The Capital of Hortus had a clear sky throughout the year. Thanks to the great formations laid down by the ancestors, not a single natural disaster struck the Hortians for the past thousands of years.

The rains never went overboard nor were the heat ever beyond the limit. Things like lightning strike deaths or earthquakes were simply non-existent.

Hortians managed to establish their own territory separated from the great wilderness. Even though they continued to clash with the beasts, their core civilization was secure.

Except for the variables called 'Invaders' that nearly pushed them to extinction a couple of times, Hortians was a stable civilization.

But that same civilization looked at the sky with trembling eyes. Be it children not older than two, or elders that were far into their twilight years, their gazes contained the same pair of emotions: Awe and Fear.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

Only a few minutes ago, the sky was painted with brilliant colors of red, blue, and yellow.

And just now, dark clouds covered the entire Hortian Kingdom. Lightning rumbled as the roars of thunder reverberated across the civilization.

Despite the clouds covering the sky, the temperature skyrocketed. Everyone began to sweat violently and some of the weaker ones ran back into their homes to cool off.

And in that heat, heavy rain began. Each raindrop was the size of a human fist. In just a few minutes, the terrifying rain began to affect the ecosystem of the kingdom.

Lightning began to strike down abruptly, destroying monuments and empty buildings.

The water awakeners tried hard to drive away the rains. The lightning warriors tried to stop the lightning strikes.

But the more they tried, the worse the situation actually got. They felt like the gates of a reservoir that were trying to hold down a tsunami. It's futile.

The abnormal natural disasters continued on for hours. The people hid in their homes, fearing for their lives.

Except for the high awakeners who could still travel in these conditions, even the mid awakeners didn't dare to go out in fear of a lightning strike.

Strange enough, the lightning didn't strike any home with living people. Nor did the rainwater flood into homes.

"W-Who is punishing us?"

"The g-gods of myths?"

"What sin did we commit?"

Across the kingdom, a wave of fear began to spread as all cities turned dysfunctional.

All the people who could move and operate in these dangerous situations reached the capital and pleaded in front of the Royal Palace.

"Matriarch! Please solve our crisis!"

"The gods are punishing us!"

"What wrong did we do?"

The Matriarch in the palace garden looked around and pursed her lips. The flower beds were ruthlessly smashed down by the lightning strikes and washed away by the rainwater.

The maids were closely gathered around her as the once smooth grass grounds around her were filled with craters formed by the lightning.

It's as if the lightning was deliberately targeting the Matriarch and hinting to her what's to come.

'After struggling for decades, defeating my political opponents, and stabilizing my position, this happens...' The Matriarch slowly flew out in the rain and landed in front of the palace, right across from the officials that were waiting for her.

None of them used their powers to shield themselves against the rain and were thoroughly drenched. They didn't want to 'resist' this mysterious power and piss it off.

The Matriarch too didn't use her powers and let the thick raindrops fall on her. Her hair turned wet and her clothes grew cold. A terrifying chill emerged from the water sticking to her body and the Matriarch nearly cried out in pain.

Looking at her subordinates, it's clear that they weren't feeling this pain. But she, only she did...

"Matriarch, please show us a way forward!" The prime minister, leaders of the provinces, and all the important officials were staring at her with pleading gazes.

Matriarch opened her lips which turned purple from the abnormal cold and said, "No matter the situation, it isn't right to speak on the streets. Let's speak in the pala"

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

The sky above the palace turned golden and with a deafening roar, a lightning dragon shot toward the palace before anyone could react. As if it wasn't enough, a water dragon followed right after.

The protective formations of the palace lit up and put up a barrier to protect it. The lightning dragon suddenly doubled in size and broke through the barrier and collided with the palace. The next second, the water dragon flooded the palace.

All the maids, servants, and officials in the palace were thrown out by a harsh wind and fainted.

The palace's pillars which were built more than a couple thousand years ago cracked apart and as lightning passed through each and every part of the building, then as if a huge bomb was placed inside, the palace exploded into pieces of precious metals and rocks.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Every person outside the palace stood with a dumbfounded expression. Even the always-calm Matriarch clenched her fists so hard that her nails dug into her palm.

If they previously had any doubts, it's quite clear now that someone was attacking them.

"W-Who did we offend recently?" The Prime Minister, an elderly man, asked in a trembling voice that was on the verge of crying.

Despite his sorry state, he's the only one who could at least speak. The ones around him were trembling violently in fear and couldn't even open their mouths. They were certain they were going to die in a minute or two and were thinking of their last words.

The Matriarch looked at the destroyed Palace and glanced up at the sky.

Who did she offend?

No beast her kingdom had hostilities with was capable of this feat. Nor could any of her political opponents. If they had this much power, they could just dethrone her and rule with an iron fist.

'That only leaves the Invaders,' The Matriarch's mind spun and she recalled the sky changing color a few minutes ago.

It lasted only for a few seconds and most people thought it was a precursor to natural disasters.

But the Matriarch was very clear. An ancient scripture whose records were treated as myths contained a line.

"The sky will be painted with the color of old gods. The new god will appear."

And the new god meant the winner of the trial.

An invader.

Matriarch bit her lip and stared at the sky with a piercing gaze and said in a subdued voice, "...you are the lord of the world. Why destroy your own possession? If you have any orders, then please relay and we'll follow it without delay."

Her voice spread across the capital and echoed like a poignant song.

A chuckle sounded from the sky all over the kingdom. Every Hortian heard it and peeked at the sky with an apprehensive expression.

"A good argument. No point in destroying my own thing," The mysterious voice said and hummed, "Disperse."

The clouds, the rain, the lightning, everything vanished and the usual atmosphere returned.

The destroyed palace was restored in the blink of an eye and a man stood at its top. Clad in white clothes with black borders, he looked down at the figureheads of the Hortians, and more specifically, the Matriarch with a smile, "Greetings, Hortians, I am Varian, the lord of this world."