"DAMMIT!!"
BANG!
A young man threw a table at the wall as he shouted furiously. Upon the table was a glass ball that showed the scene of dead man upon it.
This seemed to be what caused the man's fury.
"A-ahem, Your Highness. Even though you can see it with your own eyes, it is my duty to report to you that-"
"That another one of my 'reincarnators' are dead! I gave them every power they asked for and they still managed to die like dogs! I barely managed to grant the wishes of the last one with the remainder of my power!"
The young man fell to his knees and rubbed the temples on the sides of his head as he looked at the dead man within the glass ball.
"I put all of my hopes in him. This bastard didn't even manage to make it out of the first universe I sent him to! All he did was chase women. Sigh..."
The young man seemed to have lost all of his spirit as the scene replayed itself in his head.
The older man who spoke earlier came up behind him and laid his hands on the young man's shoulder, saying, "My Prince, don't let this setback get you down. I'm sure there is some way for us regain power over our domain."
Unfortunately, the young man knew that he was done. He had already exhausted the last of his power and now the domain his family was responsible for was going to be taken over by more, 'capable' gods.
His family was one of the many pantheons responsible for maintaining the souls of the dead.
In the realm of the gods, this job was fairly common as the souls of the dead were innumerable. One pantheon couldn't maintain an entire multiverse' worth.
So, like others, that's where his family came in.
But unfortunately, life wasn't so easy for them.
Some eons ago, members of the family just started to disappear out of thin air. They had guessed that this was some kind of plot against them, but they had no idea who was behind it.
Now, years later, the only remaining members of the family that were confirmed alive were the prince and his butler, Roger.
Their domain, which used to be filled with souls of the dead was now a barren wasteland. The other gods couldn't trust them to maintain control so they took their dominion over the dead away.
The fact that they still had a domain was a miracle itself.
The young man glanced back at Roger and asked dejectedly, "How? My power is gone, father disappeared years ago and we're the only ones left trying to salvage this place. It's impossible."
As the young man said this, he could see the expressions on Roger's face change rapidly. He looked like he was debating about something.
'This does count as dire straits, right, My Lord?'
He took another look at the remains of the palace around him and made a decision as a resolute look appeared on his face.
"Roger?"
The young man was confused as he saw Roger performing a strange incantation.
"What are you doing?"
The words of this incantation were strange to him. If they were strange to someone like him who has been alive for millions of years, then it was an ancient incantation.
How could a butler like Roger perform something like this?
That's what was running through the young man's mind at this time.
"I'm activating something our Axis left just in case we were in a situation like this."
An Axis was the name given to the Progenitor of a family. In other words, the original 'god' of the family.
As the incantation ceased, a dark, rusty key appeared in Roger's hands.
The young man seemed to regain a sliver of hope when he heard Roger's words.
"Left behind by our Axis?! Lead the way, Roger!"
Roger stuck the key in thin air, causing a old metal door with chains all over it to appear.
The darkness covering the door was so overpowering that they both involuntarily fell to their knees with chattering teeth.
"R-roger! W-what's going on?"
Roger clenched his fists and crawled towards the door, his body growing heavy the closer he got to the door.
"G-guard your mind, Your Highness! The darkness will corrupt you!"
WHOOSH!
The moment Roger touched the door handles, it blasted open, revealed a pitch black darkness no light could pierce.
The darkness that was initially coming from the door suddenly got sucked back in, freeing the area from its corrupting hold.
The young man got up and tried to catch his breath as he glanced at Roger.
"Finally, that darkness went away! Roger, what are you doing...? Why are you-"
"GET DOWN, YOUR HIGHNESS! THE FIRST SON IS HERE!"
The young man got down on his knees out of surprise, barely even understanding what Roger said before he did.
"Wait, the First Son...the one the Axis created...and was later killed by...? ROGER!"
Before the young man could say anything else, he could feel a certain...coldness behind him. It was unnatural, unholy and and a void within the light itself.
Roger immediately turned around, laid one hand over his chest while he knelt and said, "Lord Arcann, the First Son of our family. How have you been?"
The young man jumped forward and scampered to hide behind Roger as he turned to look at the man they called the First Son.
He was an old man with long, messy silver hair that almost touched the floor, a long silver beard that followed suit and glowing orange eyes that seemed as if they saw everything.
On his body hung torn black clothing, and chains so thick that they could match tree trunks.
"Hm...Roger, was it? It's been a long time. I've been good. But, forget the pleasantries. I'm guessing now that I'm released, the family your Axis created is about to be destroyed."
The man knew Roger? The young man had so many questions that he wanted to ask but his own fear won't allow him to.
Roger nodded his head and replied, "It is as you say, My Lord. The Krayt Family is done. Only myself and the young lord Cade here remains."
Arcann glanced at the young man and said, "Cade hm? You look just your Axis, but your personality is far, far off. But I suppose that only makes sense. If any of you were like him, then this family wouldn't have needed me again."
Cade clenched fists when he heard this. What Arcann said hurt to hear, but it was true. No one had the courage to stand up to whoever was destroying their family.
Strangely enough, this statement didn't phase Roger. He just quickly replied, "Correct, My Lord. That means by order of the Axis, you are going to be the new head of this family. You may rule it as you see fit."
Cade finally found the courage to stand up and shout, "Wait! Roger! Arcann! How da-"
POW!!
Roger quickly turned around and slapped Cade, sending his body flying back to the ground.
"You do not address the First Son without his title! You could be killed for it! Lord Arcann, please! Forgive him!"
Cade, unable to process everything that was happening in front of him, sat on the ground with his mouth agape, holding the swollen part of his face.
"No matter. He has already been disciplined. Back to the problem at hand. I already fugured out what I need to do. First, I gather strong souls to our domain so we can regain our power. For that, I need one thing."
Roger listened closely as Arcann spoke.
"I lost my power and my physical body when I fought with the Axis. This is just my spiritual form. I will regain my power overtime, but I need a new body, preferably one that could withstand my power for a long time."
Arcann had already considered taking Roger's or Cade's body but he decided against it.
Roger was too old.
Cade, even though he was the descendant of the man responsible for his imprisonment, Arcann had a certain respect for the Axis.
There was no reason for him to extinguish the man's bloodline because of an ancient battle.
Roger thought for a long time while Cade unwillingly did the same.
If they had released him a few years before, they could make a new body right then and there for him...but they were completely out of divine power.
Unable to come up with a solution, Roger cleared his throat and said, "Lord Arcann, we...um, we don't have any spare vessels with us. But don't be disappointed, my Lord. You can use my b-"
"No, I'll just procure a body from the first universe I arrive in. I'll work it out from there. Hurry up and give me the artifact so I can get out of here. My spiritual form won't last much longer."
Roger turned around and pulled a golden stopwatch out of Cade's pocket.
"Here, Lord Arcann."
The stopwatch floated into Arcann's hands as he looked over it for a second and clicked the button on the top.
CRACK!
The space in front of Arcann suddenly tore itself open, revealing a wormhole.
Before he left, Arcann left a few words behind for Roger.
"Prepare this place. I will bring it back to it's former glory."
And with that, Arcann stepped into the wormhole, leaving the domain behind.
Cade stood up and looked at Roger, dumbfounded.
"Roger, what is going on? Why did you suddenly say he was the head of the family? How do you know him? Don't the stories say he was forged in the fires of nine hells themselves? The personification of evil? The man who destroyed multiple heavenly domains and killed the Axis? Why was he so amicable? Everything happened so fast. What is...what is going on?"
Roger sighed, and looked up into the sky above. This story was complicated.
"Your Highness, my apologies. But this was an order from the Axis. Please, listen closely and try to understand."
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Thanks for reading!