1 Exousia Prologue

If someone had the power to change history, no, the world even, what would that person do with that said power? That single question received several different answers. Some mundane such as achieving world peace or world domination. Others responded with hopes of selfishly acquiring the means of immortality or omnipotence. A rare few chose to save the world even.

Although, some of their methods may have been questionable.

To some, as a method to save the world, they wished to destroy it and create a new one of their design. Others wanted to eradicate all forms of evil, thus cleansing the world of its impurity; as if that would be possible. Although, that has not stopped humans from trying to accomplish such a feat in the first place. Not that it was not understandable.

The world, no, all worlds are rotten.

History had proven that beings of all races had conflicts and disputes over their respected viewpoints. They fought, battled, and waged wars over pointless arguments as to which answer was genuinely correct.

Which viewpoint was more righteous than the other? Was there even a right answer to such a hypothetical question?

In the end, how one chose to change the world did not matter. Nothing ever changed unless someone had the one necessary thing to achieve such a goal.

Power.

Power was needed to achieve anything in any world. Without it, all beings were doomed to get crushed underneath the feet of the strong.

Though it may sound distasteful, that was the undeniable truth in any world, in any universe. The strong would survive while the weak perish, that was the undeniable truth of the unforgiving worlds. They show no mercy and punish all those that are too feeble to inhabit it.

Therefore, all beings craved power. It was a way to make up for their weaknesses.

A survival instinct.

They did not wish to perish, so they found ways to grow strong, to bypass the limits given to them by their creators, the Gods, and Goddesses. Quite amusing really, watching little creations of Gods struggle to obtain something they were never meant to have in the first place. While some of their methods were unique and often at times unorthodox, in the end, all their results were the same.

Power was an addiction. A small taste of it would only incite a fierce hunger for more. It was just the natural way of things. For as long as the concept of power existed, there would be winners and losers.

The powerful and the fragile.

In the search for power—assurance for their survival in the unforgiving worlds, humanity invented many exciting pieces of technology that saved them from their inevitable demises. They erected safe havens to protect them from the ravenous creatures that roamed their lands, the harsh weather climates that destroyed their pitiful civilizations, and they were even lucky enough to receive divine protection from the Gods and Goddesses themselves, or rather a select few of them.

How lucky.

But despite all that, absolutely nothing changed.

The world remained the same. The strong ruled over the weak and humanity relentlessly searched for other methods of gaining more power as if that would do them any good in the end. There was no compromise. There was no common ground.

Or at least that was how it was supposed to be. One thing that was for sure in a world filled with lesser beings, no matter how inferior they were, there were no absolutes.

That is why they got summoned—the ones destined to defy fate and forge paths of their own—the ones that would change the world.

For better or worse had yet to be seen.

They all stood by the foot of her throne, shrouded by her shadow. Their heads raised, eyes mixed with confusion, curiosity, and terror gazed at the enormous woman that looked down on them with no emotion in her cold, piercing eyes. Over one-hundred chains stretched out in the void around her and kept the large woman bound to the throne.

Only her long, raven black hair was allowed to move around freely, despite that there was no breeze felt anywhere.

The people around the mysterious woman opened their mouths, but no sound emitted from their throats. Their voices could not reach her as if their words held no merit.

The woman on the throne opened her mouth and declared, "Listen to me well, chosen ones. I am the Overseer of this world. You may all know me as the Goddess of Creation, Shura. Do not attempt to speak any further; I have made it so that your availing words will not reach me at this moment. For what I have to announce outweigh whatever you wish to say."

With her words of absolute divinity, the summoned ones settled down. None of them dared to speak any further at the risk of facing the wrath of the proclaimed goddess. Confident that no one would attempt to interrupt, the Goddess continued,

"Those of you standing here, in the realm of Gods, have been selected to participate in the God Selection. You have all been granted powers by me to fight against each other. You will find others like you around the planet and fight to the death. The God Selection will cease once only eight of you are left. From those eight, only one will be chosen to ascend my throne and inherit the title of God."

It was then she saw it. The eyes of the summoned ones drastically changed. The meaning behind the change did not matter to Shura. All she knew was that they all shared one thing in common.

They wanted to survive.

She continued to play off their desire. With a snap of her fingers, sources of light shined down and revealed seven individuals that stood confidently before her, hovering on platforms.

"These seven individuals are my guardians, my most trusted champions. They will watch over and report the progress of the God Selection. Should any of you have trouble utilizing your powers or have any concerns regarding the God Selection, feel free to seek them out. They will explain everything to you." Shura snapped her fingers and dismissed the sources of light. The light disappeared as well as the seven individuals. "Now then, go forth, kill each other—the winner shall inherit my power of creation! All of your wildest dreams and desires shall be realized as long as you fight for it!"

Her almighty declaration thundered throughout the entire void. It was impossible for someone not to have heard her. The objective was as clear as day.

Use the powers granted by the Goddess of Creation to kill the others until only eight remained. From those eight—one would ascend to the throne of God. It was an opportunity of a lifetime. No one could be foolish enough to ignore such a chance.

The God Selection had begun.