Chapter 2: The Great God Fall War
[POV Lycan]
The sky was scored in a beautiful red and orange as multiple gods and deities floated or stood in the air with their armies of followers and disciples. I, a rogue male, stood against them. My face was scared and old, yet sadly I was a god, not by choice but by a curse. My anger toward most gods was one many mortal lives felt, anger toward those who toy and play with their lives as if they were nothing more than ants or toys. This dusk sky would have been perfect to watch if under better circumstances.
It always sickened this long-forgotten king as I wasn't alone in my hate, to begin with, but, over the years of fighting the gods, I had lost lovers, brothers in arms, and even children...it only grew my anger and resentment. I rebuilt my kingdom, expanded my people, my children of the werewolf race, saw it gain back its humanity through years of evolution to be recognized as human again, if even as a subrace, and yet this was what I was rewarded with, all because the chain binding me to other gods broke. I loved humans, and mortals helped them after this crazy change in our reality.
This cursed god, I knew that my death here was unavoidable and close, as I had killed many gods. I'd broken many taboos in my selfish fight, but was used to doing that if I saw fit, like feeding a god the meat of a human to prove they were not all-knowing and seeing.
"Ha ha ha ha...yes, this is a fitting end for me, Lycan...god of werewolves to be hunted over-numbered and be cornered in such an unbefitting way to ruin your perfect utopia!" I said as I looked down at the manly swords, pole-arms, and blades impaling his scared, withering body.
Glaring at the gods who were forced to give their power to mortals to stop me as he tipped the balance so much, I'd helped give birth to many self-made gods and god slayers, all wanting their fate away from the norm. The universes will, THE WILL provide all beings with a system, some standard leveling and straightening, and others with potential, exotic, personalized, or unique systems that could rival the mighty gods and even higher beings. Due to this, many gods would give people a system to breed a perfect vessel to break the shackles and regain the balance of the gods overall, but some went rogue and did unspeakable actions. THE WILL broke chains all over, putting everyone on somewhat fair grounds to do with what they could in this new reality and changed worlds with its new resources and abilities, new laws, new territories, unlimited possibilities for good and bad. Others used it to become an all-powerful being above all.
Because I wanted to sympathize with humans, demons, and even angels who wanted their fate in their own hands. Mortals dersered there own faiths. I passed on many secrets and forbidden arts before they became widely known and used. Ways to use this world's new energies that many would never know or think of.
Mana, ki, or chi, and many different forms of energy were locked away from mortals depending on race and knowledge, but are now given and used for good and evil. Systems were something that would never leave mortal hands. The gods tried to kill those who would not yield. Many prodigies lay dead or dying on this bloodstained battlefield of a graveyard. My comrades, my brother and sister in arms, my family and pack...lay dying, not once cursing me, their friend, god, and others, but only the gods who hated change.
The mighty Zeus had struck the final blow, but none of the gods here left without injury. Many were forced to reincarnate or seal themselves in a system to live on and claim the right above all. Many were killed to a point where only there lose will could pass on or be claimed.
"Your damn mutt, you dare to bite the hand of your master. To cause all this, I will ensure you will never live again, but I must thank you. As I hated the other pantheons, I now have the chance to be king of all gods again." Zuse said, gloating.
Haha! If I knew this would be the result, I'd have done it myself, but sadly, I lost half of my powers. My godly vessel is breaking, but all I must do, like many others, is become a system!" Zuse said with weak arrogance.
"Live a life as a mortal and grow stronger than all. My soul is intact, but yours, haha? Well, that last attack you did fractured and destroyed yours, and you will have a final death," Zeus said as he hobbled back as the old fool faded away.
Only a head was left, slowly fading to the depths of the void in golden dust. Fear took him, as I still gave the old prideful god a defiant stare. Zeus was furious but eventually began to laugh as he performed the ritual. He transformed into pure energy as the sky filled with numerous lights, and the gods departed for this new opportunity.
My body gradually disappeared, broke down, but not before my final desperate gamble. I put the remaining parts of my broken soul into creating a system. I knew this would be a losing fight, so I entrusted my 5 students and my son, my closets comraids i forbade them to be here with me, to protect him, the new God of werewolves, with parts of my soul. I knew I couldn't be the system itself, but with this creation, my wish I hoped to be heard by the universe and receive a response to my desperate pleas.
"Please give my strength and power to someone with the will to achieve their goals. They will need to train harder than most, but they will...become a beacon of hope! I apologize, but you will not have an easy start, and you must work diligently. But don't fear---"
Static noise could only be heard as the audio soon snapped back in. " Do not fear, Blaze...for you were chosen.
[Pov Blaze]
I, a young adult of 23 years, abruptly woke up, drenched in a chilly sweat, while experiencing an excruciating sensation of energy flowing through my body. It's common for all those who become system owners to undergo such a phenomenon. Soul integration. Many would feel this pain at the age of 16 if they weren't lucky enough to get a named system, but I felt it twice...no wait, want it three? ...no, I must be mistaken.
As I had a standard leveling system, I was clearly shaken, my dark-skinned hand swiped down only to see. My Level 25 status went down to Level 1. Holy shit, I was granted what many would kill for despite being reset to LV 1. I was given a named system. But for some reason, things felt familiar; this all did, but just as soon as this feeling of deja vu hit me, it faded away fully. My attention turned to my new system as I swiped my hand down, summoning my status screen.
_Status_
Blaze Nights
Lv: 1
Race: Lesser werewolf (human)
Bloodline:-----
Exp:0/500
Gold:20,000
_Stats_
HP:300/300
MP:60/60
Str:4 Int:6
Agi:8 Con:3
Luck:19
Stat points:21
Skill points:3
—-Skills—-
_Unique skills_ [Aura manipulation lv:1 {S}]
_Active skills _
[Claw slash lv:1{D-}] [Lycans Rage lv:1{C}]
_Passive skills_
[Predators Body lv:1{B+}] [Unyielding Soul lv: max {SSS}] [Devour:lv:0 {F-}]
All I could do was gawk in disbelief, shock, and wonder as the system gave me one final message.
~Kill and eat all. Let your anger burn! DEVOUR TO GROW let it be the fuel to your soul~ And above all else, don't mess up a second time, Blaze ~ Welcome to The Devours System ~
This feeling, this new power felt invigorating; it made me feel like I could do anything and everything!?.....N-no... this arrogance, this feeling of being drunk on power, this is what got man killed. I wasn't stupid to let such little power corrupt and blind me. Yes, with this I could do everything I've dreamed of, but this feeling was wrong, this wasn't me at all, that dream Lycan, this is what was left of his will, his anger and resentment. My first trial, you could say in a way, and I wasn't going to allow myself to just be seduced by it because of a silly chance of fate.
That aside, I needed a shower. I smelled worse than a teen's locker room mixed with bad cologne. It would be better to wash up and get my full bearing and fully wake up before I delved deeper into my new system. It would still be here, so need to rush besides all my old gear would most likely be useless with my pitiful stats. I lost so many skills, but I've gained much better ones, even an SSS-ranked skill. That was already a gift from God or Gods I wasn't all to religiouse, but I was raised on Christian teachings and Egyptian spirituality growing up. Yeah, there were gods among us, but why worship them?
With that, I head to the shower to wash up, stripping down my tail swaying behind me, looking at myself in the mirror, but for some reason I couldn't quite make myself out yet...odd, it must be my body integrating with the new system as I did notice everything felt muted yet slowly getting sharper.