"I swear I'll return home and put an end to this once and for all," Ryuta thought to himself.
"Don't have any regrets, Ryuta. I believe you're well-prepared," the Life Deity assured him.
"You're right; I'm definitely ready," Ryuta replied quietly.
"Attack!" the Life Deity commanded loudly.
As soon as his words echoed on the battlefield, the ground trembled beneath them. At first, the dry earth glimmered faintly, but in no time, it erupted into a brilliant emerald glow. Lush green grass sprang up like an unstoppable tide, while vibrant flowers burst into bloom, their petals shining with a mystical light.
From this newly thriving forest, ancient trees creaked and twisted as if awakening from a long slumber, their roots breaking through the ground like snakes wrapping around stones and remnants of the past.
Then, to Ryuta's astonishment, the trees began to stir.
Their branches reached out far beyond their usual length, bending as if trying to grasp something. Leaves morphed into sharp blades, slicing through the air with a chilling swish. A thunderous roar filled the atmosphere, not from a physical beast, but from the very essence of the forest itself.
Soon, creatures emerged from the verdant landscape: beings woven from bark, vines, and earth. Wolves made of moss and flowers charged forward, their eyes shining like burning stars. Huge floral serpents weaved gracefully between the trees, their scales formed from blossoms unfurling in elegant movement.
Raising his hand again, the Life Deity commanded the trees to obey.
In the midst of the massive assault unleashed by the Life Deity, Ryuta advanced, slicing through every tree that stood in his path as he shouted, "Light Slash!" The attack released a glowing white arc, deadly to ordinary beings yet surprisingly effective against deities.
Moving with agility, Ryuta dodged the trees as they delivered fearsome strikes, leaves sharp enough to slice his skin and flowers emitting toxic fumes.
"Aren't you getting tired?" the Life Deity taunted.
"Stamina isn't really my strong suit, but it's not a major issue for me," Ryuta replied, undeterred.
The Life Deity pressed on, summoning terrifying monsters: wolves, dark elves, trolls, orcs, ogres, and even a Bigfoot. The creatures rushed toward Ryuta, with one wolf leaping over him. Spotting it, Ryuta instinctively lifted his sword, stabbing the wolf mid-air. To his left, a battalion of a hundred dark elves charged in with poisoned daggers, but Ryuta dashed straight at them, unleashing a flurry of white slashes that struck down each elf. To his right, trolls hurled rocks, prompting Ryuta to execute another "Light Slash," taking them down. Just ahead, an orc charged, poised to strike. Ryuta leapt back, swinging his sword behind him. Crouching slightly, he invoked "Scythe Slash," a brutal attack imbued with dark magic that cleaved the orc in two.
With two ogres to his left and right, ready to smash him with their clubs, Ryuta swung his sword sideways, blades facing left and handle facing right, then unleashed a "Circling Slash" that sliced both ogres in half.
However, the Bigfoot retaliated, delivering a powerful kick that sent Ryuta crashing into the tree behind him, which then pierced him, poisoning him.
In mere moments, Ryuta succumbed to his injuries.
---
"You did well," Grim commented.
"It's not over yet; he's still alive," the Life Deity replied.
Suddenly, Ryuta's body twitched, and the wounds began to mend, the poison transforming into a new strength for his sword.
With renewed vigor, Ryuta charged at the Bigfoot, delivering a kick to its face that sent the creature tumbling to the ground. He then plunged his sword into the creature's chest and declared, "Poison Stab!" The Bigfoot's body began to rot from the inside, ultimately succumbing to the effects of the poison.
"I'm impressed," the Life Deity admitted, clapping his hands.
"You should be, because I am just getting started," Ryuta responded confidently.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. You haven't defeated me yet. Save that bravado until the end," the Life Deity warned.
---
Kiosk.
The Unbeing.
The origins of Kiosk are shrouded in mystery; some say he never truly came into being, he merely manifested at the moment when reality began to lose itself.
Kiosk was an unintended creation, a manifestation of absence, representing what remains when something has completely vanished. Initially, he lacked any form; he was merely an omnipresent entity. Wherever he drifted, reality seemed to bend and hush, as if afraid to acknowledge his existence.
He discovered his identity not through creation, but through uncreation. Everything he touched would disappear, not through burning, rotting, or fading, but would simply be rewritten into oblivion, as if it had never existed. This ability frightened him at first. He attempted to communicate with the fabric of creation, but his voice extinguished the stars. He reached out to the earliest beings, only for them to vanish before his fingers could make contact.
For eons, Kiosk was isolated, enveloped by an inescapable silence. In time, that silence transformed into his solace, and eventually became part of his essence.
He abandoned his efforts to connect and understand. Instead, he watched from afar, silent and observant. He began to recognize patterns, how each element of existence eventually longs for an end. Consequently, he granted them that end. Not out of malice or wrath, but as a means of fulfillment.
His sense of morality isn't rooted in compassion; it's about maintaining balance. If something resonates too forcefully within existence, he mutes it. If something overstays its welcome, he erases it.
Though he harbors no hatred, he instills more fear than any deity. This fear arises not from his abilities, but from their unyielding certainty. When Kiosk acts, things don't die; they simply cease to have existed.
And perhaps the most eerie aspect of all is this, he himself doesn't know if he genuinely exists, or if he's merely the universe's method of rectifying its own missteps.
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A.N : this chapter is the most hardest to write due to Idk to kill a life deity.