The Day God Became a Demon (I)

(A/N: Seeing as I am currently on the 5k words mark, and there doesn't seem to be an ending in sight, I will be dividing this into different parts. I fear that if I don't, I won't post until Christmas.)

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Evil is everpresent.

There must be Evil in order for Good to exist. They cannot exist without the other. If there is no Evil, how would people know that what they are doing is good? Similarly, if there is no Good, how will people know what they are doing is evil?

Since the dawn of mankind, and even way before that, Evil existed. It was something to be triumphed over, trampled upon, and conquered in order to better oneself.

Stories of people slaying monsters, humans, or concepts considered to be evil abound in this day and time... proof that there was always some evil to be defeated regardless of the era.

It stands to reason, then, that there must always be something, no matter what, who, or which, that has to be Evil in order for the advancement of individuals, a population, or a whole race.

Ironically enough, in ancient times, the first to be that object of defeat were Creation Gods. Once they finished their role, they were seen as a threat by the younger generation of Gods. That's why they had to be destroyed for those newer ones to prosper.

Abzu and Tiamat, Ymir, Uranus and later Cronos. There were many instances where those that came before were slain in favor of a new beginning.

However, there were also times where that didn't happen. Those that created the land, shaped the oceans, and uncovered the skies were still there even to the day where they last walked the Earth.

Such was the case in Ancient Egypt. In the beginning, there was nothing but dark, infinite, and directionless waters. There was no light, no land, and most importantly, no Order. He was Nun, the primeval sea. A Deity that at that time, could be said encompassed all that was in existence, as little as it was.

In those waters, there were no Gods, no Humans, no Life, no Death, no Time, no Space...

It was a place without concepts. But, if there was something that could be said to exist, it was Chaos, and the one that embodied it, Apep, also known as Apophis. The only 'creature' inhabiting those endless waters. The Original One.

Despite lacking everything, it was a unified world. Everything revolved around a single rule, and that was that there were no rules. As long as you wanted to do something, it could be done. Yet, that right was solely reserved for its only inhabitant.

...But one day, everything changed.

From inside those waters, something, or rather someone uttered a name—their name. It happened suddenly, with no warning whatsoever. One moment nothing was there, and in the next one, there was. The same chaotic nature of that sea allowed for that individual to pop up into existence in the form of Bennu, the Sacred Bird of Rebirth.

Once that new Deity rose from the waters, the world instantly changed, and the one who perceived it the most was Apep. Where before he was the only one existing there, now there was another. His world had lost the only thing it possessed: uniqueness.

With another existence added to the mix, Darkness had an antithesis, and that was Light. Chaos had Order, Evil had Good. And soon after that, the primordial mound arose from the waters, causing the sea to have land as its opposite as well. What's more, as if that weren't enough, others also came into existence following the first, creating another duality, that of male and female.

Again and again, opposites were being created without pause. The world that was once his now was inhabited by other creatures, things, and concepts.

Such unrecognizable place he didn't desire. That's why he decided to kill and devour the first Deity that arose from the dark waters. That being seemed to have also the same thoughts, as when he finished his part in Creation, both of them began an eternal fight.

The other Gods clearly supported their progenitor. They didn't want Evil to exist, so they relied on that person to defeat Apep. Those recently created beings gave him a name, which was Amun; 'The Obscure One.'

Names had meaning, and more so at the beginning of all. His name meant that he could take the shape or power of whatever was needed of him. He was not defined—a blank slate.

As per the new rules of dualism, Gods could not embody opposite concepts. Amun, though, didn't suffer from that drawback. As a God that personified the ambiguity of existence, he could become literally anything.

And so, Amun became the inverse of Apep in every way. He was meant to win against the Great Serpent; for if the Original One won, the world would return to its initial state, and everything they accomplished so far would be lost.

Years, centuries, millennia... They fought and fought relentlessly without pause. At first, Amun had the absolute advantage. He won again and again but could never truly defeat Apep. That was because he lived outside the universe full of Order. As a creature of Chaos, he couldn't exist within it, so the only way he could manifest was through an avatar. That was what the Creation God kept fighting against.

It didn't matter how many times Amun defeated Apep, he always came back. Unfortunately for him, defeating the Great Serpent cost him much more every time, while the Original One had infinite power to replace his fallen avatars.

That wasn't the end to his troubles, though. Despite everyone calling him Amun, Apep knew that was not his True Name. He was the only one aside from Amun himself in possession of it. That's because, at the moment of his creation, the Great Serpent had heard the name that was spoken. In a vast world of infinite stillness, something like that resounded far and wide.

He couldn't do much with it as, again, he didn't belong to the newly created universe. Nevertheless, the fact that he held knowledge of it helped him in weakening the Creation God.

Aware that this could turn into a losing battle, Amun decided to take a gamble. He took advantage of his ambiguous existence and decided to perform the first act of syncretism with another back-then young God that shared similar traits with him.

That was how Amun became Amun-Ra; the setting Sun becoming the rising Sun. With newfound power and a new, True Name, the recently fused God was able to once again gain the upper hand.

Apep's defeats were increasing in number and the time it took for him to create new avatars was increasing as well. A bright new future seemed to be awaiting the recent generation of Gods—one that would place them as the undisputed Rulers of this new world.

However, that power was oh-so-tantalizing. And who could covet it more if not for the one that had tasted it himself?

While it was true that Syncretism between Gods made it so that their strength was much more than the sum of their parts, it also allowed sentience between them. That meant that both Amun and Ra were in possession of their individual consciences.

As an upstart, Ra had gone from a mere lower God to the most powerful one. Having that much power all of a sudden, it could be said that it had corrupted him, and the sentiment of greed took hold of his being.

So, unaware to Amun, Ra planned to take hold of that power all to himself. He devised a ploy to obtain everything, something that would leave him as the sole undisputed governor. And much to Amun's unfortunate fate, he succeeded.

Taking advantage of a battle against Apep, Ra forcefully stopped their union, not without using his own powers over the Sun and Divine Light to steal Amun's Authorities first.

Rendered powerless and speechless at the act of betrayal, the Creation God couldn't do more than look at Ra with shock before being swallowed by the Great Serpent.

That was the first time Evil had triumphed over Good, yet it was not enough. Despite Apep hating Amun for what he had done, his problem did not fall with the Deity himself, but with what he embodied. It was meaningless if what he truly had to vanquish didn't disappear, but went to another instead. Thus, his efforts began to center around Ra.

The Sun God now had the duty to fight alone against Apep as, even though he betrayed Amun, he still needed to keep his new Kingdom from being destroyed. The only difference was that he didn't have to share his power with anyone from now on.

Ra first devised a story about how the Great Serpent had used its cunning to sever their connection before eating Amun. However, prior to that happening, the Creation God had lent all its power to him in order to keep fighting. Then, he relayed it to the other Gods in order to cement his ruling and so that there were no oppositions with the new changes.

They believed him without much of a fuss, but that was of no interest to Apep. He still continued his crusade against the Light as he had been doing.

Many more years passed like that, and the Kingdom of Gods carried on growing. The fights kept happening, and the winner was always the same one. Yet, as with everything else in the world, nothing lasts forever.

Many millennia of battling had taken its toll on the once young God. It was a fact that he couldn't keep fighting as he once did in his youth. So, much to his chagrin, he requested the help of the other Gods.

That was how the legend of Ra atop of his boat with other Gods fighting Apep was born.

As the battles raged on more and more, the additions were also increasing. It got to a point where the others were beginning to doubt Ra's capabilities to lead and keep having the title of Supreme Ruler. More than one of them had their fair share of thoughts about getting the Throne for themselves.

Knowing he could not let history repeat itself, Ra once again started to think of a plan that not only would let him keep the Throne, but also aid him in his fight against Apep.

He dedicated all the free time he had to come up with an idea... only for it to knock at his door instead. Nuit, the Goddess of the night sky, had tricked Khonsu, God of the Moon — someone with nearly as much power as the aging Ra — to give her part of his moonlight so that she could add extra days to the year, which back then were only 360.

That loophole managed to bypass the curse he had imposed on her before: "She may not give birth during any hour of any day of this year or of any year to come."

The curse was thanks to a prophecy that Thot had passed onto him. That one of Nuit's children would one day sit on his very Throne, something he couldn't allow at all costs.

Now, though, he couldn't do anything as his decree and curse hadn't been broken, so he had no right to kill her offspring. Nonetheless, he still could make it so that their father, Shu, separated her and her husband forever, and so he did it.

Ra consulted Thot on the number of males who would be born from her, and much to his internal delight, they were two. The older would rule, while the younger would act as the spear and shield of his Kingdom.

Those were wonderful news for Ra. More so for the content of the prophecy. Being the spear and shield of a vast and powerful Kingdom like his meant that the second son's powers were going to be extraordinary. However, he had to intervene in the ritual of childbirth.

Many Gods, around twenty thousand, had come from the light, yet they still couldn't match the strength of a single being from the darkness.

Long thought lost greed got ahold of him. He knew that by the rules of Order, he wouldn't be able to wield that power under natural circumstances, but if he had someone with it that he could command at his beck and call, then that problem would be resolved.

With that in mind, and in total secrecy, he modified the Ritual from where they call forth the souls of Deities from the Sea of Gods so that the second male's body would be inhabited by a being of darkness instead of light like the rest.

Meanwhile, Apep had the same intentions, albeit with a different aim.

Different from Ra, he himself had the power to peer into the future. He could know from first-hand experience how would the events unfold.

It was an ability he never used, because as an eternal being, knowing the future would be meaningless and would make things rather boring. In spite of that, a vision presented itself to him without Apep having to do anything.

In it, he saw the warrior that would continue his legacy. One that would wage war against the Gods of Order, and commit a massacre of exaggerated proportions on them. He would be the first God to break the scale. The God capable of wielding both the power of Chaos and Order—a Deity embodying balance itself.

Though, due to having both Good and Evil within him, his character would be more than questionable thanks to the strain his mind would be put through. Still, that would be negligible compared to his absurd potential.

For millions of years, he was the only one of his kind. Powerful beyond belief yet ultimately alone in his endeavors. Back then, prior to the beginning of time, for something to be born would be almost impossible, and with a now new world ruled by Order, even more so.

Now, that would change. The future arrival was going to share the same traits as him, albeit a little tainted by Good, but that could be overlooked.

So, while his most hated enemy located a 'region' where the souls of Evil Gods resided, Apep used his powers to select a specific one among those.

Most Deities there were floating, multicolored nebulas endlessly drifting without any sort of consciousness or purpose. Those that gained a sense of self were able to come down to their plane by themselves, and often received the title of Primordials—the first to arrive.

The one he chose, though, was special in its own way. While Primordials had the mental age of an adult, this one had the one of a child. But that wasn't the only thing that made that particular Deity special. No, nothing like that. What made him special was the treatment he received.

In a bizarre manner, the concept of Evil born shortly after his original world shifted treated this soul as their own offspring. The reason as to why was lost to Apep, but he didn't care. The important thing was that he would now be favored by the very concept they were part of.

There was no better option for a successor. It had to be that one, and anyone else would simply fall short.

Nuit had hidden her pregnancy for ten years, and she planned to give birth very soon, so the time both Ra and Apep had to do their own machinations was not long.

They acted with swiftness and sigil, each of them with their own task in hand.

From their own hidden places, they observed the birth of the one they thought would make them triumph once and for all.

The first to appear was the one to supposedly rule over the Kingdom. In Ra's opinion, he was a heavy disappointment. It was obviously too soon to judge its character and capability to govern, but just the fact that his Divinity was only a bit above the normal was enough to fear for the future.

A King not only had to have charisma. He also had to possess the strength to defend his Kingdom from both internal and external threats. Someone weak would only be taken advantage of.

The next one was a girl. Her Divinity was way higher than the first-born, and her magical aptitude looked unparalleled at first glance. This one would become a distinguished one. Of that, the observers were sure.

Then came the star of the show. Although his introduction was a bit... special, for lack of a better word. It seemed the one who would be born next would be another girl, but all of a sudden, Nuit's belly started bloating, deforming, and shifting, causing her great pain.

Next thing they knew, something that could only be described as hideous exited from the Goddess' side. They were currently in a Savanna, and some of the Magical Beasts that had opted to watch the events unfold were backing away in fear and disgust.

What came out of her was a deformed monstrosity. One arm, one and a half legs, headless, and several other body parts missing. Even his mother looked horrified at the... thing.

The creature twisted like a newborn fawn trying to stand up. The Magical Beasts in the surroundings continued to retreat, carefully avoiding sudden movements. However, the infant didn't let them get away.

Multiple clawed hands made out of an eerie black fog shot out from his back and grabbed the fleeing monsters, shredding them to pieces, and bringing those said pieces back to him.

Ra and Apep watched from their respective places as the little baby merged with all the body parts of the Magical Beasts, covering for what he didn't have.

Instead of adopting an animal form when he grew older, he would have to do the inverse and try to adopt a humanoid one. This definitely went against the natural order, something that did nothing more than confirm that their job was a success, and they brought to the world a being of Evil.

What they didn't expect, though, was for Nuit to curse the youngling as soon as she found out that she wouldn't be able to give birth anymore. While that increased the child's favorability in Ra's mind considering that he got back at Nuit for trying to outsmart him, it generated mixed feelings within Apep.

The curse in itself was easy for him to remove, but something like that would be good in forging his will. The problem came at the moment of distinguishing when enough was enough.

Apep was eternal, but it wasn't something he relished in. He found no pleasure in an endless struggle fighting for what was rightfully his. He had become more aware of time as the years went on, and he understood that living for the sake of something that seemed unattainable was not a particularly pleasant thing.

That was why he wanted to leave his legacy to the next generation. And if the young God couldn't accomplish it, then the torch should be once again passed down to his descendants. Then, if that was the case, he wondered when it would be the perfect moment for him to lift that curse.

It would be a matter for another day as, once they made sure Nuit wouldn't do more than 'simply' cursing him, they both retreated to their respective places.