Quest Maker: 420

Title: Di Tian’s Exploration

The first defeat saw him indirectly leaving her Majesty’s grace as she found a renewed interest in the new Beast God. The second and more humiliating defeat at the hands of the Blood God saw him traveling the four continents in hiding to find someone, and he found whom he was looking for. Di Tian is privy to a lot of knowledge by being near the Lady of the Lake for years, you see. He heard of some idle musings, predictions, really. The Silver Dragon King predicted the surviving offspring.

Di Tian knew of Gods, Asura cleaving the River of Time, and even Gu Yuena’s innate reluctance to relinquish her identity to merge with her other half and become the Dragon God. But she hadn’t been of the mind to change her fate until a force of nature and defier of destiny sauntered into their den, scamming his way through most and soundly defeating the strongest with all his might! It brought change, Di Tian saw. But he didn’t mind it, honestly. Years of serving Gu Yuena changed Di Tian—his motives changed from welcoming the Dragon God to making something of himself eventually—to finding ways to overcome the current trend of ascension known only to humans so other Beasts may prosper.

And while Ja Sun may adopt the Beast God’s title, Di Tian wonders if the man will fulfill such responsibilities. It matters not. The loss of title did not change Di Tian. It encouraged him to find a means of progress.

So, he searched for someone. He didn’t know who, but he could hear admiration in Gu Yuena’s words when she talked of him, the mysterious wanderer, a scourge of land, the nightmare of masses—Shrek. She didn’t name the man as such. Di Tian landed on the conclusion by himself. Only the mysterious identity of Shrek eluded the former Beast God, who once traveled the four continents and faced the most vicious beasts in a contest of strength, besting Demonic Whales deep undersea, the Evileye Tyrant King, and even the discreet Scarlet Deerling hiding in the smallest continent.

Only the myth of Shrek reached Di Tian, not the Spirit Beast himself.

“It’s a great day, no?”

Di Tian could have never expected such a species to exist this far.

Hidden on some ordinary island, sitting on the edge of a cliff, gazing at the stars, the Spirit Beast admits, “Although it’s night. But the other half of the planet is facing its day. I hope they are having a good day.”

“Y-you’re a Behemoth!” Di Tian takes in his dark-furred form, shaped like a union of a monkey, man, and a bear, as the Spirit Beast’s tail twitches in response.

“I suppose,” he hums cheerily, causing Di Tian to double down. “You are Shrek, yes?”

The Spirit Beast does not answer his question and instead stares at the distant purplish ‘sea’ around the Sea God Island. “You faced that man, did you not? The one who fashions himself as a Beast Sage. How did he ever defeat you when you could summon a part of Dragon God’s body, no matter how weak, of course, with some consequences?”

Caution mars Di Tian’s face. Even with a fallen Ja Sun and injured Xunji, he did not think of himself as the pinnacle of this world any longer. And against a species that once devoured Dragons for shit and giggles? Di Tian has less certainty than ever. “How do you know of that technique?”

“I reckon it uses some sacrifices,” Shrek does not turn even now, his midnight tail swishing in an expression of idle curiosity. “Or maybe the Heaven really does favor the beasts as opposed to Gods. That would be fair, no? Something a Fair Heaven would commit. If Gods favor humanity, then everything else will find Heaven’s blessing in some form and manner.”

Di Tian scoffs at that. Blessing? Humans hunt their kind for Spirit Rings and Bones, yet they can earn nothing from accomplished humans besides scavenging absorbed Spirit Bones. How is that fair? Surprisingly, Shrek picks the point swirling in Di Tian’s mind.

“Humans hunt Beasts for spirit rings, bones, and souls, but they cannot earn anything if they hunt humans. Yet, human babes are born weaker than a Spirit Beast or even a simple clawed infant. Seek fairness, and you will find it everywhere. A noble’s wife sleeping with the servant, a servant’s daughter starving yet capable of joy, while a rich man’s daughter is incapable of deciding her future—the prices we pay and the destiny set out for us are truly wondrous. Yet, we have the strength to hold our future in our hands.”

His tail stops swinging as the Beast acknowledges, “Yes, I’m Shrek, as others lovingly call me. And I’m in a Behemoth’s flesh, too. What can I do for you in this time of stagnation, seeing that the Purple Sea has yet to recover and one final play of prophecy has yet to be enacted?”

Di Tian’s brows furrow and he has half the mind to test the riddling Behemoth’s strength, but something about him is different.

“Stone, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Amethyst—those are the categories of your kind. What kind of Behemoth is a Black one?”

“You mean to say Stone Behemoth is the weakest?” Shrek chuckles, finally looking at Di Tian as his eyes seem more brilliant than the very stars themselves!

“Are they not?” Di Tian’s golden eyes narrow.

“The strongest Behemoth to leave the protection of our Heaven, breaking his cycle of life and death, ignore the Divine War and Asura’s just blade through his mischievous patterns—even if at a considerable cost—was none other than the Stone Behemoth, Fiery-Eyed Wukong. Of course, his kind fondly called him a monkey due to his playful nature. So, no. Stone Behemoths are not the weakest, and neither does the Behemoth line end in such a short range.”

Di Tian works his jaw as Shrek tilts his head. “You come to me with a purpose, do you not? Out with it, I like gazing at the stars in solitude.”

Yes, why did Di Tian search for Shrek? What other reason could he have—except a discussion about the next path? Given how even Gu Yuena pinned her hopes on another man, if not to devour him eventually, Di Tian searches for something fit for him—that will not have him asking favors of a man.

Shrek laughs upon hearing all this, appearing more enigmatic than ever as he points at the night sky. “Did you believe all Divine Battles took place on this planet? Sure, it birthed some great talents, but the Divine Battle encompassed Heaven! And Heaven’s grace does not end on this planet. Divine Ruins, otherworldly corpses, eldritch inheritances—litter the stars. Go and search for them. Maybe you will learn a thing or two.”

“How do you know all this?” Di Tian frowns as Shrek returns to gazing upon the stars with a distinct feeling of longing. “Perhaps I was the reason a few such locations exist,” he chuckles, his tail waving in a bid of farewell. “Don’t read too much into it, Dragon. I’m but a guest for a few months at best. But you have my well wishes. That’s all I can grant you anyway.”

But Di Tian does not leave.

“You killed Gods?” He blinks owlishly. “You?” he emphasizes the point. “You’re not even a million-year-old Demi-Divine Beast?”

“Did a God beat you, the Blood God, and tackle Poseidon’s avatar?”

Di Tian stills as he recalls the tribulations upon the Sky of Sea God Island, leading to a massive sea of Purple Slime surrounding the land.

He takes one last look at Shrek before leaving, disappearing in the blink of an eye as Shrek’s surroundings turn peaceful.

“I could have shared the coordinates of a few divine beings I slew,” the Dragon Prince chuckles mischievously. “Ah, I think Behemoths’ line is inherently impish.”

But that is fine.

Monkey King left this place behind in search of another adventure, and he too shall follow the same path in search of a more welcoming world if he plays his cards right. After all, he isn’t as strong as a God as of now, so he has to rely on other means.

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His meeting with Shrek saw Di Tian searching the stars and distant planets. His mastery of Darkness and Spatial Laws, alongside the hide of a true dragon, poses little to no effort in leaving the planet behind, only temporarily. Even if his fate does not lie in his home, it’s his home! And Di Tian vows to return. His search for other inheritances confirmed Shrek’s words that he will find fairness should he truly seek it.

The Divine Inheritance grounds on his home planet are fit only for humans or Spirit Beasts that give up their former identities for human ones. Always priding in his heritage, Di Tian cannot possibly do so. And even if he is aware that against all odds, Ja Sun may eventually bond with other Spirit Beasts as Martial Soul before getting devoured by Gu Yuena as a fattened pig, Di Tian cannot stay to witness all that.

The void feels little to nothing on his scales. His eyes are unaffected by things such as atmospheric pressure as his wide wingspan flaps, generating immense gusts through Spirit Energy alone, assisting in his travel through space.

If he cannot find anything inspirational on his home planet, then it is truly wise to look elsewhere. The easiest path to find is letting his instincts as the Grandmaster of the Darkness Law lead him to the nearest concentration of the Darkness element, which is ironic.

Since he is in the sweeping void of outer space—the only thing Di Tian sees physically is darkness.

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Alternate Title: There’s Always a Monkey King; Shrek, The Stargazer; Shrek Needs Some Bitches To Pass Time FR; Dragon Prince Has That N-Word Pass; It’s Alright, Di Tian Is Black, Too; Shrek Casually Tossing Gang Signs With His Tail; Every Path Was Once Taken; Heaven Is Fair Indeed… With Some Tits, Too—The Beast Sage; Di Tian Accidentally Encountering Xenomorphs Bruh!; Di Tian’s Special Exploration; Di Tian: Surely, When I Return, The Silver Dragon Queen Won’t Be Riding The New Beast God In Every Position of Rut, Right?!; Di Tian: My Queen Will Win. *Ja Sun Glances at Bibi Dong*: I Think My Won Instead; Bibi Dong Scaring Di Tian With That Spiderman 2099 OST

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A/N: I simply didn’t wish to waste Di Tian’s character, and it suddenly struck me to send the Dragon to space since he does apparently live in another planet in DD4? So, there it is. But the idea of Di Tian casually slaughtering those god forsaken Xeno before chancing upon some inheritance is too sweet to ignore~!