Lowly Ascent

Kain, in his failure, returned to the Empire of Stars. He was going to report everything he had seen. He hoped his god would have an answer for him, as always.

"I'm sorry to say this, but God must prepare for his descent. We're almost ready. He can not be bothered at this time, but when he descends, he will surely learn of all this. You will not have to worry one bit." The Chancellor had told Kain the one thing he didn't want to hear.

"What do you mean he's preparing? What's going on?!"

The Chancellor sighed, "God told me not to tell you, but seeing as everything is a mess I don't think it matters." He took a deep breath, "Kain, as you know, what the followers of god want most is to see their lord walk the earth. But in this process, the whole world might be destroyed. With the decent of one god already, the rest would surely come, it no longer matters if we grow our country and help the people, because the end days are upon us. The most important thing we can do to secure our continued existence is helping our god descend, otherwise, we'll die."

"W-What?!" Kain was never told any of this, he was kept in the dark. What interested him was the cult Cain was growing. However, Cain was gone and a new being replaced him.

Kain already felt strange seeing the thief, slowly understanding that the thief had taken something that couldn't be taken back. Now, all he wished to do was kill Nihil, that was the least he could do with his life.

But now, Kain was told he couldn't do even that, he had to help with the Kaiser of Stars descent, for only then was there a chance for victory and survival.

The Chancellor patted his shoulder, "This is how it was going to be, this was foretold when the first gods walked the earth. At least be happy we are not the Bureau, they have already begun to collapse and Finch committed suicide upon his return home. Those without a god are sure to die, the Bureau had a chance if they succeeded in gaining the Path of Sacrifice, but we made sure they failed in that endeavor. You know this well."

Kain was left in the large hall with a statue of God before him. The Chancellor left him to contemplate.

Looking up, the human with only half his origin stared at the statue in disbelief.

"Why does it end up like this every time? Is every place meant to end in destruction once I touch it?"

(It is fate....) A powerful melancholic voice projected.

"T-Then why does fate do this to me?"

(Because you are special, you and the other one. But do not fret, let these experiences hone your being. Continue to grow, and at some point, you will choose for yourself.) The voice faded.

'Fate....yes, it's always been Fate hasn't it? That thief was also played by it...' Kain clenched his fists until they bled.

"If I have to kill the thief so be it, if I have to watch everything I touch die then so be it. But eventually, at some point, I'll be strong enough. Inevitably, I will be the winner. I will survive because I am of Manus's blood. Royalty never dies, for it is the true ruler, even Fate cannot change that fact."

He turned around and left the chamber. The statue watching him slowly smirked before returning to its original position.

(To think I would be able to see the chance of Manus's revival. My hope can still be achieved, as all humans owe our existence to the All-Father. Blessed be my life, for it was under the Ruler of Man, the Father of Humanity, the Vessel of Perfection.) The last wisps of thought died as the great presence left that place.

...

At the planet's core, inky tentacles wrapped endlessly around a dark figure at its center.

'Why is it so hard to keep my form condensed? Having a physical body makes existing easy. Keeping myself together as a soul body is like trying to mold water into a shape with just your hands...'

Even now, Nihil had trouble keeping the mass amount of soul he had together and condensing it to an appropriate size. The pressure from the core wasn't helping much either now that he gained more soul from the Book of Infatuation.

'Maybe it is because of my origin, it's hard having this much soul when my origin is damaged. I wonder how big a soul I can hold when my origin is complete.'

The tentacles squeezed tighter but pieces of the black soul still escaped.

'Damn it! Why is it so hard to control everything!? If only I had those miniature nerve clusters my body had, then I could micro-manage everything!" Nihil suddenly paused, "Wait....nerve clusters? Don't I have the perfect tool for this? Plus, they are technically me since I devoured them! This will no doubt work with the Dream Core!'

He laughed hysterically as the tentacles around him blocked all entrances and he entered a state of deep slumber.

'I will be prepared when the time comes, I will take Doom's prize!'

...

"Blueberry! Come back here, it's dinner time!"

An old store clerk hollered. At his call, a small bluish cat with a black pearl on its collar leisurely hopped through the window and came to the clerk's side, meowing.

"Good girl, eat up. The world is going to shit, let's make every meal the best one. Who knows when we could get killed!"

The cat meowed and licked the bowl clean of all the food.

While they watched, the store clerk said his thoughts out loud. "You know, I didn't think I would survive the natural disasters, but look at me, I'm still here! Makes me think I'll survive this war that's coming too!"

To the common people, a war was coming, it would bring about the end times.

Every country that survived the natural disasters saw an opportunity. With everyone weak, one country could come out on top and rule the world!

Everyone sane knew such thoughts wouldn't end well, but they couldn't stop their governments from soaking the world in atomic fire.

After the disasters, the governments started to take full control of their countries. But what the common people didn't know was that all of this wasn't for power, but to survive the conflict of gods.

Multiple countries already began believing in one god.

Sides were being chosen and the chessboard was almost set up.

"Blueberry, you know the worst of it, that our own country is going to shite! The Bureau completely collapsed after that scandal and the Commissioner committed suicide. Without any solid government body, we'll be the first to get preyed on! It doesn't help we're next to that country of fanatics, the Empire! Oh, Onlooker bless me, this old man is going to die of high blood pressure!" 

Blueberry finished her meal and meowed again, jumping to the old man's lap and lying down.

"Oh Blueberry, your right. I don't have many years left, I should enjoy what I have left. What do I care, my life is complete, I have my store and you." The old man petted Blueberry as he laid back and relaxed.

'Oh I hope this world can survive...the youth shouldn't be screwed over by us old coots.' The clerk's thoughts slowed as he drifted off into a nap.