Omnipotent

Chapter 1 | Part 1: Hated by the Gods

All Renji could hear was the rhythmic dripping of water coming from his leaking roof. It was midnight and the sound of thunder had woken Renji up. It was weird of him to wake up because of bad weather because he was rather used to living in a cheap, old home.  After sitting upon his bed, he moved his cold gaze over to his rough hands. Hands that were roughened by constant overwork and of course, fighting thieves and thugs. Renji's life was very boring compared to his friends. Laziness and boredom were painted on his face. Some of his friends just turned eighteen and were deployed to join the King's warlords squad. One of his friends had recently become an ascender as well. Every time he heard that story, he formed a big smile on his face... Face? It was a mask. Jealousy clouded his mind every time. It felt like he was useless every damn time he heard that story. Renji didn't deny it though. His days consisted of selling fruits and using the profit to pay for his rent. What a rotten life, he told himself.

Knock... Knock... Knock

The sound of footsteps on the creaking, old wood floor was spread across the room. It took Renji a few minutes to realize that someone had entered his poor home. He was half-awake after all? At the moment of realization, Renji's eyes grew in size. While wide open, tears gathered together and formed one teardrop in his left eye. His brown pupils shook as the teardrop slid down his left cheek. Am I going to die? He repeated that question to himself countless times. 

Crash!

Flaming pieces of wood flew everywhere. The door to Renji's room was smashed into pieces by a mysterious shadow. A six-foot-tall, muscular shadow stood before Renji. Where did the flames come from? Did he have a torch? Oh, right... He was an ascender as well. There was no way that Renji could survive this fight, could he? All hope was lost. This was a moment of acceptance. Accepting death.

"I'm dying. I'm dying..." Renji muttered to himself, crawling up and hugging his knees. This miserable man had no hope. Tears rolled down his cheeks. Calling for help would be a waste of energy as well. Friends? Neighbors? He didn't have many people that wanted to help him. They would be relieved to know that a lazy and bitter man like Renji died. The tears had stopped rolling down his cheeks, and Renji's eyes had swollen up and took a crimson color. The shadowy figure took a very confident step forward. That single movement was so full of confidence that even Renji could admire it. There was a slight moment of silence. It had stopped raining, and the moonlight was shining through Renji's roof. The moonlight shone on the shadowy figure, slowly revealing their identity. A proud-looking warrior wearing thin armor, arms exposed but his face was hidden by a mask. While the veins on his right arm started to glow in orange, fierce flames shot out of their fist. The pressure that this man exerted felt like a bag of two hundred kilograms worth of rice was pushing Renji's head down. 

"It seems like God was less generous with you. Better luck in your next life." The warrior exclaimed before he took an offensive stance, bending his knees slightly and reeling his right fist back. With that movement, the flames on his right fist intensified, coating his entire arm completely. It seems like the gods were very generous with him, indeed. Blessed with physical strength and even ascension. These gods... They hate Renji. Renji lowered his head, showing a sign of defeat. 

His consciousness started to disappear... and it felt extremely hot. It felt as if Renji's blood was boiling, but that wasn't the biggest problem. The biggest problem was how impossible it was for Renji to open his eyes. They just didn't want to open at all...

Knock... Knock...

The proud warrior had left the house rather quickly. The sounds of his steps were louder than before, perhaps he stomped harder after victory. The defeated young male finally opened his eyes... slowly.. but surely. His vision was slightly blurred. Why was he only seeing red? Did he damage his eyes as well? No... No way. Renji finally realized that it was his blood. All splattered around the floor, his blanket, his bed... His rough hands were shaking continuously... he felt cold but he also felt warm. Cold outside, warm inside. The teeth slowly ground against each other to numb the pain, to stop himself from screaming. Renji had an entire hole through his chest. As his fingers curled up, a loud scream was let out. It was impossible to contain that scream. It was so loud that the old wood flooring started to crack a little. All the energy that he had stored up went to power it up. People that lived in the same building started to worryingly lock their doors and hide, but it doesn't seem like his family reacted at all. Perhaps they were dead as well? In defeat, his head hit the bed again, the body was completely out of energy. Death finally opened its doors. 

Renji's weak and frail body was bleeding out on top of the thin blanket under him, but suddenly, a very dark aura started to spread around the room... no, it spread around the entire building. The basket of fruits and vegetables that was hidden under his bed started to react to the aura. Carrots, apples and tomatoes, all started to go bad rather quickly. They were dying at a rapid rate. All because of the demonic aura that the dying body was emitting. What in the world was happening? 

A dark, shadowy, purple entity was inside Renji's chest. Small tentacles suspiciously rose up from the hole as it was slowly closing. The sight was so ugly, so unsightly. This surely was not an ascension, why you ask? Because it was more demonic than holy.