It was like spilled ink onto a blank page in which a darkness crept across a world nearing its end. Screams could be heard from every corner of the land as many fled the encroaching emptiness, only to be consumed by its touch. Within itself, howls and bestial clawing echoed from beings that defy reality and seek the end of all things. To bring about a return to where everything came from—a return to nothingness.

  In the skies above, gods and their loyal divine servants were felled one at a time. Their various magical steeds and chariots that glowed with divine energies were torn asunder with hardly any effort. Sacred weapons & armor that had been crafted by the heat of stars and made from the bones of giants were eroded into dust. While the mortals met their end, the gods that had stood as their protectors since the genesis of time were meeting the same fate.

  As the darkness reached halfway across the world, Tarkon, God of Destruction, traded glances with Thalric, God of War.

  “This is beyond simple destruction, brother. It is oblivion incarnate.” He said in a solemn tone.

  “Coming from you, that is a bit alarming. But Protecting Skarnos is our duty, as you already know.” Thalric said simply, staring off into the distance.

  Tarkon scoffed at that with a wry smile.

  “I think the ship has sailed on that one, brave fool.” He gestured to their surroundings, with no other god in sight, more than half of their mortals eradicated and the darkness getting ever closer to their position.

  The God of War paused and looked around, hefting his battle axe over his shoulder. A grim expression deepened on his face and the grip on his weapon tightened.

  “I assume you have a plan then.” He looked back at his brother knowingly.

  Tarkon nodded while moving towards the approaching darkness, his divine energy flaring.

  “I ask that you leave this world to its demise and prepare little brother! With your particular talents, I know that you create a force to combat this plague! Our world is lost, but that does not mean other worlds must suffer the same fate!” Power radiated out from every word, billowing with immense pressure.

  Thalric watched his brother’s back for a brief period, closed his eyes in resignation, and then turned in the opposite direction.

  “It shall be done, older brother.”

  In a motion that broke the speed of light, he swung and released his battle axe, imparting his intent into every rune engraved onto the axe. The axe was crafted by his closest brothers, one of whom was dead and another who was heading to their death right now. It was his prized possession, and it was also the strongest weapon in the world.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  In less than a nanosecond, the battle axe collided with a metaphysical barrier, and then, as if shattering glass, the dimensional fabric holding this world was punctured. A rift opened to a swirling mass of vibrant colors that immediately started to repair itself.

  “Vulkrath.”

  Invoking his weapon’s name caused it to be recalled, the battle axe returning to his hand as he dived into the rift a moment later. The last thing that met his ears were the shockwaves of the battle between his brother and The Void before his body was impacted by turbulent energies flowing in every other direction. Instinctively, he coated his body with thick layers of Divine Energy as the swirling rainbow of primordial soup rocketed him at speeds far beyond what he could muster on his own. The momentum kept increasing as if reality wished to eject him from this region between worlds. A constant spike of pain assaulted him upon breaking into one dimension after another, catching glimpses of worlds both familiar and widely different. It was becoming incredibly taxing on his reserves of Divine Energy, and his very being could feel a heaviness that he had never experienced in his long life.

  As the pressure was reaching the edge of what he could bear, a sudden fracture resounded both outside and within his soul. It was an abrupt shift in existence. A core part of what made his existence had been severed at that moment, while the momentum finally halted. His body plummeted from the sky into the ground like a meteor, crashing into the center of a forest. An excruciating pain ate into his insides, his will fighting hard to retain consciousness. Thalric flipped over on his back, coughing up blood as remnants of energy congregated around him and the crater. His eyes stared up at a foreign sky in a confused daze, which was broken when words appeared in his vision.

  [Welcome to Arvis, Traveler!]

  ‘Arvis?’

  [Integrating New User…]

  [Residual Celestial Mana Found…]

  [Analyzing….]

  [Shattered Divinity Found….]

  ‘Uh…’

  [Untethered Authority Identified as WAR…]

  [Insufficient Divinity to support Authority…]

  [Authority Locked until prerequisites met…]

  [Granted Title: Former God of War]

  [Granted Title: Outsider]

  [As a New User, you have a 24-hour window before Class Designation.]

  [Good Luck!]

  He ignored the messages as he grumbled a barely audible word laced with intent and raised an open palm.

  At once, his weapon returned to his grasp, and he used it as a form of leverage to lift his nude body back to his feet. Upon instinct, he tried using Divine Energy, only to feel a scorching pain burn inside him, and he quickly stopped to catch his breath. He surveyed his surroundings, observing the remnants of energy that populated the crater of dirt and toppled trees.

  ‘Wait! The words had said something about Residual Celestial Mana…is that this world’s term for Divine Energy?’ Thalric mused.

  It seemed that his injury had released the rest of his divine energy in the process. How troubling.

  He willed for the energies around him to bid their final order from their prior master. Recalling clothing that he had not donned in several eons, he conjured rugged arm bracers, a fur kilt, ancient leg wraps, and boots. With his bare chest exposed, his appearance was that of a proper barbarian. They were the first people to engage in warfare, which gave birth to the concept that he owed his existence to. And with a heavy sigh, he began to climb out of the wreckage he had caused, his body protesting with every step. All around him were shattered trees and earth within an otherwise dense forest.

  It took some effort to mentally realign & extract himself from within the cavity. After exiting the crater, it was only a second later that a shadow blurred at him from his left. On instinct, his left hand holding his battle axe blurred, slicing a creature in two. He hadn’t even spared the attacker a glance, preoccupied with more floating words.

  [Level 5 Grey Wolf Defeated!]

  [XP Held until Class Designation!]

  “Well, that’s new…”

  Thalric trekked forward into the high volume of trees for about five minutes until he found a tree that stretched far into the sky above. He dropped his axe on the floor at the trunk’s base and jumped up on the closest branch. Given that no entity but himself could lift Vulkrath, he did not worry about his eternal companion. With pure agony wracking his body and the exhaustion that will certainly cost him his consciousness sooner rather than later, he needed time to recover. He continued climbing the tree and soon was settled on its second-highest branch. The branch was sturdy and dense, capable of carrying his weight with no issue.

  Thalric rested his back against the trunk while his legs locked over the branch he was seated on. With his current state, it took mere moments of getting settled in for him to enter the sweet abyss of sleep. The changed physiology he had been experiencing needed to be solidified; this rest was essential, as he had fallen from godhood to mortality. And he needed to adapt to the newfound vulnerability.