Damian stepped out of the bathroom, toweling off his hair. The dirt and grime aside, what he really wanted was to wash the feeling of blood of of himself. Even ifthe blood had magically vanished, he could still feel the sensation of it on him.

Coming around to his bedroom, he found his divine animal, sitting on his bed facing the corner.

"Oh come on. Are you still sulking? Look if you don't like the name that much, I'll change it, okay."

Hopping around to face him, the bird squawked at him, "No you can't change it, that's the problem! Once a god names their divine creature, that's it, that's their name for all eternity!"

"Well I think that it's not that bad."

"Not that bad? Not That bad! YOU NAMED ME CROW! That's what I am! What, did you have a pup named dog? A kitty named cat? A goldfish named Mr. fish? Got imagination coming out the wazoo with this one."

"Will you at least let me explain the name to you? It's not as simple as you're making it out to be."

"Yes please do, please explain the deep and meaningful background behind naming me crow." Crow said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Damian sighed, "Okay. When I was a kid, I came across one of my mom's old computer games, a classic point and click adventure, and I decided to play it. It was a really fun game, and it took me days to get through all the puzzles. One character in the game was a talking bird, with black feathers, that the main heroine named Crow. Crow was incredibly important to her, and she never could have completed her journey without him.

Now when Crow found out what a crow was, he was none too happy, like a certain someone. But then it was explained to him that he wasn't named after the animal, but a character from a TV show that our main character used to watch as a kid, and that it wasn't even a crow named Crow, but a big strong albatross."

Crow looked at him, the fire starting to leave his eyes.

"I already know that I won't be able to do this without you. I may have been trampled in my sleep if you hadn't warned me about that bull monster. So I named you after another reliable bird that was brave and strong enough to help bring a hero to their goal."

They both sat in silence for a while, Crow seeming to contemplate, and Damian letting him. Finally Crow spoke up.

"All together, it's not a bad name. Others will probably think it's silly, but I guess as long as I know what it means to you, I'm fine with it. Also sorry for yelling at you, and calling you dumb." He finished sheepishly.

"It's fine, and I get it, a name is an important thing. It's just that most of us aren't that self aware when we get our names." He patted Crow on his back, "So what's next?"

"What's next?" Crow said quizzically.

*Yeah with the whole 'becoming a god' thing. Now that we have a moment to breathe, we should probably plan our next steps."

"Oh yes of course. I guess that we should familiarize you with your powers more. You've already experienced enhanced strength, speed, and reflexes, so there should only be a couple more to go through."

"Okay, so what do we have left?"

"One important one to go through is increased healing. Right now, as the kind of demigod you are, normal mortal weapons can't harm you."

Wait, do you mean I'm invulnerable?" Damian asked excitedly.

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"To an extent." Crow responded. "Most firearms won't be able to penetrate your skin, but you're still subject to physics. Some of this is offset by your new strength, but if you're not paying attention, you can still get staggered, an explosion could toss you, or you could be buried under debris too heavy for even you to lift."

"Got it, so vigilance and situational awareness are key."

"Precisely, now on the other hand, there are some weapons that can harm you."

"Like what?"

"Well, any weapon wielded by a fellow demigod of war. This, fortunately, doesn't extend to firearms, as they're not touching the bullet when it hits you. On the other hand, if they were to crack you in the face with the gun while holding it, or throw it at you, then it would hurt."

"Why would throwing it at me work, but not shooting me? What if they threw a spear or even shot an arrow?

"It has to do with intentions, imbuement, and power. While holding a spear, or drawing back an arrow, you're filling it with intent while holding it. This in turn imbues it with some divine power. Lastly though, it has to be moved with your power. You can throw a spear, or pull back a bow, and these take strength, but shoot a gun, detonating a bomb, or even firing a crossbow doesn't count."

"That all kind of seems like semantics though."

"Yeah it does. Honestly I think that the other gods won't allow it. This whole contest is like the greatest entertainment for them, so they won't let it end cheaply by somebody bringing a gun to a sword fight, or blowing up an entire building just to get one person. Until you reach full godhood, my knowledge is limited to what you need to know.

Now back to the main topic of your healing. Normal weapons can't hurt you but demigod or god wielded weapons, or monster pieces can. On the plus side though, if you manage to get away, or kill your attacker after getting injured you can heal up. An injury that would take days or weeks for a mortal to heal, should only take you a few hours to heal from."

Damian remembered the man in the alley then, "But not always."

"No," Crow said solemnly, "if you are too hurt, or overused your power, you won't be able to heal."

Again there was quiet between them, until Damian decided to continue the conversation.

"Okay so what other abilities do I have?"

"Well the next important one is what I call the fog of war. This one you'll have to learn how to activate."

"What does it do? It sounds kinda cool."

"It obscures you from mortal vision. Gods, monsters, demigods, and those touched by divinity can all be brought into the fog. It basically prevents you from getting arrested for having a sword fight in the middle of the street, and then killing a guy."

"Ah, yeah I hadn't thought about that." Damian imagined an epic sword fight taken from a CCTV feed, or someone's phone, posted all over the internet, "That's probably important to learn. So how do I make the fog?"

"First you'll need to learn how to use the last power, it'll make it a lot easier to do afterwards." Seeing Damian waiting patiently, he continued, "The last power, or powers, is weapon and armor manifestation. Meaning that you can create weapons or armor out of divine power alone."

"That's awesome! How do I do it?"

"It should be fairly easy, your powers are a part of you, so it'll be like learning how to move a new limb. Just imagine a small flame in your chest, then move a piece of the flame down your arm, into your hand, then out as a weapon."

Damian did as he was told. Standing up with his arm out, he closed his eyes. He imagined the flame in his chest, and he could feel it, his spark. It was what changed him, and gave him his power, but it felt incomplete. It was but a piece of a sum, and it wanted to be together and whole once more.

Damian took a small piece of that flame and, with his will, saw it move in his mind's eye. It moved down his arm, to his palm, and then he forced it out, willing it to become a weapon. He saw a glow through his closed eyes, and opened them. There in his hand was a sword."

'"I did it!" He shouted in triumph, striking a pose with his sword, "I HAVE THE POWER!"

Smiling at his own silliness, he brought it back down and looked at it. It was a short, bronze colored blade. The blade widened at the end before coming to a point, making it a good chopping weapon. Damian recognized it's design from a couple of games he had played, it was a xiphos.

"Excellent, " Crow said, "now instead of pushing it out of your hand, try pushing it out of your forearm and imagine it becoming armor. What's important here is to use your will, to make it become armor. Intent and will are important."

Damian once again did as he said, and this time a pair of bronze vambraces appeared on his arms.

"Good, good. Now for the fog. Instead of willing the power to become a weapon, will it out of you into a fog. Remember that intention is important, you want to create this, not with intent to attack or to defend yourself, but to obscure others' vision."

It took a couple of tries for Damian to do it. Something as nebulous as a fog was harder to grasp than a sword he could hold in his hand, but he got there eventually. Fog rolled off his body like a miniature avalanche, and when it was done his whole apartment was filled with fog.

Strangely enough though, it didn't impose his vision, it was like it was superimposed over his sight. Everything was still in perfect detail. He wondered what it would look like If a normal person came into his room right now. Would they think his apartment was on fire and call the authorities, or would it look like it was empty?

"Okay, now I want to go through some exercises. First we'll go through changing your weapon and then your armor."

"Change them, how, and to what?"

Same way you've been doing everything, with your will. You have to realize that the more power you gain, the more it can affect reality. As for what, one you're not just limited to a sword, you can change your weapon into nearly anything. And two, for the armor, You're going to need more than just a pair of vambraces, You're going to need a full set of armor."

Crow took Damian through changing them, he'd shout out a weapon or piece of armor, and have Damian make them. From sword to spear to dagger to bow. Then from vambraces to helmet to shield to greaves. They did this over and over.

After a couple dozen changes he suddenly felt weak and dizzy. He collapsed to his hands and knees. The sword and armor he had vanished, and the fog slowly dissipated. He used for mind to feel for the spark in his chest, but it felt empty.

"What happened?'' he asked Crow.

"One of your most important lessons." Crow replied, "Your power is not infinite, and there is a limit to what you can do. The more sparks you gather, the longer you can use your powers. But the more power you use, the quicker it'll burn out. This also means that if you come across another demigod who has gathered more sparks, you'll be at an immediate disadvantage. So if you can avoid those fights."

Damian sat upright feeling some strength return, "Got it, don't pick a fight with the big kids until I'm stronger. So what's next?"

If Crow had lips, Damian swore he would have been smiling, "Now, we wait for your spark to recharge, then we go hunt monsters."