The fifth day of winter, thirteen years of the new Age of Eser.
It was in a small town, bordered completely by The Great Forests of Elis, a young human was set to make history, for he would do the unachievable and give the strengths of gods to mere mortals. The road to that goal was a thorny one for the bright-eyed Leon. It's hard to discern why exactly he wanted to do this. Maybe it was because he wished to wield these powers himself or out of fascination with all the alchemical processes achieved with the mystical Rune, a fairly common mineral with magical energy hidden within it. He was not alone in this endeavor, as a rather strange man named Uzi, a traveling merchant who came through his town a few times every month, provided him with an ample supply of Rune and whatever equipment needed. Leon often questioned why Uzi helped him as it did not make sense for a business-man to dump in so much capital and effort into something he saw absolutely no return in, but there were so many other things off about the man some called Uzi that he brushed it off as him simply being eccentric. With the sponsorship of Uzi backing him, Leon spent nearly every waking moment on this project, often spending days without end testing various things he could accomplish with Rune. His effort however sadly went without results. No matter what he tried it was always as if there was a missing piece of the equation that could tie all loose strings together.
Leon worked on this project in spite of his aunt Opal's obvious disapproval. This often led to heated shouting matches between the two. The night before he turned nineteen was no exception to this, as they had an explosive argument that ended with Leon storming off to his room where he would stay, tinkering with runes until the next morning when Opal came, barging in.
“Galic's roots! Do you have any respect for my privacy?!” Leon exclaimed.
"Don't invoke the Galic tree with me, You have been living under my roof for over seven years without paying rent. I don't have to respect your privacy.” Opal replied.
“What do you want, aunt?”
"You know if you want to be so obsessed with something, at least let that thing be somewhat productive. You're good with a sword, take your mum's swords on the wall and join the town's watch.”
“Aunt, I'm not going to use The Cloud Cutter, a blade given to Mum by a god, to chop a bunch of sheep stealing wild dogs.”
“Allegedly given to her by the god.”
“Why would she lie about that?'
"Simple, to make herself look good.”
"Mum wouldn't do that.”
"My sister very much will. Some of her childhood friends still think she defeated a mystic goat, whose words came to life to fight you."
“I'm Still not going to disrespect her by using her sword for pest control."
"Then get a sword from the blacksmith, just do something with your time that isn't this!"
"You really came here this early to do this?”
“This time I'm not here to argue with you .”
"Then why are you here?”
“Here.” She said throwing a small jewelry book at him.
“What's this?”
“A present from your Mum.”
“From mum?”
“Like a year before she died she gave me that box and told me to safeguard it until you turn nineteen.”
"What's in it?”
"How should I know? Open it and find out."
Leon peeled off the thin fabric that kept the box together revealing a yellow amulet as he touched the amulet his vision blurred. He began to hear an array of voices coming from all different directions, all too muffled to understand a word they were saying.
"Leon! What's wrong with you?!” Opal exclaimed, prompting Leon to snap out of the trance.
"huh?!” Leon exclaimed in confusion.
“For Galic's sake! Did you not get a lick of sleep last night?”
“Umm, not really.”
“It's way too early to deal with your nonsense, I'm leaving.”
“Bye.”
“Oh wait, one more thing before I go.”
"What?”
“Happy birthday you little shit.”
"Thanks, aunt.”
“Please go get a Job.”
As noon came, Leon had decided to seclude himself in the depths of the forest, far away from the town. He took with him his mum's sword, as his aunt's words along with the surprise gift from his long-dead mother, rejuvenated the swordsman spirit within him. Though it had been about a year since he last held a sword, he felt more natural with it, as if a potential within him had been unlocked, somehow. Though he was quite skilled with swords before, there was a certain stiffness he felt any time he held the Cloud Cutter, as if the sword was rejecting him. That was no longer the case. He swung his sword with such a carefree attitude that he did not notice he had wandered far away from familiar sections of the great forests, only reconnecting with reality when he was faced with an Ingulian girl, lying unconscious right in front of him.
"Galic's roots!” He exclaimed, almost tripping from shock.
"Please don't be dead.” He said as he reached forward to the girl to ensure she was still breathing. As their skins came into contact, Leon immediately felt this strange jolting sensation, as if he had just been electrocuted by an exposed wire.
“He finally wakes.” A voice from behind spoke.
“Huh?” Leon said as he turned to find no one there. Suddenly, he was flashed with a flurry of vision, all seeming random and non-sensical at first till he realized they were all about the girl lying in front of him, they were her memories. Through these visions, he learned all there is to know about her. What she likes, her life as a Lesser god, and her name, Nova.
As the twenty-one years’ worth of memories came to an end, Leon fell to the ground as the flurry of information left him winded and exhausted. While he lay, exhausted on the ground, the girl stood up and immediately began to scan the area around her, as if she was searching for something.
“Hey, this isn't what it looks like. You were unconscious and I wanted to.” Leon said.
"Shush! Don't make a sound.” Nova whispered as she held Leon's mouth with her right palm.
As he sat there quietly, staring directly into Nova’s silver eyes, he felt a strange connection with the girl standing in front of him, as thanks to that strange vision rush, he knew everything about her. Or at least almost everything. despite the fact that he now knew details like how she loves ice cream, he had no idea why she was telling him to stay quiet.
“Umm, why am being shushed?” Leon asked.
“It's nearby. Hide.” Nova said.
“Is it that guy we are hiding from?” Leon asked as he pointed at a rather wasted-looking man a short distance away from them.
"Trust me, that is no man. Now let's just quietly get out of here before he...” Nova said as applied her weight on her broken left knee, causing her to fall, making a loud enough noise to catch the man's attention. As he set his eyes on Nova, the man's body began to contort and disform as black sludge began to ooze out from his pores.
“What in the four realms is that!” Leon exclaimed.
“RUN!” Nova exclaimed as this creature made of nothing but black sludge began to race towards them.
“What the four realms are you doing? Let me down! you are going to slow yourself down.” Nova said as Leon lifted her up and began sprinting away from the sludge monster.
“Nova, I can't just leave you hear to be killed by that thing. What is that thing anyway?'' Leon asked.
"How should I know, It just started randomly attacking... Wait, how do you know my name?” Nova asked as the sludge monster appeared in front of them.
“It teleported?!” Leon exclaimed as he turned back only to be facing another sludge monster.
“It's me they want, just drop me and run,” Nova said.
“You can die later if that's what you really want, If I leave now and you die, that isn't leaving me conscience.” Said Leon before he ran straight into the trees.
“Do you have an escape plan?” Nova asked as they dashed through the dry winter trees.
“Aside from running like I have never had before, No. You got anything, Miss Celestial?” Leon asked.
“How do you...?” Nova asked as the stretched arm of one of the sludge monsters grabbed Leon by the waist, pulling him away and leaving her on the floor.
Leon had found himself in a dire situation as one incomprehensible monster crushed his ribcage with its disgusting sludge hands, and the other chased after Nova. The pain soon became too much to bear as his body grew numb and his vision blurred. He suddenly felt heavy-eyed, as if he hadn't slept in days. He closed his eyes for what seemed like the briefest of seconds, only to wake up back in his bed.
“Huh?!” Leon exclaimed as he scanned around the room as if he was unfamiliar with his surroundings.
“You're awake!” Nova said as she walked through the open door.
"So that wasn't a dream,” Leon said.
“A dream? What are you talking about?”
“Don't mind me Nova, just confused. By the way what time is it?”
“It's almost sundown. You've been unconscious for four hours now. By the way, how do you know my name?”
“I'm not entirely sure about it but I guess I kind of have a connection with you.”
“Aren't you a forward one?”
“I didn't mean a connection like that.”
"Then, what did you mean?"
“I don't know whether you will understand what I'll say but I saw your past.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I saw you lying unconscious, I had a brief vision containing the totality of all your memories, I don't know why but that's how I know your name.”
“Huh, that's odd, what else did you learn about me from my memories?”
“Well, I saw you are a Celestial, which is probably how you were able to kill those two sludge monsters despite your injuries, which is just incredible.”
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“Umm, I didn't kill them.”
"Then who did?”
“You did?”
“How?”
“Are you messing with me right now? You used your grace of lighting.”
“What do you mean by my grace?”
“You have to be messing with me right now.”
“I am being completely genuine.”
"What kind of god doesn't know what grace is?"
"God?!” Leon exclaimed in great confusion.
“Galic roots! You had me scared, shitless.” Opal said as she barged into the room.
“Honestly, I can't with you. The tinkering of those fancy rocks of yours is one thing but collapsing from dehydration deep within the forest! If you want to die, tell me so I can stop worrying about you!” Opal exclaimed.
“Collapsing from dehydration?” Leon said in a confused tone.
“He doesn't even know what happened to him. If not for kind-hearted Nova over here, who luckily found you lying by the river bank and brought you all the way here you will be wild dog feed by now! Speaking of food, Dinner will soon be ready. Would you like to join us, Nova?” Opal Asked.
“Sure, I would love to,” Nova replied.
“Alright then, I'll be downstairs setting up the dishes,” Opal said before leaving.
“Why did you tell her I collapsed from dehydration?” Leon asked.
“Did you expect me to tell your aunt that me and her nephew got attacked by two monsters made from some weird black sludge?” Nova said as she turned for the door.
“Hold on! Where are you going?” Leon asked.
"Didn't you hear your aunt just say dinner will soon be ready?”
“You can't just randomly say I'm a god then go eat some beef curry.”
“There is clearly a lot to discuss about that matter but it all will have to wait since I would rather not raise your aunt's suspicion.” She said as they went downstairs.
“So it's just you two?' Asked Nova as she scanned around the relatively small cottage they lived in.
“Unfortunately, yes. Would rather not have this one leech of me, but I'm the only family he has so it's a faith I must bear.” Opal replied as Leon glared blankly at her.
“By the way, Nova. It’s quite rare for a new face to appear in these parts, especially one that just wandered in like yourself. So, what brings you here?” Opal asked.
“Just passing by, I guess,” Nova replied.
“Where in the world are you headed to, that you managed to find your way here?” Opal asked.
“Estarol,” Nova replied.
“Alone? Sounds very suicidal for one person to travel through the forest alone, especially with all the demons out there.” Opal said.
"You need not worry, I'm more durable than the average person.”
“Still think you shouldn't wander the forest alone. How about you wait a few weeks for Uzi, he goes from here to the capital a lot.”
“Who is Uzi?"
“A merchant that supplies Leon with these stupid rocks.”
"Rocks?”
"A bunch of colorful rocks Leon is obsessed with for some blasted reason.”
“They aren't just rocks! They are minerals filled with mystic energy.” Leon said.
“I did not ask you for a description Leon.”
“It's not about you asking or not, you are spreading misinformation to the unaware.”
“Spreading misinformation? Rune is an inorganic solid sourced from the ground which is how I and many others will describe a rock."
“Let's not do this right now.”
“Don't start arguments you know you don't have the strength to end."
“What? You're the one who started the argument.”
“I'm not the one who is trying to shame his aunt and also guardian in front of her guest by correcting her and saying she doesn't know what she's talking about like she's some old senile hag. Gelflings can live to one hundred and fifty, I still have a hundred years of life left. I'M NOT AN OLD WOMAN LEON!” Opal exclaimed.
“You know what, I just remembered that, as a showcase of gratitude for her saving my life, I want to go do something with Nova, In the forest. Come on Nova, let's go!” Leon said as he jumped out of his seat.
"Ok? Thank you for the meal, ma’am,” Nova said as Leon dragged her out the door.
“Your aunt is quite the character,” Nova said as they reached the forest.
“Don't let me start with her, that woman could make a pile of dirt into a mountain,” Leon said.
“Or a mineral into a rock,” Nova said with a cheeky smile on her face.
“Haha, real funny. Anyway, back to important things. Why did you call me a god?”
“Huh? Because you are a god?”
“No, I'm not.”
“How then would you explain how we are both still here?
“Easy, you killed them.”
“But I didn't, you did.”
“I did not do that, maybe you were seeing things.”
“I doubt I would hallucinate a man turning a vicious demonic entity into ash with lighting coming from his fingertips.”
“You're a god, that stuff isn't that insane for you to imagine or hallucinate.”
“How about we recreate the moment?”
“But those sludge monsters are already dead.”
“I didn't mean like that. I mean I show you how to use the god powers you are denying.”
“Sure, I doubt it won’t be anything but a waste of time but let's try it.”
“All I need is for your fingers to spark with lighting, that is extremely rudimentary.”
“What is up with you?! You can't do something as simple as make your fingers spark with lighting and the godly presence in your aura is just suddenly gone. I don't get it!' Nova exclaimed after an hour of constant failure.
“Maybe it's like that because I'm not a god?”
“Shut up, I know what I saw,” Nova said as she lay on the grassy floor.
“That sword, why did you bring it? Were you expecting those sludge monsters to reappear?”
“Not really, l just brought it with me."
“So, you just carry it everywhere you go?”
“No, I hadn't really touched it in a while until today.”
“Is there a reason why?”
“It was my mum's sword.”
“Oh. How did she?”
“She died five years ago, in the war.”
"The war? Didn't that end a decade ago when the then three-year-old Eser king was anointed?"
“Yes and no, the main war ended then but some gods and the nations they ruled over still kept fighting. The sovereign god of Kantos, where I'm from and where my mother was an ought-bound angel, was one of those gods that kept fighting. My mother died serving that god.”
“That's horrible.”
“She apparently didn't go down easy, using the strengths of faith angels get when they pray to their ought bound god to singlehandedly waist a hundred angels.”
"She sounds like an incredible person.”
"Yeah she was, but she ultimately ended up dying a pointless death in a pointless battle that was even part of the pointless century-long war! And here I am, holding a sword that was gifted to her by a god, a god just like the one whose ego sent her to die.”
“You sound just like him.”
“Who? Eins?"
“Oh yeah, you can see my memories somehow. How much of my memories can you see anyway?“
“I can see enough to know that Eins was a father figure to you but there are certain foggy memories I can only kind of see. For example, I know Eins is dead but I don't know how.”
“Well the Storm god as he addressed himself, had gods that hated him as he hated most other gods. They ambushed and killed him. Since then, I've been on my own.
“I'm sorry for your loss.”
“I'm sorry for your loss as well, maybe he was right? The gods do suck.”
“If there are more gods like you, I highly doubt that.”
“Two weeks!” Nova exclaimed as he jumped back on her feet.
“For what?”
“If I'm unable to prove you are god in two weeks, I will admit defeat and leave.”
“Don't you have somewhere to be?”
“I will wait until then.”
"Ok, I accept but why do you want to do this? Is it just because I accused you of hallucinating?”
“No! I guess I kind of just have a connection with you now.”
The eighteenth day of winter, thirteen years of the new Age of Eser.
Two weeks passed and both Nova and Leon found themselves enjoying Local ice cream made by an old lady in the town.
"My goodness what is in this ice cream, I feel like I'm eating pure happiness," Nova exclaimed.
"It is a special ice cream I give to young couples." The old lady said.
"Oh, my goodness Mrs Arnes you can't keep giving two random people of different genders ice creams saying they are a couple," Leon exclaimed.
"But she is not a random person, you know who she is."
"Well yeah but only for two weeks.
"And so, I married my husband the same day I met him and we've been together for fifty years." Mrs Arnes said.
"That's a lovely story Mrs Arnes but the younger generation isn't that quick to marry anymore," Nova said.
"Well ok, but when you two are ready to get married come get ice cream to bless your marriage." Mrs Arnes said.
"I don't even need to be getting married to come back. I could eat this every day." Nova said.
"Well then after another cone dear." Mrs. Arnes said. as she served her another cone of ice cream.
"Thank you," Nova exclaimed joyfully as she gobbled up the second serving.
"Sorry about Mrs Arnes, she just wants more babies that call her grandma," Leon said as they walked through the town.
"I thought she was really sweet and, plus she gave me more of this holy nectar in a cone for free," Nova said.
"Hey! Leon, I have been looking for you everywhere." A voice yelled.
"Uzi you are back? I thought you were headed east to the fish market." Said Leon.
"I was going to head there but ran into a bit of trouble," Uzi said.
"What trouble?" Leon asked.
"My damn horses got spooked by nothing and ran off a cliff with my merchandise. But anyway, how are things going with our project?" Uzi asked.
"Not well," Leon said.
"Oh, good I'll be heading there now to get more cargo," Uzi said.
"Are you going to Estarol?" Asked Nova.
"Oh, forgive me, I did not notice you there. My name is Uzi, Leon's Part-time employer and business partner.”
"Nova, nice to meet you." She said,
"The feeling is mutual. Now, do you want to go to the capital?" Asked Uzi.
"Yes, I do." Said Nova.
"Well, I would love to accommodate you but I'm afraid my journey is not a straight road. Why don't you head to Keaspar and take the train straight to Estarol? Trust me it will be much faster than riding with me, you should be at Estarol in under two months."
"Two months!" Nova exclaimed.
"The Nation of Elis is not a small place my dear. Now I can not afford to chat anymore. I must be on my way." Said Uzi as he rushed to the horse-pulled carriage he rented.
"*Sigh" Exclaimed Nova with a defeated look on her face.
“Look on the bright side,” Leon said.
"Which is?”
“I do not know.”
“Let's just head into the forest before it gets late.”
In the past two weeks Nova, in attempts to convince the skeptical Leon that he was some sort of god descent, had been teaching him all about gods and the strengths they possess, or at least to the extent she knew. She taught him about god's grace and divinities and even tried to help him master a divinity, but they saw no progress.
“It isn't a physical thing, you have to let your Eva flow through your body to do it. You just look like you are trying to shit yourself.” Nova said.
“You make controlling my very life force sound easy.”
“You did this already. It shouldn't be this hard.”
“Your wager is almost up, maybe we should bring back the possibility that I didn't do that."
“Yeah, because I just imagined you frying monsters with electricity.”
“I don't know, you said it yourself that my aura is that of a plain mortal.”
“I know what I saw Leo... Hey, do you see that smoke?” Nova asked as she pointed at a thick mass of smoke a short distance away from where they sat.
“That's coming from town!”
"Is a building on fire?"
"A building won't release that much smoke; it has to be something worse. Come on, let's see what is happening." Leon said before both dashed towards the town.
They arrived at the town only to see it had been set ablaze, as many ran around screaming as they witnessed their possessions and loved ones turn to ash.
"What in the four realms happened here?" Nova exclaimed.
"I don't know but let's go see if my aunt is okay," Leon said as they rushed to his house.
They reached the house which had been reduced to a pile of soot and debris.
"My goodness!" Nova exclaimed.
"Opal! Are you there!" Leon called to no response.
"Opal!" He yelled once again.
"Why are mortals always so damn loud?” A male voice asked. The man's voice sent chills down them both, giving them enough proof that he was the one behind the fire.
Leon reacted to this man's presence by quickly drawing his sword and taking a defensive position.
“How amusing. Listen, I don't have time to play or whatever it is you are trying to do; I just want the girl to give me what I want and I'll be on my way. As a show of mercy, I'll even spare you two's lives.” The man said.
“What do you want? What in the four realms are you talking about?” Nova asked.
“The Emblem child, what else could I possibly want from you?" The man said.
"An emblem? What are you talking about?” Nova asked.
"Playing the Ignorance card, are you? Not advised.” The man said.
“Whatever you are looking for, she doesn't have it!” Leon exclaimed.
“Lower your voice tiger. Look I admire this cute exhibition of chivalry but you are all bark, no bite. You’re just a mortal standing between two gods. I doubt that weapon of your will even cut through me. “The man said.
“You want to test that?” Leon asked.
"The balls on this kid, very well, let's test it, all you have to do is try and strike with that sword, I won't move or even fight ba....” The man said as Leon cut off his right hand with such speed that he even shocked himself.
“I've never been that fast with a sword,” Leon said in confusion.
“Sum sword you got there, kid. Cut straight through my arm.” The man said as he regrew back his arm.
“Now my turn.” The man said before launching his whole body at Leon in a singular punch engulfed in a strange black flame. Leon could see the punch coming but could do nothing about it as this wasn't something he was capable of dodging. He began to panic and fear for his life within half a second before the punch made contact with his face. In this panic, his eyes grew heavy once again and he blacked out.