"Hey, so what exactly are you?" I got asked.
Terra and I were doing some research on the sun blocks, the ones that form the houses on the floating islands.
They are interesting, formed in such a way to absorb the sunlight and even to repair themselves with it, much like nanobots or similar things.
Talking about nanobots, I had already gotten a sample of every piece of technology in here.
It was one of those lazy afternoons when nothing really important was happening. Something like a filler episode. If I had the Naruto card, that filler soundtrack would be playing.
"What do you mean?" I asked, sure of where she was going to but still wanting to be completely assured.
"I've seen you fly, learn things faster than normal, raise entire carriages with your hands..." She listed off some things that made me as supernatural.
"I'm-" Wait. What am I?
My first answer would be human, but my father is a god(At least in this body), and my mother was a human.
But my soul is... well, not precisely human either.
After starting Alucard's assimilation, I've been able to see and interact with souls directly.
I have so many questions and so many answers, but let's focus on the point at hand.
My soul greatly differs from a normal human one. In every characteristic.
So I'm not human in either soul or body. I guess that the closest answer would be...
"A demi-god, I think." I say casually.
"Huh?" A bit not expecting that answer, Terra stops fiddling with the lamp and the sun block.
"I mean, my father is a god. But from where I come from, having one of your parents be a god doesn't make you one, not a demigod either. It just makes you a mortal with divine ascendance."
"You become a demigod once you become a hero renowned across the world, while godhood is more of a seat of responsibility. Not that any of the gods are actually responsible." I said that last part in a lower tone of voice.
"Wait, wait, wait... God? As in... Creator of all and that?" She asked me with slightly wide eyes.
Following Greek mythology... No, everything came from the primordial chaos and Uranus, who would be my great-grandfather. God of War uses pretty much the same setting, with Uranus being referred to as the father of the universe.
"Nah, it's messier than that... A big fight happened between my great-grandfathers. Uranus, my direct family, was struck by one of his brothers, and the universe spawned from his body as a result."
"How does that work? Wait, what does that make you?" She asked two very valid questions.
"I have no idea how that works. And as I said before, I'm yet nothing, not a hero or a god or anything with a real say in anything."
"But you could be, right? Like, become a full-fledged god?"
"Probably. If I kill any of my uncles or aunts and take their seat... Although that would bring consequences I can't foresee."
"Like?" The conversation was starting to set down in her mind, she was less surprised by the things I was saying and returned to messing with the light sources.
"Well, like... Answering prayers? Actually, not really, none of them have any kind of responsibility, they just do what they want."
"For real?"
"Yeah. There's a whole city named after one of my... sisters, but she doesn't care about it beyond the name it holds. It could be rashed to the ground, and she'd probably only think about the shame it would bring her." It's not me who says it, so it's in the books. The game books, not the myths.
"So why are there gods? Are they just... Kids with a lot of power?"
"Eh... That wouldn't be wrong, I guess. They mostly pull some strings to amuse themselves... And fight each other now and then, but they can't fight directly because it's forbidden, so it's more like a cold war."
"...So they don't do anything? No helping people, no granting miracles or anything like that." Not understanding the last part, she continued asking.
"They kinda do? I mean, they have worshippers, so they should have made miracles and shown their support often enough to be revered."
"And... Will you become one of these gods? Do you want to?" She asked.
"..."
I haven't thought about it.
The future, I mean.
What exactly should I do?
I would be lying if I said that I didn't want to better the situation in my world, but how? I'm still weak compared to the gods.
And what exactly would be ¨Helping¨ in this situation?
There's still the prophecy where I would destroy Olympus, so just by not doing anything, I'm making a better future.
But is that it?
It's like that meme where someone prevents a kidnapping, or robbery, or murder, or any other crime with self-control. That can't really be considered doing a good action, can it?
I guess that what I'm aiming at is that making things better over there isn't as simple as defeating the big bad monster that will bring all of humanity to doom.
"No. If I ever become a god, I want to be a good one, like Jesus or something like that."
"Uh-huh... But I suppose that there comes a but?" She says, as if unfamiliar with a term I used.
"Yeah. But, it's not as simple as that."
"Oh yeah? How come?" She seemed curious, in her eyes sparkled the kind of curiosity only shown when you heard a politician talk about his government plans.
"Well, for once, my non-existent divine status would not be discovered, but I can make myself a name as a mage or a warrior, with it, I would get into a high enough position in my country, where I could start affecting things."
"But once again, it wouldn't be easy. Alongside a King who would be easy to influence, there's a council of old men who, while not knowing all of the tricks in the book, are experienced and supported."
"Furthermore, the average citizen is dumb, not only dumb but willing to remain like that. It is only when our military service is over that we actually have a chance to learn, effectively wasting our young years in fighting, which is better done in the later years, especially considering the nature of magic."
"And even if I get through those problems in twenty years, the cities around us wouldn't stay still and would see through that these changes become irrelevant and try to undermine them, as having us just as strong weapons of war that will fall into irrelevance with time will benefit them." Historically speaking, that's what happened; it didn't fall in what you would call a great battle.
Its inability to adapt, its constant fear against the slaves that they owned, the population decline they had after wars and wars... A lot of factors were involved. None of them was something they would call a glorious death.
There isn't any direct mention of Sparta in the game, but it isn't hard to know what happened.
Using Kratos as a tool of conquest, the council quickly took over the surroundings of Sparta. They used the name of Ares as a means to unite others into the same banner, while also making clear enemies for them.
In the beginning of GOW 2 we see Sparta conquering Rhodes, an island separated from Sparta by the whole Aegean sea. So that speaks to Sparta's success.
Wait, is it called ¨Aegean sea¨¨ or does it have- No wait, Theseus exists.
At the end, Sparta ruled a large part of Greece while only Athens remained untouched, probably at that point is when Kratos killed his wife and daughter.
"There is no great hero in our homeland, no great enemy, no great purpose, so we can't be united under something either. If there was at least one of those things, then maybe-"
"Can't you be one, then?" She asks
"Hm? One?"
"A hero. Make a lot of great things, gather a small army, and... overtake the government by force, I guess? I'm not good at this."
"Yeah, you aren't- Wait."
My mind goes through some quick thinking, I'm only doing a basic rundown in politics since I'm lacking a lot of experience.
... It may work?
Once again, I have no idea how these things work, but if I really put my mind to it, I could make the world's first coup d'État with some effort.
And after that?
I may not know how to reign, but I'm sure as hell know who does.
[Lelouch vi Britannia - Code Geass]
The card smiled at me leisurely, like someone with the full intent of saying ¨I told you so.¨
It appears my priorities are shifting.
.....
Terra and I stopped our research for a moment.
She's been going to a ¨Monster survival group.¨
It's a group of people who have survived monster attacks and learned to deal with it in their life to life. She goes occasionally to heal from her experiences.
It's nice to see it.
On the other hand, I don't have a good reason for stopping. Only a note apps on my cellphone with the title of "Bucket list."
-Eat the perfect sandwich from AT.
-Climb the Celeste mountain.
-Make a lot of references[Expand]
-Eat a cookie clicker cookie.
-Ask Thors about his philosophy.
-Go to Mario
-Visit the library planet from Doctor Who.
-Tame and ride a dragon.
-See a Kuroko no basket match.
...
And the list goes on and on. To be honest it's just something to distract myself. Since lately I feel that I've been doing too much work and research, whether magical of technological.
It is fun. I'm a nerd so for me it's the equivalent of being thrown into Hogwarts's libraries with a magical wand, but I still think think that other experiences are important.
One of these experiences would be to stop running away from my problems.
And like this is how I want to address the elephant in the room.
[Name: Arian/Kratos]
At some point that I'm not sure about; my last name had been removed and in its place, a slash appeared with the name "Kratos."
What does this mean?
My first and most coherent hypothesis is that "Kratos" has bled into my person, changing me from Arian to a mix of Arian and Kratos.
How?
Let's think about this.
At the start of this life, I had my full name. Now I don't. What happened between those events?
I fought in a war, I gambled, I fought massive monsters, I made friends, I gained some sense of-
...Wait.
I gained a sense of duty towards Sparta?
Not in the "I will pledge myself for an eternity" but "I want to help."
Although that was more of my character development... Then, is that influenced by Kratos wanting to do good for Sparta?
It sounds coherent.
I'm not saying it's bad; Why would making a country better be bad?
I'm saying that Kratos has indeed merged slightly with me.
How does this work? Is it like an assimilation process that occurs from my "Arian" soul to my "Kratos" body?
How interesting.
Perhaps a worse reaction would be the first thought of a normal person. But not for me.
Actually, I think that my reaction is perfectly normal.
If I was worried about my personality, habits, or other values that I have changing with me becoming more Kratos, then I would have been worried by the assimilations that I had in my body before Kratos.
Like the red hood, Roland, and Parker.
But no, there is no reason for me to be even annoyed by this.
Kratos is diligent, strong willed, charismatic, strong... Good father(At least in the future.)
Furthermore, my habits have changed after assimilating.
I've noticed that I've absorbed other things aside from power and items from my assimilations.
A sense of justice, morning routines, thought paths that I wouldn't have from my young perspective...
To be honest, am I even "Arian" anymore?
What part of the original me remains?
No, wait, that's a dumb question.
None remains.
...
Why would it make me less me than before, though?
It doesn't.
The fact that I'm nothing like before doesn't make me less me.
Maybe it just meant that I've grown. Sure, maybe not in the conventional way that most people do, but it is still growth.
Maybe that's all that it means.
In the past, I would be scrambling my brain around with these types of questions: What am I?; Who am I?; What is my purpose here?...
Now I don't.
Maybe I've just become a little bit better.
Just a little bit.
.....
Time passed quickly.
Between magic trials, spending time with Eleanor, Terra, Eve, getting to meet the community, talking to Calista, spending time relaxing in the snow, reading the bestiary, expanding my bucket list...
It was a very messy last month, but not one I regret.
For the first time in my life, I didn't have any doubts about my place in the world.
I had friends, I had a purpose, I had things to do... I was fully happy.
But of course, every piece of happiness must come to an end.
It was time for me to go back.
...
A normal day.
That's all it was. Not a lot of clouds, no rain, no massive monster that loomed all over me.
You could call it boring, and no one would correct you.
I realized I liked this boredom, to do nothing and just pass my time calmly.
Maybe I liked it because I knew these days would be slightly lacking in the future.
I told everyone I was leaving.
Eve took it nicely, she hugged me and told me to come back whenever I wanted to. Of course, I told her that's not how it works and she just answered "I know, I know."
Terra cried a little, we spent some time talking about nonsense and, for some reason, farming came as a topic and she ranted about it while I sat there trying to follow. It was nice to see her so lively after, y'know, the dungeon.
I visited Andrew's tomb one last time. I didn't say anything but left a rose that I specifically laced with mana to let it live a little longer.
While saying my farewells, I gave Calista the magic research done by the cultist. I had memorized it all already, and I had no further use for it, so I left it to someone who could give it one.
In the cultist's notes, I saw his rants about making the world better under the threat of a superior power, obviously the Moon Lord. I can't say it wouldn't have worked, but it felt a little flimsy.
He did all to better the world, but seeing how magic was treated, he capitalized on that reputation and made a magic threat.
It's a typical martyr plot.
Eren, Lelouch, Garou... People who became the enemy so that the good guys could defeat them and bring peace to the world united under a common enemy.
You can't really compare them to the cultist, but the point still stands.
Anyways... I don't think I have too much left to do in here.
Currently, I was relaxing at the top of a mountain, trying out cool stuff with the body control magic I had from Dante.
Eleanor was with me, looking at the horizon, admiring the beauty of the place.
I thought about saying something to her, but she looked too peaceful for me to destroy it.
There was no countdown for me to see, but I felt it in my bones, in my whole being, that my time in this world was coming to an end.
Well, that's a little dramatic, but still.
Eleanor transformed into an item again, I placed her in my inventory, and made the trip home.
✺✺✺
The night was at its peak when a slight ripple was felt in the space, shattering it and the silence with a small crisp sound.
With the sudden appearance of a man, the sound was cut off, and the space returned to normal.
Perhaps if it had been daytime, not a single soul would have noticed. After all, the primordial being embodying the skies had long been slain by his son, and the one embodying the day is of less order compared to the most important ones.
However, the primordial who embodies the night wasn't so weak as to not feel a disturbance in her domain.
The Primordial concept of the night, Nyx, was easily able to see the man who came out of the spatial gap. A child who looked ready to fight.
His eyes darted around every place he could, his aura was flared to the maximum in the small bedroom of the house he appeared in, and he began to bluff.
"Hey there." He said.
Nyx knew he couldn't sense her like she sensed him.
"Are you going to keep staring?" The right side of his arm gained a sharp edge, like his body was half-made of a sword.
The Primordial Goddess was not at all faced by the threat. She knew that she was nothing less than invincible during the night.
After a few more moments of tension, the boy relaxed his body and aura.
"No one..." He fell into the bed he was standing behind and threw his arm across his head.
He seemed to appreciate the silence and fell into a deep sleep, his consciousness banished to the deepest parts of his mind.
At that moment, she made her appearance.
Nyx, one of the oldest and original Greek deities who originated from Chaos itself, manifested upon the small cottage of a nameless child in the middle of Sparta.
Made up of shadows darker than the deepest pits of the abyss itself, she didn't moved, the world itself bent to place her at her destination. As if she was meant to be there.
The dress that covered her lower half was made from countless threads of black that seemed immovable and immutable. It was tied to her form by a cape made of stars that covered her upper body and closed around her neck.
The garments she wore were the things that made her slightly comprehensible to the mind. Unlike the Olympians, she used her attire to made her seem more of a living being and less of a force of nature, even though she was.
Her facial features were unreadable, with the ever-shifting shadows in her body, it would be hard to guess where the face started and where it ended, if it wasn't for what appeared to be hair.
With her ghastly hand, she touched the boy sleeping peacefully in his bed.
And inserted her hand in his head.
What she did could only be known by her, but the boy will have an idea about it in the future.
When he grows to be a man.
A god.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: Ooh, Cliffhanger.
Is Uranus written with a U or an O? Some write it as ¨Uranus¨ and some others as ¨Ouranos¨
Why the fuck do my characters talk so much? It is I who has to do the dialogue at the end. So it is I that suffers.
Ugh, character realizations, they're so awkward because I need to think that it aligns with the shitty past that they had.
Yep, no big goodbye for the characters, I'm pretty tired of having to write dialogue and having to think about what they will say. Now I'm in the middle of my exams, since these last chapters have taken a lot of time for me to do, even if they were 8000 words long.
Btw, I most definitely fucked up with what I said in a part A/N; Bellerophon doesn't exist since it was Kratos who slayed the Medusa and took Pegasus (Well, Pegasus is used by him in GOW 2, so I'll assume that).
List of excuses as to why I haven't uploaded:
-I had exams and group projects (I'm just realizing that two months have passed)
-I got both writer's block and readers' block at the same time. Both for fanfics and IRL books(The readers parts, no way my lazy ass would publish an actual book)
-I got into roguelikes.
-In my group for the projects was my ex.
-I got into Roblox games.
-A Spanish friend got me into Spanish books. Specifically, the ones from his country(He wasn't from Spain, he just spoke Spanish), fuck they were good. Depressing, to an extent, but good nonetheless. Thankfully, they didn't use too many colloquialisms beyond names and jokes.
-I found a 2d soulslike with multiple save files available, and I couldn't let that slide unplayed.
-I was sleeping in my parents' house, and I couldn't breathe one day so I went with my parents to the ER. Everything got solved in like 2 weeks.
-My love/hate relationship with Cookie Clicker resurfaced, fuck.
-I started seeing a psychologist.
I don't think anything else happened. At this point, God is going to throw me a thunder, fulfilling the ¨God VS Fanfic writers.¨ trope.
Kinda cliche from god's part, but I'm making a gacha system in this fanfic economy(Fanomy) so I can't say shit.
No, wait, I literally couldn't breathe, so it became true????
Whatever... I hope yall reading have a good moment in this day.
Enjoy the reading and bye bye.