Chapter 1: Tinitus ascends

"Brother, you should rest. I understand finishing the god slayer grade armour is important but it's been 6 days without rest at this point"

This is Pallad, my best friend of almost 30 years. It may seem like a long time to you humans but for us this is but a small fraction of our life span. Dwarves are 3rd in the world for life expectancy. We can live up to 300 years but their have been a few of us who have surpassed 450 years. The Elves and Dark Elves are the only beings without magics assistance which can live longer than us. it's not a small margin either. They can live upwards of 1000 years old. Those lanky bastards.

Anyway… Pallad is on the shorter side of us Dwarves however his skill is behind only a select few, myself included. He has dark brown hair with braids meticulously placed through out. Only thanks to his wife Heera. Also thanks to her he is ALWAYS clean,

wearing only the finest of garments made by our best craftsman specialising in magic infused attire and garments.

"Pallad, you know I need to finish this as soon as I can, lest the god Hephaestus be upset his only descendent is lazy. We all can't depend on our wives now can we"

He exclaimed this with a condescending tone and a hint of sarcasm whilst tilting his head to the side only seeing his furrowed brow and his mouth twisted in a way that could only be taken as mockery.

"Tinny, this is why you only have me as a friend and no wife, no one else could hear what you just said and brush it off… you're so lucky to have me"

Pallad looked very pleased with himself after half scolding and half mocking "Tinny" with the nick name Tinitus despised.

He looked at Pallad with a furious look but all he could do was let out a hearty laugh, which led to Pallad laughing, well more of a inward snort than a laugh which made Tinny laugh more.

"Well, I am finishing the chausses now, all I have left is the blessing of Hephaestus and they will be complete, if Hephaestus does not deem these worthy I will not get god slayer grade. Anything less will be regarded as a failure."

Pallad looked concerned when his friend exclaimed this, he knew the probability of getting the god slayer grade was less than 0.0000000000001 percent but he also knew his friend had beat the odds 4 times already. On this journey of creating God slayer grade armour he had produced countless mythical and legendary grade items including every weapon you can think of and sets of armour that stretched in his underground storage as far as you could see, all deemed failures.

In this world the armour and weapons grades are as followed.

The most used among beginner mercenaries are common grade.

Rare grade items used by intermediate mercenaries and training holy knights and beginner demonic cult practitioners.

The next grade is super rare mostly used by professional mercenaries, intermediate holy church disciples and demonic cult practitioners who have been training for at least 5 years.

SS grade (super special) is what Elves and Dark Elves aged between 50-150 years old will use. Although these grade weapons could be passed down as family heirlooms among most noble humans. This grade is a minimum requirement for the Elven people to even consider using it.

Mythic grade is used by the 50 arch bishops of the holy church, 50 greater demons of the Demonic cult practitioners and Eleven people aged 200-500 years old.

Finally, Legendary grade. This will be used by the high order knights of the holy church, the Demon kings of the demonic cult practitioners and Elves 500+ years of age.

God wielding grade and god slayer grade are only spoken of as myths and grades that can not be made or the grades the gods will not allow to be made.

What kind of god would allow a being lower than themselves to create a weapon with the ability to kill them.

"You might want to leave for this Pallad, I'm going to call for Hephaestus. I do not want someone who is not a disciple to be exposed to the aura of a god. Wish me luck"

Tinitus said this with the utmost sincerity as he did not want his friend to become ill. Becoming exposed to a gods aura even when weakened on earth can cause effects such as delusion, insanity and sometimes death.

"… good luck Tinitus, I know you can beat the odds again, like you always have. I'll let everyone know what you're doing so no one disturbs you"

Although Pallad liked annoying Tinitus he also highly respected him as not only his friend but as someone capable of such marvellous craftsmanship.

Tinitus also appreciated Pallads understanding of what was happening and how he could always rely on him for the mundane stuff

..

It was now quite in the forge as only Tinitus was left standing in there. He was readying himself for what could only be described as achieving something deemed impossible by many.

"Hephaestus hear my pleas, I call you to bless me, your only disciple in finishing this masterpiece. Under the god of Craftsmanship I received your blessing now I bless these chausses"

A bright silver aura began flowing out of Tinitus the same colour as steel signalising Hephaestus was with him. Tinitus couldn't help but think this feeling was different than in the past, it was several times stronger than before. All he could think was that there was no way it would fail. He began focusing the aura on the chausses and 'Ding' he heard an unknown voice in his head.

"Well done my disciple, you have finally completed all requirements needed to become my successor."

Tinitus jumped internally as he didn't know who it was and first thought someone was messing with him. However it only took another moment to realise it was Hephaestus in his head.

"Wait… what do you mean successor?"

Tinitus blurted this out without thinking and then instantly regretted it as he did not use any honorific's or manners.

Hephaestus could not help but laugh at his disciple as he could sense how nervous he was.

"Hephaestus god of craftsmanship, how could I replace you, your lowly disciple has yet to complete all pieces of the armour"

"That is where you are wrong my cherished disciple, You have already finished the set. In doing so you have met all requirements needed in succeeding me as god of craftsmanship, you who are so young yet your knowledge and wisdom are far beyond your years."

These words made Tinitus flinch as he could not even begin to grasp the gravity behind them.

"… I haven't completed it yet, I have yet to finish the sabatons…"

As he said this aura began to flow toward the back of his workshop and pulled a pair of sabatons out of an old chest. It was the first pair Tinitus ever made almost 90 years ago which he deemed a failure as they were barely an SS grade. However at that moment they reacted to the aura and began to morph matching the set of the luxurious glowing set of armour with beautiful engravings. The chausses and sabatons began to connect with the chest piece of the god slayer grade armour becoming one. At that moment an immense silver light burst out of the armour that could only signify the creation of first complete set of god slaying armour on earth.

"Those sabatons you created years before aiming to create god slaying equipment where blessed by me, that blessing has been dormant until this moment as I believed you could do it even before making you my descendant. If you where unable to finish the set they would remain dormant for the rest of time however I knew if anyone was able to do it, it would be you. "

..

All the dwarf villagers young, old, blacksmiths and dwarves a like were gathered together. All wondering what that great silver light was. Pallad stood with a bemused look knowing what it was. As he had witnessed this 4 times before but it was never this big. The light was almost blinding to look at. The light was so bright it could have reached Elysium. He wanted to check on his friend but knew it would end in disaster for him. He smiled thinking "If it's him, he'll be fine"

A tall dwarf named Droic approached Pallad as he seen him smiling. Droic stood almost a foot higher than most dwarves but stood a foot and a half at least over Pallad. His appearance didn't match a lot of dwarves either as most dwarves had long braided hair with bushy beards however Droic was well groomed with short blond hair and only stubble could be seen. The only way you could tell he was a dwarf was his broad build and massive muscles that was barely being contained by his t shirt and leather work apron. He was made fun of a lot for being so handsome and not being have a rough and rugged look most dwarves had.

"Pallad, that lights coming from Tinitus's workshop, is he ok?"

Pallad knew exactly who asked him that as their was only one person with a voice as soft as this for a man.

"He'll be fine, he's regarded as the god of craftsmanships disciple and only those worthy are given that title. It's just another day for him"

Pallad couldn't help but smile bigger after saying this.

Droic was slightly nervous as Tinitus was the only person who didn't care about his appearance and only person he looked up to in the village. Tinitus was quite young in comparison to a lot of the villagers yet he was renowned as the god of craftsmanships disciple.

Droic just smiled as he stood next to pallad looking at this great silver light.

"You're right, he'll be fine"

..

All the pieces of the god slaying armour came together and the 2 handed long sword appeared with the grasps of the armour. Tinitus was slack jawed the entire time this was happening not knowing how to react.

"Lord Hephaestus, the work that has taken me so long is now complete. I can only thank you, this wouldn't have been possible without you."

"This was not me, this was only possible because you persevered through everything. You started this 90 years ago when you were only 13 years old, each piece taking decades of dedication. Looking at you now, you've grown to be the only person I the god of craftsmanship Hephaestus have recognised."

Hephaestus looked at Tinitus with a relieved smile as what stood before him was his only disciple. Tinitus who stood 4ft 7inches with long bushy black hair with braids through out, an unkept beard reaching his waist with tangled braids as he had been working for 6 days and nights with no rest for food, sleep or even toilet brakes. The interesting feature Hephaestus was always curious of was his steely blue eyes. The black hair he had was rare among dwarves but not unheard of however a dwarf with blue eyes as piercing as the Eleven queen made Hephaestus question his ancestors.

Hephaestus showed himself before Tinitus but what appeared shocked Tinitus more than the god slayer armour becoming one. Hephaestus who has always been known to be a man with muscles that could not be contained by normal clothing however what stood before Tinitus was a woman. A beautiful woman with long scruffy brown hair standing above 6ft. She was slim in comparison to dwarves however her muscles were nothing to be scoffed at. She had the build of a dark elf better used for light weight movements but this woman, who stands above every man and god in terms of craftsmanship ability, was known to hammer at her forge for years with moving from it.

"Yo…your a woman?"

Tinitus asked this with a bewildered look trying not to offend the goddess who stands before him.

"I am a woman, you dwarves would never recognise a woman as your god, so I hid myself behind a false image. Is this a problem?"

Hephaestus asked this and Tinitus started sweating immediately, avoiding eye contact at all costs. Even the amour could be seen to sweating turning the helmet as if it had a mind of its own.

"N..n..no of course not, there are many strong women in this village. I have no problem"

He quickly exclaimed this with a voice audibly shaking

"I'm joking Tinny"

Hephaestus said this with a mischievous smile being well aware of how much he hates it.

However Tinitus couldn't hemp but laugh in this serious moment. They both felt relieved as the tension had finally been broken.

"Tinitus, I want to thank you for your hard work and I hope you will work just as hard in Elysium. As the only craftsman there you will be in charge of armour and weapons for all other gods including my leader, Zues the god of lightning."

Hephaestus said this as if it was completely obvious Tinitus would accept her request for him to succeed her.

Tinitus looked concerned but he pushed all concern to the side because even though he didn't know it, he had been working toward this his entire life.

"Hephaestus, will I be accepted by the other gods?"

Tinitus had a look of determination. Almost like it didn't even matter wether they accepted him or not.

"Of course they will, even though I'm not as powerful as a lot them, they all respect me and my decisions as the person who has stood by them through war and turmoil. You have no reason to worry, although it looks like I worried for nothing. You will be fine… it's time Tinitus, I want to rest. I've been hammering for many millennia and I just want to rest."

Hephaestus couldn't hide her pale face and dark circles under her eyes.

Tinitus just looked her in the eyes and smiled as if to say I'm ready

At that moment all of Hephaestus's power started to flow toward Tinitus. They just stared at each other smiling at first but what Tinitus saw made his heart sink. As the power left Hephaestus her true age began to slowly start showing, wrinkles began appearing on a once young face. Her perfect posture began to falter, The goddess who once stood tall is now struggling to stay stood. Tinitus is trying to keep composed but seeing his Master, his god, who he has worshipped for as long as he can remember is now about to fade away before his very eyes. He smiles while tears stream down his face. It was at that moment that Hephaestus started crumbling away, parts of her falling away becoming nothing but ash and dust. Before she could completely dissapear she leaves one final message for Tinitus…

"I hate goodbyes, so I'll just say this, you where the best disciple I could have asked for, you never stopped trying to be better and that's why no one deserves this more than you… and thank you for always believing me, you made my time as a god bearable, I'm going to rest now, maybe we will see each other again but hopefully not for a long time my dear…"

Tinitus was smiling with teary eyes but that didn't last long because what Hephaestus forgot to tell him was that this process was not going to be fun for him.

At that moment all the aura rushed into him.

Titinus was overflowing with power and knowledge he couldn't yet fathom. He felt excruciating pain over come his body. He felt himself become taller. He could feel his bones grow and his muscles stretch. The aura pooled into his abdomen forming something similar to mana core but much much stronger. His hair and beard began changing colour now matching the steely grey of the aura he was absorbing. Although for Tinitus this felt like hours, the change happened in under 30 seconds. He now stood 5ft 3 inches which for elves and even humans this would be considered small however for dwarves this was taller than everyone except for Droic. He looked less broad now and his muscles were more refined as if the change was optimising his body for blacksmithing.

He stood there looking down at himself barely able to recognise who he was now. He began to well up again as he knew this was only possible because of Hephaestus's sacrifice.

"HEPHAESTUS… THANK YOU"

They were the only words he could muster before becoming overwhelmed with emotion.

'Woosh'

He was then pulled with great force by an unknown power. He tried to stay conscious but the urge to sleep was stronger.

He opened his eyes and all he could see was a beautiful field stretching as far as the eye can see. Every sort of flower blooming before his eyes as if to welcome the new god of craftsmanship. Turning his head something caught his eye. Something that looks like your average smithy. Inside however was far bigger than what the outside appeared to be. Hammers hung up on the wall made from special ores and ores he had never seen. Orichalcum, palladium and the most shocking a hammer and anvil made of adamant diamond ore. The strongest most well sort after material in all heaven and earth. And he had a hammer and anvil made out of it. All he could do was inwardly sigh at this blue and purple glistening hammer and anvil not knowing wether it would be ok to use.

..

Droic and Pallad began walking toward the smithy and that walking turned to jogging which turned to sprinting, worry covering both of their faces.

"Pallad you asshole, you said he would be fine"

"I thought he would be, I mean.. he normally is. This has never happened at least to this degree"

They finally reached the Tinitus's work shop, what was once so lively with energy, the clanging from the forge is now dead quite and Tinitus is no where to be seen.

"Where is he?"

Pallad couldn't think, a thousand thoughts running through his head about all the different possibilities of what happened to their friend.

"Oi, ass hole, I said where is h…"

Pallad stopped talking, as he looked toward Droic who was now stood behind the massive crimson black anvil, all he could see was Droics grim expression. Droic was someone who was usually quite emotionless other than smiling at Tinitus.

"W..w..what's that, what's that pile of ash?… where is Tinitus… that's not him righ…"

"SHUT UP PALLAD, SHUT THE FUCK UP"

Droics face turned from grimace to intense and explosive anger.

"Why did you let him do this, why did you think this was ok, I don't give that shit about "he's done it before" that should have been all the more to stop him"

Droic couldn't contain his anger, he knew Pallad wasn't to blame but he needed to vent his frustration.

"You think I don't know that, do you know how many times I told him to rest or to eat or to just sit down. He never listened to me, he's a stubborn bastard, you should know that considering you were constantly craving his attention"

What Droic and Pallad are staring at are the remains of Hephaestus, but that's not who they think it is.

"We need to tell the villagers Tinitus failed to contain the power of Hephaestus and has left for Elysium"

Well he's not wrong, he has gone to Elysium just not in the same way Droic thinks.

Droic said this with gritted teeth, although he hated this village he still had an obligation to it and to Tinitus.

"But we still don't know if it's him, do we"

Pallad is feeling extreme anxiety and sadness, not wanting to come to terms with what was right in front of him.

"What else could it be hm? He couldn't just simply dissapear. He never leaves this place, most villagers haven't seen him for years and you think he just got up and left?"

"T…t..that's not what I mean"

"Well, what ever. I'll leave telling the village to you Pallad, I'm going to look around and clear my head"

"Yeah you do that, I'll be back with the village head"

The reason Droic sent Pallad to deliver such important news by himself is because something caught his eye. What no one in the village knows is droic is half elf, which explain his almost feminine features. He was extremely sensitive to aura and he felt particularly strong aura emanating from the back of the work shop.

"What's this…"

Droic pulled a matching pair of daggers made of Mythril. They were on the high end of SS grade but not quite legendary grade. That however was not the reason they caught his eye. These daggers was emanating a very strong aura and the only reason he was able to hold them was his body extremely sturdy being half elf and half dwarf. His mana core composition was fundamentally different because of this making it possible for him to hold them however using them was a different story.

"These hold the aura of a god, these absorbed the aura Tinitus tried to use."

He picked up a box from the side and placed the daggers inside, luckily he was the only person the village able to sense items containing aura thanks to his elven side.

"I'll put these to use, maybe I'll gift them to a lucky new born…"

6 months later…

Tinitus had finally grown accustomed to Elysium.. well sort of. He finally had time to look over what his old village was doing. He looked into the glass ball Hephaestus used to use to check on him and what he saw was chaos. Buildings destroyed, people screaming and half the village had left to start their own village. He knew it wasn't going to be great but he didn't expect it to be to this degree. Pallad and Droic were no where to be seen. Tinitus stood up took a deep breath..

"Well, I'll check again soon, hopefully they sort their shit out because I'm going to be busy creating new weapons for all the gods now that they've seen my god slayer armour."

Tinitus had spent the past 6 month getting specifications from all gods including Aries, Poseidon and even Thanatos had requested a weapon. He was sceptical about that last one because he didn't want Thanatos to use it on humanity or worse yet himself.

"Well, I'd better get back to work"