Killing a God

A pure black void swallowed our existence as if we were never inside that basement in the first place. Aeshma yelled in fear, but his voice abruptly fell silent, as if some mysterious force had forced him to shut his mouth.

My mind went blank, and for a moment, I found myself staring into that same black void—the one that had plagued my mind since my past life. But it wasn't just a void; beyond the darkness, there was a light.

"Plagued" might be the wrong word, but the memory was frozen in time and place. I could recall it clearly, yet it also felt like a dream. But I knew it wasn't a dream; I couldn't explain exactly how, but I was certain of it.

Before I was born, there was only darkness. Amid that darkness, I couldn't do anything—no drinking, no eating, not even breathing or feeling. Just pure nonexistence, indescribable no matter how hard you try.

But that darkness was short-lived. Right after it came a sudden light, and my early life memories flashed before me like a sped-up video.

The memories were unclear, yet when I gained consciousness, the entire experience seemed normal. Every time I tried to explain this mysterious memory to others, they either shrugged it off as a joke or looked at me like I was crazy.

But my memory proved to me that death wasn't the end—that after the brief darkness, there's always light. Darkness can't be eternal; nothing except a god can last forever.

After the rain comes the sun, and after darkness comes the light. Maybe that darkness was just a defense mechanism of some sort, but I didn't think much about it.

Using biological logic and human-made science, life after death seemed like nothing more than a childish dream of a better future.

But when one delves deeper into knowledge, they might discover the truth: death isn't the end.

Why should it be?

Who decided that death must be the final stop? If death were truly the end, then why does life itself exist? Coincidence?

No, definitely not.

As much as atheists deny its existence, the soul is real—a fact recognized by nearly every civilization throughout history. That soul must go somewhere, somewhere else to continue the cycle of life and death.

"Niall... Niall... Niall!" A voice called my name. It reminded me of someone, but my mind couldn't quite grasp who it was.

Then, a gentle hand, seemingly that of a woman, cupped my cheeks, holding them as if they were precious gems.

Huff Huff Huff

I jolted awake, surging forward from the sudden shock coursing through my body. My eyes took in the serene surroundings—a beautiful beach stretched out before me, framed by clear blue water and vast forests.

I found myself on this stunning beach, but before I could fully grasp the situation, a hand pinched my cheek from behind. I turned around to see Azathoth grinning at me.

She was wearing a black swimsuit—just a pair of swimsuit bottoms and a bra, quite revealing, one might say.

"Anything to say about my swimsuit, hmm? It's made of the finest silk, and pretty comfortable, too," she teased. I stared at her for a moment before standing up and pulling her along with me.

She seemed a little amused as we both got to our feet, but her expression quickly turned serious when a red-haired god approached us from a distance.

"Where... where the hell am I? This is the most beautiful beach I've ever seen! And you... how are you alive?!"

Aeshma's emotions ran wild in a short period, his confusion quickly turning into anger when he saw me.

He clenched his fist, and I thought he might try to summon divine fire, but nothing happened. His eyes widened in confusion as he noticed the woman behind me—Azathoth herself.

"As I said, who are you?!" Aeshma demanded, both alarmed and mesmerized by the presence of Azathoth.

Her beauty surpassed even Freya's, and her figure was leagues above hers as well. But what truly unsettled me was the glimmer of hatred in Azathoth's eyes—something I had never seen before. The tension in the air thickened.

Aeshma, on the other hand, struggled to comprehend what was happening, but I wasn't about to give him the chance. Just as I was about to cast a forceful wave at him, Azathoth's hand stopped me.

"Not now, Niall. If you kill him here, his spirit will return to heaven, and he will continue to live up there. To kill him, you need my authority. I should have given it to you sooner, but better late than never, haha."

I nodded, and she smiled. With a kiss on my cheek, Azathoth summoned her usual clothes and bound Aeshma's hands with chains.

"As if you dare imprison me! Release me, or Ouranos will hear of your abuse of authority. No matter where we are, the gods cannot disobey the rules set by Ouranos!" Aeshma shouted.

Azathoth merely laughed at his threats. She made Aeshma float a little above the ground, then approached him, conjuring a strange-looking knife from thin air.

The sight of the knife terrified Aeshma; he began shaking and pleading for mercy, though I still didn't fully understand what was happening. Despite his pleas, Azathoth grazed his arm with the knife, causing Aeshma to beg even more frantically.

"PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!! I'll tell you everything you want to know, but please don't do this to me!"

Azathoth looked him in the eyes and smiled devilishly.

"I was just kidding. You don't possess anything valuable to me, nor do you have any knowledge important to either me or my lover boy here. I just wanted to see the will of gods I once shared a realm with. How disappointing."

Aeshma's eyes widened, still unable to grasp who she truly was. Most likely, it was because he was a lesser, younger god with no knowledge of heaven's history.

"Niall, come here," she called. Before I could move, she used an invisible force to pull me toward her and hold my arms.

A dark, gloomy force, green like ocean moss, entered my chest. I felt nothing strange during the process, and once it was done, Azathoth gently released me and set me down.

She patted my head and caressed my face, still holding the mysterious knife that had terrified Aeshma.

"You can now kill a god and send their divine spirit into another life as a mortal. This knife is a relic of the past, specifically made by that bitch Nyarlathotep. It's designed to strip gods of their immortality. Once killed, their souls will become mortal and enter the cycle of reincarnation."

She then destroyed the knife into pieces, leaving only dust behind. "But since I've given you the authority to kill these fuckers, you won't need it. Just don't go overboard and commit a massive god slaughter, okay?"

I had no words, so I simply nodded. She pointed at Aeshma, and I focused the gravity on his neck.

Before, I hadn't tried applying pressure to a single part of the body—it required more focus. But now I felt my power had become easier to control. With one concentrated force, Aeshma's head exploded.

He couldn't even utter his last words because Azathoth had sealed his mouth moments ago. Blood splattered everywhere, but Azathoth quickly cleaned it up with her powers. Now alone, we looked at each other.

"Is that all, or can I go back now? You could have given me the authority without direct contact," I said.

A green swimsuit, like the one before, appeared on me, and we spent the rest of our time swimming in the warm ocean.