Rebirth

"Life is a circus everyone enjoys except the one who performs."

"1000 years ago the God's descended from the heavens, most embraced their rule however I refused to fall under their thumb, why should I bow to something simply because it tells me to? I had power before they came and had more than they could offer me when I died. How can I be speaking if I'm dead? Well, that is a long and fun story but before that can begin, let me tell you how I died."

<1000 Years ago>

A man covered in blood was curled up in the corner of a dust-filled room, the blood was a mixture of his own and that of his pursuers, the Gods who came from heaven to claim his home as their own. Jerome or '7' as he was known in the mercenary world could single-handedly kill nearly all monsters on the planet.

His skill with the sword was never been matched in combat and he had the ability to turn armies around by the simple mentioning of his name. Aside from a life of war, he also had a wife and 2 children as well as a small kingdom towards the north of the continent. Jerome's life flashed before his eye's, the day he met his wife, the beautiful rose coloured dress she was wearing, the day his children were born, the time he fought a huge black dragon and lived.

He was pulled back to the present when a man spoke to him as he opened the door to the room Jerome was in, the man had shining golden hair like a lion's mane and red eyes, along with masculine and robust features that draw close to those of a God of Beauty.

He wore red armour as he loomed over Jerome and said "We have finally cornered you now 7, where will you run to next? You are the last of the mortals who can challenge us to be caught, you gave it your all, now join the Ares Familia and accept that the Gods were simply better than you. Ishtar has already taken in your wife and daughter, your son died in the battle of Samorisia, you have nothing left. Do not die for no reason."

At the mention of his wife, daughter's and son's fate, darkness began to swell and surround Jerome, the entire room began to shake, Jerome struggled to his feet and said" I will not die in vain Ares, god of war as when I die you will be sent back to heaven. I was not running, simply studying the language of the ancients."

The Dark energy was unable to be controlled for much longer as it began tearing away at the room they were in as well as Jerome's body. Before he was totally consumed Jerome, drove his sword through his chest and with the last bit of strength he had he laughed and said "Ares, Deus de caelo, ad quos ego coegi tergum, arcu in conspectu meo, ut."

As the words were uttered, the room exploded, A beam of pure white light shot toward the sky pulling Ares within it, who was simply mortified by what he had just seen. The God of war was defeated by a mortal, while he was at full power, this could never stand.

As for Jerome, he was ripped out of the mortal world but before he could die permanently, a woman pulled him out from the void and to her realm, the realm of death itself...

<1000 years later, the void>

A giant throne sat in the middle of an empty void, this void was the 'Home' that Jerome had lived in for the last 1000 years. Sitting on the throne was a woman with long slender legs that lead to what Jerome could describe as the perfect body figure. She had long black hair and eyes that could tear your soul from your body with ease . The woman had complete control of the void and had been manipulating it to train Jerome as her tool to bring balance back to the world he was killed in.

For the last 1000 years, Jerome had been fighting clones of Ares and the other Gods, learning their weaknesses and how to beat them, he learnt the ancient language of the Gods and some of the ancient magic along with it. He was kept up to date on the events happening in his old world by the woman, along with the knowledge and power, the woman also taught Jerome a unique skill that was not from the world he came from but from the heavens themselves.

The unique skill Jerome was taught is called 'Spirit Artefact Creation', it allowed the God, in this case, Jerome to create a legendary artefact that was linked to their champion. As their champion grew in strength so would their weapon, it would change and adapt to the morality of the user as well as what types of combat they specialised in. Another perk of the created artefact was the only way to destroy one is to kill the creator God or the champion wielding the blade.

Jerome knelt at the stairs located at the bottom of the throne, the woman looked down at him and said "My Prince are you ready to return to the land that chewed you up and spat you out?"

Jerome, without raising his eyes from the floor replied with" I'm ready Mistress, I know that you will lock most of the skill I have gained in my new body so it is not destroyed by the immense power immediately. I only ask that you find a way to let me keep my swordsmanship at this high level, there is no point in me having a blade if I can't use it."

The Woman laughed and said" I can leave the majority of your skill with the sword but the sacrifice for that is that you will need to unlock the ancient spells again. You also need to know that the way the ancient language affects gods has changed vastly over the last 1000 years. You can no longer use their common name to compel them to do things, the only way now is to learn their hidden names. They tell very few people their hidden names but as a gift for my prince, I got one of my other agents to learn Ishtar's at the cost of their life, you should be grateful yes?"

Jerome kept looking at the floor and responded with"I'm always grateful for what you get for me mistress, saving my life was enough to make me indebted to you, the rest are just additional bonuses."

The woman suddenly rose from the throne and walked down the stairs towards where Jerome was kneeling, she knelt down in front of him and lifted his head so that her eyes were looking into his, she then softly spoke" Stop referring to me as Mistress, I told you that you are currently the prince of death however when you complete your revenge and make the world balanced again, you may raise and join me as my king. I know that you will struggle to love someone like you did Yennifer however with time I hope you will come around"

The woman looked at Jerome and said" I will allow you to return soon, first I need to explain your role in the world to you in detail. The way the current world works will lead to its destruction sooner rather than later, God's like Ares who insist on causing war are making far too many deaths happen while the Gods that represent love and peace are unable to refill the populations of the world quick enough. Eventually, the mortal races will cease to exist, your main goal is to eliminate all of the gods who have a negative influence on the world, banishing them back to heaven where they belong. The Gods who act in the interests of the mortal races can stay, you will largely be working within your parameters for what gods to kill and what ones to not. Every now and again one of my agents may bring you a target that needs to be taken care of soon or a message from myself for you."

"Your powers will mostly be locked away until you reach certain levels, this is done so that your new mortal body will not be instantly destroyed by the power but also so you do not draw massive attention to yourself before you can get a foothold in the world. Speaking of, you will belong to the Familia known as the Reapers, you will lead the Familia and you will be given a pseudo-state of divinity on rebirth using some of my power, this will be hidden from almost all gods unless they have the power to see through the veil. You will be able to add people to your Familia, I recommend doing this as it will increase your overall power in the world, you will also be able to edit their and your own status boards. Finally, Ishtar's true name is Inanna, have fun my prince, come back soon to become my king."

The woman then clicked her fingers and Jerome vanished, the woman looked at the spot where the man she had slowly fallen for over the last 1000 years was a few seconds ago and sighed, saying" I hope he succeeds, if he does then he can join me as a God of death."

<???'s Pov, Orario>

A large black portal opened in the corner of Orario, the slums to be exact, out of the portal a tall teenager with silver hair is thrown to the ground. He rose to his feet and looks confused, he mutters to himself "Goddam, she dropped me in a place that is nowhere near where she said she would, I should check my own status before finding somewhere to sleep for the night."

??? Status

Name: ??? (Enter Name)

"Uhh what? I can enter my own name? Then 7 it is from now on, Jerome died in that building all those years ago."

7's Status

Name: 7

Age: 17 (Unaging)

Race: Undead/ Pseudo God

Level: 1

Familia: The Reapers.

Stats: Power: A 850 Endurance: A 807 Dexterity: SS 1030 Agility: S 900 Magic: SSS 1100

Artefacts: Talionis (Long Sword)

Magic:

Skills:

Development Abilities: Master Swordsman (S)

"Well she did say that I wouldn't get my skills or magic as a trade-off for my swords skills, I guess the only choice is to level up, for now, to gain some of my magic back. While I guess I should go and find an Inn to stay in tonight or something similar..."