After subduing the Skulbreaker tribe, Garon looked down at the lifelike corpse of the dual-headed ogre, his gaze shifting thoughtfully.
He pondered for a moment, then turned to Uga Skulbreaker beside him and said, "Come with me."
Now ranked second only to Garon among the more than forty ogres, Uga Skulbreaker's face was visibly thrilled, thinking that everything he now had was given by Garon. He replied with reverent words, "Yes, master."
The Skulbreaker tribe's buildings were crudely made of piled stones, haphazardly scattered throughout the basin-shaped valley. The chilling winds of the northern ice plains were blocked by the valley's barriers, making the temperature here relatively more comfortable, a decent place for most creatures to settle.
As Garon inspected the Skulbreaker tribe's surroundings, he walked towards the dual-headed ogre's dwelling. Having previously scouted the enemy's location, he knew where to go and arrived at a large stone house, about six meters tall and covering a hundred square meters, in a minute or two.
Designed for the size of the dual-headed ogre, the house looked like a black stone monster sprawled on the ground. The door, made of large wooden planks, was about four meters high. Apart from his wings and long neck, a dragon's body proportions were similar to those of feline species. With his wings folded, Garon could fit inside the stone house comfortably.
Inside, he surveyed the arrangement. The floor was covered with various animal hides, and a faint wild scent permeated the air. A large stone bed lined with more hides stood against one wall, which was also engraved with cultural marks passed down through ogre history. Garon quickly scanned the room, but his attention was soon captured by a dark wooden sculpture.
Upon seeing this dark sculpture, a chill went through Garon, and his face showed a look of serious caution.
It was a spherical sculpture, supported by vine-like roots at the base. At first glance, it seemed to be a black sun with flames radiating outward. But on closer inspection, these "flames" turned out to be numerous tentacles, each dotted with countless eyes.
On the body of the sun sculpture itself, eyes were densely carved, simple yet vivid, giving off a chilling, eerie vibe that exuded an evil presence.
"What is this?" Garon asked Uga Skulbreaker without looking away.
Blinking, Uga Skulbreaker responded, "Master, this is the Sun God our Skulbreaker tribe worships."
Though he spoke with respect, it was clear from his tone that his reverence was merely superficial, lacking the fervor and devotion seen in the dual-headed ogre chief.
Garon was stunned. "You call this thing a Sun God?"
It looked nothing like the benevolent deity associated with light and life but rather a malevolent god. How could anyone mistake this for a sun god?
Driven by intense curiosity, Garon wanted to examine the dark sculpture more closely. However, within seconds, he found his gaze becoming unfocused as he stared at the dense eyes on the sculpture, stepping closer without realizing it.
Uga Skulbreaker watched Garon's behavior, sensing something was amiss but not daring to interrupt.
Meanwhile, Garon heard whispers in his mind in a language he had never heard before but somehow understood.
"He was born in the black mist, and He is the creator of the black mist."
"He brings darkness, and He brings light."
"He writes life, He rewrites death."
"He is the creator of all, the supreme Sun."
How could the sun bring darkness? Garon snapped out of his trance.
Shocked, he realized he was less than two meters away from the sculpture and was reaching out to touch it.
Whoosh! With a flap of his wings, Garon, like a cat that had its tail stepped on, accelerated away, instantly retreating to the door and staring warily at the sculpture.
"It could influence my mind!"
The mental fortitude of dragons was formidable, immune to many psychic spells thanks to their cerebral vascular structure, which also facilitated their ability to exert dragon's might. Time dragons, in particular, were among the best at this, able to perceive the flow of time due to their immense mental strength.
Yet now, Garon was disturbed that a mere sculpture had affected him so. "It must contain significant malevolent power to have influenced me..." Garon pondered solemnly.
Had he not broken free from the whispers, he might have gradually been swayed to become a faithful follower of this 'Sun God.'
Uga Skulbreaker, completely unaffected, looked perplexedly at Garon, not understanding what was happening.
Ignoring Uga's gaze, Garon looked at the sculpture, feeling as if the tentacles were coming to life, writhing and the eyes spinning into vortexes. He heard the whispers again,
pulling him closer.
Thankfully, Garon was prepared. As soon as he noticed the abnormal influence, he snapped out of it, his gaze clearing.
"The dual-headed ogre's strange behavior stems from this," Garon concluded.
"Gods... Deities... These are not forces I should meddle with now."
He guessed the sculpture used the eyes to influence minds and quickly turned his head away, avoiding further eye contact.
As expected, the strange sensations vanished when he stopped looking directly at the eyes.
Garon took a deep breath, closed his eyes, turned around, and unleashed a burst of icy-blue dragon breath, encapsulating the sculpture in layers of ice, quickly turning it into an opaque block of ice where the details inside were obscured.
He opened his eyes a little at a time, looking at the ice block without being affected.
Relieved, he turned to Uga Skulbreaker and said earnestly, "Where did this Sun sculpture come from? Are there similar ones in other houses? How did you come to worship this Sun God? Tell me everything you know."
Uga, though puzzled, relayed all he knew about the sculpture as commanded.
A few minutes later, Garon was deep in thought, considering Uga's words. The sculpture's exact origin was unknown to him; it had suddenly appeared after one of the dual-headed ogre's journeys, and he had declared it a representation of the Sun God, compelling the Skulbreaker ogres to worship it.
According to Uga, aside from the dual-headed ogre who was a true believer, the other ogres were rather indifferent about their faith.
Garon remained silent, contemplating how to deal with the sculpture.
The thought of it being linked to a god made him especially cautious. Gods, wielding power over realms and countless worlds, were among the mightiest immortal beings. Even at a hundred years old, a mature dragon would need to tread carefully around a deity.
Tiamat, the five-headed dragon, an entity of chaos and immortality, had lived through countless ages and witnessed the rise and fall of many civilizations.
Yet in the realm of gods, her power was considered minor, highlighting just how formidable gods could be.
Of course, she was a dragon first and a god second; divine rank didn't necessarily reflect true strength.