In the vast starry sky...

A powerful soul fragment has been travelling for thousands of years, crossing countless light years before eventually reaching its destination — one of the many worlds housing intelligent life in this universe — Earth.

Entering Earth's atmosphere , the soul fragment made a straight beeline towards one of the public hospitals nearby, where a young woman of around 22 years was about to give birth to her child.

Unbeknownst to anyone present there, the incorporeal soul phased right through her stomach and entered her womb, settling deep inside the unborn child's body.

Just then, from the depths of existence itself, a chime sounded, echoing inside the baby's unconscious mind.

[ Ding ! ]

[ Necessary prerequisites fulfilled. ]

[ Awakening the Forgotten God's System… ]

— —

[ Starting fusion of the Godking soul fragment with the mortal soul fragment… ]

[ Fusion failed… ]

[ Analyzing the cause of failure… ]

[ Cause found: excessive disparity in strength between the two soul fragments. ]

[ Searching for solutions… ]

[ Solution found – Slow and gradual fusion over time – Probability of success: 99% ]

— —

[ Implementing the solution ]

[ Estimated time till complete soul fusion occurs– 25 years ]

[ Counting down…

24 years, 365 days 23:59:59

24 years, 365 days 23:59:58

24 years, 365 days 23:59:57

.

.

. ]

— —

[ The system will be going into sleep mode (temporarily) to preserve the remaining energy ]

***

24 years and 364 days later…

"Gasp..."

Galen jolted awake from sleep with ragged breaths, feeling a sharp pain stabbing through his chest.

"UGHHH...."

Fucking hell... It's this again.

Groaning, he gritted his teeth to endure the agonizing pain, trying to not make a noise.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain finally subsided, leaving behind a dull ache that would eventually settle after sometime.

With bloodshot eyes because of his recent ordeal, Galen grabbed his phone from a nearby table and squinted at the screen.

2:00 AM

"SIGHHHHH..."

Letting out a tired sigh, he laid back on his bed.

It was his mysterious illness acting up again.

He had this thing since his birth.

Because of it, he would suddenly wake up in the middle of the night feeling unbearable pain in his chest, that would last for about 10 minutes.

At first, it had been rare, once or twice a year at most. But as he grew up, the frequency of these painful episodes had also been steadily rising.

During his childhood, thinking it might be a medical issue, his adoptive parents brought him to all kinds of hospitals.

But no matter where they went, the results were always the same— the doctors declaring that he was perfectly fine, whether physically or mentally.

Not wanting his parents to worry about him any further, Galen decided to lie, saying that he wasn't having those episodes anymore.

Over the years, he had learned to silently endure the pain without screaming. That's how he was able to fool them into believing his empty words.

Meanwhile, he swore to find a solution for his affliction, himself.

Dedicating himself to his studies, he spent countless sleepless nights before finally becoming a respected doctor.

Brimming with hope, Galen started his career.

But reality — was far from kind.

Even after becoming a doctor and doing all kinds of research in the medical field, he couldn't find a single clue about his illness.

And to make matters worse, the pain had started tormenting him daily without a single break, even depriving him of his much needed sleep.

With frustration gnawing at his insides at the thought, Galen shut his eyes, trying to get himself as much sleep as possible in the remaining time before morning arrived.

After all, He still had work to go to.

Tossing and turning for hours, he finally slept, barely managing two hours of sleep before his alarm woke him up at exactly 7:00 AM.

Dragging himself out of bed, Galen forced his sluggish body into motion.

Freshening up, he dressed himself into a set of presentable clothes, had breakfast, and then left for work.

Taking the subway train, he began absentmindedly scrolling through his phone.

That's when he noticed the date.

' June 4 '

"Tomorrow's going to be my birthday, huh..." Galen muttered to himself.

"Just great... Yet another year of torment in this miserable life."

A mirthless laugh escaped his lips, when he recalled the heartwrenching pain that had started recurring every night.

Closing the phone, Galen started reminiscing about his life so far.

***

Galen Vaelthorn - that was his name. A young man of 24 years, at the prime of his life.

With somewhat short black hair, and light golden eyes, he could be considered quite handsome, that is if his hair didn't cover half his face all the time.

Abandoned soon after birth because of poverty, he was raised in an orphanage.

He had learned from his caretakers that he had a habit of constantly muttering in his sleep – especially the name Galen Vaelthorn – which eventually became his own.

That's why he was the only one with a different last name in the orphanage, while everyone else had the same last name – Jones – taken directly from the orphanage director's.

*

At the age of 5, Galn was adopted by a kind couple that didn't have the fortune of having their own child.

As he grew up, they showered him with unconditional love, filling the void in his heart, left behind by his birth parents when they abandoned him.

For Galen, living with his adoptive parents was the happiest time of his life, even with the unknown illness still plaguing him.

But his happiness didn't last long.

In an accident last year, he lost both his father and mother, falling into depression as a result.

Even before that, because of his recurring episodes, Galen had always been a quiet boy in school, not interacting with others too much.

Those occasional friends he had in school, just for the sake of it, only lasted till his graduation.

Fortunately, even if he was a total introvert, his top grades in school had somewhat saved him from the excessive bullying.

As for having a girlfriend... 🤷🏻‍♂️

That was totally up in the air.

If there was anything he was ever grateful for in his bland school life, that would be meeting his purple haired goddess — Rhea Everlight.

As a teacher, Rhea was the perfect example of grace and kindness shaped into a beautiful woman.

And not just for him, she was the goddess for everyone in the school.

Remembering her smile alone, soothed Galen's pained heart, even if by a little.

After graduating from high school, he had to focus on his college studies and the following research to find out about his condition, leaving him no time to meet her again.

"It's been years since I last saw her smile." Galen recalled with slight regret.

With that final thought lingering, he arrived at his workplace - a private hospital.

*

Six hours later...

After finishing his shift and grabbing a quick lunch at the cafeteria, Galen headed out.

But on his way back, he suddenly stopped at an intersection.

Instead of going back home, he changed his direction and went to the local cemetery.

There, standing in front of his parents' graves, Galen felt like a lump was forming in his throat.

Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and crouched down. With meticulous care, he began cleaning their graves.

When he finally finished and looked up, his gaze landed on the slightly blurred words, carved into the tombstones.

"Here lies the Mother and Father of the brightest soul in the world."

read the Epitaph, causing the tears that he had been holding back since arriving, to start streaming down his cheeks uncontrollably.

When he found them at the hospital, that was the last thing his parents had asked of him — to etch those words in their tombs— before closing their eyes forever.

Saddened beyond words, Galen knelt on the soil with his head lowered, letting his tears fall on their graves.

When his eyes didn't have anymore tears to shed, he wiped his face with his sleeves and sat down on the ground.

Sitting beside his parents' resting place, he talked about his life so far-

his struggles,

his exhaustion,

his unanswered questions,

everything.

As he kept talking, minutes turned into hours, and the sky started darkening.

But only when night had fallen completely did Galen finally rise from his position, leaving the place with a lighter heart.

Returning home, he ordered a simple dinner and, almost as an after thought, added a small piece of cake.

At 11:59 PM,

Galen took out that small cake and lit a candle on it.

Closing his eyes, he quietly asked for his parents' blessings.

The clock ticked forward, reaching 12:00 AM.

Just as he leaned in to blow out the candle, a sudden, violent pain surged through his entire body.

Before Galen could even fully process the pain, his mind went blank, and he lost consciousness.

And don't forget to leave a comment regarding the story. 😉

After 25 years, when Galen fell unconscious, a chime once again.

echoed in his mind.

[ Ding ! ]

[ Re-awakening the Forgotten God's System... ]

[ Re-awakening complete ]

[ Fusion of the Forgotten God's Godking soul fragment with the mortal soul fragment - complete ]

[ Integrating the Forgotten God's System with the Universal System... ]

[ Integration failed... ]

[ Cause ; the connecting medium (Mana) is still unavailable on Earth ]

[ Time till Mana explosion reaches Earth - 36 days, 7 hours, and 45 minutes. ]

[ Activating emergency protocols... ]

[ Searching for alternative energy sources...

Search - complete. ]

[ Restarting the system using the Forgotten God's remnant soul power... ]

[ System restart complete ]

[ Synchronizing memories... ]

***

Atop the biggest black hole in the entire universe - with trillions of times the mass of the sun - a majestic castle stood.

It's obsidian walls swaying ever so slightly under the unimaginable gravity of that black hole.

But neither the black hole, nor the castle was the main focus here.

Dwarfing both of their presence was a man - sitting on the castle's highest peak, his mere existence towering over everything.

Long black hair like the lightless abyss, flowing freely from the back of his head,

Glowing golden eyes, akin to the brightest of stars, slumbering in profound silence,

With skin fair and soft as snow,

and a physique, that was chiseled to perfection.

For millions of years, the man sat there, immersed in his comprehension,

Unmoved by anything... and

Untouched by time...

But, feeling some pests buzzing around in his vicinity all of a sudden, the Forgotten God finally opened his eyes.

***

The Forgotten God's Pov

I was the first human, or any species for that matter to ascend and wield mana in this universe.

{ A/N ; to get a clear picture, please read the auxiliary chapter ; Mana - the power of miracles }

With that newfound power, I traveled the world and fought countless battles to hone myself.

And when there was no one left to fight in my world, I left it behind in search of new opponents, in the vast starry sky.

What followed next, was an endless cycle of blood and battle, spanning countless worlds.

After subjecting myself to that grueling cycle for hundreds of thousands of years,

I've finally shed my mortality, and

became a God.

The First God, actually- in this entire universe.

But, everything had a price.

Standing at the peak, there was no one worthy enough to fight with me.

Even the new gods, that were born after sometime were too weak to be of any significance.

Deprived of my battles, I had to change my focus. So I started travelling again.

Only this time, instead of searching for opponents, I began searching for new sights that I haven't seen before.

Countless worlds and their myriad races,

Exploding supernovas and all-consuming black holes,

Swirling galaxies and their countless star clusters.

And many many more...

I saw everything there is to see in this expansive universe.

Countless generations came and went during my travels, and all those mortals who once worshipped me as their god eventually faded away - their religions dying down along with them.

Only the gods who were almost immortals till the end of our universe, still remembered my existence and gave me the moniker,

"The Forgotten God"

**

In one of my travels, I came across the biggest black hole I've ever found, since starting this long journey.

Somewhat curious, I decided to explore it. But along with the distortion of space and time I had already expected to find inside the blackhole, I also found something else.

An archaic gate–like structure steeped with a profound aura, stood at the very centre of that black hole, its smooth surface etched with unknown primordial runes.

'Why am I not able to sense it when it's clearly right in front of my eyes?'

With confusion colouring my thoughts, I moved a bit closer and reached out to the gate - hoping the universal system will reveal something about it.

In fact it did - the moment my fingers touched the gate.

[ You've come into contact with the Universal Treasure - Aetherion seal (also known as - The Cosmic Gateway) ]

[ Initiating Character Analysis... ]

[ Opening Status Screen... ]

[ Character Status ;

Name : Galen Vaelthorn ( The Forgotten God )

Age : 621,786 years old

Sex : Male

Race : Human

Level : 1000 ( Max )

Realm : Godking

Traits : None

Titles :

The First God

The Forgotten God ]

[ Reviewing life records of the chosen individual - Galen Vaelthorn... ]

[ Review complete. ]

[ Conclusion :

The Probability of Galen Vaelthorn betraying the Universe - 0.0000000000000000001 % ]

[ Assessing risk-reward ratio... ]

[ Assessment complete ]

[ Congratulations Galen Vaelthorn - You have been chosen as the very first guardian - of this Universe. ]

[ You have been granted access to the Universal Treasure - Aetherion Seal. ]

- -

After the final notification, waves of information started pouring into my head.

From that information, I came to learn that there exist innumerable universes, floating in the boundless River of Reality.

And the mana as we knew it, was actually the water from that river, seeping into every universe depending on their maturity.

While I was still in a daze - processing all that shocking information, the Aetherion Seal's form had suddenly started shrinking.

When It became small enough, similar to the size of a base ball, it shot straight into my body, settling in my soul.

After the seal moved into my soul, I could barely make out something in its previous location.

Squinting my eyes, I noticed a tiny crack, barely visible to the naked eye - in the fundamental fabric of the universe.

Through which, a new form of mana distinctly different to anything I've ever known - and incomparably powerful - was bleeding into our universe.

As if triggered by my findings, another wave of knowledge entered my mind.

And according to it, the crack was the result of a nearby higher leveled Universe - almost a trillion years old, trying to invade us.

To prevent it, my native universe, in its semi-conscious state, condensed all its origin power into an origin grade treasure (the Aetherion Seal) and used it to stop the crack from expanding.

But there was a drawback. After creating the seal, the universe's consciousness fell into a deep slumber.

{ A/N : The universal system introduced with the mana, was just a program running on fixed protocols, devoid of conscious thought. }

So, If someone with malicious intentions were to get their hands on the treasure, they could easily cause chaos – by using it to expand the crack and allowing those invaders inside our universe.

With their incomprehensible strength, it was practically giving them free reign over all of our lives .

To avoid that dreadful scenario...

after assessing the probability of my betrayal, the system chose me to guard the Aetherion Seal.

There was also another simple, but equally important reason the system had for choosing me besides loyalty - my strength.

Because...

Might makes Right.

And in this universe...

I Was The Strongest.

***

It took a while for me to process everything that had happened.

After that, I decided to settle near the crack, and constructed a personal castle for myself to reside in.

With nothing better to do, I sat down in silent meditation- trying to grasp the intricacies of that foreign mana.

But...

Even after spending millions of years studying it, because of its higher origin, I could only comprehend bits and pieces of it.

Yet that alone was enough to raise my previously stagnated strength to an entirely new level.

***

While Galen was immersed in his understanding, the foreign mana pouring out through the crack, began spreading rapidly throughout the entire universe.

Among the countless strands of neutral mana spreading across the cosmos, some had the spiritual imprints of powerhouses from the other side, carrying specific instructions.

Though after crossing over, those imprints didn't last long, dissipating within minutes.

Fortunately, or unfortunately for Galen, one of those strands - after jumping through space, landed exactly on the God of Deceit's hands.

Before dissipating like the others, that strand shared some vital pieces of information with him, causing his eyes to gleam with a cunning light. But he soon masked it like nothing happened, going about his life as usual.

And the Forgotten God - Galen Vaelthorn - had completely ignored this precarious situation. Thus... setting the stage for a massive tragedy, about to occur in the near future.

Learning about the existence of higher leveled mana, the gods traced it to it's source - eventually reaching the blackhole Galen was staying at.

Feeling his powerful presence from a distance, they stopped approaching him and decided to retreat - for now.

Soon, a celestial meeting was held between the gods - to discuss the presence of foreign mana, it's possible source and the implications.

The God of Deceit, as his name suggests, directed the meeting from behind the scenes and led all the gods into believing what he had wanted.

{ Mainly two things,

First - this foreign mana was what they urgently needed to raise their strength and step into a new realm of power.

Second - The First God / The Forgotten God, was monopolizing it's source for millions of years, depriving them of their opportunity to become as powerfull as him. }

The Gods, blinded by their greed for higher power, were easily led by their noses.

The result — except for the very few gods who cherished their current peace, all the others went to confront the Forgotten God, to force him into handing over the mana source, which they could use for their own benefit.

{ A/N : That was what most of them believed at least – except for the God of Deceit, the one who had orchestrated everything from behind the shadows, and some of his trusted underlings. }

Spurred on by their misplaced greed,

and the unspoken jealousy they harboured towards the Forgotten God's strength,

A grand lineup of gods, numbering in the thousands,

came together as a single fleet and soon surrounded the Forgotten God's castle.

Feeling some pesky insects buzzing around in his vicinity, the Forgotten God – Galen Vaelthorn – finally opened his eyes.

Even after being surrounded by them, he didn't have the slightest change in his expression.

Taking out his soul weapon from it's sheath - currently in it's sword form - he slowly stood.

Turning his head from side to side, Galen memorized all of their faces before falling into thought.

' Hmm... I see some new faces here. Newly ascended gods, perhaps? '

' Well, Whatever... '

Then addressing everyone, he voiced a question, his voice tinged with sarcasm.

"Why have you all decided to come here all of a sudden?"

"I don't remember being particularly chummy with any of you guys, to warrant a sudden visit like this."

Hearing his question, one of the representative gods, the Snake God, with his green pupils opening in slits and a lean physique that reeks of poison stepped forward and spoke.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Your excellency, Mr. Galen Vaethorn..."

"I hope we are not disturbing—"

"Just get to the point, you damned snake."

Galen interrupted him with irritation, his patience wearing thin. He was never one to exchange pleasantries with anyone. Especially if the one standing before him was this filthy snake.

Being called a snake all of a sudden, even if that was his original form, the representative nearly lost himself in his anger.

Never once in his life, had anyone insulted him with such blatant disregard.

But soon, he composed himself, recalling the main objective they had in coming here.

"All of us have noticed a new type of mana spreading in the universe in very small quantities for several millenia. After tracing it to it's origin, we suspect that you've been hiding that mana source from all of us, using it to strengthen yourself."

'So they don't know about the existence of the Aetherion Seal, nor its true purpose.' Galen inferred from his words.

Thinking about it, it was pretty obvious. Even he had only learned about those details after becoming the universe's guardian.

Letting the silence linger for a it, he finally asked.

"So, what if I have it? What are you going to do about it?" 

Seeing Galen admit to it so openly, the Snake God's eyes lit up with fervour.

"You should of course share it with us. Unlike you, we're going to use the power gained from that treasure for the betterment of this universe."

Picking his ear with his left pinky and blowing it sideways, Galen asked with a nonchalant expression, "And what if I refuse?"

A vein popped on the snake god's forehead.

"Don't push your luck too far, Galen." 

"You may be the strongest god, but…"

"You're just a lone a man, surrounded by thousands."

"Obediently hand over the treasure to us, if you don't want things to get ugly."

"Oh…?"

Galen questioned with a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Are you threatening me?"

"What do you think?" The Snake god retrorted with a smug face seeing his riled up expression.

Galen : "Haha... Hahaha... Hahahahahaha..."

"Just because I've been staying out of spotlight all these years,

You fools actually forgot what it means to fear me huh...?"

"Come... I'll help you remember... Why I am called The First God..."

"By burying you all,

Under my Blade..."

When he finished his sentence, his aura that was caged in his small frame for countless years, erupted like a massive tsunami sweeping over everything.

Upon sensing that Majestic Aura, all the gods were stupified, their bodies freezing in fear and disbelief. Comparing their meagre aura to his was like, comparing a small stream to the vast ocean.

Seeing all those gods standing there like idiots, The God of Deceit clicked his tongue in irritation and decided to take matters into his own hands.

He signaled to one of his subordinates with his eyes – who then shouted with a brave expression ,

"Everyone! He should have become this powerful only by using the higher energy. so we should get it's source for ourselves at all costs..."

Some other gods (his accomplices) also supported him, shouting,

"Yeah... Let's fight. He is just a single god, he can't defeat all of us. Let's just kill him and take the treasure."

"He should be honoured to die for us, because we will further develope our universe with that kind of power, unlike him..."

Hearing those voices, even those gods trembling in fear gritted their teeth and steeled their resolves, marching towards Galen...

Thus began the Great War, between One Man and thousands of Gods that'll last for centuries.

Millions of galaxies were destroyed in their battle, turning countless solar systems to dust...

After 800 years of constant fighting, not even a small wound could be seen on Galen's body. He was practically toying with the gods like they were mere toddlers.

When almost everyone thought there was no hope of defeating him, one of the subordinate Gods to the God of Deceit appeared behind him and plunged a dagger straight through his heart.

With Galen's power, it shouldn't have been possible for any weapon to penetrate his innate defence this easily.

So he had let his guard down and just tanked it like every other exchange he had with these gods over the years.

Which was a mistake because, the dagger was a creation from the higher universe, transported through the crack by the invaders. They had paid an enormous price to do so.

Only now did Galen remember the God of Deceit slipping in the middle of the fight and returning some time later.

' He should have gotten the dagger by somehow communicating with the other side. '

By the time Galen realised it, his life was already slipping through his fingers...

"So this is how I die,huh... Backstabbed by a coward..."

He laughed at himself.

Raising his head and looking directly into the remaining gods' eyes, focusing especially on the God of Deceit, Galen asked with a crazed smile,

"You guys want the universal Treasure right?"

"If so, you can go fuck yourselves...🖕🏻🖕🏻"

With that, he detonated his soul and used that power to break the Universal Treasure into 5 fragments and scattered it across the Universe.

The explosion was so dreadful that it killed nearly half of the remaining gods before subsiding.

***

When the aftermath had finally settled, The God of Deceit beaten and ragged due to the explosion, dragged his weary body and arrived at the site of Galen's death, to claim his awaited prize...

But when he reached there, he couldn't find a single thing.

The Universal Treasure,

his Subordinate God

or the forgotten God's body

Nothing...

Everything was gone like a puff of smoke.

When he realised that he had lost the treasure , there was silence for a moment followed by a heart wrenching scream,

"Noooooooo....."

***

What the Forgotten God hadn't forseen at the end of his life was...

When he detonated his soul, an infinitesimally small piece of it containing all his memories, got absorbed into one of the fragments of the Universal Treasure and started travelling the starry sky.

The remaining part of his soul got dragged into the cycle of reincarnation, to undergo nirvana and cleansing for its next life.

But since an essential piece of the soul was missing, every baby ever born with that soul ended up as a stillborn child.

Only on Earth, when the next rebirth was about to happen, the universal treasure fragment containing that piece of soul, finally reached the incomplete soul and fused with it, causing the baby to be born without any issues...

And after 25 years, on Earth...

[ System Restart completed ]

[ Synchronising Memories...

Synchronisation complete ]

[ Congratulations Galen Vaelthorn on your successful Reincarnation... ]