The void of space remained as dark and silent as ever, until, without warning, a brilliant flash of light pierced through the emptiness, followed by a silent explosion that unleashed shockwaves powerful enough to knock several planets out of orbit.
From the heart of that explosion, five figures were flung outward, tumbling powerlessly through space before crashing onto a nearby, half-destroyed planet.
Their impact worsened the damage the planet had already suffered, causing more of its fractured surface to break apart.
As for the state of the five figures themselves, it was just as dire as that of the ruined world beneath them. Once the dust and smoke began to settle, their figures became clearer—battered, bloodied, and broken, with injuries that would take years to fully heal.
A glance around revealed that the shattered planet was one of the few celestial bodies still intact in sight. Every other planet or star that might have once existed nearby, along with whatever lifeforms had lived on them, had already been reduced to nothing more than space dust.
The only remaining source of light in the vicinity was the dying star that had once illuminated the system. Beyond it, a sparse handful of stars and planets remained, having been fortunate enough to escape the explosion and its devastating shockwaves.
Moments after their crash, the five figures stirred, regaining consciousness. Despite their grievous wounds, they struggled to rise to their feet. The lighter injuries across their bodies had already begun to heal at a visible pace, but the more severe ones showed no sign of recovery.
In fact, their conditions seemed to be worsening, as the blood seeping from their wounds gradually increased, to the point where it became a mystery how they hadn't already passed out from anaemia.
Eventually, the five managed to rise to their feet, fully revealing their faces as they wiped away the dust, dirt, and dried blood that clung to their skin.
They each made a distinct gesture, summoning their unique weapons into their hands and gripping them tightly.
|godslayer!!!|
One of the five roared with fury, his voice echoing across the broken planet. In response to his rage, storm clouds gathered above, and bolts of lightning rained down from the sky. The faint glow of his weapon intensified, responding to its master's rage.
|No need to shout so loud, I can hear you just fine.|
A voice responded as a sixth figure descended from the skies, amidst the ongoing rain of lightning, and landed on the ground just as the other five had done earlier.
The difference, however, was that this sixth being was descending entirely of his own will and remained completely unscathed, despite passing through the storm of lightning.
In fact, this sixth being was the cause of the injuries sustained by the other five. He yawned as he looked down at them with a condescending gaze before speaking.
|Still, this is quite the pitiful state for the great Universal Masters to be in. I wonder how your subordinates, followers, and believers would react if they saw you like this.|
And just like that, his words revealed the shocking truth behind the identities of the five wounded figures.
Universal Masters!
The five injured beings were rulers of entire universes, Kings of their respective pantheons. They were gods worshipped by quintillions, wielders of such overwhelming power and influence that the mere mention of their names was often enough to make their enemies flee in terror, tails tucked firmly between their legs.
The first among them was the King of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the pantheon that ruled over the universe known as Erin. He was a tall and fair man with a magnificent head of curly yellow hair. His red-gold battle armour reached down to his knees, and a torn green mantle was draped around his shoulders, held in place by a cracked brooch of white silver over his chest.
Clutched tightly in his right hand was a white sword that shone with a brilliance intense enough to blind any ordinary being who dared gaze upon it—his famed blade, Claimh Solais.
This man was none other than the Sun god and god of Light—Lugh.
Standing beside Lugh was the Monarch of the Romersk Universe. He wore segmented cuirass armour, crafted from overlapping metal strips formed into circular bands and fastened together with internal leather straps. In his hand was a massive spear, twice the height of an average man, its jagged tip occasionally spitting out arcs of lightning.
He was the god of the Sky and Thunder—Jupiter.
Next was the Chief of the Divines who ruled over the universe known as Oblivion. He had slightly pointed ears and pale white skin, clad in bronze battle armour that covered most of his body. Held in his hands was a dark gold bow called Auri-El. Its thin string appeared far too delicate to launch any arrows, yet the mysterious aura it exuded suggested otherwise.
The injuries covering his body were gradually fading, thanks to his nature as a god of time. His name—Alkosh.
The fourth was the leader of the Aesir god tribe and the master of Asgard. A tall, aged man with a long flowing beard and only one eye, the other concealed beneath an eyepatch. Clutched in his hands, with its tip aimed directly at the sixth being who had just descended, was a spear that looked as though it had been carved from wood. Just beneath the spearhead sat a golden gem, shaped like a closed eye, leaving one to wonder what might happen if it were ever to open.
He was the god of war and victory—Odin.
Last stood the king of the Olympians and the ruler of Olympus. With long white hair streaked with blue highlights and eyes of a similar hue, he wore sky-blue armour draped with a partially torn cape. His right hand held his famed lightning bolt, Astrape.
He was one of the most well-known gods of all time—Zeus.
As he looked upon the miserable states of these five once-great beings, the one known as the godslayer spoke, his tone filled with exasperation.
|You brought this upon yourselves, didn't you?
I would have had no reason to act against you if you had simply allowed me to live in peace. My father is a divine, after all.
But it was you who struck first, coming for my life in the name of your so-called 'justice.'
Did you truly think you could eliminate me so easily? And more than that, did you really believe I wouldn't retaliate?|
Jupiter's expression contorted in anger upon hearing the godslayer's words. Gritting his teeth, he snapped back.
|You are a being prophesied to bring destruction wherever you go. Even if we hadn't attacked you first, others surely would have.|
|The scenery around us is a good example,| Alkosh added. |Almost everything has already been reduced to dust. This entire galaxy is nothing more than an empty husk.|
|Don't speak as if you all had no part in bringing this unknown galaxy to its premature end.
And let's not forget—the only reason I began this so-called destruction was because you gods kept coming after me, again and again. In your efforts to prevent your ridiculous prophecy, you only ended up speeding along its fulfilment. Fools!|
The godslayer snapped back furiously, but then took a deep breath, calming himself before continuing.
| I'm getting tired of this. You should have stalled long enough for your lesser injuries to heal by now, right?
I'm getting serious now.|
The moment he finished speaking, the aura he emitted intensified. He closed his eyes briefly, and a multicoloured light enveloped his body for a moment before fading. When it vanished, his appearance had completely changed.
He now wore a black knight-style military uniform adorned with gold highlights. A black cape hung from his shoulders, billowing in the vacuum between five pairs of wings that extended from his back.
The gold accents in his silver hair glowed faintly, along with the rune symbol etched into the side of his face.
Then, raising his hand forward, he summoned his weapon.
|Come forth, Ç̶̧̜̣̰̱̙̮͇̬̬̓̈́ę̴̢̔͆̊l̴̹̉͑̂̇̈̏́̒͐́̀͗͘͝e̶̢̢̛͇̠͇̗̘̼̙͚͍̱̽̋̄͐͋͂̾͗̈́͛š̴̛̖̝̬̥̤̿͌̀͗̽͑͘ẗ̶̘̠́͌̂̿̀͠͝i̸̛̞̩̲̐̄̈́̈̋̐́̅̏͛́̈́͂̍̕a̴̡̤͎͔͈̳̣̯̝͎̰͕̒̽̎̃̚ͅͅl̵̡̟͚̳͙͙̫̳̮̱̭̪̮̲̞̂͒͜ ̵̛̩͔͗̆̔͗́̏̉̈̑̇̔̒̓̊͑D̸̠̗̈́̅̄a̵̢̤̹̣͒́͊̃́̃̏̃͗̓͘r̸̝̫̹̲͉̉̓͋̃͆̾̊̃̈̂͂̈́͝ḵ̸̮̀̏̉̅n̵͖̅̉̿̅͑̑͑̅̈́͂̀̌̑͘͠ě̵̡̼̣͈̼͔̗͚͇̻̳̺̦̒͑̑̿͋̎̽̄̎̊̎̚̕͝ͅs̷̟͊̈̅s̴̛̥͑͋͂̍ |
As soon as he spoke, darkness fell. The light of the few remaining stars vanished abruptly, snuffed out like candles blown out by the wind.
The Universal Masters, who had been preparing to charge forward in an attempt to interrupt his summoning, froze in place, trying to comprehend the true cause of the sudden darkness.
That darkness spread outward, stretching to the very edges of the universe before slowly drawing back, converging at a single point directly in front of the godslayer.
From that point, it coalesced into a translucent sword, streaked with gold lines that pulsed like veins and etched with various runic scripts across its surface.
The sword hovered silently in space, releasing an aura so overwhelming that the Universal Masters, as they looked upon it, found themselves questioning whether such a weapon should even be permitted to exist.
Reaching out and gripping the hilt, the godslayer pointed the weapon directly at the Universal Masters, who, by now, had begun to feel regret over their previous choices.
|En garde.|
That was all he said before he blitzed forward, closing the distance at the speed of light.
◇ ◇ ◇
Many of you reading this are probably wondering—how?
How was this being, known as the godslayer, able to bring such powerful gods to their knees, reducing them to their current broken states and making them feel the very real fear of death?
To understand that, we must take a trip down memory lane, back a thousand years, to the time when a certain prophecy was first given.
◇ ◇ ◇
{Hey guys!
Your friendly neighbourhood author, _michael here.
Just wanna thank you for picking up my novel.
I am new to writing, so I hope you would cut me some slack if you do not find the story to be as top notch as the others out there are.
I also ask that you do not drop this after the. First chapter and give it a try...
Who knows?
It might just become your next best novel....
Thanks in advance for continuing on our Godslay