah to clench his fist.

It looked like his need for strength had just become more desperate. The goal posts had widened. He needed to become strong enough not to become a pawn.

He needed to become a Sovereign himself…

Thraz chopped another vine, and along with it, a large clump of jungle foliage fell to the floor, revealing a tall archway, and a dark room.

Noah peered around Thraz’s shoulder, getting a closer look of the room from the safety of a scaled wall. It was mostly an empty room apart from a small monument in the centre of the room. Standing in the middle of the monument was some sort of golden plaque.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Oh, shiny.

Rubbing his hands, Noah made sure that nothing was in the room, before taking a step forward. Of course, as a treasure finding enthusiast, Noah knew that just because it was unguarded, didn’t mean that there was no danger.

No, sometimes if it wasn’t guarded, then it meant it was even more dangerous.

Noah picked up a piece of broken sandstone, and flung it into the room. One piece, two pieces, four… Noah made sure to hit all the suspicious looking tiles, but there was no activity within the room.

“You’re scared,” Thraz said with dipped shoulders, and a tight grasp around his weapon.

‘Shut up, then why don’t you go first?”

“Ha, you can’t fool me,” Thraz continued. “It is against dragonborn customs to go first. We always let our guests take the honour.”

“You’re the one that’s scared,” Noah mumbled, then crept forward to the threshold of the room.

Looking down, he took a breath, then stepped onto the tile. Nothing happened. So he took another step, and just like before, there was no reaction.

Sighing in relief, he sauntered toward the monument with confidence.

The golden plaque had unique drawings etched into its surface. If Noah had to take a guess, then they were the same markings that were meant to be on the walls outside. But these ones were entirely undamaged.

Not only that, the surface seemed polished. Like a grave that someone looked after even though years had passed since their life had ended.

Noah thought nothing of it. After all, he had some magical items of his own.

It probably has a self-cleaning enchantment.

Nodding, Noah peered closer at the images etched onto the tablet. It seemed to depict a story, starting from left to right.

There was a large man in every sense of the word. Sitting on his throne in a large gilded hall, he looked like he was atop the world.

He was as tall as he was wide, and a large, spiky crown made out of solid gold adorned his mighty head.

Everyone surrounding him bowed in reverence, serving him foods, and fruits of all kinds. Some exotic; ones that Noah had never seen before. Some closely resembled the foods of earth, although it was just meat.

So it could have been anything…

In the next picture, the man was married. He was wearing a grand outfit that proudly displayed his engorged stomach. On his face was etched an enormous smile, obviously showcasing how happy he was in that moment, and how much he cared for the woman by his side.

Speaking of the woman, she was in a gorgeous flowing white dress with a veil covering most of her face. Two small horns budded out from the top of her head, emerging from the thin material of the veil.

Standing next to the large smiling man, they seemed to be a match made in heaven. Surprisingly, the woman stood even taller than the man.

A giant race?

The next picture, however, their happiness came crumbling down. She died. Noah didn’t know how as it didn’t show that part, but the next image displayed the man sitting alone in his throne.

The food was rotting and tears rolled down his face.

Those who once worshipped him were no longer there. If Noah had to take a guess, then the man had ushered them away.

He wanted to be alone.

In the next picture, the man stood above the bride's tomb. He was drawing strange symbols onto the surface of the sandstone coffin. Noah didn’t know what they meant, but from the sorrowful mood of the picture, it couldn’t mean anything good.

And he was right.

The coffin cracked, and a greenish-black mist billowed out of the coffin. At first the man smiled, then, it turned into horror.

Rising from the tomb with shining green eyes, the woman took hold of the man's throat, then snapped it with a flick of her wrist.

Noah grimaced. It was the same mist that corrupted corpses, and increased their strength. Transforming their mind into mindless creatures of consumption.

In the last picture, the fog spilled out of a castle, and spread into the surroundings all over the island. No-one was safe from its path, and everyone turned into mindless zombies.

Hungering for flesh, they roamed.

Noah frowned. He had been keeping a close eye on the island. Not once had he seen a hallowed like back on the other island where his home was placed.

The only monsters he had witnessed were native ones. Whether they were monsters, or beasts. Of course, they all had the same thing in common: green eyes. They were strengthened by the hallowed corruption.

But that meant someone had to survive to create the plaque in front of him.

Someone had to live to tell the story. And why would they want to tell it? Shouldn’t they be focusing on their escape?

Noah scratched his chin. He was curious. But if he wanted more information, he would have to place his hand on the tablet, and use [Inspect] it.

Judging by the monument it was sitting on, Noah didn’t fancy his chances that something would go wrong.

No, it was more like a certainty.

Thankful that he had at least learned what had happened to the island, and what was the cause of the fog, Noah turned.

A chill ran up his spine.

Turning on his heels, he snapped his head in multiple directions, looking to one side of the room, to the other. Thraz, Krall, or Gluttony didn’t seem to see, or feel anything. They were looking at him in confusion. Wondering why Noah was acting the way he was.

But Noah was certain of something. He was being watched. He heard something move.

Brandishing his shield, he activated [Beastly Aegis]. With Krall in his mind, the shield in his hand instantly took the form of Krall’s thick armoured hide.