A lone Goddess, brighter than the Sun, stood next to the newly born God clad in darkness. Their eyes focused on the red sun slowly descending onto the horizon. The new moon would bring the Age of War. The sun turned crimson marking the ascension of the new Dark God.
Salgos reached his hand forward. A small sphere of two souls merged together lay in his palm. One of them was Adira’s. Galen stood behind them, holding the glaive that was left next to her body. He watched the burial. It was not proper, but waving her ash to the wind meant a lot for Salgos and the archer. The man was in time to see the girl die. Now that she passed, he felt conflicted. Maybe it was in his nature to blame himself for everything.
“But why did she die?” Visir's voice sounded supporting with a hint of sorrow. The tone that you usually hear people use at the funeral. “I saw her using this spell during the fight and she was fine.”
“She carried the Title.” The God of Darkness replied. “When she had God's energy in her she was protected from the devouring nature of the spell.”
“Too bad. I liked her. She would have been a good servant to me.”
She was. Galen thought but did not say it. Adira loved the Goddess of Light, at least when he met her for the first time. Then she was led astray. The archer stopped paying attention to their chat. Instead, he was lost in his own thoughts. A good deed came a long way, and a bad one as well. He saw a monster becoming a human because of support and acceptance. He saw a girl turning into a monster because no one stood by her side. In the typhoon of events, Galen wondered who he turned out to be. The archer lived long enough to overcome his loss, and somehow to overcome his friendships as well. Maybe that is why he was indecisive about his faith for so long.
“A new Empire of Darkness is upon us?” Visir sighed amused. “I cannot wait for you to threaten the world’s existence again. We were lucky that the girl sent Kargorath into Infinity. Now we have a free reign over this Age of War.”
“I hate that to be part of the game of Gods.” It would have been a complaint if it was not coming from Salgos. If he said it, it meant he would search for a way to break the game itself.
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“You were always a threat as a Demigod. Surely you will be unstoppable now.” The Goddess patted his shoulder. “Make sure Lesser Gods won't team up against you. Sylverak made a great effort to keep everyone against each other. Divide them. I think I can help with that.” Vizir smiled, tasting her return to higher tiers of Godhood. They stood watching the sundown. Finally, she spoke again.
“Well, I have preparations of my own to make. You know where to find me if you need to.” She jumped off a cliff and flew away towards the sun.
Galen walked to the edge of the island.
“What about you, Hunter? Have you decided what you want?” Salgos addressed the man as he was about to leave.
“Yes. I have to return to Verdania and fight there. Either as a hero or as a villain. We will see how they take me. Maybe I end up destroying the kingdom.”
“I would not mind more chaos while I build up my forces.” Salgos watched the Darkness spread over the valley of ash. “I can grant you the blessing of Darkness. Make you stronger.” God turned towards the man. Galen scoffed in response.
“No thanks. Will do it the old-fashioned way.” The man met Salgos’s gaze. “I can’t say I wish you luck. One day I will go back and bring ruin to your Empire of Darkness.”
“Until we meet again then.” The Dark God watched Galen jump off the island.
The God was left alone. Darkness spread from his feet enveloping the fallen island. A castle made of Darkness was slowly growing behind him. This would be his new domain. An army of undead creatures merged with dark energy began to rise beneath the island. The ruined cities of Ashen Planes returned many corpses for his new army.
When Salgos was brought back to life he had many paths to choose for his new life. But as he said to Constantine, the pursuit of happiness would always lead him here. Salgos reached for the essences in his hand, Adira and Celesia. They would become the new Demigod. That was the only way to bring back his bellowed one and continue his search for happiness. The God of Darkness could not give up his pursuit of a better life.
He hated what he was and what he had to do. He hated the Gods who tortured his beloved. He hated to participate in God’s struggle for power. He hated to be made seeking happiness, only to bring destruction in its stead.
His hatred will now fill this world.