The Gods of Before

The God of Lightning, Xerathe, stood in a peaceful field, as he awaited the upcoming battle. The gods darkness, ice, water, fire, Air, earth, nature, and death, approach him, weapons at the ready.

"For the sin of slaying the dragons to extinction, you have been sentenced to death, Xerathe!" The god of fire, Ifritia, proclaimed as the gods came to a halt. The God of lightning barely reacted, as he had been waiting for this day. Dragons boosted ones power greatly, but only the gods could slay them, and not without consequence. With power, came a curse. The curse of forever searching for more power. All other gods only killed one dragon, which kept the curse weakened, but the god of lightning drove the dragons to extinction. His power was unfathomable, but his corruption knew no bounds. The once prideful and kind god, was now overwhelmingly powerful, and destructive.

"Get on with it then. I'm tired of sharing my title with others. It's about time I become THE god." Xerathe grinned as red lightning shot from his finger tips. The god of the earth, Rhinonan, stepped in front of the other gods to block this lightning. It shot straight through his rock wall, and left a mark on his shoulder where it hit. He winced in pain, only for a moment, before charging forward with his rhinoceros horn.

Each god had an animal feature to them. The god of the earth, was the rhinoceros. God of lightning was the monkey. Goddess of fire was the lioness. The god of darkness was the panther. The god of water was the crocodile. Goddess of ice was the timber wolf. The god of death was the bat. The goddess of nature was the gargoyle. The god of the wind was the eagle.

As the Rhinonan charged forward, carrying his large hammer, Ifritia and Hamlin, the god of water, charged forward. Ifritia had her sword of the eternal flame, while Hamlin charged forward with his halberd. Zaos, god of darkness, rained shots of darkness from his bow, while Dantel, god of death, closed in with his katana of death. A single strike from his blade with lethal. Xerathe only grew more excited.

"Yes! Yes! Come and get me, you lousy gods!" He shot forward in a burst of lightning. He kneed Rhinonan in the chest, sending him flying into Hamlin. Ifritia shots bolts of flame at Xerathe, but his dragon scale armor deflected it. "How pitiful. The very creatures you are so angry about me killing, is protecting me from you!" He laughed hysterically, and then shot forward and smacked Ifritia, sending her flying for miles.

The goddess of nature, Ragnia, and Aeros, god of the wind, rained down upon Xerathe from above. Aeros used his feathers, which were sharp and tough like blades, while Ragnia used two whips, covered in thorns. She continuously shot leaves, which could cut through any metal, at Xerathe, but he simply batted them away, and sent a bolt of lightning in response. Skinvania, goddess of ice, bared her teeth as she let out a growl, before pouncing on Xerathe, but with how fast his reaction speed was, he simply roundhouse kicked her away, sending lightning through her with the tip of his big toe. Although they outnumbered him eight to one, they were still had a huge disadvantage. He only sped up more as the battle continued. Xerathe jabbed his fingertips into Rhinonan's right side of his chest, but couldn't pull back, as rock began to form around his hand and up his arm.

"Finally, you took the bait!" Rhinonan proclaimed with excitement." Not hard to hit if you can't move." Xerathe only grinned in response, as the other gods closed in on him. Rhinonan felt a chill run down his back. Why? Why is he grinning at me? Rhinonan's mind kept racing as he anticipated the groups failure. Xerathe summoned his spear, and spinned it in circles above his head, sending bolts in every direction. He then channeled his power in his captured hand, slowly breaking away at the rock, but not getting his hand free.

"Earth beats lightning. You need all your power to hurt me!" Rhinonan shouted into his face, holding back the winces from the pain in his chest. Earth or not, the lightning still had some effect. Hamlin smashed his halberd against the spear, stopping its rotation. Xerathe's black and red eyes grew irritated.

He yanked his hand free, and elbowed Hamlin in the gut. Aeros dropped from the sky, stabbing his blades into Xerathe's armor, but barely left a scratch. He shot hundreds more feathers into Xerathe, but it had little effect as he slapped each one away. Ragnia wrapped her thorny whips around Xerathe, and Skinvania bared her teeth into his shoulder. Xerathe was pissed now. He radiated lightning off his entire body, getting stronger with every pulse he released.

Skinvania jumped backwards, only after releasing a massive ice attack upon Xerathe. Ragnia held onto her whips as she resisted the lightning. Rhinonan went to smash his hammer upon Xerathe, as Hamlin drove his halberd into Xerathe's knee. Even with all these attacks baring down on him, Xerathe still did not panic. He exploded with power, sending the gods backwards as they defended against the attack.

Dantel took the opportunity to strike, and slashed at Xerathe's neck. The blade hit Xerathe straight on the trachea, yet it had no effect. Xerathe turned his head towards Dantel and met his eyes. Dantel shivered in fear, and was suddenly shot backwards as he barely caught a glimpse of Xerathe's hand moving. Xerathe's hand had stopped centimeters from Dantel's forehead, but the sheer power behind his hand, smashed Dantel's face, and sent him flying. If it wasn't for his immortality, he would surely be dead.

Zaos grew tired of this fight. He grew in size, and the once human shaped panther, was now ten feet tall, and packed with muscle.

He smashed his fist into Xerathe's gut, and for the first time, Xerathe was pushed back. Zaos continued his attack, Xerathe taking each one without fail.

"You really aren't worthy to be called a god." Xerathe said with a frown as he caught Zaos' fist. "With my speed, do you really think I can't dodge you?" He hit Zaos four times with his open hand within a single second. Zaos fell to his knees. "Becoming a god has made you a fool, my friend. Don't worry, I will end your miserable life." Xerathe reared back to deliver a powerful blow, but Rhinonan rushed to get behind Zaos.

"May the power of the Earth god give you aid." Just like that, Rhinonan was absorbed into Zaos. Xerathe was astonished by this development.

"You little gods have some tricks up your sleeve." Zaos responded to this with a fist of earth, layered in darkness. Xerathe clashed with this attack with the attack he had charged up. The attacks rebound, sending both gods backwards. Zaos charged in once more, driving his new rhino horn into Xerathe's chest. Xerathe rapidly elbowed him in the shoulders, eventually sending Zaos into the ground. Xerathe stepped over him, as a way to disrespect him.

Skinvania pounced on him, sending them both tumbling, lightning and ice shooting everywhere. Ragnia placed his hand on Zaos' back.

"May mother nature be your wrath." She was then absorbed by Zaos. Xerathe kicked Skinvania off of him, but was greeted by Zaos' massive fist as he looked over. This sent Xerathe flying backwards this time. Zaos summoned a rock fist to catch Xerathe. Hamlin then ran to Zaos' side.

"May the force of the ocean overwhelm your foe." Another god has given up his power. Zaos was brimming with power. Xerathe shot up in a fit of rage. Lightning was now shooting off from every point on his body. He zapped to Zaos, and delivered a series of blows. Zaos may have gained a lot of power, but still could not stand against Xerathe. Aeros swooped in to support him, but Xerathe shifted all his focus on him. Xerathe shot forward, and ripped the wings off the god of wind. He then kicked Aeros in the face, sending him crashing to the ground. Skinvania dashed to his side, but was met with a bolt of lightning, which shot straight through his icey barrier, and through her chest. She patched the hole over with ice, but Xerathe was in front of her. As he reared back to crush her head, he was batted away by Zaos.

"May the power of frost give you the edge you need."

"May the winds guide you." Both gods were absorbed into Zaos. Only death and fire remained beside Zaos. With the elements swelling up within Zaos, his power was now overwhelming.

"Why did you have to betray us, Xerathe?" Ifritia called out to him as she approached. "You were our friend. We cared for you. Why did you make us have to do this?"

"You didn't care. You pitied me! I was some weak child needing protection, nothing more! You only cared once my power became a threat to the rest of you gods." Xerathe responded as he climbed out of the rubble that was once a boulder. "I no longer need you! Any of you! I will kill you all, and feast on your power!" Ifritia let out a single tear, and placed her hand on Zaos' back.

"May the flame pass judgment onto your enemies." She was gone. Dantel dashed to Zaos' side.

"I better get released when he is defeated." Dantel said as he placed his hand." May your enemies meet death by your hands." It was now just Zaos and Xerathe. They locked eyes as the atmosphere grew more tense. In a fraction of a second, they were exchanging blows to each other. With the combined powers, Zaos seemed more evenly matched with Xerathe. This only infuriated Xerathe more. Xerathe rushed in with a fit of rage, but Zaos didn't skip a beat.

Zaos summoned a large long sword from a dark orb. The blade had every element intertwined. He swung this blade to clash with the ever approaching Xerathe, and Xerathe had to stop to defend against it, as it was moving too fast to dodge. He summoned his spear at last second, and blocked the blade. The blade, however, was slowly slicing through the spear. The overwhelming force of all the gods in one body was bringing Xerathe to his knees. Lightning was shooting powerfully against the powerful aura of Zaos, but Zaos did not let up. Both Gods let out grunts as they tried to push against each other. Zaos finally gained the upper hand, and sliced through the spear, and into Xerathe's shoulder. Xerathe wailed out in pain, and a large bolt of lightning shot out his mouth, and into Zaos' chest. The collision of the two forces sent out a bright light, like the strike of an atomic bomb.

When the light subsided, all that remained, was a sphere like prison, that was made out of each of the elements. Not a god in sight.