No matter how powerful one can get, there is always someone stronger. The weak fear the strong yet worship them. That's the way people think. But there are two exceptions to this rule.
One is the Regulator, the supreme being who reigns over all. There is nothing in this world that could ever hope to surpass them. That is all that is known about him.
The only other person who was nearly, but not truly, at the Regulator's level was Ephraxis, the God of Chaos.
Reality was governed by the twelve gods. They had never shown themselves to anybody before. Their origin came from the Regulator. But as for Ephraxis, he was not the same as the others. His past was unknown, but one thing was for sure: he was without a doubt the most powerful god of all the twelve.
A single punch from him was enough to shake the galaxy. He had the strength of all the other eleven gods combined. Even if all the other eleven tried to defeat him together, they would lose the moment the fight started.
His magic power was on a whole different level. A full percent of it could engulf the whole world. He had brawn, but he also had a brain. Almost everything that would go beyond the realms of science and magic was created by him. The other gods were powerful, but compared to him, they were like ants.
He knew he may not have been there yet, but one day he would reach the Regulator's level.
So, it never occurred to him that he, of all beings, would be struggling with his sense of sight.
He laid on the cold floor of the council room of the gods. He had been pierced with a weapon through his heart. Blood started to flow out from the wound. Normally, these wounds would have been gone the moment the sword which had pierced him had left his body.
As he struggled to focus, eleven shadowy figures loomed over him, their faces twisted with malice. Their whispers slashed through the air like daggers:
"Finally, we got rid of him."
"He threw the world's balance off."
"A monster like him doesn't deserve to exist."
Their words barely registered, overshadowed by the aura of the sword that pierced his chest. The sword was wielded by Lucifer, the God of Light, someone he had once called friend. The sword's aura was a dark, pulsating force, draining his strength with each passing moment.
The God of Chaos's vision began to blur, his mind reeling from the betrayal. Lucifer, his supposed friend, stood over him, a smirk twisting his face.
"Your sword will be put to good use," he whispered, his voice dripping with malice.
The God of Chaos's eyes locked onto Lucifer's, and in that moment, the truth became clear: the gods had conspired against him, seeking to claim his creation for themselves. A maelstrom of emotions churned within him, but one feeling stood out: anger. His calm, collected demeanor was shattered, and his rage boiled over.
With his last breath, he spat out a promise:
"YOU BITCHES, I'LL MAKE SURE I KILL EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FUCKING BASTARDS, EVEN IF IT TAKES ME ONE THOUSAND YEARS. I SWEAR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU ALL IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO."
A dark, velvet shroud enveloped him, and the gods' smiling faces were the last thing he saw. As the shadow closed in, a single thought echoed in his mind:
Kill, Kill, kill, kill. That was all he could think about.
The shadow began to crack, light seeping through the fissures like a rising sun. The God of Chaos's eyes snapped open, and a blinding light greeted him. As his eyes adjusted, a figure took shape before him. His rage fueled his gaze, but it was tempered by confusion. The figure was not a god, but a small, fragile human girl.
The God of Chaos's hand now looked small and weak. He attempted to throw a punch, but his body refused to respond. He repeatedly tried to throw a punch, and when he finally got his hand up, he was met with a surprise. His hand had now become tiny and soft.
The little girl's eyes sparkled as she shouted, "Mom, Dad, Abel has woken up!"
Her voice was a symphony of innocence and joy. The God of Chaos's gaze narrowed, his mind reeling with questions. Where was he? What happened? And who was this child?
As the girl ran away, the God of Chaos's gaze followed her, his heart heavy with the weight of his memories. He was the God of Chaos, and he would not be bound by anyone or anything. Yet in this moment, just being able to move was a struggle. He could not process what was happening, for he knew for a fact that he had been killed, so how he was even able to see confused him.
It took a while, but he came to one conclusion: his soul must have been put into a new body and he had been reborn.
Ephraxis, the God of Chaos, lay still, his mind reeling with the implications of his situation. Reincarnation—a concept he had always dismissed as myth—now seemed all too real. He had been given a second chance, and he would not waste it. His gaze narrowed, his determination burning brighter with every passing moment. He would use this new life to exact his revenge upon the gods who had betrayed him.
As he pondered his next move, the little girl reappeared, her eyes shining with excitement. Ephraxis's gaze locked onto her, taking in every detail. Her skin was indeed as smooth as diamonds, with a warm, peach-like hue that seemed to glow from within. Her hair, smooth as silk, cascaded down her back like a golden waterfall, reminding him of the radiant light of the sun. And that was exactly what had caught his attention—the color of her hair, a brilliant golden hue that brought to mind the treacherous Lucifer, the God of Light.
Ephraxis's thoughts were interrupted by the girl's approach. She skipped closer, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Abel, you're awake! Mom and Dad are on their way, okay!"
Abel. The name the girl had used earlier. Ephraxis assumed it was his name in this life. Abel. Yes, it would do.
Night had fallen, and the moon, with its brilliant glow, shone beneath dark clouds. That girl and the two adults who were with her had gone, and though weak, Abel had realized that he was in a crib. He tried to climb out, but the bones in his body were too weak.
The only way to deal with this problem was to use mana—the mystic energy that comes from the mana core, which everybody is born with, enabling people to use magic. To strengthen himself, which should have allowed him to be able to walk. But activating his mana as a newborn was not going to be an easy task, for if he made even a little mistake, he would die. But that wasn't going to stop him; after all, even if he didn't look like it, he was the most powerful god of all.
He assumed a meditative posture and began the process of activating his mana. For one to activate their mana, they need to have a calm and focused mind to be able to connect to their mana core. This was pretty easy since he was in a pretty quiet setting.
Once he was focused, images started to appear in his head. This meant that he had reached the second stage, where one's attributes started to appear as images in their head.
What Abel saw was a raging storm the size of a capital surrounded by little orbs of red, purple, and ice blue. This was odd; it meant that he had an amazing aptitude for wind, but he was also proficient in fire magic, earth magic, and water magic. That wasn't all, though. In the eye of the raging storm was a blade. The blade seemed to shift and ripple, like a dark reflection in troubled waters. Its surface was a deep, inky black. The air was filled with an eerie, unnatural silence, as if the very sound itself of this storm was being devoured by the blade.
From what he could understand, he seemed to also have a talent for shadow magic and the sword. Normally at best one can have only two aptitudes, yet he had more than three. Though this was amazing, he did not have time to be happy about it, for the final step of activating his mana was beginning.
After being able to visualize his aptitude, his mana core released a huge wave of magical energy, which started to engulf his whole body. If he could not stabilize the mana being released, he would die.
As the mana core released the huge wave of power, one would normally have to concentrate to feel the flow of mana and allow it to go back into the core, which would then stabilize, letting the wielder be able to use mana. But Abel had a different intention.
If one redirects the energy back into the mana core, all that excess mana would be gone. So, first, Abel redirected the mana into his body—but instead of going straight for the mana core, he let some of the mana go to his bones and cells, allowing them to get stronger. He also sent some to his brain, which would increase the processing power that he had before. Finally, he let the rest of the mana stabilize with the core.
He smiled. Being able to activate his mana core at this age would give him a huge advantage over anyone he would ever fight in the future. This meant that if he trained excessively, he could reach the level he was at when he was a god—maybe even surpass it.
Though happy, he needed to know exactly where he was and how much time had passed since he had died. The best way to do that was to look in a book.
Due to using the excess mana to permanently strengthen himself, Abel thought there would be no problem, but once again, as he tried to stand, he immediately fell.
How? Did something go wrong?
He couldn't make sense of it; he did everything perfectly, so just what went wrong? This was no time to be asking questions; who would answer them anyway?
"Come on, you can do this, walking should not be a problem."
As he tried to stand, he felt stiff and weak. His legs were wobbly. He knew he could fall at any moment, but he couldn't give up. As he tried to climb from the crib, his whole body was shaking. When his legs touched the floor, he collapsed. Just like before, he got up and swung his legs. He kept swinging and swinging until his legs no longer felt like jelly. After some time, he could finally walk—not wobble, not shake, not squander, but walk.
He overcame that problem; now it was time to gather information. As he walked up to the doorstep, he noticed a symbol on the door. It was the symbol of that bastard Lucifer. His mind flashed back to when he was killed—how someone he once saw as a friend could betray him all for the sake of power.
"I will kill them no matter what it takes."
He managed to keep his cool and opened the door. He had entered a giant hall with so many different rooms; luckily, each room had a label. For who knows how long, Abel just kept walking until he found the library room.
As he opened the door, he was surprised by what he saw. He was surrounded by towering shelves that seemed to have no end, their wooden spires lost in the gloom. The air was thick with the musty scent of parchment and ink, and the whisper of pages rustling against each other. Glowing tomes, bound in leather and adorned with cryptic symbols, lines, and others.
It was a sight to behold, and in the middle of the library, there was a book with that same symbol he saw at the door. It was a golden book with a mystical aura, featuring a thick stack of pages and a cover adorned with a star-like symbol. A radiant golden mana emanated from the book's center, surrounded by a radiant aura.
As Abel got closer, the book started to glow even brighter than before and floated out of its case, settling right in front of him. The book opened, and on the first page, it said:
"What would you like to know?"
Well, now that Abel had the chance, he came to a sudden realization. No one even knew the gods existed. Well, he hadn't come into the library for just that. Since he was still there, he decided to ask the book another question from what he intended.
"Tell me everything about this family."
This time, the book's pages started to turn, and suddenly, a bright light engulfed the whole library. As the light started to disperse and he regained his vision, Abel's mind was being flooded with information, which started to give him a headache. He quickly understood that the book transferred the information directly into his mind. It took some time, but after a while, the information Abel had gained started to make sense.
From what Abel could tell, he had been reincarnated into the bloodline of Morningstar.
Morningstar. The same last name of the traitor who stabbed his back. Now Abel has been reborn into a family related to him. How ironic. Obviously, the Morningstars were a family of light-based magic men, who could add the light attribute to any magic or weapon.
They were once part of the Senate of Nobles, which are the most powerful houses on the continent.
House Terravata: They are known for their ability to manipulate the earth elements, each user born with a special ability unique to them and the earth. The patriarch of the family could summon golems with the ability to take on the shape and form of anything he so wished. A simple ability, yet a frightening one at that. Not much was known about their past, but it is said that their founder was one of the heroes who helped to vanquish the demon lord of destruction during the Era of Demise.
House Aetheron: Renowned archers, their arrows never missed. Their founder, betrayed and murdered by a rival kingdom, sought revenge. He journeyed to the high elves, passing the trials of the spirits, and gained the wind spirit's power. He was then trained by the elves and took down the king. His descendants inherited a natural affinity for wind and archery.
House Ignis: Fire magic experts, their prowess in blacksmithing was legendary. Their downfall came in a war five centuries ago, when most of their family was slaughtered. The last of them swore revenge, joining the opposing side and eventually gaining land and influence through fire magic and warfare.
House Celestia: Little is known about them—shrouded in mystery, their magic is said to influence fate itself: seeing the future and altering destiny.
The rest of the noble houses—little is known about them as well. They all began to develop around the Era of Demise—an age Abel knew nothing about.
He decided to ask one more question. "Tell me about the Era of Demise," he asked.
The grimoire started to glow again and released a burst of light, just like before. This time, Abel saw visions of races fighting each other, cities in flames, and destruction everywhere.
A voice from the sky echoed:
"The Era of Demise was a time in which all the races of the world started to fight each other; nobody knows the reason, but it caused much devastation. Hundreds of cities were destroyed, and almost one-third of the world's population died. It was hard for people to get food, and diseases spread like wildfire. The war lasted for 300 years.
On the final day of the war, the heavens opened up, and from this, the gods descended upon the world for the very first time, stopping the war and helping the races find a mutual agreement. They divided the world into realms—one for spirits and elves, one for the gods themselves, one for humans, one for demons, and so on.
When this agreement was signed, the gods used their power to restore all the damage caused by the war. But the lives lost could not be brought back. In addition, they built a city—the city of Selene—that became a meeting place for all races."
The visions ended.
"Alright," Abel said. It was only the first day since he had reincarnated, but he had gained lots of new information.
Now he knew that the gods had made themselves known, but why would they go through the trouble of stopping a war? They had no reason to. If all the races went extinct, it wouldn't affect them the least.
"Has there been any other appearance from the gods besides the Era of Demise?"
The grimoire responded, "No."
For some reason, Abel wasn't surprised. This meant there was a motive for ending that war.
"Whoa, what's happening?" He suddenly fell to the ground. "This body is only that of a child's; even if I had the mana boost which never came, I'd probably still wouldn't last."
His stomach grumbled; this was the first time in a long while that he had felt hunger. Being a god, he had no need for food. He left the library and looked for the room he was previously in. He climbed back into the crib and put his head down.
The hunger he felt could wait until morning, but if he didn't rest, the exhaustion would kill him before anything he would face in the future—after all, right now, Abel was only a baby.