Wrath of the Forgotten
1085 Words
The Volcanic Peaks rose like burning scars across the southern horizon.
Black rock glowed red from rivers of lava. Ash fell continuously, coating armor and skin in gray. The air tasted of sulfur and rage. The army marched in silence—ten thousand men, faces masked against the heat, eyes fixed forward. Aryan walked at the front, no protection from the ash, no flinch from the heat. Power thrummed inside him—eternal, absolute, infinite. He was the New First. The cycle was his to command.
Renn walked beside him, voice muffled by cloth.
“My lord, scouts say the Temple of Wrath is at the crater’s edge. The God of Wrath has summoned his divine legion. Thousands of knights. Fire barriers. They know we’re coming.”
Aryan’s voice was calm.
“Good.”
Lira adjusted her cloak against the falling ash.
“The Pantheon is uniting. The other gods will send aid. They fear what you’re becoming.”
Aryan looked at the burning peaks.
“They should fear.”
The system chimed.
[God Devour – Progress: 2/12]
Target: God of Envy
Location: Mirror Palace, Northern Ice Fields
Warning: Envy’s domain is illusion and jealousy. Divine knights use mirrors to reflect attacks.
Aryan smiled.
“First finish Wrath.”
The army reached the temple at nightfall.
The temple stood on the crater’s rim—red stone, flame carvings, heat waves distorting the air. Divine knights stood in formation—golden armor glowing like molten metal, flame blades raised. Behind them, the God of Wrath waited—massive, armored in living fire, eyes like volcanoes.
Aryan stopped the army.
The knights charged.
Aryan raised his hand.
Rage Absorption – Activated.
Rage from the knights flowed into him—red light, burning fury.
The knights slowed.
Truth Dominion – Activated.
Truth forced from them.
“We serve Wrath. We burn for Wrath.”
Aryan spoke.
“You burn for nothing.”
God Devour – Activated.
Essence surged—red, hot, rage-filled.
The knights fell.
Aryan walked past.
The temple doors opened.
The God of Wrath roared.
Flame walls rose.
Aryan stepped through.
The flames parted.
The god laughed.
“You think you can devour wrath?”
Aryan spoke.
“I am wrath.”
Lie Devour – Activated.
The god’s rage was a lie.
Truth flooded.
The god screamed.
Divine essence surged.
The temple shook.
The god dissolved.
Aryan stood.
The system chimed.
[God Devour – Success]
Divine Power +1
New Ability: Flame Dominion (Lv.1) – Control fire and heat
HP: 800000/800000 → 1,600,000/1,600,000
Aryan looked at the empty altar.
Three down.
The army outside cheered.
They marched away from the crater.
The empire grew.
The cycle continued.
The Devourer ascended.
The next target waited.
Northern Ice Fields.
Mirror Palace.
God of Envy.
Aryan looked north.
The hunt went on.
The army left the crater behind, lava glow fading into the night.
Ash still clung to armor and cloaks, but the heat lessened with every step north. The sky cleared, stars sharp and cold above the black rock. Ten thousand men marched in disciplined silence—faces set, weapons ready, loyalty absolute. Aryan walked at the front, pace steady, no sign of fatigue. The new Flame Dominion ability simmered inside him like banked coals—ready to ignite at a thought.
Renn fell in step beside him, breath fogging slightly as the temperature dropped.
“My lord, the scouts say the Northern Ice Fields are three days away. The Mirror Palace is sealed with illusions. Mirrors everywhere—reflecting attacks, multiplying enemies. Envy’s knights are masters of deception.”
Aryan’s voice cut through the wind.
“Deception is just another lie.”
Lira walked on his other side, sword wrapped in cloth against the frost.
“The Pantheon is moving. The remaining gods are sending fragments of their power to Envy. They’re desperate. They know if you take four, the rest will fall faster.”
Aryan looked at the dark northern horizon.
“They should fear.”
The first night they camped in a sheltered ravine.
Fires burned low to conserve wood. The men ate in silence. Aryan sat apart, staring at the flames he now controlled.
Renn approached.
“You devoured Wrath. The army felt it. They’re stronger now—your power flows through them. They’re ready for anything.”
Aryan nodded once.
“They will need to be.”
Lira joined them, sitting cross-legged.
“The God of Envy will try to turn us against each other. Jealousy. Doubt. It will whisper our weaknesses.”
Aryan looked at her.
“My weakness died in the mines.”
Kael, Mira, and Tor sat nearby, listening.
Kael spoke gruffly.
“We follow you. No whispers will change that.”
Aryan looked at each of them.
“You are the only ones I trust.”
The second day brought snow.
The ground turned white. The air grew sharp. The army marched faster, breath clouding.
Aryan walked ahead.
Flame Dominion – Activated (low level).
A thin ring of fire circled the army, melting snow, warming the men.
They marched on.
The third day dawned gray.
The Northern Ice Fields stretched endless—white, flat, deadly.
The Mirror Palace rose in the distance—tall spires of ice and silvered glass, reflecting the sky, the snow, the army. Thousands of reflections appeared—ten thousand became twenty, forty, endless.
Illusions charged.
Aryan raised his hand.
Mirror Reflection – Activated.
The illusions hit the invisible barrier.
They bounced back.
Illusions shattered against illusions.
The real knights stood exposed.
Flame Dominion – Full Power.
Fire surged forward—controlled, precise.
Ice melted.
Mirrors cracked.
Knights screamed.
Aryan walked forward.
The palace doors opened.
The God of Envy waited inside—slender, cloaked in shifting reflections, face hidden behind a thousand mirrored masks.
“You envy my power,” the god hissed.
Aryan stepped inside.
“I envy nothing.”
Truth Dominion – Activated.
Truth forced from the god.
“You fear being forgotten. You fear being less.”
The god screamed.
Lie Devour – Activated.
All jealousy dissolved.
Truth flooded.
Divine essence surged.
The palace shook.
The god shattered into glass shards.
Aryan stood.
The system chimed.
[God Devour – Success]
Divine Power +1
New Ability: Jealousy Reversal (Lv.1) – Turn enemy jealousy into your strength
HP: 1,600,000/1,600,000 → 3,200,000/3,200,000
Aryan looked at the empty hall.
Four down.
The army outside roared.
They marched south again.
The empire grew.
The cycle continued.
The Devourer ascended.
The next target waited.
The hunt went on.
- Writer
