“He can’t be serious!” Auren heaved the missive across his chamber as he shot out of bed. Ignacious was letting the title “King of the Gods” get to his head. The King’s decision to put humanity to the sword could not come to pass.

Auren’s feet slapped against the marble floors of the Grand Hall as he raced to the King’s chambers. He had not taken the time to “dress” for the occasion, opting for his crimson toga and a simple circlet. Appearing before the king, Ignacious, had become a matter of ceremony. Within the last century, nothing short of regalia had been deemed appropriate by the King’s inner circle. Auren’s firm belief that billions of mortal souls were worth more than dressing to impress allowed him to press on undaunted.

The great brass doors parted easily, and to Auren’s surprise, the King’s chamber was packed. Gods of all stations had arrived to voice their discontent at his decision to eradicate the human race. Auren’s arrival seemed to be the dramatic pause in the conversation that Ignacious was waiting for, as he stood from his lounging position on the throne.

“Now, now. I’m sure that you are all here to call for the crown to be taken from me. Humanity is everyone’s favorite project, after all, hear me out for a moment, and all will be explained.” Auren seethed. It was no surprise that Ignacious would try to smooth over his decision with the rest of the gods that had gathered; smooth-talking had gotten him this far.

“Humanity has doomed itself, a perpetual war based on silly differences that don’t matter in the much grander scheme of things have set them far behind the other sentient species in their universe, many of which are capable of Interstellar travel while the humans have yet to colonize their own Moon. What I am proposing will grant the Humans a quick and painless death instead of a war they’re not equipped to participate in. I say this would be a kindness, what say you?”

An eerie hush fell over the crowd of gods. “What about the Ascendant Program?” Auren shouted, his frustration finally getting the better of him.

“Most of the humans have rejected any sort of ‘faith’, which the Ascendant Program requires to function,” Ignacious said with a dismissive wave of his hand and not so much as a look in Auren’s direction.

“That’s bullshit and you know it!” The crowd around Auren parted. Standing so close to one who would defy the King was political suicide. An oppressive wave of essence poured out of the god, activating as his rage piqued. Auren’s Battle Aura, his namesake, was active. The Battle Aura amplified the brash god’s prowess in combat and increased his pain tolerance significantly. When the Battle Aura was active Auren became an engine of destruction.

Ignacious didn’t flinch. Behind the veneer of calm and confidence, Auren saw the wavering of his resolve.

“That’s enough, Auren, stand down.” A cold, sturdy hand pressed into his shoulder. Morkhan, the venerable vizier, had spoken. “This is for the best.”

Come outside, Morkhan’s voice spoke into Auren’s mind. The Battle Aura flared for a moment before quenching. The firm-handed vizier led Auren out of the chamber. The dull roar of gossip muffled as Morkhan sealed the brass doors behind the pair.

“You’ve grown reckless in your station, Auren, you must-”

“Temper my power with even judgment. I remember,” Auren finished. Morkhan had taught him much. Mastery of his passion was not something another could teach him, no matter how venerable.

“You may be on to something though, with the Ascendant Program.” Auren arched his eyebrows in surprise. “Sure, the levels of faith required to preserve the entirety of the human race are not present, but we could preserve, say, a thousand through the program? Maybe enough to empower, manage, and then lead against a delusional and tyrannical god?”

“What?” tumbled out of Auren’s slackened jaw.

“We will need to act with purpose. Ignacious’s plan will take some time to come to fruition with the hurdles I have put in his way. Now pick your jaw up off the floor and help an old god put one of his students back in check, will you?”