Harry Potter: BE a GOD

"I need to kill a god," Murphy stated, looking at Myrddin. "Its divine power should not be too weak, nor too strong, and it would be best if it does not preside over the domains of combat. Ideally, it should be solitary, its death unnoticed by other gods."

"Do you have any thoughts on such a god?"

Murphy still carried several time converters, but with the absence of the magical network in this era, driving these devices required massive amounts of magical energy, which he figured could only come from a god itself.

He planned to kill a god, seize its magical energy as a power source, and send himself back to an even earlier timeline.

To confront the gods, he first needed to understand their origins; perhaps only by grasping the secrets of their birth could he find a way to destroy them.

"There are many weak gods," Myrddin said. "Many creatures like elves and dwarves, through human belief, may possess a sliver of divinity."

The British Isles had a polytheistic system where myriad nameless mystical beings like sprites and nymphs held certain statuses within the mythology, similar to angels in the Christian system, beneath the gods but still possessing some divinity.

But Murphy was obviously not looking for these.

"A true god that fits your criteria..."

After pondering for a while, Myrddin seemed to have an epiphany, "Actually, there is a god with considerable power, ancient and a true deity, not associated with warfare, and importantly, solitary, uninvolved with humans. Its death might go unnoticed by other deities."

"Oh?" Murphy's interest was piqued, "Who is it? Where?"

---

At dawn, atop a cliff, Myrddin pointed to an endless expanse of jungle and marsh, "There, in the heart of the marsh. It's said there lies a colossal labyrinth made of trees and mire, where it resides. Over a decade ago, a druid visited it."

"Truly solitary." Murphy glanced at the mist-shrouded jungle, naturally inhospitable for humans.

Typically, a god's power correlates with the number of its worshippers; more followers mean a stronger deity.

Thus, gods usually have their temples in large cities to receive offerings.

Located in a remote marsh, naturally, there would be few worshippers, meaning such a god should be weak.

But the one Murphy intended to visit was an exception.

It was too ancient, even for other deities to clarify its origins, yet it was well-known and presided over niche but stable domains.

"Once you enter the marsh, you're in its territory; everything around could be its eyes and ears. Be cautious," Myrddin advised.

"I suggest disguising yourself as a druid when advancing through the marsh to lower its guard."

Murphy nodded, ready to descend when he paused, glancing at vultures in the sky, smiling, "Seems unnecessary; it has already noticed us."

With that, Murphy transformed into a bolt of lightning, covering dozens of kilometers in an instant, reaching the marsh's center. He landed with a thunderous strike, splitting a giant tree in half and dispersing the dense vapor.

Amidst the mist, a garden of vines, tree roots, stone pillars, and various bones was revealed.

In the garden, on a massive stone bed, lay a god.

Its back turned to Murphy, its large physique covered in black fur, with cloven hooves for feet and two massive, curled horns on its head.

Loud snores indicated the god was still asleep.

Without ceremony, Murphy conjured a spear of lightning, its massive magical power drawing in countless charges, ionizing the air, and compressing into a plasma dart.

He aimed the dart at the deity's head and launched it.

The stone bed was penetrated, the plasma dart burrowing deep into the earth, spreading its powerful energy, making the land within hundreds of meters sparkle with electricity. Nearby swamp land dried up, giant trees were split by the underground lightning, and countless shrubs ignited, turning the once-beautiful garden into a sea of fire.

Yet, the deity remained unharmed.

Amid the flames, the god had somehow moved behind Murphy, now reclining on an ancient stone throne. 

"Young man, you're quite hasty to attack so fiercely upon first meeting. Do we have some old grudge?"

"No grudge, no enmity," Murphy replied.

"Or do you think you're much stronger than me, capable of killing me without a scratch?"

Murphy smiled, "I have no such confidence."

"Then why resort to such risky methods? Why not express your wish, maybe I could help you in another way?" The deity's square-pupiled eyes appeared blind, inscrutable, as if seeing everything yet nothing.

"You're more talkative than I expected," Murphy said. "I thought you didn't like interacting with people."

"You're mistaken then. I was once a god of festivity; people's feasts could hardly do without me."

"Unfortunately, my wish might be hard to fulfill this way," Murphy said. "Unless you're willing to give up all your divine power."

The deity fell silent for a moment, "Your divine power is so scant, equivalent to a human hero, at best a demigod. A mere demigod, dreaming of taking my power? Do you know who I am?"

"Pan?"

"Pan, I've abandoned that name. Here, I'm known as Cernunnos," the deity's horns transformed into antlers, its black fur receding to reveal a muscular male form.

Cernunnos, god of the forest, animals, the horned god.

"Oh? Why abandon the name Pan?" Murphy asked.

Changes in a deity's image and name could indicate a shift in divine domains, touching on the essence of a god, which intrigued Murphy.

Cernunnos appeared slightly uneasy, "It's common."

"What about before Pan? You're said to be one of the oldest gods; how old?"

"You're well-informed," Cernunnos seemed a bit proud, "I've been here since the gods first emerged, those who claim to be born at the universe's dawn are just bluster."

"Oh?"

Murphy had suspected his arrival at this particular time point, besides exhausting the magical energy, might be because this was a critical moment in the formation of the magical network.

That is, time travel might also relate to the temporal line of the used magical power source.

He traveled back to before the magical network's formation using its energy.

If Cernunnos's claim was true, having existed since the gods' emergence, could traveling back with his power reach before the gods' birth?

"This is quite fortunate." Murphy's gaze at Cernunnos changed.

Cernunnos inexplicably felt a chill, sensing Murphy's malice as animals gathered around him. His vacant eyes fixed on Murphy, "Mortal, I warn you, gods are immortal. If you provoke me..."

"Oh? I heard that hundreds of years ago on the island of Paxi, news of a deity's death spread. That god was also named Pan. That wasn't you, was it?"

"..."

"Old, powerful, yet averse to battle..."

"Honestly, you're just a fatted sheep."

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