Chapter Thirty:
The Realms of the Gods
Nicodemus
A few weeks passed, and soon, all of the God’s children were to meet on the front of the steps of Hayden Hall by nine Monday morning. We were going on a field trip to see each of the seven dimensions that our parents preceded over daily, a huge honor in itself, but especially to be escorted by the Gods. We questioned why it was only us going on the trip, but based on our parents’ reactions we kept our mouths shut and just enjoyed the privilege. My parents had left around six to get everything ready before meeting us back at campus, leaving me to dress and eat breakfast on my own. Since we weren’t required to wear our uniforms today, I threw my closet doors open with a gigantic smile. My Shadows were all giggling as I sorted through my clothes, pursing my lips. “What would make my parents ground me for a year…?” I cackled.
(Explain again why that is your objective?) Claude laughed.
“I need to make sure their hearts are still beating once in a while... Ah ha!” I cried, pulling out a pair of black ripped jeans, “These will complete everything!” I ended up wearing the jeans with black sneakers, a hoodless grey sweatshirt that had its own holes in it, a pair of oval shaped sunglasses, and a set of white earrings. I brushed my floppy hair out before sliding a grey beanie over it, and used some gel to slip my bangs into a wave that sat on the edge of the hat. “Should I wear eyeliner too? Or is that pushing it?”
{Let’s not run around looking like a racoon. You haven’t perfected that skill just yet.} May mocked as I grabbed my backpack and tossed it over my shoulder. I pulled one of the skateboards I had recently begun riding off the rack above my bed before dashing down the steps to the kitchen. There, I ate two microwaved burritos before whistling for Akira, who hopped up onto my shoulder.
“Alright fuzzy, let’s hit the road!” I called, tossing the skateboard down and jumping on. Akira dug his nails into my shirt in fear as I sped through the streets, the wind blowing my hair off of my sunglasses. I had a coy smirk, and stuffed my hands in my pockets to try and look cooler, though my dorkiness was still showing hardcore.
At the academy I could see most of my friends and the Gods had arrived, and were excitedly conversing as they waited for the rest of us to show up. Sebastian turned when he heard my skateboard rumbling down the hill. His jaw slammed to the floor, and he grabbed his boyfriend’s arm to rip him in my direction. “Ow, what!?” Soren cried before giggling, “Is that you, Nick!?” He called as I skidded to a stop with a cocky smile.
“Who the heck are you trying to impress!?” Sebastian yelled.
I snorted loudly, “No one, I just felt like dressing normally today.”
“He’s just rebelling cause Odysseus isn’t here,” Praxis teased.
I tilted my sunglasses down to roll my eyes at her, “Hey, it’s not my fault my boyfriend decided to have snowball fights with nomads for a month.”
“Can I record you calling him your boyfriend? I don’t think he’d believe me if I told him you were actually saying it.” Griffin cackled demonically.
“Don’t be jealous because I’m hot,” I scoffed, sticking my tongue out.
“Alright kids, let’s get going!” Blaine called with a cheerful smile. He jumped into the driver’s seat as my friends and the Gods hiked up the steps and took their own spots. Soren slid into a window seat behind Blaine, Sebastian smacked in beside Soren, and I smooshed in beside Sebastian, who threw one arm each around Soren and me. We automatically started gossiping wildly with one another, lost in our own world of laughter.
“There’s a whole bus, yet you three have to sit this close together?” Dad asked as he peeked over the seat at us.
“You’re just mad I didn’t want to sit with you!” I mocked, which made Mom laugh hysterically as Blaine closed the bus doors before revving the engine to life.
Griffin and Praxis were excitedly talking to Zephyrine about the Wind Realm while Galaxy and Elizabeth chatted with my parents, and Deveraux quietly talked on the phone to his representatives from the Earth Realm. Soren had pulled out his phone, and was scrolling through his music with a coy smile. Sebastian caught on to his plan and jumped up to tap Blaine’s shoulder, who looked up to him in the mirror. “What’s up, kiddo?” He chimed.
“Can we play music?” Sebastian begged.
“Go for it!” Blaine happily replied, a mistake he would learn he made in a few moments.
“BLAST IT, SOREN!” He began playing an industrial metal song with extremely inappropriate words and a beat that would make normal people throw up. Sebastian and I sang along like absolute idiots, dancing in place as the Gods paused mid conversation to gawk at us.
“What the heck are you listening to!? It sounds like a car accident.” Deveraux scoffed.
“Welcome to modern day music, father!” Sebastian cried.
My butt began to vibrate, which made me raise an eyebrow and stand to get my phone. Sebastian nonchalantly whipped it out of my back pocket and looked at the caller before gasping horrifically. “It’s Odysseus! HI, ODYSSEUS!” He screamed as he answered the video call.
Odysseus, who was wrapped up adorably in a scarf, hat, and a puffer coat, laughed as his father rolled his eyes in the seat before us. “I don’t recall calling you, Sebastian.”
“Oh shut up; Nicodemus is equally my property!”
“Excuse me, whore? I am a free woman!” I snapped, whacking the back of his head as Soren, Odysseus, and the rest of the bus laughed. “Give me the phone you snot rag... Hi, Odysseus!” I chimed as Sebastian punched me in the kidney with a scowl.
“Snot rag? How classy.”
“Did you call just to make fun of me?”
“Far from; what are you guys doing?”
“We’re on a field trip to see all of the Realms!” Soren exclaimed cheerfully.
“Oh man, that sounds fun! I wish I was there…!” He whined with a defeated frown.
“Well you could have been here if you weren’t busy making igloos,” I cackled as he rolled his beautiful eyes.
“It’s a good thing I have Nick around; who else would I suffocate while you’re on missions?” Sebastian said as he snatched me into his arms, which made me choke off violently.
“I thank the Gods I'm in Siberia right now,” he sighed sarcastically.
“Wait until you get home, asshole, because I'm going to smother you to death just the same!” Sebastian evilly squawked, curling his fingers, “Mama Nature is here to snatch all of you in her arms!” He declared in a crackly voice.
“MAMA NATURE!” Soren and I screamed before exploding in laughter and falling into our seat to hold our aching stomachs. Deveraux rolled his eyes, smacking his forehead to his hand at his idiotic son. “You’re better off buying a place out there, Odysseus.” I chortled as I caught my breath and wiped my eyes.
“Maybe so,” he laughed, “Regardless, I'm just finishing up a few things here, but I’ll be tomorrow night…”
“TOMMORROW!?” I cried happily.
“Oh Odysseus, you and your dick are coming home?!” Soren mocked, which made me jump over the seat to choke slam him. Blaine was sobbing laughter in the driver’s seat, smacking his head to the steering wheel at a red light. The rest of our parents and their children couldn’t contain themselves either, and were just as hysterical.
“You boys...!” Elizabeth cried.
“Fuck you, Soren!” I screamed, punching him repetitively, “Because you’re the one who can’t keep your hands off of Sebastian!”
“That’s because I’m so cute!” Sebastian giggled in a child-like voice.
“Oh my Gods… I am hanging up, Nicodemus!” Odysseus called.
“Alright, alright. Have a safe trip home, ok?” I said with a smile that he returned.
“Put your headphones in.” I did what I was told; Sebastian slammed his head into mine to try and hear what Odysseus wanted to say, “I love you, Nick. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow night.” He cooed lovingly.
“Same here,” I replied, winking, before we hung up.
“Would you two just get married already?! I can’t take the torture!” Sebastian sobbed wildly, which made me giggle in embarrassment.
“Would you pull yourself together?” Soren barked.
“Really; you two are just as lovey dovey, so cram it.” I snapped, flopping back into the seat with a devilish side eye that made Soren giggle.
“Correction, I'm the lovey dovey one. Soren is comparable to a block of cement,” Sebastian stated, which made Soren snap him an evil glare.
“Not true! I’ve opened up more!” He exclaimed wildly.
“Oh please, Soren.” Sebastian snorted. Soren fumed, and turned as red as his hair before smacking his arms around Sebastian and kissing his cheek loudly. Sebastian blinked in shock, but smiled and hugged Soren back with a chuckle. “Hey, relax. I know the real you, and that’s all that matters.” He whispered cutely, kissing his top lip once as the two smiled to one another.
“A.k.a, you know what he’s like when his pants are off.” I snickered, which made Sebastian blush a ferocious red and the rest of the bus giggle.
“Alright, alright, enough you three.” Galaxy chuckled.
“So, what Realm are we going to first?” I squeaked, flopping over Blaine’s shoulder.
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He smiled and ruffled my hair, “We’re headed to the Fire Realm. We’ll actually be there in just a moment,” he said as he parked the bus. “Come on everyone!”
We all dashed down the bus steps after he and the Gods, who smiled at the lot of us. Blaine had driven us to what was called the ‘Septem Ostia’ or the Seven Doors. It was the place in Valyce’s dimension where all seven Elemental Realms could be accessed by Non-God Elementals. The adult Elementals on campus would use this port as a way to get to work while their kids studied hard back at the school. There was an eighth door that only the Gods could enter, but we all knew better than to ask about it until we were given permission.
“Alright everyone, stay together, we don’t want anyone falling in lava pits today.” Blaine called as he placed his palm on the red door. It illuminated beautifully before flames flashed around each side, and the lock slowly clicked. Blaine opened the entryway with a smile, which made all of our jaws’ hit the ground.
“Whoa...!” The kids cried as we raced into the dimension.
Inside, it was a Fire Elemental’s Caelum. Volcanoes rumbled and exploded into the sky while magma slithered through cracks in the ground towards a giant pool. Elementals that were in the surrounding area were calculating the pressure of the structures, the distance they shot into the sky, and how much magma was actually produced. Up further, more Elementals were fluctuating the temperature of fires, tracking naturally occurring ones throughout the world and sending out other Elementals to help control any haywire flames, or starting new ones to help combat the decaying trees and plant life that needed to be dealt with naturally.
Blaine happily greeted anyone he passed as he lead us through the burning hot landscape, his hands in his pockets and a grin across his face. Soren looked like he had reached nirvana, and rambled questions to Blaine as fast as they popped into his mind. Blaine just laughed and tried to keep up with him. “This is truly incredible, Blaine. I’ve never felt this much energy in my life!” Soren cried as he scooped up some stray flames and blew them into the amber sky.
“You’re at home base, kiddo, that’s why. Here, touch the magma,” he said, reaching into the pool to pull up a puddle. Soren did as he was told, flashing red eyes and gasping in awe as the liquid slid through his fingertips. “Do you feel the energy behind it? This is the fastest way to regenerate after a battle, competition, or just a long day of work. Most of us will literally lay in the pools to relax. Would you all like to see where my base of operations is?” Blaine asked, which made us all squeak excitedly and nod fast. He motioned for us to follow him, where he lead us up to a giant structure in the distance. It was a building made of obsidian, with three sets of magnificent volcanoes surrounding it. Every hour the volcanoes would explode, but the building would be unaffected by the occurrence. Blaine opened the door proudly and allowed us to all file in before pointing to one of the screens. “This is where we track anything and everything. Each screen is dedicated to a different test we are running at all times.”
“A lot of math and science falls into being a God?” Griffin asked.
“Some more than others, but especially for a Fire God. Temperature, velocity, pressure, it all is a huge factor in the makeup of our Realm. We have to consistently be on top of our element, especially since it is so dangerous to Humans and the Earth. One missed explosion can lead to the decimation of the planet, and all of its races.” Blaine explained.
“This is so cool... I can’t wait until I can work here with you, Blaine!” Soren sang.
Blaine’s eyes fell a little, but he smirked and combed a hand through Soren’s hair. “I can’t wait either, buddy.” He said a little sadly.
“Where are we going next, Blaine!?” Praxis asked as we headed back to the portal.
“Wherever you’d all like.”
“Can we go to the Shadow Realm?!” The guys cried in unison, which made Dad chuckle at their excitement and nod patiently.
“Of course we can.” Dad chimed, scooting past me to touch his own door. Black smoke took the place of the flames Blaine’s door had, and once opened, the cold breeze I was always welcomed with enveloped the space.
“Are your Shadows here, Nick?” Sebastian asked as we walked down the pathway.
“All Shadow Walkers live here,” Dad explained as he opened the gates, “So any Shadow Walker you know will reside here.”
(Including us.) Claude said as he and my Shadows appeared. Instead of the ghostly forms they portrayed to my friends while I was at Valyce, they looked like normal people before us, with the exception of the black eyes and bleak skin.
“Whoa...!” The guys cried, rushing over to begin poking him as our parents laughed.
(What the heck are you guys doing?!) Claude chuckled.
“You’re, like, a real person!” Soren cried.
“They always feel this way to me?” I questioned.
[You’re a Death Elemental?] Alice joked; I laughed and nudged her playfully.
“This place is amazing...” Griffin whispered as we began our walk down the streets of the Shadow Realm. My Shadows and Dad’s walked with us with smiles, occasionally looking to me as if they were searching for some type of reaction I wasn’t giving. They would exchange nervous glances, then go back to whispering to one another like I wasn’t just a few feet ahead, but I did my best to ignore them.
The guys rambled questions to each Shadow as fast as they came, but when we crossed onto the most familiar street in the Realm to me, they gasped in awe when I raced up to the first gate. “This is where my Shadows live!” I proudly gestured as everyone paused before their homes, “I spend a lot of time here when I stop by!”
“You guys have houses?!” Sebastian asked.
“Where’s the entrance to the Human’s next world?” Praxis pressed.
“It’s next to the base; come along.” Dad chirped cheerfully.
We followed him to a beautiful structure that sat in the middle of a vast field. It was an old Victorian castle, that, once entered, had hundreds of Death Elementals bouncing back and forth between tasks. Portals to various parts of the world were in one room, where Elementals came and went. Each was labeled something different, like, Common Illness, Murder, Suicide, Drowning, Guns, Car Accidents, Cancer, Heart Attack. They were written in Latin, but all of us had mastered the language at young ages, so we easily could decipher them.
“What are all of these doors, Atlas?” Soren asked.
Dad leaned against the Common Illness door casually, “These are the gateways we use to collect souls. For example, if a Human should die of a heart attack, then Elementals in charge of that division would be sent out to collect their soul and bring it to Purgatory for final judgement.”
“How morbid!” Sebastian sniffed.
“What did you think we do for a living?” I snapped in offense.
“Someone has to do the job, kids, and that is what we were chosen to do. Yes, it is a morbid task, but in the end you meet incredible souls. You ensure that Humans are escorted to a very long and happy end, free of pain and sadness. It’s rewarding in its own ways.” Dad chirped.
“What kind of things do you guys track?” I asked as I slid by a few Elementals to peer up at the large screens overhead. Each time a Human died, one of the numbers would tick, and another Reaper would dash through one of the portals instinctively.
“Death rates, spread of illness and disease, infant and mother mortality, murder rates, etc.” Dad replied nonchalantly.
“Do you only collect Human souls?” Sebastian asked.
Dad shook his head, “Of course not; everything dies, Seb. Every living thing has emotions and a soul, and we take care of our furry friends as well.” He assured with a wink.
“That’s a relief! I was worried about what would happen to all the kitty cats!” He cried to elicit a few casual laughs from our group and the busy Elementals we passed.
I turned to tug on Dad’s shirt, “Can we show them where Magnus and Geneva work?” I begged; he chuckled and shrugged casually.
“Well, I certainly can’t escort everyone through Caelum and Gehenna. That’s kind of something dedicated to us, kid.”
“Aww, man! I wanted to see Purgatory!” Praxis whined.
Dad’s expression darkened only slightly, but enough for me to notice. “It’s not exactly a wonderful place to see, Praxis.”
“Is it true only Grim can go in and out of there?” Griffin pressed seriously.
“Yes, it is. Purgatory is the place of ultimate judgement, and any Elemental besides myself would be consumed should they enter. Their soul will immediately be seen as someone in need of being placed, and retrieving a soul for revival purposes is extremely dangerous.”
“Not to be disrespectful, but that sounds so incredibly, depressing. How do you handle going from being there all day to, normal? Surely it’s got to take a serious mental toll?” Praxis whimpered, clinging to Dad’s arm with a frown now that she realized how serious his job was.
He tsked and hugged her back with a loving smile that made her ease up. “It’s not disrespectful to be curious; it is a very hard job, and not one just any Elemental can do. But…” Dad ruffled my hair wildly to raise a laugh out of me, “These two tend to keep my spirits up. Ash and Nick truly keep me from getting consumed by work. Purgatory is a place where time does not exist, and there have been many points where Ashlynn has had to snap me out of it. You tend to become absorbed by the endless souls, the suffering… You simply want to save them all as quickly as you can, but it’s not always the way things are meant to be.”
“So, why is it that Death Elementals have Shadow Walkers, Atlas? Is it because they have to reap souls no matter the condition or something?” Griffin asked.
“Precisely. Death Elementals are subdivided into two categories, the Reapers and the Hunters. Reapers need Shadow Walkers to help combat the other elements during collection. Let’s say a tsunami swallows an entire town; without the ability to wield or move through water freely, Reapers would have souls just roaming the Earth unjustly. Hunters are the branch that takes care of demons and monsters; basically the police for the supernatural world. Their Shadow Walkers are used for defense purposes when fighting against different classes of supernatural creatures, as killing a demon is no easy task. It takes a village so to speak. Most Death Elementals chose which branch they want to work with by their sixteenth year.”
“So, Nick really is special then. He can kill demons and use almost all of the elements, so he can do be useful in lots of ways. Is it rare for Death Elementals to be able to be both a Reaper and a Hunter?” Soren chimed in.
Dad swallowed slightly, but didn’t hold back in his answer. “Well, any Death Elemental who can do both becomes Grim, hence why Nick stands out.”
My friends and I fell quiet for a few moments, which made our parents a bit uncomfortable. Galaxy abruptly took the reins and clapped a hand on my shoulder, “Where would you like to go next, kiddos?” He asked to break the tension.
“Can we go to the Life Realm?” I begged, flashing Mom puppy dog eyes.
“Sounds good! Come on, kids; let’s ditch this dungeon!” Mom teased with a giggle.
We exited the Shadow Realm, and while Dad locked the door and my friends and I conversed excitedly, Blaine slowly looked up towards the sky. He began staring off into space, flashing all red eyes and flicking them to and fro rapidly. I wasn’t the only person to notice this because Galaxy walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning in to whisper, “What’s wrong, Blaine,” in his ear.
“I can’t feel Odysseus’s energy,” he whispered back seriously, which made my parents turn to him nervously, “I’ve felt him the entire time he’s been in Siberia, but now...?”
“Should we go find him?” Dad asked, coming to join the conversation.
“Yes, we absolutely have to. I'm terrified something is wrong...?” He choked.
“Alright, don’t worry, we’ll leave in just a moment.” Mom turned to us with the smile she always flashed to hide a serious or scary situation, which in any other circumstance would wash my worries away. But now, all my mind could focus on was Odysseus. “Guys, if you don’t mind, can you head back to our house and talk amongst yourselves for a little while? We have to go check on something quick,” she sang like a true con-artist.
“Is something wrong?” Soren pressed, acting as if none of us had heard the conversation.
“No, honey, we just need to take a quick peek at something. We’ll be back as soon as possible. I’ll conjure you all a portal that leads right back to the house, ok?”
“Mom, seriously…?” I tried.
She turned and flashed me a look I had never seen on my mother’s face before: pure, unadulterated, utter seriousness. The look meant one thing; I know you heard what we were discussing, and if you want us to save your boyfriend’s life, then do as you are told. I slowly nodded before she held a hand out and brought up the portal. “Nicodemus, please make sure everyone stays at the house until we return,” she said sweetly, yet with a demanding undertone.
“Of course, Mom,” I said, nodding to her once more before motioning the guys to the portal. They hesitantly began walking through, leaving me the last in line. I set one foot into the other side before pausing, and turning to our parents with pure black eyes. “Should anything be wrong, I would like to find out as soon as possible. I will respect your wishes and do what I am told, but I want to be informed of the situation as much as I can be. I will act as if I have not heard anything spoken between you all, to keep the others from worrying, but let me make something completely clear; Odysseus means the absolute world to me...” I whispered, my voice breaking a little, “ If he is hurt in any way, please, do not hide it from me.”
Blaine stepped forward and set a hand on my hair, which he tousled with a small smile. The smile was full of intense worry, but also appreciation for my words towards his son. “I will personally guarantee that you will know what the status of the situation is,” he said simply.
“Thank you.” I continued through the portal, which closed immediately behind me.