"What are you still doing here? Take the child and run!"
The man's voice broke through the tension like lightning through clouds. His wings unfurled—one as dark as night, the other glowing with divine flame—a god born of demon blood. Once ranked first in Heaven's divine order, now a traitor by choice. His eyes, once calm, now burned with urgency.
The woman he spoke to was his wife, a living weapon and the leader of the Valkyrie. Her wings shimmered into view, radiant with divine energy. She didn't hesitate. There was no time to waste.
---
NARRATOR
(A whisper of truth older than the realms themselves…)
In this world, Heaven, Hell, and Earth are not moral opposites — they are tiers of existence in a cosmic hierarchy. The path to godhood winds through them all.
Heaven – The Celestial Tier
Hell – The Crucible
Earth – The Mortal Tier
Not all beings climb. Some choose peace. Some cling to power. But the path remains open — enforced by the ancient Tablets of Ascension, hidden within each realm.
Each tablet holds one of the three laws:
---
1. The Law of Ascension
To ascend, you must first become the strongest in your current realm.
Only then may you challenge the lowest-ranked being in the tier above.
If you win, you rise and take their place.
If you lose, you remain — but you may try again, as many times as you survive.
No shortcuts. No mercy. Power must be earned.
Those already in Heaven may remain neutral.
But if they are defeated by a challenger from below, they are forced to descend.
---
2. The Law of Descent
Descent happens two ways:
▪ Forced Descent:
If you are the lowest-ranked in your realm and lose to someone from the realm below,
you must descend.
This is non-negotiable. Your status is broken. Your fall is sealed.
▪ Voluntary Descent:
If you choose to descend without a challenge, you must either:
Be granted permission from the realm's Tablet Guardians, or
Be accompanied by a Valkyrie, who can protect your essence and preserve your identity.
Without either, the descent shatters you:
Your memories fracture,
Your powers are stripped,
And you cannot try again for five to ten years. When you do, your path begins anew — your progress wiped clean.
3. The Valkyries
There were once 13 Valkyries, all female — divine entities born not just to fight, but to guide.
They can take any form, but most commonly:
Weapons, perfectly attuned to their chosen bearer.
Or women, radiant with divine beauty and fierce will.
Each Valkyrie holds a hidden message, placed deep within her core by the Supreme Being himself.
But this message cannot be accessed through force — only through bonding.
Only those who earn a Valkyrie's trust can unlock her full power.
Fewer still awaken the message that can rewrite existence itself.
4. The Protectors
Above gods. Beyond Valkyries.
The Protectors are beings created by the Supreme Being himself — not to rule, not to guide, but to maintain balance across all three realms.
They do not intervene in the rankings. That is the law.
But if a threat arises that could destabilize the ranking system itself — if a force emerges that bypasses, corrupts, or breaks the rules of ascension or descent —
then the Protectors may act.
They judge only when necessary, and when they do,
no one may overrule their verdict.
They were not made to punish.
They were made to restore order —
and balance cannot be negotiated.
---
BACK TO PRESENT
The man's voice trembled with raw intensity. "Run! I'll hold off the Protectors. Don't let them find out about Ragnarok. It has to be Heaven behind this. They're scared. Maybe I should've stayed at the top of the rankings…"
His wife met his gaze, unreadable, though pain burned behind her eyes. "If you had stayed, we never would've had him. We'd be ruling, but empty. Let them come for me. I just... want him to live."
She hesitated, then added softly, "You were an anomaly — a god born from demon blood. And now our child... he's something they can't understand. A Valkyrie can't have a child. Even the Supreme Being said so. But he also said: if a Valkyrie ever loves, anything becomes possible. I guess they believe we've broken the system."
"I can feel the Protectors getting closer," he growled. "Go. I'll distract them. Don't use your power — stay off their senses."
Before she could answer, he vanished — a streak of light swallowed by thunder.
She ran.
Her heart pounded, her wings vanished into her back, and she held her son tightly. There was only one place left: the orphanage.
---
After what felt like an eternity, the sky finally broke. Rain lashed the ground. Thunder cracked like judgment. She didn't stop.
The building appeared in the distance — small, worn, but still standing.
At the doorstep, she gently placed him in a basket. The rain muffled his quiet cries. Her hands trembled as she slipped a thin bangle into his fingers — the one engraved with his name: Ragnarok.
She brushed his cheek once, then turned and vanished into the storm.
---
Farther away, two white figures descended through the clouds. Behind them, her husband emerged — his wings drenched, but still glowing.
"I hope he's okay," he whispered.
She nodded. "He'll be safe."
Together, the four of them rose beyond the sky, beyond the realms — into a sealed space where time itself was frozen.
Awaiting judgment.
And far below them, in a basket by the door, a child slept — unaware of the power inside him.
A child the realms had no place for.
A child who could burn the system to ash.