[One week to Christmas - Earth 2005]
As night bathed the English isles, the landmark of Stonehenge received a mysterious stranger cloaked in black. While he was younger than most people, this visitor had plans for this famous wonder of the world that stretched beyond the universe. He also did not want the Time Lord to notice what he was doing so this visitor had to do it now.
This visitor was Luke Stryker.
"These stones are incredibly old," Luke said in a soft whisper, his voice childlike. "Even in my former world, Stonehenge held quite a mysterious energy about it that enraptured the imagination."
"So, the reason you picked this place was?" Michael inquired as he heard Luke whisper.
"Because the Guthixians were primarily druids," Luke replied in a hushed whisper. "There were legends that Stonehenge was a place where druidic rituals were performed and probably inspired many fantasy writers to have stone circles be synonymous with druids. It felt right to create Guthix here in Stonehenge than anywhere else on the planet."
Michael was left understanding Luke's reasoning. As a System Guide, he knew that there were other beings in this universe that would make even the Doctor run in fear. While those big shots (i.e. the Toymaker, Maestro, Sutekh) would not dare show themselves here until Fourteen showed up, Michael knew that Luke was preparing for the eventual confrontation with said big shots. He'd have to prepare for the biggest storm on the horizon that is Ten, Eleven, and Twelve.
Neither Michael or Luke wanted to discuss what the hell Thirteen was doing at the time with Division and the Flux.
As Luke silently approached the center of Stonehenge, he asked Michael to set up a multiversal clock in his Interface. With such a way to tell time, no matter where or when he was, he would be able to accurately tell the time. Luke was not a Time Lord so he couldn't just tell with a look what time it was.
Then, as if phasing itself from the aether, a clock was showing itself in his vision: [00:45].
Forty-five minutes past midnight is what his current time was. Luckily, Luke can understand military time to a degree. There was also the option to set the clock from a 24-hour to a 12-hour one, yet neither Michael or Luke wanted to change it.
"Now then," Luke whispered in a cold yet hopeful tone. "Let us resurrect a dead god."
=[DW:NG]=
[02:00]
The ritual was finally prepped to completion within an hour and a half since Luke got to the center of Stonehenge. He knew that the Witching Hour was where Earth's leylines were more powerful and it would help with him resonating deeper into his Anima to recreate Guthix. He also knew that, while the god had canonically died on Gielinor at the tail end of the Fifth Age, there was a higher chance of him having a mere part of Guthix's original soul within this new form.
In the ending of his canon story, he accepted death and was to lay eternally in the same place beneath where Ardougne now stood, yet not before leaving Gielinor a new World Guardian. Luke, when he first played the game quest, cried in sorrow at seeing Guthix die and disliked what Zamorak and Saradomin were doing to the people of that world. While he was now the only living human on Earth that could do magic using Anima, he also understood that he had a responsibility to use this gift wisely than to subjugate humanity against itself for the greater good.
He wasn't the Master nor the Imperium of Man.
As the last rune was written, the time of the Witching Hour had begun. Luke begun to weave the Anima in his body with the help of the Hour to forge a transcendent god soul that once lived in another world within a different universe entirely.
Strands of divine Anima streaked out from his fingertips and slowly began to form a small ball of light above the central stone. Luke, amidst the flow of divine Anima and the thrum of harmonies left unsung to all but him, spoke a chant that seemed to feel just right for the occasion.
"I weave a new tale, old made anew..."
The strands slowly took on a different hue. Some were turning green and brown as the chant continued.
"An unsung hero from ages past, risen above mortality..."
Some were blue like the deep ocean, brown as the most fertile soil, green from the most vibrant nature, and white from the purest air. These colors represented the base elements of nature: Water, Earth, Nature, and Air. There was also a small strand of an orange-red color whoch seemed to resonate with Fire type Anima.
"With the thread cut and death given rest, I recall the brave hero that guarded mortals in a new world. The maker of runestones..."
The soul slowly solidified as the strands of Anima slowly thickened and hardened. Even if this weirdly beautiful sight was left only seen by Luke and Michael, the ripple effects were not left completely undetected. Only those who could have known what they were looking for could have detected it.
Then, as to signify the completion of his soul, the soul slowly began to form a new vessel atop of the center plinth.
"With the power of Anima given form, I call you back from Death's embrace. Hero of Gielinor, God of Balance, I breathe new life into you! Guthix, the last son of the Naragi, I give you a new life!"
The vessel, unlike his original body, was made up of Anima-strengthened matter and, like Luke's body, was not able to be destroyed by the Reality Bomb. He looked more like his human appearance on the outside, but Luke and Michael both knew the god appeared just like his original race to them. Not even the ability to shapeshift could trick Luke's senses as he was literally the embodiment of pure Anima and to use Anima against him was utterly pointless.
Luke quickly summoned forth clothes weaved from the leftover Nature Anima to dress Guthix up before he woke up. As he put the last boot on his foot, a System notification appeared in his vision.
[Congratulations, Host! You have completed the quest: The First Creation. Your reward has been allocated to your Inventory.]
[Congratulations, Host! You have completed a hidden quest: The First God. Unlike the quest you have completed, this hidden quest was about bringing forth a god or god-like being from a different universe into your current world. With the resurrection of Guthix, the God of Balance, into your current world, you now stand a greater chance against the oncoming storms that loom over Earth in the future. By completing this quest, you have now unlocked a new System feature: [World Forging]. This will, in the future, enable you to create worlds steeped in Anima that will be under your complete control. To gather more features, complete major quests or hidden quests.]
Luke and Michael were stunned upon seeing the notifications appear in his vision, but that was quickly overshadowed by a somewhat familiar male voice.
"W-wh-where am I?"
=[DW:NG]=
Continued in: Before the Invasion.