In the beginning

It had been nearly 14 billion years since the newest universe was created.

Gathered together in a massive amphitheater were thousands of beings, all brimming with energy and light.

On the stage in the center of the theater stood a single man whose brightness was far beyond the others gathered there.

"Brothers and sisters." The man's booming voice echoed, drawing all the gathered faces toward him.

"The time has now come, we have allowed the standard two universal weeks for development and we must now make judgment."

A heavy yet excited atmosphere descended upon the assembly.

"The standard rules will apply, those who won the previous contest are under a two day delay, before they may begin their preparations. Those who lost may begin immediately.

All newly exalted persons shall be given the appropriate training and preparation time. Remember no high exalted individuals shall perpetrate any violence against those more than one degree below them.

Please also remember that while the goal is to grow your own power, the ultimate goal is to defend against the enemy. So please refrain from destroying those with potential among the new gods."

There were audible grumbles among the audience after the man's instructions.

Many who were gathered had planned to poach the domains of the newer gods to gain the necessary resources for development. With the establishment of a grace period they would have to combat the newbie's on more even ground.

Apart from that they were still very excited, they remembered all the benefits their first ascension war brought them, and were more than eager to get things going.

"With that said," the man suddenly continued bringing everyone's attention back to himself.

"I will now be announcing the newly exalted persons arriving from my domain."

The assembled gods perked up as the announcement was always an integral part of planning, as it was beneficial to learn about the new domains that were popping up near them.

All new gods received a single world as their first domain. And it was up to them to develop it in anyway they saw fit.

Some created worlds filled with only plants, others built gigantic forges, some built nothing at all and just let things happen naturally. It was really up to them, after all they were the literal god of that world.

"Firstly from the verdant galaxy region of the third universe, there are 2404776879 persons across all planets that have qualified for exaltation and will be granted their new domains within the newly established 12th universe."

The other gods nodded along as if this were normal procedure, after all the god in front of them was the first, at least as far as they knew.

"Secondly….."

He continued on for some time naming dozens of galaxies and trillions of individuals who would be joining the ranks of the gods.

Most of those gathered here we're paying rapt attention as their domains lay closest to the newly established 12th universe.

They saw in these new gods both potential allies and enemies, but most importantly as new resources.

"That concludes this judgment cycle, universe 12 has stabilized and all new domains have been awarded. The ascension war shall begin in one universal week. Please use this time wisely."

After that the man simply vanished in a blast of pure light, no one really knew where he went but they knew they would see him again at the start of the war.

There was immediately a huge burst of activity as the various gods scattered back to their respective domains to begin their preparations.

Little did they know that this ascension war would be very different than what they were anticipating.

——————————————————————————

"Ding! Welcome to Exaltation!"

A tall blond haired man woke with a start, as the loud notification disturbed him.

He was dressed in a flowing white robe with a green sash tied around his waist.

His piercing blue eyes seemed to glow with power and light, while his sculpted face was set in an easy smile.