The Nameless God knew the route by heart, not because he cherished it, but because he had walked it too many times in shame. His feet, long accustomed to the cool, indifferent marble, felt unbearably heavy today, as if dragging invisible chains through the grand hall of Sur's Castle. Above him, the vaulted ceiling glittered with stars woven from pure light; beautiful, distant, and utterly mocking. They reminded him of everything he wasn't. A Wandering God. A drifter. A shadow begging for crumbs from beings born to privilege.
"Again, you enter Sur's domain to beg." The voice boomed before he even reached the throne. Sharp, metallic, and dripping with that smug, polished confidence that only obscene power could give. God Kaelen, Lord of Azuren, reclined lazily on a floating cushion of pressed cloud-stuff. His face was a masterpiece of apathetic magnificence, sculpted to look bored even while insulting someone. "Still seeking the deal for the minor plane of Xylos? We've reviewed your proposal. It's… pathetic."
The Nameless God swallowed, feeling his pride catch like a stone in his throat. "Lord Kaelen, the Xylos have been without a divine ruler for too long. Since I am—"
"A god without a city," Kaelen interrupted before the words could take shape, amusement glittering coldly in his eyes. "Why in creation's name would I allow you to rule one of my cities? As a Wandering God, your Divinity is meagre. Xylos needs stability—a City God's stability."
"I can provide sufficient Divinity to rule over Xylos and its beings," The Nameless God insisted. He hated how pleading his voice sounded, but desperation had a way of sanding down dignity. "I would be a god under you, making you greater still. You could be seen as the lord of true order… the God of Gods."
Kaelen chuckled. It was a dry, grating sound that ricocheted through the hall like broken glass. A dozen Demi Gods, decorative pets orbiting his throne echoed the laughter dutifully. Among them sat Sur, the Golden God himself, too disinterested to even glance up as he polished a fist-sized gem.
"Flattery won't help you," Kaelen said, feigning exhaustion. "You are a Wandering God. No Domain, no city, no anchor. If I grant you Xylos and some Stray God decides to seize it, you dissolve into dust, I lose a favoured city, and my reputation takes a hit. Why risk it?"
Sur finally lifted his eyes, a cruel smile already formed. "Lord Kaelen, why waste time? He is like a stray dog scratching at the gate. Unsightly. Throw him a scrap and send him away before he contaminates the room."
That… hurt more than it should. More than any divine wound he had ever suffered. Sur's words weren't just mockery—they were confirmation. A hard stamp of rejection on his very existence.
Before he could muster a response that didn't sound broken, the entire Castle trembled. The woven stars flickered like stuttering candles, and Kaelen's aloof mask shattered.
A celestial courier appeared in a burst of frantic energy. "My Lord Kaelen! News from the Grand Citadel! It's begun!"
"The Great Contest?" Kaelen bellowed, springing upright and almost slipping off his cloud-cushion.
"It is signed, My Lord! The title of The Almighty God, the God of Gods, is open. The first trial will be announced at the Grand Citadel by tomorrow noon."
A wave of electricity passed through the room. Every deity stirred—hunger, excitement, greed, and fear swelling like a storm.
Sur stood with a flourish, basking in the attention he imagined he already deserved. "I trust the early challenges will eliminate the riff-raff." His eyes locked onto The Nameless God with venom. "Kaelen, has the beggar left yet?"
Kaelen, too swept up in the news to even pretend concern, waved dismissively. "You heard him, Nameless. We have no time for strays. Be gone. And do not return."
So he left. Not with anger. Not with defiance. Only a hollow quiet that settled into his bones.
This is what my life has become, he thought as he walked toward the border of Sur's domain. Every City God had rejected him. Every door closed. Every favour was denied. There was nothing left.
There is only one option left.
Stray God.
The very words tasted like ash. Ultimate humiliation. To lose all Divinity, wander the Void, and slowly fade into oblivion.
He reached the edge — the border where reality blurred into chaos.
"One more step, and it's into the Void," he whispered. Maybe it was fear. Maybe acceptance.
The land was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and he was moving over the face of the waters.
The land beyond was without form. It was hungry darkness, swirling and pulling, made of broken concepts and abandoned creation scraps, it was a Divinity-starved graveyard.
He stepped in.
"I tried," he whispered to himself. "Every humiliation, every insult, every bargain, I endured them so I wouldn't die like this. So I wouldn't fade into nothing.
Tears slid down his face. Loneliness tasted bitter.
"They were right. I am a failure. Without a Domain, I'll cease to exist."
"No."
The word wasn't a whisper. It was a declaration that tore through the Void.
He wouldn't wait to die. Not like this.
He pulled out a knife, the Knife of Unformed Will. It pulsed faintly, it was old, raw and dangerous. He looked at it remembering what it could do
A gamble. A single stab to the heart and it gives 50% chance to gain everything or 50% chance to end instantly.
"Go big or go home"
He plunged the knife into his chest with a choked roar.
The pain was indescribable, like his very essence screamed in a thousand dying languages. His eyes widened as a burst of golden light erupted from him, then instinctively shut as darkness returned.
Healing? That shouldn't be possible. He hadn't gained what he wanted. He wasn't dead.
Is the knife… a lie?
Then it hit him. Data, pure and overwhelming, searing through his consciousness like molten reality. Layers of words and words lined up his vision
[Authentication Started…]
[Authentication Passed.]
[System Activated!]
[The Almighty System: Earned through the Knife of Unformed Will, the Almighty System will accompany you till all your Wills are formed]
[Name: ???]
[Rank: Stray God (Evolving)]
[Divinity Core: Catastrophic Drain (0.01%)]
[Warning: Core Divinity Collapses in 60 seconds.]
[59…58..57…]
[External Force Interference: Divinity Collapse Overridden]
[Creation Begin…]
"What is this?" He asked confusedly but he couldn't react much to it. Perhaps he was hallucinating.
He felt a burning sensation in eyes "Argh…" he screamed
"Let There Be Light!" He said and forced his eyes open. The golden brilliance surged out, tearing itself from him in torrents. The System was drinking his Divinity like a starved beast, ripping every fragment to fuel creation.
His light spilled into the Void, melting chaos into possibility. His vision blurred into grey.
Then, just before the last thread of Divinity left him, he saw something impossible.
The golden light split the waters—separating them into layers. Land rose. Real, solid land.
"Land…" he breathed as his feet touched the newborn soil, trembling.
He watched as creation continued without him, his body hollowed out and spent. His eyes fell shut.
Before darkness swallowed him, a being stepped through the newborn light, the being spread its wings and walked up to him smiling.
It knelt beside him.
And spoke the first words ever uttered in recognition of him.
"Welcome home, O Lord. You are The Lord, My God."