Starting Out As The God of Beasts

High above the dark, jagged peaks of the Northern Hashian Mountains, the frigid night atmosphere hung heavy with silent, unseen tension.

Suspended in the icy expanse of the upper sky, a majestic, solitary figure hovered without making a single sound.

His massive, metallic silver wings were fully spread against the backdrop of the grey clouds, catching the faint, ambient starlight.

It was Mauresis, the Angel of Dawn.

Draped in his immaculate, heavy silver plate armor that hummed with latent solar authority, his single golden eye gleamed with a cold, ancient intelligence as he looked down at the sprawling mortal realm beneath him.

He stood fully armed, calm, and ready for battle—a living weapon forged by the God of Dawn, now deployed to execute the script of the Sky God.

SWISH!

With an instantaneous, fluid shift in momentum, Mauresis folded his wings against his back and angled his frame downward, cutting through the thick cloud layers like a silver star falling from the heavens.

His first destination was the desolate, blackened expanse of Kaelos City—the very ground where the Church of the God of Beast had first unleashed its terrifying divine wrath upon the vanguard of the Holy Church.

Within seconds, Mauresis touched down lightly upon the cracked, soot-covered cobblestones of the central plaza.

He did not make a single sound upon landing; his heavy silver boots hovered a fraction of a millimeter above the layer of ash coating the earth as he began a slow, methodical march through the silent ruins.

Mauresis raised his gauntleted right hand, sweeping his fingers through the cool night air.

His single golden eye flared with a sharp, resonant light as he began analyzing the residual energy clinging to the shattered stone pillars, the melted statues, and the deep, scorched craters that pockmarked the city streets.

A cold, dangerous glint flared deep within his golden iris.

“Traces of divine essence…” Mauresis whispered softly to himself, his deep voice carrying a metallic echo that died quickly in the empty streets. “High-purity, terrifying, and absolute. The reports brought to Sun Heaven were accurate. A true servant of a divine entity laid waste to this mortal settlement.”

For the next several minutes, the Angel of Dawn moved through every shattered alleyway and collapsed district of Kaelos City like a silver phantom.

He systematically searched the ruined temples, the hollowed-out residential blocks, and even the subterranean storage vaults beneath the city, hunting for a single lingering thread, a stray soul frequency, or a spatial anchor that could lead him directly to the true origin of the God of Beast.

Though he was acting merely as a temporary servant under the direction of Makane, the God of the Sky, Mauresis possessed the unyielding, meticulous pride of an angel forged by Amoris.

As long as he was bound to this mortal deployment, he was determined to put forth complete, flawless effort into his duty until his task was fulfilled and he could return to the side of his true creator.

Yet, despite his relentless search, Mauresis found nothing.

The residual traces of divine power left in Kaelos City were completely scrubbed and isolated, leaving no spiritual trail for him to track.

“A cautious and calculating entity…” Mauresis noted coldly, lowering his hand.

Without wasting another moment on the dead city, Mauresis kicked off the scorched cobblestones, shooting back up into the night sky like a silver beam.

He altered his trajectory, flying directly toward his next target: the Glorious Mythical Sect.

Within moments, the high-tier angel materialized high above the sea of clouds overlooking the serene, mist-shrouded peaks of the sect.

He folded his silver wings, completely concealing his celestial aura beneath a subtle veil of refracted sunlight, remaining entirely undetected by the thousands of mortal cultivators residing in the pavilions below.

Down on the rooftop of an administrative pavilion, Roy stood with his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his obsidian trench coat, looking down at the quiet sect grounds.

Roy was completely unaware of the winged divine entity hovering in the upper sky directly above his head.

Despite Roy’s monstrous strength, his vast divine authorities, and his absolute control over spatial dimensions, he was still currently a Divine Spirit—a god who was actively building his foundation and gathering faith, yet to officially ascend the divine ladder to become a True God.

Had Roy already completed his divine ascension and claimed his rightful throne among the higher pantheons as a True God, his spatial perception would have instantly caught the subtle, celestial distortion of Mauresis’s presence the very second the angel crossed into the mountain range.

Likewise, because Roy was meticulously suppressing his own divine essence to maintain his mortal disguise as the Peerless Supreme Elder, Mauresis was unable to distinguish Roy’s presence from the mundane, background spiritual energy of the mountain range.

Neither entity realized the other was watching the exact same stage.

***

A Few Minutes Before the Current Event — Inside High Priest Arnold’s Chambers.

Before the violent battle inside the private room had even begun, a faint, imperceptible golden ripple had manifested in the dark center of the High Priest’s private quarters.

Mauresis stepped smoothly out from the spatial distortion, his imposing, seven-foot-tall (2.1 meters) frame towering over High Priest Arnold, who stood at six-foot-two (1.88 meters).

The red-haired cleric, busy reviewing tactical maps and financial reports near his obsidian desk, remained completely oblivious to the towering angel standing right behind his back.

Mauresis stared down at the High Priest for a quiet moment, his single golden eye reading the deep, ingrained holy mark etched into Arnold’s soul, confirming beyond a shadow of a doubt that the man was indeed a devout, dedicated follower of the Sky God.

Although Arnold possessed no divine vision and could not see the silver-armored angel standing in his room, an unnatural, oppressive sensation suddenly washed over his entire body.

Arnold froze mid-stride near his desk.

A sudden, terrifying wave of intense heat radiated against the skin of his back, so blistering that it felt as though he were standing right next to a open furnace.

Sweat instantly burst from his pores, and his breath hitched in his throat as his skin prickled with a sharp, burning discomfort.

‘What is this heat?!’ Arnold thought, his eyes widening as he raised a shaking hand to touch his scorched collar.

‘Is there a fire in the corridor?!’

Before Arnold could even turn his head to investigate the burning sensation—

Mauresis’ physical body dissolved.

His silver plate armor, white hair, and metallic wings collapsed inward, transforming into a single, hyper-concentrated ray of pure, golden sunlight.

SWISH!

The golden ray shot forward with blinding speed, plunging directly into the nape of High Priest Arnold’s neck!

Arnold gasped loudly, his back arching as a sudden, icy shockwave followed the intense heat, shooting straight down his spine and settling deep within his soul.

He stumbled forward against his obsidian desk, gasping for air as he rubbed the back of his neck with a trembling hand.

“Ah… what was that… a sudden fever?” Arnold muttered to himself, shaking his head to clear the slight dizziness that washed over his eyes.

He quickly straightened his robes, brushing the incident off as mere exhaustion and paranoia regarding his upcoming meeting with the elders.

He was completely unaware that deep beneath his skin, right on the nape of his neck beneath his high collar, a faint, cerulean mark—resembling a stylized, feathered sunburst—had materialized, throbbing with hidden, dormant divine energy.

The Angel of Dawn had successfully established his nest inside the cleric’s flesh, silently waiting for the moment High Priest Arnold would unleash his forbidden technique, allowing the angel to awaken, consume the mortal host, and unleash the full, terrifying authority of the Sun Heaven upon the Church of the God of Beast.