Ankh was nearly shaken by Igneel's revelation, but what followed stunned him even further.
"Legend has it that the gods were originally one family," Igneel rumbled. "After creating all things in the world, they completely disappeared into the world, hidden within the laws of nature. Among them, the 'God of Life and Death' Ankhseram was the most attached to the world, thus disappearing last. Because of this, that era still had the most tales of his divine miracles."
Ankh twitched the corner of his mouth.
"A god of life and death being attached to the mortal world doesn't seem like a good omen, does it?"
Igneel shook his massive head and slowly began to narrate:
"Although God Ankhseram is called a god, he is actually the most emotionally human deity depicted by later generations."
"For instance, those who commit sacrilege by desecrating corpses or engage in immoral acts like breaking into tombs to steal from graves would face severe punishment from him. Conversely, those who work hard and care for their wives and children would receive blessings of wisdom for their descendants. Numerous legends and folk traditions, both major and minor, serve as proof of this deity's emotionally driven actions."
'What a super benevolent being i am!' Ankh thought, surprised.
So Akhnseram from back then was actually warm-hearted...
Ankh couldn't help but ask in his mind.
'Is this true, Seram? Didn't you say we always acted without emotion, strictly following rules?'
[These are all baseless speculations made by later generations based on observed actions... I believe we probably... wasn't like that?] Seram's voice sounded unsure.
'Well then, you should've said you weren't sure earlier.'
Ankh couldn't help but roll his eyes internally before continuing his inquiry.
"Then what does this have to do with what you said? And what's the connection with Acnologia?"
Igneel's majestic dragon eyes revealed a trace of reminiscence as he spoke.
"Although the gods disappeared, evidence shows each deity left behind relics or inheritances. In our era, just from what I heard, there were tribes inheriting fragments of the Time God's soul, races hiding in spacetime crevices after being granted treasures by the Space God, and even nations devoted to serving deities that received blessings from the God of Charm and Beauty. Even our dragon ancestors seemed to have received assistance from several gods."
"Such individuals from that era shared a unified title — 'God Successors'. As the name implies, these were chosen ones who inherited fragments of divine relics or inheritances, all possessing special abilities."
Igneel's voice darkened.
"And Acnologia, this entity representing the origin of evil... appears to have obtained God Ankhseram's inheritance related to 'Death' and becoming a God Successor."
Ankh's pupils trembled slightly.
He felt somewhat dazed by Igneel's words.
The gods left numerous legacies and treasures in the world... and the one who inherited God Ankhseram's legacy was actually that despair-inducing boss Acnologia from the original story?!
How did that dragon get connected with Akhnseram?
"Just as you suspect," Igneel continued, "Dragon Slayer Mages continuously transform into dragons. The original Acnologia was also human. After turning into a dragon, he insanely began hunting dragons, devouring their flesh and Magic Power."
"We originally thought that endlessly consuming Dragon Force which conflicted with his own nature would eventually make Acnologia suffer the consequences... Because even pure-blooded dragons would only meet destruction by exploding from within if they attempted such a thing."
"But unexpectedly, all dragons killed by him ultimately became his power. This is precisely why we suspect he obtained the power of the God of Life and Death. He himself seemed to completely ignore death, using others' demise to evolve, filling his 'void' body with countless different energies!"
Hearing this, Ankh fell silent again.
When he used to absorb Death Waves, he indeed simultaneously enhanced his own strength, though that minuscule energy would be assimilated instantly without developing new attributes.
From this perspective, this world's Acnologia might be different from the original version.
Acnologia gained a certain special ability by inheriting knowledge about "Death," growing stronger through continuous slaughter.
After so many years of killing and devouring, having absorbed nearly all types of Magic Power, he obtained the ability to ignore all magical effects.
Such a monster with maxed-out offense and defense was truly troublesome...
Ankh looked up at the now silent three-headed dragon, his heart filled with complex emotions.
'It must have been incredibly difficult for you all to escape from that pervert's clutches.'
"So," Igneel concluded, eyeing Ankh, "since your name is the same as that deity's, and you claim you want to become a god, while your life-and-death Magic is so unique... you must be a Divine Successor who believes in the God of Life and Death and has inherited Divine Power."
Ankh: ...
"Ah... yes, that's right..." Ankh scratched his head awkwardly. "I discovered I had innate special Magic at birth, researched it, and gave myself this name. So I'm a Divine Successor after all hehe..."
[Hey Ankh! Just tell him your identity directly! You're not actually scared of that Acnologia guy, are you?] Seram shouted in his head.
Ankh curled his lips.
'Scared? As if!'
No matter how powerful Acnologia was, he only inherited the Divine Power of Death—and even that was an incomplete derivative ability.
Meanwhile, he himself was already nearly unkillable with Life God Power.
Even if he couldn't defeat the Black Dragon right now, he wouldn't be killed by him either.
Who would be scared of him?
But in the current situation, battles that couldn't eradicate the root problem weren't worth fighting.
Hiding his identity with a few words was nothing.
"I'd advise you to keep a low profile," Igneel kindly reminded him. "Although this era has seen broken lineages due to the Black Dragon, and divine names and existences are no longer known, we can't be sure if Divine Successors can sense each other. Better to be cautious."
Ankh nodded in agreement, then asked curiously.
"Did Divine Successors interact with each other in the past?"
Igneel scratched his head with a massive Dragon Claw tip, trying to recall distant memories.
His bell-like voice was tinged with hesitation.
"Yes, there were. Some Divine Successors even fought to compete for more divine power. But I remember that person ultimately couldn't bear multiple divine inheritances—not only did the pwoer vanish, but they also died a sudden death."
"Later, when Acnologia, that unkillable monster, heard about Divine Successors and wanted to test whether he could inherit other gods' powers... all those Divine Successors vanished upon hearing the news. They can't even be found in historical records anymore."
Ankh found it somewhat amusing: "Weren't they supposed to have obtained divine power? So many Divine Successors couldn't handle another Divine Successor like Acnologia?"
Igneel shook his head and sighed.
"Not every god bestowed combat abilities. Meanwhile, Acnologia was already an extremely powerful Dragon Slayer mage, possessed the robust physical defense of dragonkind, and had inherited the most terrifying power of Death..."
Ankh nodded in understanding.
Got it. If he were a regular Divine Successor facing such an enemy, he'd probably feel despair too.
Fortunately, he was a genuine god and not this successor trash!
They were slowly growing stronger, while Ankh was merely unleashing his original power.
'As for those other Divine Successors...' Ankh mused.
'I'll look into their whereabouts later and see if I can obtain other gods' abilities...'
'They couldn't handle multiple divine powers, but I might be different.'