The day started as any other, with Tsukihiro waking up and going on the 7 train to school. Little did he know that today would be a day he would want to forget if possible. Upon walking in through the huge iron gates, Mika was already waiting to intercept him.
“Hey, so for today’s study session… how about we head over to the McDonald’s on 42nd and study there?” Mika said cheerfully.
“What new way to procrastinate have you discovered this time? You’re not gonna pass the Math midterm at this rate. Sigh, just meet me in the library after school like always” Tsukihiro had enough of this routine already.
Every time Mika and Tsukihiro make plans to study, Mika would always find a way to put it off till later. It gave Tsukihiro a headache how Mika would even think she could get into Yale (the university) at this rate. Why she always looked to Tsukihiro for help instead of Micah was beyond him. There was a limit to how bad the pair of twins could hate each other. If it wasn’t for Tsukihiro, they wouldn’t even stand being around each other.
As the day went on, Tsukihiro only got more and more sure that Mika and Micah were pure opposites of each other. Mika was a ball of fire while Micah was like a spring breeze. Both were pretty to look at but each had their own temper to boot.
Eventually class ended for the day and Tsukihiro started to walk to the library at the end of the main hallway.
“Are you the one?” A voice equal to a whisper sounded out in Tsukihiro’s ear. He quickly turned around to see the hallway empty.
“Am I hearing things? Pretty sure Mika’s stupid hasn’t rubbed off on me yet…” Even now, Tsukihiro had to poke fun at the tsundere blond waiting for him. Not noticing anything strange, he continued walking to the library door.
Strangely, once he entered the library, it felt as though he had entered another world. A chill ran through his body as he walked into the air-conditioned room. The damn principal never hesitated to attempt to keep his students as cold as possible. Tsukihiro had a feeling that the principal was a masochist who got pleasure off seeing how high the electricity bill would be at the end of the month. Either way, Tsukihiro actually preferred this cold environment since it would mellow out Mika’s fierce temper. Speaking of Mika, there she was in the back corner, reading a manga she smuggled into the library.
“What a drag, are you even going to attempt to study or not”
Tsukihiro didn’t really care whether she passed or failed. But even then Mika was still a girl, a very pretty one at that. Tsukihiro was 16, a loner and not even that handsome of a guy, why Mika would always hang out with him was anyone’s guess. Just for the chance to get closer to Mika, Tsukhiro had to at least TRY to help her pass. He was a guy in puberty after all.
“Just lemme finish this chapter real quick” Mika had absolutely no motivation to pass the final it seemed.
“Hah…. if you don’t put any effort in your parents are gonna kill you ya know” Tsukihiro knew that Micah and Mika’s parents were doctors and thus had placed high standards on the twins to succeed.
“Fine, let’s start from chapter 5, the chapter that has the multivariable equations” replied Mika. Tsukihiro knew that she hated those kind of questions. With the two of them finally making some progress studying together, time quickly flew by.
“It’s already this late huh….” Tsukihiro sighed. It was about 6pm already, that meant they had been at the library for about 3 hours. Mika and Tsukihiro had gone over pretty much every topic that was going to be on the final. With this, if Mika didn’t pass, then Tsukihiro would label her a lost cause.
Taking the train home was always a lonely experience for Tsukihiro, he just listened to music and stared into space. As the train moved forward that voice that he had heard while walking to the library came back into his thoughts. Who had that voice belonged to, it sounded like it was calling out to him?
Getting off on his stop, Tsukihiro quickly rushed home and walked up the steps to his apartment. When he walked in his mom was already waiting with dinner ready, turns out his mom made some chicken cutlets and mac & cheese, Tsukihiro’s favorite. As they ate dinner, the ambiance in the apartment was as quiet as always. Tsukihiro’s mom worked long hours and came home late, but she still loved him and it showed. For Tsukihiro, his mom was his best friend, his closest ally and his most precious treasure. As for his father, only his mother mattered to him now, after all it was only the two of them on their own now.
“I’m going to turn in for the night, Tsukihiro. Make sure you take a shower and brush your teeth before going to sleep.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
“Alright Mom, good night” Tsukihiro replied. It was getting pretty late and he had school tomorrow. Walking past the living room, Tsukihiro eyed his dad’s shrine that didn’t even have a picture in it. The only thing decorating the shrine was a pedestal with his dad’s pendant on it. It seemed his mom had lit some incense and placed offerings as well. Suddenly Tsukihiro saw a gleam out of the corner of his eye. It looked like the pendant was glowing.
“What the… don’t tell me now I’m seeing things too?” Tsukihiro had enough of these mind games someone was playing.
“Did you not hear me the first time? Are you the one? The one who will inherit the mantle?” A voice sounded out in Tsukihiro’s mind. It sounded the same as the one he heard back in the hallway?
“The mantle? The hell are you talking about? Who the hell is talking? Show yourself”Tsukihiro said, low enough not to wake his mom. Even at a time like this, his mind was always thinking about his mom.
“You don’t know? Didn’t the previous inheritor pass on his knowledge to you before he died? The contract must be fulfilled, it would be blasphemy otherwise. The mantle must be passed. As the blood relative of the inheritor, it falls to you to become the next God of Truth. Do you accept?” The voice sounded ancient and cold.
“Accept what? Who was the inheritor, the last owner of the pendant? You knew my father? What happened to him? What is the mantle? God of Truth? “ So many questions flashed through his mind. Tsukihiro didn’t know what to say or do, he just looked like a vegetable standing there.
“The inheritor was the last owner of the Eye of Truth. The mantle must be passed. I sense two people here, a female and a male? Who among you will become the next God of Truth? The contract must be made, a new god must be crowned.” The ancient voice sounded out loudly in his mind. The voice was loud enough to cause pain to Tsukihiro.
“You can sense my mom? You better not do anything to her! I’ll kill you if you do!” Tsukihiro would do anything for his mom, even kill, without even a second thought.
“Then choose now! The contract must be made, the mantle must be inherited, the Eye of Truth must have an owner. The seat of a God cannot be empty, it would go against Gaia. Choose now or I will choose for you!” The ancient voice lashed out.
“You aren’t making any sense! The Eye of Truth? Do you mean the pendant? If you want the pendant, I might as well break it! Don’t you screw with me and my mom!’ Tsukihiro was furious! What had his dad brought him but pain and suffering! Screw that!
Tsukihiro grabbed the pendant. As he did so, the voice rang out. “You who have taken the Eye of Truth, do you take upon yourself the mantle of the God of Truth? “
“I’ll show you what I think of your mantle” He violently threw down the pendant and smashed it with his foot. The pendant was completely unharmed, though Tsukihiro’s foot was bleeding from the sole.
“Damn, stupid pendant! Break for me!” But the act had been done. “ Blood confirmed, inheritor of the mantle, take the mark of the God of Truth, all will be revealed when you ascend to the Gods. A bright light shot out of the pendant and hit Tsukihiro in both eyes. He was bleeding profusely from his eye sockets. Pain flared throughout his body.
“Aghhh… what is this! Screw this!” Tsukihiro shook in pain. “Ahh.. Mom! Damn it.. Damn it !” Tsukihiro covered his mouth with his hands as he screamed out in pain. He couldn’t see a thing and pain shot throughout his body. Eventually the pain subsided and his eyes opened.
“What the hell is this? A cross? Why is there a cross where my pupils were? The hell is this! Answer me damn it ! “ Tsukihiro had rushed to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. When the blood stopped flowing, his normal black pupils had been replaced with a black cornea and a white cross shaped pupil.
“The contract is established, inheritor of the mantle, may you go forth in the name of Truth. The pantheon is full once more!” The ancient voice sounded out loudly, then faded away.
“The hell is this? Contract? I didn’t sign anything? God? Me? Hah, you must be joking!” Tsukihiro yelled out in his subconscious. His mom had to wake up early tomorrow.
“Joking, who is? You are now a god, there’s not joking about that.” A voice suddenly appeared from behind him? Tsukihiro turned around to see a blonde girl wearing a formal dress with a long skirt. Who the hell was this chick?
“What the…. Who the hell are you??” Tsukihiro couldn’t help but yell out. First this contract stuff happened, now this girl just teleported into his house! This was breaking and entering?
“You are my master, and I am your avatar. The contract was fulfilled and so I came into being. My name is Atem, the avatar of the God of Truth. Tsukihiro, we must begin searching for your goddess. The other gods won’t be taking you seriously for now, so we must get your powers established fully before they do.” The girl said courteously.
“Master? Me? Goddess? Avatar? Why do I feel that you aren’t lying?” Tsukihiro just instinctively seemed to know that what this girl said was all truth. Was this an ability of the God of Truth?
“For now, just rest, we will discuss this tomorrow over breakfast tea.” The girl said before she disappeared into thin air. How the hell did she do that?
“Well, nothing can be done for now. I’ll make sure Atem tells me everything tomorrow. I still have to settle the score with that ancient voice who threatened my mom” Tsukihiro walked to bed, but not before checking on his mom to make sure she was still asleep. As his head hit his pillow, everything faded to black….
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“So the God of Truth has risen again. Who is this newfound God? Should we nip the bud before it grows..?
“The Aesir don’t resort to such methods Loki, even Odin will come after you if you start a war with another pantheon. Besides, the God of Truth is an outcast even amongst his own group. Someone will deal with him eventually.”
“That power of his is annoying though, he could interfere with Ragnarok in the future”
“Ragnarok is still far into the future…. Farther than I can see.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“So he’s back huh? I thought that taking him down last time would be enough for a few centuries. Not even 6 years and already he’s back. Time for history to repeat itself…. This pantheon cannot have both a God of Truth and a God of Lies after all….”
“ Let’s go find our new brother….Shall we?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End