Chapter 2: Odysseus.
In a field of reeds and flowers, Five-One-Eight, age seventeen, sat up and gasped, his eyes rapidly darting around his surroundings as his heart pounded in his ears.
He looked left, he looked right, a terrible headache tearing at his mind as tears flowed from his sapphire eyes.
The young man took a moment to steady his breathing, his pupils still scanning the nearby area for… something.
“Where… am I…?” Five-One-Eight asked aloud, racking his pulsing brain to try and figure out why he was where he was. One moment he had been preparing to go to sleep under the cardboard covers, shivering in the duct of building and the next…
A woman.
He remembered a woman. A silhouette of one anyway. One that spoke to him, but no matter how hard he tried to recount the words exchanged he couldn’t.
Who was she? Why was he here? What was this place? Question after question hounded him with only one phrase appearing over and over in his mind.
You are Odysseus. My Champion.
Champion? What did that mean? What was an Odysseus? Was it a title? Or… perhaps a name? And why was he crying as if… as if he had lost something dear to him?
With clenched jaw, a feeling of near overwhelming sadness swept the heart of the young man, feelings of guilt, unknown emotions, and tears spilt out of Five-One-Eight who hadn’t cried since he was six at his mother’s funeral.
He began to choke, clutch at his chest as he doubled over and let out a wail that echoed through the forest.
Frustrated, and unable to stop his crying, Five-One-Eight hands dug into the soil beneath his body, causing him to jolt at the soft texture and wetness.
He immediately leapt up, desperately swiping at his hands to clean them of the acid waste water and-
Five-One-Eight eyes went round, staring at his palms stained not with acid but with plant life.
“Is this… grass?” Five-One-Eight whispered in disbelief, finally taking in his surroundings that were lush with so much green and vibrant colors. Colors that were far different than the drab grey structures of Corporate Chicago.
For a few moments, the teen stood with his jaw agape, his tear-filled eyes wide with amazement.
“Beautiful…” Five-One-Eight let out, his sorrow momentarily replaced with a tear of amazement as the sight of unfamiliar flora moved him deeply. What he saw here couldn’t compare to the stained and faded picture that had originally spurred on his dream of exploration.
SUDDENLY! A flash, an image of a scarred and unkempt man with a muscular body adorned with scars appeared in his mind’s eye.
He had familiar sapphire eyes, eyes like his but… different.
ODYSSEUS!
“What?!” Five-One-Eight let out, reeling back and clutching his head as a feeling, no, an urge, compelled him to traverse into the green thicket. It wasn’t a forceful feeling, but rather something gentle, coaxing, like a firm hand of a mother attempting to guide her child somewhere.
Go. Go. Go. This way.
The invisible voice with no sound echoed. A touch, a poke, a light feeling on his shoulders attempting to guide him.
“Who… is someone there?” Five-One-Eight asked aloud, yet the only response he got back was the kiss of wind that sent a shiver down his spine.
Malnourished, with only the loose thin grey threads he called cloths on his scrawny body as protection from the elements, Five-One-Eight quickly began to feel the cold bite of the wind.
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He needed shelter.
Protection.
A place to gain his bearings and figure out how he got here and why. He had to get out of the open, a rule of thumb for all street rats.
Following the only guidance he had, Five-One-Eight wiped his tears and propelled himself forward.
Despite the confusing ache in his heart, he had to move. He had always been weird like that, so disjointed, disconnected, every day spent stealing copper wires to snatching ration cards in a desperate struggle to survive.
He had to suppress his emotions and work through the pain. And what better distraction than the abundance of foreign plants around him?
Stepping lightly, Five-One-Eight crept through the forest, his still soot-covered hands brushing against a large oak where he paused to admire the texture of the tree.
“Amazing…OW!” Five-One-Eight muttered before pricking his hand on the tree bark and slicing his skin, drawing blood.
[-1 HP]
Huh? Five-One-Eight blinked and shook his head, doing a double take as a green box of floating words and numbers hovered in front of him.
Support System Menu
SPONSOR: &(1 ERROR! CoRRupted Data!&^
Title: A Strategic Goddess’s Beloved
Name: Odysseus
HP: 69/100
CLASS: Challenger LvL 1
MP: 0/0
Free Points
5
AFFINITIES
Divine 150
Chaos 10
Fire 2
STRENGTH
8(5)
VITALITY
10(7)
SENSE
12(9)
DEXTERITY
13(10)
ARCANA
0
EGO
20
[SEALED]
[BUFFS]: Protection of %^!@()[ERROR! Data does not exist!]
[DEBUFFS]: Malnourished (-3 All stats)
[RESISTANCES]: Divinity 175%, Chaos 10%, Fire 2%
SKILLS: Shard of Aegis (25MP), Telumkinesis, (10MP)
“What… what is this?” Five-One-Eight whispered as he pressed a finger upon the screen, causing the box to distort at his touch as he confirmed that he was… Odysseus. But when had that happened? Who named him?
Enraptured by the strange text, Odysseus moved his hand slowly in and out of it before he blinked, causing the screen to suddenly disappear.
“Huh? Where did it go? Come back!” Odysseus called out, the interface responding to his will and reappearing a moment later. “Oh, neat!”
Inspecting the menu, the teen's eyes narrowed.
Beloved? Why’s my title beloved? Odysseus wondered, he had no friends, no family, no one who, to his recollection, loved him. And then this patron thing…
His finger instinctively rested on it, an odd feeling of longing at the glitched out words.
Suddenly, Odysseus blinked, realizing that he could read and understand all of the words on the screen clearly, even words he'd never seen before like arcana and resistances.
He wasn't illiterate, at least not really. He understood some words, and could even recite the alphabet, two feats that set him apart from the other street rats.
But this… this was full comprehension.
Pressing on the screen, Odysseus touched on the title, exploring what he could do with it.
[A Strategic Goddess's Beloved]
[You have earned the deep affections of a God/Goddess. Those who see this title understand that you are protected and any who harm you will incur the wrath of a divinity.]
[Protection Against Divinity]
[All divine spellcasting or Miracles against you are substantially muted]
[HP+MP recovery+ 25%]
[Recovery from status effects+ 100%]
[10% Damage Reflection]
[Skill: Telumkinesis]
Huh…
A wind blew, caressing his cheek like a soft hand and causing Odysseus to shiver and distract him.
Putting the screen away, Odysseus took a few minutes to scan the thick forest around him before deciding to climb a nearby tree for a vantage point.
It took a few tries, mostly because he wanted to be sure if the oak could support his weight but he eventually made it to the top, his eyes furrowing as he gazed at the endless sea of open air and trees.
In short... Freedom.
Where the heck am I?!