Everything has a beginning, a root cause. Sometimes we don't understand it. Sometimes, we can't until we learn more. This was one of those things.

Harbinger Lamberton, from the Liamssaga, Volume 4: Echoes of the Tribulation. Published by the Library of the System, in the Age of Peace, 1385.

System Year: 1329.

Phase-Space Dimensional Assessment Zone,

Earth 777, Sector MW402.

System Authorization Granted.

User Access Confirmed.

The incorporeal Being had reached out across the multiverse for one very specific reason. To implement the second stage of this planet’s apocalypse.

After 1329 years, the Sector God of this fairly insignificant planet had finally requested its second System initialization.

This would merge the worlds of two rival Gods in a battle to decide who would rule. That it had taken it this long to request the second and most important stage was… unusual. This God owned many worlds beyond this mortal plane. This planet was nothing special.

Perhaps its rival God was particularly... the system absorbed data. Yes. Not only was the rival a Demon-God, but it was the scion of this Sector God. A rare twist of fate for them to fight over a planet the Creator-God had established. It assessed the result. The Demon-God would undoubtedly win. It held a far more powerful and savage intent than the Sector God.

Perhaps that was why the Sector God had been so reluctant to initiate Phase Two.

Fear.

The Being did not waste time attempting to comprehend base emotions. These were beyond its interest.

Without further analysis, the formless presence accessed the System.

Apocalypse Phase 1 Status: Complete.

Seals Broken: 7/7.

Outcome: Sector God 777 Victorious.

Updated Assessment for number of survivors: 98% of current population.

If the Being could feel surprised, it would have now. The Sector-God had defeated the Demon-God? This was interesting. Perhaps fear was not its motivation after all. Perhaps it had a… plan.

It was exceedingly rare for a Sector God to protect a world’s population to such a degree. The Being assessed survival estimates for Phase Two based on this.

Updated estimate for number of survivors: 28% of current population.

It found this acceptable. There would be many survivors, but the figure was not unusual. Some of them may even be worthy of Godhood.

System updated.

Status of Tribulation System Access: Locked (Restricted Users Only)

System Initializing…

Error.

A distant voice boomed throughout spacetime. “... I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”

The voice was powerful enough to kill a mortal outright.

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The Being, however, was not mortal. It was beyond. It was everything. It had heard and understood. Accessing the Planet’s system, it paused as it assimilated the new mandate. Uncaring, the Being updated and initialized the request of the Sector God. It waited for the expected response.

Instead, it received an Error for the first time in aeons.

Status of Apocalypse: Schedule Updated by Mandate of Sector God 999...

System initializing…

Error: Schedule altered. Re-compiling.

Compilation in Progress:

First Horn wavelength analysis complete.

Schedule altered by treaty: Access to the system confirmed. All mortals upgraded to System Users.

Authorization confirmed: Sector God 777.

System Compiling…

Schedule altered by treaty: Second Horn wavelength analysis complete.

Result: Mortal Realms linked to Lower Planes.

System Compiling...

Schedule altered by treaty: Third Horn wavelength analysis complete.

Result: Mortal Realms linked to Higher Planes.

Initialization complete.

System Implementation Pending...

The System, now done with the initial changes, paused. The Sector God had planned an entirely different apocalypse than it had presented millennia ago. It began a diagnostic to assess the cause of the Error.

It was rare for any planet to assimilate so fully into the Tribulation System. Usually, only champions earned the rights to User access. Even then, the cost was always prohibitive for the God. To open the system to all inhabitants of the planet, however - that was dangerous.

The Creator species had built The Tribulation System to forge Gods. They had hoped to one day create their own God to stave off the inevitable.

Entropy.

By allowing complete access, anomalies became… likely. While not usually a problem, these outliers could wreak havoc across the multi-verse. As a result, the System watched them closely.

The Sector God 777 was taking a massive risk. By linking the planes, He was allowing the enemy God the opportunity to capture all of His other Realms.

The Being looked more closely at the mandate. Ah… The Treaty. It thought. This Sector God used its Victory Boon to enforce a treaty with the Demon God.

The Being would have smiled if it could.

It understood.

By risking it all, this God was aiming to conquer the enemy Gods’ Realms and set itself up as pre-eminent amongst all Gods of its sector. Neither God would interfere, allowing those of their worlds to do battle for their realms. Truly, these Gods understand the purpose of the System. The fragment assessed.

The System rewarded each God who created others with a Realm. By granting the planet’s population access to the System, the Sector-God was attempting to sweep control of the Sector in one move. All now depended on the number of people who achieved Godhood.

This Sector God was making a wise move in the Great Game, the System assessed. It immediately approved the future changes to the planned apocalypse.

As it did so, it calculated the survival potential of the world below.

Updated estimate for number of survivors: #Error% of current population.

As the Fragment vanished from the phase space, it returned to the System. Immediately, it reported the errors, and the system responded, recalculating billions of potential outcomes within fractions of a second.

It finally assimilated the results of the model and discovered an outlier influencing the apocalypse. The System took a nanosecond to process all potential outcomes. It found them acceptable. It permitted the outlier to exist.

The multiverse spanning system turned its gargantuan attention to the multitude of other matters requiring its attention.

Amongst the countless data streams, the system controlled, a new timer appeared and began counting down.

First Horn of the Tribulation System of Earth 777, Sector MW402:

6 hours 14 minutes 31 seconds.

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