Gods are supposed to be almighty and powerful... right?
Well depending on what you believe in they can be strong, wise, bold, humble, crazy, peaceful, hell they can even be death itself.
But one thing in common with many of these gods was that they were peerless compared to their mortal companions.
Gods are revered as beings of great strength and power, so what could make them so weak?
"I was expecting a decent challenge." Chaos echoed through the doorway to the void. It had barely taken a century since he had advanced through time and space to forcibly attack the divine realm.
But he was left disappointed...
"Even you hope, I was expecting you at least to give me a challenge. But here you are unable to protect those that you wanted to."
Chaos has begun by corrupting weaker willed gods to join his side. His unique ability to control and corrupt these divine beings forced his body to be physically weak, because of the divine law.
The divine law creates a sort of balance that forces beings to have weaknesses. Beings who use summons, magics, and even formations are left with glaring weaknesses that they need to learn to cover.
Some beings like soldiers and gods of wars develop the inability to control their magic like mages do. However, some beings are able to slightly neglect the divine law.
Mortal humans are the best example of this. Their bloodline gives them the ability to try magic or physical training. When they slowly develop on one path, they lose the ability to walk upon others. The stronger one gets the more restrictions.
The Divine Realm was infinite... technically. It was ever expanding by slowly devouring strands of void around them, changing them from void to reality. Only the strongest gods were able to survive inside the void through their mysterious ways.
"Hope, I had... heh well I had my hopes that you, that one of the strongest gods in this divine realm, could stand against me."
"Why Chaos? Why must you destroy and consume this realm?"
A great ridge riding on the edge of the realm slowly grew outwards. The void laid below it trying to devour the realm. It was a constant war between their reality and nonexistence.
Similar to the being called Chaos in front of him.
"Why not?" A stunned expression fell on the few remaining gods left. Some gods fell to their knees, others gritted their teeth and stared with anger at Chaos and his cohort of corrupted gods.
"Afterall this is only a steppingstone on my path to glory. I will challenge the heavens and break past them, casting anything in my way aside like trash."
"We were once all mortals, PLEASE, leave us in peace." A young god said, trying to give himself and the others a chance of escape.
"Incorrect."
"Whuh, what do you mean incorrect? We ascended from the mortal realm and continued to grow here?" The young god said naively.
"As I said, Incorrect." Chaos said while walking towards the group. His feet echoing on the void. "I did not come from your weak mortal plane. I come from the demonic realm, Juroth, home to the Jura. An infernal being species who thrive on me, Chaos." His arms spread wide as if he was showing off his muscles.
"Haha, as if an entire species could feed off of your power. You just boast you chaotic beast." A middle stage god yelled.
"He was being sarcastic you idiot." Another younger god says while smacking his head. The group started laughing at the middle stage god.
"YOU IMBISALS, I AM DHELOS, GOD OF THE RAGING RIVER. YOU MINOR GODS WILL RESPECT ME."
"ENOUGH!" Chaos yelled, shutting the middle stage god up in an instant. A wave of red and white magic flowed through his chest into his arms down into his hands. Then he shot it out as waves flowing through the earth.
The waves targeted Dhelos and swallowed him whole. A white cocoon grew around the red liquid and sealed the god of rivers inside. The other gods jumped away in shock, the attack had only taken around 2 seconds.
Hope and Dream, the only peak gods left, had sprinted forward towards Chaos attack, trying to stop it. However, they had no luck.
Sometime later the cocoon opened up and that red liquid flowed onto the floor. The liquid floated up and formed a ball and then flew back towards Chaos and entered through his chest cavity.
"DAMN IT," Dream was in a state of disbelief. How could a middle stage god be killed just like that? Their source and all...
"This has gone on long enough, any last words," A grin slowly found its way onto Chaos as he watched the pure terror fill the remaining gods.
...
No-one could think of something to say. They were already dead, just waiting for the end to come and get them.
"I am sorry brothers, sisters, friends... I must leave you all behind," Hope said as he walked backwards.
"Hope what do you mean?" One of the young gods asked fearfully.
"NO, YOU CAN'T, Hope you would be erased for good. That was only a stupid prophecy that I attained. The void would completely consume you there would be nothing left" Dream yelled as her best friend slowly walked towards nothingness.
"It's better than becoming that THINGS play toy. Besides, it was only a matter of time before one of us true peak gods tried it. Desperate or crazy enough for more power."
The cliff edge slowly grew into the void, as if trying to stop him from falling in. Even generating new supports to hold it just a bit longer. Chaos was just amused from this play and decided to sit and watch it.
"Will I be consumed by the void? Or will I consume enough and become a higher being. Start anew and become stronger, faster, more adaptable. I will become... a void being." And with that Hope fell into the void.
"No... NO!" Dream said as she ran to the cliff edge.
His golden hair blowing in every direction, his clothes threatening to rip apart. Was he falling? It sure felt like it.
The prophecy Dream dreamt was of how to become a higher being. One not restrained by the fear of death, or weakness. A being able to fight against the divine law.
A void being, also known as a being of true darkness, thrived on power. It was only natural to become strong as a void being. There was only one problem with that, they fought against the divine law.
The divine law was one of the many truths of this dimension. Just like how time and space were quantifiable, or how all beings eventually die. In order to break past that truth and become flawless.
From a diamond in the rough to a jewel that is priceless. He had to cut off his pride, his strength, his power, and let the void deconstruct him into the perfect being.
All of this required him to restart as a mortal again with no powers, but it was all worth it. Hope must survive, without Hope there was nothing. But then again, after this he would no longer be hope.
He would no longer be anyone, born anew as a species that was never supposed to exist in the first place.
Pushing away his power and his beliefs, he let the void clean him and break him down. At first, he had doubts; was it really possible to become a void being? Breaking past the divine laws... was it really possible?
His mind slowly deteriorated in the void. Resized and reshaped into something unbreakable. He had to cast away the fears and nightmares. In order to become greater, he must push forward.
Finally, his body begun to change and transform to become more like the void. This was the most important part. His Mind and Spirit had been refined to their base perfection. His Body was the final piece to the puzzle to becoming a void being.
He had to hold together the three parts and merge them into one being. Creating a unique path to ascension. The body was not only a physical representation of his being but a spiritual container for his mind and spirit.
He felt nothing as his body slowly evaporated. All of the impurities, everything that made him a living human, were removed. Just a blank canvas was left for the three parts.
Then his mind flowed into the body, influencing the void to recreate some of the vital organs. They twisted it into a unique bodily system that created a mini organ system in every cell. His body was assaulted in constant pain.
Then it stopped, a pleasant feeling pushed through his body as everything seemed to click right into place. It was his spirit, his will that forced everything to feel okay. He was manipulating the void to heal him instead of destroying him.
When he healed himself, he took in a part of the void and pushed it into the depths of his soul with his spirit. Finally, the process was complete. His body, mind, and spirit had been firmly connected by thin threads of void.
But the void wasn't done with him. Suddenly Hope realized the void was pushing him through time and space rapidly. He could see nothing, hear nothing, he couldn't even feel anything other than himself. The only indicator was his control over the void shifting rapidly.
His vision slowly opened up, leaving a blinding white light in front of him. Then his hearing exploded. Millions of sounds blew his eardrums open as his ears listened to the surroundings. Then he could feel, he could feel everything. His skin was burning, no freezing, it was impossible to tell.
The wind flew past him, his black hair fluttering chaotically. Wait a minute... the wind?