Death is one of the absolute laws created by the gods to contain the Void.[1]
Origin
Death was not always a part of existence. It was created by the Shadow God as a means to contain the Void, an endless and everlasting force. The Void represented infinity, so the gods needed to establish laws of existence that included finality. Death served as a weapon against the Void and the eternal beings dwelling within it.[1]
Purpose and Function
Death was designed to provide finality and to destroy Corruption, which is a malignant influence stemming from the Void. This function allows Corrupted abominations to be killed, enabling the retrieval of soul shards from their corpses.[1]
Nature
Contrary to common belief, death is not the end of existence. Instead, it is a transformation. When something dies, the Shadow God would swallow and digest it, turning it into pure essence and releasing it back into the world in a new form. Therefore, no one truly disappears; they simply become something new.[1]
Current State
Though the Shadow God who created death is now gone, the laws he established remain in effect. Death continues to operate according to these divine rules, maintaining the cycle of transformation.[1]
Lore
It was mentioned in the runes describing Soul Serpent that the Shadow God was the last of the gods to be destroyed and he was the one who created death. Due to this many resented the Shadow God but in the end, they all died.[2]
"[When the end came, Shadow was the last of the gods to be destroyed. Many have resented him for creating death, but in the end, death embraced all.]"
According to the runes describing [Mark of Death], Death had been created as a weapon.[3]
"You bear a mark of Death, as just like Death, you were created to be a weapon."
According to the description of Shadow God's drop of ichor, the Shadow God was compelled to create Death due to a terrible enemy the gods had faced long before the daemons.[4]
[Before, there was only boundless, eternal void. From that dark abyss, the -unknown- were born. Just like chaos itself, they were endless and everlasting, vast and forever changing. But then came desire, and with it came direction. From it, the gods were born.
When gods appeared, the void was not eternal anymore.
When gods appeared, the darkness was not endless anymore.
When gods appeared, the chaos was not orderless anymore.
The gods appeared, and brought with them war. This drop of divine blood was spilled by Shadow on one of the battlefields of that war, before the void was bound.]
It was mentioned in the description of Shadow Lantern that the War God did not like Shadow God at all. In many ways, they are the opposite of each other.[5]
["Death is just the shadow of life," said the Goddess of Life. "And peace is just the failure of war. Have you ever been something that had not been stolen, made empty, and vile? Have you ever done something that was not futile and hollow? Can you even exist without being cast by another? Look at how weak you are, how small you are. Am I supposed to be frightened of a small shadow?"
Made pale and feeble by the radiance of day, Shadow laughed and rose from the ground. As he did, his figure swallowed the land, devoured the heavens, and blotted out the light of the sun. Soon, there was nothing left around them but darkness. And from that darkness, a hiss came, making Life tremble:
"Life is just the prelude to death, and war is just the key to open its gates. Everything you cherish, everything you nurture, everything that starts with you will one day be mine, be welcomed by me, swallowed by me, and find peace within me. This is the mercy of Shadow. Hollow… futile... you might have come first, my sister, but when your cruelty ends… I will be all that remains…"]
[When Shadow made death, he has become death. Everything that Shadow swallowed died, and everything that died was swallowed by Shadow. Death was an absolute law, and thus, that which was everchanging was everchanging no more. Time was an absolute law, and thus, that which was everlasting was everlasting no more. Space was an absolute law, and thus, that which was endless was endless no more. Wielding time, space, and death, the gods defeated and bound their enemies.
However, there were those who defied even absolute laws. One of these beings broke free of the Shadow Realm after being swallowed by it, and in doing so, splintered several small fragments of it. This is one of the fragments.][6]
Trivia
- Sunny shared that the beings he kills do not follow the usual path of death. Instead of reaching the Shadow Realm, they stay within his soul. He hopes to one day learn how to digest them himself, similar to the process once performed by the Shadow God, but he has not yet discovered how to do this.[1]
References
Sources & history
Death · Shadow Slave Wiki
Source revision 37205
Adapted from Fandom. CC-BY-SA
Retrieved 2026-11-04 · Article version 1