Chapter XXI.
A God's bargain
"Level up? Like in a video game?" Faul’s eyes lit up in a way the kids had never seen before.
"I wouldn’t know if it's similar to that. I have never played one before." Hook chuckled.
"Yes... sort of." Watch explained. "All this time training with us, you have gathered experience, trained your side abilities, your strength, speed, durability, but your main ability is harder to enhance. In the midst of battle, you use them more, but going out and looking for trouble is unwise. Not to mention it could take months or even years to level up that way. Since it all depends on the intensity and the frequency of battles."
"And what if we battled you every day as intensely as we can."
"First of all, we have a limit too. The six of us would need to battle two of you each, daily. And even if that was an option it would still take months." Hook chimed in.
"So, if that’s not an option either, how will we level up?" Sun looked disappointed.
"That's what they are working on." Hook answered pointing at his friends as they prepared something. "But before we get there, I have one question for all of you and I need honest answers." The kids looked at Hook with anticipation. Hook's usual wide grin was swapped with a more reserved smile. One with purpose behind it. "What is your deepest desire?"
"What?" The kids raised their eyebrows.
"It is not a trick question. You are all motivated by desire. A goal to achieve. You need to visualize what it is so that you can work for it with all your heart. Now come! Say it! I won’t judge you." Hook eagerly awaited the first child to speak up, but they stood there in silence waiting for someone else to talk. "If you don't have the courage to shout your dreams out loud, why are you dreaming at all?" This question sunk deep into the kid's heart but was quickly undercut by the next sentence from Hook. "I want to be a fishing champion!" The kids took a step back surprised. Some of them were holding in laughter as they heard the bulky man's confession. "But with my strength I snap the rod in half in my excitement every time a fish bites. So, my dream is to have an unbreakable fishing rod." The whole class understood what he meant. It is no shame to have a small dream as long as you are proud of it.
Vhiz stepped forward. He hesitated for a second before speaking up. "I want my parents to get back together... But...only if they wanted to."
Hook nodded accepting the boy's statement.
"Mine is a bit more selfish, but I want to be a world-renowned football player." Sun rubbed his neck in embarrassment.
"I want to be there for my brother as he becomes a great footballer." Luna smiled at him.
"You should have your own dream!" Sun teased his sister.
"As long as the people important to me are there I have everything I need." She whispered to her brother.
Ginna excitedly wrote something on her board. "I want to be a dancer on a big stage!"
"I want my parents to have no financial problems." Niel said embarrassed looking away from the others.
"I want to see the world." Taran answered with more emotion on his face than ever before.
"I want to have a lot of friends!" Marco looked around at his classmates. " A lot more!"
"We’re not enough!? Jeez!" Iiwa chuckled, then let out a tired sigh. "I sort of got what I wanted already. I always wanted to fly!" She smiled, her eyes following the clouds. "But maybe if I could ask for a bit more... I want to fly together with my friends." She smiled at the others stopping her gaze on Luna.
"I want to live a long and peaceful life!" Terry dropped to his knees to pray and only stopped when Faul slapped him on the head.
"They didn’t say it would come true right now!" He groaned.
"And what about you Faul?" Hook asked the boy, now that he had made his presence known.
"I dunno. Maybe a new pc." He shrugged, not taking the question seriously.
"That is your deepest desire?" Hook tilted his head looking at the boy skeptically.
"Right now? Yeah. But I am happiest when I can sleep as long as I want. So maybe something with that."
"I guess that's an okay desire." Hook reluctantly accepted the answer.
"Hey. You said no judging."
"Yeah... I said something like that... Anyway! Ken! My boy!" Hook turned to Ken, who immediately turned defensive.
"Not your boy! And my dream is none of your business." Ken’s answer brought the mood down, except for Luna who looked at him understanding.
"Unusually harsh answer for even you! Give me a hundred respectful pushups! And even if you don't share it just think about it for a while." Hook ordered Ken, who sighed and began doing the pushups. "Rosa?" Hook turned to her.
"I don't think I have a dream..." She looked around embarrassed, her right eye twitching as she covered her face.
"What? You must have something you want!" Hook stared at her dumbfounded.
"I don't know what to tell you... I am happy as I am. All I need is a window and a door and I am satisfied!" She smiled at the others with her eyes closed.
"I have never heard that idiom before." Hook scratched his chin confused. "But maybe your lack of dream is the reason your powers are so limited. But before we go into any detail let's finish it with you, Ren!"
Ren hoped they would forget about him. His dream. His desire he has kept to himself all this time. A question that has followed him down from the school roof. "I want meaning!" Ren said with his gaze at the ground and his voice barely loud enough to be heard.
Everyone looked at him waiting to see how the sentence would continue, but that was it. Those few seconds of awkward silence shook Ren and made him vomit out the next string of words, whatever they might be.
"Since birth... since the first thought I could form, I had a hard time accepting that things just happen. I need answers to every question ever. I won't be satisfied with less! And above all I want to know why I am!" Ren screamed as words left his mouth uncontrollably. Silence fell on the group. Everyone's eyes widened, unclear whether it was because of the absurdity of his dream or because he was screaming it like he was being tortured for information.
"It is a nice dream Ren! Be proud of it!" Hook smiled at him.
"And make sure to tell us all the answers when you have them." Niel rubbed his friend’s shoulder supporting his dream.
"Now that you all said it out loud, we are done with step one!" Hook clapped his hands together.
"What do you mean? How did that help us?" Sun inquired.
"Glad you ask. Blitz told me about something alarming. Did you hear a voice in your dreams, Sun?" Everyone looked up surprised.
"Yeah... it told me that it can give me whatever I want.... I just have to find the source."
"Has any of you heard a similar message?" Hook looked around. Faul, Vhiz, Ginna, Iiwa and Marco put their hands up.
"I heard it too, but I told them to fuck off!!" Ken declared proudly.
"Why didn't you tell me about it?" Luna turned to her brother concerned.
"We had a busy couple of days... It wasn’t a priority." Sun smiled at his sister seeking understanding.
"A lot of you... I see. It is time then. I'll tell you what we believe the voice is." Hook cleared his throat as he prepared to explain, what he himself was uncertain about.
"What you believe? So, you don’t know either?" Ren raised his voice surprised.
"No... but it won't make a difference. It is merely some context for you. That voice, according to our master's beliefs is the voice of a God." Cold chill ran down everyone's spine. Ren felt pressure on his body as he heard Hook say God.
"God? There is a God for real?" But wait you said A God! So, there are more than one?" Niel shouted in realization.
"It all depends on what you believe. Some religions have scriptures about hundreds of gods, while others have but the one. And this one in your head is asking for help!"
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"A god asking for help? That's pathetic!" Faul scoffed.
"Or if not help per se, maybe just for you to find it. And the reward is believed to be whatever you want. Your deepest desire."
"Does that mean... wait!" Ren held his head as sharp pain struck it from realization. "The powers we got... did this God give them to us?"
"Yes... it is the most accepted theory. The waves that grant you power are from this God. Evidently the Second Reality is too. You all have the potential to be the one to find them." Hook explained, looking at the sky with a cold gaze.
"This is more intense than the time we got our powers. God is real and they are playing hide and seek with us?" Marco sweated profusely as he received all this information.
"I need a breather!" The children all sat down at the realization.
"You can call it a god, a genie, a demon it doesn't matter. This world is moved by whatever they are. Every overhuman is on a hunt to find this thing and have their wish granted."
"And what? Now that we admitted our dreams this God can give us more power?" Faul inquired skeptically.
"No. All the power you will ever have is already in you. But it is given to you to achieve your dream; and dedicating your whole heart to it will make the power you can draw upon greater. Imagine it as an abstract painting. It is easier to see what the painting is about once you are told what to look at." Watch clarified.
"Once you are done having an existential crisis, we can begin the process." Sledge shouted at the kids.
"Screw you! We need more time!" Marco yelled at Sledge's nonchalant comment.
"Yeah! How did you take it when your whole worldview was turned upside down?" Niel jumped in with the same offended energy.
"Yeah, yeah! I get it but the longer you take the more time you waste. The level two trials will take more than seven hours. Which means you will be here till one in the morning."
"WHAT?" The children jumped up at the unforeseen answer.
"We cannot do it then! Our parents will freak out for sure!" Sun opposed the idea.
"We can delay it until tomorrow, but it would mean you'll only have two tries at it at most!" Hook warned the children.
"But if the trials only take about seven hours and we have a weak, why can we only try it twice? Or is there something outside of the seven hours that takes up the rest of the time?" Ren asked.
"Recovery." The kids tilted their heads at the short answer. "If you were to fail the first time, you'll need at least two days to fully recover. Today is Friday. If you fail the trials today, you can retry on Monday and still have two days to recover and a day to train before the fight on the twentieth."
"Yeah, I guess if someone were to fail on Monday it would make no difference if they retried on Thursday, because they'd have no time to recover and train." Sun scratched his chin.
"Exactly."
"In other words, we need to make this work tonight..." Niel clenched his fist looking at Ginna.
"Everyone tell your parents that you are at my place. I did not have a birthday party so let's say it's a late celebration." Faul suggested.
"Your birthday was on the twentieth last month!" Sun exclaimed criticizing the idea.
"Very late birthday party." Faul shrugged.
"What if someone asks your mom?"
"If I ask nice enough, she will cover for us. My mom is the most easygoing out of all of our parents, so we have the best chance with her."
"Thanks Faul... this will make things a bit easier."
"I just want to level up already." The excited glimmer returned into Faul’s eyes.
"Before all of you get too excited, I'll have to tell you this won't be easy. If anyone wants to opt out, do it now." Hook warned the children.
"First tell us what's so bad about this trial."
"In order to force you to level up we have to simulate what countless battles would do to your bodies. The herb that Blitz brought will help us do that. Consuming a leaf of mountain-bolt grass will cause your body to go into overdrive, causing excruciating pain, and an uncontrollable activation of your powers. Essentially... I ask you to poison yourselves." Hooks cold expression and blatant statement frightened everyone. "I know how it sounds, that's why I understand if some of you want to pull out."
"I'm sorry!' Terry screamed. "You wouldn't have much use for me anyways! I cannot take pain, and hearing about poison just put the fear of God in me!" Terry feared the disappointed look on his classmates' faces but not as much as pain.
"Not surprising." Ken chuckled.
"I thought you'd run home crying after you learned there's a God, so I'm kind of impressed you stuck around this long." Marco added, nudging Terry on the side.
"It is alright Terry. Your power is useful already." Sun supported him.
"Really?" Terry raised his head with tears in his eyes.
"Are you kidding? You can turn invisible! It might not be a combat focused ability but still, that's awesome!"
"Anyone else not doing it?"
"Mom has been a bit overprotective of me since I got my face slashed, but I think she'll agree if Luna is there." Sun answered rubbing the scar that went across his face.
"I cannot stay that long. My mom would never let me." Rosa answered quietly. "I'm sorry Ginna."
"Really? Your power could use an upgrade especially. And staying late one time won't kill you." Luna pressed her classmate.
"23:55." Rosa suddenly blurted out and in a reflexive move, she put her hand on her mouth.
"What?” Luna looked at her confused before realizing what it was. “I cannot remember the last time I saw you tic, let alone have such a noticeable one." Luna looked at her with a bit of worry in her eyes.
"Sorry..." She blushed and turned away from her classmates. "The stress might be getting to me. 23:55 is when I go to bed every night. I need to be home by then."
Ginna scribbled on her board then turned it to her friend. "No worries! :)"
"Okay! Now everyone, call your parents and tell them what you need to! After you're done, we will begin the trial." Hook declared.
"We will be in so much trouble..." Ren sighed as he called his mother.
"Heya honey! How's your day?"
"It's good... Listen mom, I'm calling because we are celebrating Faul's birthday. But it's a slumber party so we would sleep here."
"Isn't his birthday in November?" Maria asked immediately.
"Yeah...he postponed it a bit..." Ren stumbled over his words.
"How could I say yes when you haven't told me about it prior? You don't have spare clothes with you or a sleeping bed to sleep in, let alone a gift to give to Faul!" Ren sunk deeper and deeper into a metaphorical pit as his mother listed all the holes in his story.
"It's alright! We bought him a videogame, and I can sleep in daytime clothes just this once!" Ren tried to salvage the situation.
"Ren...are you telling the truth?" As Maria raised the question Ren went silent. "Whatever you might be hiding from me... You have to trust me. That's the only way I can help."
"I love you mom. I am safe and will tell you otherwise when that changes..." Ren said goodbye to his mother and quickly ended the call before she could say anything else.
Meanwhile as soon as their call ended Maria called someone else... "Benu are you there?"
"Yes ma'am. I am keeping an eye on the kids as you asked. They are doing the bolt-grass trials."
"They barely had their powers for two weeks! This is beyond reckless! Who is helping them do this?" Maria demanded an answer while trying her hardest not to crush the phone in her hand.
"It seems the kid's been training with a group called the Five Champions. I checked them out and they are clean. The only one who had a charge is Otto Blumstein, otherwise known as Blitz. He robbed a store when he was twenty years old but only did a couple of months of public service." Benu said while observing the five of them from a distance.
"They'll attempt to level up this early? What made them rush it?"
"From what I heard the Mad Carnival took one if your son's classmate's voice. I assume they want to use that as a ransom for something, but the children seem to be ready to fight them for it."
"Mad Carnival... mercenaries in clown make-up!" Maria bit the nail on her thumb as she tried to come up with a solution. Before she could say anything Benu replied.
"I'm sorry Maria! I know you are looking for a safe way out for your son, but I have boundaries I need to abide by. All I can do for you is observe them. The higher ups are up my ass already because I spend too much time surveying a barely populated village when the number of overhumans doubled after the last wave. The best I can promise you is if he were to be in serious trouble, I would save him."
"I know... Thank you for doing this!"
Benu went silent as he finished the phone call.
After the kids all finished their phone calls, they gathered back in the second reality.
"How did it go with your parents, Niel?" Ren interviewed his friend.
"Dad was furious. I'll never hear the end of it." Niel sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if he were to change the lock on the door by the time I get home." Niel said jokingly and in reply his friend chuckled.
"If everyone is ready please step in one of the circles drawn on the ground." Hook ordered the children. The circles were well spaced out from each other. Watch brought a riot shield and metal plates and leaned them on a tree. The kids stepped into the circles and looked at each other.
"What are those for? And why are we so far away from each other."
"Your powers will flow through you uncontrollably. The distance is your first line of defense from each other, the metal plates come in if one of you is in danger. They'll give you just enough time to get out of dodge if let's say Taran were to send a boulder at you." While Watch explained Sledge and Medicine gave everyone a piece of the mountain-bolt grass.
"Do not eat it just yet! As soon as you chew on it and the dew mixes with your saliva your trial will begin. Another name for this grass is the four hundred- and forty-four-minute grass, because the effects last that long. In that time, you will experience pain unlike any, and your powers will escape your bodies uncontrollably. Here comes the most important part. You must keep expelling your powers for all seven hours and twenty-four minutes or you will pass out and fail the trial. This means you must try your hardest to hold back your power from escaping too fast. Try to hit the Goldilocks zone. Got it?"
"It's not very promising but we have no other choice."
"Wait! The pain will last all that time? Is it too late to pass on this trial?" Marco took a step away from the others.
"And to think you had the guts to criticize Terry!" Ken chuckled.
"Don't worry man! We will get through this and become a hundred times more awesome!" Vhiz showed a thumbs up to his friend.
"A hundred times zero is still fuck all." Ken mocked the two of them.
"You have nothing to worry about! I'll run home for some camping supplies now that we'll spend the night here, but other than that we will be here for you the whole time." Blitz tried to calm the kids. Niel nodded as he made eye contact with him.
"Alright children! Put the grass in your mouth and when I put my hand down bite down on it, chew and as soon as it gets bitter spit it out!" Hook gave the final explanation as he raised his hand. Everyone nodded.
"Good luck!" Hook put down his hand and the kids bit down on the leaf. Bitter fluid escaped into everyone’s mouth and they all spit it out in unison. But the displeasure did not stop there. The next second it sent an electrical pulse through their body and as if countless sharp needles were tearing into their flesh they fell to the ground in pain. As Ren put his hands on the ground trying to escape the agony, his attention was quickly grabbed by a piece of ice that fell from his forehead. His sweat dropped like hail on his hands which turned blue as he lost control of his ice. It started! This uncontrollable surge of power!