From the moment the immortal energy began returning to Iberon...
It never stopped.
It did not weaken.
Nor did it slow down.
Quite the opposite.
With every passing day...
It continued to increase.
At first, the difference was not obvious.
Then its density grew higher.
And after several months...
The increase became impossible to ignore.
As the years passed...
That increase transformed into a tremendous phenomenon that began to affect the entire world.
The immortal energy multiplied as though an inexhaustible source had been opened within the depths of Iberon.
It spread across the skies.
Flowed over the mountains.
Permeated the forests.
Flooded the plains.
And even seeped into the deepest reaches of the Great Ocean.
And it was not merely an increase in density.
The very quantity of immortal energy itself continued to multiply at an astonishing rate.
Every day carried with it a greater amount of immortal energy than the day before.
Every month made the world more saturated with it.
Even some regions that had once been poor in energy gradually began transforming into blessed lands.
And in certain places...
The immortal energy condensed to such an extent that it became visible to the naked eye.
Silver-white strands drifted through the air.
Immortal mist floated above the mountains.
And lakes of energy began forming within ancient lands.
But...
That was not the greatest change.
The Awakening Deepens
As the density of immortal energy increased...
The changes within the sealed regions began to intensify.
At first, they were merely faint auras.
Then they became distinct auras.
And eventually, some auras began to surpass the limits of the Human Immortal Realm.
One after another...
Existences that had slept since the primordial ages began opening their eyes.
Deep within an ancient mountain...
Two eyes that had remained closed for millions of years opened.
Within a sealed palace...
The fingers of someone who had sat in meditation throughout the ages moved.
Within a city buried beneath the earth...
An ancient heart began beating once more.
And within the ruins of a forgotten civilization...
An immortal lamp ignited after remaining extinguished since the end of the Great War.
Then...
The first Silver Immortal emerged.
He was an old man dressed in a white-gray robe.
He opened the doors of his palace.
He gazed at the world outside.
Then he drew a deep breath.
"This density..."
His eyes changed.
"It is far greater than it was in our era."
Another person emerged behind him.
He said,
"It is still increasing."
The old man looked at him.
"Since we awakened, it has not stopped for even a moment."
The other man replied,
"And that..."
He looked toward the sky.
"Is why what is happening will not be a temporary awakening."
The Return of Ancient Kingdoms and Sects
As the immortal energy continued to rise...
Something even greater began to emerge.
The matter was no longer limited to individuals who had been sleeping.
The ancient sects and kingdoms themselves began to awaken.
In one region, an entire mountain range trembled.
Then ancient inscriptions appeared across the mountains.
Inscriptions that no one had seen for millions of years.
And suddenly...
A massive barrier of light rose into the heavens.
Behind it appeared a palace.
Then a city.
Then hundreds of thousands of structures.
It was an entire kingdom...
One that had remained sealed since the end of the war.
And elsewhere...
The void split apart.
A colossal stone gate appeared.
Behind it was an ancient sect.
Its palaces floated in the sky.
Mountains surrounded it.
And its disciples...
Were still asleep within the ancient halls.
Then one of them began to open his eyes.
Then another.
Then thousands.
Then tens of thousands.
Those sects were not mere ruins.
They were entire civilizations that had survived the ancient catastrophe through sealing.
And now...
They were beginning to return.
Within one of the ancient kingdoms...
A man opened his eyes inside a magnificent hall.
His aura was far deeper than that of a Human Immortal.
He raised his hand.
Threads of silver energy appeared around his fingers.
He stared at them for a long time.
Then said,
"Silver Immortal..."
He paused.
Then smiled.
"We have returned to an era in which this world can withstand our existence."
Elsewhere...
A Golden Immortal awakened.
And the moment he opened his eyes...
The entire hall trembled.
The ground beneath his feet cracked.
Not because he had unleashed his power.
But because his very body carried the weight of a Golden Immortal's existence.
He raised his head.
"How long has it been?"
No one answered him.
Everyone around him was still in a state of shock.
Then a weak voice came from one of the elders:
"Millions of years."
Silence descended.
The Golden Immortal closed his eyes.
"Millions..."
Then he opened them.
"Then everything has changed."
But...
That was not the end.
As the awakening continued, even more powerful auras began to emerge.
Within certain sealed regions...
True Immortals awakened.
Existences that had once stood at the peaks of ancient civilizations.
And when the first True Immortal emerged from his sect...
He did not speak.
He merely stood upon a mountain.
He gazed at the sky.
Then said,
"The new era has begun."
He did not know...
That what was about to come would be far greater.
Five Years Later
Five years passed.
Five years since the beginning of the awakening.
And throughout those five years...
Iberon changed in a manner that could not easily be described.
Immortal energy was no longer rare.
Nor was it a phenomenon confined to certain regions.
It had become a part of the world itself.
Its density was now many times greater than it had been at the beginning of the awakening.
And more importantly...
It had never stopped increasing.
Even the most powerful immortals who had awakened during the previous years began to sense something strange.
They felt as though the world itself had become heavier.
Not because of pressure.
But because great existences had begun moving behind the veil of time.
On the first day of the Ten year...
Something different happened.
There were no earthquakes.
No storms.
No explosions.
Instead...
Silence.
Across dozens of ancient regions, at the same time...
The sounds disappeared.
The winds stopped.
The beasts fell silent.
Even the immortal energy that had been flowing without end...
Began to revolve around certain sealed regions.
Then...
Auras rose.
One.
Then another.
Then dozens.
Then hundreds.
But this time...
They were not the auras of Human Immortals.
Nor Silver Immortals.
Nor Golden Immortals.
Nor even True Immortals.
These auras were deeper.
Heavier.
More ancient.
The mere appearance of them caused the void itself to tremble.
Deep within an ancient sealed city...
Two eyes opened.
Within a colossal mountain...
Someone who had been meditating since the end of the war moved.
And within an ancient sect...
The seals that had remained silent for millions of years began to emit sounds.
Crack...
Then...
Crack!
Then the first fissure appeared.
And in the next moment...
A tremendous aura spread across the region.
The sky changed.
The clouds stopped.
And the beasts collapsed onto the ground without knowing why.
Elsewhere...
A True Immortal suddenly opened his eyes.
He stared toward the distant horizon.
Then his expression changed.
"This aura..."
He slowly stood.
And for the first time since his awakening...
Fear appeared in his eyes.
"Impossible..."
One of his disciples approached him.
"Master?"
He did not answer.
He continued staring toward the horizon.
Then said in a low voice,
"An Immortal King."
And in another region...
A second aura rose.
More terrifying.
Denser.
More domineering.
To the point that some True Immortals felt their souls tremble.
Then a third aura appeared.
And a fourth.
And a fifth.
They came from ancient cities.
From sealed mountains.
From sects buried beneath the river of time.
And from kingdoms whose names had never even been heard by the people of the current era.
Those who had once stood at the pinnacle of the ancient era...
Were awakening.
Immortal Kings.
Then...
Not long afterward...
Something occurred that made the entire world seem to stop for a moment.
Deep within one of the oldest sealed cities in Iberon...
There was not a single aura.
But...
The aura of an Immortal Emperor.
It did not erupt.
It did not roar.
It did not unleash a violent wave of energy.
It was calm.
Calm in a terrifying manner.
Yet the moment it appeared...
The immortal energy in the sky bowed.
As though it had encountered an existence above itself.
At that same moment...
Across other regions of Iberon...
Similar auras began awakening.
One.
Then another.
Then another.
Until they could be sensed across vast distances.
Within the Human Kingdom...
Some immortals stopped speaking.
Within the Dragon Kingdoms...
The ancient dragons raised their heads.
Within the Elven Kingdom...
The trees ceased moving.
Within the lands of the Demons...
The demonic beasts fell silent.
Within the Celestial City of the Divine Clan...
The angels raised their eyes toward the heavens.
And within the depths of the Great Ocean...
The waters froze for a brief moment.
Everyone...
Felt it.
Higher existences had begun to awaken.
Existences that had lived during the Age of the Great Ones.
Existences that had survived the end of the war.
Existences that had not merely witnessed history...
But had been a part of it.
And somewhere unknown...
An Immortal King opened his eyes.
He looked toward the sky.
Then a slow smile appeared upon his face.
"After all these years..."
He paused.
"Finally..."
Silence.
Then he added,
"The peaks have begun to move."
And deep within Iberon...
More ancient seals began to crack.
One after another.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
And the entire world...
Waited for what would happen once they fully opened.
Because the return of the immortals...
Had only been the beginning.
The return of the ancient kingdoms and sects...
Had merely been the next wave.
But now...
Those who had once stood at the very peaks of true immortality...
Were opening their eyes.
Immortal Kings.
And Immortal Emperors.
And somewhere deeper than all those regions...
There was something else.
Something that had not yet awakened.
Something that made even the auras of the Immortal Kings and Immortal Emperors seem...
Like nothing more than a prelude.
And the awakening...
Was still continuing.