"Heh,"
A man lying on the ground at the center of a battlefield chuckled to himself lightly. His clothes were in tatters, and there was a sluggishly bleeding head wound trickling blood into his eyes.
"So, this is how I'll die, huh?"
"A bit lame," sighed the man as he got off the ground and continued fighting his unrelenting assailants. They came at him over and over and over again, never tiring of this seemingly endless charade. Demi-gods, they called themselves, what a laughable bunch. Why were they attacking him? It was merely for the sinful decision of wanting to ascend to godhood.
The man's name is Axel Stray.
Black-haired with a muscular build, he holds a blue sword that glows faintly, pulsing–compelling him to continue fighting. It exudes power, and he, the wielder, retains that same aura of superiority.
"Why must I always be attacked when I wish to grow stronger," mutters Axel to himself, a bit angry–always a bit angry–at the hierarchy of this world.
"They just have to kill anyone who wishes for strength." A calm tone says, albeit a bit frightened.
In this world, the strong prevail while the weak fall. So fight Axel will, for his life, for his future, for his family. This is a battle not only to save himself but his livelihood. His family needs him; in a barely known household with no social background, influence is out of the question, and wealth is even more so. Axel needs to return to carry the ones he holds most dear into a better life; he will shelter them now, just as they once sheltered him.
It happened when he discovered a realm—the realm of the False God—and learned the world's secrets.
All the gods are mighty–as expected–but they can also deny the ascension of new gods by sacrificing part of their power, which leads to the situation Axel is in right now.
A never-ending fight against a constant stream of enemies. One that has been raging on for hours now, continually eating at Axel's power source, leaving him nearly depleted of mana.
"What is your true reason for attacking me, you fiends!?" Axel yelled while dodging the tip of one of the attacker's blades.
"Wouldn't you like to know," the man spits at Axel, smirking harshly.
"Knowing the answer would be preferable. It's not for the petty matter of my quest to godhood, is it?"
The man looked at Axel and scoffed.
"As if I'd tell you, you'll be dead soon enough anyways, Axel."
"Oh? You do know my name. Unexpected, honestly," replied Axel, a bit taken aback.
Finally, Axel draws his sword upon realizing he can't just sweet talk them into stopping the attack.
Gripping his Azure blade tightly, he focuses on imbuing darkness into it.
Then, Axel attacks.
It is a group of around 40 demi-gods; swift attacks bring that number down by 7 in minutes.
"Hah!" Axel laughs, intent on provoking them, "You're all weak. And you call yourselves demi-gods? Even a fly wouldn't be hurt by you."
Forging on, Axel manages to sever five more heads from their necks. Blood spurts from the stumps, splattering everywhere, pooling onto the ground like a fountain in its wake.
Changing tactics, they start surrounding Axel, managing to land some substantial hits on him. The formation gets worrisome when one almost detaches his shoulder from his body.
Grabbing at his arm, Axel curses under his breath at the hot flashes of pain.
"I should use a healing talisman." Axel thought.
But alas.
"No, they're too expensive. Even if it costs my life, I can't use them. They need to be saved for my family in case anything happens to them."
Familial love wins out.
That brief distraction cost everything; the demi-gods hit Axel's arm again and cut through bone with ease. Severed and useless, his arm falls off, his sword clattering.
"I...need to escape…I'm no match for the enemy in this current state," thought Axel, desperately looking around for a chink in their formation.
If only he had a crystal of teleportation.
"Not so high and mighty now, are you bastard," said one of the men with an ugly sneer stretched across his face.
"I.. need to fight.. my family–must keep…they will-" Axel slumped forward with that last thought. Blood gushed out of his arm like a waterfall.
In the end, Axel fell. The ancient demi-gods won.
Well. Maybe not.
It was the end, after all; what else did he have to lose? If he were going down, he'd take these nasty hypocritical idiots down with him. The decision made, he started to chant.
"Heavenly tower far above, Stone and ash, divine flame that burns immortals, immortal scream," he pauses to take a breath, then screams out, "Domain of all devouring flames!" All his energy went into casting the spell; even gods would cower before him. A Forbidden domain was what it was, one bestowed upon him after his stumble into a sealed-off realm.
The spell that Axel used cast's even the heavens to flame. The user meets his end, but so do his enemies. A big last fuck you was Axel's send-off.
And then, he opens his eyes.
He opens his... eyes?
A dark void greets Axel as he slowly becomes accustomed to his surroundings. It resembles an ink night sky, complete with stars twinkling in the distance.
In front of him stood a celestial who seemed to pity his death.
"Child, why must you disappoint me so?" It then said. "Do not fret; I will not harm you. It is not a coincidence that you ended up here."
A huffing sound like thunder boomed into the space, "Worry not, child. This will all end soon. Your flames have defied the heavens, and your family is safe. But you…it is not yet your time."
The being continues, reassuring him of his sacrifice and telling him it was not in vain. It feels somewhat pleasant to know that he was heralded as a hero after death instead of a sinner.
"Surprisingly enough, your body seems to be completely intact. It is, however, very, very dead. Decomposition won't take it fully for thousands of years," the man looks at Axel.
"Child. You will be known as a hero in the eyes of the humans. But a devil in the eyes of the other races." Said the man.
"I'm the last true god. All my brethren died during a war long ago–a war amongst ourselves. We banded together to vanquish a darker force, one with an evil, sadistic goal, wishing to destroy the mortal realm." The god said, reminiscing.
"Alas, they all died. Except for me, that is. I have no idea why it was I alone who survived."
Perhaps the god had been lonely because he talked about his life a bit more. Recalling Axel with tales of legends lost in time, lost in the world, nowhere to be found, at least not by mortals.
"Why- why was there a war? What happened all those years ago?" asked Axel, a bit confused.
The god sighs.
"Child. You will learn in due time. That nothing in this world is as it seems. Something still prowls down there, unseen by my eye, possessing a danger that frightens even I."
Axel shows a confused smile.
Questions only led to more questions. What happened all that time ago? What caused all of the gods, except the one in front of him, to die? Axel's mind was whirling with the desire to know.
"Confusion, a natural reaction. The whole event eludes me; it frustrates me so much that I do not even remember what happened. My memories... have been fragmented," the god replied.
"In the coming hours, I will have your memories erased. Your name and pre-obtained combat skills will stay. But this entire conversation will be lost in time. Only to be remembered if you become a god."
"Wh-what!? My memories are precious...please don't take them. I need to see that my family prospers, even hundreds of years from now," said Axel, a bit scared of what's to come.
Taking pity on the cowering mortal once again, the god smiles a wry smile, "A compromise then. Boy, Instead of keeping your memories, I will make a book on your life events and send it with you to the mortal realm. I'll even add some traits as a bonus."
Axel, having no other choice but to agree, nodded.
The god started preparation to resurrect Axel into a new body. It was an arduous task, the requirements being that:
The body had to be of the same lineage as Axel
The body had to be of someone who had died less than 24 hours ago.
Of course, it would be difficult for the god to find someone of such criteria.
"Ahh, Axel. I found you a suitable replacement body. Fate has ordained you to have the same name as you did in this life, just 350 years from now," said the god.
A blinding, white light surrounded Axel's soul as a divine, radiant hand touched it. It was filling Axel's soul with hidden capabilities unbeknownst to the god.
"Young man. It was good meeting you. I hope you achieve great things on the path to godhood." The god said, with a bit of sadness in his eyes.
"Thank you, I won't ever forget this kindness. You are truly a powerful being," whispered Axel, still in awe of what was transpiring.
The white radiance started to increase. Faster and faster, it got so bright it could rival the sun's brightness.
And just as soon as it came, it disappeared, taking Axel's soul to the mortal realm.
"What a coincidence I found someone by the same name. Quite odd indeed." The god said after Axel's soul disappeared into the ether.
The world Axel landed in was filled with wars over the last three centuries following his death. After killing all of the demi-gods, Axel's family became renowned and was made a noble family by the king.
Wars were waged over silly things, such as territory and honor. Honor was seen as necessary, strengthening even the weakest men to fight for their pride.
However, even amidst the turmoil, the world was changing. Throughout the wars, civilization became more modern, creating powerful magical devices and seeing a new educational value.
Schools were made more accessible, teaching the younger generation both magic and swordsmanship. Among these institutions, four stood out–the great academies, made to host only the most powerful and experienced warriors from all over the world.
Five continents remained after the burst that occurred upon Axel's death during the first war. Some shifts occurred due to how badly the ground had been shaken.
All of the continents currently intact are home to many kingdoms, each with vast amounts of land. Yet, even then, there was a power struggle.
An overarching government had risen, wishing to seize power over the kingdoms. The kingdoms' rulers disliked this and often found themselves butting heads with the government.
However, in the end, all kingdoms fell except one. The coward was nothing but a puppet who followed the government's demands like a dog.
Somewhere in this vast world lies Axel's grave. It was not a proper one, but a resting place nonetheless. It's spoken about in hushed voices, as nobody wishes to jinx their chances of finding it. Legends about the lethality of Axel's sword and the durability of his armor continued long after his death, making it a stroke of immeasurable luck for the one to stumble upon that treasure trove accidentally.
This was the world Axel woke up in 350 years after his death.
One filled with lust for power and wealth.
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