A Cheer to Gods Among Men

Philza Minecraft, Wandering Traveler and Angel of Death

Philza had lived for many, many centuries. He had seen the rise and fall of civilizations, big and small. He had met countless people, each one different from the last. To call Philza ancient was an understatement; no words could describe Phil's state of being. To put it simply, Phil existed. Often times, his existence consisted of decades of slumber in a tree or cave somewhere. Other times, it was creating marvelous structures that would continue to stand for the rest of time. Phil's favorite part of existence was not that of his creations or the many years of sleep that replenished his youth. No, it was none of those materialistic things. His favorite part of his existence was the Deity of Death.

But he just called her Kristen. 

He met Kristen when he was a young man, long before immortality set foot in his domain. This was back before he had known that Kristen was a deity or that gods even existed. His life was simple, consisting of just him, his journal, and the world at his fingertips. The moment that Phil met Kristen, he could swear that the world gained just a bit more color. Phil spent every waking moment he could with Kristen. He wanted to be with her, no matter where she went. And if she were to cast him away? So be it. At least she was happy.

One day, his simple life was changed. All it took was one accident involving a baby zombie, and his life was never the same. Although blurry, Phil remembered Kristen healing him so desperately, saying it wasn't his time. Later that day, she explained everything to him. 

Kristen was known as the Deity of Death. She wandered this universe, though it was not hers to claim, and made sure death occurred as it should. She was the gatekeeper of the afterlife, sorting through those who did and did not belong. Philza did belong in the afterlife at that moment, but she didn't want him to. So, for the first time in Kristen's never-ending existence, she broke her own rules. She bestowed the title of Angel of Death onto Philza, granting him immortality in the process. He would help her in her job, though he did not have the same abilities as her.

Phila was not upset by this, rather, he found himself with a debt that could never be fulfilled. Kristen didn't care for said debt, however, she only asked that Phil carry on with his life as if he were still mortal. Kristen was instructed not to interfere too much with mortal affairs, so she had to distance herself from Phil for a long, long time. She added that they would meet again, and Phil prayed they would.

Now, centuries later, Phil found himself on the balcony of the house he shared with Technoblade. Technoblade, the god he found himself bonded to since the two met at the fall of an ancient civilization. Outside of the fence, a forest grew. An enchanted one, in fact. He had long suspected that this was a sign of Kristen's return, though he couldn't be sure. 

"Whatcha looking at?" Technoblade asked from inside the cottage.

"Nothin' mate," Phil called back. "Just admiring the trees."

"Well, when you're done with that, Nikki said she wants to talk to us."

Phil started towards Techno's position. "About what?"

"They said something about a possible god in the SMP? I don't remember exactly, her note looked rushed. All I know is that we're having a Syndicate meeting tonight," Techno said, sharpening his sword. 

"Did she say anything else? Like a description, perhaps?" Phil pried. He really hoped that they hadn't found out about Kristen. 

"Said it killed Bad without lifting a finger."

Phil hummed in acknowledgement. It couldn't be Kristen then, it had to be someone, or something, with supernatural abilities. Not a ghost. A demon? No. Nikki had said it was a god, but a god couldn't do something like that. 

"Don't worry about it too much Phil, I can see your wrinkles getting more defined by the second. We'll deal with it later," Techno said, placing a hand on Phil's shoulder in reassurance.

Phil smiled. "Thanks mate."

Phil was the last to arrive at the Syndicate room. Nikki sat in her seat, fidgeting with their hands nervously, while Techno sat in his, fiddling with his emerald dangly earring. Phil frowned at the absence of Ranboo, but said nothing. The enderman boy had probably forgotten about the meeting.

"Alright, let's get started," Techno said after Phil sat down. "Nemisis? What is the reason for calling this meeting tonight?"

"I apologize for the short notice," Nikki began. "But I have reason to believe that the SMP may be in danger of a threat larger than Dream."

Phil raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"Months ago, I encountered a god-like entity, though it seemed to be more than a god. It killed Bad so that George could take his items and got mad when he didn't. I think this being presents a clear danger to the members of the SMP and should be dealt with immediately."

Techno's eyes narrowed. "And you didn't think to tell us sooner?"

"I figured George had it under control," Nikki explained. "It took a liking to George; they're friends in the eyes of the being. However, it seems as though I was wrong. This being has shown similar abilities to Foolish, it's able to smite people and give them player heads. Hell, he even held a gambling on valuable items that can't be gotten anywhere, like shulkers and, once again, player heads."

Technoblade grumbled, tapping his finger on the table. Philza clenched his robes in his fists. It wasn't Kristen after all, which provided a sense of relief to his conscious, but also filled him with a sense of dread.

"Does it have a name?" he asked.

Nikki nodded. "George called it DreamXD." 

"Oh I've met that guy! Really cool, gave me a bell in prison," Technoblade said, snapping his fingers. "Didn't know it was killing people, though."

"Yeah definitely changes things," Phil remarked. "What are we going to do about it?"

"I have no idea," Nikki sighed.

The Syndicate was silent. There wasn't much that they could do, and none of them knew anyone who could do more than them. 

"We need to talk to dream," Technoblade finally said. 

Nikki slammed her hands on the table. "No! No way!" 

Technoblade glared. "Why not? The two have got to be connected," he reasoned. "His name is literally DreamXD."

Nikki and Techno began bantering back and forth as Philza weighed the options. On one hand, Dream was in prison for a reason, going there with Quackity as a factor could be really risky. On the other, though, any possible intel on DreamXD was needed. Philza and Techno could probably handle it once they had enough information, but there were no sources other than Dream that would be reliable enough. Phil and Techno had met this deity before, so they knew some basics. 

"Wait." Nikki and Techno turned to Phil, expectant. "There may be another lead we can use."

"Who?"

"Karl Jacobs."