Lowly Ascent

The Planet's core was colder than usual, for at its center was a mass of black writhing and moving without end.

'It's time, they've come...'

Swaths of blackish limbs unraveled, they moved about, reaching for the earth above.

...

The Empire of Stars was a recently born country; however, it was one of the most powerful players, with a capital city so big it took up a fourth of the region it was stationed in. The region itself was in the central planes of the continent, being one of the largest around.

Above the city, the night sky was pitch black, there were no clouds.

On the horizon, orange and red dyed the atmosphere. The warm colors increasingly getting bigger, growing, and becoming more vibrant.

Something was coming.

"It is as the Chancellor said! A monster has come for our home! Men, we will give our lives, for the Stars!"

The Current Emperor of the Empire, Adelric V. Kunze, was already warned of the great enemy by the Chancellor. He prepared for the country's defense.

The mortals knew they could not kill an enemy god, but they could hold it off.

In the distance, the monster became visible as its size grew in the blink of an eye. Flames were everywhere, a mound of bodies made of countless charred corpses roared as the inhabitants of the Capital of Stars could feel the heat rise.

Adelric was fearful, "This might be harder than I first thought. I already feel like I'm boiling in a heatwave..."

Thankfully, a pleasant voice came from behind. "Emperor, it is done, you do not have to worry about sending lives away to burn in that inferno."

"What? It's done?! You mean..."

From the palace, glistening lights emerged.

On the ramparts of the city, Kain, one of the leading generals in the defense, watched as the blank sky lit with lights. Yet, the lights weren't in the sky, he could see them so close, he could touch them.

They were stars. Bright balls that brought hope, they brought heritage and warmth.

God had returned. The true Emperor of Stars came to defend his people.

"To think I would fight you...you mad and depressed bastard." A voice sent the entire line of defense quivering from the ominous power in the words.

The stars collected one by one. They formed a river and on that river, a person walked atop. They wandered about, each time they stepped on a star it almost crumbled, but the river still held strong.

"AWOOO!" The flaming divine giant cried out as red-hot flames spewed from its mouth.

"Just another beast to hunt!" God fully materialized, his body covered in numerous lights, forming an armor of starlight. In his hand was a clear-cut sword made from an asteroid, it was large, even for him, yet he wielded it with one hand.

"Go." Stars moved about and took the brunt of the Cosmic Firestorm's attack. Seeing it as so, the angry god roared and let its flames propel itself.

"That's more like it!"

Raising his blade, God swung and brought judgment down on the damned. The flaming mass caught it, yet under such strong force took a knee and the earth around it was pulverized into smithereens.

The beast snarled and lunged, baring its flaming claws, grabbing onto God's armor.

"The difference between us is too large. You're just a dumb mutt, you even let your followers control you! You are no god!"

As his armor slowly melted, the Kaiser rammed his hand into the giant's empty eye sockets, ripping out its insides. The giant screamed in pain but continued to hold strong and melt away the Kaiser's armor.

"Fucking animal..." The Kaiser could not stop the giant's attack, he was locked in place and would be forced to take damage early in the grand competition to take down a mindless god.

"Well, I can still use those medicines I saved in my hideout, but is it still there after all these years? Bah, what matters now is protecting the city, who cares if I need to kill this thing to do that!? After that, I'll use my connection to humanity to see what the other gods are doing, I doubt they know I can see through their lesser followers' eyes!" He cheered himself up with his ingenious.

The Kaiser had an amazing advantage, as his powers were related to Stars, like the god he killed so long ago as a mere mortal, but he also had divinities connected to humanity, allowing him to see through the senses of humans with his blood, and as an Ancient Ruler who had a massive haram, his blood spread throughout the world.

Not only that, he had ways to keep tabs on any human, even without his blood, it was just through less intimate means, translating to less information gained.

In truth, the Kaiser was what he was by a stroke of luck. He died protecting the world, killing a god in the process. However, through the intervention of another, he gained the dead god's power and lived on; keeping his humanity.

"ROAR!"

The giant of fire had another burst of strength, it began to push back the God of Stars and Man.

"Just die!"

Starlight beamed in the air, it moved with blistering speed and attacked the giant. However, the flames were not normal, they were flames of hate and rage, burning the stars before they could do any real damage.

The Cosmic Firestorm may have been dumb, but its sheer power made up for it. If the Kaiser tried for a trap instead of facing it head-on, he may have been able to kill it without receiving any damage. Alas, he had only recently descended, he did not have time to sit and think.

Crack!

The ground began to crumble more and more, the size of the hole made by the two was already large enough to make a lake.

"This large bastard! Let's even the playing field then!"

Even with a vessel, gods could stretch their limits, especially so if their powers allowed for such changes.

Immediately, the Kaiser's size grew to half of the giant's, and he gained more space to move and fight back. Evening the size class did wonders in their fight.

"Not...enough. Hmpf! Let's see if you can...wait....?"

The earth vibrated, and the ground rumbled.

"Owoo?"

The soil separated, and at that moment, the Kaiser's eyes widened. He pushed as hard as he could to get away from the flaming giant.

Titanic black tentacles rose from the ground, destroying everything around them. They moved fast and wrapped around the Cosmic Firestorm, its flames failing to burn them.

"Strange...this is too strange, which god is this? Unless...it isn't a god?" The Kaiser was at a loss for words.

"ROAR! ROAR!"

The giant was indignant, but the dark limbs of Nihil were vigorous, they were constantly regenerating more than the flames could melt. To others, it looked like nothing was happening to his limbs, but in truth, they were just being forced out of a constant growing state.

'Once you send out the fishing line, you bring it in when the biggest fish bites!' Nihil reeled in his prize.

Up above, the giant cried out as it was pulled below the earth. The Kaiser was left in puzzlement, and fear. There was silence, the ramparts of the city and its defenders shocked and paralyzed.