Arthas was direct. He reached out and took one of the dragon eggs.
"Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, Light, and Lunar," the Deputy Commander said, his voice returning to a calm, analytical tone as Arthas selected the earth-element egg. "Six of the most perfect, top-tier dragon eggs. The fundamental elements required to form a world."
"These arenât just any dragons. They are World Dragons."
He then reached out and took the wind-element egg for himself. The message was clear: he was taking one as well, and with it, a share of the responsibility.
After his and Arthasâs selections, four eggs remained in the sarcophagus: Water, Fire, Light, and Lunar.
"Iâll take the fire one." Under the watchful eyes of the two demigods, Alexander stepped out of the protective circle and claimed his prize.
"Heh heh, well, donât mind if I do!" Leonidas stepped forward and took the water-element egg.
Seeing this, Orion prepared to go and take the Lunar egg. But just as he moved, Leonidas put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.
"Bro, donât bother choosing," he said with a strange grin. "The last two are both yours."
Orion was stunned. He turned to look at Leonidas and Alexander. Leonidasâs grin was unwavering, and Alexander gave him a slight, confirming nod.
"You took the biggest loss and the biggest risk this time," Leonidas explained. "The extra egg is your compensation."
Faced with such a treasure, Orion didnât refuse. After a momentâs thought, he decisively collected the two remaining dragon eggs.
As for the sarcophagus itself, it was left with the Deputy Commander, who planned to reforge its unique material into a special magic artifact for his disciple, Elara. Orion had no objections; he even offered some of his own materials to help, but the Deputy Commander had no use for the rare treasures he presented.
"Hahaha! Weâre rich! Weâre rich! We really hit the jackpot this time!" Leonidas held his new dragon egg up to the light, admiring it.
"Bro, whatâs so special about this type of egg?" Of everyone present, Orionâs knowledge was the most limited. He walked over to Arthas, not ashamed to ask for an explanation.
"This is no ordinary dragon egg. This is a World Dragon," Arthas explained.
"I do not know how the eggs of World Dragons are created. But I do know that when a World Dragon hatches, it carries a pocket dimension within its body."
"The element of the egg doesnât represent the dragonâs attribute, but rather the attribute of the world inside it."
To be honest, Orion was dumbfounded by what Arthas was telling him.
"Bro, this egg can really hatch a whole world?" The idea was so unbelievable he couldnât quite accept it. In his mind, without a World Tree, creating a world was impossible.
"It can," Arthas confirmed. "These eggs are alive, and they lack a true spirit of their own. I cannot imagine what method the being you were chasing used to create them."
When speaking of the eggs and the third-stage demigod, even Arthasâs voice held a note of awe.
"If Iâm not mistaken, itâs not that these eggs lack a true spirit, but that they are not yet mature," the Deputy Commanderâs old, deep voice interjected, drawing everyoneâs attention.
"In truth, Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, Light, and Lunar are the fundamental elements of a world. Special elements like Space and Time will simply come into being the moment the world is born. Or rather, they will evolve on their own."
He skipped past the topic of the true spirit and continued his explanation of the worldâs elemental composition. No one interrupted him; when the Deputy Commander spoke like this, it was for a reason.
"The eggs we hold each represent a single attribute. The world that eventually evolves from the egg will be related to that attribute. For example, the wind-element egg in my hand will give birth to a world more suitable for practitioners of wind magic, and it will be more likely to produce wind-elemental minerals, magical plants, and creatures."
The Deputy Commanderâs eyes were half-closed, his gaze distant as he stared at the egg in his hand.
"With all six elementsâWater, Fire, Wind, Earth, Light, and Lunarâgathered together, the third-stage demigod who owned them was likely planning to fuse them into a single Chaos Dragon Egg, from which a perfect World would be born."
"Such a world is the ideal foundation for building oneâs own Divine Kingdom, and it makes comprehending oneâs divine calling far easier."
Divine power, divine fire, and divine soulâthese were the first three stages of a demigod. To advance to the fourth stage, divine calling, a demigod first needed their own Divine Kingdom.
A being like a World Dragon, with a universe inside its very body, was the most suitable vessel imaginable.
Orion, Leonidas, and Alexander listened, only half-understanding. Their knowledge of the universeâs fundamental laws was still too shallow.
But they understood one thing: these World Dragon eggs were priceless. Even if they spent a thousand years searching other worlds, they might not find a single one.
"Then by splitting up the eggs, arenât we wasting a heavenly treasure?" Alexander asked, voicing the question on everyoneâs mind.
"Not necessarily," the Deputy Commander replied. "For that third-stage demigod, his goal was the Chaos Dragon Egg and the supreme divine calling it would grant. For him, the individual eggs were a catch-22: tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away. They were not quite what he needed, but far too valuable to simply discard."
As he said this, a bright light shone in Deputy Commander Edwardâs eyes, and a look of joy spread across his face. Arthas wore the exact same expression.
In a way, the trioâs reckless adventure had solved a major problem that the Deputy Commander and Arthas would have inevitably faced on their own paths to becoming full-fledged gods.
Of course, the same was true for Orion, Leonidas, and Alexander, who had also received eggs. They just werenât at the demigod stage yet, so they couldnât fully appreciate the sheer magnitude of their good fortune.
Because of this, the Deputy Commander and Arthas now owed the three of them a massive favor.
"More importantly," the Deputy Commander said, his calm gaze sweeping over Orion, Leonidas, and Alexander, "separating these eggs gives each of us an opportunity. We now have enough time to find the materials we need, the ones best suited for us, and fuse them into our own newly born worlds."
He paused.
"I will aid each of you three times, unconditionally."
"As will I," Arthas added immediately after.
In truth, with their relationship, helping each other was a normal occurrence, and they never counted the cost. But stating things clearly was a matter of principle for them, a part of their style.
"And Iâm sure this isnât over," Arthas added, looking at Orion with a well-intentioned warning. "The loss of something this precious... its master will not let this go. Be careful and cautious in your future endeavors."