When a God of Destruction Was Reincarnated in Tensura:

The air rippled with divine power as Vaelis, the Keeper of Ascension, stepped forward. His golden eyes, devoid of emotion, swept over the seven Demon Lords standing before him.

"You have conquered your fears," he declared, his voice echoing through the void of existence itself. "But to ascend is not merely to overcome nightmares. It is to endure the weight of divinity."

A sudden, deafening roar of flames erupted from beneath them.

Golden and black, alive, screaming.

It was not ordinary fire.

It was the fire of the gods, forged from the very essence of existence itself.

"This is the Divine Inferno," Vaelis intoned. "It will burn through your bodies, your minds, your very souls. It will test not only your power, but your conviction.

"To ascend is to endure. To ascend is to understand. To ascend is to suffer."

The Demon Lords barely had time to react before the fire consumed them.

And then—

The world shattered.

The First Wave – The Fire of Agony

It began as an unbearable heat—searing, skin-melting, all-consuming pain.

Every nerve in their bodies ignited at once.

Every muscle twisted and tore itself apart.

Their very bones groaned under the weight of the inferno, fracturing from the sheer pressure.

They screamed. Even the strongest among them.

Rimuru felt his slime body boil, disintegrating and reforming, only to be burned away again. His regeneration failed—not because it was weak, but because this fire did not burn flesh. It burned the very essence of existence.

Guy Crimson dropped to one knee, his unbreakable body fracturing like glass. His muscles spasmed as if the flames were rewriting his very existence.

Milim clutched her head, her arms trembling, feeling something tearing at her from the inside. It was more than pain—it was destruction beyond comprehension.

Luminous gasped as her very blood began to boil, as if the fire had seeped into her veins, corroding her from within.

Leon clenched his teeth, his golden armor melting against his skin, his flesh blistering, peeling, regrowing—only to be burned away again.

Ramiris screamed, clutching at her tiny form as her wings crumbled into ash.

Draguel, the mighty dragon, let out a deafening roar as the flames pierced his scales, turning them to molten metal, his very bones exposed to the inferno.

The fire of the gods was not merely fire.

It was suffering itself, woven into reality.

And it was only the beginning.

The Second Wave – The Collapse of Logic

Then came the true horror.

The fire crawled into their minds, twisting, contorting, rewriting truth into lies, lies into truth.

Was this real?

Had they always been here?

Had they already failed?

Rimuru looked down at his hands. They weren't his hands anymore.

His body was foreign. Wrong. A mistake.

Guy heard a voice—a voice that sounded like Veldanava.

"You were never real, Guy. You are merely a puppet created to play a role."

His breath caught. Was that true?

He had always thought himself a being of free will. But what if he wasn't?

What if his very existence was a fabrication?

Milim suddenly couldn't remember who she was.

The name Milim Nava sounded alien, empty.

She had power, but why? What was she?

A child? A monster? A god?

No.

No, this wasn't right.

She clutched her head, screaming, as the fire tore apart everything she thought she knew about herself.

Luminous saw Hinata standing before her.

But was that really Hinata?

Or had Hinata never existed?

"Who are you?" Hinata asked, her face void of emotion.

Luminous staggered backward.

No—no, this was a trick.

Leon fell to his knees as Claude stood before him, sword in hand.

"You were never my king."

Leon's eyes widened in horror.

No.

No, Claude was loyal.

Wasn't he?

Draguel heard the voice of his brother, Fenn.

"You ruined everything, Draguel. You chased power, and you let our family be destroyed!"

Ramiris saw Celesterra crumble into dust before her eyes, her people screaming, fading into nothing.

She reached out—but there was nothing to grab.

Nothing.

Because she did not matter.

And maybe she never had.

The Third Wave – The Shattering of the Soul

Then came the voices.

Millions. Billions.

They whispered, screamed, laughed, wept.

They spoke in a thousand tongues, all at once, all inside their minds.

"Your existence is meaningless."

"You are nothing but a lie."

"This is your punishment for your arrogance."

"You do not deserve to ascend."

"You were never meant to exist."

Their souls cracked.

Not their bodies.

Not their minds.

Their very essence—being pulled apart, splintered, broken into dust.

Rimuru collapsed, clutching his chest, feeling something inside him being torn away.

His name.

His name was fading.

The moment he forgot his name—his true name—he would be erased.

But then—

A single spark.

A single memory.

It ignited in each of them.

Rimuru remembered Tempest.

Shion, Shuna, Benimaru, Souei, Veldora.

He remembered why he fought.

His identity was not something the fire could take.

He gritted his teeth, forcing his mind to hold on.

"No," he whispered.

"I am Rimuru Tempest!"

And just like that—his soul reassembled.

The fire raged around him, but he did not burn.

Guy clenched his fists, grinning.

"Hah… You think this will break me?" he laughed, even as his body continued to burn.

"I was never meant to exist? Then who the hell is standing here?"

Milim roared, defying the fire.

"I don't care what I am!" she screamed, her energy bursting outward.

"I choose who I want to be!"

Luminous narrowed her eyes, forcing herself to remember.

Hinata was real.

Her people were real.

She would not let this hell take them from her.

One by one, they reclaimed themselves.

One by one, the fire lost its grip.

And then, suddenly—

The flames disappeared.

They stood in the white void once again, breathing heavily, exhausted, burned, but whole.

The Grand Order watched in silent judgment.

Vaelis stepped forward, his golden eyes piercing through them.

"You have withstood the Judgment of Divinity. You have faced oblivion, endured the unraveling of your very selves, and yet, you remain standing."

He nodded.

"You are worthy."

But then—

A shadowed figure, another member of the Grand Order, stepped forward. His voice was like shattered glass and dying stars.

"There is one more trial."

And as they prepared themselves once more, the realization sank in.

They had endured hell itself.

And yet—the worst was still to come.