A/N: Warning! Bloody fragment.

Plot bin day; these, and the other three. I'm too ill to do anything else.

Even writing this makes my hands ache. Speech to text is a thing this old man doesn't know how to use.

Very quickly before I forget, Forgotten Son, Far From Home, A Boy's Journey, and Rise of a Beast Hero should be this week. Somewhat in the order. Ideally I'd like to update Genshin and Doctor of Demons as well, but time will tell.

With my fifteen year anniversary on this site here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.

And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.

Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. The recent earthquake in Turkey/Syria serves as a terrible example. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.

This is a rough draft. Time and feedback will determine if any such fragment becomes a story.

In other words...its up to YOU, the reader, for what follows. Do let me know~!

Game of Thrones reference in the fragment here, we all know it:

"They say one should not make deals with gods.

But the revere can certainly be held true.

One shouldn't make deals with HIM."

~?

And So He Spoke

The hammer sang in Naruto's hand.

Wasn't a bad hammer as far as hammers went. Very good at...hammering.

The shattered bones and dead bodies sprawled at his feet would certainly attest to that much.

Made him wonder why he'd never used one before, ya know? Sure he'd never felt the need but this...this wasn't half bad. Swords and shields were all about finesse, daggers and spears too, even axes to an extent, but a hammer? No tricks needed. Just a good head, a strong arm, the will to swing it and...

CLONK!

Well! The results spoke for themselves.

Someone staggered up behind him. He sighed softly. "I told you to stay down. Maybe you'll finally listen in death."

A savage backswing sent an exhausted Sasuke Uchiha into the dirt, sans most of his skull. Dead. Just like that. Those precious sharingan eyes burst like rotten grapes in his skull beneath a hail of golden light. He hefted the one-handed implement of death with a wry smile and watched the blood dribble off its square face. Oh, yes. A man could get used to this. And he felt...satisfaction. It was a more merciful end than he deserved, but it would do.

One life seemed a poor price after all the hundreds he'd killed, but he'd take what he could get at this point.

Bastard flattened his village and everyone in it. No pity or mercy. Not from him. Not anymore.

...it is done, whiskered one. I kept my part of the bargain. He is dead."

Naruto nudged the corpse with his foot. He half-expected it to spring back up at him. When it didn't, he laughed. "So he is."

Power had a way of stripping bare the truths of the world. Sasuke's had been painfully apparent by the end.

"You don't wanna be my friend, Sasuke? Fine. You wanna kill the world? Then you can die.'

Likewise, he had nothing left tying him to this world. Not even Kurama. Not anymore.

He'd be dead himself if not for this...interference.

"Don't suppose I can keep this thing?"

"You may." the new voice in his head crooned, soft and mellifluous. "Think of it as my boon to you. Its former owner has no need of it. Her hammer shall serve you well."

"Her, huh? Interesting. What's the catch?" There was nothing left here for him, not anymore, but he wasn't stupid. Only a fool made deals without reading the fine print. That this...thing in his head had agreed to help him without asking anything in return...

.

..

...suspicious to be sure, but really, what did he have to lose by talking? His world was dead. He was the last living thing on it.

His enemies had seen to that. Might as well enjoy one last conversation before he died.

And the voice spoke again. "There is but one. If you would repay my favor...

Aha. Now they came to the meat of the matter.

"My realm has fallen to disrepair and disorder." it sounded almost petulant, now. "The other gods mock me for my failures." Could a god grovel? It certainly sounded like this one was groveling. "I have watched my realm crumble thanks to my former champion; now her children war among themselves and rip the world, MY WORLD asunder. Brother fights brother. Sister fights sister. An endless stalemate with no end. And all the while they laugh at me! ME! No more!

Well, now his curiosity was piqued.

"I will have Order." the Voice in is head continued. "I ask you to be my new Champion in this. Take that hammer and conquer them. Do whatever you wish, but bring them to heel, and Order back to the Lands Between. Do so, swear that you shall mend this land, and I shall make thee a God."

Naruto found himself frowning a little at that. He'd been a lot of things before; many things indeed. But a god?

Lightning crackled through the clouds above, bathing him in baleful shadow.

And so he spoke. "I'm listening...

A/N: Aaand scene. A more humor-driven story, but something new all the same.

Sooooooooo, do you want this to be a story? Yes? No? Maybe so? Make yourselves heard!

Really need to hear from you guys and gals here; if not this will simply remain a Shard like others.

Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this particular tidbit, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? POOF! Gone. Completely. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard!

As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, as such, I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.

Aaaand there we go. As ever, reviews keep me alive. Without them, I cannot write. So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly? And have some previews -potential blot bin things- that I'm working on.

References ahoy~! And ideas for new stories. Hopefully this will sate my muse for the time being.

(Previews)

And so the conquest began.

The demigod raised their hands. "I mean you no harm."

"Good. Then be a good god, sit the hell down, and lemme conquer this place.

"Hammer down!"

Beneath that blow, a continent split.

"And who are you...?!"

"The proud lord said, that I must bow so low...

Radagon glowered where he lay. "...I beg you pardon?"

"Don't worry about it. Think of me as a marriage counselor. You wouldn't BELIEVE the amount of runes I'm getting paid me to drag your sorry ass back here...

R&R~!