“What happened to all the miracles poppa?”

“Well son, this is the [System] Age. Miracles have gone away, receded into myth and legends from the Age of Wonders.”

“But why?”

“Well, no one knows why exactly. You ask one man, it’s because the gods don’t love us anymore. Another? It’s because the [system] provides for us.”

“What do you think poppa?”

“Well, I think it’s pretty simple. I think they’ve stepped back from direct involvement because they want us to stand on our own two feet.”

--Conversation between Father and Son, Streets of Arthos. From, “History and Myth: The nature of the Divine.” AC 123.

"Please, gods, anything... anyone... If... if you're there. If you're watching. I... I could really use some help right now."

Toriana starts, "We should..."

She doesn't manage to finish before Lira cut in,

"No."

Toriana continues, "But the covenant says..."

Lira speaks over her, "Do not cite the deep magics to me Charisma, we were there when it was written."

Toriana slumps, visibly depressed. A deep heartfelt sigh rumbles from her small body. She murmurs in a small voice, "I know."

Lira, obviously discomfited, awkwardly moves to pat Toriana on the back. She hesitantly says, "I'm sorry Tori. It's just... we guard the Aetheric Gates. The mortals guard the material plane. It's just the way it has to be."

Toriana looks at her with teary eyes. Her voice cracks a little as she says, "But... it's not fair. With a wave of our hand, we could..."

Lira rubs her back and continues to talk quietly. She says, "Yes, but then we wouldn't have enough strength to guard the gates. Everything is tightly managed. The mortals... the mortals have the [system] to help. We... can't expend our power like that."

A soft cry rises from Toriana as she shakes, “But… but I love him!”

Weary beyond measure, Lira continues to comfort her. “I know Tori, you can’t help it. You love everyone. After all, its part of your FUNCTION. Give it a few thousand years. It won’t be so bad then.”

Their session is cut short as Aethir stands abruptly from the couch. He waves his claw and dismisses the [Physical Reality] they stand in. Three crabs suddenly float in the void. In the background, ethereal blue mana traces gently in the distance. They hover there, three crabs drifting in the divine realm.

Lira looks to him in confusion. "Aethir? What are you doing? You... you know we can't do this."

Aethir slowly raises his two claws. A [system] window appears in one claw, its outline shining in gold. It was a familiar screen, one he had seen before, and it read,

Name: Lucky Crab Feat: [Sapience], [Luck of the Crab] Description: You are the Chosen One. Your Dawning will bring a new Era to the [System]. Embrace your [Destiny] as you transcend [Fate] and bring [Luck] to the Universe. Become the enemy of the Gods. Effect: [Kaiju-Size], [ALL STATS-MAX], [LCK-MAX] Lore: "WHAT in the nine hells!" - Aethir, God of Intelligence & "This… this is Ridiculous." - Lira, Goddess of Wisdom

Toriana and Lira joins him, leaning closer and reading the screen. Toriana spoke first,

"When did THAT one show up?"

Aethir dryly chuckles, "Before you decided to swing by and throw this little party. I... strongly advised the crab against it."

With a twist of will, Lira brings up the [system] logs, scrolling through before saying, "It looks like you threatened him against it. Good choice. That much power directly elevating an eight-month-old to the peak of the [system]? The mana alone would have obliterated his mind."

Aethir nods. He then says, "And so we struck a bargain. The [system] had pre-allocated this power and he declined it. The power is still there, reserved. And in declining it, I agreed to throw him a bone in the future. "

He raised his other claw. In it a golden shell lightly glimmered.

"And so, it's time to throw the bone."

As Aethir speaks, Toriana grows more and more excited. She raises her claws up high. In her best Sir Crabby imitation, she races around space, waving them back and forth. She yells, her voice echoing across existence as she says,

"YES! DO IT!!"

For a moment, Aethir sports a Crabby grin. He then seems to remember himself and replaces it with a stern expression. In his left claw, he crushes the [system] window and a surging wave of mana erupts. It spreads into infinity and dissolves the gods outer layer, revealing them in their true, fractal forms. A wave of intent gathers the power and directs it towards the shell.

As it absorbs the rushing mana, it begins to flash. Its image shifts, slowly changing shape. From one angle it looks like a spear, and a mortal gazing upon it would instinctually know its name. The information would echo from distant lands as the lore screamed from the akasha.

Gungnir.

From another angle, the shell was no longer a spear. Instead, it was a thunderbolt, arcing wildly and uncontrolled.

From another, a trident, it's movements evoking images of the parting sea.

A billion flashes, a trillion worlds. An infinite constellation of forms and shapes that encompass one idea.

A Weapon of the Gods.

The flashes slow and cease before resolving into a final shape. A giant barrel extends out of sight, gentle lights glowing at its base. It is multi-segmented, clearly designed to handle extreme recoil. A platform of machinery supports the gun, with various gages shining in the dark. A room of clanking gears materialize into existence around it. Then, a glowing portal opens in front of the barrel as Arthos appears. The view from the portal zooms in, going further, diving below the ocean and into the Deepwater Dungeon.

The gun begins to glow, moving from blue to red to gold as mana builds within it.

Aethir floats next to the barrel. He extends a strand of will and says a single word,

SMITE