Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of a gavel crafted from the bones of a long dead cosmic dragon slammed against an obsidian slab. Each strike echoed through the Divine Forum, louder than thunder, deeper than memory.
"The votes have been cast," came a booming voice wrapped in authority. "7,293 in agreement. 6,193 in opposition. 1,849 abstained. The Divine Royale will begin with the rise of the next daystar."
The one who spoke stood at the heart of the celestial coliseum, so vast that constellations turned above the divine seats and celestial wind whistled across floating thrones.
Parvos, Arbiter of Eternity
The God of Trials and Judgment. Draped in robes etched with the names of worlds long buried, he alone bore the authority to declare the fate of gods.
"By my station as Arbiter of Eternity, I declare the results final. Let the Scribe record this on the Stone of Origins."
All eyes turned upward.
Suspended just beneath the star-forged dome, a single figure sat cross-legged in the air, motionless except for his hands. Quill in one, scroll in the other.
The Scribe
The first of all gods. The oldest. The one whose name was erased from record by his own choice.
He did not speak often. He simply wrote,each stroke an eternal recording of past, and present.
Parvos turned back to the gathered gods.
"The Divine Royale will begin under the following laws, as ratified in agreement with the Scribe during previous gatherings. These laws are final."
___________________
Divine Royale Rules
- All gods will be stripped of their powers, realms, divine followers, treasuries, and artifacts.
- All divine champions shall return to the mortal realms and lose access to their gods' abilities.
- All pantheons, cults, and divine alliances will be dissolved.
- All divine energy will be placed into a containment vessel before the Scribe to forge the battlegrounds.
- All gods will descend into the mortal world as incorporeal beings. They will rebuild new Divine Bodies.
- Each god retains their memories and a Spark of Origin, from which they may shape a divine path.
- A god may devour the Divine Spark of another to increase their own divinity.
Faith and worship will directly fuel a god's power, domain influence, and territory control.
- Only one god may claim the Throne of Genesis. No Pantheon or alliances may claim the throne.
- The Scribe will not intervene once the Royale begins. He will act as the mediator and enforcer of the laws.
- Any attempt to cheat, contact outside realms, or use forbidden relics will result in total soul erasure.
- Gods may not battle directly on mortal lands past the Sovereign Rank, unless possessing a World-Mending Token. Otherwise, only Avatars with 25%, 50%, of their strength may fight.
-Gods may create Champions. Once a Champion accrues three divine legends, a gateway to the Divine Lands will open for them.
__________________
As the final law echoed, the gathered gods erupted in conversation, raw emotion spilled from all corners of the cosmic forum.
Some were ancient, older than suns. Others newly risen from mortal faith. Yet in that moment, they were all the same: stripped, soon to be starting over.
"Finally. After eons, we walk among mortals once more."Solmereth, the Spark of the First Flame, his golden hair radiant with dawnlight, spoke with fire in his tone as his interlink fingers tightened causing visible trembling in space.
"Their faith has grown dull in our absence. We will guide them once again."Iravis the Celestial Architect, once revered as the Builder of Empires, spoke with cold resolve. The hammer on his waist aged and unused after millions of years. "Time has stopped flowing for gods like us. Let it move again as did in the beginning and guide them along the path of belief once again"
"We are not here to guide. We are here to conquer." Khar'dam the Iron Maw, God of Tyranny and Blood Trials, voice grinding like rusted blades. His black cloak of rippling as he stood and began walking to the exit of the space,
"They will pray for peace and mercy, allowing me to cover them in my grace. I hope to see mortals again" Lunessa of the Goddess of Mercy, spoke calmly as she spun a stuffed doll in her hands before holding it to her chest and making her exit as well.
"We've waited long enough," growled Xarion the Beast King, a war god whose body bears marks of long dead bears that once rivaled him. "Now is the time for the Prey to lay down for the Predators" he shouted as his eyes swept along the sea of gods along with his rising bloodlust, he couldn't wait to tear into these gods taking up space in his divine realm.
The long stagnation of the god realm had withered the patience of even the kindest gods who's followers have grown silent and flow of offerings died out.
Parvos lifted a hand for silence once more.
But before he could speak
A crimson bolt crashed through the sky dome. The arena dimmed, and divine auras flickered in weariness and recognition as a figure appeared in that instant
Red lightning curled at his heels as he emerged from the strike. He bore no crown, no blade, no trinkets or artifacts only the burden of memory and the quiet violence of his presence as crackles of lightning flickered around his form.
Even gods of immense status power turned their gaze.
Magnus, the Crimson Lightning Emperor
The once-god of Light, Storms, and Honor.
Has appeared.
"He still breathes? Last I heard he secluded himself in a tomb of his own creation" muttered Kaelgros the Abyssal Lord.
"He walks in the light ... but no longer shines as he once did as a god of l light," whispered Selmara, goddess of prophecy. Her golden eyes staring locked onto his face before turning away disappointed at how fate has treated him.
"He's not come to speak," said Solmereth, eyes narrowing. "He's come to be freed from this cage…"
Parvos offered a formal nod.
He
"Magnus. Your presence is recorded. Please take a seat as we draw to our conclusion"
Magnus said nothing. He ascended the steps slowly, deliberately, and sat at his throne at the highest point of the hall, beside the other gods of his stature.
High above the forum, among floating gardens of crystal springs and immortal lilies, a pair of eyes met his through the layers of divine realms and protections
Aurora
Goddess of the Spring of Youth, Revitalization, and Oceans.
Her presence was soft, a breath of warmth in a storm of divinity. She did not move. She did not smile.
But for a moment, their eyes locked, and in that stillness, nothing else in creation stirred.
No words passed. No glances lingered too long.
Just the silent understanding of two gods who once shared eternity, and were now about to lose everything.
And then, the Scribe stood.
Without word or gesture, twelve portals opened around the Divine hall, glowing rifts in space, each soon to be leading to a random region of the future mortal world.
"The Divine Royal begins at the new dawn," Parvos declared. "May the last god stand worthy of ending this stagnation and birthing a new age of divinity."
One by one, the gods stepped toward the scribe to give their powers up. Some with eagerness. Some with hatred. A few with fear.
Magnus remained seated a moment longer, watching as the gods vanished shortly after, their forms vanishing as they returned to their realms for a final time.
Then he stood.
The storm moved with him.
And without looking around, he stepped towards Parvos who repeated the rules of the competition.
As he listened lanother goddess stepped forward, her leafy green dress accentuating her perfect curves as she bowed towards the two gods and she held a letter to Magnus.
Taking the letter, a symbol on it known well to him. He looked at Parvos who nodded before opening it, reading the contents in a short breath, and burned it to a crisp with crimson lightning before disappearing as quickly as he came.
As to where, only he and the sender knew.