The Start Of It All - The Descent

I never saw myself as the main character. I was a mere extra, living a meaningless life, walking a empty path that no one would ever see. I was the man who looked at the world through scornful eyes, and hated everything he saw. I hated everyone, and everything, including myself, and I wished that I could destroy it all. Who knew that, one day, this would become the one wish of mine to actually be granted. 

It's funny, in an apocalypse, how the first people to adapt to the new world are those who could never adapt to the old one. I, unfortunately, was one of those people.

It started on a hot, humid September - a typical British autumn - where I was living out my usual, mundane existence. Approaching the shops in my typical, mindless manor, I hoped that something would happen to relieve my bottomless boredom - anything. Be it a mugging, a murder, or even a terrorist attack - I just needed something.

And so, something came.

Something big.

It was awfully sudden, perhaps if it hadn't been so sudden, more people would've survived. The sky began to ripple, wave and warp, splitting and forming countless cracks along with one, giant hole.

The people were terrified - rightfully so - as a strange being emerged from the hole. Almost impossible to properly describe, it was dignified but monstrous, humanoid but not, with three - maybe four - eyes, and wings that were more like tentacles than wings. The only feature I could be certain of was the small, jeweled tiara resting on its head.

"Be afraid", the creature's voice echoed, seeming both too loud and too quiet, as it seemed to be impersonating an angel. "Today, a great honour shall be bestowed upon your world. You shall be blessed with powers from your mythologies, which you so persistently recite, dispute and discredit. With them, we shall see - once and for all - which of you deserve to survive, and which of you do not." It let out a slight chuckle as a rumble could be heard in the distance.

Following the rumble, hundreds - nay, thousands - of different creatures burst from the sky. some seemed human; many were not.

Several of them were easily recognizable, a minotaur, some phoenixes, unicorns and hundreds of similar creatures, but, at the same time, many looked like they had just been plucked from cave paintings.

Among them, some could still be recognized. Some looked like people from myths, while a few even looked like Gods. While I didn't know who many of them were, I could more or less guess that they were characters from stories and religions around the world.

At the center, the angel-like demon remained still and continued its speech. "Creatures of myth, choose your vessels. Vessels, be prepared to meet your makers - literally." As the being laughed again, all sorts of beasts shot out in all directions, charging towards people.

I watched as the first reached its target. The dog-like monster bound towards an elderly man - clearly very confused - and was about to crash into him. The moment it made contact, it disappeared and a faint aura rose from the man. Almost straight after, a ghostly figure or the dog appeared, floating behind him. 

I watched, as no one was ignored. Thousands of beasts flew at thousands of people, giving them no choice, and changing their lives forever. And then, even the extra wasn't spared. One flew at me.

His golden robes danced in the wind, his piercing blood red eyes locked onto me. As his four arms pushed him forward, his green skin glowed hypnotically in the autumn sun and I found myself completely unable to take my eyes off of him.

He moved much faster than the others, reaching me in only a few seconds. Although I had a few theories regarding his identity, I wasn't sure who he was. All I could be sure of was that he was clearly, incredibly powerful.

As soon as he touched me, I felt a vast, ominous aura pour into me, and everything began to change. With every breath I took, I seemed to get stronger. As a weight was lifted off of me, my previously non-existent muscles inflated several times, until I could've even passed for a body builder.

Even my height increased. I was once a five foot five man who barely looked like a man at all, but had now been transformed in to a far more imposing figure. I could finally see the world as others did - and it was amazing.

Within my new and improved view, I watched sparks dance wildly before my nose, before slowly forming into a blue screen. The moment I read it, I was filled with excitement.

[You have been chosen by Yama, Hindu God of the dead]

I quickly calmed myself. One of my possible theories - Yama. If I wanted to survive, I would need his cooperation.

"I will take it that you've heard of me", a loud, justified voice rang out behind me. It was obviously his voice.

It was also obvious that I'd heard of him. Being a nerd with no girlfriend and incredibly unreliable friends, I knew more than my fair share of mythological figures. The Lokapala of the north, King of the dead, God of justice - Yama himself. He was strong - in the truest sense of the word.

"I have", I felt a short response more befitting than pouring out my excitement. After all, he would probably be with me for quite a while. I'd get plenty more chances to embarrass myself.

"Look at the panel", as Yama suggested, the screen in front of me changed, and a new message appeared.

[Skills (1)]

[Judge Of The Dead Lv 1]

[Can select the fate of those that you kill]

I would've preferred a more active skill, but I'd already thought of several ways I could abuse it. Overall, it would be quite useful.

"I will be able to grant you more of my powers soon - giving you more skills and raising their level - but, at least for now, I can only grant you my core skill", Yama's sincerity and usefulness was greatly appreciated. With his title 'King of the dead', I'd forgotten how nice he was supposed to be.

"I should warn you", he continued, "Most of the others are going to start killing each other in a minute. You should be safe regardless, but I wont force you to kill anyone." He then paused for a moment before adding, "I will not let you die."

Still surprised by Yama's kind, father-like nature, there were only two words that came to mind. "Thank You."

I could feel Yama's warm smile, as he turned to look around. As he predicted, most of the people around me had already begun fighting each other. Some started attacking on their own, some, only out of retaliation. In the end, all of them were involved in a free for all. 

"Don't worry, we're not near any big shots", as Yama kept advising, I realized how lucky I was to be chosen by him.

He was right. Most of the people around me were only supported by creatures like nymphs and centaurs, hardly any of them were Gods, and none of them were important ones. As a result, I could easily dodge or ignore their attacks.

It was around then that I felt a vast, ocean-like presence sweeping in like the tide. The source of this presence was a teenager, followed by a large, bearded man. Even though I had never seen him before, I knew who it was - Poseidon.

"Damn", I could swear I caught Yama muttering, startled. (ED: This was originally a much fiercer expression)

As he came close, the teenager unleashed his skill, sending jets of water in every direction. Some people barely managed to resist the impact, but most couldn't. Several were swept past me, collapsing in the distance.

As the water reached me, I braced myself, expecting to be knocked back, only to find it incredibly underwhelming. I suppose I'd forgotten just how durable my body had become.

"We might have to fight them", Yama gritted his teeth as though it was going to be difficult. "It should be fine, it's too early for him to pass on the trident yet."

Tríaina. The trident that draws the boundaries of the ocean. If he had that weapon, we really would've struggled. Especially so early on.

As more and more jets of water shot towards me, I realized I had not choice but to fight.

I endured, pushing back against the water and approaching him, as Poseidon glared at Yama. I got the feeling that the fight wasn't going to be easy.

Poseidon cried, "Attack!" and the boy increased the power of his attacks. Despite visibly sweating, he continued to blindly follow orders, trying to block my path.

I came, one step at a time. No matter how powerful the water was, or how much pain I was in, I kept going.

I had never been in a fight before. They say that you really know you're a loser when people don't even bother to tease you or spread rumors about you. And that was me exactly, the biggest loser ever.

I wasn't bullied as I should've been, I wasn't worth it. As a result, no one ever gave me a reason to fight them. I never got a chance to retaliate, as they never pushed me far enough, but I wasn't stupid enough to start anything.

As a result, nothing had prepared me for that fight.

I kept walking, until I got close enough to strike him. I was stronger than before - far stronger - my sluggish fist moving fast enough to leave an after-image. I was almost certain that one punch would be enough to shatter every single bone in the boy's body.

The child just stood there, bruised but mostly unharmed.

Of course, I was really strong, but so was Poseidon.

He punched me back, but I found myself faster than him and able to - if only barely - block the hit and counter.

For a while, our exchanges continued like that. We were both incredibly strong, but I felt like I was slightly stronger. After all, the power scaling in Hindu myths was unlike any other.

It was around then, that I noticed the boy getting used to his new abilities. He shot water at the ground to propel himself towards me, knocking me back. 

He used streams of water to accelerate his fists to punch me. Fist my face, followed by my chest and then my arm. The hits were moving towards less vulnerable areas, but the pain was only getting greater.

I managed to land a punch, but only one, as he quickly countered with a barrage of fists.

Eventually, he'd battered me enough to knock me out of his reach, giving me a chance to think. Overcome with crippling pain, I didn't find that particularly easy.

I quickly checked my skills again, but still hadn't gained any new ones. Yama, seemingly noticing, simply said, "soon."

As he said it, I noticed a message I'd ignored before.

[Skill inheritance is imminent]

The boy unleashed his skill again. This time, it seemed to be more water, at a greater pressure - enough to knock me flat on my back. I could've only assumed that that was the difference between lv1 and lv2.

Between the kid learning to use the skill, and the skill levelling up, I had no way to beat him.

After a couple more hits, I began to feel as though one of my ribs were broken, if not two. As he received more of Poseidon's powers, he also inherited more of his strength. I may have been stronger at the start, but I definitely wasn't now. The best I could do was hope to stall.

A few seconds, and several excruciating hits, later, the message I was waiting for had arrived.

[You have received more of your supporter's powers]

The blue screen - which only I could see - flashed again and changed, showing my skills. This time, it was different.

[Skills (2)]

[Judge Of The Dead Lv 1]

[Can select the fate of those that you kill]

[Hellfire lv 1]

[Can summon and control hellfire]

Of course, I wasn't perfectly happy about the fire-water matchup, but I preferred to have the skill than not.

As soon as I activated it, my entire body was covered by boiling crimson flames, so hot that you'd burn just from looking at them.

As hoped - but not expected - the next spray to hit me completely evaporated before making contact. To retaliate, I shot a handful of flames at the boy, hoping to stop him from using the water to enhance his attacks.

Unfortunately, the flames were eventually extinguished before they could boil the water.

I then decided to try something else. I moved all the flames from my body and tightly packed them around my elbow. As he approached to attack, I used the flames to propel my fist towards his face.

Despite shielding himself with water, his face was still deformed significantly and even slightly burnt. He was knocked back, faster and further than he'd been able to knock me.

Given the chance to breathe, I looked around at the other people. Practically all of them had either died or had fled. Probably for the best.

Poseidon commanded his vessel to rise and attack me, and so he did. He jetted himself forward, in a stream of water - right into my flaming fist.

I felt his skull give way through the water as he recoiled. Still, with a God's strength - or even a portion of it - it wouldn't be fatal.

The kid rose, dazed, before blindly following Poseidon's orders to attack again. 

I wanted to show him mercy, but he was willing to follow Poseidon's orders.

Besides, I wasn't strong enough to go easy on him.

Hellfire expanded from my body and began to wrap around him. At first, he resisted, producing water to extinguish the fire around him, but - as it reached his neck - it became clear that he'd exhausted his strength and could resist no more.

First, he choked, then he burnt, and then he melted. Within moments, he was reduced to a pile of ash. Once he had died, my skill activated.

[Judge Of The Dead had activated]

[Please select Daniel's fate]

[Fate 1: Reincarnation]

[Fate 2: Hell }

[Fate 3+ are unavailable at current level]

Typically, Yama would put people in one of the 21 hells available to him, but at level 1, there was only so much I could expect.

I looked at Yama to ask what I should do. "Well", he replied. "If you want to spare him, you can reincarnate him. I don't know what he'll be reincarnated as, but it could be human."

"What about Poseidon?", as I asked that question, I neglected the second panel that had appeared.

[Please select Poseidon's fate]

"You judge him separately. A word of warning, if Poseidon reincarnates, he'll only find another vessel", Yama's advice was useful, and from it, I made my decision.

[Daniel has been reincarnated]

[Poseidon has been sent to hell]