Prologue
Atop the highest peak in Verat lay a trail of carnage and that told the story of a truly epic battle. The air was incredibly thin, but it wasn’t cold, and anybody that could make it to this incredible height would normally gain a minor achievement and have a truly awe-inspiring view of the world. Thermal vents released hot mineral rich water into the air with clockwork regularity. This created a temperate, humid environment atop the tallest mountain in the world. Ash, soot, and blood covered the normally pristine slope. A crater, almost 100 meters in diameter was centered on the slope. There were black, ash covered boulders strewn about as if some mighty god had swung his fist in anger. An angry god had swung his fist. And his sword. And at one point a whip of fire. It was all for naught. His opponent, a mere mortal, had defeated Agor, god of war, in combat. The largest piece of Agor remaining was a meter-long section of entrails near the northern edge of the peak.
Agor’s opponent was only in moderately better shape. Crumpled into a pile of blood was a man of medium build, brown shoulder length hair, and fair skin. Well, the skin of the right side of his face was fair, the rest was a mass of burned and blistered flesh that in no way resembled normal human flesh. As a final fuck you from Agor as he had felt his soul being severed from the wheel he had catalyzed his own soul into what was likely the most powerful [Fire Strike], his signature attack, ever seen. The sole remaining occupant of the mountain peak was missing his left arm from just above the elbow. The wound was a raw mass of muscle and bone but was oddly free of active bleeding. This wasn’t due to any special skill or ability of the man, he simply had so little blood left in his body that there was none left to spurt. In fact, to call the man alive was a bit of an exaggeration. He remained on the mortal plane by only the thinnest of tethers and his heart had just this moment stopped beating.
As the man prepared to close his right eye for the last time (the left had burst inside the orbit), he felt a presence on the slope. Bound by the system itself, only one younger god was allowed on this battlefield for another 20 hours, and he was dead. The man focused his mind on the familiar presence and time seemed to stop. A tenuous thread of spirit connected him and the presence. He would have turned to look upon the goddess one last time, but he had no strength left to even turn his head.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
‘Your long quest for vengeance is finally complete. Was it worth it?’, the man heard the voice inside his head.
‘Only time will tell,’ he replied.
'True,’ replied the voice of the goddess, somehow melodic even through telepathy. ‘I sincerely hope my daughters’ sacrifices were not in vain. Have you rethought my offer? Once the system institutes the new changes it will be unlikely that I’ll be able to manifest on this plane.’
The man waited a moment before responding. The offer was tempting. He could avoid his fate, bind his soul back into the cycle of death and rebirth, and still have his victory. But, there was a chance that something like this would happen again and, if he removed his curse, there would be nobody left to intervene on behalf of the system. Most importantly though, he would lose his memories of her. ‘I must decline,’ he replied.
‘Thrice offered. Thrice rejected. So be it. I hope that the remainder of your eternity is peaceful, but I know that this is a futile wish. Your doom is ever to be in conflict,’ there was no anger in the goddess’ mental reply, only a deep sadness. After another endless moment, the presence vanished.
The man let out his final breath, closed his eye for the last time, and acknowledged one of the many notifications that the system had flooded him with at the conclusion of his battle. The last thing that the man saw was his quest notification. Finally, it was over.
Quest Complete.
Congratulations!
You have completed your great quest for vengeance. The road was long and arduous but all 30 of the original pantheon of younger gods have been destroyed. Their souls have been removed from the great cycle and will be repurposed.
Reward: End of the Age of Gods.