Unlike the other gods, Taelkor refused to participate in the Awakening, making him fundamentally different (and far more dangerous).

• Direct Power: While the other gods became intangible, Taelkor retained his physical form and could act freely, shaping reality without needing mortal rituals or belief.
• Unbound by Mortals: He had no reliance on lifelines to reality. He was fully aware and capable of direct intervention at all times.
• The War of Annihilation: Viewing the gods' transformation as corruption, he sought to erase all life. The only way to truly destroy the ones who had tied themselves to mortals.
• Death: Though defeated, it isn't clear if he can truly die. His physical form was shattered, but as a World Builder, he is not mortal. The gods fear that he may one day return, seeking to finish what he started.

[!dm]

The Afterlife

When mortals die, their souls pass into the White Void, a vast, formless expanse where time and space lose meaning. It is here that the gods reach out, offering their afterlives: personal realms shaped by their own perceptions and desires. These realms are not true eternity, but sanctuaries where souls may linger, keeping the gods tethered to existence.

Yet, the gods know their afterlives are imperfect creations, mere fragments of something greater. Beyond the White Void lies the Beyond, an unknown fate that not even the gods can see. Those who reject the gods' call drift into this great unknown, never to return. Some fear it. Others, like the followers of Taelkor, embrace it as the soul's true destiny.