The six remaining Pillar Gods stood frozen, terrified by the immense dark-purple power. Only now did they realize that this "insignificant mortal" possessed an Infinity Stone—the Power Stone, the most destructive of them all.
Long ago, the Celestials had wielded this fearsome gem. Though difficult to control, it allowed them to roam the cosmos, erasing entire worlds they deemed unworthy of existence.
They alone could unleash the Infinity Stones' full potential. Compared to them, Renzo's use of the Power Stone was crude. Destroying even a small area demanded careful restraint, or the backlash would reduce his own body to dust.
Even so, its power was undeniable.
Fear crept into the hearts of the six gods.
The true reason they rarely set foot in the mortal world wasn't because they couldn't—it was because they feared attracting the attention of beings far stronger than themselves.
Ages ago, the Celestials had descended upon Earth.
Naturally, Earth's gods, led by Odin, had no intention of surrendering their domain. Allowing outsiders to seize their world would have been no different from conceding defeat.
The gods united.
They launched a swift counterattack, determined to drive the cosmic giants from Earth.
The Nine Pillar Gods joined the war.
So did Ammit, Khonshu, Anubis, and countless other deities. Without understanding what the Infinity Stones truly were, they charged into battle, fueled by pride and ignorance, and fought the Celestials head-on.
The result was disastrous.
The Egyptian pantheon suffered a crushing defeat. The Nine Pillar Gods, who had led the assault, were left gravely wounded. Though thousands of years had restored their strength, their courage had never recovered.
The memory still haunted them.
How ironic.
Gods, terrified.
Renzo glanced at the towering figures.
Their divine auras were visibly weakening.
Fear.
That was all it took.
The emotion itself drained their strength. The once-majestic gods now looked more like beaten strays than rulers of the heavens.
Their arrogance had vanished long ago.
Even in ancient times, a single mutant—Apocalypse—had defeated gods many times his size.
That day marked the beginning of their decline.
They had spent millennia sealed inside a pyramid, relying on human avatars to witness the outside world for them.
During that time, civilization transformed beyond recognition.
Steel birds filled the skies.
Machines raced across the land.
Wars were no longer fought with swords and spears. Firearms had replaced blades, and explosives dropped from aircraft could reduce entire regions to ruins.
Such destruction exceeded what most of the Nine Pillar Gods could accomplish alone.
Only together could they unleash their greatest strength.
Individually, many of them weren't even stronger than Thor.
"How..." Osiris asked, unable to conceal the fear in his voice. "How can a mortal possess such power?"
Known as the ruler of the Egyptian underworld alongside Nephthys, Osiris had once stood second only to Ra.
Yet now he could barely speak.
His eyes drifted toward the only thing left of Isis—her severed legs.
She had been the goddess of life itself.
If even she could be erased so effortlessly, then what use was his authority over death?
His gaze suddenly fell upon the black ring on Renzo's finger.
His expression changed instantly.
The deathly aura radiating from it was incomparably pure.
Even at the height of his power, he would have been no match for its true owner.
That power could strip him of existence in moments.
Even if a fragment of his soul survived, it would never escape.
Heavy breathing echoed beside him.
Nephthys, guardian of the dead, had sensed it as well.
Though only a trace of its power leaked from the Black Lantern Ring, the overwhelming presence of death could not be concealed.
Their vision darkened.
The world around them changed.
They stood upon a pale, lifeless land stretching endlessly beneath a pitch-black sky.
A lone crescent moon hung overhead.
The endless cries of lost souls echoed through the darkness.
Countless shriveled corpses wandered the white wasteland, empty eye sockets revealing bleached bone. Their souls had long since dispersed, leaving only empty shells animated by death itself.
This was the Land of the Dead.
Here, time no longer existed.
Only endless darkness.
Endless white.
The horizon divided the black sky and pale earth with impossible perfection.
Silent.
Desolate.
An incomparably pure power of death surged into Osiris and Nephthys.
It far surpassed the divine authority they once wielded.
Their own death energy was instantly overwhelmed as its very structure was unraveled and replaced.
The shock left both gods speechless.
Gods had no need for air.
Like Thor surviving in the vacuum of space, they could exist almost anywhere in the universe.
If the Nine Pillar Gods wished to settle on another world, nothing could stop them.
They remained stronger than most civilizations in existence.
Outside the universe's greatest empires, few worlds could resist them.
But they had never left.
They were too attached to Earth.
Too proud.
As rulers of the planet, why should they abandon it?
Besides, they assumed the Celestials had long forgotten this insignificant world on the edge of the galaxy.
So they stayed.
They recovered.
They resumed their rule.
And eventually...
They fell once again.
Among Earth's gods, Odin and Zeus had always been the wisest.
Take Zeus, for example.
When Thor sought his help against Gorr the God Butcher, Zeus appeared cowardly.
By then, Gorr had slaughtered countless gods across the universe.
Humanoid gods.
Beast gods.
Monstrous gods.
Even mighty deities powerful enough to challenge Zeus himself.
The threat was obvious.
Zeus understood that simply hiding would never solve the problem.
Someone had to stop Gorr.
But he was Zeus—the King of the Gods, ruler of Olympus and master of Omnipotence City.
Though immensely powerful, he preferred to let others shoulder the risk whenever possible.
Then Thor arrived.
Seeing the Asgardian's determination, Zeus found an opportunity.
He provoked Thor into taking his thunderbolt.
Thor would pursue Gorr.
If Thor won, the threat disappeared without Zeus risking himself.
The plan worked.
Thor defeated Gorr, and Zeus remained King of the Gods without committing his own forces.
The only annoyance was everyone witnessing him being impaled.
Still, his fellow gods already knew exactly what kind of person he was.
No one found it surprising.
If Zeus suddenly became as solemn and disciplined as Odin, that would truly shock the divine world.
Unfortunately, gods with that level of wisdom were rare.
Most resembled the Nine Pillar Gods—powerful, proud, and utterly lacking in foresight.
Osiris remained immersed in the Land of the Dead.
To a god of death, this realm was paradise.
Every moment spent here increased his strength.
Even the crimson corruption implanted within him by the witch gradually dissolved into pure death energy, becoming nourishment.
His power continued to grow.
"I don't want to leave!"
Osiris laughed excitedly.
Power.
This was everything he had ever desired.
If he could remain here for thousands of years and absorb all this deathly energy...
The gods.
The Infinity Stones.
Even the universe's great empires...
All would lie beneath his feet.
Greed consumed him.
He absorbed more and more death energy.
Nephthys did the same, unwilling to fall behind.
Neither knew how much time had passed.
Days.
Years.
Centuries.
Perhaps millennia.
There was no way to tell beneath the eternal moon.
Their footsteps eventually carved enormous depressions into the pale earth.
They had remained far too long.
Eventually, Osiris reached his limit.
Though reluctant, he knew that taking in any more power would destroy him.
Instead of mastering death, he would become another mindless corpse wandering the endless wasteland.
"What a pity..."
He desperately compressed the energy within himself, trying to create room for more.
Nearby, Nephthys continued breathing steadily.
Osiris slowly turned toward her.
Greed filled his eyes.
The respect he once held for his fellow deity vanished.
"I'm... sorry..."
He lunged.
Having reached saturation first, Osiris now possessed the advantage.
The two colossal gods clashed violently.
Fists crashed into flesh.
Divine bodies tore apart.
Then they began devouring one another.
"I have to become stronger, Nephthys!"
Osiris ripped off one of her arms, ignoring her agonized screams.
His eyes burned crimson.
Only three thoughts remained.
Eat her.
Eat her.
Eat her.
"I'm sorry..."
"I'm sorry..."
"I am a god..."
He repeated the words over and over, yet not a trace of guilt remained.
The strong consumed the weak.
That was the law of survival.
Lions devoured buffalo.
Predators hunted prey.
Strength determined everything.
"The weak are meant to be consumed!"
With one final roar, Osiris swallowed Nephthys completely.
Nothing remained.
"I..."
His scarlet eyes slowly regained clarity.
Only then did he realize what he had done.
He didn't regret it.
Nephthys should have been honored.
She had become part of him.
She had helped a stronger god ascend.
Falling to his knees, tears streamed down Osiris's face.
Gratitude.
Pride.
Ecstasy.
Countless emotions churned within him as he gazed silently at the crescent moon.
Only...
Why did the moon seem to be getting closer?
Before he could react—
Slash.
The crescent moon sliced cleanly through his neck.
His head struck the pale earth with a dull thud.
"Heh heh heh... More excellent nourishment..."
A gaunt figure wrapped in black robes stood beside Osiris's corpse.
Compared to the giant god, the figure looked pitifully small.
Its abdomen was hollow.
Where its heart should have been, there was only emptiness.
"Don't disappoint me."
"This is the finest game in existence."
"One careless move..."
"...and you'll die without leaving even a single piece behind."
"Heh... heh... heh..."
The corpse-like figure dissolved into black mist and drifted across the endless Land of the Dead.
The crescent moon once again hung silently in the sky.
__________________________________________
You can read early chapters on Patr*on. If you enjoy my work and would like to support me, consider becoming a patron. My Patr*on username is Renzo28557.