Prologue - The end of the war

In the sky, without any fuss, the stars were fading away.

The earth shook, cracks ripped into the black marble floor.

Noah staggered and leaned against the column to keep from falling.

"What the hell is going on?"

Cracks climbed up the column to the vault of heaven.

The divine throne was collapsing.

Noah ran down the corridor, toward the throne room. The celestial vault trembled. Cracks of light formed among the stars and above each column. They drew a cage around the door of the throne room and cast a golden glow.

"We have won! Why is all this happening?"

[You have activated: Hermes Pass.]

Two pairs of golden wings appeared on Noah's feet. At breakneck speed he passed between the bars of the cage. Behind him, light exploded with a roar. The shock wave hurled Noah to the ground, causing his head to hit the floor. The light faded and the hissing disappeared with a suck, giving way to an intense rustling.

Noah placed his hands on the ground and stood up.

Seated on the throne, Daniel, the Resurretor waited for him. The visor of his helmet raised to reveal his golden eyes. The white armor was polished, the silver spear stuck out in front of him.

He was as pompous as usual, as if he were at one of his parades. Maybe he could impress the newbies, but not him.

At her side were Sara the Ice Witch and William the Divine Hammer.

Sara kept her eyes downcast, her long black hair framed her face and fell over her white fur. Clutched in her hand was the staff of Ra. The gem mounted on top emitted multicolored glows.

William, on the other hand, stared defiantly at him, the Mjolnir clutched in his fist.

Noah stepped forward, footsteps echoing in the hall. "What have you done?"

Daniel gave him a bored look and waved his hand in front of his face, as if to shoo away an annoying fly.

"We completed our task and took our just reward."

"Reward? Is that what you call it?"

Noah spread his hand wide, mana thickened on his palm and took the shape of a sword of golden light.

[You activated: Excalibur.]

Sara looked up sharply and stared into his eyes. "The reward was the destruction of the system and the closing of the portals. You understand what that means, don't you?"

Noah knew all too well, it was only thanks to the system that humanity had been saved from extinction.

On January 1, 2020, the world had been invaded by evil gods from another dimension: The Titans.

Portals began to appear scattered all over the world, and monsters from the other worlds conquered by the Titans began to destroy everything. At first governments and militaries tried to oppose them, but conventional weapons could do nothing against monsters endowed with magic.

The apocalypse had begun.

It was then that the system appeared, all humans became players and gained the power to harness mana, the magical energy used by monsters, and turn their own weapons against them.

The most important advantage of the system, however, was the possibility of receiving the blessing of a deity, the protective entities of worlds conquered by the Titans and eager for revenge. Their power was the key to repelling the first waves of invasion.

Once the catastrophe had passed, most of the more powerful players used their powers to subjugate the weak. In the end, nothing had changed from before; human beings remained the same.

Even Daniel, the Resurrector, the first to receive a blessing and harness divine powers, was no different. He would never give up his conquered power.

Not that Noah expected otherwise.

Humans are greedy by nature.

Noah stared into Daniel's eyes. Forty years had passed since the appearance of the portals, he had to be at least seventy years old, but he looked thirty at most.

Divine powers, long life and wealth.

No one would ever give it all up.

William stood in front of him and pointed the Mjolnir at him. Blue sparks enveloped the hammer.

"You idiot!"

William unleashed a blow and Noah leaped backward.

The marble floor exploded into a myriad of shards.

Stupid monkey.

"Noah you were always a stupid idealist. Would you have preferred to give up power?" The stupid monkey gnashed his teeth. "Two hundred years of sacrifice, fighting among unclean beasts far from the earth, for what?"

"To save the Earth!"

Daniel looked up at the sky and let out a sigh. "And what was left of the Earth? A world in ruins. Without the power of the System, the fragile peace we created would shatter."

A load of crap. What he fears is losing power.

"You've always loved the role of savior, but you've finally thrown off the mask."

William twirled the Mjolnir again, electric discharges raining all around. "Are you with us or against us?"

"Stop!"

Sara turned to Noah and held out her hand in friendship.

The most powerful and intelligent sorceress the world had ever known, capable of wiping out hordes of demons.

The only woman he had ever truly loved.

Noah shook his head. She, too, had allowed herself to be drawn into this madness.

"Noah, I can understand your feelings..... But this is the only way to rebuild our world." She brushed his face with her fingertips. "The portals will be the means by which humanity can rise again, think of the resources we could obtain."

Invading other worlds... Noah was stunned; he could not believe Sara's words.

"Now stop wasting time!"

Noah snapped forward and unleashed a slash. William raised his club and blocked the blow. Noah raised his sword, but before he struck the second blow he heard the system notification.

[You are under the effect of the Curse of Ra]

[Your mana abilities are blocked]

[Your stats will be halved for three minutes].

Suddenly an electric shock went through Noah from head to toe and Excalibur dissolved in his hands.

Noah widened his eyes and cursed himself for his stupidity. Obviously his former comrades knew his abilities and had taken countermeasures to render him harmless.

Daniel's stood up and drew his sword. With a slash he ripped through the air and disappeared into the tear.

Sara screamed.

Daniel's sword pierced Noah in the back and came out of his chest.

Noah opened his mouth wide to breathe, but a trickle of blood prevented him from doing so.

Sara stood staring at him without a word, her eyes glazed with tears. She had the same expression every time she buried a comrade.

This only made Noah boil with anger.

Countless men and women had sacrificed their lives to bring us to this point. They had betrayed them, all of them. Daniel, Sara and the others by their actions and him for not stopping them.

Noah wanted to ask her what she thought of them, of the comrades he had buried just so he could achieve his own ends, but he already knew the answer.

It was the same reason she had not intervened to help him, the same reason she would have let him die: the end justifies the means, and their deaths are only necessary sacrifices for the good of the world.

Forty years spent fighting... That's too many to afford scruples, too many to afford second thoughts.

It was as true for Sara as it was for Noah.

He was dying because their goals were different and he had not realized it in time.

"Do you think a good deed cancels out a bad one?" Daniel drew his sword and Noah collapsed to the ground.

"After all, what does it matter if there is no one left to judge us?" She squatted down and stared into his eyes. There was no trace of remorse. "By now the gods are dead."