The Rise of the Titan

Divinity, in many ways, is the unique trait of a god, relating to their personality, beliefs, control over laws, power attributes, and alignment. Mortals can absorb divinity to extend their lifespan, but this is risky because divinity carries the god's personality and beliefs. A fallen god might revive by possessing a mortal who has absorbed their divinity.

More commonly, the collector of divinity will erase the original god's information and absorb it themselves, understanding its laws and using it as a key to ignite their divine spark. Powerful gods can divide their divinity and grant it to mortals qualified to become gods, helping them cross the threshold from mortality to godhood.

For example, the God of Liches, Velsharoon, a weak deity, was created by the Storm Lord Talos, who divided his own divinity to create him. Unfortunately, once Velsharoon became a god, he immediately turned against Talos, allying with the God of Arcane Magic Azuth and receiving help from Mystra to thwart Talos's revenge.

...

"Osiris, the Machine Emperor!" Talos, sitting on his throne, grew very grim at the sight of the vast metallic continent. This was the scenario he wanted to avoid by refusing to fight Archimonde.

As a god of great power, he did not fear a Titan who had only ascended to Epic rank within the last thousand years. If it were just this one Titan, Talos wouldn't mind fighting, as he himself was a god who thrived on destruction.

But battling an Epic Titan isn't simple. If he lost, there was nothing to say. But if he won, he was certain that more powerful Epic Titans would emerge from the Titan territory to fight him... until he was defeated.

One Epic Titan represents a group of Epic Titans. Moreover, the Titans have good relations with the first god race of the heavens and many lawful deities. And judging by that kid's appearance, it seems the Titans have also allied with the dragons... So, if he dared to fight, being humiliated was the only outcome. It was better to stay in his divine kingdom and avoid the embarrassment.

Talos was indeed a powerful deity, but one with poor divine connections. When he got hammered by an Epic Titan, there would be applause, not help. Therefore, Talos, weighing his losses and gains, decided to be shameless. Seeing the immense metallic landmass, he quietly changed his mind. "Archimonde, how much divinity will satisfy you?"

Sensing the familiar aura behind him and the Storm Lord's sudden softening, Archimonde knew what was happening—Osiris, the Machine Emperor, was backing him up.

"I don't need much. Give me as much divinity as you gave Velsharoon, without any of your personal information. Just your insights into the laws of fire, storm, and lightning."

Archimonde stated his terms. Even a powerful god, when yielding, deserved some respect. At least Archimonde felt he was giving enough face.

"Impossible!" Divinity capable of creating a god was something Talos refused without hesitation. When he bestowed divinity upon Velsharoon, then a mortal and a defecting Red Wizard, he aimed to create a divine servant at his beck and call. The lost divinity would still belong to him in another form.

"Then let's fight!" Feeling his goodwill was rejected, Archimonde lifted his battle axe and swung it at the divine kingdom before him. A thousand-meter-long axe light shot out, slashing into the Storm God's domain.

The axe light, imbued with destruction laws and wrapped in thunder, carved a deep chasm into the divine kingdom's land, killing a portion of Talos's already meager petitioners.

"Titans!" Seeing Archimonde's blatant attempt to attack his divine kingdom, the Storm Lord almost lost his mind. Countless gods were watching him now. He couldn't afford to ignore this without losing face completely.

"Charge!" With the Machine Emperor backing him, Archimonde made a bold decision to try invading a powerful god's realm. Besides, he felt two more of his kin were awakening.

Thus, a divine war broke out. Archimonde, along with over a dozen otherworldly ancient dragons, stepped into the Storm God's kingdom. The power of the Epics clashed with the divine rules targeting them. At the entrance of Talos's kingdom, they forcibly created a battlefield where their army could fight without suppression, clashing with the swarming petitioners.

...

"This is the first battle; it shouldn't look too ugly." On the vast metallic continent, the Machine Emperor Osiris looked up at the fierce battlefield, pondering. He decided to give his kin limited support.

"Activate the Stellar Orbital Cannon, target: the Storm God's divine kingdom!" Osiris commanded calmly.

"Master, calculations show that a full-power Stellar Orbital Cannon strike has a 100% chance of piercing the Storm Lord's kingdom, a 10% chance of utterly destroying it, and a 0.1% chance of putting the Storm Lord into a dormant state.

If the goal is to support Lord Archimonde, it's recommended to use 30% power or to activate ten orbital disintegrator cannons."

"Fire the Stellar Orbital Cannon at full power, without any reservations," Osiris decisively ordered. The unlikely event of the Storm Lord falling into dormancy would only happen if Talos suicidally threw himself into the cannon's path, given his chaotic nature.

The metallic continent beneath Osiris began to tremble, massive metal plates shifting and rising to form numerous rings. Surging energy from across the continent converged on the altered metal landmass.

The immense energy fluctuation from Erathia immediately drew the attention of all the gods. This power posed a significant threat to their lives. Among these gods was the Storm Lord, who was being besieged by Archimonde and a group of world-power-wielding ancient dragons.