[You have now seen the twenty-five worlds, and we have explained what happened to each of them. Let us proceed.]
The system’s message lingered in the black void, glowing softly in that deep blue hue, the same way it always did.
Yet, despite the familiar appearance, Alex couldn’t take his eyes off the floating spheres still spinning in the air before him.
Each world held its own color, its own texture, its own strange energy, and though they hovered silently in the dark, they felt far from lifeless.
There was a certain weight to seeing them like this, twenty-four worlds conquered, all different from his, and yet destined to share the same ending unless something changed.
Unless HE changed it.
[Universal Descent.]
The moment the system echoed the game’s true name, all twenty-five rotating worlds suddenly halted.
The spinning stopped. The motion ceased.
Then, in eerie unison, the orbs began to drift apart from one another, each slowly backing away until they had created a wider circle.
The planets now floated in formation, evenly spaced, like cosmic pieces on a divine chessboard.
Earth, naturally, hovered directly in front of Alex, its blue and green surface shimmering under the invisible light of the void.
[The main goal of this “game”, as stated before, is to give the inhabitants of these twenty-five worlds a chance, a single opportunity to fight back against the gods and all other threats tied to them.]
Alex didn’t speak.
He had no reason to interrupt.
His silence wasn’t apathy, it was focus.
He listened, watched, absorbed every word.
[As expected… no one has succeeded. No matter the effort, no matter the sacrifice, all who tried eventually died.]
The words were blunt, cruel even, but Alex knew they weren’t meant to hurt him, they were just the truth.
The bitter kind.
He kept his eyes on the twenty-five worlds now orbiting in the void, and as he watched, something else began to form.
Strange particles, thin, almost like wisps of colored smoke, began trailing from behind each of the floating planets.
What the hell…?
[This is the essence of Universal Descent: giving a fighting chance to each of these worlds :)]
The system added a smiley face, as if trying to soften the weight of the truth.
Alex frowned. “Who’s the one that gives them that chance, though?” he asked, his tone thoughtful.
“What’s stopping the gods from simply storming in early? They could wipe us out immediately if they wanted to, right?”
It was a good question.
If the gods were as powerful as everyone made them out to be, why play this game at all? Why wait a year, why go through the motions?
As the particles behind each planet thickened, Alex saw that they weren’t just random lights, they were forming shapes.
And not just any shapes.
Humanoid outlines, towering and faint at first, but becoming more solid by the second.
“Those things…” he muttered.
[To answer your question: We are the ones stopping them. We are the ones giving your worlds a chance.]
“We?” Alex repeated, narrowing his eyes.
[The system.]
“Oh.”
The simplicity of the answer didn’t match the magnitude of what it implied.
The system itself, was the one keeping the gods at bay?
It had power over them?
[The gods were created by us. We shaped their physical forms. Their personalities and actions, however, were formed by their own wills, not ours.]
Alex’s fingers twitched slightly. “So you created them, and now you’re preventing them from tearing everything apart?”
[Correct.]
[The gods decided long ago that conquering worlds and collecting Chosen Ones would be the path toward their final goal. They would select warriors, one from each world, and then host a tournament among themselves until only one god, and one warrior, remained.]
“The Chosen Games,” Alex said under his breath.
He already knew that part, but hearing it again, in this space, surrounded by these worlds, it felt heavier now.
As the system continued explaining, the two figures forming behind each world gained even more detail.
And suddenly, Alex understood the setup completely.
The circle of planets, each with two colossal beings standing behind them, one slightly smaller, one towering.
The smaller ones radiated raw potential. The larger ones radiated divine authority.
[The smaller figures are the Chosen Ones of each world. Behind them stand the gods who selected them.]
And as the system spoke, Alex started noticing even more strange features on the humanoid figures, some had long pointed ears, others tails, some wielded strange weapons or wore armor that glowed with energy.
He couldn’t make out their faces, though.
They were all veiled in shadows, their outlines flickering like mirages.
But their eyes, their eyes burned with color, each one different, some red like blood, others gold, others void black or sky blue.
Behind them, the gods towered like sentinels, silent and proud, watching their champions like mentors preparing for a final battle.
[These are the gods, and the warriors they selected from the twenty-five worlds they destroyed. You already know the rest. The gods will send their chosen into battle. The last god standing wins the right to rule all.]
It was like watching a twisted celestial war room.
Alex’s gaze drifted slowly across the entire formation, planet by planet, figure by figure.
Most of them remained a mystery to him, faceless shadows, unreadable and unfamiliar.
But then, his eyes stopped.
There were two figures he did recognize.
Behind the world with the twin purple moons, both figures stood clearly visible.
There was no darkness hiding their faces, no ambiguity.
Alex narrowed his eyes.
‘Varyn… Lorien…’
The God of the Abyss and his Chosen One.
He had fought them both. Killed them both.
That explained it.
The reason why he could see them was simple, he had encountered them.
Then, sensing something behind him, Alex turned around.
There, looming behind him in this astral circle, was a towering figure as well, taller than any other near Earth.
[The God of Destiny – Kaelios.]
The one he was bound to.
And suddenly, Alex fully understood how this formation worked.
Each Chosen One stood before their world.
Behind them stood their god.
Alex stood before Earth, and Kaelios stood behind him.
[We’ve now answered almost everything. But there is one more piece left.]
[You asked, “What is the system?”]
Alex nodded. “Right. You said you were the ones who made the gods, who started this whole thing… Does that mean—?”
[…That we are evil? :)]
The question was cut short by the system’s response, again using that same harmless smiley.
Another panel appeared, this one with a tiny emoji scratching its chin in mock curiosity.
[Hmm… not quite. We do not wish for death. We do not enjoy destruction. Our role is to observe. Nothing more, nothing less.]
Alex’s expression didn’t change, but his silence made it clear he wasn’t satisfied with that answer.
“That still doesn’t explain what you are.”
There was a brief pause.
Then, the next message blinked in with a tinge of teasing finality.
[To know what we truly are, you would’ve needed to ask a much more specific question. Too bad, human! :)]
“Tch,” Alex groaned, running a hand through his hair, “Figures.”
Still, even with that last dodge, Alex had to admit, he’d gotten more out of this one question than he thought was even possible.
He now understood the scale of this game, not just what he was fighting, but who, and why.
Twenty-four other worlds. Twenty-four gods. Twenty-four Chosen Ones.
All dead or doomed, with Earth the last one remaining.
But unlike them, this time, there was him.
And Alex, wasn’t planning on losing.
…
A/N
To all of those following this story, it is highly likely I’ll start uploading three chapters a day now!