Death Gate

"Baelor? How come you know so much about this thing?" Eren inquired, arriving back to the comfort of the candle lit living room. A question which gave pause to Baelor, pondering on whether he should reveal his secret. His finger circled on a book atop his collection of shelves.

"Well. Let me tell you the tale." Eren nodded attentively, sitting back down in his chair, sipping at his Qenya.

***

We start as many tales do, in a time long forgotten by history. In a faraway land, under the watch of a pantheon of gods.

Lived a humble man; whose name has been lost to time, worked diligently. A farther that was proud, a mother who loved him dearly and twin sisters who adored him. Their lives were simple and peaceful.

However, peace is a fragile gift seldomly granted by the heavens. For strife would soon find a foothold in this quaint corner of the earth, followers of one of the many gods demanded tributes for their idol; gold and flesh were all that sate them.

The man resisted, as did his father, but they were powerless against these religious zealots. They burned their house, stole their gold, and enslaved their daughters.

The father fought and was killed for his resistance, the wife took her own life, and our humble man was left alive; a broken spirit whose hope was taken from him. All that remained was hope; the hope of saving his beloved sisters.

So began our hero's journey. Wandering the vast expanses of a kingdom torn by faiths dogmatic beliefs, facing all manner of beasts and trials set forth by divinity. Yet he persisted; reaching his goal, a temple of ivory columns built into an awe-inspiring peak, a monument devoted entirely to the god.

However, the man never stood a chance.

Made an example of, he was cast into the abyss to forever fall; the void consumed him leaving nothing but despair... The abyss was his eternity.

Until a twist of fate brought him together with a beast; For in this dark world, lay a creature of self-loathing, pride, and wrath. A fallen god, stripped from the heavens, forgotten by its brethren and mortals alike.

The god offered our hero a choice, to wither and fade into the dark. Or, to claim the power of a godkiller, to seek vengeance; and bring ruin upon those who wrought injustices. The man readily accepted this offer.

Thus, from the fires of the abyss forged a weapon, tempered, and imbued with the will of the fallen god; an ethereal entity woven into steel. Granting the new bearer a strength beyond imagining; to wield the wrath of oblivion, the destruction of all things divine. Gods, kings, monsters, nothing stood above his power.

For the man who fell into abyss, arose an avatar of retribution, his mind fixated on justice. Wearing the skin of a mortal, hiding the terrible powers underneath. The temple fell before the might of his army. With every drop of blood spilt, new corpses joined their ranks, charging against their foes. They showed no mercy, sparing none.

Finally, the aspect of wrath had reached his sisters. Their bodies and mind twisted beyond recognition; his own siblings didn't know him; they couldn't even speak their own name.

He returned to his village to bury his family, a testament to the lives lost to the cruelty of gods. Yet his story was unfinished; another temple came seeking tribute. The fury that had once driven him reignited.

He led his horde with a renewed sense of purpose, decimating the intruders. The church was slaughtered, the god a new target of retribution.

And so began a decades long crusade against the heavens. From mountain peaks to the sands of deserts, oceans deep and jungles thick. Every land touched by the divine was besieged, thousands perished; believers, priests, champions alike. All were food for his army and kindling for his fire.

Before eventually...

***

"Eventually what?" Eren asked impatiently. Baelor's voice softened as he reached the end.

"The tale ends there, lost to time. Many perspectives exist of the ending; some say he marched against heaven itself until no gods remained. Others, the ring claimed his mind, leaving not a trace of our protagonist. My personal favourite is that he withdrew himself, tired of death and destruction, his heart weary from losing so many. The last scene was the man surrounded by his loyal subjects, leaving them on a hilltop; continuing alone in search of solace, peace from the chaos he had wrought."

"And this is all that remains?" Eren held the ring, examining every detail. The metal glowing faintly in azure light.