A man sat on top of a tall mountain, bloody and alone. The mountain top was ruined, as if a tornado thoroughly went over its every surface. Corpses and weapons littered the ground, mixed with wreckages of trees and various rocks and stones.

The mountain top was devoid of a light source, yet one could see everything as if it was daytime. The man’s eyes shone like stars as looked out from his position. One could clearly see the vast emptiness surrounding the land, despite the lack of any stars. The mountain was actually floating in empty space!

“Ha….”

“I’m tired…How did things get like this…”

The man recalled the memories of his long life, as he sat unmoving amidst the numerous corpses, akin to a demon god.

He was merely a hunter in a small village. Orphaned at a young age, living alone with the support from the village. With luck, he became a servant in a local sect and worked his way up until he became an elder.

He wasn’t blessed with cultivation talent nor lucky encounters like one might read in those novels. He merely worked hard and stayed out of trouble.

As a result, it took him a very long time to reach the apex of the cultivation realm. His accumulated luck finally caught up and he discovered the legacy of an ascended god. He employed the knowledge gained from the legacy to break the shackles of the mortal realm and reach godhood.

How thrilled he was to arrive in the realm of gods after many millenniums of hard work! He imagined the realm of gods to be filled with riches and comfort.

He realised the error of his ideals shortly after. Luckily, he was flat broke and was too weak for anyone to concern themselves with. The realm of gods was just as brutal and unforgiving as the realm of mortals, if not worse!

He found a quiet corner in an unclaimed territory and silently cultivated. As he now had almost unlimited time, and the fact that he had nothing better to do.

Unknown to almost all but a few in the realm of gods, those who knew came to refer to him as the Hermit God. His strength was known only to his enemies, none living to tell the tale.

The realm of gods was constantly in a state of war. Many factions competed for territories, for they contained resources needed to grow in strength. The strength of a single individual mattered little in the battlefield, making the loner Hermit God to be mostly ignored.

The endless war went on until there was only two competing factions remaining, vying for the control of the entire realm of gods.

The Hermit God was finally approached by one faction, attempting to draw him into their side. It was of course refused. The other faction also similarly approached him.

As he refused both sides, it ended up offending both factions. Therefore, the battle for the realm of the gods was drawn to the Hermit God, with the factions adopting the “join us or die” attitude. It was then that they realised his strength. He was easily the strongest being in the realm of gods. Although, it still was not enough to confront an entire faction single handed.

‘How many have I killed……When will they stop bothering me? ...’ He thought that if he showed his overwhelming strength, the other gods would be scared and leave him be.

As the man contemplated the matter in complete silence, it dawned to him that he would be involved in this war until he perished, even if he was to join one side. He was far too strong for them to ignore. They could not control him nor were willing to believe that he merely wished to live in peace.

‘Well, I’ve had a long life, maybe this is a good ending. Dying in battle. A fitting exit.’

As the man gazed into the void, he could see two large masses approaching the mountain. The various gods from both factions stopped near the mountain top as they stared at the scene of carnage and the man sitting amongst the rubble.

“Well, now. It seems that you really won’t leave me alone. Perhaps, you thought me a soft egg.”

“Time to prove you wrong!” The man stood up with a chuckle as he gazed over the gods.