Blasfemy of the Gods

The air was still wrong.

Even after the Unnamed One had vanished, the Threshold still pulsed with its presence—like an echo that refused to fade. Tanaka could feel it in his bones.

Izanagi hadn’t moved. The god of creation was still staring at the empty space where the entity had stood.

Finally, Tanaka spoke. “You knew about it.”

Izanagi’s jaw tightened. “I knew something like it existed. But I did not think it would come for you.”

Tanaka exhaled sharply. “So what now? Do we pretend that didn’t just happen?”

The god turned to him. His golden eyes were unreadable.

“No, M’fana.” His voice was quiet. “We prepare.”

Tanaka frowned. “For what?”

Izanagi’s gaze darkened.

“For war.”

A Council of Gods

The next hours passed in a blur. Izanagi led Tanaka back through the ruined temples, moving with purpose.

“We need allies,” the god said. “This is no longer just your fight.”

Tanaka snorted. “I didn’t realize it ever was.”

Izanagi gave him a sidelong glance. “It was always yours, M’fana. You just didn’t know it yet.”

They reached an ancient altar—a forgotten shrine that pulsed with energy. Izanagi lifted his hand, murmuring words in a language older than time.

The symbols on Tanaka’s arms burned.

And then—

The world shattered.

The air split apart like cracked glass, revealing something beyond—a space where time twisted and folded.

A space where gods gathered.

Tanaka barely had time to react before Izanagi stepped through. He followed.

The Celestial Court

They emerged into a vast chamber—a throne room unlike any Tanaka had ever seen.

Colossal statues lined the walls, each depicting gods long thought dead. The ceiling was an endless sky, shifting between day and night.

And in the center—

A council of gods.

Seated at a massive stone table were beings of unimaginable power. Tanaka recognized some immediately.

Odin, the Allfather, sat with his spear resting beside him, his single eye gleaming.

Anubis, the Egyptian god of the dead, watched from beneath his jackal mask, silent and still.

Beside him, Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, coiled around his seat, his golden scales shimmering.

And at the head of the table—

Zeus.

The king of Olympus leaned forward, his expression unreadable. Lightning crackled at his fingertips.

Tanaka’s pulse quickened. This was no ordinary meeting.

Izanagi spoke first. “The Unnamed One has appeared.”

A ripple went through the room. Some gods remained silent. Others muttered among themselves.

Zeus’s brows furrowed. “Impossible. That creature was sealed.”

Odin tapped his fingers against the table. “If it has returned, then the balance is truly broken.”

Anubis’s voice was like a whisper from the grave. “The dead have already begun to stir.”

Tanaka swallowed. “What does that mean?”

Anubis turned to him. “It means your world is already changing.”

A War of Faiths

Zeus stood. His presence filled the chamber.

“This is no time for hesitation. If the Unnamed One has returned, then we must act before it grows stronger.”

Quetzalcoatl uncoiled slightly. “And what do you propose, Thunderer? Another war?”

Zeus’s expression darkened. “If necessary.”

Tanaka exhaled sharply. “Hold on. You’re saying you want to fight something that you couldn’t even contain last time?”

Odin’s eye flickered toward him. “You do not understand what is at stake, mortal.”

Tanaka took a step forward. The symbols on his arms pulsed.

“Don’t call me that,” he muttered. “You all saw what happened back there. I’m not just a ‘mortal’ anymore.”

A tense silence followed.

Then—

Zeus smiled.

A slow, knowing smile.

“Indeed,” he said. “Which is why we need you.”

Tanaka stiffened. “Excuse me?”

Odin nodded. “You are an anomaly. Something new. Something the Unnamed One fears.”

Izanagi spoke softly. “That means you are our best weapon.”

Tanaka felt his pulse hammering in his ears. They wanted him to fight.

To stand against something that even gods feared.

He clenched his fists. “And if I refuse?”

Zeus’s eyes crackled. “Then you will die like the rest.”

Tanaka inhaled sharply.

He didn’t have a choice, did he?

The Mark of the Forgotten

Before he could respond, the ground shook.

A roar split the heavens, shaking the Celestial Court to its foundations.

The gods turned sharply. Something was coming.

A portal tore open in the sky, and from it—

A beast of shadows.

It was massive—a hulking thing of darkness and hunger. A creature not of this world.

And yet—

Tanaka recognized it.

One of the Unnamed One’s creations.

Zeus summoned lightning to his hand. Odin gripped his spear. The battle had already begun.

Izanagi turned to Tanaka. “Time to decide, M’fana.”

Tanaka stared at the beast. His blood burned.

He wasn’t ready.

But he didn’t have a choice.

With a breath, he stepped forward.

And the war began.

---

Author’s Note

The stakes are rising! Tanaka has been thrown into a war between gods, and now he’s expected to fight against an ancient enemy. Will he survive? And what exactly is he becoming?

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