Killing a god was a long-cherished dream of many players. From the very beginning, this possibility had been discussed on the forums. What would it be like to kill the most powerful creatures, to “win” the game? However, none of the thirty-three entities of ranks seven to nine classified as “deities” had ever died by players’ hands. The events with the Mad God, Ankie’s occasional hints, and the story of the Torn One offered hope that it was possible, but no attempts so far had born fruit. The last of them, when ten thousand raiders had focused all of their forces to kill Ananizarte, ended with the infamous annihilation of the Golden Fairs.
Tao was quite interested in that topic. He read forums and eyewitness accounts, watched videos, studied his predecessors’ reports... Some time ago, he had managed to accomplish something previously considered impossible, single-handedly using the Divine Scrolls to destroy a faction leader, a rank five NPC, and a raid target. The PROJECT leader was certain that there was a way to defeat a god, as nothing in Sphere was impossible.
Strange powers and superpowers, inexplicably generated by the transcendent intelligence, were dreaming in the dark corners of the world. Entities, archetypes, and items granting improbable abilities sometimes fell into the hands of players. The new administration of Sphere that replaced Balabanov’s missing team tried tracking down, seizing, and destroying them, but soon, the admins realized that such work was pointless. The procedural generator kept creating all of that in response to the unpredictable processes occurring in Sphere called “life emulation.”
“Movement trajectory calculated. One hundred and seventeen objects are moving toward the target, aggression range: worldwide. ETA of the six closest objects: thirty-eight minutes.”
A black and yellow sea of lava slowly bubbled below, spitting out spurts of flame. The strange world of Infernis was entirely composed of a molten ocean of magma with colossal island-sized beasts roaming it. Players had been studying this phenomenon for a long time while doing local quests. Completing a series of tasks, many of them epic, solved this mystery: the beasts were created by the Ancients, the pinnacle of their technology, invincible war machines designed to destroy worlds
Their engineers were long gone, but the creatures remained, aimlessly roaming the ruined Infernis. There was a theory that it was they who had melted down all continents of that world, gradually transforming it into an endless wasteland full of magma.
According to the game’s lore, at the dawn of creation, the Ancients had warred against the gods. That storyline recurred in many other quests. They lost and were destroyed, forever erased from Sphere, leaving behind an odd legacy.
Tao had seen the secret data, the beasts’ profiles. Their combat abilities were awe-inspiring and indescribable. Covered in obsidian shells made from solidified magma, ellurite coursing through their veins, they didn’t even resemble living creatures. The beasts carried entire locations on their backs, NPC Kingdoms and player outposts, cities and mountain ranges.
“Fourteen minutes until optimal striking range.”
Tao patiently waited. Slowly but relentlessly, the giant black islands looming on the horizon were getting closer. He removed Obsidian from his inventory. A black whirlwind was still ranging inside the purple orb that had completely transformed into a web of fractures. The goddess was about to break free.
Durability: 4/100.
Tao held no illusions about defeating Ananizarte single-handedly. It was impossible, even in theory — the gap in power was insurmountable. However, taking her into a location full of Ancient enemies and throwing her to them was a different matter. It hadn’t required much from him, other than luring the beasts closer and not letting the goddess escape, both of which were doable.
“Teleportation lock activated. The world is temporarily locked from visitation.”
As he stood high above the flowing magma, the PROJECT leader waited. Black mountains drew nearer, closing in. The waves he had raised lazily rolled down the bubbling lava, stirring up tongues of flames. Tao counted the beasts — there were six of them. Should be enough DPS. It was hard to tell for sure, as nobody had ever accomplished anything like that.
Durability: 2/100.
As if sensing trouble — which might very well be true — the imprisoned goddess doubled her pressure. A new crack split Obsidian, and it crumbled, almost falling apart. Tao couldn’t wait anymore. The black monstrosities of roaming islands were already close. For the last time, he gazed into the purple depths of the Soul Eater, braced himself, and threw it down into the magma sea of Infernis. The effects of that could be unpredictable. This place might soon become even more hellish than it already was.
Obsidian flashed in a blurry streak, taking impossibly long to drop down. At last, it sank into the heaving red-and-black waves. Scorching magma immediately started gnawing away the orb’s remaining durability, completely destroying it.
“Attention! The target was released and contained. Preparing for interrupting the abilities.”
* * *
As she left the destroyed Soul Eater, Ananizarte found herself in a melted ocean of boiling lava. Her human form almost died, ill-adapted to such an extreme temperature. Splashing fiery torrents, the goddess burst outside, ending up in a closed ring formed by steep cliffs covered with solid magma.
Red sky, yellow-black lava, obsidian mountains growing in its midst... It was Infernis, the world closed to gods that contained the deadliest creatures ever created by the Ancients.
A terrible roar deafened Ananizarte, and black cliffs started moving, hovering above her. With a thunderous booming, round scarlet slits resembling giant volcanic vents opened in them, furious blue fire blazing inside.
She remembered the beasts. Mesmer’s Sublime Comet that destroyed the Fairs had been designed to battle them, as only a global-scale terraforming spell could damage such a monster. Once, the gods had used cunning to stop the invasion of those creatures as they threatened to
