300,000 years of history. 1000 years of technological advancement is coming to an end.
Was it the cause of nuclear warfare? Or maybe a giant asteroid. Or maybe aliens invading or the sun exploding. NO!
Mankind is being threatened by the people they pray to, the very beings humanity had prayed to, built temples for, sacrificed in the name of, and credited with the creation of the universe itself were now the greatest threat to its survival. The gods.
The council of gods. September 2025.
"Here we go."
The words came as a dry huff from the furthest throne, barely louder than a breath, yet they echoed through the pantheon as if thunder itself had spoken.
"Greetings, everyone," the voice continued. "As you may know… I am Zeus. And it has been one thousand years since we last gathered and came to an agreement."
Zeus sat slouched upon a throne of cracked marble and lightning-veined stone. He was a short, severely malnourished-looking man. hardly the towering king of gods once wrote into human myth. His body reflected his true age: nearly 300,000 years old. A loose, white toga hung from his skeletal frame.
His face was worse.
The skin had long since withered away, leaving exposed bone etched with ancient fractures. eye sockets burned with darkness deeper than the night, darkness that had once watched civilizations rise and fall, that had once illuminated the skies with storms.
Zeus slowly raised his head, scanning the room. "Humanity," he said, his voice calm but exhausted, "has reached a point it was never meant to reach."
From behind his throne, two massive paddles rose into the air, relics carved from divine stone. One bore a glowing circle. The other, a giant, bleeding-red X.
"Show me," Zeus commanded, voice echoing across eternity,
"the wrath of thy gods."
A moment passed. Then.
"HELL YEAH!!! Gotta be end them for me!"
Two paddles slammed from the eastern side of the pantheon, both marked with red X's.
"Let's just give them Armageddon already."
The speaker leaned forward, muscles beneath golden skin, tail flicking behind him. His grin was wide, almost feral.
Hanuman. The monkey god of devotion and strength.
"These humans have driven India to hell and back," Hanuman growled, voice laced with fury. "Have you seen the rubbish? The rivers are choked with plastic, the air thick with smoke, children born into poverty they never escape."
He slammed a fist into the arm of his throne.
"From that alone, humanity deserves to be purged. And when we're done…" he bared his teeth, "we evolve something better to take their place."
A cold, disgusted laugh followed.
The Persian goddess of love and waters, Anahita, turned in her seat, robes flowing like liquid silver. Unlike Hanuman's rage, she was calm and collected.
"Over the last thousand years," she said softly, "humans have become ugly creatures. Inside and out." Her eyes darkened like poisoned tides. "The seas I once ruled are filled with filth. Forests are butchered and burned in the name of oil and profit."
She raised her paddle.
"So to speak," Anahita continued, voice sharp as glass, "humans are a disease. And this Earth is dying from it."
A presence stirred. From a throne grown from living stone and roots, Pachamama rose.
"She is not lying." Pachamama lifted her paddle, marked with the red X.
"Humans have destroyed my forests. My land. My mountains." Her voice rumbled like shifting tectonic plates. "They take and take and never give back. We can no longer save them, from themselves or from us."
Across the chamber, wings unfolded.
"I agree." The Egyptian god Horus stood tall, falcon eyes burning gold. His paddle rose without hesitation. "End them," he said simply. "Quickly. Cleanly. Before they destroy what little remains."
"Well… that was quick and simple. Time to kill the humans." Zeus strikes his gavel down.
"HEY! Wait a damn second!"
The shout cut through the divine chamber like a blade.
"Huh…?" Zeus slowly turned toward the sound, the stars above him flickering in surprise. His hollow gaze locked onto something utterly out of place.
A human.
Standing alone at the edge of the council floor.
"Who are you?" Zeus asked, more curious than angry.
The human straightened his posture, heart pounding but voice steady. "Pardon my ignorance, gods and goddesses. There's just one thing I've gotta say to you lot."
Before Zeus could reply.
"MIND YOUR BUSINESS, HUMAN!!!!!!"
Odin erupted from his throne beside Zeus, ravens shrieking as they took flight. "You filthy insect. How DARE you open your disgusting, hateful human mouth in the conference of the gods!" The All-Father rose, spear crackling with ancient power. "You stand before beings who can erase your species with a thought!"
The human didn't flinch.
"It's true," he said calmly. "Humanity is dirty. We pollute the planet like never before. We've failed Earth in more ways than we can count." He took a breath, eyes scanning the gods. "But whether our lives are worthy or not… with the might and mercy of you gods—why don't you test us?"
A pause.
"Test them?" Hanuman burst out laughing, tail swaying wildly. "What, you want another flood? Fire from the sky? We've done that before."
The human shook his head slowly, eyes sharp with resolve.
"No."
The laughter died.
"Gods versus humans," he continued. "Humanity's final exam." He stepped forward, defiance radiating from him. "A one-on-one showdown. Thirteen gods on your side. Thirteen humans on ours. Thirteen battles."
The chamber stilled.
"The side that scores the most victories decides our fate." His gaze locked onto Zeus himself. "If humans win… we live. As long as we choose. We carve our own future."
The stars dimmed.
"And if you win," he said quietly, "humanity is erased. Completely. From Earth's history. From memory."
Odin scoffed, lowering his spear slightly. "Your proposal is meaningless. Mankind has no chance against us gods."
The human tilted his head.
"What that's telling me," he said evenly, "is you're being a pussy."
The reaction was instant.
Gasps. Roars. Divine auras flared like solar flares colliding. The pantheon erupted in furious noise. some outraged, others stunned into silence. It felt less like rage and more like a father realizing his child had just crossed a line… and daring him to react.
Zeus didn't laugh. He scratched his narrow, skeletal chin thoughtfully. "I find it interesting," he murmured.
Then his hollow eyes ignited.
"Your proposal," Zeus said, voice rising with excitement, "is an absolute FUCKING MASTERPIECE." Thunder rolled across the chamber. "It's been a long damn time since I've seen the true might of these gods tested."
He turned to the council.
"What do you think?"
whispers rippled through the pantheon. nods. Smirks. Bloodlust masked as curiosity.
Zeus smiled, a cracked, sinister smile.
"I think," he declared, "we've found an agreement."
He slammed his fist into the ground.
The impact shattered reality itself, creating an asteroid-sized crater into the divine floor.
"ARMAGEDDON SHALL BEGIN TONIGHT!!!!!"
Lightning tore across the heavens. Zeus looked back to the human.
"Now tell me, child," he said slowly, "what is thy name?"
"Joachim."
Zeus nodded once. "Good." His voice hardened. "Now exit this area before I chop your head off and put it on a pole."
Joachim started to walk away.
Each step felt heavier than the last. His breaths came slow and deep, chest tightening as the weight of what he had just done finally settled in. The echoes of the gods' chamber faded behind him, replaced by a long, ancient hallway carved from stone older than any civilisation he knew.
His fingers brushed against the walls as he walked, cold, uneven, etched with symbols of ancient languages. The stone seemed to hum beneath his touch, as if it remembered every soul that had ever passed through.
At the end of the corridor, light spilled into an open chamber.
A single door stood there.
HUMANS PANTHEON.
Joachim swallowed. The door groaned open, its weight sending centuries of dust cascading onto the floor in a cloud. He coughed, waving it aside as he stepped inside.
The room was nothing like he expected.
Floating in the air were dozens of technological screens, far beyond anything humanity had ever built. Their frames shimmered with shifting metal, constantly reassembling itself.
Names flickered across the screens.
Albert Einstein
Gandhi
Mother Teresa
Winston Churchill
Marilyn Monroe
John Lennon
2 other people stepped into the room. The first looked Kurdish, dark hair cropped short, sharp features hardened by hardship rather than age. His eyes were alert, as if he had already accepted the reality of where he was. A faint scar ran along his jaw, and his posture suggested someone used to surviving more than speaking.
The second looked Eastern European. Taller. Broader. Pale skin contrasted with dark, tired eyes. His stance was calm, hands behind his back, like a soldier awaiting orders, or a chess player already thinking ten moves ahead.
"You must be Joachim."
The first man smiled, extending a hand. "I'm Ferbiris."
"And I'm Bialorus." The second man slipped his hands into his pockets, eyes never leaving the screens.
Joachim nodded, still trying to steady his breathing.
"So," Ferbiris said, glancing back at the glowing names, "who do we select to represent us first?" His lips curled into a knowing smirk. "We need a strategist. A leader. Someone who's conquered minds, nations."
He raised his hand toward one of the screens.
"This guy is legendary."
Bialorus snapped his head around. His usual calm cracked instantly.
"JESUS—NO, NOT HIM!" he barked, shuddering as if something unseen had brushed his spine. "He's too powerful. The gods won't allow it!"
Joachim stared at the name glowing on the screen, its light steady, unwavering.
"It's exactly why we do it," Joachim said, exhaling sharply. "We don't just fight. We make a statement."
Ferbiris looked at him.
Joachim nodded once.
"Click it."
The Gods' Arena
September 23rd, 2025: 10:35 AM
The arena held its breath.
A figure shot across the sky in a flash of gold.
"THIS IS THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!!!"
The Roman messenger god Mercury hovered above the arena, wings blurring behind him as he raised a massive horn to his lips.
"THE MOMENT TO BLOW THE UNIVERSE WIDE OPEN!" His voice boomed through every part of the arena. "THE TIME TO DRAW THE CURTAIN ON ARMAGEDDON IS HERE!"
He spun mid-air, arms wide.
"ARE. YOU. READY?!"
A roar erupted from the gods' stands. Thunder, fire, and divine laughter collided.
Mercury grinned wildly.
"The rule is simple!" He blasted the horn again. "FIGHT. TILL. YOU. DIE!!!!"
"Hmmm…" Ferbiris muttered from the human platform, rubbing the back of his neck. "Seems quite reasonable, doesn't it?"
"To save humanity," Joachim replied flatly.
Bialorus leaned forward, gripping the railing as the arena floor began to shift and reshape itself. "It's about time," he said quietly. "This is it, Joachim."
The lights dimmed. A crimson glow ignited at one end of the arena.
"THE FIRST BOUT!" Mercury announced. "Introducing the warrior from the gods' side!!!"
Drums thundered.
"This man needs NO introduction! The GREEK GOD OF WAR!" Mercury shouted. "A master of every weapon ever forged! Slayer of the giant Mimas! A being who lives for battle itself!"
The ground shook.
"THE STRONGEST WARRIOR OF GREECE. ARES!!!"
Ares stepped into the open.
He stood nearly 6'8, towering and immovable. Long blond hair fell over broad shoulders, framing a face hardened by endless war. His body was massive, muscle forged by 1000's of years of combat. A golden helmet crowned his head, etched with ancient runes and battle scars from wars long forgotten. A tight, black short-sleeve shirt, paired with blue camo combat pants and black boots, that of a general.
Ares cracked his neck once. His eyes scanned the arena. A slow, cruel grin spread across his face.
"Send out your human," he growled. "Let's see how long they scream."
"Now the warrior on the Humans side! Is it gonna end here!! 300'000 years of history, 300'000 years of mankind. This man is channeling the pride of 8 billion people. The WILL of mankind itself! Who else could it be." Mercury bounced around, obviously excited. "Will this man be swallowed by the gods! He is the greatest strategist of all time. Does anyone have any objections? France's greatest leader. NAPOLEON BONAPARTE."
The gallop of a horse echoed from the humans side of the arena. Napoleon was entering the arena.