Buddha

I've never been the type to care about the situations I've gotten myself into. Be it situations people would find awkward or even situations people would try their best to stay out of, like a brawl between two people. Most people are spectators to fights or quarrels. You stand there and watch the both of them argue. As time passes, you witness blood run down their skin, bruises becoming evident on their skin, and swelling where they've sustained injuries. They can barely open their eyes. You're not spectating to prevent one of the two from crossing a line they shouldn't. You're spectating, waiting excitedly for one who'll cross that line.

Curiosity is getting the better of you, guilt creeps up on you, and you start questioning your morality. Spectators like to believe that conflicts only occur when one wrongs the other. This dispute, where the spectator has little to no information about who's in the wrong, causes the spectator to become indecisive. Unsure if they should intervene.

I'm the exact opposite. You could say it's none of my business to intervene, that interfering will worsen the situation and cause more discord than before, but I don't care about that. The only way to know what led to the problem is by figuring it out yourself and forcing the ones involved to explain. And no, I'm not a peacekeeper. I'm just as curious as the rest of the spectators, but unlike most, I do something about it.

You'd have to do something heinous for me to go up against you, which isn't easy. So, guess how I reacted when the gods told me of the upcoming extinction of the human race? I didn't care much. I figured humans must've done something to go against the gods somehow, but that wasn't the case. The gods were tired of humans and what they've become, so they held an important conference that included all major and minor gods. They concluded that modern society had pushed humans to become an eyesore, a pathetic sight to them, and most gods/goddesses agreed, right then and there, to end the human race.

It was maddening, to the point where a tiny nudge could get me to kill every god and goddess in the conference—It could've been because I was human once, but before I could even begin thinking about who to take out first at the time, the eldest of the valkyries, and the youngest, stood up and proposed a one-on-one between the gods and humans to see if humanity deserved to continue existing. That valkyrie, although being a woman, had balls of steel to suggest that to those damn prideful gods. Ironically, because they're prideful, they accepted the proposal.

Ragnarok allowed humans to fight back and decide their fate instead of having a council meeting amongst gods/goddesses that determined their fate for them. I never acknowledged anyone until that Valkyrie stood up against the gods, knowing how easily you can ruffle their feathers without saying much. However, her proposal, in a way, saved humanity. The gods/goddesses all settled to assign the Valkyrie, who proposed Ragnarok, as a sort of manager over the Human race. She was responsible for selecting humans who were capable enough to fight against gods, ranging to tens of billions. An almost impossible task.

I planned on siding with humans from the get-go, even teaching that elder Valkyrie, Brunhilde, Völundr. Let me explain. Völundr uses Common Destiny which allows a Valkyrie to resonate with a human soul's wavelength, uniting their souls and forging the Valkyrie into a divine weapon. This divine weapon is what enabled humans to fight against the gods.

Why not use an ordinary weapon, you say? That's because you can't hurt gods with ordinary weapons, duh. This technique, Völundr, is the foundation that Brunhilde needed to propose Ragnarok, though I doubt the gods knew she had discovered a way for humans to wound them.

However, after the gods pieced the puzzle together, it took them no time to place me in their headlights. Those scumbags blamed me, painting me in a horrible light. Rumors circulated about me as a god not to be trusted. Going as far as assuming I backstabbed them. They weren't wrong. I planned on fighting for humans ever since the proposal of Ragnarok. So, they're right. Although, I didn't really care how they regarded me. Honestly, I couldn't have cared less.

It is what it is, you know?

Anyway, I ended up fighting for humanity. I won't recall the round I fought, not now, at least. I'll save that story for another time. Lost an eye 'cause of it but gained a friend from it. I've acknowledged many in a short period. First, it was Brunhilde, then Adam, and lastly, Zerofuku, a friend. Well, it doesn't matter now, considering Ragnarok is nowhere to be found where I am.

I can't even return to heaven.

-Past-

-Tropical Forest of Menagerie-

"Che-where the hell am I? I was for real just having a nice nap and I wake up in some forest? Pretty sure I'm not a sleepwalker. Doesn't make no damn sense at all." I mutter. I bite on the lollipop in my mouth. It helps me calm my nerves, "Who was it? Brunhilde? No, definitely not, a participant who wins a match can participate again. One of the gods…? Meh, probably." I reach my hand on my neck, causing a few pops to be heard.

"It's not like taking me out of the game will do much, I've already won humanity a round. However, even knowing that doesn't help answer my question. Ha~" I scan my surroundings, deciding that I could think about it later since doing so now won't change anything. Once I find out who dropped me off in this forest, they're going to go through an immeasurable amount of agony unless they beg. Then maybe I'll forgive them. Nah, probably won't.

I stuff my hands in the pockets of my pants. A good ol' nature walk won't hurt. It has been a while since I've been down to earth. So why not? Eh. I'll admit, it is a bit disappointing that I didn't get to bring my usual outfit, not like anyone's gonna care, anyway. I thought.

There wasn't much to see in the forest. Maybe a couple of animals and small critters here and there, but that was about it. I did encounter some predators like Jaguars. It didn't take much to scare them off. Only a single glance would do the job.

Yet, there was something different about this beast right in front of me. Its fur is as dark as vantablack. A white skull-like mask adorning its face. From the spine down are spikes protruding from its back and shoulders. Its claws are as big as a man's hand. It almost looks akin to a werewolf.

"The hell do ya' want? Can't ya' see I'm tryna have a nature walk?" I say. Though, the wolf looked like it could care less. Actually, it didn't look at me with any particular emotion. And it's definitely aware of my presence. It's head turning towards me to prove that. However, it's ignoring me.

"'Che, whatever." I walk past the pitch-black wolf. I was so close to the animal that it could've just moved its head slightly to bite me in the ass, but it didn't. After walking what felt like a couple of miles, I ran into civilization. The houses didn't look like your modern-day houses. They were made out of wood and didn't have the aesthetic of modern homes. Yet, what confused me even more was that there were people around. Walking like their housing couldn't be any better. Maybe I was dropped off in a less technologically advanced part of civilization. It is possible.

As I took to the streets, I saw something off about the 'people' in this town. They looked to be humans, but the extra traits of their appearance could prove otherwise. Though their souls look and feel human, their appearance is slightly altered. Some 'humans' walked around town with cat ears, lion tails, and a few bearing more traits from certain species of animal than humans.

It was definitely an odd sight. Something you wouldn't want to think about is how humans can share animal traits. Thinking about it sickens me, but hopefully, it was just God playing… God. Who the hell knows what God does? God hasn't messed with the mortal realm for a long while now. But to think he'd make humans with animal traits. It's especially weird since humans were made in God's image. So, to alter that image would mean to disrespect God. I wonder if that means God disrespected himself, or this has nothing to do with God—that too.

Thinking about it makes my head hurt. That old geezer can do whatever the hell he wants. If he doesn't bother me or my friends, then I've got no business with him. Walking around and exploring the town proved unfruitful, but it was nice being in the mortal realm once in a while. Regardless, I couldn't help but feel like something was off about the mortal realm. I couldn't put my finger on it, though.

It's not like knowing why that would change anything. After shrugging the thought off, my surroundings became clear. I found myself in a clearing. Littered by wooden trading stands. Strange enough, all of them weren't being operated by anyone.

A booming voice captures my attention, "Members of White Fang! And all Faunus alike! I understand your despair and pain. I know that you all want to take revenge on the humans who've brought us pain. But we must not fall to their level. They've treated us horribly and belittled us like we were no more than insects in their eyes. Yet, if we faunus were to be viewed as insects then we would be tenacious insects. No matter how hard they stomp on us, we'll get back up stronger. If not, then we'll come back with brothers and sisters in arms, and overwhelm them. Show them that we may be small in their eyes, but together we can change their wretched remarks on us when we're in the thousands." A man says. His appearance was one of a burly man. Chest hair, exposed for all the world to see. His beard was tame and combed. His sharp eyes were made of steel. The fire within his eyes looks to have witnessed many tragedies. This is the description of the man who stood up on a podium in the town square. All the residents were already gathered around the man, and by the end of the speech, they roared with mixed opinions. But they all were for equal rights.

The man's shoulders dropped as he took a solemn look upon his face, yet his eyes shone with conviction, "I'm not blind or deaf, I know that there are some of our kin who wish to fight back… physically. However, I can't stress this enough… we mustn't fight back. Doing so would undo all the progress that we've made. Putting to waste the efforts of the lives lost in the dozens of protests we've held. And another hundred years of inequality will begin. Even if we were to win the war, we'd be no better than them. Killing innocents that shout their lungs out for equality. Their suffering buried within the sentiment amongst them all. To all who can hear me, do you wish this to be a continuous cycle? Allowing history to repeat itself, over and over?" He continues, "Because I don't, and I don't believe you do either. And I know the rest of you wish for this inequality to come to an end. So, believe me when I say, that peaceful protests are better than wars in which you'll lose all the ones you love only for history to repeat itself."

He glosses over the people, his eyes scanning the crowd. Silence permeated the atmosphere before he spoke again, "Don't gloom over the fact that history will repeat itself! Be glad that we're doing what we can to stop that, continuing these protests and advocating for equality will break us free from this prison. Permanent equality is better than temporary equality. Once we've attained that equality. You'll be happy knowing your children, including your descendants, wouldn't be treated as such as we're being treated now." He says, glowering, "Our burdens may be heavy as of now, but that's why we've got each other—to share that burden." He smirks, "Let us continue our fight for Equality. Let us protest against their wrongdoings and expose them for it! Advocate for equality with all you have, and show them how unjust they really are!"

"Show them that we're not so different from them!" He shouts, raising a fist in the air. And, as expected, the crowd followed along, raising their fists into the air. Shouting for equality. As the man left the podium, a small girl followed behind. Jumping onto his shoulders. The man bellowed in laughter, smiling as he gave the small girl a piggyback ride.

Crack!

"Crap… I can never finish these damn lollipops without breaking 'em." I mumble, "Ha… Guess the mortal realm still has its faults. Not like us gods are different…. Guess I'll try n' change that when I got the time to. For now, I wanna get some sleep."