*During the time Steve was fighting against Hydra*
Pov: General
In the distance, where the Vatican once proudly stood, now rises the grand monument known as the "Temple of the One True Sun."
Yes, that Vatican.
The tiny country filled with ancient art and guarded secrets, long gone.
Replaced by a blindingly golden tribute to the Sun, who work like the cathedral.
A group of followers could be seen running in circles around the massive courtyard, Why were they running?
Simple, because of punishment, Punishment handed out by "The Sole One Who Can Speak to the Sun."
And yes, before you ask, that's Escanor.
Though, to this day, even after everything, he still refuses to change this last title, apparently "it's perfect for him."
Which… honestly? Let's be fair, the man's pride could crush a mountain.
But hey, small victories after all this time, at least he stopped shouting "PRAISE THE SUN!!" after every ceremonial announcement and every naming
Everyone in the faith thanks him from the depths of their souls for that mercy.
Anyway, while the outside looked like chaos, the inside… was not better.
A council meeting was being held... Or, well "meeting" is a generous term.
It's more like "Everyone sits down and listens to Escanor list his demands." Like always happen
Seriously, I have no clue what the protagonist was thinking when he decided to merge the mindset of a religious sun fanatic with the actual Sin of Pride
The result was this radiant, walking nuclear manifestation of arrogance, like, really?, weren't better options of histories out there?, at least the original sin was better than..... This
Anyway, back to the council
One of the so-called "advisors" was desperately attempting to persuade Escanor of something.
What were they trying to discuss?, I have no idea, but judging by the advisor's expression, whatever it was, it was not working.
"... B-but my lord! You must understand! We require your leadership! The faith cannot survive without proper guidance!"
Escanor, glowing faintly already, turned slowly to him.
"…The faith… won't survive?"
His tone dropped.
"WON'T SURVIVE? AND WHO DECIDED THAT?!"
Yeah, things were going downhill fast, REALLY fast
The advisor, somehow still possessing courage, or stupidity, attempted to reply
"B-but si—"
"SILENCE, FOOL! LISTEN WELL BEFORE I ERASE YOU!"
The room went silent and bright, Very bright.
"AS LONG AS I STAND UPON THIS EARTH, ONLY I DECIDE IF OUR FAITH LIVES OR DIES!
NOT THE PEOPLE!
NOT GOVERNMENTS!
NOT THE WORLD ITSELF!
ONLY I COULD DECIDE!."
With every word, the glow of his body intensified until he shone like the sun at midday while He raised one radiant hand toward the ceiling, like he could tear the heavens open just by flexing.
"…Understood… sir…"
the advisor muttered, shielding his eyes.
No one was surprised by the blinding light, this was basically Tuesday for them
Escanor simply huffed.
"Good, end this pointless waste of time, you are distracting me from my worship of the Sun"
He stood and walked out without waiting for permission or reaction.
Because of course he did.
The council members just sat there, defeated, there was never any power they held over him.
And even if they had some, it would be pointless, this wasn't a faith built on hope or belief.
Their "God" actually exist and even answers.
…Well, he only answers Escanor, which is honestly even worse.
Some have suggested that maybe Escanor is just using powers and pretending to be divine, and to surprise of anybody those people are no longer alive.
"Executed for heresy," the records say, which is a polite way of saying vaporized by the Sun
"…At this rate, the Sun Church will die out,"
one advisor sighed.
"Unfortunately, yes, If this continues and he refused to help, Catholicism may rise again,"
another said bitterly.
"…Let us pray the Sun protects us,"
the same advisor who nearly died whispered.
Everyone nodded, because frankly, they don't have any other option.
Military?, only Escanor, Sacred Relics?, please, they have a "living Saint", Divine Revelation?, none so far
So yeah... They are very fucked up
Meanwhile, Escanor himself was annoyed, but not for the reason anyone assumed.
He had already completed his Pathway, reaching the peak of his progression, but he couldn't advance further.
Why? Because the protagonist placed restriction
This frustrated him deeply, but he accepted it, because in his mind "Perfection must not be exceeded by anything less than myself."
(Translator: He is physically allergic to humility or what? 🙄)
How did he even get here in first place? Well.... According to his own memories he was once a man so overwhelmingly proud that he declared
"Only the Sun stands above me, and only because it resides in the sky."
Apparently the Sun heard that and said, "Oh? Really?, then survive this"
And then destroyed him and sent him to another universe to become its new chosen vessel, a radiant champion, a new sun incarnate.
Glorious, Beautiful, Ridiculous.
Of course, that's Escanor's delusional recollection.
The real story? He died because of his own pride, got smited, and reincarnated thanks to some random god who probably regretted the decision immediately.
But nobody really cares about the truth, except the Catholic Church, who really, REALLY wants people to care.
Poor Church, when Escanor declared war on them, they assumed it was just another harmless cult.
Then they saw him shoot solar beams like he was flicking water droplets.
Massive defeat, Instantly and without a doubt, Their "divine authority"? Gone forever.
Because Escanor's power obviously radiated true divine energy.
Thus the Holy War quickly turned into a Holy Revolution (Translator: PRAISE THE SUN!! ☀️)
From there, things escalated quickly, Escanor declared himself representative of the Sun and no one dared object, the Sun Religion became the world's largest faith, and egypt became the most devoted of all.
Oh yeah, Egypt.
Egypt declared Second Holy War, trying to reclaim lost land, led by a pharaoh who was an even bigger Sun fanatic, so much that this Pharaoh proclaimed publicly
"Escanor is the reincarnation of Ra, so the world belongs to him."
Who is this lunatic? Apparently an ancient pharaoh who practiced solar magic and sealed himself to return when Ra returned.
And when Escanor reached Sequence 6, the pharaoh appeared like "My lord, I offer you the world."
Better yet? The answer of Escanor was "The world? Pathetic, the Sun is far greater."
And just like that, the planet was spared another person interested in conquest.
The pharaoh now governs Egypt, worshipping Escanor 24/7 while Escanor ignores him completely.
Where is Escanor now? In his chambers, Admiring himself and the Sun.
Because of course, He could do it
And that's basically Escanor's entire contribution to history so far, Made a religion, Glowed dramatically, Worshiped the Sun like it's the only thing apart from himself and Ignored everyone else
Frankly, it would have been better if things stayed that way.
But the future? Oh, the future is very different, No spoilers, of course, But…
The Unification of Holy Terra will begin.
In the name of the Emperor.
Triggered, naturally, by Tony Stark.
So yes, Fear, filthy xenos, For the age of unification approaches, and nobody will stop Tony for fixing his Emperor (Traductor: FOR THE EMPEROR OF MANKIND!!)
(Translator: BRO. YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO TALK ABOUT HER. 🤬
Writer: Nah it's fine lol, nobody cares in the end 🤙
Translator: Say that again in class. I dare you 😡)