"The site of battle had always been a grim thing, and Denise had never seen it for herself before.
That was until she watched war claim the mightiest being she'd ever seen—and then, not long after, she
awoke in that empty shell. A new body, a new future...

Rukhan. She was Rukhan, now.

Little by little, she was learning just what “Rukhan” even meant. She heard it echoed in the
clutter of her new mind countless times, but Rukhan wasn't just a name—it was a title, a set of duties, a
god. But... for a god of death and of war, those duties were grim indeed, and its title stained with blood.

“I'm sorry,” she muttered lowly, her voice carrying dozens of feet in spite of such due to her
imposing height. It had scarce been any amount of time since she'd awoken before Aeon, that allencompassing
golden voice, assigned her first task: properly guide the souls of the fallen to their
destination.

The mortal world had never been the intended battleground for the gods, but those serpents that
had slain the first Rukhan were cunning. Electric and radiant, like neon eels that swam through the sky
as easily as a fish through water, they were fiends of the vilest nature, the likes of which even her
ancient eyes had never seen before. Denise, now Rukhan's replacement, saw everything through her
predecessor's memories, sifting through them with equal parts curiosity and horror.

Rukhan had been led into a trap of their making, leading her through a portal torn out of her
divine realm, Pah-Os, which took her into the material plane of humanity. There, unfamiliar
surroundings guaranteed the monsters' success, and the downfall of the goddess of war.

But Rukhan had not been the only casualty—no, far from it, now. Denise saw that. Vague,
gaseous, coal-black forms formed an epidermal layer over the battleground... she knew what had to be
done. These souls had to be sent properly. Denise replicated the sweeping of her hand that she recalled
from the mental library that was not her own, and watched as the blackened souls peeled from their
trampled bodies. Worst of all... none of them were soldiers. The forms of women, children, innocents
all, were released from their destitute prisons.

The majority of battle had taken place over residentials, for the serpents had struck at night.
Denise knew Rukhan had no choice but to hold her ground before chasing them off, and as the slight
indentations in the earth and shattered houses where she had stood firm spoke quite plainly, not all of
the deaths were the fault of the serpents.

It all made her sick. That she now had to bear the responsibility for such a worldly task, one she
technically had no part in at all... but who in Pah-Os could know that? No. Nobody could. She was not
Denise anymore. The people here could never know that Rukhan had truly died, so it was imperative
that she played her new role seamlessly.

At least, that was what Aeon had told her. She felt so lost and alone, having only the voice of
that golden light to tell her what to do.

The jackal shook her head. She wasn't the only one lost, and unlike herself, she could help these
stagnating spirits.

She lifted her hand; at her side the very air darkened and split apart, creating a gap in reality that
grew wider and wider, crackling dimly and frothing with burgeoning shadow. It would be the vessel
that ferried them to their final destination. Her fingers traced a wave in the air, curving low, then rising
up. Following her directions, a sullen river rose from the coalesced mass of spirits; each lined up in
front of the other obediently, heads hung, and began to rise as a stream of entropy.

Denise felt... unwell. She wanted less than anything in the world to watch, but she couldn't look
away, both out of fear of doing a poor job of something so significant and because the horror was
overpowered by a sense of calm. She blinked, keeping solemn vigil as the ghosts of the past vanished
into the black void of the underworld one by one. This was what it meant to be Rukhan—to bring peace
whenever it was needed was but one of her duties.
Even if that peace was final."
____________________________________________________________________________________________

We finally reached part two of Rukhans storyline, again brought to life by the wonderful  Mannoth and  Melloque who drew what has to be my favorite piece of artwork I got for her as of yet.
A deep dive into what it means to hold her role, the responsibility that comes with it and the constant pressure by her peers and even those looking up to her.
Also the my first ever commission where I ever had to seriously ponder on what rating to use! I stuck with general but the themes depicted here aren't suitable for a general audience in my opinion.
Still I hope you'll enjoy this just as much as I do.

And again a big thank you to both Mannoth and Melloque for being outstanding in what they do <3

Art ©  Melloque
Story ©  Mannoth
Character © Me