Thousands of years ago, the Seven Evil Gods, led by Orochi, rose against the gods and spread evil across the mortal world. The blood of mortals was spilled. People screamed in agony. Humans corrupted by evil devolved into monsters and became followers of the Evil Gods, vowing to pull the gods from heavens and destroy them. It was an age of darkness, an age of blood and fire. It wasn't long before the army of monsters pointed their swords towards their former kin. The entire world was consumed by war, leaving people nowhere to hide. The survivors would find no new paradise. They would lose not only hope, but also more of their own to the monsters' side. The world was slowly being pushed towards the brink of destruction.

Then, Izanagi, eldest of the gods, rallied the first divine army to combat the Evil Gods and maintain order over the world. Izanagi was practically invincible, and he almost led the gods to victory. However, legend has it that he died on the battlefield. No one has heard anything of him since that time. The gods' triumph was short-lived. As the war between Takamagahara and the Seven Evil Gods dragged on, the gods started losing ground. As time went by, the evil roaming the human world reached its peak. The weakened Takamagahara needed a god capable of fighting the Seven Evil Gods. The gods gathered in the great hall to discuss a solution. God-Empress Amaterasu appointed herself head of the divine army, and Tsukuyomi, the Prophecy God, her advisor. But who would be the Warrior God to lead the charge and slay the Evil Gods? The gods were silent, but Amaterasu had a solution.

"Lord Izanagi, the former general of the divine army, has an adopted son, Susanoo, the god of storm and thunder."

These words were met with a great uproar. It was only natural, for mention of Susanoo was taboo in Takamagahara. It was rumored that, when Susanoo was born, his lightning bolts destroyed the great hall of Takamagahara entirely. As it happened, dark clouds covered the sun and heavy storms savaged the land. The gods were shaken to their very cores. They dreaded the fall of Takamagahara and feared that this new god, who had disrespected the God-Empress from his birth, would one day turn on his kin. Only Izanagi, the rebellious general of the divine army, had agreed to accept him. Izanagi praised Susanoo's strength. He turned his lightning into shackles on his limbs, and after that, the gods imprisoned Susanoo in the rebuilt great hall. However, Izanagi spent little time with Susanoo due to his monster-slaying duty. The loneliness was too much for the clever young god to bear, so he sneaked into the mortal world to play with them. Compared to the solemn gods, Susanoo much preferred the mortal world, where he could experience joy and sorrow. He was unsuspecting and shared al his deepest thoughts with the humans, until one day, he was embroiled in the tragic slaughter of humans at the monsters' hands.

On that day, monstered invaded a city and abducted humans. They kept their victims in the abyssal prison under the sea. They fed fresh blood to the thirsty. To the hungry, they fed the rotten flesh of their own relatives. They ordered the humans to fight each other to death. The young god watched in shock, but couldn't do anything as his power had been sealed. Instead, he was protected by his humans friends, who stood between him and harm even as they gasped their dying breaths. Young Susanoo could no longer sit back and watch as his friends were devoured by monsters. He mustered his strength and put himself between monsters and humans, but without his power, the young god was no match for the fiends. They crushed his bones, drank his blood, broke his divinity, and tortured him endlessly. Despite the their worst efforts, young Susanoo remained unbroken. The young god's tenacity infuriated the monsters, who were so sure of their victory. They kept him in this terrible prison, forced him to watch the death of innocent humans, then fed him the flesh of their victims. The endless pain put Susanoo in trance-like state. Hating the monsters and blaming himself, he could barely remember who he was and why he was forced to endure such torment. He was convinced the gods had mistaken him for a monsters, and was thus willing to take any punishment to prove his innocence. The monsters lacked the power to kill gods, so they tried to trick Susanoo into destroying his own divinity instead. But just as Susanoo was going to do it, the dead souls of his humans friends emerged to stop him.

"You died, so I could live. I will never give this life away," he murmured. "My dear friends, I've long since grown used to the indifferent gaze of my kin. Perhaps the gods have forsaken me... I do not wish to receive the same gaze from you. But then, who can answer your expectations of the gods...?"

He persisted, waited with his body immersed in a sea of corpses and his mind floating darkness, until the pain seemed so distant it was as if he was enveloped in an irresistible numbness. As he lay there, mumbling incomprehensibly, a shining figure broke through the dark cage of the abyssal prison. Winds howled and the sea parted, making way for the visitor as he tore the monsters apart. With incredible strength he crossed the waves, then knelt before Susanoo with a sense of urgency. The same arms that had issued commands to the great divine army seemed less steady as they touched the young god. Despite this, Izanagi's voice was the most earnest and powerful Susanoo had ever heard.

"I am here." He said. "There's nothing to fear anymore."

The figure was hard to make out clearly against the light, but to Susanoo, it shone brighter than anything he'd ever witnessed. Bathed in this light, Susanoo made a promise to himself before he lost consciousness.

One day, I will become just like him--someone strong enough to protect others and answer their prayers. One day, I will be able to say such words, to tell everyone they have nothing to fear, and that there's no need to cry, for I will be there. I will never break this promise--even if it means my own destruction.