《The Family Fellowship》 Prologue: Blood at Dinner As I smelled the blood dripping of my weapon, I looked out and saw the horizon. Uniforms of red and black as far as the eyes can see stretched over the horizon. My family besides me were ready to fight this horde. I was scared, proud, angry and a billion of other feelings. My father looked at me; once a failure in his eyes, now he looked like someone who couldn''t be prouder of his son and his family. My mother showed her love for us with her sparkling eyes even with the fierceness of a wolf. Even though I see this, I feel that they were worried. I look forward once again and think¡ªhow did this all start? There we are, my family enjoying another day in our everyday life. We lived on a small farm. Had sheep and raised chickens for us to slaughter. That was all the blood we thought we would ever see. We paid attention to the news story about a serial killer. How could we have ever known what was to come. *** Josh was a hardworking 19 year old son who was a little weird. Others saw him as a little strange, but most of the time, they saw him as both. He never liked to talk to people, yet always liked to be in the spot light. He lacked the motivation most people had to succeed in the world. He felt as if all modern society rejected him no matter how hard he tried to conform to it. He grew up with parents who were strict as generals but loving as no parent could. Through the years of constant lack of motivation, his parents began to show him that he was a failure to them. Although they never said it, he could see it in their eyes. He only felt confident in his strength. In the high school''s weight room, he was the weakest one there even as a senior. But when it came to real life work, he could lift, push, pull and throw almost twice as the best of the much older men around him. His excuse was "If it doesn¡¯t get any work done, it is meaningless just to move metal things up and down." Josh was a skinny man who was 5 foot 11, had blond hair, and sky blue eyes that showed his energetic spirit. He loved to explore¡ªtravelling the world was one of his life long dreams. KLANK!!!!!!! "These stupid sheep better stay in this time!" The frustration in Josh¡¯s voice showed as his hands collapsed to his sides. "Well the fence is finally fixed again. Uhhh, hopefully it stays this way this time." Josh said as he lifted his head feeling fulfilled having fixed the problem. He saw the sun going down in the west, and the horses chewed on some hay he brought out earlier. Grabbing the post pounder and the rest of his tools, he headed to the garage. After dropping off the tools, he headed out back home when... "JOSH!!" "WHAAAAT!!" Josh screamed. "COME ON. IT"S TIME FOR DINNER!" the voice yelled. "K MOOOM, I''M COMIIING" Josh replied. Dinner was the best time for Josh, why? Because he loved food, he was always hungry. Some even said he had a hollow leg. Josh ran to the house and saw a car driving by as if checking out the surroundings around his house. His eyes narrowed as he observed the car with suspicion. From experience, most cars in the country road drove well above the speed limit. The car that drove by was slow compared to those cars. For Josh, it was a rare sight, strange even. "hmmm, maybe he is just lost or something, weird" Josh shook his head as he took off his boots. Do be careful of strange people who are driving slow The thought popped into Josh¡¯s head. ¡°Can¡¯t be¡­right?¡± Josh, again, shook his head to forget the chill creeping down his spine. "So is the fence fixed Josh?" His father asked while finishing dinner. "Yep, got shocked a few times by the electric fence, maybe a little brain damage." Josh joked. "HA! Bet it hurt.¡± His dad chuckled. In a moment, he took a deep breath then said, ¡°JESSI! DUST! GET DOWN HERE!¡± It was never a quiet day, but that the best part. Soon after his whole family gathered around the table, his father described what he cooked. It was asparagus fettuccine alfredo! Homemade dishes and meals with the family were one of the things Josh cherished. Though he loved reading books and playing video games, spending time with his family was the most important for him. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Just as Josh was about to take the first bite, the front door slammed open and two men came rushing in armed with pistols and knives. Josh''s father immediately jumped in front of everyone just as the two opened fire on his family. Bullets pierced through the large man Josh called father, but still, the bullets hit his mother, killing her, and injuring Josh''s little brother, Dust. Jess applied first aid to Dust while tears ran down her cheeks at the sudden tragedy. But as the two men approached, Josh''s father threw Josh and Jess away to block off the hostile men from killing his children. Josh watched his father fighting for them. He saw his brother bleeding out as he shouted in pain while staring at the woman they called mother. Soon after, his brother went into shock. Just then, the two men gutted Josh''s father. The loud thud of his father falling on the floor made the room fall silent. Yet his father still gripped on to the men''s legs as they stepped over his corpse. ¡°AAAAH!¡± Josh''s sister screamed. That next moment, they ran a knife across her throat. Her body limped, and soon fell on the floor covered in a pool of blood. What''s happening!? why¡­ why¡­ why my family!! Josh felt loss, fear, hopelessness. Heat swelled up in his heart. It intoxicated his mind. There it was, the rage in Josh swelling to its limit. A rage that was building from his very core that would consume him. It urged him to destroy all in his way till the earth itself was barren. The heat became hotter and hotter by the millisecond. His brain went into overload, slowing down his perception of time. The he heard something. Something that was supposed to sooth a person, but became a key. Josh''s mother spoke before the sparkle in her eyes grayed out from the loss of life. "I love ya youuu, and i''m so proouuod of yo...u" Like the sun as the world''s fading lights turned red, Josh''s vision became a crimson shade of anger, despair, and most of all¡ªrage. Feeling his strength to be boundless, he rushed the men, grabbing the knife out of the sheath. With the reflection of the moon, the knife sparkled as it sliced off the man''s hand holding the gun. Blood spurted out onto Josh''s face. The man let out a scream unfitting for his appearance. The other man turned his head towards Josh, firing at him in a panic. All the bullets missed as he dispatched stubby with a wave of the knife then rushed at the second man. He had now pulled a knife and parried the last attack. The man then dodged the next two armature attacks by Josh. GOT TO KILL HIM! GO TO KILL HIM! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!KILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ¡°You Little SHIT! the man said angrily.¡± The man then slashed at the open leg that Josh''s left open. When he raged, Josh kicked him across the room. "Ha ahah hah hah! You killed my brother you animal! no you will join your family in what ever hell hole we sent you..." In the next instant, a knife buried itself on the man¡¯s forehead thrown by Josh. "You¡¯re going to a #$&%ing hell hole because my family is better that a billions of you combined.¡± As the rush ended, exhaustion filled every fiber of muscle in Josh¡¯s body. He then looked at himself to see the bullet holes in his body. Earlier, he thought he had dodged the bullets, but in truth, the bullets went through him. God dammit, I thought they missed. he thought as he was bleeding out. I hope they can go somewhere where it is safe and they can live there for the rest of eternity... they deserve it more than me¡­ He looked around the mess once more to see his family lying on the ground. In the back of his mind, Josh hoped that one day meet again with his family. chapter 1: Reunited IT''s done, total revamp! I am starting three jobs to pay for collage so my writing consistency may be finiky. Either way hope you like this. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ When he opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness surrounding him. With a flash of light, figures appeared appeared in front him him. All of them looked familiar as if he saw them everyday¡­ like family. There was a man who had a glow around him, giving him a noble like aura. Then there was the woman who stood beside him; she was beautiful yet her fierceness demanded respect. Her pointed ears could only give off a sense of being an ¡®elf¡¯ Josh thought. Josh turns his head again to see a being with wings. The being looked more like a fairy than a bird and she was the size of a human. Her comforting air that permeated around her made Josh just want to hug her, and believe the world is a good place. Then there was a strange figure. It was covered in black and had a mask on its face. It seethed darkness as if it was trying to hide from Josh¡¯s view. However, that¡¯s when Josh noticed. All of these beings were also staring at him. They looked at him with cowering eyes. Their eyes told Josh of their fear. The feeling of being looked at with fear was unpleasant as all their beings felt familiar. Familiarity with them made his fear of rejection even higher. Upon raising his hand, Josh saw his own hands as claws with sharp weapon like nails. His head turned to his body and saw what looked like armour. Yet, the strangest thing was that he felt two protrusions from his back. His gaze turned to his back; and with a surprise, a pair of pure white wings idled on his back. ¡°Is that you Josh?¡± The man with a noble aura spoke. ¡°Ya, Dad¡­¡± Josh¡¯s voice trembled with uncertainty, ¡°Is that you?¡± ''Y-y..Yes Josh.¡± His dad hesitated. ¡°What happened to you?¡± His dad¡¯s stare made him uncomfortable. Why does he look at me like that? Do I look that strange? ¡°What happened... What happened!? Did we all die?!¡± Josh screamed. Without waiting for a reply, he continued, ¡°I saw all of you die right in front of me and you ask me what happened¡± His family was right in front of him. Josh never thought of being able to see them so soon again. The elf looked a lot like his mother; and sure enough, she was. Concluding that all of them had similar appearances, the fairy was his sister Jess. The mutant like human straight from the D&D game was his brother, Dust. Tears formed around the corner of Josh¡¯s eyes as he recognized them one by one. Yet, they looked at Josh with an ill omened stare. Seeing Josh¡¯s miserable expression, Jess, his sister, lips opened up a gap on her lips. ¡°Josh! we were just worried about you!¡± She exclaimed as it to interrupt Josh¡¯s thoughts. ¡±You just showed up and looked sad.¡± ¡°Then why do you look like you¡¯re scared of me?!¡± Josh cried. ¡°Bro, you look like a demon except for those angel like wings y¡¯know?¡± Dust said. ¡°Ya and your eyes still are still sky blue¡­ but they glow...¡± His mom spoke out. Josh was still on his knees and spoke with an expression of disbelief. ¡°What do you mean¡­ glow?¡± ¡°Bro, you¡¯re eyes are like glow sticks, except like a ball.¡± Dust chuckled. ¡°Not funny DJ¡± Josh answered with an irritation in his voice. It wasn¡¯t the time to joke around when everyone was in a dark place with no visible structures, people, or anything. Everyone was alone, in a sense that nothing was around them. The black space they were in was neither cold nor warm. There was only one description that could describe such a place¡ªa place between life and death. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Josh stood up, looking at his body once more. Thoughts lingered on his mind as he examined his body in more detail than before. One thought popped up more than the rest: he was different. The difference in his mind made him feel that he didn¡¯t fit with his family anymore. It was like an ill fitting joke that God played on him. Why would God make him feel separated from his family. His family was the place he felt the most comfortable in. It was the one last place where he could be himself, yet such difference between him and his family members made his past comfort being with them look like a joke. At that instant, Josh felt a nudge. His dad had shook him out of his deep thoughts. Being the leading kind of man his dad was, it was bound to happen. His dad knew how Josh thought and when to snap him out of it. It was his innate leader like qualities that let him handle all kinds of people¡ªespecially knowing his son the best. ¡°So we all died?¡± Josh muttered. ¡°Mhm, looks like it.¡± His father answered with a stern voice. ¡°But all of us arrived shortly one after another.¡± ¡°But yours took longer than any of ours. We have been waiting what has felt like six hours¡± Jess let out a groan. I looked at them weirdly ¡°I died shortly after you when I killed the two men. So I don¡¯t think that was the reason¡­¡± Josh mumbled. ¡°Wait a minute!!¡± His father waved his hands around to stop the discussion. ¡°You killed them!?¡± I then spent the next ten minutes explaining what happened. His parent¡¯s face paled when they heard the details. Never would have they expected their son to kill; not even to avenge their deaths. Worse of all, Josh did it in a fit of rage. Everyone in his family knew that his rage was destructive and could hurt those around him. Even though he was kind, he was bullied all his life; nevertheless, that never held him back . His morals were solid and the love for his family was unconditional. A lot of people took their family for granted, but family for Josh was never for granted. Always thinking about them and loving them was something that Josh always thought about deeply. Yet even after all of that, Josh still had ¡°that.¡± And ¡°that¡± was his rage. He put all the pent up rage and hate inside a ball that he imagined inside his chest. All the hate from the bullying, all the hate from the hate of others for him, they all went inside that small ball. From there, dark thoughts were born. Soon enough, those dark thoughts became apart of him. However, Josh denied that part about him. Never did he want to admit it. So because he didn¡¯t accept it, it grew, and grew, and grew until it became a massive part of him that was ignited on that day the men broke into his house. The blind rage set itself on fire. It gave him strength and consumed him as a person at the same time. ¡°This anger¡­¡± Josh mumbled. ¡°I can still feel it.¡± He looked up at his family as his eyes were still teary from the relief of meeting his family again. Misery ran down his face, and all they could do was give Josh one big embrace as a whole family. The feeling of being surrounded by the ones he loved was an indescribable bliss. His raging soul, anger, hate¡­ all of it calmed down. From that calming feeling, Josh learned one important lesson: even though they all look different, they were all still family no matter what. ¡°Hello there. God is speaking.¡± The voice was light yet it had a commanding pressure. At this point, everyone turned their heads to see where the voice came from. Chapter 2: Ripping bonds Finished editing so rejoice! I hope to get the next two chapters by tomorrow! no promises. (i live on a farm, have three jobs, and have collage. I have very little time to do anything but i try) _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Josh''s family all turned their heads to the strange being that just spoke. The man looked like he was in his mid-forties. His laid back and jolly atmosphere made him seem like he was good with kids. Just from a glance, Josh could tell that he and his dad would get along just fine. In the sudden turn of events while everyone looked at the god, he laughed with a boastful tone. His laugh took up some time until it finally calmed down. That was when everyone noticed his stare was directed towards Josh¡¯s dad. ¡°So Aaron, how''s it going?¡± A moment of silence fell on the family when the god asked that question. ¡°Hah! Not so well I bet! Because you¡¯re dead, get it?!¡± The god joked. Josh¡¯s dad turned his head back to his family. His face twisted into a pain as coming to a sudden reminder that they were dead. ¡°I¡¯m a father¡­ and I couldn¡¯t even protect my family¡­¡± Josh¡¯s father¡¯s voice trembled with a tone of despair. The god nodded with his eyes closed as the father of the family said that. Again, a momentary pause fell between the god and the family. The god¡¯s eye lids slowly opened and his lips parted as if he was about to say something. Everyone looked on with anticipation about what the man in front of them was about to say. ¡°It¡¯s ok. I-¡° ¡°Stop right there!!¡± Before the god was able to utter out his sentence, he was interrupted by a voice. The god¡¯s face paled at the sound of the voice; like a child being caught playing with matches. In the next moment, a group of beings appeared. They permeated of deep pressure which meant that they were powerful. ¡°I-i-i-I W-was only¡­¡± The god stuttered. ¡°Only what Humas?!¡± The being in the front that just appeared shouted at the god. Everyone in the family understood that ¡°Humas¡± was his name when the being shouted at him. ¡°Taking advantage of getting to know the heroes first¡­ Ha! You little worm!¡± The beautiful goddess in the front continued her nagging at the god named Humas. ¡°only the history¡± Humas said defeated while being stared at by all the other gods. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with you later.¡± She then turned her eyes and looked at the family. An angel like smile appeared on her face once her eyes caught the sight of all of them. ¡°Hi and welcome to our world. We need heroes who have gifts that will be our champions. My name is Aurorta goddess of the Fay or what you call fairies.¡± Her eyes turned again, this time her gaze directed itself onto Jess, Josh¡¯s sister. Bringing her head to one of the other gods, she whispered, ¡°She¡¯s mine.¡± Confused and scared, Jess hid behind her father''s back. Aurorta looked at Jess as if she were looking at a cute shy puppy. Josh¡¯s instincts were on overdrive with the feeling of wanting to protect Jess from this yet unknown being. Josh looked at the gods¡ªall the gods. The look in their eyes were of children that were looking at new toys. But strangely, none were looked at him. There were some quite bickering after that comment, but all was calm after a short while. ¡°You¡¯re all probably wondering who these other people are right?¡± The goddess continued. ¡°Well first off, you¡¯ve already met Humas, the god of humans. Then there is Gladeal, god of the elves, and Shakor, god of the dark ones. Those other gods don¡¯t matter there only minor gods¡± ¡°Pfft, probably would be better without them¡± she mumbled under her breath. Some gods who heard her were angered by her words, but would dare not say anything against her. For Aurorta was a High god. With scores of followers bolstering her strength. A god was measured by the amount of followers, quality of followers, their specific element, or power and fame of their champion. All the minor gods dreamed of getting a champion one day so that they could raise their rank amongst the gods. They could choose one of their followers in their realm. However, every god wanted a summoned champion whose strength and powers almost rivaled that of a god. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Well if you get the daughter I want the father Aurorta!¡± Humas chimed in annoyingly ¡°Then I¡¯ll take the mother while you take the young son Shakor¡± Gladeal spoke in a haughty voice. Shakor just nodded. On the other side, Dust¡¯s face paled at the vile smile of the god. ¡°Wait, why are yo-¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Humas cut off Josh¡¯s father. ¡°What should we do with that Aurorta?¡± Humas pointed to Josh The gods pondered what to do with him. There were many faces of disgust, anger, and shock. Again, Josh was treated differently even though they were all family. Aurorta turned her head towards teh other gods and explains: ¡°I¡¯m just as shocked as you to see him here. But he passed the qualifications to be a hero even if he is part demon. From what i can sense he is part angel, part demon.¡± She turns and looks at Josh¡¯s family. ¡°Your race when you first come here is based on your personalities and emotions. Also your abilities and strengths come from what you were good at in your old world. For example: Your mother Jody, when she was younger, was a champion archer for hunting and contest. She shot 199 arrows into an X on a target short of the 2 hundred needed for a perfect score. That is why she showed up with a bow.¡± She then looked disgustingly at Josh¡¯s direction ¡°But you boy, based on your memories have many talents. They would be great if not for your uncontrollable personality, and your own self-righteousness I would fight over you. But because of that, you are worthless. Not to mention because of that feeling of justice and love, you were allowed to come to this plane meant for heros!¡± In the background, Humas was talking to some of the other gods. Nodding to them he spoke up. ¡°Hey Aurorta, What if we leave him here for the next 100 thousand years? Maybe by then he his mind and soul will break enough for use to use?¡± Aurorta seemed delighted at this suggestion ¡°Yes, that would be wonderful!¡± She said with glee ¡°Wait, we won¡¯t do anything you say unless we are together. We will never agree nor follow you!¡± Josh¡¯s father shouted. At that sudden shout, Aurorta gave him a sly smile and spoke, ¡°That won¡¯t matter once your memories are gone. Heh, you won¡¯t even recognize each other.¡± ¡°Wait¡ªNOO!¡± The gods then leaped forward, grabbing the head of their respective champion. With that hand that gripped their very minds, physical mass reached inside of the heads of Josh¡¯s family and ripped out a shining mist. Everyone¡¯s memories were torn out of them. Josh rushed forward to stop them but was restrained by an unknown force. It was a spell that didn¡¯t exist back on Earth so Josh had no way of countering. ¡°Hmm¡­ you have some power better seal it away before you become troublesome.¡± At this moment Josh¡¯s aura, armor, and strength were completely sealed. The gods grinned at Josh¡¯s futile struggle to reach his family. Josh saw his family''s memories thrown into the air as if they were trash. As if those things were easily thrown away. As if all the years with his family were nothing but an illusion. All the happy memories he spent with is his family treated like rubbish. ¡°Weren¡¯t gods supposed to be benevolent and good?!¡± Josh screamed. ¡°Why to my family?... We did nothing wrong!¡± Yet the gods ignored him. They continued finishing the bodies of his family. A light appeared just behind the gods as they finished. The gods all vanished into the light after their task was completed. All of them returned to their realms of power¡ªto indulge in the pleasure their power brought to them. But Josh was all that was left. Broken. His vision gradually faded into darkness. A man without a family. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ please rate and comment it gives me motivation to write. Chapter 3: awakened SORRY FOR THE WAIT! Like I said I live on a farm, work three jobs, and am starting summer classes. I have little time so chapters will be sporadic. Thank you to my editor who has put up with me. The next chapter will be released tomorrow no exceptions no extensions. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ In the plane of darkness, a body laid unmoving, no different from a corpse. He simply laid there as if broken with lightless eyes. How long has it laid there? Hours? Days? Months? Years? He couldn¡¯t tell how long nor did it care to figure out. He couldn¡¯t win. Justice nor vengeance were out of reach for it. He could do nothing then and he could do nothing now. What if there was a way to gain them back? A thought not quite his own came out. What if such a thought was possible? Josh thought. He would give everything just to have that chance. That was when a glow lit itself up in his eyes. Parts of his broken soul once again formed inside of him. Josh began to think. ¡°I would give it all. My blood, my sweat, my breath, my life, even his own soul.¡± Josh uttered. What could stop him? He had lost so much already, there was no hesitation in his eyes. Josh, on all fours, struggled himself up. Lifting his head to greet the morning sun, but what he found was a woman. This woman looked to be in her late 30s and had an indescribable aura around her. However, he thought again. This indescribable aura was an aura of familiarity¡­ like family. Yes, that¡¯s what he felt from her, like she was family from the beginning. Josh realized that these thoughts came from the woman in front of him. In that very moment, he became cautious of her. He mustered up anger towards her, but something always threw water on that hot anger. Yet to this unknown figure, how is it possible to trust her? The only beings that were able to come in here were the gods. Based on that logic, she, herself, was a god.As Josh put on a confused look, the woman looked up on josh with a gaze of concern. Her look of concern gave Josh even more confusion. All the gods looked at his family like playthings. However, this god looked at Josh as if he was an equal to her. It didn¡¯t make sense, Josh thought. ¡°To them, you are just playthings dear.¡± She told him. Dumbfounded even more, Josh could only stare, letting out a gap between his lips. Could she read minds? Josh asked himself. Numerous amount of methods surged into Josh¡¯s mind to test this theory, but before he could try anything- ¡°I can only read your mind if you¡¯re thinking about your family or me.¡± She spoke in a gentle tone. Gentle enough to loosen Josh¡¯s own worries. Her hand raised up. At this signal, Josh up with a force that came from the goddess¡¯ power. It felt like a warm breeze picking him up¡ªan alien power; yet so familiar. Now standing, the woman was just a little shorter than he was. She was beautiful¡ªstunning even. Her appearance made the gods from before look like children playing make up. She contrasted a mature intelligent woman as opposed to the children playing around with toys that was his family. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Hey! Why are you looking at Familia like that. Damn insect.¡± A dark, bass deep, possessive voice shouted. ¡°Now, now, he just saw me. How can any mortal not stare at a god? Remember when I first saw you?¡± Familia again said in a gentle voice to calm down the anger of the man beside her. The man appeared shoulder to shoulder next to Familia. He was a little taller than Josh. The man¡¯s aura was like nothing Josh ever felt. It was a much different aura from the other gods. Grief surrounded every pore in Josh¡¯s body. By just thinking of a problem, he felt all the grief in that problem in a condensed manner. The problem that he caused himself in his entire life¡ªhis whole family¡¯s death. The man looked at Josh. A faint sadistic smile appeared on his face when he looked at Josh¡¯s expression. He announced ¡°What you feel is indeed grief. What I sense is grief. I am Greif one of the halberingers of death. I am its personification.¡± The man announced. ¡°But what you are is uncertain. What¡¯s certain is, if you keep staring at Familia, you will be a stain on the bottom of my boot.¡± He was staring at Josh with eyes that would make any drill sergeant tremble. (writer: how do you think Josh felt?) ¡°Ok, now Grief¡­ GRIEF!¡± Familia shouted. Her irritated tone put on a strong commanding pressure unto Grief. ¡°Stop staring at the boy you¡¯ll kill him again!¡± Grief looked down like a child being scolder by his mother. Josh looked at this scene and thought If she can make a man like this look like this, what kind of demon is she? ¡°I heard that!¡± Familia yelled over to Josh Grief looked over to Josh. His puppy eyes endeared a sense of camaraderie with Josh. ¡°Now back on topic¡­ I am Familia, God of family, and I wish to make you my champion. But before you think that this will be like those other god¡¯s champions, the difference will be is that you will get something in return.¡± Familia starts ¡°How this is supposed to happen is a god is to call a champion by providing a challenge or quest needed to be performed that would affect a race or the world entirely. The god would then grant a wish to the champion after said task was finished. The only problem was this time, the gods called your family over just for fun. ¡°Little did they know that I called your family over for a larger task that will be told at a later time. So, what is different is I wish to provide you a gift that would usually be the wish at the end of the usual quest.¡± Josh asked cautiously while being hopeful ¡±And what would that be?¡± ¡°A way to get your family their memories back.¡± Familia smirked. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Please rate and comment (comments keep up my motivation to write and not sleep) :) Chapter 4: First task Like I promised here is you next chapter. in the poll the world history option with be within the story and not some random history lesson that directly tells readers what happened. also when this poll closes i will start writing that chapter( or maybe earlier if i get lots of comments and a rating or two) ______________________________________________________________________________ ¡°Wait, what!?¡± Josh shouted, shocked at this proposal. ¡°A way to give memoried back to your family and protect them from the other gods.¡± She continued smiling. ¡°This is like a dream come true!¡± Josh looked away. ¡°But almost too good to be true...¡± ¡°There might be some conditions¡­¡± She hesitated. ¡°It depends.¡± Both Greif and Josh looked at Familia; question marks appeared over their heads as they gave her a cautious gaze. ¡°Depends on what¡­Familia?¡± Greif asked with a questioning tone. ¡°Well, I kind of used up most of my power summoning this boy¡¯s family here. So I was wondering if you could provide some help with this gift...?¡± she asked looking down as he pushed up the pupil of her eyes at Greif. She pushed her two index fingers together in a cute manner to put on an even cuter act. Greif looked hesitated at this request. Familia resorted to a power said to be even stronger the the gods. She cocked her head and stared at Greiff with the most innocent looking eyes. The perfect puppy dog eyes that she would use against Greif knowing he couldn¡¯t resist. Greif while looking at her, saw a glow that surrounded her. The glow made her even more adorable. Greif tried resisting and thought, must think of manly things, muscles, swords, sweat, puppie¡­.. no no aw explosions. However, he was only delaying the inevitable. ¡°Ok! Ok! Just please stop looking at me like that.¡± Greif gave an exaggerated response. Josh shivered and thought to himself once more ¡°Like I thought, a Demoness...¡± Lucky, Familia was too caught celebrating her victory to hear Josh¡¯s thoughts about her. Had she been paying attention, she would have definitely retorted to his thoughts. ¡°So, what are the conditions that need to be met Famila?¡± Josh asked hoping to get back to the topic once more. Familia looked at Greif to explain the process. Greif took a moment to think for a bit. Finding the required method needed to give back Josh¡¯s families memories, but at the same time save much of his own power. He could make it so the next time Josh¡¯s family see¡¯s him, they will get their memories back. In that case, the power it would take to recover would be equal to absorbing the Greif of every person who lost their destined loved one on the continent five times over. That is no small amount. His figure drooped down into deep thought. ¡°You will have to defeat them without killing them in order for them to get their memory back.¡± Greif announced. Hah! Now I will only need to expend a little amount of energy, and still please Familia! Greif put on a smug smile at his own clever plan. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Meanwhile Josh was flabbergasted. Defeat them? Ha! Even as normal people they were scary. Sure Josh was a MVP at most of what he did but so were they. His sister was a state champion wrestler and soccer player. Not to mention a member of some underground girl martial arts league they had in town. And that¡¯s just his sister. What about his parents? They were both outstanding in their own accord. Josh¡¯s brother, however, he could maybe beat because the only good thing he was good was hide and seek, and video games. So Josh thought he would be fine. Back to Familia, she needed to ask one more final thing. ¡°Hey Greif, could you also help unseal his power?¡± She asked with puppy dog eyes. ¡°No, nah ah, no can do little lady. That is some MAJOR power to release a seal made by so many gods.¡± he firmly replied ¡°Im not asking you to completely unseal him. Only to allow it to weaken with time and training. Also I will help on this account because he is my champion.¡± she replied. ¡°Ok I¡¯ll do it because you asked me to.. but I have a condition.¡± Greif said ¡°What?¡± she asked cautiously. ¡°He comes back with me¡ªto my sides race to grow up. He needs to see that our side is not evil and keep him from ¡°those¡± guy¡¯s followers. From brain washing him or exorcise him as a demon or whatever they do!¡± He laid down his condition with a stern voice. Familia paused and stared at Greif. Greif hoped cause any conflicts with her- ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Familia laughed out loud. It took a few minutes for her to calm down from her own amusement. ¡°Well of course you can do that. In fact I was planning on it the whole time. He doesn¡¯t fit in with ¡°my¡± side¡¯s followers so he would be in trouble.¡± Wiping off the tears from her laugh, she continued, ¡°This is perfect. Why don¡¯t we inform him about this?¡± Turning towards Josh who finally came back to reality, she stated, ¡°Your first task as my champion is to reunite your family with their memories.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Josh stated his stance with eagerness in his tone. It was the one thing he wanted to do ever since he heard her proposal. Familia continued, ¡°You will now be turned into a baby in order to blend in with your environment and not inform the other gods that there is a new champion or upset the balance of this world. ¡°You will also not be of the same race as those around you or your family. Greif will keep watch over you because he has authority where you will be where I am the enemy.¡± This stumped Josh, but he nodded in agreement. ¡°Then let¡¯s begin.¡± She smiled. In a blinding flash of light, Josh lost all of his senses. The world he was in disappeared along with those senses. Then, an infinite darkness flooded his vision¡­or is it because his eyes were just closed? ______________________________________________________________________________ Another shout out to my editor who again puts up with my weird writing methods and turns them into gold. Pls comment and rate!!!! :) not a chapter: farmer stuff as i said before in some other posts, I''m a farmer and around this time of year im swamped with work. In fact tommarow im putting hay bales up in a barn. It will boil my brain and i usually pass out after coming home and taking a shower. I like to also say i like the cold and after working in the sun it usaully takes it out of me. i have the start of the next chapter if you guys want to read it? i will put up a pole for other things. chapter 5..1: A new beginning I am sorry for the wait I have been busy lately to the extreme. I now have 4 jobs though so hopefully i will make enough money for collage! Here is a short chapter (its a prologue of sorts so very short) But im so sorry for being away so long don''t be mad. :perche: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The world was swinging. But yet it was not an earthquake. Josh looked up and saw a horrific sight. Covered in black feathers with beady eyes was giant crow. What Josh thought was wierd about this crow was it had three legs, as all three held the basket of the now baby boy Josh. The air was dry trying to steal any moisture that any living being could give off. Josh turned and saw out the side of the basket, a desert. Sand and rock far as the eyes could see and from what he could see from so high up. it was pretty large. The rock formation looked as if they were out of a tourist flyer of new mexico and Arizona with there shapes and texture. There were also canyons that would put America''s great canyon to shame. On the sands were black creatures, some small others big as buildings. Josh shivered at the site, what hell had he been brought to? Finally after what could be guessed as 2 hours passed thye arrived at their destination. It was at the base of what looked like an upright swan wing made with the red rock that would match any of the other formations. At the base of this formation was a steel like door. But this door was the size of a suburban house. The crow which i ignored for most of the trip scratched the door leaving nine gashes in the metal. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The sound that was produced can be described in three words: ¡°god f***ing LOUD¡±. A comparison is nails on a chalkboard X10 then with 9 claws X9 that means 90 TIMES THE PAIN. The doors suddenly opened and out jumped out what looked like a fully armored valkyrie with wings like the crow. She stood there defiantly ready to fight when the crow started to speak. Josh could not understand the language they spoke in and complained in what most babies did, he cried. During the conversation the Valkyrie look stunned then looked at Josh who was still crying. After looking back at the crow she bowed. The crow then turned into a wisp of black smoke and was gone. The women then came over and picked Josh. She then looked at him and was shocked. The baby looked breathtaking beautiful. Because most demon¡¯s diet consist of monster meat and other things, demons never were beautiful or cute to the other races. But Josh was absolutely adorable. After holding and looking at him she turned around and walked into the cave as the steel doors shut behind her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Good news today is my free day so ill try to get the next chapter out today as well though it may not be edited. [th_095_.gif]