My Emperor's Sword

Chapter 4: Welcome To Ashes Of Gods

As the voice finished, the blinding light finally started dimming out. And from the pure white, a lively mixture of green and blue was born. A warm zephyr tickled his legs before transforming into a violent gale that catapulted him upwards.
The wind pressure didn't cut his skin, nor did it pressure his lungs. In fact, the whole experience felt surreal.

"Ah" Letting out the breath that he held for the longest time, Mark gasped.

Slowly opening his eyes, Mark found himself high in the sky. Even though he experienced this scene thousands of times already, he still felt his adrenaline pumping as he looked at the green grass on the ever dwarfing plateau.

"Kraaaw!"

On his left, Mark heard an eagle's cry. Turning around, he wasn't surprised when he saw the monstrously big wing, covered in brown feathers that blocking his view. The creature then accelerated with incredible momentum, revealing itself to the world. It was a griffin, 4-meter wide one that stood aloof in the sky. Knowing what to expect next, Mark looked all around him. Surrounding him was a drift of Griffin, 30 of them to be exact. It was a sight to behold. Flying with such mythically strong creatures would excite even the most nihilistic of souls.

Suddenly, Mark's lips cracked into a grin.

"Thump!"

From below the plateau, a 2 meters red, reptilian paw slammed on the ground. Its razor sharp claws emitted an air of hostility and hidden danger. A yellow eye opened, and from underground, a titanic creature emerged.

"ROAAAAAAAAAR!!"

A brick red dragon, 30 meters long, soared into the sky. Looking at the drift of griffins, it roared, anger clear in its voice. It opened its mouth, and with contempt in its eyes, it gathered fire mana from all over the mountain range. The magical particles gathered into a ball of fire that Mark could feel the heat of even a hundred meters away. That hot wind for some reason turned into a warm breeze. The gentle zephyr as with last time became more violent and grew into a strong gale. The gust of wind blew him to the side, away from the danger of the dragon.

As Mark was trying to balance himself, a bright light came from the direction of the monsters. Looking up, he saw the dragon's fire breath clashing with the wind blades of the Griffins. The standoff lasted for a few seconds before the Griffins' attack faded away, leaving them defenseless against the inferno that was about to befall them.

"Kraaaw!"

The last cry of the griffins was full of sorrow, it was as if they tried to imprint their memories, their souls into this world that they were about bid farewell to. The fire then engulfed them, a giant ball of flame that spanned 40 meters in diameter. The Griffins were evaporated, even their bones were being melted by the raging fire.

Mark stood before the fiery hell, looking at the remains of the Griffins. The dragon, seeing that its work was done roared one last time before diving down towards the canyon. Suddenly, something strange happened. The fire that was eating at the remains of the griffins suddenly started glowing golden. The fire intensified and rose from the ground. A mixture of orange and golden flames intertwined. Finally, letters emerged, letters made of fire. When written they made: Ashes Of Gods.

The scene paused and he was teleported into deep space, where a beautiful six-winged angel descended gracefully and said.

"Hello Adventurer, welcome to Ashes of Gods. I am the messenger angel, Gabriel."

With a swipe of her left hand, an avatar that looked the same as Mark, albeit naked, appeared in front of him. "You can adjust your appearance to a limit of 20%. You can see the percentage of adjustment of any part of your body if you focus on said part."
Mark already knew all the mechanisms behind the character creation, and it was for this reason that he knew that it was a treasure trove. For example, a hidden mechanic that wasn't discovered until years later was that the color of your hair, and eyes were pre-requisites for certain early game hidden and unique quests.