Silence ruled the void.
Not the peaceful kind.
It was the suffocating silence of abandonment—of something that once mattered and no longer did.
Chains of broken light wrapped around a lone figure, suspending him in an endless abyss where stars were born… and devoured.
Once, he had ruled over prayers.
Once, entire worlds whispered his name.
Now?
No one remembered him.
No one worshipped him.
And gods without worship had only one fate.
Extinction.
The figure opened his eyes slowly.
They were dim—no longer burning with divine authority, no longer capable of shaping reality with a thought. His godhood had eroded over countless eras, gnawed away by time, neglect, and the cruelty of stronger beings.
"Still alive?" a voice echoed through the void.
Laughter followed.
Brilliant, arrogant, divine.
A presence descended—a god wrapped in blazing gold, his form vast and overwhelming. Beside him were others, silhouettes of absolute authority, watching like spectators at an execution.
"How pitiful," the golden god sneered. "A god who cannot even manifest a body anymore."
The chained god said nothing.
He had learned long ago that begging was useless.
"You should have knelt," another god said coldly. "You should have submitted your authority to us when you still had value."
Chains tightened.
Pain surged through what remained of his divine core.
The forgotten god clenched his teeth, refusing to scream.
"I gave worlds life," he thought bitterly."I guided civilizations.""I answered prayers."
And when those worlds fell…
So did their faith.
Gods thrived on belief.
Without it, they rotted.
"Enough," the golden god said. "Strip what little authority he has left."
The others raised their hands.
That was when something stirred.
Deep within the dying god's core, beneath layers of decay and shattered divinity, a fragment responded.
A remnant.
A final authority he had never used.
Because it was forbidden.
Because it was dangerous.
Because it did not rely on faith.
Instead—
It relied on ambition.
❝Divine Authority Detected❞❝Status: Dormant❞❝Condition: God on the Verge of Extinction❞
The forgotten god's pupils constricted.
A voice—not mocking, not divine—echoed directly inside his existence.
Cold.
Mechanical.
❝Would you like to activate your final authority?❞❝Warning: Activation is irreversible.❞
The golden god frowned.
"Something's wrong," he said.
The forgotten god smiled for the first time in millennia.
"Yes," he whispered."Activate."
The void trembled.
Chains cracked.
❝Authority Activated❞❝Authority Name: System Creation❞❝Core Rule Established❞
Light erupted—not divine, not holy, but absolute.
The surrounding gods staggered back.
"What is this?" one roared.
A massive translucent interface unfolded across the void.
❝System God Protocol Initialized❞❝Host-Based Growth Model Online❞❝Growth Multiplier: ×10,000❞
The forgotten god felt it.
Power.
Not overwhelming.
Not instant.
But potential—limitless and terrifying.
"You—!" the golden god shouted. "Stop this at once!"
Too late.
❝Rule Confirmed❞❝For every level gained by a Host, the Creator God receives growth multiplied by 10,000❞❝Penalty Applied❞❝If a Host dies, the Creator God suffers divine backlash❞
Risk.
Real risk.
The forgotten god laughed.
A broken, hoarse sound—but genuine.
"So that's the price," he murmured. "Fair."
The other gods attacked.
Too late again.
The forgotten god's presence collapsed inward, vanishing from the void like a dying star.
He awakened somewhere else.
Not the void.
Not the heavens.
A shattered, half-collapsed world filled with smoke, blood, and screaming.
His perception stretched—not as a body, but as awareness.
Below him—
A battlefield.
A young man knelt in the mud, shackles binding his wrists, blood dripping from his forehead. Around him stood armored soldiers, their expressions filled with disgust.
"Any last words?" a knight asked coldly.
The young man laughed weakly.
"Figures," he muttered. "All that effort… for this."
Memories flooded the god's mind.
A genius strategist.
Betrayed by his kingdom.
Used.
Discarded.
Executed to silence him.
"Perfect," the god whispered.
❝Potential Host Detected❞❝Status: About to Die❞❝Talent Rating: Low❞❝Mental Fortitude: Extremely High❞
Low talent.
High will.
The forgotten god smiled wider.
He reached out.
❝System Creation Initiated❞❝Designing Customized System…❞
Time slowed.
The executioner raised his blade.
❝System Name: Ascendant Strategist System❞❝Primary Function: Growth Through Survival and Conquest❞❝Initial Quest Generated❞
The god leaned closer, his voice descending like fate itself.
"Live," he commanded softly."Grow."
The blade fell—
—and stopped.
A translucent screen exploded into existence before the kneeling man's eyes.
❝SYSTEM ACTIVATED❞❝Welcome, Host❞❝Main Quest: Survive❞❝Reward: Level +1❞
The young man froze.
"What…?" he whispered.
The forgotten god felt it.
A tiny spark.
Barely anything.
But—
❝Host Leveled Up❞❝Calculating Divine Feedback…❞❝Growth Applied: ×10,000❞
Power surged.
The god gasped.
His shattered core stabilized.
His fading existence anchored itself to reality once more.
It worked.
It actually worked.
The young man's eyes burned with disbelief—and hope.
The soldiers recoiled as the shackles shattered.
"This isn't mercy," the god thought calmly, watching his first pawn rise."This is farming."
Far above, in realms beyond counting, gods trembled.
And for the first time in countless eras—
A forgotten god had taken his first step back toward heaven.