A clash of voices ranging from low to high pitched rang around the gold-plated chamber. The hall resembled a grand courtroom, though its scale and splendor marked it as something far beyond mortal design.
At the head of the assembly sat a towering judge upon a raised dais, flanked on either side by two other figures of seemingly equal authority, their seats crafted from the same radiant gold.
Encircling them, tier upon tier, were the gathered gods, each seated in thrones that formed a perfect ring around the chamber.
Walls, pillars, and seats alike, all shimmered with golden brilliance. Except for the very heart of the circle. There, in the chamber's center, lay a flawless disk of white marble, a stark and sacred contrast to the surrounding gold. It was upon this untouched space that the weight of judgment would fall.
In that very center, lied a now scrawny man with white hair and a long. Attached to his wrist were chains, more specifically, chains that prohibited the use of divine power.
"Now then," the judge spoke. "The gods have spoken. God of Causality, also known as Rintaro, you are hereby sentenced to death for tampering with the fabric of reality far beyond the allowed limits."
The man's eyes widened. "Please, I beg of you! Just strip me of my power, and make me nothing but a mere old fragile mortal!"
The judge slammed his flawless wood gavel. "Silence! Doing such an action would not only give you a light punishment, but would also disrespect the council! Furthermore, you believe you are worthy of such after messing with the order of the universe? We had to rewind it entirely!"
The man tried to speak, but guilt caught his voice. Of course, tampering with the order of the entire universe wasn't his intent. But, for whatever his true reasoning behind that decision was, it would certainly have no justification.
The judge continued, and spoke in a bizarre language. "Zhar'ukel nomara thivena. Or'kai druveth silmaru ekthar!"
This language was no ordinary one. It was the ancient language of the primordial gods. Through its utterance, one could appoint, remove, or alter divinity—or even reshape the essence of being, whether in others or within oneself. Yet no god possessed its entirety; each knew only the fragments tied to their own dominion. Against mortals, its invocation was unnecessary, but when turning its power upon a fellow god, the sacred words became indispensable.
The man began screaming in agony, and a bright gold light ball had ascended from his body. The judge pulled it toward him, and put it in a container before sealing it.
"God of Death, deliver him from his duties as a being!"
Tears had begun flowing out of the mans eyes. He was trying to beg, but he was shaking too much to even speak properly.
The God of Death looked exactly as expected. Draped over him was a black cape, and his body itself was as black as the void. On the top of his head were black spiraled horns. The only visible feature was when he smiled, in which his white teeth contrasted everything else.
He spoke in a low tone, "Veltharion ekra'sul domareth. Kairun thalvek orithen zur.... your being shall be no more."
Although slowly at first, the man's body had begun to fade, his body corrupting and turning into pitch-black flakes before disappearing.
The judge put down the gavel and put his hands together. "The God of Causality is no more. How dare he beg for forgiveness after nearly destroying the universe, and almost killing multiple gods!? A replacement is needed as soon as possible..."
Suddenly, the container began to shake and the divine essence had freed itself. An unprecedented event. It flew to the center and floated to the bottom before re-shaping itself.
All the gods watched in amusement, unsure whether to be nervous, excited, or prepared to fight.
It took the form of a human body, presumably a teenager. It began creating hair, sculpting the body and features.
At the end, what was left was a tall teenage boy with short, wavy red hair, a lean muscular body, and an extremely handsome face.
The boy opened his eyes, holding his chest tightly. "H-huh... where am I?"
The judge angrily shouted, "What just happened! Who is this boy, why is he in the divine courtroom?"
The boy blinked his eyes in confusion, looking around the room. His eyes glistened with excitement, taking in the elegance of the room. Then, he saw all of the gods looking at him with confused, yet anger filled stares.
The courtroom was deathly silent, every god's gaze piercing through the boy. Some leaned forward, frowning; others whispered in low, melodic tones, exchanging dialogue.
The rolled over onto his butt, his heartbeat racing as the courtroom seemed to press down on him.
The judge slammed the gavel again, though it barely echoed over the tension. "You dare appear after the judgement has been carried out? Speak your name, mortal!"
The boy blinked, struggling to remember. Flashes of golden threads bent and snapped under invisible hands, the faces of gods, and a crushing weight of guilt swirled behind his eyes. And then, a clarity pierced through.
"Rintaro," he whispered, voice trembling.
A murmur rolled through the assembly. Some gasped; others stiffened, their faces rigid with disbelief. The judge's eyes narrowed, and the gavel hovered above the dais. "Impossible... the essence was sealed, and your existence was erased. You should be gone!"
Rintaro's hands shook, his mind splitting between the godly memories and the familiar sensations of his earthly self. He realized, with a sudden shock, that he could feel and see golden threads surrounding him, connecting all over the place.
The God of Death, horns curling back like black spirals, stepped forward. "Do you mock the council? Do you mock me? Do you defy the laws of existence? Otherwise, you have indeed mocked us!"
Rintaro swallowed, then looked around. He had no words for authority, and no confidence for them. Yet, he had no desire to bow, no desire to even surrender. Only a single, very reckless thought: "What happens if I pull or cut a string?"
A faint shimmer appeared under his fingertips, invisible at first, like threads woven into the air itself. As he brushed a finger across it, a wave of discomfort rippled through the assembly. It was subtle, but very noticeable.
One god's eyes flickered, another winced. Rintaro's heartbeat quickened. "I can tug them," he thought. "I can make them feel... I can... play..."
The judge slammed the gavel again, jolting Rintaro back to reality. He was not acting like himself, he had to pull himself together.
"What are you doing, boy?!" The judge spoke in a fury, crackling like static.
The God of Death, the one link closest to the string, was clearly suffering. He was down on one knee, a seemingly unprecedented event.
He brushed his finger again, the golden thread shivering in response. The God of Death collapsed further onto two knees, coughing up blood. He lifted his hand, and pointed it at Rintaro.
"V-veltharion ekra'sul domareth-"
Suddenly, the space behind Rintaro had cracked. From it, chains appeared and pulled Rintaro into it.
The gods watched in disbelief, the God of Death punching the floor in failure. "Since when did the God of Causality have such an ability!?"
Without a doubt, a new era had begun. And the boy who had once been Rintaro of Earth was no longer a mortal dreaming of becoming a god, he had become something infinitely more chaotic, infinitely more unpredictable.