With the sword raised high, as if pointing it in defiance toward the throne of the Elder God, a challenge, he stands at the cliff's edge. Towering waves crash against the rock beneath him. He grips the sword tightly, waiting for the right moment to speak. The winds, already swift, begin to surge once more. Then, he speaks with an exalted tone.
An oath of eternity.
"I, Vyrian Orestes, son of Zenobios Orestes, the First Will!"
Everything falls silent. So silent it could drive any being to madness. The roar of the ocean vanishes. The winds die down. Time itself halts. The world freezes in place, as if the universe has stopped to listen to this declaration of war, against his own blood. Against his progenitor.
But the silence only stokes the fire in his chest. It fuels his rage, his buried grief. He repeats the words, louder this time, his voice cracking with the weight of countless eons of suffering. The universe listens, eager.
"I, Vyrian Orestes, son of Zenobios Orestes, the First Will. The Elder God of Eden. The conqueror of universes. The creator of existence. I take an oath, with the whole universe as my witness!"
"I have seen love. War. Death. Birth. Destruction. Catastrophes. Phenomena. Evolution. I have seen humans rise in knowledge and wisdom. I have seen grace. I have seen divinity, in pests more than in you."
"Test? You call this a test? Were my results not enough? I endured far more than any mortal. I saw horrors that would crush their minds. I felt pain deeper than any living creature. I gave up my sanity. I gave up my pride. I gave up my wrath. I opened my heart. I learned to live like these pests. And still, it wasn't enough."
"You sit on that throne without virtue, without value, without purpose, without aim, without justice. You sit there for your own amusement, while billions suffer. And you watch. You enjoy their doom."
"You call that divinity? You call that enlightenment? Spare me the illusion."
"I refuse. I refuse to play your game. I refuse to be your puppet. I refuse to suffer endlessly for nothing. I refuse to bow. I refuse to love. I refuse to submit. I refuse to accept your rules. I refuse!"
"I REFUSE!"
The winds rise once more. The ocean begins to sing, not in chaos, but in harmony. Perhaps the universe itself longs for liberation. Perhaps fate had always awaited a hero. A hero not born of hope, but of wrath. Not guided by justice, but forged by suffering.
Truly, he has become a flawed god. A perfect, flawed god.
"I was looked down upon for my hatred of humanity. But today, today it changes. I raise this sword not in vengeance, but as a promise. An oath to the future. An oath to truth."
"I swear to eradicate all injustice."
"You wanted to see me redeemed? A god plagued by sin, rising above it all?"
He laughs.
"Then watch as I forge this sin into my greatest weapon. Not against mortals, but against holiness soaked in corruption. Today, I declare war on divinity cloaked in immorality. Today, I swear to shatter every mirror of projection and expose the truth beneath it."
The world trembles. The wind howls its final rhythm of disorder. The waves crash in triumph. The rocks of the cliff crumble to dust. His voice alone sets the heart of the world ablaze.
Truly a god. Truly divine. Truly unholy. Truly flawed.
He continues.
"I, Vyrian Orestes, son of Zenobios Orestes, take this oath. I shall sever the head of the false god who dares claim rulership over heaven. The one who calls himself justice. The one who claims perfection. The one who hides behind titles and power."
"I will tear you down."
"I will mount your head on the mast of my vessel, a ship of absolute divinity and true justice."
"I will stand shoulder to shoulder with mortals, and show that even pests can rise above you."
"Father…"
"I will strike you down. I promise."
"I PROMISE!"
"And then I will take your throne. And from that throne, I will dispense true justice. I will define true divinity."
The world reels in awe. The sky trembles. The seas stir. His words strike harder than any thunderstorm. Thunder is too weak a metaphor.
He has not simply declared war.
He has sworn to tear down divinity at its very core. And claim it.