"I leave them in your good hands." Anu patted Blake's shoulder once more before disappearing.
Life was strange, and many twists and turns would happen throughout the course of one's life. Blake looked at the world around him and knew what he had to do. Time was still stopped. He did not need to worry about anything else. Anu was taking care of the gate. This left the rest up to him.
There was nothing fancy with what he was about to do as he arrived above the first devil town. He only waved his hand and made it disappear, taking the darkened landscape with it. With the new power of a god surging through him, he did not feel weak in the slightest, even after wiping out ten towns that had been built up. He continued forth until he had finally erased every devil town off the surface of the earth.
In a way, Blake felt this new power was a bit much. He could only appreciate how powerful Anu really was now that he was using this same power himself. The power was out of this world, and Blake felt that this was only a portion of said power.
He had to make sure he used this kind of power wisely. He could not let himself become corrupt. Blake remembered those spidraman movies where the old man in it said that with great power came great responsibility. This was very much true.
"That should do it…." Blake's calm expression gazed out over the new dirt that had been exposed after he used erase. He did not know how many devils he had just killed, but he made sure all of them were gone.
He then made his way over to where the devil generals were and taped their shoulders, making them disappear from existence. He did not do the same to Kronkle since he knew that Kronkle was Sandrea's brother. He would wait and decide what to do after he checked on Anu.
Blake appeared by the gate to see Anu setting up some kind of formation. "This is?"
"You are back." Anu greeted Blake with a smile. "I will at least have one witness to what I am about to do. This way, in the future, if this ever needs to be done again, it can be. The underworld is much stronger than the realm of gods. Their power is something that is honed through years much longer than our own. Blake, did you know that there used to be no gods?"
Anu's words surprised Blake. He thought that gods had been around since the dawn of time. "No, I did not."
"All gods are mortals. We are the mortals who rose up and defied the underworld. We wanted to make a place where mortals could be safe. Whether it was on Earth or some other world. We just wanted to allow mortals to thrive. Many worlds had been destroyed by the underworld. Once the gate opens, it will bring about the end of everything." Anu's explanation confused Blake.
"Wait, if this is true, then what about all the stories I have heard? Even the ones that Ishtar knows?" He thought that gods had been around since before even the planets had been formed.
"They are hidden truths. Even I am not the first god. I am only in charge of this world and two others. The gods that are under me all come from these worlds. The course of time is not easy for mortals. Some wish to push forward and break the chains of fate. The cycle of life and death. The endless cycle that makes many fear to see their days come to an end. These mortals who wished to fight not only died but also crawled out of the underworld. By doing so, they gained unimaginable powers, which they were able to slowly grow stronger and stronger. They defeated death and became something other than mortal.
"But back then, they understood the threat of the underworld. They understood that they could not allow them to continue to rampage over the mortal worlds. So they began to fight back. When one god appears, it proves that gods exist, so more fight against their destiny. This created more gods and more gods. Some gods even helped some mortals escape as well. Then, relations between mortals and gods began. This created demi gods. These demi gods went on to do great things. It was just that they were still half mortal, and their lives also would come to an end. They just lived longer than mortals.
"You can say without the underworld, there would be no gods. Gods were created because the underworld extended its hand into the mortal world." Anu closed his eyes as he looked up at the still sky. Even he had undergone many trials and tribulations to get to where he is today.
"I see… I will not say a word about this. I know this is something that should be kept secret." It was not that it could not be told. It was just that Blake felt that it was best to allow the people to believe that the gods have always been around and that they were no weaker than the underworld.
"Good." Anu smiled and nodded. "Now, pay attention to everything I am about to tell you."
Anu spent the next few hours explaining every part of the formation he was creating. How it worked, and what it would do to not only the area around him but also himself. Hearing everything, Blake could only sigh. "So, it will use the person who casts the formation as the core of the formation, which means you will basically become a statue?"
"That is correct. My body will harden, and I will become the source that keeps this location sealed. I suggest you set up a strong barrier around me in order to keep anyone from ever breaking it again. This way, no one will ever be able to open the gates to the underworld on this world ever again."
