Somewhere above him, nine gods understood the tenth seat had been filled.
***
[Ready to begin?]
The platform answered for him.
The black stone beneath his feet trembled once. It almost felt like a warning.
The stars began to dim. As Rivion raised his head to investigate the change in lighting, an ethereal light slowly began to grow in intensity. He could almost make out something in the light.
Ten thrones stood in the distance.
One rose higher than the others. Not in arrogance. In weight…
Rivion's breath caught.
A voice spoke to him almost as if someone put their lips to his ear.
He heard the name that was spoken. He looked around, but could not see who spoke them.
The voice did not sound hostile. In fact, it sounded helpful.
Rivion was in shock. Not only was a voice speaking to him that had no body, but he was standing before nine gods. One of which was on their way to the platform he stood on.
Still processing the god that was moving towards him, he realized he should probably use this brief period of time to figure out what was happening.
He slowly nodded once while now processing the fact that a [System] of a dead god was now in his head.
Rivion took a slow breath in and slowly exhaled. He brought his hand to his face and pinched the bridge of his nose trying to stay calm.
[Strife] wasted no time giving him a reply.
Strife stated matter of factly.
<…yeah. More harm than good. Definitely more harm than good…> Rivion said with visible fear on his face.
The throne descended.
Slow.
Measured.
The void around the throne bent slightly inward, as if reality acknowledged his presence.
Light condensed before the throne and shaped itself into a man.
No armor.
No weapon.
He wore simple dark robes that moved as if underwater.
His eyes were ancient. They had watched over humanity from the beginning of time.
Tired.
Unavoidable.
The air grew heavy.
Not with threat.
With presence...
Rivion's [System] screen flickered.
[Trial One Initiated]
[Opposing Authority: Consequence]
[Synchronization Locked: 10%]
[Objective: Survive]
Rivion stared at the final line.
Crimson sparks quickly began to form into the shape of a truly magnificent suit of armor. The armor fit as if it was made for him. Dark metal and a crimson cape formed around him and solidified. This armor carried its own presence.
"That's it…?" Rivion looked down at the armor. He was waiting to see if a weapon materialized as well.
He did not get a chance to hear a reply.
Consequence spoke directly to him.
"I hope you were worth it."
The words were not loud.
They did not need to be.
His hands began to glow and slowly began producing a familiar vibration and light.
Rivion felt something twist in his chest. Cold sweat began to form on his body. Every cell in his body screamed in alarm.
A look of utter horror and hopelessness slowly crept on Rivion's face. The Déjà vu began to sink in.
"You… You killed him," Rivion said.
Consequence did not deny it.
"Strife knew the cost."
The space between them compressed.
Rivion staggered as invisible pressure crashed into him.
No strike.
No motion.
Just pressure. Pure Authority unleashed it it's most raw form. Rivion choked as the pressure ripped the air from his lungs.
His knees hit the stone.
Blood spilled from his nose, mouth, and ears almost instantly.
He gasped, lungs refusing air. As if it never knew what is was.
This was not an attack.
This was what followed one.
The platform pulsed crimson beneath him.
[Vital Stability: Critical]
A silent alarm sounded in his head as a warning that death was approaching rapidly, if measures were not taken immediately.
The pressure vanished.
Rivion collapsed forward, coughing up a healthy amount of blood repeatedly.
He had been a breath away from death.
Consequence tilted his head slightly. Surprised Rivion survived that attack.
"Again."
The pressure returned.
Harder.
Rivion's vision blurred. He began to see red spots as he felt the vessels bursting in his eyes.
Bones creaked.
His heartbeat stuttered. Struggling as if a fist was squeezing it continuously.
He felt organs strain against themselves.
No blade.
No fist.
Just pure divine presence.
Darkness crept on the edges of his vision. That continued to creep and continued to grow until his vision narrowed to the point where Consequence was the only thing in the center.
Rivion's body slammed against the edge of unconsciousness.
The platform pulsed.
The pressure withdrew.
He collapsed again. Gravity finally making amends with his body.
Air tore into his lungs like knives.
[Vitality: 10%] blinking repeatedly in the corner of his vision in bold red.
Eight distant thrones watched.
Silent.
Evaluating.
Consequence slowly stepped closer.
"You are not cut out for this, child. My brother deserved better." Consequence said as he turned his head to the side to look at the eight thrones in attendance. He broke eye contact for the first time in the fight. It seemed as if he was silently conversing with his peers.
Consequence returned his attention to Rivion. He slowly shook his head.
"I hope the next one is better."
The air tightened again.
This time sharper.
Rivion screamed. At least he tried to. The air once again divorced his lungs in a fraction of a second.
His ribs cracked audibly.
He felt something tear inside his chest.
The world dimmed.
Not metaphorically.
Actually dimmed.
This was death.
A millimeter away.
The pressure withdrew.
He dropped flat against the stone, trembling. Shuddering at the thought that this wasn't even Consequence at full power.
Blood pooled beneath him.
He could not lift his head.
Consequence stood over him.
"Aren't you even going to try to fight back?" he asked.
Rivion's fingers dug into the stone. His armored gauntlet clawing as the black stone forming deep grooves.
The warmth in his chest flickered.
Weak.
But defiant.
His presence began to push back on the world. He began to push back. Even though there was absolutely no chance to beat a god five minutes after being summoned to a new world, he still refused to die like this. Without even throwing a punch.
His Authority was beginning to form around him as an insulation against the divinity in the air.
Strife had knelt.
Strife had been broken physically.
Yet Strife smiled.
Rivion forced one eye open.
Blood blurred his vision.
"I'm… not Strife," he rasped.
"No. And you never will be. " Consequence agreed.
The pressure came again.
Harder than before.
Rivion's spine was pushed viciously into the stone.
Rivion faintly heard the voice of his [System]. Sound began to fade.
His vision went black.
For a fraction of a second —
He died.
His heart stopped.
Light collapsed.
Pressure vanished.
Darkness.
Then—
Crimson light.
Not from the Pantheon chamber.
Not from the void.
Just a fractured expanse of red-black tension lines suspended in nothing.
There was a silhouette in the distance.
Strife stood in the middle of the expanse.
Unchained.
Unwounded.
Calm.
"…Am I dead?" Rivion asked.
"Yes and no." Strife said with amusement in his eyes.
"Look, I'm having the worst day of my life here. Can someone please just explain what a going on…?"
"Yes."
Rivion did a double take as he was being approached by this stranger.
"I saw you… you were in chains."
"They killed you…"
Strife smirked at the statement.
"They executed someone who broke the Law." Strife said calmly. "This," he gestured to himself, "is the remnant of my consciousness that I left with my [System]. In crucial moments, like this one, I programmed my [System] to allow me to interact with you in this avatar."
"These are moments I figured you would need a little help with."
"So… why am I here? If they were just executing a criminal, then why am I even here?"
"What do you guys expect me to do here."
Strife studied him. Not judging. Measuring.
"You are here because of me. My action. My death. My succesor. You are meant to take my throne and succeed where I failed."
"You chose me?! I don't even know how I'm supposed to survive. I literally just woke up and I'm fighting a god almost immediately!"
Strife chuckled softly. "Yeah that's kind of rough now that I'm thinking about it."
He gestured to the space in front of him.
"Let me show you something. This might make things make more sense for you."
A faint red fracture formed in the air between them. Two invisible forces pressed against one another.
Strife gestured toward it.
"I want to show you what Strife truly means."
"What do you see?"
"That's just pressure pushing against another opposing pressure..."
"Exactly." Strife said.
The fracture widened.
"What is war? It is two sides refusing to bend or break. It is conflict. Both sides want to survive. Both sides pushing back against the other. It is pressure. Pressure from both sides refusing to give in."
He stepped closer.
"Strife is the moment two truths refuse to bend."
Rivion was visibly confused. He was still waiting on some type of secret weapon.
"…And what am I supposed to do with that?"
"You? Nothing."
Rivion frowned.
"You just need to endure it."
The fracture trembled violently, then stabilized.
"The others create structure. Law. Order. Dominion."
His eyes hardened slightly.
"I create pressure."
"That doesn't sound like a weapon to fight them."
Strife's lips curved faintly.
"Strife is the weapon."
"You underestimate my power." Strife said with amusement. "You will learn. First you must learn to survive. Show them you can push back."
The fracture suddenly expanded into a violent collision of unseen forces. The soundless impact distorted space.
"Nothing changes without Strife. Nothing grows without struggle."
"Then why are you dead? If 'Strife' is so important, then how did you allow them to kill you? Why did you break that law? Why… am I here?"
A pause.
Strife did not look away.
"Because I was tired of the same outcomes... I've watched the same struggles and wars since the beginning of humanity. Gods can't just retire, you know."
The space around them trembled.
Strife looked off to the distance and took a deep breath. He slowly exhaled and the trembling stopped.
Strife turned back to face Rivion.
"For every action, there is Consequence."
He steps closer to Rivion.
"The world pressed down on you your entire life. Yet you refused to kneel. My [System] does not make mistakes. It chose you…"
"…I don't know if you are able to see what's currently going on, but I am dying out there. I haven't even gotten a chance to think about attacking him."
"Yes." Strife answered with a straight face.
"He crushed me without even touching me."
Strife nodded once.
"He is strong." Strife admitted. "He is the strongest god at the moment."
"Then how do I fight that?"
Strife's gaze sharpened.
"You do not fight Consequence."
Strife looked off in the direction of where Consequence was standing prior this moment.
"You survive it."
Rivion's jaw tightened.
"The closer you come to breaking, the more my power answers you."
The red fractures intensified around Rivion's chest.
"Pressure is Strife. Conflict is Strife." Strife said while maintaining eye contact. "You just need to learn how to wield my power to fit your needs."
"So just let him kill me…?"
"Let him try." He said with a subtle smile.
The same one from the chamber prior to his execution.
"When you stop resisting pressure… and choose to stand in it…"
The fractures snap into place around Rivion.
"They will see me in you."
"…I'm still not seeing why you chose me?" Rivion asked.
Strife's expression shifted — not regret. Not pride.
He looked like a god who had seen it all.
"Because you've never been one to bend the knee to others no matter what life threw at you. [System], you did a good job finding my successor.
The void trembled.
Strife begins to fade.
"This isn't about winning, kid."
"Then what is it about?" Rivion stated with confusion.
Strife's voice echoed as he dissolved into crimson light.
"Refusing to kneel."
The platform flared crimson.
Something in his soul woke.
Not strength.
It was like he was fighting the pressure of the world back. Like he was exerting his own pressure.
As Consequence looked down at Rivion's body, he noticed a single bloody eye slowly open. He watched as a subtle smile formed on Rivion's lip.
The pressure from Consequence attempted to crush Rivion once again.
It met resistance this time.
Crimson distortion flickered between Rivion and Consequence.
It looked as if two currents flowing in opposite directions struck each other.
Fragile.
But there.
The eight gods leaned forward.
Consequence's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Perhaps I was wrong…"
A moment passed in silence.
Consequence no longer held back.
The air became thick with concentrated divinity. It was as if every molecule in the air began to exert a truly devastating pressure.
The Celestial Armor struggled to protect Rivion. It groaned in response to the pressure change.
This time was different though. Rivion willed his Authority to push back. The ground around him instantly cracked and splintered from the competing pressures. Broken pieces of stone floated in the air as if frozen by time.
It was as if every cell in his body refused to submit to Consequence. And the longer Consequence applied this pressure, the more cells joined the rebellion.
Rivion moved to one knee as he attempted to stand. He no longer wanted to run from this fight. His one eye maintained eye contact at all times with Consequence.
Consequence began to see the similarities between this mortal and his brother.
He saw all he needed to see.
"Survival acknowledged." He said with no emotion.
Ethereal light condensed around Consequence as he was teleported back to his throne as it began to rise to join the others.
Rivion remained on his knees once the pressure receded. He fell forward onto all four extremities coughing up blood.
Still smiling.
Still bleeding.
Still alive.
[Trial One Complete]
[Authority Synchronization Increased]
[Strife Authority: 20%]
[Next Trial Available]
[Proceed Immediately?]
[Return to Mortal Realm for Preparation Period?]