A peaceful day begins as Bahir takes on his duties as the head of the ranger group, a team composed of the most elite archers in the Southern Empire. Bahir is the elitist of the rangers and was given the rank of “Arch Master” when he was only thirteen. Bahir’s regular duties in castle Germont is to make sure that no wild wolves or hordes of goblins rise against them. Bahir also inspects the troops and weapons daily to ensure they are well prepared for sudden attacks. The castle is heavily fortified but does not have enough soldiers to garrison the walls properly.

As Bahir visits the garrison for an inspection, he meets with his friend, Abid. Abid is the current lord of castle Germont and a high-ranking southern empire official. He is deeply loved by the community and even more so at court.

“Aha! My dear friend! Where is it that you think you’re going? You haven’t been visiting me lately. What’s up with that?”

“Apologies, Your Highness, I’ve been very busy with the tasks you assigned me. The walls are poorly manned. You should reconsider asking the senate for additional forces.”

“No need for formalities. Our families have known each other for years. You are like a brother to me.”

“I better address you with your titles even if it’s against your will. I apologize, my lord, but I do not wish others to speak ill of you.”

“You don’t seem to change, but that’s fine. I would request additional forces from the capital, but that might make them question my leadership abilities.”

“As I said, the walls are poorly manned. We are vulnerable to even the smallest incursion of goblins.”

“Enough with the goblins. We can deal with them. Even you can probably take them head-on without being injured.”

“True enough”

“Say, have you heard of what happened in Hupu village?”

“Nasty business, church fanatics torched it to the ground.”

“We had a couple of survivors that arrived at our gate today. They were telling us the horrors those damn paladins have brought. It’s enough to make you vomit. Abid could not sleep the night prior because of what he heard happened in Hupu village. It was enough to give him nightmares causing him to wake up from sleep screaming.

“From what I heard from our rangers, the army is on a course through this mountain, but where they are headed, I still am not confident enough to say. Speaking of, wasn’t your wife going to Hupu Village?”

“Yeah, she went to visit her only living relative, but we haven’t heard anything from the people who died there yet. I do hope she is ok. Anyhow, where do you think they are headed to.”

“I’m not sure. That’s all I heard from the rangers.”

“Could you bring me a map of the surrounding areas? I have a bad feeling about this.”

Bahir leaves the garrison to find the most accurate map at their disposal. Abid feels tense after hearing the news and has the sneaking suspicion that the army is headed for them rather than somewhere else. This holy army terrifies him greatly after what he heard happened at Hupu village. The worst would happen if they attacked them next, and no one would survive.

*Bahir re-enters the room, but a sound can be heard from the distance as he enters the room. *

“What’s that sound?”

“Probably just the wind. Here is the map you asked for.”

“Thank you. According to the map, there is nothing special in these areas... there is a goblin town further east of here but nothing else.” Abid said in confusion as he tried to find out the true purpose of the holy army.

The sounds they could hear from the garrison grew louder. It was the sound of battle drums. Abid and Bahir run out of the garrison and look out from the wall. As they look, a massive army approaches. Over two hundred banners and thousands of soldiers were marching fast towards them wearing white armor.

Upon seeing such numbers, Abid orders the scribe to send an urgent request to the Senate for additional reinforcements as fast as possible. The scribe went off immediately to send the letter without haste.

“Bahir! My friend. We must act quickly. Those holy crusaders are vicious! We must prepare for a long siege immediately. Get everyone. We must prepare the defenses.”

Without a word, Bahir rushes to notify everyone that the army is approaching. The bell tower also began ringing, reporting the coming armies’ advances. The villagers in front of the castle gate demanded to enter the castle. However, due to the circumstances, they were not granted entrance.

As the defenders of the castle got in position, so did the holy army. Grand Inquisitor Varis, along with Lancel and Alinta, lead the army at the front. Lucious graciously rode on a white horse, like a knight from a fairy tale in the middle of the army. Alinta, who was no longer in control of her emotions, marched forward with Lancel by her side. Rhea got the best position in the army, the rear, which was the safest during a siege. This was planned in accordance with the order from the entity that told Varis to keep her safe.

Varis sneering at the worthless efforts of the southern empire to defend begins to burst into laughter, for he knows God is by his side. Lancel joins up with Varis to ask what their siege plans were.

“Lord Varis, we are approaching the castle with due haste. What is our next move?”

“What do you mean by next move? We are going to kill these heretics, of course.”

“Yes, your highness, as you say, but we do not have sufficient resources or food to commence a siege. What is the end game here?”

“Do so as told. We will win regardless of what happens, for God is on our side.”

“As you say, your excellency.”

*Lancel leaves Varis’s side and joins up with his battalion. He looks over at Rhea and decides to see what she is up to. He rides back through the army to the rear and converses with her. *

“Rhea, is that right?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“So, we are about to go into a siege. How are you holding up?”

“As good as I could, to be honest, I don’t know what to do at this point, so I’m sticking around with you guys. I mean to be fair, I doubt I could leave even if I wanted to.”

“Right you are, Rhea, Varis has taken a liking to you for some odd reason, but I cannot fathom what.”

“He... He has?” Rhea is slightly set off by what she just heard. The last thing she wanted in this situation was to be liked by someone like Varis.

“Quite so.”

“Tell me, why are we attacking the Southern Empire at a time like this? Isn’t the South and the Holy Kingdom in a peace treaty.”

“Well, theoretically, no, we aren’t. We simply avoided conflict with other human nations, is all. Tell you what, though, I don’t see how we will win this battle, so I might run away when no one is looking.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, we don’t have any resources for the fight. The logistics don’t add up. Whenever I ask that old bastard Varis, he says some shit like God’s plan or something.”

Slightly confused at the expression Lancel uses with her, Rhea asks. “Why the sudden change in tone? Why did you reach out to me at such a time like this?”

“I reached out to you because I am confident we are marching to our deaths. If you want to live, you can escape with me, we can bring Alinta with us as well if you wish to, but I’m certainly not dying here with these imbeciles.”

“I have no love for Varis either and certainly wouldn’t want to have come this far just to die for some random cause. Yes, when the time is right, I’ll escape with you. But what do you have in mind?”

“During the confusion of combat, ill ride to you and Alinta, and we will all escape together, I know the plan is rushed, but that is the best we can do. From there, we can ride west to the Entangina Empire.”

“Understood. I’ll wait for you then. Ride safe.”

Lancel once again joins up with His regiment. Feeling slightly scared of dying, Rhea reassures herself that she won’t die in a hellhole like that. She would survive this yet and live the life the way she wanted.

As the holy army marched forth, the enemies prepared their defenses. Night falls. Abid and Bahir are arranging troops on the walls as needed. Abid’s family, excluding his wife, who went to Hupu village, is safely transported outside the city via tunnels during this time. The catapults are fully loaded, the banners are up, archers are all in position, and both armies are on the brink of war. Lancel, who still has no clue what they will do, considering that they have no siege equipment, rides forth to ask Varis what comes next.

“Lord Varis! We are here! Give us your order!”

“Look at that clear sky Lancel. God has cleared the way for us just as he has done to the clouds.”

Lancel is slightly confused about what the sky has to do with anything and asks. “What in the world are you talking about? We are about to have a siege! My lord, are you okay?”

“I’m wonderful, Lancel,” said Varis. “God has assured us our victory here!”

“But my lord, we have no siege weapons!”

Without notice, the Southern Empire launches burning rocks with catapults into the holy army’s ranks. The archers, led by Bahir, shoot their flaming arrows onto the battlefield, causing mass casualties.

“My lord, we are getting annihilated here!”

Varis rides as far forward as possible and opens his book in front of everyone present. Suddenly darkness envelops the battlefield. This fog is a simple confusion tactic used by Varis to cause a halt in the firing of arrows. Suddenly across the battlefield, an army of five hundred thousand soldiers approaches. A number beyond reckoning. Lancel seeing this army, is in a state of pure shock. This army was led by the Southern General of the military, Glantris.

Glantris finally figured out which direction the holy army was headed and organized a grand force that was the combination of all nations willing to help them against the Holy Empire. This force was accompanied by six Grandmaster Wizards, who could dispel all sorts of dark magic that the church used.

All seemed lost. The holy army was surrounded by enemies who hated them. The Castle gate suddenly opens, and a large force of imperial knights charges through the gates. Surrounded on all sides, Varis tells everyone to hold their ground. Varis begins to chant the spell God told him a few days past. The clouds start to get into position according to plan. Lancel, realizing they would all die, grabs Rhea and Alinta and escape the battlefield during the black fog incident.

They escape just in time, for Varis finishes the transmutation circle. Everyone concentrated on the battlefield and did not think twice but to look up into the sky to see what they were walking into. The spell was ready for activation. Varis, however, in his act of greed, tells his soldiers to stand their ground for a moment longer, hoping to get as many people into the spell’s range as possible. Bahir and Abid were already celebrating their victory since there was no way they would possibly lose here. Varis begins to speak in a loud voice for everyone to hear.

“GOD! I HAVE DONE AS YOU ASKED! EVERYTHING IS AS YOU HAVE WILLED IT! DESCEND FROM THE HEAVENS AND SHOW THESE HERETICS YOUR TRUE POWER!”

Varis opens his book for the final time, and the large sinister soul flies out of it and through the transmutation circle. A diabolical presence is felt across the world once again. The goblins, orcs, demons, and other evil creatures gather to witness the birth of something grand. The ground begins to shake, and lava begins erupting out of the ground. The wizards were getting in position and casting dispel magic on the clouds to no avail. The magic was already set in motion and could not be stopped. Upon realizing that they could no longer be victorious, terror fell in the hearts of the Southern Empire’s army. As the ground crumbles, a giant entity is summoned into the battlefield.

“GOD! IT’S YOU! YOU ARE ACTUALLY HERE!”

God was summoned onto the battlefield. He took the form of a burning titanic entity. He had enormous demonic wings that stretched across the battlefield and a giant burning eye for a head. As everyone watched in despair, God proceeded to pull a large burning sword out of the ground, causing the mountains to fall apart. With the enormous sword in hand, God looks down at Varis, who is the size of an ant compared to his foot. He looks back up to the castle wall and swings the enormous sword at the wall.

Abid and Bahir run away from the location God aimed at with his blade. God’s sword impacts the wall, but before it even reaches it, the wall begins to melt, and suddenly, bam! The entire outer, middle and inner walls were destroyed in 1 fell swoop. The remnants of the Southern army charged forth, for there was no escape for them. All the holy soldiers underneath God began to melt, including Varis. As he burns from the insane heat, Varis yells.

“GOD!!!! WHYYYY, I DID EVERYTHING YOU ASKED!!!!!! WHY WOULD YOU FORSAKE ME!!”

These proved to be the final words of Varis, who died screaming for God to save him. Yet God never even considered him a pawn. As everyone dies under God’s feet, all the screaming souls of fallen soldiers are corrupted and absorbed into his body. God raised his hand into the sky, and suddenly all the soldiers who fell during the summoning rose from the ground as undead.

God points his finger at the castle, and the undead forces run toward it. The Southern army’s remnants notice the zombies preparing to attack the castle and move into a defensive position to prevent them from entering through the gap created by God. Seeing that nothing is getting done, God pulls out the houses from the ground and launches them at the defenders. The village homes, burning, come down from the sky, and the morale of the armies is all but crushed. God takes a swing once more, and the entire castle is destroyed due to the earthquake caused by the impact.

All the evil creatures that gathered to witness this were terrified. God had come into the world once again. The last time God was in the world, everyone had to unite forces to defeat him. This time, he returned with 500 times the power he had in his previous vessel.

As fire rained from the sky and undead flooded the remnants of the broken castle, all hope seemed lost. About all the Southern forces were destroyed. The scene was so terrifying that the demons who witnessed God’s power decided to run away from God and went into hiding, scattering like sheep in a field.

By the end of the battle, Varis, Abid, Bahir, and Glantris, along with the grand mages, were killed. Thousands of zombies proceeded to run after living creatures and went wild. God laughed out of sheer joy and yelled.

“HEAR ME, WORLD, FOR IT IS I, GOD. I HAVE RETURNED ONCE MORE! COME FORTH AND BOW DOWN TO YOUR LORD OR PERISH, JUST LIKE THE SOUTHERN EMPIRE ON THIS DAY!

With a wave of his hand, God commanded all evil creatures to march on the southern empire with him as the leading commander. Without the ability to disobey their creator, all the evil creatures did as instructed. Incursions rose all over the place, and a grand demonic army marched for the southern capital.

As Lancel, Rhea, and Alinta watch from a distance at the insanity that is taking place, Lancel finally lets down his guard for the first time in his life.

“So that is what God is, so much for holy, he is the most diabolical entity there is, even the demons are scared of him, shows how just he truly is.”

Rhea sensing the sinister energy radiating at five hundred times the strength of what she perceived at the house, realized that this being in front of her was the same thing that killed her family.

“Why I don’t understand. Why would God do this? Why would he destroy everything we have spent so much time to create?”

Alinta finally spoke up after being silent for the past week. “So, this is the God that Varis spoke of. What a sight to behold indeed, for our God is truly glorious!” Shocked and in awe, Alinta stole the horse Lancel was using and rode off to her God.

The shockwave of God’s voice trembles across the world. Every man, woman, and child to the very demons of the underworld trembled and panicked. After giving his speech, God sinks his sword into the ground, opening a gateway directly to the depths of hell. Thousands of lower evil creatures pour out from the cracks and assist the orcs and goblins currently at war with the southern empire.

As everything calms down, God takes the shape of the most beautifully created human in the world. With Golden hair, blue eyes, and a perfect face, he is in every way an ideal vessel to house God. He waves his hand, and the most exquisite clothing materializes and covers his body out of thin air. He walks graciously on top of the thousands of either burnt or dead soldiers’ bodies and looks forward with a smile.

“To think insects would dare think they have a chance against a God, what fools. A pity, though, I did not intend to kill Varis. Perhaps I should resurrect him, but then again, if he was weak enough to die from heat, then is he worth saving?”

As he continues to walk across the battlefield, Alinta approaches him with the intent to kill. The moment she arrives and gets off her horse to approach God, without thinking about anything else, she bows her head and offers her holy sword to him, suggesting that she is there to serve.

“Alinta, my child, back at Hupu village, I thought of you incapable of going further, yet you proved to be worthy of lending my power to the moment you decided to fulfill the task I asked of you. I am most proud of your accomplishments and accept your eternal allegiance.”

“As God wills it, it shall be done, Oh supreme tyrant of our wonderful world!”

“Yes, I am most glorious indeed. Now for your first task Alinta, I command you to ensure Rhea reaches the Holy Kingdom. As for Lancel, I have no more use for that traitor. Find him and execute him.”

“Yes, my lord, I shall do so immediately, but there is a slight issue. Lancel is currently taking Rhea to the Entangina Empire.”

“I see… very well then. I command you to find Rhea and bring her to me. After I deal with these pesky Southern Empire filth, I will march my army north into Lucious’s kingdom. I expect you to bring her there.”

“Understood, my lord.” Alinta takes her leave and rushes back to where Rhea and Lancel once were.

After Alinta leaves, God begins talking to himself and boasting about his greatness. “Oh, what glorious scenery this is. I feel soo alive right now. It’s incredible, but there are things that I seem to be unaware of. For starters, it appears that Lucious has betrayed my trust and has a kid. Rhea seems to be the most likely candidate for being Lucious’s offspring. Perhaps I should confront him about this. But still, I should definitely be dealing with the South first. The demon armies have lost a lot of strength since I was last here. I highly doubt they can destroy the Southern capital with demons alone. I could just go there personally and wreak havoc, but there is no fun in that. Maybe we should do an introduction.”

The demon armies climbing out of the massive pit created by God’s sword gathered around him and admired his terrifying beauty. These were not mere demons either. They were the most elite demons of the underworld, easily equivalent to a holy knight in combat. Along with these demons came lower demons such as imps and fell guards. After a brief moment, an entire army had climbed out of the very depths of hell to do his bidding.

After being lost in thought, God returns to the real world and notices the demonic army standing before him. Slightly amused at their excellent formation, mainly because demons were not meant to be organized, he speaks. “Ah, my most beloved minions, you have come as I summoned you without haste. I have ordered the demons inhabiting this world to attack the Southern Empire, but I highly doubt these lower demons could fulfill such tasks.”

The demons stayed silent for a moment. After a long pause, an Arch Demon marched towards God and bowed.

“You are an Arch Demon, correct? Your kind used to be my most loyal minions in my wars before my premature demise.”

“I’m sorry, my lord, but we were lied to by those church fanatics. They were the ones that turned us against you. We never wanted to betray you! Please believe me.”

“No matter, you are demons, after all. I would be embarrassed if I was a loyal demon as well, it’s simply your nature to be devious, but the next time you act out of line, don’t expect mercy. Speak your name. Let it be known.”

“My name is Ezizil, one of the three elite arch demons of the underworld for which you rule.”

“Ezizil, it’s a shame, but I have not heard of your name before. Perhaps you were recently promoted.”

“Exactly so. The army you see is my most elite minions. We have come to your summons as you ordered.”

“Excellent work Ezizil. Your army seems to be unequipped. You plan to fight the humans with your hands?”

“If that is what I must do, then I shall, my lord.”

“Since you are so loyal to me, I’ll give you and everyone present here a gift.” God raised his hand, and an enormous demonic circle appeared on the ground. God stood at the center of the circle and cast a spell. Upon the spell’s end, everyone enveloped with the circle’s dark magic was fully armed to the teeth with Devil’s Gold.

Devils Gold, a specific variant of Holy gold used by demons, was even rarer and more durable than the holy version. This Gold was so rare that the grandest of nobles could not afford it, for this material could only be created by God himself.

“My lord, you did not have to do this for us.”

“I am not marching south with a flimsy equipped army. I want to make a grand appearance to those damn heretics.”

“If that is the case, then you have our eternal allegiance, and we will do our best to appear as intimidating as possible to your foes.”

“Excellent… I will leave the rest up to you. Prepare our forces. We are marching South Right away.”

“Yes, of course, your highness, I will do so. Leave everything to me. You shall not be disappointed.” Ezizil takes command of the army of demons who was now fully equipped with Devils Gold and gives them God’s orders. God watched as they marched in perfect order from the sky, still amused at how Ezizil’s forces were among one of the most organized armies he had ever seen.

“It’s only a matter of time now, Lucious. I wonder how you will feel once we finally meet face to face once more...” God gazes over the demons preparing to march South. He notices an enormous luxurious transport the size of a nobleman’s home carried by enslaved humans. Ezizil flies up to God and speaks.

“Master! We have prepared this contraption for the day of your return. We have spent thousands of hours making it as magnificent as possible to please you on the day of your return. Please stay inside this Carriage as we march South.”

“You came prepared. How wonderful. Perhaps I have underestimated the demons. Very well, since you put in so much work, turning down such an offer would be a shame.”

God enters the vessel. Inside, there were beautiful maidens who were to please him as he was transported with the Demonic army to the Southern Capital. The army finally began to move along with the most luxurious carriage ever seen by any race, fit for a God. The demons forced the hundreds of humans to carry the carriage via support beams on the bottom. This, in turn, slowed down their marching speed, giving very needed time for the southerners to prepare for a defensive. Ezizil, Proud of himself for being able to please God, being one of the very few demons ever to do so as well, rides forward at the very front of the army. Enormous demonic banners were also carried to be as intimidating as possible.

As the Demonic Army marches south, Lucious’s envious eyes look from the sky, observing God’s movement through a magic spell. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he faced the consequences of his actions. Right away, God noticed Lucious was watching him from afar and disrupted his magic spell. Also, the magic mirror Lucious used to watch over them exploded due to God's anger toward Lucious. Seeing this event transpire, Lucious knows that with to break a magic mirror from such a far distance, God must have accumulated power unimaginable to anyone and falls to the ground in panic. As he gets back up, the Royal Guards march in to see if everything is okay.

“Emperor Lucious, what happened here?”

“None of your concern. Go back to work.”

“Are you sure? Do you need any help?”

“I’m perfectly fine. Please just go. I have much to think about.”

“Very well then.” The guards leave the room, and Lucious begins talking to himself.

“Oh, Farhid, it seems you are no longer of this world, your soul is screaming in pain, but I cannot point my finger to its cause. It appears that my daughter is still alive. I hope she could escape whatever you had to suffer in time, my good friend. You were such a masterful mage. How could you let yourself be bested? I do not understand this, I am blind to the real world and can only see through the magic granted to me, but my journey seems to be ending as well. I suppose we will see each other soon...” Lucious Grabs his Wizard staff and walks up the tallest tower. Since he could no longer use his mirror of transcendence, a gift given to him by God, he was forced to use his magic at an elevation to find his daughter.

The world watched in despair upon hearing about the revival of God. Who could beat him? Their entire forces combined were used only as fuel to bring him into the world. It would take an unimaginable strength to hold against him. The Senators of the Southern Empire organized a large-scale defensive position, gathering all their forces at the capital to hold against the incoming invasion of demons marching towards them. The entire Southern Empire was deserted, and hundreds of villages and castles were torched by low-level monsters.

Lancel and Rhea ride west and finally arrive at the Capital of the Entangina Empire. The Entangina Empire is known for its immense wealth and prosperity among the realms of men. Being one of the largest cities in the entire world, it proved to be a welcome sight for travelers, especially ones such as Rhea, who were victims of witnessing such evil. Rhea finally regains control of her emotions and gathers herself up by reassuring herself that the horror is over. Alinta was still on the chase for Rhea, who was also riding to Entangina. It would take months before she reached them since she did not know where they went. Lancel and Rhea, happy at the thought of finally being free, enjoy what the city has to offer for the short period they were allowed to.