The divine energy did not stop recovering.
Since its first appearance, it had gradually permeated every part of Iberon, and its concentration continued to increase with the passage of time.
It was no longer merely faint strands that could barely be sensed.
It had once again become part of the environment in which the world lived.
And for the beings who had lived through the ages during which divine energy had disappeared, this change alone was enough to realize that something immense was happening.
But...
That was not the true change.
For deep within Iberon, there were ancient seals that still remained intact.
Behind those seals...
There were sleeping gods.
The sleeping gods did not exist upon the lands of Iberon.
When a cultivator reached the level of divinity, they could open a special space connected to themselves, which would become their residence.
That space was separate from the main world.
It was not a planet.
Nor was it an independent world.
Rather, it was a special space that did not belong to the realm in which ordinary beings lived.
And within those spaces...
The palaces of the gods had remained silent for countless ages.
Their servants and followers had lived in wait for the return of their masters, while the divine powers surrounding those residences had remained dormant throughout the period of their slumber.
But the return of divine energy to Iberon had begun to change everything.
Within one of the divine spaces...
A vast palace stood in absolute silence.
Wide halls stretched behind its closed doors, while the ancient formations surrounding the place had remained dormant for an age no one could remember.
In the deepest part of the palace...
There was a throne.
And upon the throne sat a being with his eyes closed.
His body had not moved for countless ages.
His aura was completely concealed, as though his very existence had entered a state of profound stillness.
But at this moment...
His finger moved.
A movement so slight...
Yet it was enough to change everything within the divine space.
The ancient formations began to operate.
The symbols engraved upon the floors and walls lit up.
Ripples of power spread throughout the palace.
One of the servants suddenly raised his head.
His eyes widened.
He did not need to ask.
He had felt it.
Another servant approached him and spoke in a trembling voice:
“Could it be...?”
He did not finish his sentence.
Because the figure sitting upon the throne opened his eyes.
At that very moment...
An immense divine aura erupted within the special space.
The palaces trembled.
The ancient formations shook violently.
And several servants fell to their knees beneath the pressure of an aura they had not felt for thousands of years.
Their master had returned.
A god had awakened.
But his awakening did not occur upon Iberon.
His body did not suddenly appear in the sky.
The inhabitants of the Upper Continent did not see his figure.
He had awakened within his divine space, inside the residence he had left behind when he entered his slumber.
And with his return...
Traces of his power gradually began to seep into the outside world.
On Iberon...
A number of cultivators raised their heads at the same time.
They sensed a sudden change in the divine energy.
This time, the change was much clearer.
One of them said:
“Something happened.”
He did not know what it was.
But the Transcendents knew.
They had sensed that change before almost everyone else.
One of them looked toward the sky.
Then said in a low voice:
“A god has awakened.”
His words spread among a small number of powerful beings.
No one needed any further explanation.
The divine energy that had swept through the world had changed.
A different aura had appeared within it.
An aura belonging to an existence that had attained divinity.
And that god was not the only one.
Within another divine space...
An ancient palace began to regain its activity.
Elsewhere...
The formations that had remained dormant since the ancient ages began to stir.
Then...
Another god awakened.
And after him, another.
Then the process began repeating in different places.
One after another...
The ancient divine existences began returning from their slumber.
They did not all awaken at the same moment.
The awakening proceeded gradually.
It began with the Lesser Gods.
Then some Middle Gods began responding to the return of divine energy.
And as the energy continued to recover...
The oldest and deepest seals began to be affected.
As for the Higher Gods...
Their awakening was much slower.
Their seals were stronger.
And their slumber was deeper.
But they too...
Had begun to respond.
Throughout the Upper Continent, the atmosphere changed.
The racial empires no longer regarded the return of divine energy as merely a natural phenomenon.
News began to spread.
A god had awakened.
Then another.
And shortly afterward, signs of new awakenings began appearing in different regions.
No one saw the gods themselves.
But the traces of their existence had become obvious.
The divine energy changed.
Some ancient formations responded.
Some divine relics that had been sealed since the ancient ages began releasing strange fluctuations.
And the ancient treasuries left behind by the gods began responding to the return of their masters.
Iberon...
Was recovering something it had lost long ago.
Within the racial empires, the leaders began to realize the magnitude of the change.
The matter was no longer related to the immortals.
Nor was the return of the Transcendents the highest level this era could witness.
The gods themselves...
Had begun to awaken.
One of the great cultivators said as he looked at the changes occurring within the energy:
“So... it has truly begun.”
No one answered him.
Everyone knew what it meant.
The Divine Age that had begun to emerge with the return of divine energy was now becoming a reality.
And in a distant place...
Another god awakened within his own divine space.
He opened his eyes after a long slumber.
Ancient memories slowly returned to his mind.
He looked around.
At his palace.
At his servants.
At the place that had awaited him for thousands of years.
Then he rose from his throne.
And the moment he stood...
His entire divine space trembled.
His aura spread throughout it, while the servants within bowed before him.
Their master had returned.
And with him came a power that Iberon had lost since the ancient ages.
And thus...
The gods began to return.
Not all at once.
Nor in a single place.
But gradually...
One god after another.
From the Lesser Gods...
To the Middle Gods...
Then to the Higher Gods.
And the entire world...
Was witnessing the beginning of the return of the Divine Age.