Lowly Ascent

Outside each city, the Pillars opened, releasing black miasma so concentrated it damaged the barriers around the gods' domains.

From each pillar, figures emerged covered in red before dyeing black. They hovered above the world, looking at the cities with only one thought, invasion.

The trapped souls looked at the regal ones above them, they felt the presence of their creator within them. They were the kings under an Emperor, the best of Nihil's soldiers, and the new leaders he had chosen for his army.

In the haze below, thousands of beasts gathered. Monstrosities lowered their head, not daring to hunt one another no matter how bad the hunger.

On the walls of the City of Hysteria, the place where the Bureau once ruled, Cromwell stared at the figure from the tower. It neared him and he could only tighten his grip in anticipation.

"You are the defender of this city? Where is your god?" The figure held an ever-moving spear of blood in his hand. His features were sharp and gentlemanly, with a short beard. Besides his clothes,  everything else was made of mist. The style of the clothes was close to the planet's medieval times.

Cromwell was cautious; he felt great danger from the ghost. "I am this city's defender. Why do you wish to know where God is?" He didn't ask any more than what was needed.

Leon played with his spear uninterested, "I don't wish to know where your god is, my Lord does." He sighed, "It matters not, your god will have to stop hiding eventually. Prepare yourself, the invasion will now begin."

Raising his hand, the chains locking the ghosts to pillar broke one by one as the structure collapsed into a wave of black ink. The monsters below rode the wave, coming straight for the city.

Cromwell's jaw dropped.

"The end is here," Leon smirked. My Lord will assimilate all of you."

...

Out of the last four cities, only three of the four pillars opened, the last vacant.

The city that was left was built around a valley. The valley was where the main headquarters for the Church of Vale was, and unlike the other cities, its god wasn't present.

Even now, the city was without its beacon, relying on strange artifacts to protect itself. Nihil planned to deal with the godless city last, taking out the other gods first and consuming them all. Then, in a last attack before his soul collapsed, he would kill the Onlooker if they appeared.

But this was only plan B if he couldn't find the fruit. The reason behind the invasion was to search for it after all, not to slay gods. If he wanted to kill the gods he would have grown his forces for another decade or two.

Outside the other two cities, the figures of a fully armored knight with a rapier and a man emanating an aura befitting a ruler assaulted their respective targets. Each of them fought the defense leaders, and war began.

At the core of the continent, where a pillar with a spring atop it stood unperturbed, a strange rhythmic noise hummed.

...

"I'll kill you!" Cromwell attacked before the army crashed against the city walls. He wanted to kill the unknown figure in hopes of stopping all of this.

"Flight!" He jumped off the wall, not falling but soaring up to Leon.

"A mere mortal!" Leon's spear intensified.

Again, Cromwell's gray tongue hissed, "Strength!"

He held no weapon, all he needed was his fists. After all, he killed his family for such strength, for power above the natural limit.

Leon's spear touched the man's knuckles, piercing flesh. Yet, Cromwell was still yelling in rage, pushing his fist farther, to a point where the spear found resistance and was moved back.

The spear twirled, ripping the knuckles apart. Cromwell was uncaring, his half-destroyed hand colliding with Leon's semi-solid form.

One was sent flying while the other fell from the sky.

Leon sighed as he crashed into a large tree. "The Lord couldn't summon us fully, the mist can't exist in a world like this. To combat this he gave of these weak forms....they don't have the benefits of the mist we are used to..."

Unlike the red mist, the current state of the ghosts was that of concentrated soul energy. They needed to stay in their form and couldn't move like they did in the mist, they could still regenerate but their flexibility was now like a rock, and their powers were weakened due to the conflict in the medium.

Nevertheless, they were a force to be reckoned with and were enough for Nihil's plans.

Standing up from his fall, Cromwell found himself before a large wave of monsters. For a second, his heart filled with fear, but that fear was flushed out by belief. He clasped his hands and spoke loud and clear.

"Hysteria!" His voice was like law, the words becoming venomous ink that manifested into a giant serpent.

The wave heading towards the city paused, the waves it rode on lessening, and the creatures that patiently waited became agitated, a few already fighting one another.

Leon didn't care for it, he sent out his spear. The mythical weapon grew off the blood of the creatures. He culled hundreds before their instincts returned and their madness lost.

"Impressive, but my Lord is much better at things like this." He mocked.

The mortal gnashed his teeth and continued to fight.

...

"Who are you, stranger?! You came from the black pillar yes?" A guard on the wall questioned the strange knight in black armor.

"Move idiot!" Trevor Sharp threw the guard over the wall and glared at the silent invader with interest.

"Looks like you came for something, care to kiss and tell?"

The knight raised their rapier and said nothing.

"So be it..." Trevor took out a bundle of bells.

...

"I wonder how you became a pawn for him, how did you die for him to keep you?" Kain questioned the man before him, he knew it wasn't Leon so it must be someone else of importance.

The man with the aura of a ruler frowned, "Don't act like you know him, you are no longer connected to his greatness, leaching on it."

"You're all brainwashed idiots...." Kain's arm glowed as multiple stars and moons appeared around him, expanding rapidly.

...

Elsewhere, six people manifested around a titanic pillar layered in black miasma. It was storming, and the rain was dyed black as it passed through the fog.

The six flew down, taking refuge in the pillar, hiding in the caverns in its structure.

"Are you sure he's here?" One asked.

No one responded and the group remained silent as they explored. They couldn't go to the top without letting Nihil know they were there. Instead, they went through the tunnels where there was less vapor. This place was also where Nihil kept his experiments on the local animals.

These six found themselves in the belly of the beast.