The holy lightning the Dark Elf Paladin unleashed caused a significant wound to the Manifestation. The problem, however, was it didn’t kill it. The foul abomination somehow managed to shift just enough to avoid certain destruction. Now it was frenzied and lashing out with beams of pure annihilation.

The air sizzled as the molecules that made up the atmosphere around them were simply removed from existence, creating a howling wind as fresh air rushed in to fill the gaps left behind. A half dozen beams smashed into a wall on the far side of the cavern eating a path straight to the core of the gnome dungeon that had plagued them on their descent. The core flashed briefly before it ceased to exist.

Another beam struck a man to Gregor’s left. The man was instantly vaporized, and Gregor blinked at the remaining afterimage that quickly blew away with the aid of the onrushing winds. He paused for a moment in his shock, attempting to remember who had just been at his side, frowning when no memory came to him.

“IT IS USING ANNIHILATION ENERGY! ANYONE HIT BY THAT WILL BE ERASED FROM ALL EXISTENCE!” Freya yelled as she narrowly avoided a beam of the foul energy directed at her. She landed next to the Dwarf King and shook him from his internal reverie, “FIGHT, GOOD DWARF! WE HAVE TO END THIS NOW!”

This was the greatest threat of an Old God and its Manifestations. They were the absolute opposite of existence. Antimatter taken physical form, a contradiction to the laws of physics and mana. They didn’t just remove the physicality of a thing, they removed its memory. Even the System couldn’t retain record of the things removed from existence by an Old Gods annihilation energy. Anything hit by it simply ceased to exist in form or memory.

Gregor blinked as the memory of another warrior in his raid was removed from existence, then nodded at Freya before charging forward with his hammer and shield held high screaming a rallying battle cry. The bewildered warriors around him charged forward against a fate worse than death.

The Manifestation spun to keep the ranged fighters from reaching the open wound of maddening void, always presenting its tough, greasy hide to them. Lord Shubin roared a challenge to the thing which instantly spun, unleashing a fury of annihilation unto the Last Daemon Lord. Fortunately for him, a trio of Faceless had layered several barriers of mana around the big red battle junkie.

The Manifestation looked at the man who should have no longer existed in what must have amounted to shock for its kind. The ranged fighters didn’t give it time to ponder how the Daemon Lord still existed as they unleashed all of their energy into the monster's inky black core. It reeled in pain and anger as it attempted to spin away to face the new threat.

One of the Lady Reaper’s Taurai moved up to taunt the monster. It flicked an eye in its direction and removed the artificial man from existence in the next moment. His four remaining companions didn’t skip a beat as the construct disappeared from all of their memories. His sacrifice bought the ranged fighters the opportunity to lob another round of attacks into the blackness.

The battle slowed as the remaining tanks in the party switched out, tempting fate with challenges and taunts that would force the Manifestation to turn all its fury on a single individual. Most copied the Daemon Lords' example, getting a support type to layer protections on them so they didn’t directly face the monster's fury. Those who didn’t were erased from existence, their sacrifice to be forgotten when memories of that point in the battle would come up blank to those who survived.

One man tanked a beam on a highly enchanted shield only to have the shield disappear from his grip. Fortunately for him a supporter was there to provide magical shielding when the next set of beams ripped through the air. He rolled to the back of the line, checking himself over, then switching his one handed sword out for a beefy two-hander.

Suddenly the raid found themselves without a tank that hadn’t spent their cooldowns. The Manifestations stopped randomly lashing out, focusing on the remaining two dozen fighters standing at the edge of the platform. The thing focused its remaining eyes on the Raid with baleful hatred. The eyes glowed briefly causing them to tense, when no beam of energy approached they all shifted uncomfortably.

A strangled scream cut short in the middle of their ranks drew their attention to a beautiful Valkyr woman suddenly evaporating to be replaced by an expanding sphere of annihilation. The men and women closest to the bomb didn’t have time to move away as they were removed from being, their cries of despair cut short and forgotten for all time.

On the surface above, Eli Butterfield wiped a single tear from his eye in confusion, “Allergies?”

Below, barely more than a baker’s dozen of fighters remained.

“WE CANNOT BEAT THIS THING! WE MUST RETREAT!?!?” A panicked woman screamed from the back of the group.

“RETREAT TO WHERE!? FREYA AND HER REMAINING TWO VALKYR CAN’T CARRY US ALL OUT OF HERE!” Shubin yelled back while hacking apart a pair of tentacle mouths that attempted to grab him.

“LOOK IT’S SLOWED! IT’S JUST AS EXHAUSTED AS WE ARE!” Gregor pointed to the Manifestation where its eyes hung limply, struggling to stay focused on the group. He looked over to where the Paladin still lay at the edge of the platform recovering from his previous exertion, somehow surviving everything that happened over the last couple of minutes.

The Lady Reaper and her remaining Taurai were keeping the tentacled mouths busy while the remaining Raid members formulated a way to bring the thing down. Even she wondered what could be done with the numbers that remained. Her much higher attributes put her at an edge, even among the remaining elites gathered under the Warlords banner. She had several escape options available to her, and she wouldn’t hesitate to use them if no hope remained. Her job was the protection and guidance of the newest Reaper, not to sacrifice herself for a planet full of primitive murder monkeys.

While the Raid leaders strategized on how to finish the beast off with the little resources they had left, an overwhelming surge of power appeared behind them. The rushing gale force winds sputtered out as all eyes, including the Manifestations, turned to focus on the appearance of a lone figure kneeling over the body of the Paladin. The man stood and walked through the gathering of slack jawed warriors.

The manifestation visibly vibrated at this being's presence. It no longer cared for anyone else gathered. Those gathered stepped aside as the Being rose, walking calmly towards the vile wounded beast. All fighting ceased as he stopped among the gathered Raid leaders.

His voice was calm, carrying the gentle timbre of a babbling brook, “This should not be here. This Verse is too young for such a thing. Strange.”

When the stunned group didn’t respond to his statement he shrugged, then continued his calm approach toward the Manifestation. The Lady Reaper stepped aside as the Being walked by her, watching him closely while bracing against the waves of overwhelming power building in his person.

As the Being approached, the Manifestation surged with energy and rage. All of its eyes flared to life, glowing with the threat of non-existence. It released it’s fury in its most massive attack yet. A concentrated beam of annihilation slammed into the man, obscuring his form briefly before his outstretched hand absorbed the attack entirely.

He scowled when he brought his now blackened hand up for inspection. Even as he studied the damage, it was already in the process of healing. A second later it was as if nothing had happened. The Manifestation charged another attack which the Being deflected with his other hand, hissing again at the quickly healing damage.

“Hmmm, I haven’t been injured in quite some time. Pain. An odd feeling. I remember it. Sort of.” He looked up at the horror that was already charging another attack, “YES! HIT ME AGAIN ABOMINATION! MAKE ME REMEMBER!”

The strange, overwhelmingly powerful man stood with feet and arms spread wide to receive the next attack. The energy of annihilation washed over him in a cascade of rushing wind and flashing light. When the attack receded, the man surprisingly remained standing. His skin had been stripped from his body, yet was already reforming, along with his clothes.

“Thank you. Unfortunately, you do not belong here.”

The Manifestaion’s eyes glared with unbridled hatred as the man resumed his approach. Rather than charge up for another massive attack it began rapidly firing smaller beams at the man which he deflected without allowing the offending energy to touch him. The horror began to retreat to the opposite edge of the platform. It looked as if it would plunge itself into the bottomless chasm below until the Being stepped forward with an outstretched hand placed gently across its hide.

“Leave.”

For a moment nothing seemed to happen, the Manifestation locked hate filled eyes with the Being as he made contact. The remaining Raid members didn’t realize they had stopped breathing, everyone holding their breath waiting for what was about to happen. Rather than dying in a screeching hiss of blood and tentacle gore, the Manifestation simply began to evaporate from the point where the Being made contact. After a few moments it turned to ash, or dust, and drifted out of the chasm through the hole it had opened in the ceiling earlier. The pressure in the air it caused instantly ceased to be, though the little islands of granite and concrete remained floating lazily above them.

Gregor looked around, unable to find words. Of the hundred strong raid group they had entered with, only nine remained. Including the Lady Reaper, Lord Shubin, Queen Freya, and the Paladin, Keeg; only four others remained standing, a pair of Taurai, a Faceless, and one of his own Dwarven engineers.

“I know we came down here with a full raid, but I can’t remember them. I know I’ve lost someone dear to me, but I can’t recall their names or faces.” Freya whispered on the verge of tears. Never had he seen the strong woman so fragile. When he considered his own lack of memory of the forces he brought, he too fought back the urge to break down in place. Instead he called the reserve force to deploy a bridge to allow them to cross the infernal chasm. Deploying the bridge would have been far too dangerous while the Manifestation maintained its assault.

When that was done, he turned to stare at the strange man that stood at the opposite edge of the platform where he’d dispatched an Old God’s horror with a simple touch. After several moments of indecision, he mustered the nerve to approach their mysterious savior. Lord Shubin, Freya, and the Lady Reaper silently fell in step with him.

When they reached the man, he turned on them with a disarmingly charming smile set below brilliant blue eyes that seemed so… complete. Gregor, being the unofficial overall Raid leader, took a hesitant step forward.

“I think all of us that remain owe you more than we can ever repay, stranger.”

The man looked upon each and every one of them as if he could see into the very core of their beings. When he was done he waved a dismissive hand at the four, “Nonsense, I was only doing what the System requires of my kind. Though I may have intervened sooner, I really wanted to see the conclusion of the battle above. When the good Paladin there, sworn to one of my rivals called down His power, I truly believed the abomination to be vanquished.”

Everyone turned their gaze upon Keeg, who had exhaustedly shambled over to join the group. He looked up at the mention of he and his God, a look of astonishment on his face. Before he could ask the question on his lips, the Being stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Yes, thanks to you summoning his influence, I remember a little of my past existence. It is I who owe you a boon. Call on it anytime.” The Being pressed a plain tarnished coin into his palm, leaving the Paladin wide-eyed yet invigorated.

“W-who are you! H-how did- Why can’t I remember them!?” Freya blurted out, tears freely flowing from her angelic face. Shubin looked away, attempting to afford the warrior queen some dignity, while Gregor just stared at the man waiting for his response.

He looked at the woman sympathetically before answering, “I don’t remember my name. I don’t even remember my original form, so long I have traversed the Void. I’ve only recently returned to… an active Verse, drawn by a Skill the System bestowed upon your Warlord, the martial art of my people, whom I also barely remember. I’ve drifted for… millennia, taking forms none here could begin to imagine. As to why you can’t remember your companions, that is the nature of the Old Gods. To erase everything of our Verses from existence. As such they bestow upon their children the very ability to do just that. I recall, oddly enough, that this energy affects the System directly. I’m sorry, all record of them has been erased completely. Only your soul will remember that they existed.”

This revelation was too much for Freya, the once powerful woman collapsed to the ground sobbing uncontrollably. Keeg came up with an arm to comfort the woman, muttering apologies for not being able to do more. Even Shubin looked troubled by the strange man’s explanation.

“That still doesn’t exactly tell us who you are, your System info is blank.” Gregor pressed, not wanting to appear ungrateful, while still wishing for a better answer than what he’d just been given.

Before the strange man could respond, the Lady Reaper stepped into the conversation, “You’re one of the first System God’s, aren’t you?”

He nodded with a slight smile, “Yes, I think I am, though…”

“What do we call you?” Gregor asked.

Again he paused as to what his name was, “Whatever you may like, the System has simply given me the title of The Forgotten God. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go tend to your Warlord. Whether he realizes it or not, his real training starts now.”

With that last statement he looked up and launched himself through the hole in the ceiling to go find Karl. Gregor just stared as did all but Freya, who was struggling to get her emotions under control. Keeg never left her side until she was able to stand on her own.

“We’ve heard rumors of Gods that went missing, to meet one is truly an auspicious moment. For him to take an interest in the Warlord is possibly terrifying.” The Lady Reaper voiced to herself, but loud enough for everyone else to hear.

Gregor was about to inquire about that when the Quest completion notifications came rolling in.

Attention!!! The Old God Manifestation (Minor) of Phoenix has been defeated!

Attention!!! All contributing members will be rewarded UMC and Experience points now!

Calculating…

Calculating…..

Experience rewards split between ten contributors… Calculating…

The tenth contributor has waved his reward gains… Re-Calculating…

Congratulations!!! You have earned enough experience to advance to Heroic Rank! Would you like to choose your class advancement now? (Y/N)

Gregor felt his legs give out beneath him as the shock of how much experience he’d just gained slowly registered in his mind. He managed to look around to the other remaining party members, all with similar looks on their faces at the revelations.

“I almost made it to my Heroic advancement.” Shubin muttered aloud.

Gregor just shook his head, regained his footing and walked off to where the engineers had almost finished building the bridge so they could finally leave this cursed place. I’ve got important decisions to make. No time to dwell on losses I can’t even remember.