The feeling of "the world resisting him" didn't lessen; instead, it became clearer.
Obsidian stood silently, allowing the subtle repulsion between his divinity and the world to continue stimulating his consciousness.
Ever since the battle with Saritus ended, this repulsion was like fabric being torn into smaller and smaller pieces, becoming increasingly difficult to mend.
Azeroth did not welcome gods.
Especially a deity from a different system.
But Obsidian had grown accustomed to it.
Repulsion aside, all necessary tasks were still carried out.
After completing the boss's… wait, I am the boss, so never mind.
In short, it was almost time; the moment of departure was near.
He looked back at the Proto-Dragons who had already gathered—twenty-nine converts, plus about thirty followers, piled up at the wind gap like half an air force base.
"I won't teach you how to divide labor, I won't make your schedules, and I certainly won't arrange who goes where for duty."
"You figure it out yourselves."
Obsidian spoke clearly, without any ambiguity.
"I only want results. In a century, Serilos must be floating in the sky. If anyone drops out or messes up during that time, I don't care, but don't come to me begging for mercy then."
The Proto-Dragons were all silent; no one refuted him.
Obsidian continued, "From now on, Shadow Wing and her—" He looked at the grizzled old female dragon standing to his left.
"Frostis," the elder matriarch respectfully stated her name.
"Frostis, you two coordinate them. Who should go where, who should hunt, who should gather materials, who should look after the young dragons—you two decide."
Obsidian quickly shed the heavy burden.
Work hard; whether I can lie flat in the future depends entirely on you!
The grizzled female dragon nodded, while Shadow Wing said nothing, only slowly folded his wings and bowed.
The group of young Proto-Dragons began to stretch their wings and adjust their posture, preparing to set off.
Some appeared particularly active, full of anticipation for their new life.
Others were adjusting their thought processes, trying to grasp the practical meaning of "a century-long project."
Obsidian said no more.
He swept his gaze low to the north, and Shadow Wing led the way, spreading his wings and rising, followed by the rest of the Proto-Dragons, flying towards the ZulDrak border.
That was originally Obsidian's resting cave, where he lived alone.
It was truly "randomly burned out"—he used shadow energy to blast away a section of the mountain wall, then scraped away the fallen debris, hollowing out a barely livable space in the rock layer.
He hadn't expected that one day he would have to host over fifty Proto-Dragons.
When the first batch of dragons landed, the cave entrance began to get crowded.
When the second batch landed, some dragons were already hesitating whether to sleep at the cave mouth.
When the third batch flew in, Frost Fang tried to lie on Obsidian's back but was swept down by a tail.
Uninhabitable.
Truly uninhabitable.
However, the two previously assigned assistants began to act.
Early the next morning, a fire-attributed Proto-Dragon melted open the rear rock layer with heat, three strong ones began to expand the main chamber, and five stable flyers started marking the adjacent mountain, preparing to open up second and third side caves.
Shadow Wing was responsible for supervision, speaking no unnecessary words, only reporting construction progress.
Frostis was responsible for scheduling, assigning positions based on body size, breath type, and temperament, while also preventing certain dragons who had previously fought from crowding into the same cave again.
Obsidian barely interjected throughout the morning, lying there watching them come and go, not daring to make any strange movements.
He felt completely uncomfortable.
He observed for a while and found that although these guys didn't understand "design" or "blueprints," their intuition for cave expansion was quite accurate, mostly following wind direction and rock layer slope, neither too much nor too little.
When a Proto-Dragon tried to ask him if he wanted any totems carved or statues molded, Obsidian only replied:
"…It needs to be 'visible.'"
His requirement was truly not high; visible was enough.
But after he said that, all proactive stone carving activities ceased.
Mainly, these Proto-Dragons really had no artistic talent, and it was better not to offend the deity they had just begun to worship.
By evening, the second temporary cave network was formed, and several south-facing open platforms appeared at the base of the cliff, where the dragons flying in and out created a sense of scale.
Some dragons were starting to get used to the new stronghold, some were still adapting, and some… hid in snowdrifts to nap.
The wind and snow continued as usual, and above the cliff, the first stronghold of the Proto-Dragon Church gradually took shape.
A few days later, the cave complex, renamed Obsidian Nest, was largely complete.
The Proto-Dragons were bustling with activity.
Flying around, spewing magma, carving marks on the rock walls… turning the entire valley into a construction site.
Obsidian finally endured until a quieter evening.
He was nestled on a rock bed deep within the main cave, surrounded by silence, only hearing Frost Fang gnawing on something by the entrance.
He glanced at the newly opened ventilation shaft on the cave ceiling and nodded slightly.
"Finally, some peace and quiet."
To be honest, he was now strongly uncomfortable with the idea of "a god living in the congregation's dormitory."
No matter how large the cave was or how stable the airflow, it was ultimately not private dragon space.
—He needed a place truly his own.
His divinity vibrated gently, and a familiar interface appeared:
Divine Name: Obsidian Nexus Lin (Obsidion Nexus Lin)
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Domain: Dragon / Shadow
Divine Portfolio: To Be Chosen (① [Lord of the End] ② [Abyssal Whisperer] ③ [Flame Keeper]…)
Divinity Level: 0 (Demigod)
Challenge Rating: 30
Divine Emblem: Obsidian Dragon's Eye
Followers: 89 (Ice Troll 73, Proto-Dragon 25)
Faith Intensity: Weak → Approaching "Stable"
Divine Realm: Not Established
Blessing Authority: Tier 1 Open
Path of Enhancement: ① Divine Power Advancement ② Ancient Dragon Path ③????
"The number of followers has increased a bit," Obsidian glanced at the numbers.
"The Ice Troll side is probably Skala bringing in another small tribe."
"Proto-Dragons… twenty-five?"
Actually, when the number of Proto-Dragon followers jumped to 6 before, Obsidian had been puzzled but didn't pay much attention.
Because when he saw the nineteen Proto-Dragons willing to convert, he understood that the four Proto-Dragons, besides Frost Fang and Shadow Wing, were indeed among them.
But this number isn't right, is it? A simple elementary school math calculation shows 6+19 - 4 = 21.
This means that some of the Proto-Dragons who were previously observing also converted.
"Alright, some dragons actually managed to keep up."
However, the accompanying problem was also obvious—living among these behemoths was too noisy.
The sound waves of a group of Proto-Dragons snoring could directly loosen the rock layers beneath his rock bed.
He sighed and pulled out the tag deep within his divinity that had long been highlighted in red but not opened:
Demiplane Status: Entrance Awaiting Placement.
"…It's about time to move."
"With followers and a base, the three previous tasks are basically complete."
"It's time to create a true 'God's Home' for myself."