The world changed.

It hit Galen and Skreetha first. They fell back on their knees, barely standing. The archer lifted his eyes towards the gates. A stunned horror on his face. He was stripped of his power. A wave of consuming void passed him, leaving an empty man behind.

The System was no more.

Skreetha shivered lifting herself up. Classes and levels fundamentally did not change much for monsters. Still, it felt like she lost a layer of protection. The weight on her legs made her feel weak. The arachne suddenly felt how the world worked as if she was allowed behind the curtains. Her sharpened senses observed the dust, smelled the surroundings, and heard echoes around the place. The monster was left mesmerized by the complexity of sensations revealed to her.

The wave of emptiness spread. The weak monsters were now equal in strength to high-level humans. Natural advantages became more apparent.

A man fought in a cave. A simple clearing mission for a retired knight. One he does once in a while to keep his village safe and the monsters’ population under control.

He was level 74 just now, but everything suddenly disappeared. A mere level 30 monster bit his leg, tearing through the flesh. Was that some cruel joke? Something that was usually repelled by the power of the System now felled him to the ground and left him surrounded.

King Cedric of Verdania stood up on his throne. The balance of power of entire nations suddenly changed. With no levels, everyone was on equal ground again. It would take years for people to get their strength back. He rushed outside, commanding the nearest servants to assemble an emergency council. They must respond to this threat. They would be first in line hit by the Empire in the West with its numerous forces. It is not quality above quantity anymore.

The Age of War has begun.

Kargorath, God of War, stood shielding Salgos from other Gods. A wicked smile on his face. He bathed in the sparks of war and changes of power between mortals, as it all streamed to him. Misery, pain, anger, and battle fury, he felt it all. Behind him a storm of energies raged, filling Salgos with enough power to take control of the world.

“It is over for you.” He smiled toward five other Gods, cowardly backing away at his glorious sight. Everybody knew, that when Kargorath stepped on a battlefield, they would lose.

“Spare us your bravado.” Biryar replied, trying to look strong in front of the War incarnate. Can a God of Order match the God of War’s strength? Kargorath licked his lips, ready to taste the sweat nectar of desperation before his overwhelming might. “We will just kill you both and restore the System.”

“This is actually a good chance to rework it from scratch, and add more functionality.” Dolathor noted calculating in his head. He was always the practical one. Always weigh the benefits and losses. Unable to comprehend his inevitable loss at this moment. In his head, he thought what if they would win? “We can use your little plaything as a new voice.”

He pointed towards Adira. The Godslayer. Kargorath grinned. His little pawn worked as intended. Of course, he never expected it to bring the legendary Lord of Darkness alongside her. She was a scary and efficient tool. One the God of War was proud of. He turned towards the Gods Alliance, covering under his gaze as if he could kill them with his eyes.

“You think you can kill us?” He taunted. “Desta is not a fighter. I can take all four of you, and tonight I am fighting alongside God capable of killing you even before his ascension.”

“This is foolish. I and Dolathor will end you easily, Kargorath. You are not your glorious self from ten thousand years ago. We hold all the power.” Biryar barked, losing his orderly image.

“The rest will deal with the new Dark God before he can rise up to his full potential.” Dolathor added.

“We summoned other smaller Gods as well. They soon will be here to end your rebellion.” Desta spoke with her elderly crispy voice that annoyed Kargorath.

“It appears our weapons should do the talking then! Are you with me, Salgos?” The God of War nodded towards the new God of Darkness.

The mana storm settled. A dark figure emerged from it. Salgos looked the same. A black full plate armor ignited from the inside. Red eyes glowed from under his helmet. Yet something about him was different. As if his presence bent the world around him. Scared the lights away. Look long enough at his image and feel you are getting sucked in and unable to return. He was no longer a fraction of Darkness, but the Abyss itself.

“We fight. I will deal the finishing blows.” His voice trembled with emotions sweet to Kargorath’s ears. Emotion of Berserker’s rage.

“You are outnumbered. Even not counting Desta, four against two is an impossible fight for you. Your stubbornness only delays the inevitable.” Biryar raised his weapon in a threatening stance.

“I wouldn’t say they are outnumbered.” Visir interrupted them, suddenly walking in the middle of a standoff between Gods. She looked at Salgos. “Do you want to work together? I can teach you some things the previous God of Darkness done.”

The Dark God smirked audibly.

“That’s why I hate Gods. You change your alliances as soon as you see more benefit on the other side.”

“That’s the game you would need to learn how to play.” Goddess of Light shrugged, as she joined their line. “It is a fight for power after all. If we beat them, I will not be a lesser God anymore. I am excited for a world with a returned God of Darkness and an Age of War.”

“Now let’s see who is outmatched!” Kargorath laughed. Without waiting for a response, he slammed his axe on the floor. A huge crater split the earth apart throwing Gods to the sides.

An explosion shook through the hall. Adira caught her breath, she protected herself from flying boulders. The ground danced below her, and the girl only managed to cover, hoping she would not be caught in the Gods’ attacks.

Salgos stood with his arms raised. An armada of flying shadows rained on the Gods. Dolathor raised a barrier covering the others from blackness splattering as if it was oil. Other shadows encroached slowly on them like a pool of water, slowly creeping to its target. Biryar cut and cleaved it in half, making room for himself. Immediately his sword clashed with Kargorath’s axes. Their short exchange showed the difference in skill. The God of War slammed the axe into the God of Order’s head. It did not damage Biryar too much, he parried the follow-up strike, yet he fell back, wary of the attacks. That was not enough to break the onslaught. Kargorath pressed on, raising the speed of his attacks and pressuring Biryar.

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“Stay!” Dolathor shouted, pointing his finger at Kargorath and he froze in place. Even his eyes and face were paralyzed in an expression of joy and fury. The God of Order used this window to cut through the War God’s body. Wide swings of a radiant sword simply bounced off the God’s red skin. Biryar tried again but was blown away by a piercing torrent of light.

Visir smiled, clearly enjoying staying back and supporting the two Gods. She aimed her fingers at Dolathor next, concentrating. It took her a few seconds, but another light ray fired towards God. He blocked the shot with his shield, but the recoil pushed him back. God of Choice stepped back to regain balance but did not find footing. His foot sunk into the shadow, ankle-deep. A vile hand jumped out of the pool and grabbed him across the face. With one mighty swing of the shadow arm, Dolathor disappeared into a pool of darkness.

“Screw those two.” Xylothos stepped out of the fight, speaking over the sound of the battle. “More chaos is good for me. But you…”

He pointed to Adira covered on the floor.

“You must die and give me the Title!”

The chain flew towards Adira faster than she could move. She managed to put her glaive in the way. It nearly hit her head when the chain wrapped around the handle. Xylothos pulled the glaive, but Adira refused to let go. She held on, flying towards God.

Of course, it was her fault for putting a mark on herself so obviously. The Angorn’s statue approached quickly. Regardless of whether she wanted it or not, she had to defend herself. No. She was a Godslayer. She will defend herself! Even if it amounts to wiping the smirk out of God’s face, she will fight. The familiar magic patterns formed again as the “Sky Crusher” activated.

Adira released the glaive and fell onto the ground. The momentum carried her forward, passing between Xylothos’s legs. He was caught off guard. The radiant wall followed splitting him in half. The God of Chaos screams in pain. His scream grew louder and louder turning into a scream of rage.

“Mere mortal!” A blue ethereal line now held his body together, contrasting with his red skin. It pulled his body together, stitching him back. He took the brunt of Adira’s attack and came out unscathed.

The chains flew and the air cried as it passed through it. Adira could not move out of the way. An attack this fast would just wipe her like a fly. “Odium steps” were useless, as she would only watch the incoming strike for longer. In desperation, the girl tried to put her elbow in the way. Maybe she will lose an arm but survive. The metal sang the death song, as Adira watched its approach.

The chain hit the black wall raised next to her, shielding from the strike. Salgos turned just in time to save her. She met his eyes and realized that was the only thing he could do for her. There were other problems requiring his attention. Another God arrived at the scene. The girl did not know who it was, but it was a man with a bare torso and angelic wings. He understood the situation and flew up avoiding the dark pool that swallowed other Gods. The God of Darkness concentrated on the battle. Adira was on her own now.

With a quick motion, the huntress pulled a mana potion and concentrated on “Odium steps.” The spell always served her well, and now she had to rely on it to survive. Thanks to the energies the room was drowned with, she could activate it easily and sustain it longer than before.

The chains flew towards her, but thanks to her spell the world was moving much slower. She noticed the other end of the chain was also flying at her from another direction. The girl jumped over the first strike. It broke the floor where she stood just now. Then Adira immediately rolled under the horizontal swing.

Xylothos pulled the chains towards him. The metal twisted to catch the huntress as if it had a mind of its own. The girl dodged one strike and twitched her head to the side avoiding the bite of metal by a paper-thin margin. She learned from the first clash with Xylothos that as counterintuitive as it was, the safest way to avoid the chains was to stand next to their owner. The further away she was the faster the chains moved.

Before Xylothos could swing another strike Adira closed the distance. Her fist slammed into his chin, making the God step back from the powerful impact.

“How are you still alive?!” He raged looking at the golden trace of the girl dancing around him.

Xylothos spun his chain around creating a barrier that would split apart everything approaching him. The girl ended her spell, preserving the energy, and calmly walked towards her glaive. She knew he would do something like that, her fight with Salgos taught her to be cautious. Instead, she moved out of the way, watching him wasting time on the attack, and picked up her glaive.

“Quit messing with mortals and help us!” Biryar called, but Xylothos was out of control.

“Ra-a-agh!” Xylothos shouted in rage and disappeared. Adira activated “Odium Steps” again but could not see him anywhere.

Something crashed into her side and launched her like a cannonball. The girl crashed into the wall, punching a hole through the island’s base. Not simply a hole, but a corridor, for how thick the distance between the room and the outside was. Thanks to the armor she survived. But she will not live through the fall. The hit broke half of her body. The pain was still catching up to the damage, but Adira knew from how her body limped, she was irreparably damaged. A chain wrapped around her waist and pulled her back towards the enraged God. He grabbed her head and crushed it into the floor cracking the stone flooring.

He raised her head again, but a torrent of light shot him, not letting him finish Adira. Xylothos flew through the same hole he made with Adira’s body. Visir rushed to the girl’s defense. She touched her head. The huntress felt her body again. Most of her wounds closed and the fractures fixed back. She painfully drew breath, feeling as if she had come back from the dead. She was still dizzy. After hits like this recovery rarely was fast or pleasant.

“You did well.” Visir smiled comforting the girl, but her warm smile was short-lived. Her expression quickly changed into a mix of surprise and panic. A chain grabbed the Goddess and pulled her out of the island together with Xylothos. Adira could only watch how the Goddess of Light was yanked away.

The girl rolls on the ground. Her head rang and her stomach felt like it was turning over inside. Through sheer willpower, she focused her vision on the fight between Gods. She needed Salgos to win it.

Kargorath threw his axe and it slammed into the chest of the flying God. He flew across the room and got pinned to the wall. The God of War was raging over the battlefield. He did not need to return his weapon, instead, God pulled another axe out of his body and continued his dance.

The God pinned to the wall pulled the axe out of his chest and flew again. With a wide gesture of his arms, he sent a wave of soothing energy. Where it touched the darkness purified. Dolathor lay free from the clutches of shadows. It took him time to collect himself.

“No way I am helping you with them.” The man hovering in the middle of the room shouted. “I paid you back, but I am not getting involved with these two.” He said towards Dolathor and jumped into a portal.

“Our plan was almost complete!” Biryar cried in rage, but not long. Kargorath kicked him into the wall. As soon as he fell the God of War rained weapon strikes onto the God of Order. Each attack landed pushing him deeper and deeper inside the floor.

“We have to withdraw.” Adira overheard a thin ringing voice of the God of Choice. A tornado of weapons flashed through the dust. The round body of a God of War tore forward. He spun in place as his axes left cuts on the floor and walls. Gods were pushed back. Salgos joined the onslaught, rage felt in his every step. He swung his war hammer towards Dolathor. God blocked it but fell on one knee under the pressure from the strike. Spears of darkness shot from various sides piercing his body in multiple places.

The God’s Alliance was evidently losing. Gods born out of the mortals’ beliefs were not able to compete with the power of Gods representing the attributes of nature. Dolathor was the first to run. He jumped to the side and quickly disappeared behind a portal. Biryar was left alone. He turned to Kargorath, and the God of War faced him with a mad grin and weapons raised. Salgos also joined the attack. Evading the God of Darkness, he turned towards the hole in the island, but his eyes met with Visir, basking in the sun, and spreading her divine radiance. Xylothos was nowhere to be found. A portal opened giving him a safe escape. Biryar jumped in without thinking.

As the last God standing in defense of the System disappeared, the whole room hung in muted suspense.

“Ah!” Enraged shout thundered through the hall cutting through the silence and interrupting Adira’s relieved sigh. Kargorath slumped his shoulders in disappointment. “I wish I killed at least one God.”

He slammed his large battle axe into a wall in frustration.