The serene quiet of the night was only broken by the sounds of Jack’s body thrashing back and forth as he attempted in vain to wake himself from his nightmare. After a few minutes, Jack’s writhing stopped, and the forest quickly returned to silence. The flashing lights he saw ceased, and he fell into a deep, dreamless slumber. Two figures shrouded in cloaks, one male and the other female, stood over the sleeping killer. One of the two knelt beside Jack, slowly moving their hands and faintly chanting. The flesh on Jack’s mangled stump began to knit itself together. Bone and muscle rearranged and weaved themselves together until, before long, what was once a bloody mess was now a functioning hand.

“Impressive.” The man said.

“I do what I can.”

The woman standing over Jack lowered the cowl on her cloak to reveal her face in the moonlight. Everything about her face, from her eyes down to her bone structure, was identical to that of the woman killed in the car chase. She was even wearing a similar gothic ballgown instead of black; however, hers was a brilliant white. The cloak she wore over it matched that of the man standing next to her. It was made from a fine felt and colored such a deep purple that it appeared black in the darkness.

The suit the man wore, coupled with his cloak and hat, made him look like he would be more comfortable in Victorian London. He even held a small cane in one hand with a small green gem on top to complete the look. They both stared down at Jack as he continued to slumber, blissfully unaware of what was transpiring.

“He really is kind of an idiot, ya know? I’m not entirely sure he can do what we need him to do. He’s already almost gotten himself killed twice; those aren’t exactly great odds we’ve got here.” The man spoke up, breaking the silence the two had been occupying.

“Trust me, he wouldn’t have been my first choice, but he's the one who found the book and read the spell. Without that spell, we wouldn’t be here at all. So, while yes, he might be an idiot, he is our idiot, and we have to do our best to keep him on track. After all, it’s not like he can actually die unless he runs out of Vita.” The woman replied.

“Wait, so you’re telling me that all that is true? I thought that was all just a bunch of bullshit you had made up.”

“No, it’s very much true. It did make him immortal when he cast the spell as long as that brand there doesn’t go away. The spell had the fortunate side effect of bringing us into this world and allowing us to possess him.”

“What about the skills and stuff you keep talking about? That stuff doesn’t seem real; it sounds more like one of those video games these mortals play than anything to me.”

“No, all that is completely a lie. I have to give him some explanation he can relate to as to how he’s able to use your power. I figured a video game was an easier explanation than you’ve been possessed by an omnipotent being, which time has forgotten. We are going to use your weak human body to overthrow the gods and plunge the world into chaos.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“I suppose that’s a good point.”

The man walked over to a nearby rock and sat down. His shoulder muscles bulged at the seams of his shirt as he stretched his arms above his head. With a slight sigh, he reached to his side and produced a dagger, almost identical to the one that had manifested in Jack’s hand at the library. Despite being shaped the same, the man’s dagger was dull in color and edge compared to Jack’s. Thin cracks ran up and down the blade, and the leather wrapping the handle was frayed.

“Giving him the power of Onxy was the right thing to do, right? Like, look at her. She’s all dull and ugly now, a hollow shell of what she once was.” The man said, eyeing his weapon as he spoke.

“He needs to kill gods, and that knife is the only thing that can do it, so right or wrong, it was the only choice we had. Besides, he doesn’t have to kill all the gods; he just has to kill enough. Once the mortals realize that everything they believe in is gone, they will look for something else to believe in. That’s when you come in and give them what they want. Once enough people believe in you. I will have the power to bring you and your brothers and sisters back into this world. Then the twelve of you can return this world to the glorious place it once was.” The woman replied as she walked towards the man and sat beside him.

“I do wish Lachesis wouldn’t have gotten involved, though. It really put a wrench in my plans of getting this dumbass to Salt Lake.” The man said.

“Me too. I don’t know what my sister was thinking with that one. She’s never been much of a fighter. I hope she’s not working with one of the gods. The three of us might be sisters, but we all have a very different idea of what fate looks like for these mortals.”

“Martial Arts? I mean, come on, Lachesis doesn’t know the first thing about Martial Arts. It took everything I had not to laugh out loud when you said that.”

“Listen, this kid will keep getting stronger the longer you possess him. I need to give him some explanation that isn’t going to either cause him to go completely insane or figure out what is really going on. If he completely loses his mind before he completes his task, he becomes useless to us, and then we are back to square one. If he finds out the truth, he can simply refuse to do what we need him to. It’s all about striking a balance here. We need this kid strong enough to kill the gods and crazy enough to listen to the voices in his head.”

“You sure put a lot of time and thought into this plan, huh?”

“Millennia.”

“The sun is starting to come up. I guess we better get back in there and get this thing moving along.” The man said

“After you, Rhea.” The woman replied

“Oh no, Atropos, I insist, ladies first.” The man said as he bowed to the woman next to him.

The two walked back to Jack and kneeled next to him. Jack began seeing the flashes of light again, and like before, he could tell he was dreaming, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not wake himself. The two beings chanted a short incantation and disappeared back into Jack’s consciousness. Jack’s body rolled and shook for a few moments after the two had vanished before coming to a rest.

Jack rolled to the left as the morning sun pierced his eyelids. He wanted nothing more than a few more hours of sleep. The sun persisted, and Jack groaned as he pulled himself to his feet and wiped the sleep from his eyes. The grogginess of a restless night's sleep made Jack forget where he was for a second. As he took in his surroundings, the previous day’s memories flooded back to him. He instinctively dropped to a crouch, and it took longer than it should have to realize that he was alone in the forest. His head pounded from a massive headache, and while he couldn’t recall what he had dreamt about, he knew he had some messed up dreams. Looking down at his hand, he saw it was as good as new.

“Thank gods for small favors, I supposed.” Jack thought as he sat in the dirt, trying to figure out what to do next.