Tales of a Dead God

The night was filled with yells and screams of war. The rebel leader led the resistance to storm the king’s castle to finally end the tortuous reign that had a hold on the land for centuries. The fighting began in favor of the rebels but soon it was realized they were truly overpowered.

“We’re not going to win this!” A cry rang out amongst the yells of the king’s army.

With a shaky breath, the leader of the rebellion brought down their sword to take yet another life of a poor soul. “We can’t afford to lose.” The leader yelled back at the soldier.

“We can’t lose. We can’t lose. We can’t lose...” The leader continued whispering, pushing through the waves of the royal guard.

Seconds felt like an eternity fighting what seemed like an immovable force. The death of friends and enemies littered the halls. There was no time to mourn the loss for the God of Darkness continued to live.

“Straight ahead! The king has barricaded himself within his bedroom,” Someone yelled, but there was no time to see who it could be.

The leader pushed forward and blasted the doors of the king’s bedroom off their hinges. Time slowed as they came face to face with the one that caused so much turmoil within the land. Going forward sword raised and a cry let out, this was it. This was the final moment before victory, but as the leader of the rebellion raced forward, they were swept off their feet slamming into the wall. With one swift movement, the king, God of darkness, was facing the rebel leader.

“Did you really think that you would defeat me?” A cold low voice ripped through the now silent room. No one dared move. “I am much more powerful than you could imagine.”

The leader tried moving but to no avail, even though their powers weren’t enough to break through what the king had cast. They stayed silent trying to keep their life just a little longer. What they did notice was several rebels walking in with no effort to stop them from getting to the king, but they weren’t there to kill the king. No, they went to stand with him.

“No last words?” The king taunted with a small victorious smirk.

The realization hit the leader. This was a setup all along. Traitors were amongst the rebellion and led the way for a complete massacre of innocent people who wanted out of this tyranny.

Tears filled the eyes of the leader as they went yell for the other, “IT’S A TRAP GET OUT OF HERE! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!” They turned back to the king.

“You are a pathetic excuse for a God,” He spat, “Did you think this attempt of an attack would end in your favor?”

The leader said nothing. Cries of the dying and yells of the living echoed through the castle walls seeping through to the leader.

The king walked up to the leader, who was still plastered to the wall. Just high enough off the ground for their feet to dangle. He seized the leader’s face roughly forcing the poor soul to look him in the eyes. “You were never strong enough to kill another God and you never will be.”

“Then kill me.” It came out in a hushed tone but with the force of a hurricane.

The king gave a chuckle, “To kill you would be too easy. No, you will live with your failure and I shall take my victory.”

Defeat and heartbreak had washed through the leader. They hung their head as they knew this was the end. The Gods of old would be disappointed in them. Never once did the leader use their powers in a fight too scared of losing control and becoming like the king, God of darkness.

“It’s been said that only Life can take and give a God’s powers. However, it seems that with the help of a powerful friend, I can do the same.” The leader looked up. “Though this does come with sacrifice.” The king shrugged and turned to his trusted mages. “They have offered to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.”

The king walked away and the leader came crashing to the floor. Two soldiers dragged them to the middle of the bedroom and tossed them like they were only trash. Three mages stood around the leader and intertwined hands with each other. The last things the leader saw were the soldiers and king leaving the room and the bloodbath that occurred just outside the doors. They saw their brother in arms laying on the floor bathed in the blood of the enemy and their own.

“It’s a shame we couldn’t be on the same side. We would’ve ruled this mortal world with great power.” The king sighed before walking out.

The leader lay on the cold marble floor closing their eyes. Screams and yells could faintly be heard echoing within the castle walls. Tears began to stream down their face knowing this was their fault. Slowly the screams became silent as the mages began their chant and the once sun-filled room started becoming dark.

“I’m sorry for all of this,” they softly whisper before being enveloped by the darkness.