Once upon a time, I was nothing more than a mere man. A remarkably unremarkable one, too. Really, it was almost impressive just how boringly dull I was, and I had no plan to change that fact about myself.

However, fate did not make it so. One day, as I was walking over to the bookstore for some worthless book that I cannot be bothered to remember, a drunk truck driver conveniently appeared out of nowhere, turning me into meat-paste.

At the time, I did not know what happened afterward exactly, but now, with my current knowledge, I do. I was whisked away by the gods, chosen at random amongst the countless mortals in what has come to be known as the Empty Worlds.

To satisfy their lust for entertainment, I was made to suffer a life filled with strife and pain. I was reincarnated as a common wolf, a throwaway mob, if you will.

I struggled and fought, clawed my way through the food chain. Despite everything the gods threw my way, I kept on winning. It is not an exaggeration to say that millions perished by my claw and tooth, with many more dying as a result of my actions.

Still, I knew I would have died eventually had it continued on. It was simple math, really. The odds kept getting more and more skewed towards my enemies as the gods and goddesses above became more serious about 'putting me out of my misery'. 

However, everything changed when I encountered the Rabbit Goddess. She was a minor deity, inconsequential to the bigger machinations of the world. However, it was she who showed me the only path for my survival, and she was also the one to introduce me to the Beast Faction.

By that time, I had become renowned throughout the world, Tierra. Apparently, my exploits of constant battle and frankly insane growth had stunned many of the gods not involved in my reincarnation, and amongst them, none were as eager to meet me as the Beast Gods.

Thus, following that meeting with the other gods, my life changed dramatically. With their help, I was able to finally hide from the machinations of what I lovingly dubbed the 'Bastard Gods', and I retreated to a secluded and horribly inhospitable volcano in the northern wastes. 

For the following thousand years, I focused on strengthening myself. I trained, I hunted the monsters hiding within those inhospitable lands, and I studied any and all magic and techniques I could think of. The Beast Faction aided me in this endeavor, eager to have a being as talented and antagonistic towards their perceived enemies such as myself amongst their midst. 

Then, when I turned two thousand years old, I ascended. Ascension was a fairly big deal in Tierra, however, mine was a silent affair. With the help of the three major Beast Gods, we hid the various celestial phenomena that came along with my ascension. 

The power I received from becoming a God was immense. My magic became thousands of times more powerful, my body receiving a similar boost, if not more. Furthermore, my mind, soul, and elemental resistance also benefited tremendously.

I was granted the title of 'Wolf God'. I won't bother explaining all of the intricacies that existed within the God's ranking system, but the basics of it all were this. Minor Gods could destroy a nation, medium Gods could destroy continents, and major Gods could destroy moons. Of course, it was vastly more complicated than that, and Gods had several restrictions that prevented them from carrying out mass slaughter, but nonetheless, we were very powerful.

I immediately set out to build up a worshipper base. As a god that had ascended through what was called the 'strength method', I had no real need for worshippers, unlike the faith Gods, who would perish if they didn't receive sufficient worship from their followers. Still, I set out anyways.

I brought all of the major wolf tribes, including the one of my birth, under my control. Then, I spread my roots towards the dog and wolf beastmen, many of whom had been worshipping other Beast Gods. Naturally, as a member of the Beast Faction, I wasn't allowed to simply steal my fellow faction member's worshippers, so I traded for them using favors and valuable resources.

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Suprisingly, I was able to do all of this right under the nose of the Bastard Gods. After trading a few favors to the Sage Dragon, a Beast Goddess with the power of divination, I learned that they had more or less forgotten about me, some of them thinking me long dead. Apparently, they had moved on and found new toys to entertain themselves with.

Having learned of that, I doubled my operations, confident I would be able to carry out my plans unhindered. I built an empire amongst the poor and savage lands of the north, where I had spent such a large portion of my life. I brought worshippers there, traded with other Beast Gods for their help and guidance, and used my godly powers to create a functioning ecosystem after exterminating any and all creatures that dared resist me.

By the time I turned five thousand years old, I became a medium God thanks to the plentiful worship I received. This time, my ascension was not hidden. I broadcasted it to the world, much to the glee of my faction members. 

Just for the satisfaction of it, the Sage Dragon willingly divined the scene where the Bastard Gods learned of my ascension. Their faces that day were truly... wonderful.

Having become a medium God, I was finally able to cast off the shackles of my past. The Bastard Gods, even if they wanted to, could do nothing to me now. I had a stable and prosperous territory to which I could retreat if needed, the Beast Faction considered me one of their own, and my own personal power was nothing to sneeze at. 

Amongst the various Gods that ruled Tierra, there were few who had ascended to become divines from mere mortals, and as a general rule, we tended to be a bit more powerful than divine-born Gods. Hence, while I would quickly lose should I go against a major God, I was firmly entrenched at the top of the list of medium Gods.

And that brings us just about to where I am today. As the youngest God currently residing within Tierra, standing at a mere seven thousand years of age, my faction considered me as the most likely candidate to become their fourth major God, something that we all eagerly awaited. 

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The Civilized Faction was in turmoil. First, the Hell Faction had sent their pawn, the demon king, to ravage the lands of the civilized races. Then, the Beast Faction gained a new God in their midst, one that had no qualms causing trouble for them. All in all, it was a bad situation.

Syria, the Goddess of Glass, seated herself upon her throne. She was a mere minor God, and thus, she could only occupy one of the lower thrones. She watched as everyone else took their own seats, with the medium Gods sitting in the middle, and the four Major Gods taking the highest of thrones.

There was an ominous silence in the Great Hall. While the situation was by no means desperate, it was still very troublesome. It had been several thousands of years since the last faction-wide meeting, which from their perspective, was basically last week. 

Aeria, the Goddess of Storms and one of the four reigning monarchs, stood up and addressed the crowd. "Greetings, fellow divines. We called everyone here to discuss the situation at hand, as I'm sure many of you are aware of."

Her golden eyes scanned the several hundreds of divines before her, many of whom didn't dare meet her eyes. The major Goddess sighed inwardly, a tinge of depression appearing within her soul.

Their Civilized Faction was strong and numerous, but unlike the other factions, many of their members tended to be composed of Gods and Goddess whose specialties revolved around things other than warfare and destruction.

Now, this was amazing for the development of their worshippers, who benefitted greatly from their Gods, who in turn benefitted from the greater number and devotion of their worshippers. However, in conflicts, this arrangement became a hindrance.

The Hell Faction was much, much different. It was composed almost exclusively of 'evil' Gods, many of whom wanted nothing more than to tear apart the Civilized Faction and take their belongings for themselves. In a way, the Hell Faction was the antithesis to the Civilized Faction, and thus, it was of no suprise that there had been many a times where they sent their pawns to cause chaos amongst the civilized lands.

Meanwhile, the Beast Faction was a sort of middle-of-the-road faction. It was composed mainly of Beast Gods, as the name implied, and many of its members tended to be mixtures of sorts. They loved war, but they tended to remain secluded, hence conflicts between them and the Civilized Faction tended to remain limited in scale.

Aeria cleared her mind, removing those useless and erratic thoughts from her consciousness. She glanced back at her three fellow monarchs, receiving nods from all of them.

Turning back towards her faction, she spoke once more. "We, the monarchs, have come to a solution for our current trouble, but to solve it, we will require the aid of everyone present. Thus, I hope you will all listen to me."

And listen they did. That day, the event that would one day become known as the Banishment Scheme was born.