The golden age was a period of prosperity and tranquility for humanity and all other races. The king of humanity had finally managed to unify every single race together after much effort and dedication. He had spotted loopholes in the divine law, tricked others, and overcame the intense, complex games designed by other races which were previously deemed impossible to win. Finally, the time had come for all to unite under what the one true god longed for—global peace and cooperation. That was the reason the divine law was put into motion to begin with.

Previously, before the divine law was established, the world was polluted with discrimination, violence, poverty, war, corruption, and many other extreme forms of injustice. The one true god of this world wasn't even really a true god, only an ordinary man who found an unknown path to incomprehensible power. He then laid down the divine law, which was heavily inspired by the legitimate One True God. The self proclaimed one true god of this world, however, failed to realize that the law he laid out would never truly change the world like he wanted. He failed to realize that the true factor of change would come with more effort and sacrifice. He failed to realize that a law wouldn't completely halt global oppression, only lighten it to some degree. The king of humanity was the first person to put a complete end to the discrimination and racism that polluted the world.

Because of the king's efforts and success, the self proclaimed one true god even began to kindle a friendship with him. The king of humanity was the first person to truly impress the self proclaimed god.

Over 10,000 years ago, the human kingdom, the end of the golden age. Current ruler—Kanpeki König, age 29.

"Where is he? It's been weeks since we've seen him."

Kanpeki looked worried, biting his nails, which was unusual for him. This was the first time anyone saw him biting his nails. He didn't even seem this stressed regarding the national games between countries. He was asking his servant of the whereabouts of the one true god. It's been two weeks since the one true god has even been seen by a single person. This was unusual, as he was usually seen peacefully exploring the newly reformed world.

"He hasn't been sighted in weeks, your majesty. We fear the worst may have happened to him..."

Kanpeki's face morphed into a look of fear and confusion at his servant's words. He was mortified at even the thought of the one true god being deceased.

"He said he would never die. He can't die if he's immortal, right?"

Kanpeki's state of worry began to worsen as his servant also expressed slight worry. Kanpeki's face even began to grow slightly somber at the current conversation.

"We don't know what to think at the moment, your majesty. Nothing can be confirmed with certainty."

Kanpeki sighed and smiled softly after a few moments.

"You know, even if I had the title of being undefeated, the one true god once challenged me to a game a few years ago. I turned the game down because I knew I'd most likely lose. He was the first person to truly make me worried enough to turn down a game. You know why I turned it down? He had the title of being undefeated for thousands of years before I even existed...ha..."

The servant looked confused by Kanpeki's confession and tilted their head.

"Why are you telling me this, your majesty?"

Kanpeki's smile stayed on his face and he grabbed a scepter crafted from pure gold, which was what the ruler of the human race would possess to signify their role. He stood up from the throne he sat on and handed the scepter to his servant.

"Give this to the blacksmith. Tell him to melt it down into eight separate rings and encase the remaining gold in the temple altar."

The servant looked confused by Kanpeki's sudden order to melt down the only thing that signified the king's authority. They took the scepter and looked unsure about their given task.

"Why do you want me to have the blacksmith do that, your majesty? This is the only thing that signifies your authority. Don't you want to keep it?"

The servant was hesitant, but Kanpeki spoke up with a smile.

"I want every ruler from now on to put on a ring for each decade they serve as ruler."

"But why?"

The servant continued to question Kanpeki's order, but Kanpeki only continued to reassure them.

"Because it's not the object that matters, my friend. It's the ruler and their decision making that truly matters for this country and the world. The belief of objects providing influence and control is what started so many conflicts in the past. The other reason I want the rings to be melted down is to serve as a reminder to me and my descendants of how long they've helped their country prosper. But the rings will serve no purpose other than that."

The servant looked like they didn't understand what Kanpeki was attempting to communicate to them. Kanpeki only held up his usual reassuring smile and patted them on the shoulder.

"Go on, my friend. Just take it to the blacksmith and do as I say."

"Yes, your majesty..."

The servant slowly walked out in confusion while Kanpeki sat back down.

"Where are you at...?"

Kanpeki was still nervous regarding the one true god's whereabouts. He was trying to talk in a prayer-like manner to summon the one true god, but he didn't get an answer.

Despite the one true god not being very involved in history, he had been more active with the world during these times. He was impressed and delighted that his image of the world had finally come to pass. Why would he just disappear out of nowhere right after the world had finally reached true peace? The one true god also participated in quite a few remarkable games during the time of peace.

"I still remember the day we met each other, friend."

Kanpeki let out a small laugh and smiled warmly at the memory of meeting the one true god. It was long ago, when Kanpeki was only a young boy. The one true god had challenged Kanpeki to a match of chess, which was rare for the self proclaimed god to do; he only played against the best players in the world, and even that was a rare event. But neither of the two won—it was a draw. They tried again, over and over, but the results only continued to stay the same: a draw. It was then that Kanpeki realized he had the potential to change the world given his intellect. That he did after many years.

"Well, if you really have died somehow, it was nice to know you, old friend..."

A tear dropped from Kanpeki's eye onto the floor. He realized the one true god had somehow died, and he knew he would likely never find out how this happened. He could only smile, knowing the one true god had likely passed away with a smile on his face.

"My head...ugh..."

Kanpeki's face twisted into an expression of pure agony as a pounding pain suddenly emerged in his head. He could hear loud pounding, and his heart felt like it began to beat faster. His hands went numb and he began sweating, and his vision began to blur drastically. He felt like he was dying, and his knees began shaking. He even vomited on the floor.

"Agh! Make it stop, please!"

The sound of the pounding pain mixed with a loud bang followed by a ringing noise made Kanpeki cry out in pure agony and pain. His skin began to burn intensely as he fell on the floor, landing directly in his pile of vomit. The agony and suffering only grew worse by the second, and the palace began shaking so violently that it caused the throne to fall over and shatter into a million pieces like it was made of glass.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Kanpeki tried to stand up to escape the chaos that was occurring, but the shaking threw him into the wall.

"Agh!!!"

Kanpeki's bones could be heard breaking and a brilliant, blinding light invaded the room. Something was trying to manifest in the palace, and it caused Kanpeki's pain to drastically amplify. His cries for help were silenced by a loud rumbling sound that filled the palace.

It wasn't the one true god, but it was instead something much more powerful. Whatever this was had the power to destroy anything with just their mere presence. Time itself even seemed to stop. The laws of the universe and time submitted to whatever this powerful being was. The windows of the palace even began shattering, glass flying everywhere and cutting Kanpeki's body. The pillars that held up the roof began to fall, and the roof caved in.

It was the end for Kanpeki, or so it seemed.

"Kanpeki König, we have heard you and your people's cries for help. I come to you to show you a prophecy of a time that shall outshine the current era of your world."

A giant being with four wings protruding from its back and a brilliant light surrounding it stood in front of Kanpeki. The two were in an infinite black void. The being had the four giant wings, a head covered in what seemed to be a golden helmet, a bright light surrounding it, a slender body, and wore a white robe. Its size was so large that it seemed to have created an alternate dimension to even exist in the same space as Kanpeki.

"W-Who are you?"

Kanpeki's body was mangled by the events caused by this being's manifestation. He was scared, injured, and felt like he was on the brink of death.

"I am Jahora, the first being ever created, and I hold authority over creation. I am a guardian of creation and servant of The One True God, the real God from whom your self proclaimed god stole the title. I have come to bring a message to you."

Jahora looked over to Kanpeki and his wounds were instantly healed. Kanpeki was shocked and relieved by the sudden relief of pain, but was obviously angered and scared by what had happened. It was rare for Kanpeki to get angry, but nobody could blame him after what he just went through.

"I apologize for the inconvenience caused to your body, Kanpeki. You are perceiving my true form, which is larger than the universe itself. No ordinary human can perceive my true form without being vaporized instantly. You're special."

Jahora picked up on Kanpeki's anger and attempted to reassure him. Jahora genuinely meant no harm to Kanpeki and only wanted to fulfill his given duties.

"I suppose I can forgive what you've done... I know you meant no harm to me and only wish to fulfill what you've been assigned."

Kanpeki sighed and his former look of anger and hostility faded away. He even began smiling again. Nobody could be as humble or friendly as Kanpeki was during the time. Kanpeki was quick to forgive and slow to anger. Kanpeki even picked up a similar personality from Jahora based on his gestures and behavior.

"Your self proclaimed god has mysteriously been murdered by a high power similar to mine. But The One True God has noticed your situation and brings a promise."

Jahora disappeared and the area changed into the current capital, present day. Kanpeki saw two men standing amidst a large crowd.

"This is the future, 10,000 years later. These men will come to restore a world on the brink of destruction. The divine law will crumble as the absence of your god continues through the ages. You will know when the day of restoration has come to pass when one of your descendants are defeated in a game by the two men, ending the undefeatable bloodline you will create. The man with dark eyes and dark hair holds higher importance than the other man, but both are ultimately important. They will bring back the balance you brought to the land and end all conflicts. Until the first race's protection ceases, your golden age shall continue. After the first race's protection collapses, other races will continue with the same misfortunes and ultimately perish from war."

Kanpeki was stunned by the revelation from Jahora. What he described was what played out before Kanpeki unified the world. Could everything really collapse just like that? Would the world really be brought back to its former division after all that had been done? Kanpeki didn't believe Jahora one bit.

The scenery switched back to the infinite black void.

"That cannot be true! I have set up a system that will continue to operate the world and keep unity for eternity!"

Jahora, despite not having a face to express emotions, obviously felt bad for Kanpeki. Kanpeki had dedicated his life to unifying the world, only for a prophecy to foretell it all to crumble.

"Fret not, Kanpeki, for you shall not live to see the day your system blows away like dust in the wind. This I promise you. But your name shall be forgotten in history."

Kanpeki still looked broken. This was the worst day of his life. He had been put through despair and agony, and now a being was being told how everything he sacrificed for will eventually be forgotten in time.

"If that's what's willed to happen, I suppose there's nothing I can do to change the outcome."

Kanpeki paused for a moment before looking at Jahora.

"But please, tell me how the one true god died? He said he was immortal and could never die."

Jahora seemed hesitant but answered the question for a moment but replied to Kanpeki.

"He was immortal, but something's been happening across creation recently that cannot be explained. The only beings known of being capable to even kill something with the type of immortality your self proclaimed god possessed would be me, my younger counterpart Johan, or The One True God. Not even my second younger counterpart Aurora could kill him. His existence was linked to a concept outside of creation itself."

Kanpeki seemed puzzled by everything, but Jahora seemed likewise confused. There were certainly no traitors among the heavenly realm, so nobody knew what could kill the self proclaimed god.

"It's time for you to return," Jahora stopped before seeming more puzzled, "All knowledge related to your self proclaimed god has been completely erased just now. You are the only one with the knowledge of your god, so I recommend writing down anything you deem important along with the prophecy you have been told."

Jahora was about to do something, but Kanpeki stopped him.

"What about the palace? It was nearly destroyed by your presence."

"My presence nearly destroyed your entire galaxy, but luckily time is similar to fluid for me. I can turn back the time a few moments before I appeared to you while you still maintain the knowledge given. But any knowledge of your god has been erased from the past 10 years, so you'll still be required to record everything of importance."

Kanpeki looked down in disappointment and sighed. He knew he would likely leave a legacy for the world in some form, but was still disappointed that he would likely be forgotten. And if the records of the one true god and anything related was erased, that would mean some of Kanpeki's written works would be erased as well.

"Are you ready?"

Jahora looked at Kanpeki who gave a small nod.

"Your majesty, you seemed to have fallen asleep while I was gone. Here are the rings as you requested to be made."

Kanpeki looked down at his servant while he sat on his throne, which was now whole, unlike earlier. He saw his servant holding the eight rings, and he took the rings before stashing them inside of a hidden compartment on his throne.

"Fetch me a stone tablet and carving tools, please..."

The servant was about to do as Kanpeki ordered before noticing his hands were shaking wildly. They looked concerned for Kanpeki's health and mental state.

"Are you okay, your majesty?"

"Just get me the stone and carving tools..."

Kanpeki insisted on the servant retrieving the stone tablet and carving tools, so they followed his order.

A few moments later, they returned with the stone tablet and carving tools. They handed them over to Kanpeki, who began chipping away at the stone at the very moment. His hands shook, but he continued to chip away fastly.

"May I ask why you wanted the stone tablet so badly, your majesty?"

Kanpeki was silent for a while before he finished inscribing the prophecy from earlier on the tablet.

"Preserve this sacred tablet throughout my bloodline. Make it the top priority to preserve this at all times, and make sure that nobody is ignorant of what's written on it."

"Your majesty-"

Kanpeki handed them the tablet.

"Just please do as I request. This needs to be kept at the temple, as it is a symbol of what is to come. It is a prophecy that has been revealed to me."

Kanpeki let out an exhale as the servant left, presumably to hand the tablet over to the priest who is in charge of safekeeping religious documents. The priest is also the highest ranking member of society excluding the royal family. They can only take orders from the king or current ruler of the country.

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The present, 10,000 years after the golden age, Rafaeru no hoteru—Kobayashi Hachiman, Alexander Webb, and Aisha Königin.

Aisha just finished explaining the prophecy to both Kobayashi and Alexander. Alexander seemed he didn't possess the mental capacity to process or comprehend what was just explained, while Kobayashi seemed shocked.

"Was this prophecy really recorded 10,000 years ago, Aisha?" asked Kobayashi. His behavior was normal, but he showed confusion and a hint of doubt.

"Would you like to see the documents?"

Aisha pulled out two large books from seemingly nowhere, which looked brand new.

"You did that using your magic, correct?"

"That is correct. My bloodline carries every magical ability except for the abilities given with the rank of Astral Vitality. I used my magic to summon these books that are translated into a more modern vocabulary."

Kobayashi grabbed one of the books and opened it. Alexander looked at him with a tinge of uncertainty. Really, Alexander was irritated that Aisha had been rude to him despite not even trying to flirt with or insult her. He was just acting unsure so he could try to mess around and make Aisha more irritated.

"How do you know she's not lying to us about this? What if it's all a lie and she's trying to use us to her advantage, Kobayashi?"

Kobayashi turned around and looked at Alexander with his typical serious expression. He seemed even mildly disappointed that Alexander was trying to mess around. Kobayashi had seen through Alexander's act in an instant. He knew Alexander was frustrated with Aisha and wanted to make her feel the same way.

"Alexander, cooperation is the only thing that will help us out here. I'm going to read these books and see what I can discover about the past."

"Ugh, fine! I don't want to be involved in this nonsense anyway! But I heard you say two men, Aisha, so don't think I'm still not angry about my special window!"

Alexander marched over to his chair, sat down, and closed his eyes. He was angry that Kobayashi easily saw through his act.

Kobayashi paused for a moment and looked up at Aisha.

"But I thought nearly all knowledge related to the one true god's disappearance was wiped from existence? Even with the story you've told us, there's a contradiction in what is written in your books. Alexander did have a bit of a point with his statement."

"Ha! See? I'm not always an idiot!" Alexander added into the conversation.

Aisha looked at Kobayashi with a look of uncertainty. She also seemed a bit bitter about Alexander adding the remark. She finally spoke after a few seconds of hesitation.

"Well, you see, the royal family concealed these items from the general public after the ancient king's death. They went through much effort, but all knowledge of this prophecy to the outside world was eventually forgotten. The only trace of the prophecy available to the public was the windows at the temple connected to the palace, which we claimed you were only an old priest. I actually planned on revealing the prophecy back to the public."

"I see... Well, I must say that I appreciate your honesty."

Kobayashi smiled and began reading through the book but was ultimately cut off.

"Hold up, Kobayashi."

Aisha stopped his reading and held up a finger.

"The ancient prophecy clearly states that the royal bloodline will be defeated in a game. This has never happened, and my family has never lost a game in 10,000 years. Thus, I challenge you and your friend over there to a game at the royal palace in a week from today. If I lose, you will become the next ruler of the human race in my place. If I win, you must exile yourselves and forfeit your rights to the kemono race."

Alexander's eyes shot open and Kobayashi sat down the book he was holding, laying it next to him. He smiled at Aisha while Alexander stuttered in the corner of the room.

"I accept your challenge. I look forward to our match, Aisha. Until our game next week."

Aisha stood up and made her way to the door of the room, turning back before leaving.

"I'm leaving these books with you and I trust you two won't reveal these to the general public. I'll send a carriage a week from now at sunrise."

"Understood. Take care of yourself, Aisha."

Kobayashi waved in a friendly manner and resumed reading. Alexander shot up from his chair once again.

"I didn't agree to playing a game against her! I can't even win a simple poker match against drunk men at the tavern!"

Alexander seemed furious that Kobayashi accepted the game, but Kobayashi only smiled and looked up at Alexander reassuringly.

"Worry not, Alexander. We have a week to train for the game. I'll most likely look into any records of games against the royal family after I finish these two books."

Kobayashi seemed calm about the entire thing. Alexander's temper only increased as Kobayashi went on. Alexander knew the chances of them winning against Aisha were slim to none. He really didn't even believe the prophecy.

"Do you not understand? We are going to lose this and there's nothing we can do!"

"Don't lose hope, Alexander. We must push on no matter what is thrown at us."

The duo only have one week to train for the game. They have no idea what the game will be, how long it will be, or anything of significance. Kobayashi still lacks knowledge of many topics of this world that could secure the victory for them if it's a game regarding knowledge of society. If it's a game that revolves around physical activity, Alexander will be deemed unable to play the second the game begins due to his current physical limitations. There's also the chance Aisha cheats them to win the game.

There are far too many possibilities for the duo to anticipate...