《How-not to be an Olympian God!》 Chapter 1 - Suspicious Email To be good at everything, yet great at nothing, that was the fate Alex had ''endured'' all his life He wascking any sort of passion and ambition pushing his involvement in academic life or ''life'' in general. He graduated high school with above-average grades and could have very well pursued a well-earning major and entered the corporate battlefield, enjoying a few weeks of rest a year, a nine-to-five day job, an asional vacation, a spouse, and some kids. In middle age, he would be so numbed by life that discounted microwaves at the local big supermarket would start to seem exciting. Eventually, he might be unhappy in his rtionship, get a divorce, have his children move out, and form a life of their own, visiting him twice or thrice a year right until his deathbed, where he would have died. END OF THE STORY Ah, The textbook life of happiness. This was a bit too far into the future, however, as our Alex was still a 20-something youth in the prime of his life and overwhelmed by the tragic life of an adult. ''Bing a scientist? Nah, too troublesome'' ''Bing a doctor? Nah, my lifespan shortens just thinking about it'' ''Bing a politician? Nah, I don''t want to get assassinated at the age of 40 in my spare mansion in Monte Carlo'' ''Bing a writer? Nah, Ick the patience to write full-length novels and I''m not confident in making any profit at all'' Additionally, if it werew, engineering, financing or administration, Alex would only give different variations of the preceding quotes. And graduating in the midst of a global pandemic didn''t help his case too much, as entry-level jobs, which already required years of experience that freshly-graduated bachelors needed to somehow invent, now started straight-out refusing youngsters. Which is why, despite having a resum¨¦ and a past track record worthy of a goody two-shoes that could easily(in most circumstances)nd him a good job, Alex has instead been juggling a dozen or so online gigs, having had an ophthalmologist-offending screen time and eating instant ramen for lunch, dinner and reluctantly, breakfast. Frozen peas and unseasoned chicken breast were really his only real source of nutrition. It is often said ''You are what you eat''. Alex, by that logic, was therefore cheap and empty junk. He could definitely ask his mother for financial aid but he wouldn''t dare. His mom raised both him and his younger brother, Alexander, as a single mother. And due to him finally somewhat achieving ''financial independence'', his mother has been able to afford toys and other such forms of entertainment necessary for raising young children to Alexander. He would never steal that just because he can''t take care of himself. Thinking of his mother, Alex began to tear up. ''I should really visit her and Alexander as soon as the travel restrictions are lifted'' Alex thought, but he didn''t know that, for the foreseeable future at the very least, he wouldn''t be able to visit anyone from his world. Putting aside his feelings, Alex was awaiting certain payments he was scheduled to receive today and was looking forward to finally having a proper meal, aka heart-attack inducing pizza. He could definitely, instead, order a nutritionally bnced and good-tasting meal but, wise men often say ''a healthy mind is a healthy body'' or whatnot. For his own healthy mind and hence, healthy body, Alex needs to savor health-destroying trans fats and an excess of cheese and MSG. Checking his inbox, Alex refreshed the page a few times but nothing to his interest appeared. He sighed but did not express any further dissatisfaction at the unpredictability of frencing, after all, if he wanted a stable job, he would join aw firm, not a frencing website. To kill some time, Alex decided to check the infamous ''spam folder''. Involving mass-hacking operations and borate scams and cult invitations, the spam folder of the emailing software has be somewhat of a trending issue. Alex''s spam folder, however, was a bit more underwhelming than that. It had more of the usual feed. Useless self-help books, very casual satanic cults, Nigerian scammers, just some everyday things. Below that was an interesting and ridiculous email. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (God Recruitment!!!!!!!!! Info below!!!!) Greetings I am Hermes representative and messenger of the Olympians in the Mortal Realm I havee to this ce to recruit our newest addition to the pantheon we don''t have any requirements xoxo, Hermes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At first nce, the contrast between the childish title, the serious tone and theck of punctuation really did make for a funnybination. But at second nce, the purpose of the email seemed unclear. It looked too suspicious to be a scam, too childish to be an invitation to an exclusive posh club and too ridiculous to be taken seriously at all. ''Pfffttt'' Alex chuckled in amusement. ''God recruitment? Email pranks? is that how kids have fun these days?'' He then responded to the email saying he wants to participate, while he really just wanted to lecture this mischievous kid. "O thou Hermes, I am enamored by your presence. I have perused your email and thus find your offer interesting and want to be a member of this ''Olympian pantheon'', please enlighten me on how to proceed, and send my regards to my dearest Zeus, Athena and Aphrodite" Alex bemused as he typed and proceeded to send the email. Immediately, his vision darkened and his senses dulled and he couldn''t feel his body anymore. Chapter 2 - Hermes, Messenger Of Olympus Alex eventually woke up from what seemed like an eternity. He opened his eyes, feeling unexpectedly refreshed, and looked around. He was sitting on a veryrge and ornamented bed and the surroundings were decorated in an antique and floral style, with overgrown flowers blossoming onto the walls of thisrge room. Perceiving the unfamiliar scenery, only now has Alex realized that he copsed in the middle of the day and woke up in a ce that looks a bit, no, very different to his city downtown 60 sq-meter home. A sense of paranoia filled him and he could not bring himself to appreciate the beautiful interiors before knowing where he was. He might have been drugged and kidnapped, although Alex didn''t really understand why he would be kidnapped as his family doesn''t really have any money to pay ransom. To be fair, for a kidnapping, the bed he woke up on was surprisinglyfortable and the surroundings were quite pleasant. Alex stood up to investigate his whereabouts and, to his surprise, his body felt very light, as if he suddenly lost a few dozen pounds and his steps quick and nimble. He thus proceeded to approach to therge windows in front of his bed and look out to the exterior of this unknown ce. "wow...." He let out a gasp involuntarily as his eyes glowed, reflecting the beauty of the scene before him. Alex could see snow-white mountain peaks as far as the eyes could go yet the snow couldn''t hide the jagged rocks and chaotic terrain. It was as if he was transported from an urbanized downtown to the remote Alps. Strangely though, despite the snow outside, the inside of the building was warm and the flowers were blooming like it was April. While he stood in a trance at the sight of thendscape , Alex heard the gates to the room open up and heard a voice behind him. "Finally woke up heh?" The person spoke quickly, and with a rather yful voice, and although the voice was rather androgynous, it sounded rather manly. Alex turned around to look at the stranger approaching him in steady and quiet steps, and thetter halted his steps upon noticing Alex''s gaze, and gave him a sharp look. The man was dressed rather skimpily, with a short purple toga concealing his private parts and wrapping around his shoulders. He was rather short in stature, however, his lean muscles chiseled his body into a flesh sculpture simr to Michngelo''s statue David, and his face was simrly handsome with sharp and angled eyebrows. His eyes were shaped like an eagle''s and hosted a purple iris giving him a somewhat mischievous and mystical ir. Despite being shorter than Alex, those eyes almost seemed to look down on him, although that feeling onlysted a few seconds, only to be reced by a yfulness that seemed default to this person. Most surprisingly though, the stranger had a pair ofrge wings enclosed on his back... Although he was good-looking, the man would frankly look quite ridiculous in a crowd of people and at worst, be arrested for public indecency. Alex suddenly felt a chill in his back; the cosy, the interior design, the surroundings.... ''Was I kidnapped into a cold fetishist''s home?'' He pondered as cold sweat ran down his back. The man seemed to sense his fear and looked at him even more yfully, giving Alex goosebumps as he stepped back in slow steps. Fortunately for him, though, a voice would ring out in the room and distract the man. "Be serious, Hermes." The voice was a bit low-pitched but the tone sounded like a woman''s, though it wascking any sort of emotion. Seeing the stranger''s attention distracted by the voice, Alex made a run for it, but the way to the door was upied by the man so he ran for the window and jumped, hoping that the snow would cushion his fall. Feeling the sharp and cold wind hitting his face, Alex felt relieved he had escaped but before he could evennd, he felt a thin and long object halting his descent, so he looked down, only to see a silver staff floating in the air that was supporting his whole body. The staff had a peculiar design but that was not as important as the shock Alex felt as the staff started rapidly ascending and he had to hold it tightly and close his eyes as not to fall. 5..10...20 secondster... The staff stopped moving and remained stationary. Alex opened his eyes and regretted it immediately. Looking down he could see he was atst hundreds of meters up in the air and although the air felt a bit thin, he unexpectedly didn''t have any difficulty breathing. From this high up, even the colossal mountain peaks he saw earlier looked insignificant but he knew not to get careless as a fall from this high up wouldn''t get cushioned in the slightest by any amount of snow. "Boo!" said a voice screaming as if to scare Alex, and it worked. Alex jumped in fright and almost let go of the staff and fell to his death. He then turned around with spiteful eyes and even though he thought the floating staff would be thest of his surprises for today, he saw the man named Hermes floating in mid-air, with his pair of wings pping gently. Alex felt his eyeballs almost pop out of his body like they do in children''s cartoons. "Hehehehehehe" Hermes was stillughing as he looked at me with those godd*mned mischievous eyes. "Who are y-you? I-Is this a dream?" Alex kept stuttering as he spoke, and the ''Hermes'', whoever he was, seemed to find that funny too. He must have low standards for humour if everything amused him this much. " *Kuhum* I''m Hermes, messenger of Olympus, God of medicine, trade and shepherding, to list a few. I sent an ''email'' to your realm earlier which you responded to. Do you remember?" ''Hermes'' cleared his throat and tried to speak in a serious tone, producing aedic effect as his eyes were still as mischievous as earlier. Hermes was one of the more relevant gods inherited from the Greeks, and he was also often depicted as a god of lies and maniption. In response to his question, Alex fell into thought and remembered a thoroughly unnoteworthy event which in actuality, seemed to be much more rted to his current predicament than he thought. "Yes. So what? Are you trying to tell me I was recruited into the Greek world and the peak of Olympus by responding to that email?" Alex replied with a question of his own. "Exactly. And it''s not a ''dream'' as you mortals call those. You were brought to Olympus from your realm to be a member of our pantheon, an esteemed god." Hermes calmly responded. "Do you really ''recruit'' gods through email? It doesn''t seem to me that gods are asmon as grass so it does strike off as weird." Alex said with an excited voice. Although he was bit skeptical on whether this was a dream or not, his 23-year old starving for new experiences was already beating wildly at the possibility that he was really brought over to another world. "It''s quite a long story. My dear sister Athena and I found Ambrosia, which can turn mortals into deities and we decided not to tell father Zeus, Oops, I shouldn''t have said that. We wanted to try this priceless Ambrosia to add another member to the family, as it has felt quite lonely recently and Athena found a tool which can transmit messages and objects to and from your realm so came to the conclusion that it would be best to bring over a mortal from that ce to use Ambrosia on." Hermes then paused, rolled his eyes and resumed his speech. "Aphrodite eavesdropped on us and joined in too, although I''d much prefer it if she didn''t, as that moron is starving for sh*t to stir." Hermes calmly exined and used terminology Alex had trouble keeping up with. It was just very overwhelming. "But, from what I know from my world, isn''t Zeus quite temperamental? What if he discovers your n?" Alex responded with his most pressing question. In his world, while Greek mythology was just that, mythology, he has studied some of it in school before and knew that the King of Gods, Zeus, could be a very unpleasant figure. " Bingo! That''s a term I learned from your world. The n is to pretend you are Athena''s son from a dead mortal and a demi-god who was granted residence in Olympus. In addition, you aren''t going to be meeting Father Zeus very often, he''s a bit *Kuhum* prideful." "I will try to make sense of what you are saying. But, could we go back down and discuss everything in the safety of the ground?" Although Alex was trying to maintain a conversation with Hermes, he couldn''t keep his head from periodically tilting down and seeing the ground so far away, it''s not good for the heart. "Will do!" Said Hermes with the same yful tone as usual. Alex felt the staff starting to descend and Hermes was following too, pping his unrealistic pair of wings and descending. Even if Alex was still unconvinced that he was fully awake and these happenings were not a dream, he couldn''t help but hope that he stumbled upon something extraordinary. *Small Disimer* - If you see anything that you consider as a wrong adaptation of a Greek god, character or myth, it is probably done on purpose for plot reasons. Of course, I''m open to discussing it with you to exin further - Chapter 3 - Ambrosia While the two were descending, Alex could finally take a good nce at the exterior of the abode. It was unsurprisingly quite beautiful, incorporating elements of ancient Greek architecture such as the cliched pirs with an angr design and a few colors such as a brick red and blue. There was also a small za surrounding the building upon which was nted a single olive tree, although it was concealed by the boundless snow. Hermes took the lead and entered through the window Alex ''so bravely'' jumped out of earlier and Alex followed behind, led by the witch''s broom, oops, staff*. Upon entering the familiar room, Hermes took afortable-looking chair out of nowhere, but Alex would probably not feel surprised by anything for a while. The god pointed to the bed and hinted to Alex to go sit on it which he did. ''I''m a bit confused right now but it won''t hurt to listen to the rest of what he has to say before making a decision'' Alex thought to himself. "We can finally talk business heh?" Spoke Hermes in his usual annoying tone. "I have a lot of quest- "I know you do. Let me guess. First, you want to know what Ambrosia is and what it does to your body?" Without waiting for Alex''s approval, he continued. "Ambrosia is an invaluable liquid refined from the corpses of the titans thousands of years ago and it can ascend mortals to godhood, there is a very limited quantity of it, and finding even a single drop is an impossibly hard task, and even Tyche, goddess of fortune, wouldn''t be able to guide one to Ambrosia" Alex shrugged, this wasn''t his most pressing question but he decided to patiently listen. "Second, you want to know what this Ambrosia will do to you?" Hermes once again continued " For you, Ambrosia will just make you immortal and your body a bit stronger, as you don''t have any defining skills or characteristics, you won''t be able to wield any divine powers at first." Hermes bluntly stated, hurting Alex''s self-esteem in the process. "Considering you don''t currently have any defining characteristic, you''ll just be running errands for the various gods in here and you can pick up skills from the gods as rewards. You being a nk canvas might not be a disadvantage, as unlike us, who were born with a very specific skillset and have limited room for growth, right now you can essentially be whoever you want" Alex fell into thought. It finally hit him that this was probably not a dream and he had to make a choice. Bing immortal and acquainting himself with Olympus didn''t sound too bad, it was better than his boring life back home. If he wasn''t brought here, he would have continued struggling financially, eventually finding a well-paid and boring job, maybe marrying and having a few children and traveling a few times a year. The thought of living this kind of monotonous life scared the sh*t out of Alex and made him extremely anxious and depressed but now, he was given a chance to change it all and lead a more exciting life. On the other hand, he missed his mother and younger brother very much and wanted to see them, yet he figured out that if he chose to take ''Ambrosia'' and stay here he probably wouldn''t be able to see his family anymore. "Once I be a god, can I go back to my homeworld?" Alex finally spilled out his most urgent question. "Well h-hmmm the machine we used to bring you here is b-broken an-" The sight of a god stuttering was quite funny. At Hermes'' response, Alex felt blood rushing out of his limbs and his vision going blurry. He knew what Hermes'' answer meant for him; The tool used to bring him here being broken meant that he wouldn''t be able to go back even if he wanted to and he had no other real choice than to go along with their ns. Alex felt himself starting to tear up. After all, he hadn''t seen his family for a long time and wasn''t even able to say his goodbyes to them. He didn''t have many friends or important possessions in his life except his family and the possibility of never seeing them again made him mncholic. Seeing this unexpected reaction, Hermes knew he had said something wrong and tried to salvage the situation with the following sentence. "B-but you can ask Hephaestus, our cksmith to repair it." Wiping his tears, Alex asked with red eyes "And where can I find this Hephaestus?" "Following a conflict he had a few hundred years ago, he''s sheltered himself in his mountain peak and it''s going to be a bit hard to get him out of there but I promise you I''ll try my best." Hermes responded with a guilty look on his face. This was a bit of a handful for Alex to take in, but he knew he couldn''t be sad forever so he stood up and tried to speak in a confident tone, although it sounded meek considering his muffled voice. "So, can I have the Ambrosia?" "You made a good choice,d. Here it is heh" Hermes pulled out a small tinted ss sk and opened it. Inside was a single drop of a brown-ish golden liquid that didn''t have any distinctive smell. Alex wanted to be over with this fast so he grabbed the sk from Hermes'' hand and took it to his mouth and drank the liquid. Immediately, his head started to hurt so much it felt like he was dying and he copsed on the bed and breathed loudly as he tried to bear the splitting sensation in his skull. 2 minutester the pain finally started to subside and Alex stood up to examine his body. He didn''t look all that different, except he felt just a bit taller and he gained some muscle definition, giving a small impression of strength to his meek body. Hermes took out a mirror and showed him his face. "Wow...." Alex gasped at the sight of his new appearance. His face became more angr and symmetrical and his eyebrows and hair, which previously reflected hiscking diet, now shined like dark silk. The most stunning difference, however, was his eye color. Alex formerly had brown eyes but as he looked at his irises in the mirror they reflected a light gray color and they had a certain depth and glow that Hermes too held. "Wee to the club, Alexos" Alex ignored the mispronunciation of his name. "Do I need to eat, drink or sleep now that I''m a god?" asked Alex in a curious tone. "Hmmm, you won''t die if you don''t do any of those but to keep your body in good shape you should do those things, although you''ll need much less sustenance than a mortal does." Hermes responded in a calm voice. He then looked at what seemed to be a wristwatch and started fidgeting, it looked like has something urgent to do. "On that, I need to go. Being the messenger of Olympus and all, I''m usually quite busy, if you have any questions, ask Athena." Hermes took his staff and stepped in front of the window, ready to leave, but when he spoke of Athena he seemed to remember something. "Oh, your living amodations will be in this mansion. It''s originally mine but since I don''te here too often, you can have it. Athena will alsoe by with a gift for you and Aphrodite is busy with something but she seems to have a gift for you too, although you''re better off not meeting her honestly." Even though he seemed tight on time, Hermes still took the time to curse at ''Aphrodite'', it looked like those two didn''t get along very well. Hermes left silently, it seemed like he wasn''t the type to say goodbye. Chapter 4 - Athena The room fell equally silent and Alex felt a sense of mental fatigue at today''s happenings and copsed on the royal bed and looked at the ceiling. The mattress wasfortable, beyond anything he''s ever slept on and he could spread his body in the bed and still have arge area left. He stayed in this vegetative state for a few minutes before this calm was interrupted by loud knocks on the door. The person knocking didn''t wait for his approval and immediately opened the door, it seemed they were quite rude. Alex turned his head in the direction of the door and was a bit surprised by what he saw. It was a woman. She has a head of dark shiny hair reaching her waist and tanned dark skin. Her face had a rounded yet symmetrical shape and her eyes were shaped like an upturned tulip petal yet her pitch-ck irises felt as deep as the oceans. She wore a magenta and white toga covering her private parts but not concealing her athletic build. What was more shocking than her beauty, however, were the wordsing out of her mouth. ''Was this Athena?'' Alex wondered "Huh, so you are the f*cking neer," She looked like a mermaid, but she spoke like a pirate. Alex doubted this was Athena, as he knew Athena to be calm, collected, cold, and formal. This person before him was the exact opposite of all those things. "Hello?" Alex signaled to the woman. "Heh?" She turned her head in curiosity, then spoke in a condescending tone. "Are you Alexei, Lady Athena''s son? How did you get here? As far as I''m aware, you''ve not gotten here through your own personal power," Putting aside her mean words, It seemed like everyone was mispronouncing his name In actuality, Alex did kind of get here through connections and he remembered the background Hermes made for him, as Athena''s son who was granted residence in Olympus, and it made it look like he got in through the backdoor. "And who are you?" Alex asked politely. "Crista, a member of the divine nymph species. I was somewhat working under Aphrodite but she assigned me to attend to your needs now," ''Crista'', introduced herself. She continued, "But let me tell you, I''m not attending to the needs of anybody here. I only came because I would be given Nectar to extend my lifespan and youth." Alex started to find her kind of annoying so he tried to ignore the buzzing fly in his head and fortunately, an iing guest saved him. It was a woman too and she was advancing in graceful steps. She was dressed in a full greek navy blue and white toga that draped all around her body and made her look like Socrates. She had dark blue hair wrapped in a bun and pale skin. Her skin looked youthful but her deep eye sockets made her look a bit more aged and mature. Her facial expression was emotionless and thus made her seem distant and unapproachable. "Behave." The woman spoke in a deep and cold voice to ''Crista''. It sounded like it was the same woman who saved him from Hermes'' pranks earlier and the famed Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. ''Crista'' stopped speaking when she saw the silhouette and heard that voice and kowtowed deeply while trembling like she drank too much coffee. "I apologize, Lady Athena." She spoke in a formal tone, in contrast with her earlier pattern of speech. He chuckled and she gave him a spiteful side nce, sending chills to his body. ''Athena'' nodded all the while maintaining her expressionless face and turned her head to me. "Wee. Take this" Athena nodded at me and approached to give me something she took out of her pocket. It was a beautiful silver ne and the pendant was sculpted to the shape of an owl. It looked like Athena was someone who spoke few words so I only said "Thank you, Lady Athena." and politely took the ne from her hand. She nodded again and turned around to leave the room. When she was near the door, however, she spoke "It''s Athena, not Lady Athena." without turning around and immediately left. Crista kept checking whether Athena had taken her leave and when she did, she stood up and pouted "Howe a weakling can call her by her name and I have to use honorifics? What an effing contradiction." Crista spoke, of course including curses in her sentences. It was then that a ray of golden-orange light hit Alex and he looked out and realized it was already approaching dusk as the sunset on the beautiful whitendscape. While he was enthralled by the scenery, Crista said to him, "I''l go to sleep, don''t bother me, will you?" He didn''t want to deal with her anymore so he kept silent as she left the room and kept looking at his reaction while she left. ''I finally felt in peace and I fell into thought about the people I''ve met today. Hermes, the messenger of Olympus, he''s a bit of a trickster and can be yful but he seems reliable and trustworthy. Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, she''s calm and smart and is peaceful. I like her presence as she''s not annoying and doesn''t bother with unnecessary words or actions, I need to learn from her pragmatism. And finally Crista. She''s an annoying fly who buzzes around you and curses like a pirate and is tyrannous against the weak and fearful of the strong. She''s supposedly Aphrodite''s gift to me as she''s an attendant although it doesn''t seem like she''ll take her duties seriously. I wondered how Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, and grew a bit curious about her rtionship with Hermes, who didn''t seem to like her.'' Alex noted all of the people he''s met today and then diverted his attention to the ne that Athena gave him. She didn''t specifically tell him what it did but he kept ying around with it as a gift from Athena can''t possibly be ordinary. Suddenly words appeared on his retina, making him jump in surprise. (Verifying Otherworlder Blood) The ne jumped on his wrist on its own and pricked his veins, but fortunately, it only stung. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Verification Sessful) (Searching for the most suitable system) (Program Sessful) (Activation of the God System) (Wee to the God System) Functions: (Attributes) (Item Appraisal) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alex felt a hint of pleasant surprise. Not only was he transported to another world and immediately became an OP god, but he also received the mark of all modern fantasy novels, the system. Alex wanted to check every nook and cranny of this system he received but his mental fatigue turned from today''s happenings became a bit overwhelming so he decided to check everything tomorrow after sleeping. He, therefore, threw himself on thefortable bed and closed his eyes, awaiting good dreams tonight. Chapter 5 - System Alex slept very well the previous day, perhaps from the fatigue he had umted or the immensefort of the bed, probably both. He woke up due to the sharp rays of the sun signaling the beginning of a new day. He stood up reluctantly and looked back at the bed, teary-eyed at the thought of leaving it behind and frustrated that he''d have to maintain a healthy biological clock even after transmigrating and bing a god. The whole deal about him bing a deity still felt surreal to Alex and he was convinced that he''d wake up back in his room, only to go back to that mundane life anyways. ''Whatever'' Alex thought to himself, full of conviction to go about his first day as a god of Olympus. Alex remembered that before falling asleep, he discovered a function to the ne Athena had given him and he''d made a note to check it out thoroughly once he woke up. He grabbed the ne from the cab on his bedside, exactly where he had left it the previous day, and put it on. He was suddenly exposed to a barrage of words on his retina; --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (God System) Functions: (Attributes) (Item appraisal) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ''It''s quite concise and straightforward.'' Thought Alex, as he pressed on the (Attributes) tab. New words appeared on his retina ordingly, though there wasn''t much to look at. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Alex State of Existence: Immortal God Specialty: None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There really wasn''t much to look at, although they at least spelled his name properly. Alex shrugged and questioned how he should proceed to acquire specialties. ''I guess that will have to wait'' Alex mused to himself, the second tab (Item appraisal) wasn''t interactive but he figured out he should touch an object to appraise it. Alex hence put his hand on the bed and as expected, new words popped up on his retina. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 Objects detected...Appraisal in process... Appraisal sess! (Hermes'' Bed) State: Great Quality: Excellent Notes: A high-quality bed that makes you feel rested upon sleeping in it. Cleans itself autonomously. (Elven Mattress) State: Great Quality: Excellent Notes: Woven through the delicate hands of the elves and made of cloud cotton, a rare variety of cotton is touted for its softness and low density. (Sturdy Bed Frame) State: Great Quality: Excellent Notes: A sturdy bed frame made of two-fold evaporated tungsten, a variety of the metal that is brought to gaseous state twice to achieve near-perfect purity and enhance the properties of the metal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information provided wasprehensive and coherent. Alex thanked the system internally. As far as systems go, this one was rather in, offering qualitative data on him. However, the item appraisal function will probably make itself very useful. It then happened to Alex that he caught a peculiar object in his peripheral vision, a wooden case that wasn''t quite there when he went to sleep. He went in quiet steps and took the case, trying to appraise it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Sturdy Wooden Case) State: Well-kept Quality: Good Notes: A wooden case made of a type of wood that gives it thermal istion properties and shields the insides from the elements. It is good for storing medicine and other reactivepounds. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The data provided was veryplete so Alex gave a thumbs up to the system in his mind. He then opened the case. Inside was a tinted ss sk, simr to the one he drank Ambrosia in and a note next to it. He opened the note. ''Hello, Alexos~~It''s Hermes! I figured you''d need this and since I don''t have much of a use for it you can take it. I''m going to be a bit busy so I won''t be able to answer more of your questions but meanwhile, I''ve left some ingredients for you in the kitchen downstairs and the facilities found in the mansion will entertain you :)'' The letter''s contents were simple, and it seemed like Hermes was trying to include emoticons and other such forms of texting etiquette despite it being a handwritten letter, almost like an elderly person who just discovered the inte. "Pfft" Alex chuckled at how simr Hermes sounded in letters and how he was almost able to hear his voice through the words. He then took out the sk and examined it, waiting for the system''s appraisal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 objects detected.....Appraisal in process Appraisal sess! (Tinted ss sk) State: Well-Kept Quality: Good Notes: A ss sk that protects the contents inside from the elements. Good for storing medicine and other such reactivepounds. (Essence of Hermes) State: Great Quality: Divine Notes: an invaluable liquid refined from the blood of the god Hermes. Contains the divine mark of the god of trade, swiftness, herdsmen, messaging, and wits. Hint: Can be absorbed by host Alex. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Wow...." Alex almost dropped the sk from surprise. He thought that Hermes would give him something rtively valuable to help him but upon seeing buzzwords such as ''divine'' and ''invaluable'' he knew Hermes had given him something really good. Alex felt bittersweet and happy that he has gained an ally in this world, someone he could count on, and also guilty that Hermes gave him something so valuable, no strings attached. He knew he had to give him something in exchange, although he had pretty much nothing at this point. He opened the sk and inside were a few drops of a very thick shiny red liquid. Itcked the metallic scent of blood and that wasn''t even important for Alex to begin with as the appraisal had shown that this liquid had value beyond its appearance and source. Alex thus drank the liquid. Suddenly a painful headache hit him, though it seemed bing a god gave him higher pain tolerance, so even though it hurt like hell, it was more bearable than Ambrosia. He frowned, clenched his fists and folded his knees to try to bear the pain, and stayed in that pose so simr to a certain power-up sequence in a famous anime back from Alex''s homeworld that started with Dragon and finished with Ball. He remained in that pose for a few minutes before the pain started to subside and Alex started to examine himself for any changes. He didn''t seem to experience any change in his physique so he took out a mirror to look out for any changes to his face. His face didn''t change at all except for his eyes. In fact, his irises, which were light-gray, now had a small hint of purple, simr to Hermes'' eyes. Alex then remembered that the system he obtained could offer qualitative data on his being so he activated it and pressed on the (Attributes) tab to examine for any changes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Alex State of Existence: Immortal God Specialties: -Attunement to diplomacy and information, swiftness, herding, and scheming(Essence of Hermes*1) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There were some interesting additions to the specialties section which matched up to Hermes'' own specialties and the *1 hinted that further consumption of this Essence could offer cumtive effects. ''Diplomacy, information and....scheming?'' These were some of the more unclear specialties so Alex decided to leave them forter. Chapter 6 - Cuisine ''Swiftness sounds explicit enough'' Alex thought to himself. To try it out, he decided to run from one side of the room to the other. *Whoosh* At a superhuman speed, Alex traversed the room. Fortunately, it was long enough or he would have had difficulty stopping himself and he would run into the wall like an idiot. He was quite surprised by how fast he became and grew curious at the further evolutions this atrocious speed would go through if he took more Essence. Suddenly, he heard something grumble. Embarrassingly, it was his own stomach. He''s been ying around with his newfound speed for a tad too long and he felt a bit hungry now. It was also about time to explore the estate, so he decided to look around a bit before going to the kitchen. He went out of the room and examined the wide corridor with interest. As if to show Hermes'' mark on the ce, the wallpaper was of a violet color and it made the ce look very charming and appraising it also said it was dyed with Tyrian purple, which was supposedly quite valuable. On the other side of his room was another room, with a decor equally simplistic butcking the trademarks of human activity, showing it was vacant. He suddenly remembered what that annoying attendant said yesterday, that she would be sleeping in the room on the other side of the corridor and that he shouldn''t bother her. ''She should be awake by now, right?'' Alex wanted to ask her to help him with the unfamiliar tools. He, therefore, walked down therge corridor in the center of which was a pair of luxurious marble staircases, that led down to a big hall and tworge gates that seemed to be the entrance. On the other side of the staircase was a balcony, looking out to the mountain peaks beyond. Alex smiled, satisfied at the prospect of living here, and continued walking down the corridor where two opposing doors could be found. They seemed to be rooms just like Alex''s except one of them was closed and the other one partly open. He snuck a nce at the room beyond the door and was surprised by the view. Crista was sitting on a chair by the windows,bing her long hair with one hand and....writing with the other. It was a beautiful sight with the rays of the sun illuminating her face and long locks of hair and was quite a contrast to her loud and vulgar personality. ''I probably....no....I shouldn''t bother her.'' Alex stepped back and went on. He went down the staircase and looked at the 3 corridors behind the staircase. 2 of those seemed to lead to simr living facilities like the ones upstairs so he took the center one. After walking for a short while he found 2 opposite doors. One which led to a toilet and a big bathhouse that he should checkter and thetter one leading to what looked like a kitchen, except the modern equipment had been reced by ancient tools. There was a wood-powered furnace, a water transportation system, and a big cab that, upon opening, reveals to be an icebox, the precursor to the fridge, with a variety of ingredients ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables to various meats and wine. ''When Hermes said he left some ingredients, he really meant a lot of ingredients, and I think I''ve never seen produce this fresh back on Earth!'' He eximed to himself. Alex has never been a good cook before, as demonstrated by his diet of instant ramen back on Earth and beforeing here, he remembered he was craving for pizza, so he decided to make the delicacy of the modern world with what he was provided in here. He found white flour, water, eggs, and yeast in the storage cabs of the kitchen. He started by making a well of flour, separating egg yolks and adding them to the well, and mixing with his hands, which, thanks to the swiftness bonus, turned the ingredients into a homogenous mixture in no time. He then added water which he has heated slightly, yeast and salt, and mixed it until he got a dry and workable dough. Alex tried kneading it and although his technique wascking, his strength and swiftness made up for it and the dough soon turned stic. He let the dough rest and meanwhile crushed some tomatoes, added salt and olive oil and some dried spices to the sauce, and searched for cheese. He found some fresh mozzare cheese, which despite being a step down from the industrial emulsified cheeses of his world in his opinion, did do the job. He took out the dough he had made and ttened it into a circle, spread the tomato sauce evenly on the t dough, and added a few handfuls of cheese. To make it more presentable he also tried to add basil leaves but it didn''t look like a chef''s work at all. He put the ''pizza'' on the surface of the furnace and watching it bubble and cook, while simultaneously emitting a pleasant scent, Alex drooled. He heard steps approaching the kitchen only to see Crista, with her hair wrapped in a ponytail and wearing a light toga. It looks like she was enticed by the smell of food as she paced around and avoided looking in his direction. Ignoring her, Alex took out the pizza, which was now cooked and looked rather delicious, except he has made a grave mistake. The basil leaves, which were supposed to be added on top after the cooking process, turned a burnt ck and he imagined their taste wouldn''t be any better than their appearance. Fortunately, though, he just plucked them out of the pizza and was left with a rather tasty-looking piece of pie. "What the f**k is that, toppings on a tbread?" He heard the puzzled voice of Crista asking in her usual tone. "I thought we start the day with good morning, not exmations and curses?" Alex answered. "If you want to eat,e on while it''s still hot." He said to her. After all, he wasn''t so shameless as to leave someone hungry, even if that someone isn''t very pleasant. Alex cut the pizza in half and started eating. It was good, not great but perhaps because the ingredients were of high quality and Alex followed a textbook recipe, the pizza was actually tasty. Crista, meanwhile, looked at him stuffing himself and hesitatingly advanced and very slowly took a slice to eat too. "Well, i-if you say s-so." She tasted it. Crista looked a bit surprised at the new vors she''s experiencing. Alex chuckled, he knew the modern Italian invention could conquer the human poption''s hearts, much less that of the ancient era, where the culinary arts were still underdeveloped. "Some of us nymphs used to dabble in cuisine and they used to make much better tasting foods than this..." Contrary to her usual tone, Crista spoke in a bittersweet, even nostalgic tone. He wanted to ask her more about it but before he could do so, he heard a knocking from the entrance. Chapter 7 - Aphrodite, Goddess Of Moral Ambiguity(TW: Mentions Of PTSD) "Some of us nymphs used to dabble in cuisine and they used to make much better tasting foods than this..." Contrary to her usual tone, Crista spoke in a bittersweet, even nostalgic tone. He wanted to ask her more about it but before he could do so, he heard a knocking from the entrance. Alex went to check it out while Crista stayed in the kitchen, still deep in thought. When he finally reached the entrance, the knocks got louder and more frequent, it looks like the person knocking was quite impatient. ''Can''t they just wait?'' Alex thought in his head. He hated impatient people, and he was going to proceed as slowly as possible just to teach them a lesson. Petty. When he opened the door, Alex was rather surprised by what he saw. It was a woman. She was wearing a light magenta gauze that draped over her body yet it didn''t hide her curves and back-problem-causing breasts. She had tinum blonde hair that reached her shoulders and skin whiter than ivory, her eyes were of a vibrant magenta colour, also emitting that same depth and glow Alex had seen in the other gods he''s met. Alex didn''t dare look at her appearance too much because he felt like he would be trapped in those eyes forever and he didn''t like the feeling of being manipted. The devil in question seemed rather displeased that he didn''t look at her appearance more and her towering height made her seem a bit intimidating. ''Who is this?'' He wondered internally. "Hello" said Alex. When he greeted her, it was as if her contempt and anger from earlier disappeared instantly. It felt unnatural. She responded with a ''vibrant'' smile and nted eyes "Isn''t it rude to leave a beautifuldy waiting?" It seemed the ''beautifuldy'' was herself in question. Alex thought that she is in fact beautiful, but saying ites off as a bit distasteful. Alex didn''t really know how to respond so they just stood in awkward silence for a short while before it was interrupted by her words. "Anyways. I''m Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty and fertility. I''m here to ask you something, can Ie in?" ''Aphrodite'' said in a cutesy annoying voice. When she asked him toe in she leaned really close to him, and he got a whiff of a strange perfume that overwhelmed his senses. Alex leaned back, frowning a bit and inviting her inside. He remembered there was a table and chairs in the balcony, eptable for hosting guests, so he led her there and they sat down, opposite of each other, and surrounded by the mountains of Olympus. "Beautiful scenery, isn''t it?" said Aphrodite. However her expression of displeasure clearly wasn''t one of someone appreciating beautiful scenery. At this moment Alex would usually offer tea or other drink and food to his guest but he didn''t like her that much so he just omitted it. "Anyways, how are you liking my gift?" asked Aphrodite with a smile on her face thatpletely reced her earlier frown. ''Gift.....? She must be referring to Crista. Well, she''s not very useful but I guess I should thank her..?'' Alex thought in his mind. "Ah. Yes. I''m grateful, Lady Aphrodite." responded Alex in a formal tone. She seemed to be frustrated at his sudden use of honorifics, and she subtly pulled her chair closer to his. "If she is disobedient, just tell me and I''ll send her for a round of torture. Also, drop the formal tone. I''m a youthful maiden and it doesn''t fit to use such honorifics" Aphrodite said in a calm tone. Alex was a bit shocked at her casual mention of torture and her disregard for Crista, but he then remembered that this was Olympus and cruelty and injustice were fundamental elements of the god''s personalities. ''I mean, Crista doesn''t really do her duties and she''s a bit annoying...but at least she speaks her mind, unlike Aphrodite, who makes me feel like I''m conversing with a slithering snake'' "She''s attending to her duties seriously. Thank you for the offer though" Alex responded calmly. Aphrodite then pped her hands and took out 2 objects from thin air, a small wooden box and a letter. She then spoke. "Anyways, let''s talk about why I''m here in the first ce. I''d like you to do a favour for me." She continued "Of course, as a reward, you can ask for anything" Aphrodite emphasized on the ''anything'' part like she was expecting something. Alex clicked his tongue, in his mind of course. "What do I have to do?" Alex asked in a confident tone. "The king of the city of Abdera has recently married and wishes for my blessings for a happy marriage and numerous offspring. I epted because the city has been a big source of faith for me but I can''t go personally. That''s where youe in. You would deliver the blessing and this letter for legitimacy to the king" Aphrodite finished her sentence but he heard her mumbling "*Tsk* These kinds of requests are more fit for that bitch Hera but she''s always busy chasing around that unfaithful husband of hers" It looked like Aphrodite and Hera don''t get along too much. Alex fell into thought. There wasn''t much to lose from doing it and he could request for Essence and in addition to that making an enemy out of Aphrodite didn''t seem like a good idea and he would get a chance to explore this world. "I see, is Abdera far though? How will I get there?" Alex asked curiously. He hasn''t heard too much of this world''s transportation methods, but they''re probably still using horses and carriages. "When you climb down Olympus, you''ll find the city of Olep. Show the consul my seal on this letter and he''ll give you the best of carriages and horses" Bingo. It seemed that Alex''s hypothesis was right. "Now that I''ve told you I should get going. If you need anything, I''m in the 4th peak east of here~~" Aphrodite stated with a flirtatious tone that made Alex feel sick. ''Should I send her off?'' Alex ultimately decided to send her off because offending her wouldn''t do him any good considering how weak he is. He remembered what Hermes told him about his role in Olympus, that, with him having no specialties whatsoever, he''ll probably be running errands for the major gods for a while before he finds his ce in the pantheon. Feeling a bit sad about his current powerlessness, he made his way back to the kitchen only to see Crista sprawled on the floor, loudly gasping for breath and shaking like a cold kitten. Alex ran to check up on her and she turned her head to face him. "That was A-Aphrodite who came by just now????" She looked at him with fear on her face. "Yes. It was. What''s wrong?" Alex gave her his hand and she reluctantly took it and stood up. She looked at him in the eyes and asked "Do you remember what I told you earlier about nymphs?" He somewhat remembered her speaking about nymphs when they were eating, only to be interrupted by Aphrodite''s arrival, so he nodded. "She.....Aphrodite imprisoned and.....killed most of the nymphs because she was jealous of their beauty. Aphrodite doesn''t want anyone other than her to be beautiful, she''s sick to the core. I was f***ing young back then but I remember it very clearly. The screams of my brethren...They still haunt me in my nightmares. I was only spared because Aphrodite didn''t consider darker skin to be beautiful, so she let me go" Crista recounted what happened while Alex looked at her with an incredulous expression. Although he guesses that Aphrodite probably wasn''t exactly the archetype of a good person, but genocide....and mass imprisonment, those are on a different level than just being a bad person. "How old were you back then?" Alex asked with a very quiet voice, trying to make sense of what he was just told. "I was 12.....now I''m 60 and I still remember everything" Alex didn''t have the time to get impressed by Crista''s current age as he thought about his own life. When he was 12, he lived with his mother and his younger brother had yet to be born so they lived alone but they led a very happy life. His mom did everything in her effort to make sure Alex grew up in a safe and happy environment and he thanks his mom for making him who he is today and braving with a smile even through hard times. Alex thought about Crista, the fact that at the age of 12, she saw her entire family get ughtered or incarcerated and that she had to live with that trauma. Alex''s family was very very far now, but at the very least, they were alive and healthy but Crista''s family... For the next hour, Crista would weep and unlike the past, where she was left to cry alone, she now had Alex, who came from the modern world where an understanding of mental health was achieved,forting her and making a note to himself to never mention nymphs to hear to avoid triggering her PTSD. They then both went to their respective rooms and while Alex was packing some clothes, he heard footsteps ring out in his room, it was Crista and it looked like she was doing better now. "Thank you" She said silently. Alex nodded. When she saw him packing his luggage and ready to leave, she asked "Before you go, how the f**k do you make that toppings on tbread thing?" "Pizza. It''s called pizza" Alex corrected her and since he was going to pack some food for his trip anyways, he went down to the kitchen with her and showed her how to make, although with her dexterity that was miles better than his, Alex was sure she would do the pizza full justice. He then said his goodbyes to her and left the estate, finding himself in the za, beyond which was a convenient staircase leading down the mountains. It looked infinitely long but that was better than the alternative of hiking down the jagged mountains and the slippery snow and ice. What seemed like an eternityter... "Ughh...Finally" Alex groaned. In front of him was a square with many staircases that seemed to connect all of the inhabited peaks of Olympus. This was just the easier half of the journey however. There was no clear way to go down now and he would definitely have to traverse the roughndscape. "It''s Demeter''s work, all this snow. I suppose you''re frustrated by it too" A voice rang out behind Alex, he turned around. It was a man wearing a cloak that was hiding his face and holding a big sk in his hand, and considering the strong stench of alcoholing from him, it was probably wine. And although most of the man''s face was hidden, Alex could see that his face was very red, showing that the man was drunk. His words were interesting too. Demeter....From what Alex remembers, she''s the goddess of life and farming and the mother of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. "How so?" Asked Alex. He was genuinely curious and wanted to learn more about the various gods. "When her daughter goes every winter to the Underworld, anywhere she goes to she turns the perimeter into a snowyndscape in frigid rage. She''s currently in Olympus so we''re stuck with this bad weather, not good for parties. She''s very strong too so even Zeus can''t order her around" Although the man spoke in long sybles, indicating he was drunk, his words were understandable and coherent. "It does make it hard to go down the mountain...." Alex sighed. "Maybe our encounter was fated, young man, what is your name?" Asked the drunk man with a mysterious tone. "Alex. What''s yours, sir?" "Don''t mind my name too much. They just call me the King of parties" the man answered funnily and continued speaking "I know a fast and smooth way down the mountain, that is, if you don''t mind the asional tree or two" Alex decided to follow the man''s lead, even though he didn''t really understand the part about trees and whatnot. Thus the two man hiked before making it to a steep side of the mountains, and the man turned around and told Alex "That''s Olep there, you can see it from here" Alex turned at the direction the man was looking, and in fact, he could see a sprawling and beautiful city from here, with an acropolis,kes and rivers and beautiful buildings. "It''s very beautiful. But.....How are we going to get down?" Alex asked because the only thing in front of them was a steep fall and it looked dangerous. Alex turned around the man''s answer but then he saw the man jumping and riding on the snow while hinting for him to do the same. Alex thought the man had gone crazy from too much alcohol, but, on second nce, the slide looked smooth and fun..... "You know what....I''m immortal...You only have infinite lives...I want to do it....I can do it!!" Alex kept mumbling to himself, hesitating whether to jump or not. Well, he ended up jumping. Chapter 8 - A Powerhouse Alex therefore made the untimely decision of jumping, and he felt his body speed up and slide down the steep hillside at lightning speed. It was quite fun but to make it even more exhrating, He decided to stand up and he was now able to control the direction and speed of his descent. It was arguably one of the most fun things he''s done in his short years of life. He soon caught up to the cloaked man, who turned around and tried to replicate what Alex had done, although he failed miserably and curled his body. The two menughed. Alex went to the direction the man was on and gave him his hand and supported him as he stood up. The man, now stable on his feet, gave him a thumbs up. After a few minutes of reckless skiing(?) and more than a few obstacles along the way, they reached t ground, the man turned around and said excitedly. "Cool, really cool! Who would have thought that Demeter''s handiwork had such potential for fun! And you were good at it! How do you maneuver that skillfully in the slippery snow?!" The man kept asking him such questions. Alex couldn''t tell him he learned how to control himself at high speeds due to Hermes'' swiftness bonus, so he onlyughed and stated that it was a specialty of his. "Alex, huh? I''ll remember you, kid. You NEED toe to one of my parties sometimes." It seemed like the man considered him a friend now, and he proceeded by asking Alex "By the way, where are you headed once you reach Olep?" "I''m going to go to Abdera" Alex told the man truthfully. "Bummer! I''m going to Thessaloniki. We''re not going to follow the same route at all." The man seemed genuinely sad that Alex could not join, although it could be said that he was just drunk. They had no more subjects or reason to talk so they just kept walking in silence, and soon, the snow started dissipating, slowly reced by green woonds and the density of the forestry surrounded him started to increase to the level of a forest. The man turned to Alex and said "Olep is a 30-minute walk away south going through this forest. Do you want to stick together?" Alex nodded "Sure." They had no reason to disperse and the man''s presence wasn''t bad. They therefore kept walking through the forest, only interrupted by the asional wild animals and streams of water. At the midway point of their trip however, they heard howling in the distance, and it kept getting closer and closer. Soon enough, the source of the howling was in front of them. It was arge wolf, the size of 3 ordinary wolves and it had only onerge eye that instilled fear into his victims. It stood a fair distance from them, drooling as if it was a starved colosseum lion. Alex looked at the monstrous creature with fearful eyes, he turned around to see the man''s reaction. He didn''t seem all that scared from his bodynguage. "Troubles follow everywhere, huh?" The man asked Alex a rhetorical question. "We need to fight this thing. Are you confident?" The man turned to him to see his response. ''It looks very strong....But I''m also stronger now....If I can''t beat a run of the mill monster then how can I call myself a god?'' He thought to himself. He then nodded confidently to the man, although his hands were shaking and his palms covered in cold sweat. The manughed and said to him "I need some time to beat it, can you distract it until then?" He then poured some wine, which gave off a strong smell of alcohol and threw it at the wolf and miraculously, the wolf began moving sluggishly and turned a slight red, as if it was drunk. The wine...the fact that the man was in Olympus....making the wolf drunk.....these dots connected in Alex''s mind and gave him an idea of who the man might be, though it wasn''t the time for that. He took advantage of the monster''s state and started running it, confusing the monster and allowing him to hit the monster here and there. He felt that his fists were quite strong and with his swiftness allowing him to escape the wolf''s clutches he was able to slowly gain advantage in a battle of attrition against the monster. He then heard a loud bellow behind him and when he turned around he was surprised to see the man had turned into arge bull and was charging right into the wolf. Alex stepped aside and watched as the wolf groaned in pain and bled out from every corner of his body in response to the bull''s brutish attack and it soon copsed, probably dead. It was an overwhelming victory. and Alex finally had a chance to see his newfound strength for himself, even if the man stole the limelight with his finishing attack. The bull turned back into human form and the man pped and congratted him "That was excellent, really cool". Alex smiled in response, feeling a bit embarrassed considering he only lightly battered the beast, and the man''s overwhelming strength was the deciding factor in the battle. Feeling his apprehension, the man further borated "That transformation takes time and if not for your contribution and distractions but also damaging him I would have had a hard time finishing the battle off" Alex actually felt a bit proud at himself, even though the man had killed off the beast, he nheless contributed and even he felt a bit surprised at the strength he emitted in the battle, strength superior to the most excellent fighters back on Earth without any technique or training. He also didn''t regret choosing to remain with the man at all... The following events to the wolf''s death surprised Alex to the max. Out of nowhere, a blood-red river appeared on the location of the wolf''s corpse, and on the river was floating a small boat, paddled by a silhouetteposed of darkness that seemed to only be held together by the dark robe it was wearing. The silhouette paddled until they reached the monster''s carcass and single-handedly grabbed the corpse and threw it onto the small boat that should normally sink but kept afloat. The silhouette then nodded at the man and turned to look at him for a second before leaving, the boat then disappeared into nothingness and the blood river instantly dried up, leaving no trace of the supernatural urrence. "What was that?" Asked Alex in a fearful tone, that was too sudden and brusque. From the boatman appearing out of thin air to taking the carcass then disappearing, only a dozen seconds passed. "Oh. Don''t worry about it, just a little trick of mine" From his tone, Alex guessed he didn''t want him to investigate too much into this ''little trick''. It was understandable, everyone had their secrets, and that should be no different in a supernatural world. The two men then resumed walking and the forest scenery soon turned into urban sprawl and the cityscape was vibrant, crowded and full of life. They soon reached the north of the town, where they found a fluvial port and many carriages and people looking for transport. The man turned around and looked at him, then told him "I need to go. It was fun knowing you, Alex. Here''s a small gift and to hoping we''ll meet again" He gave him something. Alex bowed lightly and said his goodbyes and thanks, as the man was nice to be around and he essentially saved him earlier. He then tried to refuse the gift but the man forced it on his hand and stepped away, walking into the most luxurious-looking and biggest carriage around. Alex heard someone shout "Lord Dionysus, we''ll now be departing." and his doubts were true. A system panel also appeared on his retina to further prove his hypothesis -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Letter containing Dionysus'' will) State: Great Quality: Divine Notes: The god of wine, grapes, parties, lust and the medium of the dead and living has blessed this letter. It might be very helpful in gaining trust and favours from the allies of Dionysus. Cannot be used too many times ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ''What''s with the gods of Olympus giving invaluable objects as ''small gifts''....'' Alex thought, he had made the guess earlier that the man was in fact the renowned Dionysus but this proved it and although he felt grateful, Alex couldn''t ept this gift, but the carriage on which was Dionysus riding was already far away and he couldn''t outrun the well-bred horses of this world. He thus made a resolution to himself to pay back all of his debts to the gods in the future when he gets the chance. Thinking of the gift Dionysus had given him, he also remembered that he forgot to appraise the objects Aphrodite tasked him to deliver so he took out the letter and the wooden box. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Letter containing Aphrodite''s will) State: Great Quality: Divine Notes: A letter blessed by the goddess of love, fertility, carnal pleasure and beauty. Can be used to gain trust and favours from the allies of Aphrodite. Can only be used once. (Aphrodite''s blessing) State: Great Quality: Divine Notes: A box containing Aphrodite''s blessing for a happy marriage and numerous children. It is shielded by a wooden box that can store metaphysical properties and variables. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As expected of items from the goddess Aphrodite, they were priceless and Alex began to feel stressed about holding such valuable items as this in a mere backpack, so he decided to be very careful with these objects throughout the journey to avoid losing them or getting stolen. Speaking of his mission, Aphrodite didn''t give him any deadline, so he decided to spend the day visiting the city''s attractions, as he found thekeside metropolis beautiful. Chapter 9 - Olep Alex thereupon decided to visit Olep''s main attractions. He first wanted to see theke. Fortunately, it was only a short walk north of the river. He crossed the long bridge and and asked some of the locals for directions. The ground was paved and there were many guards and people making their way to theke so Alex sighed of relief that he probably wouldn''t have to face another monster, unbeknownst to him, was that he, would face a different kind of monster today. He heard some interesting rumours about theke from the small talk he''s done with the locals. Apparently, when Zeus killed his titan and father Cronos and therefore became King of the Gods, Poseidon, his brother, challenged him for the position and moved the waters of thiske and created a huge wave that ttened a peak of the mountain range into the hill that could be seen today. But when Zeus came by, he threw a lightning bolt at the waters and electrocuted Poseidon, consolidating his position as King of the Gods and once again expressing his overwhelming strength. Even now, some of the locals have told him, if you swim in some parts of theke, you might feel a tingling sensation reminiscent to an electric shock. ''Interesting....I''ll be waiting for the day I meet Zeus....I''m supposed to be his grandchild, so I hope I can strike a favourable impression. I don''t want to be smitten to death, even if I''m immortal'' If Zeus in this world was as strong as the Zeus he''s learned about, Alex knew he had to be very careful. Putting aside his worries, he was observing the pristineke as he walked and asionally saw schools of fish and catfish, eels and other freshwater fish he could not name. There were also ratherrge boats that didn''t look like boats made for the turbulent seas but more simr to boats made for afortable ride, kind of like an antiquity yachts. The sight of flocks of birdsing by to rehydrate before flying back in organized formations to God knows where was very peaceful. Alex sat down on a patch of grass by theke and looked up to the blue and clear sky. Everything felt too real, the des of grass touching his body, the sensation of the cold breeze running against his face, the vibrant andplex people and the changes he''s experienced in his own body. He was now convinced he was in another world. ''Mother....Alexander....I hope they''re doing well....Does time pass the same in the other world....In a few days, will I be considered missing and then eventually.....deceased?'' Alex didn''t want to make his family worry anymore, he''s been given the chance to live a better life, although he would have preferred being around his family, he knew he had to be strong and live well. Not just for him, but for them too, perhaps they can feel him through the dimensions. Now full of determination, Alex stood up and made his way back downtown. On the road, he saw some kind of amphitheater that looked interesting so he''s made his way and sat next to some locals to watch the show. It was a bit weird, it didn''t look like theedies and tragedies he''s studied about but it was just people screaming at each other in an unintelligible tone. He turned around to a man that was sitting next to him and asked him "What y is this? Why are they screaming at each other?" The man turned around and looked at him with ridicule and stated "This is the lesia, where the citizens of Olep discuss matters that will be brought to the consul''s attention. How do you not know that? Are you a foreign ve?" Alex felt a bit embarrassed and stood up but when he was about to leave a man who was previously debating came up to him and screamed "And you, free citizen, what is your opinion on the recentx immigration policies of the city? Doesn''t it dilute the ancient culture of Olep and strain our finances?" Alex did not understand what the man was saying so he kept silent but it looked like the misunderstood his silence as shyness and grabbed him and took him down where themittee was held while preaching about some values and whatnot of the city. He realized he stepped into something troublesome on ident. The men and women of the lesia then started speaking on some recent conflict the city had. "Due to recent war waged between our homnd and the port city of Aklypso, they''re now discussing a ceasefire agreement but have you seen those terms!? Aklypso is asking us for two hundred thousand gold Hellenos, the equivalent of 6 months of tax revenue, in upfront payment. That''s theft and an invitation to another war!" The woman speaking seemed to be popr in the lesia as everyone agreed with her arguments and shared her fervent patriotic attitude. They started debating more of an issue, and out of nowhere, Alex felt the urge to step in and stated. "Why not establish tradeworks between thendlocked Olep and Aklypso, which as you said, has ess to the sea to not only profit from the streams of valuable resources that go through seaside ports, thus profiting more over long-term than the up-front payment AND improve rtions and co-dependency between the two cities, immensely reducing the risk of another conflict in the future?" Immediately, everyone turned around to him and fell in thought after hearing his proposal. In all honestly, Alex found what he said quite fair and was surprised at his eloquence, was this from the (Attunement to diplomacy) bonus he received from the Essence of Hermes. "That''s an excellent idea." The woman from earlier said, everyone nodded. She then looked at him puzzlingly and asked him "Where is your citizenship pin?" Alex was confused, but on second nce, he noticed everyone was wearing this pin on their clothes that featured the mountains of Olympus, probably a symbol of the city and he, obviously, did not have one because he wasn''t a citizen. The seeding events were a bit humiliating for Alex, as he was chased out of the lesia... Anyways, he recovered quite fast(perhaps he developed thick skin) and continued on his mission of exploring Olep. There was one interesting structure that intrigued Alex. It was a temple situated on the hilly part of the city and seemed to be the acropolis. He decided to visit it as the Athens acropolis was one of his favourite destinations, and although he was never able to go, this would be a good substitute and he could perceive the entire city from up there. He walked for a while before he found arge staircase leading to the temple, and after the infinity staircase he''s went down earlier today to leave Olympus, he would no longer be intimidated by any other staircase and his head hurt just thinking about the hike he''d have to do to go back home. Alex ascended the stairs and found himself at a za surrounding arge greek temple and an borate statue of arge and muscr man. The notes underneath the statue that Alex could somehow read indicated that this was an idol of Zeus, as it seemed that Zeus was the patron god of Olep and inside the temple one could find another statue under which people gave offerings and burned incense, making the whole ce smell rather sacred. After visiting the temple and the other facilities in the acropolis, it was quitete and the sun wasing down west of Olep on the far reaches of Olympus, casting an orange shadow on the city. He appreciated the scenery for a while then went downstairs back to the city as he felt a bit hungry when a sudden thought hit him. ''I....don''t have any money'' Alex packed everything but the most important thing, money, he forgot to ask for..... Because he didn''t have any money to eat with, he decided to head to the consul''s mansion, hoping they could excuse his carelessness and cook him something. The mansion wasn''t very hard to find, as it was thergest building in the city and it had a distinct style from all of the buildings. The architecture had an arab style, including both angr and round elements, very ornamented and detailed decorations with writing sculpted into the walls that looked more like art than just letters, and the building was also colourful and clean. The architects who built it probably had very good taste, Alex gave them a thumbs-up in his mind. He stood in front of the gigantic gates that were guarded by strong-looking soldiers. Seeing him pause in his steps, one of the soldiers advanced and asked him "What''s the matter,d, are you lost?" Although he didn''t think of himself as a d'', it wasn''t really time to argue so he took out the letter given to him by Aphrodite and showed the soldier the seal on it, and the soldier suddenly kowtowed and started apologizing "Please forgive me for my tone earlier, Lord. I should have known better" The soldier kept mumbling to himself. Alex didn''t like being called ''Lord'' or someone kowtowing to him so he told the soldier to rise and ironically, the soldier immediately rose up. He said to Alex "Please wait here, Lord" The soldier didn''t stop with the honorifics but Alex just shrugged and waited. When the soldier came back, he was apanied by other soldiers and they were holding a.....pnquin? "Lord, please get in" The soldiers signaled to the pnquin as they put it down. It was unexpected, he felt a bit weirded out by the thought of riding a pnquin, after all, he wasn''t some old emperor who can''t walk on his own or some betrotheddy. He refused but the soldiers didn''t back down so he eventually had to get in the spacious pnquin as he was stared at by the passing citizens who were curious. As he was led to the inside of the building that was equally as beautiful as the exterior, Alex had to admit that it was quitefortable. He was then taken to what seemed to be a guest room and put down, the soldiers tried to help him up but he refused and stood up on his own, which seemed to vex the soldiers, who kowtowed, thinking they had done something wrong. Alex frowned. In front of him was a table, with an expensive looking tea set and a middle-aged vigorous man was sitting at the table, though he was shaking so much the tea almost spilled, it looked like he just saw Charon, the boatman of the Styx river. ''Suspicious.....Did Aphrodite do something to the humans too?'' Alex wondered. He tried to shake the hand of the man, who seemed to be the consul of Olep, but the consul refused to take his hand and instead bowed deeply. Chapter 10 - New Encounters The two of them sat down and the consul said "Kind Lord, I see you were sent by the ever merciful and beautiful Lady Aphrodite. May this servant ask of the purpose of your visit?" Alex didn''t like the formal tone too much, but he figured the consul wouldn''t budge, so instead he went along "I need a carriage to take me to the city of Abdera" The consul then sighed deeply in relief and eximed "A carriage, Of course! Might this servant ask that this kind Lord spend the night in this servant''s humble abode, as we prepare the best of carriages and horses for you, Lord?" Alex nodded and the consul once again sighed in relief. He proceeded to ask the consul "Where can I get some good food in Olep?" "Lord, I''ll ask my best chef to prepare a banquet for you immediately." The consul responded in a frenzy. "No, that''s fine. I''d like to explore some of the regional cuisine" When he was walking down, he noticed some appetizing foods and it seemed like the citizens of Olep were active even at night, thus the city was brightly lit and the atmosphere, very cheerful. The consul then told him about the best food spots around and proposed having a servant go along with Alex, which thetter refused fervently. He also told the consul that embarrassingly, he didn''t have any money on him, to which the consul responded by giving him a pouch with bright and shiny gold coins that had Zeus'' face on them. It seemed like the money was from the consul''s personal stash, so Alex thanked him and promised to send a good word about him to the gods. He then left the mansion, leaving the soldiers who wanted to take him on the pnquin, speechless. He wanted to check out one of the restaurants that the consul rmended him, that wasn''t too expensive and had good food. It was quite close so he soon reached the bustling restaurant and took a seat. Alex then ordered a simple meatposed of honey-braised chicken, a sd, some bread and red wine. When his food arrived, he dug in. It was quite tasty, and the salty condiment that he believes is called liquamen paired very well with the simple sd. He tried drinking a bit but the wine was too tangy for his taste. While he was eating, he noticed 2 customers that were sitting next to him. The 2 looked different from the residents of Olep, as they looked south asian. One of the two men was short, bald and he was wearing in monk clothing, he had a kind face. The other man looked younger, about Alex''s age and had long ck hair reaching his waist and was wearing luxurious and flowy clothing, though his expression was of confusion. The young man ordered oysters and was trying to eat them wrong and they kept slipping away from him. ''Who orders oysters in an ind city?'' Thought Alex but turned away his attention. He really couldn''t bear the sight of the man wasting food any longer so he stood up, went up to the young man, and told him. "That''s not how you eat oysters. You''re supposed to sever their body from the shell with the chopstick then eat them" Alex showed the young man how to do it. Nevertheless, the young man didn''t respond favorably and red at him while dering arrogantly "Who are you to tell me how to do it? However I do it is the right way" The monk behind him looked at me with an apologizing expression on his face, as if he knew this would happen. He stepped up and told him "I''m Padmapani, this is Aadityapal, we are emissaries from the domain of Ashoka. Please forgive this young one''s actions, he hasn''t seen too much of the world" Alex nodded and looked at the monk''s eyes when he noticed the depth and glow they had, a characteristic of people who have ascended mortality. The young man, after bickering for a while about how he was superior to everything else, asked Alex in an insolent tone "And who are you?!". The way he spoke to him really made him want to p the young man but he restrained himself, although due to the provocation he answered confidently "I am the demi-god Alex, son of Athena and grandson of the King of Gods, Zeus" The monk behind the young man didn''t look too surprised, it seemed there an implicit understanding between the two of them that they were both not ordinary people. The young man, however, red at him withpetitive eyes and stated "That''s just perfect. I came here to challenge you weaklings anyways, who dare call themselves ''gods''. If you''re really a god, then ept my challenge for a duel of fists" Alex was surprised at the man''s words. Either arrogance overtook his brain or he was confident in being able to battle a god. Anyways, after using the name of Olympus, he wouldn''t back down and let their reputation be stained because of him. He went out of the restaurant and found a spacious street and called for the man named ''Aadityapal''. The two stared at each other before Aadityapal made the first move. He was quite fast and each of his steps made a dent on the ground, showing his strength. Alex was a bit surprised but he didn''t let the other''s fist reach him as he stepped back. Aadityapal, however, looked ready for such a situation as he threw a kick at Alex. At this short of a distance, Alex knew he couldn''t evade so he parried instead. The kick hit his arms and he was pushed back a few steps. It really hurt and he was already getting ready for another attack but this time, Alex ran with incredible speed towards Aadityapal and tackled him, throwing him on the ground a few meters ahead. Just as they were about to continue, golden letters appeared in the air and formed a round translucent cage around the young man, making him grit his teeth and look at the direction it came from. It was the monk, who introduced himself as Padmapani. He came to his side and whispered in his ears "Thank you for not hurting him" It seemed he misunderstood. Alex decided to ept this misunderstanding as it didn''t seem right to lose to a mortal. Padmapani then released the cage on Aadityapal, who was acting like a mad beast, and took the young man from his shoulders, instantly calming him down. "Alex, huh? I''ll remember you! Just you wait until next time" He kept screaming like a child, it was rather annoying. The monk Padmapani waved his hands in goodbye to Alex and he did the same and they went on their way. Alex wanted to finish his food but he no longer had an appetite so he made his way back to the consul''s mansion, in the meantime thinking about what just happened and this strong enemy or rival he made today. Chapter 11 - Goodbye Olympus When Alex got back to the consul''s mansion, the nighttime activities of the residents lessened and the brightly lit city turned dark, illuminated only by the radiance of the moon and the stars above. Staring at the starry night sky one could only see in the wilderness back on his world, he tried to name a few of the stars. Alex wasn''t much of an astrophile in his past life but he could distinguish a few of the brighter ones like Sirius, Betelgeuse and Vega. The rest of the stars formed a elliptical structure in the night sky, simr to the Milky Way photographs professionals take, and in the horizon one could see an oval mass in the night sky, dimly coloured but still visible, that seemed to be the Milky Way''s neighbour, Andromeda. Noticing the familiar moon and night sky, Alex grew curious. This world was strangely simr to his own. The mythology, the architecture, thenguage, the people....everything was as if he returned back in time to the greek maind, except with fantasy tropes. He then wondered of the world beyond this ce, and thought of the 2 people he''d met earlier, the monk Padmapani and the strong Aadityapal. Those 2 didn''t look like they were from this ce, are they from the indian subcontinent? Is there even an indian subcontinent? ''If this is really the Earth I''m familiar with....Then have they found the Americas yet?'' Alex kept asking himself such questions he''d likely have no answer to in the near future. He shrugged and made his way to the mansion''s gates where unlike earlier, the soldiers now opened the gates and allowed his passage. An attendant of the consul came to him and bowed and led him to the consul''s study, a picturesque study with a fountain in the middle and hundreds of books neatly organized on shelves. The consul seemed to be signing some documents, with a schrly-looking assistant by his side. It seems he was anxious about something though, as he had a deep frown on his aging face, listening to the words of the assistant and focusing so hard he didn''t notice Alex''s arrival. "So you''re telling me a non-citizen joined the lesia, and proposed an excellent solution to our current conflict with Aklypso?" The consul asked the assistant. Thetter nodded and responded. "Yes, sir. We are currently awaiting the portrait of the man in question" Hearing their words, he felt a sense of familiarity but he didn''t pay too much attention to it, as it didn''t seem rted to him. The consul nodded and stood up, although when he turned around and saw Alex he was shocked out of his wits and bowed deeply. "L-Lord, I s-see you have arrived safely. This servant is thankf-" The consul spoke to him but was interrupted by a soldier who barged in with a parchment in his hand and whispered to the consul''s ears. The consul frowned but he opened the parchment and looked a bit pale when he saw the contents, as though he saw a ghost. He then kept strangely looking at the parchment then turning his eyes to Alex, and when it looked like he hade to a conclusion, the consul gave back the parchment to the soldier, turned to Alex, bowed deeply, and said "Lord. Have you, by chance, visited our city''s lesia?" Alex was a bit confused and blushed a bit remembering how he was chased out of there, but he nodded. The consul looked at his schrly assistant and whispered something in his hear, which seemed to have really shocked the assistant as zoned out. The consul then turned back to him and asked him. "To ept our gratitude for your great wisdom, would you ept to be a Sofos(sage) of our city?" Now, Alex was really confused and looked at the consul with raised eyebrows. Thetter, however, took that as him saying that the position wasn''t high enough so he further borated. "The Sofos is, along with the consul and the pontifex, the highest ranking citizen of the city. Not only will you be offered citizenship, but you will be given priority ess to every single facility in the city. Lord will be able to join the Senate, judge criminals and be a honorary overseeing minister of the city. I wouldn''t dare see myself as your equal, Lord, but this title would make your future journeys through Olep much easier" The terms he offered were great, but Alex still didn''t understand, so to avoid another misunderstanding, he asked the consul why he was offered this title. The consul looked at him with admiring(?) eyes, and said "While for someone as magnanimous as you, Lord, it may not have been much. But your wisdom for the resolution of our conflict with Aklypso received favourable impressions from them and this tradework will stand to benefit both cities immensely." ''Oh, he was speaking about that....I mean, was that really such a big deal?'' Alex didn''t feel like he had done much except babbling on some issue he did not understand but it looked like his random suggestion had spread to even the consul... Alex ended up epting the conferment of the title as it wouldn''t hurt to have some extra privileges. Through the consul''s suggestion, instead of heading to the guest room, he made his way to the mansion''s bathhouse as he still wasn''t too tired. The bathhouse in question, was located underground. After following the directions the consul gave him, he stumbled on a room that looked like a changing room. Alex removed the draped fabric from his body and observed himself in arge mirror. He now had a thin six-pack and defined muscles coating his small body. Nheless, he looked more akin to a model than to a martial artist or a bodybuilder but Alex was satisfied with his current body. He opened the door to the bathhouse and was immediately assaulted with a burst of steam and warmth. He entered, it was spacious and there was a heated pool with lion sculptures spitting out a gusts of very warm water. The bathhouse smelled like vani and other fragrant scents and although it was underground and warm in here, it didn''t feel suffocating at all. He was pleased with the ce. Alex took a dip into the pool and plunged his whole body into the rather shallow body of water. The temperature was just perfect, not too hot yet still warm. Heid down on the sides of the pool and felt the tension in his body disappear and his muscles rx and his blood cirction improving. ''I could definitely get used to this'' thought Alex as he floated on his back and closed his eyes, appreciating the immensefort he was feeling. Earlier the consul told him that he would have the bathhouse to himself tonight and although he didn''t ask for it, he was more than pleased so he just nodded. A few hours of not doing anythingter, Alex got up from the pool and opened a door in the bathhouse that led to a sauna. The steamy sauna opened up his senses and heid down inside for a few minutes before leaving, of course taking a dip in the pool again, then changing into the bathrobe provided to him and making his way to his assigned room. It was a spacious bedroom that had a maximalist style, as there were decorations everywhere, unlike Hermes'' room, and arge bed was in the center of it. Alex copsed on the bed. ''Hmmmm....It''s not asfortable as the one back in Hermes'' ce, but it will do the job'' Alex nodded. The system also told him that due to the material it was made of, resting in the bed improved concentration and cognitive ability. It really wasn''t too bad. Alex therefore closed his eyes and visited the world of Hypnos, god of sleep and cousin of death. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ At dawn, the next day. Alex woke up at the first light of day, and felt refreshed and rested despite only sleeping for a few hours. He found his clothes washed and dried on a counter near the door, he checked his storage pouch and breathed a sigh of relief, seeing it untouched. He changed his clothes and went to the bathroom, washing his face and gurgling water to clean his teeth. He''d have to ask if they have any alternative to toothpaste, as his hygiene habits from his life back home don''t trante well here. He then made his way to the dining room, a dome shaped room with a big round table in the center, filled with rough pastries, hot wine, cured meats and bread. The consul bowed him and sat back down and he greeted him and sat on a chair. Even though the table was big, only the consul and Alex were seated, making it look somewhat empty. "Do you have any children?" Alex asked the consul as he seemed to be at the age most people form families, and this dynamic didn''t seem that different in Olep. The consul nodded and said "Yes Lord, I have a wife and two children, a son and a daughter. My son is an armymander in Italia while my daughter is studying in Alexandria. My wife is in Bactria, to mourn the death of my father-inw and stabilize the political situation there." ''So he''s a bigshot?'' The consul''s son is a militarymander, his daughter a student in the ancient capital of knowledge and his wife, a princess? "May I ask the same of you, Lord?" The consul returned his question. Alex rubbed his head and smiled bashfully. In all honesty, back in his home world, the prospects of marrying and having children didn''t attract him too much and as of now, he still isn''t too interested in settling down as much as enjoying his time here. "Not yet. I don''t currently entertain the thought of making a family, huh." Alex said awkwardly. "That''s understandable, Lord. If you ever wish to meet someone, I can guarantee my daughter, and son, if you lean that way, have excellent qualities" Alex chuckled awkwardly. The consul was really shameless, selling off his children like that. The two proceeded to eat in silence, which Alex appreciated, and after finishing his meal the consul stated that his carriage was ready. Alex packed his stuff, thanked the consul for the carriage, food and amodation and left the mansion and walked north towards the dry and fluvial port. When he reached there he noticed that there was arge crowd surrounding one of the carriages. The carriage in question was the biggest and had a luxurious exterior, and the horses in the front looked strong and unordinary. ''Isn''t this just straight-up asking bandits to attack you?'' Alex thought the carriage''s design was quite stupid. While thinking about it, a soldier from the consul''s mansion ran up to him and bowed. "Sir, your carriage is ready" Alex nodded and followed the soldier, who, strangely, was walking towards the stupid-looking carriage he saw earlier, which caused some doubts in his mind, but he cast them away. Except, now they stood in front of the ''carriage'' and the soldier was pointing at the door while bowing deeply and the two were surrounded by the citizens of Olep. Alex tried to keep calm but his mind was on fire. ''I asked for a carriage, not a damn moving hotel!'' He screamed internally. He just wanted a peaceful trip through the greek mountains but maybe that was too much to ask for. Alex shrugged and got in the ''carriage''. The interior was as opulent as the exterior. Withfortable looking chairs and stairs that led to a bedroom. Putting that aside, he was a bit excited as this was his first trip in this way, the first step to exploring this new world he was unwillingly cast into. As the driver just told him, the first part of the trip would go through mountains and stop in the small vige of Atreksos. Thetter part of the journey would be on a seaside road where he would be able to see the renowned ''Aegean'' coast and they would reach the city of Abdera in 8 days. While daydreaming about seeing the sea for the first time in this world, he heard the driver screaming that they were going to start and felt the carriage moving at a high speed, although it didn''t feel bumpy up here. Here goes nothing... Chapter 12 - The Plague? "What have I seen today?" Alex mumbled to himself while holding a feather in his hand. Earlier today, when the carriage just left Olep, he asked the crew if there was any way to record the trip, he''d seen paper in this world after all, and the crew happily gave him this extremely long parchment made of thin writing paper that was the closest thing to a notebook one could find in this ce. They asked him if they could do it in his stead but Alex refused so they instead gave him writing feathers and ink. Although the paper was a bit rough, the ink too runny and the feather rather ufortable to hold, they did the job. He then wrote down in English the ces they have passed through today. So, many, mountains... Alex never thought he''d one day grow sick of seeing mountains but today he has seen the biggest variety of mountains; Extremely tall mountains, extremely wide mountain ranges, barren mountains, lush mountains, mountain tundras¡­.you name it, he''s seen it, and he wouldn''t be surprised if they saw a mesa next. He never felt so excited at the thought of seeing tnd as now, so when he saw a small grassy in, located between....two mountains, Alex ran off from the carriage and started running from the end of the in to the other, it was to ''exercise'', mind you, not to replicate scenes he saw in his childhood cartoons and anime. Alexined about the mountains a bit too much but he had to admit that he could get used to the sight of the sun setting on the mountains, andscape B*b R*ss would have definitely painted. The peaceful trip continued as such, other than the asional bandits that the mercenaries on the crew beat up, and the carriage plowed through mountains, hills, ins and small farming towns and stopped when the moon became the only major source of light. At twilight, when the rest of the crew was snoring, Alex snuck out andid down, looking at the ever revolving night sky. This mundane activity became a habit of his, naming the stars and constetions he knew and giving names to the others. Tonight, there was one ball of light much brighter than the others, perhaps it was the Venus. The poption here must have already devised the locations ofs and some of their basic properties, after all, the ancient Greeks were renowned for their astronomical knowledge. After a bout of homesickness, Alex closed his eyes and tried to sleep, the bed upstairs wasn''t veryfortable so he preferred sleeping under the stars. He tried to sleep, however, a distant but sharp noise rang out in his ears and cut through his attempts to sleep. He stood up, analyzing the tone of the noise.....It sounded like rushing water in his opinion. Alex followed the direction of the sound and, after walking through a valley and hiking up for a bit, he found the source of water. It was a smallke with a picturesque waterfall. There were a lot of things Alex wanted to photograph in this world, but he''s have to contend with taking pictures with his eyes, unfortunately. He dipped his hand in the water, it wasn''t very cold. Alex wanted to take a nighttime swim in the clear waters. He removed his clothing and plunged his whole body in the water. It felt refreshing. It seemed like the waterfall brings over sediment since the ground was rocky and the depth varied ording to distance from the waterfall and directly under it was a deep plunge, although how deep it was didn''t really intrigue him too much, as he was afraid of deep waters in his past life. The waterfall wasn''t too tall and it formed a sitting tform on the rocky cliff so Alex sat down directly under the current of the waterfall. The speedy water applied high pressures evenly over his body, relieving any tension he might have had from the time he spent sitting inside the carriage. ''I really like this feeling a lot...I should ask Hermes if I can build an artificial waterfall in the bathhouse back at his ce'' Alex thought to himself. He wasn''t too worried about wasting freshwater. This was Antiquity and water scarcity and stress weren''t really a thing, especially in Olympus where water resources were plentiful. After finishing his now routinely rxation water therapy, Alex left theke and dried his body then wore his clothes and got ready to go back, if, he didn''t suddenly hear the sound of running. A woman, wearing in clothing, was running while holding something in her hand and screaming for help, it seemed like she tripped on a stone and fell. Alex ran up to her and at second nce, she was holding a baby and even as she fell and hurt herself, she didn''t let the baby get hurt one bit. ''She must really love her baby'' Alex wanted to help her because she seems to have injured herself while falling, and her love for her baby reminded him of his mother. He approached the woman and helped her up, the woman stood up then looked at him and stepped back with her baby in hand, ring at him with cautious eyes. Alex couldn''t really me her. "Don''te any clos-*Cough* *Cough*" The woman told him but her words were interrupted by dry coughing and it kept getting worse and worse, as she tried to stop her throat she looked like she was choking and her coughs only stopped when she copsed, although fortunately Alex ran up to her and held both her and her baby. ''She needs a doctor'' thought Alex. If his memory serves him right, there was a doctor on board of his carriage. Alex put the woman on his hand and held her sleeping baby gently in his hand and ran towards the direction of the carriage. By the time he reached the carriage, he opened the door and was going to try waking up the doctor gently but the baby''s loud cries seemed to have done the job as the crew woke up, looking groggy and scanning their surroundings. Alex didn''t have any time to feel bad for them as there was a person in need of medical aid so he ran upstairs,id down the woman and her baby on the bed and went down and brought the confused doctor with him and informed him of her state. The doctor examined her and proceeded to give him his diagnosis "She has light sickness and a severeck of oxygen. If she rests tonight and eats well tomorrow she will be alright" Alex sighed in relief, and as if they understood the doctor''s words, the baby smiled and chuckled. It looked happy to be near its mother. Alex thanked the doctor and gave him a few gold coins, which thetter epted, thanked him and went back to sleep with the rest of the crew. The carriage was now silent again, and Alex started specting on the reasons the woman was running with her baby, her sickness and her severeck of oxygen. Answers for those questions would have to wait for tomorrow. Alex then slept under the stars, as he originally intended, and woke up at dawn, as usual. The rest of the crew woke up too and the chef prepared breakfast, which was a bitckluster but filled up his stomach, at the very least. The woman upstairs woke up too, and she rxed when she saw she was in safety and there was food next to her, although she didn''t look ready to talk yet. The carriage then resumed its ride peacefully. However, something strange appeared in Alex''s sight after a bit. There was very faint smog in the air, and it looked like the others could not see it, but Alex could distinguish the yellow suspicious-looking smog with his enhanced eyesight. It didn''t seem to be anything bad so he ignored it. A few minutester though, the smog started getting thicker and all of the crew started coughing, just like the woman he savedst night. Alex told the driver to stop the carriage and went upstairs to interrogate the woman, who maybe knew something about this. She looked to be in a better state then yesterday but she was still coughing. Alex waited for her coughs to stop, gave her a cup of water and asked her. "Would you perhaps know something about why the crew is getting sick?" "It''s the gue! It killed Atreksos and now it will kill even innocent travelers!" The woman was speaking anxiously and in a fearful tone. When she calmed down, she looked at him and spoke "A few days ago, a sickness started spreading in my vige and the surrounding farnd. It didn''t spread through people, but it was in the air around us, EVERYWHERE! I-I e-escaped with my baby from the vige yesterday!" The woman spoke as she caressed her baby''s face, thetter chuckling and unaware of her distress. Alexforted the woman and connected the dots in his mind. The smog in the air, the sickness and the woman running from her vige. They were all rted. He left the carriage and asked the driver where Atreksos was, and thetter stated that it was a dozen kilometers east of here. Alex admired the mother a lot, running a dozen kilometers in one night to save her child, she was a good person and a good mother. He then told the driver to go back in the opposite direction where the smog was thinner and wait for him there. He used the excuse of washing himself but in actuality he was going to go to the vige of Atreksos to investigate this disturbance. Alex ran as fast as he could and was able to see buildings in the distance after 5 minutes. The vige located in a teau surrounded by farnd looked beautiful but that was thest thing on Alex''s mind right now. He entered the inconspicuous vige and was greeted with a horrible sight. The people had dull eyes and were very pale as they walked aimlessly and coughed terribly. The markets were empty and the produce on disy had gone spoiled. The vige hospital was full and people wereying on the solid ground, awaiting for their demise and the crematory and graveyard had unburied bodies and ash sttered everywhere. Alex was incredibly traumatized by the scene straight out of a horror movie and felt weak and powerless that he could not help the citizens as he didn''t have any medical skills whatsoever. He tried asking one of the healthier-looking locals about the sickness and he gave him interesting information. The sickness seemed to affect the people living on the north side of the vige more severely, and in fact, the smog Alex could perceive north was much thicker than the one found here. Maybe he can''t help the vigers directly, but Alex will investigate the source of this smog and see if there is ANYTHING he can help them with.... Alex looked at the distant mountain north, where the smog looked so thick it obscured sight. He was going to get to the end of this. Chapter 13 - What Makes A Monster Alex therefore followed the direction the smog was thicker and it kept getting thicker and thicker until he could barely see his surroundings. He feels a bit grateful that he doesn''t seem to get sick from the smog no matter how thick it got, probably a result of his physique. After reaching a point where the smog could be almost be felt, Alex found himself in front of an ominous cave. ''No matter what there is beyond the entrance....I have to fight it, for the vigers, for the mother and her baby. I became the most revered and powerful being in this world uponing here so the least I can do is help those who were not blessed with the same fortune'' Alex isn''t a justice freak, sure, he helps those in need, but he wouldn''t call himself a hero. That sort of title not only is cringy and one-dimensional, but the expectations ced on a ''hero'' are extremely high and he wouldn''t be able to bear it. Back when he was in middle school, a big fire urred at his school and he was lucky to be far from the fire and was able to escape. While evacuating, he reached a ssroom where the fires zed and there were students screaming in there. Alex was only able to help one student as he evaluated he would either asphyxiate himself or get third-degree burns if he tried to help the others, a hero, on the other hand, would jump in regardless or risk, and save the students, Alex didn''t have that kind of plot armour. Although he went to search for the nearest fire extinguisher, and when he found it and came back, firefighters, the real ''heros'' of the day, fortunately put out the fires and saved all of the students who only had minor burns and wounds. Alex was even scolded by the firefighters for not evacuating to safety. Alex didn''t care about his ''feats'' being spread, he wasn''t a hero after all. Nheless,ter that day, the student he saved and their parents personally thanked him and he had to admit it felt good. ''Old times'' Alex felt way too old and time had passed too fast. What seemed like just days ago he was still a high school student, studying for his big exams and caring for his younger brother. Now, he is already 23 years old, in the prime of his youth, in another world as a ''god''. Putting aside his thoughts, Alex stepped in the cave with conviction and determination, determination that he would save them. The cave was dark, with only a single light source. Alex felt goosebumps and chills on his back, looking to the source of light, it was a giant lizard, the size of a fridge, with glowing orbs on his head, sticking out on 2 antennae, simr to the terrifying deep-sea fish from his past world. It looked like the lizard was the source of the problem. Strangely though, instead of attacking, the lizard mouthed something and he heard a deep voice, that no human could ever make. "Here to fight me? I advise you not. You are going to die a painful death if you don''t get as far as possible from me" Alex was shocked senseless at the speaking monster, and even more so, at his words. A monster that could speak and form correct sentences, that meant that this monster was intelligent and conscious? "I think this smog you''re emitting is killing the vigers. If you could just stop emitting it or I think I''ll have to deal with it another way" Seeing a conscious monster made him hesitant, but Alex steeled his resolve and awaited for the monster''s response. Seeing him unaffected by the smog, the lizard mouthed "You''re not affected by my curse, I finally found someone who can survive it. I can''t stop this curse. I''ve been born a few days ago and the smog keeps getting stronger and stronger and I know this kills almost every living thing in an area." The lizard was right. In a few kilometers perimeter around the cave, every single fauna and flora has withered and met its demise. It was a very scary thing. Alex met its eyes and weirdly, felt like the creature was in immense pain. The 2 looked at each other, Alex thinking about what he has to do and the lizard thinking about its existence. The lizard broke the silence first, and told him "When I was born, I wanted to love, to eat, to obey my instincts and lead an ordinary existence. But I was given a curse, that of killing everything in my surroundings, a curse that would progressively get stronger until every happy thing will end at my hands. I know, I have led but a miserable existence and I''d rather die at this point than live to see everything I could care about disappear" It seemed to be more of a self-deprecating monologue than the lizard speaking to him, but Alex felt tears in his eyes at the words of the lizard. When monsters are just being monsters, following their instincts and causing harm ''voluntarily'', eliminating them is morally just and feels easy to do, but this monster in front of him, it has a consciousness, intelligence and knows its actions are bad, but cannot change them despite that. It''s very confusing, even if the monster causes death and despair, it didn''t choose to be this way. Alex felt his resolve break down and immense pity and distress that someone could be born, a danger to everyone and one that needed to be eliminated simply because of its birth circumstances, not its will. In that sense, what makes a monster, a monster? Alex felt like he had to think about itter, but his onught of thoughts was interrupted by a notice on his retina. ________________________________________________________________________________________ (Requirements met for a new function, Creature Appraisal) (Creature Appraisal awakening in process) (Creature Appraisal awakened) (Undergoing Creature Appraisal...) Name: Unnamed Species: Nightmare Lizard State of Existence: Mortal God Notes: A king of poisonous reptiles born once every few hundred years. If it isn''t eliminated when it''s still young, its poison can spread very far and kill everything in the area of its smog. Nightmare Lizards are usually unintelligent and unconscious, but this one was born with high intelligence. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Alex was surprised at the new function, appraising living beings and giving himprehensive data on them but trying out the new function would have to wait. The information provided just proved that he''d have to eliminate it. ''The poor creature...For it, being granted intelligence was more of a curse than a blessing'' thought Alex to himself. If the creature could just go to sleep, that would make his job much easier. Miraculously, the lizard started looking drowsy and then copsed its heavy body in response to his demand. Alex was surprised at this. Though a quick nce at the (Attributes) tab of his system would answer him. Under the specialties rted to the Essence of Hermes, two new ones were added -Attunement to sleep inducing and dream mastery. -Attunement to soul guiding. Alex then remembered that in his past life, Hermes would often be portrayed as being able to put any creature to sleep and enter their dreams, sending message through their dreams and also guiding dead souls to the Underworld. Whatever it was, this was helpful to Alex as he wouldn''t feel as guilty. But.....He couldn''t move. He simply couldn''t bring himself to attack it and end its misery. He was not brave enough and got scared of theplex thoughts he''d get at killing an intelligent creature. ''I''m a coward, aren''t I?'' Alex smiled sadly. He then remembered something and took out a letter from his pouch, it was the letter given to him by Dionysus, the god of wine and, most relevantly, the medium between the dead and the living. Yes, Alex nned to invoke the Styx river like Dionysus had done beforehand and ask the boatman to end the creature''s life and take it to the Underworld. Before doing that though, he decided to give the lizard a name, he was going to name it "Lucky" so if there was such a thing as reincarnation in this world, he would be granted the luck to be reincarnated as the being he desires to be. _____________________________________________________________________________ (Name the Nightmare Lizard ''Lucky''?) (Understood) (Awaiting the Nightmare Lizard''s consent) (Sessfully named the Nightmare Lizard "Lucky") ____________________________________________________________________________ Now that that is out of the way, he opens the letter and in hopes of a response, screams "Styx river!" ordingly, a blood-red river would appear and the mysterious boatman with it too, paddling his way towards me. When he reached me, he turned around and looked at me, seemingly awaiting a request. "Can you put an end to that poor creature''s life? And, if the words of a god like me even matter to the masters of the Underworld, could they judge it fairly? It has never done any bad of its ow-" As he was speaking, the boatman interrupted him by putting out his ghastly fingers, turned around and took out his paddle from the water, thetter which turned out to actually be a sharp scythe. The scythe then lightly touched the lizard, and his throbbing body turned still, seemingly dead. The boatman then put the lizard on his boat and started paddling away, although a shrill voice, that seemed to be his, rang out. "Charooon, caaaall me Charon" The boatman called ''Charon'' had a ghastly voice, and after speaking these short words, the boat disappeared and along with it, the blood-red river. The smog produced by Lucky, which was previously suffocating this ce, started dissipating and thinning out, and Alex was left in a silent cave. It was a sess. He had used the invaluable letter from Dionysus in the process, but that was a small price for saving the vige and potentially a whole lot more people, who would have either died from the smog directly or from famine caused by the ravaged farnd and vegetation. Alex would have a lot to think about in the future, but he''d remember today''s events and through them, understand his own morality and actions. He thus made his way back to the now clear-to-see vige. Chapter 14 - Healing Alex went back to Atreksos, where the vigers looked confused about the disappearance of the extremely thick smog and the relief some of the younger resident had in their symptoms. The healthier vigers paced around and were helping the under-staffed vige hospital to care for the elderly, it wasn''t an extremely happy scene as it was reeking of death everywhere but nheless, at being given hope to live, the healthier residents wanted to impart that good to others. It was a great show of human empathy in hard times. Alex also went to the vige hospital to see if there was any way he could help. When he entered the extremely crowded ce, he noticed the local he asked earlier for directions turned to him suspiciously and whispered to another resident next to him while giving medicine to a patient on the floor. The local then stumbled carefully to him and asked him quietly "Sir, did you go to the mountains to the north?" Alex nodded, perhaps he wanted to be truthful or maybe he just wanted recognition so he answered "Yes. There was a Nightmare Lizard born in the cave to the north. It was responsible for the disease guing the citizens and farnd." When Alex pronounced the words ''Nightmare Lizard'', it seemed like the entire hospital went quiet and the viger''s faces became even more pale than they were already, It seemed like they knew something about it, he''d have to ask Athenater. One of the locals who heard him, stood up, and asked him "And.....you took care of it?" Alex nodded "It''s in the Underworld now." When they heard him, the vigers all kowtowed deeply and thanked him, and some ran out, seemingly to bring other vigers. Alex blushed. He didn''t do much, he only external help to send off Lucky, but on the interior, he was very happy, it always felt good to be the hero of the the day, and even though he wasn''t the hero of the day during the fire that happened in his middle school, he decided to help these vigers and now he is their hero. While he was contemting, a young woman came up to him. She bowed deeply and said "Greetings, Lord. I am the vige chief''s daughter. He is currently under medical aid so I''m managing the vige in his stead. The whole vige would love to thank you with a banquet to celebrate your feasts but due to the recent farnd situation, produce is now rationed and we don''t have a lot to offer to you. Please ept our apologies, and if you want to punish someone, punish me, the interim chief of the vige" Alex thought that she sounded like a good leader. When it came to their gratitude, she expressed it on behalf of the whole vige, and when a situation turns dire, she''s ready to face the consequences for her people. "I didn''t help you to get anything in exchange. I''m simply traveling and passing through Atreksos with the smog would have been quite hard." Alex said a little white lie. The vigers didn''t buy his reasoning and they all smiled, making Alex rub his head in embarrassment. Anyways, he thanked the vige leader for her initiative. He came here to see if he can help the vigers. The younger ones in the hospital seemed to get better and were reactive but the elderly sick folk were unreactive and their high body heat was the only sign they were alive. ''How can I help?....Is there any way I can do something with my current capabilities?'' Alex thought to himself. Bingo. He found a way. For some of the elderly residents who were already half a step in the grave, they would just ept their demise and say their farewells to the mortal world. But, having reached this age, Alex thought these people deserved to die of old age, not poison. He would thus use the power over dreams he gained earlier to send them messages from their family, to rekindle hope in life. Although he felt like entering their dreams would be a hard task, sending a message is probably doable. He started with the most sickly-looking person in the room. It was an elderly man with deep wrinkles and defined facial features, exhibiting his advanced age. He asked one of the volunteer nurses about his family, and she stepped out for 2 minutes before bringing in a middle-aged man and a woman who looked to be in her 60s. He was told they were his son and younger sister, respectively. He asked them what they would want to tell him right now, and they two took turns responding. "My father always been vulnerable to sickness and such. But it''s not his time to visit the Underworld yet, my wife is pregnant and one of his dreams was to have a grandchild. I can''t have him leave us before he can see her!" "My brother, when he''s not sick, is as lively as a young man. He might appear old, but in my eyes he''s still in his 30s and has much much time left to live." Alex blocked the tears creeping up in his eyes and nodded. He was going to try this for the first time. He put his hand on the man''s head gently, and visualized sending him the messages hiss family wanted him to hear. He felt his senses double, as if he had a new body, sort of like astral projection, and he spoke to words to the man. When he finished and stopped the transmission, the man''s thin and grey eyshes started to flutter, and he slowly opened his eyes, looking around. When he saw his rtives, it seemed he wanted to stand up but he couldn''t. No need, though. His son and sister kneeled and started sobbing while thanking Alex fervently. Alex nodded and left their reunion in peace. He then moved and did the same to all of the other unconscious patients, after which the admiration on the viger''s face turned to worship. The vige chief, who woke up too, thanked him personally, and decided as he officially gave his daughter the vige chief position. There was something else on Alex''s mind though. When he helped all of the vigers, he felt a burst of energy in his body, it was extremely weird. The energy felt malleable and Alex could control it however he wanted and channel it anywhere in his body, but he decided not to use it and ask Athena what it waster. Before leaving the vige, a local who imed to be an artist asked Alex if he could let draw him, Alex epted. It took only a few dozen minutes before the drawing was finished and Alex was surprised at the quality of the drawing. The artist thanked him and left. After stepping out of the vige, he heard someone calling out and turned around. It the formerly vige chief''s daughter, now the vige chief, who asked him "Lord, what is your name?" "It''s Alex. The name''s Alex" The vige chief then bowed deeply and left. It seemed his time in the vige was over, Alex made his way to the carriage where he found the crew eating, clear of their earlier bouts of sickness, and the mother was eating too, and she seemed to bepletely recovered. Alex told the driver to start the carriage and they resumed on their way, without any of the smog this time. The mother looked anxious but he told her there was no longer any danger and she somehow believed him, nodding and turning her attention to her baby. When they reached the outskirts of Atreksos, the driver asked him whether they should make a stop there or not but he decided against it. The vige was recovering and they hadrgely enough food and supplies for the remaining part of the trip. They also bade their goodbyes to the mother, who thanked them all for everything and left the carriage, walking in fast steps towards the vige she calls home. It''s nice to have somewhere you can call home. The rest of the journey was uneventful, but Alex got to see the aquamarine waters of the Aegean for the first time, and he spent the 6 remaining days of the trip rxing and writing on his diary. By the sunset on the 8th day, Alex was able to distinguish human habitations in the distance. In front of the sea, there were seven forts with short but sturdy-looking walls that made up the city of Abdera. They each held a different purpose. ''We''re finally here'' Alex sighed and felt happy looking at the sun setting on his first destination in this world... Chapter 15 - A Story Written On Stone(1) After 8 days of travel, the carriage finally reached the city of Abdera. The city''s design was dissimr to that of Olep, as instead of one singr and interconnected city, Abdera wasposed of fortresses inside of which were buildings that abode to the ancient equivalent of zoningws ording to the purpose of the fortress. Nheless, Abdera is quite a bitrger than Olep, and even the short walls couldn''t conceal the bustling streets and the thriving port. When they reached the walls of the city, the crew asked Alex if they should disclose on who''s ount he was visiting the city, but he refused, not wanting to be in the same situation as he was back in Olep as he wanted to explore the city freely. To be sure that it was fine for the crew, he asked them if they had any urgent ns. They all denied and informed him that the consul back in Olep had arranged for them a whole month of paid leave,rgely more than the time required for a round trip from Olympus to Abdera. It seemed like he knew that Alex would want to visit the city.....He apuded his careful observation. With that out of the way, Alex gave some gold coins to the crew to restock their supplies and left the carriage, willing to visit the city, well, at least what he could visit with the sky darkening and artifical sources of light taking the ce of the sun. After asking around some locals about the city, Alex now had a general overview of the way the city worked. Abdera wasposed of sevenrge fortresses, each serving their own purpose to the city. The one he was currently in was the Plebeian''s residential quarters, a fortress with living ces for the city''smoners and a small shopping and food district. There was also simrly the Patrician''s residential quarters in another fortress, which contained living quarters for the city''s nobles. There was also a port quarter, containing both the city''s sea port and dry port. The ''industrial'' quarter also looked interesting, containing the city''s art studios, textile ''factories'' and food processing sectors. Those were in fact, the city''s main industries and exports. Those 4 were the only fortresses with a free movement policy, as the rest, which were the administrative quarter, the religious quarter and the King''s quarter, were only to be visited with a permit conferred by the King''s council in each fortress. As for the fortress with the best food, most of the locals seemed to agree that it was the port quarter, as due to to the influx of people and goods, held a reallyrge assortment of food and mercantile businesses held by foreign residents and a great diversity in terms of the cuisines. By conversing with some of the locals, Alex also discovered the reason behind the city''s peculiar architecture; Abdera held its roots in the Mycenean Age, before most of the Olympians were even born and instead of new buildings being constructed, they only repurposed and renovated old buildings while only building new ones when it was absolutely necessary. While following the direction of the coast to enter the fortress, Alex was astonished at how Abdera managed its nighttime lighting. There were tallnterns made with fireproof materials, inside of which zed fires ignited from the animal fat they recycled from their textile sector, brightening up the city at night and allowing for a myriad of human activities even when the stars were visible. While maintaining clueless internal monologues, he unknowingly had sight of the short walls in the distance but his walk was interrupted by a figure that stood in front of him. Alex stopped in his tracks and looked at the devil in question. It was an unfamiliar man who appeared ordinary in every way except his clothes. He wore a sleeveless white linen shirt and ck silk pants. The entire outfit was wrapped in an orange toga and he wore a brass olive hairpin. He looked a bit.....stylish? Alex thought. The man then spoke "Sir, would you be interested in bing our model?" ''Model? What is he talking about?'' Alex was dumbfounded and looked at the man incredulously. The man seemed to understand his gaze and started to bber on "........." After what seemed like a 15-minute speech, the chatterbox finally quieted down. Alex didn''t pay attention to the man for most of his ''speech'' but he got the general idea. It seemed that recently, several art studios started working with the textile hegemons of the city to create line-ups of artful and stylish clothing and as a means of promotion, they would have good-looking people wear their clothes, stered with the trademarks of the art studio, and walk around, publicizing their studio. It was essentially the Antiquity prototype of an influencer. After consuming Ambrosia, Alex did feel like he became quite good-looking and that was probably why he was approached. It was too troublesome, however, so he t-out refused. After the man left with a sigh, he resumed his way back to the fort walls separating the port quarter and plebeian quarter, greeted by guards that let him pass after stealing a nce at him. The port quarter did really look different from the residential quarter, with the wide streets instead reced by narrow alleys with brick-red tall red buildings and diverse businesses dotted everywhere. Losing his sense of direction in thebyrinth of alleyways, Alex caught a whiff of an appetizing fragrance and followed it until he found a stairway leading to the rooftop of a building, which seemed to be the source of the fragrant smell. He hence went up the stairs and found himself in a roof with archaic butfortable looking couches, tables, a kitchen where you could see the cooks practicing their art and people crowding the ce and upying the chairs, waiting for their turns. After going through the crowd, Alex barely found a table for himself and sat down. A waitress who looked foreign came up to him and gave him an overview of the menu. It wasn''t very extensive but it sounded appetizing so he ordered and waited for his food. Meanwhile, he kept thinking about the events that ensued thest time he went out for food. Meeting Aadityapal, the arrogant young master that was actually capable and strong and his caretaker, the immortal monk Padmapani. It was quite funny, but he would rather eat in peace tonight. The food finally arrived and on the tray he could see the food he ordered. It was fried spiced dough with a vegetable and groundmb filling and there were dips like chickpea paste(Hummus), crushed eggnt sd and a chili oil. It was a bit heavy but incredibly delicious as he finished the whole tray in a few minutes and paid his bill then left the overcrowded restaurant. Remembering his way through the alleys, Alex found the fort walls and went back to the plebian quarter and found the carriage in the backyard of an inn that agreed to let them park there. Entering the big wagon, he found the crew eating and conversing and he greeted them with a smile and they did the same. He then went upstairs and readied himself to sleep, as he wanted to wake up around sunrise to be able to experience the whole city. "zZzZzZzZzZzZ....." Soon enough, very light snoring sounds filled the carriage as the bustling city quieted down too and the light of the tallnterns was reced by the bright constetions of the night sky. ___________________________________________________________________________ As Alex woke up and left the carriage, he could observe the sun rising on the east side of the city, where the port was situated and he started running as not to avoid the scene of the dawn on the Aegean. He was able to make it to the port neigbourhood uninterrupted in a few minutes and navigated his way through the maze, perceiving the city''s residents waking up to open their shops and businesses, and left the maze soon enough, finding a marketce and a busy sea port in front of him. He asked one of the locals if there was any sort of sandy beach and they nodded, pointing south. Alex ran up there and found a pristine white beach, with small waves rolling on the fine sand and reflecting the reddish hue of the rising sun. There was boundless sea to all the directions of the horizon and the waters looked refreshing. ''To swim...or not to swim? That is the question.'' Alex bemused to himself. Ultimately, he decided on ''taking a dip'' which of course meant swimming in the shallow waters of the coast and ying with water like a child for literally an hour or so. After finishing his ''dip'' in the sea, Alex dressed himself and started thinking on his new destination, which wasn''t so hard to do, as the white limestone tower towering in the distance practically begged him to visit it. Interrogating some of the residents, he discovered the tower was a lighthouse and one of the mainndmarks of Abdera, standing upright since the city''s founding. It wasn''t too far away and when he stood in front of the tall tower, he discovered a circr staircase that led up to the top of the lighthouse. Making his way to the top of the structure, Alex was surprised to see the whole city from the top of the tower. The bustling port, the restaurant he ate in yesterday, the patrician and plebian quarters, the hilly part of the city containing the famed administrative, religious and King''s quarter... When he was appreciating the scenery, he noticed some writing on the walls of the lighthouse. It was foreign and clearly not Greek and also a bit faded away but he could distinguish what it said. "Thank you very much for yourpany, prince of love. I, however, have to go back to my temporary abode. If you wish for us to meet again, please visit the Arc of Victory on the day of Venus(1) at the peak of the midday sun." It seemed to be someone who met up with this ''prince of love'' and wished to meet again, probably an invitation to a date. Alex grew curious, as the writing looked old and maybe he was onto an interesting event in the history of Abdera, or perhaps it was just that, an invitation to a date. ''The Arc of Victory...I''ll have to ask around to see where this is'' He thought to himself while anticipating the story he was about to uncover. Chapter 16 - A Story Written On Stone(2) Aftering down of the lighthouse, the sun was already above the horizon and the urban sounds started multiplying, shaping the urban sprawl of the seaside metropolis. Alex spoke to some of the citizens and asked them about the Arc Of Victory. He noticed that the younger residents had no clue about what he was talking about so he asked an elderly man about it. "That''s a name long-gone from my era,d. They now call it the Arc of Remembrance. You''ll find it in the center-north of the Patrician''s quarter..." The elderly man kindly gave him directions and information about the monument. Alex thanked him and gave him some money, then left. The man had given him some background information on the Arc of Victory. The arc was the resting point of thend armies led by the Greeks, and most notably, the hero Achilles, in the Trojan War. ''So the Trojan War already happened here? That means this must be quite an unimpressive time, as most of the great heroes and heroines are either dead, gods or retired. This era definitely wouldn''t be the setting for a book'' Alex contemted. He always wondered, if the fictional worlds back in his world were real, what happens after the main storyline is over? It must feel a bit underwhelming to not be part of the story at all, as an extra even. He shrugged off these unanswerable thoughts and kept on going through the maze that is the business district of the port quarter. A whileter, he would find himself in the plebian quarter where the wide streets and two-story homes greeted his sight. The patrician quarter was east of his current location and the wide streets of the plebian quarter made his route easier. After walking through the business district which looked unimpressive and monotonouspared to the one near the port, Alex found himself in front of a big gate guarded by stiff guards and tall fort walls. He would need to pay a fine to enter the quarter, apparently, but it wasn''t too much so he made his way to the elite neighborhood with ease. It looked drastically different to the other quarters, hosting extremely wide streets paved with shiny white limestone and bordered by small gardens with well-cut grass and dirt roads leading to opulent mansions and manors. It was very clean and there was almost no one out in the street, only people passing by inrge carriages. To be honest, Alex thought it looked a bit lifelesspared to the messy and colourful alleys of the port quarter. The Patrician''s neighbourhood was also the second smallest quarter of the city, with each extreme being only a 10-minute walk away. Thanks to its small size, he found thendmark he was looking for quite easily. It was situated in the center of arge empty roundabout and stood there, rtively conspicuouspared to its boring surroundings. It looked a bit simr to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, except the former wasrger and had different sculptures and engravings on its walls, recounting therge army that passed here and the story they would weave. Alex examined the arc with curiosity, and although he was given strange looks by the aristocrats passing by in their carriages, he truly did not care in the slightest. He searched every nook and cranny of the structure, hoping to find some pieces toplete this historical puzzle he stumbled upon but to no avail. ''Maybe they just....didn''t meet, and their story was over the moment they both left the lighthouse'' Alex reflected. He thinks it''s a bit unfortunate, as a love story written on stone was well-deserving of a Bollyw*od movie adaptation and he was also visiting the city unknowingly, which was his main goal in the first ce. Choosing to give up, Alex walked through the arc, ready to leave, when he noticed something with his enhanced eyesight. Shaded by one of the sculpture''s angles, there was a very small sentence written in messy handwriting. "My princess, I am humbled by your presence. I want to spend more time with you, is that much to ask?" It was probably the so-called ''prince of love'' speaking. He was addressing himself to a ''princess''. Under that was another piece of writing, although it looked much more organized and calligraphic in nature. "My prince, I feel the same. I have to go back to my kingdom after I negotiate with the king of thisnd and our time will be cut short. But if the Three Fates will it, let us meet, in the port restaurant, where they serve, the food of my peoples. I hope to see you there on the Day of the Moon(2) at the intersection of sunset and dark." They must really love each other, engraving letters on stone for the other person to read. It also looked like they shared some kind of unrequited love, one that wouldn''tst long. In a sense, it was extremely saddening, that two people, who seem to love everything about each other, would have their adventures cut off by the strings of life and circumstances, as it seemed that the princess had a kingdom and a poption to attend to. But, out of context, it was a bit of a riddle. The text was obviously foreign, not Greek, but how would he know the exact origins of the princess and the restaurant where they serve the food of her kingdom? It looked like he''d have to do it the hard way. If the restaurant even existed anymore, he would have to search for the ethnic origins of the foreign residents of Abdera and their food. He thus went back to the plebian quarter and started investigating with the locals. Most of them had no knowledge about it but he was lucky as one the locals he spoke to was the Overseer of Demographic Matters of the Council of the Plebs, who manages the matters of themoners. Alex was really lucky as the local was headed on her way to the administrative quarter, and he would have a hard time entering it if he didn''t reveal his identity, which isn''t the best oue. The woman shared some basic butprehensive information about the city''s demography and Alex bribed...thanked her by giving her some gold coins. The city''s biggest minority ethnic groups were the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Ukrainians and Levantines respectively. Alex started by searching for Mesopotamian food ces, and thankfully, there were few. It was all to no avail, though. He did the same with the Egyptians, and it was equally unfruitful. He investigated every Ukrainian trace in the city and found nothing yet. At this point, the searing sun was high up in the sky and was casting its burning rays on the city, but Alex didn''t feel so bright. All of the moving around even made him hungry. He shrugged, although he was actually a bit bummed but he decided on forgetting about it and went to the restaurant he ate in yesterday. Stepping into the familiar rooftop that was as equally crowded and smelled like paradise, Alex sat down on a couch and ordered some food. He was soon presented with a tray of appetizing food. It was a tbread filled with fresh and raw vegetables and various cooked meats and all topped with a yogurt and chickpea based salty dressing. Alex diverted his attention the food as he wrapped the tbread sandwich and started savouring it, almost forgetting about his earlier sadness.(2) While he was eating, he caught something at the back of his vision. It was very very well-hidden, as it in a corner of the short wall that naturally received the most shade. Alex won''t let it fool him though, it was clearly writing. Alex squinted his eyes and finished the rest of the sandwich in one mouthful, and he stood up and walked up to the culprit of his curiosity, which was in fact a piece of text written in the same messy and organized style he had seen earlier. Alex almost jumped out of joy, well, he jumped out of joy and he was stared at, but thest thing he cared about right now was other people, except the ''prince of love'' and the ''princess''. "Princess, this is some of the most enchanting food I have tasted, far better than what my mom''s servants make for me back home and appreciating such good food with you, here, only makes it better!" "My prince, our people are known for their cuisine. I, likewise, havee to love your presence. I don''t have much time left, but, if you please, spare some time for us to meet in the grand mill west of your residence tomorrow at sunrise. See you there, my Enkidu(3)" Their letters grew more affectionate and bittersweet as the moment of of her departure seemed to near. ''A mill? It should be easy to find'' Alex paid his bill and went out, annoying the locals again with him constantly asking for directions. The grand mill, was in the industrial quarter of the city, west of the habitations, so the western winds blow the unpleasant smells and byproducts of the industries out of the city. He soon reached his destination, and the mill was in the north of the fort along with the art studios, and to the south, where he currently was, contained cloth dying facilities, liquamen production nts and tanneries. It did smell quite unpleasant so he hurried his steps to the north where the bad smell was thinner. His destination was now in view. It was a big red mill and the sails of the windmill were rotating fast, crushing the grain inside into usable matter. He entered through the main door of the mill, and the scent of crushed wheat assaulted his senses, though it didn''t smell horrible. He went up the staircase in the mill and reached the top where the milling operation was visible and guarded by a few soldiers. The soldiers stared at him and asked him about his intent here and he made it clear that he was searching for some sort of writing on the mill. The soldier looked at him weirdly but showed him the way to a corner of the walls where he could see the familiar manuscript, although the text looked more sloppy this time, as if the writers were anxious. "My princess, I have never met someone who made me feel as you do. You are my Helios, brightening my cold, lifeless and starving heart. You are the blood that runs through my veins and arteries, giving me life. My mother has discovered our encounters and is in fervent disagreement with them, but, my love, if it wills it, may Ie with you to thend of your people, to live out your remaining lifespan and then apany you to the heavenly fields of Elysium in the Underworld as we spend the rest of eternity together" "My Enkidu, I understand. You are to me as water is to a desert nt and I cannot imagine returning to mynd, to spend the remaining sand in the hourss without yourpany. Please...meet me in the Temple of Beginnings today at the time when the sun has moved partly east" Alex felt his eyes redden. He felt the end of this story approaching and he needed to know how it ends, and hoped from all his heart that the two got a happy ending. The only problem, however, was that the Temple of Beginnings was located in the religious quarter, and he wouldn''t be allowed through normally. But no problem, when Alex climbed the stairase on the hill leading to the religious sector, he induced sleep in the guards and all of the surrounding citizens and advanced sluggishly, feeling his energy drained. He had no time to appreciate the beautiful structures as he entered thergest temple where he found a priest performing some kind of ritual and made him visit Hypnos, god of sleep. The epilogue to the story had to be somewhere around here as he examined every pir, every angle, every wall of the temple, in search of a needle in a haystack. He eventually found the needle. It was a short sentence, solitary on the wall, written in messy handwriting, unapanied by the usual tidy manuscript. The writing said in concise terms. "My Psyche. I will love and remember you forever and give sermon to not appreciate any other living creature orndscape on this damned world. We cannot meet again, but if your soul is still existent, meet me in the lighthouse, where we loved each other, for the first time. And let''s dance to the stars while reminiscing on the past, on our story, a story written in stone." The end of the story was....heartbreaking. There was no follow-up from ''Psyche'' and it seems like they never got to spend time together in the end. It was a bit overwhelming for Alex, but he stepped out of the temple with quiet steps and a poker face, hiding the turbulence inside of him. Outside of the temple, one could find a sculpture. It was a marvelously sculpted piece of art depicting a young man sitting in fetal position and ring at the horizons. It was titled "Eros, god of mncholy, by the Konstan Studio" The sculpture looked a bit old and the title gave Alex an insight. Back in his world, there was a myth, a myth of the love story between Eros and Psyche, where they ended up living happily ever after as immortal gods unbothered by the disapproval Eros'' mother, the goddess Aphrodite. ''But...This is different...It''s supposed to end happily...Did Aphrodite do something again?'' Alex made notes in his mind. This felt suspicious. They were supposed to end up together in the end, not separated, what happened? Under the sculpture was the name of the art studio that produced it, the Konstan Studio. A familiar name as Alex saw it while navigating to the mill. He thought that if he wanted to get to the end of this, he needed to visit the studio. He therefore made his way out of the religious quarter and back to the industrial quarter, this time unbothered by the scent. After walking north for a bit, he came across a building with a sign board that read "Konstan Studio" He entered the studio and found various people engaging in painting, sculpture and writing, all concentrated. A young woman came up to him, and greeted him with a smile. "Good day, Sir. What brings you here?" "I....''m searching for the creator of the sculpture entitled ''Eros, God of mncholy'' " The woman nodded and led him to a room on the second story of the building, where there was a young man sitting on a desk and signing documents, surrounded by various artistic items. The young woman whispered something to the man, which he nodded to, and then she left, leaving the two alone. "Hello there, I''m the Chief of the Konstan Studio. I heard you came for the sculpture created by my grandfather?" "Grandfather? Ah, yes. I would like to learn more about that sculpture." Alex responded. The man looked at him with nted eyes and passed him a chair to sit on, and left the room and then came back, bringing some tea with him. He then sat down and took the fuming tea to his mouth, sipping a bit and then talking. "My name is Kal. I''m the grandson of the creator of the sculpture you''re wondering about. Unfortunately, my grandfather has long since left to the Underworld, but he has told me some stories about it. So tell me, what do you want to know?" "A certain event concerning this Eros and a certain Psyche." Alex mumbled while holding the teacup. "Ah, I understand. I''ll start from the beginning. My grandfather had some business in the temples, as he had to sculpt the figure of Lady Aphrodite. But when he came there, he found a scene unlike any other he''s seen before. Son of Aphrodite, Eros was seated on the ground and his disposition, his expression and his figure all radiated of pure mncholy. My grandfather felt inspired and started sculpting the lord and it is said that in the two month''s time it took toplete the sculpture, Eros didn''t even move once. Afterpleting his greatest work ever, my grandpa investigated the possible reasons behind this feat. It seemed that a few weeks prior, Eros had met up with a foreign princess named Psyche, who he fell in love with. His mother, Lady Aphrodite, was inplete disapproval with their rtionship and one day, destroyed Psyche''s soul while she was waiting for her lover in the temple. When Eros discovered what his mother did, he remained in that position for a whole two months and was never seen again after that." Again, Aphrodite. It was always Aphrodite. She literally killed her son''s lover. Alex clenched his fists, breaking the teacup he was holding and spilling hot tea everywhere. He apologized and cleaned up the mess. "Then why does this city worship Aphrodite? Why?" Alex asked angrily. "Being on her good favours is much better then being her enemy. Trust me, you don''t know how vicious she can be to her enemies." Chapter 17 - Mission Achieved....? Alex didn''t want to hear anymore of it, as he stood up, thanked Kal and left the art studio. He was feeling.....frustrated, walking in quick anxious steps and not minding any of the scenes of the city anymore, he just wanted this to get over with and go back to his world, where at the very least, inside his privilege bubble, he had never seen cruelty of this degree. Aphrodite is evil.....and strong, the most distastefulbination, she apparently controls much of the Hellenic world and exerts just slightly less power than Zeus, while being more involved in politics and ruling as a despot. Even in a city like Olep, who''s patron deity was Zeus, the influence that a mere letter from Aphrodite held was incredible. He just couldn''t put this aside like he usually does with troublesome matters. It felt like a weight on his shoulders, and being affiliated to the same monster made him feel horrible. He had to get this mission over with. He didn''t feel like doing anything anymore, his appetite was cut off and he was feeling empty but didn''t have any motivation to do anything to fill that emptiness. While walking with his head held down, Alex heard a scream and weakly raised his head. Two familiar figures were standing a few dozen meters in front of him, the infamous Aadityapal and the kind-looking monk Padmapani. The former, however, was roaring and charged at him at a very fast speed. Alex felt like he should have reacted more excitedly, maybe feel provoked, and battle him in a fast-paced battle. But instead, he simply dodged the iing attack and induced sleepiness in his ''opponent'', making the young man look a bit drowsy and try to resist but proceed to copse. Padmapani ran up to him in a few steps and checked Aadityapal''s body, which upon seeing he was merely asleep, thanked Alex and went off with the young man on his back. Alex shrugged and resumed his walking, making his way from the plebian quarter north to the King''s quarter where he was supposed to end this mission and go back to Olympus. The quarter''s entrance was located on a path outside of the main city so he entered the forest outside of the city and went along the path he was given. After a few minutes of meaningless walking, he found himself in front of a tall fortress, one that couldn''t conceal, however, the size of the King''s castle. It was an autocrat-level caste. There was a moat surrounding the castle and a gate that turns into a bridge when it was opened. Some soldiers and guards sprinted at him, and asked him about his intent and they looked ready to apprehend him. Alex showed them the letter, and they, of course bowed deeply. It felt disgusting to him. The soldiers opened the gate and led him inside of the quarter, which held arge navigable garden with exotic varieties of flowers and nts. Despite the garden, the scenery was dominated by therge castle in the center. One of the soldiers ran off and came back with a man next to him, who introduced himself as the King''s councilor, and took the lead from the soldiers and started walking through the garden in the direction of the castle, spouting some nonsense about the nt''s origins and the famous architects involved that Alex didn''t have a care in the world for. They entered the castle''s interior and found themselves in arge corridor with gargantuan dyed windows with various scenes and giant chandeliers that felt small in the ceiling that was as high as a 5-story building. Alex hated it, he felt small and insignificant in this ce, he didn''t want to feel this way anymore. He felt like he was choking. The corridor was so big, yet it felt ustrophobic. After walking through needlesslyrge doors that led god know where, they stopped in front of an even more needlesslyrge door, and the councilor knocked, immediately after which the door was opened by a dozen soldiers that looked like they were struggling. It was a very unpractical design. Inside was a heavily ornamented hall and at the deep end of the hall one could find 2 thrones, lit by the coloured sunlight emitted from the stained ss. On the two thrones were sitting a man and a woman respectively. The man had dirty blonde hair reaching to his shoulders and vibrant blue eyes, all the while wearing the most luxurious-lookingyered silk robe he has seen. It looks like they make a lot from tax money. The woman had simr features to the man, except her hazel eyes and extremely long dress that looked very ufortable to walk or sit in. The councilor led him closer to the thrones and bowed deeply and left, and the 3 were left looking at each other, thinking unknown thoughts. The man, presumed to be the king, stood up, and bowed lightly and the woman, probably the queen, did the same. "Well met, sir. May I presume you''ve something for me and Queen Gina from Lady Aphrodite?" The king asked him politely. Alex wanted to get this over with, hence he opened his pouch and took out the two cursed objects, the letter and the wooden box. The king and queen looked at the objects with shining eyes, making him sick that they would express such euphoria at the blessings of a witch. He gave them the two objects and turned around, ready to leave. He heard the King''s voice "Sir, would you by chance wish for a banquet or a room to stay in?" Alex shook his head without responding. He wanted to return to Olympus and he wouldn''t want to sleep in a room with the architectural style of this castle, anyways, it would make him fall sick. Leaving the throne room while being disgusted that all of the soldiers were kowtowing to him, he made his way back in the corridor, where the councilor from earlier tried to guide him but was ignored by the thoughtless Alex and left too. Alex therefore left the underwhelming King''s quarter and went back to the plebeian''s quarter, located the inn where his carriage was ''anchored'' and entered the inn, greeted by the smiles of the crew. Alex also tried smiling lightly, although it looked weak due to his shaking facial muscles. The crew looked to have uncovered his mncholy and one of the crew members asked him if they were going to leave, to which Alex nodded. He then went upstairs and despite the sun being high up in the clear sky, Alex pulled the curtains to his room and copsed on the bed, feeling like sleep would be the only distracting way to pass time in this damned boring world. Alex made his way to the dream world, while the carriage started its tracks to go back to the only ce he felt like he could call ''home'' in this world. Chapter 18 - Essence Of Aphrodite(TW: Slight Gore Description) .... Alex slept for a whole two days, waking up sluggishly and trying to restore life to his weak-feeling limbs. While he was being, he believes he had a dream, one about waking up in his room back home and calling his mother, who came over to his house along with his younger brother and they sat, all together, on his living room table, discussing misceneous matters over a cup of mint tea and biscuits. It was euphoric for Alex, who got to see his family again as his face was flushed with happiness as he was discussing his recent ventures in his job, some friendships he''s formed and his ambitions for the future. It was nice. However, Alex suddenly remembered something, it was a reminiscence of faded memories, simr to Marcel Proust''s madeleine cakes(1). It was memories of a distantnd, one they call Olympus, with beautiful mountain peaks, lush forests andpis seas. Then he remembered the people; Hermes, Crista, Athena, Dionysus, the consul, Aadityapal, Padmapani and Aphrodite. Alex slightly moved his mouth and as the memories became more vivid, he began telling stories of his short time in this world, happy that it was over, that he was finally in the ce he wanted to be, surrounded by the people that he''s spent so much time with that he can only be himself with them. There was also a bittersweet feeling, however. As much as he liked home, he''s also grown a bit fond of the exciting lifestyle he''s gotten used to back in Olympus, and the monotony of modern home life, although cozy, pales inparison to the life his curious instincts wants to lead in this world. If possible, he would like to be in Olympus with his family, but one can''t get everything they desire. He''s now back at home, sipping on lukewarm tea with his most loved people and he won''tin. As expected, while he was telling his tales, Alexander, a young kid, was listening carefully and excitedly about each of his adventures, asking him for more which Alex happily obliged to. His mom, was looking at him with her lips raised slightly and her pupils reflecting his figure, forming a nostalgic but happy smile. "Mom, why are you smiling like that....?" Alex was happy, but he felt a heavy emotion in his heart, a certain feeling that he was forgetting something. At his question, his mom kept looking at him and suddenly, the surroundings started to fade from his room to a bright white space and the tables and chairs were the only pieces of furniture left. His mother and brother''s faces also started fading away until he could no longer distinguish their features. The two then stood up while Alex was looking anxiously at them. ''What''s happening?'' He already figured out the answer, but he couldn''t bring himself to think of it. No, he didn''t want to ept it. His mother then held his younger brother''s hands and the two faced him, standing in silence for a few seconds before his mom spoke in a muffled but intelligible voice. "Son, do you remember what I have taught you? One often finds themselves in situations they don''t desire, and being happy in these predicaments is extremely hard. Of course, one can choose to do what they want, but not choose what they want. However, I hope you''ll be able to find happiness in what you have and keep a smile through even the hardest times. I raised you to be a good son, and I am proud of who you are and will forever be. You may feel like you want something, but your wings are pping in another direction. I cannot cut these wings or trap you in a cage, so fly now. fly, my son." Alex felt his eyes redden, he just didn''t understand anything. His mother then turned around along with his brother and faced the bottomless white void. Then she stated with a distant tone "Now, we will go. We''ll be happy and you will be too. I promise you we will take care of yourselves and you promise us you will too." Alex felt tears streaming down his face and he spoke, albeit with a voice muffled by his mucus. "I will, I promise you I will" He stated with red eyes. Then he saw Alexander turn around, even though he was now just a silhouette, and heard a child''s voice that made him feel at home saying excitedly "Goodbye, Alex. See you soon!" "Goodbye, Alexander. Goodbye, Mom" The two proceeded to dissipate into the white void, along with the table and chairs, leaving him alone in the white void. Alex then felt his body turn heavy and his vision fading and when the unpleasant feeling was gone, he found himself in his room in the carriage. Feeling cold tears sliding down his wet face, he was barely able to move his weak hands to wipe them, and when his body no longer felt numb, he stood up and opened the curtains, showing bright blue boundless waters in the distance and a blindingly bright fireball in the sky. He then went down the stairs and found the crew ying cards, and when they got sight of him, they all smiled and said good morning to him, despite the fact that it was clearly midday. The card game they were ying looked fun. "Can I y with you?" Alex smiled as he asked the crew. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Two dayster, in the carriage. Alex felt a lot better now, and although he was still furious at the actions of Aphrodite, the dream he''s experienced gave him some insights he didn''t know he needed. Even if he feels powerless and can''t do much right now, he''ll brave through life confidently and live as he pleases, now that he has the chance and the ability to do so. The carriage by now left the Aegean coastal route and entered the ind terrain, where familiar mountains dominating the scenery could be perceived whichever way one turned. He was currently writing on his diary/parchment scroll about today''s scenery, the traveling merchants they met and the fauna and flora ind of the Greek maind. Writing is now one of his favourite activities as he just feels so free when he writes and the time passes by so fast due to him enjoying scribing down every letter. He even writes it in English, effectively making it the most private diary in this world. The carriage rode through thendscape and they soon reached the perimeter of the vige of Atreksos and they parked outside the vige, as due to it being located in a teau entering the vige would be hard and impractical. The crew including Alex then hiked up a bit and soon reached a bottleneck in elevation and what greeted their sight was a crater-like teau containing the fertile green farnd and humble buildings in the distance. They thus climbed down the teau and even though the crew wasn''t surprised at the vige due to not knowing what ensued here thest time they came. Alex, however, was extremely surprised at the state of the vige. In the short two weeks they departed, Atreksos turned from a lifeless vige into a colourful scene of co-operation and prosperity. When he entered the vige along with the crew, a familiar-looking local ran off after perceiving his face and brought with him the vige chief, who''s pale and anxious face fromst time was reced by a resting happy face, perhaps due to the extremely improved affairs of the vige. She stepped a fair distance from him and bowed deeply, and the vigers behind her did the same. "We are eternally grateful for what you have done for our vige. It''s not much, but please follow us, as the vige has a humble gift for you" The vige chief said as she rose from her bow and turned around. Alex nodded and followed her lead, entering the marketce which was now filled with food stands and fresh produce on disy, it was a blissful scene that one would expect from a painting. Although the crew wondered why they were being treated like royalty, they assumed it was probably just because of Alex''s status as they shrugged and followed along too. They then reached a crossroad at the center of the vige, and in the center of the crossroad there was a sculpture. It was an artwork of a man standing in a simr pose to Michngelo''s David, with chiseled muscture and detailed morphological details and a good-looking, but it didn''t have a phallic design unlike David. ''They must have just finished it'' Alex thought the sculpture looked very aesthetically pleasing and it added ir to the vige. However, taking a second nce at the piece, he noticed something weird. The face of the sculpture looked quite familiar. Before he could further ponder on it, his thoughts were interrupted by the hopeful voice of the vige chief. "Lord, we have employed the services of one of the best art studios in the surroundings to sculpt your figure by the time of your arrival. We hope you appreciate it" Alex was shocked. They sculpted him to such degree in only about 2 weeks?! He felt very grateful and didn''t know how to react, only nodding senselessly. ''It must have been very expensive for the vige to undergo such an operation.'' Alex thought. "Lord, we have also spread your name and great achievements to any passing peoples" In fact, there was a caption under the statue. It said ''Alex, Nightmare yer''. It''s quite the grandiose title but he didn''t feel like he deserved this kind of delegation. Further under the caption was written in very small text ''By the Olep branch of the Konstan Studio'' ''Konstan Studio? that''s a familiar name'' Alex asked himself, and then he remembered it. The Konstan Studio was a big art studio in Abdera where he got the tragic insights into Eros and Psyche. "Thank you! I''m grateful to receive such good word, even if it really wasn''t anything much." He eximed. The vigers started objecting fervently to him, screaming that he was the ''saviour'' of Atreksos and whatnot. Alex rubbed his hair in embarrassment. "We have lost a lot to the Nightmare Lizard. But thanks to you, Lord, we were able to get back on our feet and we will not waste this opportunity and go into the future stronger and happier!" The vige chief looked tearful. She really cares for her people ___________________________________________________________________________________ Alex spent the afternoon in the vige, helping the vigers for certain tasks and drinking tea and having lunch with his crew. When they left the vige there was only about an hour left until sunset so they bade their farewells to the vige and wished them good luck in the future. The vigers kowtowed gratefully to him, but he asked them to rise up. Therefore, they made their way back into the carriage and they resumed their journey back to Olep. A few uneventful dayster, they were greeted with the sight of the ind metropolis, Olep. It seemed more sprawling than usual and when they asked the people they stated that the recent deals with the city of Aklypso has substantially increased trade volume to the city. The carriage reached the familiar consul''s mansion and parked there. Now it was time for goodbyes. When they started the trip, none of the crew members knew each other but through this short journey they all became close friends, Alex included, and had a lot of fun together. Alex got the names of each of the crew members, gave them some gold coins, thanked them for everything and then said his goodbyes and entered the consul''s mansion, where he was once again shamefully forced into a princely pnquin. He thanked the consul for the carriage and his help in everything and then left, refusing to stay the night as the consul suggested. He then went through the dark forest, not really scared of anything this time as he felt stronger than when he just started the trip. Soon enough, he felt the dense vegetation clearing up and the steep mountainsing into view. It was going to be a hard hike, he knew that for a fact. After struggling to hike up the first hill for a few dozen minutes he barely made it and the seeding hikes weren''t as challenging so he found himself in the za leading up to the deities'' abodes. He took the staircase that he remembers leads to Hermes'' ce and climbed up the infinitely long staircase. By the time he reached the square with the singe olive tree in front of the purple opulent mansion, the horizon was illuminated by a single line of light, indicating the sun will rise in some time. He opened therge gates of the mansion and entered the familiar ce, feeling happy that he was back safely and also feeling really excited to sleep on the heavenlyfortable bed in his room. However, as he entered, he caught a whiff of a familiar scent, a scent he knows very well from his past world. The scent of melted cheese and tomato sauce and cooked dough in the oven, aka pizza. It wasing from the kitchen so he went down the center path which led there and entered the kitchen where the smell was the most dense. There, she was, in the kitchen, ting the familiar round piece of dough. It was Crista, the nymph, and it seems she made pizza. When he entered the kitchen, she seemed to have felt his presence as she turned her attention from the pizza to me and gave him a single hand raise as a greeting. She looked busy so he left her to finish her stuff. When she properly put some fresh basil on top of the cooked pizza, unlike a certain amateur who almost burned the kitchen, she looked at him and said indifferently "So you''re back, huh?" "Yes, It was quite an adventure" Alex responded. .... There was nothing much to say anymore so they stood in silence, albeit not awkwardly, before the voice of the nymph broke the silence. "What the f**k are you waiting for? The tbread thing is getting cold" Crista eximed with annoyance written on her face. ''Oh. Does she want me to take a slice?'' Alex ignored her calling pizza a ''tbread thing'' and diverted his attention to the pizza itself. Honestly, it looked much better than his in every way possible and he was actually feeling a bit hungry. "Don''t mind if I do then!" Alex took a slice of the pizza and brought it over to his mouth, taking a bite of it. It was.....divine. As he bit the crispy crust of the pizza, he felt the taste of the melted mozare enter his mouth and the rich tomato sauce adding depth and providing freshness to the whole dish. There was also a very very slightly spicy aftertaste that probably came from oregano and the harmonious vours of the ingredients merging together to form the perfect bite. Crista did much more justice to the modern dish than he did, and his face flushed with happiness as he savoured the addictive food. He then thanked her, and she looked proud of herself, which Alex found rightful as she made better pizza than the best of chefs in only a few weeks. She must have practiced hard. She then also tasted the pizza and smiled, eating the rest of it. The two didn''t talk anymore as Crista made her way to her room and Alex did the same, throwing himself onto the bed he longed to see. And so he entered the dream world. He woke up by dawn and readied himself for a new day. Today will probably be an unpleasant day though as he has to visit the witch Aphrodite to inform her of thepletion of the mission and he wanted to get it over with fast. He remembered she had told him her mountain peak was "the fourth one to the east" as he navigated through the mounts of Olympus and then found a conspicuous peak. The mountain peak was barren and lifeless, unlike the other ones, and it almost looked like it was made that way on purpose, as if to remove any sort of aesthetic value from the peak. The soil was also burnt to an ash colour and the mansion on top of the peak wasn''t dissimr. ''Is this really the peak of the goddess of beauty? Doesn''t really look the part.'' He thought to himself as he knocked on the unsymmetrical doors of the mansion. After a long period of silence, the doors of the mansion opened and it was two men who opened the door. The two looked strong but their eyes held no life whatsoever and they looked listless. It was quite creepy. The two men started walking and he followed them until they reached a big hall that had a wood-carved throne on its deep end, the only thing worth looking at in the entire ce. On the throne was sitting a familiar figure, that infamous woman with blond hair and magenta eyes. Goddess of beauty and ''love'', Aphrodite. She was being fanned by multiple men who seemed as listless as the ones in the door, like they were being manipted. Aphrodite looked at him, nted her eyes and raised her lips and stated "Took you long enough, boy." Alex stared at her, not responding and approached her, then informing her impatiently about thepletion of the mission. "Now that you''ve done it. Ask me for anything but I can''-" "Essence. I want Essence" Alex interrupted her and spoke confidently. She stopped talking and looked at him with an incredulous expression, like she was expecting something else. She then harrumphed in anger, and raised her shoulders then signaled to the men fanning her to bring something. The men stopped the fan immediately like they were struck with lightning and ran off, obeying her orders. It was quite distasteful. ''Tsk'' Alex clicked his tongue, in his mind of course. After a few minutes the men came back with a tray containing a bowl, a razor-sharp de and a small sk. Aphrodite took the de to one of the arteries on her hand and cut it, dripping thick red blood on the bowl and filling it soon enough. The wound closed as fast as it opened and Aphrodite put down the de and put her hand in the blood-filled bowl and he didn''t quite know what she was doing but the blood started reducing in volume until the bowl of blood turned into just a few drops of a brown-ish golden liquid which she bottled in a sk and threw over to him. The process was a bit weird but the end product is too precious to not use just because it seems a bit vampiric. Alex verified with his item appraisal if it was really Essence and at least she didn''t lie about it and it was in fact, Essence. Before leaving, he wanted to try if he could use Creature Appraisal on her as he stared at her and words started appearing on his retina matter-of-factly. _______________________________________________________________________ Name: Aphrodite State of Existence: Immortal Goddess Specialties: Maniption, beauty, love and fertility Notes: Aphrodite is one of the core members of the Olympian pantheon. She is extremely strong and is only second to Zeus in terms of influence. _______________________________________________________________________ It worked. Alex didn''t hesitate to turn around and leave, saying only a simple goodbye and his back facing the dumbfounded Aphrodite. Even if it didn''t sit well by him to use anything the witch makes, if it would make him stronger and more capable of defending himself, then he will consume it to see its effects. He hence left the ugly mansion and peak behind. Chapter 19 - Ares And Athena, Gods Of War And just like that, 2 months have passed since Alex''s return from Abdera. In these few months, Alex ended up consuming the Essence of Aphrodite, which, upon consumption, actually gave him different effects than he expected. Concretely, he had gained the specialties: -Attunement to beauty, love, fertility and aestheticism. He didn''t gain the specialty ''Maniption'' , fortunately, and it was instead reced by ''Aestheticism'', which he predicted had to do with how meticulous and observant he was to beautiful things these few days. It was like he could observe objects from an entirely new dimension than before, perceiving details such as colourbination, texture-colourpatibility and angles. This ''eye for beauty'' also seemed to react particrly strongly to nature and the attributes associated to fauna. When he looked to himself in the mirror, he also noticed he seemed to have be more handsome/charismatic, albeit a bit differently than Aphrodite, who hosted a devilish beauty that made one ufortable as if it entrapped you in it. His eyes, which were previously gray with a hint of purple from the Essence of Hermes, now strangely hosted a hint of silver blue, instead of the magenta he came to associate with the witch. ''Whatever'' Alex thought to himself. Prior to using the Essence, he was a bit scared that his personality would shift in a way reminiscent of Aphrodite, but it was definitely a pleasant surprise that it didn''t do so, and the cause remains unknown. As for thetter specialties ''love'' and ''fertility'', he didn''t really feel much of a difference in himself so he''d have to investigate further to know their effects. These two months, just like spring flowers blooming, his friendship with Crista came by all at once. It turned out Crista was quite the glutton, and whenever Alex had an idea for a recipe from his modern times that they could recreate, he would knock on her door, and they would tip toe to the kitchen like they were sneaking out, though they were the only ones in the estate. When Alex cooked, the food was eptable. When Crista cooked, as if aided by the divine dexterity of the nymphs, the food was simrly divine, and perhaps the only point in his favour is the fact that his food looked a bit more pleasing to the eye, as a result of his aestheticism basically coordinating every moment of his. Once, they had madesagna, the famous westernized deep-dish cheesy pasta creation and he couldn''t help but remember the monstrosity he made, leaking out the fats of the cheese like motor oil leaking out of an old car. His aestheticism couldn''t even help it. When they weren''t cooking, they were writing or reading together. She was quite the avid reader, and her favourite genre seemed to be a sort of proto-science-fiction, proudly owning a collection of over a thousand works of the antique genre. She also wrote, and very well at that, proudly having an impressive talent for narration, dialogue and world-building. He asked her if she would sell her works in the mortal realm and she responded with her usual tone which turned from annoying to ratherical "Do I f***ing look the part of someone who would sell a book in the mortal realm? Humans get fanatical at everything gods do and I want to keep these for myself." In terms of writing, Alex was actually quite good. Back at home, the only thing hecked to write regrly was the time, and now he had all of the time in the world and aided by Crista and his aestheticism, the scrolls he wrote on looked like pieces of art and read like such. She owned an impressive amount of writing equipment and lent him some, which he thanked her for by writing science fiction noves based on the genre of his own time. Although she didn''t much understand the steel structures powered by liquid ck gold or the interactive tablets that can create their own light and essentially connect the whole world, she read them like a madwoman and he would sometimes find scrolls and ink deposited in front of his door, implying that she wanted to read more. ''Hhahahaha'' Alex giggled at this. Crista, unlike the other gods and goddesses, didn''t feel distant or immortal, she was vulnerable and sensitive, much more simr to a human and Alex empathized with her, amon trait forming the foundation of their interaction. Seldom, Hermes woulde by and bring ingredients and gifts from the foreign ces he visits and they would spend the day together, him telling various stories about his trips in the Hellenic world and Alex listening and giving his opinion andments. Surprisingly, Hermes was a bit of a yboy. It seemed like he engaged in short-lived sexual and romantic rtionships wherever he went and he would disappear without informing his partners, which is quite the distasteful move, and that, Alex pointed out. Even though he can''t apply modern-day morals to this era, he still proposed to Hermes that he at least make it clear about the importance of the rtionship to the mortals he mingles with, as mortals, unlike gods, have very low bottom lines for what causes them pain. Also rather surprising, he took his advice and feedback very seriously which pleased Alex as he feels like hisck of credibility as a non-resident of this world has caused a huge hit to his self-esteem and someone who listens and trusts is definitely an appreciated bonus. "Well, Alexei-boy, I''ve got to go." Hermes stood up from his seat in the balcony table and readied himself to fly away, seeming very fast-paced as usual. Before he could go, Alex asked something of Hermes. "Hermes, if you could, can you get me these things....?" He wanted to try making a pinhole camera enhanced by his rather pathetic but still notable knowledge of the Daguerreian process, allowing him to be able to use the tool which freezes moments in time, that would have been very helpful in capturing the beauty of thendscape unsupported by his fragile memorization capabilities. Hermes looked a bit confused but he nodded and then flew away, traveling to wherever ce he needed to be. And as the exciting turned mundane, his days became uneventful and happy, spent with Crista and asionally, Hermes. A few days ago, however, Athena, whom he hadn''t seen in quite a while, woulde by to invite him to her ce. As is usual, she spoke as few words as possible and her voice wascking in emotion. "Day of the Moon, midday, 3rd peak west" That was it and the goddess left as fast as she came. And now, he was in front of the famed estate of the Goddess of wisdom and war, Athena. It was a wide and extremely tall tower constructed with chiseled stone and blue bricks at the peak forming a pointy pyramidal peak. The design of the tower was utilitarian but it wasn''t unpleasant or brutal to the eye due to the minutiae of detail in its construction, differentiating it from the depressing concrete blocks of the modern developed world. Alex entered the tall tower through the front door and each floor wasrge and the walls were paved with a circr staircase leading to the next floor. The floors were usually either living spaces for the attendants, libraries or armouries, all archetypical of a goddess of war, and wisdom. Athena, herself, was by the peak floor, and as he reached the ce, he found her writing down some calctions on a paper and surrounded by old-looking astronomical equipment. This ce would be an astrophile''s haven, and Alex wouldn''t dare try to be a wannabe astronomical expert, as his knowledge only went as far asmon sense and knowledge goes in the astronomical realm. He approached her slowly and took a peak at her theses. There were various drawings of the moon and the sun and it seemed she was makingplex calctions about an eclipse. "Would there be an eclipse soon?" Alex thought to himself but ended up saying out loud. Athena, still concentrated on her activities, responded with a surprisinglyprehensive answer "In the 5th day of Venus from today in the afternoon, a lunar eclipse will take ce" ''5th day of Venus from now, so, 1 month, 1 week and 4 days from now, huh?'' He thought to himself. Athena stood up as she finished her words, and although her voice was still apathetic, it seemed like she spoke more words when the subject in question interested her. She did seem, however, annoyed at not knowing the exact timing of the eclipse, as he put unusual emphasis on the ''afternoon'' part of her sentence, further exhibiting her meticulousness and pragmatism. She then looked at him and turned around, seemingly wanting him to follow her and the two went down a few floors until they reached a library with countless scrolls and even actual books donning the shelves on the wall, making the entire ce look like a schrly institute. There was a table in the center of the room and Athena sat down and hinted for him to do the same. When he sat down, he heard soundsing downstairs and saw two dwarvese in with tes in their hand which they ced upon him and then left fast as soon as they did so. The tes had cured olives, a wide selection of cheeses and meats, raw, cooked and cured. It did look quite appetizing and he was definitely a bit hungry but he first asked Athena. "Athena, aren''t you going to eat?" The first time they met, she told him not to use honorifics with her and he obliged, as he now simply called her ''Athena''. The respondent in question, was wholly concentrated on a scroll and it looked like she heard him but didn''t wish to respond, so he dropped the matter and dug in. It was very delicious and the dwarves even brought bread, which he ate with the olives and cheese, forming the perfect counterbnce between the slightly acidic olives and rich and savoury cheese. By the time he finished his meal, the dwarves came by again and took the te, which Alex thanked them for but they just fled anxiously. Turning his attention back to Athena, he wished to ask her some questions. "Athena, do you know what a Nightmare Lizard is?" Ever since the phenomenon with Atreksos and Lucky, he wondered why this name seemed to hold so much weight. Athena stood up, went by her collection of scrolls and searched briefly before taking out one scroll that she gave him. Alex read the scroll and his face paled. It was said that during the founding period of Sparta, an unknown pandemic hit the poption and plight hit the crops, culminating in the biggest crisis of the southern Peloponnese. It was then discovered that the source of the ''nightmare'' was a lizard that lived on the outskirts of the city and produced miasma that corrupted every living being it came by. It was only after most of the poption died from either famine or illness that Heracles, most famous hero of the Hellenic sphere, slew the creature which bestowed upon him one of his first titles, that of "Heracles, Nightmare yer" "Thank you." He said to her, he finally understood. She nodded and kept looking at him, awaiting more questions, he supposed. Alex proceeded by asking her about the energy he felt rushing in his body after he got Atreksos''s grace. She responded by enlightening him on the source of the energy that gods use their powers with, simply titled ''Faith Power''. By gaining reverence from mortals, gods could be more powerful and that was why every god sought more temples and idols of their stature in the mortal domain. The two then spent the afternoon like this, and unexpectedly, Athena was quite the chatterbox when it came to educational matters. She would pass him a book on a subject he was curious in and when he finished it in silence, she would ask him for his thoughts and they would discuss it together, providing him with reasonable and empirical insights from the one and only goddess of wisdom. It was enjoyable. However, when he was reading a scroll on the history of the expansion of the Hellenic realm, the two heard a screaming from downstairs. "ATHENA!!!!!!!" The scream was that of a man''s and they heard footsteps running rapidly and getting closer and closer to their floor. When he took a nce at Athena, she had a hand on her forehead, as if she was expecting this and was annoyed at it and the frown on her face brought life to her usually expressionless figure. When the sound of running stopped, the man who was screaming was right in front of them. He wore a full-body armour that looked to be made of brass and seemed sturdy and heavy and he had a red epaulette and a simrly vermillion cape draping down his body. The man then took off his strong-looking helmet and his facial features were shown. He had tanned skin, an extremely angr face that could cut stone and dark hair tied into a bun, and prating red eyes. He gave off the impression of a seasoned warrior and he looked short-tempered. "Athena, I need to help the Spartans in one of their wars against the Minos(1). I need a strategy, just this one time, pleeeeaaaaase...?" The man spoke quite loudly and pleading didn''t go well with his vibe. "Ares, It''s always ''just one more time''. Have you no shame?" Athena spoke with newfound annoyance in her voice and stated a familiar name. Ares, God of War. While Athena was also goddess of war, in the mythos, she was more attuned to military strategy and tactics than actual frontline wars while Ares was more into actual battle and killing. "My dearest Athena. I have found original scripts of books straight from the Far East and it would be such a shame to use them as waste paper, don''t you think?" Ares said with a smile in his face. "Ughh. Fine" Athena mumbled, short of breath. Ares looked satisfied and gave her some scrolls which seemed to contain general information about the war. Alex found it a bit funny andughed out loud, attracting the attention of Ares who previously didn''t give him a nce. "And....who''s this scrawny boy?" Ares asked with ridicule. ''Scrawny boy? huh? I now have some muscle definition! Who are you calling scrawny?'' Alex thought furiously to himself, although in reality, he really would be considered scrawnypared to Ares, but he wouldn''t admit it. "My son, Ares. He''s my son" Athena states while scribing down something on the scroll. ''Son? ah!'' Alex was a bit confused but remembered his official status in Olympus, as the son of Athena and a demi-god. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! Athena now has a son! Well, if you''re her son, then I suppose I can''t be going around calling you a scrawny boy? The name''s Ares, what''s yours,d?!" Ares asked him with slightly watered down ridicule this time. Alex frowned. "Alex. It''s Alex" "Oh, you remind me of thatd Alexander from Macedon. I''ll call you Alexander!" Ares now decided to call him Alexander, uncaring for his own feelings on the matter. Meanwhile, Athena finished her business and threw the scroll at Ares, ordering him "Now scram" "Thank you~~A-t-h-e-n-a. Goodbye, A-l-e-x-a-n-d-e-r" Ares said that then unexpectedly jumped out of a window on the wall, after which they heard a crashing sound. "I''m fine!!" They heard him scream. Athena shook her head in pity and then told him. "Alex, I have some business to attend to." It seemed she was telling him to leave. In traditional Athena fashion, she left for a higher floor without saying goodbye and he did the same, although he felt like having her actually tell him that she had something to do was big progress from when they first met. Alex therefore went back to Hermes'' ce, where he found Crista drowning in a sea of scrolls he wrote earlier. Heughed. "If life is going to be like this, then it won''t be so bad to stay here. If you hear me, Mother and Alexander, then I''m doing very well" Chapter 20 - To The Underworld? Once again, life turned mundane. He would spend his days with Crista, whom he now considered a close friend, and visit Athena when she invited him to her tower, which has be quite a regr urrence, sort of like he was going to school. Hermes, however, wasn''t able to visit as he was stuck in a ce with political turmoil, ording to his letters and it seemed they weren''t going to see each other anytime soon. While he was writing, he noticed he had no more ink. He also heard the sound of footsteps entering his room. It was Crista, with a light frown on her face and an expression that spelt something troublesome. "What''s the matter?" He asked her. "We ran out of scrolls, f***ing hell!" As she spoke, she hit the door with her fist. "Me too, but don''t take it out on my room!" Alex could see a small dent in his once intact door, his aestheticism made him sensitive to small changes, and he often got angry at such details. "Why, what are you going to do?" Crista looked at him with a provoking expression and bent her knees and put out her fists, seemingly in a fighting position. Alex also did the same, and she charged at him and they both struck out a fist at the other. And the battle ended with that fist, and the two ''opponents'' simultaneously stating with a surprised expression "Strong" They then bothughed and Alex rubbed his head and said "So? What are we going to do?" "I need to go down to Olep to purchase more scrolls. So troublesome!" She stated that, sighed heavily and then turned around and walked away. "I guess I''ll go with you?" Alex asked her. She turned to face and responded with a yful face "Then thest to get ready will be paying for everything" As soon as she said that, she sprinted to her room. ''What a cheater, she even got a head start!'' Alex thought frustratingly. But he wasn''t exactly at a disadvantage, essentially having a swiftness specialty. Hepleted his hygienic rituals, dressed himself and got his pouch. When he charged to the entrance of the estate, he didn''t find anyone, indicating that he won the context. "Phew!" Alex was relieved. Let''s just say the expenses incurred during his trip to Abdera didn''t leave much behind in his mary ownings... After a few seconds of just standing there, he heard a crashing sound and looked behind, to see that Crista jumped from the upper floor to the entrance hall and was looking at him both with a dejected and surprised expression. "I even ran so fast. No fair! You''re a god." She said with an annoyed expression, but she also mumbled while giggling to herself "To be fair, right now you would be a lesser god of the lesser gods though" Alex wasn''t going to back down, so he responded "And you''re a nymph, not even an immortal. Who is''t gives thee the right to speaketh to me in such a tone?!" He was emting a type of formal Greek that they read in this philosophy scroll. It became quite the insider joke amongst them as they mocked the fact that the author tried to back up his weak arguments with superfluousnguage to sound more noble. "Let''s stop with that joke, it''s bing a bit nd, like the food you make." Crista tried speaking the sentence in a serious tone but she cracked and startedughing out loud as soon as she finished it and put her hand to her chest as she could not stopughing. ''I''ll show her what''s nd!'' Alex thought resolutely to himself. The two then quit the estate and walked down the stairs, speaking about mundane matters and appeasing to the god of silence when there wasn''t much to speak about. And just like that, they reached the Central za of Olympus, signifying the start of his revenge n. These two really did feel like children around each other. Remembering the first time he came here, he had met Dionysus who showed him a rather peculiar way of climbing down the mountain range. Although in these 2 months the snow around the mountains has reduces a bit, there was still enough to make for a slippery ride down, and he was nning to do exactly that to Crista. Alex took the lead and hinted for her to follow him and they made their way to the steep snowy cliff. "You see, from this ce, you can see the entirety of Olep............" He started spouting some nonsense about the city to lower her guard, and she was nodding, unaware of what was going to happen. "By the way, Crista, nymphs don''t die easily, right?" Alex asked with a cunning smile in his mind. She looked at him incredulously and stated "What an odd question? That is, in fact, true. Nymphs boast the highest vitality among mortal beings, allowing us to maintain not only our youthful attributes for a very long time, but also heal from illness and injury very well" "If that''s the case, then don''t mind this!" Alex eximed and pushed her down the steep hill. Crista, feeling her body uncontrobly sliding down the hill at lightning-fast speed, turned around and red at him, mouthing something that Alex couldn''t hear. ''Anyways'' Alex shrugged and jumped too, albeit controlling his body and sliding down like he was riding a skateboard. Due to him controlling the trajectory and speed of his descent, he soon found himself next to Crista, who had nowhere near that level of control and was almost rag-dolling down the hill. When she saw him, she screamed with a hoarse voice "Bastard! I''m going to kill you!" Alex ignored her and said carelessly "Care to take my hand? I''ll show you how to go down!" She red at him with looks that could kill but she ended up putting her hand out, which Alex took and helped her stand up. Now, hand-in-hand, the two were sliding down and even though she still had a frown, her lips were slightly raised and she looked like she was simrly having fun. "You got the hang of it, now?" Alex questioned her. "F***ing YES!" She reminded him of the feeling one gets when driving a fast car, at least, what he supposed it would feel like, as he never got his driver''s license..... Crista now let go of his hand and despite being a bit unstable on her feet, she was barely able to bnce herself and keep her body upright. A few minutes following this, the two would feel the speed of their descent slowing as the steep ground turned tter and the snow started to dissipate, instead reced by woonds. When they stopped, the two looked at each other with glowing eyes and stood like that in silence, but when both realized they were staring at each other without saying anything, they each turned their eyes away anxiously, and she broke the awkward silence with an unusually weak tone. "U-umm, so that was...fun, but NEXT EFFING TIME, I''ll smite your soul if you take me by surprise like that" Nevermind, there was no weak tone whatsoever and it was just Crista being Crista. They then proceeded through the forest smoothly, meeting no Cyclope wolf monster this time, fortunately and advancing until they found themselves inside the dense metropolis, surrounded on all directions by brick-buildings. There was apparently a marketce to the north. Prior to that, however, he asked something that was on his mind since they left their estate. "Umm, Crista, do you have enough m-money?" Alex brought his own remaining coins with him in case. "Of course I do. Actually, I''ve be quite rich from the time of my adventures in the mortal realm back when I was young" She stated. He got a bit curious hearing that, but he didn''t probe any further. Nheless, she uncovered his curiosity and kept exining. "Basically, when that b*tchmitted genocide to my people, she had me officially be her attendant. However, as you might know, her evil powers usually don''t work on women, so she didn''t wish to have an attendant who could not only disobey her, but also one that held hatred towards her. That meant that I was effectively abandoned, but it didn''t bother me too much not to be around that f***ing b*tch, so I chose to travel the world instead. I became a traveling musician and trader, and in the almost 4 decades I''ve lived that lifestyle, I quietly umted a small fortune." Crista exined her life situation while they were walking towards the marketce, and she looked a bit strained when she was speaking about her sisters, to which Alex tried to dissuade her from continuing but she simply raised her hand to signify it was alright and resumed her speech. Alex also wanted to speak about himself, but he needed to use anguage which would beprehensible by a resident of this era. "In my home, since young, every child goes to an educational institute that they usually spend the years ranging from their childhood to the end of their adolescence in, learning educational matters, sort of like me going to Athena''s ce. And then when I finished it, funnily enough, to start earning money I needed to spend another few years in another kind of school, a harder school. Only then could you say that your life really started!" Using simplenguage to decipher his life, even he found it weird. "So you''re like the Spartans, but instead of learning about war and battle, you learn about books? Your home is a weird ce. You finish education...to do more education?" She seemed dumbfounded and looked to find it reallyical. "Ironic, isn''t it?" Alex shrugged and sighed, really perplexed at how he could have spent more than 90% of his current age in some sort of ''school''. Once again, the two had nothing much to speak about. They walked silently through the crowd and reached their destination, the city''s bazaar. It was extremely crowded and the bodies of the people shing against each other in the narrow alleys didn''t do much to help with the spring heat, making it hard to breathe. Strangely though, while Alex and Crista were advancing, they heard someone scream "Isn''t that Alex, the Nightmare yer?" All the while pointing at him. The crowd then parted to form a circle around the embarrassed Alex and they were whispering to each other. "Wait, are you famous?" Crista asked him, shocked at the sudden predicament they were in. Alex nodded and exined what was happening to her as they were being given incredible discounts by traders who were surrounding them. "If I knew this, I''d have killed a monster or two back then!" She mumbled to herself while clenching her fists. Alex was a bit embarrassed and stood still, as he didn''t quite appreciate being the center of attention. Fortunately though, Crista, being more extraverted than him, took the situation at hand and used that to their advantage by stating "Yes, it is in fact, him, the Nightmare yer. We havee in search for scrolls and materials of writing, if any of you can offer that." Alex was relieved and thanked his friend in his mind. The crowd was wondering amongst themselves but a middle-aged man entered the empty circle and took out an old-looking scroll and an inkstone from his pouch. He then started speaking eloquently "You have found the right one, Lord and Lady. This scroll was found in a tomb in Memphis, and was used by the gods of Egypt in the past. It is a truly special scroll and I am willing to sell it to you heroes for only 15 gold coins" Crista looked at the man with glowing eyes and listened to his exnation while nodding fervently and putting her hand on her pouch like she was ready to give up her life savings for this. Alex shook his head. This man was very clearly a seasoned salesman, as he used ttery, a so-called history and the allure of discounts to trap potential clients into buying defective products. Alex examined the ''scroll of the gods'' with his Item Appraisal and it was in fact, just an old scroll that would tear if the writing feather was even slightly sharp and the ink would soak the paper that was so old even the cellulose in it probably broke down. He shook his head and whispered his insights to Crista, who looked dejected but trusted his words and they advanced, going smoothly this time as the crowd parted to form a straight line for them. After searching for an hour or so they found a merchant who sold scrolls in rtively good quality in bulk and also writing ink. The two paid a portion of what they would have given if they were scammed and made their way back to the estate, with their bags now full and heavy. The hike up was a bit hard, but through cooperation they were able to make it in half the time it would take if they were alone. When he reached Hermes'' front za, Alex was expecting to enter home and call it a day, finishing this fun adventure but something...someone troublesome was in front of the door. Short-tempered, aggressive, unfunny and loud brutal warfare machine, fully d in heavy armour and holding a long spear in his hand, it was the God of War, Ares. ''What does he want?'' Through some research, he found that Ares'' personality wad fidel to his traits as the god of war and was equally barbaric and he dodn''t want to get involved with him "A-Alexander, you''re here" Ares was sweating a bit, and he used a tone that made it sound like they were old friends. He even called his name wrong. Alex frowned and looked at him, questioningly. Ares then copsed to the ground and stated anxiously "I know you have Dionysus'' letter. Can you g-go to the Underworld for me!?" ''What'' Alex was surprised, and hinted at the man to start from the beginning. "I need you go to the Underworld to get me Achilles, I need strong heroes for the fight against Minos. The Minotaur is on their side and a strategy won''t be enough to defeat that monster" "Why can''t you go yourself?" Alex asked with a frustrated tone. "I have made Thanatos, God of death, really busy and if he happens to see me, I''ll be dead meat. And...It would be very hard for me to enter the Underworld, as I don''t have any affiliation to any of the Chthonic gods." "Weren''t you on the enemy side of Achilles in the Trojan War, where he died? Why would he help you?" After his countless hours of research with Athena, he had a grasp of most historical events. "Even though we were enemies. Achilles is a warrior at heart, if he gets the chance to be trained by the one and only God of war, then he will forget about the past, no problem..." His arguments were really shaky and relied solely on his status as a god. "That aside, why should I waste this precious letter on your own responsibilities?" He asked him bluntly. Crista, who was to his side listening to their exchange, was only holding back herughter due to Ares being a major god of Olympus and kept tugging at his shoulder. Ares, who was only prideful when he is in a position of strength, and turns subservient when he asks for something, looked just about ready to tear up but Alex wasn''t in the mood to see the crocodile tears of a murder machine. "If I ept, then I will get 2 requests to ask of you, is that fine by you?" He formted it like a question but it was actually a really reasonable deal. Ares nodded fervently and as if to avoid Alex changing his mind, he screamed "DEAL" and ran off at a fast speed. ''So embarrassing'' Alex thought Crista was on the floor,ughing like a madwoman at what just transpired. By the time she stood up, she stated with a sly smile "Well, since you intruded on my peaceful visit to the city, I suppose I''ll f***ing intrude on your peaceful visit to the Underworld, heh?" ''Visiting the Underworld with Crista? Sounds fun, sign me in'' Alex bemused to himself. He knew the real reason she''d want to go along with him but nevertheless, he knew this would be a memorable journey. And so, Alex was now on track to visit the Hellend of the dead, the Underworld. Chapter 21 - Hades, Divine Necromancer When Ares was no longer in sight, Alex and Crista discussed what belongings they were going to pack for this trip and he asked her to wait for him as he needed to do something before they made their way to thend of the dead. Before that, however, he kept pestering and pestering her "Crista, no matter what, never eat the pomegranate seeds of the Underworld." Through some of his research, he discovered that the pomegranates from there would bind you to the realm upon consuming them, which is how Persephone had to spend a part of the year in the Underworld after eating the pomegranate seeds that Hades offered her. He was once again surprised at the Greek deities and their morals, forming borate abduction ns for the sake of marriage. Alex shrugged, he would not get used to it but at least he didn''t have people whomitted these acts in his entourage, and he was fine staying an unknown figure in Olympus, as he was leading a happy lifestyle he wouldn''t trade for much else in THIS world. He wasn''t surprised that he wasn''t visited by the bigshots of Olympus despite being Athena''s child. After all, if Zeus had to visit every rtive of his, he wouldn''t have the time to be King of the Gods. His current destination was also, in fact, to visit someone of that close entourage of his. His mentor and friend and ''mother'', Athena. He thought he should probably tell her that he wouldn''t be here for, hopefully, a short while. He thus walked in the now-familiar direction of her abode and hence found himself in front of the tower he now spent so many of his days in. Athena usually left the gates to her tower open as there wasn''t really anyone who would dare barge in her residence and also so he could enter easily. It was more of a ''friendship'' act however as her attendants could just open the gates whenever he''s here but leaving the door open at all times was like stating that he was wee toe anytime. Athena was not someone who was explicit about how she felt about people but she usually left small details like these to implicitly make a person she appreciated feelfortable. Alex entered the tower and asked the anxious-as-usual attendants about her whereabouts and they led him to a floor that had an armoury and a empty ring in the center. Athena looked different than usual. Instead of the schrly robe she generally wore, she was rather d in a light full-body golden armour and had an owl-shaped helmet covering her head and hair. She was performing some movements with a shield in her hand. Whenever Alex saw that shield, his blood would boil from how beautiful and noble it was. The shield was a golden colour and despite having a variety of shiny and matte finishes, it wasn''t superfluous and the level of detail offered to the face of the Medusa in the center was marvelous, as if the entire shield coulde to life. It was the Shield of Aegis, famous weapon of Athena. It was truly the ultimate shield that could both break the strongest spear and defend itself from the strongest hammer. It was also said to be extremely heavy and none but the major gods, with their superhuman strength, could lift it and among those, only Zeus and Athena could perform so wonderfully with it. She was moving the heavy shield as if it was made of aluminum, and her cement of the shield in various defensive and offensive poses looked like an art. Only the goddess of war could make throwing a shield around so picturesque. Speaking of pictures, he hoped to be able to make his camera when hees back from the Underworld, as he has many, many things he would like to remember. By now, Athena had obviously detected his presence and she stopped her movements and put down the shield, ''put down'' of course meaning she almost caused an earthquake. She wasn''t too fond of greetings as well as goodbyes so he cut to the chase "Athena, I''m going to go the Underworld for a bit. I came to tell you this" Athena removed the helmet from her head, exposing her cold face and simply asked "Ares?" ''How did she know?'' Alex was surprised she guessed it almost immediately and looked at her, bewildered. "The letter from Dionysus was sticking out of your pouch. You were practically begging for people to see it." She simply stated. His face flushed with embarrassment. It was true. If the letter hadn''t shown then he wouldn''t have to deal with the troublesome god of war, and her using an unusually high amount of words to tell him that he was dumb really hurt. Knowing her, she was probably smiling on the interior, ridiculing him for hisck of caution. ''Whatever'' With this out of the way, he could go back and get ready to start the journey so he turned around and walked away, but he heard Athena''s cold voice echoing "The eclipse is in 2 weeks, make it back by then. And bring Hermes and your attendant, if you wish." This was....surprising. He turned around to face her and although her eyes were still that very same bottomless pit, her lips were very slightly raised, shaping into a slight smile. It was probably the biggest show of positive emotion he''s ever seen in her. He therefore did the same, and suddenly it felt a bit sad going away. He''d be with Crista, sure, but Athena and Hermes also became rather close friends of his, and he wouldn''t see them for a while now... Alex left the tower feeling a bit nostalgic and went back to his ce, where he found Crista waiting for him on the front porch, and some of his sadness subsided as he saw the person he''s spent 24 hours of his days here with. She packed her ''belongings'' which were just an amount of scrolls she hadn''t read yet and few change of clothes. He simrly did not have much to pack as he only brought some writing materials, some clothes and the most important, the letter from Dionysus. Crista looked a bit nervous, and for good reason. When she proposed going with him, he wasn''t so inclined to believe that she woulde with him to the literal Underworld just for his presence, they weren''t at that level of closeness. It was most probably so she could check up on her sisters, who were most likely residing somewhere in the Underworld. He put his hand on her shoulders and told her that it would be fine. He doesn''t know too much about how souls are guided to thend of the dead but he was pretty sure nymphs whom were unfairly killed wouldn''t be tortured in the depths of Tartarus, the deepest hell of the Underworld. He was also feeling his fair bit of anxiety, as he didn''t know what to expect... But he put up his shoulders and resolved to himself that it would go well. Thest time he used the letter, he had to awkwardly scream to the Styx River and he knew he wouldn''t see the end of the bad jokes about it if Crista heard him. ''Ughh...'' Alex shrugged as he was conflicted with apprehension. ''Here goes nothing'' "Styx River!" Alex screamed to the air with the letter in his hand. Crista was staring at him with raised eyebrows and slightly inted cheeks, curious at the sight in front of her. ordingly, the blood river spilled out of the ground and the familiar boat was headed to their way. At least it did work, as he couldn''t imagine the humiliation if he just stood there in silence as he screamed like a child. The devil(literally) in question was making his way to them, on his small boat paddling with the scythe. Crista didn''t seem the least bit surprised, though. "It''s not the first time I''ve seen Charon. Usually, when someone who has sinned too much dies, Charon personally attends to collecting their soul and take them straight to the depths of the Underworld" She stated as an exnation. Now, the ghastly figure of the stygian boatman was right in front of them and he stood in silence. "Ummm, hello, Charon. We need you to take us to the estate of the King of the Underworld." Before leaving, Ares did the bare minimum and informed him of Achille''s location, as an attendant in the House of Hades. Charon stared at him for a few seconds then pointed with his finger to the boat, hinting at them to get in. The two stared at each other then reluctantly stepped on the surprisingly stable boat. As if hepleted a transaction, Alex looked to the letter in his hand, and the letters on it were fading from view and turned into short sparks then dissipated into the air. He presumed it meant that he could no longer use it. It was quite unfortunate as it was incredibly useful but he couldn''t feel dejected now as he consciously chose to use the letters and whether he wasted it or not would be for the future Alex to conclude. Then as if to take him out of his trance, Charon started paddling and strangely, the surroundings turned dark and bright again but before he could take sight of the Underworld, he felt his vision darken, his body turn heavy and he copsed, and the same happened to Crista. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Back in front of Hermes'' ce, the boat and river disappeared like they were never there but a few minutester, a winged figure wouldnd in front of the mansion. "Alexei-boy, I''m back! I brought the things you wanted! huh?" If he was here, Alex would recognize the man as his friend and god, Hermes. The god in question looked puzzled and was speaking to himself. "Alexei-boy is not here, and...Charon was here? Interesting!" He looked intrigued and kept on with his monologue before entering his house. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Alex woke up on the boat, and sluggishly moved his body around and then nced at his surroundings. They were inside a temple of sorts and there was a red river flowing as far as he could see, but the boat was anchored on a tform that led to 2rge gates. On the boat, Charon was staring at him with ming eye sockets and Crista was still copsed. Recently, Alex discovered that he could equally induce wakefulness in people, as well as putting them to sleep. He casted his ability on Crista, who''s eyshes started fluttering and her eyes opened, revealing her irises and deep pupils. She looked at him quietly before she stood up and simrly to him, examined the location they were in. "Where the f**k are we though?" Some things never change, no matter how awake someone is... Alex supposed they were in the House of Hades but he also had a pressing question. "Umm, Charon? You''re going to take us back up when we finish, right?" Alex asked with a strained smile on his face. He had a bad premonition. Charon stared at him then pointed with his long and skeletal fingers to the now-empty letter. He was right. The letter would no longer help and they''d have to find a way out of the Underworld, thend from which only Orpheus has ever left(then went back to, eternally the second time) Crista, meanwhile, was looking at him with disappointment, but surprisingly, instead of cursing out, she calmly said "We''d better move the f**k around to figure out how we''ll get out of here, smart boy." Alex felt a bit embarrassed but he nodded vigorously and the two left the boat,nding their bodies on the stone tform. The boatman Charon then started paddling away and when he thanked him for the ride he only responded with a hoarse-sounding groan. ''Now what?'' There were only two gates in front of them, and he wanted to proceed with caution, Crista straight-up knocked loudly on the gates. After a dozen minutes of silence, after they almost gave up waiting, one of the gates opened and a young-looking woman greeted their view. "Who is it that wishes to enter the House of Ha-... Crista?!" The woman screamed out thest part of her sentence when she saw Crista. Alex looked at Crista and she had an equally bewildered reaction and her eyes were red. "na...It''s you...." Crista put her hand on the taller woman''s face and spoke fervently. "Crista....What are you doing here? Did...the witch kill you too?" "No, na. I''m here on a mission. I''m still alive, and....you look well" She said passionately. "Well, you could say that. The nymphs have had a better life without the oppression of the witch on our species...." ''na'' spoke in a bittersweet tone. "I''m....happy that that is the case. I have so much things to tell you" Crista went in a for a hug and na reciprocated. Elena, from her point of view, then looked at me and asked Crista "And, who is this?" "Alex. I''m kind of his attendant but I''d like to think of us more as friends" She responded. "It''s great that you''ve made friends...Now,e in" The two stopped hugging and na hinted at us to follow her but she then turned around and looked at us with a scary expression "Oh. And, don''t you ever eat any pomegranate!" Crista, who was now by my side, turned around to look at me then giggled. She then said "That''s na. She''s my older sister" Alex nodded and the two followed the nymph inside, and Crista inquired "And, what have you been doing here?" na responded as we were walking down an ornamented corridor "Well, we''re part of the Nymph Chorale. We''re essentially the House of Hades'' orchestra group." Crista was listening attentively and kept asking questions "And does he treat you well? The King of the Underworld?" na fell into deep thought and lightly nodded "When our Queen is here, He treats us extremely well. When She goes back to Her mother, Lady Demeter for the rest of the year, let''s just say....He can be prone to anger problems" Crista nodded. ''They must be speaking of Persephone and Hades, I suppose'' Alex thought to himself. And when silence descended, na gave a prayer to the god and goddess of silence and they made their way silently through the seemingly infinite corridor. After walking for god-knows-how-long they found themselves in front of another gate, which was swiftly opened and they found themselves in an opulent and crowded corridor. "This is the outer part of the House. When our King is not around, the rules are quite rxed and sometimes the dead from Asphodel and Elysiume to hang out here. The inner part of the House, however, is restricted to attendants and people who have an audience with our King, such as you" As they walked through the unexpectedly vibrant hall of the outer House, a lot of the people would greet na and it seems she was quite liked here and seldom they would meet another nymph with whom Crista would have a heartfelt reunion. Speaking of the people here, some of them had ghostly feature while others maintained physical form. When he asked na about it, she informed him that souls that inhabit Asphodel, the equivalent of limbo, would be ghost-like creatures while the souls that were sent to Elysium, the equivalent of heaven, would maintain their appearance and body from their youth. na then led them to a waiting hall that had less people than the one from earlier and they entered through an antechamber, where they found strong-looking guards and no one was walking around. "This is the inner House. It contains the personal chambers of our King and Queen, Their throne room, and the living quarters of some of the Chthonic gods." The two nodded and kept on following na, who said she was leading them to the throne room, where they would meet the master of this domain, Hades. The inner house was arranged in a square shape, with the throne room and personal chamber upying the entire center of the structure, while the other facilities dotted the doors of the four corridors. After introducing them to the whole ce, she stopped in her tracks in front of a door that had a creepy taxidermic tiger face on its front, and it was guarded by two men who are lesser gods, ording to na. She then knocked, and soon enough, they heard the deepest voice they could imagine ordering her in a loud tone "ENTER" na then entered then hinted at them to remain in the front and it seemed she was speaking to Hades. A few momentster she came back and asked them to enter, which they did. The throne room had very simple decoration, and in the other side of it was a throne that was sat on by a gargantuan figure that they came here for. The two then heard the voice of Hades ringing out in an impatient tone. "Who is it? Who are the living that DARE to infringe on MY domain of the dead!?" This was probably going to be a hard mission, the two thought simultaneously... Chapter 22 - Beating Death The man sitting on the throne room ought to be the master of this domain, son of the titans Cronus and Rhea, the King of the Underworld, Hades. The man in question seemed to be well over 3 meters tall, and even in his current sitting position, he couldn''t hide his towering stature that intimidated anyone who woulde near him. On top of that, his muscr physique was reminiscent of a bodybuilder and made Alex look thin inparison. Hades was a fearsome man and god, ruling over the dead with an iron fist along with his wife, Queen of the Underworld, Persephone. Right now, he had his fist on his forehead and he looked to have a deep frown in between his thick and dark eyebrows. The man''s piercing ck eyes haven''t even gone far up as to give Alex and Crista a nce, as if he didn''t consider them important enough for his line of sight. Alex felt hurt, but he nevertheless decided to stand up and take the lead this time, nning to use his connections to curry some favour. "King of the Underworld, I am of the name Alex and havee here as Athena''s son and a demi-god of Mount Olympus. I havee here representing the God of War, Ares. On my right is my attendant, Crista." He took on a formal tone he didn''t usually use, however considering how angry the man looked, he didn''t want to ruin his mission just yet by using impolite speech. Upon hearing his words, as if stricken by lightning, he elevated his intimidating eyes and matched them with Alex''s own eyeline, making the two stare at each other. Hades then stood up abruptly and paced around the room in slow steps while murmuring something to himself. He looked even taller and more intimidating standing up, worthy of a direct descendant of a titan. After a few dozen seconds of the man whispering an unintelligible monologue to himself, he turned to face Alex and asked in a furious tone "So, Olympus takes my Queen for 3 quarters of the year, and now, they sent my grand-nephew here to stir up some more trouble on the behalf of a psychotic warrior?!" Alex couldn''t exactly give any answer so he turned to na, who had her face lowered and a hand on her face, though from the small distance that split them apart, he could see her mouthing something along the lines of "Don''t mind Him. He acts like this whenever the Queen is not here" He also found it unreasonable, as in most variations of the myths, he was the person who abducted Persephone down here, and her agreement was often glossed over. Alex would have to get further insight into the rtionship between the two rulers of the Underworld before making a judgment. He thus calmed down his injustice-hating heart and responded to the man "King. I am here to bring the great hero Achilles to the surface with me, and have no thoughts of stirring some trouble in Your realm" Hades, who was now fidgeting with his hands, approached Alex in slow steps, and he stopped when the two had only two steps of distance separating them. Alex, who held an above-average height and Crista, who was about as tall as him. The two, who normally wouldn''t blend into a crowd, felt like small children in front of a beast. Hades had long ck hair reaching to his waist and a thick beard making his wrinkle-free face look more aged. Most importantly, however, his ck eyes were staring at Alex coldly and he looked to be one move away from attacking him. "I suppose we''re family then, huh? Well, how is the surface?" Speaking in an unusually calm tone, Hades red at him and crossed his muscr arms. ''The surface? What kind of question is tha-'' Alex''s thoughts were interrupted by the screams of the god in front of him. "Answer me!" He couldn''t help it, so he answered meekly "Well, i-it''s....green." "Green? and?" Hades went back to the cold and calm tone from earlier. "S-sunny, yes! Sunny!" He responded anxiously. "Green....and sunny?" Hades looked abnormally vexed by Alex''s simple words. He then proceeded to step back and started walking anxiously around the throne room. "What is he doing?" Crista whispered to me. This time, he was murmuring to himself in an intelligible level of sound, and Alex could distinguish what he was saying. "It''s green and sunny? That''s what my Queen likes!" "What if she likes it too much and doesn''t want toe back?" "What if she''s sad every time she has toe back.....and never talks to me again...?" For someone who abducted his wife into marriage, he looked unusually caring of her feelings. Actually, a bit paranoid. It didn''t much fit the image of a god, even more-so that of a monarch of the dead. The paranoia-stricken god then shifted his line of sight to na, who looked to be used to this current predicament and said weakly, with his hands shaking "na, bring Thanatos here." na, who was bowing deeply, stood up, nodded and left the room, leaving two outsiders and an anxious king. Subsequently, Elena came back a few minutester with a unknown man who he presumed to be Thanatos. From some of his research, Thanatos should be one of the most prominent Chthonic gods, being an incarnate of death. Thanatos''s appearance was loyal to his traits. The god looked pale,cking any sort of colour to his white face and he always had his eyes closed, reminiscent of the tradition of closing the eyes of a dead person. He wore a ck and grey toga that only covered his genital areas and part of his torso, showing the atrophied muscles(1) on his body, equally simr to a deceased person. He was carrying a scythe in his hand that looked exactly the same as the one Charon, which meant that considering his status, Charon''s scythe was probably a replica of this one. Elena, who entered the room following Thanatos, bowed to Hades, who finally stopped in his tracks and greeted the iing god with a slight raise of his hand. Thanatos nodded his head and turned to Alex, seemingly being able to see or detect him without opening his eyes, proceeding to speak in a deep and raspy voice "You must be Alex. I have heard you wish to take one of ours back to the surface." "Yes, Sir Thanatos. I havee here for that exact purpose." Alex stated. Thanatos nodded and then turned around to na, looking at her as if he was waiting for something. na nodded to him and turned around to face the two, then said "Lord Thanatos doesn''t like to speak too much. He wants to tell you that you need to beat him once if you want to take back Achilles." ''Beating death? That sounds like a hard task. Alex fell into thought. Thanatos looked quite strong and he feared that if they fought, his deathly powers would hurt Crista, who is mortal. It was a puzzling dilemma but he would much rather fail the mission than risk hurting a close friend of his. This dilemma would, however, be resolved by Crista who whispered something into his ear "Alex, think outside of the box. They didn''t specify that it would have to be a fight." That was an excellent proposal, as hemended Crista''s intellect and ability to think in challenging situations and whispered ''Thank you'' to her ear in response. "Does it have to be a physical fight?" Alex asked Thanatos. The god seemed to fall into thought but he then shook his head, indicating that it was a sess for Alex. Now, woulde the real thinking. ''What game or challenge could I beat him in? I am specialized in swiftness, but I''m not sure 1 Essence is enough to be swifter than most gods.'' Alex omitted the idea of racing him. ''A strength-oriented challenge would be a lost cause for me'' ''Bingo! What about an intellect and luck-based game from my world?'' Alex knew exactly the game he could challenge Thanatos to. It was a famous game for all ages back in his world where luck reigned but more knowledge about the game still grants yers an advantage. He called out to na and whispered the rules of the game to her ear, as she frowned in surprise and shed him a questioning expression but still transmitted the information to Thanatos. Thetter would show a hint of confusion on his face following the information he received but he nodded. Alex began a countdown out loud for the start of the game. 3... 2... 1... Game begin! The two men held out their arms and made various symbols with their hands. Thanatos formed a stone with his fist. Alex formed a scissor. That''s right, they were ying a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors and the winner would win upon achieving victory in 3 rounds. Right now, however, Alex was on the losing side and the score was 1-0 for Thanatos. They proceeded to begin the second round. 3...2...1... This time, though, the results were different. Thanatos still went with stone and Alex used paper, winning this round. They continued this way until the score was tilted in Alex''s favour at 2-1 and one win would be enough to conclude the game. 3...2...1... It was a tie! The two gods shed scissors and this round was therefore voided. 3...2...1... Alex opened his eyes slowly, afraid of the results but he sighed a sigh of relief when he saw the results. Thanatos had went with paper and he went with scissors, meaning the final score was 3-1 for Alex and he won this game,pleting his primary mission in the Underworld. He then heard the dry voice of Thanatos saying dejectedly "I....lost..." His gloats were however interrupted by a high-pitched and unknown female voice "Nyx, I told you something interesting was happening" This was then followed by another female voice that sounded muffled and deep "Yes, Goddess." Alex wanted to turn around to see the guests but Thanatos did so earlier and he looked very surprised as he eximed in the liveliest voice he could muster "My Queen, and.....Mother?" ''The Queen of the Underworld'' That had to be the person he was thinking of. The Goddess of Life and the harvest, wife of Hades and ruler to the domain of the dead, Persephone. Chapter 23 - Underworld Vacation The goddess, who along with her mother Demeter, was the idol of the most mysterious cult of Ancient Greece, the Eleusinian Mysteries. Persephone was now in front of him, and he could observe her features. She had a dark skin tone and piercing green eyes that seldom seemed to reflect a verdant garden. Her short hair reached to the upper part of her neck and was slightly curly. As for her clothing, Persephone wore a dark beige dress and on her hair was adorned a crown made of golden strands of wheat. Her lips were lightly raised, forming a light smile. The smile lines dotting her otherwise ageless face indicated such a smile was default to her expression. Overall, she gave off a lively impression and she exuded confidence and bravery. She looked like someone who was both respected and loved, and she reminded him of a certain princess from his world that unfortunately, met a tragic end... And respect Persephone, they sure did. Everyone in the throne room except for Alex, Crista and Hades were bowing down and eximing "Deepest wee to our Queen!" Hades looked listless and unreactive, as if his GPU suddenly overheated. As for Alex, he had diverted his attention from Persephone to the woman following behind her. She was extremely tall, about the same height as Hades. She was wearing a thin veil that hid her facial features and wore a ck robe patterned with stars that made it look like there was a night sky draping down her body. The most special thing about her, however, was her presence. If Alex didn''t concentrate his eyesight on the exact spot she was standing, she would fade from sight and he wouldn''t be able to detect her anymore, as if she didn''t exist at all. ''Who is she?'' Alex was wondering about the origins of the woman but he wouldn''t be able to fall into thought as he felt a rush of air passing by him. It was the gigantic figure of Hades, who sprinted at an unbelievable speed towards Persephone, covering the wide throne room in an instant. "My Queen, you are.....here" By now, Hades was kneeled down in front of her(he was still taller than her though) and was speaking in a deep and mncholic tone. "Hades, stop calling me that. I am very well here, in flesh and bone. Well, as far as flesh and bone go in thend of the dead, I guess." Persephone''s lively voice answered with frustration. She then continued speaking "I was alerted that there were not one, but two living beings that entered our realm and I wasn''t going to let this one-of-a-kind event pass while I was trapped in my mother''s boring house so I.....snuck out and came here with Nyx." Persephone turned around to the woman as she was speaking, and he assumed the woman was called Nyx. ''Nyx'' was a vaguely familiar name to Alex. There wasn''t much information about her at all in Athena''s studies but it was known she was Night Incarnate and the most prominent of the Chthonic goddesses. While he was recouping the limited information he had on Nyx and processing it, he heard the voice of Crista whispering to him "Who is she talking to?" She was speaking about Persephone. Alex was puzzled, and answered with a murmur "You can''t see Nyx?" Crista looked at him dumbfounded, and na noticed their quiet conversation and jumped in, scaring the two and turning the duo''s gossiping into a trio''s gossiping. She asked "What are you two up to?" Alex responded with another question "Isn''t there a woman behind the Queen? Am I hallucinating?" na mouthed an ''Oh'' in realization and answered him "That''s Mother Nyx. She''s not actually our mother but we all call her that. Mortals can''t see her or feel her presence at all and she can only interact with us through telepathy." He nodded and thanked her. While the three were engaged in a discussion, the two rulers of the Underworld were acting all lovey-dovey with each other and it seemed it wouldn''t be over anytime soon. Thanatos, who seemed to have recovered from his earlier loss, was now in front of Nyx and they were both silent, which he wouldn''t have understood if he didn''t know Nyx usuallymunicated through telepathy. After a few uneventful minutes, Thanatos turned to face Alex, nodded in goodbye and left the throne room. While na and Crista were speaking, Alex heard a voice in his head and jumped out of fright. ''Do not be afraid, child.'' The voice sounded muffled and distant. ''That helps very much.'' Hearing voices in your head can be a symptom of psychosis. Can gods get psychosis, anyways? But then he remembered that this could be a form of telepathy and he looked to where Nyw was, focusing his sight on her and he could vaguely see her facing his exact direction. ''I am Nyx, child.'' Alex nodded and answered ''I am Alex, why do you wish to speak with me....Nyx?'' It felt a bit weird speaking in his head but he felt like he got the hang of it. At least he knew he wasn''t going crazy. ''I know who you are, child. I also know you are not of this world.'' Her voice rang out in his head. Alex was rmed. Right now, the only people who are supposed to know he''s not from this ce are Hermes, Athena and....Aphrodite. ''And then? Does Nyx wish to eliminate me because of it?'' He forgot he was engaging in telepathy with Nyx, putting his thoughts on disy. ''Child, I do not wish to hurt you. I sense you harbour no malicious intent to this universe and have been sent here not of your own volition.'' He was relieved, but he still wanted to know something. ''Howe you know of it?'' He asked ''The Three Fates, my daughters, have informed me of your existence ever since your arrival here. You are the only being whose fate they could not decipher. When I felt an abnormal presence in this realm that my daughters have not told me of, I have realized it would be you.'' The Three Fates. They are 3 daughters of Nyx who weave the thread of fate of every single thing in this world, and their powers failed to work on Alex, supposedly because he''s from another world. He nodded. Nyx looked trustworthy and responsible and he wouldn''t have been able to hide it from her anyways but there was still just one problem. ''If possible, could you keep this for yourself?'' Alex asked her. He didn''t want to attract trouble on himself by publicizing his reincarnation story and the fewer people that knew, the better. As expected, Nyx seemed to nod and her voice rang out again in his skull ''Of course, child. You are an enigmatic being and I would please forming an acquaintanceship with you and guide you, if ever, youe down to this realm again. Would you perhaps share this sentiment?'' Alex responded with a ''yes''. It wouldn''t be unfavourable to form alliances with more strong gods, as he already shared enmity with a major goddess, Aphrodite and he would be hard-pressed if he was suddenly ambushed by her schemes. ''That is it then, child. Goodbye.'' He heard her voice for the final time before he could no longer perceive her in the throne room even if he concentrated. Nyx was gone. "Alex, why are you so spaced out? Come back to Earth, or, the Underworld, heh!" Crista''s voice woke him up from his trance and he smiled at her. Following that they heard the voice of Persephone "Now, Hades. Put me down." Due to their drastic height difference and Hades'' strength, he was hugging Persephone at eye-level, and her feet barely reached his waist. The god obeyed her and put her back down, upon which she eximed in surprise "Nyx went away!" She then shrugged and turned around to face them and said to them with a smile "Hello, you two. I am Persephone, Queen of this realm. You should be Alex....and you?" "Crista, I am Crista" She presented herself confidently. "Crista, you are beautiful! The nymphs have been extremely kind and have helped Hades and I in ruling the Underworld immensely and your musical abilities are divine! You are much more than wee here!" Crista blushed and took a step back, and na put an arm around her shoulders and shed a smile at her. Persephone then looked back at Alex, who was feeling a bit left out, and said "You''re my husband''s grand-nephew so I suppose that makes us family. You are wee here too." "Thank you, Queen." Alex said. "Hades told me you beat Thanatos and want to go back to the surface with Achilles. That''s an excellent achievement. Is Charon bringing you back up?" She asked him. Crista jumped out and responded on Alex''s behalf "We made a careless mistake and now we need to find another way out." Persephone raised her eyebrows and fell into thought, after which she proceeded to tell them excitedly "You can break out of here too! You''ll just have to climb through Tartarus, Asphodel and Elysium before fighting Cerberus and leaving the Underworld." She said it very casually, like breaking out of 3 realms and fighting the infamous three-headed dog was a daily and mundane chore. "Why are you two looking at me like that? You''ll have Achilles with you, breaking out of here will be as easy as opening a pomegranate." Persephone stated. Crista anxiously said while rubbing her head "I s-suppose?" "That''s it, then! Don''t leave now though! Spend a few days here first!" She resumed and then red at them scarily and ordered coldly "Never eat the pomegranate seeds." He wanted to tell her that he knew of it beforehand, but he kept his mouth shut. ''I''m fine with staying here. What about....?'' Alex turned to Crista and she was speaking to na with bright eyes and a smile on her face. "We''ll be staying here then. We won''t be overstaying our wee." He told Persephone. Chapter 24 - The Beginning Of My Deathly(Daily) Life Persephone turned to Hades to inquire his opinion on the matter. Hades answered her reluctantly "I''ll...let it pass this time. I just can''t have Olympians enter my domain whenever they see fit in the future..." "That''s dealt with then! Have you seen the entirety of the facilities of the House?" She asked them. Prior toing here, they were indeed guided by na and explored most of the House but there was still much left to see so he shook his head. "Then, can I show you how this ce works?!" Persephone demanded excitedly. Alex was fine with it, but Crista seemed to want to stay with her sisters and rubbed her head, as she felt conflicted since the person asking them wasn''t the average mortal or even goddess, but Persephone herself. She was fidgeting and opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. "Queen, if I may ask, can Crista stay with the nymphs?" Alex took the lead on behalf of her. "Of course! I suppose you have much to catch up to with your sisters? Don''t be so formal and stiff around me! We''re both women, and we seem to have a lot inmon, let''s get along in the future, cutie, alright?" Persephone stated with a bright smile while facing Crista. Upon hearing her words, Crista blushed and nodded repeatedly. "Thank you, Queen." She thanked her honestly. "Call me Persephone!" She eximed in response. "P-Persep-phone" Crista stuttered a bit but clearly now felt morefortable around the former. Alex thought it would be extremely helpful for Crista to have a mentor figure like Persephone. Thetter had simr personality traits to her and she was even the ruler of one of three realms. He hoped they would get along much in the future. "Now then, na, take care of Crista and show her around, will you?" Persephone calmly spoke to na, who nodded fervently and turned to face her younger sister with a smile that the two shared. Crista, who was surrounded by both her family and friends, was smiling from ear to ear and Alex felt happy for her as he knew the feeling of reuniting with your family, and he felt bittersweet at the same time as he probably wouldn''t experience that anymore. The night he had a dream about them, he promised to himself as he looked to the sky ''I swear that I will remember your faces, your voices and everything we''ve shared. Mom, you''ve made me who I am and Alexander, you were the best brother I could ask for.'' There were no stars in the Underworld, or a sky for that matter, but he would keep his promise. Alex was woken up of his nostalgia moment by none other than Hades "Grand-nephew, would you please speed up? I, King of this domain, have much to attend to and will not babysit you, even at the demand of My Queen." His face flushed in bashfulness. He''s been spacing out a lot these past few days. Persephone then also told him "We''re going to the Outer House''s meeting room, we have certain duties to attend to. Would you like to see how our administration works? Not to brag, but we''re ruling this realm far better than any of you Olympians rule the Earth." ''How they administer the Underworld? Sounds interesting'' Thought Alex as he nodded and omitted thest sentence she said to divert the damage from his thin skin. He bid his goodbyes to Crista and left the throne room along with the two rulers. As they were walking towards the direction of the Outer House, however, Persephone whispered something to his ear "Can you take a lead over us and tell the souls in the Outer House to leave the ce as Hades ising? He doesn''t really know souls hang out in the House and he can be a bit strict when ites to these kinds of things." He nodded, and under the intimidating re of Hades, he advanced at lightning speed towards the exit of the Inner House and left the opulent halls, entering the lively Outer House. There were ''people'' everywhere and they all engaged in various activities, though most of them were just talking and gossiping. "I heard that na regrly goes to Achille''s living quarters for ''musical practice'', could there be something between them????" "The Queen apparently snuck out of Olympus toe here???" "There are allegedly two living beings that entered the House of Hades???" He heard some senseless gossip, and some true events, showing the plurality of news and people''s curious nature even after death. This hall was the most crowded of them all, so he cupped his hands to his mouth to amplify his voice and screamed "Hades is on his way to here!" As if he screamed ''fire'' in a crowded theater, chaos immediately surged in the hall as the people all ran towards one of the corridors and dispersed. "Hehehe" Alex giggled. It was a veryical scene, with both human figures and ghosts pushing each other and causing a stampede in the wide hall. Afterwards, the once chaotic hall quieted down and only a few ''people'' were left, who informed him that they were here to meet up with Hades and Persephone, who by coincidence, simrly entered the hall at the same time. Seeing the almost empty Outer House, Persephone winked at him and they proceeded to walk towards the meeting room. They reached their destination shortly and entered the ce. It was surprisingly small and minimalistic in decoration, having a giant desk in the center and twofortable-looking chairs adjusted to the height of each of the two monarchs. The two sat down and brought out a small chair for him to sit on, and he thanked them and sat down. The three then heard a knock and the regal voice of Hades rang out "ENTER" The door was then opened and beyond it he could see a ghost-like figure, meaning they were from Asphodel, entering. "Greetings, My King and Queen and...." The ghost greeted the two and turned to me, confused. I just waved to tell them there was no need and they resumed. "I wish to build an herb shop on this spot in Asphodel. Humbly, here are the exact coordinates" The ghost advanced towards the desk and put a piece of paper down on the desk, which Hades grasped and then looked at. Alex had many questions but he would leave them forter. The god then simply stated coldly "REFUSED" The ghost looked confused but it seemed like he didn''t want to speak out his thoughts as he just turned around. However, Persephone''s voice then asked "Do you wish to know why it was refused?" The ghost turned back to face them and nodded weakly. "Lately, the avable plots ofnd in Asphodel have been reduced and we can only ept proposals for more innovative projects if we don''t want to run out ofnd" It was concise and simple, so the ghost thanked them and then left the premises. "Why would there be an herb shop in Asphodel? or plots ofnd? Isn''t this just the Underworld?" Alex had this question ever since the ghost came by and voiced out his inquiry. Persephone answered him "It was a surprising development for us too. Originally, in Asphodel, there is a form of currency that allowed you to exchange for food and drink if you worked enough, but over time, a thriving economy has developed and certain tycoons now lead lifestyles better than those in Elysium through their business ventures." She looked really proud of this and Hades seemed to share the same sentiment, loosening his eyebrows from his usual frown into a neutral expression. Unexpectedly, he also took the initiative to speak and further exin to Alex. "Asphodel has just the right conditions for this kind of development. It has a high number of souls, a stable currency, stability guaranteed by us and a needy poption that not only wishes for vital necessities, but also entertainment to spend the eternity in here. All of these factors have culminated in making Asphodel the most simr ce to the surface in the Underworld. We act to regte production facilities andnd use." Alex thanked the two andplimented their administration. Then there was another knock. This time, it was a ghost who wished to start producing and selling a new kind of medicinal nt in the shaded and humid soil of Asphodel, and his request was approved. Following that, a ghost came in to propose a blueprint for a tool that would make mining ores in the mines of Asphodel easier, and her request was also approved. There was no day/night cycle in the Underworld, so there was really no way Alex could describe how the time passed, but for consistency''s sake, he just assumed it was the afternoon. His afternoon was spent in here, and various people came in to meet the Hades and Persephone. He was surprised by the fact that they seemed to have the healthiest rtionship in the whole of Olympus despite the fact that it started with an abduction. Whenever someone came in, Persephone would offer feedback and Hades would give the final voice. When there was an interesting offer, the two would discuss it calmly and ask for his opinions on the matter. Persephone was lively and kind and looked at everything through nuance and colour. Hades was cold and strict but he also was very upfront and reasonable, though he sometimes looked at matters through a very utilitarian and ck-and-white perspective. The two perfectlyplemented each other in their ruling style, and no wonder he has only seen happy faces in the Underworld, because through their rigorous administration, even an eternity here didn''t seem too bad. When they were over for the day, Persephone informed him "Alex, we''re going to go back to the Inner House and have na show you your guest roomter, alright?" "Thank you. Goodbye." Alex said. Both Persephone and Hades nodded at him and they left the meeting room in steady steps. Alex also did the same and went back to the hall where he first emerged and as expected, news that Hades was no longer in the Outer House spread fast and it was once again filled to the brim with people. He wanted to search for Crista and see what he could do to kill time in this ce. Chapter 25 - Gambling Alex proceeded to leave the meeting room, navigating his way through the convoluted halls of the Outer House. By now, the two rulers of this ce must have already entered their personal abode, as the Outer House was back to its prior traffic and sprawl. ''Crista should be with na.'' Alex thought to himself. He asked some of the people around if they''d seen any nymphs passing by and was thus told that they probably were in the Leisure Hall, on the west side of this ce. To kill some time in the eternity spent in this realm, the souls were engaging in various activities and y, and listening to the music of the Nymph Chorale, was one of the most prominent among the various activities. Supposedly, Crista should be with the nymphs in there, ying their divinely renowned music to the guests of the House. As he was making his way to the Leisure Hall where they were ying, he found himself in a hall of sorts that was unusually crowded with various people from Asphodel and Elysium. There were tables all around and the souls that were sat were ying....cards? On the tables there were also ced shiny gold coins with a horse printed on them. From the information he''s gathered, those are probably the Asphodel Eternities, the currency that was oh-so useful for all and every transaction done in the realm, that even souls from Elysium would go down to Asphodel just to participate in the developed economy of the limbo of the Underworld. Piecing and processing this information, Alex concluded they were engaging in one of the oldest pastimes of human civilization, the risk-it-all activity....gambling. It was understandable that they gambled....even in the depths of hell, but they nheless had ying cards, which should not have been yet invented. Nevertheless, he shrugged. They even developed aplex capitalistic system millennia before the mortal realm so it didn''t sound that impressive for them to have already introduced advanced entertainment methods. His destination right now, however, wasn''t a gambling house but the Leisure Hall, so he sped up past the prized crowds of either hopeless losers or euphoric winners and left the hall. Almost left the hall. His pace was interrupted by a ghostly figure that stood in front of him and eximed "Brother,e y a game with us!" "Huh?" Alex said out loud. "You seemed to be a bit listless and what better than a good win to recover from depression....We''re here for all eternity. And you''re even from Elysium! Don''t be so blue and shy and y a game with us!" The ghost told him with what would have been a bright smile were he to have a face. ''I seem....listless and...depressed'' Alex was a bit hurt. He just wanted to hurry to reunite with Crista but this drunk-looking ghost wanted to pull him into something troublesome. To get himself out of this, he spoke truthfully "I don''t have any money. I can''t y." The ghost was still persistent however, and said to him "We''re all friends here! I''ll lend you some money! Juste on!" ''Hmmmm...'' Alex was thinking to himself. He wasn''t going to lose anything if he lost the game and if he won then it would be a good bonus. In addition, Crista was spending time with her family, and it was bit sad to think about it but he probably wouldn''t be missed too much right now. ''Isn''t one of the mostmon epithets(1) of Hermes that of a god of fortune? I should be pretty lucky?'' He bemused to himself. "How do we y...then?" Alex asked the ghost, indicating he epted his proposal to gamble. Alex had actually never gambled before in this life or his past life, and this would be his first time dealing with this risky field. The ghost seemed to nod excitedly and led him to one of the tables and signaled him to sit down. Alex sat down and took a nce at the people he would y with. In total, there were 6 other people, of which 2 had a human figure, showing they were from Elysium, and the others were more ghostly. One of the two Elysians, however, looked a bit special. He was a man that looked to be in his twenties and he had a skinny but muscr physique, a handsome face and he was wearing a wine-coloured deep red toga. Nheless, two traits stood out the most to Alex. The man''s eyes were of a wine colour and held a certain depth to them that he had only seen in extraordinary figures in this life and his face had a very deep blush, that looked to be a result of alcohol. Noticing his stare, the man gave him a smile and Alex grimaced back in awkwardness and turned his eyes. He reminded him of a certain someone that could potentially be here though he couldn''t be too sure for now. The ghost that brought him over distributed the ying cards and began exining the rules. You first had to ce a bet, and then a shuffled deck of 13 cards would be distributed to the yers. You basically had to form a full house consisting of a King, a Queen, a Jack and numbered cards ranging from Ace to 10 to win. The first yer to do so would win all of the bets on the table. Furthermore, there was a joker card that could rece any card in the deck, and strangely enough, the card had the face of the man that looked unordinary, and he was holding a wine sk in it. This was too much of a coincidence to not be true, so Alex collected himself and spoke out his thoughts to the man in front of him "Are you perhaps, sir Dionysus?" The man gave him a deep smile and said with a familiar voice "You guessed right. And....don''t be so formal, brother!" It was very well the same man he had met idently on his first trip to the outside world, the god of wine and parties, Dionysus. It was a serendipitous surprise to meet him here, and Alex asked him "How was your trip to Thessaloniki?" With the very same drunk-sounding slow tone as usual, he responded "It was a great time. The people there are always good at parties. And you? What are you doing here? I suppose you''ve used my letter well?" Alex was a bit embarrassed. Many of the things he''s done could be credited back to Dionysus and he couldn''t be more grateful. "Thank you, extremely!" He said. "That aside, I brought you here to y, friend. Let''s have a good time!!" Dionysus eximed to him. ''He...brought me here?'' Alex turned to the ghost that invited him, and the ghost said "It was indeed Lord Dionysus who asked me to invite you, telling us you were an acquaintance of His!" "I see" They would now start their first game. Dionysus said he would lend me 10 Eternities but he refused and the other yers said they were fine with him not cing any bets in this first round. The game hence started and he would do his best to win. Funny enough, the King card had the figure of Hades printed on it and ordingly, the Queen card had the figure of Persephone. The Jack was represented by Thanatos and as aforementioned, the Joker had the figure of Dionysus. When it was his round to y, he would ce the cards that he owned doubles of, and soon enough he was close topleting a full house but no matter what, he could not find an Ace. "You gonna y?" One of the yers asked him as Alex was furrowing his brows and was considering what to do. He ended up choosing to ce an unnecessary card and pick one from the shuffled deck, hoping for the best. He painstakingly took a card and reversed it, praying it was the one that he wanted. He was instead greeted by the drunken face of the Joker, Dionysus. "YES!" Alex eximed out loud involuntarily. The Joker could rece any card in the deck, and with that very same omnipotent card in his hand, he was able toplete his hand and he threw out the cards on the table after organizing them. "I won!" He eximed. The other yers, including Dionysus, apuded him and thetter stated "You''re quite lucky!" Alex nodded with a smile on his face and the other yers rounded up their bets in his direction, raising his Underworld worth from zero to 73 Eternities, which was apparently quite a high amount. "Good game, friend. But you seem a bit stiff, do you have something on your mind?" Dionysus asked him. Alex did indeed have something on his mind. It was great meeting Dionysus again and even winning a game of cards and bing a small tycoon, but he wanted to see a certain someone. "I''d love to y another game, but I need to be somewhere...." Alex told Dionysus dejectedly. However, thetter was understanding and told him "It''s fine, go on. Next time we meet, as aided by fate, let us party together!" Alex smiled and nodded in response and stood up, bidding his goodbyes to the yers and he said to Dionysus "Dionysus, form your hand into a fist." He looked confused but he followed his lead and Alex did a fist bump with the god and informed him "Where Ie from, this is a way some people say goodbye to their friends." "I''ll keep that in mind, brother! Now, go on! Don''t keep them waiting!" Dionysus winked at him and he waved his hand. Alex turned around and resumed his walk to the Leisure Hall, this time uninterrupted. After a short while and a lot of asking around, he was now in front of the entrance to the Leisure Hall, and he pushed the doors open, revealing a spectacle. The hall was spacious and looked like an auditorium in shape, and on the pedestal down the stairs of the hall he could observe and hear the music of the gods. There were a lot of nymphs, dozens perhaps, and they were all either singing or ying an instrument, shaping up into an orchestra that reminded Alex of Johannes Brahms''s Hungarian Dance no.5, a very opulent and harmoniousposition that they even added a choir to. In the midst of the nymphs, there was a familiar face, that despiteing here on such short notice, wasn''tgging behind any of the other nymphs in terms of synchronization or artfulness. Crista was amongst the chorale, ying a heavenly lyre and singing a tune that even dead leaves could dance to. Chapter 26 - Achilles Alex couldn''t help but marvel at the scene in front of him, appreciating the harmonious music flowing into his ears and his attention wholly focused on the music like a sunflower faces the sun. The crowd was silent and the sounds of the orchestra rang out clearly in the auditorium, as if making a single sound would offend the gods. The next track they yed was refreshing, floral, humble yet at the same time, divine, like spring dawning on the snowy whitendscape and turning it a bright shade of green. It was simr to Tchaikovsky''s Waltz of Flowers. Time passed by so fast while the crowd was entranced by the music and they soon concluded their y and the spectators, as if sluggishly awoken from a deep slumber, looked a little listless but proceeded to p loudly, to which Alex also did the same. From the distance between him and the pedestal, he noticed that there she was, Crista, looking at him and waving. He waved at her and stood up, walking in slow steps and shortening the distance between them. When they were face-to-face, she asked him with a slight smile on her face "How did I perform?" "It was incredible." He responded simply, as this truly wless performance didn''t need any more words. By now, he noticed a strange change that he probably should have picked up earlier. For the entire time they have been in the House, he hasn''t heard a single curseing from Crista. He was just making assumptions, but he thought that cursing was maybe a coping mechanism she had developed to deal with the loss of her rtives, and now that she had reunited with them, she didn''t curse anymore. "Crista, it''s very nice to see you so happy." Alex stated. Crista gave him a bittersweet smile and said "Well, some of my sisters have been lost eternally, their souls too broken to be in the Underworld still, but I feel like I needed this....which is why, I can''t thank you enough." ''Why should I be thanked? In fact, I feel like I should be hated for feeling envious that she is this happy and wondering if she''d evere back...?'' Alex thought to himself but didn''t say out loud. The two looked at each other, their reflections each shown on the eyes of the person facing them, and as they say, eyes are the windows to the soul. This staring contest was however, interrupted by na, who looked unusually cheerful and eximed to Crista "You did great, Crista. You upheld the musical talents of our species and stood out despite your extremely short training!" "Ah...Thank you.." She spoke in a slow manner and her cheeks turned a bit rosy. na then turned to Alex and told him "You came here for Achilles right? We''re going to pay him a visit so if you''d like toe, then let''s go." Alex, equally stunned out of his entranced state, slowly nodded and followed na''s lead along with Crista by his side while the crowd from earlier apuded the two as they passed by. As the 3 were navigating through the House, na kept giving them information about Achilles. "Achilles might be a great warrior first and foremost, but he is also one of the most talented mortal musicians. He also has nymph blood in him, exining his musical excellence." "I often go to teach him the ways of instruments, but the Underworld poption being very bbing, misinterpret it as the two of us sharing an intimate rtionship. He is much much closer to being a nephew or rtive than he would ever be a lover." "Speaking of love, don''t mention anything about it in front of him. He hasn''t had the luckiest love life, and thebour contract he signed with the King restricts his movement, prohibiting him from visiting his lover." "He might seem a little...mncholic." With the two listening carefully to her, they promptly reached their destination, arge door in one of the emptier corridors of the Outer House. na then knocked gently on the door and they heard a mellow voice "Enter." She then opened the door, unraveling the interior design of the room. It was simply decorated, and beyond that, the room was a bit gloomy, hosting dull colours and minimalistic decoration that also made it feel empty and depressingly spacious. In the center of the room, on a in bed was sat Achilles. He had medium-length blond hair reaching to his shoulders and covering one of his eyes. The other eye held a wheat-coloured iris and a dark pupil. He wore a very simple shirt and pants that exhibited his athletic physique. He was handsome, but as na pointed out, he had a mncholic air about him, from the droopy eyes and shoulders, to his sluggish movement, he looked lifeless. Achilles was currently ying a simple tune on a lyre, and did not raise his eyes to look at them. "Hello, Achilles." na greeted him. He didn''t greet her back and kept ying on the lyre, this time at a louder level. "You have some guests." na told him. He still didn''t pay them any heed and was solely moving his long fingers on the thin cords of the instrument. na turned to Alex and whispered to him "Tell him about the purpose of your visit." He nodded and said quietly "Hello, Achilles. I''m here as sent by the god of war, Ares to bring you to the mortal domain for a military conquest with the god." Achilles, finally paused his y and very slightly raised his eyeline to look at him. After the two exchanged a look, the voice they didn''t hear too much of simply asked "Are we passing through Elysium?" ''Elysium...? I suppose we''ll have to go through it to leave this ce'' Alex pondered for a moment then nodded. Achilles looked to be indifferent but certain small details couldn''t escape Alex''s divine eyesight. The man''s fingers, which were ced on the lyre, were slightly shaking and his movement turned a bit stiff, as if to minimize his shaking. ''Does he have something to do in Elysium?'' Alex didn''t read the Iliad and there wasn''t too much information about Achille''s personal life in Athena''s libraries, so he didn''t know too much about the possible causes for such a reaction. Nheless, his movements returned to the usual and he resumed ying his lyre, no longer giving them the time of day. "In a few days they will be departing, so be ready by then." na informed Achilles. "Goodbye, Achilles." They bid goodbye to the man and left the room, closing the door behind them. na then sighed and said "He''s in a worse state than usual. I don''t feel like he would have even wanted to train on the lyre..." Crista, who was silent until now, stated with a dispirited expression "That man is heavily scarred. Only trauma or loss can cause someone to lose even the motivation to even speak or move. Recovery will be very hard...but I truly wish him the best." She was probably right. It was incredibly sad that they could not do anything to help him, but Alex hoped, that whatever he was looking for in Elysium, would make him happier. To break the gloomy ambiance, na told them "Have you seen your temporary living facilities yet?" They both shook their head, and wondered why they didn''t do so any sooner as they just stupidly held their heavy bags on their back all day. naughed dryly and took the both of them from their arms and started running, pulling them in the process. In one of the other halls of the Outer House where people didn''te to hang out, she finally stopped in her tracks and opened a heavy looking door, revealing the ce they would spend their time in the Underworld in. It was minimalistic and the colour scheme consisted of a gray-ish blue and a burgundy red. There were two king-sized beds in the room and the rest of the facility consisted simply of a kitchen and a bathroom. Speaking of kitchens, the two were starved and formal dinner takes ce in a few hours and they couldn''t wait that long. Fortunately, the kitchen was stocked full of ingredients that were unexpectedly fresh for the Underworld and surprisingly, there was immense variety in terms of the ingredient. There was butter, exotic spices, various meats and poultry and the most pleasing of all....rice. Alex contemted. ''What should we make?'' He fell into deep thought and tried overclocking his memory to remember dishes from his he hadn''t already made here. Bingo! There was one dish, that he was longing for the taste of and that he only ever ate in a wedding of one of his distant rtives. It would be hard to make it authentically considering the lengthy preparation, but they hadrgely enough ingredients to make a simpler version. Chicken Biryani was a dish that was hard to make well, but it was foolproof and delicious in any case. He listed what he remembered to Crista, and it was decided that he would handle the preparation while she would handle the cooking. They also were offered just the perfect, thin and long-grain rice for making it. They therefore started the making of this fearsome dish, quite unauthentically and only backed by his meager memory of the taste of it and content he''s seen on its preparation. Alex chopped up some onions, some chicken and garlic and ginger. He then cut up some butter, and put it under a weak fire, evaporating the milk solids and leaving behind a golden brown coloured oil, also known as Indian rified butter, ghee. Seeding that, he roasted some of the spices required like ck pepper, cardamom pods and coriander seeds, cumin and cinnamon then ground them up into a powder with a mortar and pestle. He rinsed the rice too. It was then Crista''s turn. She put the onions in the same cooking vessel as the ghee and slowly heated it up, and the onions started sizzling and when they turned transparent and the whole kitchen smelled fragrant, she added the bite-sized chicken, salt and the spices, further implementing a few drops of lemon juice. By the time the chicken was cooked and the onions started caramelizing, Crista added water to the pan and to get some more depth of vour, she also added some cream. She took out the rinsed rice and put it in the wide vessel and covered everything with a lid, leaving the rice to cook slowly and steadily. When the rice was looking just about ready, the whole dish looked close topletion and was shaping into a delicious looking rice dish. The ghee covered everything in ayer of shine and the smell of spices permeated throughout the kitchen, making the two drool. Alex portioned the food into two tes and they sat and dug in. It was an explosion of vour! The chicken was tender and as the protein of the dish, went extremely well with the rice, of which you could distinctly taste every single grain, perfectly cooked and soft on the pte. asionally, a bite held onions and by now they turned soft and sweet while still adding texture to the dish. "It''s excellent." They both stated at the same time. Since she cooked, Alex cleaned the kitchen and was feeling a bit sleepy when he was over with. Crista, meanwhile, took out some scrolls and an inkstone and seemed to be writing something. He took a nce at her and then closed his eyes as heid down on the bed, hearing her melodious voice saying "Have a good nap." Chapter 27 - Departure? When he woke up from his nap, Crista was still concentrated on writing. He sat down next to her and took a nce at her writings. It seemed to be a diary and she hinted at him that he could read it. It was a poem about their time in the Underworld. "We took the ferry of the boatman Charon, To descend to thend of the dead, And here we are, on the Underworld riverbed. In this strange ce we are stuck, The darkness, however, was uncooperative, Yet we were in luck, To be greeted by my rtive, She took us to the king, Regal and authoritative, He sung of wanting to bring, His queen, goddess of the evergreen." ''It''s pretty.'' Alex noted in his head. He noticed it was a very freestyle poem, and didn''t include any of the specific rhyme or verse structures and other such rules he knew about in the ssical poetry of his world. Although those rules did indeed make for some beautiful poetry, they were often restrictive and even the number of sybles in the verses was paramount to the expected quality of the work(1) "What do you think? This will be my opening to this poem." Crista asked him with eager eyes. "It''s great. I like it." He said honestly. He wasn''t exactly a knowledgeable expert on poetry, nor had he ever written it, but this sounded good to the ear and made sense. Crista smiled but she then asked him an unexpected question, with a serious expression. "We are going to ascend back soon, right?" Alex was dumbstruck because he somewhat knew what would unfold now. He was afraid of this question, afraid of the oue, afraid of her decisions, and afraid of his own reaction. But now he had to face it. He clenched his fists and hid the cold sweat that started to pool around his neck and spoke "Yes. We can''t stay here for very long as I promised Athena I would watch the eclipse in two weeks'' time." Now came the hard part, her answer. "I understand, but....is it possible that I stay here for longer?" "Yes, it is possible." ... And thus was theirst conversation before the two started avoiding each other. The two of them felt guilty, Crista for deciding to stay and Alex for almost refusing. In a sense, if they took the time tomunicate properly after that, this could have all been solved, but here they were, awkward with each other because none of them would take the first step in the discussion. Hence, 5 days passed by fast and the only time they would see each other was when they would sleep. Alex killed time with Dionysus, and they yed card games together and he even drank some of his wine. It was said that the wine from Dionysus had to be diluted before being drunk as it could be a deadly poison and kill any mortal upon drinking a few drops. He was no mortal, however, and although the wine felt more like burning alcohol than a mild red wine as it went down his throat inrge gulps and burned his esophagus. As one of the only alcohols that could make a god drunk, he felt tipsy and lost his sense of judgement and responsibility. In hindsight, Dionysus should have never let him, a total lightweight, anywhere near alcohol, but as the god of wine and everything-hedonism, he was ordingly irresponsible and careless. In his past life, he had too many responsibilities and no time to get drunk. When he was a minor, well, he was a minor. When he was in college, they were administered regr blood tests and to avoid any problems, he never consumed a drop of alcohol. When he moved out, he avoided drinking since he would get hungover and having no ie security, not being able to work for a whole day was a disastrous situation. Even when he found himself in Olympus, he never really felt the need to consume any stimnt but just like the straw that broke the camel''s back and the curiosity that killed the cat, he was now consuming an alcoholic''s amount of alcohol daily, albeit without any of the apanying addiction, fortunately. Under that sort of state, he gambled and gambled with no sense of loss and no sense of aplishment. But just like spilling water onto sand, he would soon be back to normal, and remember the short conversation he had with her, and like a coward, he would go to the Leisure Hall and watch her shows and when they ended, the two of them would stare at each other, awaiting the other to loudly scream the words they wanted to say so that they could scream them back. But there was none and even the sound of their thoughts were muffled by the loud apuse. The rest of the time, he would attend to the meeting room with Persephone and Hades, and listlessly look on as hordes and hordes of people came in to try their chance with the two rulers. Persephone once asked him how he was and he responded "I''m fine, I am really happy!" ''I AM fine! I am happy! Alex tried to convince himself like a child, as if his current lifestyle indicated he was joyful... Whereas Crista seemed cheerful, as she spent every waking moment of hers in thepany of the other nymphs, and even forged a sturdy friendship with Persephone, in those moments before sleep, or on the road alone to somewhere, when the silence could make your heartbeat sound like deafening music, she would also contemte. The two were not even writing anymore since they had gotten so used to receiving feedback from each other that they didn''t feel there was much use to doing it still. By the ''eve'' of the 5th day, Crista came back to their shared guest house and noticed the room was unusually empty,cking the luggage Alex brought for himself. "Sh*t!" She cursed out loud for the first time. She ran out of the room and followed the way to the Inner House, where she was allowed passage to on ount of being a friend of the queen and she therefore ran to the throne room, and the door was partly opened although she failed to decelerate fast enough and crashed into the door, opening it fully and showing her the current events inside, and diverting the attention of the people in the room towards her There he was, Alex, standing next to Achilles, with his bag on his back and his front facing Persephone and Hades, who were shifting their eyes from her to him continuously. The deep voice of Hades rang out in therge room "Finally leaving my domain, are you?" Persephone then eximed "Crista, you''re here." Alex, who still had his back facing her, turned to an angle where she could barely see his side profile. She stood up and said "Why...didn''t you tell me you were going?" They both gulped at the same time, and Alex looked at her before staring up towards what should have been the sky, but is instead just the ceiling. "I thought you''d hate me for being so hesitant to go back alone, despite you being so happy and cheerful around your family..." "Alex.....you''re now f**king part of my family. Come on, we spend almost all day together, and I think I''m the one to me her since not only did I insist toe here with you, but I...feel like I manipted you just to see my family and now I wish to stay here...." She said regretfully with red eyes, though Alex''s eyes were equally red. "You cursed out loud....hahahaha...you''re wrong! You haven''t seen them ever since you were the nymph equivalent of an infant!" "..." "..." The two kept diverting the me from each other while the two rulers of the Underworld and the other onlookers stared dumbfounded, except Achilles who didn''t have any reaction to the current phenomenon. After a while, they both seemed tired from talking and their faces turned bright. Crista then signaled something to Alex and whispered in his ear. ''There should be about 9 days until the eclipse you spoke about, right?'' Alex murmured back ''Yes.'' She then proceeded to state "I''ll be f**king there, for sure!" The two were satisfied with the oue and with him not feeling like bidding any farewells to her, they just fist-bumped each other. "Oh, and show me thepleted poem!" Alex told her. She nodded fervently and giggled. By now, Alex said goodbye to everyone in here, including Dionysus, Persephone and Hades, na and Crista. He didn''t find Nyx and Thanatos anywhere, but he presumed she woulde find him considering what she said the first time they met. Achilles was now waiting for him outside of the room. And so, he stepped out, ready for the adventure back home. There was a second exit to the House in the back corner to the Inner House, as per the words of Persephone "Usually, Cerberus guards both the 2nd entrance to the Underworld and exit to the House. But crossing him would be impossibly hard even with Achilles on your side so he is on vacation under my orders. Have a safe crossing!" Even without the threat of Cerberus, passing through Tartarus, an inevitable step in his journey back home, would be difficult and fraught with danger. Chapter 28 - Tartarus(1) "A bronze anvil falling from heaven would fall nine days before it reached the earth. The anvil would take nine more days to fall from earth to Tartarus." - Hesiod, Theogony _______________________________________________________ Alex said goodbye to everyone and was very happy to have solved his dispute with Crista. Along with Achilles, who was wielding a spear far too big andrge for any mortal warrior to sessfully fight with, the two were led by na to a very secluded spot of the Inner House, going through endless doors before they were greeted by the exit. The gate leading to Tartarus was simrly terrifying, being a fiery gate with three dog head sculpted from the fire that seemed to follow them with their eyes, conjuring fear within the average onlooker. The two weren''t, however, the average onlookers as Alex steeled his resolve much earlier and as usual, Achilles was indifferent to any happenings. na then put her hand on the door and the mes dispersed, revealing a mundane-looking door. She told them with a frown "Beyond this door is Tartarus, where the most wicked, most cruel and inhumane souls are tortured for eternity by the Erinyes, and the hatred the souls hold towards the living is high. You will have to fight them to enter Asphodel. Be careful." Alex nodded and thanked her, after which she lightly pushed the gates open, unveiling the first step in their journey. It was dark beyond the doors, and thankfully, na gave them a torch. They bid their farewells and Achilles and Alex stepped through the doors, lighting the surroundings. They seemed to be in a tunnel of sorts, and it was so quiet only the sounds of their breathing and heartbeat filled the air. The walls of the cave were rough and had sharp, unweing stctites hovering over their heads like a sword of Damocles. It was also unpleasantly moist and seldom they would hear the sound of liquid dropping to the ground, amplified by the cave into a loud noise. Alex too the lead and they walked silently for such a long time it seemed like they were going to traverse the earth. Looking to hispanion, Achilles, he was surprised to see that the dominant emotion emanating from him was no longer mncholy, but a strong hope. His loose and droopy eyes were reced by strong eyebrows and raised eyes. Achilles held the spear in his hand tightly and looked to be ready to fight at anytime. Noticing his stare, Achilles gave him a side nce and then turned his attention forward again. This time, however, Alex heard the voice of the man ringing out and reverberating through the cave. "Do you have, someone, that you adore so much you could die for, fight for and fulfill any of their wishes?" It was a rather unexpected question and Alex frowned as he contemted. ''The person closest to me right now is Crista....But, would we fight to the death for each other? I''m not sure we''re that close yet, not that I could ever die anyways...'' He thought to himself. "I don''t think I do, no." Alex responded concisely. Suddenly, Achilles, who has now taken the lead from him, suddenly halted in his tracks right in front of Alex and started speaking. "If you ever do, do not ever forget to keep your promise." "Fight for them, swing your spear for them, bleed for them!" "I once had a person that I adored so much, but I,mitted the gravest sin possible, and didn''t keep my promise. As a result, they are now in Elysium, and I am sure they are living in bliss gulping the divine wine of heaven while being fanned by servants. If they ever forget about me, then that is entirely my fault." As he spoke, Achilles leaned on the rough walls of the cave. Some of his words were still echoing through the tunnel, and all of his gloats and self-depreciation were being amplified right at his very ear. Alex thought he saw things a bit too extremely. "As long as you don''t know what they think, bringing yourself down doesn''t help anyone, especially you. You have an entire eternity in front of you, and where Ie from, people lived short lives but often left the mortal domain without regrets. So what do you, evesting being, have as an excuse?" Alex stated his opinion. He continued "You said they inhabit Elysium? This is your opportunity then, go and ask them how they feel." Achilles didn''t respond but him mouthing ''Thank you'' didn''t escape Alex''s eagle eyes. The two then resumed walking through the tunnel. As they kept walking, they noticed the cave had gotten less narrow and there was more space for movement. This kind of change in scenery indicated to the two that they should be cautious going forward. This anticipation of theirs was correct, as soon enough, the tunnel had turned into a gigantic chamber. The walls of the chamber were made of a ck glossy material that looked like obsidian and in the center of the room was a gigantic stone statue that had glowing golden chains surrounding it. ''Where should we leave this ce from?.....Bingo! There is a door'' Alex was examining the whole ce and took notice of a small door on the opposite side of the room that they could leave this ce from. Then, he carelessly approached the door but was blocked by Achilles'' spear, as thetter whispered "Be careful" He proceeded to take a stone from the ground and threw it at the door. At first, nothing happened and the stone was intact. A few secondster, however. *BAM* The ''statue'' moved its chained fists and crushed the stone, grinding it so much it could not even be considered powder anymore. "WHAT LIVING COMES TO THIS PLACE?" Alex bolted in surprise as he heard an earth-shattering voice and searching for its source led him to the head of the ''statue''. The living statue then sluggishly moved its head, producing creaking sounds, and as if awakened from a deep slumber, its stone eyelids slowly started opening, revealing a pitch-ck void in ce of eyes. The statue seemed to be looking at Alex, and afterwards, it eximed "YOU, YOU HAVE THE SAME SMELL ON YOU AS THAT SON OF MINE, THAT BASTARD SON OF MINE!" Achilles, who didn''t seem any surprised, approached Alex and whispered in his ear "I think that''s the Titan Cronus. We can''t beat him, even in our wildest dreams so we should focus on escaping." Alex nodded in confusion. ''What bad luck, the first creature we encounter in Tartarus is a Titan, and not just any Titan, but one that holds a grudge against me as a proxy of Zeus!'' Alexined but there was no time toin as despite the heavy golden chains, Cronus seemed to still be able to show incredible strength. *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* The sounds of the Titan''s fists hitting the floor were creating mini-earthquakes in the room, and although they failed to break the ground, the two didn''t doubt it would crush them into nothingness if they received it head-on. The factor in their advantage, nheless, was that Cronus'' attacks were extremely slow, and for Alex who somewhat specialized in speed, evading them was an easy task. Their n, therefore, would be for Alex, who already was the main target of the Titan, to attract even more ire from Cronus, and while Achilles would open the door, Alex would run around and make sure the former doesn''t receive any of the Titan''s aggro. "You vanquished your father Uranus, and when you became like him, you were surprised that your children revolted against you? Are you stupid?" Alex kept on pestering the Titan, and surprisingly, it worked. "SILENCE!!!!!" *BAM* *BAM* BAM* The Titan''s fists repeatedly hit the ground, but every time, Alex would sessfully dodge the attacks. *BAM* This hit was a bit close, but he still managed to backflip to evade it, although the mini-earthquake caused by the fist still made him lose equilibrium and almost fall. Taking advantage of this, Cronus sent his other fist flying down towards Alex, who still hadn''t gotten back on his feet. Alex, for a moment, thought he saw his life sh before his eyes, and the shadow cast on him by the overpowered fist grewrger andrger. Just as he was about to be crushed by the fist, however, something blocked its path. Achilles was right there, using his spear to block the fist while his arms were shaking. He eximed "Get out!" Alex jumped out, and Achilles retrieved his spear, causing the fist to fall on the ground, albeit without hurting anybody. Achilles'' arms were still shaking, and his spear, was unfortunately, broken into many pieces. Alex felt bad about it and promised himself to procure Achilles an even better spear but there was no time for contemtion, so he rapidly thanked him and began to taunt Cronus. "Look at you, a glorious Titan, trapped for all eternity in here like a pathetic prisoner!" Cronus screamed "SILENCE!!" Strangely, however, he didn''t look at him, and instead turned his attention to Achilles, who was back to working on the door, trying to open it. The Titan then started moving and his fist wasing down. ''What to do? What to do? What to do?'' Alex felt like aputer which had its CPU overheat and began thinking in lightning speed on ways he could save Achilles, who sacrificed his spear earlier to save him. The distance was toorge to cover with his speed, and he didn''t have any weapons to do the same that the former performed earlier. He felt powerless, and as the fist wasing down, he suddenly had a realization. He still had the elusive Faith Energy, that improved the power gods could express through their specializations.. umting all that he had left of it and concentrating it on augmenting his speed, Alex felt timeing to a stop, and the fist of Cronus halting right above Achilles, who was also frozen in time. Running at an immeasurably fast velocity, he reached Achilles in an instant and took him out of the fist''s path. As he did that, time began to resume normal speed again and they were both safe. Achilles looked at him and nodded. Alex felt like his tendons were torn and he could barely move his legs anymore but he garnered whatever strength he had left and taunted the Titan, who concentrated his attacks back on him again. With his rising fatigue, it was a bit harder to evade the attacks but he didn''t have to do so for a long time as he heard a remark from Achilles "It''s open,e on!" With speed that came out of god-knows where, he bolted towards the door and found himself on the other side, as Achilles closed the door and they could now only hear the screams of the Titan, who could no longer cause them any harm. Both of them were breathing heavily and tired from the fight. Alex apologized "I''m sorry for your spear, I will get you a new one." "It''s alright, a great warrior doesn''t depend on weapons. On that note, however, I won''t be able to fight anymore." Achilles stated as he showed him his arms that were still shaking. He countered a Titan''s attacks, so of course he lost all of his arm strength. "Thank you for earlier too." Achilles told him. Alex waved and then copsed on the floor. As a god, he had high regenerative speed, but his injured leg muscles and tendons still hurt and it was impossible to walk right now. Taking out some food he stored in his bag beforeing here, he split it in half and gave the other half to Achilles, who epted it. The two then ate in silence, trying to recover some of their power. Chapter 29 - Tartarus(2) - True Terror Of The Fields Of Punishment(TW - Gore) After recovering some of their energy, Alex and Achilles were ready to resume their passage through Tartarus. As expected of a god''s regenerative speed, Alex''s leg muscles were fully healed by now. Nheless, Achilles, could not move his arms anymore and fighting was out of the question for him. Looking around, he noticed they were in a very simr tunnel to the one beyond the doors of the Inner House. As they walked around, the air was thick and humid and sweat had stuck to their skin, making any sort of movement quite unpleasant. The dark tunnel was only dimly lit by the torch that was almost extinguished in their earlier fighting and the humidity of the air wasn''t on their side, hence they could only perceive what was directly in front of them. Fortunately, the tunnel this time was shorter than the one from earlier, and soon enough, the diameter of the tunnel gradually increased until they found themselves in a simr room to earlier. They would be cautious this time, having grown aware of the dangers of Tartarus. Shining a torch onto the walls of the room, they noticed it consisted of the same unbreakable, ck and glossy material that was found in Cronus'' prison. As the air was a bit dried here, the torch ignited more intensely and the more intense mes unraveled their location. *Tak* *Tak* *Tak* As he was discussing with Achilles, they started hearing sharp sounds, reminiscent of a woodpecker''s beaking into contact with trees. There was also a sour smell diffusing in the air. "It smells like....iron, copper and other metals...." Alex listed. Achilles stated "It''s blood. The smell of dried blood in this ce is sickening." *TAK* *TAK* *TAK* The noise was getting closer and when Alex saw its source, he threw the torch into the air in fear. When the torch hit the ground, it seemed to react with a mmable substance and the entire ce was now brightly lit. There was a man, if you could even call that a human. His...Its eyes were blood-red and ghostly, as if all of the ocr blood vessels in there were ruptured and bleeding. The skin of the ''man'' was not normal human skin but instead formed a hard gray crust, like calluses all over its body. On the man''s feet, ''he'' was wearing shoes, but unlike normal shoes, these were the colour ofva, like you heated up metal in an industrial furnace. They were emitting nasty fumes into the air and made it hard to breathe. The ''creature'' was...dancing around in those shoes. As if it wanted to speak, it opened it''s mouth, but instead of teeth and a tongue, it was just a bloody gorge. Alex wanted to vomit at the scene and even Achilles looked ufortable, turning around to avoid seeing this. The mes zing through the room also revealed something else. On the walls of the chamber, they discerned engraved writing. Alex tried to decode the script and came up with "Pontifex of Medena, the clergyman who partied endlessly while his knights massacred those who did not believe in his cult. He pretended to be a god and was thus sent to Tartarus. To fulfill his wishes of bing a god and partying eternally, he was given Ambrosia and burning shoes to dance for all eternity, healed to full health every time his body could not hold on." As he read through, Alex''s face turned blue and sweat dripped down his forehead. ''It''s...terrifying. Is this how they punish souls sent to Tartarus? Cronus'' punishment looks like a ygroundpared to this'' He thought to himself with his hands covering his mouth. Under the text, there was an additional note written in blood, dried blood that had turned brown. "Be afraid of the Furies. For we will punish you in Tartarus as you have punished the mortals and the undeserving." As he was reciting this line, Achilles told him "Alex, let''s get out of here." "Yes." He was still traumatized, although this pontifex seemed to deserve this fate of his. The mes that ignited earlier began to slow theirbustion, and extinguished as fast as they ignited, rendering the room dark again, perhaps for the better. There was a door to leave the chamber, and they rapidly exited the room. They were back in the tunnel. Achilles was rubbing his be and quietly spoke "I knew we would see terrifying phenomena in Tartarus...But I just didn''t expect...This..." Alex nodded. With their shock receptors now on overdrive, they quickly ran through the tunnel. The next room was also as traumatizing. "The king who enjoyed luxurious banquets while his poption suffered from starvation. He would be given no food or drink in Tartarus, and his hunger would only continue to increase as eternity passed." Once again, there was the same quote in dried blood under this note. On the floor of the room was a man, who didn''t look one ounce like a king. He was so hungry he started eating his own insides, and he didn''t have a lower body anymore. Alex couldn''t handle it anymore and vomited, his stomach turning weak at the scenes he''s just witnessed. Achilles also looked a bit disoriented, and they made sure to quickly leave the room. When they were in the tunnel again, Alex stated "I don''t want to continue anymore..." Fighting was one thing, but the mental anguish caused by this gore was entirely something else. Achilles didn''t pay no heed to his words and continued walking, although each of his steps was slow and reluctant, indicating they felt the same about this. Alex followed along and concluded he would need some rest after this was over. The next room was as excruciatingly horrible as the rest. "The Executioner who cut the heads of the undeserving. He shall have his own head cut and re-stitched a trillion times and every time, get the glory of seeing his own beheaded body." The two sprinted out of the chamber and into the next. "The one who lied to the gods. He shall have his every limb and member cut up, starting from the least vital to the most vital. And when is on his deathbed, his body is to be re-stitched for the process to start again." They weren''t in a mood to spectate this at all as they left the room. The chamber they found themselves in afterwards was different. Instead of the usual, they seemed to be in the insides of a temple. It was entirely constructed of ck marble and thick pirs served as the foundation for the structure. The temple was also brightly lit by wall torches that zed with green mes and showed that there was nothing happening here. No tortured souls, fortunately. There was, however, at the other side of the temple, a staircase that led up to an unknown location, and just as they were about to explore it, the sounds of someoneing down the stairs alerted them and they halted. Three ''women'' came down from the staircase and stopped in front of them. They looked like normal humans in the sense that they had ordinary hair, skin and facial features but their other attributes were nothing short of monstrous. One of them had arge number of eyes everywhere on her body, and the eerie thing was that each eye held a pupil that followed their movements in coordination with the other eyes, shaping into a horrifying orchestra of sorts. The second one, had, instead of fingers and toes, sharp knives, and she somehow looked like the most normal out of the three. Thest one was bleeding endlessly from every orifice of hers, dying the ground a deep red. The three all startedughing in unison, and Alex backed off. Achilles also looked nervous too. "We''re the Furies. Wee to the realm of us, three sisters. How do you like our little creations and torture methods?'' They all asked in unison, as their voices eerily merged into a singr voice. ''They''re the Furies? The ones who derived all of those punishments? No matter how deserved those punishments were, people who can brainstorm such things are, for sure, very deranged people.'' Alex reflected. As none of the two gave the sisters a response, they giggled and then spoke "Lost your tongues? Well, that''s the reaction we want!" They continued. "We were instructed to give you free passage, but we weren''t advised anything against ying some games with you before letting you go..." Alex and Achilles nced at each other, both of them getting a bad feeling and gulping. "If we have to fight, I''ll instruct you on what to do." Achilles ordered him. Alex nodded, as beyond his speed advantage, he really wasn''t the best at fighting, one time almost losing to a mortal. He put aside that shameful memory and got into a battle-ready pose. The Furies noticed their little discussion and eximed "HAHAHAHAHA.....YOU REALLY THINK YOU''RE GOING TO FIGHT US? WHETHER YOU''RE DEITIES, MONARCHS, TITANS OR MORTALS, ALL IS POWERLESS AGAINST US IN OUR DOMAIN. WE HAVE OTHER WAYS TO DEFEAT YOU THAN FIGHTING, WEAKLINGS!" The three sisters then held hands and an unusual pink fume started spreading in the air. When the fume reached the two and was inhaled into their lungs, Alex felt his body and eyelids turn heavy and Achilles was in the same predicament as him. The two then copsed. Chapter 30 - Trial Of The Furies As Alex and Achilles copsed, the Furies, who seemed to be expecting such an event, softly whispered "Sweet dreams." ____________________________________________________________________________ Hello, my name''s Alex, 34 years of age. I was recently promoted to Senior Manager at Basic Corpo Corporation LLC. Thanks to our hard work, our boss was finally able to purchase his dream car. To celebrate this and my 10 years at thepany, I was promoted and now enjoy fewer work hours per week and an appreciated sry boost. I remember thanking the boss profusely when Human Resources announced my promotion and he responded in the most inspirational way possible "It''s alright. Keep working hard, I want to buy a private jet next year." What a nice boss! Seeing my colleague''s(now my juniors) looks of envy, these years of hard work suddenly felt worth it. The other day, we received a new intern, freshly graduated from university, a pure soul who hasn''t made a single step into the steep and risky corporatedder yet. "Please take care of me." The new intern said. He continued "But isn''t 55 hours of work a week, a bit much?" As soon as he said, I remember everyone in the office, including me, turned around and red at him. Fairbor rights were a taboo subject in this battlefield, and if he were to be reported to HR, his only chance at climbing the corporatedder would be lost forever. I took the youngster to the side and personally spoke to him. "Youngling, in this world, you work endlessly until your back copses and sleep bes a luxury, and keep up at that for a decade or two, and only then will you be able to work less." I told him bluntly. I''m pretty sure I had a scary expression on my face, as the intern paled and his once straight and determined posture lost its strength and turned droopy. That was the reaction I was hoping for. After all, who was he to demand good working conditions when I had to suffer every step of the way to get to where I am right now. However, I then shed the bright(dishonest) smile I greet the colleagues I dislike and reassured him "But don''t worry, you''ll survive and then you can make a lot of money that you can spend on...." I paused. I did not know what he could spend that money on. I really did not know what fulfilling things could be bought with money. The intern looked confused at my sudden silence. I coughed and said "luxury cars and trips to Switzend?" "And just work hard. Our boss wants to buy a private jet so we need to be able to fulfill that wish of his." The intern didn''t seem too convinced but my job here was over so I tapped him on the shoulder, wished him good luck, and went back to my office. It was a rather pleasant and spacious office, that offered a sky view of the big and lush park downtown. I sat down on my desk and got back to work on myputer, which was the newest and most expensive model. I think I wanted to try processing lots of fun stuff with thisputer''s increased performance, but now that I got it, I didn''t really care much. And so the day continued. When it was already dark outside, I left my office. I was going to leave for home, whereas the lower-ranked employees and the intern from earlier were all still working hard, as their eyes were red from staring at a screen all day. They looked at me, leaving the building so early, with immense jealousy. I pretended I didn''t care about it, and just walked away. I called the elevator and went down to the garage, listlessly staring through the ss panes of the window into the night cityscape. In the garage, I unlocked my car and sat on the front seat. This was the newest BNV and I don''t remember why I even bought it, but I think it was because this was my boss''s old car and he looked really cool riding it, and I had some money to spend. I drove out of the garage and going through the sprawling city, I parked in front of a bar that I had be a regr patron of. Entering into the bar, it was quite full, of employees who just left work and all wore the same expensive suits as me and drove the same luxury cars as me. This is why I motivated myself to work harder, so one day I can park here with a car they could never afford, and look on as their jaws opened wide in astonishment. Giggling at the thought of it, I sat down in my usual seat, and the bartender, a kind and wise man in his fifties greeted me. "Good evening, Alex. Same as usual?" I usually ordered some beer to chug down, but today I wanted something different. "Get me the strongest whiskey you have," I said. The bartender nodded and went to the back, preparing my drink. As I was waiting, I noticed a man in a hoodie looking at me. Seeing that I noticed his gaze, he smiled and approached me. "Care to buy some merchandise? I have some really high-quality stuff today." He told me. I smiled a cunning smile. Recently, to find another way to somehow spend my newly-earned money, I started buying this ''psychoactive stimnt'' from this man. It felt really weird consuming it, and I saw visions of gods and goddesses and alternate worlds and other strange hallucinations. I wasn''t sure of the legality of purchasing this ''thing'', but I knew I could avoid legal repercussions. I bought a few grams of the weird substance from the man, and he said "Always great to work with you." and walked away. Deep down, I knew that I was doing something wrong and what the proper name for this was, but I didn''t want to admit it. The bartender then came back with my drink ready. I flushed the whiskey down my throat and gulped it as I felt the burning sensation I could never get used to circting throughout my body. A few minutester, my vision started getting a bit blurry and I seemed to forget that tomorrow was a workday and that I even had any responsibilities for that matter. I paid the bartender and then left. I was sure I shouldn''t drive while in this state, but I entered the car nheless. I was a bit disoriented as I drove through the now-empty streets, but I somehow made it back home safely. My house was a reasonably big vi in the suburbs. Before leaving the house, I looked at the small stic bag I had in my pocket, the one I purchased from the shady man. I didn''t feel like using it. I now wondered why I even bought it. There was really no reason. Had money be such a light thing to me? That spendingrge amounts of it became a convenience? I felt miserable, I hated this heavy weight I had in my heart. What was I even saying? I''m really happy. Really really happy. I make lots of money, and have the job of my...dreams? I can buy....expensive cars? What for? I entered my house. I was married and had kids. My wife was a woman that didn''t demand too much, only asking for free ess to my credit card. We didn''t meet too much, and the only time we spent together was when we would pleasure each other. As I went upstairs, I saw a kid looking through the narrow sliver formed by the almost closed door. That was our son. I didn''t have time to spend with him, so I instead bought him toys and subscriptions to streaming services and other such entertainment. I ignored him and entered my room. The big bed in the center of my room seemed to attract me with the gravity of a ck hole. As I stretched on the bed, I slept. In the middle of the night, however, I woke up. My body felt sluggish and my head was hurting way too much. This was probably because I drank a lot. I woke up because of a sharp repetitive sound I heard. That should be my wife, who just entered, and she seemed to be wearing high heels. I heard her voice. "Honey, you know you can''t be here~~!" Honey? Was she calling me? Strangely, though, I heard the voice of another man, who answered her. "Look at the time, babe. He won''t know anything." "Well, you''re right." What was going on here? I think I figured it out. A few weeks ago, I found boots that were men''s size in the room. When I asked my wife, she told me it was just the gardener, who came in and wanted to rest. But I now know what is going on. I stood up, walking slowly towards the door. As I opened it, my suspicions were confirmed. There she was, with a man hugging her from the waist, and the two were leaning on each other, kissing passionately in the midst of my own house. This was ridiculous. As ''my wife'' opened her eyes and took sight of me, she pushed the man off of her and screamed "Alex!" I couldn''t bear this. I screamed, "YOU TWO, LEAVE THIS HOUSE IMMEDIATELY!" The man, who still seemed in a trance, looked at him, dumbfounded, and the ''woman'' tugged at his clothes and they left the house. There, from the narrow sliver of his room, my son was still watching us, with a poker face that I couldn''t discern emotions from. I ran down the staircase and opened the cab in our kitchen. There were numerous alcohol bottles there. And in my own pockets, I took out the drugs I bought earlier and consumed everything immediately. I then chugged down many many bottles of strong alcohol. I hated this life. I hated myself. I hated everything. A few minutester, the effects started to kick in. Unlike the usual, I felt my vision darkening and I couldn''t stand straight anymore. .... .... .... "HE HAS OVERDOSED! PARAMEDICS, COME HELP US!" As I barely opened my voices, I noticed I was on a bed in a fast-moving vehicle surrounded by people wearing white aprons and a horde of medical equipment. And that was thest thing I saw. __________________________________________________________________ Alex, who was still copsed on the door, opened his eyes. He was covered in a cold sweat, and his face was red. Achilles, who was already awake and on his side, helped him up and asked him "Are you doing okay?" "I had a nightmare. A horrible nightmare." Alex said with wide eyes. Achilles responded, "Me too." The two then heard the voice of the Furies and turned around. "Already awake? That''s a shame, we wanted to have more fun." They continued "Well, we promised we''d let you pass." As they stopped speaking, the three monstrous women walked by them and entered the tunnel on the other side, leaving Achilles and Alex alone in the temple. Alex was still gasping for breath and holding onto his arrhythmically beating heart. Achilles then stated, "When you feel better, let''s move on." Alex nodded, also noticing that Achilles didn''t seem to be doing all that well too. He was shaking heavily and his feet were fidgeting in anxiety, even though he seemed to want to hide it. Chapter 31 - Asphodel Meadows(1) After having recovered a bit, Alex stood up with the help of Achilles. ''The path is no longer obstructed, we should get going'' Alex then too the lead and approached the staircase. Looking up, they noticed it wascking any form of lighting. Fortunately, their torch survived all of their misadventures, albeit extinguishing in the process. The torches on the wall were brightly zing with a soft green me. Therefore Alex took up their own torch to the lit torches and it, ordingly, ignited a green me. With the problem of lighting now solved, the two made their way up the staircase. As they climbed and climbed, he heard the voice of Achilles. "What did you dream about?" Turning around, he perceived that thetter wasn''t doing very well. His face waspletely emotionless, but it felt like theck of emotion was forced, as if through blocking every expression of his, he contained his inner feelings. Alex supposed that internally, Achilles would be like an erupting volcano. While his own nightmare was, well, a nightmare, he very speedily recovered from it. It didn''t seem to be the case for Achilles. "It was a dream about my home country. It felt like the future I would have lived if I wasn''t recruited into Olympus, and I loathed every part of it." Alex replied. All of the current happenings felt very serendipitous to him, as none of this would have ever been his reality if he just ignored the message in his spam folder, as every rational adult would do. "How about you? Can you tell me about it?" He asked Achilles in return. "I fought to the death with my lover." ... "I still vividly remember having to strike the person I love the most with my spear, the sensation of their lifeless and cold body." Achilles paused, both in his words and his steps. From the higher standpoint he was in, Alex looked at the man''s poker face. He continued "I had no control over my own body, and Patroclus was attacking me and saying the words that I didn''t want to hear the most." As Achilles was speaking, he unexpectedly started ramming his own head against the wall, and said. "Patroclus told me ''Why did you leave me to die?''. How could I ever respond?" His head started bleeding profusely and Alex jumped and pulled the man away. Now face-to-face, Alex told him "If you''re just going to believe an illusion as reality and...hurt yourself because of it, then why did you even say yes toing with us?" Achilles, with blood dripping down his face, listlessly stared at Alex. "You came with us so you can see Patroclus, right? If so, then why did you settle for a fake Patroclus if the real one is only an adventure away. I think, if you can''t even go face them and clear your disputes, then you don''t truly love them." Alex told him bluntly. The man was still staring at him with no reaction whatsoever. Alex was still not over, though. "You said it yourself earlier. To love and adore a person is to be able to bleed for them, fight for them fulfill their every wish, and for them to be able to do the same." As he said these final words, Achille''s eyes reddened and he started tearing up, as his tears and blood mixing together. Alex let go of him and resumed climbing the staircase, leaving the man some space. Achilles was someone who was heavily hurt by the past, losing the person he was willing to spend an eternity with, and thinking it was his fault. No matter how hurt he was, he should clear up everything with feedback from the actual person involved, and take out the weights he has been enduring on his shoulders, and search for what made him happy. There had to be something. When beings are mortal, they have to be resourceful with their time, and they can''t waste time trying every single thing so find what makes them truly fulfilled and satisfied. But Achilles is immortal, someone for whom the sands of time have stopped tipping. Perhaps the human mind cannot grasp immortality. Even Alex still found it hard to understand that he was going to be here forever, but it was still as magical. Humans might be born under the greatest of curses, that of mortality, but they can reflect, they can prioritize feelings, people and objects and learn the true value of everything. When this curse is broken, such as is the case for Alex, it felt magical that he had all the time in the world to be whoever he wanted, to do everything he wanted and to spend happily. Alex''s stream of thoughts was interrupted, as he reached the end of the staircase. In front of him was a ming door with the silhouette of Cerberus, an exact replica of the one they entered Tartarus through. He sat on the stairs and waited for Achilles. It didn''t take too long for him toe. Achilles was climbing up the stairs with his head held up high, and although his face was messy from the tears and blood, his eyes were now glowing and hisps were raised, forming a slight smile. Additionally, he could move his arms again. As he approached the ming door, he turned to him and asked "Did I make you wait for too long? Let''s go to Asphodel!" Alex shook his head and stood up. There were two gates to open, and as Alex put his hand on one of them, extinguishing the illusionary mes, he eximed "Achilles, let''s open the two doors at the same time!" Thetter nodded and they both pushed the gates at the same time, opening the heavy gates. As they let go of of the gates when they were fully open, they went through and... *BAM* The two gates shut violently closed. And here the two were, in the Asphodel Meadows, the limbo of the Underworld where souls with an equal amount of good and bad deeds went after death. ''It''s...ming?'' Alex thought to himself with a frown. There were rivers ofva shielded by rocky hills everywhere, and the soil was a dark ashy colour. The temperature here was also unpleasantly hot, as their sweat nds were abnormally active, trying to cool down their bodies. Looking around, this realm went as far as the eyes could see but there was no sky, and instead a cave ceiling that was quite high up. While they were observing the ce, unusual sounds rmed them. It was the sound of shrill groaning. Locating the source of the sound, they noticed a grey blob of matter navigating on the ground, and it seemed to make that sound. ''This is bizarre.'' Alex was weirded by the bizarre moving creature. "I think I know what''s going on here." Achilles dered. Alex listened carefully. "I theorize that The River of Purification, Phlegethon, has spilled over to Asphodel, causing the current magma pandemonium, and this stupid soul decided to jump into it." Alex was confused and asked him in response "Why would someone willingly jump into a ming river, haha?" "The River of Purification, as it''s name infers, can purify sins through the mes. If a soul stays for too long in it however, it will start purifying traits, personality and the attributes of a soul, and eventually, vaporize it into nothingness." Achilles replied to himprehensively. Alex nodded as he understood. "Can we...save it?" "The only way to save it, I suppose, is to vanquish it forever, releasing it from its suffering." While they were speaking, the grey blob transformed into a beast-like figure and surged at Achilles. By now, his arms were mostly healed, and he could move them, but fighting would still be an extremely hard task for him. Alex bolted at the creature and punched it, vaulting it a distance away. The blob then transformed into a ferocious wolf and charged at him again. This time, just as he was about to perform a rudimentary attack, he heard Achilles instruct him "Attack it with an uppercut and jump into the air, then kick it back to the ground." Alex nodded and carried out the attacks, making the ground under them rumble as the ''wolf'' was thrust into the rocks. Jumping a distance away, Alex got ready for any iing attacks. This time, the blob became a speedy leopard and rushed at him. "Move to the left, then kick it!" As the leopard almost assaulted, he dodged its attack and moved to the left, before rapidly kicking it and sending it flying to a wall of rock and breaking it into pieces. "Wow..." Alex was surprised by the strength he could show by incorporating martial techniques. The ''leopard'', that was on the ground now, started turning into an elephant. However, it then turned into a monkey, then a lion, then a chimera, then a centaur, switching back and forth into different forms before going back to its earliest shape, the grey blob of matter. It was back to groaning as it did earlier, and as Alex approached it cautiously, he almost got the impression that it was...screaming for help. He had an idea he wanted to try out. Back in the vige of Atreksos, he was able to contribute to the healing of the older residents through entering their dreams and sending them messages from their families, which ignited hope in their recovery. Since dreams are just the manifestation of a person''s subconscious while they were sleeping, it should also work while they are awake..? Alex wanted to try saving this poor soul through entering its subconscious. He hence put his hand on the blob and while it felt unpleasantly slimy, he resisted the urge to remove his hand and willed to enter the soul''s subconscious. After closing his eyes, he opened them again. He was in an unfamiliar ce. It seemed to be Earth, but the sky was red and a lot of things did not make sense, like trees that grew their foliage in the ground and their roots in the sky. As he was here, he heard something. Turning around, he saw a humanoid creature. Actually, he was nowpletely surrounded by these creatures. They had no mouths, nor eyes and ears yet they could speak. Nevertheless, their speech waspletely incoherent and didn''t mean anything at all. This was a bit scary and he moved aside but he then noticed that now, everywhere around him in this realm was upied by these creatures. This was a bit unsettling as they spoke unintelligible sentences and stayedpletely still. Just as he was about to leave this scary ce, he heard one of the creatures speak. Concentrating on what it said, he heard the phrase "Pleeeeeeaaaaaseee kill meeeeeee..." Alex''s head started to hurt and as if it echoed, all of the humanoid creatures replicated that one and started saying "Pleeeeeeaaaaaseee kill meeeeeee..." This was maddening. ''Is this how a broken soul''s subconscious looks like?'' Alex was shocked at this chaos. He then willed to leave the realm, and as he felt his consciousness flowing, he heard the creatures screaming even louder "PLEAASE KILL MEEE!!!" As he woke up, he saw he was still in Asphodel, and Achilles was behind him. "Are you doing okay?" He asked Alex with a worried tone. "This creature wants to die...." Alex frowned heavily as he remembered what he saw and heard earlier. "I won''t ask how you got to that conclusion but I''ll trust you. What are you going to do?" Now, that was the question Alex didn''t want to confront. ''Can I really kill a soul eternally, even if it wishes to die, and not be a murderer?'' Alex pondered on the dilemma. Would he take the soul of its suffering and end it? Or would he evade any responsibility or guilt by leaving it? Alex almost felt like there was a countdown left for him to decide and rapidly processed all of the options. He was decided. Under the gaze of Achilles, Alex grabbed the blob and went by the ming river, and then, he reluctantly dropped it. As he watched vapour rising into the air, he almost copsed from guilt but in his ears, he felt like he heard an echo. ''Thank you....'' Achilles then told him "I think you made the right choice." Alex nodded and spoke his feelings "I would be able to escape the guilt if I just left it there, but the guilt of leaving it in that state, would be much, much greater. The things I saw, this soul, this person was suffering immensely, and would have continued to do so for all eternity." When they were discussing, an unknown voice nearby said "Ughh, the Phlegethon has even reached this point, wait, what are you two Elysians doing here?" Achilles and Alex turned around and found the person speaking to be a resident of Asphodel. Simrly to the ones he met in the House of Hades, this soul from Asphodel hosted a ghostly appearance and didn''t have any human physical traits. It then said "Let me lead you two to Asphopolis." It seemed to think they were from Elysium, and none of the two objected to clear it up, and instead nodded and followed the soul. Over some of theva rivers, bridges were built and they traversed using those. After a while, they found themselves in a totally different environment than the ming hellscape. This ce was lush with greenery and there were entire fields of flowers in front of them. To be precise, they were all Asphodel flowers, with their characteristic white and magenta petals spreading in the shape of a star. On top of that, from their position, they could observe a....city? Chapter 32 - Just A Casual Day Dismantling Unethical Business - Asphodel(2) ''Wow...'' Alex wasn''t expecting the change in scenery, much less a metropolis in the middle of Hell. The fields of flowers and grass stretched out as far as the eyes could see, and he could now understand why this ce was called ''The Asphodel Meadows''. The grasnds here were boundless, and it would look like an ordinary prairie, if only there was a sky and a sun, but the ce was instead dimly lit by torches and fireflies. Looking around, he also noticed multiple quarries around the city, and could very vaguely perceive souls that were wielding mining tools, all hard at work. As he was entranced by the unfamiliarndscape, Achilles tugged at his shoulders and told him, "Alex, we''re moving." Alex nodded and they followed the soul down the hill they were currently on. While they were walking, their guide kept on informing them "This is Asphopolis, one of the many cities of the realm." "As per most cities, it was constructed near mines." Alex was curious at this insight and inquired the soul. "Why are most cities constructed near mines?" He asked it. "I see you''re unfamiliar with the state of affairs in Asphodel. Here, you have to work to make a living...well, usually. Mines are simply one of the most efficient ways to do so." It concisely exined it to him. He nodded and as they were discussing various rted subjects, they found themselves entering the sprawling metropolis. There weren''t any high-rise buildings, because the cave''s ceiling restricted building height, but instead, the city stretched very wide. Achillesmented on the city, "For a ce in the middle of the Underworld, there sure is a variety of facilities and buildings." The soul nodded and replied, "Well, this wasn''t here a few decades ago, until some cunning business soul figured out that since currency flow was so stable and constant, taking advantage of it to to promote new sectors and make arge fortune for themself." ''Capitalism follows you everywhere you go.'' Alexmented to himself. It was, however, true that Asphodel had the perfect conditions for an advanced economy. A willing and active workforce, check. Low to zero intion caused by a tightly regted flow of currency, check. Stability and security as guaranteed by Hades himself, check. Ample resources, check. And the best of all, an eternally living poption with equally demanding needs, check. This manifested itself very well in the urbanization of Asphodel. As they were walking through, he saw marketces, casinos, restaurants, shops and residential buildings. Asphodel stood up to its name as the limbo of the Underworld, the ce of great neutrality; The soul was of great help, and unfortunately, they had to part ways. They were standing in front of a very monotonous building made of gray concrete. The soul dered to the two, "I work as a guard here, and I have to report back to my superiors. Do you have any Asphodel Eternities?" ''Asphodel Eternities...? Oh, those are the currency here.'' Alex realized he won himself quite a small sumst time when he gambled with Dionysus and thus nodded. Achilles still had one question, though, and spoke out his query, "Do you know how to get to Elysium from here?" The soul paused for a moment then said, "On the other side of Asphodel, you will find a ming door that leads straight to Elysium. Wait, how do you not know this, aren''t you Elysians?" Just as Alex was about to respond, Achilles pinched his shoulders and replied "Memory loss, memory loss." If the soul had a human face, it would undoubtedly look confused. Achilles then turned to him and stated, "Let''s go." Alex was rather surprised at this side of Achilles, yet he found it humorous at the same time. "Thank you for your help!" Alex eximed to the soul and followed the running Achilles with his own incredible speed. As they were running, however, Achilles suddenly halted, causing Alex to look at him questioningly. The former pointed at a certain direction with his eyes and Alex followed. There were two souls and they seemed to be arguing. One of the two had a sword and shouted at the one in front of it, "You have disrepected Lord Aplisto, and for that, your punishment will be purification in the Phlegethon River." The other one was wailing and repeating "Please forgive me. I just can''t survive with 20 Eternities a month, and the Ministry gives us 30!" The sword-wielding soul seemed livid and screamed, "You dare doubt Lord''s business practices?!" A small crowd of souls formed around them, and started whispering among each other. As so-called ''Elysians'', Achilles and Alex stood out from the crowd and when thetter asked a random soul for context, it took them to the side, where no one could overhear them, and startedining. "A few years ago, Lord Aplisto, who owns the casinos in the city, banned workers from processing their earnings directly through the Ministry, that distributes Eternities based on work directly under the jurisdiction of Lord Hades, and now, every resource extracted from the mines, must pass through him before being sent to the Ministry, which he used to his advantage to lower wages and gain a bigmission from every transaction." It made sense now. To Alex, the economic growth that Asphodel went through couldn''t be one where every worker benefited, as that was too good to be true, and the cracks of this system appeared. He was still confused by one factor, however. "I understand this certain Lord Aplisto has a lot of money, but how would he enforce this on the residents." He asked. The soul answered him, "He hired guards to heavily monitor the mines, and with the spilling of the Phlegethon River into Asphodel, residents who don''t abide to his tyranny are thrown into it." Alex remembered the scene of the corrupted soul from earlier, and got goosebumps on his body. He wasn''t a hero or a justice freak, but for a person to dare murder another person eternally just because they didn''t follow their hical practices was tragic. He turned around to face Achilles, who seemed to know what he was thinking of, and nodded. "Have you thought about forming a Union? Or boycotting his casinos so he doesn''t have any mary resources to enforce his will?" Alex was wondering about this, as he couldn''t believe how unregted their economy had to be for this sort of business to develop. "Well, the casinos he owns are the only way us from Asphodel can entertain ourselves..." The soul sighed, and replied to him. "Then make your own casinos....?" Alex was determined to find a way to solve this. It dumbfoundedly answered him, "Easier said than done, he controls the entire market." "One person won''t be enough, but what if everyone steps in? There''s got to be a lot of people who feel the same way as you do." Alex somehow felt really cool saying this line. Achilles, on his side, was looking at him with his jaw wide open and whispered, "You''re really doing this?" Alex felt his blood boil at the thought. To be the spearhead of a revolution against the tyrannous greedy people in power, that was a wish every kid had. ''And today, that would be us.'' He nodded at Achilles and tightened his fists in resolve. Thanking the soul for that information, he then jumped into the crowd from earlier, dispersed it and in front of everyone, proimed "Today ends the tyranny of Aplisto. Make your own casinos and stop purchasing his products until he is bankrupt and the vultures of your city have been cleansed out." The crowd was all staring at him, and at first, they got back to whispering to each other, and then one of them spoke "Hell yeah(1)!" The others then also started getting excited and screamed along "Hell yeah!" Someone from the crowd helped the soul that was being shouted at earlier and the sword-wielding soul was stuttering. Alex smiled and then left the scene, thinking that the rest would be done by itself. Along with Achilles, they went to an inn in the center of Asphopolis and observed from their windows as havoc wreaked the city. They proceeded to eat at the restaurant in the inn. The food was a little unusual, being entirelyposed of mushrooms that grew very well in this environment, but it was still tasty and filling. After finishing their fill, they left the inn and walked around the dimly lit city. There was a ce with a namete that said "Aplisto''s Casino" but no one was entering the building and they were all standing in front of it and screaming, "Vanquish Aplisto!" "Vanquish Aplisto! Seeing that the revolts stirred up sessfully and everything was going along to the n, Alex smiled. Achilles smiled back at him and said "What an absolute mad you are!" "Hehe..." This would just be a casual day dismantling hical business down in the very ordinary Asphodel. Chapter 33 - A Successful Revolution - Asphodel(3) Hence, Alex and Achilles, spent a few days in Asphodel, overseeing the revolution that the former had caused. They couldn''t go to Elysium yet anyways, as through inquiring with the locals, they found out the only bridge that allowed passage of the Phlegethon river to the gates of Elysium was torn down by theva and it would take a while to rebuild. Nheless, they would keep on spectating and helping the residents of Asphopolis overthrow Aplisto and end his monopoly on the mining sector, which was the lifeblood of most of the ordinary residents of the city. _______________________________________________________________________ In the center of Asphopolis, one could find arge pce. It stood out due to its unusual architecture that mimicked the abodes of kings, and queens of the mortal world. Additionally, it used rare materials that contrasted with the concrete blocks that the rest of the residents were left to build with. It hosted a symmetrical and well-cared-for garden that practically screamed wealth and the pce in itself was extremely opulent, as the wide halls in its interior decorated with enormous wall paintings, all depicting the very same person. It looked like the owner of the pce really liked themself. Outside of this pce, arge crowd of souls was marching. There were very clear opposing sides, one of which was the group of souls as aforementioned, and they were unarmed. On the other side, there was a smaller pack of souls that were, however, fully armed with cold weapons. The sight of the ghostly figures of Asphodel wielding heavy armor and swords was ratheredic. The crowd of souls was marching around the pce and screaming in unison "Vanquish Aplisto!", albeit as the heavily armed pack cautiously followed their every move. Meanwhile, in the insides of the pce, a different scene was taking ce. In one of the numerous halls of the pce, a soul was copsed on the ground, clutching thin air. On the side of its ''head'', there was a beautiful crown. It shined a golden color and the gems embedded in it were reflecting the lights cast by the chandelier overhead and served as a testament to its worth. This crown was made of gold, diamonds, obsidian, and rubies, the rarest metals and crystals that they could find in the mines of Asphodel. And the soul copsed weakly on the ground, was also the very same person that monopolized these mines and the target of the city''s ongoing revolts. The self-proimed ''Lord Aplisto'', casino tycoon and tyrant. Standing a distance away from ''Lord Aplisto'', a person who seemed to be an attendant was calmly listing out recent financial reports. "Lord, aspared to the previous bi-monthly financial earnings, the profit gained from the casinos has gone down from 12564 Eternities to a modest figure of 542 Eternities, and guards from the mines have resigned due to not receiving their proper wages and regting the mines will be impossible." Aplisto, however, wasn''t calm at all. "I KNOW, I KNOW. HOW ABOUT, INSTEAD OF TORMENTING ME, YOU QUIT TOO!?" "Understood." The attendant seemed to be waiting for this and took off its hat, and proceeded to leave the hall. Aplisto, who was now left alone and looked extremely neurotic, stood up and approached the corner of this hall, where arge painting of him was hung. After staring at it for a dozen seconds or so, grabbed the painting and carefully took it out of the wall, and put it down on the ground. Surprisingly, there was a dent on the wall that hid a single chest. The chest seemed to be heavy as he had difficulty taking it out of there, but he somehow did and opened it. As the chest opened, a blinding light shed in the room and as it dimmed, it revealed the contents of the chest. There were hordes and hordes of gold coins all engraved with the horse, a prominent symbol of the Underworld and proof of their legitimacy as Eternities, the currency of Asphodel. Aplisto took out a handful of these coins that filled up the entire chest and hugged it. He then kept repeating this single sentence, "I may have lost everything but I still have you..." He was now fully mad and stayed in that state, groaning as he rubbed the coins against his own body. Unbeknownst to him, the crowd of souls outside suddenly barged in the hall and witnessed the madness and obsession that he had with money, also noting down therge amounts of Eternities that he was hoarding in his house. "Disgusting!" "Maddening!" "Tyranny!" They were all shouting curses at ''Lord Aplisto''. If these souls had eyes, then Aplisto would have bloodshot ones as he gave up and copsed to the ground once again. Somewhat unexpected, the former heavily armed souls that were supposed to be opposing the revolts joined them too, as they allined about not receiving their proper wages. Aplisto''s empire was entirely built upon money, and now that he was in ack of it, it all came crumbling down. Like a criminal, he was apprehended by the others and thrown out of his castle. There was a square in the center of Asphopolis, and Aplisto was forcefully dragged there by the angry residents. As a crowd formed around him, a soul came up and started speaking and giving a speech about all of his wrongdoings. "Aplisto was once a smart business soul, and thanks to his casinos, entertainment for the residents was now readily avable." The crowd nodded. "However." "He wished to bite off more than he could chew, and tried using the mind-bending fortune he made to control even more of our lives, and monopolize our mines, that bring food on the table for most of us!" The crowd, going along with the soul''s crescendo tone, started stirring up and moving erratically. "We have calcted his entire worth, and it came out to an astounding 7 million Eternities! To illustrate, the average resident of Asphopolis makes about 394 Eternities a year!" The agitated crowd nodded fervently and someone spoke up "I only make about 210 Eternities a year! All because he chose to be in charge of mining! Speak about that!" The soul giving out the speech was overwhelmed and resumed its speech. "Hmm, y-yes. I was going to get to that." "Of his own will, Aplisto regted the mining industry, reducing the standard wage from 30 Eternities a month to 20 Eternities and pocketing the difference! When residents spoke up, the guards he hired with his fortune threw souls into the Phlegethon!" "Preposterous!" "Throw Aplisto into the Phlegethon River!" Someone from the crowd said, and it resonated with the audience, who repeated their words. Aplisto, in the center of this all, had his head dumped into the ground. At this moment, the crowd seemed to be getting a little bit too agitated, and the soul who gave out the speech was backing down as violence erupted in the square. At this moment, two people charged into the center of the square. They stood out from the rest of the souls, as they had human traits. They were, of course, Alex and Achilles. Alex proimed, "No one is going to throw anyone into the Phlegethon!" The crowd fell into silence for a moment and someone asked, "Why? He deserves it." Achilles took the lead this time and replied, "He may be a terrible soul. But no one deserves to be erased for all eternity under the mes andva of the river of purification." The crowd didn''t seem to agree but they were intimidated by the two and they instead kept asking, "Then, how will he be punished for his crimes?" Alex was the one who answered them this time. "Build a prison to incarcerate him and simr criminals with his fortune, there should be enough Eternities in there." "Also, I have an idea." The crowd, hearing his words, fell back into a fickle silence. "How about forming an assembly that regtes business in Asphopolis, but instead of being overseen by a single person, it''s instead hosted by a few people that are voted in by the residents of the city and that can be removed and reced by other people?" Alex thought that this city had the perfect conditions for a functioning democracy, and it would be paramount to ensuring any future developments would be for the benefit of everyone. ''And, breaking a bad system isn''t enough. You need another system, a better one, to rece it.'' He concluded to himself. The mob was whispering among themselves. Alex and Achilles were waiting to see the response of the crowd. Fortunately, they calmed down and they started praising him. Alex waved his hands and bumped fists with Achilles, who told him, "Good job, Alex." As they were getting ready to start working on rebuilding the ce, Aplisto, who was copsed on the ground, suddenly stood up and while he was apprehended by guards, he started screaming at Alex. "YOU F**CKER, SON OF A B**CH, I HOPE THEY SEND YOU TO TARTARUS, TO BE TORTURED FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!!!" "Tell that to Hades, will you?" Alex responded indifferently. Aplisto looked dumbfounded and stayed silent as he was dragged by the guards to god-knows-where. __________________________________________________________ ~A few dayster~ The residents ended up doing most of the work in restructuring the city. They formed the assembly and voted in their first leader, who was the soul that gave out the speech earlier. They built a prison where Aplisto and some of his aplices were now held. After withdrawing the funds for this from thetter''s personal fortune, a lot of money was still left, and they redistributed it equally to the residents, who now had a lot more money they were able to spend on the city''s many sectors, further providing a boost to the economy. The city was renamed ''The Commonwealth of Asphopolis'' and Alex and Achilles would henceforth be considered the honorary leaders of the city, and be given preferential treatment wherever they went. There was just one problem, however. "How will we get to Elysium?" Achilles asked him. Alex rubbed his head and shook his head. The construction on the bridge hasn''t started yet and they would have to wait a while, which was unfavorable considering Alex wanted to see the eclipse a few days from now. Fortunately, they would find a solution. One ''afternoon'', as they ate food in a gourmet restaurant downtown, an unfamiliar soul came up to them and introduced itself. "Greetings, heroes. I am Assos, the expert herbalist of the town. Could I get some of your time?" They weren''t in a rush to do anything, so they nodded and followed Assos. It took them to a shop with a sign that said "Herbal Haven" and they entered. They were sat at a table in the back of the shop and Assos finally told them why he sought them out. "I heard you two are Elysians looking to get back to Elysium, is that right?" It asked them. The two nodded and it pped its hand in response. "Well, I have the most perfect thing for you." Assos stood up and left the room beforeing back with an object in its hand. It was a ss bottle, and inside of it was a miniature model of a raft. "Charon, the underworld riverman, asionally trades with us and this was one of his gifts." Achilles took the bottle and examined it carefully as Assos gave them more information. "This raft is the only one that can withstand the mes of Phlegethon, and will take you along the river so you can reach the gates of Elysium." Alex was surprised and asked in response, "You''re giving this to us? For free?" Assos replied "Of course it''s not for free. But fret not, thanks to you ending Aplisto''s monopoly, my previously small businesses have boomed and I have never been so rich, so this will be my gift in exchange!" This was a pleasant surprise. Alex epted the gift, and the two thanked Assos before leaving the shop to prepare for their departure. Chapter 34 - The Three Fates - Elysium(1) With their transportation issue now solved, the two left the shop and walked along the streets of Asphopolis and the passing souls all waved at them, their deeds now recognized throughout the city. Unbeknownst to Alex, at every step of his journey through the Underworld, a fleeting figure was observing his every move and giving him a hand when he had a hard time. He honestly thought he didn''t do much. The city of Asphopolis justcked the foundation to back up its swift progress, and with the Assembly now in ce and carefully overseeing the Commonwealth, the city''s long-term stability would be insured. As they entered the inn where they were now granted free stay and settled, Alex, got a bit curious. "Achilles, could I see the raft?" He asked him. Achilles nodded and passed him the clear ss bottle, beyond which he could see the miniature boat. It has been a while since he''s tried this but he was curious if it still worked. Channeling his concentration onto the bottle, words soon streamed into his retina. ___________________________________________________________ (Replica of Charon''s raft in a bottle) Quality: Excellent. State: Well-kept Additional information: A raft that can withstand the waters of the Phlegethon, Archeron, Lethe, Cocytus, and Styx Rivers of the Underworld. _____________________________________________________________ ''It looks like it''s still functional.'' As Alex observed the bottle earlier, he remembered he still had the Owl Ne that Athena had given him, and he didn''t get an opportunity to use it while in the Underworld, so this would be a good chance. Putting that aside, he and Achilles began to pack up their belongings, which consisted of two bags containing a modest amount of food and water. The bags where his writing tools were stored were still in the possession of Crista down in the House Of Hades. Seeing as this came up to him, he really hoped Crista would be able toe to see the eclipse as she told him, and even Persephone insisted that they would be able toe. Looking back, the way they bid their farewell perhaps wasn''t perfect. He reyed every single word he said and got embarrassed as his face blushed and Achilles asked him if he was doing alright. ''At least we didn''t stay on bad terms...'' Alex reflected. He was now partially convinced his feelings for Crista stretched beyond simple friendship, but he still couldn''t pronounce ''the'' word. As he was still entranced by the harmony of his brain, Achilles, who had already finished and was leaving the room, said, "Are youing?'' Alex awoke and nodded nervously. Thinking upon it, Achilles should also be feeling peculiar sentiments right now. He was going to reunite with his lover in Elysium for the first time since their deaths, and it seemed they had a lot to say to each other. Alex could see Achilles was getting fidgety as they left the inn, and he didn''t speak as many words as before. To avoid being seen, they navigated through the narrow alleys of the city northwards. It was sessful at first, but just as they were about to leave the metropolis and enter the verdant fields, a voice behind them asked, "Heroes, where do you think you''re going?" Turning around, the two felt their jaws open wide as there wasn''t just one soul, but hundreds of residents from the city all patiently waiting for them. Alex shrugged and said "Whatever..." For a long while, they would greet every single one of those souls that came to bid their goodbyes and each and everyone had a gift for them. Their bags were now heavy with food, souvenirs, and other misceneous items. Someone even gave them pomegranates, and Alex hammered into his mind not to ever eat any pomegranates, as they bind you to the Underworld. "Umm, thank you...." Alex rubbed his head as gifting him this was both funny....and scary. After they were done with this, the new leader of the Assembly, who was recently elected, came to their sides and started giving out a speech about how their heroic deeds will be forever remembered in Asphopolis and Asphodel, and at a certain point, it started sounding borderline obsessive. As their attention drifted away, the leader finally concluded his speech and bid his goodbyes. Now, they would really depart from here. Alex could see a big crowd of soulsing this way, presumably also to thank them and say goodbye, but there was no way they were staying here any longer, as the two bolted out and ran through the fields and hills until they were far enough and the silhouette of the city could be covered with a single hand. Beyond the cities, mines, and farms of Asphodel, the rest of the scenery was quite monotonous, mainly consisting of fields of White Asphodel flowers and the dark ceiling of the realm. There would, however, be a radical change in this scenery after they traversed the fields for a while. The fields of flowers turned into dark and rough rocks, and the ambient temperature kept getting warmer and warmer until it was at an ufortable level. Soon enough, streams ofva would be visible and those streams eventually ended up connecting to a single, extremely wide ming river. The main tributary to the Phlegethon River was now in front of them. The temperature of the ''waters'' looked extreme at first nce, and the two didn''t even need further clues toe to that conclusion. Normally, they would have been stuck here and would have had to find another way to Elysium or wait until the bridge through this river waspleted, and both options were troublesome or too lengthy. Fortunately, they were now in possession of the replica of Charon''s raft, that would allow them passage through the river. Achilles, with the bottle in his hand, asked "We just need to break this ss bottle, right?" "I suppose." Alex replied unhelpfully. Achilles shrugged and threw the ss bottle onto the ground, breaking it into countless pieces. However, the miniature raft inside was still intact and abruptly, started getting bigger and bigger until it turned into a normal-sized raft that couldfortably fit both of them. There were also two paddles on either side of the raft. Alex grabbed the raft and put it on the surface of the river. As it wasposed ofva, it was much much thicker than water, and the raft easily floated. It looked to beposed of ordinary wood that would ordinarily burn if thrown in the middle of ava pool, but a perk of this strange world was that unexpected entities and items were a norm, and the raft was still a deep-brown wooden color, unaffected by its surroundings. Following that, Achilles cautiously stepped into the raft and was surprised that it was very stable. Alex followed and sat down on it. "We need to paddle at the same time." Alex stated. Achilles nodded and they each grabbed one paddle and started paddling in synchronization. It was difficult, as the thickness and viscosity of the river made it so that you had to exert a lot of force to paddle sessfully, but they nheless steadily advanced. After a long, long while, they were finally at the bank on the other side of the river and got out of the raft. They bumped fists, feeling proud of themselves. "Should we take the raft with us?" Achilles demanded. Alex felt like the size of it would pose a logistical problem, hence they decided to leave it here in case anyone wanted to traverse. They then resumed walking and the scenery stayed the very same until they found themselves at their destination. The towering walls they could now see indicated they were at the extreme pole of Asphodel, and the ming gate showed them that they sessfully reached it. As usual, the mes of the two doors were only illusionary to them and extinguished when they touched it, revealing two average-looking doors. As they got ready to open the doors, Alex perceived that Achilles was gulping nervously and his hand that was on the door was shaking. "Achilles, you''ve waited so long for this,e on!" Heforted him. Thetter nodded and they finally pushed the door. Beyond the door was a dimly lit staircase. They slowly stepped through each stair and found a trapdoor at the top. Alex pushed the trapdoor open and took the lead, observing this renowned realm. He was...enthralled as he observed his surroundings. ''This is...heavenly...'' He thought to himself. Everywhere he looked, he could see either endless fields of verdant greenery, or sprawling forests and temples. The grass on his feet was slightly moist from a kind of morning dew, except there was no sunlight and the entire realm was just mystically lit by endless hordes of fireflies, giving Elysium a magical green ir. This is Elysium, the ce where only the noblest of people inhabit after their deaths. His aestheticism, which was dormant for quite a while, suddenly reignited at the sight of this beautifulndscape. This was....different from the mortal realm andcked sunlight or a visible sky for that matter, but it was still extremely breath-taking and ''heavenly''. Achilles had also climbed up and though he seemed less taken aback by the scenery, he still took a long second to appreciate it. Taking a whiff of the ce, Alex''s nose was assaulted by a light floral smell that epassed him and inspiredfort and rxation. When he got used to it, he turned back to Achilles and saw him clenching his fists. Alex went by his side and gave him a strong push on his back. Achilles shed a bright smile at him and eximed "It''s time...!" He continued, "Elysium is quite smallpared to Asphodel. As far as I know, there are only 10 temples for the residents. I''ll go to each one..." "Good luck." Alex told him. "Thank you very much!" Achilles thanked him and then he suddenly started running towards the direction of one of the temples, that was visible from the sloping hill they were on. ''I forgot to ask him where we''ll reunite....whatever.'' Alex threw himself down on the grass and took a long breath as he felt the sharp and healthy grass on his back. This ce was ethereal and unlike any other ce he''s been in. As the smell of roses and sweet honey dew coated his senses, Alex decided to take a nap. ___________________________________________________________ A very long napter.... *Achou!* A few firefliesnded on his face and made him sneeze and wake up. His face was a bit itchy, but his body was relieved of any tension he may have umted from this trip, and he felt so light. This ce almost made one feel drunk... As he took his belongings and got ready to explore the ce, he suddenly jumped from fright. Right behind him, there were three young-looking girls. They looked very ordinary and infantine. One of them was holding a staff that spun fiber. The second one passed the fiber through a rod and the third one spun the fiber into a furball. They were staring at him and he felt ufortable. "Hello...?" Alex greeted them. "Hello. We. Are. The. Three. Fates." Their manner of speech was eerie, as each one spoke one word and the one next to him would speak the next word, forming a sentence. ''The Three Fates? Aren''t those the daughters of Nyx? What are they doing here?'' Alex was very confused at the arrival of these elusive goddesses. "You. Must. Be. Wondering. Why. We. Are. Here." They continued. Alex nodded. "We. Noticed. When. You. Came. Into. This. World. That. We. Can''t. Read. Your. Fate." Alex wasn''t surprised by this, as Nyx told him that her daughters were the ones who informed her about his arrival, but he was still perplexed as to the reasons why they sought him. "Can. You. Lend. Us. Your. Hands?" They asked him as the third one, who spun fiber into balls, lent out her hand. ''There is nothing to lose...If they''re with Nyx, they probably won''t cause me harm..'' Alex nodded and gave her his hand. Immediately, a weird feeling arose in him. It was like he was naked and was being watched by eyes that could see everything. He felt extremely ufortable and took back his hand. The girl stared at him before she got back to spinning her fiber and the three spoke again. "We. Were. Finally. Able. To. See. Your. Fate. In. The. Near. Future." ''The near future? From what I know, they can usually divine an entire person''s life, even if they were gods.'' The Three Fates were responsible for some of the most important predictions in the history of Olympus. "We. Were. Able. To. Find. That. An. Extraordinary. Link. Will. Happen. If. You. Go. To. The. Easternmost. Temple. Of. Elysium." This time, after they finished speaking, they abruptly dissipated. Alex was very disoriented from all of this. ''The easternmost temple? I''ll....check it out?'' A prediction from the mistresses of fate was bound to be serendipitous. He wore his bag and made his way to the nearest temple, to get insights on the directions in Elysium. Chapter 35 - Prometheus, Titan Of Humanity - Elysium(2) As Alex had perceived earlier, there was one such temple nearby, down the hillside. Hence, he climbed down the hill and started walking towards his destination. As the terrain got tter, it also got more humid and moist and the vegetation here was more lush and varied, with grasses growing taller and a rainbow of flowers decorating thend. The floral smell from earlier was diluted by various pleasant scents and Alex''s lungs were very thankful after all that walking around the volcanic hellscape of Asphodel. *Sssssssss* Alex picked up on the sound of rushing water nearby and found a small river streaming through the ce and a forest ecosystem around it. ''The water looks so clear and pristine...'' Alex wanted to take a sip, but he ultimately decided against it. As with everything in the Underworld, he couldn''t know what a small peaceful-looking river could be hiding. He shrugged and resumed his walk. Going through the thin forestry of the woonds, a reasonably big structure came into sight. It was a very simr temple in architecture to the ones he found in the various acropolises, except it was constructed of a reflective and glowing green jade that merged with the environment. It was gorgeous and he found himself gulping at this heavenly architecture, mainly as a result of ''Aestheticism'' that he had gained from Aphrodite. After he looked around carefully, he entered the temple. The interiors of the temple were as pretty as the outside, and the spacious hall he was now in was heavily ornamented and organized. However, a peculiar smell suddenly assaulted his sense of smell. It was...sweet, and at the same time, sour and funky. ''This is the smell of wine...?'' Alex concluded that it was alcohol. He followed the source of the smell, through the brightly lit corridors of the temple and entered through a door, finding himself in the room where the smell was strongest. As he took in his surroundings, he was astonished. ''This is...chaotic.'' He thought to himself as he gulped. There were a lot of people, and most seemed to be heavily drunk. Some of them were painting sluggishly on canvas, others were writing and one of them was even sculpting with a sharp chisel, though she was drunk. ''The sculptor should be careful with that tool..'' This was a fiesta of art and alcohol, and an artist''s haven, with ideas and arts streaming about the drunken room. Alex figured these people wouldn''t help him much with finding the directions to the eastern temple so he approached the only small group that looked decent and sober enough. Three men were sitting around a small table and engaged in a discussion. "A life without the quest of wisdom is a trivial one, humanity was granted a brain to use it, and even as the dead souls that we are, I believe that we still have much to learn about..." As he heard these ''wise'' words, Alex turned around, concluding these people were also drunk. As he was going to leave, however, he felt someone grabbing his hand. He turned and was it was one of the men from earlier, and he spoke, "You, why do you have on you the scent of our goddess, Lady Athena?" ''What.'' Alex was a bit confused and broke free from the man''s grasp. "Ah, I apologize, I have neglected introductions. I am of the name Aristotle." The man introduced himself as Aristotle. ''Aristotle..? The greatest philosopher of Ancient Greece?'' Alex was surprised by the familiar name and pondered. It was possible he was the same philosopher that he knew from his time, as he learned that even Alexander The Great once existed in this world. "I''m Alex, Athena''s son." He introduced himself back. The two other men who were sat stood up and came by. They introduced themselves as to and Socrates, respectively. "What business does the child of our muse and goddess have in Elysium?" Socrates asked him. "I need to find the easternmost temple of this realm, could you help me with that?" Alex replied and requested. The three looked at each other, nodded and then to spoke up. "We can guide you. However, could you answer one question?" Alex nodded. "What is the meaning of life to you?" to questioned him. Alex fell into deep thought, concentrating on the question. After a short while, he found an answer within himself and said, "I''m not sure I have found one yet, however, I am on the lookout for any insights on it and I think it could change with time." Alex himself felt like he avoided the question entirely, but unexpectedly, Socrates started praising him. "Willingness to evolve and openness to new ideas, no wonder you are Lady Athena''s child. Remember, hubris will get you nowhere, and only through searching unconsciously for new wisdom will you be able to grasp the untold mysteries of the world. The answer is your own to make." Alex thought these were valuable insights and thanked Socrates. Thetter shrugged and said, "You were searching for east? It''s in the direction where the two forests bordering the river and the hills converge, forming a passage that will lead you east." Alex thanked them and said goodbye, leaving the premises of the temple. "Send our greeting to Lady Athena!" The three eximed as they were sending him off. Alex nodded and looked around. ''The ce where the two forests converge...?'' _______________________________________________________________________ Alex struggled to follow the lead but after carefully analyzing the entire surroundings, he finally found it. Going through the forest, he walked silently as the buzzing sound of fireflies rang out. This ce wascking sunlight and was very different from the mortal realm, but it was heavenly and elusive in its own way. With such thoughts going through his head, he navigated through the dense forest. Following a mindless walk, he found a clearing in the middle of the forest. On one side, there was a...coast? The waters stretched soundlessly, almost like they were in the middle of an ocean, but it couldn''t be. ''Perhaps the Styx river is just so wide?'' Alex pondered on it as he was surprised that Elysium was actually an ind, potentially in the middle of the Underworld River. Putting that aside, bordering the coast, a temple that looked the same as the one from earlier stood out. If he was right, this should very well be his destination. Just as he was going to enter the temple, however, someone exited it. It was a man, even though calling him an ordinary man would be extremely wrong. He was extremely tall, and almost as tall as some of the trees in the forest. He was also very muscr, and his muscles coated his body in an intimidating aura. His features looked rather human, and his face was that of an ordinary middle-aged man with a beard and long hair. The enormous man looked around, then looked down at him. "Well, hello there." The man''s voice was rather low-pitched, but it didn''t sound threatening. "Umm, hello." The man was towering over him, but Alex regained hisposure and greeted him back. "What is it that you need in the humble abode of this gentle titan, Prometheus?" The man seemed to speak of himself in the third person, and he presumed he was Prometheus. Prometheus wasn''t an unfamiliar name to Alex, as he was one of the titans from the past, and one of the only ones that weren''t enemies of Olympus. He decided not to beat around the bush, and proimed to Prometheus, "I''m Alex, son of Athena. I have been sent here by the Three Fates, daughters of Nyx." Prometheus looked rather confused but he hinted at him toe inside the temple. He then led him to a spacious hall and served him some food. Alex wasn''t hungry and shook his head, thanking Prometheus for the gesture. The titan nodded and started eating on his own. For someone who looked so ''barbaric'', he had polite etiquette and ate cleanly. After finishing his meal, Prometheus told him, "You said you''re the son of Athena? We were friends back when I was still in the mortal realm." Alex was a bit surprised and asked him, "How do you know her?" "Back when we overthrew Cronus, humanity had just started to flourish, and Athena, Hephaestus, and I were the only ones to have seen the potential those mortals held and we thus frequently coborated to help them, which, I guess, is why I am here." He informed him. Alex was a bit curious, as matters on the past of Olympus and the era of titans weren''t readily essible and he wondered about these happenings. Prometheus sensed his curiosity and said, "One day, a famine was threatening to eradicate humanity, and meat couldn''t be eaten since it brought sickness, so the three of us schemed and stole Zeus'' divine fire, granting it to humanity and solving the famine. When he discovered this, I was immediately sent here, and if I didn''t help with the battle against Cronus, there would be no doubt I would be rotting in Tartarus." ''Zeus seems to be someone with a high bottom line, and someone with an unpleasant personality'' Alex pondered on what he just heard. Prometheus then asked him, "So, Alex, I know Athena wasn''t punished since Zeus favored her so much, but do you know what happened to Hephaestus?" Alex tried to remember anything he knew about thetter, and soon enough, found something. The very first time he met Hermes, he told him that Hephaestus sheltered himself in his home for the past few hundreds of years. Alex quoted this to Prometheus. When thetter heard this, he clenched his fist and stood up, then....kneeled? He started requesting him profusely, "The Three Fates were right about our meeting. Alex, could I ask of you to inform Hephaestus of my well-being, and get him out of his cocoon? He can''t punish himself eternally for a mistake that I, have COMMITTED." Alex rubbed his head and said, "Of course, I''ll try..." Prometheus then started thanking him fervently but Alex stopped him and made him stand up. After that, they discussed various things and ended up forming a friendship. Alex then felt that it was time for him to go find Achilles, and bid his goodbyes or farewells to Prometheus, and left the temple. He should now find Achilles so they could leave the Underworld. Fortunately, he didn''t have to search very long, as a figure came out of the bushes and stared at him, astonished before eximing, "Alex?!" It was Achilles. Chapter 36 - The Surface "Achilles?" Alex was dumbfounded at his sudden arrival but also relieved he didn''t have to search through Elysium for him. The other man also seemed a bit confused but they greeted each other. They then stared awkwardly in silence. Alex coughed and asked Achilles, "So, how did it go?" Achilles suddenly frowned and clenched his fists, then answered him, "Distance and time didn''t do well to our rtionship, we broke it off." Alex felt a bit saddened since Achilles traversed all of the Underworld with hopes of reuniting with his lover, and ended up not getting the answer he wanted. Alex stayed silent, yet Achilles suddenly made a deration, "I broke it off." "What? Why?" Alex was confused at this unexpected deration, as he could see how Achilles was acting in the past. "As I traveled through Elysium, I thought about a lot of things. I figured that now, after all these years, what remained of me and Patroclus wasn''t love, but rather, the heavy weight of all the questions I wanted an answer to, and I didn''t want to keep this weight on me any longer." Achilles gave him aprehensive assessment of the mental state that led him to make that surprising decision. Alex nodded and thought it was reasonable. Love was often depicted as an evesting feeling shared between two people, but in reality, it was just two people being vulnerable to each other in the right ce, at the right time. When these conditions were no longer present, falling out of love was of course the natural course of action. There was perhaps a time when the two were head-over-heels to each other, but after this long separation and many unhealthy habits, it was now better to cut the rope. Now, Achilles could finally let go of his past and focus on the present. Alex stared at Achilles'' eyes. He perceived there was a very slight mncholic air to them but it was heavily dominated by relief and determination. Thetter looked perplexed at his stare so he turned his eyes and coughed. To lighten up the atmosphere, Achilles then said, "On the flip side, I met my father, Peleus, in here, and he was doing extremely well." "It must feel extremely blissful to know a rtive of yours is doing well even after death, isn''t it?" Alex was happy for Achilles. Following that, Alex discussed with him his own adventures in Elysium, and the nice, long nap he had and the mixed atmosphere from earlier readily turned cheerful. There was just, one problem, however. "Achilles, how are we going to cross the Styx River?" The river was so wide that Elysium was just an ind in the center of it, and they didn''t have any tool to cross it whatsoever. Achilles looked at him, approached the banks of the river, and started...screaming, "Charon!" Alex was silently judging the other man in his mind. ''Is Charon our own personal Ub*er?'' Alex chuckled. After a while of senseless screaming, the unexpected happened. A raft emerged from the horizons and anchored itself in front of them. On the raft was a familiar figure. Charon was standing there, his hollow and glowing emerald eyes staring through their souls. The boatman then lent out his hand as if he was expecting something. Alex and Achilles gave a confused look to each other. The former, however, had a sudden insight and wanted to try out his hypothesis. Alex took out a pouch from his bag and grabbed shiny golden coins, giving them to Charon. The boatman shook his hand, indicating he wanted more. At least, he verified that Charon did in fact ept Eternities aspensation. From their time in Asphodel, they umted a big sum of Eternities that they had no use for. Alex passed the entire pouch to Charon, who began counting the coins with his skeleton hands. When he was over with it, he nodded and pointed to the raft. Achilles gave him a thumbs up and the two got on the raft. Alex was expecting to appreciate the scenery of the Styx but just like the time he came by with Crista, sudden drowsiness enveloped him and he fainted. ____________________________________________________________ Opening his eyes, Alex observed his surroundings. The first thing that surprised him was the bright light that blinded his eyes. Looking up, he was shocked senseless, and eximed, "Why is there a fireball in the sky?!" "Oh...that''s just the sun." Alex was disappointed with himself, and the fact that he forgot about the sun after his short time in the Underworld. The sky was a bright blue and towering mountains in the distance engraved themselves to his eyes. He was back in Olympus, the abode of the gods and his own home. He was currently in front of Hermes'' mansion, and Achilles was still asleep. Alex tugged at him and thetter abruptly woke up. "Wow....It''s been so long that I haven''t seen the Sun." Achilles was, reasonably, surprised as he spent thest few decades in the dark depths of the House of Hades, where no sunlight has ever reached. As they were appreciating the scenery, the gates to the mansion opened, and someone came out. It was Hermes, who Alex hadn''t seen in a very, very long time. The two friends shared a long reunion hug and Hermes told him, "I brought the things you wanted, Alexei-boy." ''Oh...he must be speaking about the pinhole camera..'' Alex remembered he did request some materials thest time they met. "Thank you, Hermes." "You''re wee. You can tell me all about your experience with Hades and Persephone''s realmter, but can you chase out the annoying guest that''s been staying at our home?" Hermes rolled his eyes. "Who..?" Alex was confused but this was answered by a person that ran out to them. It was a muscr and tall, handsome man with full-body armor and a sharp spear in his hand. The famous god of war, Ares. Ares ran up to him and tried to hug him but Alex evaded the attack(?) and took his distance. "Alexander, I''ve waited so long, I thought you died..." Ares was pretending to cry, and frankly, looked ridiculous. "I can''t die, Ares." Alex was fed up with this man. As they engaged in a staring contest, the sudden sound ofughter interrupted them. Achilles seemed to be amused by the sight in front of him and kept onughing. He then stood up and said, "I didn''t expect this, Alex." Hermes looked at Achilles and then turned to Alex and whispered, "Umm, Alex, one of your new friends?" "That''s Achilles." Hermes nodded and then bluntly eximed, "Oh, Achilles! Hero of the previous generation, who died from an attack to his heels..." Achilles seemed a bit hurt by thestment but Alex just informed him that Hermes was this way and didn''t mean any harm. Since Ares was here, Alex knew it was time to say goodbye. He went by Achilles'' side and asked him, "What are you nning to do when you finish your business with Ares?" He replied, "I''m going to roam the mortal realm a bit. Since I belong to the Underworld, I reckon that when the time for me to go backes, then the Underworld wille searching for me." Achilles continued, "Alex, thank you for everything." Alex didn''t think it was that big of a deal and said, "Take care of yourself, will you?" The two then shared a goodbye hug. Achilles and Ares then started walking away but there was still one thing. "Aaaaareeeees?" Alex articted the man''s name. When Ares heard him, he bolted and turned around. "Haven''t you forgotten something?" Alex said with a cunning smile. Ares was shaking as he took out a ss gourd from thin air, and passed it to him. After verifying it was the thing he wanted, Alex waved his hand and told him, "You can go now. As for the other favor, I''ll leave it for the future." After he heard his words, Ares reluctantly waved and then left with Achilles in fast steps. Alex and Achilles were waving to each other, and soon enough, they disappeared from sight. Hermes, who was by his side, then stated, "You have made some interesting friends, Alexei-boy." Alex nodded and the two went inside. Over a cup of exotic tea, Hermes and Alex sat on the balcony, watching the passing birds and the mountain peaks, while they caught up on the stories each of them went through. When Alex told him about the Asphodel Revolution, Hermes was surprised and told him he had pretty much done the same thing as he had to resolve the political instabilities in the regions he traveled through. Theyughed at his description of the aloof and strict Hades, the monarchical Persephone, his victory against Thanatos, and the various other adventures and misadventures he went through in the Underworld. "Alexei-boy, did you forget your nymph girlfriend in the Underworld?" Hermes asked, perplexed since Alex went with Crista, but came back alone. Alex blushed at Hermes using ''girlfriend'' to describe his rtionship to Crista, but he rubbed his head and said, "She''s going toe back after spending some time with her nymph sisters." Hermes said, "Oooh, she wouldn''t have had to go through that if that Aphrodite was less murderous." At the sudden mention of Aphrodite, Alex remembered that he developed a sort of enmity with her, and wondered what she was currently doing. Putting those unpleasant thoughts aside, he got back to his discussion with Hermes and decided to go visit Athenater. Chapter 37 - Aphrodites Backstory After having a lengthy discussion with Hermes, the sun had moved westwards and cast the shadow of the distant mountains over them. "Hermes, I''m going to visit Athena." Alex stated. "Go on." Hermes seemed to be enjoying the rxing atmosphere andid down on his chair. Before leaving the mansion, there was one thing he needed to do. Earlier, before Ares had left, he gave him a ss gourd containing one of the objects he wanted aspensation for traveling to the Underworld. As he rubbed the ss gourd, an interface appeared on his retina. _____________________________________________________ (Essence of Ares) Quality: Divine State: Great Notes: An invaluable elixir derived from the god of war, Ares. ______________________________________________________ He wasn''t going to let this chance pass. Every time he consumed Essence, he received interesting powers and a well-appreciated boost in strength. Taking off the lid from the gourd, a metallic smell immediately enveloped the room. Peeking inside, he could see that the single drop of the liquid inside had the characteristic golden-brown color of Essence and was thick like honey. Alex proceeded to put the gourd to his mouth and sipped the drop of Essence. A head-shattering pain abruptly spread from his head to the rest of his body and rendered any kind of movement obsolete. He was ready for the pain this time, however, as heid down and cleared his mind, waiting patiently for either the pain or his consciousness to drift off. Fortunately, the pain went by fast and he didn''t feel it anymore. His body felt a bit lighter but to discern any changes, Alex took out a hand mirror from his bedside cab. As he held the mirror in his hand, he suddenly heard the sound of ss breaking. Looking down, there were countless fragments of the mirror on the ground and even the steel frame was bent and out of shape. ''??????'' Alex was dumbfounded. ''What happened?'' Usually, he could control his strength pretty well but the mirror broke as soon as he applied a bit of pressure to it. To test it out, Alex threw a fist into the air. *Whoosh* As his fist passed through the air, it looked not only, extremely fast but also deadly strong. He wasn''t surprised he had gotten stronger, but the degree to which his strength skyrocketed was astonishing. There was a full-body mirror in the bathhouse, thus he made his way there to verify the changes. "Whaaat!" Alex eximed as he looked at his own reflection. His previously skinny, albeit muscr body was now buff and toned. His eyes now had a glint of red in addition to the purple and light blue that formerly upied his grey irises. Opening up the system''s interface, he analyzed his own information. _________________________________________________________________________ (Alex) State of Existence: Immortal Deity Specialties: -Attunement to swiftness, diplomacy, scheming, dream and soul guiding and shepherding.(*1) -Attunement to beauty, love, aestheticism, and fertility.(*1) -Attunement to warfare, martial arts, military strength, and weapon mastery.(*1) ___________________________________________________________________________ Under the two lines listing the specialties he gained from Hermes and Aphrodite respectively, there was now an additional third one that epassed the powers of Ares. They all seemed quite straightforward and exined his earlier mishap, though he''d have to run more tests to concretely understand his gains. His powers were now a melting pot of traits he had gained from a diverse array of deities. Putting that aside, he needed to pay a visit to Athena. Leaving his mansion, Alex looked to the distance. It was very faint, but on the horizon, Alex perceived a golden pce that glowed brightly from the rays of the sun. That ce was the home of the most elusive and exalted man in Olympus, the King of Gods, Zeus. No matter how strong he got, that god still remained a subject of mystery and the distant pir of Olympus, enigmatic and powerful. ''Whatever, we''ll have to interact one day or another.'' Alex shrugged and promised himself he would try his hardest to avoid any trouble with that powerhouse. After a few seconds of disorientation, he finally remembered where Athena''s tower was and followed his internal GPS. Soon enough, the blue tower with the architecture that always made him marvel was in sight. As usual, the doors were open. He entered the tower and asked some of the anxious dwarf attendants about her location. She was on the 6th floor, where the historical library was situated. ''That''s unusual...'' Alex thought to himself, as she was almost never in that specific library. He shrugged and climbed up the spiral staircase until he was on the 6th floor. And there she was, studying a scroll attentively. Athena was dressed in the usual navy blue schrly robe and had all of her attention on her scroll. As she detected his presence, she raised her pupils and said, "Wee back." "Thank you, Athena." Alex replied. However, Alex noticed something weird. A single drop of sweat was running down Athena''s forehead and some of her veins were showing. Her hand on the scroll was lightly clenched and her pupils were twitching. ''Athena? Anxious?'' This was extremely strange, what could make the usually pragmatic and calm Athena so fidgety and anxious. "Athena, what''s wrong?" As soon as he told her that, like a drop of water reverberating in a silent ce, she tore down the scroll. She then raised her head up to Alex and sighed, "It''s that visible?" Alex nodded and she continued, "I''ll tell youter, please." Alex respected her wishes and dropped the subject. On a lighter note, he''s never been to this library and started perusing through the collection of scrolls and books in here. One title stood out, however. ''Tales of Lust and Love'' ''That sound like a....smut book.'' Alex was pretty sure he had an idea about her taste in books, and this wasn''t a part of it. He chuckled and asked her, "Athena, what is this book?" She was doing better than earlier and came by him to see what he was talking about. When she saw the book in question, she frowned and told him, "Oh, that...just...read it." Now, he was really curious. Grabbing the book, the two sat on the table and he opened it to the first page. ''Preface: Aphrodite was a goddess born out of humanity''s most primordial desires, lust, and love. Before discussing any issues on her morality and fundamentals, one must recognize the influence and immense power she wields over mortals, being the most universally worshipped deity in Hellenia, far surpassing even Zeus and Hades.'' ''Oh...this is a book about Aphrodite? That title makes sense then.'' Alex reflected and continued reading. ''First Chapter: Birth When Earth was ruled by the omnipotent titans, to escape the tyranny of his father, Ouranos, the titan Cronus severed the former''s body with the help of Gaia. After hundreds of years, the seafoam formed by Ouranous'' severed body parts gave birth to the goddess Aphrodite, whonded on the ordinary ind of Kythera.'' This was interesting, providing him a backstory on Aphrodite that he wasn''t aware of. The next few pages, however, were just a boring parenthesis on the history of the ind of Kythera. It got interesting again in the second chapter. ''Second Chapter: Rise Aphrodite was apassionate goddess that saw beauty in everything and everyone. She established Kythera as her first base and traveled around the inds of the Aegean, forming her first wave of devouts through her generous and selfless acts.'' Alex was puzzled, was this book describing the same Aphrodite he knew? When he asked Athena about her, she dropped an unexpected bomb. "Aphrodite wasn''t always the way she is now, when I met her for the first time, she still had a fair bit ofpassion in her, but that was very short..." As she spoke, she turned her head around and looked to be avoidant. Alex didn''t ask any further but fell into thought on what he has just heard. ''Aphrodite wasn''t always this way? Then, what changed her?'' Alex felt like he was onto something, and as time grew and his enmity with Aphrodite would increase, this mystery would only get greater. ''Third Chapter; Metamorphosis Aphrodite''s first interaction with Olympus was her meeting with Ares after thetter''s military campaign in the Aegean. Following that, she became romantically acquainted with the god and gained prominence in Sparta as a brutal goddess of warfare. The reasons for her change in personality are unclear.'' Now, this was interesting. ''Aphrodite and Ares were a couple? They don''t seem to fit each other.'' Alex felt like he gained a lot of insights on Aphrodite, who always seemed to be a one-dimensional viin in his mind, but turned out to be a mysterious heroine-turned-viin. The book was a few hundred pages long, and the rest was just about the Aphrodite he already knew and the wars she caused, the conflicts she participated in, and other various anecdotes. Alex closed the book and put it back in its ce. He suddenly had a realization and eximed, "Athena, the eclipse is tomorrow?!" Athena surprisingly smiled and nodded. If the eclipse was tomorrow, that meant Crista was alsoing. Alex clenched his hand on his chest and inhaled. He looked to Athena, and she was tearing up the scroll from earlier. He knew that for Athena to feel this way, there had to be a very big reason, but he had to respect her and the fact that she didn''t want to disclose why she felt this way yet. "Umm, Athena, can we train together?" Thetter looked a bit surprised by his sudden demand but nodded and the two went to her training ring. She passed him a spear. Holding the weapon in his hand, even though he has never wielded it in his life, it felt like an extension of his own limbs, and he knew he could show incredible prowess through the weapon. Athena took out her robe and had her golden armor on, and in her hand, was the incredibly beautiful and powerful Shield of Aegis. "Come at me." She taunted him. Alex charged at her and maneuvered the spear to hit an opening in her armor. *BAM* Just like that, Alex felt like a ragdoll as he was thrown into the wall. He didn''t even see her movements but he knew that shield instantly parried his attack and caused his loss. Alex realized, that, to evennd an attack on Athena, was going to take much more than some speed and Ares'' Essence... Chapter 38 - The Eclipse After a few one-sided victories, Alex gave up even trying to get on the offensive while training with Athena. She was too strong, and that shield was too overpowered. Alex rubbed his head in embarrassment and said, "Well, huh, Athena, I''ve got to go." As he sneakily escaped, he heard her cold voice praising him, "You fought well, let''s continue this after the eclipse. ''Fought well??'' Alex thought it was a joke. To cast aside his frustration at his losses, he reasoned mentally, ''Well...Athena is hundreds of years old, she had substantially more time to train her strength than I did...'' It worked, and he was soon back to his cheerful self. By now, the sun was barely above the mountain peaks and dusk would soon emerge. He got back to his ce(Hermes'' ce) and found his friend sipping on tea. He greeted Hermes and sat down next to him. "I think I found myself a partner" As Alex just started drinking his tea, this promation almost made him spill out his tea. He recovered hisposure, then fervently questioned his no-longer-single god friend. "When? Why? Who? Where?" Alex red excitedly. "On my trip back from the inds of Brittania, I passed through Italia, and I met her in the Commerce Guild. Her name is Marzia, and we have the same personality. I followed your advice, and instead of saying my farewells, I''m going to meet her again." Hermes looked proud of himself. ''The god of merchants romantically acquainted with someone from the Commerce Guild, that''s a pleasant twist, they go well together.'' Alex was happy for him and pleasantly surprised that he actually took his advice on dating mortals. The twoughed off for a bit in celebration and the sky turned dark, only the various constetions were decorating the endless void of space. The two ended their discussion on a bright note and each went to their respective rooms. Originally, Alex was upying Hermes'' room but it turned out, the mysterious room that was always locked was Hermes'' real room and as expected, the room was incredibly maximalist, befitting of thetter. In his own room, there was a chest by the side of his bed. The chest contained all of the materials he requested from Hermes to make the pinhole camera, and he was thankful to his friend for bringing them over. Unfortunately, even if he were to design the entire tool now, which was nigh impossible with his forging skills, he wouldn''t be able to use it to capture him and his friends sightseeing the eclipse tomorrow. Due to the very long exposure of this rustic kind of camera, it was more useful for capturingndscapes that didn''t move much, like mountains and deserts, and perhaps portraits of a very small number of people. He would leave it forter when he has the capability to make something decent out of the valuable materials in that chest. As heid down on his bed and closed his eyes, he started thinking of tomorrow. He was a little nervous, but nothing bad woulde out of that day. His heartbeat then slowed down, his muscles rxed and he started breathing in regr patterns. He was asleep. ___________________________________________________________________________ The sun rose from the eastern horizon and was apanied by the increasing cacophony of birds and the humidity of early mornings. Meanwhile, Alex was performing his daily hygienic rituals and took special care today to look his very best. Hermes even lent him one of his formal togas that were only worn on special asions. After putting it on, he looked at himself in the mirror. ''I look...nice.'' Alex felt good at his own appearance. The toga was a little tight and the gold and white fabric were also a bit over-the-top but it was otherwise soft and didn''t feel extremely ufortable. He also put on a perfume that had woody and floral notes and permeated a pleasant smell that spread throughout his room. Just as he finished his preparations, he heard three unfamiliar voices. "I''m excited!" "When will we be over with this?" "Don''t be so uptight." He then heard a knock on his door and ran to open the gates. Unsurprisingly, there were 3 people, of which he only expected one toe. There she was standing, wearing a casual white dress that reached down to her knees, and her long hair was tied into a cute bun with a golden hair ornament. She was smiling at him, and he couldn''t help but return the smile back. "Crista." "Alex." The two then shared a long hug, only separating when the words of another guest interrupted them. "Stop the public disys of affection, will you?" A deep voice stated. Alex turned to the man speaking. He was someone he was quite familiar with, and his extremely tall stature and voluminous ck hair stood out. His piercing ck eyes were currently looking away. It was Hades, the king of the Underworld. He was dressed in his usual regal robe. "Don''t mind him, continue what you were doing!" Aforting and cheerful voice objected to Hades'' words. It was Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. Her verdant green eyes and curly hair were a symbol of hers. She was also dressed in a drapey regal robe. She then eximed, "You know, we heard there was an eclipse in here and thought to join, as Hades right here hasn''t seen the sun for over a century." "My Queen, you know I do dislike the omnipresent brightness of the mortal realm''s sun." These two were always so hrious, and Alex, along with Crista, chuckled at the couple at the same time. "Well, you''re wee anytime." Stated Alex. Of course, Hades needed to object, "That won''t be necessary, as I am nevering here again." Alex shrugged and invited them in. Hermes also came by and greeted them, "Look who''s heeere, my long-time friends Hades and Persephone." Persephone giggled and replied to him, "It''s been a while, Hermes. You haven''t visited our House in way more time than is appropriate." Hades, on the other hand, gloomily whispered to himself, "Ahhh, meeting two hooligans in one day, what an unmemorable event. I want to go." Hermes ignored Hades and told Persephone, "Well, you know, I''m here in front of you, flesh and bone....and divinity." The group then went to the balcony of their house and sat all together on a big round table. "You always had the best view of Olympus from your house, Hermes." Persephonemented on the breathtaking colossal mountains one could see from here. "Yeeees...." Over a few cups of sweet-tasting tea and some fruit, they shared small talk. It was, however, interrupted by a sudden knock. Alex went to open the door and found Athena. She was dressed in her navy blue schrly robe but she was also wearing some silver jewelry and the Shield of Aegis was wrapped up around her back, fully disying her status as a war goddess and looking as glorious as always. "You look great." Athena praised his appearance and he reciprocated. He then led her to the balcony. "Atheeeeeeenaaaaaa! It''s been so long since haven''t spoken!" Hermes eximed when he saw her. Athena, who already looked annoyed, said in an audible tone, "Good riddance." Crista also greeted her, "Lady Athena." Athena smiled and told her, "Let it just be Athena. You are Alex''s acquaintance." Crista nodded fervently. Persephone then stood and asked, "You must be Athena? You look glorious and beautiful, I am pleased to meet you." "Thank you, and you are?" Athena replied with a poker face. "Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, I rule the harvests along with my mother." Athena lightly bowed and said, "Nice to make an acquaintance of you, Persephone. Your domains are far from my specialty, so I will rely on you to counsel me." Persephone shed her a bright smile. Meanwhile, Hades, who was silently staring at Athena, suddenly spoke up, "My niece, Athena? I believe we''ve met a few times in the past." "Yes, Uncle Hades. It''s nice to meet you again." "You''re clearly not like him, my stupid younger brother. That''s a good thing." Athena frowned for a millisecond then answered Hades, "....Thank you...." Following that, Athena sat next to Persephone and the two seemed to be engaged in a passionate discussion. Unexpectedly, Hermes and Crista were gossiping among each other. Alex felt good. Everyone was happy, and even Hades, who so loudly expressed his displeasure, had a faint smile on his bearded face. They kept at this for some time before Athena informed them, "The eclipse is soon starting, I''d rmend we go to my tower''s observation deck to watch it." Everyone agreed and they all went to Athena''s ce. At the top of the tower, there was a roof that would serve as their observation deck for the sr eclipse. As the moment grew closer, they all looked to the sky. And then, when the moon was just at the right angle, the sun''s light was reduced to a blindingly bright ring around a dark circle. It was....ephemeral. They all focused on this extraordinary event. In his past life, Alex would have to wear special sses to even look at the eclipse, but he supposed that since he was now a god, that was why he didn''t instantly get permanent eye damage from looking directly at it. When the event was over, they went back down and even Hades, who said he hated the Sun, looked entranced by what he just witnessed. "Are you going back to the Underworld?" Alex asked Persephone and Hades. She shook her head and replied, "We''re going to Mother''s house for a few days beforeing back and bringing Crista with us." ''That means...she''ll go again.'' Although Alex felt sad that Crista was once again departing, he knew of it beforehand and was ready to spend the next few days with her. After that, the two monarchs of the Underworld were out of their sight. Athena then suddenly asked him to go talk to her. She had an unusual expression on her face, somewhat reminiscent of nostalgia and happiness. "Even Father Zeus couldn''t aplish what you just did in all of these years." She spoke out an iprehensible sentence. Alex was puzzled. "I''ve never met Persephone in my life, and I''ve only seen Uncle Hades a few times hundreds of years ago." "But you hosted us and invited us." Alex was a bit confused. She continued. "But would Hades and Persephone havee if it were just me? Would Hermes havee? Would your girlfriend havee?" She spoke out confidently. Alex shrugged, it wasn''t that big of a deal, and everyone seemed to enjoy it, that was the most important part. As they were speaking, they heard Hermes screaming, "Athena, wanna go skip stones on the Aegean!?" Athena...chuckled and also screamed back, "Yes! I''ming!" She then turned to him and said, "Thank you, Alex." Athena proceeded to take off her robe, leaving only her armor on. They left the premises and she caught up to Hermes, who was already flying away at lightning speed. Here he was, him and Crista only. "Let''s go home?" He asked her as he lent out his hand. She seemed to hesitate for a second, then took his hand and loudly eximed in her usual manner, "YES! F**KING YES!!!" Chapter 39 - A Date Under The Cosmos Hand-in-hand, the couple made their way back to Hermes'' mansion and entered the lonely ce they now called ''home''. The halls were dark and only illuminated by the radiant moon. "I''ll show you something." Alex told Crista. "Lead the way." He took her to their home''s balcony, but this time, they didn''t sit on any of the chairs. Alex climbed up the pirs supporting the weight of the roof and hinted at Crista to do the same. He was leading her to a hidden spot he recently discovered. The roof of the mansion was mostly uneven, but one ce, in particr, was t and would allow for an incredible view of the night sky. Back on Earth, the light pollution of urban centers rendered observing the stars almost impossible, but here, where the pitch darkness of the night still dominated, the celestial objects that could be seen were incredible. And tonight, the night sky was particrly bright and colorful. When they sat down and leaned on each other''s heads, Alex softly whispered, "Back in my home, all of these stars in the sky had names, and we separated them into various constetions." Crista whispered back to him, "What''s that one there?" She was pointing to a particrly visible constetion that shaped into a triangle. Alex chuckled and replied, "That one is literally...Triangulum." "That one?" "Ursa Major, the biggest constetion of the northern hemisphere." "This one?" This time, she was pointing to an unusual celestial object. If one observed with keen eyes, one could see a colorful spiral oval in the sky. "I think that one is...Andromeda, our neighbor gxy." "Gxy? What''s that?" She asked him with a confused expression. ''My bad, I forgot astronomy knowledge in this era didn''t stretch as far as gxies and the fundamental structures of the universe.'' Alex murmured internally. "Basically, can you see the Sun? In the entire world, there is an enormous number of simr objects that together, form a structure we call a gxy. Ours is the Milky Way, and Andromeda is the closest one." Alex tried to exin it the best way he could. He wasn''t an astronomy expert, but with Crista around, he felt like he could be one. "You''re telling me there is a f**king infinite number of worlds like ours, with people and gods andndscapes? That''s a bit hypnotizing." Sheughed. Alexughed back, even for him, who had ess to knowledge about outer space, looking up to the night sky and trying to picture the fact that every single star he could see maybe hads that hosted intelligent life, he still felt disoriented. The world was way too big for his brain to visualize, but with the people he loved around him, he only needed to focus on this small world of his. As they kept observing the sky, they fell silent, and suddenly, he felt an extra weight on his shoulder. Looking around, he was surprised to see that Crista had fallen asleep. Her long eyshes were still and her breathing was calm. He too yawned and felt drowsy andfortable. ''Good days.'' __________________________________________________________________ *Atchou!* Alex sneezed and abruptly woke up. He just realized he identally fell asleep on the roof. Strangely, a nket that wasn''t there yesterday covered the two of them. Still, the ambient temperature was waaay too low for a spring/summer day, and a simple nce around exined the reason. Everything as far as they could see was covered in a thick snow cover, and he almost jumped out of surprise after seeing snow. Unfortunately, his brusque movements woke up Crista. Her long eyshes fluttered and had a bit of ice on them. As she opened her eyes, she stared at him and then looked around. She seemed perplexed to see snow around them, but it seemed she was still in the state between wakefulness and sleep, and couldn''t process anything. "Interesting, isn''t it?" An unknown voice spoke out and made the couple jump out in terror and the still-asleep Crista fully awake. "Muahahahaahahahahaha....!" When Alex turned around, he found Hermes..ying there and justughing senselessly. He red at him and thetter said, "You should thank me, I brought a nket since I figured you''d be cold from all of the snow." Crista seemed disappointed and diverted her attention to Alex, to whom she said, "Good morning, what a nice sleep we had, if only it wasn''t interrupted by a certain someone." Alex giggled and visualized imaginary arrows piercing Hermes, symbolizing this sudden verbal attack. Crista proceeded to ask on a serious note, "So, why the f*ck is there snow....and skeleton armies marching around?????" ''Skeleton armies...?'' Alex was confused but soon saw it. At first, it looked like withering trees from a distance, but they were moving and in fact, it was an army of skeletons. Hermes shrugged and informed them, "It''s Hades and Demeter. Every time they meet, they fight. This is still quite mild. A few hundred years ago, when Hades and Persephone just got married, Demeterunched a snowstorm all over the world and almost eradicated humanity, and skeletons roamed the Earth, terrorizing every living being." That was astonishing to the two. Alex knew Demeter didn''t have the best rtionship with her son-inw, but this was on another level. Suddenly, they could perceive a figure hovering in the sky. They were too far to be seen, but their silhouette reflected their tall and muscr stature. As the person floated around, storm clouds abruptly formed around the figure and lightning bolts gathered and circted around the eye of the storm. Those same lightning bolts then stroke down on the mountains and the earth. The thick lightning instantly vaporized the skeleton army into nothingness and the snow cover in a wide distance all turned into steam that floated into the air. It was a terrifying show of strength, that they could attribute to that single silhouette in the air. Alex and Crista looked on with their jaws wide open as the battle between two major gods was instantly over with a few lightning bolts. The thunder, that came after the lightning, rumbled like an earthquake and rang out painfully in their ears. Hermes, who was behind them, closed their jaws and told them, "That''s Father''s work. Did you see the strength of the King of the Gods?" Chapter 40 - Goodbye, Crista. Zeus, who exhibited a gargantuan feat, then disappeared and the vortex caused by the storm clouds stopped as they dissipated and the sky turned blue again. ''The gods I know are all strong...But that''s...a whole other level.'' Zeus'' lightning inspired fear and reverence in even deities, exining why he could be a monarch over the most exalted of beings, gods. His ears still somewhat hurt from the thunder and Crista next to him looked to be in an even worse state, as her ears were bleeding. Fortunately, Hermes made his scepter fly over to him and using its healing and medical properties on Crista, he stopped the bleeding and the pain. Crista thanked him and then sighed, "When I see strength like that, I feel like an..ant living in a den of elephants!" Alexforted her and Hermes informed them, "Don''t worry, although Father has the strength to defeat most of us, he doesn''t use his abilities to harm residents of Olympus...usually." Thatstment made the two of them gulp. After a bit, the situation calmed down and the three of them went down and entered the mansion. Since this happened, he predicted Hades and Persephone woulde back sooner than expected. After eating a quick breakfast, he spoke to Crista personally, "Do you remember the time we went down to Olep together?" "Yes! Of course, I do! IT WAS SO FUN!" She eximed. "Well, Seeing all the snow reminded me of the slide down the mountains, and...would you want to do it again?" Alex asked her. This time, they wouldn''t ski together as strangers or people who just got to know each other, but as partners. Crista nodded. Alex sighed in relief. The two announced their n to Hermes, who chose to remain here as to not "Bother the couple on their honeymoon." and they left the ce. While they were walking down the stairs that led to the main za of Olympus, Alex said, "Crista, can I ask you a question?" She nodded and he then continued. "So, what are we?" Ever since they met yesterday, they were ambiguous with each other, and this question formed. He didn''t want to overstep his boundaries in case their rtionship was not the one he thought it was. Crista seemed to think about it. After a moment of contemtion, she smiled at him and gave him a confident answer, "I suppose we''re more than friends, and I''m looking forward to how our rtionship can develop in the future." "I see, I''m happy to hear that. When youe back from the Underworld, can we travel together? Just the two of us." They didn''t get to spend much time together in the Underworld, so he wished that they could travel the world together, exploring new destinations as they got closer and closer. "I...I''d love that..." Crista spoke earnestly, expressing her approval. ''This is great.'' As they were speaking, they didn''t even notice the time passing and were already at the za. The steep infamous hill was now only a short walk away and they reached it very fast. Looking down from here, they could see the metropolis of Olep. After the trade reforms Alex instituted, the city grew immensely and the thick forest that surrounded Olep in the past was now partially cleared to make space for future expansions. Theke next to the city was as pristine as ever and reflected the bright sunlight upon its big surface area. Most importantly, however, yesterday, this hill was probably rocky and lush, but just like the time they slid down on it together, a thickyer of white snow and clear ice coated it. As he got ready to go down, Alex felt a tug at his hands. It was Crista''s own hands, and they enveloped his, as he did the same and the two tightly held each other''s hands. Crista then started counting down... 3... 2... 1... "Go!" The two jumped down the hill and started ''skiing'' at lightning speed. Last time, the two weren''t well-coordinated and Crista lost control, but since they were now holding each other''s hands, they were in perfect synergy and had stable footing as they relied on each other to control direction and speed. Amidst the ice, the two felt their heart''s own ice melt for one another. As they reached the end and got to t terrain, they were in each other''s embrace, both feeling as safe and asfortable as one could be. "That was great." Alex murmured gently. "It was really f**king good..." Crista murmured back, though with her speech that he grew fond of. Following that, the two painstakingly climbed up the hill, though it was easier since they helped each other out. The weather was serene today. They traced back the road and found themselves at Hermes'' ce. When he opened the door for them, he jokinglymented, "So, when are you two moving to one room?" Hearing that, Alex and Crista both felt their faces heat up. ''It''s still too soon for us to share the same room...'' The two had the same thought. They ignored him, though Alex didn''t forget to punch Hermes in the gut as they entered. "Oh, God, Ares'' Essence made you strong...Ughhh..." Hermes groaned in pain, to which Alex just shrugged. He then halted in front of them and said, "Actually, we have guests." As soon as he said that, two people came down therge staircase. One of them was recognizable, being the ever-charismatic Queen of the Underworld, Persephone. ''And...that''s...Hades?!'' Alex gasped in astonishment as he saw the state Hades was in. His hair, which was usually shiny and brushed like a lion''s mane, was frozen at ces and torn at others. His robe, which one reflected his kingly status through the luxurious red fabric, was now tattered. And his body was bruised everywhere. As he noticed Alex examining his state, Hadesined, "Nothing good came out of this trip, let us go back!" *Humph!* "Hades, you know very well how Mother can be. You made some provocativements and brought this on your own." Persephone rolled her eyes as she held the bruised hand of her husband. *Humph!* At this moment, Alex was no longer thinking about them, but about the person on his side. Crista was coincidentally looking away and biting her lips in frustration. He caressed her hair and she turned around and did the same. After doing that for a while, they folded their pinkies together and he said, "Don''t forget our promise." "I won''t, never." Crista stated. He smiled as the two felt their eyes redden. Alex turned to Persephone and told her, "Take care of Crista, will you?" Persephone nodded and told him, "I will take care of her like my own daughter, right, Hades?" Hades harrumphed but nodded. Alex felt relieved as he knew he could trust Persephone..and Hades too. After they hugged each other, the group of three left the house. Hermes then said, "I''m meeting Marzia today, I''ll be back by evening." Alex nodded. He was feeling a bit sad, but also somewhat happy that the day and night he spent with Crista were so fulfilling. Thus, he went to his room and rested a bit. _________________________________________________________ When he was feeling lessplicated, Alex stood up and decided to pay a visit to Athena. As usual, he entered through the open doors and went to her location. When he entered the floor, he heard two people speaking, of which one was Athena. "That stupid older brother of mine, he''s still eyeing my throne." A deep, unfamiliar voice was speaking. It was a man. He had a head of white hair that made him look aged but his smooth skin and statue-like muscr body said otherwise. He continued. "Are you going to take care of it? Or should I go teach him a lesson?" Athena nodded and then said, "No, Father, I shall take care of it." ''Father???? What?!'' If Athena was addressing the man as her father, that meant he was... The man in question then turned to look at him. He had an extremely handsome face and golden eyes that seemed to rise above everything. He suddenly nced at him and then as abruptly, he disappeared. Athena rubbed her head and then greeted him, "Hello, Alex." "That was...Zeus, wasn''t it?" Alex asked listlessly. "Yes, that was Father Zeus." Chapter 41 - To Poseidons Realm "He''s even more fearsome up close..." Alexmented on Zeus. Athena nodded and warned him, "Yes, that''s why you should avoid interacting with Father as of your current strength." Alex nodded. Suddenly, Athena screamed furiously with passion in her eyes, "I refuse to be indifferent any longer!" Under the dumbfounded gaze of Alex, who''s never heard her scream, she took out her spear and shield and got into her armor. She then asked him, "Alex, do you still want to know why I was so anxious a few days ago?" Alex nodded, confused. "Thene with me." She stated as she climbed down the stairs and exited the tower. Alex followed her lead, and she informed him, "We''re going to be running all the way to the coast, do you have enough Faith Energy?" ''Faith Energy? Oh...'' Alex remembered he used thest of his reserves back when he saved Achilles from Cronus'' attacks. He shook his head. Athena nodded in understanding and approached him, she then put her hand on his chest and Alex felt a rush of energy entering his body. After a dozen seconds of doing this, she removed her hand and said, "This should be enough for our trip." Without waiting for his response, she bolted in the direction of the main za of Olympus. Alex was taken aback but after replicating the scenario from Tartarus, he felt his entire body growing lighter and lighter as the surroundings slowed down. He proceeded to start running and caught up to Athena, after which he adjusted his speed to hers. They were going at such speed that even the rough terrain of the mountain range didn''t obstruct them, and they only slowed down when they were climbing down the steep parts. As they were running, he heard the voice of Athena. "Alex, have you ever heard of the Theomachy?" Alex contemted for a second before giving out an answer, "A conflict between the gods?" "Exactly. Recently, Uncle Poseidon has started taking away the powers of the minor sea gods, causing a rebellion that might spill over thend gods. Additionally, due to his poor knowledge of the intricacies of the sea, which are normally managed by the ecosystem of minor marine gods, disastrous weather events have hit the coast, and the whole of Olympus is losing reverence and credibility among mortals." Athena exined to him as he could perceive her side profile, disying a frown on her face. "Is that what has been on your mind?" Alex asked her. "If Father Zeus intervened, as he originally nned to, this situation would have be extremely troublesome." Athena clenched her fists. "Therefore, I''m the one going, to teach a lesson to Uncle for the good of Olympus, and his own good." Athena looked determined. As he saw her demeanor, she reminded him of a...monarch. She somewhat emanated a simr aura to Zeus at this moment. As Alex stared at her in silence, shemented, "If it were just a few years ago, I would have ignored all of this." "But you...refuse to be indifferent any longer?" Alex tried predicting her next sentence based on what she said earlier. "Exactly. Olympus might not the most tightly-knit family, but fundamentally, we''re an organization, and as the daughter of the leader, I can''t overlook detrimental factors like this anymore." Suddenly, they were ambushed by a snake-like monster, but without even halting, Athena just moved her spear, and the monster that obstructed the passage was cleanly decapitated, and its blood dyed the face of Athena a scary red. Since they were moving in a straight line at an extremely fast speed, the waters of the Aegean soon greeted their sight, and they found themselves in the middle of a rtively big city by the name of Amphipolis. Amphipolis was an ordinary port city that hosted a reasonable tradework with the rest of the maind. While running through the city''s wide streets and avoiding the pedestrians, the mortals couldn''t even get a glimpse of them as they passed at lightning speed. They stopped by the port, and due to the extreme wind velocity they encountered, the blood on Athena''s face was mostly gone and only small stains of dried blood remained. She went by sea and washed her face and came back. "Athena, so, what do we do now?" Alex rubbed his head. The goddess in question didn''t respond and approached a mortal who seemed to be a fisherman of some sort. "I''m Eritra of Athens. Would you care to tell your boss I require a big ship?" Athena said iprehensible words as she showed a golden symbol of an owl to the man. The mortal looked stunned by her face and even more so, by her words and immediately ran somewhere. "Who''s Eritra of Athens?" Alex was confused. "An identity I use when I don''t want to reveal my status as Athena. Eritra is a wealthy noble from Athens who travels around Hellenia that I invented." She told himprehensively. The mortal fisherman then came back and approved of her request, "Lady Eritra, please follow me." The man led them to a dock next to which was anchored arge ship. "Would this ship satisfy your needs?" The man asked in a hoarse voice. Athena nodded and gave the man a pouch full of coins. Following that, she got on the deck of the ship and he did the same. Alex had severe seasickness back on Earth and could NOT stand nausea he experienced as ships moved left and right, but he felt like he had a stable footing as he positioned himself on the dock. "Alex, I''ll navigate. Remove the anchors." Athena asked of him. Alex approached the extremity of the ship and held the thick string of the anchor, bringing it towards himself. It felt extremely light, and the rusty metal anchor was soon in his hands as he ced it down the ship, and only then did he realize that it was actually rtively heavy. He then opened the sails of the ship. "Get ready!" Athena eximed as she clenched her hand on the helm of the ship and abruptly rotated it, moving the ship in the direction of the open sea. Chapter 42 - Athenas True Powers As far as the eyes could see, they were now entirely surrounded by the ocean. Athena masterfully took control of the ship''s speed and direction, and the ride was a smooth one. Alex felt the need toment on this, as he said, "You''re great at navigation." "Well, it''s part of my specialties as a war goddess. Don''t mention it." For the entire duration of the trip, Athena only held her eyes on one spot in the distance and didn''t move her sight from there. He''s never seen her so focused on something, but this side of Athena wasn''t an unpleasant one. Alex sat by a bench on the sides of the ship and observed the rolling waves as they parted to make passage for the ship. The smell of salt was omnipresent in the air, and fleets of birds asionally passed by, casting shadows upon the waters. Strangely, however, the weather took a turn for the worse, and the waves crashing on their ship got stronger and taller. Soon enough, water actually started sshing on the deck, but Athena remained calm and collected as she rotated the helm at greater intensity and strength. To help, Alex was moving the sails around to adjust for the unpredictable winds and heard the voice of Athena informing him, "We''re soon reaching our destination." They seemed to be getting to the source of a storm, as the winds were nowpletely unreliable and a tornado was sharply spinning a distance away from them. Suddenly, the tornado cleared up but an event even more puzzling took ce. Instead of the tornado, the waters of the sea molded around and shaped into the form of a man. The man''s features were uniform from the seawater, but this water statue was gigantic and reached up to the clouds above. The man was holding an equally big trident in his hand, and his eyebrows formed a deep frown. A strong voice, amplified by the waters, eximed, "Is that you, Niece Athena? What brings you here, after your victory in Athens a few hundred years ago? Are you here to shame your poor uncle?!" The man''s voice turned sour as he said thestments. "Uncle, I''m here to discuss your recent behavior." Athena confidently spoke up against the fearsome figure. "Discuss? HAHAHAHAHAHA, is that why you have a spear and your shield with you?" As Poseidon said that to Athena, the heavy-looking trident came crashing down and the ship was thrown a distance away. Alex barely kept his footing and eximed, "Athena, how are you going to fight...that?" "Alex, don''t underestimate me. Before I was born, the Three Fates predicted I would be able to vanquish Father Zeus." "I don''t currently have such ns, but I''m confident in my strength." As she said that, Athena suddenly jumped out of the ship into the waters, and using her shield, she surfed alongside the strong waves until she reached the base of the Poseidon ''mountain''. As if she could predict his every movement, she maneuvered around the gargantuan waves and entered into the water statue. Meanwhile, Alex was just looking on with his jaw open. The forces of nature were rendered useless at her every skillful movement. Alex got worried when he could no longer see her, but then, was taken aback as the entire water statue came crashing down and waves the size of mountains seized the ship as he found himself underwater. Stuck in between the turbulent currents, he felt a slight tug and was brought up to the surface by Athena, who then went back to fighting before he could even thank her. As it turned out, the real body of Poseidon was hidden inside and he could see the god, in all of his glory, standing atop a wave of water. Poseidon had tan skin and only wore undergarments made of algae that concealed his private parts. His body was bronze and sculpted to athletic perfection. He had long ck and wet hair that reached to his knees and a handsome face. Under his eyes, one scar was visible. Athena was standing atop her shield a distance away from him. As the water dripped down her armor and spear, she only looked more glorious. "Uncle, it''s useless, I can predict all of your moves before you even think of them." Athena taunted him. Poseidon, who was on the other side, suddenly moved his hands and water spiraled all around him, forming a titanic water dragon. The dragon charged at Athena, but with strength that could slice even water, the water dragon copsed back into the sea, dissipating. Athena, using the momentum from her jump, sprinted at Poseidon and took him by the neck. He didn''t seem to have readied himself, as she kicked him towards the sky. She jumped a great distance up using the point at which the waves conjoined to gather inertia, and *BAM** She kicked him back down. The force from the kick made repercussions upon the surface of the waters as Poseidon''s body entered into the deep end. Alex, who was only barely able to float, looked on as these two powerhouses fought. Poseidon showed prowess through his mastery of nature, and the force of his waves was unrivaled. But, Athena, through her movement techniques and martial arts, easily avoided every one of his attacks. The waters then calmed down and parted, forming a hole in the sea, at the bottom of which, was arge temple. Athena came to his side and the two surfed to the whirlpool. Their descent down the maelstrom was mellowed out by the waters as they reached the depths and entered the temple in question. Alex was still taken aback by literally everything and could not process any information anymore. The temple wasposed of a singlerge hall and a throne in its center. Upon the throne sat Poseidon, who seemed fatigued. "Heh, you won again. Bravo to you for beating poor old me again." Poseidon said self-depreciatingly. "I spent every ounce of Faith Energy I had, otherwise I would have not won." Athena truthfully stated. "Well, look at MY state...That aside, why are you here?" Poseidon asked. "I''ve heard you have been taking away the powers of your helpers and we''re here to ask you to stop." "WELL? THIS IS MY DOMAIN! FIRST OF ALL, THEY LET ZEUS TAKE MY THRONE, AND NOW, YOU''RE TRYING TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO IN MY REALM?!" Poseidon screamed out. Alex frowned. This Poseidon sounded a bit...insecure. "Uncle, we have gone over this many times. There are reasons why Father became the one to rule us all." Athena calmly spoke. "Come again?" Poseidon seemed to take it the wrong way, and water started gathering around the temple. "Uncle, I won in Athens and I beat you today. I can do it once again." Athena didn''t back down. The waters then receded and Poseidon calmlymented, "This scar under my eye, it has been a shameful testament to my loss in Athens. If younger brother didn''t stop us, I don''t know how I would be able to stand straight today." "Uncle, you underestimate yourself. In terms of raw strength, you are far superior to me, and Father Zeus, but you don''t know how to exploit it. If you worked in conjunction with the minor sea gods today, I would never have been able to win." She continued, "Therefore, work in co-operation with your helpers, and one day, with your strengthsbined, you can rival Father Zeus and if you win, take the throne." Poseidon had a faint smile on his face, "Niece, you always spoke the wisest words in all of Olympus. Alright, I will do as you please." Poseidon then gave him a strange look and asked Athena, "Who is this?" "My son, Alex." She replied calmly. Poseidon thenughed and said, "Athena, THE Athena, with a son. How times change..." "Nice to meet you, Alex." "Likewise, grand-uncle." After that, their conversation was peaceful and Athena and Poseidon discussed the resolution to the current problem. ______________________________________________________ "Uncle, our ship was wrecked by a wave. Could you send us off?" Athena requested. Water then started filling the temple and they were back at the still surface of the water like the temple was never there. Two waves then formed and Poseidon told them, "Surf along these waves and you''ll find yourself back at the maind." "Thank you. Farewell, Uncle." "Goodbye." Alex also said goodbye and him and Athena each took one wave and were directed in the distance of the coast. "You were really cool today." Alex suddenly praised her. "You taught me not to be indifferent, Alex, it''s thanks to you." "I didn''t do anything." Alex shrugged. Athena chuckled and didn''t add anything as they calmly surfed into the horizon. Chapter 43 - Athenas Bold Declaration After surfing back to the maind, Alex and Athena decided to rest in Amphipolis for a bit. They made their way to a local restaurant to have lunch, and so Athena could recover from the earlier fight. After eating way more seafood than one was supposed to eat, they sluggishly left the restaurant and Athena said, "I have recovered enough Faith Energy. Let''s move." She then transferred some of her Faith Energy to him, which he thanked her for, and they readied themselves for the journey. Navigating through the forests, mountains, and cities, it was a fast and silent ''jog'' home, and after climbing up the rough hills and peaks of Olympus, they were back at Athena''s tower. Before entering the tower, Alex noticed Athena was frozen in ce and ring in a specific direction. Following her sight, he perceived Zeus'' golden pce, shining in the distance. ''Why is she staring at the pce like that?'' Alex thought to himself. The conversation that followed next was nothing short of astonishing. "Alex, I have made a decision." She stated. Alex listened carefully. "I want to be Queen of Olympus." She dropped the bomb. "WHAT." Alex eximed, dumbfounded at this very unexpected deration. Zeus was extremely strong and fearsome from what he''s seen, and as his daughter, she should be well aware of it. "I don''t want to vanquish Father as the prophecy said, but I will find a way, to take that throne." Athena had some reservations but her clenched fists and frowning eyebrows exhibited her determination. "Zeus is very strong, and why do you want to take the throne anyway?" Alex asked her in confusion. Athena seemed to be awaiting this very moment, as she listed out all of her reasonings. "Father is too partial, and lets his feelings, and most importantly, his lust take control of his decisions." "His style of rule had shaped Olympus into a very loose andwless congregation of gods. That needs to be changed." "For many important decisions, I have been the one to counsel Father, so why don''t I just take the throne?" "All of these years, I have been told to lessen my ambitions...because I am ''wise'' and ''calm'' but I don''t feel like doing that anymore, and I know I will rule this ce better." Alex didn''t know the context for many of her opinions and couldn''tment or approve. However, he trusted his dear friend Athena, and even though he knew very well how hard this would be, he was going to support her the best he could, as she supported him and has been here for him at every dumb inquiry or question he''s ever had. "Are you sure? You''re going to be fighting Zeus...and speak of it, Poseidon too." Alex didn''t want her to make a rash decision. "Who said I don''t appreciate a challenge? Athens wasn''t built in a day, I will prepare very carefully before I make my move." Athena seemed very charismatic at the moment and fully convinced Alex. ''It''s not like Athena is weak or could die anyway.'' Alex was at least relieved that he knew no harm could befall her, and knowing her, failure wouldn''t be an option since Athena would only make a move when she was almost sure she''d have a degree of sess in her ns. "You know what? This is exciting, Athena. I''m supporting you every step of the way." Alex expressed his support for her ns. Athena nodded and thanked him, then said, "Speaking of support, I have something for you." She took out a ss gourd and passed it to him. As he held the gourd in his hand, a line of text appeared on his retina. _______________________________________________________ (Essence of Athena) Quality: Divine State: Great Additional Information: An invaluable elixir refined from Athena''s blood. ________________________________________________________ "No way..." Alex couldn''t ept this, but the allure of partially gaining the strength of Athena was enticing, to say the least. "Just take it, as a reward for apanying me to Poseidon. I''m looking forward to how you will be able to mix up my powers and those of Ares." She smiled. "Thank you. Very much." Alex thanked her honestly. "Take it now if you wish, so we can train together and see the results." Athena advised him. Alex didn''t refuse, and opened up the gourd, catching a whiff of the familiar metallic smell he''s grown to associate with power-ups. Taking down the Essence in one gulp, he felt the pain starting. Yet, as if his pain tolerance increased once again, he was now able to maintain his footing and somewhat manage the pain. Athena helped him walk, and they climbed her tower until they reached the floor with her training equipment. The pain had now subsided, and Alex analyzed his body. He didn''t feel much of a change, but when he concentrated on Athena, he could see after shadows of her. More urately, they were ''foreshadows'' as these silhouettes of Athena reflected the movements she would do in the following seconds. ''Is this...precognition?'' It felt incredible, as he could observe the very near future with minimal effort. "Ready?" Athena was equipped with her shield and passed him her spear. Alex nodded, and thetter suddenly charged at him. Unlike the previous times, however, he knew where she was headed before she made her move and with his speed, was able to avoid every attack sessfully. He was aware that if she were tond an attack on him, he would lose, but right now, she wasn''t able to catch up to him, so they were stuck in a stalemate. Alex had a sudden thought. He wanted to trynding an attack on her, and his strategy was fairly simple. He would use his sleep-inducing specialty(from Hermes) on her, and although its effectiveness was limited on gods, making her drowsy and slow for a second or so was his true goal. He would then predict her movements with precognition, detect any openings, and use his remaining Faith Energy to attack her at lightning speed. Even his train of thought seemed to elerate from absorbing Essence, as he brainstormed this attack in a very small amount of time. Suddenly, one of Athena''s moves was stiff and it was the perfect moment for him to realize his ns. Casting the sleep effect on her, she was confused at her sudden disorientation and moved a bit sluggish, showing a gap in the area of protection from the Shield of Aegis. Then, diverting his Faith Energy to his speed, he bolted at her and attacked the specific weak spot he had discerned. Just as his spear was a few millimeters away from her body, however, her shield abruptly grew muchrger and his spear only hit the shield, making a ringing noise that reverberated throughout the entire room. Also, Athena had fully recovered from her drowsiness and he was now cornered, as her shield pushed him and he was cast to the wall. His n failed. Nevertheless, Athena praised him, "I''ll consider that a draw. That was an excellent use of your various specialties, though you did end up using some Faith Energy." Alex shrugged, as a battle with Athena ending in a draw was a satisfactory result. "Alex, isn''t it time for you to start your cult of followers?" Athena asked him. "I don''t have any attributes that would help me with that." Alex informed her. "You do, and if you want to start using your own Faith Energy, you''ll need a group of devouts who will supplement your power." She then continued, "And you can cast blessings, and with the multitude of specialties you have, you''ll gain a lot of followers just from asionally blessing warriors, merchants, schrs, and couples, ording to your own specialties." "I''ve...never tried." The only time Alex ever saw a blessing was on his trip to Abdera, where he delivered Aphrodite''s blessings to the newlywed king. He would take her advice. After all, right now, he was but an unknown ''demi-god'', and to be a true member of Olympus, he first needed support from mortals, like all of his other deity friends. Putting that aside, he remembered he had a certain task toplete. Back when he was in Elysium, he met the titan Prometheus, who tasked him with speaking to Hephaestus about his state and well-being. He needed to talk to Hephaestus anyways, as he was, ording to Hermes, the only one who could repair his link to Earth. He didn''t want to go back to Earth anymore, but he really wished to see his family again. "Athena, I''m visiting Hephaestus, goodbye." Alex bid his goodbyes to her. She looked a bit surprised and told him, "If you''re trying to even get that man out of his shelter, you need me toe with you." "Wait here a second." Athena stated as she left the training floor. Chapter 44 - Hephaestus, Son Of Hera After a short while, Athena came back with a strange tool in her hand. It was gray and rectangr, and it folded in two, revealing a ck screen and a....keyboard? Alex was bbergasted, seeing a full-onptop in Athena''s hands. "What is that?!" Alex anxiously questioned Athena. She responded, "This is what Hermes used to bring you here. He found this thing being sold in Asphodel and discovered he could contact your world with it." "WHAT? I was brought here using aputer? And how did you make it work?" Alex was extremely puzzled at this. "Oh, we discovered that Father Zeus'' lightning makes this tool work. So every time Hermes used it, he would just anger Father enough and have the lightning bolts strike it." "And once, it seemed the lightning was too strong, as it broke it. And that was the day you came." Alex still didn''t fully understand the mechanism behind aptop transporting him from one world to the other, but he asked, "And, why did you bring it?" On the other hand, Athena was now the one confused, as she asked him, "Weren''t you going to Hephaestus''s ce to repair this?" ''That wasn''t my main goal, but...fine.'' Alex pondered. He informed Athena of his meeting with Prometheus and she nodded in understanding. "I''m d to know Prometheus is doing well...It has been so long." Athenamented with nostalgic eyes. "Well..let me show you the way." She said as they left the temple. Apparently, Hephaestus didn''t live on any of the mountain peaks, and instead inhabited deep within one of the western mountains, next to a nearby volcano. They walked west, in a direction he''s never been before in Olympus. Passing through a forest and more mountain peaks, the somewhat verdant fauna disappeared, and the ground here was covered in ayer of ash. The rock was turning darker and darker and Alex could feel some sort of particte matter in the air, which made it a slight bit harder to breathe. "Alex, you were nning to visit Hephaestus on your own despite not even knowing where he lives? And even if you did, he wouldn''t let you enter and just chase you out." Athena jokingly said. Alex sighed and rubbed his head in embarrassment. As they were speaking, Athena halted in front of the entrance to a cave. The air was somewhat distorted and he could feel an immense heat emanating from the cave. Athena entered the cave and told him, "Come on in." Alex reluctantly entered and in fact, it was unpleasantly hot inside. After navigating through the cave for a few minutes, they found a metal door that blocked their passage. Suddenly, in the corner of his eyes, Alex perceived something moving and was rmed. It was a....robot? When it was fully in sight, Alex realized that it was a moving machine, that was albeit very rusticpared to the robots from his time. Nheless, Alex was shocked that they even had something like this in this era. The robot was made of metals and as it moved, its various gears and mechanisms made nking sounds. It halted in front of them and spoke, "IDENTIFY Y-OURSELVES." The ''robot'' seemed to have a very unadvanced voice box, as its voice was extremely mechanical and barely intelligible. Athena seemed to notice his astonishment, as shemented, "Hephaestus was always extremely ahead of his time with his creations. This little toy is one of those." The ''little toy'' in question, then put out its metal arms in front of them. On its hand, there were three metal molds of different fingerprints. "One for me, one for Prometheus, and one for him," Athena said as she put her finger on one of the fingerprints. It fit perfectly and the bot then went by the door and knocked violently. Suddenly, the door opened. As it turned out, the door wasposed of two separate metal gates, that were pushed open by two simr ''robots'' on the inside using levers. Inside the door was a long tunnel. The ambient temperature was getting a bit unbearable, as Alex was sweating buckets, and Athena seemed to be in a simr predicament. The two then heard steps approaching them and a voice speaking, "Who''s there?" As the person approached them, the owner of the voice was now visible. In all ounts, he looked like an ordinary middle-aged man with a beard. He was very muscr, but his face and appearance were very mundane and not those Alex hade to associate with gods. His eyes, however, were a fiery orange. The man looked at him for a second before looking at Athena and speaking in a hoarse voice, "Athena, it''s you..." "It''s been a while, Hephaestus." Hephaestus then led them further inside the tunnel where they found various living facilities and robots simr to the ones from earlier were performing various tasks. Inside was also a hall that was, surprisingly, lit up byva. There seemed to be some kind of special ss that protected the room from theva, except at one chimney-like structure, whereva was flowing into a wide container. Next to the structure were an anvil and a hammer, and there were many deadly-looking weapons and intricate tools thrown about in the hall. "Wee to my workstation." Hephaestus held his hand to his chest, proudly. "I''ve been here a million times." Athena chuckled as she fidgeted the sharp weapons in her hand and swung them threateningly. Hephaestus nodded and then turned his attention to Alex. "So, who''s the boy?" Hephaestus sized him up and down, making Alex nervous. "My son. He was recently in the Underworld and has news regarding Prometheus." Athena stated. Hephaestus sighed and asked him, "Is my old friend doing any well?" Alex nodded and said, "He seemed to be doing extremely well. He asked me to inform you of his well-being and to not live like a hermit." The man rubbed his head andined, "Thing is, whenever I go out, Mother Hera makes life very difficult, saying it''s my fault that stepfather is chasing other women due to my ''behavior''. And I...like it here." Athena rolled her eyes. Hephestus continued, "But thank you, boy. Do you need anything?" Athena said, "Yes, could you repair this for him?" She passed him theptop, and he took out a magnifying ss and opened up theptop. "WOW, this is extremely intricate and ahead of this time. This circuitry...The materials...It will take a lot of time to even understand this, and only then can I begin to attempt repairing it." Alex wasn''t as disappointed as he thought he would be. ''Perhaps my attachment to Earth is waning away?'' He wondered. Hephestus entered one of the corridors to the ce and put theptop there beforeing back, with jewelry in his hand. It was a silver bracelet, and colorful jewels were embedded in its sockets. It was gorgeous, and Alex found his aestheticism reacting to it. "Can I ask a favor of you?" Hephaestus said to him. Alex nodded, but his attention was still on the bracelet. "Could you take this to my mother, and tell her it was made by me? It has been inconvenient to obtain some materials with her restricting my movement." He informed him. Athena intervened and said, "I''ll take care of it, he doesn''t need to meet her at his current strength." "That would be excellent...Thank you, Athena." Athena nodded and tugged at him, waking him up from his trance. "So, boy, since that tool of yours is going to take long to repair, do you want something else in the meantime?" Hephaestus turned to him. Alex thought about it for a bit before he got an idea. He turned to Athena and there was a tacit understanding between them as she nodded. "Can I get, Essence?" Alex asked nervously. Hephaestus seemed astonished at the request but he nodded and left the hall. After some time, he came back with a gourd in his hand. Even the gourd he made was ster in appearance and looked aesthetically pleasing. Alex thanked him, and with that, their visit to the god of forging and metallurgy was over. ________________________________________________ As they were climbing back home, Alex was curious about something. "Why can''t I meet Hera?" He asked. "Father Zeus might be fearsome, but stepmother is like....a snake. You''d have to meet her to understand." Chapter 45 - Divine Council Following their visit to Hephaestus, Athena and Alex parted ways, thetter going back to Hermes'' home. "I''m so tired..." Alex yawned as heid down on his bed. However, before he could call it a day and recover from all of the tiresome events, he needed to do something. Alex took out the beautiful obsidian ss gourd from his pocket. ________________________________________________________ (Essence of Hephaestus) Quality: Divine State: Great Additional Information: An invaluable elixir refined from Hephaestus'' blood. _________________________________________________________ The pleasant interface greeted his eyes again and a dopamine rush hit Alex as he knew he was going to receive yet another power-up. He opened up the gourd and instantly downed the Essence. As usual, an unpleasant degree of pain hit him and subsided after a short while. He didn''t feel any differences and in any case, he would wait for another time to fully examine his changes. Now, was the time for rest. As he put his head on the everfortable pillow, Alex readied himself for wonderful dreams and closed his eyes. *DING-DONG* *DING-DONG* Suddenly, an omnipresent ringing sound reverberated in his ears, and he jumped out of the bed in anger. "Why the f*ck is there a bell ringing!? I''m not in school anymore!!" Alex was furious that his visit to Hypnos(sleep) was interrupted. All of a sudden, Hermes entered his room and eximed, "Well, Alexei-boy, I''m back!" "Do I care? I just want to sleep. What is this ringing sound?!" "Oh, the divine council has been called into a meeting by Father Zeus, and I''m now supposed to inform Hades, Persephone, Poseidon, Ares, and all of the other gods who are not currently in Olympus toe back." Hermes sighed. "*Tsk* Just when I wanted to save up some Faith Energy. Well, Alex, how about you go see what this council is all about?" Hermes told him. Alex was groggy and if he had to be fully honest, he didn''t really give a damn about a so-called divine council, but it did sound interesting, and he wasn''t going back to sleep anyways now, so at least he could see what this was all about. Therefore, he nodded. Hermes then said, "Well, Athena can take you there. As for me, I need to do my job as a messenger." He then unfolded hisrge wings and left the house from the window. ''His speed is really something else.'' Alexmented as Hermes could not even be seen as a little dot in the distance. Alex shrugged and gave up on going back to sleep. He left the house and made his way back to Athena''s tower for the second time today. Coincidentally, he crossed her path just as she was about to leave, and she said, "Let me guess, you want to see the council?" Alex nodded and she seemed to hesitate before advising him, "You cane, but don''t do anything carelessly, some of the gods there can reduce you to a crisp in seconds." Alex nodded and although she looked unconvinced, she ended up telling him to follow her. The council was organized in Zeus''s pce, the biggest residence in all of Olympus. The road to the pce was quite straightforward, as anyone could see the glowing ce in the distance anywhere from Olympus. Looking at it from a distance was something, but as they were standing in front of it, the towering pce was something else. Intimidating and thick pirs supported the structure, and the reflection of the sun on the gold that coated the entire house blinded Alex. Under the stares of countless female and male servants, Alex and Athena entered the house. It was even more extravagant inside, as murals depicting various scenes of Zeus epassed the walls of the wide corridors, of which they were countless. Athena led him through one of these corridors, at the end of which, there was a veryrge door. She pushed the door open and hinted at him toe inside. The ce looked like a veryrge courtroom. Two thrones overlooked the room from a high pedestal and in the lower echelons, smaller thrones made a circr formation, leaving a space in the center. There were already quite a few people in here, some that Alex was very familiar with, and others that he didn''t know. As they entered, everyone''s sight was on the two of them, but they were soon back to staring mindlessly. Athena chose one of the seats, and told him, "I can''t let you sit here, I apologize. The bunch of gods you''ll see are very different from us, and they take formalities very seriously." Alex waved his hand, it was alright, he could stand. As they waited for a bit, the doors to the room opened and a few people entered through. These people were very familiar to him, consisting of Hermes, Hades and Persephone, Poseidon, Ares, and...Achilles? Hades and Persephone didn''t look cheerful as usual, instead, they were frowning heavily as they chose random seats. Hermes whispered, "Hi again, Alexei-boy and Athena." and sat next to Athena. However, Ares didn''t seem preupied with the formal atmosphere of the ce and waved at him from a distance, with Achilles doing the same. Alex waved back at Achilles, but he had to stop as the ce suddenly got much, much quieter than it already was. Four people entered through the door. One of them was Zeus, who came in with a heavy-looking crown on his head and upied one of the two VIP seats. A woman followed behind him, and she wasn''t someone Alex knew. She had ck hair and golden eyes that were simr to Zeus''s own eyes. He recognized her, however, by the gorgeous bracelet on her wrist, that was clearly the one Hephaestus sent to his mother, Hera. So that was Hera... The goddess seemed to notice his stare and returned it back with a thin smile, that somehow gave Alex the chills. ''She reminds me of...Aphrodite...'' Alex thought. Speaking of Aphrodite, she was the third person to enter, as she stole nces at all of the people in the room and walked haughtily to a seat right under the one Zeus upied. The fourth person to enter was yet another stranger to Alex She looked much younger than the other deities, looking like she was at most, in herter teens. But her strong eyebrows and piercing hazel eyes weren''tcking in intimidationpared to the other gods, in any way. She sat next to an unfamiliar god. He was skinny, and his features were almost the same as the young goddess, and they looked like twins. As none of the seats remained vacant, Zeus stood up and spoke in a domineering voice, "I, your King, have ordered the divine council today to settle a dispute between two goddesses, Aphrodite and my daughter Artemis." It seemed Artemis was the young girl, as she red at Aphrodite when Zeus mentioned her name. ''Did Aphrodite do something again?'' Alex was disappointed, but not surprised. "Artemis, speak," Zeus ordered. "Father, I have requested today''s meeting because I believe Aphrodite has vastly overstepped her boundaries. As some of you may know, in the sacred forest I call home, I offer protection to young girls who have had men force themselves on. Recently, it hase to my knowledge that as a reward for following her orders, Aphrodite has promised to kidnap these girls and deliver them to her male puppets!" This was more serious than Alex expected, as he looked on to Aphrodite. She still had her characteristic raised eyebrows and arrogant demeanor, and he wondered what she would say in her defense. Chapter 46 - Alex, In The Spotlight. After Artemis spoke her part, Zeus nodded and turned to Aphrodite. "What about you, Aphrodite?" The goddess stood up and arrogantly spoke. "I believe this was an issue that didn''t need to make its way to the sacred Divine Council and could have been solved personally between the two of us. As for me, I am pretty sure the lives of mortals aren''t protected by your decree, even if they inhabit your ''sacred forest'' and I had no prior knowledge of your ''protection.''" Aphrodite emphasized certain terms to mock Artemis. ''What an Aphrodite-like answer.'' Alex thought this was ridiculous. She first established an unreasonable argument to avoid ountability and then feigned ignorance to pretend she didn''t have any part in this. By trivializing the problem, Aphrodite tried to make Artemis look like a whiny child who made a mountain out of a molehill. As she finished her speech, the gods got talkative and were discussing the issue between them. Suddenly, an unfamiliar goddess raised her voice, "May I speak?" Zeus approved, "Demeter, speak." Alex looked at ''Demeter''. She had very simr features to Persephone, who was seated next to her, except her skin was a bit lighter in tone. Demeter stood up and stated, "I err on the side of Aphrodite, as I think any issue concerning mortals does not belong in this council!" When she halted, the temperature of the room suddenly got chilly and ice formed around her seat. Persephone, who was next to her, frowned and eximed, "Mother!" "Daughter, you have no part in this." Demeter silenced Persephone. Zeus nodded and asked the group, "Does anyone else wish to speak before we cast votes?" At this, no one stood up and Zeus continued, "Then, each of you shall vote for Aphrodite or Artemis to end this controversy." The gods nodded. Unexpectedly, Aresmented, "To be fair, I wouldn''t vote for Aphrodite even if she werepletely in the right." Most of the gods stayed silent, and Alex thought they had no sense of humor. Though he could perceive Hephaestus, who was in a corner of the room, and Hermesughing. Aphrodite who was the victim of the onught looked on spitefully at Ares. If looks could kill, Ares would no longer be immortal. Zeus harrumphed and the voting session seriously started. The King of Gods himself voted for Aphrodite. Hera voted in favor of Artemis and stared at Aphrodite with a cunning smile that made Alex wonder if she really voted because she thought Artemis was the victim here or if it was driven by her personal opinions. Poseidon voted in favor of Aphrodite, as did Demeter. Hermes and Ares also voted for Artemis. The rest of the gods all refrained from voting. "It''s a...draw, we can''t continue," Zeusmented. Artemis looked frustrated by this, as she eximed, "Aren''t you all ashamed of yourselves? Taking neutrality or the side of that witch, you''re all amoral and heartless beings!" Aphrodite was giggling as she watched Artemis break down. Somehow, as if driven by his hate for Aphrodite and injustice, Alex stood up. "Grandfather Zeus, may I speak?" Alex said. Athena red at him, implicitly telling him that he should sit. This time, Alex would stand up, as he was sick of taking the sidelines. Zeus stared at him confusingly and nodded. Alex went to the space in the center of the room and eximed, "I believe any who voted for Aphrodite have no shame as gods." "In my short time as a demi-god here, I have seen the norms of Olympus, and one of the fundamentals of your dignity as a deity is abiding by your values." "In our case, Artemis here is very reputed for being a protectress of young girls. YET, Aphrodite has dared to touch upon that reverse scale of Artemis,mitting a crime that would be on the same level as stealing Grandfather Zeus''s thunderbolts and proiming yourself as the god of the skies." When he said that, the room immediately turned chaotic. Zeusunched one of his thunderbolts and screamed "Silence!" However, Demeter stood up and eximed, "Preposterous!" Alex then perceived three sharp ice arrowsing in his direction, sent by none other than Demeter. They were fast, but using his precognition and swiftness, he evaded them, and the arrows hit the wall of the room, causing it to crack. Alex sighed in relief as he barely avoided the deadly ice arrows. Persephone clenched her fists, stood up, and screamed at her mother, "Mother! I refuse to have you acting this way!" Demeter unexpectedly, pped Persephone and scolded her, "Don''t you speak to me that way? I won''t let my daughter protect an audacious demi-god who thinks he can tell us what to do." When she hit Persephone, Hades, who was next to her, said, "I think he''s right. I am voting in favor of Artemis. AND. DEMETER. DON''T. YOU. TOUCH. MY. QUEEN." Demeter harrumphed as Hades'' deathly aura came into contact with the chill that emanated from Demeter and this conflict was only interrupted when Zeus ordered Demeter. "Demeter, you are not wee in the divine council any longer. Scram." Alex didn''t expect this oue, as he watched Demeter leaving the room while she sent him an icy re. Zeus then smiled at him and said, "I like your reasoning, kid. I''m changing my vote to my daughter Artemis." "But! Zeus!" Aphrodite was shaking profusely. Poseidon also changed his vote to Artemis. Athena, who was previously on the side, grabbed him by his arm, and said: "I''m voting for Artemis." She then whispered to Alex, ''We''ll talkter.'' Persephone, who still looked astonished at the p her mother gave her, then voted for Artemis. As Aphrodite watched the oue of this council instantly change, she looked delirious and clenched her fists. "Well, everyone voted for Artemis then? I think we can conclude today- "You can''t do this to me, Zeus" Aphrodite interrupted Zeus. Hera, who was pretty silent for the entire council, spoke up, "He can, why wouldn''t he? Do you have some sort of hidden arrangement with my husband?" Aphrodite couldn''t retort and just stood there with her mouth wide open. "It''s all his f-fault.." She stuttered as she red at Alex. Alex didn''t hear or see anything of it, as he was currently being heavily scolded by Athena. Chapter 47 - Conclusion Of The Council Zeus coughed at Hera''s words and resumed speaking, "I believe we have concluded." "Aphrodite has touched upon the honor of Artemis and could have very well caused a conflict that would harm the stability of Olympus. For that, I punish her with a MONTH OF HOUSE ARREST!" Zeus passed down his judgment on Aphrodite. Thetter, instead of continuing her earlier showdown, unexpectedly chuckled and said, "I ept the punishment, Lord Zeus." When she heard that, Athena told Alex, "I''m getting a bad premonition from this." Artemis was astonished at her sudden change in attitude. Zeus, also stunned by this oue, coughed and said, "Also, the girls of Artemis'' sacred forest will now also be ced under my protection." "With that, I dere the divine council adjourned!" Artemis bowed, thanked Zeus and everyone else, "Thank you, Father, and everyone who has discerned the side of justice today, I owe you all a favor!" Aphrodite was already leaving the council, but was stopped by Hera, "Aphrodite, I will be escorting you back to your home." Veins seemed to pop on Aphrodite''s forehead, as her eyes twitched from anger. Athena, Alex, and Hermes also stood up to leave, but suddenly, the towering figure of Zeus blocked their passage. "Hermes, I need to speak to you." The god told Hermes. Hermes murmured under his breath, "Uh-oh, sounds like trouble." Zeus then turned to Alex and said, "Kid, I''ll remember you." Alex was astonished and didn''t know how to interpret his vague words, so he just stood there silently until Athena stepped in and dered, "Father, he has seen a lot today, he''s going back home." She tugged violently at his shoulder and they left the room, and Alex knew his next conversation with her wasn''t going to be a pleasant one. In fact, when they were out of the pce, Athena eximed, "Alex, you have done so many things wrong today..." "Of all the deities to offend, you chose DEMETER and APHRODITE," Athena spoke calmly but Alex knew she was nothing but calm as she ced extra emphasis on the names of the goddesses. Their conversation was, however, fortunately, interrupted by Persephone. "Alex, I can''t deny you were extremely audacious today, but putting yourself under the radar of Mother wasn''t a good decision." Alex rubbed his head and started to regret his hot-bloodedness from earlier. ''What had even gotten into me?'' He wondered. Persephone continued, "Look, I''m going to speak to her, and that will make the difference between her loathing you and disliking you." "You don''t have to do that- "You''re misunderstanding something, Alex, I''m doing it for Crista. She doesn''t have the strength to protect herself yet, and Mother will target her if she can''t vent her anger on YOU." Persephone interrupted him and spoke in an angry manner he had never seen before. Alex started feeling very guilty, as his careless advances not only put him in danger but apparently also his lover. Alex took a step back and bowed to both Athena and Persephone. "I apologize." Athena replied, "It''s toote, Alex, you did what you did, and it was extremely courageous. I have to give it to you, if I had your strength, I wouldn''t have ever stood up for myself in that council, even if it were for justice." Persephone nodded at her words, "Wisely said, Athena. On that, I''m going." Hades had also left the council by now, and caught up to his wife. He stared at Alex for a few seconds, implicitly sending out the same message as the other two, and then took Persephone into an embrace, the two of them leaving. Ares and Achilles were nowhere to be seen, and most of the deities he knew had either already left, or were still inside. Yet, an unfamiliar goddess approached them. ''If my memory serves me right, she was one of the two gods who refrained from voting..?'' Alex pondered. She had a very calm, somewhat stoic demeanor and a simple appearancepared to most other deities. Her eyes were of a deep green color that inspired rxation andfort. "Athena, how have you been faring? It has been an eventful while." The goddess'' voice was soothing. "Ah, Aunt Hestia. I have had a tiresome life, yet fate has brought me only serendipity, for which I am thankful for." Athena referred to the goddess as ''Hestia''. ''Hestia?'' As far as he knew, Hestia was the sister of Zeus, Hades and Poseidon, and the Goddess of hearth and home, epassing all aspects of home life andfort. She wasn''t mentioned very much in myths, because she didn''t involve herself much in conflicts and such, and was one of the most benevolent goddesses. "I see fate has even brought you a child. I won''t upy your time much further. Bless you, Athena." Hestia referred to Alex and cupped her hands in goodbye. "Bless you, Aunt." Athena also cupped her hands back. Following that, Athena forced him to stay at her tower, on ount of protecting him until the situation from the day of the council calmed down. An unexpected guest came by to the tower, however. The fiery young goddess, the unexpected guest in question, was currently trying out various bows at Athena''s training facility and praised those. It was Artemis, the ''intiff'' from the Divine Council. "I came by to thank you for your intervention that day, if not, I wouldn''t have secured victory!" She was speaking to him, but her attention was fully devoted to shooting arrows. Alex shook his head, and Artemis suddenly shot a few arrows at him, which he skillfully avoided and responded back with a questioning re. "As I thought, you''re very good at evasion. You shoulde by my forest sometimes to train together!" Her eyes were glowing, and Alex wasn''t sure he shared her enthusiasm. He didn''t want to be a porcupine from the arrows of the Goddess of the Hunt, after all. Just as he was thinking of ways to chase her out, a very fortunate coincidence happened. The skinny god from the day of the council, that looked like her twin, came over and spoke, "Artemis, it is time to go back." His voice felt distant, and he felt the pr opposite of the hot-blooded Artemis. He was holding a lyre in his hands, simr to the one Achilles used. Artemis looked unsatisfied, and pouted, "Apollo, let me y with the neer first..." ''That''s Apollo?'' Alex was surprised. ''Apollo'' seemed to sense his emotions, as he stared at him iprehensibly for a few seconds, and then left the floor and the tower in slow steps. "Ughh, brother, you''re always like this. Well, neer, I shall go!" Artemis gave him a thumbs-up and followed Apollo. "The name''s Alex..." Alex was downcast, as she was already too far away when he spoke. Meanwhile, Athena was watching all of this, and warned him, "Be careful of Apollo, and Artemis too. They might not be malevolent, but they are definitely people you should look out for." Alex kept her advice in mind and nodded. Chapter 48 - Plans For The Future When the ''pot stopped boiling'', Athena chased him out of her tower. Alex hummed a nursery rhyme as he walked back home, and met Hermes by the entrance. "Alexei-boy, you''re back from being under the constant surveince of Athena?" Hermes didn''t forget to mock him. Alex ignored his remarks and asked, "What did Zeus want with you? That sounded like nothing good." Hermes hinted at him toe in first, and they sat together in their usual spot, on the balcony. "Well, I negotiated a vacation from my duties since something big ising up." Hermes shrugged. "What''s that?" Alex was curious. "In four months from now, I need to go all the way to thend of the Qin dynasty, to settle the border disputes between Hellenia, where Olympus rules, and the domain of the Jade Emperor." ''Land of Qin? China??????'' Alex was astonished at this. "Who''s the Jade Emperor?" Alex asked him. "The leader god of their domain, simr to Zeus, and also equally as strong. Alexei-boy, we''re not the only gods in this world." Hermes informed him. Alex nodded, as he remembered the time he met the monk Padmapani and the prince Aadityapal in the city of Olep a very long time ago, back when he was still very weak. ''That monk clearly wasn''t mortal.'' Alex recalled the supernatural strength he had exhibited. "Actually, Alexei-boy, I''m telling you this because I want you toe." Hermes suddenly dered. "WHAT!?" Alex wasn''t drinking any tea right now, but if he was, he would surely have spilled it. ''Visiting China?'' The more he thought about it, the more interested he became. "Can I reallye?" Alex asked again. "Well, it''s going to be a long journey, but you''re wee." Hermes nodded in approval. It felt overwhelming, that now, Alex would go from visiting a city as sent by Aphrodite, to going to the Underworld, to crossing the entire Old World?! "It''s four months from now, right?" Alex asked, with Crista in mind, who he needed to find a way to inform about this long journey. "Yes, exactly 4 months from now." Hermes rectified it. After that, they had a cheerful conversation. Hermes spoke to him about his new lover, Marzia, and all of the adventures he''s gone through with her and he spoke to Hermes about his anxieties about his low strength, his uncertain and dangerous future in Olympus, and his homeworld. "Alexei-boy." "Yes." "I brought you here. I may not be the strongest god, but rest assured, as long as you are here, I will guarantee your safety the best I can." Hermes wasn''t usually this serious as his face wascking the yful smile that had be default to his expression, but whenever he had this manner, Alex knew he could trust him. "Thank you, Hermes." Alex thanked him honestly and said, "Have I ever thanked you for bringing me here? You kind of changed my life." Hermes went back to his cheerful self and waved his hand. "Don''t mention it, Alex. This ce has never been so noisy and bright." "You know, Olympus is a lonely ce, and that is something we all refuse to admit, but I can''t lie, it has been feeling much less lonely with you here." Hermes chuckled. Alex couldn''t give any response to this, as Hermes has never been this vulnerable about his emotions in the past. He didn''t expect that of all people, Hermes, who was usually bubbly and carefree and seemed to know the most people, was the one that felt lonely. "Nevermind, forget all of that. I''m supposed to be the Messenger of Olympus and the God of various other things, emotions will just get in the way of that, wouldn''t they?" Hermesmented. "Don''t say that, Hermes." Alex continued, "Perhaps being divine beings and all, you try to hide the ''human'' part of you, but I''ll tell you, you can''t hide from it, and if you try to, you''ll suffer for all eternity, since you can''t even die.'' Alex was surprised at the words that came out of his own mouth. "I guess you bring out that human part in all of us?" Hermes asked, but it seemed to be a question directed towards himself. "Alex, I''ve never been so happy before, as dumb as that might sound. Before you came, the only time Athena and I would ever talk was at the divine council or formal meetings, yet now we regrly see each other." "And now, I have a lover that I want to be so much closer with and you, with whom I''ve formed an unexpected friendship." Hermes then asked him, "Back in your world, did your people have these sorts of discussions often?" ''Hmmm'' Alex thought about it, and it was true that in his time, the stigma surrounding mental health had mostly faded away and people were more open with their struggles. Thus, he nodded. Hermes sighed and said, "I really needed this, I think. It''s been hundreds of years since my birth and I have never spoken about this to everything, and I couldn''t even imagine saying this to Father or Stepmother or god forbid, Aphrodite." Alex told him, "If you ever wish to speak about this, I am your friend, and will always listen." "Thank you, Alexei-boy." Alex felt like they overstated the impact he had on them. On the day of the eclipse, Athena told him that he was able to achieve the miraculous feat of uniting the family, though he didn''t think it was that big of a deal. Following his deeper than usual discussion with Hermes, Alex remembered he had yet to test the effects of Hephaestus''s Essence on his abilities. "Umm, Hermes, are there any forging equipment and materials around?" Hermes frowned and thought about it, before nodding, "Strangely, yes, we do." "Before he sheltered himself in thatva pit of his, Hephaestus used toe here often, so I think I still have his spare anvil and hammer from a few hundred years ago." Chapter 49 - Hermes, A Man Of Mystery Since they already had forging equipment, Alex thought this would be optimal. Hermes led him to the kitchen and said, "Alexei-boy, I don''t have a forging furnace, use the one in here." "This one will do the job, thank you." Hermes shrugged and disappeared off to somewhere, beforeing back with a heavy anvil, a hammer, forging tongs, and a bucket in his hand. He put down the equipment and eximed, "Well then, show me what thebination of Hephaestus''s divine forging and Athena''s handicraft can make." Alex nodded and visualized the end product in his mind. He wasn''t currently in need of a weapon, but he remembered that he owed Achilles a spear, since he broke his previous one trying to save him from the titan Cronus. This would be a long and heavy spear, fit for a nimble and strong warrior like Achilles. Fortunately, Hermes somehow had chests full of raw iron and copper ingots at hand, and considering steel still wasn''t invented at this time, Alex reasoned that this would be the best alternative. He would start with the spearpoint. He took a few ingots of iron and copper with a ratio of 3:1 to maximize the strength and durability of the tip of the spear. Normally, a furnace like the one used in this kitchen couldn''t reach the temperatures required to melt down metals like copper and iron. However, they found a solution. Fire ignites hotter when it is exposed to more air, so Hermes would fan the coal fire with his immense swiftness and it would very easily reach the requisite temperatures. They did exactly that and using the tongs to not hurt himself from the heat, he ced the bucket full of metals in the furnace to melt them down. Although, he identally touched the hot surface of the oven, and strangely, instead of instantly burning off his skin as he thought would happen, it only felt ufortable but not so painful. ''????'' Alex was perplexed, this wasn''t cookie-baking temperatures, but iron-melting ones. ''Ah'' He came to a realization, however, that also exined how Hephaestus was able to live in thatva pit for hundreds of years. It seemed his Essence gave him an increased resistance to high temperatures. This was incredibly advantageous for forging, as he could handle the metals with much more ease. ''Hephaestus probably doesn''t feel anything from the heat, it''s still rather ufortable for me.'' Alex only consumed one Essence, so he obviously didn''t receive the full extent of the god''s capabilities, but it still made his job easier. After a while, the two metals werepletely melted together and undesirable waste had floated to the top. Alex skimmed off the waste and poured water over the metals to slightly cool them down. *Fssssssss* The water instantly vaporized but he reached his end goal. Pouring the viscous alloy into the anvil, he waited for it to cool down just a bit further. It would be perfect when it was still hot enough that he could shape it to his will, but cool enough that it would maintain its integrity. Hermes was watching him carefully, and nodding at every sessful step of the way. The kitchen was now reeking of carbon dioxide from thebustion of the coal, but there wasn''t any climate crisis at this time, so he had no need to worry about his carbon footprint. At the temperature, the metals were currently at, Alex could handle them with his own hands with only minimal difort and thus used both his hands and the hammer to shape the speartip into the form of a diamond. Putting the tip aside, he would now work on the shaft. This part was much easier, but the length of the staff would be the only problem. This time, he used the iron and copper in a 2:2 ratio, and melted them down as he did earlier, and then shaped them into an extremely long staff. Now, he''d have to mold the two parts of the spear together. He put the two close by in the furnace and when it reached his desired temperature, he struck down with his hammer. *BAM* *BAM* The ringing sound of forging urred in regr intervals. After a few minutes of doing this, the tip of the spear and the body were now connected, and he''d only have to wait for it cool down. Hermes praised, "You did a really great job, Alexei-boy, Essence might have contributed, but you seem to have knowledge that also helped." Alex shrugged, it was just basic physics and chemistry from Earth that he applied here for temperature control. "Thank you for the help, Hermes." Alex thanked him, as he couldn''t have been able to forge anything at all without the furnace temperatures. "Don''t mention it," Hermes said with a wink. They waited a while and the spear was now cool enough. It had a brown and gray color, and the tip of the spear reflected light off of it sharply, and it looked dangerous. The shaft was very well adjusted to the shape of hands and felt somewhatfortable and easy to grip. If it were up to Alex, he would make it morefortable, but this was for a warrior after all. There were some minor adjustments that he made following that, and then he examined the spear using his System. ________________________________________________ (Excellent Spear) Quality: Excellent State: Great Additional Information: A sturdy spear made by a cksmith with divine skills and average materials. _______________________________________________ Hermes asked him, "Is it good?" Alex nodded and thetter replied, "How about blessing it?" Alex shook his head, he was still clueless about casting blessings and such. "Well, blessing objects is harder than living beings so you should probably forget about it, or wait, can I see the spear?" Hermes requested. Alex obliged and passed him the long spear. Hermes took a look at it and recited an incantation. "Examine it now." He gave him back the spear. As Alex took it back, he instantly noticed a difference. The spear felt much much lighter and as he swung it around, the speed at which it moved was higher than before. And, in fact, when he took a look at its information, the name changed to (Spear Blessed by Hermes) and a new line was added to the (Additional Information) tab. ____________________________________________ A spear blessed by Hermes to have greater swiftness. ____________________________________________ ''This is excellent.'' Alexmented. "Alexei-boy, don''t even thank me." Hermes didn''t let him speak. Alex chuckled. Suddenly, Hermes'' eyes widened. "What''s wrong, Hermes?!" Alex eximed. Hermes regained hisposure and stated, "I need to go." "Where?" "I can''t tell you now, Alexei-boy. Perhaps in the future, I promise." Hermes then instantly disappeared. This was different from his usual method of transportation, where you can follow his tracks. This time, he literally disappeared. Perhaps Hermes was a god of greater mystery than Alex thought in the past. Chapter 50 - Reunion With The Night Following Hermes'' sudden disappearance, Alex was now home alone. He was feeling proud of his creation, and went to his room, storing it on one of his bedside cabs, like a trophy. He would wait until he met Achilles to gift him this spear, as a surprise. From the wide windows of his room, orange rays of light illuminated his face and put on disy his multi-colored eyes. It would soon be sunset. To observe daylight''s final performance, Alex went to the roof of the mansion. Thest time he was here, it was with Crista, but this time, he was all alone. The sun was still slightly above the mountain peaks, and it cast an orange glint on the forests in the lower parts of Olympus. He could perceive various animals going about their mindless days, hunting prey, eating,municating, etc... The mountains shielded the forests from the strong winds of the east but the unfortunate trees that sprouted in the valleys of Olympus were either blown over or bent. Alex found it beautiful that no matter what happened, the world would just...go on. In the distance, he could see Athena''s tower. ''She''s probably doing astronomical calctions, or studying ancient scrolls, or training.'' Alex tried to guess what she was currently doing. In another direction, Zeus'' golden pce glowed a golden-orange color from the setting sun. ''He''s probably chasing around women or arguing with Hera.'' Alex chuckled. In the east, he could discern an ugly pce. It was Aphrodite''s home, and she was currently under house arrest. Alex wasn''t too worried about her male puppets, as he could easily eliminate them, and only she could pose him a threat. He shrugged, this wasn''t the time to be thinking about witches. He felt a bit alone right now. ''It''s been a while that I haven''t been left to my thoughts like this.'' He wasn''t scared of being alone, he just felt a bit paranoid that someday, everyone would just leave. Crista, in thepany of her sisters, would not want to see him anymore. Athena, who would conquer Olympus and be a lofty and distant queen, too far from his status. Hermes would elope with Marzia and forget all about him. He felt too weak, too useless, too troublesome. In trying to prove himself the other day in the divine council, he only attracted problems for his entourage. This barrage of unpleasant thoughts was undesirable, but Alex just couldn''t NOT think of this as there was no distraction from his feelings. By this time, the sun was only a slit over the mountains and the sky was a gradient of orange, light blue, and dark blue. Then, the night set in, and the stars and bright moon performed their own light show. It was a lonely light, but Alex didn''t feel like sleeping. If this were Earth, he would be smoking a cigarette, not for the nicotine, but for the feeling of the cigarette fumes warming his lungs in thefort of the night. Unfortunately, or fortunately, this was not Earth and there was no tobo in here. ''You seem troubled, child.'' A voice rang out in Alex''s head. He was rmed, but the voice came from everywhere at once and he couldn''t pinpoint the source. After looking around, he found who was speaking. It was a woman. Her facial features were indistinguishable but he couldn''t escape her long ck hair that was ornamented with stars that looked like they were plucked right from the night sky. She wore a hazy ck dress, though it didn''t even look like she had a solid body, to begin with. ''Nyx..?'' Alex was confused. ''Yes, it is I, child. I can roam the mortal realm when it is nighttime.'' She spoke telepathically. Alex just noticed he had a tear flowing down his face and rapidly dried it, but Nyx''s voice said, ''I cannot guide you on matters of the mind, child.'' "I don''t need guidance," Alex said out loud. ''You are not one of this world, and it will be hard, to find your ce in here, but hold on, and I promise you will,'' Nyxforted him. "What if I don''t, then?" Alex asked rhetorically. ''Your years are as numerous as the stars in the sky.'' "Why have youe here, Nyx? To take pity on me?" Alex chuckled self-depreciatingly. ''You are wrong, child. I have observed you, and though my daughters can not confirm it, I know you have an incredible fate in front of you, and I also know you are wrong about other people''s feelings towards you.'' ''But that is not why I am here today.'' "Then, why?" Alex''s voice was hoarse and dry. ''I havee to warn you. If, by chance, an individual of the name of Chaos tries to grant you wishes, be very careful, as they will not give it to you the way that you want.'' Nyx had more emotion in her voice than usual. "Chaos? Who is that?" ''I don''t truly know, as we have never met, but what I do know, is that we are all born of them, and they express unbound curiosity towards unusual things or people, like you, child.'' "I''ll....keep it in mind." Alex nodded. Nyx then sat next to him. The night didn''t speak too much, but thefort from having someone around was enough for him. The hours passed by as Alex observed the rotation of the globe and the stars moving, and it was very silent. The silence was unexpectedly interrupted by Nyx. ''Child, as you may have seen, most of us are more human than we are gods.'' She continued. ''I have witnessed many mysteries since my birth, and the birth of this world, but matters of consciousness and mind remain the biggest mystery even to me, child.'' Those were the only words she said, as they remained in silence after that. This continued until the sun was visible in the east, as Nyx told him, ''I cannot stay here anymore, child. Goodbye.'' Alex also felt a bit tired, and before she would go, he made sure to say, "Thank you, Nyx." ''Child, there is nothing to thank me for. I wish you good luck.'' The silhouette of Nyx then dissipated and he was back to being alone. ''I mean, I have my bed.'' Alex made his way back to his room andid down on his bed. He was feeling much better. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 51 - The Cult Of Alex(1) When Alex woke up from his sleep, it was already noon. He cleaned his room, rubbing the spear he made vigorously even though there was no way any dust could have umted on it after just one day. After appreciating his craftsmanship for a bit, he left his room. ''Hermes'' room is locked...'' Alex looked on to the opposite end of the corridor and wondered if thetter came back or not. Alex then performed his daily hygienic rituals. *Grrrrrrr* Alex giggled at this sound and realized it was his own stomach protesting for food. He just noticed he felt more hungry than usual and wanted to make a hearty breakfast. Making his way to the kitchen, he thought about recipes he could make and ultimately decided on preparing a breakfast sandwich. There were eggs, pork, and beef. Unfortunately, theck of processed cheese restricted this dish from awakening its full potential. Alex gloated. Whenever Hermes went out on any trip, he would bringrge amounts of dough with him. Alex took out a round ball of bread dough from the icebox, and the funky smell of yeast invaded his nostrils. He portioned the ball into two equally-sized dough balls and ignited the oven. To rece pickles, which were an essential part of any sandwich in his opinion, Alex would make use of what was avable to make pickled onions. Coincidentally, some wine that was ced in the cer had ''spoiled'' and vinegar was exactly that, ''spoiled wine'', so he could use that. He added salt and sugar to the acidic solution and thinly cut some onions, that he proceeded to ce in the brine for a quick pickle. The bread went in the oven to puff up and turn into enticing slices of toasted bread. As the nostalgic fragrance of freshly-baked bread enveloped his senses, he grabbed a stone te, which he would cook the eggs and the beef patty on. There were no metal skillets or cooking vessels in this era, so Alex decided to put them on his to-forge list for the future. For his purposes, nheless, stone tools would work fine, albeit they reached cooking temperatures much slower because of their lower thermal conductivity. ''Whatever.'' Alex shrugged and started cutting the meat in the meantime. He minced the meat very finely and kneaded it until it was reminiscent of ground beef and reached his desired texture. The bread was fully baked by now so he left it to rest on the side as he put two eggs to poach in a pot of boiling and salted vinegar water. The stone te reached his desired temperature so he shaped the ground beef into a circr thick patty and put it on the hot te. *Szzzzzzzzzz* The raw beef immediately produced sizzling sounds as it came into contact with the hot surface. The entire room now smelled of American breakfast. When one side of the patty was at serious risk of burning, he flipped it, using his hands that were mostly immune to cooking temperatures. Alex only then realized hecked a very important element to a sandwich. ''The sauce'' He had to work fast, so he concocted a quick vinaigrette with yogurt, olive oil, salt, and lemon juice. All of the rest of theponents were ready. The beef patty had developed a brown crust and it seemed extremely juicy. Alex drooled as he assembled the burger. He spread his sauce on the bread, then put the patty on top. He then added the poached egg on top and the pickled onions and finally, put on thest slice of bread, marking the burgerplete. It looked extremely appetizing and Alex couldn''t wait to dig in. "Here goes nothing," Alex spoke out loud and took the first bite. The bread was wonderfully soft and the sauce protected it from bing soggy. The meat juices entered his mouth, and he finally came to the realization he could never be vegan. The egg whites were cooked, but the yolk inside was still runny and added ayer of depth to the dish. Without the pickled onions, the entire dish would have been too heavy and rich, but the acidity, sweetness, and texture of the onions countered the rest of the dish and took it a level further. ''Who needs Elysium when you''ve got modern food...'' Alex missed the diverse array of foods from Earth. "Alexei-boy, are you here?" As he was eating, he saw Hermes entering the kitchen. His wings were folded and he had a smile on his face. "Oh, hey, Hermes. Do you want some?" Alex wanted to avoid bringing up the reasons why Hermes left yesterday on such short notice and instead brought his attention to the food. "I can''t lie, that does look very appetizing. Did Hephaestus'' and Athena''s Essences even improve your cooking?" Hermes praised. "Probably." Alex cut the hearty burger in half and gave Hermes the other half. The god took a bite and his face instantly brightened. "The people of your world really knew how to enjoy themselves..." Hermesmented as he was eating the burger. Alex nodded. ''Burgers won the heart of the human poption, and now the god poption.'' After finishing his fill, Hermes asked, "Alexei-boy, you have now got quite a bit of skill, isn''t it time for you to start building a following in the mortal world?" Alex fell into thought. He should start gaining Faith Energy, but he had to find ways to rapidly spread his doctrine. "Bingo! Hermes, Thank you!" Alex suddenly had a realization. He would finally use his cheat for the first time, that of being from a more technologically advanced era. Hermes looked confused, but there was no time for confusion. "Hermes, get me all of the iron we''ve got." Alex requested passionately. Hermes nodded. Alex left the mansion running and went to Athena''s tower. She was studying a scroll on architecture, but she greeted him, "Hello, Alex." "Athena, do you have arge amount of string that has sticity and rigidity. Like something that would be used for the cords of a lyre?" Alex fidgeted anxiously. "What for?" Athena asked him. Alex exined his idea to her, and her eyes widened in astonishment. "That''s...incredible..e with me!" Athena was in on the n. With Hephaestus'' dive forging skills and Athena''s divine handicraft skills, he was confident in being able to carry out his n, and blow the minds of mortals so much they will immediately worship him. Chapter 52 - The Cult Of Alex(2) Back when Hermes told that he should expand his realm of influence, Alex was perplexed on how to do so. But then, he realized he could skip over 2 millenniums of history and technology and introduce an invention that would forever change how knowledge spread, and to the eyes of the mortals of this era, it would be nothing less than divine work. In school back on Earth, Alex learned of a man by the name of Johannes Gutenberg. He was a german most well-known for the invention, or at least refinement, of the printing press with moveable type. The printing press allowed for text material to be produced at an incredibly fast speed and books that were previously only essible to the upper sses becamemon. The influence this had on the rest of history, through democratizing knowledge and causing many repercussions centuriester, was nothing short of incredible. Alex had one use in mind for the printing press, but after a few seconds of brainstorming that was only improved by Athena''s Essence, he realized the printing press would not be fully appropriate for his desired use. Therefore, he fast-forwarded 4 centuriester and focused his attention on the invention of the mechanical typewriter. While the typewriter had much less output than the printing press, it was much more convenient as it allowed for unprecedented flexibility in writing, which was formerly restricted by the avable metal types. ''How did they make typewriters, though?'' Alex was perplexed. After thinking further on it, however, he realized his typewriter only needed two features. "It needs to be able to type letters onto paper, obviously." "And, it needs to be able to switch positions every time you type a letter." It would be a bitplicated, but Alex got an idea. Through aplicated system of levers and strings, every time he would type on the letter of the keyboard, that he would hand-make, the mechanism would imprint his desired symbol on the paper and another lever would be responsible for moving the strings left-to-right, and top-to-bottom. He was working with metal pieces, so to allow for that kind of flexibility, he needed to make the entire machine modr. Athena excitedly agreed to help him and granted him all of her stock of string that she used for various applications. As for the reasons why he was going through all of this hassle, it was all part of the first axiom of his n for world domination. His n for consolidating his status as an Olympian god.* He was going to write a book on various topics of the modern age, including medicine, health, politics, love and mental wellness, and propaganda for his cult. He would print it out using the typewriter and assign a mortal to print more copies that would be spread among the upper sses, where rates of literacy were very high. The information in the book would be elementary to Alex, concerning pasteurization and cures formon diseases, but these were all unknown to people of this era. When the book and the typewriter, these revolutionary inventions are all attributed to him, Alex was sure he would gain a lot of devouts. "I''m pretty sure it''s a bit hical to steal ideas from the modern world and use them to make a cult, but that''s none of my concern." Alex felt like a cartoon viin. Over the following days, he attempted making the typewriter at a smaller scale just to see if his method worked. He even invited Athena and Herms, who happily obliged to see the typewriter in action. Alex took a parchment he used when he was writing with Crista. ''I think Crista would love this invention...'' Alex didn''t forget how much she loved writing. Under the questioning stares of two deities of Olympus, Alex typed on ''Alpha'' the first letter of the Hellenic(Greek) script. He then, ordingly, typed ''Beta''. After that, he took out the paper, and there they were, two letters, imprinted in sharp strokes next to each other. Athena and Hermes looked on with admiration and praised. "Alexei-boy, you never cease to surprise me!" "This is revolutionary, Alex..." Since his prototype worked, Alex would now begin the work on the real deal. The process took a whopping six days, but the results were nothing short of spectacr. ____________________________________________________ (Typewriter) Quality: Divine State: Great Additional Information: An invention far ahead of its time made by a craftsman with divine skills. ______________________________________________________ Alex was extremely proud of himself. This was something only he could make, through thebination of Hephaestus'' incredible metalworking skills and Athena''s thorough dexterity. He got to write the first page of his book as soon as he finished. He titled it "Ways of Life from Alex of Olympus." In one chapter, he spoke of the first antibiotic, penicillin. ''Leave a piece of undesirable bread in a warm and humid environment and when blue mushrooms grow on it, harvest them and use them on wounds to kill disease.'' On Earth, this was a revolutionary medicine and saved countless lives. In another chapter, he explored humanism, freedom, and ideas, and conceptions on the value of humans that normally only appeared in the Renaissance. Another chapter was concerning the health of the body and the mind. ''Eat to your full, in a varied diet of animal and vegetal products, and move enough to digest and use your energy, andugh enough for the heart, allowing for a long and healthy life.'' There were many more, and every idea and concept he discussed in the book, massively improved the quality of life of people back on his Earth. When he was over with the book, which took him two weeks to write, he showed the finished result to Athena. "This is incredible, the wisdom that this book of yours contains will push humanity much further." She praised him with wide eyes. Alex wrote the book in Koine Greek, the mostmon dialect of Greek after the conquests of Alexander the Great. Now, he needed to find a way to spread word of it. He knew, though, what to do. On an uneventful afternoon, he went down to Olep. The city was as sprawling and active as ever. Thest time he came here, with Crista, the residents recognized him as the Nightmare yer, a title he gained from vanquishing Lucky in Atreksos. This time, however, it seemed that the hype had died down, and he went through the streets peacefully, even though the residents stared at the big wooden box he was holding. His destination was the consul''s estate. Alex wanted to convince the consul to subsidize the further printing of the book and spread word of it. After all, the consul owed him a favor from the time he solved the city''s conflicts with Aklypso, the port city down south. When he was in front of the beautiful pce, the guards recognized him, but he wasn''t going to let them shamefully carry him in a pnquin likest time. *Kuhum* He outran the guards and entered the house. After navigating through the halls and rooms of the estate, he asked a servant about the consul''s current location. The servant led him to the study. The consul''s middle-aged face was buried in a mountain of documents, and only the schr next to him recognized him and bowed, "Greetings, Sofos." ''Sofos? Ah, that''s the title the consul conferred mest time.'' The man in question heard that and immediately stood up and bowed too, "Good afternoon to you, sir. May I ask what you are here for?" "I''m not here as sent by Aphrodite this time. Ie here as Alex, a recently ascended god of Olympus." The two in front of him looked perplexed but they were still bowing down. "I have a request to make," Alex stated. He saw a bead of sweat run down the consul''s face as he replied, "Anything for you, sir." Alex nodded and took out the typewriter. The two looked confused at this intricate-looking machine but to demonstrate it, he put a sheet of nk parchment in it and wrote amon saying in Koine Greek. ''Worship food, Lord Zeus and the wisdom of the Athenians.'' The schr looked dumbfounded as the letters imprinted themselves on the paper. "I made this. It is a tool that will allow writing at a much faster pace than manuscript." Alex informed them. "I brought this because I want you to spread the word of my doctrine and make more copies of my book." He showed them the book. "Lord, can I examine your ''book''?" The schr looked extremely excited. Alex passed him the book and the schr carefully analyzed the cover page, read the first page, and skimmed through the pages. "It''s so...long, and the pages are so carefully tied and organized. Lord, did you use this machine to write your ''book''?" The schr asked him with bright eyes. Alex nodded in response. The schr, unexpectedly, started kowtowing. The consul looked confused and the schr eximed, "Sir, do you know how much more knowledge could be spread if we used this machine?!" After that, he turned to Alex, "Lord, I will do my very best to spread the word of your divine invention to all the people of Olep." Alex thanked him, and with that, his n was over. The consul seemed a bit troubled by this. ''I think, I only ever bring the poor man trouble...'' Alex thanked the consul and left Olep. Now, the first n of his n, to rapidly spread reverence of him, was over. Now, the second part of his n would begin. Chapter 53 - A Hint To Athenas Past A week passed since his ''propaganda'' campaign in Olep. Fortunately, it seemed that the schr held up to his word, as he gained a very small amount of Faith Energy, filling up his formerly inexistent reserves. "Ah, how it feels to finally be strong..." On that same day, Alex almost consumed all of his reserves by just running. His consumption of it was very inefficient and he only had a small quantity of it, which made up for the worstbination. Only then did he realize how massive the reserves a goddess like Athena or Hermes had, and that he shouldn''t let this very first step get over his head. ''I wonder how much Zeus and Aphrodite have in terms of Faith Energy..?'' The cults associated with the formerly mentioned deities were enormous, and Alex could only guess that they had almost limitless Faith Energy. To advance his second n, he needed to get better at wielding it. So, as one does, he pestered Athena until she agreed to train him, and here he was, in her training hall. She ordered him, "Show me how you use your Faith Energy." Alex happily obliged and consumed his reserves for the easiest and most elementary application, which was augmenting his speed. As he bolted around in loops, Athena halted his movements with a single palm and said, "You are extremely inefficient in your usage." "Sit down now, Alex." Alex sat down in a meditative position and asked Athena, "How can I improve my efficiency?" She replied with an expression of disappointment, "You are using your Faith Energy to power all of your specialties, but you only apply it on one task." Alex was a bit confused, as he only knew one way of wielding Faith Energy. She continued, "I know the problem. You can''t visualize your specialties separately. And it doesn''t help that you have so many." "Give me the Owl Ne." She requested. The owl ne was the source of his system, and the only way he could see his specialties, but he gave it to her anyway. "What do...I do now?" Alex couldn''t ess the system interface anymore. "Visualize the source of your power from a single point in your hand. The brain and the heart are the easiest since they already have simr tasks." She informed him. Alex did as she said but he didn''t seed. "Alex, close your eyes and all of your senses except hearing to avoid distractions." She advised him. Alex closed his eyes but he was a bit perplexed on how to obstruct the rest of his senses. However, he suddenly had a hypothesis. He tried to induce drowsiness from Hermes'' powers on himself and...it worked. His heartbeat slowed, his body rxed and his senses were dulled. He didn''t want to go to sleep entirely either so he stopped at that. "Good. Now imagine the source of your power as a giant waterfall." Athena''s voice was muffled since his senses were weaker, but he could still hear her and somewhat process what she was saying. He adjusted his breathing to the tempo of his heartbeat and visualized his heart as the waterfall. "Separate the giant waterfall into smaller waterfalls that each reflect a facade of your power." Alex tried and failed at first. To help with this step of the visualization, he associated each small waterfall with the dominant color of each deity. For Athena, it would be a navy blue color. For Ares, it was a vermillion red waterfall. For Hermes, it was a purple one. For Aphrodite, it was a light blue waterfall. Andstly, it was a vibrant orange for Hephaestus. "When you are over with that step, imagine a pond that each waterfall flows into." Athena''s deep voice rang out. Alex obliged. "And finally, the giant waterfall is your reserve of Faith Energy. Every time you want to use a specialty, divert the waters of the waterfall into that specific pond and imagine drinking its waters to gain that power." Alex diverted his reserves to Athena''s precognition sessfully and woke up. He then heard Athena repeating, "And finally, the giant waterfall is your reserve of Faith Energy. Every time you want to use a specialty, divert the waters of the waterfall into that specific pond and imagine drinking its waters to gain that power." Alex was confused and asked her, "Athena, didn''t you say that a while ago?" Athena objected, "Alex, I just said that. You woke up before I finished my instructions." ''I did?????'' Alex was puzzled. When he opened his eyes, he saw the world in doubles. He finally realized what happened. When he used his reserves on precognition, he was able to see and hear so far into the near future that he heard Athena''s words way before she actually said that. Speaking of precognition, he immediately turned off this ability as it was trippy and disorienting to see events way before they happened. ordingly, his precognition went back to its normal state and he could only see a second or so into the future. Alex coughed and out of curiosity, he asked Athena, "Athena, how do you know all of these things? Were you all born with knowledge?" Athena thought over it for a bit before she responded, "We were born with powers and talents, Alex. We acquired our knowledge through time." Alex nodded and asked another question, "Did Zeus teach you?" Unexpectedly, Athena chuckled andmented, "Do you really expect Father Zeus to teach us anything? It was Sophus, who taught me, and Hermes what we know." Alex rubbed his head in embarrassment. Asking whether Zeus would do anything expected of a ''Father'' was a stupid question in hindsight. ''Sophus?'' This was apletely unfamiliar name to Alex. Athena sensed his interest and said, "Sophus isn''t exactly a god, nor a mortal, neither a titan. It''s a bit..hard to exin." ''If he isn''t any of those three, what is he then?'' Alex was confused at Athena''s exnation. "Speaking of Sophus, I think he would like you." Athena had a strange expression on her face, that was a mix of sadness, nostalgia, and happiness. "And, where is, Sophus?" Alex asked her. *Sigh* Athena told him, "I...Hermes and I will tell you in the future, you''ll meet eventually." It seemed like she wanted to change the subject, as she informed him, "Now, you should be able to cast blessings." Alex respected her privacy and therefore, dropped the matter. "Thank you, Athena," Alex said gratefully. Blessings would y an important part in his n, and he could now finally advance it. Chapter 54 - The Cult Of Alex(3) After that, Athena gave him the Owl Ne back and he left her tower. He was extremely excited about trying out blessings for the first time, but he had to carefully think about his next step. His current goal was to rapidly gain followers, and his first n only epassed the minority elite sses and schrs that could actually read his book. To maximize his appeal to the Greek poption, he needed to target ces and regions where people were vulnerable and help them. By doing that, he would increase the quality of life of these poptions and influence them into worshiping him. He knew what his first destination would be. He sneakily went down to Olep. Along the road, he heard some people discussing amongst themselves a very interesting subject. "Have you heard of the sacred scrolls that were revealed to the consul?" "No, what are those?" "A new god from Olympus, by the name of Alex, granted to the consul invaluable knowledge and a machine that can make 100 scrolls in the same amount of time a schr could write one scroll...!" "That''s incredible..." Alex chuckled. He was currently wearing a cloak, but he was considering revealing himself to quickly gain followers but... ''Stay humble.'' Alex told himself and resumed his way to his destination. He entered the consul''s pce and made his way to the study directly. The consul wasn''t here, but the schr from the other day was present. Upon seeing him, he kowtowed and eximed, "Lord, I have done as you have ordered me." "Good job,....?" "This mortal one''s name is Theoserfos, Lord." Alex nodded and didn''t beat around the bush, immediately inquiring, "Theoserfos, do you know of any war-torn regions near Olep?" The schr thought of it for a bit before saying, "The cities of Thessaly and Epirus are currently at war and the battles are fought east of the sacred Mount Olympus, past the volcano." This wasprehensive and satisfactory enough. "Good job, Theoserfos. Stand up." Alex wished to try something to reward him for his work. The schr reluctantly stood up and Alex put his hand on his chest as Athena did when she transferred him Faith Energy. This man was a schr, so a blessing from Athena would be the most fitting one. Alex diverted his power onto Athena''s pond and her wisdom specifically, before slowly wielding this energy to transfer it to the man. He felt a stream of energy go through his arms and leave his body, indicating it was sessful. "Bless you." Theoserfos''s eyes widened as he felt the blessing and he started kowtowing, "I cannot thank you enough, Lord." Alex wasn''t used to people addressing him in such high regard and didn''t know how to react, so he swiftly left the premises. He didn''t feel like climbing Olympus again, so he took a turn and followed the schr''s directions. He chose a battlefront as his first destination because people express strong emotions due to death, blood, brutality, healing, and solidarity in war. And Alex was also a double god of war, considering he had taken both Ares and Athena''s Essences, so he should be able to find a following there. He sped up using Hermes'' swiftness and charged through the terrain. He could see the dormant volcano in the distance, and Hephaestus lived close by, but this wasn''t his destination, as he continued charging straight to the east. This was an unfamiliar ce to him, but he had a good sense of direction. After a while of senseless running, he heard a strange cacophony. It was the sound of screaming, and the noise that metal made when it came into contact with other metals. He followed the source of the sound and climbed up a hill. When he reached the summit, the sights of war were visible. Two distinct camps were fighting in a valley. One of the camps had soldiers wearing gray uniforms whereas the other one had green uniforms. Alex quietly entered the loud scene from the sidelines where a green-robed and injured soldier was resting. The soldier looked at him with hostility and tried to stand up, but he struggled and resorted to begging for mercy due to his injuries. Alex wasn''t here to kill anyone, so he induced drowsiness in the soldier to lower his defenses and asked him, "So, why are Thessaly and Epirus fighting?" The hypnotized soldier replied with nk eyes, "A disputed territory in the north." ''Ah, so that''s what this is about..'' Alex realized. He put the soldier to sleep and decided to enter the front. As he prated the busy frontline where warriors were killing each other constantly, several people tried to attack him, but he easily dodged and put them all to sleep When he was at the center of the battlefield, where there were the most people, he put his n into action. In arge perimeter around him, all of the soldiers, from both camps all started ''mysteriously'' copsing. They were simply put to sleep by Alex. Soon enough, the battlefield was entirely silent. Tworge horses from opposite sides were heading his way. Alex figured his n to attract attention was a sess. Themanders of the army from Thessaly, and the one from Epirus, were on the horses, respectively. They had noticed that all of their soldiers copsed and came by to investigate the cause. When they were close enough, they noticed a single man standing. He had handsome features and a muscr body but his multi-colored eyes were the most striking. It was, of course, Alex, the instigator of all of this. He took on the most domineering voice he could produce, and eximed, "A show of gratuitous violence over mere territory, what an insult to life." Themanders were cautious and asked him, "S-sir, who are you?" "I''m Alex, a god from Olympus. I found it insulting for people to take the lives of others over territory and put them to sleep, but the next time a conflict like this happens, they won''t be just asleep." Thest threat Alex said was entirely baseless, but he should have scared themanders enough already for them topletely believe it. Alex believed that there were sometimes valid reasons for war, and the world couldn''t be all rainbows and sunshine, but territorial expansion wasn''t one of those. Themander from Thessaly got off his horse, bowed deeply, and asked, "What shall we do from here, Lord?" Alex replied, "Halt the conflict and split the disputed territory along ethnic or geographic boundaries." Themander from Epirus gulped but nodded. Following that, the soldiers were all woken up and told that the war was over. They were confused but happy about the end of the conflict. Of course, Alex asked them to spread his name and hoped this would gain him arge following. He proceeded to leave this ce and went back to Olep. Theoserfos was hardworking and in the process of printing more copies of "Ways of Life from Alex of Olympus." Alex wished to ask him a favor. "Theoserfos, can you spread the word that all ves of the surrounding regions are freed under my name, and are to form a city of freed ves?" Alex wished to gain the support of Greek society''s underdogs. With his achievement in that war, his name would gain more credibility and people would be afraid to disobey him. Theoserfos looked conflicted, since very was such a big part of contemporary society, and for this to all be uprooted in a short amount of time was bound to cause societal change, but he obliged. After that, Alex would gain a reputation for blessing newlywed couples and they woulde from many surrounding cities and towns to receive blessings and spread the doctrine of Alex. Since all of this traffic caused Olep''s economy to prosper even further, his cult among the local residents started to gain much more followers. Alex then took credit for ying the Nightmare Lizard, which he really did, and when it was confirmed that it was in fact him, he consolidated his status even further as a god. Chapter 55 - The Alexian Church "You''ve really done it, Alexei-boy..." Hermes seemed astonished at the speed at which Alex turned from an unknown god to a prominent minor god of Central Greece and the regions surrounding Mount Olympus. After he solved the Thessaly-Epirus conflict a month ago, his name suddenly skyrocketed in influence. Also, by using the powers from Aphrodite''s Essence, he could bless couples to have a long and happy love life. Aphrodite herself was stingy with her blessings, so people started to favor him over her. One day, a couple who couldn''t have children visited him for help in Olep. The two deeply bowed and begged fervently, "Lord, we have attempted and wished to have children for years and years, but we have never been sessful." The two were sobbing, and Alex felt a tug at his own heartstrings. At first, he didn''t know what to do, but he brought up his interface and focused on one line in particr __________________________________________________________ -Attunement to beauty, aestheticism, love, and fertility. __________________________________________________________ The fertility part was always a bit puzzling to him, but perhaps he could try to cast a blessing on the couple and see the results. Well, he did exactly that, and he recently got the news that the man''s wife got pregnant. He also discovered that through Hermes'' powers, he could awaken people from aatose state. In this era, scientific advancement hadn''t yet shown that there were medical reasons foras and people thought they were due to curses and witchcraft. That didn''t matter to Alex, as he easily woke the ''patients'' up and increased his domain of influence. He also stopped more unnecessary conflicts in the region, both through his diplomacy and the influence he''se to have on mortals. Once, a strange event happened while he was on one of these campaigns. Soldiers from both sides suddenly lost their minds and started murdering everyone. Alex couldn''t put them to sleep so he had to injure them enough that they fainted, but not enough to kill them. The more he thought about it, the more it reminded him of someone. Back when he visited Aphrodite''s ce to get his reward, he noticed that her male servants had this mindless expression to them, and the mad soldiers from the other day were simr. ''She started her counterattack..?'' Alex wasn''t going to let her ruin his ns. He put that aside and concentrated on his other campaigns. Theoserfos had spread the news of Alex granting ves in the region full freedom and they formed a small city near the coast called Dmotsos. The city was growing very fast, and all of the residents in the city dedicated themselves to the worship of Alex. Also, Theoserfos informed him that he founded an organization to further spread the name of Alex. It was called ''The Alexian Clerical Institute'' or ''The Alexian Church'' in short. ''That name''s a bit...unimaginative...'' Alex cringed whenever he heard the name. The church spread copies of his book and Theoserfos would host a mass every week to teach illiterate residents the contents of his book and unexpectedly, teach the Koine Greeknguage to the lower-ss kids of the city using educational documents he produced with the typewriter. The literacy program was surprising to Alex, but it was a good thing. To reward him for all his feats, Alex made the schr into the Papas, or the leader, of the church and crafted 3 other typewriters that he granted to him. His n was going extremely well, and his long-term rise to prominence was practically guaranteed. He still wasn''t at the level of Athena or Hermes, who had extreme levels of following among their targeted audiences, which were mostly schrs and merchants, respectively, but his mass appeal made up for it. In the process, he gained many titles. His full list of titles was the following: "Alex, God of literacy, literature, written knowledge and reason, war pacifism, protector of human life, marriage, love, fertility, wakefulness and sleep, the harbinger of prosperity and freedom." One of his followers once said, "Lord Alex follows a human at every step of their life." That saying caught on and his titles were shortened to: "Alex, God of Humanity." Alex thought it was quite a fitting title, and Athena and Hermes also agreed, considering that he was coincidentally, also a human in the past. Throughout the process, he noticed that there were new additions to his system interface. ________________________________________________ - Mastery of Link and Empathy. - Incarnation. _________________________________________________ They were pretty vague, and only after testing them with Hermes did he understand their functioning. Link could allow him to have telepathic long-distancemunication with a consenting individual and no matter how far he was from the person, they couldmunicate. It only worked on one person, however. Empathy simrly only worked on one consenting person. With it, he could instantly feel the emotions a person was currently going through. As for Incarnation, he didn''t find the time to test it yet. The two abilities were both useful on their own, but Alex found an even better use for Link. He blessed two pieces of paper using Link, and then, whenever he wrote anything on one of them, the text would appear on the other. He gave the second piece of paper to Theoserfos, who had resigned from his position at the consul''s estate to focus on his duties in the church full-time. When he saw how this worked, Theoserfos proposed a brilliant n. He had an idea that ifrge quantities of this paper could be produced, he could give it to all of his followers and Theoserfos would regrly send them information about recent events and doctrine, and they could do the same through a hierarchical system. Alex found it ingenious, and it was sort of like an exclusive newspaper. They would start working on it after some time, as it would require a lot of effort and blessings weren''t exactly cheap for Alex. When the growth had stabilized and everything calmed down, Alex received a pleasant piece of news. Crista would being to visit in a week. ''I missed her so much...'' Alex wondered how she changed in these three months. There was still one month left until his departure with Hermes to thend of the Qin Dynasty, so he still had some time left. Alex was excited about the future. More than ever, he was happy that he got toe here. He hoped his family back on Earth was doing well, at least he fulfilled his promise from the dream he had when he was returning from Abdera. Mother made him promise that he would take care of himself, and he held up his end of the promise. Hopefully, she and Alexander did too. Chapter 56 - Emergency! Alex was sitting with Hermes, and thetter stated, "Your cult has grown immensely in the territories surrounding Olympus, but you are practically still unknown in all of Hellenia." "I''m building up the foundation for any future expansions, and hopefully, when I get enough Faith Energy, I can travel to all of the expanses of Olympus." Alex was carefree these days, and expanding his realm of influence was no longer a pressing matter. When he thought of the gains he''s already made, he remembered he needed to show something to Hermes. The other day, he tested the elusive third power ''Incarnation'' and was astonished at its effects. "Hermes, look at this." With Hermes'' attention on him, Alex activated Incarnation. He diverted all of his Faith Energy from all ponds and concentrated the waterfall onto the purple pond, that represented Hermes. Suddenly, his appearance began to change. His frame turned shorter and his eyes became a purple color. Most surprisingly, a pair ofrge wings unfolded from his back. Overall, he now looked like a parody version of Hermes. "What the- ALEXEI-BOY" Hermes seemed extremely dumbfounded. However, Alex flew away using his wings. ''Flying is so fun...'' Alex looked down on the tiny dot that was Hermes'' mansion as he speedily flew. Incarnation allowed him to temporarily wield arger portion of the powers of a single god using Faith Energy. The disadvantage was obvious that he could no longer use any other powers. It was still extremely useful nheless, especially if he needed to cast stronger blessings or curses from a single deity. As he was having fun, Hermes instantly appeared next to him, and his pair of wings was also unfolded. "You think you''re so funny, huh?" Hermes looked mad. "Hermes, I need to go." Alex looked worried. When Hermes just came by, he perceived that the blessed piece of paper had some text on it. It said, "Lord, we have an emergency." This was a message from Theoserfos, who never used the paper before. It was good that he was currently incarnating Hermes since he could navigate at a much faster speed. Hermes didn''t seem too keen on letting him escape until he saw the look on his face, "You look like you need help." "I-I''ll manage. Thank you, Hermes." Alex didn''t want to rely on his friends any longer, and he would try to resolve whatever came his way today on his own. He flew over the mountains as fast as he could and in a very short time, was able to see Olep. He observed the city, searching for the church headquarters. They recently found vacant property on Olep, and Alexmissioned for a small temple to be built on it. When he saw the building in question, he reduced his altitude and found an empty spot tond on. Wings would be too conspicuous, so he removed Incarnation, and his appearance returned to normal. He ran through the streets and was soon in front of his temple. It was small, but it was clean and constructed of pristine white marble. Alex entered. The interior was more spacious than the exterior made it seem like and looked like a modern-day church. There were rows of seats and a path in the middle that led to an altar and a pedestal. There were currently many small children inside, and Alex presumed they were probably learning how to read and write. Theoserfos was on the pedestal and seemed to be teaching about letters, but his shaky hands and the sweat traversing down his face didn''t escape Alex. When the man saw him, an expression of relief emerged on his face and he ran towards him, kowtowing and indicating to the other kids to follow suit. "I came as soon as I got your message, what happened?" Alex asked the man. "It''s.....Lord, can youe with me?" Theoserfos stood up. "Kids, the lessons are over for today. Don''t forget to review and remember what we learned in this lesson." Theoserfos said with a smiling face. The kids pouted and it seemed like they didn''t want to leave just yet, as one of them asked, "Sir, can we stay some more to y with our friends?" Theoserfos looked reluctant but he said, "Five minutes, no more." "It seems like they like you," Alex said. The man sighed and said, "Well, they''re kids from the slums, the adults there don''t treat them very well. We try our best to make for a good learning environment." Alex nodded and praised him. The schr-turned-priest led him behind the altar, and they went through a door. Inside, there was a simply decorated room with a bed, a desk, and the 4 typewriters. On the bed, a womanid down. When they entered, she anxiously asked, "Is she here?" Theoserfos shook his head and introduced Alex, "This is Lord Alex." When the woman heard that, she came in front of him and deeply, "LORD, I beg you. I need your help." Alex helped the woman up and said, "Start from the beginning." She started recounting her story. "The other day, I was making a daily tribute in the Acropolis, when a man approached me. He said he was romantically interested in me. I refused." "Fortunately, the man didn''t insist and left." "Today, while walking, I saw a group of people gathered around a single woman, and they were all bowing deeply." "That woman was Hera, as she had the same appearance as all of her statues. She was asking about a blond-haired woman with green eyes." "Those features are pretty rare around here, and coincidentally, I have the same features." "I didn''t think much of it, but when I went back home, I found her standing right in front of it! So I escaped..." "LORD, PLEASE HELP ME." Alex frowned when he heard that Hera was involved. He didn''t know the extent of her strength, but he knew that she was the current Queen of Olympus, and even Aphrodite backed down in front of her. This was bound to cause problems. Alex sighed, "You know what?" ''Let''s give this a try.'' Alex felt his blood rush at the idea. "I need you to get to sleep first." Alex approved of helping her. Theoserfos didn''t seem too convinced and looked worried. In actuality, Alex knew it was bad to risk angering a major goddess over a mortal woman he didn''t know, but he was confident in being able to do it. The woman seemed shocked he actually wanted to help her and nodded. Alex put her to sleep. He had to hide her, and Hera would hopefully not get any leads to this ce. Theoserfos proposed putting her inside of the altar, where devouts donated money and other tribute to the church. They went with that idea and just as they finished it, Alex heard a domineering voice, "Anyone here?" Chapter 57 - Operation Success Alex gulped and went to see who was there. Unfortunately, it was the person they least needed to see, Hera. She was wearing a golden toga, and her golden eyes seemed as arrogant as they always did. "Greetings, Step Grandmother." Alex bowed lightly. Hera seemed a bit astonished when she saw him but a glint passed through her eyes. "You''re....Athena''s son?" She asked Alex nodded. "I heard you built yourself a nice small following around this ce." On the surface, it was praise, but Alex felt like she was mocking him. Theoserfos was behind the altar, and Alex sneakily wrote to him on the paper to note out. The children that were in the church before seemed scared by Hera and all left the premises. "May I ask what business you have in my humble church, Grandmother?" Alex politely asked her, even though he knew. "I had other ns, but it''s fate that we met here." She continued, "I heard you''re blessing marriages and everything. Well, that''s kind of my thing, so do less of that?" Alex gulped at the thinly-veiled threat and decided to never bless any couples ever again. She giggled and then coughed. "Well, in reality, I''m searching for a mortal woman." "She DARED seduce my husband, and that deserves death." Hera smiled brightly even as she threatened to kill a mortal. "She has blonde hair and green eyes, would you perhaps know her?" She asked Alex. Alex shook his head andughed dryly, "Those features are pretty rare around here, no? I wouldn''t know...." Hera put a finger to her mouth and said, "What about the mortal behind the altar, would he know?" A bead of sweat came down Alex''s face. The aura of the spacious hall was chilly. Theoserfos came out of hiding and kowtowed before saying, "Lady Hera, I have no knowledge that would pertain to your search. Please forgive me." ''Nice doing!'' Alex praised him in his mind. Hera nodded and unexpectedly said, "Would the woman in the altar know?" ''F*CK'' Alex cursed in his mind. He had to think fast, but nothing came to mind to avoid being found out by Hera. Fortunately, Theoserfos once again saved the day. "Lady Hera, that woman sacrificed herself as a tribute to Lord Alex." Hera frowned before turning back to Alex. She spoke, "You do human sacrifice? Old-fashioned." "Well, she does seem pretty dead to me..." Hera frowned. Alex was d he made her go to sleep. "On that, I''ll leave and search somewhere else." Hera smiled. "I''m sure you wouldn''t hide a devil''s spawn from me, would you, dear grandson?" Hera giggled. "Of course not, grandmother." Alex relied on his diplomacy and scheming to cover up for his lie. She seemed convinced and left the church, "Well, see you soon~~" They waited until she was undetectable and Alex almost fainted. Theoserfos actually fainted, though. Alex woke the man up using his powers and praised him, "You saved the day..." He wouldn''t let his achievement go unrewarded. Alex used Incarnation and focused on Athena''s pond this time. His hair turned a deep shade of blue, and his eyes were now a navy blue color. He also grew a golden armor that covered his entire body. Alex put his hand on the man and blessed him. Thetter seemed to feel the blessing and kowtowed. After that, they got the woman out of the altar and Alex woke her up. They told her what happened, and she bowed deeply to the two of them. "I just wish I wasn''t this...beautiful, it has only ever brought me problems..." The woman sighed. It was true that she had very beautiful features. When he heard this, Alex asked her, "And you would prefer having more ordinary features?" The woman fervently nodded and said, "I''d do anything for an ordinary face and an ordinary life." Alex had an idea and once again insisted, "Are you sure?" "Yes, Lord." He didn''t need Incarnation for this, as he wasn''t trying to make the woman a goblin. He wanted to curse her using Aphrodite''s powers, which would subsequently make her less beautiful. He''s never performed any curses, but he figured it would be the same process as blessings. He put his hand on the woman''s body and tried to curse her. It worked and the woman''s face lost that indescribable charisma she had before, and she now had an average and ordinary appearance. Theoserfos looked surprised by the change. He asked him to get the woman a mirror, and he came back with a small mirror in his hand. "See how you look now." The woman looked at herself and suddenly began tearing up. "Finally...." She was sobbing. The two left the room to give her some space. A whileter, she came by and kowtowed, "Lord, I cannot thank you enough. Now, I will go back to my homnd, in Macedonia, and I swear to spread the word of your glorious name to everyone." "It''s fine, stand up." With that, this was now over. Alex left the church and the crowded city center. When he was in an empty za, he incarnated into Hermes and flew in the direction of Olympus. He made an unusual turn and instead, went to Athena''s tower. He entered through one of the windows and found her writing some stuff down with the typewriter. She looked astonished when she saw his appearance and asked, "New power?" Alex nodded. "You have a smile on your face, did you do something?" Athena remarked. Alex shrugged and said, "Not really." "Do you want to train?" "Yes." The two went to the training hall. This was different from their first fight. Alex charged at Athena. She sessfully dodged his fist attack, but a kick made its way to her abdomen. Athena thought the first attack was a feint and dodged this one. Little did she know, the kick was also a feint, and using his swiftness and martial arts, he twisted his body into a strange angle and threw a punch to her neck, that was full of openings because she clenched her body to avoid his kick. Unfortunately, her precognition took the edge and she did a backflip, removing her body from his field of attack. "Good one, you improved, Alex." Chapter 58 - The Camera Alex trained some more with Athena, and he always ''almost''nded an attack on her. Unfortunately, she always miraculously dodged at the veryst moment and his ns were unsessful. After that bout of losses, Alex went back home. He sweated a lot today, so his first destination was the bathhouse. He also had a special eventing up tomorrow, so he needed to feel and look his very best. He undressed and got into the steaming pool. As he submerged his body and face into the hot waters of the bath, he felt the tension in his body disappearing. ''As it turns out, flying withrge wings isn''t exactly the best for the spine...'' Alexmented. He put those thoughts aside and rxed. The waters of the bathhouse here in Hermes'' ce used to feel a bit too hot in the past but with his increase in heat tolerance, the temperature felt just perfect. As a deity, even if he didn''t regrly bathe, his hygiene somewhat maintained itself, but his old habits from Earth still made their way here. He recently made a recipe for rustic shampoo. It was very simple. He mixed olive oil, coarse salt, rhodium(1), and the juice of a lemon. He added in an egg yolk to emulsify the oils and water-basedponents, and Voil¨¤! The gods all somehow had beautiful hair without using any shampoo, but for tomorrow, Alex would indulge. He washed his hair with the mixture and cleaned his body, and then he left the bath. The warm bath made him drowsy, and he slept as soon as he put his head on the heavenly pillow. _______________________________________________________ *Chirp* *Chirp* The cacophony of morning birds and the bright rising sun woke Alex up, and he started his day. After performing his hygienic rituals, he found Hermes awake. Following his negotiations with Zeus, Hermes lived like an unemployed man for all of these months and he seemed to really be enjoying it. Before this, every single one of his actions felt anxious and fast, but now, he took the time to appreciate the small things. On one of his past trips, he imported a veryrge quantity of chamomile tea, and he seemed to be addicted to the drink. "I don''t understand how you can handle the bitter and astringent taste..." Alexmented. Hermes chuckled and replied, "You have the tastes of a child, Alexei-boy, grow up." "Oh wait, you are a child!" Hermes mocked him. Alex didn''t have any counter-attack, as he was really too youngpared to literally all of the deities. Hermes then asked him, "You''re waiting for them?" Alex nodded nervously, as he stared in a certain direction. There was something he wanted to do before Crista came. "Can you help me with forging, Hermes?" Alex requested. Hermes thought over it for a second and epted, "Just to see what wonder you''ll be making, I''ll help." Alex remembered that Hermes brought him the materials for the camera long ago and they were just sitting around in his room. At first, he wanted to produce a pinhole camera, as it was the easiest one for his skills at the time. But now, as his craftsmanship reached incredible lens, he felt like a lens camera might be within the realm of possibility. To make the lens, he collected some fine river sand from a tributary of the Aliakmonas river, that navigated around Olep and Olympus. With the help of Hermes, reaching the temperatures to melt the fine sand into ss was usible. For the frame of the camera, he would use bronze metal. Bronze was made of abination of copper and tin, and the former was the easiest to get as it was readily avable. Thetter, however, was in an extreme shortage and even Hermes only had a limited quantity of it. To make up for it, Alex would craft Hermes a desired object in the future. Alex ignited the coal furnace in the kitchen, which had also be a forging workshop, and the mes ignited and zed. They were absolutely not yet at the melting point temperatures of copper, nor tin. Alex and Hermes fanned the mes aggressively and they increased in intensity and brightness. "Now!" Alex inserted the bucket with the metals into the furnace and looked on as the two metals turned bright red. Soon enough, they melted and the distinctponents formed a homogenous alloy. The advantage of bronze over pure copper was that it did not rust and oxidize easily, and was more resistant and durable. He took out the bucket and spilled the viscous metal onto his work surface, the anvil. The inside of the frame should be hollow, so he would make separate bronze tes and then mold them together. With his craftsmanship, his eye for detail and measurement as precise as an industrial machine, and he finished 5 of the 6 required tes in an instant. One of the tes had an open slit, where the photosensitive screen would be inserted. For the 6th, he needed to make space for the lens in the center, and to do so, he simply inserted a heavy and oiled tube into the center of the molten metal and shaped the metal te before allowing it to cool down. When this was over, he assembled the 6 tes into a cube shape and ced them in the furnace. Now came the hard part, the lens. ssworking required more attention and work than metallurgy, but Alex hoped he could manage. He put the sand in the burning hot furnace and waited for it to turn into mineral ss. He didn''t have the proper tools for this, so he couldn''t work with extremely high temperatures which would practically render the sand into a thin liquid. To get the ss into the convex lens shape, he used a chilled metal spoon. The spoon would act as both a mold and cool down the exposed side of the ss so he could work on the other side. He made some measurements earlier to make sure everything would be the right size, and he was confident this would be sessful. Alex carefully grabbed the bucket and looked at the red crystalline mixture within. He had to be extremely delicate with it, or it could break and this entire endeavor would be a failure. He gently poured the molten ss into the spoon and stabilized its center of gravity so nothing would spill over. *Ssssssssss* The ss made sizzling sounds as it came into contact with the freezing spoon. Theyer of steam produced by the heat would not only allow him to more easily get the ss out, but it would also more evenly mellow out the shape. After a few minutes, it seemed like that side of the ss was cool enough. However, he had to be careful with the other side, which had also slightly cooled down and could potentially break. He very very delicately took out the ss and observed the smooth texture, congratting himself internally. He ced the other side in another chilled spoon that was the exact same size as the one from earlier. ''Using cutlery for ssworking? If an expert from the modern era saw this, they would time travel and murder me....'' Fortunately, that was impossible. Alex waited patiently for the second side of the lens to stabilize and then carefully got it out. The lens was smooth all around and translucent. "It''s a sess..." Alex eximed. Now came the assembly and the moment of truth. Chapter 59 - Beach Day Alex ced the lens inside of the circr hole of the metal frame, and fortunately, it slid in perfectly and held tightly in there. To make sure it wouldn''t fall, Alex ced the finished product into the furnace. The corners of the ss woulde into contact with the hot metal and the very edges would slightly melt Right before it would slip out, however, Alex took it out and had it cool down. Now, the lens was tightly stuck to the frame. Hermes seemed curious and asked with raised eyebrows, "It looks...weird. What is it?" "I''ll show youter." Alex smiled. Before he forgot about it, he wanted to try blessing the camera. This was where Incarnation showed its true use. As he activated it, Alex''s body turned shorter and more stout and muscr. His eyes became a bright orange color, a characteristic of Hephaestus. He held the camera in his hand and repeated the same process he went through to bless living beings. Alex felt Faith Energy leaving his body and seeping into the camera. There weren''t many changes to its appearance but he checked out the information the system gave him. ___________________________________________________ (Recorder of Time Blessed by Hephaestus) Quality: Divine State: Great Additional Information: If you put a light-sensitive screen into the slit of this machine, it will record everything it has seen. ____________________________________________________ ''It''s even better than I expected...'' Alex''s eyes brightened as he looked at the information. For the film, Alex used thin ss sheets that he coated with silver. This was the time that his high-school chemistry knowledge that he thought waspletely useless would help him. To make the silver and subsequently, the ss sheet light-sensitive, he needed to ionize the silver using nitric acid. Fortunately, the acid could be found in nature and most prominently, in caves where deposits of it formed from bat excrements that reacted with moist environments. (2) It was also fortunate that his memorization capabilities were reinforced after Athena''s Essence, as this piece of information that he easily overlooked was now paramount to his sess. There were plenty of caves around Olympus, and Alex just made his way to a random one, hoping to find what he was looking for. It was still dim outside from the rising sun. He entered the cave and immediately noticed the air felt thicker and more humid. ''That''s a good sign...'' Alex sighed in relief as this was one of the prerequisites to nitric acid formation. He went deeper into the cave and found a clearing with sharp stctites on the ceiling of the cave. *Drip* The sound of liquid dripping was regr and Alex perceived that liquid formed into a puddle. Strangely, the puddle didn''t smell like water and instead, had a very strong chemical and mineral smell. The rocks around the puddle had a weird yellow color instead of the brown sediment-like rock around the rest of the cave. "This is probably what I''m looking for..." Alex filled a sk with the strange liquid and went back home. He dripped the silver-coated ss sheet into the liquid and it immediately reacted. The silver turned into a yellow-ish smooth coating and Alex took it out. Hermes seemed perplexed by all that he was doing and was back to binging on chamomile tea in the balcony. Alex wished to surprise him and inserted his processed film into the camera. The balcony received quite a bit of light and had the most optimal conditions for taking pictures. "Hermes, stay still for a minute or so," Alex asked him and pointed the camera at him. Alex had to keep his hands steady since the long exposure of the camera could easily render an image blurry if he moved while the light was being captured. After some time, he hinted to Hermes that it was over and took out the film. Alex was speechless. It was ck-and-white, but there was very well an inverted image of Hermes in the film. He still needed to do post-processing to the film, or the image would fade away, but that had to wait forter. Hermes saw it and his jaw opened wide, "It''s incredible, Alexei-boy.....!" "I know!" Alex eximed. Once again, he was able to bring back a loved invention from the modern world. As they were standing there and revering this new machine, they heard three knocks on the front door. Alex knew who it was, and advised Hermes, "Can you distract them for a bit? I need to put on the attire." Alex speedily dressed in a formal toga and went by Hermes. It was expected at this point, but the monarchs of the Underworld used Crista as an excuse toe every time. But that wasn''t the focus of his attention. Alex and Crista shared a long stare as he halted down the staircase. She was as beautiful as a blooming flower and glowed even more brightly in the autumn as the rest of the flora went into hibernation. They approached each other and shared a long hug, without speaking a single word. "Care to go somewhere with only us two?" She smiled. Alex knew just the ce to go. He greeted Hades and Persephone and thanked them forst time, "Thank you very much for your help after the divine council." Hades harrumphed and replied, "Don''t mention it, we did it for... He didn''t finish his words but Alex knew the rest. He left the mansion with Crista and said, "Hold onto me tightly." Alex incarnated into Hermes andrge wings sprouted on his back. Crista seemed numb to this exploit. He carried her and pped his wings. His destination was the Aegean coast, and somewhere far from the rest of civilization, so they can catch up peacefully to everything that happened during these 3 months that they haven''t seen each other. They were flying above Olep, and then it was just the scenery and beautifulndscape of Central Greece. From their altitude, even the mountains looked small. Alex was honestly feeling nervous as he held on very tightly to Crista, even though he knew he could catch her with his speed if she ever slipped up. His speed as enhanced by Hermes'' attributes was honestly mind-blowing, and he didn''t have to fly very long before an infinite expanse of blue was visible down below. Chapter 60 - A Mystery From The Past Alex searched around in his eyes for a good spot. He found a secluded sandy beach that was entirely surrounded by cliffs and it looked like the perfect ce. He slowly lowered his altitude and they gentlynded. The sand was warm and fine and the soles of their feet left footprints on the beige sand. Alex removed Incarnation and he and Crista sat next to each other. "It''s been 3 months, huh?" Alex remarked. "Yes. It was eventful, but something was missing." Crista looked at him in the eye and smiled. Alex thought she felt different from the past. ''It''s like...she grew up...'' Alex himself didn''t notice that he grew up a lot during this almost one year he''s spent in Olympus. "What have you been up to?" She passionately asked him. "I participated in the divine council, and let me tell you..." "Then that happened....and I angered this goddess...." "And now, I have a cult following like all of the other gods.." "We saved this woman from Hera...." Alex summarized everything he had gone through and returned the question back to Crista, "And you, what have YOU been up to?" The two were unconsciously holding hands, and Crista recounted her time there too. "I''m now under the tutge of Hades and Persephone. They taught me a lot." She said. "That''s why you seem- "Calmer? More collected? That was the first thing they taught me!" She chuckled. Even though it has been a quarter of a year since they haven''t seen each other, it didn''t feel awkward and they picked up right where they leftst time. "I''ve been learning a whole lot of new skills and honing my music and handicraft.." She spoke. When Crista mentioned handicrafts, he remembered he brought something with him. "Can I show you something?" Alex said. Crista nodded in approval. Alex took out the bronze camera and inserted a spare film into it. He ced it a distance away and came back running, after which he whispered to Crista, "Don''t move." They stayed in a hugging position for a minute or so. Alex went to see the results. He took out the film and gasped when he saw the picture. He and Crista were sat on the sand in an amorous position while in the background, the waves rolled onto the coast and the white seafoam in the air was held still by the camera. A lone bird was flying behind them and its passage was also imprinted onto the film. ''It''s beautiful...'' Alex thought. He showed this to Crista and her eyes widened. "This is...magical..." Everyone from this unadvanced era who saw the camera was, of course, stricken aback, and Crista was no exception. Alex cherishingly pocketed the picture. "I''m in for a little swim, do you want toe?" Alex removed the stiff toga that he realized he shouldn''t have worn. Crista was wearing a light attire and kept it on as she followed him to the waters. The waters were cold and the smell of sea salt assaulted their senses. They held on to each other''s hands asrge waves hit the shore. They swam around and yed in the shallow sea before leaving it, allughs. "My ancestors were people of the sea, I understand why they liked it so much." Crista giggled. After that, they(he) flew away and theynded on a tall mountain peak. Alex was curious and asked, "Crista, if we couldmunicate at all times, wherever we are, would you like that?" He still didn''t use his Link ability, and using it with Crista, whom he didn''t see too frequently, seemed optimal. "We can meet in real life though, right?" Crista replied. "I''m going on a trip...a long trip, three weeks from now.." Alex announced the news about his diplomatic trip to China. Crista''s eyes'' drooped a bit, but she said, "Well, take care of yourself, will you?" "Of course." The two held eye contact. The two stared at each other, and they hugged tightly. Unbeknownst to Alex, an ability of his activated itself passively. Empathy, which could allow him to sense the emotions of a consenting target. Funnily enough, Alex didn''t feel any difference, because Crista''s feelings towards him were roughly the same as his. They liked each other and they moved forward knowing that their feelings had the potential to be more than what they currently were. In simple terms, they had chemistry. "Let''s...go home," Alex said. He carried Crista and flew in the direction of Olympus. Crista wasn''t immortal like him, and it seemed like today tired her out, as she went to rest. Hermes wasn''t home, strangely. As he walked around the empty corridors, he heard some noise. When he approached the source of the noise, he identified it as the screaming of Hades and Persephone. The two were arguing. "Hades, we''re finally here! Last time, you used the excuse of the divine council, but what''s your excuse this time?! Go speak to Zeus, fix this problem, it''s been two centuries, d*mn it!" Alex never heard Persephone speak like this, and was astonished. He didn''t want to eavesdrop, but his morbid curiosity overwhelmed him. Hades eximed in response, "My queen, you know very well that we can''t, we CAN''T RECOGNIZE HIS EXISTENCE!" "You think you''re doing me a favor, but this is only harming me, and harming HIM, Hades. I cannot, I just cannot spend winter with you like this!" Following that, Alex heard a banging sound and saw Persephone storming out of the mansion, and she was weeping. Hades came out into the hall and noticed him. Alex was caught in the middle of his act and stuttered, "I-I- "You eavesdropped, that''s what you did." Hades was cold. Alex thought he was in extreme trouble, but Hades'' next sentence surprised him. "It''s okay. I thought my queen and I could move past that and pretend nothing happened. But I realized we can''t." He continued, "Alex, Olympus is not the ce you think it is. We all have secrets we want to hide, and with you here, I think we all felt like we could have a fresh start, but it''s impossible." "It''s impossible to escape your past." Chapter 61 - An Unexpected Fight Alex was confused and didn''t know how to react to Hades'' words. ''Olympus is not the ce I think it is...?'' Alex pondered over these words. He knew that there some dark secrets and mysteries he didn''t know, and even his closest friend, Hermes, kept some of his own. However, almost all of the deities he''s met were trustworthy people, and he couldn''t imagine them any differently. His rabbit hole of thoughts was unfortunately interrupted. "What am I even saying...?" Hades repeated these words over and over again. He then turned back to Alex and warned as he red at him with his pitch-ck pupils, "Beware of Zeus, never do him any favors, never trust him. He will NOT remember your goodwill and return it." Alex nodded in confusion. Suddenly, Hades, whom Alex always thought of as a stoic and collected god, copsed into tears. "I c-can''t believe I''m letting an Olympian see me like this..." His words were hard to hear as the sound of sobbing muffled them. Alex did not understand any of what was happening, but he knew that the man needed some space. ''What could even drive the monarchs of the Underworld to tears and such a dispute?!'' Alex wondered as he left the ce. ''It''s just as I thought that I finally had my ce in Olympus, that it turned out I only ever took the first step...'' Alexughed. As he looked to the za of their home, where a single olive tree stood in the center, two figures climbed up the staircase and entered the za. ''Athena....and...Persephone?'' The two women approached the door in slow steps. Athena saw him, but she didn''t greet him. From her expression and the fact that she came with Persephone, Alex knew there was something on her mind. Persephone, too, looked different, as a fierce expression reced her formerly tearful face. "My King!" Persephone eximed. ''She usually calls Hades by his first name.'' Alexmented in his mind and frowned. Alex felt strong steps approaching the door and backed down. Hades, in all of his glory, left the house. It seemed he had also regainedposure and put his emotional outburst into control. "My Queen!" Hades eximed back. Persephone nodded when she saw him, and said, "If we cannot resolve a conflict with words, then let''s go back to the old times and resolve it through violence like true gods!" Hades looked dumbfounded by her words and his mouth kept opening and closing back and forth, but no words came out. Alex also listened with astonishment. ''The most lovey-dovey couple of Olympus...fighting?'' Persephone seemed to expect his reaction and stated, "I have mulled over it and I find that this is the best way." "Wait...does Athena have something to do with this?" Alex whispered as he took a nce at Athena, who was by the goddess''s side. She stared back at him and kept a poker face. Alex knew Athena was the kind of goddess who could resort to violence once words be useless, like the time they visited Poseidon. Hermes, on the other hand, would find the best way to escape physical conflict with his smooth tongue. Alex could have kept casting theories here and there, but Hades'' action brought back his attention to the present events. The god advanced until he was also in the za, and said, "Very well, my queen." Suddenly, the entire environment changed. The grasses that were withering from the dwindling temperatures of autumn suddenly sprouted back and turned the entire za into a green haven of long grasses. However, in the perimeter around Hades, all of the flora turned gray and withered. Arge skeleton popped up from the ground and charged in the direction of Persephone. Thetter harrumphed and just as the skeleton was next to her, it suddenly disintegrated into dirt and copsed, turning into fertilizer for the grass. In the tall grasses, a rustling sound approached Hades and mini-golems jumped on him. Hades reacted by erecting mini-skeletons that countered the attacks of the golems. Then, a small battalion ofrge skeletons appeared under themand of Hades and made their way to Persephone. It looked like she couldn''t perform her disintegration attack from earlier, and she seemed helpless for a second. Nheless, she found a solution. Without any notice, the temperature around them suddenly plummeted to freezing levels and all of the grasses turned into sharp icy spikes while snow rained on the ''battlefield''. The skeletons were frozen in ce. Persephone plucked the ice spikes from the ground and sprinted at Hades. She was fast, but when she reached him, she hesitated for a second and stood still. Hades took advantage of that and parried, sending her flying into the air. Being a direct descendant of titans, Hades'' physical strength was nothing to joke at, and Persephone didn''t stand a chance. As she fell into a clearing, she lost control of the environment and the frozen skeletons resumed movement. They surrounded her, but when they were about to attack her, they all dissipated into nothingness. This wasn''t Persephone''s doing, but Hades''. Hades copsed on the ground and said, "I-I c-can''t attack you, my q-queen...." Persephone replied, "I couldn''t attack you too...." "This was a stupid idea, wasn''t it?" She continued. She then stood up and approached Hades, then helped him stand up. When the two were both stood up, Hades suddenly took Persephone into his embrace.. Alex looked at this scene and tried to establish Link with Athena, who was on the opposite side of the za. She epted the connection, and he asked, "Was this your doing, Athena? To have them fight and then make up?" Athena cluelessly replied telepathically, "I don''t know what you''re talking about." Alex chuckled and said, "I didn''t say anything, I''m only a figment of your imagination..." He then cut off the connection and watched the couple. They were both crying in each other''s embrace, and Persephone said, "Hades, let''s give this more time, and we will work together to resolve this..." "Yes, my queen...." Alex figured he wouldn''t be able to know what the cause for today''s conflict was for now, but he was happy it ended in a truce. And with that, the flow of seasons would be back to normal, as Persephone would spend the next 6 months with Hades in the Underworld. Chapter 62 - Journey To The East When Hades and Persephone resolved the mysterious issue, they announced they wanted to go back to the Underworld immediately, presumably to rekindle their passion after that argument. ''That means this will be thest time I see Crista for a while...'' Alexined internally. He figured Link wouldn''t perhaps work since they would be in different realms of existence. At that moment, Alex had an insight. He took out a piece of parchment from his ample stock and blessed both with Link. Hopefully, they would be able to contact each other by text. Crista had woken up by then and came down, only to see the crowd around the za. They hugged and she asked, "Did something happen?" Alex informed her of the fight between the two and the aftermath. "That means I need to go...?" Crista wasn''t fully awake yet and rubbed her eyes. Alex reluctantly nodded. She then whispered, "I didn''t forget our promise." "When youe back from here, I''ll have hopefully graduated from the tutge of the two, and then, let''s elope from here for a while...." She giggled. Alex nodded and whispered back, "What a good idea!" "Wait." Crista turned around. "Keep this." Alex gave her the picture he took earlier. He couldn''t figure out how to perform the post-processing, but the picture on the film should be able tost a year or so before it would start fading away. Crista gently took it off of his hand and hugged it. "I''ll treasure it carefully." After that, she packed up her belongings, the picture, and the parchment blessed by Link and joined the couple, that was having very public disys of affection. Before they left, Crista came by his side and stated, "We''re nning something big, but I''ll leave it a surprise for when youe back!" "Now I can''t wait..." Alex said as they embraced each other onest time. As usual, the group of three disappeared into thin air as Charon paddles them into the Underworld. It always felt so brief, and this goodbye left the biggest impact on Alex. Athena joined him and said, "I heard you''re leaving with Hermes." Alex nodded, "We''re departing in 3 weeks, and it is presumed to be a long trip." "You''ll be leaving Hellenia entirely. You should be careful, the creatures and gods outside of our realm have vastly different attributes and powers." "I will. Thank you, Athena." Alex smiled. _____________________________________________________________________ The three infamous weeks had already gone by. During this time, Alex solved any problems facing the church with the help of Theoserfos and donated arge sum of money to make sure any future operations would go well. "Is there anything I should know before I leave?" Alex asked Theoserfos. The man brought out a thick stash of parchment from the church''s backroom and listed out recent reports. "Lord, the literacy program has been extremely sessful, and the kids are also teaching their parents. In the northeast and south of the city, where the lower-ie residents inhabit, your influence has risen." "The city of Dmotsos has built an acropolis in honor of Lord, and is currently thergest center of worship for the Alexian Church." He continued, "We have considered making expansions towards constructing an official presence in the city." "What is your verdict on the matter, Lord?" He asked. Alex replied in approval, "I think that''s a great idea, and there should be enough funds to allow for such an operation. As for the representatives, I trust your judgment, Theoserfos." Theoserfos kowtowed, "That is the greatest honor, Lord" "Oh, we have also received news of a small epicenter of your worship in Makyrgialos, a city in Macedonia, following the events that pit us against Lady Hera." ''That means she held her promise..'' Alex was satisfied to have at least gained something from his risky confrontation with Hera. "Thank you for your hard work, Theoserfos." Alex blessed the man and left for Olympus. He flew to Athena''s tower and found her sightseeing on the highest balcony of the tower. "Good weather today." "Yes, sunlight hasn''t beencking despite the changing of seasons," Athena stated. She continued, "You''re departing in a bit?" He nodded. She entered the tower and a short momentter, came back. In her hands, she was wielding a golden long spear. It was the spear Alex used when they trained together. She didn''t say anything and held the spear in front of him. Alex understood what she hinted at and refused, "Athena, you know I can- "Alex, I was born with this spear in my hand, I choose what to do with it. And, I''m lending it to you." She spoke sternly. "Thank you for doing the things that you do for me, Athena," Alex spoke sincerely with a grateful expression. "Alex, I''m your mother, this is the least I can do for you." She smiled. ''Athena does really feel like a mother and a mentor...'' Alex ended up epting it and after a short hug, he flew away. When he reached the mansion, he found Hermes already waiting for him. "Well, Alexei-boy, are you ready?" He asked with a ir of excitement. Alex nodded, as he had packed all of his required belongings earlier. He took a nce at Hermes''s own belongings and gasped in astonishment. His bag was full of aicallyrge amount of dried chamomile, that he used to brew the tea he was so addicted to. "What?" Hermes seriously asked. Alex sighed and gave up. "So, are we traveling on foot?" He asked. Hermesughed and denied, "Of course not, you''re too slow." Alex frowned and Hermes waved his hand in apology. He then showed him an object he had in his hand. It was a miniature model of an orange chariot. He threw the model into the floor and out of a sudden, it grew in size until it couldfortably seat two people. Alex looked on in astonishment at therge, unmanned chariot, and the information the system gave him was even more surprising. ______________________________________________________________ (Replica of the Sun Chariot by Hephaestus) Quality: Divine State: Great Additional Information: A replica of the chariot used by Helios, crafted by the divine craftsman Hephaestus. ______________________________________________________________ "What are you waiting for? get in." Hermes already boarded the chariot. Alex obliged and sat on thefortable seats. "Well, here goes nothing!" Chapter 63 - Anatolia "How does this chariot wor- Just as Alex spoke those words, he felt his center of gravity shifting. The chariot was already high in altitude and flying at the speed of a racing car. "You didn''t tell me this would be so fast!?" Alex eximed as he readjusted his posture and adapted to their velocity. "What did you expect from the replica of a chariot used by Helios, dummy?" Hermes gently caressed the chariot as if it was a sacred heirloom. "How did you even get this, anyway?" Alex curiously asked. "Imissioned it hundreds of years ago from Hephaestus, but with the whole deal of him sheltering himself, I only received it very recently..." Hermes sighed like he had the weight of the world on his back like As. "On the flip side, I am now as poor as a hardworking mortal farmer..." Hermes smiled brightly and gave a thumbs up. ... Alex stared at him and judged his poor financial decisions internally. "To be fair, this chariot is fast and can fly, does it need any energy to run?" Alex inquired. "It gets all of its energy from the Sun, which means, we''ll only be able to travel during the day and will have to find ces to stay for the night!" "Isn''t that a detail you should have spared before the trip? What about the money issue? I donated all of my funds to my church...." Alex informed him. "I don''t know, you can set up a blessing center where you perform blessings for money?" Hermes'' eyes shed like a businessman upon finding a lucrative business opportunity. ''I will never let capitalism corrupt my pure powers...'' This was Alex''s bottom line. Following that, they just observed the rapidly movingndscape beneath them. The browning of the leaves from the seasonal change was even more apparent this high up, as the green and rocky mountains turned the color of firewood. They passed through arge section of the sea but soon enough, they were back overnd. The sky, however, was clear of any clouds and the sun shone freely. "Where are we, now?" Alex was interested in how Hermes and the other gods named the world outside of Greece. Hermes looked at the scenery and stated, "This should be...Anatolia." ''Anatolia? That''s exactly the way we call Asia Minor..'' Alex pondered. Anatolia was arge penins bordering the Mediterranean, Aegean, and the ck Sea. Back on Earth, for political and social reasons, it was hard tobel it as fully ''European'' or ''Asian'' and everyone had their own different opinion and approach on it. ''We really did care too much about pointless things back on Earth...'' Alexmented and shrugged at this random memory. Suddenly, Hermes changed the direction of the chariot and said, "Change of ns, Alexei-boy, we''ll stop somewhere in Anatolia before resuming our journey." He then piloted the chariot and reduced the altitude until trees could be distinctly seen. "This should be close..." Hermes looked in the direction of a nearby mountain. Then, he found a small clearing and carefullynded the chariot, before retrieving it back into the mini-model and putting it in one of his pockets. Hermes turned to Alex and informed him, "I just remembered someone very special lives in the mountains of Anatolia." Alex was confused at the turn of events but nodded nheless. Hermes had a bittersweet smile on his face and a nostalgic expression. He then walked in the direction of the mountain he pinpointed earlier and Alex followed suit. They swiftly flew over the rocky mountains and halted at the peak. Over on the other side, an expansive teau covered an incredible area. Farnd of various colors decorated the setting and a single house dotted the teau. Smoke from the chimney rose up from the house, and the entire ordeal yed like an idyllic painting. After observing that for a long minute, Hermes resumed his flight and Alex followed him. They were traversing in the direction of the small cottage and considering their speed, they soon covered the entire distance and halted in front of the house. The house was constructed of polished wood and seemed to be a living space fit for two people or so. ''Who could Hermes even know in such a secluded countryside?'' Alex was perplexed. Hermes knocked at the wooden door and in response, they caught the sound of footsteps approaching. *Creak* The door opened and the person in front of them was a young man. The young man had a handsome appearance, long dark hair that reached the lower end of his shoulders, and light blue eyes. He had a carefree demeanor to him and in his hands, he held a basket full of freshly-washed vegetables. The young man looked puzzlingly at Hermes and thetter held that same expression. They stared at each other in awkward silence until Hermes said, "I''m pretty sure I know you from somewhere...." ''Speaking of which, he does a have a familiar face.'' Alex felt like he has seen the young man somewhere before, but he couldn''t quite discern his identity. "Huios, who''s at the door?" An aged female voice spoke. ''Huios'' was the Koine Greek term for ''son'', but the woman used it as a first name. Hermes seemed to recognize the voice, and when the woman in question was visible, she seemed stunned by thetter''s presence. The woman had a youthful appearance and a stout body. She somewhat reminded him of Persephone, as she had green eyes and a simr demeanor. However, the woman radiated an aura offort and motherly affection. "Hermes, is that you?!" The woman seemed amazed and a smile that stretched from ear to ear now coated her face. "Yes, Great Mother." Hermes looked at the woman with admiration. ''Great Mother?'' Alex was confused. "It''s been more than a century..e in!" The woman invited them in. The insides of the cottage were even more rustic than the outside, and unexpectedly, a lion cub wasying on the ground, and resting peacefully. The four of them sat around a table and the woman eximed, "I can''t believe I get to see you again, I feel like this is the past again." "And who''s the other guest?" She turned around to Alex. Alex formally introduced himself, "Hello, I''m Alex, god of humanity." "God Of Humanity? What a beautiful title. I''m Cybele, and you''re very wee here!" The woman introduced herself as ''Cybele''. Alex thanked her and fell into thought. The name ''Cybele'' wasn''t absent from Athena''s study. She was briefly mentioned as a mother and nature goddess that didn''t belong to the pantheon but often interacted with them in the past. She was simr to Demeter and Rhea. After that, Cybele spoke to Hermes, "I see you''re doing great. How is the rest of Olympus going along? Is Rhea doing good? What about Pan?" Hermes rubbed his head and said, "Truthfully, I wouldn''t be able to tell you, Great Mother. I haven''t been to Mount Othrys or Arcadia ever since.." He continued, "Times have changed, and everyone is just not as close as we were in the past." "Not all is bad, however, as we have Alex now." Hermes turned to Alex. Alex rubbed his head in embarrassment. Cybele sighed and spoke, "I imagined that would happen after...that." "How about you, Great Mother? How have you been doing all this time?" Chapter 64 - Wrath Of A Nature Goddess Alex felt a bit excluded from the conversation and looked at the young man beside Cybele. He was looking through a window, and Alex just couldn''t omit the feeling of familiarity at the man''s features. Thetter noticed his stare and emotionlessly stared back at him. He seemed to have taken an interest in Alex''s eyes as he red puzzlingly at them. Alex felt a bit intimidated by this re. ''Speaking of eyes, his eye color is the same as the one I got when I consumed Aphrodite''s Essence...Wait!'' Alex suddenly had a realization. "Eros?!" Alex identally said out loud. The young man frowned heavily when he heard that name and Cybele turned her attention to him. "Please don''t call Huios by his old name, he finds it distasteful." Cybele kindly requested of him. Alex put his hand over his mouth and contemted. Back in Abdera, he traveled around the city in search of the fragments of the love story between Eros and Psyche. In the end, when he saw the end of the story in the acropolis of the city, he noticed a statue outside of the temple. The statue had the same features as those of the young man in front of him, except indifference reced the mncholy of the statue. "Also, Huios cannot speak, I hope you understand," Cybele informed him. Alex nodded and saw Hermes who also had a face of realization. Thetter then asked Cybele, "When did...Huiose to live here?" "Well, about 50 or so years ago, I found a young man aimlessly wandering through the forest. I brought him in and then realized he was the child of a person I knew very well from the past." "Please do not speak her name here." Alex and Hermes both knew who she was talking about, and didn''t say it out loud. Huios, ordingly, didn''t seem too enthusiastic about the subject and tugged at Cybele''s clothing. She nodded and asked, "I forgot to ask, what made youe here? I know you, Hermes, you wouldn''t visit for no reason." "Alex and I are on a diplomatic trip to thend of the Qin Dynasty and I thought to stop here to pay a visit." Hermes smiled. Cybele chuckled and said, "Oh, still so devoted to your tasks, that''s so characteristic of you, Hermes." Hermes rubbed his head and replied, "Great Mother, I see you still do the manual farmingbor? Why do you wait a year and harvest manually when you can just make any vegetation instantly sprout?" "Well, Hermes,municating directly with Gaia is a very humbling activity and the time shows the true value of her gift to us. Anyways, I still have a long life ahead of me, don''t I?" Sheughed. Out of a sudden, the door creaked open and they heard a purring sound. Two lion cubs entered through the door and they groaned in pain. They were severely wounded and some of their bones were visible behind the bleeding wounds. Their underdeveloped lion manes were covered in blood. Cybele saw that and screamed, immediately running beside the cubs. "Little children, what happened to you?" Cybele put her hand on the two lions. What happened after that was nothing short of astounding, as their injuries rapidly healed and the wound mended. The only indication that a wound was previously there was theck of fur in the area previously afflicted. Alex looked dumbfounded by this extremely overpowered healing ability whereas Huios and Hermes seemed to expect this. Cybele asked the lions with concern on her face, "Little children, show me every detail of what happened." She then put her hand on their heads and closed her eyes. As time went on, her expression got progressively more unpleasant and a frown made the skin around her eyes fold. She looked furious and eximed, "It''s the Orphics again!" ''Orphics?'' Alex was unfamiliar with this term. Hermes sensed his curiosity and whispered, "They''re cults that worship the Underworld gods and perform strange rituals." At this moment, Cybele stood up and the entirend seemed to shake in an earthquake-like manner in response to her fury. "They stole my crops to use in their rituals? I forgave them. They cleared the forest of life for their rituals? I forgave them once again. But now, they murdered my children!? They''re really testing my bottom line." Her voice increased in tone and volume like a crescendo. She bolted out of the cottage and stone stairs the size of rocks sprouted from the ground. She followed along the path of the rocks and new ones emerged every time she made a step. "Alex,e with me, we need to restrict her wrath before all of thisnd goes to ruin." Hermes put his hand on Alex''s shoulder and stated. He looked extremely serious. Huios disappeared off to a room in the cottage and came back with a golden bow and arrow in his hands. The three left the cottage and followed the direction in which Cybele pursued the perpetrators of this incident. Huios used the ''stairs'' while he and Hermes flew. They continued this way and the track ended at the entrance of a dark cave. The three entered and the smell of blood and wax overpowered their sense of smell. Alex frowned but he continued deeper into the cave. Their path ended at a firepit. Around the firepit, a pentagon was drawn in blood, and candles illuminated the surroundings in dim, eerie light. There were three corpses of lion cubs on each end of the pentagon, and the twocking probably corresponded to the two from earlier. Cybele was standing in front of four men dressed in dark robes and one of the men screamed, "Summon Lord Necrodaimon!" The four men started reciting a strange incantation but Cybele move her hands and the men''s bodies started disintegrating from the bottom up. Even as this happened, the men kept chanting until they could no longer do so and their skeletons fell to the ground, producing a nking sound. Alex gulped in terror. This wasn''t the end of the terror, however. In the center of the firepit, a skull stood, solitary. Before the men died, the skull started moving and a weird smoke diffused into the air. The smoke dispersed and then congregated. It shaped into a goat-like figure, with piercing red eyes. At first, the goat ghost looked around arrogantly but the moment itid its eyes on Cybele, it screamed in a shrill voice. "A GODDESS?! I WAS TOLD YOU WERE BUT ANOTHER NATURE DAIMON!!" Cybele''s green eyes shined in indifference, and she moved her hand. The goat-like figure abruptly dissipated into nothingness and the fire stopped zing. A single flower bloomed on top of the skull. Cybele didn''t seem to recover herposure, as she bolted out of the cave. The group of three followed her outside, and the scene they witnessed was reminiscent of an Armageddon. Starting with Cybele in the center, the brown vegetation and autumnal flora turned into ash and this deadly aura was spreading very fast. Alex and Hermes were clueless as to what to do. Huios, besides them, took out his bow and put an arrow into position. He then drew the bow to its very limits and aimed at Cybele before shooting. The arrow didn''t injure her but strangely, it passed right through her. Suddenly, the deadly aura halted its rapid spread, and Cybele turned to look at Huios. "I overdid it and you saved me with an arrow, Huios?" She spoke softly. Huios(Eros) nodded. She continued, "I think I will be fine. Can you remove the effects of the arrow?" Huios pped his hands and the arrow that he shot earlier boomeranged right back at his hands. "I''m...going home." Cybele ran in the direction of the cottage. Chapter 65 - The Desert The group of three swiftly followed the goddess back to the cottage. Her earlier rampage ravaged the farnd along the valley, and dirt upturned the crops. Alex observed the spectacle of the nature goddess''s fury in awe and fear. Hermes and Alex wanted to check up on Cybele. Huios, however, advised them not to, and instead took a seat upon the hill. The two nodded in tacit understanding and also sat alongside the former. They waited for a while before they observed movement from the cottage. Cybele had left the cottage and with a move of her hands, the earthen stairs retreated back into t ground and sprouts grew on the dirt. She then advanced towards them, and when they were near, she spoke, "I am sorry you had to see that after your first visit here, Hermes." She bit her lips in frustration and turned towards Alex, and said, "I apologize I killed humans despite awareness of your title, Alex." Alex frantically replied, "It''s o-okay, I don''t condone all of humanity anyways." "It was nice meeting you, though, Great Mother." Hermes dered. "Likewise, Hermes, it''s like we went back in time two centuries. I hope Olympus can return to what it once was." Cybele sighed heavily. Hermes chuckled and stated, "Well, Athena wants to be Queen." Cybele looked on in astonishment and eximed, "Now that you say it, that role would fit Athena very well! Knowing her, I feel like she could restore Olympus..." Hermes nodded, then nced at the sky before stating, "I think we have to go, Great Mother. I wouldn''t wish to overstay our wee." "So soon? Well, if you don''t find anywhere to stay, the cottage will always have its doors open." She said with earnest eyes, "Goodbye, you two. I wish you great luck on your journey." Following that, they bid their goodbyes to Cybele and Eros(Huios) and got on the chariot. It was the afternoon, and with the sun''s current intensity, they could probably still drive for a bit. While the chariot was speeding through the skies, Alex got curious. ''They always speak of Olympus in the past, was it very different to what it currently is?'' He wondered. "Hermes, was Olympus in the past any different from now?" He asked thetter, who was watching the shifting scenery. Hermes turned to face him and said, "Well, Alexei-boy, it was a vastly different ce. Everyone was much closer in the past, and Olympus felt like a true organization." "And what happened to change it?" "....Athena is better-suited to telling you, you should ask her when we get back..." Hermes softly spoke. After that, silence returned upon the chariot, and they rode it until the sun gave off an orange hue and the chariot slowed down in speed. Hermes noticed the change and stated, "At least we''re close to a city, look that way." Alex followed his line of sight and in fact, monuments and structures towered in the distance. Strangely, however, everything looked a bit too bright, but he couldn''t distinguish the reason from this distance. As they approached the city, however, he understood. ''The city is entirely made of....gold?!'' Alex stared at the buildings with wide eyes. Everywhere he looked, he only saw the metallic sheen of gold. Theynded the chariot and Hermes said, "I think this is Ancyra, capital of Phrygia, where King Midas ruled" "King Midas, the one with- "The golden touch, yes, Dionysus gifted it to him and he ended up going mad." He continued, "Apparently, he tried to end his life by jumping from a cliff into ake and theke turned to gold, causing him to drown in the very thing he loved and hated the most, gold." Alex felt goosebumps rise upon his skin at the chilling story. The city had an interesting aesthetic ambiance to it. As he walked through the streets and observed even the golden trees and ground, he noticed an unusual fact. ''There are no...people?'' The streets werepletely empty and despite the sprawling architecture, no sign of life could be detected. Alex entered a building that looked like a castle and almost eximed when he noticed a terrifying fact. Inside of the building, there were golden statues of people going about their day, unwillingly frozen in time. ''It''s....horrifying that they all look like they didn''t expect any of this to happen.'' Alex left the building and entered another one. It was more of the same, as numerous status stood there. He then returned to Hermes and said breathlessly, "Why did Dionysus grant his wish?" Hermes shrugged and said, "Well, he wished for it and Dionysus was a child at the time, and as you know, being the god of alcohol and all, he doesn''t exactly have the best sense of responsibility or judgment." Alex wasn''t convinced but he dropped the matter. "Well, let''s go to sleep and wake up early to advance a long way?" Hermes asked. Alex wasn''t really too eager to sleep next to golden statues and reluctantly nodded. Hermes went to a random building but he came back five minutester with a frustrated expression. "As it turns out, golden beds aren''t exactlyfortable...." Alex searched for a bit for a ce that didn''t have any statues and ironically, the buildings inside the cemetery had none. They upsized the chariot and ended up sleeping on the seats since they were rtivelyfortable and spacious. At the first sign of daylight, Alex and Hermes woke up. The golden buildings reflected off all of the sunlight and the brightness was ufortable even for gods like them. Alex understood why people didn''t inhabit this ce besides the issue of the creepy golden statues. After that, they immediately left on the chariot and bolted through the sky. It was a monotonous day as they only spent it on the chariot but they asionally discussed and it wasn''t a bad day-long trip. As they traversed Anatolia, they entered the Levant and Philistia. The climate got progressively drier and arider and when the sun was barely about to set, the scenery had changed from autumnal vegetation to a dry sandy desert. They had tond in here as there was no longer enough sunlight to sustain the chariot. The moon looked veryrge and bright in the night sky, and they had an uninterrupted view of the stars. The desert was infinite in all directions and colossal sand dunes dominated thendscape. "Well, let''s sleep.." Hermes said. *Grumble* Alex rubbed his stomach, embarrassed at the sounds it was making. Herme giggled and asked, "Hungry? Did you bring any food?" "Very litt- "HALT!" A voice screamed and galloping sounds approached their location. When the sound stopped, they saw the owner of the voice. It was man, sitting on a camel''s back, and his entire body except his eyes was covered in a light fabric. Around the man''s eyes, a smoky ck powder was visible. The man had a sword in his hand and he sighed in relief and said, "Ahh, I thought it was a Jinni, but it''s just two foreigners..." "You two are Yunanites, people of Alexander, right? You shoulde with me, Parthian troops patrol the desert and massacre every Yunanite they meet." Alex and Hermes looked at each other confusingly. "Do you speak our tongue?" The man wasn''t speaking in Koine Greek. As gods, the two obviously had a fluent understanding of all humannguages, and Alex replied with a nod, "We do, we are just a bit confused." The manughed and reassured, "Don''t worry, us Bedouins are not like the Parthians, we only want to shelter you." Hermes spoke to him in Greek, "I don''t think we have much to lose if we follow the man. We can defend ourselves against mortals." Alex shrugged and nodded to the man. "You made a good decision. The desert is ruthless upon people unfamiliar to it." As they followed the man and climbed through some dunes, he was talkative and kept speaking. "I don''t understand why you, Yunanites, chose this road. The passage through the north is less unhospitable and you could have even taken a detour from the Parthians through thend of the Armens." When he said those words, they perceived a reflective surface in the distance. ''An oasis..?'' A rtivelyrge body of water stood solitary in the middle of the desert and a small amount of vegetation grew near it. Next to the oasis, there was arge tent and a tall fire that illuminated the surroundings. "We''re here." The man stated. Chapter 66 - A Sandstorm From the distance, Alex could smell the faint fragrance of spices and gulped in gluttony. They elerated their steps and halted at the entrance to the tent. The man stepped down from the camel and tied it next to a group of other camels. He then untied the fabric around his face, revealing his sparse beard and dark skin. The man entered the tent and eximed, "We have guests!" Following that, he turned to them and said, "Enter and make yourselves at home." "Thank you." The two said. The interior of the tent wasn''t very big but there were a lot of people. Many men, women, and children were inside and it seemed they were in the process of cooking. A woman from the bunch approached them and lightly bowed, "May peace be upon you, I am Fatima, the matriarch of the tribe. My husband and the leader of the tribe is Yazid, the man you met earlier." Hermes replied with a slight bow, "May peace be upon you." Alex did the same and asked, "We cannot ept your hospitality without return, is there any way we could help you?" The woman shook her head and smiled, "Of course not, you two are guests, the food will be served soon, meanwhile, you can make yourselves at home." Alex and Hermes obliged and soon enough, they served the dinner. It was a huge tter of barbecued meat and fragrant rice, and the small tribe gathered around the small tter. "Thank you for the food." Alex and Hermes said. The matriarch, Fatima, said, "Eat with pleasure." After that, she and Yazid took the first bite and everyone followed. Alex was really quite hungry and tasted the meat. At first, he frowned, as he found it to be too heavily spiced and the outside too charred. However, he soon noticed that due to the hard crust that formed on the outside, the meat juices on the inside didn''t escape the meat, and the cooked meat almost melted inside of his tongue. ''What a spectacr and resourceful cooking technique...'' Alex remarked. They used only primitive fire to cook the meat, yet they were able to achieve such depth of vor. He then moved on to the rice. It was long-grain rice and as he took a bite of it alongside the meat, he could taste each individual cooked pearl of rice and it had a slightly spiced aroma to it that was extremely addictive whenbined with the softness of the rice and the tender meat. "How do you get the rice so fragrant?" Alex couldn''t restrain his curiosity and asked. Yazid chuckled and answered him, "We use the leftover grease from cooking the meat to fry the rice after cooking it." ''Ancient fried rice? So ingenious....'' Alex nodded and returned to the food. The meal was verymunal, and as all of the tribe gathered around the food, they were united by the delicious dish in front of them and discussed various affairs and events. When Alex and Hermes finished their food and were both feeling extremely full, Fatima served them dates and tea. Alex refused but Hermes told him in Greek, "Alexei-boy, you should be more aware of different cultures, if they present you food and you can still eat, don''t refuse it because you think it''s a burden on them, in fact, they will feel more satisfied if you ept the gifts and food." ''Oh...'' Alexmented hisck of knowledge and epted the dates and the tea. The dates were sweet and chewy and made for a nice pte cleanser after the heavy dish. Then, Yazid asked them, "You two are from Yunan, right? Tell us some of your stories...." Alex thought over it for a bit before deciding to tell them about his trip to the Underworld. However, he heard Hermes say, "Alexei-boy, don''t speak about anything supernatural for now. You''re just a mortal passerby." Alex nodded and left the speaking to Hermes. He spoke of various random stories. "The Athenians tried to attack Sparta one time and they found out they couldn''t, because colossal mountains and the sea separated the two cities..." "To win the war against the Trojans, the Greeks left a wooden horse outside of the city and when the Trojans let the horse in, the warriors exited from the inside of the horse and turned the tides of the war!" Everyone listened to the stories and the children seemed particrly excited about the stories that concerned heroes and fighting. Yazid then warned them, "You two are traversing Parthia, right? You should be careful, after the Parthians overthrew the Seleucids, they want tomit genocide against all of the Yunanites.." Alex wasn''t too worried but thanked the man for his warning. He was a bit curious about one thing. "Sir Yazid, if the northernnds are more hospitable, why is it that you and your tribe remain in the desert?" Fatima answered him in her husband''s ce, "The desert is freeing." "No matter how hard anyone tries, the desert can belong to no man, no woman, no kingdom, and no empire." "A long time ago, the Nabateans tried to conquer our desert, and what is left of them, you ask? Ruins, only ruins." She emphasized ''ruins''. Her husband then took the lead, "The Parthians crossed thend of the two rivers thinking there would be greener pastures but they only found the barren desert." He continued, "Just as the strong winds of the desert move the sand and form new dunes every day, we have moved along those winds for generations." Hermes nodded to the man and added, "Even Alexander, when he traversed Anatolia, he always spoke of the hardships hisrge army faced throughout the dry desert." Yazid sighed andmented, "Alexander was too bold and speedy with his conquest and it has only left the neighbornds with religious strife." "The Parthians refuse to worship the pantheon of the Seleucids and that led them to kill their king and take thend." Alex jokingly told Hermes, "I guess we''re not too popr around here." Hermes raised his eyebrows and spoke, "I''d say he''s right. Alexander might have massively expanded the realm of Olympus enormously, but due to his questionable methods, we don''t have the best ratings around here...." Suddenly, all of the tribe heard a loud whistling sound outside. Yazid seemed to suddenly age ten years and screamed, "It''s the Dancing Jinni again. My people, protect your children and hold onto each other." Alex was confused and asked Fatima, "What''s happening?" She replied with a worried expression, "The Jinn cause a lot of sand tornadoes. This must be one of them." "Jinn, what are Jinn, Hermes?" Alex asked thetter only to see him with a palm on his head. "We might have caused this problem, Alexei-boy..." He continued, "Jinn are Daimons, lesser deities that hold control over specific aspects of nature. We chased most of them out because they didn''t obey Olympus, and I think they all immigrated east, and are now causing these problems..." Chapter 67 - Victory Against Nature Alex listened with astonishment. "If we did cause this, then, shouldn''t we intervene?" Alex inquired When he said this, the wind got stronger and the tent was pping in all directions. Children''s cries filled the tent while their parents all closely cuddled so the tornado would blow no one off. As he looked at this scene, Alex decided to go by himself to stop the tornado and defeat this ''Jinni''. He took out Athena''s spear and the systempiled its information. ____________________________________________________ (Spear of Victory) Quality: Divine State: Great Additional Information: The goddess Athena was born with this deadly spear in her hand. ____________________________________________________ Alex clenched his fists around the spear and Hermes asked him, "Do you need any help?" "I-I''ll...manage..." Alex was unsure if he would be able to defeat nature, even with his new prowess. Athena defeated even the fiercest of waves using only this spear and her shield, so he should be able to calm the raging tornado. Alex left the tent and swiftly stitched the entrance to avoid the sand entering into the tent. A few kilometers away, Alex could distinguish a beige maelstrom of sharp wind approaching in their direction. The waters of the oasis were turbulent from the wind and therge fire kept on flickering intensely. Alex wielded his Faith Energy and diverted it into augmenting his speed. As usual, the world around him slowed down and he became much faster as well. He bolted in the direction of the tornado and the rotating sand became denser and denser and started obstructing his view. At the extreme wind speeds of the tornado, the fine grains of sand turned into mini-bullets and wounded Alex''s body. It was painful but his elerated healing made up for it. He resumed his run through in the direction of the tornado and because of the ample amounts of sand that were rotating, movement became hard but Alex pushed his way through. Here, the wind was so strong that if he didn''t actively push his body weight onto the ground, it would propel him into the air. In slow steps, he advanced with the spear tightly in his hand. Soon enough, Alex couldn''t keep his footing and was thrown into the air. ''This is disorienting!'' He could feel his body rotating around the eye of the tornado. There was no way he could control himself with only his body weight. He couldn''t see the ground, but Alex assumed he was probably dozens of meters in the air. Like a funnel, he felt his body approaching the center of the tornado. ''There should be the Jinni in the center...!'' Alex had to think fast. ''Bingo!'' He came up with a way to find the Daimon. He would use Link to see if there were any nearby targets he could form a connection with, and if so, that would pinpoint the location of the Jinn. Normally, Link should work on any conscious being. Alex closed his eyes and tested out his hypothesis while bncing his body in the air. "You fell into the trap!" Alex said out loud. *Cough* *Cough* ''I forgot there was sand everywhere.....'' Alex coughed out sand. Earlier, he felt the Link connection retreating in a manner that indicated the receptor refused to connect. Alex was lucky, if the Jinni just ignored his technique, he wouldn''t have known where thetter was or if it even existed, but now, he discerned the exact location of the Jinni. Alex wielded the heavy spear and *BAM* *BAM* The heavy spear moved like a thick and viscous liquid encased it, but it was just the wind. By moving the heavy spear with his incredible strength, which he augmented further using Faith Energy, Alex was able to form temporary depressions where the pressure and wind speed weren''t as high. Then, using the momentum he rued from the tornado, he would move to that specific spot. By wielding this spontaneous technique, he was able to slowly navigate to the location of the Jinni. When he was close, he still couldn''t see anything due to the sand, but Alex determined he was close enough to perform thest part of his n. ''I''m not sure inducing sleep will work on a spirit, but here goes nothing...'' Alex consumed his Faith Energy and cast out a sleep-inducing spell with the effectiveness of the strongest sleep medicine in the direction of the Jinni. At first, he thought it didn''t work, as the tornado was still raging wildly. ''F**k!'' He cursed. Suddenly, he felt the wind speed around him plummet and his body, which was previously held up in the air with the wind, also plummeted. Alex chose to Incarnate into Hermes and stabilized himself in the air with his wings. Under the moonlight, the winged Alex looked like an angel and onlycked a halo. When the tornado had entirely calmed down, Alex went down to examine the situation. A giant hole had formed around the former eye of the tornado, and strangely, a whiff of smoke was in the air, even though there was no fire. The ck smoke then turned into a humanoid shape. Alex descended and looked at this strange scene. A man with ash-like skin and horns was hovering in the sky. He had an appearance that could induce nightmares. The man had his eyes closed, but he opened them, revealing his scary red glowing eyes. The Jinni stared at Alex and eximed in a crackling voice, "You dare counter Anemo?" The Jinni referred to itself as ''Anemo'', the Koine Greek term for ''wind''. Alex didn''t say anything. "Saidi(1), I didn''t know you were so strong!" Yazid''s voice rang out from a distance. Alex turned around and saw the man galloping swiftly on the camel''s back. He halted next to him and said, "Sir, I will take care of Rih. This Jinni and my tribe go back a long time..." Yazid referred to the Jinni as the local word for wind, ''Rih''. Alex actually didn''t know how exactly to vanquish a spirit, so he nodded and left the man to his job. As he galloped towards the Jinni, Anemo tried to cast something but Alex didn''t let him and immediately put him to sleep. When Yazid reached the Jinni, he poured a strange liquid into the spirit''s smoke body. Surprisingly, as soon as the liquid came into contact with the smoke, it made a strange noise and the smoke turned a lighter color, then disappeared. Yazid then came galloping back, got down from the camel, and kowtowed to him, "Thanks to you, Saidi, a threat of the desert has been eliminated.." Alex made him stand up, waved his hand, and asked the man, "What''s the liquid you used on the Jinni?" Yazid gave him the sk with the liquid and informed him, "It is a liquid that purifies and burns sin. It also burns the skin." Alex poured some of the liquid onto his hand and it left a tingling sensation. ''I don''t think that''s a ''holy liquid'', it''s probably just an acid that reacted with the gas that made up the Jinni...'' Alex concluded. He gave back the sk and kept his thoughts to himself. After that, they went back to the tent. Chapter 68 - Disaster Upon The Land Of Origins The two made their way back to the tent in the darkness of the night. Unfortunately, the tornado had extinguished therge fire, but, they easily found their way back under Alex''s lead. Alex removed Incarnation under the revering gaze of Yazid. Yazid then entered the tent ahead of him and eximed joyfully, "Saidi has vanquished the curse of our tribe, the Jinni Rih!" Alex could hear the cheers of the people inside the tent and felt a headache iing. ''Here goes nothing...'' As he entered the tent himself, the sound of apuse filled his ears. Hermes was sipping tea in the corner, but Alex perceived a yful smile beneath the teacup. ''Is he going to do something troublesome?'' Alex suddenly had a bad premonition. Unexpectedly, Hermes stood up and asked, "People, do you worship any gods?" Fatima shook her head and replied, "We only worship the evesting sands of the desert." Hermes then pointed at him and eximed, "Alex is your savior and... a GOD. He''s in search of more followers." The adults of the tribe looked surprised by the deration and started discussing amongst themselves. Alex red at thetter with wide eyes and eximed, "Hermes, we''re on a diplomatic trip, not a propaganda campaign!" Hermes waved his hands loosely and said, "Alexei-boy, loosen up. Would it be anything bad to gain followers throughout all of Hellenia?" Alex sighed and replied, "But, this feels disingenuous, like I''m taking advantage of them. That Jinni was troublesome, and I, of my own volition, decided to take care of it. It was not to get followers." "Alexei-boy, you should stop undermining your own exploits. You slew a long-time enemy of theirs, and they will worship you. Where''s the wrong in that?" As they were speaking, Yazid and Fatima stood up, approached him, and bowed deeply. They then dered, "I think our tribe is ready to ept the grace of Saidi Alex." Hermes chuckled as he spectated and Alex cursed him internally. ''I can''t do much about it, then?'' Alex put his hands on the heads of the two. He blessed them with swiftness, which he determined would be the most useful blessing they could receive in the desert, where climate patterns often changed erratically, andrge groups of people often needed to move fast to new oases and sources of water. The two seemed to feel the effects of the blessing and bowed even deeper. Alex rubbed his be as he perceived that the rest of the tribe also kowtowed. Following that, Yazid turned to his tribe and screamed, "Let us hold a party for Saidi Alex!" ''WHAT'' Alex just wanted to have a good night''s rest... The tribe reignited the fire and cooked a whole banquet for him. Everyone, including Hermes, who seemed to have way too much fun for some reason, were dancing around the fire as men and women yed various instruments and sung local music. This continued until sunrise, and Alex ultimately decided to join in on the fun. He even used one of the films to take a picture with the camera, and the tribe members were all dumbfounded at seeing their own image recorded onto the film. When the party was over, the children were already snoring loudly while the adults looked tired. "Thank you for everything, Saidi. We wish you great luck." Yazid bowed deeply. Fatima advised them, "Saidi, I rmend stopping by at my homnd, in Babylon, you should be able to find plenty of inns and food there." She pointed to the direction of the city. Alex thanked the two and bid everyone goodbye. He and Hermes got on the chariot, and under the rising sun, the chariot flew into the sky. The tribe members were waving at him, and he reciprocated. "That was a really good night. Such nice people." Hermesmented. Alex nodded and felt satisfied at the oue of the night. Their next destination was Babylon, a city in Mesopotamia surrounded by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Back on Earth, it wasmon knowledge that the enormous quantities of water disced by the movement of the two aforementioned rivers allowed for a sprawling civilization to spawn next to the arid desert. Cities such as Uruk, Sumer, Assur, and Babylon produced some of his world''s oldest and best-preserved literary and architectural works. "Hey, Hermes, are there any pantheons on our way?" Alex asked. Hermes nodded and informed him, "Yes, we''ll have to report our presence to Marduk, the head god of the Mesopotamian pantheon on our way." "Why do we have to report our presence?" "For diplomatic reasons, it was part of the negotiations we made when Alexander expanded our cult here. If a disastrous event ever happens and it is discovered that a foreign deity passed by without alerting the local gods, the worst-case consequence would be war." "We''re much stronger than they are. But trust me, a war between different pantheons is not something we ever want." Hermes nted his eyes. Alex nodded in understanding. ''When there are many fearsome deities inhabiting one world, I suppose delicate power y is necessary to prevent conflict.'' "Has it ever happened?" Alex inquired to Hermes. Hermes fell into a contemtive state and then replied, "I don''t think we''ve ever had major conflicts with other pantheons, only some small skirmishes with the Allemani pantheon in the north of Europe and the Amazigh pantheon in Libya(1)" He continued, "However, recently, tensions were very high with the Jade Emperor, following the fact that Olympus has encroached upon their territory after Alexander''s conquests and thus, the need for our current trip." Alex thanked Hermes for the exnation and got back to observing the scenery below them. They passed through a small river and Hermes eximed in confusion, "That''s the Euphrates?! I remember it being much bigger than this." Alex was also astonished. He thought it was just a small tributary, but it was actually the ''colossal'' Euphrates river that fed the Mesopotamian civilization?! Soon enough, they saw the signs of an urban settlement. It was a circr city and from the sky, they could see eight walls that separated the city into eight parts, respectively. "This is Babylon now? It looked much more glorious when we came here a few decades ago..." Chapter 69 - Schism After that, theynded on a clearing near the city. There was a humongous gate that led to the city''s first section. They approached the entrance and the guards stopped them, "What is your purpose in the sacred city, Yunanites?" Hermes coughed and took out his serpentine staff. ''I haven''t seen that staff of his in a while....'' Alex remarked. "I''m Hermes, from the Olympian pantheon. We wish to alert our presence to Sir Marduk." The guards looked at each other, then the serpentine staff, and one of them said, "Lord, follow me." The two went through the entrance and Alex heard the other guard say, "What do members of the cult of Alexander want with our city again?" ''Strange....'' Alex frowned. The guard that was leading them said, "I apologize you Lords have to pass through the ve neighborhood, the direct path to the holy Ishtar Gate is near." Hermes said, "Has any recent catastrophe hit the city and the Euphrates? The situation seems worse than it was a few decades ago." In fact, as Alex looked around, he could see many people on the ground. They all shared amon physical attribute, that being that they were so skinny their bones were overly visible. Alex felt his head hurt when he saw the starvation and a person was even drinking what seemed to be sewer water. The guard, hearing Hermes''ment, sighed and said, "The whims of the gods have brought great misfortune to Babylon." After that, he led them to a small brick building. There was no decoration at all in the insides, and only a trapdoor stood out. The guard opened the trapdoor and stated, "This will lead you to a tunnel that stops at the City of the Greats, and from there, you can enter through the Ishtar Gate to visit our Lords." Hermes gave the man a blessing and the two entered the trapdoor. After going down a staircase, they found themselves in a wide tunnel. The walls were decorated with blue bricks and torches lit up the entire tunnel. They continued straight through the tunnel and found another staircase leading up, which they climbed before reaching a trapdoor reminiscent of the one from earlier. Alex opened the trapdoor and the outside was a simple brick house like the one in the first part of the city. This part, however, was nothing like the one they were formerly in. Large houses reced the slum-like buildings and the people here didn''t seem as unhappy and hopeless. No one had an emaciated physique and everyone was going about their day while the food was ample and wasted. Alex frowned at the extreme inequality that was present within the confines of one city. Hermes sensed his feelings and informed him, "I''m as surprised as you are. The city of ves was never a prosperous neighborhood, but it wasn''t as severely destitute as it is now." ''Inequality like this never hints at good rulers...'' Alex wasn''t looking forward to meeting these gods. They walked and walked around the prosperous inner city until they found a gigantic blue gate surrounded by tall forts. The gate was constructed of blue zed bricks and murals depicting tigers, lions, and bulls covered it. An inscription on top of the gate wrote, "Ishtar Gate, the entryway to the Kingdom of the Gods on Earth." "This is our destination," Hermes spoke. Alex was familiar with the Ishtar Gate, but it was his first time seeing it, and it definitely looked very majestic and beautiful. Nheless, after the scenes of poverty and starvation from earlier, the contrast between the prosperity that this gate symbolized and the former was distasteful to Alex. There were numerous guards around the gate, and as Hermes and Alex approached it, the guards surrounded them with their swords pointed at their heads. Hermes showed them the Caduceus, the serpentine staff, and dered, "I havee under the jurisdiction of Olympus." The guards retreated their weapons and started pushing the gate open. Beyond the gate was an extremely astonishing scene. There was a lush garden with rivers and waterfalls flowing everywhere. In the center of the garden, a very tall staircase led to a beige pce, from which flowed water into the rivers. It was an idyllic scene and reminded Alex of Elysium, if not for theck of a Sun in thetter. ''Are these the Hanging Gardens of Babylon?'' Alex appropriated the scene he was currently observing to a famous myth from Earth. Hermes said, "Let''s move fast." They entered the garden and then climbed the staircase. The entrance to the pce was not guarded, and only servants roamed about. Hermes and Alex navigated through countless corridors and stopped at a spacious hall. The hall had arge throne in the center of it, in which a man sat. He had dark skin and piercing ck eyes. His hair reached into his shoulder along with a voluminous ck beard. He wore a golden hat on his hand and a bird-like creature sat next to him. Countless servants were fanning him, though he had a deep frown. "That''s Marduk," Hermes whispered to Alex. ''Marduk'' took notice of their presence and swiftly stood up. The bird creature alongside him whistles in a threatening tone. "You are...a member of the cult of Olympus." The man spoke in a deep and nervous voice. Hermes nodded and remarked, "I have onlye to report our passage through the territories, but it does seem that affairs are not going well?" ''That''s an understatement.'' Alex thought. Marduk''s eyes twitched and he sighed. "Ever since the conquests of Alexander, misfortune after misfortune has hit us." Alex felt a bit surprised to hear Alexander mentioned again. Marduk continued, "The Parthians have introduced the cult of Mithra and Alexander introduced your cult. The two have only gained poprity while ours has been declining." "We share power equally among us, and when affairs are prosperous, all is fine. But when our power reserves started to plummet, Enlil suspected me of hoarding power to myself and went to Assur in the north, where people already worshipped him as the head god." "He took with him Ea and Ishtar. And Ea cut off the flow of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers to our territories downstream, causing a water crisis. Shamash, the only majorpanion I have left, burned their crops with the sun." Alex didn''t understand too much, because of the unfamiliar names. Hermes whispered to him, "Enlil is their god of the wind. Ea is the god of water and Ishtar is their goddess for war and love." He nodded and processed all of the information Marduk told them. However, the more he heard, the more furious he got. ''A conflict is fine, but from what I''ve seen, all of these conflicts only affect the mortals, and are but a petty skirmish to them.'' Alex remembered how the outer part of the city seemed whereas this ce looked like lush heaven. He spoke up, "Greetings, Marduk. I am Alex, God of Humanity. I understand your fights with yourpanions, but does it have to affect the innocent mortal bystanders?" Marduk seemed confused by his words and said, "Come again?" "You rule this ce. I''m sure you have seen how starved and ill some of your residents are." Chapter 70 - Shamashs Trial As he spoke these words, Alex felt Hermes tug at his clothes. "Alexei-boy, don''t be rash." He whispered coldly. Alex nodded and halted, as he awaited the reaction of Marduk before he would speak any other word. Surprisingly, Marduk just sighed and closed his eyes. Suddenly, another figure entered the hall. It was a man, he had a simr headdress and features to Marduk but a trait of his stood out. He glowed and illuminated the perimeter around the ce he was standing. ''A bit on the nose, for a god to glow...'' Alex remarked internally and wondered who the neer was. The glowing man looked at Marduk, then took a nce at Alex and Hermes. He then spoke, "You use Marduk of moral degradation. Yet, what do you have to back up your words?" Marduk heard this and objected, "Shamash, don- "Marduk, our pantheon has fallen from what it once was, but we haven''t sunk to the level of taking unwanted criticism from foreign gods." When Marduk heard this, his mouth twitched as if he wanted to speak, though no words came out. Hermes murmured, "Alexei-boy, be careful of that man. He is very stubborn and entric." Alex nodded and heard Shamash continue his speech. "In the olden times, we brought down on the king Hammurabi a code ofw for the mortals. One such of thesews was disrespect to the gods. If you were a mortal, we''d have already cut your tongue and ears, but considering we''re equals, you have to prove your statement." Alex replied with a frown, "You don''t have to look very far to see what I''- Shamash interrupted him, "I do not care about words or mortals for that matter. You, a foreign god, dared to frame Marduk without any knowledge of our past or current happenings. That can only be resolved through fists, like true gods." Marduk fervently replied, "Shamash, we don''t have to do that!" "Marduk, this is a fair proposal. If he loses, we shall cut off all alliance with Olympus and resolve our issues our own way. If he wins....we''ll take the matter to...Sky Father Anu.." Marduk''s eyes widened and he sighed, "He will be so disappointed to see what has be of ournd." While the two were reminiscing, Hermes scolded Alex. "Alex, you should have never engaged in any discussion with that man. Shamash is their god of the sun and equality. He will not let this end without a fight now." Hermes red at him. ''Hermes never calls me directly by my first name...'' Alex knew hended himself in some big trouble as he heard Hermes'' tone of speech. "Normally, I would have got you out of this situation with some persuasion. But, Alex, you need to learn, and I can''t have you doing this in front of the Jade Emperor, who stands at the level of Father Zeus and even the titans..." Alex understood, he had to face the consequences for his actions. "Shamash, I ept your proposal. However, If I win, I wish for all of the gods to resolve their problems without implicating any mortals." Alex stated with a determination and confidence that came from god-knows-where. "Very well, Marduk, show this Olympian our unextinguished glory." Shamas turned to Marduk. Marduk nodded and stood up. Shamash gave him a strong-looking spade. It looked to be made of bronze, but Alex knew from his forging instincts that it was stronger than itsponents. Hermes informed him, "Marduk should be at the level of Athena in terms of strength. You won''t win without maneuvering around. Be smart and don''t show all of your cards at once." Alex nodded. The first thing he did was to temporarily bless the Spear of Victory with a blessing from Hephaestus. The golden spear glowed even brighter now. Marduk didn''t know any of the powers Alex had and that was thetter''s advantage. However, Alex also did not know what powers Marduk held. Hermes only told him, "He controls vegetation and water. He must have other powers but I am not aware of those." Alex nodded. As the two opponents faced each other, Shamash eximed, "A fair fight between gods shall start!" Marduk bolted in his direction and his bronze spade targeted Alex''s lower abdomen. ''Bad choice.'' Thebination of Alex''s precognition and incredible speed allowed him to easily dodge it, propelling his body towards a pir. Alex used his weight to rue momentum and jumped from the pir, somersaulting in Marduk''s direction. He wanted tond a three-move feint attack like the one that almostnded an attack on Athena. First, he pointed the spear at Marduk''s neck and thetter blocked the attack with his spade, producing a nking sound. Alex chuckled as Marduk thought he threw him out of bnce but he sent a kick towards thetter''s torso, which he sessfully dodged by turning his body into the angle of a bow. ''This is going to be hard...'' Alex descended upon the ground and didn''t have any more umted inertia tounch a deadly attack. Instead, he instantly augmented his strength with Faith Energy and his long spear attacked in a 180-degree field. Just when his attack almostnded, Marduk produced an armor of wet soil on his body that negated the force of Alex''s attack. ''Sh*t!'' Alex cursed out. Marduk seemed to realize Alex had an advantage in closebat and distanced himself, putting a wall of water at every back step he made to slow down Alex''s pursuit. When he was far enough, he moved his hands and the water gathered around Alex. Thetter tried to escape but his speed wasn''t great enough in the aquatic bubble to exit it and Marduk simply moved it wherever Alex went. ''WHAT TO DO?!'' Alex didn''t want to lose through being encased by water. Out of a sudden, roots started forming inside of the water bubble and restricted Alex''s movement. They tangled around his body in such a way that every time he tried to break one of the flexible roots, the other ones would simply get a tight grasp on him. ''Ughhhhhh...!'' Alex felt the urgency of this situation and found that none of the techniques he''s used in the past could solve this. He breathed heavily and bubbles floated from his mouth. Alex thought for a bit before he remembered a scene from the past. When Athena fought Poseidon, thetter''sst move was sending a water dragon in her way. Miraculously, Athena literally cut the water using her spear and her strength and ultimately changed the oue of the battle. ''The strength Athena can show isn''t limited bymon sense.'' Alex knew what to do. He activated Incarnation and diverted all of his Faith Energy waterfalls into Athena''s pond. A battle armor grew on his body and his hair and eyes changed color. As he held the Spear of Victory in his hand, he felt an unprecedented sense of familiarity with the weapon. He had to move his hands that were tightly holding the spear in such a way that it could move at a fast enough speed to cut some of the roots and therefore, allow him to cut the rest. Alex clenched his fists around the spear and struggled to increase his range of motion. All of his Faith Energy went into his right hand, which was wielding the spear, and he put it all in one movement. Immediately, the spear turned in a 360-degree field vertically and any roots in its way were obliterated. Before they could grow back, Alex instantly cut the rest of the roots and when he could finally move, he cut the water bubble in half andnded on the wet floor. Hermes looked on at the armored Alex with astonishment and interest. Shamash had an emotionless expression and Marduk seemed very surprised that he freed himself. Alex chuckled and saw an after shadow of Marduk moving towards him. However, Alex knew it wasn''t an after shadow, but simply his enhanced precognition showing him his opponent''s next moves. Marduk was going to use his water powers again, which were very troublesome. Alex currently operated at an insane cognitive speed and thought of a solution. He then removed Incarnation and then activated it again. His ck hair turned a tinum blonde and his eyes, a light blue. Most interestingly, he gained a certain charisma to his appearance, but that wasn''t the important part. Alex waited for Marduk to approach him and let him attack him on purpose. Though the force from the spade and the water jets from the side were painful and likely injured him, Alex tried to forget it and put his hand on the man''s head, before cursing his fertility. This was just a hypothesis on his part, but Marduk''s vegetation powers could perhaps be rendered temporarily useless using Aphrodite''s control on fertility. Marduk distanced himself and tried to produce a wall of soil to protect him. However, as soon as the soil gained shape, it instantly turned into ash. Marduk seemed puzzled at this, but Alex wasn''t going to let this chance pass. He incarnated into Athena and mustered the strongest attack he could possibly do. Athena''s spear hit the god''s body and it was consequently thrown into a pir, breaking it and falling into a garden below the pce. Shamash seemed astonished by this and stated, "I recognize when a fight is over, and I think this is one of those situations." Alex, however, couldn''t think of anything right now, he had difficulty bncing his body, but Hermes, fortunately, helped him stay standing. "Good job, Alexei-boy." He whispered. Shamash then jumped to where Marduk fell and returned with the god on his back. Chapter 71 - Deepening The Alliance Marduk took some time to awaken from his trance and sighed heavily as he stared at Alex. Shamash softly told the former, "Marduk, as we have promised. Let''s go to Samu to visit Sky Father." Marduk reluctantly nodded and asked Alex and Hermes, "Do you want toe with us?" Alex was still not in his best state, so Hermes replied in his stead, "I think Alexei-boy would ept." Shamash nodded and said, "Samu is our paradise, where our Father lives. There''s an entrance from the pce, follow me." Hermes obliged and helped Alex walk as Shamash led them back into the corridors of the pce. As they strolled around, Hermes suddenly asked, "Sir Shamash, why is that you did not resolve the conflict through your Father earlier, if I may ask?" Shamash avoided Hermes'' gaze and spoke, embarrassed, "Sky Father An has left the mortal realm and given us all authority over it because he trusted Marduk and Enlil would be able to maintain order and prosperity. If we did go, it would be admitting that we, gods, are not fit to rule Babylon and Mesopotamia." Hermes nodded and they resumed their silent walk. Unexpectedly, Shamash praised, "I don''t think this boy was wrong by any means, I just couldn''t admit that we have fallen to the point that mortals living in a city directly under our jurisdiction are dying of factors like famine and thirst...." He was referring to Alex, who still felt a little light-headed. Hermes objected, "But you still put him in a lot of danger." Shamash chuckled, "He is definitely very strong, however. I still cannotprehend how he was able to render Marduk''s mastery over vegetation essentially useless." Meanwhile, Alex focused most of his energy on a hasty recovery, and he could only hear their muffled voices. Marduk, who wasn''t in any better state, listened shamefully to this conversation as he held on to Shamash''s shoulder. After a while, Shamash halted in front of a golden gate. The gate had sculptures of snakes and dragons. There were also engravings of winged creatures with the bodies of bulls and human faces. When they approached the golden gate, the same engravings suddenly propped up from the frame of the gate and two of the winged monsters blocked their passage. "Shamash, why do you wish to enter Samu?" The voices of the monsters seemed toe from all directions in a very eerie manner. "Kerubim of Samu, we need the guidance of Sky Father Anu. If you would please to let us enter." Shamash spoke politely and referred to the monsters as the Kerubim. The Kerubim looked at each other, then eerily returned to the gate, going back to their inconspicuous state as engravings. Alex recovered most of his forces by now and thought that it was quite scary that someone would lower their guard upon seeing these engravings, only for them to turn into monsters that belonged to the end of times. The golden gate then opened and the interior unraveled. The group of four entered the gate and found themselves in a small garden. The only structure around here was a gazebo and small ntations of various fruit and vegetables surrounded the gazebo. A man sat in the shade of the gazebo, and as he noticed their presence, he flew towards them. The man wore a brown robe that covered the entirety of his body, and he had long ck hair reaching his waist. The man''s eyes had a certain rity to them like they reflected the cosmos. When Marduk and Shamash saw the man, they bowed and greeted, "Good day, Sky Father Anu." Hermes hinted at Alex to bow too. He obliged. Anu looked at the two, and then said, "Marduk and Shamash, my children, what brings you here?" Marduk looked at Shamash and thetter did the same. They stared at each other for a dozen seconds or so before they seemed toe to a tacit understanding. Shamash dered, "We have failed in keeping the order of ournd, Father." Anu told them, "You can tell me everything under the shade of the gazebo." The god then looked at Hermes and Alex and asked, "You two are under Zeus, right?" Hermes nodded. Anuughed and said, "I''ve met him in the past. Though, granted, it was back when he was umting forces to vanquish his father, the titan." ''He knows Zeus from that far back? Surprising.'' Alex remarked. The god then invited all of them to his gazebo. As they sat under the lovely shade, Shamash recounted the events that led to their visit. "Mesopotamia has split between Marduk and Enlil." "They took the northern city of Assur as theirnd and Ea blocked the flow of the sacred rivers to Babylon. In return, I burned their farnd with the rays of the sun." He continued, "Today, these two Olympians visited us and Marduk fought with one of them, and the condition for our loss was to resolve the conflict the best we could, and that''s why we''re here." Anu rubbed his chin and listened attentively. Then, he stated, "Shamash, I am disappointed. However, I am not disappointed in your ability to maintain our image, but in the fact that all of my children were fighting amongst each other, and if these gents from Olympus hadn''t intervened, the conflict would have only resulted in an unfavorable oue." Marduk eximed, "We are ready for any punishments, Sky Father!" Anu giggled and objected, "I''m not looking to punish anybody. I''m going back down to the mortal realm to speak to Enlil." "Wait for me here." Anu then flew and a golden gate appeared out of thin air. The gates opened and Anu left through those gates. Alex remarked, "He seems like a pretty reasonable god." He left thetter part of the sentence in his mind, however. ''Unlike a certain other sky god I know.'' Marduk and Shamash nodded in unison. Hermes then whispered to him, "You''ve done a really good job today." Alex nodded and said, "Thank you, Hermes." Suddenly, the golden gate from earlier appeared again, and the god Anu entered back into the garden through it. He came back to the gazebo and proimed, "The problem has been solved, none of you two shall remain as head of the pantheon." "Shamash has been the child who acted the most responsibly. I crown you head of Mesopotamia, my child." Shamash''s eyes widened and he was shaking profusely. Marduk told him, "Congrattions, King Shamash. I think you always deserved it better than I did." Hermes coughed and said, "Sir Anu, perhaps, I see this as an opportunity to further the connection between Olympus and yournd." ''Shameless...'' Alex thought. Anuughed loudly and said, "Of course, Olympus, from this day on, shall have a deeper alliance with ournd!" Hermes murmured to him, "This is what I call, an unexpectedly sessful trip. All, thanks to you." Chapter 72 - Ctesiphon "Well, if you don''t mind, I like the solitude of Samu," Anu stated with a smile on his face. Shamash and the rest nodded and a golden gate appeared out of thin air and opened itself. Marduk and Shamash bowed to Anu before they left through the gate with Alex and Hermes following behind. Beyond the door, they found themselves back at the hall where Alex and Marduk fought earlier. When they were all here, the gate dissipated into thin air. However, they weren''t the only ones in this hall. Alex perceived three people, two men, and one woman. One of the men had wings while the other one held a ceramic pot filled with water in his hand. The woman, on the other hand, wore bronze armor and had a sheathed sword wrapped to one side of her belt, while strands of wheat wrapped around the other side. ''She resembles Athena....and...Aphrodite?'' Thought Alex. When the three saw them, the man with the wings said, "I wouldn''t have expected Shamash, of all of us, to speak to Heavenly Father." Shamash sighed and stated, "It wasn''t of my volition, Enlil, it is thanks to this Olympian." Enlil stared at Alex with a semnce of intrigue and then said, "No matter, I guess we are all moving back to Babylon." The woman next to Enlil said, "The role of king fits you Shamash, you are the most impartial and fair of us." "Ishtar...I cannotprehend why we spent so much time, fighting." The man with the pot of water replied, "Just as the cycle of water continues, the cycle of our violence could have been evesting." "Ea.....On that note, have you released the flow of the rivers back to Babylon?" Shamash asked Ea. Ea replied, "Yes, the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates shalle in some time." Hermes suddenly interjected, "Umm, can we go now?" The band of deities all looked at him, and Shamash nodded, "Under themands of Sky Father, Olympus shall be wee here anytime. Move freely." Following that, they bid their goodbyes to the pantheon and left through the chariot. "There''s still some sun left, we should be able to move somewhere else," Alex stated as he saw the bright rays of the sun. Hermes nodded and said, "We should be able to reach Ctesiphon by dusk." "We''re entering the domains of the Parthians, though? Do you remember what Yazid said?" Alex wondered. Yazid has informed them that the Parthians had an extremely hostile attitude against Yunanites and often massacred them. "Hmmm, we''ll manage, if not, we''ll try to keep a low-profile." Hermes chuckled. ''Keep a low profile? We look nothing alike anyone here, Hermes.'' Alex kept this remark to himself. They kept on flying northeast until the sun was fully west and the chariot slowed down. Theynded on a in with sparse vegetation. "I think the city is still quite far, let''s fly then." Hermes dered. He put his palm over his eyes like he was searching for something in the distance, and then wings appeared on his back, which he pped and slowly hovered over the treeline. Alex followed suit, and they swiftly flew in the northeast direction they were previously in. It was getting a bit dark, but their eyesight allowed for clear vision even in the pitch-ck dusk. After a very long time of constant flying, they finally saw the marks of civilization. Lights flickered in the distance, and the cacophony of humans was audible even from the distance. Alex and Hermesnded and removed their wings, choosing to instead walk for the rest of the duration of the trip. As they approached the city, however, they perceived an extremely strange phenomenon. If Alex concentrated his eyesight, he could see various whiffs of smoke all moving in a single direction, at the exact same speed and order. "Are those Jinn?" Alex nervously asked Hermes. Hermes said, "Definitely not. Jinn and Daemon always have humanoid shapes." ''I see...these ''creatures'' look like...jellyfish..'' It was quite eerie, but even as they walked in a perpendicr direction towards the city, none of the ''jellyfish'' had any reaction and just kept on moving in unison. It seemed they were not malevolent creatures but simply a creepy phenomenon of the night. The two moved past that and entered the city. A being sandstone pce was visible in the distance, and the city built itself around it. Even though most of the streets were quite dim, many people moved about and a lot of them entered into brightly lit buildings that looked like restaurants ormunal spaces. The duo tried to find an inn but was unsessful. Without warning, the two heard some people shouting, "Guards! There are Yunanites!" ''Uh oh...'' Alex felt like that scream was somehow targeted at them. In fact, the two suddenly perceived a few armed men charging at them. They could very well beat up the hostile guards, but they wanted to find somewhere to stay in the city, so attracting this much attention was out of the question. The two entered a tight alley and ran past the guards *Sigh* The two thought they were safe in the narrow alleys, but it seemed the guards took a detour and found them. "You there! Halt!" With some frankly, incredible parkour moves, they climbed up the walls and jumped on the roofs of the buildings to escape sight. This continued until only the screams of the guards and the sound of footsteps were left. Alex went down to the ground level in a small alley after realizing they were no longer followed and Hermes did the same. *Creak* At the sound of a creaking door, Alex and Hermes got ready to start their escape again. However, it wasn''t the guards, but a woman who entered their sight. "What''s with all of the noise?" She then looked at them and made an ''oh'' sound. "Behrouz! Would youe here!?" When she said that, a man also came at the door and looked at them, and then he nodded and spoke, "You''re Yunanites escaping the guards, aren''t you?" Alex nodded. "Come on in, it''s safe in my home." The man invited them to his house. Alex and Hermes gave each other a look and shrugged. They entered the small house and followed the two to a small living hall. Candles fully illuminated the ce, and three people were already seated around a table. The three looked at them and eximed in Koine Greek, "Oy, are you merchants too?!" They looked like Greek people and stood outpared to the local poption. The couple who greeted them in, however, had an appearance reminiscent of the people here. They sat next to the Greeks and the man said, "I''m Behrouz, this is my wife Esfir. We sometimes offer passing Yunanites shelter here, so make yourselves at home." The two lightly bowed and said, "Thank you." Alex was a bit curious, "Sir, isn''t it dangerous for you to help us, though?" Behrouz sighed and informed them, "My mother was a Yunanite, they brutally executed her. I don''t want that to happen to anyone." Alex got goosebumps at the story. Behrouz continued, "It''s a mess, the political situation ever since Arsak killed Seleucus has been terrible, and even Yunanite merchantsing back from the east are not an exception to this massacre." The three Greeks suddenly spoke up, "We were on the road back from Samarkand, and when we entered Ctesiphon, they almost caught up to us, but miraculously, Sir Behrouz allowed us to stay here." One of them then asked, "Do I know you? You look familiar." He was speaking of Hermes. Alex chuckled and tugged at Hermes. Thetter shook his head and said, "Absolutely not, we don''t know each other." Esfir then told them, "What are you two waiting for? Sit and eat with us." "Ah...thank you." Alex immediately epted like the glutton he was. The meal was chicken with rice. Alex savored every bite and noticed that the rice formed a hard, crispy crust that was unexpectedly delicious. The chicken was fragrant and moist, and a few unknown spices elevated the vor. "What''s the crust on the rice?" Alex asked them. Behrouz replied with great pride, "Do you like it? It''s Tah Dig, an essential part of every rice dish." He nodded and asked another question, "And what do you use to spice the chicken? It''s extremely delicious." This time, Esfir answered him with a bright smile on her face. "We grow a lot of saffron, so we use that, we also get a lot of asafetida from the east, so we also use that to vor the chicken." After the meal, they thanked the couple for their generosity and they invited them to spend a night in their home. The two didn''t have anywhere to stay, thus they reluctantly epted. However, as they were about to go to sleep, Alex abruptly had a bad premonition. ''Must be theck of sleep....'' He concluded and closed his eyes. Chapter 73 - Evil Spirit Alex went to sleep peacefully and the entire house waspletely silent. Until it wasn''t. *Creak* *Creak* ''What''s that sound?'' The unusual noise disturbed the sleeping Alex and he sluggishly moved about, trying to fall back asleep. The sound was, however, too loud and he couldn''t go back to sleep. Alex stood up and looked around. The noise came from upstairs and it sounded like an open window was creaking. He decided to go check if it was the case and silently climbed up the stairs. When he was on the second floor, he examined the surroundings. There was only a short corridor with windows on both sides. One of the windows was, in fact, open and Alex approached it to shut it close. The second he moved, however, his eyes widened. A silhouette was near the window, and its body was almostpletely translucent, and if not for his eyesight, he would have never discerned its existence. The ''creature'' had the face of a human woman, the body of a cow, the sharp talons of an eagle, and the wings of a cicada, albeit supersized. It was a monstrous chimera of various creatures and its red eyes were the only distinctly visible part of it. When the monster perceived him, its face formed a sly smile. Yet, as soon as it saw him looking directly at it, that smile disappeared and it bolted at him. Its talons aimed for his heart, but Alex wasn''t slow either, and he sessfully dodged using Hermes'' Incarnation. The monster knew it was going to meet its end if it remained here and instantly flew out of the window. ''You disturbed my sleep, you triggered my fear receptors, and now you want to escape? No way.'' Alex dered that he was going to show the monster the prowess of the god of humanity. He unfolded his own wings and flew out of the window, and looked around. The creature realized that due to the distance, he wouldn''t be able to detect it anymore. What it didn''t know, was that Alex didn''t need his eyesight to find its location. He simply used his Faith Energy and cast Link in a straight line in the sky, and... *Screech* The connection was interrupted and Alex bolted in the direction of the monster. Perhaps due to its incorporeality, the monster was very slightly faster than Alex and led him out of the city. Alex flew at full speed. Suddenly, the monster entered an empty well in the wilderness. ''You''re not escaping!'' Alex folded his wings to fit in the well and navigated into the dark depths. Strangely, as he went deeper and deeper, he saw a bright light at the end of the well. He also started hearing a lot of noise, so he slowed down and silently held onto the well. Alex peeked into the ending and a sense of dread enveloped him. This ce had the smell of blood and rotten food and a really ufortable aura spread around. What surprised Alex the most, however, was the sight. There was a spacious cave, and red candles brightly illuminated it. There were many people in the cave. ''Those are not people....'' Alex thought. They all looked in some way simr to the monster from earlier. In the center of this crowd of demons, a human man stood. He had a humanoid appearance, except that he had a third eye on his forehead. The eye was actually a ruby embedded into his forehead, and it shined eerily. The strange man was holding a dusty book in his hand and seemed to be reciting an incantation. "Goddess Agas requests five hearts of elderly men and ten fetuses to allow us to see her divine image again." The man spoke unusual and disturbing words. ''Five hearts? Ten fetuses?'' Alex felt chills creeping up his body. Suddenly, fourteen monsters advanced towards the man and each of them spit out a bloody-looking...thing. Alex couldn''t bring himself to see. Then, the monster from earlier advanced towards the man and screeched. The man frowned and said, "A winged and strong human man has followed you here? That is why you haven''t brought any offerings?" When he spoke those words, all of the monsters turned their ''heads'' towards the well. Alex, who was sneaking and shouldn''t have normally been seen, spoke, "Uh oh." "Servants of Goddess Agas, eliminate the intruder!" All of the monsters somehow had wings and they all flew in his direction. Alex instantly burst out of the well and concentrated all of his Faith Energy towards speed. He flew until he reached a ce with cloud cover and hid inside of the clouds. Strangely, Alex felt like he saw a red eye floating next to him. Even more strange, the monsters that shouldn''t be aware of his location were getting closer and closer. Alex immediately moved to another faraway spot. Once again, the red eye appeared, and the monsters somehow found his location. This continued. Every time the red eye appeared, Alex had to change his hiding spot. Eventually, he got fed up with hiding and instead swiftlynded on the ground. He didn''t have the Spear of Victory with him, but he Incarnated into Athena and got ready to battle some monsters. His golden armor glowed under the moonlight, and when the red eye appeared again, he didn''t move an inch. The monsters got closer and closer until they all surrounded him. ''Precognition is useless with such arge number of opponents...'' Alex concluded as hepletely turned it off. A monster then charged at him, but he easily parried and threw it far away. This kept on happening and Alex realized he simply couldn''t get on the offensive. Athena''s power against a single or few opponents was incredible, but it didn''t work that well in here. Therefore, he incarnated into a god he''s never used. Alex''s eyes turned a blood-red and his hair a pitch-ck color. He got taller and Athen''s golden armor instead turned into heavy armor. As he slowly started to resemble Ares, a strange blood-thirst filled him when he saw therge group of monsters. Alex licked his lips and eximed, "Bring it on, fiends!" There were hundreds of monsters, but every time one attacked him, he simply severed its head or a limb or two, and the monster corpses piled up around him. It didn''t take long for the night to return to silence, as the only signs of battle were the numerous corpses on the ground. As Alex felt satiated, he heard the sound of apuse. He turned around, awaiting another monster he could vanquish. Instead, it was the strange man from earlier. He kept on apuding, and he said, "Incredible, incredible, INCREDIBLE!" The man was shouting senselessly and he unexpectedly grabbed the ruby embedded in his forehead and aggressively removed it. The man''s head started bleeding profusely but heughed andughed and repeated these words, "Goddess, I have fulfilled my life purpose, I have found you the best offering...." "Goddess, I have fulfilled my life purpose, I have found you the best offering...." A figure suddenly descended from the sky. Alex gulped when he saw the appearance of this figure. The woman gentlynded on the ground and revealed her appearance. She had long, twirling horns protruding from her head, and visible red veins covered her entire skin. On her ck, skeletal wings sprouted and gave her a demonic aura. Her eyes were of simr magenta color to Aphrodite, and her hair was darker than the night sky. The ''woman'' looked around at the bleeding man and slowly retrieved the ruby in the ground. She didn''t give any attention whatsoever to the dying man and turned to Alex. "What do we have here? Interesting." Chapter 74 - Hopelessness "What do we have here? Interesting..." The demonic-looking woman stared at Alex with great interest in her eyes. Then, she turned to the dying man and took him by his head. "Why did you take the ruby out?" She spoke softly but she emanated the impression of a slithering snake. The man gagged as the woman''s nails punctured into his already bleeding head, but he nheless still replied, "Goddess, I have found the greatest offering for you...." The woman nodded and said, "It does seem to be the case. Well, as a reward, you will be part of me!" The man''s eyes widened as the demoness took the bright ruby in her hand and ced it upon his head. Suddenly, the man''s body melted until it turned into a ck goop and the dark substance entered the ruby. ''What have I crossed paths with....?'' Alex was starting to regret ever following the monster in the first ce. A bead of cold sweat dripped upon the ground and the demoness turned back to him. She licked her lips and said flirtatiously, "Honey, I''ming to you in a second, if you''d just wait~~" Alex felt goosebumps rising upon his skin. The demoness proceeded to ce the ruby upon every monster corpse in the area, and they all turned into a ck goop that made the ruby glow even brighter. When she was done with that, she looked at him and said, "It''s a shame that such a handsome fellow will melt into my ruby like the other abominations....." She continued, "But, with an offering such as you, Lord Angra Mainyu will consider granting upon me Amrita and true immortality..." Alex gulped and immediately incarnated into Hermes. He unfolded his wings and with his greatest speed ever, he escaped the scene. Strangely, even as he tried to escape, he stayed in the same area, reminiscent of running on a treadmill. He heard the maniacalugh of the demoness and she said, "The eye of the ruby locks you in ce, honey, you can''t escape." Alex had understood that by now andnded on the ground, removing Incarnation. "Let''s get this over with, shall we?" Alex overcame his instinctual fear of the morbid actions of the demoness and got ready for battle. "You want to die a painful and slow death? HAHAHAHAHA, great!" The red veins of the demoness glowed brighter and she moved her hand in the shape of a circle. Suddenly, monsters simr to the ones from earlier appeared. They were extremely numerous, and they all stampeded towards Alex. He didn''t activate Incarnation this time, instead opting for his multitude of powers to ovee this challenge. Whenever a monster came near him, he dodged with lightning speed and tore it down either cleanly or brutally. By doing this, he was able to defeat every monster that came his way, but a problem soon arose. The numbers of the monsters never decreased, and in fact, only seemed to increase as time went on. Alex found himself in a difficult situation where he actually started consuming Faith Energy, which wasn''t unlimited or aplenty in any regard, against a horde of monsters that never seemed to stop appearing. ''This is unsustainable!'' Alex realized. He had to think, and the best way of thinking fast was to incarnate into Athena. Alex got on the defensive and immediately split his mind into fighting and thinking. He analyzed every single one of his memories, the deities he knew, their powers, their techniques, and only a single one seemed to be the most efficient right now. He couldn''t even make use of that ability without Incarnation, so he swiftly incarnated into another deity. ordingly, Alex''s body turned more stout and buff, and his eyes became a bright orange. When he looked at the monsters now, he felt like he could perceive their every weakness and fault as if they were steel machines. That wasn''t the ability he was looking for, however, as he instead put both of his hands on the ground. In a sh, steamingva sprouted from the ground around him and covered the entire perimeter. Whenever theva came into contact with a monster, it screeched in pain, and its entire body melted into theva. Alex also had to be careful, as even with Incarnation, the temperatures of theva weren''t exactlyfortable to him. Soon enough, theva consumed the entire stampede and only Alex and the demoness were left. Alex cooled down theva until it turned back to solid rock. The demoness seemed astonished at his abilities and dered, "You really are a great offering...! I shall show you my most prized creations...the Azdaha dragons!" Suddenly, two dragons came out of her ruby. They had red scales and their bodies were long and as thick as an old tree. ''Two opponents, this is the best scenario..'' Alex realized that the demoness was under the impression that he excelled in fights with many weaker monsters, when in fact, he was better at fights against few opponents. The dragons had red eyes, and when those same eyes took sight of him, the lizard-like creatures charged at him, coiling and flying in his direction. Alex removed Incarnation and got ready to show the prowess of the two deities of war, of which he both obtained a part. The dragons wererge and scary, but Alex finished the fight in a few dozen seconds, and the ''honorable'' and ''divine'' monsters were on the ground. The demoness'' eyes widened but she regained herposure and instead of summoning more monsters, she charged at him. ''Isn''t she more specialized in long-distance battles? This should be easy....'' Alex thought to himself and chuckled. However, he soon noticed something strange. His precognition was working very well, but the demoness'' speed rendered any attempt at evasion useless. And her nails dug deep into his skin, causing pain and injury. Alex groaned in pain and realized he should go into a defensive mode. However, this wasn''t thest of his troubles. The demoness attacked him next and hidden in her hand, the red ruby touched his hands. Instantly, they melted into a ck goop and entered the ruby. When this happened, the demoness eximed, "TRUE IMMORTALITY? You''re an immortal?! What a great day!!!" Alex barely evaded but every time she attacked, he lost a limb or a part of a limb. He felt like his body was healing but at a slow enough speed that it was practically useless. Soon enough, he lost his entire arm, a part of his lower torso, and a leg. Athena had high healing powers, so he made the decision to consume his remaining Faith Energy into Incarnation. However, even the goddess''s incredible healing powers weren''t fast enough to counter how many body parts he was losing. Alex couldn''t show much of his prowess anymore, and helplessness took hold of him. ''How is she so overpowered?! Is it the ruby?'' Alex felt like she was not getting weaker, but stronger as the fight went on. And he, was getting weaker. ''Is this going to be my end...?'' Alex started having these thoughts. ''Oh my god, I never thought I''d die here, it''s been but a short year....'' ''I haven''t yet finished this diplomatic trip with Hermes...'' ''I haven''t yet traveled with Crista...'' ''I haven''t yet defeated Athena in battle...'' Alex felt overwhelmed as his odds in battle were bing lower and lower, and his body became more and more bloody. ''I don''t want to die here...'' ''If I die, will I wake up back on Earth? Or is nothingness the only thing awaiting me?'' Suddenly, just as he gave up, absolute darkness covered the entire battlefield. "You dare disturb the night?" A voice very familiar to Alex came from all directions. Chapter 75 - Nyx, Night Incarnate. Alex''s senses were dulled, but after dark mist covered the ce, he felt a hand gently ce itself upon his back. With the little strength he had left, he turned around. There she was, a goddess very familiar to him. Long ck hair ornamented with stars. A hazy ck dress. It was Nyx. However, Alex perceived her true facial features for the very first time. Her irises and pupils looked like a spiral gxy and ck and strong eyebrows folded into her be, forming a frown. She looked at him and she said, "Rest well, my child." Suddenly an even darker mist than the one that surrounded them formed around his severed body parts. When the mist dissipated, newly-formed bones were visible, and with his skeletal system in ce, his body could slowly heal. Alex wasn''t, however, in any state to focus on anything other than recovery, as he copsed and fainted. When Alex had lost consciousness, the mist that covered the entire battlefield disappeared. The demoness frowned at the arrival of this unfamiliar woman, and she said, "Who are you?" Nyx didn''t reply to her question and insteadmented, "Selling yourself to a demon god for false immortality and strength? What a coward." The demoness gritted her teeth when she heard that and eximed, "And what do you know?!" She then summoned a horde of monsters from her ruby and they all charged at Nyx. However, when they attacked her, their attacks simply passed through her body, and she stood there, stoic and divine. Nyx asked, "Your true being is that of the ruby? Why would you willingly be a cursed object?" The demoness seemed angrier the more Nyx spoke, and she shouted, "You don''t know anything! Lord Angra Mainyu promised us the world if we give him the strength to finally defeat Ahura Mazda and we will be spared from his rampage!" Nyx didn''t offer any reaction and simply moved her hands. Instantly, a dark smoke formed into simr monsters to the one the demoness summoned. The shadow monsters attacked the chimeras and it was clear to whom the victory would belong. The shadows obliterated the monsters in a one-sided massacre. The demoness groaned inhumanly and charged by herself at Nyx. Only when she was about to dig her nails into Nyx did thetter react and halted all of the movements of the demoness with a simple palm. The demoness couldn''t move even as Nyx seemed to grasp her loosely, and in a desperate attempt to escape, she summoned a monster that charged at Nyx. Yet, when the monster attacked Nyx, the attack passed through the goddess''s body and ended upnding on the summoner herself, who was thrown back and screamed in pain. "Arghhhhh, why are you so strong!? No one should be able to counter the power that Lord granted me!!!" The demoness screeched. Suddenly, Nyx turned invisible. Darkness unlike any other surrounded the demoness and helpless screams could be heard from inside the darkness. "But Lord murdered my entire vige....I had no choice..." "He promised me I''d get back all of my rtives when I give him enough offerings for him to be invincible...." "I gave my all to Lord....." Soon, the sound of sobbing emanated from the sphere of darkness. The darkness then moved away from the demoness and formed back into Nyx''s body. The demoness was on the ground, and she was weeping endlessly. Nyx frowned and with a move of her finger, dark mist reformed into a thousand sharp arrows. The arrows surrounded the demoness from all directions, and at the speed of light, they punctured her instantly, turning her into a porcupine. When the arrows dissipated, there wasn''t even a body left and only a bright ruby stood as a testament to the one-sided fight. Out of a sudden, a fleet of ck vultures appeared. The vultures then strangely, collided with each other and formed the figure of a man. The man had dark skin and his eyes werepletely ck, even the sclera didn''t reflect any light. His hair and clothes formed the only contrast, as they were both white. The man had an emotionless expression, and he looked at the ruby before turning his attention to Nyx. "It didn''t seem like you needed any help, in the end." The man''s voice was unusual. Nyx replied with a neutral face, "No, Erebus, I don''t need your help." "Fine," Erebus responded. He continued, "Why do you go to such great lengths for that boy?" Nyx answered him, "Before, I could feel the eyes of Chaos on Alex asionally, but now, it''s like they''re observing him at all times. I''m worried, Alex isn''t ready to meet our parent yet..." Erebus didn''t offer any reply, and instead, he turned back into a fleet of vultures and flew away. Nyx sighed and looked at Alex. His body had mostly reformed his muscles and nervous system, and only his skin was left. She approached him and ced her hand on his body. Mist gathered around the exposed body parts and new, baby-like skin formed. Alex''s eyshes twitched and his eyes slowly opened. The first thing he saw was Nyx''s face and he suddenly remembered he had copsed in the middle of a fight, and then she appeared. However, as he looked to his own fully intact and healed body, and the empty surroundings, a realization started to form. "Nyx, did you save me...?" Alex asked softly. "That woman only disturbed the night, that is the only reason I havee here, child." Alex grew more and more thankful and couldn''t find the words to describe his gratitude. Nyx sensed his emotions and ced a finger over her mouth to tell him that he didn''t need to say anything. Then, she opened his palms andid a red ruby on them. Alex instantly recognized it as the ruby that was in the ownership of the demoness. Nyx warned him, "That woman, to obtain strength, gave up her very existence to be this ruby. She might have seemed strong, but that was only a desperate attempt to consume you and gain your immortality, that she didn''t have." "Their kinds of fake gods prey upon mortals to steal their life and obtain incredible power in the process." Nyx asked him, "If you break this ruby, she shall never awaken again. However, I believe she has a stronger superior that would cause you, and perhaps me, a lot of trouble if you were to break it. I shall give you the right to make the decision." Alex listened attentively. ''To break or not to break?'' Alex ultimately decided to not break it, because he didn''t want to cause any trouble for Nyx anymore, as she had already done too much for him. The system gave him this information about the ruby. __________________________________________________________ (Ruby) Quality: Divine State: Great Additional Information: A ruby that contains all of the evils of the world. ___________________________________________________________ ''What a chilling description.'' Alex thought to himself. "Nyx, I won''t break it, but what if she awakens again?" Alex asked. Nyx repliedprehensively, "This ruby is a living being. You do have Athena''s powers?" Alex nodded and understood what she hinted at. He instantly incarnated into Athena, and with the ruby in his hand, he cursed it repeatedly. "Curse it frequently so it shall never have enough wisdom to awaken back into that monster," Nyx advised him. She continued, "I have made it so that the events of this night shall be made unknown to all but us." "Can I really thank you enough, Nyx?" Chapter 76 - The Convoluted Legacy Of Alexander "Don''t mention it, child," Nyx told him. She continued, "Shouldn''t it be time for you to go back?" Alex nodded and once again thanked her. He then incarnated into Hermes and swiftly flew away. Nyx waited for Alex to be far enough and then, she spoke to the sky, "Erebus, let us go back." Suddenly, a dark mist surrounded her and when it was gone, Nyx was no longer there. Meanwhile, Alex flew towards the city of Ctesiphon with the ruby in his hand andplicated thoughts in his brain. Before this trip with Hermes, Alex was always under the impression that Olympus was invincible. But, even as they only crossed a portion of the distance before they reached the realm of the Jade Emperor, Alex already realized he needed to humble himself and his status in this world. He thought that as a deity, he was lofty and exalted, but tonight, he came to the conclusion that even gods weren''t invulnerable and even the demoness, who wasn''t a true goddess, threatened to severely harm him. ''I know I''m immortal, but would my immortality really have saved me from this horrifying ruby?'' Alex pondered as he looked at the bright red gem in his hand. It was gorgeous, but it contained sin and atrocity, and even the system went so far as tobel it ''A ruby that contains all of the evils in the world.'' By now, Alex had entered the city and looked around attentively to find the house of Behrouz and Esfir. After a while of searching around the dim metropolis, he found it and entered through the open windows. It was still quite dark, and Alex made sure there weren''t any paranormal creatures before closing the damn*ed window for good. He lurked quietly and went down the staircase to the hall where everyone else was sleeping. Hermes was fully asleep. Alex carefully approached the couch andid down. However, Hermes slightly opened his eyes and whispered, "Alexei-boy? Where were you?" Suddenly, a lot of thoughts streamed around Alex''s head, but Hermes interrupted his thinking. "You totally didn''t fight off paranormal creatures and then encounter one that way too strong for you only to be saved by someone else and now you wouldn''t want to tell me because you don''t me to be worried, right, Alexei-boy?" ''What amazing intuition.'' Alex gulped at the precise guess. "Of course not, Hermes, I was just hungry." Alex shook his head and waved in dismissal. "Alright, there''s still a lot of time before sunrise, go back to sleep." Hermes closed his eyes and went back to sleep. *Grumble* As it turned out, Alex was actually hungry, but he calmed his stomach''s protests and fell under the sleep of Hypnos too. __________________________________________ The first rays of the sun awoke Alex and he proceeded to wake up Hermes. They went to the kitchen and found Behrouz and Esfir already awake. Behrouz was preparing tea whereas Esfir was opening up a pomegranate and separating the edible seeds from the firm membrane. When they saw them, they greeted, "Good morning, did you sleep well?" Alex fervently answered, "Totally, I slept like a baby. Really, really well." ''Totally false.'' Alex rubbed his head. Behrouz smiled and said, "d to hear that you feltfortable." Esfir, on the other hand,mented with her hand on her chin, "However, it felt a bit chilly at night, like all of the windows were open, even though I closed everything." Alex replied anxiously, "Oh, it must be the wind, you know how strong the winds can get at night." Hermes told him in Koine Greek, "No, Alexei-boy, you don''t know, you''ve never been here..." "Hehehe" After that, the three merchants also woke up and everyone cooperated on preparing breakfast. It was a simple meal, consisting of tbread, cottage cheese, honey, tea, and pomegranate seeds. Alex couldn''t help but remember his experience with pomegranates in the Underworld and wasn''t able to take a single bite of those. However, they all ate until their fill and the guests thanked the couple. Following breakfast, they sat around cups of tea and started discussing. One of the merchants asked the couple, "Do you worship any gods?" Behrouz nodded his head and replied, "My mother was a Yunanite who worshiped Helios and the other primordial and I inherited it from her. My wife worships Mithra." "If you can live together harmoniously, then why are the Parthians so hostile to us?" Alex asked with unmasked curiosity. Hermes hummed, "It''s always Alexander." Esfir answered him, "Mithra grants the monarchs rulership over Parthia. If fewer people worshiped Mithra, then the legitimacy of our kings and queens would be put into question." ''That''s a..prehensive answer'' Alex thanked her. Suddenly, one of the three merchants interjected, "I finally remembered who you look like!" He pointed at Hermes. Hermes put a hand over his head like he was expecting something troublesome. The merchant said, "Your appearance is eerily simr to Lord Hermes!" One of the other two merchants also eximed, "Now that you say it, he does look exactly like Lord Hermes." The third merchant stood up, coughed, and put a finger into the air. "I think, I suppose, I believe only Lord Hermes woulde to here as to save us, the merchants from the tyranny of the Parthians!" This entire strange conversation was in Greek, so Behrouz and Esfir only looked confused. The three spoke amongst themselves and then abruptly, bowed to Hermes, "Thank you, Lord Hermes, for always thinking of us. We will spread the word of your presence to the tyrants of the city." Hermes facepalmed and Alex sneakilyughed. The three merchants stormed out of the house and into the streets of Ctesiphon. "Do you think we should check up on them? L~o~r~d Hermes?" Alex mocked thetter. Hermes red at him and said, "I''m not the protector of merchants for nothing, L~o~r~d Alex. Let''s move." Alex told the couple, "We''lle back in a bit." Behrouz rubbed his head in confusion and said, "Umm, don''t get caught by the guards!" The two gods left the house and parkoured into the roof of a house to see where the merchants had gone. They didn''t have to look very far, as a crowd of armed guards surrounded the three and was taking them in the direction of the beige pce in the center of the city. Hermes and Alex sneakily followed them until the group was at the entrance of the pce. They both flew into a crevice in therge structure and soon enough, screams could be heard from inside the pce. "Preposterous! You dare bring your foreign devils to our court!" The two followed the source of the havoc and entered arge throne room. "The foreign devils make their entrance." Hermes dered as hended gently on a luxurious red carpet. There were numerous guards in the throne room, and they all charged at the two neers. Nevertheless, Alex put them all to sleep. In the center of the throne room, a man sat upon a throne. His eyes widened when he saw Alex''s abilities and their wings and he shouted, "Devils of Angra Mainyu that wish to corrupt ournds!" "Dare to kill me, Shah Arsak of Parthia, and Lord Mithra and Lord Ahura Mazda shall get their revenge for this!!" The man kowtowed on the ground. ''Is there a misunderstanding here? Why is he trying to be a martyr?'' Alex was confused and forgot that they literally intruded upon this throne room, withrge wings on their back. "We''re not really here to cause any harm, if anything, we want to know why you are so hostile towards our people." Alex gently proimed. Arsak held up his head and shouted, "I will never believe the enticing words of the servants of the great devil, Angra Mainyu! You devils sent us the wicked Alexander to turn our people andnd into the brainless servants of evil!" ''Umm, is it just me, or is the name Alexandering up way too often during this trip?'' Alex remarked to himself. Chapter 77 - Mithra, Sun God "I think there''s a misunderstanding. We don''t know who this Angra Mainyu is." Alex spoke truthfully. "LIES! LIES! You work for him! Lord Mithra, in the Sun Temple in Parsa, will vanquish you!" The king refuted their ims. Alex turned to Hermes, only to gasp when he saw that the veins in his head were visible and that his eye was twitching. Hermes restrained his anger and told Alex, "There''s no way of getting through to him, Alex." "Let''s go, Hermes." Alex felt like there would be a catastrophe if they stayed in this ce. "Alex, I will not let anyone associate Olympus with some devil''s cult." "Hermes, let''s go, we can solve thister." Alex tried to calm down Hermes. Thetter nodded and Alex turned to the three merchants who were shaking in a corner of the room, "You three, move, you''ll be killed if you stay here." Following their dispute with the king, they flew away from the pce and back into the house of the kind couple. Alex left the angered Hermes outside and entered to bid his goodbyes to the couple. He subtly gave them a blessing and after that, the two flew outside of the city. As Alex looked at the sunnyndscape, hemended Nyx''s ability to hide yesterday''s fight, as there were no traces of it. Hermes looked at him andmented, "That''s a nice-looking ruby, where did you get it?" Alex coughed repeatedly and said, "I dug it down, hmm, in Babylon! Yes, Babylon!" "That aside, we''re far enough from the city, we can use the chariot now...?" Hermes nodded and theynded. As usual, he threw the mini-chariot on the ground and it grew in size until it could fit the two of them. They got on the seats and the chariot swiftly flew out into the horizon. Alex noticed that they weren''t going exactly east, and inquired, "Umm, Hermes, where are we going?" Hermes clenched his hand on the chariot and dered, "We''re going to the Sun Temple in Parsa." Alex perceived little details such as how Hermes'' blinking increased in frequency, his clenched fists and he concluded he was still angry. "Are you sure? You don''t seem in the best state to meet another god." "Alex, I feel my very best, I have never felt this good in all of these centuries of living," Hermes spoke with wide eyes. _________________________________________________ After flying for quite some time, the scenery below changed from a rocky desert into a fertile valley. Within this fertilend in the middle of the desert, it was to be expected that there would be arge city, and they were right. This was Parsa, a city moremonly known as Persepolis. From here, they could see the intricate statues and massive temples very clearly. Alex eximed in awe at the beautiful city. It was partitioned into two parts. One part of the city seemed to be a religious and bureaucratic center, and it contained all of the temples and colossal architecture. The other part seemed to hold the lower-ss residents of the city andprised more mundane architecture and buildings. Hermes didn''t stop at the urban center and instead directly made his way towards a massive temple-like structure in the former part of Parsa. ''He seems so tense...'' Alexmented on his friend''s attitude. The chariot was fast under the searing sun, and they quickly reached the entrance to the structure andnded. The two got off of the chariot and made their way to the tall gates of the temple. Three people guarded the entrance. They were wearing loose white robes and a piece of white fabric covered their heads. When they saw them, they stepped back and said, "Yunanites! What is your purp- "This is the Sun Temple, isn''t it? Take me to Mithra." Hermes interrupted them and unfoldedrge wings from his back to scare them. The three panicked and anxiously ran into the insides of the structure. Following this, they came back with an extra person. It was an elderly man, wearing the same robes as them. The man looked wise and his deep wrinkles spoke of his age. He faintly spoke, "You wish to see Lord Mithra? Enter." The three people seemed to disagree and argued with the elderly man but he simply answered them, "Lord Mithra will observe injustice and pass upon them retribution." ''Why is everyone acting like we''re murderous tyrants???'' Alex didn''t like the feeling of being vilified. Hermes didn''t seem to have any simr concern, and instead, he swiftly entered without waiting for Alex. Alex followed suit and they found themselves in a courtyard of sorts. There were priest-looking people who wore simr attire to the guards and they all surrounded arge fire in the center of the courtyard. The elderly man bowed to therge fire and said submissively, "Lord Mithra, you have visitors." "Is that the case?" A deep voice spoke from within the fire. Suddenly, a ming silhouette got out of the fire. It was a young man. He had dark skin and golden irises. His head was covered by a golden crown that had protruding spikes from every direction, that looked like a drawing of the sun''s rays. The young man looked at Hermes and Alex, then frowned. "Olympians?" Hermes red at the young man and said, "Yes, I''m the messenger of Olympus, Hermes." "Well...Hermes, well met. What is your purpose in my temple?" Mithra smiled magnanimously and softly asked. "Ie as a representative of Olympus to discuss how the monarchs of yournd treat passing Yunanites," Hermes answered. Mithra genuinely seemed confused and replied, "I do not know what you are talking about, we treat all of Ahura Mazda''s creations equally." "HAHAHAHAHAHA, is that why the Yunanites living under the king that YOU appointed are all brutally executed..?" Hermes raised his eyebrows. "I am not aware of this. Our dealings with Olympus were all rectified after Alexander conquere- "Can you all stop speaking of Alexander? I don''t think a mortal represents Olympus''s values and justifying your methods with his own is a false approach." Alex interjected. Hermes nodded and eximed, "It seems weird that you have let a mortal affect so many of your decisions, is that how your pantheon runs?" Mithra turned to the elderly man from earlier and asked him, "Dariush, are their words correct? Has the Shah Arsak wrongly spread our teachings?" The elderly man Dariush kowtowed and spoke, "Lord Mithra, it is correct that the Yunanites are prosecuted in ournds. However, they are the servants of the devil Angra Mainyu, and their fake gods spread the evil to all of Parthia." Out of a sudden, therge fire at the center of the courtyard ignited brighter and brighter and Mithra seemed furious. Mithra was a god of light and the sun. The sun was mostly a bringer of life but also, short-tempered. Chapter 78 - Irony As the mes shined brighter, the temperature around the courtyard increased exponentially and all of the mortals backed off. Strangely, the fire did not produce any smoke. Mithras then eximed, "I have never, ever said that Olympus and the Yunanite are servants of the devil." "I demand an exnation." Mithras turned to all of the priests in the courtyard. No one dared to speak, and he instead harrumphed and ordered, "No one is offering an exnation? Then, you all are demoted from being magi(1). Scram." The mortals all ran out of the temple and only the three gods were left. "I will hear it directly from that traitor king Arsak." Mithra red at them and dered, "I shalln''t let you go until this injustice is cleared." "Our dealings with Olympus back then were clear enough, and we all promised we wouldn''t bother the expansions of your realm if you didn''t meddle with ours." He continued, "We ended up being the ones breaking these dealings. I apologize deeply." Hermes replied indifferently, "I only ask of our treaties to be respected, I do not require nor solicit your apologies." Mithra seemed both embarrassed and furious. He asked of them, "Do you wish to see justice with your own eyes?" Alex wanted to dismiss it and continue on their way but Hermes nodded fervently, "Yes, I cannot let Olympus and our people suffer this injustice." Hermes then told Alex resolutely, "Alexei-boy, we are an organization, and to keep our dominance over Hellenia, we need to be strong AND act strong. With this kind of disrespect, we should be straightforward." Mithra nodded and flew away at lightning speed. Alex and Hermes followed behind on the chariot. The sun god was really furious, as any ce he hovered above ignited into mes. They traversed west on the road back to Ctesiphon and quickly reached the capital city of the Parthian Empire. The beige pce still towered over the city, and Mithra directly flew into it. The two, behind, downsized the chariot and also entered the pce. They were in the same throne room as thest time, except the red carpet zed as Mithra stood over it and in front of the kneeling king. "Lord Mithra!" The king kowtowed. "Stand up, you don''t deserve to kowtow to me," Mithra ordered. The king seemed stunned and stood up. He then saw Alex and Hermes in the corner and eximed, "Lord, those are the fiends I wished to warn Lord about." "Fiends? They''re gods from Olympus." Mithra rectified. "Lord, you have informed me of them being fiends and the servants of the devil and ordered me to prosecute their people..." Mithra seemed clueless as to everything and asked back in a questioning tone, "I did? When?" "Lord, about a year ago, your illuminated self came to the pce on a dark night, and passed your divine decree." The king recounted his memories. Mithra frowned and informed him, "Shah Arsak, I haven''t seen Ctesiphon since your coronation ceremony 5 years ago." The king shook profusely and said, "Lord, that is impossible. It was definitely Your Glory that came upon us that night." The god ced his hand upon his chin and fell into thought. He then said, "You do know that I don''t...really glow in the night?" "Lord, you entered our pce in your divine image, and even the dark rooms were lit brightly with your presence..." ''A sun god that glows in the night? That almost feels like a caricature..'' Alex found this amusing. Mithra contemted before giving his answer, "You said that ''I'' visited you to inform you that Yunanites are the wretches of Angra Mainyu, but, I think it was more likely you were visited by Angra Mainyu himself." The king was sweating buckets, and anxiously replied, "L-lord, it was definitely your image that came that night...." Mithra looked around the throne room andmented, "You do know that a smoking fire is not a symbol of mine, but that of Angra Mainyu." He continued, "Divine fire does not produce smoke, only the one corrupted by the devil does so." "You have either unknowingly or knowingly made the entire city worship Angra Mainyu, giving him more power, while iming that these innocent Olympians are the devils." The king was breathing heavily and shook his head fervently. ''If the city was actually under the rule of an evil god, that exins why there were so many monsters....'' Alex thought back to the night he spent fighting the monsters and the demoness. He ultimately decided to speak up, for the sake of Olympus, "Mithra." "You are thepanion of Hermes? Yes, speak." "On the night that I have spent in Ctesiphon, I have seen a cult dedicated to a demon goddess right outside of the city, and the cult performed bloody rituals involving humans as offerings to the goddess." Mithra''s eyes widened and the king seemed on the verge of fainting. "I don''t believe a city under the protection of a righteous god would have such rampant devilish activities." Alex continued. Hermes seemed confused as to what he was saying, but Alex would have to leave that forter. Mithra thanked him for his intervention and turned back to Arsak, "How do you exin that, mortal?" Suddenly, the king beganughing maniacally as the three gods stared at him. Unexpectedly, his body began turning a vermillion red color. His head grew horns, and his veins turned white and throbbed upon his skin. Mithra stepped back and eximed, "An avatar of Angra Mainyu!" The ''creature'' then looked at them and spoke in a shrill voice, "Mithra, don''t try your divine fire on me, it will not work. I have be strong enough that only that freak Ahura Mazda would be able to harm me!" Mithra didn''t pay the devil any heed and generated a white me from his hand. He cast the me on the devil, yet, the moment it touched its skin, it extinguished. "How about this, Mithra?" The devil moved his hand and ck mes spread out in all directions. When the mes came into contact with Mithra, the god groaned in agony and stepped back. No matter what he did, the mes never extinguished. Alex and Hermes didn''t know how to react at all, and Hermes took his scepter and tried to heal Mithra. Unfortunately, that didn''t have any effect, and the devil was approaching them in slow steps. When it was only a few steps away, Alex decided to gamble. ''Let''s hope this works....'' Alex took out the red ruby from one of his pockets and inserted his Faith Energy into it. He was hesitant to use the demonic powers of the ruby but it seemed like the only chance. He ced the now-glowing ruby on the ck mes and surprisingly, the mes seemed to turn liquid and all entered into the ruby. Alex was relieved to see that it worked, but a certain someone didn''t share the same feelings. The moment heid his eyes on the ruby, the devil screamed, "HOW DID YOU GET THAT?!" "You don''t need to know." Alex charged at the devil and pushed the ruby into the devil''s body as if he was stabbing him. Suddenly, the devil''s body started turning into a ck goop and he screamed in pain as he melted off and entered the ruby. When it was silent again, only the king''s human body was left. Mithra immediately turned the king into ash with white mes. "He submitted himself to the devil, he doesn''t need to live." He continued, "I don''t know how you have the ruby of Agas, but I will not ask." Mithra dropped the subject and said, "We''re going to have to find someone to rece the king." Alex got an idea. "I know some people who would make great monarchs if they''re willing." Chapter 79 - To Bactria! "Would you care to introduce them to me?" Mithra requested Alex. "Follow me." The group of three few out of the pce and followed Alex in the direction of the outskirts of the city. Alex looked around and identified his destination. A small two-story house that was quite familiar to Alex and Hermes. Hended in front of the door and knocked. They didn''t wait very long as a man shortly opened the door. "You two, wee back!" Behrouz greeted them as he saw Alex and Hermes. However, when he saw Mithra, he jumped back in fright and stuttered, "L-lord M-Mithra?!" Esfir, who was previously inside, also came to the door and asked Behrouz, "What''s themotion about?" Yet, when she saw Mithra, she had a simr reaction and immediately kowtowed. Following that, Mithra demanded them to stand up and they all entered inside. The two mortals were extremely fidgety and anxious in the presence of Mithra, and Esfir nervously asked, "L-l-Lord, what is Lord''s purpose in our humble home..?" Mithra cleared his throat and informed them, "I have been told you two would make for great Satraps(Monarchs) of Parthia." Behrouz was drinking some tea, and the moment he heard that all of the tea spilled out. Mithra, unbothered, continued, "Alex and Hermes, two of our allies from Olympus, have rmended you." The couple stared at them and said, "You two are also gods....?" Behrouz murmured to himself, "This must be the fate that mother always mentioned...." Esfir kindly told them, "I don''t think we''re opposed to the idea, we''re just overwhelmed, could you Lords give us some time to ponder on it?" Mithra nodded. After that, the three gods left the house and exited the city, halting under the shade of an unusuallyrge tree. Mithra suddenly advised them, "I think you two should immediately leave Parthia." He carried on, "You''ve caught the attention of Angra Mainyu." "Only Ahura Mazda or an extremely strong deity on the level of your chief can fight him off." Alex thought it was reasonable and thanked Mithra for his advice. Hermes still seemed sullen that he didn''t inform him of his nocturnal adventure but they''d have to leave the exnations forter. Afterward, they went back to the couple''s house and the two epted to be the rulers of Parthia. A coronation ceremony was to be held in the afternoon under the direct observation of Mithra. The two Olympians congratted the new monarchs, bid their goodbyes to Mithra, and hastily left Ctesiphon, resuming their journey to the east. "Alex?" Hermes called him Alex, which indicated that he was mad at him. "H-Hermes...?" Alex replied and avoided thetter''s eyes. "You got into danger, didn''t you?" Hermes lowered his eyebrows. "No, I...- "You could have notified me, Alex," Hermes stated coldly. _________________________________________________________________________ They only stopped on a few cities in Parthia and swiftly exited Persia, entering into Bactria. They were one step closer to their destination, and only a few stops were left before they''d reach China. Bactria was under the rule of a Hellenic kingdom, so they expected that they would be treated better here than in Parthia. However, as they entered into one of the cities, they noticed that the poption was in utter chaos and anxiety. In the center of the city, an acropolis towered over the rest of the poption. There was a ruined temple, and the signs of the destruction seemed new. Additionally, Alex perceived a statue thatcked a head outside of the destroyed temple. Even though it didn''t have a head, it was very clearly a statue of Zeus. "Strange...." Alex remarked. ''Why does the wreckage look so new? Is it rted to the state of the city?'' Alex wondered. The city''s inhabitants were also not very cooperative and seemed preupied. One local man told them, "The only thing we know is that misfortune and chaos have befallen our rulers, and rebels are destroying ournd." Hermes told him, "If I find that Alexander is rted to this, I''ll take him out of Elysium myself and directly escort him to Tartarus." Alex chuckled. The two moved from the small city to the northeast, towards arger city by the name of Kabura. Alex recognized the city as the predecessor to the capital of modern Afganistan, Kabul. The trip was mostly over a hot and searing desert though thetter part of it had a milder climate thanks to the increased rainfall and the numerous rivers. The city had a traditional circr design, and it spread out around arge statue in the center. Alex recognized the statue as one depicting Siddartha Gautama, who was moremonly known as Buddha. Hermes informed him, "That''s the Buddha, he''s probably the strongest individual in all of the easternnds, but he doesn''t interfere in any conflicts or wars." Alex pretended he didn''t know who he was and thanked Hermes. However, he wasn''t that surprised that Buddha existed. ''I think that monk I met back in Olep was Buddhist...'' Alex thought back to his earlier days in Olympus. They could also see several temples from here. Alex and Hermesnded on the outskirts of Kabura and sneakily entered the city. Strangely, the people inside gave the two strange looks. ''Here too??? I thought this was supposed to be a Hellenic kingdom...'' Alex wondered why they received attention even in this ce. Suddenly, an extremelyrge chariot navigated through the street they were in. Behind the chariot, a line of armed guards followed its every step. The chariot itself had a roof and a woman stood over the roof. Alex noticed that she had western features, though it seemed like the intense sunlight had darkened her skin. "It looks like a bigshot ising, Alexei-boy," Hermes spoke and raised his eyebrows exactly once. ''With all of those guards, there''s no doubt...'' Alex nodded. The woman held a wooden device simr to a megaphone, and it amplified her voice. She was shouting out a speech to everyone in the streets. "My people, we can vanquish the rebels if I get your help and support.!" "My people, we can reim our rightful throne if you help out your queen!" The people didn''t have any reaction, and in fact, one man smirked and shouted, "Queen, I mean, Princess Nephis, your throne is already lost. You can''t even live in the Satrapal Pce anymore." When the man said that, the armed guards were about to charge at him but Nephis dissuaded them. A heavy sigh was heard over her megaphone-like device, and she murmured in a tone that only deities like Alex and Hermes could hear. "Perhaps it''s time to give up." The chariot navigated through the streets, however, the woman called Nephis didn''t speak anymore. When the chariot passed next to them, the woman took a nce at them and stared for an unusually long time. She was staring at Hermes and didn''t avert her eyes even as the chariot turned around to the next street. "Do you know her, Hermes?" "Not really." Unexpectedly, a guard came running up to them. He was catching his breath, and he looked at the two and said, "Queen Nephis requests your presence at the residence." Alex was intrigued. "Please follow me." Chapter 80 - A Very Small World Ultimately, Alex and Hermes decided to follow the guard. The guard walked at a brisk pace, thus they swiftly followed too. "Where are we going, exactly?" Alex didn''t think they''d have any trouble defending themselves, but he had to ask anyway. The guard sternly replied, "I cannot disclose that information, sir." ''Strange.'' ''Kids, don''t be like me and don''t follow strangers to ''ces they cannot disclose''.'' Alex sarcastically remarked to himself. They navigated through the streets of Kabura and there were quite a few Olympian temples along the way. However, almost every temple was destroyed, and there was even one dedicated to Hermes, though the statue of Hermes itself was also beheaded. Yet, one of these aforementioned templed dedicated itself to Aphrodite. ''She''s....entirely intact..'' Unlike the other temples, both the statue and the temple of Aphrodite stood gloriously... "These Bactrians must be very h*rny..." Hermes chuckled cynically when he saw the state of Aphrodite''s temple. Soon enough, the guard asked them to enter a narrow alley, and they obliged. The alley was dim and the guard lit a torch, even though he didn''t know both Alex and Hermes could see perfectly. At the opposite end of the alley, a staircase led underground. It looked quite eerie, and obviously not somewhere people should enter with a stranger, but being deities gave Hermes and Alex unbound confidence. They climbed down the staircase until they were quite deep and a metal door stood before them. The guard aggressively knocked on the metal door and loudly proimed, "This is Abtum, Open!" Shortly, the metal gate slowly opened and creaked like a pair of gears that needed to be oiled. A guard nodded to ''Abtum'' and led them in. They were now in a spacious hall. Luxurious ornaments decorated the walls of the hall, but it looked like it was a rushed job, as some of the paintings weren''t hung well, and the entire hall looked chaotic. There were other armed guards here, and they surrounded a small pnquin. Inside the pnquin, the woman from earlier was sat. She was fidgeting with her hand on her knees, and she nervously looked around. When she saw Hermes, she ran up to him and bowed, "Lord Hermes!" "You are....?" "Queen Nephis, Regent of Bactria, I humbly introduce myself." "Why does a person of your stature live underground?" Alex boldly asked, only to gasp as he saw Nephis punch the floor. "I...apologize, I have a lot in mind." She then brought them some chairs and invited them to sit. "Nephis, why have you invited us here?" Hermes inquired. The queen bit her lips until they were devoid of color and said, "I...was rash. I''m upying the time of a Lord of your stature because I wished for you to resolve issues of mortals." Surprisingly, she spoke Koine Greek. "It''s alright. We saw the ruined temples, I don''t think that''s eptable," Alex waved his hand. Hermes then asked, "What is the matter with this ce? Why is the poption so agitated?" Nephis made a heavy breath and spoke, "It began about a year ago when I was back in Olep and received news of my father''s death. Alex was astonished and eximed, "You''re from Olep?!" "Of course, my husband is the consul there." She dropped a bomb. Hermes was indifferent, but Alex was extremely familiar with the consul of Olep. He remembered that the man once said that his son was a militarymander, his daughter was a schr and his wife was a princess mourning her father. ''What a small world....!'' Alex didn''t imagine he would meet the spouse of an acquaintance here. Alex started listening attentively, considering all the trouble he caused for the consul, he would put more effort into helping his wife out of this predicament. She resumed her speech, "I came to mourn my father, Diodotus, who ruled over all of Bactria." "What I didn''t expect, was that as soon as my father died, religious rebel groups started attacking Olympian monuments." "The rebel groups had unusually high influence and strength, and with all of the strong heroes of Bactria entering the rebel''s troops, we didn''t stand a chance." "Soon enough, even though I tried to stabilize the situation with the small following I had left, and the influence we had on the people, I was shamefully chased out of Balkh, our capital, and sent here, to Kabura." Alex listened attentively and remarked, "Why did the heroes of your court enter the ranks of the rebels? That seems...suspicious." "Exactly, and I discovered that my own blood brother joined their ranks too, but that still wouldn''t exin why they have such a strong foothold...." After she finished speaking, Hermes said, "And you wish for us to help you regain your throne?" Nephis clenched her fists and kowtowed. "I have grown up in this kingdom, and to see it fall with my own eyes, I would sacrifice everything to get it back." Hermes turned to Alex and said, "Alexei-boy, you''re the god of humanity, you should decide whether to help her or not." Nephis had a sharp look on her face as she alternated between Hermes and Alex, but she seemed truly desperate. "I think....We can offer some help." Alex dered decisively. Nephis started shaking fiercely, and she said, "Lords, I will rebuild all of your temples personally after this whole ordeal is over!" "Thank him, not me." Hermes pointed to Alex. "Cut it out, Hermes, I''m not on a forced conversion program." Alex was exasperated at Hermes. "Heard him? He said he wants ten thousand temples built to his name." Hermes dered humorously. Nephis took it seriously and stated, "I shall begin construction of even a million temples when I take back our throne." _______________________________________ "The rebels have major hubs all around Bactria, but one of those is located right here, in Kabura." Nephis informed them. She continued, "The only reason I haven''t been executed yet is that they are convinced I have some connection to the Olympian gods through my husband." "I deeply apologize for not dismissing that rumor, and using the status of the gods to wrongly assure my survival." She once again bowed. Alex made her stand up. "Hence, should we start with dismantling the rebel hub right here in Kabura?" Nephis nodded and replied, "If you so please." Chapter 81 - Surprise With that, they decided on making their first move on the rebel''s stronghold in the city of Kabura. Alex was curious about one fact. "Should we keep a low profile or can we use brute force?" As gods, they both had an immense advantage over most mortals in terms of strength, and that could allow them to easily take back the city without any strategic nning. "I....don''t think I should say this, as you two Lords are gods, but the rebel armies are really strong, unusually so for any mortals, you should just be careful." Hermes shrugged and swiftly left the underground base. Alex said, "We''ll keep that in mind, thank you." He followed behind Hermes, and they both unfolded their wings and shot into the sky. "Nephis said that their fort should be thergest building in the city and that we should be able to easily find it," Alex stated as he probed Kabura. Their destination was quite clear. In the center of the city, next to the statue of the Buddha, arge blue pce surmounted the city. The pce was originally a spare pce of the royals, but following the rebellion, the rebels took over it to show their dominance over the kingdom symbolically. Otherwise, it was just extremelyrge andfortable. Alex and Hermes slowly hovered over the pce, and they examined the surroundings. There was an unusually high number of guards around the pce, and they all seemed stronger than the ones that Nephis employed. ''For rebels that already control the ce, they sure are insecure...'' Alex remarked. Hermes told him, "Alex, let''s split in two, that will be faster." Alex approved of the idea. "Alright, just, don''t be too slow~" Hermes ignored him and flew over in the direction of the back entrance to the pce. Alex giggled and darted in his respective direction. ''Let''s be quick...'' Alexnded in the front. The guards instantly saw him and sprinted in his direction but he induced sleep to get this over with very fast. Alex closed his eyes and expected the fight to already be over. *Whoosh* Unexpectedly, Alex sensed the wind of sharp de grazing by his body and dodged at thest millisecond. "What the- The guards were still very well conscious, and they coordinated another attack. Alex was perplexed. Sharp swords grazed his body and he dodged, but his mind wasn''t present in the battle. ''How are they still awake?!'' Alex rapidly moved his eyes, looking for a reason for this unexpected phenomenon. Unfortunately, the guards didn''t give him the time to think or look around, as they charged at him. ''What''s wrong with their eyes and their movements?'' Alex noticed something strange. The guards'' pupils and irises were unmoving and there was a very slight tint to their ck pupils. They had very strong physiques, but after a minute or so of fighting, their movements started looking repetitive and almost instinctual,cking any sort of spontaneity. At the back of his mind, he had a sudden d¨¦j¨¤ vu, but he cast that theory right out. ''That wouldn''t make any sense?!'' Alex got on the offensive. It only took a few moves to incapacitate all of the guards, and he hastily entered the pce. The interior was amply decorated and deserved a visit, but the troops wouldn''t allow for that. Dozens of rebels surrounded him and started their attacks. ''They have the same aura to them...it''s disgusting...'' Alex thought as he eliminated some of the guards. Since he thoroughly grasped their movement patterns, their physique didn''t pose any threat to him, and he easily bulldozed all of the crowd. ''I can see how they would cause problems for a mortal army...'' Their upation of the pce was clean, efficient, and deadly. Hermes had defeated all of the guards from the other half of the pce even faster, and he and Alex reunited in front of arge gate that led to the only room they both haven''t entered yet. "A bit overkill for the both of us to be here, no?" Alex chuckled, concealing his thoughts from earlier. "You were slower, Alexei-boy." Hermes red at him, making hiseback from Alex''s earlier mockery. "C''mon, I was just kidding." Alex pushed open the gate while facing Hermes. The room was quite strange. The paint was ck and there weren''t any windows. Instead, candles emitted a warm light. A slight intoxicating fragrance spread inside the room, and an extremelyrge bed upied most of the room. ''Is this ce...soundproof?'' Alex heard the sound of his footsteps echo from within the room. On the bed, a manid down with a muscr torso revealed. He was surrounded by women from all sides, and they had the same strange glint in their eyes as the guards. The women were sitting around the man. When the man saw them enter, he frowned and said, "Who''s there? I''m pretty sure I told all of you that I would be busy." However, when the man saw them, he broke out into loudughter, "With your looks, I presume you are one of Nephis'' servants?" "Call me Mar. Anyways, tell me, how did you get through the guards?" He winked. He continued, "Well, no matter, let''s get this over with, I would love a queen on my bed too." The man had a disgusting lustful face when he spoke out hisst sentence, and Alex frowned. Mar then jumped out of the bed and charged at Alex. Suddenly, Hermes bolted into his passage and held him by the neck. Mar tried to struggle out of Hermes'' clutches but as he visibly couldn''t, he began gasping for breath. Then, he disappeared abruptly. From under the clutches of Hermes, he literally disappeared into thin air. Alex heard Hermes whisper, "He reminded me of someone that I really hate, so I sent him somewhere where he will be punished properly." The moment Mar disappeared, the women in the room lost the strange glint in their eyes and looked around with confusion. "He manipted the women to serve him," Hermes informed him. "What disgusting vermin." Hermes informed the confused women and led them out. ''I should search for proof of our victory.'' Alex looked around. However, something caught his eye. It was a simple letter, on top of a bedside cab. It reminded Alex of something, and as he held it in his hands, fearsome words appeared on his retina. __________________________________ (Letter Blessed by Aphrodite) Quality: Divine State: Used Additional Information: A letter that contains the blessings of the goddess of love. ________________________________ ''WHAT'' Chapter 82 - Publicity ''Why would Aphrodite try to discredit Olympus?!'' ''Is this why all of her temples were intact?!'' ''I don''t understand....'' Alex was puzzled, perplexed, confused. Aphrodite wasn''t the most popr or benevolent goddess of the bunch, and following the results of thetest divine council, she might have wanted to enact retribution upon Olympus, but it wasn''t logical to harm the very organization she was a part of, in Alex''s opinion. "Alexei-boy, are youing?!" Hermes eximed from the corridor beyond the room. Alex nervously stuffed the letter into his pocket and decided to keep this for himself for now. ''I''d presume Aphrodite has some trump cards up her sleeves...I''ll keep this letter a secret as my own hidden trick against her..'' Alex thought that he could use this letter to vilify Aphrodite and further distance her from his sphere if he kept it a secret. "I''m here.." Alex reunited with Hermes. Hermes was currently using his scepter to heal the women, who had bruises and wounds over their bodies. "As it turns out, he was an even more disgusting fr*eak than we thought." Alex nodded, but he realized his movements were a bit stiff. ''I''m so bad at hiding secrets...'' Hermes frowned slightly but he didn''t say a word. After that, they found that all of the guards gathered outside and confusion was visible on their faces. "People, you were manipted by a servant of jeopardy to rebel against your queen!" Hermes was as resourceful as always, taking advantage of their confusion to bring them to Nephis'' side. Alex realized very early on that Hermes wasn''t someone he should ever make an enemy out of. He might not be the strongest, but he had other ways to manipte events, people, and things to make them go his way. ''Actually, I don''t think I''ve ever seen Hermes fight, so I don''t even know if he''s strong....'' Alex suddenly caught on to the fact that thetter his strength extremely well, and very often, a cloud of mystery engulfed the space directly underneath his always-smiling face. "Why are you staring, Alexei-boy~~?" Hermes asked yfully. "Nothing, really, let''s just go back," Alex shrugged and gave up. Following their sessful recruitment of the strong guards, they went back to the underground base where Nephis fidgeted around, anxiously awaiting a positive piece of news. Fortunately, they had just that, and they informed her of everything that happened. Alex didn''t mention the letter, obviously. Nephis suddenly kowtowed to Alex, and she said, "Lord Alex, you requested for a million temples?" "No, that was just a jok- "As soon as I am able to collect taxes again, I will personally order for the construction of temples to Your Honour in all of mynds." Nephis spoke very seriously, and her eyes exhibited her strong determination. ''Tax money to build a million temples for me? Now I sound like a tyrannous god.....'' Alex gave up, and Hermes'' sarcastic proposal ended up turning into a concrete n. Nephis also proposed, "Lord, let us do a campaign to announce your aplishment of taking back Kabura." "That''s a great idea!" Hermes interjected. "I...don''t know..." Alex was worried about Aphrodite''s involvement in this matter. He was already on unfavorable terms with her, and offending her, even more, didn''t seem very wise. Hermes took him to the corner of the base and whispered, "You''re worried about her involvement in this, right?" Alex frowned, but he knew who ''her'' was. He continued, "Alexei-boy, I know that witch very well, she ys around like this very often, and her male puppets make these sh*tshows for her to entertain herself, she doesn''t care at all." ''Should I tell him about the letter....?'' Alex was conflicted. He had a doubt that this wasn''t just an asional y of hers, but something on a muchrger scale. He couldn''t prove it, considering that the contents of the letter have been erased, but its sole existence was strange. "Alexei-boy, if this works, this is going to promote you to the level of a very prominent minor god in Olympus, and you''ll be one step closer to being able to defend yourself against Aphrodite." "I think...you convinced me," Alex rubbed his head. "Hermes?" "Yes?" "Take a look at what I found in Mar''s room," Alex ultimately passed Hermes the letter. Hermes examined the letter and frowned. "It has that disgusting scent," Hermes stated. He continued, "I understand, but Alexei-boy, I know Aphrodite very well. Whether you publicize your victory or not, she is going to take her revenge upon you." Alex gulped. "You''.....re right." After that, they all left the base, and Nephis rode along on the same chariot as earlier. To offer more credibility, Alex flew next to the chariot, and hisrge wings unted his supernatural status. "My people, with the divine aid of the god of humanity, Lord Alex, I have taken back the city of Kabura from the traitors and the terrorists!" As the chariot moved along the streets, there were many onlookers who observed Alex with reverence, and ''Queen Nephis'' with admiration. "My people, our next stop is the propernd, my birth city, and the ce I deserve to live, Balkh!" "From today on, our patron god shall be Lord Alex!" It was domineering, and with the massive sess attributed to Alex, Nephis stood like a true monarch. The chariot stopped at the pce of Kabura, where Nephis will temporarily move before setting her eyes on the Imperial Pce, in Balkh, where the rebels have thoroughly consolidated their power. Meanwhile... ___________________________________________________________ There was an immense fortress near the sea. The coast was dotted with sharp cliffs, and gargantuan waves pped the cliffs every second or so, and the forces of the sea fought off with the earth for eternity. Thend was barren, and no crop would ever grow on the rocky soil of this ce. Inside the pce, arge and dimly lit hall hosted a throne made of wood branches. Atop the throne, a woman sat, and her frowning eyebrows and sharp magenta eyes showed extreme displeasure. Her tinum blonde hair glowed slightly under the dim light of a chandelier, and a man bowed in front of her. The man had a pink glint to his eyes and moved lifelessly. "Lady Aphrodite, Mar, one of your subjects in Kabura, has been murdered, and under a supernatural influence," The man spoke monotonously. "That''s alright, the one in Balkh is more useful than that debaucher anyways," Aphrodite smirked as if she was indifferent, but it was very clear that she was furious. "Anyhow, did you receive a response from Hercules?" Aphrodite asked and bit her lips. "Lady Aphrodite, Sir Hercules has approved of your negotiations and is heading from the Colosseum, in the city of Romulus, in Italia to our fortress." Aphrodite nodded. She then stared at the schrly-looking man as if she was expecting something. "Lady Aphrodite, you are as beautiful as the eternal moon and sun, and no god or goddess can ever rival your beauty." "Hahahahahahahaha..." Chapter 83 - A Step Back In Time *BOOM* Lava erupted from the numerous volcanos dotting thend, and earthquakes were frequent and deadly. The little vegetation that could survive thrived in the sea, but the violent currents and massive waves made even the growth of moss impossible. In the Age of Titans, nature was extremely erratic and inhospitable. In this ancientnd, atop a colossal mountain, a simple wooden hut stood still. Inside the hut, a woman sat on a wooden chair. She had deep-blue hair and eyes, and a golden armor covered her body. The woman seemed to be deep in thought, and her eyes were circting around the room. As she was in this contemtive state, a man entered the room. The man had a bloody blindfold that covered his eyes, yet he moved around the hut as if he could see perfectly. The woman looked up and when she saw him, a smile reced her worried and thoughtful face. "Sophus!" The woman''s voice was excited and high-pitched. "Athena...I sensed worry and came about instantly, what''s on your mind?" The man named Sophus asked with a worried tone. "I''m d you''re here...." Athena continued, "The war with the titans is taking a toll on me, and Father''s expectations for me to always make the right decisions is...." She didn''t find the right words and stopped speaking. Sophus interjected, "Heavy on your mind?" Athena chuckled self-depreciatingly and nodded, "You always find the right words for everything, Sophus, I hope I can be like you in the future." Sophus shook his head and replied, "No, I''m just a lonely being who cannot evene to terms with his own sister." He shrugged and said, "Athena, these new gods, that call themselves the Olympians, I have observed them, and you and Hermes are different." "How so?" "Zeus and the bunch are stubborn and stiff, they cannot grow and will always be the people they were when Rhea gave birth to them. However, I know that you, Athena, can change." He halted for a second and stared at Athena. Then, he continued, "You can make the decisions to be the goddess you want to be, and even if you don''t, you don''t have to worry about time, since you have plenty of it." Athena listened attentively and when he finished his speech, a single tear dropped down her face. "Can I really do that?" "Yes, and why are you so worried? You only came out of Zeus'' head recently, you can''t possibly know yourself the moment you are born." Sophus moved his finger. Suddenly, a third person entered the hut. It was also a man of short stature. The man had a handsome face and purple eyes. A small pair of wings folded on his back when hended, and a smile covered his face. When he saw Sophus, he eximed, "Sophus! You''re here!" Sophus giggled and greeted him, "Hermes, you look as busy as ever!" Hermes sighed and turned to Athena, "Sister, I have some bad news." He didn''t wait for Athena''s reply and informed her, "As refuses to give ownership of Mauretania to Father and Iapetus, The Titan of Pain is with him. You''ve been asked to assist on the sidelines." Athena frowned and said, "Sophus, I think I''ll have to go." Hermes suddenly inquired to Sophus, "Have you resolved the issue with Gaia?" Sophus shook his head and stated, "Our rtionship is deteriorating, and I don''t think preventing a conflict will be possible." ... Hermes and Athena were about to speak, but Sophus interrupted them. "You two,e here." The twoplied and approached him. Sophus ced his hands on their heads, and as if they were children, he rubbed their heads. "You two have your own conflict tomit to. This senior right here will resolve his conflict on his own, alright?" The two nodded and he added, "I have gifts for each of you." Out of a sudden, two objects appeared in each of his hands. In one hand, he held a paper and an inked quill. In the other, he held a wooden sextant. "For you, Athena, this will help you make your invaluable wisdom eternal." He gave the paper and quill to Athena. "For you, Hermes, this will help you find direction during your frequent travels." He gave the sextant to Hermes. "Well then, go on, you two! I don''t want thanks!" Athena and Hermes nodded and charged out of the hut. While Hermes flew, Athena ran across thends. They navigated for days and days, but because there was no way to measure the time in the Age of Titans, they didn''t know how long they journeyed for. After crossing a violent sea, and a searing desert, they stopped at a mountain range. Over one of the peaks, five figures stood. There was Zeus. His hair was white but his beardless face and muscr body made him look younger. The second person was Hera, who was by his side. She had ck hair, and her golden eyes shined with enigmatic feelings when she saw Hermes and Athena. The third person was Poseidon, who was stealing nces at Zeus. Poseidon was shirtless and only algae covered his private parts. The fourth person was Demeter. She looked young and had verdant green eyes. Wooden roots acted as her clothing. The fifth person was arge bearded man with ck eyes. He stood a far distance from the other four and had an eternal frown. It was Hades. When Athena and Hermes found their way onto the mountain peak, Zeus eximed, "Took you long enough, Hestia will get you caught up! Get ready, this battle with As will change the result of this war a lot." Suddenly, above a mountain peak far away from the one they were on, a gargantuan figure looked to the five gods in the distance. He was unnaturally muscr, and his pupils had beautiful star-like spots. When Zeus caught sight of the titanous man, he eximed, "Gods of Mount Olympus! Olympians! My brothers and sisters! Let''s win today''s battle!" All of the other four nodded and Zeus bolted into the direction of As. The other four followed as swiftly. Chapter 84 - Surprise Following the campaign in Kabura, Nephis officially announced herself Queen and received the support of the city''s poption thanks to Alex''s intervention. Alex also gained a very high number of followers from this endeavor, and his Faith Energy reserves were higher than ever. Currently, they were nning their raid on the rebel stronghold in Balkh, where the mastermind of the whole rebellion exerted his influence. Alex knew who the true mastermind behind this was, but he didn''t tell Nephis, as it didn''t seem right to involve a mortal in a conflict between deities. "Lord Alex, you needn''t concern yourself with the other cities of ournd, if you can sessfully overthrow the rebels in Balkh, then I will take upon myself the role of taking back the rest of ournd," Queen Nephis advised him. Alex nodded and turned to Hermes, who was sipping on chamomile tea on the terrace of the pce. "Hermes, are youing?" "I''ll pass, you can take care of it by yourself easily," Hermes shook his head. However, he whispered, "Alexei-boy, I don''t think she will be there personally, but if you do find her, immediately escape." Alex gulped and started growing worried. ''At least, I''m probably faster than her...'' He also remembered the one-sided beating he received when he confronted the demon goddess in Ctesiphon, and he clenched the Spear of Victory in his hand. There weren''t any preparations he needed to do, although Alex took out a yellowed-out piece of paper from his bags. ''She should be asleep right now, but I hope she replies soon...'' Alex was going to send a letter to Crista through the blessed paper. ''Good morning, dear. I hope you are doing very well, how are the two monarchs of the Underworld doing? You told me you had a surprise announcement to make when Ie back, I still can''t quite imagine what it could be, but I''m looking forward to it very much. Hermes and I are currently in Kabura, a city in Bactria, a lot of events have happened along the way, and I want to tell you everything, but I prefer doing so face-to-face, while we appreciate the scenery of Hellenia. I really miss you, and I am extremely excited about our future trip together, I''ll even steal Hermes'' magical chariot. Awaiting your response, have a great Underworld...day?'' Alex thought a while about what he should write, but he swiftly came up with a paragraph that summarizes all of his feelings and whereabouts. The ink dried up quickly, and Alex folded the letter and inserted it into a small pocket. Then, he put that aside and got ready to leave for Balkh. "Are you taking the chariot?" Hermes asked of him. Alex shook his head and replied, "It will be faster with Incarnation." "Alright, just don''t steal my identity, Alexei-boy~~" Hermes went back to sipping his tea and observing Kabura from the terrace of this pce. Alex chuckled and unfolded his wings, which grew as a result of Incarnation. *Whoosh* Alex speedily propelled himself from the ground and a jet of sharp wind made a whistling sound. He was going at an unprecedented speed in a northern direction, where Queen Nephis informed him that Balkh was located. In just a few seconds, he found himself outside of Kabura, but he couldn''t even observe the scenery below because it was moving extremely fast. The particles in the air felt like mini-bullets at his speed, but Alex ignored the itching sensation and continued at the same pace. ''Flying at such speeds sure does consume a lot of Faith Energy...'' Alexmented to himself. If he didn''t recently acquire new followers from the Kabura campaign, he wasn''t sure he would be able to maintain such velocity for a prolonged period of time. After a dozen or so minutes of flying, Alex sensed that the air had a slight autumnal chill to it. He also found himself at a higher altitude, and the terrain was much rougher and more uneven. ''A change in altitude and climate, that means Balkh is close.'' Alex recalled the itinerary Nephis granted him. He slowed down and paid more attention to the surroundings. There was a forest that stretched out in all directions. The trees here were tall and dark, and vegetation was sustained by various mountain streams. There wasn''t any obvious sign of civilization. However, Alex focused his eyesight to the far reaches of the horizon in all directions. ''Is that a road?'' Alex nted his eyes towards a particr clearing in the northwest. Following that, he flew close by and discovered that it was indeed, a road, a marker of civilization nearby. Logically, since Balkh was probably north of Kabura, he followed the northern path. Afterward, he moved along this path until he found buildings and people moving around. Alex sneakily withdrew Incarnation, and inconspicuously walked around the vige. Of course, his skin color and features were different from most of the local poption, and he stood out as a result. Alex ultimately decided to y the ''lost merchant'' card. He stopped a passerby and purposely spoke in broken Farsi(1) "Brother, I am lost in the wilderness and need to find back my way to Balkh, would you mind giving me the exact directions?" The man frowned, though he nodded and replied, "Take the third road by the west entrance to the vige, and you will find yourself in Balkh." He inquired, "However, are you sure you should be in Balkh with your appearance? The rebels will associate you with Princess Nephis?" Alex waved and shamelessly replied, "Oh, haven''t you heard? Queen Nephis took back Kabura and will very soon take back Balkh with the divine guidance of the God of Humanity, Alex. By the time I reach the city, the rebels will probably all have been eliminated." "Lord, divine aid has finally reached us. I shall open my ears for more news. Thank you, Brother." Alex nodded, though he was giggling maniacally in his mind. ''I ced that advertisement so smoothly...I''m getting better at this!'' After that, Alex resumed his trip to Balkh. Very soon, the cityscape was visible. Balkh was built upon a hill in a lush valley, and the architecture here incorporated many domes and colorful marble. The city deserved a visit, but Alex wasn''t here to sightsee. He located the domed Imperial Pce in the center of the city and instantly bolted in its direction. The pce was surrounded by an exotic garden, and a white path with clear rectangr fountains and well-trimmed grass led to the entrance of the structure. There were many guards around, but Alex incapacitated all of them very easily and noted that they were also under the control of Aphrodite. He was now, in front of the entrance gate, a white chiseled marble gate. Just as he was about to fly and enter through one of the windows, the gates opened. Alex''s eyes widened when he saw the person who opened the door. ck hair, brown eyes, and tan skin. She was dressed in a ckcy robe and smiled when she looked at him. ''Crista....!?'' "I''ve been expecting you, Alex,e in~~" The voice was undoubtedly Crista''s voice... Chapter 85 - Deception A storm of emotions clouded his reasoning and rational judgment, and Alex only looked stunned at Crista. She ced a hand upon his chest and said, "We have so much to speak about, Alex, let''s go inside...." Alex felt his heart thump, and he blushed and nodded. "Crista, how are you here?" Alex gently asked as he followed her inside. Crista ced a hand upon her chin and contemted. She then looked at him directly in the eyes and eximed, "I don''t know, Alex, I don''t know...." Alex felt a bit drowsy when he heard her voice but he assumed it was because he hadn''t seen her for so long and missed her so dearly. They navigated through the pce and Crista halted in arge bedroom. "Let''s...rest..." Crista said suggestively, and her voice had a certain allure. Alex couldn''t help but nod, and he sat upon therge bed. There was a strange smell in the room, that Alex recognized as a mix of agarwood andvender. The smell permeated into his nose and rxed his body. When Crista saw him in that rxed state, she licked her tongue and a sly smile shed on her face. Alex felt drowsy and his vision was blurry, so he didn''t notice the strange expressions Crista had. ''Is...this...what...love...feels...like?'' Alex felt thoroughly serene, and he forgot the reason he was even here in the first ce. Following that, Crista approached him and she said, "I''ve missed you so much..." She got on the bed and caressed his face. Her body was extremely close to Alex''s, and he sensed her body heat upon him. "I feel like we''ve reached a point in our rtionship, Alex." Crista leaned in and approached her lips to his. She had one hand hid behind her back. However, the more she approached, the more Alex felt that this was strange. Suddenly, he kicked her out of the bed and jumped out with whatever strength he could muster. He felt like needles were puncturing his head, but even with a strong headache, Alex persisted and stood up. "Crista and I agreed to take our rtionship slowly, I know she wouldn''t make advances on me!" "And, what''s with this environment? It''s disgusting!" "Crista can''t even be here!" Alex eximed sluggishly like a drunk man and instantly Incarnated into Athena. Immediately, his headache cleared up and he could think properly. ''None of this made any sense!'' ''Crista'', who was thrown onto the opposite side of the room, fell onto her feet and stabilized her footing. Then, she revealed what was hidden in her other hand. A green, skinny and long snake slithered and exhibited sharp fangs. ''Crista'' burst out into maniacalughter and her appearance changed. Her skin turned red and wrinkly, and horns grew out of her head. Her facial features changed from those of a woman to androgynous features, and her pupils and sclera werepletely ck. When the transformation was over, thecy ck dress was torn apart. The demon stared at him and bowed lightly, "Aka Manah, servant god of Lady Aphrodite. Pleased to make your acquaintance~~" Aka Manah was the Persian demon god of lust. Alex frowned and eximed, "Aphrodite! Of course, she had a hand in this." He couldn''t forgive Aphrodite for having a servant of hers impersonate Crista, and make him almost sumb to horrible desires. "Lady Aphrodite is a graciousdy who simply granted you what you wanted most." When Aka Manah said that, he morphed back into Crista. Alex growled and wielded the Spear of Victory. He then charged at the demon and as he was about to decapitate it, Aka Manah eximed in Crista''s voice, "Alex, what are you doing?" Alex halted all of his movement and stopped his attack. ''I...can''t...'' Suddenly, he felt a strong bite on his wrist. The snake attached itself to his veins, and Alex gasped as he felt a foreign substance enter his body. He aggressively grabbed the snake and dismembered it, but it was toote. Two bite marks were visible on his wrist, and Alex soon felt their effects. Everything in his field of vision turned a pink hue and his movements slowed down. Even with Athena''s wits and resistance, Alex didn''t feel at his optimal state. "Lady Aphrodite informed me that you murdered Mar in Kabura." Aka Manah said. He smirked and continued, "I know about all of your powers, but no matter how powerful you are, you can''t resist lust." "I can''t understand why you always cross Lady Aphrodite''s way when she can grant you the ultimate pleasure for eternity. Lord Angra Mainyu simply cannotpare." "Join Lady Aphrodite''s camp before- Then, he covered his mouth with his hands. "I spoke too much, let''s get this over with~~" Alex listened half-attentively as he tried to take control of his body and psyche. Every time he tried to attack the demon, thetter turned to Crista and the weakened Alex simply could notnd any attack. He was starting to get a bit desperate, and his psychological defenses crumbled. "Alex~~~~" Suddenly, Alex had a premonition. He took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and opened it. When he saw the words written there, his mind instantly cleared up. ''It''s been so long, you f**ker! I miss you a lot, and by the way, I''m now back at Olympus, though the mansion feels lonely without you. I''m looking forward to seeing you here. Great luck on your journeys, Alex...'' His eyes instantly scanned the entire paper when he saw the new paragraph, and he strongly bit his lips, wounding himself in the process. With the pain of the injury and Crista''s words, he was able to distract himself from the effects of the overpowering drug. His head spun with ideas, and a particr one seemed feasible to end the fight. Alex activated Incarnation and turned into a deity whose powers he didn''t usually use. His hair turned tinum blond, and his eyes a lc light blue. When Aka Manah saw his appearance, he eximed, "Why do you look like Lady Aphrodite?" ''This is a bit revolting, but I hope it works...'' In the eyes of Aka Manah, Alex''s appearance transformed once again. His hair became longer and his body lost some of its muscle mass, which was instead reced by feminine curves. His eyes turned magenta, and his appearance was an exact copy of Aphrodite''s appearance. Alex wished to use the same technique Aka Manah had used on him earlier. "Hah, you think that can work on m- The demon''s eyes turned listless and he slowly approached ''Aphrodite'' in slow steps. There was no way for a minor god like him to resist the powers of Incarnation. When he was near ''Aphrodite'' he bowed and said, "What do you wish for, Lady?" Alex cringed but the fight was almost over anyways so he bore with it. He took out a red ruby from his pockets. When Aka Manah saw the ruby, he awakened from his trance and shouted, "THE RUBY OF ARGAS?! WHY DO YOU HAVE IT?!" However, it was toote, and as the ruby met the head of the demon, it glowed a bright red hue, and the demon''s body melted into a ck goop that disappeared into the ruby. Alex sighed in relief that it worked. He got this idea when he recalled that the demon mentioned Angra Mainyu, a god whose avatar they met in Ctesiphon. At that time, all it took to defeat the avatar was to use the powers of the ruby, so Alex theorized that it would also work for this demon god, who informed him he was previously under the jurisdiction of the former. Fortunately, it was effective. "A bit disgusting to use her powers though...." Alex didn''t hesitate to remove Incarnation. Chapter 86 - The Emperor So Great He Became A God After concluding the fight in an overwhelming victory, Alex immediately went back to Balkh. Then, he announced his victory to Nephis, who repeatedly kowtowed and thanked him. "Lord Alex, I shallmence construction of a million, no, two million temples in your honor when I reach Balkh with my troops." Alex averted his eyes and didn''t reply as it didn''t seem he could dissuade her. Hermes grabbed him and led them to a more discreet location. "Assuming you were sessful, that means you didn''t meet ''her'', Alexei-boy?" Hermes asked him with a sharp expression. Alex shook his head and answered, "I met a servant god of hers." "However, I am pretty sure Aphrodite is up to something veryrge." Hermes nodded his head and ced his hand on Alex''s shoulder. He clenched thetter''s shoulders and he dered, "I will keep on the lookout." Tension filled the air and Alex felt stiff. Alex frowned and nodded. "Lords, do you wish to guide us on your campaign?" Nephis suddenly entered the room. Her words relieved the tense atmosphere, and Hermes chuckled and replied, "We''ll be fine, we have a banquet to catch up to." Nephis nodded and bowed, and then she left. "We should move, we should be able to reach our next stop before dusk," Hermes stated. "And where''s that?" Alex inquired like a child who had unbound curiosity towards the world. "Patliputra, we''re invited to a banquet by the emperor there. I don''t think you know him, his name is Ashoka." ''Ashoka?'' Alex contemted. ''Isn''t that...that arrogant prince''s father?'' Alex recalled the mortal he fought back in Olep, and how he almost shamefully lost. Surprisingly, a sense of nostalgia enveloped him. ''I was so weak by then...and I didn''t know anything about this ce...'' Like a sh of light, almost an entire year had passed since he consumed Ambrosia and set out to deliver the blessing in Abdera. "What are you thinking about~~?" Hermes awoke him from his trance. Alex rubbed his head and waved his hand, "Nothing, let''s just move." Following that, the two bid their goodbyes to Nephis, who now looked like she was 10 years younger than they first met her. "I wholeheartedly thank you for everything." Nephis bowed to the two of them. Alex blushed and realized that it felt nice to know that his actions could now have arge impact on the world, and a positive one at that. "Well, we''ve got to go." Hermes erged the chariot to fit the two of them and sat upon one of the seats. Alex followed along and the chariot hovered into the air and sted in the eastern direction. Nephis was waving at them, and Alex reciprocated. "We''re leaving Hellenia...." Hermes announced out of the blue. "Really?" "Yes, the only influence Olympus had beyond this ce is through passing merchants and diplomats." "Do we have any pantheons to worry about?" Hermes fell into deep thought and then put a finger up into the air. He replied, "Hindustan(1) is protected by Buddha, and even though all pantheons are authorized within his realm, wars between the pantheons are forbidden and will attract the extremely unlikely ire of Buddha." "Is....Buddha strong?" Out of pure curiosity, Alex inquired. Hermes nodded fervently and responded, "Buddha is probably on the level of Nyx and Gaia, and perhaps even stronger, only Chaos is theoretically stronger." When Hermes pronounced ''Chaos'', he started fidgeting around. ''Chaos? Nyx mentions them a lot...I wonder who they are...'' After this informative discussion between the two, they silently rode into the horizon. The scenery below soon turned from a semi-aridnd to a fertile and lushndscape. Alex perceived many farmers painstakingly working thend beneath them and ntations covered his field of vision. They crossed many viges and cities and he couldn''t help but notice how happy the poption was and how prosperous thend seemed. On the trade routes, enormous carriages confidently passed through. In the cities, the streets were active and full of lively people and sprawling businesses. "You know, the Emperor ruling thisnd has a very glorious title that was not granted by himself but by his people, do you want to know what it is?" Hermes suddenly asked him. Alex nodded. "The Emperor So Great He Became A God." Hermes used the local term ''deva'' to refer to the emperor. ''That''s an extremely glorious title.'' "Is he really a god, though?" Alex queried. Hermes nodded with wide eyes. "Yes, do you know how rare it is for a mortal to attain godhood? Even in Qin, where mortals can cultivate godhood, the instances of it actually happening are few to none!" ''Like I''d know....I''m one of those mortals...'' Alex chuckled in response. "We''ve reached it, Ptaliputra!" Hermes abruptly proimed. Alex looked around and was stunned at the sights. Buildings spread and stretched as far as the eyes could see. Many enormous statues of religious figures towered above the cityscape. Mansions, manors, and vis weremonce. Yet, a single structure dominated it all. An extremely wide and tall pce with intricate stone statuettes in all angles, and a garden as big as an entire city that surrounded it. There were many enormous buildings within the garden itself, and the domain practically begged them to be awed. It rivaled even the size of Zeus'' pce. The twonded with the chariot in front of one of the many entrances to the realm, and although the people stared at them for a second, they seemed numb to supernatural urrences. "Hermes, this entire city makes Olympus look bad." Alexmented. Hermes red at him and replied, "You haven''t even been to Athens or thergest cities, you country bumpkin." A guard came up to them and bowed slightly with his two hands cupped, "Greetings, are you two ''Hermes'' and ''Alex''?" The guard''s Koine Greek pronunciation was perfect, and it seemed like he was very educated. Hermes took the lead and nodded. "You havee at a serendipitous time, as Lord''s banquet is about to begin. May I lead you?" Chapter 87 - Familiar Faces The guard proceeded to let them inside of the boundless guard and they slowly walked along a road passed with polished limestone bricks. The garden was truly toorge, as the guard then sped up his pace so it didn''t take the entire afternoon to reach the main pce. After a short while of walking and appreciating the rare flower and nt species of the garden, they were finally in front of the ginormous pce. The guard knocked and two people opened the gates. They were dressed in loose attire and they both had a red dot on their forehead. Alex wondered what its signification was and asked one of the men. Fortunately, he was kind and he cupped his head and informed him, "Sir, the Bindi is to keep God in the center of our thoughts through our third eye." Alex thanked the man and cupped his hands back. The guard then whispered something to one of the two men and it seemed like he had to go back to his shift. The man in question hinted at them to follow him and fortunately guided them through the otherwisebyrinth-like pce. "This ce is very...big..." Alex giggled and remarked. The man nodded and stated, "Originally, Lord Ashoka wished for a small pce but everyone refused and we all contributed to building this pce for Him." ''Sounds like a nice dude.'' Alex thought to himself. While they were walking across a corridor,rge windows greeted his sight with a small courtyard and Alex had a strange expression. The courtyard was a peaceful garden with a pond and a simple gazebo. However, there was a man in the garden. He had long, tied-up hair and brown skin. His eyes and hair were simrly brown. The man seemed to have a reserved and quiet demeanor and he was practicing movements with a sword. Alex instantly identified the man as the arrogant prince from Olep, Aadityapal. But instead of the annoying ''sh*thead'' Alex met back then, he now seemed very mature and calm. As if Aadityapal felt a gaze on him, he turned around in their direction. When he saw Alex, all of his movements halted and he stared at him with wide eyes. The two exchanged stunned stares until Alex crossed into another corridor and they couldn''t see each other any longer. "You okay, Alexei-boy?" Hermes looked at him confusingly. "Yeah, everything''s fine..." They resumed walking and the man halted in front of a tall gate. "Inside, Lord awaits you." He then bowed to them and left. "Thank you for your service." _____________________________________________ There were sandals and footwear carefully ced outside of the gate, and it seemed like Hermes and Alex also needed to remove their footwear. They did so and Hermes knocked at the gate. "Enter." Aforting voice said. The two opened the gate and entered arge hall. There was a big rectangr table that stretched from one end of the hall to another, and many people were sat. Upon the opposite side of the table, a man sat upon a seat that wasrger than the others. He had ck hair and a trimmed mustache. His skin glowed from the soft light of the sun, and he seemed like a young man in his thirties. He wore a light red fabric and could be distinguished from the other people in the hall. There were two empty seats on each side of the table near him, and when he saw them, he stood up and greeted, "You must be the two sirs Alex and Hermes." He even spoke in Koine Greek, demonstrating his politeness and weing attitude. "We thank you for the wee, Sir Ashoka." "It is entirely my pleasure. Please seat yourselves and the best gastronomy of mynd will be served to you." The two obliged and sat on the two empty seats. Ashokaughed and whispered to the two, "No need to be so formal, I''m only acting this way because the Brahmins take this very seriously." The Brahmins were the priests and they could be easily distinguished by the maroon Bindi on their be. Ashoka then stood up and coughed, gathering the attention of the entire crowd. "I present to the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and monks of this banquet, our two guests, Alex and Hermes, gods from westernnds." Kshatriyas were warriors and small kings. When they heard that, they all stood up and greeted them, to which the two reciprocated. After the uproar calmed down, Ashoka once again, "Under the eyes of the most respectable people of mynd, I wish to make an announcement." "This shall be myst banquet." Suddenly, the havoc wreaked among everyone. Even the monks, who were normally quiet, started speaking among themselves and the room was noisy. Ashoka once again coughed and the room quieted down. "I have ruled thend under the name of the Mauryas for 150 years, and in this time, I have achieved eternal life. After all this time, I feel that the position of Emperor does not fit me anymore and I wish to instead travel the world and spread dharma and goodwill to thisnd and beyond." ''He seems like a very nice person...'' Alex got the impression that Ashoka was an honest man from the way he spoke and addressed himself. Chaos once again spread throughout the hall, and one of the Brahmins even whispered something to his servant, who swiftly left the hall. A Brahmin who seemed to hold a particrly esteemed position stood up and asked, "Lord Ashoka, do you have any of your children in mind to inherit your position...?" Suddenly, a sense of anxiety and tension spread throughout the hall. Ashoka rubbed his head and replied, "I can''t make any decisions right now, but I suppose Ranya and Aarush are some of my greatest children and would make for good rulers." *Fsssk* A person in the room seemed to hold a ss particrly hard and broke it, making it shatter into many pieces. The person apologized, and servants came over to clean it up. ''There must be some court drama in here...'' Alex and Hermes exchanged a nce and immediately understood what the other was thinking. After that, appetizing food was served and Ashoka spoke, "Brahmin Aarya, I have heard of your recent mission to Tamil Em. Could you perhaps share any of your stories with this audience?" The tension dissipated and everyone started eating while the Brahmin recounted many tales. Chapter 88 - Aadityapals Situation The feast of the banquet was quite tasty. Alex was served a tter of whole-wheat tbread that they referred to as Chapati. Biting into the bread, Alex was astounded by the taste. ''It''s chewy and has the right amount of fat...'' Alex savored the Chapati alone but Ashoka whispered to him, "The Chapati also goes great with the side dishes." Alex rubbed his head in embarrassment and Hermesughed at him. There were, in fact, many side dishes presented upon the table. A lot of the people seemed to be vegetarians, so there were very few meat dishes, and the monks didn''t eat too much either way. Alex served upon his Chapati a cheesy stew that he didn''t recognize. As he tasted it, he was surprised at the taste. It was a tomato puree that was entirely coated with this extremely rich and salty cheese. It tasted fresh and at the same time quite rich. "Ashoka, what''s this cheese?" Alex inquired, and he decided to drop the formalities. Ashoka seemed pleased by his colloquial speech, and he rubbed his mustache and replied, "Paneer, it''s one of the great points of pride of ournds. The farmers do an excellent job at making it." Alex thanked him for the information and moved on to another side dish. The Chapati went well with every dish, but Alex particrly liked an eggnt and tomato spiced puree. There were still vorful chunks and the texture was just about right. "Ashoka, I''ve got to say, I''m definitely going to learn a thing or two from your chefs..." Good food could bring even the strongest god to his knees, and Alex was tamed by this feast. Ashokaughed loudly and seemed happy and he said, "I think I''ll get the same reaction when I eat some of your local delicacies." Alexughed off with Ashoka for a bit and the two felt like they were close friends. Hermesmented, "You two instantly hit it off, making me feel like an outcast right here, Alexei-boy...?" Ashoka seemed to get a sudden insight and pped his hand, attracting the attention of the banquet-goers. He stood up and said, "Our two guests right here should have a lot of stories on the mysterious westernnds, would you like to share any?" Hermes volunteered and coughed, and then recounted a famous festival back in Greece and Italy. "The Saturnalia or Kronia is a festival dedicated to the worship of the Father of the Olympians, the Titan Cronus, and is held in...." "During the Saturnalia, people eat good food, have fun and spend a lot of money..." The story was interesting, and even Alex listened attentively. Following that, the banquet was soon over, and Hermes told him, "I''m going to look around the city, alright?" "Go on, but don''t splurge on tea, you know we didn''t bring a lot of currency...." "Well, don''t cause any trouble," Hermes winked at him. ''Am I that untrustworthy...?'' Alex red at the former. Hermes proceeded to leave the pce and Alex left the banquet hall. Upon entering the corridor, he perceived that there were many Brahmins who were discussing amongst each other. When they detected him, they quieted down, but they didn''t realize that Alex had an incredible hearing and could still hear everything. "Ashoka expressed his preference for Aarush and Ranya of the Madurai and Varanasi Brahmins respectively, what shall we do?" "We have to be less gentle in our approach, send your son to the training temple in Tamil Em, I''ll send our daughter to the colossal Himyas for training." "We don''t have a lot of time..." Alex unintentionally, or intentionally eavesdropped and understood the situation from the banquet. It seemed there was some internal conflict about the inheritor to the empire. ''Imperial court drama is always ruthless, I hope Ashoka can mediate through this.'' Alex remarked to himself. Speaking of the Emperor, he seemed to be in an important discussion with the monks inside of the banquet hall, therefore, Alex decided to find a way out. ''Wait, is there any possibility Aadityapal is still here?'' Alex traced back his steps to find the courtyard where thetter was training and after a few failed detours, he finally found it. Fortunately, the prince, in question, was still there. He was still training with a sword, and his skin glistened from sweat under the setting sun. Alex found a way into the courtyard and he felt the prince''s gaze rest on him. "Do we know each other?" The prince asked him, though he was still concentrated on the sword. "I''m pretty sure we met back in Olep, though you seem very different." Suddenly, the prince copsed and started breathing heavily. It looked like he overworked himself. Alex helped him up and Aadityapal said, "Thank you, also, I''m sorry about my behavior back then." ''He''s so different...'' Alex couldn''t imagine the arrogant prince from a year earlier apologizing. "It''s fine." "Where is...- "Bodhisattva Padmapani? He''s back at his temple in Nepal, though it seems you left a big impression on him since he always speaks of you to Father." ''Oh...'' "And you? How are you going on with life?" Alex thought this was a pleasant discussion. It reminded him of the time he met an acquaintance he didn''t like from high school after graduation and found out that they''ve grown a lot, and they had a nostalgic and hrious conversation afterward. Aadityapal frowned and replied, "Terrible, haven''t you heard of the news?" "What news?" "Father is abdicating, and Ranya and Aarush are the most prominent candidates for the throne." He was speaking anxiously, and he continued, "DO YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE REST OF US IF THEY GET THE THRONE?!" Alex listened attentively. The prince sighed and said, "If Ranya gets the throne, we will be exiled to Buddhist temples in remote mountains." He made a short pause, and then continued, "If Aarush gets the throne, well, we''ll all die in mysterious circumstances." Alex gulped and realized that the acquaintance of his was in an urgent situation. "And, what makes it so that they will get the throne?" Alex wanted to know why Ranya and Aarush were particrly favored. "Ranya is under the training of the sun god Indra and will likely inherit his Vajra, while Aarush is training under the moon god Chandra, none of us canpare." "Wait, did youe to Olympus to prove yourself?" Aadityapalughed self-depreciatingly and nodded, "I even failed at that..." Chapter 89 - Training "I''d say, that''s thest thing you should feel bad about, you lost against a god after all, what did you expect?" Alex omitted the part about him almost losing. ''But hey, I wouldn''t lose now!'' Alex made up excuses to justify his loss. "By the way, what''s thepetition?" Alex wished to know how many candidates the prince was up against. "We''re about 2000 legitimate children...." "!!!!!!" "How does that even happen?!" Alex eximed. "Well, all the Brahmin families rushed to marry their daughters to Father when he attained godhood, and with 150 years of rule, you can imagine how many that meant." Aadityapal nonchntly answered. ''Da*mn'' Alex averted his eyes and an awkward silence filled the courtyard. There was nothing much Alex could say, and words wouldn''t help his situation anyways. However, Alex perceived something strange. When he looked at the prince''s sword on the grass, his observation skills from Hephaestus passively came into y. ''That structure is strange....'' Alex grabbed the sword and examined it up close. The way the metal was folded upon itself made the sword sturdy and sharp, and it was a miraculous feat of metalworking. "Hephaestus never used this technique..." Alex spoke out loud. "Aadityapal, are there any expert forgers around?" He asked this question out of the blue. He was extremely curious about this marvelous and unknown technique and wished to learn more and augment his forging skills. Aadityapal seemed confused but he nodded and replied, "There should be some master cksmiths in the pce itself, why do you ask?" Alex didn''t reply but instead kept a passionate stare upon the sword. "I need to learn from them." Aadityapal stayed silent for a dozen seconds or so and then proposed, "How about....you train me and I introduce you to the best forgers? I am friends with many of them." ''Shameless.'' Alex instantly remarked. "Deal." He immediately agreed, as his curiosity and passion for learning more overwhelmed his self-control. He had to thank both Athena and Hephaestus for that... Aadityapal suddenly burst into happyughter and a few tears streamed down his face. Unknowingly to Alex, one of his abilities, ''Empathy'', activated itself passively and he began to feel the emotions of the prince distinctly. ''Frustration....a lot of it.....sadness....depression...shame and....relief?'' Alex strongly felt those respective emotions and started understanding the prince''s predicament. If earlier, he only agreed to help the prince to further his own skills, now, he would have agreed even without remuneration. "Hermes said to not cause any trouble, this isn''t trouble, right?" Alex murmured under this breath. Meanwhile, Aadityapal was sobbing endlessly. This continued for a short while after which, he wiped his tears and recovered hisposure. "Well, do you wish to train now?" Alex asked the tearful prince. Aadityapal strongly nodded and stood up. He then clenched his fists and Alex even saw a stream of blooding down from his palm. ''He clenched his fist so hard his nails dug into his skin....'' Alex gulped. ___________________________________________ "Now,e at me, no swords, nothing, just your limbs, and skills." Alex ordered his ''disciple''. ordingly, Aadityapal charged at him with the highest speed he could muster. Unfortunately, that speed was akin to a snail''s pace in Alex''s eyes, and he simply pped thetter''s chest. *BAM* The prince was thrown onto the walls surrounding the courtyard, and Alex ced a hand upon his mouth. ''Did I hit him too hard? I should have controlled my strength more....'' Fortunately, Aadityapal was not dead, and his body slid down the wall and fell onto the shallow pond. Alex thought the prince fainted but to his surprise, Aadityapal stood, drenched from top to toe and with an insane level of determination in his eyes. He then charged at Alex and was simrly incapacitated. The prince then stood up again and continued this one-sided massacre. ''Such a main character....'' Alex remarked every time the prince stood back up. Unfortunately, he wouldn''t learn anything from being beaten up, hence Alex changed his approach. "Your posture is wrong and restricts your range of motion, and your legs, which are the center point of your stability, are ced in such a way that it is very easy to throw you off bnce." Alex listed out all of the ws he saw in the prince''s movement. Aadityapal nodded, and surprisingly, without any guidance from Alex, began testing out different postures on his own. After a while of this self-teaching, he charged at Alex again. Unfortunately, the difference in strength was too great, and the prince immediately lost. However, Alex noted that thetter''s body didn''t fly like a ragdoll as it usually did, and instead, he kept his bnce and got back on his feet as soon as hended. "Great work!" "Now, fix the way you move your arms, which will not allow you to express your full strength." This time, Alex gave him solid advice and actually instructed him. It was now nighttime. After a few rounds of fighting and guidance, the prince seemed exhausted. He was going to leave the courtyard, but Alex halted his passage. "After an intense round of exercise, you need to stretch to reap the full benefits." Alex was now going to steal from his own world''s advancements in exercise and science. Aadityapal scoffed but he didn''t object to it. Following that, Alex subjected the prince to a series of core-strengthening exercises and stretches that will massively increase his range of motion. ''Is this what Athena feels like while training me?'' Alex realized how annoying he probably was to Athena, who must have looked to him like a total beginner who made stupid mistakes. "I wonder how Athena is doing...?" Alex spoke out loud in a monologue manner. "Master, can I go to eat now?" Aadityapal started referring to him as ''Master''. "Yeah, of course, eat well and sleep well, without those two, you will never improve." Aadityapal nodded fervently and left the courtyard after bowing deeply to him. It was at that moment, that Alex realized... "Where should I go now?!" Suddenly, the sound ofughter could be heard in the courtyard. Alex turned around. There was a mustached man who was illuminated by the moonlight. It was Ashoka. He stated, "I didn''t realize you were the man Bodhisattva Padmapani always spoke to me about." "Thanks for training Aadityapal, he''s a good son." Chapter 90 - Chandra And Aarush "Ashoka, I think you do realize the events that will ensue after you abdicate?" Ashoka didn''t seem like a dense person, and Alex knew he was probably aware of the imperial court drama that was happening. "Of course, but it''s inevitable, and truthfully, I don''t have much affection for my children, and I don''t even know most of their names." Ashoka gave out his honest thoughts and his eyebrows folded together. ''I''m not in the position to give my opinion...'' Alex realized he was but a stranger and it would be meddlesome to speak on issues he didn''t know much about, much less understand. With that, silence permeated through the courtyard, and it was a beautiful and peaceful night in the pce. "Alex, where do you wish to stay for the night?" "There are many rooms in this pce, but there are also a few other dozen pces in the estate if you wish to spend the night in any of those." ''What a humble brag..'' Alex felt the weight of poverty upon him... "I''ll just wait for Hermes toe back first." Alex waved his hands. He then looked around. The still and shallow waters of the pond reflected the moonlight perfectly. However, a ck dot upon that same moon broke the reflection. The ck dot was approaching their direction, and soon enough, Alex could distinguish the dot with his eyesight. It was a three-wheeled red chariot, and clearly not the one that Hermes was using. The chariot was drawn by three white-winged horses, and upon the two seats, two men were riding it. One such man had an extraordinary appearance and demeanor. He had long ck hair and clear honest eyes. His clothing consisted of a light red fabric and heavy gold jewelry on top. Even his headwear was a golden crown, and on the center of the crown, a crescent symbol arched. ''He''s....glowing?!" Alex thought it was a trick of his eyes, but just as the moon glowed in the night sky, the man was glowing. The other man looked more ordinary, but Alex perceived that he had a collected demeanor and each of his movements, down to the way his fingers folded, seemed perfect and calcted. Ashoka looked to the chariot and eximed, "Oh, that''s Chandra!" "Chandra?" Alex found the name unfamiliar andmented over hisck of knowledge. "God of the moon and vegetation." Ashoka concisely exined it to him. "Isn''t he the same god that is offering training to one of your children?" Alex suddenly recalled that Aadityapal mentioned that a certain brother of his, Aarush, was under the training of a ''Chandra''. "You mean, Aarush? Yes." Ashoka nodded. When they finished their discussion, the chariot reached the point of hovering around the courtyard, and slowlynded on the grass. The three, winged horses folded their wings and went to sleep. Chandra, the glowing god, exited the chariot, and as soon as he ced his feet upon the grass, vegetation sprouted and grew and the smell of chlorophyll filled the surroundings. ''What''s with all of these glowing gods? Why don''t we glow....'' Alex was childishly frustrated and decided to file aint to Zeus when he got back to Olympus. ''I probably can''t even talk to Grandfather, let alone file aint...'' Alex was taken by his own monologue and ignored the two iing guests. Aarush also exited the carriage and walked up to Ashoka. "Father, I rushed back when I heard the news." He gave thetter a deep bow. "Aarush." Aarush then turned to Alex and gave him a slight bow. The confused glint in his eyes didn''t escape Alex, nor did the minutious bow. It was the kind of bow that they used to greet people whose status they didn''t know. ''A crafty one for sure.'' Alex remarked. Aarush then turned back to his father and smiled. Ashoka coughed and introduced, "This is Alex, a god from westernnds, treat him well." The prince ced a hand on his mouth like he was shocked and turned back to Alex. "Forgive myck of politeness, Sir." He bowed deeply. Chandra observed the three silently, and Alex greeted him to break the silence, "Greetings." "You have the aura of a stranger around you, strange." Chandra pronounced iprehensible words. Alex frowned and the other two seemed confused. "Excuse my words, I am just bbering, it is a beautiful night." Chandra waved his hand and revealed a lotus drawn upon his palm with brown henna. Ashokaughed and said, "Of course, it is your very moon that makes the night so breathtaking." Aarush coughed. With everyone''s attention on him, he proimed, "Father, you cannot give up your throne yet! Competition between siblings is already so high, and if a sessor needs to be chosen, there could be, god forbid...violence..." ''What a performance...'' Alex trusted Aadityapal and saw right through the prince''s act. By undermining his other sibling''s actions, he excluded himself from the ''violent''petition and glorified himself as a merciful prince that would be fit for the imperial throne. ''Knowing how these acts go, his next words will be about a feat of his.'' Ashoka was about to speak, but Aarush continued, "Forgive me, I have overstepped my boundaries. I came here to inform you of my sess in funding rice fields for the famished western provinces." ''Bingo, that is a very honorable act, Aarush, but couldn''t you have chosen a less strategic time to mention it?'' Alex was extremely cautious. "Great job, son. However, may we speak tomorrow? It is the dead of the night and time to sleep." Ashoka halted his son''s ns instantly. "Alex, do you want me to escort you to our most luxurious guest room?" Ashoka turned to him. Suddenly, Aarush interjected, "Sir Alex, my pce has recently had some renovations and I can guarantee thefort, I would be pleasured to wee such a personage in my humble abode." ''Shameless.'' Alex replied, "It will be fine, I''ll go with Ashoka." Aarush bowed his head and his clenched jaws did not escape Alex''s observation. ''Lad, you are far too young to think that you can gain my favor with cheap tactics.'' Alex forgot for a moment that the two were probably the same age. Chandra, who was on the side, simply said, "Child, Aarush, if you still wish to seek my training, you know where you can find me." Chapter 91 - A Serendipitous Meeting After that, the four parted ways and Alex followed Ashoka. At night, the corridors of the pce were even more maze-like, and the part that Alex was only a small portion of the pce. As they were walking through the dimly lit corridors, a particrly bright passage attracted Alex''s attention. When he looked through, he saw... ''Shelves upon shelves, all filled with...books?!'' Alex thought that the productivity of his typewriter was quite good, but it would take years of work to fill up all of the shelves in this library with his own printed books. "Ashoka, how do you have so many books?" Alex had wide eyes. "Well, every single merchant that passes through here has to provide a copy of any literary text they have with them, and of course, we take the original and give them the copy." He continued, "Throughout the years, we have umted hundreds of thousands of scrolls and books." "You take the original and...give them the copy....?" Alex burst out into loudughter. Ashoka alsoughed and said, "Otherwise, they provide us with faulty documents..." "That library is expansive, though, I''d know someone who would adore this ce..." Alex thought of both Crista and Athena, who shared a passion for reading and studying. ''I HAVE to somehow get Athena some documents from here, otherwise, she''s never going to speak to me again...'' Alex bemused to himself. "Well, if you wish, I can guide you to your room and you could peruse at your own freedom while Sir Hermeses back.." "I could? Great, thanks!" ''Hermes isn''t back yet? I''m almost getting worried....'' Alex was worried that Hermes was scammed of his possessions over some cheap tea... Following their hearty and cheerful conversation, Ashoka showed him around the room where he would spend the night. It was very opulent, almost too big for Alex, but he thanked the emperor nheless and they bid each a good night. Of course, Alex snuck out and went back to the library. "Perhaps they''d have some of that forging knowledge I want..." Alex looked around some of the shelves and found that they seemed to be rigorously organized, which pleased him. There were books on various genres, non-fiction, and fiction, and he even perceived some books that were probably not for children... There was a shelf with liturgical and religious texts, so Alex skimmed through that. Fortunately, he found a shelf for lifestyle and practical skills, and one book, in particr, attracted him. ''The Art of Tool-Building. - A disciple of the artisan god, Tvastar. Alex had a small linguistic problem since he wasn''t sure if ''Tool-Building'' was exactly the same as the cksmithing of Koine Greek, but he took out the book from the shelf anyway and started reading. The first chapter of the book was quite monotonous,prising the history of craftsmanship in the region, but Athena''s Essence made him curious so he decided to give that part a read. ''The first craftsman used not iron or bronze, but stone to build their weapons, their hammers and their tools for farming.'' ''The rise of the concept of the empire spawned a new demand for weaponry to expand military strength and territory, causing the rise of the tool-building profession, until tool-builders became members of even imperial courts, a high status not enjoyed by many.'' It was not very long, and Alex finished the first chapter soon enough. Fortunately, the second chapter spoke of his desired subject - cksmithing and forging. ''To make the best weapon out of scrap iron, fold the metal upon itself at temperatures higher than those of melting the metal andpress it so the end product is not thick, this produces a sharp de reminiscent of the luxurious alloy metals that only emperors can afford.'' Alex contemted on this part. ''Folding metal upon itself? If the cksmith has enough skill, wouldn''t that serve of use for even precious metals?'' ''That exins the grain of the iron on Aadityapal''s sword...'' His brain stormed with possibilities to improve his crafts, especially in the metallurgy department, and he lost grasp of the surroundings. ''If I can make steel in small quantities and use that, the weapons formed would be...incredible...'' "A forging document? Strange, you radiate the demeanor of a wise schr more than that of a fire wielder..." A feminine voice woke Alex up from his trance. Alex turned around, stunned. ''Why is she glowing too?'' Alex''s eyes hurt when heid his eyes on the woman. She had darker skin, clear ck eyes, and a round face. Her hair was braided and reached down to her waist while her clothing was a loose and shiny red silk robe. ''She has..four arms?!'' The woman in question had four arms. "Forgive me if I have scared you, I am Saraswati, may I make your acquaintance?" The woman introduced herself. "It''s...alright, I''m Alex, God of Humanity." Alex recognized that the woman was a goddess and didn''t bother to hide his own status. "God of Humanity? No wonder you have such a wise aura, are you a schr?" Saraswati had aforting voice. Alex recovered hisposure and replied, "Hmm, not really, my mother is kind of a schr though." Alex didn''t notice that he became morefortable referring to Athena as his mother, indicating that she became a maternal figure for him. "I''d love to make a friend of a woman who can bear such a wise son, may I meet her?" "Hmmm, she''s....not here, but..would you have two pieces of paper?" Saraswati nodded and took out two pieces of pristine white paper. Alex took them and ced his Faith Energy on them. He blessed the two papers with Link, which would make whatever text was written on one piece appear on the other. He gave one of such blessed papers back to Saraswati and told her, "When I go back home, I''ll ask Mother to get into contact with you." "Thank you, wise Alex." Suddenly, the sound of a horse galloping resounded throughout the library. Arge, muscr winged horse galloped to their spot. On top of the horse was a woman. She also glowed and she simrly had many arms. In each of her arms, a weapon could be distinguished. Bows, arrows, swords, spears, staffs, each of her arms held a different weapon. The woman looked simr to Saraswati, but her eyebrows were fierce, and she was wearing light armor over her body. When she was near them, she eximed, "Lady Saraswati, I have searched far and wide for you!" "Durga, dear, I have but visited the library and met this wise young man here." She pointed at him and smiled. Durga looked at Alex for a second and then went back to the other goddess. "But, Lady Saraswati, you truly wander too far from the pce, you do know how many demons can appear at night!" Chapter 92 - Durga "Durga, I can protect myself against the demons, do not get too worried," Saraswati shed a smile at Durga. Thetter seemed frustrated and ultimately just sighed in response. However, she suddenly frowned and turned to Alex. "I sense an extremely evil object at your disposal," Durga spoke coldly. Alex looked confused by her sudden deration. ''Evil object? Is she speaking of the ruby?'' Alex thought that the only evil object he had in his possession was the ruby. Durga smirked and pointed one of her swords at him. "I demand you to pass along that abhorrent object to me!" "....No?" Alex wasn''t nning on giving her the ruby. Durga seemed furious and stated, "What a disgrace, someone with a warrior''s aura such as yourself protecting a tool of such evil." Her eyebrows were even more tense than usual, and she red at him. She continued, "I will ask a final time for you to give me that object." "Durga, this man is clearly not a hostile entity, please behave your- "Lady Saraswati, my role is to dispose of demons and objects that harm the dharma of ournd, please do not interfere." Without giving Alex a chance to react, she got down from her horse and charged at him. Two of her arms prepared a sharp arrow. One other arm held a tall spear and her fourth arm wielded a longsword. Very abruptly, Alex was under the threat of three different deadly weapons, and he wasn''t prepared for a fight whatsoever. As he was about to dodge and counter, a harmonious sound suddenly flowed into his ears. Weirdly, he couldn''t move his body anymore, and Durga, who was charging at him earlier, also froze in her ce. Durga eximed, "Lady Saraswati, do not use the veena(1) against me!" The two frozen deities could not even turn their heads but Saraswati coughed and replied, "Durga, apologize for your rash actions." Strangely, Durga''s body started moving. It looked like it was not of her own volition, as she clenched her teeth and tried to regain control of her motor system, albeit unsessfully. She was soon in a bowing position, and her lips moved stiffly. "I. Apologize." Her voice did not contain any tonal diversity at all. Then, the two regained control of their bodies and Alex turned to Saraswati. Two of her arms were wielding a wooden violin-like instrument, however, it had arger and more rounded amplification box, producing a crisper and more harmonious sound. ''Sound waves to control movements? That''s an interesting power...'' When she regained her movement, Durga didn''t charge at him this time, but she red at him like she wished to murder him. Alex didn''t want to make any enemies, so he took out the ruby and wanted to exin the situation properly. The moment he took it out, Durga almost attacked him but a simple nce from Saraswati discouraged her. Alex cleared his throat and spoke, "This ruby, in fact, contains a great evil." "Then- "However, the great evil has a conscious form, and by possessing and cursing this ruby, I was able to restrict the evil inside of it, and actually use it to vanquish more evil." "I can''t believe you wouldn''t want to use it for nefarious purposes." "Lady Durga, I believe? Do not entitle yourself to justice, you are not to meddle in my own uses of this ruby or judge my values." Alex knew Durga was probably an honorable person, but it did not make her a supreme judge. "Lady Saraswati? Is he saying the truth?" Durga turned to Saraswati. Thetter stared at Alex for a few seconds and then nodded. "Did I miss anything~~?" An unknown masculine voice interjected. Alex recognized the voice and saw Hermesing inside through therge windows of the library. He had a huge stash in his back, and Alex already knew its contents. The two goddesses ignored Hermes and Durga honestly apologized this time. "Alex, we will be moving, if you wish to share any wisdom, I inhabit the banks of the Sarasvati river." Following that, the two goddesses left the pce through the winged muscr horse. "Is the party already over, Alexei-boy?" Hermes looked around cluelessly. "It''s sote, what were you even doing?" "Good that you asked~~Let me show you, when I was in the city, I found this tea, from the Assam region, and it is said to have the taste of Jasmin, ginger, and juniper berries." Hermes opened the stash that was on his back and Alex just looked mindlessly at the contents. It was an enormous quantity of loose tea leaves. They were shriveled up and extremely dry and the smell was less-than-pleasant. Alex shook his head disappointingly and said, "Hermes, I think some vendor scammed you into buying spoiled goods." "You''re the god of merchants, you should be better at this." "But, Alexei-boy...It has the notes of juniper and Jasm- "No, it doesn''t, it smells like wet grass." Alex coughed and asked, "Did you spend a lot of money on this?" "Oh, no, it was for free, when I showed the vendor the magical chariot, he got all scared and thought I was an ''avatar'' and gave me all of his stock for free." "Say that from the start, will you?" ________________________________________________________________ Back in Greece, in the mountainous central regions. A carriage passed through the mountains, and when the terrain was too rough to continue, it halted. A woman came out of the carriage. She had ck hair and a device that looked like sses sat upon her nose bridge. She was wearing a red uniform with an insignia of a roaring golden lion over a red background. The woman looked around, exasperated, andmented, "Mercury said Olep is in this direction...." "Men!" She shouted in the direction of the carriage. Two men with the same uniform came out and she asked, "Would you know where we are?" One of the men took out a map and looked around. He said, "It seems like we''ve taken wrong turns, Lady. We are on the outskirts of a small vige of the name of Atreksos." The woman rolled her eyes and thanked the man. She then climbed a tall hill and observed the ''vige'' of Atreksos. "Are you sure this is a vige? This looks like a metropolis to me." The woman looked at the urban center down the other side of the hill and spoke, confused. She then went down to Atreksos and a man came up to her. "Lady, would you be interested in making offerings to Lord Alex?" "I''m actually on my way to Olympus, would you know where we should move from here?" The woman slipped a few gold coins into the man''s hands. "Of course, Mdy, It is in this direction..." Chapter 93 - Ashokas Proposal After Alex scolded Hermes for his poor financial decisions, they went to the guest estate and slept. *Stomp* *Stomp* What woke Alex up wasn''t the sound of birds chirping, or the radiant sun, but an unbearable stomping sound. ''What''s this deal about....?'' Alex groggily woke up. He washed himself up and dressed and then flew in the direction of the sound. It seemed toe from outside the estate, and Alex could only look on stunned when he saw the scene. On the extremely wide streets of Patliputra that were usually, quite empty, a stampede of people all moved synergistically in one direction. The crowd stretched from one end of the city to another, and Alex was truly curious as to the cause of this ''rioting.'' He speedily flew past the crowd and found himself above a veryrge square. There was a tall statue of Ashoka in the center of the square and the crowd gathered around it. ''Isn''t that...Ashoka?'' Alex discerned a balcony upon the statue, and Ashoka was standing there, surrounded by armed guards. Suddenly, the emperor saw him and he waved. Alex approached the balcony and under the gazes of the entire city''s poption, he entered the balcony. "Good morning, Alex," Ashoka smiled. Alex rubbed his head and asked, "Good morning, hmm, what''s this about?" He pointed to the crowd. "I''m announcing my abdication today." Ashoka dered with determined eyebrows. "If you don''t mind me asking, what are you nning to do after the abdication, Ashoka?" Ashoka contemted and then jabbed his finger in the air. He replied, "Truthfully, I just wish to travel the world." Out of the blue, Ashoka asked Alex, "I''ve got an inquiry of my own, would your people wee me? I''d love to see the westernnds." Alex was a bit rmed at the sudden question. He didn''t usually like making big decisions on behalf of Olympus, but he had to be spontaneous about it. ''What would Hermes do in this situation?'' Alex swiftly fell into thought. He nodded and replied, "Olympus would wee you with open arms." ''Hermes always takes the chance to make alliances.'' Ashokaughed and nodded, but then, one of his guards tugged at his clothing. The emperor''s face turned serious, and he asked the guard, "Is it time?" The guard nodded. Ashoka bit his lips and stood up, facing the crowd below. Perhaps as one of his attributes as a god and ruler, his voice was unnaturally loud and clear, and even the people at the furthest stretches of the human stampede could hear him. "My people, I have overseen the Mauryand for a century and a half, are my calctions right?" The crowd unanimously made a humming approval sound. "Over this time, I feel that I have done the right decisions for mynd, but, I now realize that the position of an emperor is no longer suitable for me." Chaos instantly sprouted among the stunned crowd. Ashoka coughed and continued, "On this glorious day, I dere myself, no longer the emperor of the Maurya." Suddenly, the sound of drums reverberated and a group of musicians sang an anthem. The anthem was powerful, and spoke of a long history, shaking even Alex up into a patriotic mood. However, the music stopped when an earth-shattering sound of stomping got closer and closer to the square. Alex and Ashoka turned in the direction of the noise, and the former shouted... "A...colossal elephant!?" There was an enormous white elephant, heading in their direction. When it reached the crowd of people, instead of stomping them to death, it hovered into the air and wings unfolded from its sides. There were two small dots, each representing a person, over the elephant. When the elephant reached the square, it halted its flight. A strong feminine voice resounded, "Father, I havee to take my rightful throne!" Out of a sudden, thunderbolts gathered around the square, and lightning went in all directions, with the owner of the voice being at the center. A male voice praised the woman, "Ranya, you are doing an excellent job with the Vajra, I have trained you well." "Master Indra, it is not the time for praise." Ranya was a girl with dark skin, brown eyes, and medium-length hair. She had a mole on the side of her left eye, and most strikingly, a thunderbolt tattoo went down the entire length of her arms. Ashoka eximed, "Ranya, what is the meaning of this?!" "Father, do not bother, Ranya seeks to only sprout violence." Another voice spoke. A red chariot driven by three, winged horses approached the elephant. Over the chariot, Aarush red at Ranya. Alex, meanwhile, stared at the two other gods. Chandra, who was on the chariot, and Indra, who was on the elephant, were identical in appearance. Thetter, however, had a crown in the shape of a rising sun instead of a crescent moon. Just as Ranya and Aarush had a sense of rivalry between them, the two gods stared at each other. However, an extremely intimidating voice broke all of the tension and rivalry in the air. "I have ordered you two to stop fighting," Ashoka spoke simply. His voice seemed to be augmented with a power of his, as it made Aarush and Ranya halt every one of their movements. ''Ranya seems more straightforward than Aarush.'' Alex remarked when he observed the two. Ashoka''s voice brought him out of his contemtion, however. "One week from now, all that im descendance from me cane to this square and prove, through the art of war and schrship, that they are fit to inherit the name of the Maurya!" Chapter 94 - A Step Back In Time(2) At the end of the Titan War, the new gods that called themselves the Olympians emerged victorious and divided amongst the three brothers thend that the former King of the Titans ruled. Zeus receivednd and sky and they crowned him King of the Gods. Poseidon received the sea from Oceanus, andstly, Hades received sovereignty of the Underworld On the inconspicuous ind of Kythera in the Aegean Sea, where the realms of Poseidon and Zeus confronted each other at all times, a simrly inconspicuous seafoam washed up ashore. From that seafoam, a naked woman arose. She had tinum-blond hair and clear lc-blue eyes. She felt groggy and looked around, confused at her very existence. However, amidst that confusion, she felt awe as she looked to the beautiful sandy beaches. There was a salty smell in the air, and a cool breeze made the woman''s hair slightly flutter. She didn''t exactly have anynguage to describe the awe she felt at the beauty, but she instinctively sensed it. Suddenly, she perceived a woman on the rocky side of the beach. Thetter had a fishing rod in her hand, and was counting her maritime harvest and looked proud of herself. When the fisherwoman caught sight of the naked and unfamiliar woman, the former ran up to thetter. She eximed, "Don''t stay naked like that, you''ll catch a cold and....it''s dangerous...." Surprisingly, the woman understood what the other one was saying, and she felt she could even speak. "Who am I? Where am I?" Those were the only words that came to her mind. The other woman widened her eyes and took thetter''s hand. She ripped off her clothing and gave it to the naked woman. "Follow me, we''ll get you some shelter." The woman confusingly nodded and followed the fisherwoman. She lived in a very humble hut, with her sons, and they relied on fishing and small-scale agriculture to feed themselves. Her name was Tyske, and she provided the mysterious woman with everything she would require. "Do you....have a name?" Tyske asked the stranger. The woman shook her head. Tyske nodded in understanding and asked, "You know, you''re as beautiful as the sky, I think the name ''Urania'' would fit you well..." ''Urania'' seemed to really like her name and nodded fervently. From a slit in the door, the sons of Tyske snuck nces at Urania. These men were at the prime of their youths, and Urania truly had extraordinary beauty. Suddenly, one of her sons came in. He spoke to Tyske, "Mother, do you remember how Grandfather used to tell us he met a goddess back in Phoenicia? And she was as beautiful as Urania? What was her name?" Tyske contemted and replied excitedly, "Ashtaroth, that''s a great name." Urania unexpectedly interjected, "Can I....use that name?" The son eximed, "Of course!" From that day on, the woman would be known as Ashtaroth Urania in the region. One day, a woman from a nearby vige visited Tyske. She was weeping, and shemented, "He''s going around to visit other women, what can I even do?!" Urania eavesdropped and felt an unexpected curiosity at these matters of ''love'', an emotion that she didn''t understand but was incredibly interested in. She stormed in and said, "Perhaps, I can....help?" The woman didn''t believe her, but in her desperation, she allowed Urania to visit their home in the vige. The moment Urania entered the vige, she became an instant source of gossip, as people wondered who the mysterious beautiful woman was. Urania followed the woman, and her husband was home. They had a lot of issues in their rtionship, but miraculously, once Urania simply spoke to the two, it was as if love had rekindled like a bright fire between them. Since that event, the people of the region revered and worshipped Urania as a matchmaking and love goddess. However, not all would be peaceful forever. The tides of war had engulfed the region, and one day, the very epitome of this warfare visited the ind. It was a man that referred to himself as Ares, the very personification of war. He asked for a stay in Kythera, and the residents granted him the most beautiful facilities they could offer. Ares, however, didn''t concern himself with these, but with a mysteriousdy, he observed on this ind. She was beautiful, unlike any woman he''d ever seen. Urania also found herself intrigued by Ares. He was handsome, and his perfect appearance triggered her love for beauty. On that day, Ares came to the hut where Urania lived, and he simply said, "What is your name?" "Ashtaroth, Ashtaroth Urania." From those simple words, a rtionship sprouted between the two deities. Soon enough, Urania was leading a double life as ''Urania, goddess of love'' and ''Areia, goddess of warfare'' On a peaceful night, the two were engaged in passionate kissing. Urania had been curious for a while, and asked Ares, "Can I visit Olympus, where I can meet other people like me?" Ares immediately got angry and pushed her. "NO!" "Why?" "Olympus corrupts everyone, that is just the curse of that damn*ed ce." "I can visit it, and then I''ll make my own conclusion, Ares, love." Urania insisted. Ares sighed and said, "As you wish." The two navigated through the mountains and reached Mount Olympus, where a gorgeous pce was constructed for the King of the Gods. Ares left Urania and entered the pce. Suddenly, a short and winged man approached her. He mockingly asked, "Another one of Father''s mysterious offspring, are you?" "I''m Ashtaroth Urania, partner of Ares." "I''m Hermes, very pleased to meet you." Hermes was talkative and the topics of their discussions changed as fast as the wind, but one such topic remained in Urania''s mind. "You do know how Hera treats Ares?" Hermes questioned her. "Who''s Hera? How does she treat Ares?!" Hermes informed her of all of the cruelty Ares had endured from his mother, and that it was the reason why he hated Olympus so much. But, speak of the devil, Ares stormed out of the pce and interrupted the two. "Urania, Father wishes to meet you." Urania followed Ares and thetter left her to enter an extremely wide hall. There were two thrones on the end of the hall, and arge and muscr man sat upon one of the thrones. The other throne was vacant. "You''re really as beautiful as the sky, what is your name?" The man pried Urania''s body. She didn''t like his slithering eyes but she replied, "Ashtaroth Urania." The man frowned and said, "The name of a foreign goddess or the Father of the Titans doesn''t suit you." He continued, "You rose from the seafoam, right? Then your name shall be Aphrodite, the one that rises from the seafoam." And so, Urania became Aphrodite. Chapter 95 - A Step Back In Time(3) "You know, I''m stronger and more handsome than that son of mine." The man named Zeus stood up from his throne and approached Aphrodite. He was looking her up and down, and Aphrodite fidgeted around, as she felt ufortable. She stepped back, but he still approached her. Unfortunately, she felt the cold hard wall behind her and was cornered. Suddenly, a feminine voice rang out, "What is happening here?" Aphrodite felt that this was her chance, and escaped Zeus''s clutches. "Please, this man has tried to make advances on me," Aphrodite eximed to the woman. The woman was Hera. She frowned and said, "You''re that barbaric son of mine''s girlfriend? Look, you''re 10000 years too young to try seducing my husband, and Zeus wouldn''t make advances on you." "Right, love?" Hera turned to Zeus and smiled. Zeus replied, "Of course, my love Hera, you are my only sunshine." "See? Now, get yourself out of here, you little sl*t!" Aphrodite felt furious at this injustice, but a certain remark of Hera maddened her even more. "Ares is not barbaric! Do not treat him that way." Aphrodite realized in the future that her words were rash and her actions were impulsive, but she was too mad to think properly. "I''ve heard of how you treat my lover, and I won''t let you get away with it!" Out of a sudden, Aphrodite felt her body uncontrobly thrown outside of the hall. Hera had pped her, and the force from her p was enough to make the former''s body ragdoll into the corridor. Aphrodite stood up, with red eyes, and ran out. She stormed out of the pce, where she found Hermes, who was speaking with another woman. "Athena, have you heard of Hephaestus, the newborn son of Hera?" Hermes asked Athena. "Artemis did tell me that he makes great weapons." The two caught sight of Aphrodite, but they ignored her and continued on their discussion. Aphrodite noticed their ignorance and left the mountain peak. She was extremely furious with Hera''s behavior, and a ray of magenta appeared on her lc-blue eyes. She remembered the words that Hermes said, and a scheme formed in her mind. ''This is extremely evil, but I can''t let Ares suffer this injustice....'' Aphrodite would acquaint herself romantically with this Hephaestus, who was probably a loved son of Hera, and then she would break his heart, and by proxy, get her revenge on Hera. If she were in her right mind, she wouldn''t have made thought of such a n, but love made her blind. ''I shouldn''t tell...Ares, it''s all for his own good anyways....'' Following that, she garnered information about Hephaestus and then visited him, in theva pit where he lived. The temperature was ufortable here, but she endured it and entered. She found herself in a forging hall, and two men engaged in a discussion. "Have you seen how fast the humans learned the skills of fire from you?" A muscr man spoke to a short and stout man. "Prometheus, we agreed we would all contribute to the rise of these amazing mortals.." The two were Prometheus and Hephaestus. The two noticed Aphrodite, and she nervously greeted them, "Hello, I''m here in search for...Hephaestus." Prometheusughed and said, "Well, hello there, the man you''re searching for is right next to me...the glorious god, Hephaestus!" Aphrodite was surprised at Hephaestus'' appearance. He wasn''t extremely handsome like the other gods, and he had an ordinary aura to him. However, when she looked at his creations that were stered all over the hall, it was clear his skills were nothing ordinary. "I''m here, nice to meet you.....?" "Aphrodite, my name''s Aphrodite..." After their first meeting, they got into a romantic rtionship. Aphrodite was frustrated, because she didn''t truly love the man, and didn''t have the same feelings for him as she did for Ares. One day, she couldn''t bear hiding this secret of hers anymore, and she spilled out all of her scheme, which consisted of her revenge on Hera. Hephaestus frowned and replied weakly, "You should have known...that Mother hates everything that I am....I think I really liked you...I wasn''t ready for this...." Aphrodite stared mindlessly at him when she heard this deration. Her scheme was useless from the start....? She couldn''t even respond, as she heard a familiar voice in the hall. "Hepha, got any good weapons?" Ares entered the hall and looked for Hephaestus. Yet, when he saw Aphrodite, his be folded into a frown and he said, "Urania, what are you doing here?" Hephaestusughed weakly and informed him, "She got into a rtionship with me to....get revenge on Mother.....such a great joke, isn''t it?" Ares screamed, "URANIA, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?!" Aphrodite stuttered and replied, "A-Ares, I w-wanted to get revenge on Hera...for yo- "So, to do that, you get into a rtionship with another person, despite the fact that you should have known that it wouldn''t work?" Ares didn''t let her speak, and he continued. "My conflict with Hera is MY conflict, not yours, Urania, you have no business in it." Aphrodite nodded and mindlessly left the pit. She walked endlessly without a destination, and when it was too hard to bear, she broke down and fell to the floor. Amidst the sound of her crying, she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up and saw Athena. Thetter had a look of indifference on her face, as she didn''t even nce at Aphrodite and walked along with a pile of scrolls in her arms. Aphrodite hated injustice, but she realized now, that she hated ignorance and indifference more than anything in this universe. When Athena was no longer here, she stood up and startedughing maniacally. One of her eyes hadpletely turned a magenta color. ''I promise, I will never let anyone look at me with indifference anymore, and I want to be the person who can look to others with indifference...'' ''Hera, one day, one day, you will see.'' Aphrodite took up an empty mountain peak in the mountain ranges of Olympus and built upon it, an ugly castle. She didn''t want beauty in others anymore, at least not people she can''t control. She hated all of the god''s perfect beauty and wanted it all under her control. Throughout her time with Hephaestus, she learned a bit of his craft. So, she crafted a y urn. Inside of the y urn, she ced all of being. Inside the urn, there was love and there was hate. There was lust, and there was degeneracy. There was fertility, and there was sterility. All of these took the form of the most beautiful woman in the world. Aphrodite called her ''Pandora, the one that gives all.'' She would grant to the mortals the urn, and when they opened it, it would bring them a curse in disguise. ''From today on, I am no longer Urania or Areia, I am....Aphrodite.'' Chapter 96 - Essence Of Alex The crowd cheered loudly at Ashoka''s words. Ranya confidently dered, "As you wish, Father, but this will not change the oue!" Aarush smirked and replied, "Ranya, your reign will only corrupt the pure name of the Maurya! You are not fit for the throne." Ashoka harrumphed and stated, "Aarush! Who is fit to take up the throne will only be unraveled a week from now." While the two rivals had an unbound level of confidence, Alex felt a bead of cold sweat dripping down his face. ''I have one week to make Aadityapal catch up to two other disciples of gods.....'' Alex gulped and realized the difficulty of this task. ''Anyhow, I already promised to train him the best I could, I cannot back down right now.'' Following the announcement of the sessionpetition, the two that were the most likely to inherit the throne left along with their master gods. The abdication speech was over, and the crowd dispersed and sang along to the national anthem. Meanwhile, Ashoka swiftly copsed on his chair and started breathing heavily. "Those kids somehow manage to shorten my immortal lifespan....." He sighed. Then, the former emperor turned to Alex. "I''m sorry about Aadityapal, I know you''re supporting his im to the throne, but postponing the session anymore would have caused a civil war at worst...." He continued with a sad face, "And, it''s not only Aarush and Ranya that are troublesome kids, some have managed to gain the support of my children using only maniption and smarts, I''m worried about the fate of the Empire if they take the throne..." Alex knew that Ashoka probably had a very hard time, so he simply waved in dismissal and reassured him. "Did something happen?" A winged man approached the balcony and spoke while rubbing his droopy eyes. "You''rete to everything, Hermes, aren''t you?" Alex raised his eyebrows. "Betterte than never, so, what happened? Did you cause any trouble?" Alex meticulously recounted today''s events and his own worries about the chances of Aadityapal actually emerging victorious. Hermes shrugged and heartlessly replied, "Yeah, no chances at all." "Unleeeeeeeeeesssss....." Hermes took a long pause. "Alexei-boy, you''re supposed to be the smart one here, try to think." Hermes jabbed his forehead. Alex frowned and pondered over it. Yet, he didn''t find any possible solutions, so he just stared at Hermes. Hermes facepalmed and eximed, "Give him Essence!" ''What'' "I''m not really following your rationale, Hermes, how would Essence help a mortal? If anything, it might kill them." "I don''t know, you tell me, you''re the God of Humanity." Alex wasn''t fully convinced of the idea, but thest remark made him intrigued. He didn''t really know the full extent of his powers as a divine representative of humanity, and even though the two abilities, Link and Empathy, were useful and symbolized the skills of the mortals, he didn''t have anyprehensive abilities yet. ''Perhaps my Essence would react differently to a human....'' Alex cleared his throat and proposed, "So, I''ve got an idea, I''ll dilute the Essence to an appropriate level with a lot of water, and Aadityapal will consume it, and then I''ll gauge the effects." "Do tell me how it''ll work out, but remember to dilute it very well, we don''t really want mortals to consume concentrated blood elixir." Hermes cupped his hands. Ashoka, who was on the side, listened andughed, "You two sound like you have an evil n in mind..." ________________________________________________________ The three of them went back to the Imperial estate, and an unexpected guest greeted them. A bald man dressed in very simple monk clothing and had a lotus tattoo upon his left palm. "Compassionate Ashoka, I havee when I received insight on your abdication." The monk bowed slightly. "Bodhisattva Padmapani, it''s nice to see you here!" Ashoka reciprocated the bow. Padmapani then turned to Alex, and bowed slightly, "Sir Alex, I believe we have met in the westernnds." Alex nodded and bowed back. Padmapani was the strong monk he met back in Olep, and once in Abdera. ''It''s nice meeting all of these people again.'' Then, Padmapani leaned in on Ashoka and whispered something to him. Ashoka maintained a poker face as he listened, and then he told the other two gods, "I will be in the estate''s temple, please feel free to do as you want." The two nodded and they all parted ways. Hermes suddenly asked, "How do you know them?" "I almost lost to that mortal prince back in Olep, when Aphrodite tasked me to deliver her blessing..." Alex sighed. Hermes fell to the ground and loudlyughed at him, "You lost to a mortal..." Alex felt a vein creep upon his forehead, but he ignored Hermes and went on ahead. He entered the main pce and went to the courtyard where he trained Aadityapal yesterday. The prince was, in fact, there, and he seemed to be waiting for Alex''s arrival. He had a somber expression of despair on his face, and it seemed that he heard the news. "Master, I think this is pointless." "Aadityapal, I think I have a solution, but you''re going to have to avoid asking any questions, alright?" Alex didn''t feel like exining to the prince that he''d have to drink a diluted solution of his blood to be stronger. "Master, I''d do anything to increase my chances." "Then, give me that sword, arge bowl, a ss sk, and a big pot of water," Alex ordered the prince. Thetter obliged, and these items were all swiftly ced in front of him. "Umm, can you leave the courtyard for a while?" Aadityapal seemed confused but he obeyed and he was soon out of sight. Alex remembered how Aphrodite prepared her Essence and was going to undergo the same process. First, he grabbed the sword and ced it next to one of his arteries. There was no way he''d get enough blood if he punctured a vein. In one swift sh, he injured himself, and blood came out of the wound. It would heal very fast, so he had to repeat this process. Alex spilled the blood onto the bowl, and every time his wounds mended, he would sh again. This would repeat until the wide bowl was full of his own blood. Then, he put his hand inside the pool of blood. ''This feels disgusting...'' Alex got goosebumps. He bore with it and recalled how he should proceed. Aphrodite simply put her hands in the bowl, and the mass of blood started reducing in volume. ''I think she used Faith Energy.'' Alex ordingly transferred his own Faith Energy into the mass of blood in order topress it. *Whoosh* As if it was water that came into contact with hot metal, the blood started bubbling, and fortunately, it reduced in volume gradually. Alex continued this until there was only a drop of a thick, brown liquid in the bowl. His hands felt weak, and his Faith Energy reserves were almostpletely used up... ''No one told me it would be this hard...'' Alex now understood why they usually prepared Essence beforehand. Well, at least, the process was over. Alex put the drop of Essence into the sk and examined it. _____________________________________ (Essence of Alex) Quality: Divine State: Great Additional Information: An invaluable elixir refined from the blood of the god, Alex. ______________________________________ "Sucess!" Alex eximed out loud. After that, to avoid poisoning the prince, he added that drop of Essence into the pot of water and stirred very well. Then, he searched for Aadityapal and found him training his martial arts in a corridor close by. He called him over to the courtyard and presented him the elixir water. "Drink this." Chapter 97 - A Weapon For The God Of Humanity Aadityapal frowned when he saw the dirty-looking water, but he pinched his nose and drank a mouthful. Alex was ready to call Hermes to bring the prince back to life in case any unexpected side effects urred. As soon as the prince drank the diluted Essence, he ced a hand on his head and started leaning back and forth like a drunk man. Alex was on high alert, but fortunately, this only continued for a few minutes before the prince regained his full consciousness and stretched his body. "Master, what is this? This is incredible!" Aadityapal swung his fist around and a sharp sound followed. Alex cleared his throat and rubbed his head. "It''s just...an elixir...refined from...ah! snake venom, yes, snake venom!" Aadityapal eximed, "Oh, I didn''t know Master also knew his way around alchemy!" ''I don''t.'' Alex simply shed a bright smile. "So, since this....actually works, I''ll have you consume it in batches every day after training," Alex stated with a serious expression. Aadityapal bowed and eximed, "Yes!" Following his sessful experiment on the littleb rat....the prince*, he trained thetter in martial arts. Following his consumption of Essence, he had immense improvements in his speed, his reaction time, and his strength. Of course, the fights were still one-sided, but they weren''t a massacre anymore. They fought until afternoon, and Aadityapal now had a wless mastery of movement over his current physique, thanks to Alex''s cutthroat guidance. ''Didn''t Ashoka say the contest would also be about...schrship?'' Alex didn''t remember wrong. "Aadit, have you studied any documents rting to imperial rule?" Alex asked the prince. Aadityapal nted his eyes and responded, "Hmmm, I did, but truthfully, it just goes right through my head..." ''Why does he feel like the dumb and talented protagonist....?'' Alex was exasperated. "I should be good at this, anyway..." Alex murmured, thanking Athena in his mind. After a short meal, the two went to the library. Thankfully, there was an entire category on the Maurya Empire, its history, the style of rule of past emperors, the art of sovereignty and war, and some very useful documents. Some of them seemed too advanced for Aadityapal, so Alex skimmed through a political sciences book and sat down with the prince to discuss it. "The very fundamental basis of stability relies on two pirs: food and enjoyment. If a poption is fed properly and happy, only then can a good ruler build a longsting empire." Alex simplified the concepts of the book. Surprisingly, Aadityapal listened very attentively and even gave his own feedback. "Isn''t that an oversimplification of reality?" Alex nodded and replied, "It is, because, in reality, many factors that conform to technological level, economic growth, ess to water, state propaganda may impact these two elements." "I understand, Master." They continued to discuss for the entire afternoon and the lesson only ended when the setting sun alerted them that it was dinnertime. "Aadit," Alex called out to the prince. Aadityapal turned around. "You''re doing great, disciple." Aadityapal smiled and bowed deeply. They then went to have dinner in the banquet hall. It seemed that usually, there weren''t as many people in the banquet hall as the first day that they came, but there were still plenty of people. When they entered the hall, many young men and women red at Aadityapal. "Those are my half-siblings." The prince whispered. Suddenly, a young man among them stood up and greeted Aadityapal with an extremely wide smile, "Nice to see you, brother." Out of a sudden, the expressions of the princes and princesses all changed and they praised. "Prince Ayush is so gracious, immediately greeting every prince thates in!" Praises like these echoed throughout the hall. ''This stinks of a people''s representative....'' Alex wasn''t shocked that some people would instead curry favor with the rest of the imperial family to gain supporters. Prince Ayush was probably one of those. He didn''t seem to be strong physically, but it looked like he had an even more fearsome power, that of incredible charisma and influence. Aadityapal frowned and stayed close to Alex. In the deep end of the hall, Ashoka sat in his usual seat. Hermes was already there, and he waved at him. The Bodhisattva Padmapani was also present, and he approached Alex when he caught sight of him. "Sir Alex, I have a strange request to make," The monk bowed down. Alex frowned slightly and spoke, "Yes?" "Our spiritual leader wishes to meet you, in a temple to the north, in thend called Nepal." "Spiritual leader....? Who?" "You might know Him by the name of Siddartha Gautama." ''Siddartha Gautama? Buddha?! Why does Buddha want to see me?'' Alex was puzzled. "I''ll think about it." Alex didn''t give any conclusive response. Padmapani smiled and said, "Thank you for your consideration, please keep me updated." After that confusing conversation, they ate a short, but delicious meal. Aadityapal said he wished to meet him in a nearby pce. Alex was clueless about his reasons, but he agreed nheless, and after the end of the meal, he rested a bit before arriving at the marked destination. The prince was standing there, and he had a very big box next to him on the floor. When he saw him, he ran up to him and said, "Master, I have the things you wished for." Alex followed the prince and opened the box. Inside, there were many very old-looking books, and on the side, there were ingots of a strange, silver-like metal. Alex recognized that the books were rare documents on forging techniques, but his attention instantly turned to the metal. Hephaestus'' Essence made him particrly sensitive to good materials, and the sensation that this metal gave him was outstanding. He took one of the ingots in his hand. ''Heavy!'' His first remark was that this metal was extremely dense and heavy, more so than even gold. When he examined it closely, he was shocked. Whenever he looked at a metal like iron or an alloy like bronze, he recognized that there were fundamental structural ws that would be visible in a product that was produced with the aforementioned no matter the cksmith''s skills. ''This metal...simply doesn''t have any of those...!'' And then, the system interface popped up and brought up some shocking information. ___________________________________ (Divine Iron) Quality: Divine State: Great Additional Information: A precious and unbreakable metal that was used to craft Indra''s divine weapon, the Vajra. __________________________________ Asking about the source of the metal wouldeter, but the first thought that came to his head was different. ''With this metal, I can finally craft a weapon fit for the God of Humanity...'' Chapter 98 - Failure "How did you get such a good metal, Aadit?" Alex was curious. Aadityapal smiled and replied, "I have a lot of friends in the cksmithing field, and they all have small quantities of Divine Iron in their repositories, I simply purchased it." "These...seem too expensive, I''ll refund you." Alex wasn''t mistaken about the value of the metal. Aadityapal waved his hand and sternly stated, "Master, nothing is more important to me than getting the throne, if you can help me attain that, a few scraps of metal aren''t anything." "I promise I will, Aadit," Alex slowly nodded. He then said, "Good night, meet me at the courtyard at the same time as today." "I''ll look forward to it." After that, Alex enthusiastically went back to his guest room and found Hermes smiling while reading a letter. "Alexei-boy! Marzia sent me a letter, and she''s currently in Olympus, with Crista!" Hermes eximed. Marzia was Hermes'' lover. ''Oh, Crista did tell me she was also back in Olympus, I can''t wait to see her...'' Hermes read the letter repeatedly, and even his eyes formed a smiling arc. He then started writing on a nk piece of paper, and he crumpled the paper every time and started writing again. Alex didn''t interrupt his lovey-dovey moment, and instead, heid down on the bed and began reading through some of the ancient forging books Aadityapal had given him. After skimming through the entire collection, he slightly frowned. ''Beyond the folding technique, there''s not much innovation in these documents.'' Alex was a bit sad that he didn''t gain any further insights, but on the flip said, he earned a sizeable chunk of Divine Iron, and he already had ideas in his mind for a weapon. Suddenly, a bookmark fell from one of the ancient documents. It was tattered and old, and thenguage the text was written in was extremely archaic, but because deities had universal linguistic understanding, Alex immediately grasped the contents. It was a simple line. "Tvastar, the glory of all the tool-builders of Sindh, attained the epitome of forging when he incorporated the reverence of his followers into his creations." ''Interesting.'' Alex fell into thought. ''What could the author mean by ''reverence''?'' Even though gods had incredible linguistic abilities, that didn''t necessarily extend to understanding context and trantion. Alex only had one idea in mind, and it was that the author spoke of ''Faith Energy'', which fit the description of ''reverence of his followers''. ''Incorporating Faith Energy during the forging process? How would that even affect the end result?'' Alex grew perplexed. Hephaestus did use Faith Energy, but only after the end of the process, and as a way to bless the creations. However, using Faith Energy during the forging process was practically unheard of. ''Gaah, It doesn''t help that there are so few forging gods...'' Alex sighed. Whatever that meant, Alex was determined to test out all of his hypotheses tomorrow. With that, he went to sleep, while Hermes was still struggling to write a letter to his beloved. ___________________________________ *Chirp* Fortunately, he wasn''t woken up by the sound of stomping this time, but by the harmonious melody of birds and the bright sunshine of the eastern hemisphere. Alex took care of his hygienic needs and dressed up. The pce was quite empty at this time, but Ashoka woke up quite early, so he should probably be at one of the courtyards. Alex navigated through the pce and, in fact, he found the ex-emperor meditating under the heart-shaped leaves of a Bodhi tree. Thetter instantly detected his presence and opened his eyes. The air was fresh and the humidity was still high enough that the grass of the courtyard was wet. Ashoka was wearing loose clothing, and he somehow seemed younger today than he did yesterday. "Good morning, Alex." He calmly greeted the ''intruder''. "Good morning to you, Ashoka, you look great today," Alexmented on the ex-emperor''s rxed demeanor. "Being liberated from the duties of a ruler does remove a toll..." Ashoka chuckled. Alex rubbed his head and his curiosity overwhelmed him. "Does meditating even do anything at all?" Ashoka immediately responded, "Probably not, at least for most people, in the past, I actually used meditation as an excuse to escape from official duties, but today, it felt particrly great." Alex nodded in understanding and sat down in a lotus position, trying to meditate. 5 minutester... "I don''t think this is doing anything for me," Alex just felt sleepy and he yawned. Ashoka simply giggled in response. "Do you have a forging room in the estate that I could use?" Alex had passionate and bright eyes, awaiting an affirmative reply. Ashoka grimaced and replied, "It''s in the underground floor, but it''s unused, do you want me to ask some servants to clean it up? I think there are even some metals that you could use there." "No, it will be alright." After that, they discussed for a bit, and it turned out Ashoka was going to retreat to a temple in Nepal after the end of thepetition. It also turned out that Padmapani invited him to the very same temple, so Alex proposed to Ashoka if he wished toe with them on the fast chariot. Thetter gratefully epted. Then, they had a filling breakfast and parted ways, as Ashoka was going to meditate again. Alex inconspicuously climbed down into the underground floors of the pce. This ce was dim and only a single corridor with many doors greeted him. Fortunately, lighting wasn''t an issue for Alex, and he simply searched through each door before finding arge forging facility. "This even has a proper furnace...!" Alex eximed. With a furnace like this, he should be able to reach the requisite temperatures for folding metal. Alex ignited a coal fire and blew air into the fire with arge fan. The mes zed and rose in temperature. Then, he took a piece of scrap weapon alloy he found lying around and started experimenting on his newfound techniques before he would attempt using the Divine Iron. The alloy swiftly melted and even started smoking under the heat, so Alex took it out carefully and started handling it. He was making a sword, and the de was the part where he would fold the metal. Alex followed the method from the book he read in the library and it was sessful. The de was thin in shape and a magma-like red from the heat. Alex then infused his Faith Energy into the de. *Kssss* Alex was astonished. The sound of ss breaking reverberated throughout the forging room, and when he looked to the de, a strange event took ce. Like an emulsion of oil and water separating, the alloy separated into its constituent metals and there was no way it could be used to make a weapon anymore. ''This is a failure...'' Chapter 99 - Prometheus, A Masterpiece. Alex proceeded to try this technique out with many different alloys and metals and the result was the same. He was feeling discouraged and opened a few forging books he brought with him to see if he could find where he went wrong. The book was on Tvastar, the god who introduced the technique in the first ce. Alex skipped through most of the pages and found nothing relevant, but a single line intrigued him. "Tvastar used only Divine Iron for his greatest masterpieces." ''If he described the epitome of forging as using Faith Energy, and himself used it on Divine Iron, then perhaps thetter can withstand the technique...?'' Alex tried to rationalize ande to a conclusion. In truth, he didn''t gain much insight, but he realized that the only way to proceed was to try it out himself. ''I should be able to procure some Divine Iron with connections if this fails.'' Alex motivated himself and took out the silver-like metal. He ignited a fire again and increased the temperatures. To get an even more extreme temperature, he incarnated into Hephaestus and heated up some rock into magma, and ced it into the furnace. Even for him, the ambient temperature was bing ufortable, but he bore with it and proceeded. In a big bucket, he reluctantly put several ingots of the Divine Iron andid it inside of the furnace. The metal took an unusually long time to melt, but when it reached a desirable temperature, he started the folding process. He removed Incarnation because he wanted to try out how his own Faith Energy would influence the finished product, and Athena''s Essence also granted him dexterity that would be very useful. *BAM* *BAM* The sound of the hammer and the te folding the divine metal together resounded. Fortunately, the folding worked for the weapon, and the body of his desired weapon took shape. He would make a spear, as that was the weapon he was the most used to. ''I hope this goes well....'' Alex continued folding the near-liquid metal until it was impossible to do it more without making the end product brittle. Before trying out the risky technique, he also received an idea. He took out a glowing red ruby from his pockets, and looked at it. ''I wonder how embedding this extremely high-energy ruby would affect the spear?'' Alex couldn''t restrain his curiosity. He embedded the ruby into a corner of the shaft, and the unbreakable crystal didn''t react whatsover. Then, came the moment of truth. ''Here goes nothing....'' Alex infused his Faith Energy into the metal and strongly bit his lips. ''Should I pray to myself?'' Alex looked at any signs of a reaction from the metal, and strangely, there were none. He continued inserting Faith Energy and the metal sucked it out like a dry sponge. Alex also hammered the body of the spear simultaneously and kept his attention on the metal. "This metal is taking up a lot of Faith Energy." He was starting to feel a bit drained, but he pressed on anyway. There was no reaction whatsoever, and he lost a bit of hope. However, just as his reserves of Faith Energy felt drained, the metal rejected his energy like a saturated sponge. Suddenly, the hot metal changed shape from a shaft to a... "Ball?!" Alex simply looked on at the transformation, and the metal turned into a red, metallic ball, with the reflective ruby still embedded into it. He then tried hammering it back and heating it up, but no matter what he did, the metal no longer changed shape. "This is a failure, isn''t it?" Alex murmured under his own breath. He put the ball in a bucket of ice water and waited for it to cool down. Then, when it fully cooled down, he took out the metallic ball. "For a failed product, it sure is beautiful and smooth..." Alexmented when he was the mirror-like finish of the silver ball. Suddenly, a system interface popped up on his retina. (This item is an unnamed divine product) (Do you wish to name it?) "Divine? I wonder what''s divine about a glossy ball..." Alex nheless pressed on the floating words and pondered for a bit. ''I''m the god of humanity, and I forged it, but naming it Alex would be too over-the-top...'' ''How about...Prometheus?'' Alex ultimately went with this proposal. _______________________________________ (Prometheus) Quality: Divine State: Great Additional Information: A weapon crafted by the God of Humanity, Alex. Just as humans adapt to their every environment, this divine weapon adapts to its wielder. A source of great evil and a divine metal supply the strength of this weapon, yet the wielder uses that abhorrent evil tomit good deeds, earning it the attribute of repentance. __________________________________________ ''What a long and iprehensible text!'' Alex never saw a tab that long with any of the objects he''s ever produced. He was confused about how this ball, could be categorized as a weapon. He examined the ball carefully, and nothing about it seemed weapon-like. Alex was starting to think he only got his hopes up, but he didn''t want to put the valuable ruby and Divine Iron to waste. He tried to infuse Faith Energy into the weapon, and unexpectedly, it worked. In his hands, the ball turned into a liquid and drastically changed shape. Under the surprised stare of Alex, this went on back and forth until it turned into a solid again. He was now wielding a strange weapon. It looked like a gorgeous, silver, heavy spear, but a further look exhibited strange additions. Unlike most spears, this one had a hilt, and it was in the shape of two wings, that reminded Alex of the wings that Hermes had. There was a sharp spearpoint, but on its two sides, two hammerheads also gave the weapon a blunt capability. ''It''s almost like, it incorporates aspects of all of the Essences I have...'' The wings, from Hermes. The heavy spear, from Athena and Ares. The hammers, from Hephaestus. The beauty, from Aphrodite. The adaptiveness, from Alex. ''This is exciting!'' Alex wielded around the strange weapon masterfully. There was, however, an inquiry that he still had. He incarnated into Athena and infused her Faith Energy into the strange weapon. As he expected, it changed shape again. Soon enough, Prometheus turned into a very light and flexible armor, a heavy spear, and a shield. ''So, it does adapt to every Essence that I have!'' Alex thought it was funny that the weapon still followedws of conservation of mass, and it simply turned into a less dense material for the three weapons and armor. There was probably much more he wanted to experiment with, but right now, he simply wanted to show this masterpiece to Hermes. Chapter 100 - (100th Non-canon Special) Alexs Birthday -Olympus, Hermes'' mansion- Around a round table in the balcony of the mansion, a truly extraordinary cast of characters gathered. There was Athena, Hermes, Aphrodite, and Crista. They all seemed to be deep in thought, and Athena stood up and stated, "It has been a full lunisr year that Alex has joined Olympus!" The other three nodded fervently, and Hermes interjected, "We need to do something for Alexei-boy." Once again, the other three nodded. Aphrodite intervened, "Hmm, how about we make the day around him and Crista? They are lovers, after all." Athena and Hermes agreed. However, Crista blushed like a ripe tomato and anxiously shook her palms, "No, no, no, I can''t monopolize Alex, let''s all spend the day together!" Athena then frowned and said, "Is it even good to consider it his birthday? Alex never told us about his birth date...." Hermes coughed and replied, "I''m not even sure his world uses the same calendar as we do." Silence befell the hall, and the four contemted on this truly difficult dilemma. Suddenly, three people entered the balcony. It was Persephone, Hades, and Achilles. "Hello everyone!" Persephone greeted everyone and instantly got to talking, as she was the social butterfly of the Underworld. Hades muttered, "So it''s that hooligan''s birthday already...." Achilles seemed intimidated by the group of extremely fearsome deities that sat around the table and simply bowed slightly to everyone. They were already quite numerous, but two guests also joined. They were Ares and Dionysus. Dionysus eximed, "I don''t know what you''re nning to do, but I brought the strongest wine I have in any case!" Ares scoffed and challenged the former, "Strongest wine, huh? I''m sure it won''t even get me tipsy." "Bet?" Dionysus seemed excited by the prospects of this drinking challenge. However, Athena interjected and frowned, "No drinking anything, for now, sit, you two!" Dionysus harrumphed, "Boring!" Aphrodite caught up with the two on the current state of affairs. "We were thinking of organizing a date for Alex and Crista." Crista once again refused, "No, let''s do something all together!" Persephone proposed, "How about a day for all of us, and a night for the two of them?" The group of gods all burst into loudughter and Crista blushed even redder. Athena approved, "That''s a great idea, Persephone." Then, Hermes asked everyone, "Then, what do we do?" "Do what? Why is everyone gathered here? Is there something special going on?" Everyone suddenly went silent. Alex had entered the balcony, and it seemed he was very suspicious of their gathering. Unexpectedly, Hades saved the day, "It''s a divine council, and you''re not invited, hooligan! Go away!" Alex seemed hurt and slowly retreated while keeping his eye on everyone. When he was out of sight, they got back into the discussion. "Let''s...go to the beach!" Ares proposed excitedly. Aphrodite nodded and added, "Kythera, my homnd, has great beaches!" Everyone seemed to appreciate the idea, and they concluded the meeting. ___________________________________________ -The next day- Hermes woke up Alex and told him, "Alexei-boy, we need to negotiate with a foreign minor god in Kythera, he took up the ind all for himself." Of course, this was part of their surprise n. Alex rubbed his eyes and stood up groggily. "Leeet meee waash up and d-dreeess..." Alex was still tired, but he agreed. "I''ll wait for you outside, Alexei-boy." Alex, indeed, performed his mundane hygienic rituals and got ready. Then, the two flew in the chariot towards Kythera, which was quite a bit south of Olympus. Alex was rather curious, "So, what''s this deal about?" Hermes, rather stupidly, didn''t think of the story much further and should have expected that Alex would ask more questions. "So, this minor god....he took up the ind from...Olympus..." "That''s exactly what you told me this morning, Hermes." "Yes." Alexughed and they proceeded on their short trip. Soon enough, below them, the clear blue waters of Kythera were visible, and the sandy beaches reflected the harsh sunlight. Theynded slowly, and out of a sudden, all of the deities that Alex knew came out of hiding. They eximed, "Happy one-year anniversary, Alex!" Alex was extremely confused, and stuttered, "O-one y-year anniversary...? It''s been that long already..." "Thank you, everyone!" Alex suddenly got emotional, seeing all of the people he liked the most celebrating his very existence. "Uh-oh, no tears, onlyughs!" Dionysus shook his finger and passed a sk of wine to Alex. Thetter instantly chugged down the sk, and he eximed, "Let''s have fun!" After that, the group swam, and theyughed, and they ate, and they drank. It was an extremely good day, and everyone was smiling brightly, and having fun. "Athena, you''re gonna swim with full-body armor?" Hermes mocked Athena''s attire. Then, he eximed, "Ares, you too?!" "I am a warrior at all times, Hermes," Ares replied and started flexing his armor. "This must be the only time you''ve ever said something proper, Ares," Athena side-eyed Ares. "All of you,e swim, the water is excellent!" Alex invited the group in from the beach, where he was swimming with Crista. Suddenly, Persephone froze some of the water, generating an icy tform for her toy down. Aphroditeined, "Persephone, you made the water cold!" Crista said the same. Persephone ignored them and continued rxing under the sunlight. The day went on like this, and they only went back to Olympus when it was nighttime. Then, Alex hugged everyone and bid them goodbye. After that, he and Crista stared at each other. "Crista, want to count the stars tonight?" "Sure." _______________________________________________ Author''s note: I cannot believe, that I''ve reached 100 chapters already. However, when I remember everyone''s support, I understand how I was able to motivate myself to reach 100 chapters. I didn''t think the story would ever gain this much poprity and support, and I cannot describe how happy I am. I have so much to say, but I think it can all be summarized in one sentence. Thank you to everyone, who has read, who has written a review, who has enjoyed the story, who hasn''t enjoyed the story and gave me constructive criticism, who has sent me gifts and power stones, you are all responsible for the fact that I can get the energy to sit every day, and write one or two chapters. I am nning on doing a Q&A soon if I get enough questions, and I''ll respond to anything as long as it is not too personal, or rting to future events in the story. Btw, I''ll move this chapter to auxiliary once I go premium, so you won''t have to pay coins to read it. Have a good day, everyone, and once again, thank you for everything!! Chapter 101 - Hopeful Preparations Alex was extremely excited to show off...humbly brag* about Prometheus to Hermes. When he went back to the guest room, he found that thetter was still struggling to write a letter to Marzia. ''So dedicated, da*mn'' "Umm, Hermes, need any help?" Alex realized that Hermes would keep at this forever if he didn''t lend him a hand. Hermes swiftly turned around and eximed, "Yes, please, Alexei-boy!" "Alright," Alex took a nk piece of paper and asked Hermes what the contents of the letter should be about. He quickly finished up a very emotionally charged and sweet letter and passed it along to Hermes. The god read through it and nodded, "It''s perfect." Then, Alex eximed, "Hermes, catch!" He threw the silver ball at Hermes. Thetter was confused and spoke out loud, "A silver ball, with a ruby?" Alex cleared his throat and said, "Try putting your Faith Energy in it." Hermes shrugged and obliged. As expected, the silver ball turned into a liquid state and morphed until it became a long and glowing silver dagger. Hermes was astonished at the transformation and wielded the dagger masterfully. "This weapon feels like it was made exactly for me, it''s incredible!" Hermes praised Prometheus. Alex''s smile got wider and wider, and he stated, "I crafted it." Thetter''s eyes widened and he praised Alex generously, "Alexei-boy, most of Hephaestus'' weapons can''tpare to this one, you did an extremely outstanding job." "Thank you, and it''s called Prometheus." "Strange name, but it''s a divine weapon nheless." After that, the reverberations of a gong rang throughout the guest room, and it meant that it was time for breakfast at the banquet hall. The two went to the banquet hall and after an extremely delicious breakfast and a lengthy conversation with Ashoka, they parted ways. Hermes wished to visit the entirety of Patliputra and Alex strongly advised him not to buy into herbal scams this time. Following that scolding session, Alex navigated through the now-familiar corridors of the pce and halted at the training courtyard. As usual, they would first start with physical training, and then, they would move to a schrly education at the library. The martial arts training went extremely well, and after Alex brought his strength down by a few levels, Aadityapal was able to end the battles on a miraculous tie. Nheless, Alex beat him up thoroughly in the next few battles. Then, Aadityapal consumed his daily batch of diluted Essence, and this time, it looked like he considered it the most delicious drink in the entire universe, and chugged it down in a second. After the habitual few moments of drunkenness and pain, he recovered and his physique and mental capabilities once again improved. However, before moving on to the library, Alex had a sudden hypothesis. Prometheus was an adaptive weapon, and from the time he showed it to Hermes, he realized he wasn''t the only person who could wield it, and other gods could also use the weapon. ''What if, mortals could also use it? Wouldn''t it give Aadityapal an immense advantage in the contest?'' Alex first needed to know if external weapons were even allowed. "Aadit?" "Yes, master?" "Are weapons allowed in the contest?" Aadityapal pondered over this inquiry for a dozen seconds or before he nodded and replied. "I am pretty sure of it since Ranya will probably use the Vajra that Indra granted her." That was all Alex needed to know. He threw Prometheus, in its ball form, to the confused Aadityapal. ''How will he be able to power it without any Faith Energy?'' Alex ran into a problem. While Aadityapal stood still amidst his confusion, Alex incarnated into Athena and used his augmented cognitive capabilities to their full extent. The prince seemed even more confused at his master''s sudden change in appearance, but Alex didn''t give him any attention. With his increased cognition, Alex was able to find a solution in less than a second and immediately removed Incarnation. "Aadit, do you see that ruby?" Alex pointed to the glowing ruby embedded into the ball. Aadityapal nodded, albeit puzzlingly. "Try to channel the energy of that ruby, if you can even visualize it." Alex got this idea when he remembered a certain line from Prometheus'' information. (The ruby and Divine Iron supply the strength of this weapon) Right now, it seemed that the ruby served no purpose whatsoever to Prometheus other than adding the elusive ''repentance'' attribute to it, but considering how valuable the avatar of ''Aingra Mainyu'' considered it, Alex was sure that it served another role. Aadityapal obeyed Alex''s demands and closed his eyes. "Aadit, show me more of your main character''s luck!" Alex spouted iprehensible words of encouragement to the prince, and in Koine Greek so he wouldn''t understand him. As if the heavens heard his request, Aadityapal seemed sessful, and the ruby seemed to glow brighter than the sun for a second or so. Then, Prometheus turned into a liquid form and the transformation sequencemenced. Ultimately, Prometheus shaped into an extremely long and sharp silver sword. Aadityapal had the same amazed reaction as Hermes, and he swung the longsword as if it was an extension of his own limbs. "Master, did you craft me a weapon?" Aadityapal kowtowed to him. "Umm, no, I am lending you this weapon for thepetition." Alex waved his hand and swiftly cleared the misunderstanding. Still, Aadityapal seemed extremely grateful and remained in that kowtowing position. "If you have time to kowtow, you also have the time to learn the basics of imperial rule." Alex forced the prince to stand up and led him to the library. Aadityapal seemed less unwilling to learn new information this time, and Alex moved on to more advanced documents. He skimmed through the books and began summarizing the information to the prince. "A ruler''s role is more often ceremonial than administrative, as a good ruler needs specialized advisors and only requires basic and expansive information himself." "In times of desperation, a ruler''s primordial role is to instill reverence and loyalty in their subjects, and in times of prosperity, to instill ambition and patriotism in their subjects." Aadityapal understood the concepts very well, and Alex moved on to another theme. "State pacifism is not optimal to the development of an empire and neither is a draconian rule." "Just as Siddartha Gautama embraces the Middle Way, a ruler need not sway into the extremes, but rule with bnce." As the two were engrossed in the lesson, a charismatic voice flowed into their ears and interrupted them. "Aadityapal?" Chapter 102 - Attempted Sabotage The two, who were previously enthusiastically studying and discussing core concepts of imperial rule, faced up from their books and scrolls and aligned their vision to the iing intruder. It was a man. Alex had difficulty recognizing this man, but Aadityapal frowned and whispered, "Ayush..." ''Ayush? The prince that relies on connections?'' Alex recalled a scene from a dinner at the banquet hall, where this prince''s every movement and word swayed the rest of the royalty. He seemed to have fearsome charisma, and his physical strength was unknown. Alex cleared his throat and stated, "We are in the midst of a lesson, could you please take your leave?" Prince Ayush always had a smiling face, yet, when Alex''s words flowed into his ears, his expression turned unpleasant for a split second. However, it immediately went back to an unusually wide smile. Nheless, his fidgety fingers exhibited the fury he felt at having his power threatened. Then, he coughed and replied, "Sir Alex, I believe? We have not exchanged introductions yet." As he said that, the prince proceeded to reluctantly bow down in greeting. Then, he turned to Aadityapal. Suddenly, his smile faded away and revealed tearful eyes. He said with an incredible level of emotion, "Aadityapal, I have received the tragic news that in the residence of the Brahmins of Dwarka, Lady Avni has fallen extremely sick to an unknown illness." There were no imperfections in the prince''s voice and his perfect pitch seemed to be a result of vocal training. Alex didn''t understand any of his words, but Aadityapal stood up and his eyes became so wide they were about to pop out of his skull. "Mother is sick?!" Aadityapal eximed, and then copsed on his knees. Ayush maintained his saddened face and nodded, "It would seem that the illness is quickly chipping away at her longevity, and she might not live very long." At that very moment, Aadityapal started sobbing and his tears made the ground wet. His fists punched the cold and hard ground repeatedly. They slowly became more bloody and mangled Alex could not have expected this, and it was a tragic situation that required the prince''s immediate departure to his mother''s residence. He was about to help him stand up, but he perceived a very strange pattern in the earlier conversation. He couldn''t prove any of it, but he got goosebumps and the impression of a puppetmaster controlling the strings of a puppet. There were no strings, but Ayush also intensely swayed the viewpoints of the other members of the imperial family the other night through a simple greeting. Alex felt disgusted, as it reminded him of the way Aphrodite manipted mortal men to do her every bidding. ''This is clearly not her doing and much more subtle,'' In any sense, Alex could afford to be more overbearing. He immediately stood up and wielded the round Prometheus in his right hand. The ball then transformed into a strange heavy spear and charged at the prince. Alex''s speed was a strength of his, and the prince couldn''t even feel his arrival. After he blinked a single time, the speartip of Prometheus was already only a millimeter away from the arteries at his neck and threatened to end his life in an instant. "Go away now, he can handle the mourning on his own." A bead of cold sweat fell down Ayush''s forehead, and he stepped back slowly and slightly bowed before sprinting away. Aadityapal''s burst of emotion waned at an unusually quick pace, and he dried his tears. "Aadit." "Y-yes." The prince''s voice was still muffled by mucus from his teary outburst, but it was intelligible. "I think he was lying." Aadityapal seemed stunned at this conclusion, and Alex didn''t have much to back up his rationale, so he tried to convince thetter. "It seemed to me that he was trying to get you as far away from thepetition as possible." "Why would Ayush do that? I''m known to be one of the least usible contenders for the throne." "Perhaps, he knows of your rapidly improving performance." Alex thought that it was possible for the prince to institute a spy to observe threats to his ascent to the Empire''s throne. Alex frowned and asked the prince a question, "Did you interact with any members of the royal family these past few days?" Aadityapal fell into deep thought. Then, he just shrugged and replied, "Yesterday, I went to the marketce of the city and a lion was attacking the vendors and a princess that was a previous acquaintance of mine, so I saved her and eliminated the lion." Alex nodded and now understood. The prince waved his hand and shook his head, "But there''s no way- He halted his words and a frown formed at his be. "Do you see where I''m getting at, disciple?" Alex chuckled and ced a finger on the side of his eyes, pretending to be a very famous detective from Earth. Aaditayapal eximed, "That f*cker!" He then stormed out of the library and went in the direction of thergest courtyard of the pce. Alex understood his intent and swiftly followed behind him. There were guards at the entrance to the idyllic garden, and they stopped Aadityapal''s passage and stated, "Lord Ashoka is in the midst of meditation, please make your leave." Aadityapal tried to fight off the guards and eximed, "But I NEED to ask Father a question." He was about to incapacitate the guards when Alex ced a hand on his shoulder. He then told the guards, "Could the two of us pass?" "Lord has instructed us to allow you passage, Lord Alex." The guards bowed down and let the two of them enter now. Ashoka was, in fact, meditating with his eyes closed. He sensed their presence and opened his eyes, which shed with a perplexed glint. Aadityapal ran up to him and bowed, "Father, have you received any news of Mother, umm, l-Lady Avni falling sick?" Ashoka seemed confused and replied, "I believe not, if anything, an advisor has informed me of a few letters sent by her way on their way to the pce." "Bingo," Alex gloated. Chapter 103 - Asuras Involved "Thank Lady Parvati..." Aadityapal copsed on the ground and sighed. Ashoka turned to Alex, "Brother, what is this about?" Alex didn''t respond directly and instead asked another question, "Ashoka, do you know of any methods a mortal could use to manipte others through their mannerisms, and even vocal tone?" Ashoka seemed rather stricken-aback by this unexpected question and pondered a bit over it. He then gave Alex a rather conclusive reply, "Usually, I would doubt it to be divine aid, but no god under the jurisdiction of Lady Parvati would dare use their powers for these intents, so I believe it to be a spell of an Asura family." ''Asuras?'' Alex was unfamiliar with the meaning of it, but the word seemed to roughly mean ''Demigod''. "Why would an Asura grant such powers to a mortal?" Alex was still a bit puzzled. Ashoka seemed to have reasoning of his own and stood up. He leaned on the trunk of arge tree behind him and cleared his throat. "I do not have any knowledge of westernnds, but here, whether mortal or divine, any creature''s soul holds extreme importance and value, since we are allposed of Brahma." Aadityapal stood up and approached Alex, staying by his side. Thetter was listening attentively to Ashoka''s exnation. "Asuras are the bridge between mortals and us gods, yet they are not immortal. When they deal with humans, it is oftentimes for the intent of capturing their souls to extend their own lives." Alex understood and interjected, "I believe I''ve met a simr creature in the past, who used her powers to inspire fear and reverence in mortals and then use them for her own benefit." He took out Prometheus and pointed at the ruby. "Though, she only exists in the form of this ruby now." Since Ashoka was willing to share information with him, Alex did the same. "I am aware that many such creatures roam thend, in the case of Asuras, they aren''t always malevolent, but I tend to be skeptical of their intentions," Ashoka added his own feelings on the matter. However, it seemed he wished to get back to his meditation, so they bid goodbyes and parted ways again as swiftly as they met. ''It is going to be a problem during thepetition if Ayush just orders Aadit to give up, and thetter listens to him due to that power of his,'' Alex''s head circled with many possible scenarios. But no matter which one, it seemed there was only one possible solution. ''Training mental fortitude is an extremely lengthy process and there is absolutely no way it could be done in 4 days.....'' Alex realized that Ranya and Aarush probably had preparations for such predicaments through the training of the gods, but Aadityapal wouldn''t be able to get that in such a short amount of time. "Aadit?" They were walking down a wide corridor, and Alex halted and turned to the prince. Thetter also stopped in his tracks and awaited his words. "Would you be fine with slightly cheating in thepetition?" Alex had a n in mind. Aadityapal seemed reluctant, and he rubbed his own head. "It''s just a temporary blessing, to enhance your mental fortitude," If the prince wasn''t willing, he would ept that, but it would be extremely inconvenient for him topete if his willpower stayed as fickle as it was when Ayush visited them. "Yes!" Alex nodded and ced his hand on the prince''s head. His appearance changed and took on some of Athena''s traits. Then, he slowly circted his Faith Energy into Aadityapal''s body with the intent of blessing him. The blessing was sessful, and the prince would also now enjoy increases cognitive abilities for a while. "Let''s go eat," It was time for lunch, and in the afternoon, and topensate for the remaining time before the contest, the physical training would be far tougher than before. The two ate a nutritious and hearty meal and went to their courtyard. "Attack me with Prometheus," Alex wished to see how much of a gap a divine weapon could even cover. Aadityapal obliged and bolted at him, with the silver longsword in his hand. *Whoosh* The longsword was swift and deadly, and through the sounds swinging it produced, it looked like it even cut the air. Alex pretended not to dodge and let the princend an attack. Surprisingly, the sword somewhat dug into his skin, and a small amount of blood spilled out. Aadityapal seemed stunned and threw the sword into the air. "I apologize, Master!" Alex found it funny that he thought that an attack of this level heavily hurt him. The shing wound immediately healed up, and only a slight bloodstain even indicated that it was there. ''Perhaps, Prometheus will grant him an unfair advantage, after all?'' But then, he shrugged and recalled a line that he, himself had told him. ''Ranya is probably going to use the Vajra that Indra granted her,'' Prometheus was still an unknown weapon despite being quite strong, but through reading some historical documents in the library, he discovered that the Vajra was an unreasonably overpowered and unbreakable weapon that gave its wielder control over weather and lightning bolts. ''If that is allowed, then Prometheus should also be allowed,'' Alex grimaced. Unexpectedly, Hermes appeared in the courtyard. He approached Alex, but Aadityapal recognized him and bowed down. "Hello, future emperor~~" Hermes supported Alex''s training of the prince. Aadityapal was ttered by this remark and bowed even deeper. Alex chuckled and greeted Hermes, "You didn''t get scammed again, did you?" Hermes shook his head and whispered, "No, I scammed the city of their foreign currency reserves, so we''ll be rich when we get to the Qin, I have so many copper coins(1) now!" "You didn''t do something hical, right?" Hermes coughed repeatedly and averted his eyes, "I pretended to be a foreign divination expert...." Alex facepalmed and was about to scold Hermes again but thetter changed the subject, "Ah, forget that! I''m here to help you train the prince!" ''What'' Alex was suspicious of his intentions since Hermes didn''t usually do anything troublesome for free. But he then realized what he wanted. "You want to use Prometheus?" Alex asked pinpointedly. Hermes nodded and turned back to Aadityapal, "You are too slow, there are many simple ways to increase your speed..." Thus, the strangest situation urred. A desperate prince was being trained by two foreign gods, all to seed the throne of an Empire halfway around the world from where the gods came from... Chapter 104 - The Contest With Hermes joining in on the training, the day-long training was more effective than ever and the prince made incredible leaps in his martial arts and schrly understanding. Then, time flew by fast, and here, the three of them were gathered in the training courtyard, on the eve of the contest. Aadityapal walked towards the two gods in slow steps and halted in front of them. Unexpectedly, he kowtowed to them and thanked them earnestly. "I would have never achieved this level without Master and Lord Hermes, I cannot thank you enough." Hermes shrugged and kept silent. Alex made the prince stand up and he sharply looked at him in the eye. "The best way to thank us is to show all that you''ve learned tomorrow," Alex bluntly said. Aadityapal nodded repeatedly and a teardrop slowly slithered its way down his face. However, Hermes broke the atmosphere by jokingly, or perhaps seriously, saying, "Though, if you have any more of that silver metal of yours, you can also thank us with that." Nheless, this remark made the princeugh, and Alex demanded he open up his palms. Then, he ced a glowing silver ball upon them. The moonlight reflected off the ball, and a red glow diffused from the embedded ruby. "Use Prometheus well, will you?" Alex lent him the masterpiece that he crafted, and it would be a waste if he didn''t use it to its full potential. Aadityapal nodded and clenched the fist-sized ball. The ball then turned into a longsword, and the prince ced the de on its wide end upon the left side of his chest. He stoically eximed, "I swear!" Following that, the two gods and the tense prince parted ways, and they all went off to visit Hypnos, God of sleep. _____________________________________ -The next morning- Alex woke up to the resounding cacophony of cheers and screams. ''It''s the day, I should go spectate on the state of the contest,'' Alex waited for his brain fog to clear up, and then he got ready to visit the square that would host the fiercepetition. Hermes was still sleeping soundly, as he usually did, and he would likely only wake up, confused when the contest was already over. Alex mocked his friend internally and swiftly put on a simple attire. He no longer had any qualms about hiding his status, and he simply unfolded his wings, which were a result of Incarnation, and flew out towards the square. *Boom* *Boom* ''It seems flying wasn''t the best decision...'' Alex soon regretted his choice. With the festivities and the excitement of the session contest, fireworks and other such objects weremon. In broad daylight, people were propelling these smoke explosions, that decorated the bright and blue sky. Alex was targeted by some of these explosions, and when he reached the square, his face was already dirty from an ash-like material. ''If this were modern Earth, authorities would arrest you all for contributing to air pollution....'' Unknowingly, Alex already viewed his homeworld as a distant memory, and only themon sense of the modern era remained. Impressively, in the short week before the contest, they had already removed the immense statue of Ashoka that previously upied the square, and instead, erected an enormous tent that would be the venue for the schrly part of the session contest, which was arguably the most monotonous part of it. Nevertheless, countless carriages with hopeful Brahmins had parked outside of the tent, and they were waiting for the start and lecturing their princely children. Alex frowned, as he perceived an extremely tense atmosphere around here, and with the armed princesses and princesses, fights almost broke out. He ignored the conflicts and tried to find Ashoka. He soon caught a glimpse of him inside a veryrge carriage and made his way there. The ex-emperor was discussing enthusiastically with several well-dressed men and women, hence Alex remained on the side. "I have hired a few thousand schrs to handle the quotation for the schrly part of the exam, and the results will be out tomorrow, I expect you, judges, to form impartial opinions based on the candidates with the best results in both the battles and the written exam," Ashoka was lecturing the judges of the contest. The group of judges nodded and one of them coughed and inquired to Ashoka, "We have been informed that you will have veto power over the final selection, is that correct, Lord Ashoka?" Ashoka nodded and stated, "I have some ideas on the stand-outs of thepetition and have observed them extensively, and while some of them might be skilled, they could becking in factors that are not measured upon in the contest." Then, Ashoka turned around and saw Alex, leaning upon the walls of the carriage. "This is Sir Alex, a western god, I expect everyone to treat him with the utmost respect," The judges unanimously bowed down as a greeting, and then, they left the room. "How did the training with Aadityapal go? One week was really a short period, I apologize for that," Ashoka felt guilty about it. Alex waved his hand and replied, "Don''t be, it actually went rather well, and I can say, that Aadit will be one of the forefront candidates for the throne." ''Trust the process,'' Alex clenched his fists. Ashoka seemed astonished by his confidence and quietly apuded him. After that, the loud, earth-shaking sound of a gong rang out. "It''s beginning," Ashoka and Alex left the carriage. A lot of princes and princesses flooded into the tent, but a strange event also took ce simultaneously. Many of them halted in front of the tent, and eximed, "I give up!" Hundreds of imperial descendants gave up their role in the contest, and Alex found it extremely unusual until he saw a likely culprit. As the group of princes gave up, a smiling man entered into the tent, not giving them any heed. Each of his movements mesmerized the bystanders, yet he walked with indifference. It was the master maniptor, Prince Ayush. Yet, even as everyone directed their attention to him, another prince confidently entered the tent, and he had a strange silver ball in his hand. It was Aadityapal. Alex smiled at the passing prince, and thetter did the same before he disappeared into the tent. ___________________________________________ Aadityapal was feeling very nervous, but no matter what, he convinced himself to stand up straight and confident, because TWO gods saw the potential in him, and trained him for the best. He entered into the tent, and inside, there were many low-lying tables, and pillows to rest the knees on. Because of the number of princes who gave up, many of the seats were empty, and Aadityapal simply took one of them. There was a paper and an inked quill on the table. There was a single, open-ended essay question on the exam, and it followed a scenario. "A great flood hits thend, and you are the ruler of thisnd, what do you do?" The prince pondered over it and recalled the lessons he had with Alex, and swiftly began writing long paragraphs on a scrap piece of paper. Chapter 105 - Astounding Performance Aadityapal''s concentration was at an unnatural level, and Athena''s blessing helped him further his cognitive abilities even more. He was so devoted to the writing that he didn''t notice that he spoke his answers out loud. "Inform yourself of the magnitude of the disaster that befell the most devastated areas, to immediately act to mediate the catastrophe for the poorest residents." "A stable food supply is at risk when confronted to natural disasters, and farmers, the backbone of a nation, are also at risk of losing their livelihoods." "Subsidize farmers and focus all resources on fertile areas that produce essential grains like rice, wheat, and barley." "Restrict information about the disaster to unaffected areas, to avoid panic and jeopardy." As Aadityapal was writing, a voice nearby mocked, "Say that even louder, will you?" The prince raised his face from the paper and red at the person who broke his flow. It turned out to be Prince Ayush, who waspiling answers from his followers to form his own. The supervisor of the exam remarked on the situation, "An emperor needs not only knowledge but also charisma to influence his peers." Aadityapal scoffed and looked around. He also detected two more familiar faces. Ranya and Aarush both calmly concentrated on their essays, and they didn''t give him any heed. After ignoring Ayush once again, Aadityapal got back into writing his essay. Meanwhile, Alex was drinking tea with Ashoka outside. Hemented, "I hope the prince is doing well...." "And, when the situation stabilizes, the ruler shall publicize the achievements of the court in order to gain reverence and trust from the people." Aadityapal wrote in a period and wiped off the sweat from his forehead. Somehow, he had finished before most of the candidates, and almost all of them were still buried in their stash of documents. ''I hope I performed well...'' The prince stood up with hispleted essay and walked towards the center of the tent, where the supervisor was onlooking at the exam. As he walked, he heard a voice flow into his ears, "Fall down." Prince Ayush didn''t bother to conceal his demonic power anymore, and he once again tried to sabotage him. However, Athena''s Essence had improved his mental fortitude, and he easily overcame the effects of the strange power and reached the supervisor''s desk. Aadityapal guessed that Ayush was probably screaming internally right now, but he didn''t care. "Here are my insights, sir." He passed the supervisor the essay. Thetter nodded and stuck the papers with a glue-like substance that was refined from tree sap. Then, he said to the prince, "Thebat assessments shall beginter this afternoon, you can rest now." The prince nodded and ran out of the tent, in the direction where Alex was. He found the god sitting inside the carriage and greeted his father too. Alex smiled and asked, "How did it go?" "It was a scenario about a great flood, and I think I gave a satisfactory answer," Aadityapal gloated, proud of his work. "Great, then, have some tea and sit with us in the meantime," Alex served him some of Hermes'' scam tea, which was surprisingly aromatic for some reason. It was soon noon, and the written exam was officially adjourned. Of the people who left the tent, some had extremely joyful expressions, while others seemed on the verge of crying. The remarkable exceptions were Ranya and Aarush, who had a distinct poker face, and Ayush, who was smiling from ear to ear. Aadityapal hatefully red at the three of them. "Aadit, chill down, you can increase the tension when you fight them, but don''t lose sight of your goals because of some meaningless distractions," Alex advised the anxious prince as he quietly sipped on some of the tea. After the end of the written exam, the real crowd-pleaser would start. Thebat assessments would be held in a colosseum-like stadium that was not too far away from the square. The first fight was actually not too long from noon, and the crowds all gathered at the stadium, awaiting the fight with impatience. Hermes still wasn''t here, so the three of them moved on in the carriage and upied a high seat. A bearded man then entered the stadium and started shouting in a wooden, megaphone-like, voice amplification device. "Today, the elite of the elite of ournd shallbat each other to find the most worthy of inheriting Lord Ashoka''s throne!" The crowd''s eyes all moved to the ce where Ashoka and Alex were sat. Aadityapal, meanwhile, had to seat himself at a slightly lower seat. "We won''t take too long, so the first fight is.... The host did his best to raise the enthusiasm of the crowd, who were already screaming. "Disciple of Lord Indra, Ranya against Singh!" There was a clear difference between the attention given to each of the contestants. The host also mockingly eximed, "I really wonder who is going to win!" The spectators all burst intoughter... ''Poor Singh...'' Alex couldn''t imagine what it would feel like to have your result broadcasted in this way before the fight even started. The host then left the stadium, and two young royals entered. One of them was Ranya, always wielding her diamond-like sword. And the other was an ordinary prince, whom they introduced as Singh. Alex focused on the former, who was likely to be a threat to Aadityapal. The host had now taken up a tform of his own, and he proimed, "Start!" Everyone was excited about the fight and looked at the stadium. However, when they blinked, the prince named Singh was already on the ground, and his clothes and hair were charred and ckened. No one had even seen what happened, but the standing woman on the other side clearly exhibited the victorious princess. However, even though it passed by a sh, Alex had clearly observed the happenings. Cold sweat dripped down his face at the might that this mortal had shown. In a single millisecond, lightning bolts filled the entire stadium, with the diamond-shaped weapon in the center, and all of those bolts instantly struck down on Singh. ''Aadityapal, you''ll have to show all that you have to win...'' Alex looked at the prince seated below them, and the previously nonexistent hopelessness, that re-emerged back on his face. Chapter 106 - A Breeze The host awkwardly coughed and stuttered, "Well, t-the mighty Vajra has concluded the fight, and the v-victory goes to.....Princess Ranya!" The crowd was rather silent at first, but they soon regained their enthusiasm and cheered for the princess. Meanwhile, she indifferently stepped outside of the stadium, uncaring for any of the praise. A few state medics then entered the stadium and carried the injured prince to care for his countless wounds. Aadityapal was biting his lips very hard, and he was suddenly less confident on his own chances to win. *Bam* However, in the midst of his self-wallowing, Alex had jabbed his arm on the prince''s shoulder, and he whispered, "Look, she''s very strong, but I still think you can win." ''Honestly, I''m not too sure...'' Alex simply encouraged him to increase his confidence, sinceck thereof was never a good thing. Aadityapal gulped, and he gave him a thumbs up, "I''ll....win!" "That''s the spirit!" Alex returned to his seat, and he perceived that Ashoka had a hand on his head. "She''s a troublesome child....." Ashoka was speaking of Princess Ranya. It seemed he didn''t want Alex to react, as he continued his words, "She''s extremely strong, unnaturally so for a mortal, but I don''t think her personality would fare well with the position of a ruler." Then, he halted his words and stared at Alex. Alex nodded and said, "I think she''d be very fit to be a military leader since it seems she doesn''t know the intricacies of diplomacy, and her straightforwardness will not fare well with foreign rulers." Ashoka nodded and added, "And then, there''s Aarush, and he has the opposite problem, he is simply too good at scheming and diplomacy, and he doesn''t inspire trustworthiness." ''Imperial life is troublesome.'' Alex clicked his tongue. "What about Aadit?" Alex wished to know the ex-emperor''s opinion on his dear disciple. Ashoka sighed and replied honestly, "I wouldn''t know of today''s Aadityapal, but in the past, he always suffered from ack or excess of confidence, and I wouldn''t honestly trust a person with a fickle psyche to be a ruler." Fortunately, the prince in question was quite far away from them, and he didn''t hear their discourse. Alex nodded and thanked Ashoka for sharing his feedback. In the meanwhile, a few uninteresting battles had taken ce, but the crowds were still quite enthusiastic nheless. Then, as the two continued speaking on mundane matters, Alex heard the name of a prince that also intrigued him. "Disciple of Lord Chandra, Aarush against Princess Prisha!" The crowds cheered at the mention of ''Lord Chandra'', and Alex''s attention once again fixated on the venue. Two people had entered the stadium. The cunning Aarush had a thick rope in his hand, and he grimaced menacingly at the princess who also came into the venue. The host shouted, "Start!" Alex perceived that the princess''s lips moved, and from that motion, she was mouthing the sentence ''I give up.'' However, Aarush didn''t give her any time for that, as he charged by extremely quickly, and unexpectedly, he wielded the rope and wrapped it around her neck, before swiftly tightening a knot. This gesture shocked the crowd, and the princess was having difficulty breathing and could not even speak. In the meanwhile, like a ferocious beast pouncing upon weak prey, Aarush pummeled the vulnerable princess, and various bruises appeared around her body. Ashoka sighed, "This is why I don''t want Aarush to be Emperor..." Alex red at the prince and noticed that the princess''s face had turned a blue color. He perceived a sharp and deadly glint pass through Aarush''s eyes, but thetter restrained himself and loosened the knot. The princess fell down, and the shocked host said, "I-i-it is a v-victory for Prince A-Arush!" The crowd cheered loudly, but there was a sense of unease in the air at the methods the prince achieved victory with. Alex was actually going to intervene since the princess was about to die from asphyxiation as he tightened the knot even further, but fortunately, Aarush exerted some self-control. ''I think that he would have killed her if there wasn''t any crowd...'' Alex was disgusted. The medics swiftly carried the copsed princess, and a red-purple bruise enveloped her neck. After that ''interesting'' battle, a few pointless fights took ce. Then, the host announced, "Prince Aadityapal against Prince Priyansh!" Aadityapal stood up and went down the seats. His opponent didn''t seem too strong, so he didn''t bother to reveal Prometheus to the world yet. Alex cheered on the prince, who reached the stadium and faced his adversary. "Start!" Aadityapal bolted at the other prince, fully exhibiting the movement techniques that Hermes and Alex taught him. The other prince was but a punching bag, and Aadityapal simply performed a three-attack regimen, consisting of a fist to the abdomen, a kick to the head, and a tackle to destabilize the opponent''s bnce. The prince named Priyansh was on the floor, and even though he didn''t seem to have any bad injuries, he held his hand up and eximed, "I forfeit!" With that, Aadityapal smoothly won his first battle. The crowd didn''t know this prince and were amazed by his clean and effective martial techniques. Their cheers reflected their admiration, and Aadityapal was extremely joyful that an entire crowd had validated his strength. "You did very well, Aadit!" Alex praised the prince, who had quickly climbed back up the stairs. The victorious prince had the widest smile Alex had ever seen, and his confidence was restored. Even Ashoka simply nodded andmented, "A very fair fight, you did well." Suddenly, the host announced the next fight. "Ever-Charismatic Prince Ayush, against Princess Ritvi!" Aadityapal red at the prince who just entered the stadium. Ayush waved at the crowds, who were cheering unusually loud for this prince. Then, he nced in the direction of Ashoka. It seemed like he wanted to insinuate a message through his expressions, but distance didn''t do him any favors. The opposing princess entered the stadium, and she was immediately met with booing from the crowd. Chapter 107 - Strange Battles -Patliputra, Stadium- The extremely negative reception of the crowd overwhelmed the ordinary princess, and her body retreated into itself in a defensive position. ''Her weakened psyche isn''t going to help her much in the fight,'' Alex remarked as he observed the two opponents, and more specifically, the prince. Ayush was still smiling and exchanging waves with the enthusiastic crowd. The host cleared his throat to attract the attention of the crowd back, and then he eximed, "Start!" Everyone immediately focused on the arena. Ayush and the princess stood still in their position and stared at each other. Then, a miraculous phenomenon took ce. The prince smiled at his opponent and gently asked, "Would you mind giving up?" The crowd was taken aback by this question. The imperial descendants took this contest very seriously, and yet, this prince nonchntly asked his opponent to forfeit from thepetition. The following events were even stranger. The princess stared listlessly at Ayush, and put her hand up, "I give up!" Alex and Ashoka both frowned. The crowd waspletely silent and akin to a drop of water in a quiet ce, the host awkwardly announced the prince''s victory. Ashoka turned to Alex, and he whispered, "He''s the person you spoke to me about?" "Yes, what do you think?" "While I can''t say that it''s unfair, considering it is simply one of his abilities, but his dealings with the Asuras will only bring him trouble, and I don''t think I can afford to ce the puppet of this malevolent Asura n on the throne." "Fair," Alex nodded and folded his arms. Astonishment was still present among the spectators, and they only recovered and cheered when the host announced an exciting match. "Disciple of Lord Indra, Ranya, against Prince Sai!" The volume of the cheers took on a new high, as these two were both prominent imperials. The two entered the stadium, and the strange appearance of the prince puzzled the crowd. He had a strange brown armor that covered his entire body, and Alex recognized the material as rubber. ''Why would he wear rubber armor?'' Confusion also upied Alex''s facial expressions. Then, insight suddenly hit him. ''Rubber can''t conduct lightning bolts, rendering her ability useless...!'' Alex found that to be a smart choice. Although the armor was likely ufortable and stiff, it essentially made him immune to the princess'' greatest known ability. The host spoke some jokes to lighten up the atmosphere and excite the spectators. "Start!" Ranya looked at the prince''s rubber armor, and then at the Vajra in her hand. The prince eximed, "What now, princess? What can you do to me?" The princess stared at him, and then she snickered quite loudly. Her Vajra moved in a circr pattern, and the wind started rotating around her. *Whoosh* Soon enough, a small tornado the height of an average human male sharply spun around her. The tornado swiftly followed the prince, who couldn''t move fast enough to dodge it. It cast him up and down into the air, but it didn''t seem to do him any harm. Confusion spread amongst the spectators, who didn''t understand what the princess was trying to do. She lookedpletely still, yet, to the eyes of a god, like Alex, the subtle movements of her Vajra didn''t escape him. Suddenly, an extremely small white-ish me hovered in the air. The me was slowly moving in the direction of the tornado, and no mortal would be able to distinguish under the bright afternoon sun. However, Alex''s eyes widened, and he red at the princess. Ashoka also stood up urgently, but Alex ced his hand on the other''s wrist, and said, "Ashoka, sit down, I''ll intervene!" He immediately ran down the stairs of the stadium and grabbed Prometheus from Aadityapal. Alex then turned the weapon into its base form, the heavy spear hammer. For the entire duration of his climb down into the stadium, he kept his very attention on the princess. Thoughts swiftly streamed through his brain. ''She''s doing it on purpose, isn''t she?!'' ''Does she want to kill him!?'' The reason for this urgency was his observation of her deadly n. The white-ish me was clearly not an ordinary one, and he could feel the heat it potentially emanated from here. If the strange me came into contact with the tornado, the wind maelstrom would instantly engulf into a ming tornado. At the temperatures of the ming tornado, the rubber armor on the man would instantly melt and all of the extremely hot rubber would stick to his entire body. ''In the best-case scenario, he gets fourth-degree burns all over his body and remains paralyzed for the rest of his life...'' Alex gulped as another realization came through to him. ''Worst-case scenario....he dies.'' There was no way he wasn''t going to intervene. Alex was instantly down in the arena, and he charged in the direction of the hovering me, and cut it down into a thousand sparks, that all extinguished into nothingness. Ranya was staring at him very strangely. The entire venue was silent. Alex entered into the eye of the tornado, and with a few swift movements, the deadly spinning whirlpool dissipated, and the rubber man was on the ground. Alex turned to Ranya, and eximed, "Haven''t you heard? He gave up earlier and you still attacked him." Both the prince and Ranya were confused by his false statement. The prince puzzlingly replied, "I did?!" ''Co-operate with me here, you would have died otherwise,'' Alex facepalmed mentally and red at the prince, and hoped thetter would get the signal. A god''s eye contact was fearsome, and the prince stuttered and said, "Y-yes! I g-gave up!" "Heard him? He gave up," Alex stated, facing the princess. ''Thank god,'' Alex thanked himself internally. Ranya didn''t seem to ept this, but Alex simply said, "What are you waiting for? Leave the arena." The princess red at him, and then she left. *Drip* Amidst the unusual silence, a drop of water resonated audibly throughout the venue. The host coughed, and said, "Victory goes to.....Princess Ranya!" Chapter 108 - A Vendetta After his intervention, Alex walked his way back to the highest tform in the seating area. Thousands of eyes were upon him, and he attracted a lot of attention, but that didn''t matter in the grand scheme of things, as they avoided a catastrophe. Ashoka smiled, "You did the right thing, Alex, I would not have expected her to reach that level of apathy and cruelty," The ex-emperor clenched his fists on hisp and sighed, "With the pressure I''m getting from Lord Indra and Chandra, it will be hard to refuse them the throne if they emerge victorious throughout all of thepetition." "If ites down to it, I could speak to them," Alex confidently replied. Ashokaughed in response. Upon seeing that Ashoka and Alex were acquainted, the gossiping wore off and the action-packed afternoon was back on track. "Next is.... The host ignited the excitement of the crowd and loudly announced the nextpetitors. "ck horse, Prince Aadityapal, against the Ever-Charismatic, Prince Ayush!" ''What a match-up....'' Alex felt nervous at the prospects of the fight. "Master," He suddenly heard Aadityapal''s voice. The prince was breathing heavily, and his eyes glowed with willpower. "Aadit, fight well, but don''t be rash," The prince''s excitement and confidence were a good thing, but he shouldn''t let himself get carried by his emotions, in Alex''s opinion. Aadityapal nodded and the ball in his hand turned into the longsword he trained so hard with. "Oh, and use Prometheus well!" Alex had a bad premonition about this fight, but he didn''t voice out his concerns and instead simply encouraged his disciple. The prince turned his back towards Alex and confidently went down to the arena. Aadityapal had won a few fights before, and the spectators admired his fair and efficient fighting style a lot, so he gained some poprity among them. However, Prince Ayush always received extensive attention from them, and the cheers that the former received drowned under Ayush''s incredible charisma. Prince Ayush didn''t have a weapon, whereas Aadityapal wielded the longsword around. When the host asked him if he was well-prepared, the charismatic prince indifferently waved his hand and replied, "I''ll be fine, it will be quick anyways." Aadityapal gritted his teeth when he heard this provocation, hence Alex facepalmed when he saw that his disciple was easily falling for the opponent''s mental intimidation tactics. He established a Link connection with Aadityapal, and said telepathically, "Remember what I told you, Aadit, do not get carried by your emotions." The prince was rmed at the telepathy, but he looked at Alex and then nodded. After that, Ayush kept provoking Aadityapal, yet, thetter didn''t bat an eye this time. The host eximed, "Start!" "Give up! You''ll never be Emperor!" Ayush sneered. His opponent didn''t give him any time to speak more, as he charged at him with the blunt edge of Prometheus ready to end the battle. Surprisingly, Ayush was quite fast, and he swiftly dodged the sword swings. "You thought you could ascend from the lowest of the low to the throne because some foreign shaman took you in?" Ayush mocked the prince as they kept dancing around the battlefield. Aadityapal''s gaze was dark and enigmatic, and his sword didn''t halt at any of his opponent''s daunts. The two continued until they were surrounded by two high walls of the arena. Ayush didn''t seem bothered by the fact that he was pushed to a corner, and a worrying glint passed through his eyes. Aadityapal saw a sudden bright reflectioning from Ayush''s pockets. *sh* A swift and small silver dagger made his way to the longsword-wielding prince. Fortunately, thetter dodged at the veryst moment, and performed a backflip, taking distance from Ayush. ''Hermes'' training didn''t go to waste...'' Alex sighed in relief. Then, Ayush burst out into a bout of maniacalughter. Aadityapal was confused by this change in attitude. However, Alex''s eyes widened, and he almost jumped into the stadium. Under a shadow cast by the wall on his side, Ayush''s eyes turned a bloody red. Alex perceived a red smoke rising from the prince''s body, and his physique underwent very quick, yet subtle changes. His body turned slightly more muscr, and his height increased, while a terrifying tattoo appeared under the sleeves of his shirt. A red-inked, three-headed demon-like monster with twirling horns and each head faced a particr direction. After this transformation, Ayush faced Aadityapal, and he said, "Wouldn''t you give up now?" His red eyes interlocked with Aadityapal''s brown irises, and thetter stood still, but he was trying to shake his head very hard. With that strange controlling gaze in effect, Ayush charged at the still opponent, and his dagger moved at a much faster speed than before. *sh* A bloody slit appeared on Aadityapal''s shoulders, and his brown clothes turned an ugly ga color. "Will you give up now?" Ayush asked once again. He faced Aadityapal, and the two maintained eye contact. Thetter was shaking profusely, and he seemed to be trying to regain control of his body, but a telepathic voice suddenly resounded in his head, "It''s his eyes and words, Aadit! Don''t look at him, and don''t listen!" Alex didn''t want to use Link at first, but he detected that Ayush had killing intent towards his disciple, and when it came to that, his honor was of trivial importance. "Thank you, Master!" Alex expected Aadityapal to be more careful, but his next actions made him facepalm. The prince closed his eyes and plugged his ears closed using a piece of fabric from his clothes. To avoid the strange powers of his opponent, he sacrificed two of his senses and put himself in a vulnerable position. The only effective way to detect his opponent''s movement was through vibrations and wind speed. Ayush frowned, and charged at Aadityapal. Unexpectedly, he was good at dodging attacks, as he felt both the oscitions from his opponent''s steps on the ground and the wind from his sprints. Twisting his body in a strange way, the dagger cut through thin air. However, Ayush didn''t halt his attack, and instead targeted Aadit''s abdomen immediately. *sh* A bloody slit appeared on the prince''s torso and tore off his clothes, revealing his muscr but bloody abdomen. Aadityapal startedughing. Ayush didn''t know what the other wasughing about until he felt a cold sensation on his waist, and looked down. Prometheus was impaled on his waist, and ck blood spilled down the sword. Ayush made a backflip and looked at his wound. He murmured under his breath, ''It''s going to heal quickly anyways...let''s get this over with.'' Chapter 109 - Turnabout Ayush was astonished that Aaditypal had managed tond a swing on him. ''Ughhh....it hurts...'' Ayush kept observing the mangled bloody mess that was his waist. Alex attentively observed the two. ''To allow 80 damage to befall you in order to deal the opponent a 100 damage,'' Alex thought that this was a careless tactic, but it was extremely psychologically demanding and overbearing. ''Go, go, Aadit!'' Alex cheered on the prince telepathically. A smile appeared on Aadityapal''s face, and he stood still and waited for his opponent''s next movements to sense him. Ayush clenched the dagger in his hand as blood dripped down the cold de, and charged at Aadityapal. *Bam* In a split second, Aadityapal grasped Ayush''s dagger-wielding hand and miraculously halted his movements. Then, he took his other hand and... With the inertia from his bodyweight, Aadityapal made Ayush''s body ragdoll in a backflip. The prince''s body was on the ground, and just as Prometheus reached his chest, Ayush kicked Aadityapal in the abdomen,unching him into the air. Ayush''s red eyes shed with hidden worry. ''Why isn''t the wound healing?!'' Ayush had performed a ritual that involved transfusing Asura''s blood into his own body. One of the promises they made was that he would have exceptionally high regenerative power. But the wound that the silver longsword caused was still bloody and painful. Ayush bit his tongue and withstood the pain, and charged back at Aadityapal. The two continued to tackle andnd hits on one another. The cheers from the audience were louder than ever before at this exciting fight. Everyone''s eyes were glued on the deaf and blind prince and the charismatic dagger-wielding prince. However, a sudden change took ce. Ayush had discovered Aadityapal''s tactic, and instead of charging at the prince, he quietly snuck. His steps were light and nimble, and it was unlikely the vulnerable prince would sense him. *Whoosh* Ayush was right, and his sunlit dagger shed down at Aadityapal''s throat. ''Aadit! Move left!'' Alexmunicated with the prince telepathically. This wasn''t apetition made for fratricide, yet Ayush swung down his dagger on Aadityapal''s neck so easily, and with clear killing intent. Aadityapal chuckled and moved left, dodging the dagger at the veryst moment. ''Just open your eyes and unplug your ears! I''ll guide you!'' Alex stated. Aadityapal replied telepathically, ''Master, isn''t that cheating?'' ''Aadit, he wants to kill you, and if he manages to be Emperor, fratricide won''t even be a stain on his record!'' While their telepathicmunication was taking ce, Ayush had snuck up again to the prince. This time, however, Aadityapal swiftly opened his eyes, revealing his determined brown irises. Ayush didn''t calcte this far ahead, and as Prometheus came down on his left thigh, he wasn''t even able to dodge. When the weapon and muscles and tendons touched, the sound of smoke spread, and vapor rose up from Prometheus. "Aghhhhhhhh!" Ayush screeched in pain. Aadityapal didn''t understand what happened, but his opponent''spse in attention allowed him tond another attack. ck blood spilled down Ayush''s body like a fountain and thetter groaned in pain. "What''s in your weapon?! Are you cheating?" Ayush red at Aadityapal. Thetter did not reply. Truthfully, Aadityapal himself did not know, but every time he attacked his opponent, the red ruby in the weapon glowed brighter and brighter. This didn''t escape Alex''s notice, and he quickly came to a conclusion. "This must be the attribute of repentance the information spoke about," Alex embedded the ruby inside Prometheus to augment its strength, but unexpectedly, it gained a strange attribute. ''The ruby worked on Aka Manah, the avatar of Angra Mainyu, so it makes sense that it works on a malevolent Asura!'' With this strange attribute, Aadityapal was able to turn the tides of battlepletely. Now, fright passed through Ayush''s face whenever he saw Prometheus approaching him, and his previously offensive strategy became a defensive one. However, there were opportune moments that Aadityapal didn''t waste, and the wounds on Ayush''s body kept increasing. The crowd was speechless that their beloved prince was suffering so immensely, and Ayush felt everyone''s looks of disappointment on him. He had built up their hopes and admiration with maniption, and now, because of a single mortal, his years of campaigns would go down the ruin. The fight was no longer Aadityapal against Ayush, but the crowd''s dismantled expectations, and Aadityapal against Ayush. ''A mortal can''t fight me, an Asura!'' Ayush clenched his fists and tried to retaliate and save some face for himself. However, the sword of the righteous prince was relentless, and a bloody slit was now visible on Ayush''s chest. Thetter copsed on the floor, and a reflective de neared his neck. "Give up, Ayush," Aadityapal looked down on him and ordered. The sensation of not being in the position of authority was novel to Ayush, and he didn''t know when it was time to give up. Aadityapal turned to the host and eximed, "Despite his injuries, he has refused to forfeit, if he gets very serious wounds, then I proim it not my responsibility!" Ayush listlessly stared at the hanging longsword. Aadityapal brought up the sword, and with all of his hate for his opponent bringing him strength, he was going to sever Ayush''s arteries. Alex frowned and stood up. "Aadityapal, don''t be rash!" He didn''t bother to use Link, yet his clear voice reached Adityapal''s ears. Alex noticed that his disciple let his despise for the maniptive prince take control of him, and he was going tomit a regrettable action. Aadityapal red at Alex, unconvinced. Fortunately, after a few seconds of eye contact, Aadityapal sighed and turned back to Ayush. "Give up, you''ve already lost a lot, don''t lose it all through shameful perseverance." Aadityapal''s words hit Ayush''s psyche particrly hard, and his desire totch on to his remaining influence now overwhelmed even his dignity and desire to ascend to the throne. "I.....g-g-give up..." Ayush weakly said. The crowd was silent. Then, the host eximed, "Victory goes to....ck horse, Prince Aadityapal!" Alex smiled, satisfied that his disciple had ultimately done the right choice. However, thetter didn''t share his satisfaction and left the venue. Alex followed his disciple outside to know what bothered him. Meanwhile, the host announced an exciting battle. "The moon against the sun." "Yes, of course, I''m speaking of the disciple of Lord Chandra, Aarush, against the disciple of Lord Indra, Ranya!" Chapter 110 - Sun Vs Moon Alex found Aadityapal leaning on the outer walls of the structure. He was gritting his teeth and punching the wall. A slight hint of frustration emerged on his face when he saw Alex, but he swiftly concealed it and bowed down. With his face hidden by his bow, he hoarsely said, "Master, why didn''t you let me bring down the sword of judgment on him? He deserves it?!" Alex coughed slightly and gently replied, "Whether he deserves it or not, that is not what matters. Who are you to exact retribution upon others, Aadit?! You are not Emperor!" At first, Aadityapal seemed furious by this remark, but then, he stood up and a wide smile reced his fury. "Master, did you imply something in that remark of yours?" A single tear slid down the prince''s face. Alex shrugged and replied, "When you''re Emperor, you can then execute him and deal with the consequences yourself, but do you really want to do that now?" He continued, "I''m not your moral teachers, Aadit, I simply guide you, you can make your own decisions." Aadityapal shook his head fervently and quietlymented, "Master, you said ''when'' I be Emperor, not ''if'', do you have that much confidence in me?" Alex didn''t hesitate in his reply and eximed, "Of course I do! I trained you! Hermes trained you!" Aadityapal moved his mouth but no words came out. Suddenly, the sound of arge explosion resounded from the stadium. "I wonder who''s fighting?" Aadityapal seemed awed by the scale of these sounds of battle. Alex jokingly replied, "It''s your two favorite siblings, Ranya and Aarush!" Aadityapal''s tearful face brightened up and he said, "Master, what a joke...." "Well then, let''s go spectate upon your siblings.." _________________________________________________ -A few minutes earlier- The host had announced the match-up for the fight, and the audience anticipated this battle a lot. Ranya had entered the arena. A ck henna lightning tattoo slithered down her shoulder, and the Vajra in her hand inspired fear and intimidation. Inparison, Aarush walked slowly and he circled the thick rope in his hand. "Well, hello there, sister." Ranya frowned and didn''t give him any heed. "Not very talkative, are you? Doesn''t matter, because I''ll for sure get the words ''I give up'' straight from your mouth," Aarush confidently dered that he would be victorious. Ranya simply stared at him with an enigmatic expression and waited for the host to speak. "Start!" As per usual, Ranya didn''t move from her ce, and a storm of lightning zigzagged in the arena. Aarush didn''t retreat at all, and instead, he ced his hand on the ground, andrge trees sprouted all around him from the dirt. "You''re not the only one with tricks up your sleeve, sister!" A crescent moon henna tattoo revealed itself on the upper side of his shoulder when he leaned down. Wood was an excellent instor from lightning, and no bolt made its way to him. Aarushughed maniacally and taunted Ranya, "What are you going to do next?" Ranya seemed perplexed by the matter, but she clenched her fist around the Vajra. Then, a huge swathe of white mes ignited on the ground and made their way to Aarush. Strangely, when the mes reached the trees, they didn''t burn them, and the trees actually got taller and sturdier. Aarush seemed to expect this, as he stated, "Ranya, your Vajra invokes sr fire, and Master Chandra''s vegetation thrives on the Sun." He sneered and continued, "If this were Lord Indra, I would have no doubt been burned, but..... "The Sun only makes the moon stronger!" Ranya still maintained a poker face and proceeded to extinguish the mes. Then, she invoked a whirlpool of wind and directed in Aarush''s way. However, the trees were well-rooted in the ground, and the small tornados didn''t have any effect. Aarush mocked, "Out of tricks?" Then, Aarush left his vegetal encasement and charged at Ranya. "You know, I noticed that you never let your opponents approach you in battle, sister, are you weak?" Ranya frowned and performed a backflip to create some distance between her and Aarush. She invoked fires, and lightning, and tornados, but nothing ever worked against Aarush, who inherited a slight mastery over vegetation from his master, the god, Chandra. Then, he was able to clear the distance between them, and his rope encircled around Ranya''s neck. The rope was also resistant to any of her magical attacks, and she frowned further. Aarush pushed her around with the rope and propelled her body into the sky and..... *BAM* back down. He looked at her and said, "Give up yet?" The quiet Ranya suddenly stated, "You are annoying." Her voice was cold, unlike the Sun she was supposed to represent. She continued, "You''ve caused your downfall with your own words." Aarush was puzzled, and asked her, "What do you mean?" Ranya impersonated his ent and said, "The sun only makes the moon stronger!" "However." "The Moon is but inexistent without the light of the Sun!" Ranya halted her words, and her Vajra moved towards the sturdy rope on her neck. With one silent and swift cut, the Vajra severed the rope. Aarush stuttered, but it seemed Ranya had gotten serious, as she didn''t give him any time to think. Without any of her magic this time, she charged at him and simply swung the Vajra at him. He was able to barely dodge, but his neck had a thin slit from the air pressure. Aarush felt the warm blood on his neck with his hands, and his breath got heavy. Ranya harrumphed and reached him at breakneck speed. Then, without her Vajra, she got a grasp on his entire body, and uppercut him. Aarush''s body flew into the air. However, this wasn''t the end of her move, as she jumped into the air again. "The moon can never defeat the sun and Chandra can never defeat Master Indra!" Ranya punched down on Aarush''s body and... *BOOM* A small crater formed in the ground. At this very same moment, Alex and Aadityapal got back to the seating area, and thetter looked at his half-sister with enigmatic feelings. .... After a minute or so, Aarush still didn''t emerge from the crater. The state medics flooded the arena and examined the prince. He had fainted, so the host eximed, "Victory goes to...Princess Ranya!!!" The sound of apuse reverberated repeatedly throughout the audience. ''There are very few contestants remaining, Aadityapal is going to go against her soon...'' Alex remarked. Chapter 111 - Finale(for Ambiance, Blast On Your Favorite Battle Music) Alex and the prince slowly climbed back to their seats. There were only 16 contestants left in the martialpetition. The gap between the skilled and less-skilled imperials was narrower now, so the battles were more exciting than ever. Time passed by quickly, and the sun was slowly shifting westwards. The audience was louder and louder, and no one left their seats. Food vendors had set up stalls around the seating area to amodate the hungry spectators, who didn''t want to miss the next battles to fulfill their biological needs. Soon enough, the number of contestants further halved, and halved again, until there were only 4 contestants in thepetition. The host excitedly announced the next battle, "ck Horse, Prince Aadityapal, against Blessed by fortune, Prince Arjun!" The other prince gained his title because his match-ups were always against the weaker contestants, and he only reached this point because of that. With Ayush and Aarush, who were some of the strongest contenders for the throne, out of thepetition, the opponents didn''t quite match up to Aadityapal''s skills. The fight was quickly over, as the blunt edge of Prometheus brought down its judgments on anyone who dared to cross its path. The next fight had Princess Ranya against a rtively strong prince. In spite of his strength, Ranyapletely obliterated him. Aadityapal gulped and hisposure turned anxious. With the end of that fight, the final showdown of the martialpetition would begin. The rising underdog vs the elite princess. The battle garnered blood-curlingly loud cheers before it even began, and when the two contestants made their way to the arena, the host''s voice waspletely inaudible because of the sheer volume from the crowd. Ranya confidently stood on one side of the arena. She waspletely intact, and unharmed, except for a small tear in her clothing that Aarush''s rope caused. Strangely, Aadityapal''s wounds from his fight against Ayush had all healed, and only the tattered clothing signaled any past harm. The tension between the two imperials devolved into a form of psychological warfare. Worry asionally spilled out on Aadityapal''s expression, but he nheless confidently raised his shoulders, and the now-clean Prometheus hung at his waist. "START!" Cool winds brushed by the two contestant''s bodies, and in a split second, they both charged towards each other. *CLANK* The Vajra and Prometheus shed against each other, and the force from the attack pushed both of them back. Ranya seemed stunned when she saw the intact longsword, and remarked, "You have a good weapon." "You too." Aadityapal wasn''t interested in any discussions and bolted back at the princess. *BAM* When the divine armaments hit one another, a vacuum of air generated from their pure, unadulterated physical ability. However, Ranya didn''t step back and pushed down a bit more. Aadityapal frowned, and a numb sensation suddenly spread throughout his arms and body. A sh of light went through the Vajra, and into Prometheus, conducting itself and zigzagging before it reached Aadityapal''s body. "AAARGH!" Aadityapal groaned from the pain of the lightning bolts and jumped back. ''I was too careless!'' Since Ranya had only used her physical abilities until now, he forgot that she also had supernatural powers. The two were evenly matched in terms of physical strength. Therefore, Ranya decided to change her tactic. She performed several impressive backflips, and when she was far enough from Aadityapal, she pierced Vajra into the dirt floor. The weapon dug itself easily and stood straight. Ranya snickered and ced her left hand on the weapon. The lightning tattoo on her bare arm threatening the eye. Out of a sudden, arge storm of lightning started spreading from the weapon. It was far denser than any lightning attack she used before, and she was going all-out. Additionally, a stampede of white fire also zed its way along with the lightning, and it wouldn''t take long before the entire arena was a deadly trap of fire and lightning. Aadityapal frowned heavily and circumnavigated the length of the arena for safe areas. Spots without any of her interference were shrinking very fast, and the prince had to think fast. As his back came into contact with the cold wall, he got a sudden idea. Aadityapal jumped high up and ced his feet upon the wall. He then propelled himself from the wall using his hands, and he didn''t waste the momentum this propulsion created. He swiftly ran over the perimeter of the wall horizontally and maintained his footing through the aforementioned technique. This was ufortable, but he was at least out of the range of the attacks. However, he also couldn''t reach Ranya, who had an area of extremely dense lightning and fire protecting her. The princess saw his little trick and sneered. She clenched her hand on the Vajra, and the lightning, that previously only navigated close to the floor, rose up. ''Crafty....'' Alex had no choice but to praise her intelligence. Since it was quickly approaching sunset, the humidity was on the rise. Ranya was using the high concentration of water vapor in the air to allow for an uninterrupted current of electricity. "Aadit, what are you going to do....?" Alex murmured when he saw the helpless prince. Even though he was climbing even higher up the wall, the lightning still managed to find its way to him, and the pain was unimaginable. Smoke rose from his hair and eyebrows, and his eyes twitched rapidly. He strongly bit his tongue, and blood spilled out of his lips. With the immense pain from this wound, he distracted himself from the painful electrocution, that was followed by an even more horrible numbness. "I have to make this gamble....!" Aadityapal eximed. Then, he jumped down into the ming ground. With all of the lightning, visibility was extremely poor. The prince felt his sandals rapidly heat up, and an ufortable level of heat burned his feet. Aadityapal breathed heavily and ran towards the princess. Inparison, the princess was exhausting every ounce of her energy into maintaining this power, and she was sweating buckets. Suddenly, Aadityapal noticed a strange fact when he looked at Prometheus. Even though lightning bolts did reach him, most of the electrical currents concentrated in the silver longsword. Though, the ruby was free of any electrical charge. "Could it be....?" Aadityapal had a realization. Suddenly, he threw Prometheus to a spot far away. "What are you doing, Aadityapal?!" Alex screamed out his lungs. However, in the next second, his eyes widened at a certain phenomenon. ''You are such a genius, Aadityapal!!!!'' Alex''s eyes glowed when he understood what his disciple just did. Chapter 112 - Ultimatum(For Ambiance, Listen To Your Favorite Battle Music) When Aadityapal disarmed and threw away Prometheus, a strange feat urred. All of the lightning currents, which previously upied the entire arena, congregated around the weapon. "I should have figured this out earlier!" Alex facepalmed at his own stupidity. When he saw this phenomenon with his own eyes, he swiftly processed and understood. ''The reason the Vajra is so great for conducting electricity is not a supernatural one! It''s simply because of the Divine Iron!'' Since Prometheus was also produced out of Divine Iron, it made sense that it had the same superconductive abilities as the Vajra. Aadityapal burst into joyfulughter when he saw that his gamble had been a sess. There were still searing white mes all over the arena, but he didn''t have to worry about the lightning anymore. The prince quickly charged at the princess, who stupidly encased herself in a circr ball of lightning and fire, and thought Aadityapal would never be able to reach her. His nimble steps covered the arena in an instant, and a kick made its way into the insides of the deadly ball. *BAAM* The sound of a hard object hitting a skull reverberated, and Ranya''s body ragdolled out of the encasement. She fell down onto her back, and the attack hadpletely disoriented her. Aadityapal''s attack was sessful, however, it didn''te out without its consequences. The prince''s legs werepletely charred and numb. He tried to regain feeling in his limb, but it was unsessful, so he would have to resort to fighting with one leg now. Unfortunately, Ranya still clenched the Vajra in her hand, as if it was an instinctive reaction of hers, and the prince was unarmed. The prince tried to take advantage of her disorientation and bolted at her, albeit slower than before because of his injured leg. However, she regained herposure earlier than expected and the Vajra moved around in a circr motion. Sharp winds circted around her, and tornadoesrger than the ones she usually invoked menacingly spun around and made their way to Aadityapal. The prince grit his teeth as he lost his bnce and was thrown off into the air. Nheless, during his training with Alex, the forces that his body withstood were much greater than these weak tornadoes, and he had thoroughly grasped the art of keeping his bnce. His injured leg didn''t help, but he somehow was able to stand up amidst the tornadoes. Ranya was astonished at this but she simply stated, "It doesn''t matter, the sharp winds are going to end you anyways!" Then, Aadityapal noticed that a fortunate coincidence had ocurred. When Ranya invoked the tornadoes, she forgot that Prometheus was still somewhere in the arena. The longsword was also thrown off into the air, and without her even knowing, Aadityapal could wield back the weapon, and attack her and end thispetition for good. ''However, I first have to make sure my own weapon doesn''t cut me down....'' Prometheus was rotating menacingly inside the eye of one of the tornadoes, and if the de hit him at such speeds, it would instantly be game over for him. Aadityapal put out his two hands in a martial position he learned from Hermes. This pose would cushion the force of any attack, and if he was lucky enough for Prometheus to face him with its blunt edge, he could try to wield it without any injury to his hands or body. However, the winds were uncooperative, and for a split second, Aadityapal saw the sharp edge of Prometheus nearing him. "NO!" He didn''t want to die, he didn''t want to die, he didn''t want to die....! He twisted his body in a strange angle and his two hands tried to handle the hilt of the longsword. Suddenly, he felt his hand clenching a soft and circr object. When he opened his eyes, tears of joy almost escaped. The hilt of the longsword was stable in his two hands, and only a small cut across his elbow urred as a result of his trial. "I''m alive!!!" Aadityapal used the weight from the longsword and navigated through the tornadoes, which were now stronger than ever. Like master, like disciple. Aadityapal used the same technique of forming vacuums with his weapon to move around the tornado as Alex did when they were in the desert, and he was soon out of the eye of the tornado. The blurry silhouette of Ranya was visible from here, and with a slight push of his body, Aadityapal exited the realm of the tornadoes. His still-intact leg folded itself as his body fell down and he got ready tounch his final attacks. Ranya only saw him at thest moment, and her jaw was wide open. However, there was no time for her to dodge, and a kick instantly struck her shoulders. Aadityapal jumped back and stabilized his footing on the floor. Ranya had carelessly extinguished the mes to save up on her energy, and now, she would regret it. Her feet dug down the ground from the force of the kick, and the prince didn''t waste this opportunity. The blunt edge of Prometheus instantly made its way to her wrist. *nk* The Vajra flew from her hand and fell down to the floor. Without her weapon, and having used most of her energy, Ranya had no way to win now. The sharp longsword was a millimeter away from her neck, and Aadityapal simply said, "Give up." His voice was muffled by....tears. Aadityapal was sobbing, and his snot and tears intermixed into an unpleasant sight. "I can''t believe it...." Aadityapal murmured. Ranya still didn''t move an inch, and she simply stared at the prince, then at her weapon far away. "I know when to recognize a loss, I forfeit," Ranya ended the fight with her words. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Apuse and cheers rang out from the crowd, and Alex smiled from ear to ear. The host eximed, "Victory of the martialpetition goes to.....Prince Aadityapal!!!!!!" Suddenly, the sound of stomping approached the stadium from outside. Loud drums also produced a cacophony. The host seemed confused by this. Ashoka and Alex frowned. Ashoka turned to Alex, and weakly said, "I think trouble ising." Chapter 113 - King Of The Devas After Aadityapal''s victory against Ranya, thepetition was supposedly over. However, the approachingmotion stirred up curiosity in the audience. Apprehension painted Ashoka''s face and Alex frowned. The stomping sound was getting closer and closer, and then, a gigantic white elephant appeared in the skies above the venue. Numerous winged horses orbited the elephant, and strange, dwarf-like creatures sat upon them. The creatures were carrying giant war drums and chanting praises, "King of the Devas, the ever-merciful, Lord Indra! "King of the devas, the ever-powerful, Lord Indra!" Ashoka was less than pleased at the iing guest, and a tall man jumped out of the elephant, and into the arena. The man was the god Indra. He had an indifferent expression to his face and his curved and thin eyebrows emanated an exalted aura. Indra looked around and his eyes fixated on the Vajra, that had fallen in a corner of the arena. He then stared at his disciple Ranya, whoid down on the ground with various injuries on her body. The next target of his attention was Aadityapal and his weapon. From the sights in the arena, it seemed he had formed a conclusion internally, and he turned to Ashoka, who was standing in a high seat. The stadium waspletely silent, as most of the mortal spectators left the venue the moment they recognized the white elephant and its owner. Mortals didn''t like to get involved in the affairs of the fickle and powerful gods. "Ashoka, I believe my disciple has lost to this young man...?" Indra asked in a slow tone of speech. Ashoka didn''t retreat and nodded in response. Indra chuckled and turned to Aadityapal. "Mortal, you took upon you the blood of the gods..?" Indra had a domineering expression on his face. Aadityapal waspletely puzzled by these words, but Alex felt a storm brewing when he understood the god''s words. "Preposterous!" Indra eximed. Then, Ranya sluggishly stood up and faced Indra. "But, Master, you also gave me- "Silence, disciple," Indra interrupted Ranya''s words. Suddenly, his attention turned elsewhere. Somewhere in the seating area of the stadium, a young man sat. He emanated a dark and hateful demeanor, and his red irises menacingly reflected the orange hue of the setting sun. It was Ayush. Earlier, when he had lost, the medics tried to take him to a hospital, but he refused and wished to watch the end of thepetition despite his injuries. Today was the worst day he had ever endured. When Ayush perceived Indra''s attention on him, his shoulders and body retreated inwards in fear. "Blood of the Asuras? Did you go to that extent to win a simplepetition? I''ll deal with youter," Indra frowned in distaste. Ayush''s breath turned extremely heavy, and he tried to stand up and escape. *Rumble* However, a lightning boltnded on an area close to the prince, and an entire part of the seats ignited into arge fire. The sound of thunder followed the lightning bolt, and everyone felt as if an earthquake urred. ''Ranya is nothingpared to her master...'' Alex gulped at the prowess of Indra. Indra dryly chuckled at the terrorized prince and diverted his attention to Aadityapal. "Any mortal who exploits the blood of the gods should receive judgment," Indra stated with a stoic face. Large white mes appeared in his hands, and heunched those mes in the direction of the prince. Aadityapal didn''t understand anything of the current events, and as he saw the blindingly bright mesing his way, he couldn''t even move. However, a wide back suddenly appeared in front of him. A hand took the silver longsword from him, and that very same longsword transformed into a shield and spear in front of everyone. The mes came into contact with the gorgeous silver shield, and they disappeared. Indra frowned when he saw the man who had stopped his attack. Blue hair and navy blue eyes. A golden armor covered his entire body, and he masterfully wielded the shield and spear around. In the instant before Indra''s attacknded on Aadityapal, Alex bolted in front of his disciple and Incarnated into Athena. ordingly, Prometheus turned into a shield and a spear, and he used the former to block the mes. "Aadit, did any harm befall you?" Alex twisted his head back and inquired to his disciple. "No, master," Alex nodded and red at Indra. "What do you think you''re doing?" Alex didn''t back down in front of the powerful god. Indra suddenly startedughing and remarked, "So you''re the foreign god who thinks he can interfere with the dharma of the mortal world?" "You gave your disciple a weapon and some blood, and you thought that could make him Emperor," Indra suddenly raised his head and stared at the sky. He then spoke nonchntly, "I am the king of the Devas, and my disciple shall, of course, be Queen of the mortals, those are simple truths of the world, just as the syble of Lord Brahman is the ''Aum''," "With that, I''ll take it upon myself to teach you some other lessons," The Vajra, which was on the ground far away, suddenly levitated and flew into Indra''s right hand. Indra rotated the Vajra, and the clear skies above the city of Patliputra suddenly turned turbid and gray. Lightning bolts were brewing within the gray sky, and water droplets suddenly dropped on the ground. At first, it was a small drizzle, but then, the rain turned heavy and the dropletsposed a hammering orchestra. Alex bit his lips as he realized the tactic that Indra was using. It was simr to Ranya''s tactic of exploiting water vapor to conduct electricity, but with the sheer volume of the rain, it was impossible to use Prometheus'' superconductive abilities to divert the lightning away. Densely-packed white bolts zigzagged around Indra''s arms, and with a wave of his hand, theyunched towards Alex. Alex was helpless, and in a split second, heunched Aadityapal far away to avoid involving him in a fight, magnitudes above anything he''s ever seen. Ashoka was rapidly climbing down into the arena, but he wasn''t fast enough. Suddenly, a winged man seemed to teleport in front of Alex. Hisrge wings were still unfolded, and the lightningnded on his body. The man''s hair and wings started twitching, but he stood in ce and turned to Alex. "Am I toote?" Hermes asked him, as his eyebrows burned away from the powerful electric currents. Alex was about to respond, but Hermes ced a finger over his mouth and then continued. "Remember when I promised you were under my protection?" "And then, I wasn''t able to protect you when you fought with that demoness in Ctesiphon?" "I broke my promise there, but could you let me keep my words this time?" Hermes asked questions, but he didn''t expect, nor want any responses, as he turned back to face Indra. "You''ll only get to Alex on my dead...immortal....body..." Hermes rubbed his head when he saw theck of logic in his sentence, but he didn''t give that any heed. Indra chuckled and remarked, "You''ll both regret ever defending that mortal," Chapter 114 - Hermes, Lord Of Boundaries "Herme- "Alex, he''s much stronger than you, and probably on the level of Father, let me take care of this," Hermes didn''t let him speak. "Then you can''t beat him!" "Alex, I repeat, I''ll take care of this, now, step back!" Hermes took Alex from his neck and propelled his body up above. Before sending Alex away, he also took Prometheus from him. Then, he ced his two hands on the ground. Suddenly, Indra frowned. "What did you do?" Indra swung his fist around, but it stopped in thin air like there was an invisible wall around them. "In Olympus, they also call me....Lord of boundaries," Hermes continued, "You won''t be able to get out of the boundary I erected, now, let''s get this over with!" Hermes wielded two weapons. Now, in one hand, he had a silver dagger. On the other hand, he had The Caduceus, his serpentine healing staff. Indra shrugged and replied, "Then I''ll take down the boundary on my own," The area inside the boundary was dry and free of any rain since nothing could leave it or enter it without Hermes'' authority. Hermes giggled and bolted at Indra. His speed was his greatest advantage, and the silver dagger slithered towards the god''s neck. Indra didn''t turn around, and his hand simply twisted around and grabbed Hermes'' wrist and halted his movement. However, out of nowhere, Hermes teleported away and created some distance between him and Indra. ''He''s going to be an annoying opponent...'' Indra remarked internally. Meanwhile, Hermes observed his bruised wrist. ''Is there really such a big gap between us?'' Hermes then shook his head and used the Caduceus to heal himself. The purple-ish bruise quickly returned to a healthy color and the fight resumed. However, Indra was the one whounched an attack this time. He had discerned that he had the advantage in physical ability and charged at Hermes. Strangely, Hermes moved slower than usual, and Indra swiftly caught up to him and tackled him. Hermes seemed to bepletely overpowered by Indra, but the dagger that was in his right hand seemingly teleported into his left hand, and pierced itself onto Indra''s lower torso. Indra frowned and golden blood spilled onto the dagger. Hermes didn''t waste any time and teleported away before Indra could retaliate. Alex observed the fight with awe and tried to help Hermes multiple times, but the invisible boundary blocked him. "Physical attacks are not going to work on you, are they?" Indra said. Then, the god pierced the Vajra into the ground, and white mes suddenly coated the entire arena. The mes also halted at the boundary, and for the people outside, it made for a strange scene to see that the mes covered a perfectly circr area. "Oh, Hot!" Hermes unfolded his wings and flew into the air. However, Indra didn''t have the expected reaction, and a cunning grin emerged on his face. Since Hermes sealed off the arena from the outer world, the temperature inside quickly skyrocketed due to the mes. Hermes realized Indra''s n and sighed. His skin crackled in the searing heat and his throat felt dry. Alex pounded on the boundary repeatedly and eximed, "Hermes, let me in, I can handle the heat!" However, the barrier didn''t allow sound to enter and Hermes simply ignored him. Hermes used the Caduceus to heal his heat damage, and his skin shed repeatedly like a snake. ''We can''t stay like this forever....'' Using the Caduceus consumed immense amounts of Faith Energy, and he didn''t have infinite reserves. Hermes bit his lips and his only choice was a risky attack. If he was able to induce sleep in Indra, he couldnd attacks on him and extinguish the unpleasant mes. Hermes'' sleep-inducing abilities, were, of course, much greater than Alex''s, but they were unpredictable against gods. Hermes threw Prometheus into the air, and sessfully distracted Indra. In that split second, he cast out his ability. Indra''s eyelids suddenly got heavy and his control over the mes decreased. Hermes immediately grabbed the dagger and teleported in front of Indra. However, thetter abruptly widened his eyes and took him by the neck. "The trap worked magnificently...." Indramented. "I felt the effects of your spell, but they honestly did not work that well on me, so I pretended they did." Hermes frowned as Indra clenched his neck even further. Nevertheless, Hermes was able to use an opening to teleport away. The messenger god coughed repeatedly and tried to regain his breath. A red line was visible over his neck. He sluggishly healed himself using his staff and contemted his options. "F*ck! Why can''t I make a boundary in a boundary....?" Hermes never felt this helpless, and there was not much he could do. To keep up a boundary, he needed to be inside of it. The air was dry and hot and the ocean of mes beneath cast a hellish hue upon the battlefield. The sky was dark and night had alreadye. Hermes waspletely helpless. He tried attacking various ways and while he was able to sneak in with his speed, Indra knew his tactics and made sure tond as many attacks on Hermes before thetter would teleport away. "Hermes! Let me in!!!!" Alex screamed out when he saw Hermes'' wounds umte. He had consumed too much Faith Energy keeping the barrier afloat and teleporting, hence healing himself was no longer viable. The skin of his soles had burned from the mes below, and the rest of his body would follow. "Hermes, keep the boundary, if you remove it, he''s going to go for Alexei-boy..." Hermes spoke to himself. Alex bit his lips and started praying, "God, if you''re there, please help us....." He didn''t even know what deity he was praying to. "Isn''t Buddha supposed to mediate conflict between the gods?! Where is he?!!!" Alex shouted. "I don''t know about Siddartha Gautama, but we are here," A somewhat familiar voice flowed like a heavenly melody into Alex''s ears. Two women had entered the seating area. One of them had multiple arms, and she wielded a weapon in each of them. It was an acquaintance to Alex, the goddess Durga, that he had met in the library and fought with. There was also an unfamiliar woman behind her. She was extremely tall, and her attire was opulent. She wore a red silk fabric that covered her entire body and golden jewelry decorated it. A long red headscarf covered a part of her hair and draped it down to the ground. The woman was extremely beautiful, but her indifferent and ethereal expression distanced her from even most gods. When Indra, who was in the arena, saw the woman, the mes instantly extinguished and he eximed, "Lady Parvati!" Unfortunately, sound also didn''t escape the barrier. Hermes weakly observed the happenings outside and wondered what was going on. But, his body then fell down from the sky, and into the pile of ash that was the ground. Chapter 115 - Resolution Since Hermes had fainted, the boundary he had erected vanished, and movement between the previously separate realms was now open. Alex hastily ran up inside and found Hermes buried by a pile of ash. With a swift swing of his hand, the fine particles withered away, and the heavily injured Hermes came into his sight. His skin had turned dry and scaly from the heat, and no sign of life was visible on the charred skin. Alex immediately Incarnated into Hermes and grabbed the fallen Caduceus. He inserted his Faith Energy into the staff and began healing his friend. Fortunately, the healing process was quick and effective, and the burned outeryer of his skin simply shed away, revealing apletely unharmed body. However, his clothes had also burned away, and Alex covered his body with a part of his own toga. Meanwhile, Indra bowed deeply to the woman they all called ''Lady Parvati''. She looked around at the mess and coldly said, "Chandra informed me of the irrational disturbances you have caused due to the loss of your mortal disciple." Indra shook profusely, but he sternly replied, "I have but tried to bnce the dharma of ournd, Lady Parvati." "Preposterous! Thisnd, is freend, under the decree of Sir Siddartha Gautama! It is not part of your kingly duties to antagonize potential allies, as far I know, Indra, do correct me if I am wrong," Parvati scolded the god, and while she did ask him to correct her, it didn''t seem like she actually meant it from her icy expression. However, she then sighed and turned her sights in another direction. Earlier, Indra had warned Ayush not to escape, and the mortal prince obliged and stayed in the very same seat. Parvati had a look of pity on her face when she saw him, and she remarked, "I can''t believe you were stupid enough to fall into the Asura''s trap..." When Durga heard the term ''Asura'', she jerked intensely and red at Ayush. Parvati continued, "You thought you could be immortal by transfusing Asura blood into your bone marrow, didn''t you?" Ayush listlessly shook his head. "Immortal blood seeps away at the longevity of mortals, especially if you transfuse it into your body..." "You''re not going to live longer than a year, mortal, you''ll start aging rapidly and then die in unbearable pain." Ayush''s red eyes widened and he eximed, "That''s not what they sa- "Lady Parvati, shall I end his life?" Durga interjected as spiteful eyes red at the prince. Parvati nodded and said, "Put him out of his misery." "Bu- *sh* Ayush tried to object to his sudden death sentence, but the war goddess'' weapons were ruthless, and her sword beheaded him before he could even finish his sentence. Aadityapal stood on the opposite side of the venue with Ranya, and his eyes shed with a strange satisfaction when he saw the retribution of the gods upon Ayush. "Durga?" Parvati turned to the goddess. "Yes, mdy?" "The Asuras have be more proactive, as it seems, we need to resume our raids on the malevolent ns." "As you wish, Lady Parvati." While the two goddesses engaged in discussion and ignored his presence, cold sweat spilled down like buckets on Indra''s body. Ashoka went down and greeted the two, "I apologize for the mess, Lady Parvati and Lady Durga." Parvati smiled and replied, "I''m the one who needs to apologize for the actions of the king I appointed, speaking of that..." She looked at Hermes, who had just regained consciousness, and Alex, who sighed in relief. "Indra," When Indra heard the goddess pronounce his name, his body bolted instinctively, and he raised his head. "You''ll be going for some meditation in Himya, Chandra will be ruling the Devas temporarily." "Bu- Indra met the eyes of the goddess, and a chill went down his spine at the calm fury those eyes held. He ultimately nodded. "Hermes, and Alex, I believe?" Hermes wished to reply, but Alex interjected and eximed, "What do you want?" Vexation spread across Parvati''s face, and she simply bowed down and stated, "We deeply apologize for the ordeal Indra has put you through, and we wish to sign official dealings to avoid such future conflicts." When Hermes heard the words ''official dealings'', his weak body instantly gained energy, and he swiftly unfolded his wings and flew next to the two goddesses. "Dealings? I''d like to hear the details." His eyes glowed. Hermes'' excitement lightened the atmosphere, and Alex burst out intoughter. After that, everybody left the venue and a groupposed of Parvati, Durga, Ashoka, Alex, and Hermes made their way to the Imperial Pce. There was arge meeting hall in the pce, and the deities gathered around a round table. "I believe we haven''t formed any official ties with the western pantheon, have we?" Parvati asked Hermes. Hermes shook his head and added, "There hasn''t been any need for that, as no territory belonging to Olympus encroaches upon thends ruled by the Devas." Parvati nodded and proposed, "I think a negotiation consolidating the security of western gods passing through will be necessary to avoid such conflicts as today." Hermes cleared his throat and proimed, "I am the official voice of Olympus, I represent Queen Athena and will inform her of the dealings on our return back." ''Queen Athena?!'' Alex was dumbfounded and stared at Hermes. Hermes simply winked at him, and Alex''s jaw formed an ''Oh'' shape. Parvati remarked, "Queen? Has your throne changed hands? I believe a man used to rule the western gods." Hermes stoically answered, "Yes, that is in fact, the case." "On that, to further apologize, would you rmend any gifts for us to send to Lady Athena, your Queen?" Durga interjected and proposed. Hermes fell into deep thought, but Alex felt that this was his chance, and swiftly replied. "Books, any books concerning history, astronomy, politics, science." Parvati nodded and said, "That will be easy, I will immediately send some men to deliver our best literary masterpieces to Yunan." Chapter 116 - Coronation Ceremony With that, they officially established ties between Olympus and the Devas, and Hermes was happier than ever, and he even forgot about the ordeal from earlier. However, as they parted ways, Alex noticed Durga''s eyes glued on him. More precisely, she wasn''t looking at him, but at the silver-like ball in his hands. "Alex, can I see that ball?" Durga demanded him, while her eyes didn''t move at all from his palm. ''Is this a warrior goddess'' intuition?'' Alex shrugged and passed her Prometheus. Durga delicately held it in one of her numerous hands and examined it closely. Suddenly, the ball liquified and changed in shape repeatedly. Then, it solidified into a thick and sharpnce. Amazement emanated from Durga as she threw all of her other weapons into the ground, and wielded thence with all of her arms. "This is incredible, I never knew I''d be so proficient with ance...." In hindsight, her proficiency with ance made sense. Durga used swords, bows, and spears, and thencebined aspects from those three types of weapons. Parvati sighed and told her, "Durga, let''s go." Durga nodded and followed the goddess. "Where do you think you''re going with that?" Alex chuckled when he saw the war goddess leaving. Durga halted in a brusque manner, and her body shook. "Hey, can you lend me your weap- "No." Ultimately, Durga gave him back Prometheus and left, all the while shedding crocodile tears. Since the session contest ended, and they finished all of their business with the Devas, life slowed down a bit. ''Tomorrow, the sessor to Ashoka will be chosen and crowned....'' Alex yawned and realized he was extremely tired. It was already deep into the night anyway, and Hermes and Alex headed back to the guest house. "What a day," Hermes remarked andughed. "What do you mean, day? When you came, the sun was already setting," Alex jokingly refuted Hermes. The corridors were quite dim at night, but as they walked through, a dark silhouette still contrasted with the decorations. Upon further inspection, it was Aadityapal. His face was flushed, and two linesing down from his eyes were visible. It looked like he had been waiting for them. "Aadit, have you been crying?" Aadityapal rubbed his eyes and nodded, "I''m feeling quite sentimental tonight, Master." "I see, are you nervous about tomorrow?" Alex inquired about his disciple''s state of being. "Yes." "You shouldn''t be, you performed excellently, and by the end of thepetition, even Ashoka had very high regards for you." Aadityapal''s face brightened at that, and he spoke and stuttered, "F-Father did?!" Alex ced a hand on his disciple''s shoulder, and said, "When you''re crowned, build a few temples for me, will you? I''m quite tired now, I''ll go to sleep." Then, Alex left and headed towards their room. Hermes stayed back and whispered in the prince''s ears, "He wants a million temples." Aadityapalughed and nodded fervently, "A million temples, it will be then." With that, there were now two ces where Alex would have a million temples for his worship. ___________________________________ -The next morning- Everyone woke up early today, and even Hermes, who usually enjoyed more sleep than appropriate for a god, made the effort to wake up. The asion, today, was of course the coronation ceremony and selection. In a short night, tens of thousands of sculptors and craftspeople from all over the Empire gathered in Patliputra to build a statue for the sessor, and they ced it in the square where the statue of Ashoka previously stood. Today, the fabric that covered the statue during the ceremony would be removed, and the new Emperor shall have his name spread far and wide. A gargantuan crowd already gathered, and gossip was rampant about the conclusion of today''s event. "I think it''s going to be Princess Ranya, her name was already established and respected before thepetition, and she performed well in the martial contest." "I don''t agree, Prince Aadityapal had an excellent attitude and performance, and I''d imagine his results in the schrly contest to be as outstanding!" The craftspeople also erected a tform for the judges and Ashoka, and they swiftly cut through the audience and began the ceremony. Ashoka cleared his throat and gave the opening line, "Yesterday, through an impartial assessment of martial skill, schrship, and psyche, a sessor to the glorious Maurya has been chosen!" Then, a judge took the lead and announced the contenders, "Princess Prinya, the most outstanding academic of the imperial court!" A schrly-looking woman emerged from the crowd and indifferently stepped up into the tform. A few judgesmented, "It''s unfortunate her results in the martial assessment weren''t as good..." "Prince Aadityapal, the ck horse of thepetition!" A well-dressed man stood next to the princess. "Princess Ranya, renowned disciple of Lord Indra and outstanding polymath!" Ranya recovered from yesterday''s dishevelment, and she stepped up to the tform as cheers rang out from behind her. "Prince Ayush was a contender, but unfortunately, an ident seems to have urred." The crowd gossiped amongst each other, but the judge attracted their attention and continued, "Prince Aarush is under medical attention, but he is one of today''s contenders." "With that, the selection process is officially...adjourned." Alex and Hermes joined in the crowd and spectated. Suddenly, the sound of drums resounded in the square, and Ashoka built up enthusiasm within the audience, "Now, we shall reveal the next Emperor...." As did the cheers, the drums got louder and louder. And, when the volume reached a crescendo, Ashoka made his deration. "Aadityapal, congrattions on bing our greatnd''s next ruler." In contrast to Ashoka''s calm tone, the crowd was nothing but calm. Aadityapal shook profusely and approached his father. Ashoka whispered into the Emperor''s ears, "Say a short speech to the people." Then, Ashoka ced a heavy golden crown upon Aadityapal''s head. Aadityapal was extremely eager, and he quickly started his speech. "I hope, that along with the people of our greatnd, I will rule as greatly as Father did." "The only reason I am here is because of a person in the crowd." Alex felt a headacheing and tugged at Hermes. "I introduce the people of the Maurya to.....Master Alex?" Alex and Hermes flew away from the square under the stunned gazes of Patliputra''s inhabitants. Chapter 117 - A Step Back In Time(4) -After the end of the Titan War- The Olympians were overwhelmingly victorious in the war, and after the end of the warfare, most gods had found their ce and status in the pantheon. However, not everyone was as fortunate, and one such unfortunate god was still seeking to find himself. Large wings unfolded from his youthful body and aimlessly pped around. It was Hermes. During the war, Hermes acted as a messenger for Olympus thanks to his speed and charisma. Due to his overwhelming sess in this task, Zeus officially granted him the position. Nheless, Hermes found himself in a mental dilemma. "I don''t have any other traits than those rted to Olympus!" Hermes rubbed his head in frustration. Sophus, who used to guide him, was now gone, and he and Athena had to ept that and forge their own path ahead. Thetter, however, started helping around Prometheus and Hephaestus in teaching the mortals and had found her own ce. Ares roamed around the mortal world and led a fulfilling life. "Even that strange woman, Urania, is gaining much influence among the mortals," Hermes felt somewhat empty. On top of that, Olympus was a lonely ce, and everyone was rather busy. Whenever he felt this way, Hermes made his way to Arcadia. Arcadia was a grassy in shielded by mountains from all sides, hence it was secluded and untouched by mortal civilization. Hermes observed the endless green ins below him and slowlynded down on the sharp and healthy vegetation. The only contrast in the nearby scenery was a smooth and big rock, which Hermes always sat on. Suddenly, a herd of sheep approached him. The grass here was low, and the sheep had already consumed it. Hermes stood up and guided the herd to a greener side of the in, where they could wholeheartedly feast on the grass. He learned how to guide sheep from a man who lived nearby. "Speaking of, I wonder where he is....?" When he felt lonely, Hermes developed a habit of speaking of himself. Suddenly, a harmonious melody flowed into his ears. It was a high-pitched, and then, it turned into a deep tone, and the pitch changed back and forth. When he heard that sound, Hermes'' body jolted and he flew in the direction of the melody. "When pan pipes are audible, it means Pan is here..." Pan was a god that Hermes met in Arcadia. He lived on thend, foraging and hunting for food, and ying the pan-pipes and shepherding when he was not hunting. Strangely, he wasn''t rted to Zeus, or any of the other Olympians. Hermes kept on following the melody until he stumbled upon a cave. *Crackle* Inside the cave, arge fire illuminated the small crevice. A man sat around the fire, blowing air into a strange musical instrument. "Pan!" Hermes greeted the god. Pan turned around and greeted Hermes. "Young boy!" He had brown long hair and a beard, and brown wool clothing covered his body. Inside the cave, an aromatic smell diffused into the tight cave. Over the fire, a simple stew was simmering, and although the food was simple, the aroma was rather alluring. Pan had taught Hermes how to shepherd and y the pan pipes. Although the god couldn''t rece Sophus, it helped him somewhat feel less empty. The two then yed the pan pipes and shared a simple meal. Pan lived a frugal and rustic life, but he was happy with what he had. "Cybele wants to meet you again, should I guide her here?" Hermes asked Pan. Pan replied, "Cybele? The woman who sows food from the dirt? I''d like to learn how she does it," "I''ll tell her where Arcadia is then." After that, they spoke for a short time, and when it was the afternoon, Hermes left and flew away. Another habit of his was to visit Delos, a remote ind in the middle of the sea. "I wonder how Leto''s doing...." Hermes visited the ind for a reason. Recently, his father, Zeus, had taken in a new lover, the Titaness Leto, and from their conquests, she would have a child. "I remember Stepmother''s face when she heard of the news!" Hermesughed out loud. Hera was furious and tried to kill Leto. However, unbeknownst to her, Leto had requested Hermes for help, and thetter brought her to Delos, where Hera could never find her. Hermes swiftly reached the sea, yet the infinite expanses of the water did not disorient him whatsoever. The sextant that Sophus gave him as a gift helped him to find direction in his travels. Soon enough, a rocky and barren ind was visible below him. A single tree sprouted from the destend, and a tall woman sat under the shade of the said tree. Hermesnded and greeted the Titaness, "Leto!" The woman turned in his direction, and Hermes perceived something strange. In her arms, two babies slept soundly, and they were almost identical in appearance. Leto was crying, but they were tears of joy. She then eximed, "Look at these two, I called them Apollo and Artemis!" Bewilderment overwhelmed Hermes, and Leto continued. "Your father gave me children of sin, but I hope they can grow up to be happy and strong..." Her tears, which were previously joyful, suddenly turned mncholic. "I can''t keep them, Hermes, I can''t keep them- "I will," Hermes made a swift decision at that moment. However, he still found it truly strange. Some gods, like him and Athena, woke up fully formed and in adult shape. Others, like Pan and Cybele, were born directly from Gaia. Yet, these two, Artemis and Apollo, were like mortals, weak and vulnerable. Hermes took them from Leto and gently caressed the two. The twins seemed to feel it and their eyes slowly opened. While they were identical in appearance, their auras were drastically different. Artemis had strong and determined hazel eyes, whereas Apollo had sharp eyes that seemed to see through everything. After that, Leto escaped from the ind, leaving him with the two babies. "Well, you two, let''s go to my house," Hermes slowly hovered over the ground. Out of a sudden, a voice entered into his ears. "Hermes? That is your name, child?" Hermes'' eyes widened and he looked around everywhere, but he couldn''t find the owner of the voice. "You can''t see me, child." "Speaking of sight, would you like to be one of my eyes, to allow me to see the world?" The voice uttered out an unusual request. "What do you mean?" Hermes frowned. The voice chuckled and said, "I know you want to find yourself, and I can help you if you ept my request." "Here, visit this goddess, she might have something of your interest." Hermes noticed a strange phenomenon. The rocks of the ind were slowly carved into letters. When this stopped, a name could be read. "Hecate..?" Hermes was curious about the owner of the voice and the unfamiliar goddess. Chapter 118 - To Buddhas Temple After they escaped from the venue andrge crowd, Hermes and Alex crossed paths with the Boddhisatva, Padmapani. When the monk saw Alex, he lightly bowed. "Oh, hello," Alex greeted the monk. "Sir Alex, have you made a verdict on the matter I have discussed with you?" Padmapani politely asked him. ''What matter? Ah, the meeting with Buddha...'' Truthfully, Alex did not wish to meet him before, but he had a change of heart. The Buddha promised to mediate conflicts between the gods, yet he didn''t intervene when Indra attacked them and heavily harmed Hermes. ''I need to confront him about it...'' "Bodhisattva Padmapani, I have decided to ept your invite," Alex nodded. The monk happily cocked his head, and informed them, "I will be departing tomorrow, would that align with your schedules, sirs?" "Hermes, we don''t have anything left to do here, do we?" Alex turned sideways at Hermes. Hermes shook his head. "Then it''s decided, let''s depart tomorrow," _________________________________________ After they made their decision, they parted ways, and Alex and Hermes waited for the ceremony to end. Fortunately, it didn''t take too long, and arge chariot soon entered the estate. When it reached the gates of the Imperial Pce, the doors of the chariot opened and a crown-wearing young man exited in slow steps. It was Aadityapal, the Emperor of the Maurya Empire. ''I wonder where Master and Sir Hermes are...?'' Aadityapal recalled how the two escaped the square, and couldn''t help butugh. Guards followed him into the pce and led him to mysterious chambers that he hadn''t entered before. The living facilities of the previous Emperor, Ashoka. They were very satisfactory, and Aadityapal felt fulfilled as heid down on the bed that now symbolized that he reached his life-long goal. ''Oh yes, before I forget...'' Aadityapal called two advisors to the chambers. The two managed matters of state religion and architecture respectively. "Would it be possible to build temples for Master Alex?" Aadityapal demanded. Alex often interacted with Ashoka, so the advisors were familiar with him. One of the advisors replied, "I believe it would certainly be in the realm of possibility." The other advisor also agreed. Aadityapal then nodded and eximed, "Well then, have the best craftspeople of the Empire build a million temples for Master Alex!" The advisors were stricken-aback since they didn''t expect ''a million'' temples. Meanwhile, Alex sneezed. ''Strange? I can''t fall sick, can I?'' The rest of the day was mundane, but to celebrate the coronation, Aadityapal hosted arge banquet. Most of the guests were Brahmins, and most of them had unpleasant expressions since they all wished for their own children to seed the throne. However, there was one woman who had an extremely joyful face. She was middle-aged, and when Aadityapal saw her, he bowed lightly, "Mother, wee!" The woman didn''t bother with formalities and instantly hugged the emperor. Aadityapal was bewildered, and she whispered, "Congrattions, son!" At this moment, Hermes, Ashoka, and Alex entered the banquet hall. When the mother-son hug ended, Aadityapal ran up to Alex and eximed, "Master! I''ve searched for you everywhere!" When the Brahmins heard the emperor call another person ''Master'', astonishment spread throughout the hall. "Hi, Emperor!" Alex emphasized on ''Emperor'' and smiled brightly. Aadityapal then greeted Hermes and his father, following which they all sat down and dined. Alex was eating peacefully, but a middle-aged woman that had a simr appearance to Aadityapal approached him and kowtowed. "Lord Alex, I have heard of your exploits from my son, we have not had any time to thank you, but please let us prepare the best of gifts for Lord." Alex immediately refused, "No, no, it''s alr- "Thank you, Lady, we''ll being back to Patliputra in a few weeks after departing tomorrow," Hermes was the one who interjected. He then whispered in Koine Greek, "Alex, give yourself some credit and ept the gifts." Alex rubbed his head in embarrassment. ___________________________________________ -The following day- Hermes and Alex woke up rather early and immediately began preparing for their departure. Alex packed up Prometheus and the Spear of Victory. In thergest courtyard of the pce, Ashoka and Padmapani were waiting for them. Ashoka also wanted to visit the temple in Nepal, therefore they decided to depart together. Padmapani then said, "It is an auspicious day, let us move now, we will reach the temple in less than a week on foot if we depart swiftly." Hermes eximed, "On foot? No way!" Suddenly, the miniature chariot grew in size and turned into a flying chariot capable of amodating 4 people. Alex and Hermes got inside of the chariot and the former invited the two, "Come on, get in!" Ashokaughed and remarked, "Bodhisattva Padmapani, this time, I have to say, this is a better way." With that, the monk who wished to go on foot also entered into the chariot. Hermes wielded the chariot and slowly made it hover up. Right before the chariot sped up, a voice screamed out from below. "Master Alex, Sir Hermes, goodbye!" Alex looked out from the sides of the chariot and saw Aadityapal. He had clearly just gotten out of bed and did not look like an emperor in the least. "You''re now an emperor, Aadit! Dress up the part!" Alex scolded his clueless disciple. However, the chariot burst into the north, and they quickly left the estate and the city of Patliputra altogether. ''After Nepal, and the Himyas, we''ll finally be there...'' Alex fantasized of this elusive and mysteriousnd, that the equally mysterious Jade Emperor ruled over... The group of four crossed rivers, and mountains, and ins, and deserts. Now, the scenery below them was a snowy and uneven terrain. The altitude here was much higher than the low-lying Patliputra, and even though they were still in autumn, the ambient temperature was quite chilly. There weren''t many people living in this secluded part of the world. However, they asionally crossed some temples and rested there before resuming their journey. It didn''t take too long, and on a snowy meadow, a golden pagoda towered over thend, and Padmapani remarked, "Sirs, we have reached the temple." Chapter 119 - Chamber Of Chaos Below the golden pagoda, a solitary temple stood in the vast snowy meadows. When Padmapani informed them of their arrival, Hermes slowed down the chariot and gentlynded on a patch of thin snow near the temple. The temple wasn''t extremely conspicuous, but the architecture was unique. It was a fusion between the Buddhist temples of India, which incorporated tall and rounded spikes, and East Asian architecture, which prioritized symmetry and sharp roofs. Padmapani bowed a few times to the temple and invited them in. The three removed their footwear and then entered through a sliding door. The temple was quiterge and centered around a courtyard. Padmapani turned to Hermes and Ashoka, "Sirs, The Buddha requests only Sir Alex, I will lead you to a waiting room." Hermes pouted and jokingly replied, "We''re being chased off~~?" "I''ll be quick, Hermes," Alex rolled his eyes at Hermes'' childish attitude. After that, Padmapani exined to him that the courtyard was beyond the sliding door in front of them, and then led the two others somewhere else. Alex was starting to feel nervous. ''I''ve met quite a few powerful deities, but The Buddha still seems a step above those...'' However, he recovered hisposure and with one swift move, he slid open the door. ''Wow...!'' Astonishment couldn''t describe what Alex felt at the sight of the courtyard. The meadows outside of the temple were snowy, yet, this courtyard was lush and green. A small and still pond was in the corner of the courtyard, and an isle with a gazebo rose from the waters, to which a small bridge led. In the center of the courtyard, a tall and thick tree with heart-shaped leaves stood. Alex''s eyes moved all around the courtyard searching for Siddartha Gautama, but he did not find him. However, a leaf suddenly turned into a man. The man then fused with the tree bark. However, that man was then in the shape of the tall grass under the tree. Alex was bewildered. If he did not concentrate, he could not see the man at all, and only the flora of the courtyard would be visible. And, when he focused, the man would turn from an object to another. Alex stood in his ce, confused. "Hahahahahahaha," A pleasant voice startedughing. It came from the direction of the tree, and suddenly, the shapeshifting man appeared. He sat under the tree, in a lotus position, and his eyes were closed. Then, he opened his eyes. Alex blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw a gargantuan statue in front of him. But, when he observed the surroundings, he discovered that... ''I''m in his palm!?'' Alex was standing on a crease of the palm of the Buddha, whose body seemed to be the size of the entire world. His fingers reached into the sky, and his clear eyes looked down on Alex. Suddenly, Alex blinked again, and he was back in the courtyard. "Sir, are you by any chance Siddartha Gautama?" Alex was feeling rather overwhelmed. The man didn''t speak, but he waved at Alex and hinted at him to sit down in front of him. Alex didn''t wish to move, but a strange force overtook his psyche, and his body somehow voluntarily moved towards the man and sat down. From this close distance, Alex observed the Buddha''s(?) features. Gentle and symmetrical ck eyebrows and eyes that glowed like precious gems. He had a youthful and somewhat handsome appearance, but his demeanor didn''t feel immature by any means. His curved lips inspiredfort in other people and hisrge earlobes made him seem wise. The man''s lips moved, and he simply said, "Siddartha Gautama, they rarely call me by that birth name anymore." "So you''re the Buddha?" Alex''s eyes brimmed with curiosity. "Perhaps, perhaps not, we are all the Buddha, only tainted by the endless suffering and rebirth that is the Samsara," Siddartha did not speak too much, yet he did not speak too little. "I believe you''ve invited me here..." Alex wished to know the reason behind his invite. However, anger suddenly overtook him, and he eximed, "Aren''t you the protector of India, why haven''t you intervened when Indra almost ''killed'' Hermes?!" Buddha''s face did not move a slight bit at the anger-filled remark, and he gently replied, "They have told me not to." "They? Who are they?" "Everything, I believe you call them Chaos in the westernnds, we call them Brahman." ''Chaos? The god Nyx warned me about? What do they want?'' At that moment, a voice that came from all directions spoke, "Siddartha, you are taking too much time, send over the child quickly." Buddha calmly chuckled and said, "That''s their voice." Then, Siddartha ced a hand on Alex''s shoulder. Alex wasn''t able to dodge, and the hand seemed to weigh down on his body enormously. His eyelids also felt heavy, and he slowly lost consciousness. Buddha remarked, "I hope the young boy can see through them." ___________________________ Alex''s eyshes twitched, and he gently opened his eyes. He was in a strange dimension, far stranger from any ce he''s ever been. The whole realm was a cube the size of a small room, and the walls were entirely stered with mirrors. It was disorienting to see his reflections infinitely reflect itself, and his precognition did not help either. Therefore, he immediately deactivated precognition and took a closer look around. "What is even this ce?!" There wasn''t anything around, and even when he punched the mirrors with his full strength, they did not break. Out of a sudden, a gray mist entered through a minuscule gap between the mirrors. The mist filled the entire room, and then, imploded upon itself and formed a ball. Following that, the mist ball took the shape of a humanoid body. ''Can that really be called a human body?'' The body had no mouth, no eyes, no ears, no ge*itals and was more akin to an abstract ceramic sculpture of a human. On top of that, the body''s gender waspletely unclear. "Hello, child of another world," Chapter 120 - Essence Of Chaos Alex was dumbfounded, that Chaos discovered that they weren''t from this world immediately. "Child, from the moment you have set your feet upon me, I have discovered, through the eyes of my servants, that you are not one of this world." Then, the strange deitymented, "It is quite pathetic, isn''t it? I gave birth to the world, yet I can only see it through the eyes of others." Alex listlessly stared at the physical manifestation of Chaos. He didn''t understand any of what thetter was saying, and this ce creeped him out. "From what I have seen of your memories, in your world, we are only fabricated stories, recorded on stone and statues." "It''s quite funny, isn''t it? We could be characters in a story right now, and we''d never know," Chaos stared at their reflection on the mirror. "No way! This is too real to be a creation..." ''There''s no way this world is a fake world that conforms to the whims of a single person, and we are all puppets submitted to the strokes of their pen, right?'' Alex felt an existential crisis iing. He thought that if this was the case, he''d have to beat them up for making his life so hard and troublesome... Chaos noticed his anguish and remarked, "See, child? Even the thought of it stirs up the psyche." Alex recovered swiftly and cleared his throat. "Anyways, you''re Chaos? What do you want?" Alex was rather cautious since Nyx repeatedly warned him about this deity. "To observe you further and help you along your journey." "To be frank, I am rather bored in this ce, and observing the tales of an otherworlder couldn''t be a better pastime." "You''re bored...?" Alex was quite stunned. Chaos''s non-existent eyes fixated on Alex, and a gourd-like ss object appeared in their hands when they flicked it. "This is my gift to you, child of another world." Alex cautiously grabbed the sk and examined it. ___________________________________ (Essence of Chaos) Quality: ?????? State: ?????? Additional Information: ?????? ____________________________________ Alex frowned, as there were only question marks instead of theprehensive information the system appraisal usually offered him. ''This does seem like good stuff, however.'' Chaos silently observed him, and then waved his hand, "Go now, child of another world, entertain me." Suddenly, Alex felt his body getting lighter and lighter. His surroundings disappeared, and when he could see again, he felt his body falling. Looking around, he only saw white patches of.... ''Clouds?! I''m falling!!!!'' Alex''s eyes looked at the scenery below, and the temple was so far down he could barely distinguish it with his divine eyesight. ''It''s so chilly this high up....'' When Alex looked up, he only saw the dark abyss of outer space. However, he kept on falling at a high speed for a few minutes, and when he was close enough to the ground, he immediately Incarnated into Hermes. His wings pped aggressively and stabilized him. Then, he very gentlynded in the courtyard where he was earlier, and Buddha was smiling at him. "How were they?" He asked Alex. "Strange, creepy, iprehensible?" Alex listed out the most fitting adjectives for the deity he''s just met. Siddartha softly giggled and said, "Well, I do not have much to say to you." "However." "I can see you are a man of a good heart, but power can be corrupting." Alex listened attentively. Buddha continued, "Especially since you are of another world, you might not have the same level of affection and moral responsibility for this world as you do your own." "Please, do not cause harm to this world, I do not wish to intervene, but I shall take appropriate actions," Alex gulped at the threat, but he rubbed his head and replied, "To be honest, I''m now closer to this world than my own world, I could never bear to hurt it." "Good," The Buddha''s lips curved up. After that, the man miraculously turned into a glossy wooden statue, that stood in loneliness as the heart-shaped leaves of the Bodhi tree fell onto him. Alex was numb to such urrences now and left the courtyard. He quickly found Hermes, and he was drinking tea with the other two they came with. Amazingly, when he navigated through the temple, he found many men and women in monk clothing, and they were all immortals, akin to Padmapani. Their official title was "Boddhisatva", and they were only slightly below Buddhahood. ''This is the temple where "THE" Siddartha Gautama lives, so that is to be expected...'' _________________________________ Alex sat down with the other three. After a short discussion, they decided on their ns for the future. Ashoka bowed down to Hermes and Alex and said, "I''ll be staying here and then I''ll move to the westernnds, as Alex has invited me, thank you for your presence and aid." Hermes shrugged and replied, "No problem, if you wish, stay at my mansion and tell them I invited you into Mount Olympus, they''ll let you in." Ashoka thanked him, and they all bid goodbyes and parted ways. Padmapani had thankfully guided them on the direction they should take to reach the domain of the Jade Emperor. The heavenly domain, where he ruled, was essible from the Kingdom of Pure Felicity and Majestic Heavenly Lights and Ornaments, a location in Eastern China. ''We''re still so far away, but so close....'' As they got into the magical chariot and flew into the sky, they observed the faraway mountain range. Hermesmented, "Before we can even think of the Qin, we have to cross the colossal Himyas..." He then took out a stash of scrolls from his bag. "Athena and I have spent over five years collecting all of the information for this diplomatic trip," Hermes stated as he pointed to the scrolls. "Alexei-boy, in negotiation and diplomacy, information is power." Suddenly, Hermes'' eyes red at Alex''s pockets. "Can I see that?" Hermes asked him in a strange tone. Alex shrugged and gave him the sk of Essence. Hermes'' eyes widened, and he quietly remarked, "I didn''t want them to get to you yet..." "What did you say?" Hermes had spoken too quietly, and he didn''t hear him. "Alexei-boy." "Only use this if you are in a precarious situation. Not for someone else, not for me, not for Athena, not for Crista, use it for you, and only if you are in serious danger," Hermes lectured him with a serious tone he didn''t usually use. "Okay...?" Hermes reluctantly gave him back the sk, and silently focused on riding the chariot. ''What was that about?'' Chapter 121 - Kunlun Mountain Sect Silence befell the trip after their tense discussion. Thanks to the chariot, they easily crossed the colossal mountains of the Himyas, which were the biggest obstacle to any expanding civilization in the region. North of the mountain range, the altitude fell quite a bit and the climate was more pleasant and mild on the teau. They rode through the teau for the entire day and traversed a long distance. Time passed by very fast, and the sun soon couldn''t provide energy for the chariot with itsst rays of daylight. Fortunately, they found a moderatelyrge city where they could spend the night. ''They have a nice architecture....'' Alex internally remarked. The buildings, even those of themon people, were colorful and followed a distinct temple-like style that contributed to the city''s charm. The twonded on the outskirts of the city, and sneakily prated into the dense urban settlement. Hermes was unusually silent, and he wasn''t focused as if certain thoughts weighed on his mind. Alex was worried and repeatedly asked him about his state, but Hermes simply shrugged it off. "I''m fine, Alexei-boy, let''s find an inn and rest for the night," Hermes weakly smiled. Alex dropped the matter and observed the city. From a few signboards, they found out that ''Luoxi'' was the name given to the city. Luoxi had rather narrow streets, but food vendors and merchants set up stalls, and the poption was quite sprawling and active. The various street foods saturated the air with an extremely enticing fragrance, and Alex couldn''t resist himself and approached a clean-looking food stall. "Good evening, mister, could I get ''that''?" Alex pointed at a few dishes. The man running the food stalls had an astonished expression, and remarked, "You speak ournguage really well for a foreigner!" "Hehehehe..." Alex couldn''t tell him that it was because of his godhood. Then, Alex ordered on behalf of Hermes, and unexpectedly, the vendor offered him the food entirely for free. "You must have had a long diplomatic trip and need to rest in Luoxi...For a man who respects ournguage so much, how could I make you pay?!" Alex did not refuse the offer and took the food. There was a bench nearby and the two made their way towards it. However, the food vendor suddenly called out to them, "Sir!" Alex turned around, and the man had a displeased expression on his face. "I am sorry you have to go through this, but I need to warn you anyways, do not go out at nighttime, strange creatures roam the city streets...." ''Strange creatures?'' Alex felt more intrigued than he should be. An elderly passerby also interjected and added, "The Kunlun Mountain Sect is sending over immortals to take care of the monsters, bless their mercy...." ''Immortals?!'' Now, Alex was extremely interested. He asked the man about inns nearby and then sat down to eat his food. It was a spicy barley noodle soup. ''Tasty....'' The broth was savory and rich, while the noodles provided texture to the whole dish. Then, Alex noticed Hermes'' expressions lighten up. He sipped on a beverage Alex bought from the stall, and he clearly liked it a lot. "It''s good, isn''t it? It''s called butter tea, and it''s extremely practical for long trips where people can''t afford to store a lot of solid food," Alex exined what the food vendor had told him. "It''s a nice tea," Alex now discovered that the best way to lighten up Hermes'' mood was through good tea. Surprisingly, when they finished their food, the streets were already somewhat empty, and all of the stalls closed up. The two stood up and followed directions towards a nearby inn. The inn was quite splendid in appearance. They knocked on the doors, and a woman peeked through a gap, and then led them in. "Wee sirs, we apologize for ourte reception, safety can be a....bit of a problem at night," The female attendant bowed to them and invited them in. They were in a spacious and amply-decorated hall. A man with a long beard and a striking monocle approached them and cupped his hands together. "Good evening, wee to Luoxi''s best inn, how may we serve you?" "We''d like a room for one night," The man cleared his throat and gave them a price, "A room for a night, is it? That would be about 27 copper coins, sirs." Suddenly, Hermes came in front of Alex and softly asked, "Make that 10 copper coins, will you?" At first, bewilderment spread across the man''s face, but then, his facial features rxed, and he nodded, "10 copper coins is a great price." Hermes smiled and gave him a stash of coins. The man gave them their key, which was in the form of arge coin with a cross-shaped hole in the center. As they went up to the second floor, Alexmented, stunned, "Hermes, you were able to get down the price so low..." "Alexei-boy, we''re foreigners, they will overprice everything for us, you can''t allow them to scam you..." Hermes sternly lectured him. ''Says who?'' Alex coughed, as he recalled the various times Hermes bought into scams. With their humorous discussion, the atmospherepletely lightened. They soon reached their room and inserted the coin-key into the keyhole. The door opened with a clicking sound, and they entered the room. It lookedfortable and clean and fulfilled their needs for amodation. There were two beds, hence each of them upied one. "Good night, Alexei-boy~~" Hermes swiftly visited Hypnos, as usual. "Good night, Hermes," Alex was also quite tired, and quickly fell unconscious. ________________________ "The ghost general set up hisir in the hills nearby...." "So troublesome, I just wanted to sleep, but Martial Uncle sent us here..." Alex woke up from his sleep with a frown when he heard loud voices outside. Truthfully, they weren''t very loud, but they were loud enough that it pestered his sleep. He eavesdropped on their following conversation. "Brother, we just have to set up a talisman, and we''ll swiftly leave, okay? No trying to fight the ghost general!" The voice of an older woman resounded. Then, a hot-blooded young man''s voice replied, "Yes, Sister, don''t worry..." ''Ghost general? Talismans?'' Alex felt his curiosity take control of him. Chapter 122 - The Two immortals ''Alex, go back to sleep, go back to sleep...'' He tried to resist the temptation. ''But it''s a newnd, new monsters, new people, and ''immortals'', and sects!'' However, another part of him brimmed with excitement. This mental fight continued for a while. ''You know what? What am I going to lose if I check this out?'' Alex hadpletely forgotten the events that followed when he decided to check out ''things'' in Ctesiphon. "AAAAAAA!" A scream awoke Alex from his trance, and he immediately opened the thick curtains and windows to check it out. ''Maybe they were attacked by ghosts! I need to help these two juniors!'' Alex thought to himself as he looked down below. A young man dressed in white robes was screaming as a slimy creature slid up his arms. Upon closer inspection, the creature was simply a snail. The ''Sister'' the young man referred to earlier stood on the side, and a palm stered itself on her face. The young man had noticed Alex''s presence and the two stared at each other. This continued for a long time, but the older woman approached the porch beneath his window and bowed down. "Sir, I apologize for my younger brother''sck of discipl- "Sister? Why are you calling a beardless man ''Sir''?! He looks like he''s half your age..." Alex felt a vein creep upon his forehead. ''You brat! I''ll show you what some of the ''beardless'' gods back in Olympus can do to you!'' Ultimately, he cleared up his throat and replied, "It''s alright, however, I cannot deny my interest in the matters you were speaking of earlier," Alex closed the curtains and windows behind him and jumped out. The young man rashly interjected, "HAHAHAHAHA, you wish to vanquish some ghosts? Aren''t you a foreign diplomat or something? Only immortals like us can heroically save the city!" The older woman coughed and refuted, "Brother, you call ourselves ''immortals'' like it''s something great, don''t you remember that we''re only at the Foundation Establishment Stage? That''s pretty bad for our age..." Alex, out of interest, asked them, "Oh, you two are ''immortals''? You should be from the...Kunlun Mountain Sect then?" The young man said something, but Alex ignored him and listed to the calm older woman''s words. "Yes, although we''re at the lower ranks of the sect," The womanmented. "We just need to find a treasured weapon, Sister!" "Treasured tools are not like bok choy, moron!" The interactions between the two siblings were pretty funny, and Alex watched them from the side with a wide grin. "I believe we should introduce ourselves, I''m Alex, Ie from the westernnds on a diplomatic trip," The older woman grabbed her brother and the two bowed. "I''m Ma Xuefeng, this is my younger brother Ma Guanting." "So you are a diplomat? Where are you heading, then?" Ma Guanting excitedly asked him. Alex tried to recall the name of the location Padmapani told them about. "If I remember correctly, we''re heading for the Kingdom of Pure Felicity and Heavenly Lights and Ornaments," Alex felt like that name was a bit too long for a kingdom. The two stood up and faced him with apletely stunned expression. "Sir, are you by any chance, going to the heavenly domain?" Ma Xuefeng listlessly inquired. ''Heavenly Domain? That should be where the Jade Emperor lives,'' Alex nodded. Ma Xuefeng then scolded her brother, "Brother! Why are you so unruly?!" "Is there any problem?" Ma Xuefeng waved her hand and replied, "We were just surprised...However, you do know that the passage to the sacred kingdom only opens once every lunar crescent, Sir?" ''I...did not know that," Alex faced up at the night sky. The moon was at its first quarter, which meant... "We narrowly missed the crescent and now we have to wait almost a month?!" Alex identally eximed out loud. Ma Guanting sneakilyughed at him. "Unfortunately, that seems to be the case, Sir." Alex was wallowing in his frustration when a screeching noise attracted all of their attention. "What is that?!" Alex stared at the creature that was slowly approaching them. "An average ghost, they are slow and sluggish, but they ruin farnd and cause mental anguish to mortals, we came here to vanquish these," Ma Xuefeng kindly exined to him. The ''ghost'' had a slimy and sticky body, and its eyes glowed an emerald green. Alex didn''t find it scary, as he had seen his fair share of terrifying creatures in Ctesiphon. Prometheus turned from a palm-sized ball to his strange spear. Alex charged at the ghost, and his spear inserted right into its body. "Sir, normal weapons can''t- *Sizzle* When the ghost''s body came into contact with the red ruby, it started sizzling and vapor rose into the air. A dozen secondster, the ghostpletely vaporized into nothingness. "Sister, that''s the kind of treasured weapon we need to start gaining Reverence Qi!" Ma Guanting loudly remarked. However, Ma Xuefeng knocked him on the head and said, "Calm those scheming eyes of yours, Guanting!" Alex chuckled and threw Prometheus over to the young man. Ma Guanting happily caught the ball and yed around with it. "Sister, I''ll try inserting my Reverence Qi into the weapon to see what it does!" Following that, Prometheus turned into a liquid form as usual. The weapon then became arge, silver shuriken. In the center of the sharp, throwing weapon, a red ruby glowed menacingly. Ma Guanting''s eyes remained on Prometheus, and he proceeded to throw it into a wall. Yet, he did not expect that when the shurikennded on the wall, the entirety of the wall came crashing down. "What a weapon..!" Ma Xuefeng eximed in admiration. Alex cleared up his throat and said, "Well then, let''s defeat this ''ghost general'', shall we?" Then, he turned to Ma Xuefeng and whispered, "Is the ghost general strong?" "He''s very strong for us, but I cannot determine if it would be the same for Esteemed Sir," Chapter 123 - Ghost General "The ghost general has set up air in the hills near Luoxi, and he protects the ghost mother," Ma Xuefeng exined the current situation to him. The ghost mother transformed the yin energy in the air into ghosts. Alex listened attentively to the unfamiliar terminology. ''It''s like a totally different universe...'' Fascination filled his heart. "Should we go on foot? Do you use flying swords or something?" Alex inquired of the two. Ma Xuefeng shook her head and grimaced, "Sir, only our Nascent Soul seniors can use flying swords." ''Well, going on our feet would be rather slow, so here goes nothing," Alex decided to incarnate into Hermes. Feathery wings appeared on his back, and the two siblings only looked on with their jaws wide open. "What are you waiting for? Get a hold on," Alex held out his hands to the two. He clutched them tightly, and slowly levitated into the air. "I''ll be moving now, hold on very tightly!" Alex instantly increased his speed to the maximum and flew towards the hills outside of Luoxi. It only took a minute, and he slowlynded back on the uneven ground. Ma Xuefeng and Ma Guanting were still dazed, and their clothes and hair werepletely disheveled from the flight. "Where is the ghost general?" Alex turned to the two. Ma Xuefeng''s body jerked, and she immediately started searching for something in the pockets of her robe. Then, she took out a rectangr piece of paper. The paper had strange andplex scribes that were written with red ink. And the ink glowed in the dim night. "Sir, this talisman can detect the concentration of yin qi in the air, we should find them if we continue," Ma Xuefeng passed Alex the talisman. Alex examined it and a system interface popped up to appraise it. _____________________ (Yin Qi Detection Talisman) Quality: Good State: Normal ______________________ ''There''s no additional information?'' Alex found that strange, but he knew of the object''s purpose nheless. "Let''s go...this direction," Alex pointed to another slope in the hill. After that, they climbed further up, and the red ink glowed even brighter, therefore indicating that they were on the right track. Soon, they halted in front of the entrance to a deep crevice in the ground. "This is where the talisman grows the brightest!" Alex inserted the talisman into the crevice. Ma Xuefeng was reluctant to enter the dark and narrow crevice. "Will, you twoe?" Alex softly asked them. Ma Xuefeng was indecisive, but Ma Guanting jumped in front of him and excitedly nodded. "I''ll guarantee his safety," Alex reassured the older sibling. However, Ma Xuefeng changed her decision and proimed, "Sir, I''ll be going too, you might need information." "Alright." After that, Alex went in first and slowly climbed down. The entrance was very narrow and small, so he struggled to fit in. ''I can''t even destroy these rocks to make the entrance bigger because that would close off the crevice...'' Alex frowned as he awkwardly navigated the cramped depths. Fortunately, they didn''t need to climb down too deep, and the tight space gradually widened up until Alex felt his feetnd on solid ground. He waited for the two siblings, and they reached this ce soon after. The cave was dim, but the talisman shined with such a strong light that the two were able to clearly see their path. However, the light did not help with the atmosphere of the cave. Alex felt goosebumps instinctively rise on his body the further he walked into the cave. Nheless, they carefully and slowly advanced deeper and deeper. Suddenly, the tunnel-like cave made way for arge and wide opening. The talisman nowpletely illuminated the ce. *Drip* From the sharp stctites slithering down the ceiling of the cave, water droplets fell down into a small pond. On the other side of the cave, a strange whirring sound echoed. Upon further inspection, Alex perceived a strange slime-like ball that gathered ck vapor around it. "That''s the ghost mother! The ghost general should be nearby! Guanting, set up talismans over the walls so it can''t escape!" Ma Xuefeng eximed. Her brother obliged and took out a stash of inscribed paper from his pockets. Then, he stuck a talisman on the wall and performed an incantation on it. The talisman began glowing, but it then abruptly tore up. A green mist congregated around the boy and solidified around his arm. "It''s a part of the ghost general''s body! Guanting!" Ma Xuefeng screamed. *BAM* The cave suddenly shook aggressively. Alex hadunched Prometheus into the mass of slime, and when his ruby came into contact with it, it swiftly vaporized. "Let''s defeat the ghost general first, it can''t escape as long as it is bound to a living ghost mother!" Ma Xuefeng once again gave him information. Suddenly, the slime-like substance targeted Ma Xuefeng, but Alex swiftly recovered his weapon and obliterated it. The cave fell into silence, except for the whirring sound of the ghost mother. "Did Sir...defeat the ghost general?" Ma Guanting worriedly asked his sister. "It''s unlikely, the ghost general can separate his body into many pieces...." She continued, "Guanting, let''s set up all of the talismans so we can trap him inside of the cave and Sir can end him once and for all," Alex also wished to help them set up the talismans. "Sir, I don''t know if you have any Reverence Qi..." ''Reverence Qi? That should be Faith Energy, right?'' Alex insisted and grabbed a talisman for himself. He solidly stered it on the wall and channeled his Faith Energy into it. A blinding light spread from the talisman. "I''ve never seen such a strong talisman, Sir, we can trap the ghost general here with only your talisman!" Ma Xuefeng praised him. As she said, a green mist suddenly gathered and solidified into the shape of a man. Alex charged at the ghost general and pierced his spear into it. "AAAAAAAAAAA" The creature groaned dryly in pain. Soon enough, there was nothing left of it. However, Alex nted his eyes and threw his spear into thin air. It didn''t escape his sight that an extremely small amount of the mist hadn''t vaporized. After that, their attention moved on to the ghost mother. Unfortunately, his spear did not work on the slime ball. Ma Xuefengmented, "If I''d known that we''d fight the ghost general, I''d have brought a talisman to seal the ghost mother..." She coughed and continued, "We need to take it with us to Martial Uncle, he''s very good at sealing." After their sessful battle, they left the crevice. The two bowed to him in thanks and said, "Sir, the Kunlun Mountain Sect opens its doors to you.." "We have an envoy from the heavenly domain whoes by every month to check that we are doing an immortal''s work properly, if you wish, the envoy would be able to guide you to the abode of Lord Jade Emperor," Alex thanked them for the proposal, and they parted ways soon after. Chapter 124 - To The Sect After his meeting with the two ''immortals'', Alex went back to Luoxi. He flew around the city and finally found the inn where they were staying. Then, Alex sneakily got into the room. Fortunately, Hermes was still deeply asleep and didn''t wake up from the earliermotion. Alex also proceeded to sleep, and he was swiftly put under the spell of Hypnos. The next morning, the two woke up rather early. "Let''s go get breakfast," Hermes said as he stretched his body. "You just want some butter tea, don''t you?" Hermes and Alex went down and the owners of the inn greeted them. "Good morning, Sirs, would you like to get some breakfast?" The bearded inn owner asked them. Unfortunately, the food in the inn didn''t seem very good, so they refused and left. The narrow streets of Luoxi were lively in the morning. The two gods inconspicuously walked through the city and made their way to the food vendor from yesterday. On their way, a younger resident was shouting repeatedly, "The immortals of the Kunlun Mountain Sect have vanquished the ghosts!" Someone reacted, "We can finally go out at night again!" The residents were overjoyed at the news, and there was a somewhat festive atmosphere. When they reached the alley which had the food stalls, Alex noticed that Hermes was staring at him for a long period of time. A bead of sweat fell down his face, and he awkwardly asked, "Hermes, why are you staring at me like that?" "I don''t know, Alexei-boy, I just feel like you''ve caused some trouble during the night, did you?" ''Is it that obvious...?'' Alex rubbed his head in embarrassment. "I just defeated some ''ghost general'' and met these two immortals from a nearby sect...." "You....just...?" Hermes failed to restrain hisughter. Alex defended himself, "However, I received a lot of useful information." Following that, they ordered some sweet tea and yak bone broth noodle soup. While they were eating, Hermes asked him, "So, what''s the useful news your trouble brought you?" "Well, we have to wait for the next lunar crescent before we can enter the heavenly domain." Hermes coughed and jokingly said, "There was a quarter moon yesterday..." "Exactly." "Oh, and the Kunlun Mountain Sect receives delegates from the heavenly domain every month, they might be able to guide us." Hermes nodded and proposed, "Let''s visit this sect then." With that, they decided to go to the Kunlun Mountain Sect. However, they did not know where it was located. Fortunately, Alex asked the food vendor, and thetter kindly told him everything he knew. "Kunlun Mountain Sect? They have kind immortals, and they''re the only immortal sect around this entire region, you can find their residence in the Kunlun mountain range west of Luoxi." "Thank you." _____________ After paying for their food, the two left the city, got into the chariot, and began their flight westwards. Fortunately, they quickly reached a gigantic mountain range. "Why is there a hole in the mounta- A burst of sharp wind passed by them and destabilized the chariot. They skillfully recovered theirposure and perceived the reason for this disturbance. A lizard-like creature with shiny blue scales and a long body flew at an extremely fast pace towards the mountains. Its head, however, was unlike a lizard''s and had a thick blue mane that moved along the wind. ''Is that a dragon?!'' Alex''s face glowed with amazement. Unfortunately, the dragon was too fast, and it entered into man-made holes in therge mountains and disappeared from view. The scene of the majestic blue dragon was still fresh in Alex''s mind. "When Athena warned you about leaving Hellenia, these creatures are what she was speaking of, Alexei-boy," Hermes stated and shrugged. They resumed their short journey and were soon flying over the mountains. Between the mountains, arge valley was visible. From their altitude, a pristine blueke reflected the sunlight, and around theke, buildings signified the presence of civilization. "This might be it, Hermes, let''snd next to theke," Hermes obliged, and the chariot slowed down and lost altitude. Then, they slowly came into contact with the ground at a small clearing. "Let''s see what sects are all about then," Suddenly, three white-robed people flew directly over them. They weren''t flying with wings or a chariot, but...blunt swords. "I heard two Foundation Establishments juniors brought in a ghost mother yesterday," "That''s a great achievement, they''ll be able to cross into Core Formation if they receive enough Reverence- huh?!" One of three caught sight of the two gods below them and swiftly changed direction. The other three followed him and theynded in front of Hermes and Alex. One of them immediately took out something from his pockets and threw it in their direction. *Tak* Alex turned around and saw three sharp and small nails embedded into a tree. It was a concealed weapon. "Who are you?! Reveal your identities!" The most senior-looking of three shouted at them. Alex stepped up, and replied, "We''ve been invited to the Sect by two disciples, I believe their names were Ma Xuefeng and Ma Guanting." The man frowned and turned to a younger-looking woman next to him. "Junior Sister, do any of these names ring a bell?" The woman contemted for a bit and then nodded, "Senior Brother, I believe the Ma siblings were the ones who have brought the ghost mother yesterday with them." "Now that I remember it, a junior informed me that they spoke of a foreign-looking man that helped them with the mission." The senior man nodded, and turned back to them, "I''ll be giving you the benefit of the doubt!" "However." "I shall speak with Martial Grandfather first, follow us." The three flew towards the buildings. Alex and Hermes also unfolded their wings and followed them. "Winged humans?!" The woman seemed stunned by their wings. ___________ The building they halted at was a pagoda that was at a much higher point than the rest of the sect, and the senior man entered. After a few minutes, he exited the pagoda, and behind him, an older-looking man followed with his hands cupped behind his back. Unlike the others, his robe was of ck color. "Martial Grandfather!" The other two deeply bowed to the older man. Chapter 125 - Trouble The ck-robed man approached the two other disciples and patted them on the head. "Hello, juniors." Then, he turned to Alex and Hermes. "Guanyu exined everything," The elderly man stated. He continued, "We wee you at the Kunlun Mountain Sect, men such as yourselves that can vanquish a ghost general deserve a great reception." Alex thanked him for his generosity and inquired, "I have a small inquiry if it wouldn''t bother you, Sir?" The elderly man rubbed his long beard andughed, "Sir? I am but a young man of a century and a half of age, don''t make me feel old..." Everyone burst intoughter at the old man''sments. Alex smiled and said, "I have heard of a delegate from the heavenly domain thates by here every lunar month, we need to visit the domain ourselves, would they be able to guide us there?" The old man fell into silence as he pondered over the former''s question. Ultimately, he nodded and replied, "You two are diplomatic envoys to Lord Jade Emperor? If you can prove your motives, I believe the delegate would help you." Hermes, who was behind Alex, started searching for something on his back. Then, he took out a golden piece of paper from a stash of scrolls. On the piece of paper, there was a sentence written in bold strokes. "A decree of heaven?! I have only seen this sent to the most exalted of diplomats, the delegate would very dly help you if you can show them this authentication." ''That''s solved then," Alex sighed in relief. Suddenly, a grey-robed man flew over to their spot on a flying blunt sword. He slowlynded and when the younger, white-robed people saw him, they bowed slightly, "Martial Uncle!" The grey-robed man was tense and ignored their greetings. Instead, he swiftly approached the older man and greeted him with a heavy breath, "Martial Father! I have some bad news!" The old man ced his hand on the other man''s shoulders and said, "Liuxian, calm down and tell your father what happened." Liuxian took a few heavy breaths and then eximed, "As you might know, Father, two junior disciples brought over a ghost mother yesterday for sealing." The old man nodded and pointed at Alex, "Yes, son, in fact, the young man who has defeated the ghost general is right here." Liuxian stared at Alex for a moment and then turned back to his father. "While sealing it, I found an inscription upon it, and through that, it seems the ghost mother didn''t form naturally, but..... "Someone ced it there?" The old man finished his sentence and frowned. "Yes." The young white-robed man named Guanyu hastily interjected, "Martial Father, I believe there are no other sects around Western Qin, that is impossible." Liuxian refuted, "I went to the location by myself and did research." "While there are fossilized human remains in the dirt, indicating that ce might have had a cemetery in the past, considering how old those remains were, the yin qi would have entirely dissipated in the meantime." "Martial Father, what do you think?" Liuxian then interrogated his father with a worried expression. "Long ago, people who used the teachings of Lord Lao Zi for demonic purposes did exist, but I know no evidence of their being in Western Qin." Suddenly, the young female disciple from earlier bowed down and requested, "Might I inform everyone of a hypothesis of mine?" The old man nodded, "Yaling, go on." "In traditional folklore, between a ghost general, and the legendary ghost emperor, another type of ghost roams the earth." "The ghost king, who rules over many ghost generals and assigns for the protection of the ghost mothers in arge region." Alex listened attentively, and then he heard Hermes whisper, "Alexei-boy, I''m starting to get a little lost with what they''re saying." Alex quietly giggled. The old ck-robed man rubbed his beard and replied, "I will keep that in mind, thank you, Yaling." "On that, Guanyu, could you escort the two esteemed guests to some of our residences and guide them around the sect?" The white-robed senior man nodded and bowed. Then, he approached them and introduced himself, "I''m Zhen Guanyu, pleased to make your acquaintance." "I''m Alex." "Hermes." "Do you wish to go over to the guest living facilities immediately or visit around the sect?" Alex instantly replied, "I''ll visit the sect." "I''ll go rest for a little bit," Hermes had a different answer. Following that, the three flew over the buildings and halted at a medium-sized red and ck pagoda in the outskirts of the ce. It looked over the nearby idyllicke, and the insides were rtively spacious andfortable. Hermes entered the pagoda, and the two left for the sect, this time on their feet. Zhen Guanyu wished to start a conversation, and eximed, "Do you know, Martial Grandfather is the only Copper Immortal in Western Qin?" "To be frank, I don''t know what that means..." Alex grimaced. Zhen Guanyu chuckled and exined it to him, "Above the Soul Formation stage, that''s where true immortality begins." "There are Copper Immortals, Silver Immortals, Golden Immortals, and thest stage is that of the Jade Immortals." "As you might have guessed, Jade Immortals are named after Lord Jade Emperor, although Lord Lao Zi was such an immortal too." Surprisingly, they were already inside the town. ''I did not guess that, honestly,'' Alex remarked internally. "Was?" He was curious about why Guanyu used the past tense for the man called Lao Zi. Guanyu had a pained expression and replied, "Lord Lao Zi''s whereabouts have been unknown ever since he spread his teachings to mortals, unfortunately." "Sir Alex! Senior Brother Guanyu!" A feminine voice suddenly halted their conversation. Alex looked at the oing person, and unexpectedly, it was Ma Xuefeng, the woman that he vanquished the ghost general with. Surprisingly, Ma Guanting wasn''t with her. "You are...?" Guanyu asked her. "I am Ma Xuefeng, your junior sister." Guanyu''s mouth formed an ''oh'' shape and he asked, "You vanquished the ghost general? That''s great, Martial Grandfather spread your names throughout Luoxi, you should have gained enough Reverence Qi to ascend to Core Formation?" "Yes! All thanks to Sir Alex!" Ma Xuefeng clenched her fists and bowed to Alex. Chapter 126 - A Step Back In Time(5) -Mount Olympus- Over a mountain peak in Olympus, a tall tower constructed of bluestone bricks dominated the surroundings. Inside the highest floor of the tower, a blue-robed woman sat on a chair. She was studying a yellow-ish, tattered scroll. Although she seemed focused, a closer look revealed that her pupils looked elsewhere than the scroll. It was Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Her pupils were twitching rapidly, and this increased in intensity until... *Tsss* She abruptly ripped the scroll in half. ''Why am I feeling this way? Why does the time go on so emptily?'' Athena wondered to herself. Recently, she schemed against her father, the King of the Gods, Zeus. Along with Prometheus and Hephaestus, they stole the divine fire of Zeus and granted it to the mortals, who couldn''t eat freezing meat in the winter or spoiled meat in the hot summers. Unfortunately, thetter had discovered their ns, albeit toote, and sent Prometheus to the Underworld. When Here discovered Hephaestus'' involvement in the n, she began pestering him again, and now, he hadn''t left his base in a few months. Athena was left unscathed, but that did not matter to her. Over the years, especially after the exile of Sophus from Gaia, she started feeling emptiness at her meaningless, but immortal life. When Prometheus spoke to her about the ''humans'', her curiosity overwhelmed her. She found them amazing, even more so than gods could ever be. Because they didn''t have unlimited time, everything they ever did had importance, and they valued the world and their peers much more than the selfish gods of Olympus. From this intrigue and amazement, Athena began teaching the mortals. She taught themnguage, and wisdom, and thought. Then, she gifted them ink and paper, as Sophus had once done for her. However, now that Hephaestus and Prometheus weren''t her anymore, it felt empty and unfulfilling. Suddenly, she recalled something. ''Didn''t Herme take in two children a few years ago? Should I go see them?'' Athena contemted. Ultimately, she packed up a few scrolls as gifts and left her tower. She was soon in front of Hermes'' mansion. *Knock* She knocked a few times on the front gate. Athena did not wait too long, and someone opened the door. Surprisingly, it wasn''t Hermes. A skinny man was at the door. He had piercing hazel eyes and a serpentine staff in his hands. The man looked at her and, unexpectedly, he frowned. "Is Hermes here?" "No," The man coldly replied. "Are you...Apollo?" Athena nervously asked. Apollo did not answer her question, and instead, he iprehensiblymented, "It''s strange..." Suddenly, he stabbed the serpentine staff into his two eyes. As his eyes bled profusely, he calmly said, "You have an obsession with injustice, perhaps an insecurity that you won''t be seen as a morally just person, if you continue on this path, you will only turn into a monster you''ve never wanted to be." Athena stepped back. ''He''s...scary...'' She clenched her hands on the scrolls, and slowly left the premises while surveying the man in front of the door. Blood pooled down at the floor. Even though the man''s eyes were bleeding, he stared right at her as if he could see her. Athena immediately ran away and went back to her tower. ''I''m obsessed with justice...? Athena''s heart beat aggressively, and she clenched her hand on her armored chest. _______________________ A few years had passed by since her first encounter with Apollo, but his words still pierced deep into her heart. She was trying to predict tomorrow''s night sky charts when a woman entered her room. The woman was d in priestly clothing, and her face was rather charming "Lady Athena?" The priestess had red eyes, and her dry face indicated she was crying. "Oh, Medusa, let me finish this part of the chart, and you''ll have my undivided attention." Soon enough, Athena was over with her study and looked at Medusa. She was shocked at her clearly tearful face, and she asked, "Medusa, why have youe from Athens to here? That''s quite a long journey..." "Lady Athena, I..I-I have something to say." "Go on." "In the Acropolis in Athens, Lord....Z-Zeus forced himself on m-" Medusa couldn''t continue, and copsed on the floor. Strangely, Athena''s eyes were somewhat empty. "That means you broke the vow of celibacy you swore when you became my priestess," Athena coldly stated, and her attitude immediately changed. "B-but! Lady, Lord...forced himself on me," The woman''s voice was hard to hear amidst her tears. "I''ll take care of Fatherter, but you''ll have to face justice for breaking your oath first," Athena approached Medusa in slow steps. "Raise your head up," Athena crouched near the priestess and ordered her. Medusa obeyed, and Athena proceeded to ce her finger on the woman''s face. Suddenly, her face turned green-ish and coarse like sandstone. She was screaming in pain, and each and every strand of her hair turned into a small snake. When this stopped, Athena took back her hands and stared at them. It was perhaps just her imagination, but her hands seemed to be dyed in blood. "What did I do?!" A random memory popped up in her head. That time she met Apollo, his bloody face, and his piercing words. She couldn''t think properly with the proof of her crime in front of her, so she threw the monster she created into a cave far away. She tried to be indifferent and forget this, but every night, whenever she slept, the nightmare of her sins came creeping up, and Apollo''s face was always in the background. ''I can''t do it anymore...'' Athena made a decision. She couldn''t bear to take ountability for her actions, and she came into contact with a newly-risen hero named Perseus. She fabricated a story about Medusa''s evil and sent him to kill her. Even after this happened, the nightmare only got stronger. One day, she was training, when the drums of the divine council reverberated throughout Olympus. She made her way to Zeus'' pce, and into the courtroom. "I have gathered all of you today to decide on a new matter," Zeus dered. "Demeter, what do you have to say?" Demeter was the intiff today, and she eximed, "My daughter, creatress of life, Persephone, was stolen by none other, than the King of the dead, Hades!" The issue seemed important, but Athena''s mind was elsewhere. Hermes was on the opposite seat to Athena. His perception was always a strength of his, and he noticed two strange things. ''Why do Father''s eyes glow whenever Demeter mentions her daughter?'' ''Why is Athena like that?'' Chapter 127 - Nutritional Crisis When he heard Ma Xuefeng''s praise for Alex, Guanyu''s eyes gained a hint of admiration for the foreign god. Then, the young man cleared his throat, and asked her, "Junior Sister, are you heading somewhere?"?? Ma Xuefeng''s expression turned sour and worried when she heard his question. She bit her lips, and replied weakly, "The vigers in Luoxi have health problems, I was on my way to Martial Aunt Zhen Lingxin tomission a few pills for themonfolk..." Guanyu frowned andmented, "Again? The health situation for children and the elderly has worsened more and more," The atmosphere turned somewhat heavy, and Guanyu coughed and said in an unnaturally cheerful tone, "Junior Sister, let''s show Sir Alex the pharmaceutical might of the Kunlun Mountain Sect!" He winked at her, and she understood his intent. Ma Xuefeng smiled awkwardly and eximed, "Yes! Let''s go!" ''Come on, you two, I''m not a child, you don''t need to hide the troubles of the region from me...'' Alex shook his head sneakily. After that, the three navigated uphill towards a wide building. Unlike most of the low-lying buildings around, this one did not center around a courtyard, and instead, the interior upied the entire plot of the structure. When they opened the sliding doors and entered, an aggressive smell assaulted their noses. It reminded Alex of the sterile smell of hospitals. ''That makes sense, considering they refine medicine in here,'' He remarked internally. The building had a main hall in the center, and around it, a corridor led to many rooms. A middle-aged woman approached them. She wore light-gray robes, and her face had signs of aging. "Martial Aunt!" The two bowed, hence Alex followed them and did the same. "Guanyu and Xuefeng, what brought on your visit to our medicinal center?" Ma Xuefeng cupped her hands and replied, "Ten more citizens of Luoxi have developed thyroid problems, they require pills." The middle-aged woman ced a hand on her cheek andmented, "Ever since they fully closed the southern road, this problem has only gotten worse." ''Thyroid problems? Mountainous regions? Ony among the elderly and the young...'' Alex formed a sudden hypothesis, but he kept silent for now. "Follow me," Zhen Lingxi greeted Alex and led them to the corridors of the structure. Then, she opened one of the sliding doors and a herbal aroma instantly enveloped their senses. The room was only lit by a few candles, and inside, the only utilities were a cab, a cauldron, a tabletop, and a wood furnace. "Let''s see..." "You said they have thyroid problems? They''ll need axative, a blood-thickening agent, a fatigue remedy, and a nutritional herb," As she spoke, the woman took out various ingredients. "I don''t think that will help," Alex interjected. The middle-aged woman frowned and replied, "Are you doubting an immortal''s pharmaceutical skills?" "Not at all, you seem quite professed," Alex waved his hand and cleared up the misunderstanding. This time, Guanyu asked him, "What is it, then, Sir Alex?" ''Clearly iodine deficiency,'' He thought internally. Earlier, when Ma Xuefeng mentioned that the citizens had thyroid problems, he immediately recalled that they lived on a raised teau entirely surrounded by mountains. On modern Earth, he lived near the sea, so no one had such problems, but the problems caused by iodine deficiency were very well explored. "This problem will only worsen if there is no prevention, a cure will only be akin to pacing a small bandage upon a bleeding slit." "What do you mean?" Zhen Lingxi was curious, and her eyes were questioning, yet open to this discourse. Alex found out that there wasn''t any exact word for ''iodine'', in all of the ancientnguages, so he had to exin it another way. "I live near the sea, and there, people don''t have thyroid problems, because they eat foods that have a special substance required for proper thyroid development," Alex fabricated a story to illustrate it. "I don''t think it''s a coincidence that where people eat a lot of sea salt, fish, and dairy, thyroid problems are almost inexistent." The middle-aged woman''s eyes glowed, and she nodded and said, "Go on, go on..." Alex pointed his finger at her, and sternly asked, "Where do the people get their salt from?!" Ma Xuefeng was knowledgeable on the affairs ofmonfolk, so she replied, "There are saltkes up nort- wait, I think I understand what you''re saying, Sir Alex!" Their discourse was reaching a climax, and Guanyu asked Xuefeng, "What do you think, Junior Sister?" "Before the southern roads were closed off, the people of Luoxi used to eat a lot of pink salt from the Himyas, and if I follow Sir Alex''s rhetoric, it seemed that the salt had a special substance that prevented thyroid problems!" Zhen Lingxi had a look of reverence, and shemented, "You concluded that just from a few sentences, you''re very smart..!" Guanyu also smiled and seemed to share that opinion. ''Truthfully, my hypothesis didn''t go as far as the pink salt, so that''s a fortunate coincidence," Alex rubbed his head, concealing his inner thoughts. Then, the middle-aged woman attracted everyone''s attention and ced a hand on her chin. "I will ask of Martial Father to give a verdict on this situation," Now that this was out of the way, Alex wished to ask about something else. "Lady, can I see the process through which you refine medicine?" Zhen Lingxi nodded fervently, "Of course, stand by the sides with the Junior Disciples, I''ll show you every step of the way." Following that, she ignited the wood furnace and ced the wide cauldron over it. "This is distilled water, it prevents the nts from burning while also reaching a temperature that releases their medicinal properties," She showed him a wide sk full of water. However, she first took out a few dry-looking herbs and ced them in the searing hot cauldron. "Pill refinement is quite simr to cooking, I''ll toast some herbs to tap into their properties while trying not to burn them," She turned down the heat of the furnace. Then, the nts inside started producing a sizzling sound and released some oils into the cauldron. "Now, I''ll add the water in!" She spilled a very precise amount of distilled water, and most of it boiled off at the point of contact. Zhen Lingxi then added a few more herbs and a strange salt. "This is emulsion salt, it will allow the oils and the water to mix together to unleash the power in the nt." Alex nodded and observed attentively. She let the ''soup'' cook for a bit, and then, she put on gloves, and unexpectedly, her hands went into the extremely hot soup. "This is where an immortal apothecary''s jobes in." "You put in Reverence Qi very carefully." The ''soup'' gradually turned thicker and thicker. Zhen Lingxi then immediately brought the cauldron off the heat. She took a clump of the end product in her hands and ced it under a press. She brought it down, and the press molded the medicine into a pill shape. "Look at this," She passed the dry pill to Alex. Alex examined it closely. _____________________________ (Pill) Quality: Great State: Excellent Additional Information: A medicinal pill that targets the symptoms of the thyroid nd. _____________________________ "Martial Sister Zhen Lingxi, Martial Father has called for your presence in his pagoda," An unfamiliar voice interrupted his examination. Chapter 128 - The Ghost King Zhen Lingxi turned around when she heard her name. A gray-robed elderly man was standing at the door.?? Alex finally understood what the colors of the robe indicated. ''White robes are for disciples, gray robes are for Elders, and ck robes are for the man they call Martial Grandfather,'' He had deduced this. ordingly, Guanyu and Xuefeng greeted the man with a deep bow. "Martial Uncle!" The man looked at Guanyu, and remarked, "I think you shoulde, Guanyu, your older brother came back." "Hong gege is back!?" Guanyu cheerfully eximed. "Yes, we need to move fast, get a move on." The elder then cast a questioning look at the other two, and asked, "Who are you two?" "I''m Ma Xuefeng." "Ma Xuefeng? You brought the ghost mother, then you should definitelye with us." The elder halted his words and then resumed, "You should be Sir Alex, then? Could youe too to provide information on your encounter with the ghost general?" "That''s alright." Following that, the five of them left the apothecary center and flew towards the pagoda uphill. The two elders and Guanyu flew on flying swords, whereas Alex flew with his wings and held on to Ma Xuefeng. "Wings?" The two elders had an intrigued look. They soon reached the pagoda and immediately entered. There was arge circr staircase simr to the one in Athena''s tower, which they climbed until they reached the top floor. This floor had a hexagonal table in the center, and a rtivelyrge group of people gathered here. Most of them had gray robes, except the ck-robed elderly man and a handsome young man who wore colorful yellow-and-red robes. "You should still be tir- "Hong gege!" Guanyu uncharacteristically eximed and ran towards the colorfully dressed young man. "Guanyu didi!" The man named Zhen Hong chuckled and eximed. "When did youe back?!" Guanyu asked with bright eyes. "I departed from the Kingdom of Pure Felicity a month ago and I just reached the sect today..." An elderughed loudly from the sidelines, and eximed, "That''s the pride of our sect, Zhen Hong! Already at the sacred kingdom, what stage of cultivation have you reached?" Zhen Hong pondered for a bit, and then calmly replied, "I''m at the peak of Soul Formation, I''m confident in reaching Copper Immortality by the end of the year." "Oooooooh!" The crowd unanimously gloated. The ck-robed elderly man chuckled and remarked, "Today''s youths are so talented...It took me a century to reach your stage, you only reached it in a meager 3 decades..." "Martial Grandfather, don''t underestimate yourself, most people wouldn''t reach your level in ten millennia, and they''d be dead by then anyway..." The elders all burst intoughter. "Hehehehe..." The ck-robed man was satisfied with the praise. "Anyways, you had some bad news, you said?" Zhen Hong gulped, and replied, "As I was crossing the eastern mountain ranges into the teau, I found an extremely strong source of yin qi, not as strong as that of the legendary ghost emperor, but far stronger than any ghost general." The ck-robed man rubbed his beard andmented, "This is concerning when we add onto it yesterday''s happenings..." "Huh?" Zhen Hong asked confusingly. "Two junior disciples and a foreign guest have brought in a ghost mother, that ording to Liuxian, has been created artificially." "Junior Disciple Xiao Yaling informed us of folklore stories from hernds that were quite interesting." The ck-robed man stated. An elder then left the pagoda and came back with a young, white-robed woman. It was Xiao Yaling. "Junior disciple, can you tell your Martial Brother here of your hypothesis?" Yaling bowed slightly and replied, "Ie from the eastern reaches of Western Qin, and there, the Xiao n has several information agencies." "Ever since olden times, rumors about a certain ''ghost king'' have spread there..." Zhen Hong thanked her and fell into contemtion. "That lines up with the location I sensed the yin qi at, and the power seems about right." The elderly man in ck robes nodded and added, "I believe that rumor to be right, and since so, we need to vanquish this creature." Zhen Hong eximed with resolve, "I''ll be going!" "I''ll flex my young muscles a little bit too!" The elderly man revealed his unusually muscr arms and unted them. ''He knows how to lighten the atmosphere," Alex remarked that this man served as a good leader for the sect. "I''ll go to seal the ghost mother and set up talismans!" Zhen Liuxian, the sealing master, also volunteered. "Two Soul Formation experts and a Copper Immortal, you three should be enough!" Zhen Lingxi stated. "Can I go?" Unexpectedly to the others, Alex, the foreign man, also volunteered. "Young man, I''m not sure you have any Reverence Q- "Martial Grandfather! Sir Alex does have Reverence Qi! In fact, his talisman glowed brighter than any I''d ever seen...even....brighter...than M-Martial U-uncle Liuxian." Ma Xuefeng intervened and refuted. Liuxian frowned and pouted, "Junior Disciple Xuefeng, you can forget asking me to form any more arrays for you, you can ask your ''Sir Alex''." The crowd once againughed. "Well, with that, we''re four, let''s move out tomorrow morning." Since they made their verdict, the crowd dissipated. Zhen Guanyu went with his brother while Ma Xuefeng met up with Ma Guanting. Alex went back to their guest pagoda and found Hermes...swimming in theke. Heid down on his back and floated. "Alexei-boy! Come swim! The salt content in thiske allows you to float without any effort!" "Enjoy yourself, Hermes, I don''t want to get wet." Alex entered the pagoda and found a small room. There wasn''t much to do, but he suddenly recalled something. He took out a paper from his pockets, and started writing on it. "Man, this piece of paper survived through everything we''ve been through..." Alexughed out loud. ''Well, Crista, you told me you were back at Olympus, right? We''re officially on the opposite sides of the world, I''m in some ce called ''Western Qin''. Soon, a delegate from the heavenly envoy will being by, and we''ll go back with them to meet the Jade Emperor, and then, swiftly make our way back to Olympus. I''m really missing you right now.'' Since the paper was blessed with Link, the message should reach her instantaneously. "I wonder how the church is doing...Theoserfos hasn''t sent any transmissions, so there should be no problems," Alex also felt his supply of Faith Energy constantly increase, so that was a good sign. Tomorrow, he would fight the ''ghost king'' alongside these ''immortals''. Chapter 129 - The Third Testament -The next day- At dawn, a gong rang out from the center of the town.?? Immortal sects began their daily activities early, hence the cultivators all woke up at the loud ringing of the gong. Alex and Hermes also woke up, and the former remembered that today was quite an important day. He had to meet up with Zhen Hong and the ck-robed sect leader to depart for their expedition westwards. Of course, he first took care of his hygienic needs and dressed up. Most of the clothes he brought with him were tattered or worn down, and he didn''t have the time nor the experience to sew new clothes. As a result, he borrowed the white robes of the sect disciples. ''These look nice,'' Alex remarked when he saw himself in the mirror and fixed up the little crevices. "Hermes, we''ll be moving to defeat the ghost king," Alex bid his goodbyes to thezy Hermes. Ever since he received a vacation back in Olympus, Alex felt like the usually-diligent Hermes has been exceptionallyzy. "Okay, Alexei-boy, don''t die~~~" Hermes yawned. A vein crept upon his forehead, but he put that aside and left their pagoda. Then, he swiftly flew to the central pagoda, and freely entered and climbed to the top floor. Like yesterday, there was a gathering of the grey-robed sect elders. Zhen Hong, Zhen Liuxian, and the sect leader stood in the center of the crowd. The elders made a pathway for him, and he greeted the three "Good morning." The ck-robed sect leader chuckled and inquired, "Are our facilitiesfortable? Did you sleep well?" "Yes, and the air feels really clean and fresh here," Alex made some small talk. "Oh, Liuxian sets up air-purifying talismans all over the sect," _________________ "Are we going to the eastern mountains directly? Or shall we stop along the way?" Zhen Hong asked the sect leader. "Are you slow? Why do you ask that?" The sect leader sneered mockingly. "Actually...." Alex interjected. He had borrowed the flying chariot from Hermes since it was simply the most practical and fastest tool avable. The minuscule chariot quickly grew in size and could ultimatelyfortably fit the four of them. "What a great tool, the westernnds have some unexpectedly good forging skills," The sect leader ced his wide sleeve on his mouth. ''That felt like an insult,'' Alex coughed and was somewhat surprised at his rising patriotic feelings for Olympus. "Let''s get a move, we should vanquish it before nighttime when the ghost matrice can make more ghost generals..." The four of them got into the chariot, and after receiving blessings from the sect elders, they immediately burst into the sky. The trip was mostly silent, except the whisperings of Liuxian and the sect leader in the backseats. Alex turned to Zhen Hong, who was next to him, and tried to begin a conversation, "You''re a resident of the Kingdom of Pure Felicity?" ''He should know something about the heavenly domain, right?'' "Yes, I just recently received citizenship when I reached the Soul Formation stage," Alex nodded and asked another question, "Would you happen to know where the heavenly domain''s entrance is? We need to go there." Zhen Hong rubbed his head in embarrassment and shook it. "To be frank, although I live in the sacred kingdom, no one except the delegates and the heavenly citizens know of its location," He ced a finger on his be, and continued, "However, I think a delegate would dly guide you if you have any form of authentication," Alex nodded, even though he already knew of thetter part. Suddenly, Zhen Hong asked the sect leader, "Martial Grandfather, would you be able to decipher this crypt? I found it in one of my voyages and it seems to be written in an ancientnguage." The young man took out a beige ceramic te from his pockets. There were esoteric symbols engraved on the te. The sect leader grabbed the te and examined it. Unfortunately, he shook his head, "Thisnguage seems to be a few hundred years old, I can''t recognize any of the symbols here," Liuxian took the crypt and examined it with a monocle. "However, the te is clearly quite new, and at most, half a dozen decades old." "Golden Immortals or Jade Immortals can decipher it with their linguistic abilities though," When Alex stared at the te, he felt the urge to exim, ''You don''t need Immortals for that, your boy, the god of humanity, is right here!'' "Can I see that?" Alex wished to see the te for himself. Liuxian gave him a strange, and incredulous look, but ultimately, delicately gave him the crypt. Alex was a true god, and one of the skills all gods had were their universal linguistic abilities, hence he instantly understood and decoded the contents of the te. ''Annals of a long life - Regret - The third testament'' Alex didn''t understand a lot from the title, so he gave the rest a read. ''Mortal-minded is fickle, and egotistical, giving them power is not salvation, but the greatest of curses. I regret my gift to the mortal-minded, and this is the third testament to my regret before I leave the secr and immortal domains. They call me a wise man, but I think my actions make me the unwisest of men. To the rare bunch that can find and understand this, my tes are the annals to the life I held, and perhaps, to the ce I have gone to.'' Alex frowned. The person who wrote it was clearly in a state of distress, and they regretted ''their gift to mortals''. "Youngd, are you pretending to read?" The sect leader took him out of his trance andughed. "Yes, thisnguage ispletely unfamiliar to me," Alex lied and gave Zhen Hong the te. As he didn''t understand the importance and the context of this te, he wouldn''t easily exin the contents, and instead, keep them to himself. Unbeknownst to Alex, he had stumbled on the greatest mystery of this greatnd. Chapter 130 - A Divine Beasts Aid Zhen Hong retrieved the te and cluelessly pocketed it back. The chariot fell back into silence, and they just continued flying through the sky.?? Soon enough, the sun was the jewel in the sky, and it was noon. Fortunately, a colossal and snowy mountain range unted its size below us. "It''s here, let''snd on the outskirts, I''ll try to remember the way," Zhen Hong informed them. Alex nodded and slowed down the chariot. The flying tool began a slownding. The mountains weren''t a barren wastnd but instead had thick, autumnal forestry. "I''ll use my yin qi detection talisman," Zhen Hong took out a rectangr piece of paper. Unlike the ones Ma Xuefeng used, the inscriptions on this one were more borate andplex. However, it did not glow in the slightest. The young man clicked his tongue, andmented, "We need to delve further into the forest." Delving further into the forest, they sure did. Nevertheless, no matter which direction they went to, the talisman stayed as dark as usual. "Junior Disciple Hong, are you sure you even detected yin qi in this forest...?" The sect leader had an annoyed face. Zhen Hong stuttered, but he nodded fervently, "I-i am sure it was close to h-here!" Following that, they attempted to go in other directions and walked endlessly throughout the thick woonds. However, there were still no results. By this point, Zhen Hong''s face had lost all hope. Even Alex, who was usually excited to visit new locations, was starting to feel quite frustrated. Liuxian cleared his throat, and proposed, "Perhaps, the yin qi has been concealed by the ghost king? We don''t know anything about this enemy, they could very well have this ability as a protective instinct." The sect leader harrumphed and replied, "That would better be the case.." Zhen Hong and the sect leader began a staring contest. Suddenly, a strange sound interrupted this tension. *Cackle* *Cackle* A small creature was picking up seeds below its feet with its beak. Alex looked down and found out that it was a... "Hen?" He said out loud. A yellow beak, a white body, and red feathers near its small head. He caressed the hen, and unexpectedly, the three other immediately stepped back a few dozen steps. "What''s wrong?" Alex was confused, and his wide, heterochromatic eyes clearly showed that. Zhen Hong coughed, and replied, "Look at its tail, that is not a hen...but a- "Pheonix cub!" Liuxian eximed. Alex followed their line of sight and perceived that the ''hen'' had a small tail that was on fire. "It might be a phoenix, but it''s only a few days old as its appearance suggests, it will die if not taken back to its mother." The sect leader calmly stated. "How do we find the mother of a divine beast, then, do we ask it?" Alex jokingly proposed. Surprisingly, Liuxian nodded. "Phoenixes are very intelligent, butck the vocal cord structure to speak humannguage, this one shouldn''t be any different." Alex still didn''t think there would be a way tomunicate with it. Unless... Alex ced his finger on the phoenix cub''s head and channeled his Faith Energy. ''Link'' Miraculously, the phoenix cub felt the connection and approved. "Hmm, oh-great-phoenix, wherst ist thou mother?" Since children loved praise, Alex thought that a divine beast wouldn''t be any different. "ce...in...the...trees...with...fire..." Surprisingly, it was intelligible, although strange. The other three looked at him like he was a lunatic. Alex coughed and stood up. "It says its mother lives in a ce that has fire." "That makes sense, it''s a phoenix," The sect leader shook his head. Alex shrugged and incarnated into Hermes. He flew above the treeline and observed the entirety of the forest. He stretched out his perception in all directions, and fortunately, he saw the possible location. There was an unusually bright spot, and while Alex wasn''t sure it was fiery, but it could be. "Wait for me here," Alex held the small ''hen'' in his hands and flew in that direction. He soon reached it, and as he thought, it was a fiery in in the middle of the forest. Amidst a pile of ash in the middle, arge bird slept. It was entirely aze, and its tail was long and majestic. When Alexnded next to it, the beast instantly woke up. Its two eyes were of a pristine white color, and they stared right at Alex, and the creature in its hand. Suddenly, sharp ws charged at Alex, and he was about to dodge, but the ws didn''t head for him, but instead, they gently enveloped the phoenix cub and took it back under its stomach. Then, the phoenix stood up. Surprisingly, there were many cute phoenix cubs sleeping under her stomach. The phoenix roared repeatedly at him. Alex didn''t feel like it had any malevolent intent, but he didn''t understand it either. Instead, he sent out a Link connection, and the phoenix made a high-pitched and loud whistle like a majestic eagle. It approved of themunication, and telepathically said, "You brought back my dear child, do you wish for anything in return?" Alex fell into a contemtive state. He didn''t have anything to request from the phoenix, but something came to mind. "Do you know of anywhere in the forest where there is a dense concentration of yin qi?" The phoenix seemed to nod, and its wings pped. "Get on, I''ll show you what I know," The phoenix majestically said, and extinguished the fire on the upper part of its back. Alex was taken aback, but he happily obeyed and sat on the pheonix. It also grabbed its children with its ws, and gently ced them next to him. The next instant, they were already in the sky, and Alex felt invincible, as he rode on the back of a divine beast. "Say, divine phoenix, can you get mypanions too?" Alex pointed in the direction where the other three stayed. The phoenix''s head made a nodding gesture and followed his fingers. Then, under the wide eyes and open jaws of the three immortals, Alex simply waved at them, "The divine phoenix mother will take us to the ghost king, get on!" The stunned group couldn''t do anything but oblige. The phoenix flew back into the sky and led them to the opposite side of the mountain range. Then, itnded near the entrance to a cave. "Here!" It telepathically informed Alex. "Thank you very much, Phoenix!" Alex climbed down from the creature''s back and caressed its head. Then, it nodded and left for the skies. "I told you all, today''s youths are way too talented..." Amidst the silence, the sect leadermented. After a bout ofughter, the four looked at the cave. Inside of the cave, they would find the target of their expedition, the ghost king... Chapter 131 - A Fearsome Ghost The atmosphere of the group after riding a phoenix was still rather stiff. Alex rubbed his head and nted his eyes.?? "Are we not going in? The phoenix said this was the ce with the highest concentration of yin qi." Zhen Hong coughed and nodded, "Y-yes, Sir Alex, let''s go in." The two others awkwardly nodded. Following that, they sneakily wriggled into the cave. The cave was pitch-ck, and although it wasn''t a problem for Alex, the same couldn''t be said for the others. Fortunately, the yin qi in the air made Zhen Hong''s talisman emanate a bright red-ish light that somewhat illuminated the cave. As they walked deeper and deeper into the cave, they noticed they were also going downhill. The passage was also getting rather uneven and rough, as sharp stctites and tall stgmites made their journey harder. "Why do ghosts even like such tight spaces?!" The sect leaderined. "It''s for protection, and yin qi can pool up more easily in tighter ces, allowing them to funnel the environment''s natural yin qi more easily," Zhen Hong offered the former aprehensive exnation. "It smells like rotten corpses..." Alex frowned. There was a metallic and spoiled stench in the cave, and it did not inspire motivation in the expeditor team. Just as they thought this cave wouldn''t get any more ufortable, they heard the sound of rushing water. Soon enough, they were at a dead end. In front of them, a small stream of water poured down into a narrow crevice. Zhen Hong clenched his fists and stated, "I think we''ll have to go through the crevice." "We may drown down there," Liuxian proimed with reluctance. "Everyone," Alex called them to attract their attention. "Get back." Alex approached the crevice, and the silver ball in his hand turned into a strange heavy spear. He took the spear''s tip to the opening of the crevice and delicately began widening the hole. This had two purposes. ''To allow us to pass through and see what exactly is under this ce.'' The crevice easily cracked under the spear, and Alex listened attentively to the sound the falling rubble would make. A dozen secondster, they heard a thud sound. It clearly wasn''t the sound of rocks falling into the water, hence they could continue. "From the time it took to reach the bottom, we''ll have to climb down quite deeply into it before we reach solid footing again," Alex calmly informed them. "We have to vanquish this- "AAAH!" Numerous ck silhouettes rose from the crevice and flew into the way to the entrance. Liuxian was very tense, and the silhouettes terrified him. "They''re just bats, Martial Uncle," Zhen Hongughed. Liuxian wiped the sweat off of his forehead and harrumphed. "Let''s finish this quickly," Alex advised them. Then, he incarnated into Hermes and unfolded his wings. Since the opening was now quite wide, he could pass through, and he slowly lowered in altitude and observed the surroundings. Suddenly, a deep frown emerged on his face. With his enhanced eyesight, he perceived an unnaturally high level of lighting around a turn in the deeper part of the cave. ''That''s likely where the ghost king is,'' Alex thought to himself. "You three,e on down, it''s safe," His feet gentlynded on the moist rocks. The water stream fell into a deeper crevice, but that didn''t seem to be their destination. The three slowly climbed down. "I believe the ghost king''sir is a turn away from here," Alex stated. The three seemed worried but determined. They resumed their walk, but an eerie sound made them stop in their tracks. In the ''uninhabited'' cave, the high-pitched sound of a flute came from the turn ahead. Alex clicked his tongue. They reluctantly continued, and when they reached the turn, Liuxian suddenly screamed out. He had stepped on a trap of some sort, and a knife flew towards him. The man closed his eyes for a few seconds but he then noticed he didn''t feel a stab or anything. Opening his eyes, he saw the knife tightly in someone''s grasp. Alex had easily caught the knife and then bent it with his hands. "Be careful." They resumed. The light level gradually rose, which didn''t escape their notice. They soon stopped in their tracks. The four found themselves in a small room with unusually smooth rocks. A familiar whirring sound could be heard. An egg-like slime creature spun around itself in the other end of the room, and a dark green mist gathered around it. Suddenly, the mist separated into countless parts and solidified into many humanoid slimy monsters. "Ghost generals!" The sect leader eximed. "Ten of them at that!" Liuxian swiftly took out a talisman from his pockets and threw it at the wall. "This should block the generals, although I''m not sure it will work on the ghost king!" "Did someone call for me?" An alluring voice echoed through the room. From the walls, a ck mist diffused, and, as if the center of gravity in the room itself changed, everyone was pulled towards the center, including the dark mist. The four of them frowned unanimously and caught on to rocks as not to be pulled. The ck mist formed into a more distinct human shape. When this process was over, gravity returned to normal, and their bodiesnded on the ground with a thud. "Two Soul Formation Taoists, a Copper Immortal, and a....what are you?" The ghost king asked Alex. However, it shrugged and continued, "You think you can defeat me such a setup...?" It waved its hand, and out of a sudden, the rocks on the wall were pulled by a certain force. They all charged at the sect leader, and in a few seconds, the screaming man was buried under a pile of rocks. Zhen Hong gulped and Liuxian began breathing heavily. *BAM* A strange spear with two hammerheads attacked the rock dome around the sect leader, and the encasement was easily broken. "Take care of the ghost generals, leave him to me," Alex bit his lips. The injured sect leader and the other two all agreed. "You broke the gravity encasement that easily? You''re not going to be an easy opponent, are you?" The ghost king chuckled. "If you want to know, follow me!" Alex ran out of the tight room. The ghost kingughed and took the ghost egg with him. "My ghost generals are special, be careful~~~~" Before leaving, the ghost king warned the cultivators. Chapter 132 - Yan Wangs Quest For Alex Alex ran out of the tight room, and into the wider pathways of the cave. The ghost king followed him and immediately began its attack.?? As if Alex became the gravity center of this ce, rocks began flying at him and even the stream of water began spilling into his direction. Alex skillfully dodged the attacks he could dodge and pulverized the rocks he couldn''t dodge. "I''m dealing with an expert right here, are you a Silver Immortal or above?" The ghost king clicked its non-existent tongue. "Not really, I''m just the... "God of humanity!" Alexunched Prometheus at the ghost king. However, right before it touched him, the spear turned direction andunched right back at Alex. ''His gravity control powers are annoying...'' Alex charged by himself at the ghost king. Suddenly, he lost his footing and felt himself falling. The ceiling became the ground. "AAAAAAAH!" Alex groaned in pain. He felt like his heart was being crushed under its own weight, and the pain was unimaginable. "Of all of the ghost kings you could fight, you chose me..?" The ghost king giggled. Alex inhaled deeply and started holding his own breath. However, he lost his footing again and began falling towards the ground. Right as his body hit the ground, the ghost king bolted at him. Its slimy fingers reached for his neck, but Alex''s Prometheus made its way for him. Unfortunately, gravity reversed again, and he felt Prometheus loosening up from his grasp. An idea came to him at the moment. "I have an advantage that you don''t!" The ghost king looked at him with confusion. "I studied Physics in high school!" Alex''s appearance began transforming. His body became taller and more muscr, and his eye became a piercing red. Prometheus liquified and changed its shape following his transformation. An extremely heavy, golden spear was now in his hand. Ares'' Incarnation provided Alex with the highest physical strength possible, and with his feet on the wall, he threw the heavy spear like ance towards the ghost king. "What is the way to counter gravitational force, you asked? With an even stronger force, of course!" The ghost king was unprepared, and the spear pierced through his body. When the ruby touched the incorporeal slime, the sound of water touching a hot pan echoed. The ghost king screamed and tried to wield the spear, but because he changed the center of gravity of the room, the spear ''fell'' towards Alex, who easily caught it. "How do you have a tool that counters our very existence?!" "Ghost king, I vanquished the Devil''s avatar with this ruby, you won''tst," Alex felt extremely overbearing as he recalled their encounter with Angra Mainyu. The ghost king''s body had a ring gap where Prometheus hit him. At that moment, gravity returned to normal, and Alex fell onto the ground. The ghost king felt the threat to his existence and suddenly transformed into a ck mist. The ck mist flew out into the crevice Alex had widened earlier. Along the way, it destroyed any footholds they could use to climb. However, what it didn''t know, was that... Alex could fly! His wings immediately pped and followed the ghost king. It had left the cavepletely, and they were both under the searing sun. Alex perceived a strange phenomenon taking ce. Around the ghost king, the vegetation was dying off and turning into ash. And the ghost king, himself, began turning more and more into a ''human''. His bones were formed from stone, his muscles were formed from spider webs, his blood was water, and his skin was of tree bark. "When we, ghost kings, feel a threat to your existence, we can abandon the ghost egg and our rule over ghosts to be earthly beings..." "Now, your ruby can''t affect me in any way!" Suddenly, Alex burst into loudughter. "You really go into a fight without knowing your enemy, don''t you?" Alex mockingly asked. "What do you m- The ghost king noticed that his body was decaying. "WHAT''S HAPPENING?!" When the ghost king transformed into a vegetation-like creature, Alex knew it was checkmate for him. He remembered a fight he had won in the past. Back then, he was weaker than now, and yet, he still won against the King of the Babylonian Gods, Marduk. Marduk had mastery over vegetation and almost defeated him through suffocation. However, Alex had Aphrodite''s Essence. Aphrodite''s control over fertility wasn''t limited to humans, but also stretched somewhat into vegetation. Just as he withered the roots away in that fight, he destroyed the ghost king''s body in this fight. ''I have to admit, her powers are pretty versatile.'' Miraculously, the ghost king could still speak. "I recognize a loss." Suddenly, thick, golden chains restrained the ghost king. Two people had appeared. One of them was a tall and slender man, with white robes. The other was short and stout and wore ck robes. The simrity they both shared, was their scary faces. The tall man looked at Alex and said, "We are the Heibai Wuchang, we carry souls to the Underworld!" "Okay...?" Alex was rather puzzled. The short man stated, "Yan Wang wishes to see you." A screen-like portal suddenly appeared out of thin air. On the other side, arge man sat upon a tform. The man had red skin, bulging eyes, and wore white robes. A white rectangr piece of fabric fell onto his forehead and read, "King." Alex instantly felt like he should escape from this ce. "You there! You! Stop!" The man called out. Alex still moved away. "Please!" Alex stopped and turned around. "I am Yan Wang, absolute ruler of the Underworld." "Nice to meet you...?" "You defeated one of the ghost kings!" Yan Wang coughed and began telling an unsolicited story. "1 century ago, the ghost emperor escaped my realm along with his ten ghost kings..." "And, my servants can tell you...just how much I HATE WHEN PEOPLE ESCAPE MY REALM!" The tall and short man unanimously eximed, "Yan Wang hates when people escape his realm!" ''That''s exactly what he said...'' Alex awkwardlyughed. "And, I can never find anyone who wants to bring back the ghosts to their rightful domain!!!!" A blue vein crept up on the red skin of the King of the Chinese Underworld. "So, here''s my offer to you, you defeat the 9 other ghost kings and the ghost emperor, and I''ll give you a reward- "What''s the reward?" Alex immediately asked. "I didn''t think that far ahead...Servants! Do we have anything of value?!" A small, goblin-like man approached Yan Wang and gave him a plump peach. Yan Wang cleared his throat, and eximed, "This is a peach of immortality! I hate these because anyone who takes them can never die ande to my realm! So, defeat the ghost emperor and kings and I''ll give it to you." ''A peach of immortality? Like Ambrosia?'' Truthfully, Alex wanted Ambrosia for a long time. But, over time, he realized that the elixir was incredibly rare. If he could get this peach of immortality, he could gift it to Crista, and she''d be a goddess too. "I have to defeat this ''ghost emperor'' and ''ghost kings'' to get it?" "Yes." Chapter 133 - The Legendary Ghost Emperor -Northeastern Qin- In the northeast of thend of the Qin, the Changbai mountains have towered over the scenery for an eternity.?? Shielded by the mountains, a serene blueke sits in the center. Next to theke, a traditional pagoda stood tall and wide amidst the naturalndscape. On the top level of the pagoda, a handsome man sat on a throne. The man had nted monolid ck eyes and sword-like dark eyebrows. He tied his long hair into a bun, and his luxurious yellow robes loosely draped over his body. However, in spite of his inconspicuous appearance, the man''s demeanor and aura were like a snake. He didn''t seem trustworthy, nor did he seem untrustworthy, but simply a figure people should be cautious of. On his robes, two ominous Chinese characters read, "Guidi" or "Ghost Emperor". The man''s face was serene and calm, and his droopy eyes concealed all signs of emotion. Suddenly, a woman entered the throne hall. She wore loose white robes, yet the clothing did not hide her bulging belly, which indicated that she was pregnant. The woman approached the man and then kowtowed to him in front of his throne. "Guidi, the ghost king in Western Qin has been killed." "Hmm?" The man hummed. "What was the perpetrator''s level of strength?" The woman replied, "ording to talismans, he probably had the strength of a Silver Immortal." The ghost emperor chuckled and remarked, "Have my ghost kings be so weak?" The woman did not give any response. "I have three ghost kings stationed in Central Qin, right?" The woman nodded. "Tell them to massacre a few small viges, that should give them enough yin qi to bring about a few hundred more ghost generals." The woman frowned, and interjected, "Guidi, is that really necessar- "I don''t remember asking a birthing machine for opinions on my verdicts," The ghost emperor coldly interrupted her. "You''ve gotten quite rebellious, haven''t you?" He chuckled, and then... He kicked the woman''s body. "AAAAARRGHHH!" The woman groaned as she was sent flying to the other side of the hall. The ghost emperor stood up and walked towards her in slow steps. For every step he made, a bead of cold sweat fell from her forehead. When he was in front of her, he grabbed her hair and made her face up. "Speaking of rebellion, you''ve been cultivating secretly, haven''t you?" The woman began breathing heavily when she heard his words. "I almost forgot that women with the Yin Body are excellent cultivators, you''ve reached Copper Immortality in only two years," The ghost emperor ced a finger on her be. Suddenly, she struggled out of his grasp and screamed, "WHAT DID YOU DO?" "I broke your cultivation base, and I''ll do it again every time you try," The manughed out loud. Tears fell down her face, and she ran out of the hall. Her cultivation was her only hope for escape, but that was also gone now. Somehow, even though a Silver Immortal could never challenge Guidi, she hoped a miracle would happen and break the shackles of her twisted fate. When the woman left the hall, the ghost emperor looked towards the sky. "Yan Wang probably already made contact with the perpetrator, but he won''t get past my other ghost kings easily anyways." In this world, there were only a few people he feared. The Jade Emperor, who didn''t know of his existence at all. Lao Zi, who used to challenge his reign but had already disappeared from the world decades ago. And, Xiwangmu, the Jade Emperor''s wife, and the mother of the woman from earlier. ________________________________ -Earlier that day- While Alex swiftly fought off the ghost king and was discussing with Yan Wang, the others weren''t in such a great state. Inside the narrow cave, they had to fight off ten ghost generals. Usually, ghost generals were easy threats for higher-stage cultivators, since the former didn''t have high intelligence and their strength was quite low. However, a strange phenomenon made their fights much harder. Zhen Hong waved a thin sword at one such ghost general. It was a one-sided massacre, and after cutting up the limbs of the opponent, the young man ced a sealing talisman on the ghost general. "One ghost general dow- A bright light engulfed Zhen Hong as he was speaking. When the light dimmed down, the sect leader and Liuxian lost their footing. In the area where the ghost general died off, a ball of hot magma attracted every single object in the room, including rocks and the cultivators themselves. Fortunately, Zhen Hong held onto a solid rough spot in the wall before it was toote. The other two had done the same. However, the ghost generals all turned into a light mist and were able to avoid the attraction force of the magma ball. After a dozen seconds or so, the red magma ball cooled down, and gravity returned to normal. The cultivators were lucky, as they almost couldn''t hold on. Zhen Hong breathed heavily, and eximed, "We have to be more careful next time! Carve out footholds on the solid obsidian!" They proceeded to do that and continued their fight. To avoid a catastrophic situation, the three of them all focused their efforts on one enemy at a time. By doing this, they were able to slowly defeat 8 other ghost generals. Of course, thest one was also swiftly vanquished. "The ghost king took the ghost mother with him!" The three ran out of the room, and towards the pathway. Though, they soon had to stop, as a pile of debris stood in front of them. The area from which they climbed down earlier, was broken up, and their flying swords glid through the air, so they couldn''t use those. "Need any help?" A winged man suddenly appeared like an angel. "Yes...." Alex took the three up, and they left the cave. "Where is the ghost mother?" The sect leader asked. Alex took out the slime-like ball and passed it to Liuxian. "I''ll seal it, for now, I need to study itter," Liuxian pped a talisman on the ghost mother. Following their sessful expedition, they left the forest and searched for a clearing from which they could fly with the chariot. As they were doing that... "YOU FOUR, STOP RIGHT THERE!" The sound of a galloping horse got nearer to them. Chapter 134 - Hermes Guilt The four of them halted to see what themotion was about. A horse abruptly stopped in front of them, and a man climbed down from it?? He was wearing rusted iron armor, and a saber hung at his waist. A piece of fabric fell on his forehead and read, "Wu" "Are you lot from the Wu kingdom? We have upied the mountain and are not allowing any Xia citizens into this ce!" Zhen Hong cleared his throat and spoke on behalf of them, "We are passing cultivators..." The man clenched his hand on his sword, and aggressively replied, "I''m a cultivator too, I don''t care about your status, our king has ordered no one to enter these mountai- A kick flew to the soldier''s face, and he was sent flying into a thick tree. The man who attacked was the sect leader. He skillfully recovered his footing and eximed, "Since when do Foundation Establishment weaklings get to boss us around? And why is an immortal allowed to be in a mortal army?!" Zhen Hong asked, "Martial Grandfather, you haven''t gone out of the sectnds for some time, right?" "I have lived thest century entirely upon my mountains, yes." "The times have changed now, mortals can choose to pursue cultivation and maintain their connection to the mortal world," Zhen Hong exined. "Who decided that?!" The sect leader shouted in frustration. "Lord Lao Zi did." When the sect leader heard that name, he instantly fell silent and coughed. "Let''s go back now." They all got into the chariot and flew back west. Alex was somewhat curious and questioned Zhen Hong. "What''s exactly wrong with mortals cultivating?" Zhen Hong frowned and replied, "When mortals cultivate with a mortal mindset, they seek to rule over other mortals, but an immortal shall have no mortal family, no mortal belongings, and shall rule over no mortals, that was the code of conduct during Martial Grandfather''s generation." "And, Sir Lao Zi changed that?" Alex spouted out a name he''s been hearing quite often in this ce. "Exactly, while Lord Lao Zi remains the wisest of men amongst mortals, his wisdom is more debatable among the traditional immortal ns." Alex thanked Zhen Hong and focused back on the ride. There wasn''t much to see in the barren cold desert below them, so he fell into a contemtive trance. Earlier today, he had analyzed a crypt that Zhen Hong found. The crypt spoke of a man''s regrets about gifting power to the ''mortal-minded'' and the reasons why he disappeared. ''This lines up eerily well with the narrative of ''Lao Zi'' who spread cultivation to mortals and then disappeared,'' Alex was almost convinced of his hypothesis. However, the crypt he read was only ''the third testament'' and there were likely many more, from which he could piece the rest of the story. ''Maybe, I could even find his whereabouts, and solve this mystery...!'' Alex began to feel excited and intrigued. However, he then shook his head. ''I can''t focus too much on this, I already need to defeat the ghost emperor, and finish the negotiations with the Jade Emperor first.'' As he was thinking, the barren wastnd gradually got lusher, and the Kunlun mountain range was in view. They swiftlynded next to the pagoda, and climbed up, only to find a group of eager sect elders waiting for them. "How did it go?! "Did you defeat the ghost king?!" "What about the ghost mother?!" The elders were like frenzied paparazzi, asking the tired group endless questions. Alex eximed, "We defeated the ghost king!" Ultimately, he left out the part about Yan Wang, since it didn''t concern them. Cheers erupted from the crowd, and suddenly, a woman pushed through. Unexpectedly, she halted next to Alex and bowed to him. The woman was Zhen Lingxi, the pharmaceutical expert of the sect. "Your proposal was a miracle, Sir Alex!" She eximed and breathed heavily. "What proposa- Oh...did it work?" Alex recalled his solution for the local poption''s chronic iodine deficiency. "I brought the most afflicted patients to the center, and fed them arge meal with a lot of pink salt, and in a few hours, they already had small improvements in their symptoms!" "What is this about?" The sect leader asked Zhen Lingxi. "Martial Father, as you might know, the citizens of Luoxi have had thyroid problems for a long time, and my pills could only relieve the symptoms, not the illness, but..." She recounted every detail of their discussion, and her swift clinical trials. "So, Martial Father, could you pressure the city mayor to open up tradeworks with the south?!" The sect leader rubbed his long beard, and said, "It should help us gain more Reverence Qi, I''ll do it!" After that, the crowd dissipated, and the sect leader asked Alex to speak to him personally. "Sir Alex, you''ve helped us immensely during the expedition, and I can''t let that go unrewarded, would you like a reward?" Alex rubbed his head. Truthfully, he didn''t have anything in mind. Looking around, there was a ceramic cup of smoking tea on a table. The tea''s aroma reached his nostrils, and it smelled very pleasant. When he smelled the tea, Alex got an idea. "Could I get some of the tea leaves that you used for that cup?" The sect leader was stunned by this request, andughed, "Of course, of course!" ''Hermes has done so much for me, I know he likes tea, so he''ll probably like this gift.'' A short momentter, the sect leader came back with tworge barrels. "Here is our best tea!" ''That''s not the quantity I had in mind, but fine...'' Alex shrugged and easily held up the two heavy barrels. Following that, he left the pagoda and flew towards their ownkeside home. Hermes was inside, and he waszing around as usual. "Hermes, I got a gift for you!" Alex put down the two barrels in front of his friend. Hermes was puzzled and proceeded to open one of the barrels. Instantly, a pleasant aroma spread throughout the room. Hermes'' eyes glowed, and he eximed, "You''re.....! Strangely, his expression took a turn for the worse. "What''s wrong, Hermes? Don''t you like it?" "Alex?" Hermes called him Alex, which he didn''t usually do. "Yes." "You met Chaos, right?" "Yes." Alex did not conceal that from his closest friend. "I can''t hide this from you anymore." "They spoke to you about ''using the eyes of their servants, to see the world'', didn''t they?" Hermes'' eyes were dull. "I recall that, why?" "I''m one of those eyes." Chapter 135 - A Step Back In Time(6) -House of Hades, Underworld- In the spacious throne room of the home of the Underworld monarchs, three people stood opposite each other.?? The atmosphere between them was tense and rather mncholic. "I took him to Madeira, as far from Olympus as one could possibly go..." Hermes proimed with droopy eyes. He was speaking to Persephone. Thetter was unlike her usual lively and joyful self, and her red eyes and dry face hinted at her sadness. Hades stood by their side, and his face looked down at the ground. If they could see his face, they''d have perceived a single tear forming on his right eye. "I think I need to go, Apollo and Artemis are waiting for me," Hermes stated, and unfolded his wings. Suddenly, Persephone grabbed his arm. "Hermes,e by to the Underworld more often, will you?" Hades also slightly nodded. Hermes forced a smile, and replied with resolve, "I will." Then, he went back out from the front entrance and found Charon waiting for him. When the monarchs of the Underworld were mncholic, the rest of the realm followed, and the lively kingdom of the dead was ''deadly'' silent. "Charon, take me back to the mortal domain, please." Charon''s skull-like face nodded and he hinted at his boat. Hermes got into the boat, and the boatman paddled away from the house. His consciousness drifted away, and when he woke back up, he was in front of his mansion. Hermes immediately entered his home and found that Apollo and Artemis were much more agitated than usual. "You two, what''s wrong?" Hermes proudly smiled at the children who grew up so quickly. Five years ago, they were little babies in his arm, yet, now they were already fully grown and both had found their passions. However, their next words almost broke his morale. "We''re leaving Olympus," Apollo calmly stated. Hermes'' heart beat rapidly, but he calmed down and awkwardly said, "This ce is no longer safe, is it?" Unexpectedly, Artemis ran up to him, and she whispered. "Hermes, we''re not leaving because we dislike you, we just can''t risk Hera targeting you too, especially now..." These words tugged at his heartstrings. Truthfully, even though he promised he would protect the two from their Stepmother, he knew he didn''t have the strength to do so. He was willing to make great sacrifices for them, but if she ended up hurting them anyways, what was the point of it all? "You two, both of you,e here." Artemis was already next to him, and Apollo also obliged. He took the two in a hug, and murmured, "What are you going to do from now on?" Artemis eximed, "I found a really nice forest, I think I''ll move there." Apollo replied, "The mortals and the nymphs have far advanced us in musicality, I will roam the mortal world for more instruments." Hermesughed, "Of course, I know the pan-pipes wouldn''t be enough to satisfy you." A rare smile crept up on Apollo''s face. "No matter what, you two should take care of yourselves, and remember, power is everything, if you want to protect yourselves, and your loved ones, you need strength!" ''Unlike me, who couldn''t protect Sophus, who couldn''t protect your mother, who couldn''t protect you two...'' Hermes kept this remark in his head. The two nodded. ''They don''t show it, but they''re both very sentimental," Hermes noticed that Artemis'' eyes were getting moist. When she saw his stare, she immediately ran out of the mansion. He was now left with Apollo. Surprisingly, Apollo held out something to Hermes. It was the serpentine staff of the twins. They called it the Caduceus. It could heal illness, injury, and even death in the short term. "What are you doing, Apollo?" "Hermes, take it." "I can''t, you two grew up with the staff." Apollo shook his head and remarked, "Artemis agrees too, so take it." Ultimately, Hermes had to ept it. ''I''ll treasure it very dearly.'' "Was I a good parent?" Apollo simply stated, "The best we could ask for," And then, he left. Hermes felt the emptiness growing again. "Won''t you ept my proposal?" The omnipresent voice of Chaos reverberated in his head again. "Where does ''Hecate'' live?" In the past, Hermes was reluctant to do anything Chaos ever demanded of him, but in his desperation and quest for power, he was now more open to it. "Asterian Mountains, in Minos." ''Minos? That''s quite close, it wouldn''t hurt to go,'' Hermes made his decision. He flew out of the mansion, and towards the southern ind. "Good choice." He soon found himself in said mountains, and the leaves of the trees seemed to move on their own. They formed a straight path for Hermes. "It must be their doing," Hermes sneered and followed the path. It led him to a cave, but 12 beasts protected the cave. A half-man, half-horse archer galloped in his direction and stretched out the strings of his bow. "Centaur! Halt!" A feminine voice ordered the ''Centaur''. A silhouette emerged from the cave, and into his sight. It was a tall woman, whose features were memorable. She had long, voluminous dark-purple hair that reached the very ground, and loose ck robes covered her body. Freckles dotted her face, and ck gems stared at his every movement. The woman frowned, and asked, "An Olympian? If you''re here to recruit me, you should go back, I refused your leader''s offer a few decades ago." "Are you Hecate?" "That''s me- "Can you teach me?!" Hermes didn''t even know what he was saying. "Teach you what?" Hecate''s face exhibited deep puzzlement. "Everything, anything." "You seem quite desperate,e in." A moat surrounded the cave, and when they were entering, a young mermaid emerged from the waters. Hecate crouched to the ground, and softly told the mermaid, "Virgo, protect the cave." The mermaid nodded and went back into the water. Hermes felt awed when they were inside. The interior of the cave was cluttered and rather disorganized. In one corner of the cave, a cauldron emitted an ominous smoke. In another corner, arge telescope pointed at the sky, and tools for astronomical calctions were ced on a table under it. There were also numerous bookshelves and a cabin with exotic-looking herbs. The entire premise smelled like frankincense and myrrh, a pleasant aroma. "Wee to my abode." Chapter 136 - A Step Back In Time(7) The lighting in the cave was of a purple hue, which cast a soft shadow on the various furniture. ''It''s quite a pleasant home,'' Hermes remarked internally.?? "So, what do you want me to teach you?" Hecate asked him. "An individual by the name of Chaos led me here, and he told me that you can help me, although I personally don''t know how..." Hermesughed awkwardly. The skin around Hecate''s be folded into a very slight frown. "Chaos? What an archaic name, I''ve only heard it a few times," Shemented. "Well, just make yourself at home, you seem quite distressed," Hecate chuckled. Hermes was still rather sad about Apollo and Artemis moving out, and his weak eyes and droopy shoulders still showed his true feelings. "You know, barging into my cave, asking me to teach you, you remind me of someone..." Hecate quietlyughed. "Who, may I ask?" Hermes was curious and politely inquired. "Do you know Hades?" Hermes'' jaw opened wide. "I guess you know him. I remember when he came the first time, telling me to teach him how to rule over the unruly dead, and how to prove himself to his brothers!" She recounted her past with a bittersweet face. Then, she continued, "Truthfully, I''ve always found Hades better than those brothers of his. He''s not impulsive, he sets realistic goals and ambitions, and while he is stubborn, he is open to new ideas." Hermes listened attentively. ''Uncle Hades would love to hear that..!'' Hecate waved her hand and said, "Don''t tell him this, he should learn it by himself!" "Did you just read my mind?" "Maybe," She yfully smiled. Hermes still didn''t know why he was here, and what he should learn from her, but time passed by quickly, and they spent a few days together. _________________ "I was the one who taught him necromancy, he was like a child to me," Hecate told Hermes of her times with Hades. Over this time, they both discovered that they shared amon feeling. They both felt very lonely, and Hecate appreciated Hermes'' attentive listening of her tales. "You know Cerberus, the three-headed dog?" Hermes nodded fervently. "He was my beloved pet, and Hades loved him too, so he was my gift to thetter," She dropped another surprising deration. "You said you were a messenger and travel god?" Hecate suddenly asked. Hermes nodded, and added, "Father should be fuming right now because of my absence, but it''s truly not the best time for Olympus right now, especially after ''that''." Hecate raised her eyebrows and remarked, "With a leader like that, the organization was bound to fail from the start." They both burst into loudughter. "Hermes, as a travel god and a diplomat, do you know how to cross, and set up boundaries?" Hermes shook his head cluelessly. "I''ll show you," Hecate ced both of her hands on the ground. It didn''t seem like anything happened. However, she said, "Hermes, try to leave the cave." Hermes obeyed and walked towards the direction of the exit. He smoothly passed through, but suddenly... *BAM* His body halted brusquely as if it came into contact with a wall. "What is this?" Hermes mustered his fastest speed and charged at the invisible wall. Nheless, he still couldn''t go through it. "That''s a boundary that I set up right now." Hermes eximed, "How do you do that?" "It''s a skill I was born with, but you came to the right person." Hecate instantly erased the boundary and walked over to one of her bookshelves. She pointed to the bookshelf and proimed, "I have been doing research on divine powers for a long time, and the fruit of this endeavor is finding out a way to learn powers from other gods." Hermes was shocked. He knew the implications of this research. Normally, a god could acquire new powers only if his followers all unanimously agreed that he had that power, and that was still rather limited. The only other known way was inheriting a power like Zeus did when he received the throne of the gods, and Poseidon when he received dominion over the sea. "But." "This research has only allowed me to find a way to study my own powers." "That''s enough for me," Hermes clenched his fist. If Chaos dered that he had something to learn from this ce, considering his strange powers, he was probably somewhat right. "Well, you''ll have to read through this entire bookshelf and practice repeatedly through Faith Energy," Hecate shrugged. Hermes was still determined. And thus, began his long training to be a god of boundaries. It took three long years, but on one auspicious day. Hecate was trying to leave the cave, but then, her hands stopped in thin air. She turned around and found Hermes smiling at her. "Congrattions," She waved her hand, and particles of light turned into indoor fireworks. She looked at him with earnest eyes and her mouth moved but she didn''t say a word. "Hecate?" "Hermes?" She continued, "I''m leaving Minos." Hecate looked at her friend to see his reaction, and he was listlessly staring at her as if he couldn''t believe it. "Why?" He hoarsely said. "I''m going down south to Afrika, to continue my research on magic, which I''ve heard they''ve developed a variety o- "Can Ie with you?" Hermes breathed heavily. "Hermes, you have your own responsibilities and ambitions, and I can''t have you sacrifice those for me." Hecate herself wasn''t unaffected, as her eyes glistened under the purple lighting. "You''ve been the best friend I''ve ever had, and when Ie back, perhaps hundreds of years from now, I hope to see you happier." Ultimately, Hermes had to ept her departure, and after a tearful farewell, they parted ways. "I''ve lost count of how many people I''ve lost, is there something I''ve done to offend the Three Fates?" Hermes looked to the sky, the domain of Uranos, and spoke to himself. "I figure you''ve epted my proposal," Chaos hade back after three years. "I have another gift for you," They said, and a sk appeared out of thin air. Hermes examined the sk. The strange voice of Chaos echoed once again, "Drink it and I can grant you a wish." Herme immediately opened the sk and drank down the liquid in one big gulp. "I want more power." Chapter 137 - Horrifying Realization ''Hermes is one of the eyes of Chaos? Is that a bad thing?'' Truly, Alex did not understand what his friend was saying. Hermes continued, "Alex, I had to tell you this because I wouldn''t ever be able to sleep if Chaos hurt you."?? "Because I''m one of those eyes, the day you came to this world, Chaos asked me to put you two in contact, but I refused..." Hermes grit his teeth. Then, he had an outburst of emotion. "I should have known that he''d use one of his other eyes to contact you if he can''t go through me...." Alex ced his two hands on his friend''s shoulders. "Look at me, Hermes." Hermes raised his face. "I''m safe, I won''t take the Essence now, I promise, I don''t know why you''d be a servant of ''that'' but I know you have your reasons," Alex calmly stated. Hermes smiled and asked, "So, you''re not going to go anywhere?" "Of course not, you tea-loving dummy!" Alex hit his friend on the head. Suddenly, the sound of a gong echoed in the pagoda. "Oh, it''s dinner-time, we should go," Alex stood up. "Wait, I''ll brew you the best tea I can make, and show you the skills of a tea lover!" Hermes eximed. Fortunately, the atmosphere returned to its casual and light state. As Alex waited, a strange thought came over to him. ''Why did he ask me if I was going anywhere? That sounded intense...'' Alex didn''t know much of anything about Hermes'' past, and he didn''t know if he could ask yet. Shortly after, Hermes returned with a full kettle of tea and poured him a cup. Alex sipped the tea and found the experience rather enjoyable. However... ''I''d kill to have some coffee beans right now,'' He was starting to miss the mostmon drug of the modern world, caffeine. Hermes also swiftly drank his cup, and the two flew out towards themunal eating hall. They entered it, but an overseeing elder came over to them and said, "Sirs, this ce is for disciples, I''ll lead you to the eating hall for sect elders." The two shrugged and followed the elder. He led them to a smaller eating hall, and in the center of the ce, Zhen Hong waved at them. He sat at a table with the sect leader, Liuxian and Lingxi. The two did the same and greeted everyone. "You''re going to be staying here until the delegatees, right?" The sect leader asked while eating a bowl of cold noodle soup. ''Do you want to chase us out that much?'' A strange expression emerged on Alex''s face. "Probably, we don''t know where to go from here, and the delegate would guide us to the heavenly domain directly," Hermes stated. The table fell silent, and they ate their food. In the middle of the meal, Liuxian stood up. "Our expedition today was a massive sess, however, I may have some bad news..." The sect leader and Zhen Hong frowned, whereas Lingxi simply nodded. "I''ve analyzed the ghost mother, and it has taken me to a horrifying conclusion," Liuxian gulped. ''What could it be?'' Alex wondered. Hermes was indifferent. "The ghost mother is clearly refined from human organic matter!" Hermes spit out his tea in disgust. The sect leader eximed, "What? What do you mean? Isn''t it formed from yin qi?!" Liuxian shook his head and replied, "The lower-grade ghost mothers are, but this one was different, I''ll let Martial Sister Lingxi exin." Lingxi stood up from her seat and cleared her throat. Meanwhile, Hermes whispered, "Alexei-boy, I''ll move, this is disgusting." Alex waved at him and focused his attention on her words. "Not only is it clearly a human organic matter that is used but from analysis.... She clenched her fist and reluctantly continued. "It''s refined from the bodies of newborn children!" She copsed and began crying. Everyone frowned heavily, and Alex''s face simply did not move. ''This must be the doing of the ghost emperor, isn''t it?'' Alex breathed heavily. This was a bottom line in terms of morality, and the atmospherepletely broke down. An elder had toe up and took Lingxi to her pagoda since she didn''t stop crying. ''I''ll vanquish that ghost emperor.....'' They could clearly not continue their meal, and all of them stood up to leave. However, a sect elder came running to the sect leader. He was breathless, and he said, "The delegate from the heavenly domain is here!" The sect leader''s eyebrows folded, "It''s too soon in the month for them toe..." "But, they showed me a divine decree!" "Hmmm, take me there," Alex also followed them since they were supposed to leave with a delegate. "Did something happen inside? They brought out that woman and she was crying," As they left the hall, Hermes, who stood in the hallway, asked him. Alex simply replied, "You don''t want to know, Hermes." Hermes shrugged and followed the rest of the group. They could see an enormous dragon lying down next to the sect leader''s pagoda from the sect town. Over the blue dragon''s body, they perceived a leather saddle. There was a dark silhouette, but they were too far away to distinguish the person. A group of elders gathered around the pagoda, and the sect leader and his crowd were also close. Zhen Hong told him, "Be careful how you act, the delegate is probably a Silver Immortal." Alex nodded. ''Silver Immortal? The ghost king asked me if I was one.'' Theynded, and the figure was now visible. It was a man wearing golden robes and his long hair was adorned with jewelry of all kinds. The sect leader ran up and bowed to the man, "Good afternoon, Esteemed Sir." The man smiled and politely reciprocated the greeting. "If I may ask, haven''t youe rather early this month, Esteemed Sir?" "I''ve received news from Lord Jade Emperor that we have foreign guests that need an escort to the heavenly domain." Suddenly, everyone''s eyes turned to Alex and Hermes. Hermes, who was yawning, looked around strangely. Chapter 138 - Gobi Desert The envoy from heaven also followed the eyes of the crowd. "It should be you two, the Esteemed Sirs?" The man asked them.?? Alex nodded, while Hermes took out the golden talisman. When the delegate saw their proof of authentication, he sighed in relief. "We have prepared the best of facilities for you two back in the heavenly domain," The delegate was rather polite and kind. Alex got a good impression of the man. "Before that, I''ll do my duties as a delegate." A sect elder came out from the crowd and passed the delegate a stash of scrolls, "These are the unfinished reports for this month, Esteemed Sir." The man smiled and said, "We apologize foring on such short notice, I think I might have stressed everyone out." People''s eyes were practically glowing with praise for the manners of the man. The sect elder fervently refuted, "No, No, Esteemed Sir, we wee you with open arms all year-long." "I am lucky to be treated this way," The delegate smiled. Then, he turned to Alex and Hermes. "Originally, we would have taken a route from the developed Central Qin, but the area has been in a constant state of flooding since yesterday, so we''ll have to go along the northern Gobi Desert..." An elder eximed, "Esteemed Sir, are you okay?" The delegate nodded and remarked, "I''ve called for some weather gods of our sacred domain to solve the issue." "You are very responsible, Esteemed Sir," The sect leader ttered the envoy. Then, the delegate looked around and praised, "I am not even sure we need to read the report, I trust the Kunlun Mountain Sect, who has maintained proper doctrine since its founding." The sect members were all very happy at the praise and bowed down. "Would departing tomorrow be optimal for you two?" The man politely inquired with the two gods. Both Hermes and Alex approved. "Esteemed Sir, let us take you to our best guest houses," Following that, they all parted ways. "Oh yeah, Hermes?" Alex needed to inform his friend of something. Hermes looked at him and said, "That''s the face you make when you want to tell me you made trouble, what is it this time?" "In exchange for a peach of immortality, I''ll need to defeat this ''ghost emperor'' and his 9 ''ghost kings''." Hermes facepalmed and said, "Will you need any help with that?" "Probably not." They silently went back to their pagoda and slept peacefully. ________________ -The next morning- The gong that marked the beginning of the day rang out and woke up the two. They were departing today, so they took good care of packing up their possessions. The delegate was probably waiting for them in the pagoda, hence they immediately headed there. ''That man has tamed a dragon, incredible...'' Alex looked at the sleeping divine beast. It was the size of a tall building and had the girth of an ancient tree. The delegate was, in fact, awaiting them near the dragon, and remarked, "The advantage with the Gobi desert route is that there are fewer monsters, so we''ll fly through uninterruptedly." That was a pleasant, sidenote, and now, they needed to go. "Sir Alex!" A few voices approached them. Alex looked at the approaching people, and he recognized them all. Zhen Lingxi, the pharmaceutical expert. Zhen Hong, the young man. The two siblings he hadn''t seen for a while, Ma Xuefeng and her brother, Ma Guanting. And, the sect leader. Ma Xuefeng made her brother bow, and she eximed, "Thank you for helping us beat the ghost general, you have given us a second chance at reaching higher cultivation stages!" Alex waved his hands and said, "Don''t worry about it, take care of yourselves." The two bowed another time and then left. Then, Zhen Lingxi was next. "I''ve continued with the pink salt treatment, Sir, and the results are nothing short of extraordinary, they all thank you enormously!" She spoke breathlessly. "That''s good, advise them to eat a lot of dairy and eggs too, that will help them with their symptoms." Zhen Lingxi eximed, "Thank you for your insights!" The sect leader had already rewarded him and was here to bid his goodbyes only. However, Zhen Hong said, "Sir, I believe the mission wouldn''t have ended the way it did if you weren''t here! I''d like to thank you for that, but I will shamelessly ask you, is there anything you would desire in my possession?" Alex thought about it. Then, he replied, "If you so insist, can I have the undecipherable crypt?" ''It will probablye to use when I gather more of them..'' Zhen Hong didn''t expect that answer, but ultimately relented and happily gave him the crypt. Since they were done here, they bid their goodbyes to the sect leader, and Hermes supersized the chariot. However, the delegate said, "Ride on my dragon, he''s fast, gentle, andfortable." The dragon opened its mouth and roared out. ''He seems...gentle..'' Alex coughed. Nheless, the prospects of riding a dragon were much more interesting, and after pestering Hermes about it, they both climbed up on the dragon''s back. Then... *Whoosh* The dragon pierced through the sky and immediately left the domain of the sect. "It is...faster than the chariot," Hermesmented. The delegateughed, "Of course, this is one of the most well-bred dragons of the Azure Dragon species, one of the divine beasts." "Is the phoenix a divine beast too?" Alex was curious about the fiery bird he met yesterday. The delegate kindly nodded and said, "The phoenix is only a divine beast when it is paired with the divine dragons, as theyplement each other." Alex thanked the delegate and looked below them. This dragon was truly fast, as they were already in unfamiliar territory. The envoy was also easygoing and spoke to them about various divine beasts, the heavenly domain, and the Qin in general, which made the trip swift and smooth. "We''re over the Gobi desert now, let''s put the dragon to rest in a nearby vige," The delegate dered. Then, the dragon very slowly lowered in altitude. Alex had the impression of seeing a small group of people below them, and then, he heard strange sentences. "Oh, a dragon, I wonder if they have food or people I can fight!" "I wonder if they have women...." "Focus on the journey, you two.." The delegate overheard this, and eximed, "Wait, that''s Xuanzang! Let''s go see what they''re up to..." Chapter 139 - Sun Wukong Theynded near the group below them, and the delegate climbed down the dragon. Alex blinked, and suddenly, arge ''man'' was directly in front of him.?? He had as much hair on his body like an ape, yet, a golden crown sat stably on his head. His face was hairless and looked rather human, but his expressions were exaggerated and somewhat unnatural. "Say, brother, have you got any good food?" The monkey man had a deep voice. Alex instantly backed down with a backflip and established some distance between them. The monkey man''s nostrils twitched, and he had an expression of disappointment, "You don''t seem to have any food..." "Sun, behave," A monk-like man ordered the monkey man. Unexpectedly, a humanoid pig jumped next to the monkey and whispered quite loudly, "Hey, is that a pretty foreign woman with them?" He pointed at Hermes, who had his back facing the opposite side and his wings hid the upper half of his body. "Li''l piggy, you only think about women, don''t you?" The monkey man asked him. Alex witnessed their humorous exchange and gave side nces to the rxed and indifferent Hermes. The pig-like man replied, "Li''l monkey king, you only think of food and fighting, don''t you?" ''Monkey King? Sun...Wukong?!'' Alex received a sudden realization. The ape-like body hair, the crown, the iron staff in his right hand, and his behavior. It couldn''t be anyone other than the iconic Monkey King. ''This is a nice change of pace from the overly serious gods I usually meet..'' Alex''s eyes glowed with admiration. Sun Wukong reminded him of Dionysus. "Hermes, say, where is Dionysus? I didn''t see him at the divine council," Alex inquired with Hermes. Hermes turned around, and immediately, the pig-like man jumped back and eximed, "The foreign pretty woman is....a man....!" Hermes ignored the piggy and replied, "That troublemaker? Last time I heard, I think he was in Northern Europa, deep into Aesir territory." Alex nodded, but he saw that someone charged at Hermes. The piggy was sluggishly running towards Hermes, and kept screaming, "How dare you confuse me with those pretty angel wings?!" Hermes frowned, but Sun Wukong''s staff already did their job and ttened the piggy''s heavy body to the ground. "Did flirting with the moon goddess not teach you anything, Li''l piggy? Don''t Hou Yi''s arrows still hurt you?" Sun Wukong chuckled. Then, the monk Xuanzang and the heavenly delegate entered the scene, and the two troublemakers immediately stood straight. Xuanzangughed and said, "Don''t cause any more trouble or I''ll have to call Sir Gautama?" When he heard the name ''Gautama'', Sun Wukong''s hair was unnaturally erected and his body stiffened up. Alexughed because he knew why Sun Wukong was scared. In Journey to the west, after stealing and eating all of the peaches of immortality of the heavenly domain, Sun Wukong fought and easily defeated a Bodhissatva. However, he soon confronted the Buddha, and he instantly lost. Xuanzang nodded when he saw their fear, and stated, "We are going to spend the night with our friends right here before moving on westwards, shall we?" "I don''t approve, their group doesn''t have any women," Of course, the piggyined about a particr aspect of their set-up "Xiao Bajie, if you continue indulging in lust, I will make you forcefully read mantras again," Xuanzang whistled in innocence. The piggy immediately kowtowed to the monk and apologized. "Is there any town nearby?" The delegate asked Xuanzang. Xuanzang nodded, but he remarked, "There was, but I had a strange intuition regarding the town, so we did not enter it." ''Uh-oh...'' Alex thought to himself. The delegate waved his hand and embarrassingly replied, "Well, you see, we don''t exactly have any food or water- "Us too! Xunzang is starving us of food in the desert!" "I could starve for the rest of my life if I could feel Nuwa''s p again..." Alex did not need to look to see who spoke. "What a funny group Yudi sent you with, Xuanzang." The monk giggled and replied, "I hope to teach them the seven virtues when we reach India, and moderation from food, the drink is one of them." "It''s getting dark, let''s go to the town," Hermes folded his arms and proposed. The two troublemakers were unnaturally excited to go to the town, for different reasons, respectively. Following that, they ended up going to the nearby vige. _______________ "Why is there no one?" Alexmented as he observed their surroundings. There were fresh footprints on the eroded path, but there was not a single person in the town. They reached a well, and Xuanzang said, "Look at the moisture on the bucket, they''ve used it quite recently." "I smell fresh food too," Sun Wukong added. "Let''s stock on supplies like water and leave this town immediately," The delegate shivered. Alex suddenly got goosebumps. It was like there was a creature observing them. He activated Link, and other than the group, the only sentient beings around them were... ''The sand?'' A patch of wet sand attracted his attention. "Hermes, let''s leave very soon." "I agree." They found an empty food stall and stuffed some foodstuffs into their storage. Obviously, they left an appropriate amount of money in the stall. Suddenly, a roar took them by surprise. Alex looked behind him, and the sights were nothing short of eerie. The patch of wet sand that he took notice of earlier, started moving inwards and climbed higher and higher until it formed into a sand golem the size of a two-story building. Unlike the rest of the group, Sun Wukong smiled from ear to ear. He joyfully said, "Xuanzang, give me some dry noodle soup, I''ll fight this thing after eating- However, his expression took a turn for the worse. Behind the golem, slime-like creatures wriggled around and approached them. ''Ghost generals!'' Alex immediately recognized them. If there were ghost generals around, that meant... ''There is a ghost king around here!'' Sun Wukong, who fearlessly challenged the golem earlier, was shivering and hiding behind Xuanzang. "Xuanzang, did I say something about fighting earlier?" Xuanzang sighed, and said, "For someone who''s been to the Underworld, you''re too scared of some ghosts..." Chapter 140 - The Life-giving Ghost King "Hermes, take care of the golem, I''ll defeat the ghost generals!" Alex was confident since he had the ruby. Hermes chuckled and replied, "I just thought that I was getting rusty, I''ll show you why they call me the fastest in Olympus, Alexei-boy!"?? Alex smiled and charged at the group of ghost generals. Prometheus was ruthless and efficient, and with one attack, he vaporized 4 ghost generals into nothingness. However... ''There are too many!'' Alex frowned. Thest time they fought a ghost king, he only had 10 ghost generals under hismand, but there were at least a hundred attacking them. Strangely, when a ghost general died, a tree or some form of vegetation sprouted at the spot it died in. Fortunately, it was nothing deadly, and he swiftly advanced through the hundreds of ghost generals. Looking behind him, Hermes was toying with the slow and sluggish sand golem and chipping away at its structure. The delegate and the rest looked on with admiration. Soon, there was only silence. Alex had stampeded through a group of hundreds of ghost generals and easily swept through their entirety. Nheless, he decided he wasn''t going to move yet. He had a mission to aplish, and after hearing of the origin of the ghost mothers, that mission was also a moral one. He wouldn''t be able to live with the guilt of not vanquishing creatures who turned newborn babies into ghost-production machines. That was way beneath his bottom line as an individual. "Any of that has a Yin detection talisman?" Alex turned his head in their direction. Only Xuanzang interjected and replied, "I can detect Yin passively, what do you need it for?" "Could you explore the surroundings with me to see where there is the highest concentration of yin qi? There might be a ghost king around, and I''ll do my best to protect you." At the mention of ''ghost kings'', the heavenly delegate''s body jerked. "Ghost kings? They exist?!" The delegate asked. "Yes, I''ve met one and defeated it in fact, I suspect there might be one nearby." Sun Wukong noticed the ease at which he cut down the ghost generals, and also volunteered, "I''ming too!" Hermes shrugged and asked him, "You seem to manage it well, I don''t think you need me, right?" "Truthfully, I''m not sure considering the insane number of ghost generals, but I''ll call upon you if the situation turns sour." Since that was decided, the expedition group for this mission was... Alex, the god of humanity. Xuanzang, a Buddhist monk. And Sun Wukong, The Monkey King. They swiftly moved out of the town and into the expanses of the desert. "So, Sir Xuanzang, have you caught on to any unusual concentration of yin qi?" The monk nodded and pointed at the vast emptiness of the desert. They followed this direction, and the more they walked, the stranger the surroundings. Alex was cautious this time, and he activated Link passively. There was an extremely strange phenomenon going on around them. Shrubs seemed alive, the sand seemed alive, and even the wind seemed alive. These were all things that shouldn''t be alive, but he felt like he could form a Link connection with any of them. "You two, be careful of EVERYTHING." Suddenly, a gust of wind destabilized the footing of the two behind him. The wind turned sharp, and rotated at high speeds, forming a deadly tornado. "This feels...nice..." Sun Wukong creepily remarked as his body was thrown around by the tornado. "Don''t y around, Wukong, destroy the eye of the tornado," Xuanzang sighed deeply. Sun Wukong nodded, and his staff immediately turned into the size of an iron pir and began spinning like a spinning top. This counteracted the force of the tornado, and the sharp winds dissipated away. Alex waited for the two and they resumed their expedition. As they continued walking, they found a sandstone temple in front of them. The eerie sound of a flute spread through the air, and they halted. ''What an inconspicuous hiding spot...'' Alex sarcastically remarked. It seemed they had reached their destination, as there were numerous ghost generals around. ''Who''s going to take care of whom?'' Alex wanted to defeat the ghost king. "I''ll leave the ghost generals to the two of you, alright?" "What about protection? Wukong can''t possibly protect me..." Xuanzang dramatically held his hand out. "Stop fooling around, you two are obviously quite strong, I''ll go take care of the ghost king." Alex ran through an opening between the ghost generals and entered the sandstone temple. Suddenly, he felt a strange force at his feet. It was like riding up an elevator. When Alex looked out of the windows of the temple, his eyes widened and almost bulged out of his skull. The entire temple was hundreds of meters in the air, and they were still going higher. "Regrettable that I''ll have to lose another temple, but... "I can just build a new one!" Alex turned around. A grey mass of slime formed a distinct human figure. "The ghost emperor has informed us to be careful.....they were right, you practically swept through all of the lowly ghost generals..." "You''re a ghost king?" Alex frowned. "Yes, directly under Guidi''smand, those viger''s screams were the best food the ghost mother could ask for, weren''t they, temple?" Eerily, a mass of stones formed a female figure, and the figure said, "Yes, ghost king." "There are many strong ghost kings, but Guidi personally considers me speci- A spear attacked him at a 180-degree angle, but the ghost king stepped back just a little bit and smiled. "Hasty, aren''t you? Well, the life-giving ghost king shall do just the exact opposite to you tonight," "Baby, finish my words," The ghost king ''talked'' to the stone female silhouette. The silhouette said robotically, "The life-giving ghost king shall be the life-taking ghost king." "Stolen straight from my tongue...wait, I don''t have one!" The female silhouette creepilyughed, "Ha Ha Ha Ha" "Now, baby, show him the might of my creations." The stone female silhouette stiffly nodded and charged at the puzzled Alex. "This is going to be a hard fight, isn''t it?" Alex murmured under his breath. Chapter 141 - Outclassed "Ghost generals are often hard to vanquish, I''ll go help out the group," The delegate told Hermes and the piggy. "Go on," Hermes stared at the delegate.?? Meanwhile, the piggy was still ring at Hermes. ________________ -The floating sandstone temple- Alex gulped as his mind spun with thoughts about this fight''s prospects. It seemed like the whole temple was alive, and out to harm him under themand of the ghost king. However, he didn''t have time to think, as a kick made its way for his abdomen. Alex dodged the kick and looked at his opponent. She was a stone woman, yet her movements were flexible, swift, and light. He didn''t have any difficulty dodging, but every time he tried tond an attack on her.... ''Her stoneponents simply return to the ground...!'' This battle continued on, and none of themnded an attack on the other. After a few minutes of this meaningless fight, the ghost king burst intoughter. "Baby, how high are we?" "High enough to kill an immortal, ghost king," As usual, the stone woman replied monotonously. Alex frowned at this sudden inquiry. Though, he abruptly lost his footing and felt his body falling. A hole formed itself in the spot where he was standing. "Sly!" Alex eximed frustratingly. He had to be careful since the whole temple was alive. Nheless, he wasn''t going to die, as the ghost king had thought, and his wings firmly stabilized him in the sky. Since the ghost king wasn''t aware of this, he recalled the spot where thetter was standing and flew right at it. Prometheus had turned into a dagger, and while it wasn''t his weapon of choice, he wielded it well. *nk* As his dagger dug through the floor of the temple, he expected to find himself in the interior. ... ''Is this floor thicker than I remember?'' Alex was digging through for a while but did not enter the temple. Suddenly, the stone cracked, and Alex saw a shing towards him. The dagger parried the attack, and the resounding sound of stone against metal reverberated in his eardrums. "This whole temple is alive, remember that~~~," The yful voice of the ghost king remarked. Alex established some distance from the stone silhouette and looked at the ghost king. This battleground was really troublesome and unpredictable, hence he had to find a way to render it useless. Athena''s Incarnation was the best for parallel thinking, so he therefore immediately activated it. ''Aphrodite''s control over fertility won''t work on stone and sand...'' ''Ares'' powers won''t help against the entire temple...'' While dodging any iing attacks, he calcted all of the possibilities. ''There''s still that!'' Alex''s body turned from slender and lean, to short and stout. His eyes shined a fiery orange, and Prometheus turned into a heavy hammer. "You have some interesting powers, young boy," The ghost king yawned as he watched the fight. "You haven''t seen anything yet!" His two hands were ced firmly on the ground. ''This power burns through Faith Energy, I have to be quick about it!'' Unexpectedly, the sandstone in the perimeter around Alex gradually turned red color. The sand became liquid ss, and the stone became heavy magma. Because of the change from solid to liquid, the searing hot materials spilled out of the temple and into the ground far below them. There was now a wide hole in the temple, and it was continuously expanding. "Smart move, but aren''t you afraid of hitting your friends down below with searing magma?" The ghost king sneered. "Don''t try to fool me, this temple has not been flying straight up, but distancing itself from its previous spot." The ghost king''s expression turned sour, and his slime-like body transformed into a gray mist. Alex also left the melting temple through the hole he created and dived through the sky. When the dune desert was visible below him, wings sprouted from his sky, and he gentlynded on the sand. The damage to this area from the hot ss andva was cataclysmic, and smoke rose from everywhere, turning the area of the sky above them an ashy gray color. Unfortunately, this smoke also concealed the misty body of the ghost king. Just as he felt helpless, he heard a familiar voice. "Sir Alex, do you need some help in vanquishing the ghost king?" It was the voice of the delegate. Alex smiled brightly. The delegate was a Silver Immortal, and his dragon mount was a divine beast. From the ash-like smoke, the figure of the delegate entered. Alex sighed in relief and eximed, "The ghost king is hiding inside the dense smoke, help me find him!" "Will do!" The delegate was behind him. "Grea- Alex stopped in his tracks. Numbness was spreading around his upper back, and when he turned around, he understood. An arm, coated in a strange glowing coating pierced through his body. Looking up, the owner of the arm was none other than...the heavenly delegate. A smile spread across the delegate''s face. Amidst that, Alex felt a burning feeling in his organs. The hand had pierced through his heart, and the burning feeling spread through his vitals very quickly. "Oh, how easy you foreign gods were to fool." "Why did you lie to us?" Alex didn''t understand. "I never lied, I am truly a member of the imperial court, this decree is real." "I never said I wasn''t a ghost king myself." The delegate chuckled and observed Alex''s reaction. "There was a monk with us, how did you escape his notice?" Alex began coughing aggressively. "I lost my ghostly form decades ago, I''m pretty sure you know what I''m speaking about from your previous fight with another ghost king." Alex tried to struggle out of the man''s grasp, but he lost feeling in most of his upper body. He could see the delegate''s bloody arm in front of him, and it was a scary sight. He tried to recall what the delegate spoke about. "Be quick about it, he has strong allies," A gray mist formed into the life-giving ghost king Alex was fighting earlier. In his fight with the gravity-controlling ghost king, thetter chose to abandon his body and powers when he realized he was going to lose. "I see you understand what I''m speaking about." "Decades ago, I fought with Lao Zi, and had to do the same." "Somehow, I escaped and right after that, Lao Zi disappeared from the world." "I went to the sacred kingdom and forged a narrative, that some great demon attacked me and almost killed me." "The Jade Emperor took me into his court and allowed me to cultivate with my new human form to ''get revenge''." "Because I wasn''t producing any yin qi anymore, I seemed like an ordinary immortal." Alex''s consciousness was flickering away, and he listlessly listened to the words of the ''delegate''. The ghost king took out a golden talisman from his pockets and said, "This is a long-distance transmission talisman." "Try escaping Qin with the crime of attacking a heavenly court member upon your head." The delegate was nning to fabricate a story once again. There was only one hope left for Alex. His right arm, which still had some slight sense of touch, slowly moved towards his pockets. "Hermes...told...me...to...use...this...only...during...emergencies..." He tightly held a sk in his hand. Chapter 142 - Yan Wangs Return "This talisman will transmit a live feed directly to the heavenly court," The delegate chuckled and proceeded to tear off the talisman. The other ghost king turned into a mist and hit himself inside the ashen clouds.?? When he tore up the talisman, the delegate''s expression turned from one of joyfulness to a distressed expression. "Lord Jade Emperor, the foreign gods are demons who wish to infiltrate and corrupt our sacrednd!" "I''ve barely managed to incapacitate them and I will prepare my escape back into ournd..." "If I don''te back, that means that the demons have gotten their hand at my life," Tears appeared in the delegate''s eyes. "Please, look at this demon''s appearance and send our strongest forces to avoid catastrophe," The delegate also began describing Hermes. A few dozen secondster, the talisman dissipated into thin air, and the crocodile tears of the delegate instantly dried up. "Now then, let''s see how your immortality will work if your body gets cut up into a million pieces..." The sharp light at the delegate''s hand slowly approached Alex''s neck. Alex struggled to get the sk of Essence out of his pockets, but it was clearly toote. ''F*ck, I overestimated myself again...'' Suddenly, the life-giving ghost king returned to his corporeal body and eximed, "There''s a strange barrier around this ce that we can''t leave!" "What do you mean?" The delegate approached the ghost king and followed him. His hands stopped in thin air, and no matter how much force he exerted over the barrier, he couldn''t leave. "Was there some natural barrier around here that we didn''t know of?" The life-giving ghost king shook his head and replied, "I have been here for decades, and this has never happened..." Alex''s vision was blurry, and he listlessly stared at the puzzled silhouettes. "Is it just me, or is the barrier shrinking around us?" The delegate asked as he felt his hands pushed back. "No, it''s not just you." "Who was that?!" The ghost king screamed. "Your worst nightmare." A sh of light flickered in the cold night and stopped in front of the heavily injured Alex. The usually pristine wings of the god now looked like a death angel''s wings. A serpentine staff approached the injured god, and Hermes red at the bloody hole in Alex''s torso. The torn tissue of his vital organs slowly healed, and his heart began beating again. "His body should be able to heal the rest," Hermes passed his hand by Alex''s barely open eyes and closed them. "You probably shouldn''t see this, Alexei-boy." "Now then, I heard you wanted to cut him up into a million pieces?" The delegate and the ghost king frowned. A bead of cold sweat fell down their foreheads, yet the delegate still stated, "I saw him fight earlier, his only advantage over us is speed, if we both corner him, we can finish the fight." "Can you? Look around you," Hermes giggled. The delegate moved back a step, but his body halted as if it hit a solid wall. "The barrier shrank even more!" The two couldn''t do anything about it, as they were pushed closer and closer to Hermes by the barrier. This strategy wouldn''t have worked against Indra, who was as powerful as Zeus, but against two small fries, Hermes was going to go overkill. He borrowed Prometheus from Alex, and the silver dagger in his hands towered like a sword of Damocles over their heads. "Try escaping the god of swiftness in this small area, will you?" Hermes smiled, showing his pristine white teeth. Suddenly, he disappeared from his spot. "Where is he?!" However, Hermes appeared again in the same position. "He didn''t attack us- The delegate''s right arm suddenly fell to the ground, causing a light thud. The delegate thought it was over, but suddenly, his three other limbs mysteriously detached from his body, and only his bleeding torso and head remained. "Silver Immortals, huh? What''s so immortal about you? I cut you up so easily." The delegate could only stare with a wide jaw as his range of movement became null. The ghost king by his side recognized the threat of the situation and turned into a mist. He tried to escape underground through the sand, but the barrier was spherical, and the ghost king had no choice but to stay in mist form in the air. "Perhaps I can''t vanquish you, but the Buddhist monk ising this way and will do that for me, so let''s just wait patiently, shall we?" Hermes snickered and crouched. The delegate had nothing but terror in his eyes. Hermes said he was ''waiting'', but asionally, new cuts appeared on the delegate''s body, and he became a mangled mess of blood. The vitality of a Silver Immortal, however, allowed him to remain alive even through that pain, and Hermes took advantage of that. Hermes yawned and the delegate''s head twitched. Every single movement of the former seemed like a death sentence to him now. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps approached them, and Hermes eximed, "Finally!" The barrier disappeared, and the ghost king tried to escape, but somehow, he could not. Xuanzang was standing there, and reading incantations from a strange, gold-coated scroll. When he read the incantations, the mist started gathering and turned into the human figure of the ghost king. The ghost king wanted to sacrifice his ghostly form, but Hermes stood there. Additionally, the incantations of the Buddhist monk caused him great pain. In the great Indian game of Chaturanga, there was only one way to describe this oue. Checkmate. "I could not have expected a heavenly court member to be a ghost king," Xuanzang stroked his beard and contemted. Suddenly, two men appeared in the battle scene. One of them was short and stout and wore ck robes. The other one was tall and slender and wore white robes. Behind them, an army of red-skinned men followed the two in a strict formation. Xuanzang remarked, "The armies of Yan Wang are here..." A screen-like slit appeared in mid-air, and through the slit, the scary figure of Yan Wang sat upon his judicial tform. "What a great result, two more ghost kings captured in one day!" Yan Wang eximed. His two underlings sent thick chains that shackled the two corpses. "Hmmm, where''s the boy?" Yan Wang inquired about Alex. Hermes replied to his interjection, "You must be the one who gave him the quest, right?" "Another foreign-looking man? Are you hispanion?" Chapter 143 - The Ministry Of Waters Over the skies of northwestern Qin, an elusive realm hid in the dense clouds that perpetually covered thends. This realm was the domain of the de facto ruler of the immortal and mortal world, the Jade Emperor.?? The Jade Emperor was a handsome middle-aged man with a long, well-trimmed beard, and ck hair that was thicker than a lion''s mane. He was a very muscr and vigorous man, since he was one of the only Jade Immortals in Qin, though his loose and regal yellow robes concealed that muscture in ayer of schrly demeanor. The ruler was currently sitting in a mundane Chinese living room on a luxurious futon. He was elegantly drinking tea from a green, jade mug. "The floral aftertaste of the northern jade seeps into the tea, how wonderful," The Jade Emperor nodded as he sipped on his tea. On his opposite side, a beautiful middle-aged woman also sat on a futon. She had long, ck hair, and her monolid eyes exhibited a regional charm. Her ck pupils shined with wisdom, and her presence wasforting. This woman was The Queen Mother of The West, Xiwangmo. She was the wife of the emperor and also a divine Jade Immortal. The two of them shared a calm demeanor and enjoyed their tea time. Suddenly, an attendant burst into the room. "Yudi, I apologize deeply for this disturbance, but we have an emergency..!" The Jade Emperor calmly put down his teacup, producing a soft thud, and looked at the attendant. "One of our court members has been attacked and killed by foreign diplomat gods!" "Hmmm, I believe it would be the ''Olympians'', isn''t it?" "Yes, Yudi," The attendant kowtowed. "Send the footage over to our best painters, and spread it around Qin." "I will immediately get into it, Yudi!" The attendant kowtowed once again and then ran out of the room. Xiwangmo remarked with an indifferent expression, "That is quite careless of diplomats to attack our own people in ournd." "They must be quite the young and careless gods, this will teach them a lesson," However, the Jade Emperor suddenly said, "Whatplexyers of vor, I have just received the grassy aftertaste of the tea." For a man as elusive as the ruler of thisnd, matters like this slid out of his mind as soon as they entered, and he was back to his carefree tea time with his wife. Meanwhile... ________ The scary king of the Underworld observed Hermes from his own screen. "Another foreign-looking man, are you the boy''spanion?" He asked. Hermes nodded and immediately discussed their most pressing matter, "I believe external trouble might affect the prospects of the mission, would you help us?" Yan Wang''s red skin creased, and he replied with another question, "What kind of external trouble?" "This ghost king was a heavenly court member." Yan Wang frowned, and stated, "That''s quite the trouble there, I believe you two are diplomats?" "Yes." "That''s even worse." "I know it''s bad, do you have any advice? I was not expecting this turnabout." Yan Wang put out two fingers, and answered, "I''ll help you only if you guarantee that you can continue the mission." Hermes pondered over this offer. This mission was clearly dangerous, and if the ghost kings were this troublesome, he couldn''t picture how fearsome the ghost emperor would be. Hermes calcted all the possibilities, and his diplomatic abilities immediately allowed him to form a favorable argument for their group. "We will continue only if we receive reinforcements for the final battle, help for our current troublesome situation, and the final reward." Yan Wang''s already bulging eyes almost escaped out of his skull. However, he swiftly recovered hisposure and cleared out his throat. "How is that a favorable deal for me- "It''s not, but we have the leverage here, I don''t believe you would have asked Alexei-boy to take on the mission and promised such a valuable reward if you could use your own forces," Hermes was more straight-forward than he usually was, but he couldn''t let Alex get into such danger again. Yan Wang''s body jerked, and Hermes sneered in response since thetter realized that his hypothesis was right. After a few minutes of silence, Yan Wang brought down his judicial mini-hammer, and replied, "I''ll send over Zhou Kui, my best demon hunter, but be aware that he can only fight ghosts that are already half-dead." "And for the matter with the heavenly court?" "Truthfully, I''m not acquainted with Yudi, however, I''d rmend you to make your im to Longwang, the Dragon King in the East Sea, as only his Ministry of Waters can stand up against the heavenly court." Hermes thought it over and found out that it was a favorable deal. At least, it was more favorable than returning to Olympus and facing the wrath of his Father, Zeus. "That''s a deal then." Unexpectedly, Yan Wang suddenly pointed his finger behind Hermes and eximed, "W-Wha-at a-are you d-doing here????!!" Hermes turned around and found Sun Wukong standing there with an embarrassed expression. "Wukong, what did you do?" Suanzang sighed and asked the monkey king. "I...hmmm...removed all of my monkey brethren...from the...- "Book of Life and Death!" Yan Wang finished his sentence and brought out a strange-looking book. "Because of you, I have an eternal empty page in my sacred book!" Sun Wukong awkwardlyughed and rubbed his head. Suddenly, his own iron staff came down on his head. "What was that for, monk?!" Xuanzang was responsible for the attack. The atmosphere was lighter than earlier, but Hermes still nced to the side. Alex''s body was slowly mending itself, and he was going topletely heal in a dozen minutes or less. However, Hermes couldn''t forgive him for his actions. ''Why are you so careless, Alex? If I didn''t find the delegate suspicious, you would have...'' His thoughts went nk. "Zhou Kui wille to the mortal realm in a short while, meanwhile, I, King of the Underworld, shall make my leave." Chapter 144 - Moving On After that, the screen dissipated into thin air and Yan Wang''s armies set off with the two dead ghost kings. Alex was still not awake, but he was in a very stable condition.?? The piggy had caught up to them, and the group from earlier, except the ghost king delegate, was reunited. Xuanzang bowed slightly to Hermes and said, "We apologize for not being able to help with your troubles with Yudi." Hermes shrugged and replied, "Don''t worry about it, thank you for your help with vanquishing the other ghost king." "Oh, before I forget, Alexei-boy seemed to get along well with you, is there any way we''ll meet up in India?" Hermes asked Sun Wukong. Xuanzang replied in the monkey''s stead, "After meeting up with Buddha, only fate shall determine where we shall go, but if karma wills it, we might meet again." After that, Sun Wukong and the monk bid their goodbyes to Hermes. Meanwhile, the piggy silently drifted off with the group while ring at the former. ________ -Sometimeter- Hermes sat down silently, waiting for Alex to gain his consciousness back organically. Suddenly, a cold wind from the east breezed through their location. Alex''s eyshes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes. Other than his torn clothes, there was no sign of any battle on thetter''s body. However, he clenched the Essence of Chaos tightly in his hand, even throughout his unconscious period. "Hermes?" "Alexei-boy? How are you feeling?" Alex was puzzled and looked around. The molten magma had cooled down, and the wind carried away the apocalyptic ash that surrounded the desert earlier. Most importantly, he didn''t perceive the delegate or the ghost king. "What happened?" Alex asked Hermes. Thetter was looking at him with a strange expression of relief. Hermes smiled and recounted everything. "I took care of... "Then, Yan Wang said... "We''re in the trouble... Alex''s expression shifted drastically through the discourse. The delegate had brought them into conflict with the heavenly court, which was their destination for the entire trip, and now, they''d have to go through negotiations with other affiliated factions to regain their safety in Qin. Out of a sudden, Alex recalled a small detail. He jumped out and clenched his fists, "They know our appearance, Hermes!" Hermes frowned and stated, "We''ll have to restock supplies somehow, The East Sea is quite far away..." "Do you have any shapeshifting abilities?" Unfortunately, Hermes shook his head. Alex gulped, and because of this situation, he would be able to bear Incarnating into that hateful woman. His other Incarnations looked too close to his real appearance, therefore, only Aphrodite''s Incarnation, which changed his appearance very drastically, would work. Under his guise, Alex''s appearance slowly morphed into that of an extremely handsome, blond man with lc-blue eyes. "I''m not sure you should let mortals see you around in that appearance, but it''s fine," Hermes refrained frommenting on his distaste for this appearance. "Should we get the dragon back?" Alex asked. Hermes shrugged, and ultimately, they went back near the small vige, where they left the dragon. The divine creature was roaring in anguish. ''He was a dishonest person and a dam*ned ghost king, but it seems like he treated his mount well," Alex stroked the dragon''s head. He established a Link connection with the divine creature. "Dragon, now that your owner is dead, what do you wish to do?" The dragon intelligibly replied, "I...want...go...East...back..to...Fenghuang..wife.." Fenghuang was the yellow-red phoenix, another divine beast. "We''re also going to the East, do you want to apany us?" "Y..e...s." "Hermes, the dragon''s wife is a Fenghuang in the East, shall we continue on the same path?" Hermes reluctantly agreed. Alex chuckled. ''It still looks like he''s mad about the dragon being faster than the chariot...'' On top of that, unlike the chariot, the dragon did not need topletely halt at night. Since that was decided, they ended up mounting the dragon, and the divine creature flew out into the skies. After the Gobi desert, they would find themselves in Shiwei, the ancient region of Mongolia. This was fortunate for them since the nomadic peoples of the snowy steppe were unlikely to know of their conflict with the heavenly court. As they exited the desert, they found a small nomadic tribe that set up tents on the outskirts of the cold steppe. The means of the tribe were humbled, but the amodation they could provide was satisfactory for the two. In exchange for some of the food they ''stole'' from the desert vige, the tribe dly offered them a ce to sleep. It was an eventful and tiresome day for the two, so they immediately visited Hypnos. On the eve of night, they heard an irregr level of movement outside the tent. They were both on high rm, and they woke up and examined the source of themotion. Outside, they found an armored and armed man fighting with...a rag of horses. ''This man is...really....ugly,'' Truthfully, Alex restrained himself. The man was really conventionally unattractive, and even somewhat scary-looking, with gray-ish skin and bulging eyes. When he saw them, he unexpectedly said, "Are you the two Yan Wang sent me to watch over?" Alex had no idea what he was talking about. However, Hermes frowned slightly and asked, "Are you...Zhong Kui?" "It is very well me, the head of the Underworld armies, and the renowned....Demon Hunter!" Zhong Kui made a dramatic introduction. "Alexei-boy, it''s another ghost king, would you do the honors for me?" Hermes whispered, but he was actually speaking loudly. ''Truthfully, he does look more like a zombie or a ghost than...the one that hunts them...'' Zhong Kui was taken aback, and in the midst of his distraction, the horses stampeded back towards him, and the ''demon hunter'' was KO''d by a group of well-bred horses. "Could I get some help here?" Hermes shrugged and guided off the horses like a shepherd might guide a flock of sheep. ''Hermes is actually a shepherd, though,'' Alex realized. "Thank you, you two gentlemen." "Since when can a ''demon hunter'' be defeated by horses? Alexei-boy, get ready for a fight!" Alex obeyed and performed a martial pose. Zhong Kui fervently replied, "Hey there, I can''t use any power against beings that are alive and healthy, I don''t have any authority over those." "Then, how will you even be useful to us?" Chapter 145 - Journey To The South? Hearing Hermes''int, Zhong Kui retorted, "Try running around Qin without knowledge of thisnd." Alex rubbed his head and admitted that the man was fully right.?? They didn''t know anything about this ce, and theirck of knowledge couldnd them in a troublesome situation. "Where should we go from here on?" Alex politely asked the demon hunter. "East of here is the sacred kingdom, so you cannot go there, or you will basically be pursued by a city in which half of the people are Copper Immortals or above..." Alex listened attentively to the man''s next words. "To go the Ministry of Waters, we need to cross into the sea through Qiantang, a city southeast of here." "Let''s move then, we should be quick before they reach our previous locations and start tracing our steps," Hermes stated with a stern face. However, Zhong Kui said, "The Underworld carriers have had an extremely busy time south of here, where immense flooding has covered the valleys in the middle of the Yangtze and the Yellow River in water." "What do you mean by that?" "Unnatural developments in weather and an increased concentration of yin qi due to mortal deaths, I think there might be a ghost king behind these strange weather events," Zhong Kui''s already scary face took an even more sinister tournure. At the mention of ''ghost king'', Alex shivered. He thought they were weak creatures, but they almost killed him. In spite of the danger, Hermes proimed, "So what? As long as they''re not a heavenly court member, we''ll cleanly take care of them." "I suppose you''re right, that is the only way to circumvent the close perimeter of the sacred kingdom," The demon hunter nodded and rubbed his thin and brittle goatee. Since they decided on their next destination, they went back to sleep. As the deadmander of the Underworld armies, Zhong Kui did not need to sleep, hence, he just kept a watchful eye on the tent throughout the night. _________ -The next morning- The two gods woke up and performed their morning rituals. "Sirs, would you like to have breakfast?" The tribespeople invited them to eat. "Excuse us, we might have to move immediately, but we thank you for your offer." However, as they prepared to leave, Alex''s eyes remained glued to a certain object at the outskirts of the small settlement of the nomadic tribe. Over a tall twig, they hung a rectangr piece of beige ceramic. On the ceramic tile, strange and archaic engravements exhibited themselves. With his eyesight, he immediately noticed the simrities between an object in his possession and the tile. Taking out his own tile, it read ''The third testament''. As he approached this one, the text became clearer. ''Annals of a long life - Abandonment - The fifth testament'' His eyes moved around and deciphered the paragraph underneath. ''I have lived a long life, and in that one, I have had countless masters, and under my training, countless disciples. Of them, my very best disciple was Yudi, who smoothly rose as a ruler of the immortals and the mortals. If there is anyone that I hope can find my testaments, it is you, Yudi.'' The text was shorter and less vague than thest time. "Yudi? The Jade Emperor?" Yudi was the Chinese title of the Jade Emperor. ''Lao Zi trained the Jade Emperor?'' Alex suddenly had an idea. Lao Zi wished for the Emperor to read his testaments, and thetter now had a conflict with him and Hermes. Therefore, if he could somehow deliver these testaments to the ruler, perhaps they could exin themselves and clear up this misunderstanding, and then, finish their mission. A tribesman approached him and said, "We have found that unbreakable piece of stone in a cave that we used to freeze meat, we don''t know what to do with it, do you want to take it, Sir?" "Yes, I''d appreciate that." The tribesman went off to speak with the chief of the tribe and then returned with a nod of approval from thetter. This was an unexpected gain, but he wasn''t going toin. Taking the crypt in his hand, he closely examined it once again. There was a strange feature that wasmon to the two pieces other than the writing. Embedded into the stones, pieces of metal were visible. ''These aren''t perfectly rectangr either..'' Alex stuck the two pieces together and found that they were like pieces of a puzzle. "Alexei-boy, what are you doing? We''re departing!" Hermes had left the tribe earlier, and came back, with the...dragon behind him. The tribespeople screamed out in fear, whereas Alex facepalmed. Zhong Kui loudlyughed, but strangely, it seemed like the mortal tribespeople couldn''t see him. "Get on, you two," Hermes had a change of opinions, and now really liked riding the dragon. The two obliged, and under the revering gazes of the mortals underneath, they sted off into the sky, in a southern direction. "You said the ce was in constant flooding? Should we help the residents?" Alex inquired with the demon hunter. Unexpectedly, Zhong Kui shook his head. "If you were traveling under normal circumstances, I''d be more than d for you to do that, but the heavenly court sends over its strongest forces to mediate disasters and investigate possible supernatural causes," Zhong Kui red at him and resumed. "Therefore, if we are too slow, we might meet with gods like Nezha or Hou Yi, and they''re both some of the fearsome opponents you could have." "Don''t be so pessimistic, we already know we''re in the trouble," Hermes sighed and remarked. As they rode through, the snowy steppes transformed into a lush, mountainous region. "Hermes, can yound here?" Alex had a strange request. Hermes shrugged and obeyed. Then, Alex took out a bronze-like tool from his luggage. It was his camera. ''I haven''t used this in a while...'' Did the camera lose plot relevance? Alex took out a silver-like film and inserted it into the slit of the camera. He pointed it towards a well-lit area of the mountains and waited. The mountains were colossal, yet they weren''t overbearing, as the vegetation cast on them a lively and protecting aura. After waiting because of the long exposure, he took out the film. Other than theck of color, the picture turned out very pleasant-looking. "Let''s go!" What could this group of three immortals, possibly face in the south? Chapter 146 - Hou Yi As the dragon flew back, the scenery below them changed once again. A gargantuan like covered thends, and it had sharp and strong currents that were visible even from their altitude.?? However, on second notice, they perceived that this wasn''t ake, but a... "Flooded in?!" There were a lot of people frantically getting on small rafts and escaping from half-submerged homes. Some of them were unsessful and fell into the dangerous waters. Alex clenched his fists and almost failed to restrain himself from helping them. Fortunately, Zhong Kui stopped him and pointed, "Look, the heavenly court and the local sects have already sent a few immortals." Alex followed his line of sight, and in fact, he perceived a group of people on flying swords saving the civilians from drowning and contributing to the evacuation. "We should be able to get by quite fine, the dragon''s wide body covers our presence, as long as there is no powerhouse among them, we''ll soon cross into higher ground and be able to move east," Zhong Kui eximed optimistically. Hermes concentrated on the ride, while Alex observed the damage caused by the flood. "You said it was maybe a ghost king who caused this carnage?" Alex asked Zhong Kui with a dark expression. "That is only a hypothesis, as monsoon season ended only a few weeks ago, and this kind of flooding is unlikely to ur without the humid westerly winds." Alex nodded and began contemting. Meanwhile... _____________ -In the Moon Valley, arge teau of tnd in Southern Qin- The residents called this idylld the Moon Valley because its topography allowed it to received high amounts of moonlight, and some of the locals have even imed to have seen the moon goddess, Chang-e, more than a few times. The residents brushed these people off as lunatics, but they didn''t know that these rumors werepletely true. There was a very tall and old tree outside of a vige in the valley, and a treehouse hung there, hidden among the thick leaves. Inside the treehouse, a man and a woman shared a hug. The woman whispered in the ears of the man, "Husband, are you sure you want to take on Yudi''s quest? What if you meet the monster that caused the floods?" "Chang-e, I''ve now eaten the peach of immortality, nothing can stop me," The man clutched his hands on a quiver full of rustic arrows. This man was Hou Yi, the greatest archer in Qin. Chang-e, the Moon Goddess, smiled and nodded. Then, they bid goodbyes, and the goddess flew away. "Now then, I''m a bit hungry..." Hou Yi went out on the terrace of his treehouse and looked around. Suddenly, his vision magnified a thousandfold, and he perceived a fat boar roaming around a rice in. "You''ll be dinner then," He took out an arrow from his quiver and loaded it into an orange arrow. He stretched out the bowstring so far behind it was more than half the height of an average man. *Whoosh* Hou Yi released his grip on the arrow, and it flew through the sky. A few dozen secondster, the boar, that had moved around during that time, was immediately pierced by the arrow. Blood came out of its corpse and spilled onto the rice cultures. A few farmers perceived this and went to alert their peers, but when they came back... Both the boar and the arrow were no longer here, and only the bloodied rice in was visible. Outside of the treehouse, a smoky and meaty fragrance permeated through the air and attracted many wild beasts, though the sea of corpses of their kin repelled them away. The boar was more than 24 Li(12km) away, yet the arrows of the greatest archer swiftly ended its life. "The strength improvement from the peach is clear, being a true immortal is so nice..." Hou Yi gloated. However, he had a mission to fulfill, and he sternly stood up and jumped from tree to tree, like an acrobatics expert. Soon enough, he reached the outskirts of a town on a hill. This was right next to the flooded area, and arge influx of evacuates put a strain on the town''s resources. However, this distress didn''t attract the attention of Hou Yi. Instead, he nted his eyes and perceived arge beast hiding in the dense vegetation near the town. ''A dragon? And a...foreign man?'' Strangely, the man alongside the dragon seemed familiar. He had distinctive features that one didn''t generally see very often. ''Dark-purple hair...eyes of the same color...a foreign face... wings?'' He pieced together a picture. Back in the heavenly court, an imperial decree dictated the crimes of two foreign diplomats. One of the two had this exact same appearance. Hou Yi was rather excited at this discovery. ''If I can capture him, Yudi will offer me the services of the heavenly court''s cksmiths!'' Immediately, the man stretched out his bowstring and attached a deadly arrow to it. In a swift movement, he released the arrow and sent it flying towards the man. Meanwhile, Hermes was waiting for the disguised Alex and Zhong Kui toe back from the town. Suddenly, he perceived a sharp object flying towards him. Hermes simply moved to the side, but then, the arrow-like object followed his movements. Instead, he ced his two hands at his side, and when the arrow was a millimeter away from him... *Ksssss* He clutched the arrow in his two hands, and the fast arrow rubbed against his palms, but he seeded in stopping its trajectory. However, he couldn''t rx, as another arrow made its way to him, and was much faster than the previous one. Hermes took out his Caduceus and skillfully parried away the arrow. "Hou Yi''s arrows shall not miss their targets!" A man furiously screamed out from some thick bushes near Hermes. "Hermes, we weren''t able to- Two men halted their words and their steps and observed the scene. Hermes looked at a strange man. The strange man held a bow and arrow in his hands but stood still as he stared at the man next to Alex. "Zhong Kui?!" Chapter 147 - An Unexpected Ally "Zhong Kui, do you know this copycat of Artemis?" Hermes asked the demon hunter. ''That doesn''t make any sense, Hermes...'' Alex puzzlingly observed the scene.?? A man was drawing out his bowstring and was clearly ready to send an arrow flying their way. Suddenly, Zhong Kui eximed, "Hou Yi, you can see me, that means you finally- "Don''t remind me, Zhong Kui!" An arrow flew towards Alex and the demon hunter. However, a heavy spear parried the arrow. The force from the arrow pushed Alex back a few steps and threw him off his feet into a backflip. ''That was strong!'' Alex remarked internally. Zhong Kui waved his hand and frantically eximed, "Hey, hey there, stop that, I have helped you so much in the past, and the reward I receive is an arrow flying towards this weak body of mine?" Hou Yi harrumphed and replied, "Our karmic debts can be spoken ofter." "Now then, why are you with criminals? They both match the descriptions issued by the imperial court," Hou Yimented as Alex returned to his original appearance to fully utilize Prometheus. "We''ll only talk if you put down that bow," Zhong Kui harrumphed back even though he didn''t exactly have the higher ground here. "I''ll stay on alert," Hou Yi put down his arrow but crouched next to it. Zhong Kui cleared his throat and said, "The reason I''m with these two is.... "....." "....." The demon hunter stopped speaking as if he wanted to build up a cliffhanger. "That imperial court member was an atrocious ghost king- "Don''t mix up the sacred court with rural superstition! You sphemer!" Another arrow made its way for the demon hunter. Alex parried the arrow once again, but his arms were numb from the overwhelming force of the attacks. "What do you mean, rural superstition? Yan Wang, our very own King, knows of their existence!" "Yan Wang was never right in the mind anyway! Hmph!" "Is that why you begged him to chase you out of the Underworld every time you died?" Zhong Kui sneered. Hou Yi gritted his teeth and stated, "I need evidence, or I am going to eliminate these two right now." Alex gulped. They didn''t have any evidence. Unexpectedly, Zhong Kui rashly replied, "The evidence is all around you!" A strange silence befell the group. Hermes, Alex, and Hou Yi all felt confused at the scary man''s words. Zhong Kui detected the awkward atmosphere and softly said, "The floods of the Yangtze and Yellow River have likely been caused by a ghost king...." "Preposterous! The higher concentration of yin qi around here is simply a result of the casualties and grim state of the local residents and animals!" Hou Yi stubbornly refuted. However, Alex was the one who interjected this time. "Z-Zhong Kui actually has a point." "Don''t you think the yin qi around here could act as a cloak to the hideout of a possible ghost king?" "R-r-right!" Zhong Kui backed up his statement. Hou Yi frowned and fell silent. "I''ll believe it when I see it, but I still can''t believe that an imperial court member was a malevolent creature." "Thank you for giving me the benefit of the doubt, Hou Yi, we''ve shared a long friendship," Zhong Kui smiled, albeit with a creepy smile due to his ''underworldly'' appearance. Hou Yi pointed his finger at the former and said, "It''s only because it''s you, I''ll take care of these two as you as soon as this is proven untrue." With that, they forged a temporary and fragile alliance. However, they had to prove the existence of the ghost kings, and that the imperial court member was one of them to avoid the wrath of this archer. __________ After that, Zhong Kui and Hou Yi exined their shared backstory. "Hou Yi was the strongest of the mortals, and the most courageous, but he died often because of his mortality." "Every time he died, his wife, the moon goddess, would go on a rampage and Yan Wang had to chase him out every time." Zhong Kui coughed and said, "As you might know, Yan Wang hates- "When people leave his realm?" Alex finished the sentence. "Exactly." "Zhong Kui, stop with that backstory, it''s embarrassing, and I''m an immortal now." Whenever Alex tried to speak to Hou Yi, thetter simply said, "I can''t speak to you, if you two turn out to be pleasant people, I won''t be able to eliminate you." Since they were together, they helped with the evacuation effort from the flood ins and saved some of the vigers. "Why were you so rash as to kill a court member in his own territory?" Hou Yi asked Hermes with a strange look on his face. "Exactly, we didn''t kill a ''court member''," Hermes replied with resolve. With the help of three more powerful gods, they saved most of the vigers. "Now then, prove to me that this ghost king exists." Truthfully, they didn''t know where to start. "Do you have a yin qi detection talisman?" Alex asked Hou Yi. The archer searched through his pockets and took out a golden piece of paper. They had to search manually for the ces with the highest concentration of yin qi. Alex flew out into the sky and began his survey. The talisman glowed a red color mostly everywhere due to the natural disaster, but there had to be exceptions and standout areas. "Bingo." The talisman in his hand shined with a blinding light, and if there was a ghost king who hadn''t abandoned his ghostly form like the imperial court member, he was likely to be here. Suddenly, his expression took a sour turn. He was over a hilly area, and it was likely here, but the talisman gradually lost its shine. As he moved slightly to the west, the talisman regained its brightness again. "The yin qi is...moving?" They did not encounter such an urrencest time. He looked around at anything that moved west around here. There wasn''t anything, except... "The clouds?" Alex found it unlikely, but he memorized the formation of the cloud around this area and went back to his group. Chapter 148 - A Divine Archer Never Misses Alex immediately went back to report his findings. "I think the ghost king might be in...the clouds," Alex proimed with a straight face.?? Hou Yi red at him and replied, "Of course he is." Hermes and Zhong Kui also stared at him incredulously and thetter asked, "How did youe to that conclusion?" "I found an area with a high concentration of yin qi, but it seemed to move westwards, and the only movement in that direction was in the cloud cover," Alex realized that this was strange, but he tried his best to exin his reasoning. "Hou Yi, let''s go on the dragon to verify this, we aren''t losing anything, are we?" "Other than my time and patience, no, you''re not losing anything," Hou Yi ultimately gave them the benefit of the doubt once again. The group of 4 climbed onto the dragon''s back, and Alex was the one taking care of the riding this time. Those specific clouds must have moved more west than earlier, yet that actually provided them with a good lead. The dragon followed that direction and flew right underneath the thick clouds. Soon enough, Alex perceived a simr cloud formation to the one from earlier. "Dragon, fly above the clouds, please!" The dragon followed his orders and pierced through the white mass of water vapor. Now, they were over the clouds. Putting aside the ghost king, they all appreciated the ethereal scenery. The area below them was a dense congregation of white clouds, while the sky above them was the clearest they could ever see it. However, in the midst of this idyllic location, lightning bolts suddenly zigzagged through the pearly clouds. "Doesn''t the air feel more humid than bef- A blinding lightning bolt made its way for Hou Yi. However, Alex redirected the bolt using Prometheus, and only felt a small brunt of the impact. Hou Yi stared at him with a bittersweet expression and said, "Thank you." "I think you have your proof, Hou Yi!" Zhong Kui pointed below them. From the clouds, humanoid water creatures flew towards them. Hou Yi harrumphed and took out an arrow from his quiver. "We''ll talkter, now, I''ll show you the might of the greatest archer." "But, Artemis isn''t here...." Hermes mockingly stated before he also got ready for battle. Only Alex understood his reference and burst out intoughter. Meanwhile, Hou Yi drew out his bowstring and swiftly ced an arrow on there. Strangely, the arrow gradually turned into a red color and began emitting vapor. "Observe the prowess of the archer who vanquished the fire demon!" The searing arrow pierced through the water ghosts and vaporized them. "Nice work," Alex praised his strength. "Wait, it''s not over," Hou Yi nted his eyes. The water vapor that escaped from the ghost slowly gathered again and formed into a gaseous form. The gas ghost flew at a breakneck speed towards them, and specifically towards Hou Yi. However, a spear was smoothly inserted into the gas body and when the red ruby of the spear touched the gas, the gas turned into ck smoke that floated away. "What a strong weapon...." Hou Yi''s eyes glued themselves to Prometheus. "Show me the might of an archer with my own weapon!" Alex smiled and passed him the weapon. Hou Yi did not understand, but as soon as his hands touched the spear, it began morphing again. The weapon of the god of humanity was an adaptive one, and in the grasp of an archer, it turned into a gorgeous curved longbow. "It''s beautiful..." Hou Yi felt emotional. Somehow, this was the weapon he always wanted to ask the forgers of the heavenly court to make for him. It felt like a piece of his own existence imprinted itself on the bow. With the bow, came a single arrow. The arrow had the characteristic red ruby in its tip and shined with a threatening light. Hou Yifortably stretched out the bowstring and skillfully ced the arrow in its ce. Then... *Whoosh* At a speed, unlike any other arrow he hadunched before, this one reached the water ghosts in less than a second, and... *BAM* *BAM* *BAM* A weapon was important, but the skills of the wielder were even more important. A single arrow easily pierced through seven water ghosts and immediately turned them into a cloud of ck smoke that disappeared into nothingness. Suddenly, the arrow returned to his hands. "Your weapon is a spectacr one." "No, you''re a good archer." Hou Yi appreciated the praise, and his smile stretched out from ear to ear. "With this bow, I''ll defeat this ghost king!" As he said that, all of the clouds around them started gathering at one point as if a ck hole sucked them in. When the scenery below them was entirely visible and distinct, the aforementioned clouds formed a humanoid figure. "I can''t believe it, three immortals and...Zhong Kui of the Underworld armies?!" The humanoid figure eximed. "That''s me." "I see what''s going on, you should be the people Guidi warned me about..." "You already went through the life-giving one and the traitor from the heavenly court?" At the mention of thatst person, Hou Yi''s body jerked. He turned to Alex, and said, "I''m sorry for doubting such great men as yourselves, as an apology, let me take care of this guy while you rx here!" Alex shrugged and said, "Do as you wish." "You think you can defeat me that easily?" A burst of high-pressure air flew towards them at hypersonic speed. However, a single arrow. A single arrow was all it took. The arrow shined a bright red color, and when Hou Yi released it, it passed through the jet of air with ease. The ghost king felt the threat and put up a water barrier around him. However, a divine archer was one that never missed, and the arrow pierced through all of the water, and into the body of the ghost king. Suddenly, an earth-shattering explosion took ce. The dragon roared in pain and flew back, whereas the group plugged their ears because the noise was too loud. All of the clouds that gathered to form the ghost king earlier expanded outwards in all directions. To the mortals, it seemed like it was raining again, yet, the rain was a deadly omen to the ones that escaped the floods. "That was my very full strength, I am now...exhausted," Hou Yiid down on the dragon''s back. Chapter 149 - To The East Sea Hou Yi copsed from fatigue, but that didn''t stop them from admiring his strength. In one swift shot, he obliterated the fearsome ghost king.?? Zhong Kui shed him a smile of pride, and proimed, "Now that he''s dead, it''s my turn to act." Suddenly, a thick chain appeared in his hands out of thin air, and thousands of cloaked figures riding on winged skeletal horses flew appeared below them. The demon hunter stood up, waved his hand, and sternly eximed, "Soldiers of the Underworld, gather all remnants of the ghost king''s soul!" The cloaked figures quickly moved around and did as he ordered them. In a few moments, they all gathered around a specific spot in the sky, and they all had sickles in their hands. "Alex, could you fly down there?" Zhong Kui politely requested him. Alex nodded and led the dragon to the gathering of the soldiers. In the center of this crowd, a misty humanoid figure flickered in and away from existence. The demon hunter threw the thick chain and coiled it around the silhouette. Then, a red slit appeared in the air, in which Zhong Kui swiftly threw the soul of the ghost king. "Should I establish a connection with Yan Wang, or not?" Zhong Kui turned to them. Alex nodded, "Yes, there are some questions I''d like to ask." The former approved, and the usual portal-like screen appeared in the air. Yan Wang had his eyes closed, and he was...yawning. "Yan Wang- "What do you want, Yudi!? I can beat you with my eyes closed and take the heavenly court!" Yan Wang eximed in response. It looked like he was dreaming. Hermes and Alex chuckled in a corner while a grimace appeared on the demon hunter''s face. "Yan Wang, it''s Zhong Kui..." "Zhong Kui? I finally found an excuse to throw that troublemaker out of this ce...." "Did you?" A scary smile gradually emerged on thetter''s terrifying face. Then, Yan Wang opened his eyes and interlocked stares with his underling. "It''s you, Zhong Kui! What a pleasure to see themander of my well-trained armies!" His current words did not reflect his attitude in the dreand. "It''s such a pleasure to see you too, Yan Wang...Hahaha..." "Seeing as you''ve taken the time to call upon your saddened king, I presume you''ve defeated another ghost king?" Alex interjected, "We didn''t. This guy did." He pointed at the sleeping Hou Yi. Yan Wang followed his fingers, and then his eyes bulged outwards of his strangely-shaped skull. "Why is that demon with you, Zhong Kui?!" Zhong Kui cleared his throat and answered, "He''s taken the peach of immortality, so his wife isn''t going to pester us anymore!" An idental sigh of relief escaped from the Underworld King''s mouth, clearly showing his apprehension and frustration with the archer. As if his archer''s intuition kicked in, Hou Yi opened his eyes and stood up. "Yan Wang? Nice to see you again, I''ve missed the Underworld," Hou Yi chuckled and mocked the scary king. Yan Wang held out the Book of Life and Death and opened it to a particr page. There were many names on the page, but there was a gap between two names. "And I was wondering why your name didn''t show up anymore in the book, what a relief." The two continued exchanging mockeries, but they had to move on soon, hence they halted their meaningless discourse. Yan Wang looked at Alex, and said, "I''m not sure I can give you the reward, three of the ghost kings have been eliminated by other peo- "I''ll let Alexei-boy take credit for my victories," Hermes smiled and unexpectedly gave up on his achievement. Hou Yi stared at the gorgeous longbow in his hand, and also intervened, "I think I''ll relinquish my victory too." "Thanks to this amazing weapon, I know what I''llmission from the divine cksmiths in the future." Yan Wang was surprised by this oue, and said, "Well then, I shall store this ursed peach of immortality for a bit longer." "Yan Wang?" Alex was curious. "Hmm?" "Is there anything we should keep in mind while visiting Longwang?" Yan Wang contemted for exactly a dozen seconds, and replied, "He has an extremely short temper and is also very stubborn, but his senses of justice and morality are strong, so he is a trustworthy individual." ''That''s useful to know,'' Alex thanked him and they all prepared to leave, but... "However." "Be careful not to touch upon his reverse scale, both metaphorically and literally." "He will loathe you if you mistreat any animals, as he is the king of beasts." "From the lowly piglet to the divine phoenix, and, avoid eating any meat in front of him." ''Oof, he almost left out the most important piece of information,'' Alex listened attentively. Alex did not think it was a problem, however, as he treated all animals fairly. When Yan Wang finished his exnation, the screen slowly dissipated into light particles. "Shall we go?" Alex caressed the dragon. The divine beast roared and left off for the sky. Below them, the flooding rivers were receding into their ordinary states, and though it fully exposed the hordes of damaged farnd, there was at the very least, no more danger to the mortals. Alex felt a finger jabbing at his back. Turning around, he saw it was Hou Yi. The archer gave him back Prometheus, and said, "I apologize that my word wouldn''t be enough to get amnesty for you in the imperial court." ''He''s a good man,'' Alex smiled and told him not to worry about it. As he focused back on the ride, he noticed that the dragon had gotten more agitated. "What''s wrong, buddy?" Alex rubbed the dragon''s head. It made an earth-shattering roar and brusquely halted in mid-air. "Is everything alright?" Hermes asked him. Alex frowned and immediately established a Link connection with the dragon. After a short interaction with the creature, Alex understood why it was so nervous. "The dragon''s wife lives nearby, he wishes to go back there." Alex telepathically told the dragon, "Follow the direction back to your home, you''ve done a great job." The dragon pped its wings and changed the direction of its flight. It led them to a lush forest, and above a gargantuan ravine, it began roaring. The roar echoed out throughout the surroundings, and from the ravine, a loud chirping sound emerged. Fire was spreading out of the ravine, and suddenly, a gigantic bird flew out. The group was amazed at its appearance. "So this is a Fenghuang...?" It had three colorful peacock tails and a blue-feathered torso. Its wings and head, however, shone with a red-yellow gradient, and searing mes ignited every time it pped its wings. "Let''s get off!" Alex and the group jumped out of the dragon. The dragon and the Fenghuang approached each other, and their bodies coiled together. This was a divine couple of the phoenix and the dragon. "Amazing," Hou Yi listlessly stated. The cacophony of the two fused into an amazing melody, and they soon flew out into the wider world. "The beauty of our fauna is one thing I miss about the mortal world," Zhong Kui reminisced. Alex nodded and took out their much more underwhelming, but solid mode of transportation. "It''s been a while, chariot." Chapter 150 - In The Ministry The orange chariot was slower and less conspicuous than the dragon, but it vastly exceeded average methods of transportation. As they rode the sturdy chariot, they reached the extents ofnd very soon.?? In front of them, the vast waters of the East Sea extended towards the horizon. Unfortunately, it was nighttime, and they could not make use of the sun chariot anymore. Theynded on the outskirts of the port city, Qiantang, and discussed their next move. "I''m pretty sure we shouldn''t enter the city, asmon people''s billboards often have paintings of wanted criminals on them." "I can disguise myself, but the same can''t be said for Hermes," Alex frowned. However, Hermes proposed an idea. "I''d say, you three go on to the port on foot, and I''ll catch up to you by flight so I can avoid detection." Hou Yi approved of the idea, and added, "The most important factor is to make sure the heavenly court can''t trace your steps, so you just need to not ever be seen." "I have a sailor acquaintance in this city, I think she''d dly help us sail to the ministry safely," This time, Zhong Kui was the one speaking. ''It''s decided, then.'' They would visit this acquaintance of his and get on a boat, sail out into the sea, and then, Hermes would catch up to them. __________ "Goddess Mazu has blessed us with a plentiful harvest of plump and delicious fish this season, don''t miss out on the best deals!" "I have better fish!" Fishermen set up vending stalls andpeted to attract the attention of the numerous passerby''s. The atmosphere of this port city was lively, and the smell of grilled fish permeated throughout their nose and caused the demon hunter to drool. "Do they not feed you in the Underworld?" "Alex, Alex, you can''t imagine how psychologically demanding it is to eat a diet of only rice porridge..." "Can you even eat mortal''s food?" "No." "..." As the three(two) walked by, they attracted the attention of the residents. More specifically, Alex was the one who attracted their attention. As he incarnated into Aphrodite, not only did he look foreign, but he was also...devilishly handsome. Both women and men stared at his every move. "Crista, sorry for I have sinned," Alex muttered a strange prayer in Koine Greek. He purposely sped up and the group followed behind him. "Has a western prince graced us with his heavenly presence?" A merchant approached him. He owned a vending stall selling counterfeit jewelry and goods and clearly wished to scam the foreign-looking Alex. Alex was rather annoyed and in the eyes of the man, he turned himself into an ugly monster. The merchant screamed and backed down. "Let''s speed up, I hate this form." Zhong Kui gloated at his suffering, but they approved and augmented their pace. -A short whileter- They were in front of a beach and awaiting the ''acquaintance''s arrival. The moonlit waves rolled over the white sand, while anchored rafts and boats rocked around a tall pier. Suddenly, a short woman approached them. She had an average appearance, and the sleeves of her robe were rolled in order to facilitate movement. "It''s been a while, Zhong Kui." "You two, Mazu, I see you''ve reached the peak of Golden Immortality." "..." ''Mazu? Golden Immortality? Isn''t this the ''goddess'' the fishermen spoke of?'' Alex examined the ordinary facial features of the woman. Deities were usually handsome, and exceptions were rare and few in between, except when it swung towards the other extreme, like Zhong Kui. But this woman just looked...rather average. ''Don''t judge a book by its cover, Alex.'' "You have good eyes, friend." "May I ask, why have you made a visit after centuries of absence?" Mazu smiled cunningly at Zhong Kui. Zhong Kui rubbed his head and said, "I think we need your help to cross the Celestial Moat...." "You came to ask about the health and state of your dear friend, Mazu, is that i- Mazu''s expression became sour, and she turned around, and weakly said, "Follow me...." She led them to a medium-sized paddle raft on the deeper end of the pier and said, "I''ll owe you one, Zhong Kui, I hope you remember all the favors I''ve done for you." "Y-yes, of c-course..." "Who is she?" Alex whispered to Hou Yi. "The goddess of the seas, Mazu, she is known to inhabit this city, and lead life like a mortal woman, despite having a strength equal to Longwang and the very highest underlings of the Jade Emperor." Alex made sure to double-check the woman that was slowly paddling the raft with Zhong Kui. ''What a crouching tiger.'' "Zhong Kui?" Alex called the demon hunter. It seemed like thetter was waiting for a chance to escape, as he stepped back. "Y-yes?" "What''s the Celestial Moat?" "It''s a perimeter with highest-grade aerial and naval defense, and it is impossible to prate without an extremely high level of martial prowess or the powers of the s-s-sea goddess..." *BOOM* A huge ssh urred in the water next to them. Unexpectedly, a wet bird rose up from the water. At second nce, it wasn''t a bird, but none other than...Hermes. Mazu grimaced and said, "I moved the raft because I thought that was a bird..." Hermes coughed up water and climbed into the boat. "Why are you looking at me like that, Alexei-boy?" "Nothing, Hermes." "Stop bickering, we''re entering the Celestial Moat," Mazu frowned and paddled at a faster speed. "What Celestial Moa- The area of sea around them waspletely still, but beyond that, the waves were so intense and high, the only thing Alex recalled was the fight between Poseidon and Athena. In the sky, countless phoenixes stared at their every move. Fortunately, Mazu waved her hand, and they stood still. "You have gotten even more powerful than before, Mazu," Zhong Kui ttered her. Mazu harrumphed and resumed her paddling. They crossed this renowned Celestial Moat like it was a kiddy pool. Soon enough, fourrge temples emerged into their sight. The temples had different color schemes, but themon trait they all shared was their immense size. "The central one is the temple where Longwang lives, get ready to anchor the raft." "I wonder why THE Mazu has entered into my realm," In the distance, a giant man swung an even more gigantic Guandao in their direction. The swing produced a sharp-looking light that bolted at them at breakneck speed. "Don''t get cocky, the entire ocean is my domain." A mound of water rose up and countered the sword sh. The goddess of the seas, against the king of beasts, who was the strongest of these two strong individuals? Chapter 151 - Longwang The sword ray came into contact with the mound of water, and... *BOOM*?? Water sshed by everywhere, and from the epicenter of the attack, tall waves started rolling outwards towards them. However, with one swift motion from Mazu, the waves immediately ttened and the water became deathly silent. The giantughed and remarked, "If we fought, we''d be here for all eternity." Mazu''s water was the perfect defense, whereas the giant''s attacks were the perfect offense. "Longwang, you have some guests," Mazu rolled her eyes. Longwang looked at the group and said, "Youe by uninvited every time." The two interlocked res, but ultimately, Longwang relented and with a single swing of his arm, a colossal staircase rose from the water. "Get up, I''ll greet you in the meeting hall," The giant flew away. ''That was intense,'' Alex sighed in relief that the man was not hostile to them. Mazu turned to Zhong Kui, and said, "I''m not in the mood to talk to that man, I''ll wait for you here, so make it quick." Zhong Kui frantically nodded and climbed down the raft. The staircase was extremely steep and tall, and only further exhibited the influence and prowess of the organization that the man from earlier ruled over. In the distance, the four temples that stood over the raging seas were a solid testament to the above-and-beyond factor of the immortals. Alex and the bunch swiftly went up the stairs. The main temple seemed to be the red-and-ck one, which was also thergest of the four. At the very top of the staircase, they found themselves in front of the entrance to the aforementioned temple. Even the guards to the temple were divine dragons, and they followed every single movement of the group with their supersized eyes. Suddenly, arge turtle with a ck shell approached them. ''They''re quite fast for a tortoise,'' Alexmented on the turtle''s speed. Suddenly, the turtle''s body shone a brilliant light. When it dimmed down, there was a woman in its stead. She wore full-body ck terracotta armor and a round shield hung on her back. She had East Asian facial features, and the woman put her hair up in a bun. "I''m Xuanwu(ck Tortoise), It is a pleasure to meet you," The woman introduced herself. Zhong Kui stepped in front of them and politely said, "Lady Xuanwu, we are here for an attendance with Lord Longwang." The woman didn''t have any reaction to Zhong Kui''s unusual face, and instead, she nodded and said, "Let me lead you to his meeting hall." The four followed behind her and observed the temple and living facilities of the king of beasts. There was a pleasant woody smell in the air that rxed the senses and the body. ''Sandalwood? Cinnamon?'' Alex wafted the fragrance and tried to distinguish its constituents. The decorations inside the temple were gorgeous, including precious jade vases, paintings, and murals in the traditional way, and a consistent color palette. ''This man has good taste...'' Alex thought to himself. The lower floor wasposed of a crossroad-like shape with arge hall in the center. Xuanwu led them through one of the four corridors, and up a staircase. __________ -30 minutester- "Hmm, isn''t this ce quite big, Alexei-boy?" Hermes frowned and whispered. Alex agreed. They had been walking around and climbing up staircases for at least half an hour, and it was getting rather exhausting. Hou Yi eavesdropped, and stated, "I think it''s a purposeful choice." "Why so?" "The gargantuan facility basically unts his dominance over guests perpetually, and the act of making us climb so much in order to visit him at the very top is an attempt at establishing that he is the very master of this domain and that we arepletely subject to his whims, even through impractical architectural means." ''That makes sense,'' Alex nodded. As they were speaking, Xuanwu halted in front of arge sliding door. "We are here, I''ll let you go on from here on." "Thank you for your escort." Zhong Kui knocked on the sliding door. There was clearly a lot of noise from the other side, but they didn''t reply. Then, a few dozen secondster, Longwang eximed, "Come in!" Hou Yi stared at Alex with a peculiar expression. ''Making us wait seems to be another one of his diplomatic tactics,'' Alex pondered. Surprisingly, the insides weren''t very luxurious, but it wasfortable and low-key. A low-lying table was in the center of the room, and pillows for sitting were put over the table. Alex got a closer look at Longwang. The man was extremely tall and muscr, and red-and-ck armor covered his body, while a greatsword hung at his waist. His eyebrows were thick and angled, beaming with determination, and his fiery eyes unted confidence. The man had long ck hair that fell down to the ground, like the well-trimmed mane of a lion. Strangely, he was eating a variety of...pearls and gems. "Wee to the Ministry of Waters." Longwang didn''t stand up to greet them, and instead waited for them to greet him. Zhong Kui and the others gave him a very slight bow, which vexed him slightly. "What brings you here?" Alex stepped up and said, "We are here to request the assistance of Sir Longwang." Alex was very careful in the honorifics he used. He couldn''t use ''Lord'', which established him as inferior, or no honorific, which might anger the man. Instead, he simply called thetter ''Sir'', which was respectful and established a proper sense of distance. "I see you are all quite the powerful Immortals, and the man right there with the bow, you should be Hou Yi?" Hou Yi''s body jerked, and he replied, "Yes!" "Some of my underlingsin that you hunt their kin...Hahahahaha...I''ll forgive it, as you seem to be a straightforward man..." Longwang gave the archer an enigmatic nce. Suddenly, someone knocked at the door. "Lord Longwang, a phoenix of the west requests a safe space for the first rebirth of her children." Longwang nodded and eximed, "Invite her in!" The sliding door opened, and a fiery bird came through. The fiery bird had five small chicken-like birds on its back, and slowly approached them. Alex frowned. He wasn''t sure of it, but the bird and her children looked eerily simr to the ones he met in Western Qin on his first expedition.... Chapter 152 - A New Goal! The phoenix bowed her entire body to Longwang. The divine creature chirped like a small bird in front of the king of beasts.?? Longwang listened to her chirps, and replied, "You want to use an uninhabited ind in the East Seas as the location for their first rebirth?" The small ''chicks'' on her back clucked. The phoenix chirped in response. Longwang said, "Go ahead, do you want me to send an emissary over as an extra protection measure?" The phoenix seemed to shake its head. However, as it rose to leave, it suddenly became agitated. This change urred in a fraction of a second when it saw Alex. Longwang frowned and asked it, "What''s wrong? Did this young man ever do anything wrong to your kin?" The phoenix shook its body and chirped in an iprehensiblenguage. Longwang nodded and stared at Alex with an enigmatic expression. Alex was scared of the oue of this exchange, but unexpectedly, Longwang smiled, and remarked, "You wanted to ask for my assistance? Speak freely..." The change in attitude was extremely noticeable, and the rest of the group all wondered what Alex had done. He somewhat understood what had happened, and found it joyful that he had been so fortunate. Yan Wang had mentioned that Longwang favored those who treated its underlings well, and since he recovered that phoenix''s child, it remembered his favor and spoke of it to the king of beasts. This was the best oue for them. Alex smiled and exined their predicament. "We have been embroiled in a misunderstanding with the heavenly court, and need the backing of an equally powerful faction such as yours to clear up the misunderstanding." Longwang frowned, though he inquired, "Go into detail." "We met with a....." Alex recounted every single detail of their misfortunate encounter. Longwang''s facial expressions eased up, and he asionally bit through some of the precious gems on his tter. "I understand, and seeing as an important ally of the heavenly court and themander of the underworld armies both support your ims, you need another credible testimonial?" Longwang softly asked him. "Yes..." "However, what makes you think words will convince an emperor without any solid evidence?" Longwang gave him a sharp stare. Alex gulped. "I- "If that were really the case, couldn''t the entire heavenly court start doubting the decrees of Yudi on basis of their status and initiate a coup?" Though, Longwang quietly muttered, "Not that a coup would work anyways with those two monarchs..." ''He''s right....'' Longwang continued, "The story is actually unreasonable, no diplomat in their right mind would murder a heavenly court member, so I don''t even think the Jade Emperor believes in the truthfulness of the story." "However." "For reputation reasons, the emperor chose you two as a scapegoat to demonstrate the prowess of the heavenly court." "Don''t get me wrong, as a monarch, that is the only right decision he could have done to maintain the face and domination of his organization." ''It seems like solving this is going to be moreplicated than I previously thought...'' Alex frowned and clenched his fists. As he fell into a meaningless string of thoughts, Hou Yi took him out of this unhealthy trance. "As far as I know, there is one person that Yudi would listen to without hesitation..." Longwang harrumphed, and replied, "He''s been gone for almost half a century." Then, he faced Alex, and stated in a joking tone, "Unless you can bring back Esteemed Lao Zi, I don''t think there is any way for you to proceed with the negotiations safely." In the burst of the moment, Alex took out two stone tablets. "I think I can find Lao Zi." *BAM* Longwang''s fist destroyed the table, and a crack appeared on the floor. "You''re telling me that YOU can find him even when the entire forces of Qin have not found him after half a century?! Please tell me you''re joking!" Alex forgot that this man had a reputable short temper. "Read this, Sir Longwang," Alex passed him the two stone tablets. Longwang breathed heavily, but he gently took the tablets from him and began reading. As he attentively read through the two tablets, his expression took a few turns. When he was done with it, his anger retreated and was reced by a poker face. "I suppose, this is what gives you the confidence to say that you can find him?" "Yes!" Alex was scared of the man''s sharp and fickle psyche, but he replied with resolve. "Hahahahaahahahaha...!" "Xuanwu!" Longwang called the ck Tortoise. The woman from earlier opened the sliding door and entered. "Yes, Lord Longwang?" "Send over a decree to the heavenly court immediately." Xuanxu''s eyes widened, but she calmly asked, "The contents, Lord?" "The two foreign ''criminals'' are under my protection for a month!" Longwang had a smile of pure excitement on his handsome face. Alex''s jaw remained wide open. Zhong Kui whispered to him, "He''s giving you one month to find Lao Zi, or it will all be over." The stakes were higher than ever, but he was excited. Alex turned to Hermes. "Hermes, are you ready?" "Absolutely so, Alexei-boy!" Hermes bit his lips. "Alright now, I want time to meditate, I want everyone to leave my domain!" Longwang roared. The group happily ran out of the temple and went back to Mazu. "Did it go well?" "Excellently so, Mazu!" Zhong Kui eximed. Hou Yi suddenly asked, "Can Ie with you three?" "Of course!" With that, a great tale was about to spin itself. A groupposed of two foreign gods, themander of the underworld armies, and the greatest archer were going to move together, in order to unearth the mystery behind the disappearance of the father of Cultivation and Daoism, Lao Zi! _________ -Back in Longwang''s Temple- Xuanwu politely inquired, "Lord, isn''t one month rather short?" "Xuanwu?" "Yes?" "Do you know that feeling you get when you''re still young and irresponsible? When you know you''re making a bad or unreasonable decision, but you make it anyways?" "I am quite familiar with that sentiment, Lord." "Well." "I somehow had a feeling that...in spite of all odds, they might seed..." "I trust your intuition, Lord." Chapter 153 - A Tipping Point -Changbai Mountains- In the elusivekeside residence of the ghost emperor, thetter was currently in a hot spring.?? The calm demeanor of the handsome concealed his wickedness and absolute hatred perfectly. However, beneath this facade, a bubbling pot of emotions simmered and gradually threatened to overflow. ''The Ministry of Water, The Underworld, and The Heavenly Court.'' ''The one that rules over the three rules over Qin.'' Such outrageous thought stirred in his head. The ghost emperor was a man who feared no retribution and had unbound confidence that backed up his ambitions. Suddenly, a woman listlessly walked into the hot springs. Her face had hopelessness written all over it. Once, she was an aspiring and young cultivator, protected by her mother, who ruled over all men and women of Qin. Her constitution was rather unique and allowed her to quickly reach a prodigious level of proficiency in her Daoist studies. However, this very same blessing turned out to be a curse. One inconspicuous evening, a trustworthy heavenly court member that her parents favored offered to take her to a mortal city, that elusive ce where themon people went about their life. She trusted the man, and in her delusional desires, she followed him. Instead of taking her to the urban sprawl of the mortal world, an unknown assant assaulted her and managed to make her lose her consciousness with his incredible strength. When she woke up, she was in the ghost emperor''s pce, and she had to ept a new, drastically different lifestyle. The ghost emperor was a man who exploited her constitution and incredible fertility and refined machines of evil out of their offspring. For three decades, she bore with this life and hoped that her mother would find her. Unfortunately, that never happened. Lately, an unknown man had been rampaging the ghost kings and even managed to vanquish four of them, and this gave her newfound hope. Though, she had to conceal it. The ghost emperor was a man who hated hope, and if he saw her garnering a single doubt of hisplete dominion, she would suffer for it, as she did when he broke her cultivation base. "Guidi, four ghost kings have died." The ghost emperor frowned, but his expression soon eased, and he grimaced instead. "Send over a transmission for the rest toe back to Manchuria." "I wanted to advance back into Jade Immortality in more optimal conditions, but it seems I have to speed up my ns." "Prepare the underground meditation cave." ___________ -Heavenly court, in the clouds over the sacred kingdom- The Jade Emperor(Yudi) was currently in his abode, eating a simple meal. The meal looked like a mundane kelp soup, but in reality, the very best culinary experts prepared it, and even a single taste of it would extend the lifespan of a mortal. Nheless, the emperor ate it with a nonchnt expression. Xiwangmu was opposite of him and was enjoying a cup of tea. "Yudi?" "Hmm?" "Amaterasu of the Shinto inds has sent us a few gifts for the autumn equinox." Yudi raised his head, and said, "What are they?" "A sun-jade tea set," Xiwangmu took out a jade tray. This jade was a variety of white jade that bathed for a century under the divine sunlight of the goddess of the sun, Amaterasu. Instead of pure white color, it had a delightfully gorgeous gradient of white, beige, and orange. Yudi examined the tea set, and a smile emerged on his face. "We should send over something too, let some of the attendants decide." Xiwangmo nodded, but she suddenly interjected, "Speaking of attendants, I''ve been stalling for a piece of news to reach your ears, as it seems it won''t serve your temperament too much." "Very few things upset a man of my stature." "Alright." "We have received a decree from The Ministry of Waters, and Longwang personally ced the two foreign criminals under his protection for a mont- *Boom!* A lightning bolt crashed on the roof of their residence, and the earth-shattering thunder followed soon after. The Jade Emperor stood up. "I was wrong, some things can still get under my skin." "I feel like you should grant them pardon, Yudi," Xiwangmu advised her husband. The emperor''s wrath was never a good thing. "No criminal shall escape without serving his time!" Xiwangmu chuckled and asked, "I don''t think that is what bothers you, this is more personal, isn''t it?" "You really liked that heavenly courtier, and his death maddened you," She understood her husband very well. The Jade Emperor stayed silent and left the residence. ___________ Alex, Hermes, Hou Yi, and Zhong Kui all left the Celestial Moat and found their way back to the maind. They were very joyful about their overwhelming sess in the negotiations, and they now had a month of protection from the heavenly court. "We still haven''t figured out how to find the tablets, however." Alex and Hermes were still equally clueless, and were simply going to search far and wide, and hope for the best. However, Hou Yi had an idea. "We should issue out a search warrant, and promise payment to those who find the rest of the tablets." Hermes hesitantly nodded, but he replied, "How will we do that?" "I can ask Nezha, we''re on friendly terms and in the mortal world, he has followers all around thend," Hou Yi smiled. "The fish in this region is really quite pleasant-tasting..." An unfamiliar voice rang out amidst their enthusiastic discussion. Hou Yi turned around, and when he saw the owner, his face went nk. Loose yellow robes, an extremely tall stature, and a handsome middle-aged face. "I wouldn''t have believed that Hou Yi would co-operate with criminals," The man chuckled. "As for Zhong Kui, it''s much more understandable considering his superior." "Alex! Hermes! Immediately escap-" Hou Yi eximed. The two obliged and turned around. However... "Not so quick!" "I can''t kill you, nor can I imprison you during this month, but there is something else I can do!" "Don''t think I''m some senile old man!" The tall man first caught up with Hermes. A strange, hazy light glowed around his palm, and that same palm made contact with Hermes'' shoulders. "Palm Of The Immortal Tortoise!" The attack''s name was grandiose, but its effects were less so. Hermes simply disappeared from his position. Alex listlessly stared at this, but before he could even react, the palm that made Hermes disappear was in front of his face. Suddenly, his body was sent flying into the air. Even as Alex tried to slow down his trajectory with his wings, to his horror, he found out that he simply... Could not! And thus, his body flew through the air in the opposite direction to Hermes at a speed greater than sound... Chapter 154 - Needing To Reunite A cold wind whistled along Alex''s eyshes. The sound of moving water woke him up, and he sluggishly stood up and looked around.?? He instantly recalled his situation and frantically stood up. ''A strong man came by andunched us into the sky...'' He looked around and observed his surroundings. This wasn''t any ce he recognized. It was a small, straw hut, and the foundations underneath seemed to be... ''Mangroves?'' This was a strange architectural choice in his opinion. "Binh, the visit to the doctor has made our financial situation even harder, I''m not sure it was worth it..." Alex heard an unfamiliar female voice from outside the small doors of the hut. A man replied, "Chau-em, one day, the goddess of fortune shall pay out her karmic debts to us, what if the man drowned in the river and died?" "You''re right...." Alex slowly approached the door, and unexpectedly, the two beyond it opened the door. The two seemed to be spouses, and they had an average appearance. They held a heavy bucket, and inside of it, plenty of big and small fish bounced around, searching hopelessly for the nearest source of water. The man was stunned to see him and fervently eximed, "Are you okay?" "I''m very well okay, but, where is this?" Alex was confused. This time, the shorter woman replied, "We''re on the outskirts of Mekong." "Chau-em, he drifted off along the delta, he might not know of this ce." Surprisingly, Alex vaguely knew of the name. The Mekong was the name of arge delta in Southeast Asia. It hosted impressing fishing and trading ports back in the modern world. However, that was the least of his concerns now, and one problem arose. If this was the Mekong Delta he knew of, then he was in... "Vietnam?!" Alex eximed, and his eyes widened. He frantically left the hut and looked at their surroundings. Unexpectedly, the entire structure was built on a raging river. ''That exins the sounds...'' There were many such structures around, and they were connected by small canals. However, beyond the unusual architecture, the biggest indicator of his different location was the climate. Lush and dense forestry expanded ind, and strange and diverse animal species roamed around. This was not all close to the mild climate of Qiantang and the coast of the East Sea, but a full-on rainforest tropical climate. As he breathed heavily and repeatedly looked at thisndscape, he felt a hand on his shoulders. "It seems you are still feeling agitated,e in." This was the man from earlier. "What happened? I don''t remembering here..." Alex confusingly asked the man. In the depths of his mind, terror crept up. The yellow-robed man that suddenly appeared during their celebration... He was so strong that a single palm of his sent Alex flying thousands of kilometers away. ''I wonder where Hermes is,'' Since they were thrown off in opposite directions, Hermes was probably thousands of kilometers in the north. The man''s words brought him out of his contemtive state. "While fishing, we found your body drifting along strong currents, and brought you here, fortunately, the doctor informed us that you were in a perfectly healthy state." At the mention of ''doctor'', Alex remembered the conversation he eavesdropped on earlier. Looking around, their living amenities were very rough and minimal. It seemed that they were a poor couple that relied on fishing along the rivers to make a living. ''Yet, they still took me to a doctor,'' Alex was surprised that someone could be so selfless for a stranger. While the man turned around and led him into the hut, Alex sneakily blessed him. Following that, he also blessed his wife. Since he didn''t inform them of it, they wouldn''t notice the effects immediately, but over time, they would reap its benefits. ''I wonder what happened to Hou Yi and Zhong Kui..?'' Alex was sent flying into the air before those two. They were very kind and excitingpanions, hence he couldn''t bear it if he brought them trouble. As he pretended that he was still fatigued andid down on the straw bed, he realized what he needed to do most urgently. He had to reunite with Hermes and hispanions, and find the rest of the tablets before the end of the one-month protection Longwang kindly gave them. Fortunately, he still held tightly to his most important possessions. ''Prometheus, the two tablets, Essence, the Spear of Victory and the letter.'' ___________ -Far away from Qin- North of Shiwei, only a deste wastnd met the unfortunate travelers who lost their sense of direction. This was a ce of eternal snow and cold, a ce where only a few tribes dared to consider permanent settlement, and even animals suffered during its harsh winters. Even though it was only the middle of autumn, an icy storm took thend by surprise, and the sharp ice shards covered the sky and the earth so densely no one could see their hands in front of them. In such a hostilend, a man''s body was submerged upside down into the snow. Thick-furred wolves surrounded the body and began biting it, thinking it was free food when suddenly, the exposed legs shook profusely and cleared off the snow. Then, two arms rose up from the thickyer of snow, and these arms pushed on thend, uprooting the rest of the man''s body. "Where am I?" The man had wings on his back, and his skimpy clothing clearly wasn''t adapted to the cold. This was Hermes. Unlike Alex, who was thrown off thousands of kilometers in the southwest, Hermes'' body flew in the northeast direction, and he was in the deepest corners of Siberia. Near his position, an icy sea separated Asia and the unknown continent of America. "It''s quite chilly, isn''t it?" Hermes smiled at the terrified wolves. "I guess we met a powerhouse." "The only time I witnessed strength of that level was when I returned from Hecate''s ce after three years and found Father wrathful..." Hermes reminisced about the past and chuckled. "I need to find Alexei-boy now...where do I start?" He observed the snowyndscape, and with his divinely perceptive vision, even he could see that there wasn''t even a tree in a long perimeter around him. Chapter 155 - Concurrent Plans Three realmsposed thend of Qin. The terrestrial realm, ruled by The Jade Emperor. The seas, ruled by Longwang. And, the Underworld, ruled by Yan Wang and his direct underlings. In thetter one, the king of the underworld was currently in his courthouse, where he judged the actions of deceased mortals, and decided whichyer of the underworld to send them to. However, the usually crowded queue of the courthouse was empty, and only Yan Wang and another man were inside this facility. This man had a scary appearance, and heavy armor covered his tall stature. This was Zhong Kui, themander of the armies of the underworld. Themander and demon hunter seemed to be deep in thought, as he stood silently and faced his king. "Yudi attacked your group?" "Yes, my king." Yan Wang folded his arms and sighed, "I didn''t expect him to do this, it seems he has personal reasons to do so." "On that topic...." Zhong Kui wanted to say something. "I think he still holds a grudge over us, and that is why he immediately went on the offensive." Yan Wang''s red eyes bulged in and out repeatedly, and he shouted, "For Lao Zi''s sake! I''ve confirmed repeatedly that his wife''s daughter is not in the Underworld!" However, the king calmed down, and he weakly said, "What are you going to do, Zhong Kui?" Zhong Kui shook his head and replied, "Yudi probably threw them off far away, we won''t be able to meet for a long time." "..." ___________ -Mekong River, Nam Viet- Alex sat on the front porch of the riverside hut and ced his feet in the cold and murky waters. He needed to move very soon, but he didn''t have any sense of direction. Unfortunately, the kind homeowners were people who had only seen the nearby area for all their life, and they didn''t know of anynd to the ''northeast''. Right now, they went fishing near the coast. Suddenly, Alex caught sight of two rafts approaching the hut alongside each other. The man, Binh, and the woman, Chau, waved to him and anchored their rafts on a small pier nearby. Compared to the previous time, they had two heavy buckets full of fish. ''It seems they''ve had a plentiful harvest...'' Alex smiled, feeling happy at their fortune. They were whispering something, but Alex heard it very clearly. "I told you the goddess of fortune would bless us one day, Chau-em." "It seems you were right, Binh..." These ''benefactors'' of his were living on humble means, but they weren''t stingy people, and, if anything, they were overly generous. "Alex, we have had a great harvest today, we''ll make you the fullest meal to nourish you back to full health!" The two eximed. Alex felt his heart ache. ''They''re too kind!'' He stood up, and he said, "I''ll take care of the food!" The couple refused, but he insisted to cook for them. "You have had a great harvest, I''ll show you how to fully make use of it and preserve the fish!" Alex was going to show them a technique he knew from both the modern world and Abdera. He took a straw bucket, and then, ced ayer of salt on it. Fortunately, since the area of the delta where they lived was rather close to the sea, shortages of salt were not problems they faced. Over theyer of salt, he put down ayer of small fish. Binh and Chau stared at him incredulously. Then, he took some readily avable spices and added them as a thirdyer. Following that, he repeated this threeyer juxtaposition until the straw bucket waspletely full. In a few months, the fish would havepletely dissolved along with the spices, and they would be left with a delicious, salty, and nutritious fish sauce. "Wait a few months, and then sieve the end product to remove rough bits, and use the finished product on food," Alex proudly spoke. The two did not understand what he was saying, but they trusted him. After that, he prepared their actual meal. It was also simple. Over a charcoal fire, he cooked therger fish until the insides were soft and tender, whereas the skin was crispy and savory. While it was cooking, the oils from the fish dripped down on a tempered y pot that was over the fire. When it cooled down, he added a small amount of rice to the oil and ignited the fire once again. A toasted smell of rice and fish spread through the air and triggered the appetite of the couple. Alex added enough water to cook the rice, and covered the rustic pot. It cooked very quickly, and the cooked rice was a golden color due to pre-cooking in the fish oil. It only needed simple seasoning, and he served the meal and called the couple over. The interior of the hut was full of steam and appetite-inducing fragrance. The two drooled and immediately dug in. "This is very good..." "Yes..." Suddenly, an ominous knock on the door interrupted their meal. "Residents of the Mekong riverside, Binh and Chau, we are here to collect the weekly yield." ____________ -Northeastern Siberia- "This is the hungriest I''ve ever felt..." Hermes observed the barren surroundings andmented. The snowstorm had fortunately stopped, but there was simply no vegetation or even shrubbery in this ce. The only living creatures around were the wolves. "These wolves are quite stupid," Hermes had the tendency to speak to himself whenever he was alone. The wolves looked at his shivering, feathery wings and tried to bite them off. They thought he was a tasty bird. On the flip side, in his hunger-induced mania, Hermes thought that there was something else delicious that was around. "No...I can''t...Artemis loves wolves..." "But I''m so hungry...and there''s no warm water to make some tea..." Usually, Alex could heat up his stone teacup to brew tea, but he wasn''t here. Thus, Hermes felt an iing dilemma. He could either starve and remain starving forever since he could not die. Or, he could eat the wolves, which seemed like an unpleasant idea. Chapter 156 - Entirely Different Situations Ultimately, Hermes decided to restrain his hunger and weakly flew around the barren wastnd. Since the sky was now clear, he could finally find out where he was. ''It should still be somewhere around here,'' Hermes sifted through his belongings and felt a hard and intricate object in his hand. "I told you I''d take care of it, Sophus." This was the wooden sextant Sophus gave him as a gift hundreds of years ago. It always helped him enormously in unfavorable situations, akin to his current predicament. The sextant was a tool that navigators used to calcte theirtitude rtive to the equator. Hermes put the lens of the wooden sextant to one of his eyes and calibrated the tool. Then, he made the proper calctions of the sun''s angle and elevation above the horizon. Over the years, he mastered these calctions, and could now perform them mentally. As he came to his final result, a soft gasp escaped from his mouth. "I''m this far north?" It was obvious that he was far from Qiantang and the East Sea only by observing the climate, but he didn''t realize that man sted them so far away. "I wonder how Alexei-boy''s doing?" Hermes'' mood dampened down due to this conclusion. On top of that, he was extremely hungry, and the luggage with all of their food was in Alex''s possession. However, using his enormous reserves of faith energy, he was able to sustain his flight and movement. As he went in all directions and didn''t find a single change to the snowyndscape, he almost lost hope. Suddenly, he perceived a ck and rocky patch in the distance. "What''s that?" He flew in that direction and found out that the patch was actually an entirely differentndscape. The elevation was somewhat higher in this ce, and Hermes felt like the ambient temperature was not as cold. The best discovery he stumbled upon was... "Moss!" In this endless snow, he finally found ''vegetation''. This tundra was the onlyndscape that could persist in the dry and cold wastnd, but if he could just find an area with higher temperature and humidity, maybe there would be timber and cattle in that ce. Hermesnded in this ce first and examined the ground. This kind of ck, ashy rock was familiar to him. "There''s a volcano around here?" Next to Hepheastus''va pit, theposition of the soil was exactly the same. The presence of a volcano exined the higher ambient temperature and moisture in the air and the growth of moss as a result. Since there was a volcano around here, there was bound to be a more thriving ecosystem closer to the mount of the volcano. Hermes began his manual search and was joyful to find that it was sessful. More ind, the rocky ck rock became greener and less ashy. This wasn''t in any way lush, but it was better than endless ice and snow. Soon enough, he found a small woond centered around a stream of water. As there were trees, he could ignite a bonfire and cook some prey. "At least the dry air has this advantage," Hermesughed out loud. Because of the low humiditypared to Qin, the timber easily caught on fire, andrge mes zed very easily. Unexpectedly, another wolf pack approached him. This pack was less docile than the one from earlier and immediately charged at him. "Well, I have an excuse now." His eyes shed with the glint of a predator. __________ -Mekong Delta, Nam Viet- As they heard that knock, Binh and Chau stopped eating. Worry and fear gradually emerged on their faces. "What''s wrong?" Alex frowned. "It''s the local warlords, they''re here for the protection fee..." Binh replied. Chau clenched her fists and interjected, "What protection fee? There have been no major skirmishes in this area for over a decade!" "No one is opening the door? Well, I''ming in!" The door burst open under the kick of that man. His appearance became clear. The man clearly lived afortable life, as hisrge body size was in contrast to the couple and the other fisherpeople around here, who had malnourished and skinny bodies. He wore leather armor on his torso, and a heavy two-handed saber hung at his belt area. The man''s nostrils twitched, and he remarked, "Smells good in here." He looked at the couple and frowned, "Why didn''t you open the door sooner?" "Lord, we were in the midst of eat- "I don''t care, the son of a warlord won''t wait." Then, his eyes turned to Alex. For a split second, a greedy and disgusting smile appeared on his face, and he said, "You''re housing a foreign man? Why didn''t you alert my father? He needs to pay the living taxes." "W-w-what l-living taxes, Lord?" Binh kowtowed to the armed man. "Nothing much, just a big portion of his foreign merchandise, as he is clearly a foreign sailor." The arrogant man thought Alex did not understand theirnguage. "Anyways, as usual, give over half of your weekly maritime harvest, and if you have any staple grains, we''ll take a quarter of those," The man moved his finger up and down, while his other hand approached his saber, as a threat to the unwilling. "Why should they?" Alex didn''t bear to see the two kowtowing. From their short time together, this couple was higher than everyone and didn''t deserve to kowtow to a scu*mmy warlord''s son. The man''s chin folded, and he stared in a strange manner at Alex. He ced his hands on the two-handed saber. Alex frowned. His precognition showed that the saber then made its way to the heads of the two homeowners. Fortunately, this guy was an average mortal, and Alex did not need to use any of his powers. In a sh, he reached the former, and with a single light punch, the armor copsed upon itself, and the man was thrown off into the river. The currents were not strong at this time, so the arrogant mantched onto a pier and climbed back up ontond. "Do me a favor and sleep." The man fainted at his words. Alex turned around and clicked his tongue when he saw the destruction he caused. Half of the hut was destroyed, and the pieces of straw and badly-glued wood drifted off the currents of the river. Inside the hut, the couple stared at him with their jaws agape. Alex silently flew onto the other side of the river and cut down some trees. Then, under the stunned stares of the two, he cut the trees into usable bs of wood and built back the hut. With his speed, he finished this very quickly. "I need to go," Alex whispered to himself. Before that, he would do the couple a favor. "Binh and Chau?" "Y-y-yes?" "Where does this warlord live?" Chau shakily replied, "On the coast, you''ll find a temple with the symbol of a dragon eating an apple, that''s where they inhabit..." ''For some scum to use the divine beast as a symbol, that''s quite daring.'' "Thank you for everything, enjoy the fish sauce I made." Alex flew away, and in the direction of the sea. Chapter 157 - Strange Premonition On the inconspicuous coastline of the Mekong Delta,rge waves washed ashore a small temple. The temple was ravaged, seemingly by the passing of time. In front of the temple, the debris of a signboard vaguely drew into the shape of a divine dragon eating an apple. Though this seemed like an ancient ruin, it waspletely intact just a few hours ago. Then, a winged monster from nightmares emerged on this ordinary afternoon and left the building in such a state. Around the nearby viges, a legend about a ghost that gave retribution to evil warlords started spreading like wildfire, and the tyrannous, albeit superstitious local warlords changed their means, as a way to escape this divine retribution. Meanwhile, the monster that caused such an uproar was flying nonchntly above the shores. ''My flying speed is too slow...'' Alexmented. Earlier, he, fortunately, stumbled upon a passing sailboat and received directional hints from the members on deck. However, without the inexhaustible chariot or the swift dragon, going all the way back to Qin was going to be extremely time-consuming and troublesome. Still, Alex persevered and flew at his breakneck speed for the entire afternoon. The scenery below him was fascinating and beautiful, but he couldn''t bring himself to halt, or he would start to feel the brunt of his fatigue. As he progressed more north, the climate changed in a promising way. The extremely lush and humid rainforests turned into somewhat milderndscapes and scenes, that resembled the coast of the East Sea more and more. ''I''m still a long way from there though,'' Alex clicked his tongue in frustration. Soon enough, the silhouette of urban scenery appeared on the horizon. On the western side of the horizon, the sun had reduced to a mere orange slit. Alex was breathing heavily, and his face was red. He had done nothing but fly for the entire day, and his small reserves of faith energy didn''t keep up with his energy expenditure. He had gained a number of followers who provided him with a steady stream of faith energy every day, but he didn''t have enough yet to keep this consumption level at all times. ''Let''s rest for the night...'' Alex observed the colorful city that was approaching his vision. The city seemed sprawling and lively. ''If I have to stay here, I should at least observe their culture,'' Alex shrugged andnded on a sandy shore on the outskirts of the immense city. He walked for the rest of his trip. As he moved from sandy soil to moist and earthy soil, a strange sensation took his attention. From his feet, he felt a minute and small tremor from the ground. A small chunk of dirt close to him slightly cracked under the force of the vibrations. However, this phenomenon waspletely undetectable a few secondster. "An earthquake?" Alex muttered. Nam Viet was close to the Ring of Fire, the most geologically active ce on the, so Alex didn''t find the small earthquake unusual. He soon forgot about it and made his way through the trees, and into the city. It was as lively as the scenery from outside indicated. There were many gorgeous and symmetrical buildings in the East Asian architectural style. However, they had a unique blend of colors that painted the city into a beautiful mosaic. ''Is there a celebration going?'' Alex found that it was too lively, and the people engaged in a strange ritual. Over a small fire, people held talisman-like papers and put them up to the ze. The paper consummated very fast, and when they let it go, the paper instantly burned away into gas and ck ash. There were many such fires, and everyone had a different number of bundles of paper that they burned away. Suddenly, a food vendor called to him, "Mister! You''ve chosen a great time to visit Hue! Tonight''s Trung Nuyen, I''m offering samples of free food for good luck and fortune!" Alex nodded and approached the food stall. The vendor had a boiling pot of broth with many vegetables and tender meats simmering inside and giving out a divine fragrance. On the side, a few bundles of thin rice paper, sliced meat, and raw vegetables were presented. "Serve yourself a spring roll! The first one is fully free!" Alex thanked the man and took a roll of rice paper. Then, he ced some fresh lettuce, some cucumber slices, and vermicelli noodles on top. He took one slice of juicy meat from the boiling hot spot and also added it as a filling. Then, he wrapped the rice paper and enjoyed it. The contrast in texture between the different fillings was divine, and joy reced Alex''s worries. Food was the universal pleasure of humanity, and even of gods. "What''s Trung Nguyen?" After swiftly gobbling down the spring rolls as if they were his problems, he asked the man with curiosity. "Wandering Souls Day? We celebrate theing of our ancestor''s souls tonight, and burn away the paper for good fortune for us and for them!" The man kindly exined the celebrations to him. Alex thanked the man and left to visit the rest of the city, and hopefully, find a ce where he could rest tonight. As he didn''t know the city, he easily lost himself in the twisting alleyways and canals, and when he thought he finally made it back onto the main street, it turned out to be... ''The beach...'' There weren''t many people around, and it was a peaceful retreat from the ongoing festival. However, Alex noticed that the shoreline was rather far away. And, when he looked at it, the shoreline seemed to recede further and further away. It was a slow and gradual process, but it was definitely happening. "Why is the shoreline rece- A look of terror and realization appeared on Alex''s face as he recalled a phenomenon hepletely ignored. Looking around, thend the city was built on was very t. If he was right about it, a disaster was soon making its way for the hugely popted city, and the casualties would be nothing to scoff at. Chapter 158 - Wolf-Mask Hermes -Northeastern Siberia- On the edge of sparse woond, a scary man sat around a campfire. Five wolf carcasses surrounded the man, and on his face, a mask made of wolf-skin hid his facial features. The man was eating cooked meat, and he was enjoying it so much it seemed that he hadn''t eaten for days. "Ah, to eat meat after a diet of air and faith energy, what a blessing!" Hermes resumed his habitual monologues. He decided to wear a mask to hide his identity, and also simply because it made him look overbearing. After a long and hearty meal, he moved on from this ce. As he energetically flew through the skies, he suddenly heard amotion. In the distance, a roar rang out through thends and into his eardrums. Hermes decided to check it out and followed the direction in which the roar was the loudest. Suddenly, earthquake-like tremors reverberated on the soil from the direction of the noise. Soon, the source of the loud sounds was in his view. "What is that thing?" Hermes stared confusingly at the scene in front of him. A body that was the height and size of an ancient tree. Thick brown fur covered its entire body. Curved and threatening teeth that hung out of its mouth. It has wide and heavy legs and those seemed to produce the tremors from earlier. Around the creature, a crowd of armed, minuscule humans attacked it. Nheless, against this monster, the stone spears and arrows of the group were futile. "Brothers and Sisters! If we can''t defeat the woolly mammoth, we will starve for the winter!" Hermes heard an exmation from the crowd. The rest of the humans enthusiastically screamed in response, and their morale against the monster was restored. However, morale did not do much against a creature that made humans look like ants. Every time it moved, its legs threatened to identally crush someone to death. The mammoth roared and bolted towards the person who raised the morale of the group earlier. The man couldn''t dodge, and in a split moment, it seemed he had epted his death and closed his eyes. Before total darkness consumed him, he saw that a member of his tribe stepped in front of him in an attempt to defend him through sacrifice. "Don''t!!!!" The man opened his eyes frantically and expected to see a corpse in front of him. Though, his vision betrayed his expectations in a miraculous manner. Large, feathery wings unfolded like a shield. From the perspective of the tribesman who wished to sacrifice himself, the turn of events was even more miraculous. A short and slender man was in front of him. This kind of body shape was rare in this part of the world because someone who didn''t have ample body fat wouldn''t be able to survive the harsh and unpredictable winters. On top of that, the man was wearing such thin clothing he might as well have been naked. *nk* In the man''s hand, a staff with two serpents coiling around it countered the sharp and tall fangs of the mammoth. "That was close, but I''m not letting the first humans I see die off.." Hermes rubbed the sweat off of his forehead and sighed. Then, in a sh, he disappeared from his position and reappeared in front of the mammoth''s gargantuan eyeballs. In one swing, the left eye of the mammoth became a bloody mess. *ROAR* "Get away from here, he''ll be agitated!" Hermes eximed to the tribespeople in thenguage they spoke. The tribespeople looked at the man who seemed to be their young leader for judgment. The man stunningly nodded and eximed, "Do as he says!" Hermes smiled, and now truly began his rampage. The mammoth roared continuously and stepped up and down. But, Hermes was now in a blind spot of the creature, and thette''s body structure didn''t allow it the range of movement to move him away. Yet, it shook its head fervently, in hopes that he would get thrown away like a ragdoll. However, Hermes held on tightly to the thick fur of the mammoth, which worked to his advantage. Then, in a sh, he easily blinded the mammoth''s other eye, and the fight was on easy mode at this point. The animal was extremely agitated and roared in anguish. Hermes clenched his fists. "It''s either you or the humans who survive, I''ll choose thetter!" He disappeared in a sh again, and a cut appeared on the back of the mammoth. As the bleeding became greater, the mammoth copsed on the floor, and the fight was over. When Hermes looked around, he was surprised that he did not find the tribe. However, as it turned out, they were all kowtowing to him. The man from earlier stood up very gently, and said, "Lord, what may we call you?" "Wolf-Mask." ''Sorry, Artemis.'' "Do you have any settlements? I need somewhere to rest," Hermes asked the man. The man frantically nodded. Then, he said, "My people! Let''s move the mammoth and celebrate Lord Wolf-Mask''s great victory!" Cheering rang out from the people, and they gathered around the mammoth. Using abination of thick twine, and thebined strength of dozens of people, they very slowly began their advance. Hermes walked along with the tribe leader, and inquired, "Do you live here all year round?" "Yes, throughout the generations, we''ve gotten rather used to this harshnd, and since there is nopetition here, we''ve been able to sustain a small tribe..." Speaking of tribes, as they talked, small hut-like structures soon emerged into their view. With the ambient temperature, they didn''t even need to refrigerate the meat, as the air did that for them already. "Amaruq?" Hermes recalled his mission, and even though it was unlikely, he would still investigate any possible ces. Amaruq was the name of the tribe leader. Hermes engraved writing of a strangenguage on a rock and showed it to the man. "Have you ever seen a tablet with this kind of writing?" Amaruq examined it closely. Unfortunately, he shook his head. "Forgive me, Lord, I have never seen thisnguage before." Chapter 159 - Evacuation -Hue, Nam Viet- Alex looked at the receding shoreline with terror. There was only one exnation for this. Earlier on, the minuscule earthquake he felt was probably an underwater one. Due to therge tectonic movements, another disastrous event followed these kinds of earthquakes. Towering and relentless waves destroyed everything in their path. If the first wave didn''t obliterate the affected areas, the second and third waves did exactly that. This was the fear of all seasidemunities, the tsunami. If this hit an uninhabited area, he would not stop in his tracks and simply move on. However, this was arge city, and unlike him, they could not just fly away from any disaster. If he abandoned this ce to its oing, miserable fate, he wouldn''t be able to live with himself knowing that he did not save a single person. Conflicting thoughts spun around his head, but he ultimately came to a conclusion. Not only did ignoring disaster not align with his own moral values, but as the god of humanity, he had to take his title seriously, unlike some other gods... He clenched his fist and used Hermes'' Incarnation. ''If I go in as a normal person, I''ll just be taken for a lunatic.'' Flying towards a square in the downtown, brightly lit area of Hue, his appearance immediately attracted the attention of the celebrating citizens. "Why is a man flying in the sky?!" Confusion spread amidst the crowd and fueled their curiosity as they gathered to observe Alex. Alex cleared his throat, and he asked them, "Has anyone felt the earthquake earlier?" "There was an earthquake?!" "Think of it, a vase of mine broke without any exnation, was there an earthquake?" An older man came out from the crowd and said, "I am a fisherman working along these shores, the currents and waves have truly been rather unusual today, it might really be due to an earthquake." A foreign man''s words were questionable, even when he had an overbearing appearance, but an older local''s words were practically absolute truth to the crowd. "It''s been a long time since thest earthquake, is this a bad sign?" The citizens believed in his words, but they looked back at him for further guidance. ''This is going well, I hope they evacuate quickly,'' Alex thought to himself, and worry crept up from the depths of his mind. "Mister fisherman?" Alex had to y his cards well in order to make an impression on the crowd. Most importantly, he had to be quick. The old fisherman had vision problems, but even though he looked in another direction, he replied, "Yes?" "Do you know what a receding shoreline means? Especially after an earthquake?" The rest of the citizens were confused, but the fisherman exhaled heavily and said, "Is a sea god''s wrathing towards us?" "Yes, I need everyone to evacuate to the higher ground safely." "Mister, what does this strange man mean?" A young woman asked the fisherman. "When I was young and living in the south, earthquakes were much more frequent there, and after every earthquake, there would be gigantic waves that destroy everything on their path." Agitation and panic ensued, and frustration broke out amongst the previously joyful residents. "Why did this have to happen on Trung Nguyen?" Alex gulped. He understood what they were feeling. Normally, they would have been celebrating, but nature did not care about celebrations or emotions, for that matter. Nheless, there would be much more severe consequences if they did not evacuate immediately. From the corner of his vision, Alex perceived a man that took off on a flying sword. ''F*uck, an immortal from Qin, I hope he doesn''t know of my identity...'' The crowd swiftly moved and began alerting the rest of the city. In a short moment, the peaceful celebrations transformed into a stampede of people evacuating the city further ind into higher ground. ''Now,es my role.'' Alex approached the coast and triggered off a different Incarnation. His muscr body became stout and slightly shorter, while his eyes became a beautiful orange color. ''I wanted to save up some faith energy, but life doesn''t always go along our ns for it.'' Alex ced his two hands on the sand. The sand gradually became hotter and hotter, as its consistency altered from a fine powder into a melty ss-like substance. When he used the powers of Hephaestus, Prometheus turned into a solid hammer. With that same hammer, he built up a tall wall of hot ss around the entire shore. He could only do so much, but this would stall the full brunt of the waves and at least give the residents a better chance of escaping. Meanwhile, the shoreline receded further and further outwards, and every single meter that it covered meant that the waves would be more disastrous. The barrier he constructed was the height of five ordinary men, but it was unlikely to stop the immense forces of nature. Perhaps Mazu could have stopped this disaster, but she lived on the coast of the East Sea. *Whoosh* An approaching loud noise suddenly reced the deathly silence of the beach. Alex knew this meant that it hadmenced. His appearance turned closer to Hermes'' again, and he flew away. In case any residents were too close to the coast, he would save them. Fortunately, even though the bright lights of the city still illuminated the night, word had spread fast, and he didn''t find anyone in the surroundings. Until... "Waaaaaaah!" A childish cry rang out in a narrow street. Alex immediately flew at breakneck speed towards the source of the cry and found a small boy. He was sobbing endlessly. When he saw Alex, he eximed with tears and snot on his face, "Where did everyone go??!!!" "They escaped a big trouble, you shoulde too." Alex held out his arms to the boy. Unexpectedly, the boy shook his head and replied, "I-i''m not g-going anywhere without d-dad!" "Where is your dad?!" Alex clicked his tongue, as the sound of the enormous waves was ominously approaching, and he had to be quick. "In o-our hous- "Where''s your house?!" Alex took the boy and flew up. The boy listlessly pointed at a run-down building in a nearby alleyway. Alex flew into the balcony of the home and immediately entered. On a straw bed, a man that wascking a few limbsid down and breathed heavily. Alex didn''t have any time anymore and flew back up with the man. Then, he held his son and flew very high, holding tightly onto them. On the horizon, an enormous mass of seafoam alerted him of the scale of this cataclysmic event. Alex activated Link and looked for any other humans in the surroundings. ''There''s no one here...'' Alex sighed in relief. Then, he flew further ind and searched for more people. Fortunately, everyone was in the process of evacuating, and Alex left the amputated man and his child in thepany of a strong man, who would help them evacuate. "Now then, I hope there will be no casualties..." Chapter 160 - Worries In The Heavenly Court -Heavenly court, Yudi''s residence- The abode of the emperor was a peaceful one, yet the owner of this house certainly did not share this sentiment. Usually, the Jade Emperor was a calm and mild-mannered man. Yet, today, worried piled upon his mind. "Attendant after attendant, it''s starting to get tiring..." Yudimented as he tried to calmly sip on his tea. However, his hands shook very strongly, and drops of tea fell down on his signature yellow robes. Nezha''s earlier words still shook him to his very core. _______ -Earlier that day- In the mornings, the Jade Emperor had a cold, vegetarian breakfast to soothe the mind. Usually, this was effective, but while he was eating his fill today... "Lord Yudi!" An attendant frantically knocked on the sliding door that led to his living room. "Yes?" The emperor frowned since he didn''t like when others bothered his meal. "This is a catastrophe!" "What is?" "A chain of natural disasters have hit thends, starting from Manchuria, and going as far south as Nam Viet!" The Jade Emperor put down his chopsticks and fell silent. "Why is this an urgent matter? Deal with this as we usually do." "Send a few Silver Immortals to evacuate the masses and prevent casualties." "Lord, I''m afraid this matter isn''t as simple as that." Suddenly, another attendant knocked. The Jade Emperor frowned heavily and harrumphed, "Enter!" "Lord, the entire poption of the massive mortal city, Xi''an, has passed away of unknown causes!" "What?" Now, the emperor was truly puzzled. During his years of reign, he never encountered two disasters of this magnitude in a single day. "A-and, this disease is moving north, and smaller cities have met the same fate!" The Jade Emperor rubbed his chin, and replied, "Call over Nezha!" The two attendants obeyed and immediately left the abode. From a sliding door on the opposite side of the exit, a woman entered the living room. This was Xiwangmo, the Queen Mother of The West. She had just woken up, but even sleepiness did not hide her divine grace. "A troublesome day, isn''t it?" Xiwangmu asked her husband. "It seems too coincidental for two matters that require or attention to happen in a single day..." "I don''t think it''s a coincidence," A young boy''s voice echoed in the empty living room. A teenage-looking boy wearing ck robes stood at the door. He had a handsome appearance, and arge mole next to his left eye stood out from the rest of his features. "Nezha?" "I''ve heard everything from the attendants." Nezha halted for a second and looked at the two monarchs. Then, he resumed, "I think a new immortal has ascended to Jade Immortality." *BAM* *BAM* Vibrations in the air rung out from the spot where the Jade Emperor sat. Jade Immortality was an elusive stage of cultivation. Only three people living in Qin had ever achieved it, and one of those people disappeared off of thend decades ago. Every time one of them ascended to that stage, nature itself reacted strongly. Earthquakes, floods, cyclones and typhoons, and tsunamis apanied this ascension. "If this Jade Immortal doesn''t exactly share the moderate ideologies of the heavenly court, I think problems are bound to arise," Nezha clicked his tongue and shrugged. Then, he turned around and left the building. "Wife." "Yes, husband?" "How do you think Lao Zi would react to there being a new Jade Immortal?" "He''d immediately go and search all of Qin for answers," Xiwangmu didn''t hesitate to reply. "As an emperor, do you think I should do that?" Xiwangmu shook her head, "Yudi, you''re not Lao Zi, the heavenly court needs you." Then, she turned around, and with her back facing her husband, she proimed, "I''ll go down to the mortal realm, even if I don''t find any answers, the people need their mother to assist them." _________ -Northeastern Siberia- In the center of the tribe Hermes settled in, a stone statue now stood over their sight. It was a rough depiction of Hermes'' appearance, and they built it to celebrate his feat of hunting the mammoth. The mammoth''s meat was so ample it would be able to feed a thousand people for an entire month. Their tribe was much less numerous than that, so they now had extra reassurance to go through the harsh winters of Siberia. The winter preparations were in full swing, and the tribespeople were extremely busy. As they engaged in this work, an unfamiliar crowd suddenly entered the tribe. They all held a veryrge, and the was full of fish. "Amaruq!" A woman from this crowd called out to the tribe leader. "Akna? You''re back earlier than we expected," Amaruq came out and greeted the woman and her group. "The seas have been extremely rough these past few days, and we may have died if we stayed close to the coast." "Though, with the fish escaping from the south into the north, we got a great harvest!" The tribespeople weed the fisherpeople and celebrated this new food source. Hermes was inside of a hut and eavesdropped on this conversation. "Rough seas? I also feel some seismic activity near this ce, I hope we''re far enough from the volcano mount..." "Lord Wolf-mask!" Amaruq knocked on the door to the hut. "Enter!" Amaruq held something in his hands. "The currents these days have brought all sorts of sea garbage and fish from the south, and this was one of them." He passed the object to Hermes. Hermes examined it. It was a lozenge-shaped y tablet withplex and mysterious writing on it. ''The second testament?'' Hermes'' eyes widened. As he read through, he found out that this was exactly what Alex was looking for. ''Annals of a long life - the second testament - resentment. The king of the 9th of the Underworld, Guiwang, is a deceitful man. Escaping his duties and residence, he causes chaos in the mortal realm, and has dared to pursue the immortal cultivation that I have created, but for evil purposes. With his esoteric techniques, he split my soul up, and the man even changed karmicw. I''d imagine this required great sacrifice. He must have resented me a lot.'' Chapter 161 - Evacuation Efforts - Successful! -Hue, Nam Viet- The residents of the city scrambled to find higher ground in a disorganized manner. The topography of the local area was generally t, so their best bet was climbing up a hill. Alex guided the panicked crowd and asionally turned his sight towards the sea. From their position, the wall of molten ss glowed in a red and threatening manner and blocked off the entire shore. ''Hopefully, it can barricade off the first wave...'' Alex''s felt his Adam''s apple move up and down as anticipation and anxiety crept up inside of him. A gargantuan wave approached the coast at a breakneck speed. Then, Alex felt a sudden burst of nausea and fatigue. He held his head and rested his body on a sturdy tree nearby. "Crap, I used too much faith energy," Alex breathed heavily in intervals and soon recovered his footing. The prolonged flight and the smelting took a great toll on him, and he probably couldn''t use it anymore. As his ckened vision returned to normal, he heard a scream and his body jerked awake. Someone from the evacuates had turned around and fearfully screamed when they saw the oing wave. Their body fell to the ground, and they stared hopelessly at the disaster. Alex approached them and gently held them back up. "Go on with the rest of the group, you''ll be safe." They listlessly nodded and ran to catch up with everyone else. Following that..... *Fssssssshhhh* The mortals plugged their ears from pain. From the coast, the sound of water touching a hot pan reverberated towards them, except it was on magnitude thousands of times greater. The first wave came into contact with his wall. The rushing water instantly vaporized at the point of contact with the searing ss, but this couldn''tst for long. As the immense quantities of water continued their barrage, the ss gradually lost its heat, and only the height of the wall could protect them now. Alex observed the event attentively. The onught of the first wave continued and spilled over into the nearbynds where the wall didn''t reach, but the barricade helped enormously. A few dozen secondster, a fortunate phenomenon urred. The speed of the wave slowed down and then reached a climax. After that, Alex perceived the water slowly receding. The residents of Hue looked at thepletely intact city and cupped their hands in prayer. "We''ve survived the first wave, but the second wave is still on its way." Alex clenched his fists. He knew that their prayers were futile, and the second wave would tear down the wallpletely. As the water retreated back into the sea, it began rolling again. This was the precursor to the second wave. ''I hope it''s weaker than the first wave....!'' Fortunately, the water didn''t retreat as far, and a smaller wave instead attacked the coast. However, this second wave instantly broke down the wall of ss. This was inevitable, but the residents all turned around and unanimously let out a gasp as they saw the death reaper of the ocean invade their precious home. In the face of tsunamis, even modern buildings didn''t stand a chance. The wooden structures of Hue were all torn down, with varying degrees of damage. "Stop Looking! Move on!" Alex reminded them to focus on the evacuation. "My ancestral home is gone..." A man copsed on the floor and began sobbing. "Then, survive and build a new one! your ancestors wouldn''t want you to die when you can live, would they?" Alex screamed. "If only Son Tinh was here...." Alex turned around, and the wave was pushing further ind and approaching them. He forcefully took the weeping man and catapulted him far away. Then, he did the same for the slower residents. *Drip* Alex felt a drop of waternd on his cheek. Looking down, the wave was only a dozen meters or so below their position. "Go faster!" Alex hoarsely eximed. At his scary tone, and the threat of the second wave, the slower residents listened to him and consumed all of their stamina to run and catch up with the swifter evacuees. Fortunately, the second wave didn''t reach them and began slowly receding away. Alex sighed in relief. A few minutester, this relief turned into a horrifying realization. "Why is the water retreating so far...?" Alex pointed at the horizon and weakly asked. It went further outwards than the second wave and the first wave. Soon enough, the water began congregating and propelled itself back towards the coast. Alex sighed and unfolded his wings. The residents below him stared with puzzlement and confusion at his actions. Then, when they saw the height of the third wave, their expressions skipped from terror to hopelessness and eptance. This wave was too tall, and there was nothing he could do anymore. It was bound to reach their area faster than they could evacuate. If he had just a bit more faith energy, he could have blessed them all greater swiftness, but he waspletely exhausted, and just maintaining his position in the air took up all of his efforts. The residents halted, but the wave did not. Alex closed his eyes as he saw the trees below him cascade up like falling debris, and the water approaching. "A foreign man''s job ends here, you have done well." Suddenly, the ground cracked. From one side, the altitude became greater. From the other side, a ravine appeared and the gap widened gradually. Then, the wave hit the ravine. Instead of the disaster he expected, the water fell down the wide ravine like a waterfall, and even when it threatened to fill back up, it didn''t fill up quite enough to cause any damage to the evacuees who were on the higher ground now. Alex stared at this miracle with wide eyes. The threatening tsunami retreated, and a new, immense saltwaterke formed from the ravine. "Son Tinh!" "Son Tinh!" Cheers erupted from the residents. Alex followed their eyes. They looked at an ordinary-looking middle-aged man. Next to him, the immortal who flew on the flying sword earlier smiled. "You should be the one who alerted and organized the evacuation?" The middle-aged man had aforting voice. He was speaking to Alex. Chapter 162 - The Wolf-Masks Escape South Hermes read through the second testament very carefully. He didn''t understand the contents very much, but this was likely due to ack of context. ''We probably have to find the rest of the tablets to piece together the full story,'' Hermes hummed to himself. However, one strange aspect of the tablets still instilled his curiosity. Embedded into the thick y tes, metal protrusion was clearly visible. The same metal was in the two other tablets that Alex possessed, hence, this probably had significance. Though, he had to leave these inquiries for the time they found the rest of the crypts, so he stuffed it into a crease-like pocket in his toga. "Thanks, Amaruq." "It is my pleasure to serve the one who has solved our strenuous nutritional situation." Amaruq bowed to him. Hermes then recalled a matter he should probably discuss with the leader of the tribe. "There is a volcano that allows the livelihood of the tribe, is there not?" Hermes asked the man. Amaruq raised his head, and nodded, "Yes, Lord, a few inactive volcano mounts are present near the tribe." "This is just a baseless premonition of mine, but I feel like it might turn out to be quite dangerous for the tribe in the future." Amaruq frowned, and he replied, "I don''t truly know whether we can move from here or not." He kept his attention on the other''s reaction, and when he saw that Hermes kept a calm face, he exhaled in relief and continued. "Our ancestors speak of a direction that eventually leads to lushernds, but a gigantic stretch between our fertile, volcand, and this lushnd is a huge expanse of barren and snowy wastnd." "I see." Hermes stood up and left the hut. The itch he felt in his nose was not due to cold, and he had to further investigate this matter. The tribespeople was going to prove very useful for a n of his, so he couldn''t afford to let them die. Amaruq ran out of the hut, thinking he had angered the god. "Which direction are the main volcanic mounts in?" Hermes stared confusingly at the terrified tribesman. Amaruq pointed towards woonds and a hilly area in the distance. "Are you not mad, Lord Wolf-Mask?" "I''m not, I just need to probe." "In any case, be ready for an emergency evacuation." Amaruq rubbed his head and was puzzled by this, but Hermes already flew away. Thetter''s sense of intuition was one that developed from being the foster parent of Apollo, god of prophecy, and his time with Hecate. When he felt an omen as strong as this, he wouldn''t be able to stay still. The air was as chilly as usual, yet the god once again impressed the tribespeople as he faced the strong, cold winds on his flight. ____ It didn''t take too long for Hermes to reach the rupture of the mouth of the volcano. Over the crater, noxious and heavy gasses coalesced into an ominous smoke. Hermes flew high enough to be at a safe distance. From his angle of sight, he saw that while most of the volcano was inactive, the small slit from which poured out the smoke revealed the high internal pressure inside of the magma chamber. "If only Hephaestus or Alexei-boy were here," He raised his eyebrows in annoyance. He didn''t know anything about volcanism, yet he- *BOOM* Hermes stared at the source of the explosive noise. The small slit from earlier was now a rtively big gap inside the crater. From this gap, chunks of runny, orangeva spilled out. "That''s not a good sign, is it?" Hermes rubbed his forehead. Larger clouds of gray smoke apanied this small eruption. Additionally, theva increased in volume, and the speed at which it poured out of the crater augmented exponentially. "Well, I suppose I should tell them about it." Hermes disappeared from his position in a sh, and at a breakneck speed, he returned to the settlement. Amaruq obeyed his earlier advice, and the entire tribe was alert. Hended in the center of the habitations, and a crowd instantly formed around him. "I have some bad news." A bead of sweat fell down Amaruq''s face. Beside him, Akna, the fisherwoman, also listened very attentively to what he was going to say. "The seismic activity near the sea might have triggered a chain reaction and caused an erupt- *BAM* All of the tribespeople heard this loud thud. Volcanic eruptions were the loudest events in nature, and from the short distance to the site of the event, the cacophony of death was very audible. Amaruq turned to his tribe, and reluctantly said, "Let''s move." "Before that," Hermes ced his hand on Amaruq''s left shoulder. His faith energy channeled towards the man, and a temporary blessing descended on thetter. His movement speed was now much greater than before, and he immediately took notice of this. "Lord?" "This is a blessing that increases speed akin to that of a wolf." Hermes yed very well into his current persona of ''Wolf-mask''. Amaruq''s amazement towards this direct feat of divine interference made his reverence for this god increase. Then, Hermes did the unimaginable and performed the very same blessing on thebined poption of the tribe, one hundred forty-seven people. "Are there any other tribes around here that we can alert?" Hermes stretched his body. Akna replied in the tribe leader''s stead, "The only factor that allows for our livelihood here is theck ofpetition, we are the only tribe in the entire volcanic region." ''Not that there is much topete for here,'' Hermes kept this remark to himself, and chuckled, iprehensively so to the tribe leaders. "Now then, Amaruq, where is this fated direction towards the lushnd?" Amaruq pointed in the opposite direction to the volcano mounts. The horizon waspletely clear from theck of humidity and fog in the air. This unobstructed vision unraveled only endless snow in every direction. However, to escape cmity, the tribe unhesitantly moved with their new leader. And thus, ''The Wolf-Mask Society'' was born. Chapter 163 - Nezha, Protector Of The Young -Hue, Nam Viet- "You should be the one who organized the evacuation?" The middle-aged man asked Alex. "Yes, I, fortunately, noticed the receding shoreline early enough," Alex nodded. A heartwarming expression emerged on the middle-aged man''s humble face. "I am extremely grateful for this, do you want anything in return?" Alex frantically shook his head and waved. However, he then rubbed his head in embarrassment and chuckled, "Though, I would definitely appreciate a ce to rest in." The man was surprised by this underwhelming demand, and replied, "Count that done." "Yazhu, could you take this honorable man to the mountain estate?" The middle-aged man asked the immortal that stood beside him. The young-looking immortal nodded. Then, the former sighed and remarked, "There are other such disasters happening north of here too, I need to take care of those...." Alex frowned at this statement. ''There are other such events happening in other ces..? I hope they were able to evacuate sessfully.'' The young immortal approached him and took him out of his praying trance. "I''m Zhang Yazhu, the permanent envoy of the heavenly court of Yudi to thisnd," The young man introduced himself. His introduction somewhat shook Alex, as he was currently in an unfavorable rtionship with the heavenly court. Fortunately, Zhang Yazhu didn''t seem to recognize his face. "I''m...Ambrus, it''s nice to meet you," Alex yed it safe and used a drastically different name from his own. "Follow me to the estate, it''s quitefortable there." Zhang Yazhu flew on his flying sword towards the eastern direction. Alex sluggishly followed him, and below him, cheers erupted from the evacuees. He weakly smiled. This was an overwhelming sess. On this evacuation path, there was not a single casualty to this deadly disaster. Inside of him, he also felt a slow, but unnatural increase in his faith energy reserves. This came at a great time, as he couldn''t have maintained his flight otherwise. Suppressing his joy, he followed the direction the young man flew in. Soon enough, he caught up to thetter, and in a burst of curiosity, he asked him, "Who was that man from earlier? That was an overwhelming show of prowess." "Son Tinh, lord of the mountains of Nam Viet, he''s righteous and always protects thend in case of these emergencies," Zhang Yazhu praised him generously. "However," His eyes nced to the side with worry. "I''ve heard that towards the north, these events have hit more strongly, I''m worried about my homnd." An uncertain mncholy took over the man, and he instinctively bit his lips. "It isn''t much, but I hope it''s not the case," Alex slightly raised his lips. As they spoke, they had crossed into higher terrain, and sharp cliffs and mountain peaks were now in view. On top of a particrly sharp and rough summit, a colorful and tall pagoda was constructed. Zhang Yazhu pointed to the pagoda, and stated, "That''s Son Tinh''s house!" Alex nodded and changed the trajectory of his flight. They soon reached the entrance and made their way inside. The interior was more monotonous than Alex thought it would be, although the simplicity wasn''t unpleasant. The young man said, "There''s a small guest floor, follow me there." Alex thanked him andplied. The floor also had simple furniture and decoration, but this was more than satisfactory for him. "Sleep well, you saved an entire city," Zhang Yazhu smiled and then left the room. Sleeping well was exactly what the fatigued Alex did, as drowsiness overcame him as soon as his head hit the supple pillow. _________ -The next day- Alex woke up to the sound of whispers. In actuality, they weren''t exactly whispers, but simply a conversation on another floor of the pagoda. "Son Tinh, I''ll be going back to Macau, I''m worried for my family." "I understand but does Daoist doctrine really allow you to maintain your mortal affiliations?" This was the voice of the middle-aged man, Son Tinh. "I''ll use the excuse of contributing to the disaster relief efforts, but I can''t just stay here." ''Macau? Qin?'' Alex''s eyes glowed. He stood up and waited for them to end their conversation. Then, the sound of footsteps going down a staircase got gradually clearer. "Zhang Yazhu?" The immortal stopped in his tracks and turned at him. His eyes were red, and it looked like he had been crying. However, he frantically rubbed his eyes and put on a smile. "You woke up?" "Can I apany you to Qin?" Alex politely demanded him. "Hmm- "I won''t intrude on your matters, we can part ways in the southern tip of thend, I just desperately need a guide to there." Zhang Yazhu contemted for a bit and then nodded. "I''m going now, you should probably pack your belongings quickly." "I have all of them on me, we can move now." Alex was excited to finally go back to Qin. They could finally solve everything. Going through with the negotiations, finding Lao Zi, and defeating the ghost emperor... Following that, they bid their goodbyes to Son Tinh and immediately flew out towards the northeast. _______ Along the way, Alex''s excitement dampened down. The sight of the ravaged seaside cities was heartbreaking. These cities were not as lucky as Hue, and Son Tinh couldn''t have possibly saved every single ce on the extensive coastline of Nam Viet. The two helped the people they could help and resumed their trip. A few dayster, they reached a series of waterfalls. Zhang Yazhu pointed at the breathtaking scenery, and stated, "These are the Detian Falls, we''ve officially crossed into Qin." ''Finally!'' Alex eximed internally. The twonded next to the waterfalls and sat down. They were tired from their almost continuous journey, and the announcement about having reached their milestone allowed for more mental ease. "Huff..." Alex exhaled. "What is a Silver Immortal from the heavenly court doing with a criminal?" The two suddenly heard the voice of a young man. From the blurry fog next to one of the waterfalls, a half-naked silhouette emerged. It was a young man. He had a handsome appearance, and a distinctive mole next to his left eye. "L-Lord Nezha!" Zhang Yazhu was stunned. He frantically stood up and bowed. Nezha stared at Alex. He then frowned and said, "You''re under Longwang''s protection and it''s not the time to fight, I''ll deal with you a month from now." Then, he turned to Zhang Yazhu and ordered in a stern tone, "We''ll be moving to the disaster areas to help with the evacuation! Move quickly!" At the confirmation that Qin indeed had simr cmities to Nam Viet, Zhang Yazhu''s morale copsed, and hopelessness showed on his face. He was so shocked he didn''t even pay further attention to Nezha''sment about Alex being a criminal. Alex somehow knew he had to be cautious around this young man. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!