The forces of the Shadow of Apophis could only retreat in shame as they were driven away from getting the other fragment. The Shadow of Apophis is at its weakened state which means it would take at least a month for it to recover back its new body. The Shadow of Apophis is now only fiver meters in length even with the aid of two other fragments.
"This must not continue! I must find my vessel immediately." The Shadow of Apophis stated as it hissed at its followers.
"We have already started the search, my lord. We have been scouring the entire western continent, but the vessel seems to be lost. We have searched every city and slum, but the piece of your scale does not react to anything." A member of the followers of Apophis stated.
Seeing that nothing was fruitful, the follower's head suddenly blew up and his body made a thud as it fell to the ground. The other followers did not even blink as they saw their representative die as another just went up to replace him. The eyes of the followers did not even show any remorse or fear as they were even shining since that follower was killed by their lord itself.
The vessel that the Distorted God Apophis is talking about is a child born from its former avatar and its power. The vessel would have been ready, but the Distorted God Apophis was split into two and its other half was separated into fragments when the Sun God Ra fell. The Distorted God Apophis also lost contact with its vessel as her avatar died.
Still, the followers of Apophis were able to uncover in a buried tablet that the blood of the serpent lives on. The child of the Avatar of Apophis managed to live and procreate but they do not know what the state of that child is. All they know is that there is a proper vessel for the Distorted God Apophis somewhere in this world.
"If I may speak, master." One of the followers stated.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Speak." The Shadow of Apophis stated.
"What if your progeny is not in the western continent? There have been desert bandits that sold children into slavery to other continents back then. Your current vessel might be in another continent as we speak." The follower of Apophis stated which made the Shadow of Apophis praise her.
"You might be correct, my follower. Just because I am bound in the western continent does not mean that my vessel will be the same as well. Come and receive my blessing." The Shadow of Apophis stated as the follower came close to the Shadow of Apophis.
The Shadow of Apophis then sprayed its follower with some sort of liquid which made the follower scream in ecstasy. The follower of Apophis suddenly started to shed her human skin as scales started to grow from her body. A few minutes later, the follower of Apophis suddenly fully transformed into a humanoid serpent being that has the properties of the Shadow of Apophis.
"Thank you for the gracious blessing, my benevolent god." The follower stated as she is now a different race called Apophica.
The Apophica race is different from the serpent beast men as they look more like nagas as they no longer have feet. The lower body of the female follower has fully turned serpentine while her upper body is that of a woman with a snake head. Unlike Nagas that can transform their upper body, the Apophica race's appearance is permanent.
"Send word to all of my followers to find my vessel. Take as much of my scales that you have scrapped earlier. Tell the Followers of the Dark Gods as well about this information and tell them that I will award the ones that find my vessel. Whoever finds my vessel will become my own champion." The Shadow of Apophis stated.
==
Quest Name: Find the Vessel of the Distorted God Apophis
Quest Difficulty: S
Quest Description: The Shadow of Apophis wants to have a fitting vessel in the mortal realm so that it must not create another physical body. It wants to use the chance while it is regaining its strength to find the descendant of the Avatar of Apophis. Find the vessel of the Distorted God Apophis and you will be rewarded for your loyalty.
Clear Condition: Find the Vessel of Apophis and present it to the Shadow of Apophis.
Clear Reward: Earn the Title of Champion of Apophis and a hidden job class.
Failure Condition: Unable to present the Vessel of Apophis to the Shadow of Apophis.
Failure: Lose 1 level and favorability from the Distorted God Apophis.
Duration: 90 days or until the Shadow of Apophis is still alive.
Restriction: Only Followers of the Dark Gods can accept this request or players that have swore allegiance to the Distorted God Apophis.
Note: Only one person can get the rewards and the one that presents the vessel first would be the one that gets the clear reward.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm==
The followers of the dark gods and players that went to the side of the Distorted God Apophis did not even hesitate and accepted the quest. All of them took a discarded scale of the Shadow of Apophis and ran towards the three continents that are currently explorable. Those that left early knew that the quest was hinting at a large clue.
The clue to the quest is that there may be more than one vessel as it is a descendant of the past Avatar of Apophis which means there are many potential vessels. There may be a handful of vessels but that does not mean that searching for them is easy. All of the players that took the mission would have to become a human ancestry expert.
The Shadow of Apophis is ecstatic upon seeing a large number of beings searching for its vessel. While its vessel has yet to be found, the Shadow of Apophis looked at the piles of monsters placed beside it. It started to eat the dead monsters in order to regain strength to recreate a more powerful physical body.
The Shadow of Apophis knew that it cannot fight against the defenders at this state. It needs to search for another fragment to attack since it knew that the Spirit of Apophis would be heavily guarded right now. It already sent some of its followers to search for the entrance to the Temple of Thoth.
"Why have you come, trickster?" The Shadow of Apophis stated as it glared at the looming uneven shadow in the corner of the room.
"Greetings, Shadow of Apophis. I am simply here to see your state and check if you will still be able to hold your end of the deal." A male figure as he suddenly emerged from that looming uneven shadow.
"I know what our agreement is, Trickster Loki. You have awakened me from slumber which is why I am also doing my best in gathering the other fragments to break through the limit. Once I gather all of my remaining fragments then I can reach the strength of a Greater God even in the mortal realm.
I also know that you aided one of my candidates to sneak inside the Temple of Bastet and get my fragment. You have overstepped your welcome in the western continent as I have told you that awakening the Goddess Sekhmet would be more danger to me!" The Shadow of Apophis stated with a powerful hiss.
"I just wanted to aid you in your complete resurrection by getting that fragment for you." The God Loki stated.
"Help? I know that you are restricting your power trickster which means you cannot actively participate in the happenings right now. If you do so, then you would run the risk of being marked by the world as an elimination target. You would become the current me that will be able to die should your soul be destroyed." The Shadow of Apophis stated as it warned the God Loki to not meddle.
The God Loki made use of his special abilities as a Trickster God to avoid the eyes of the world. He would not be able to avoid it though if he actively participates in the affairs of mortals. The world would recognize him as a threat upon doing so which is why he only manipulates mortals to do things for him as he could be in danger if he acts himself.
"I already have triggered something as I meddled a bit and was noticed by the Champion of the Twin Gods. That baby demon is a real pain in the plans and now he has noticed me which means the world would have a glimpse of me. I will have to lay low for a while which means I cannot help you. This is the reason why I showed up in your hidden area right now." The God Loki stated as he bid his farewells.