“Now that he is free..what is he..going to do?”
Yuri asked Hikaru. The entire city was eerily quiet, devoid of any sound other than the flowing of wind brimming with dark mana.
“Likely..travel from city to city. Despite him being free..he is still going to need a source of energy before he can do anything. That source of mana would be..from whatever city is closest. It will be a slaughter..”
With a shaking voice, Hikaru could not move his eyes away from the dark horizon. The presence of his kin was too strong. His beastial bond mixing with his hatred. To Hikaru it was like looking into a fire among a field filled with darkness. There was nothing else to look at.
“When he acquires all the mana that he needs..what then..?”
“You saw what could be accomplished with only a small fraction of his power. Entire islands defying gravity. With that same power..i am afraid to think what he would do..but his goal would be the same no matter how he goes about it..he’s going to make sure the time of humanity..is over.”
“Hey..you okay..don’t worry. Whatever it is he is doing, i’ll make sure to help you stop him, together. So don’t look so stressed out..”
Gently stroking his back, Yuri stood next to him, waiting for him to calm down.
“You do not understand. I thought i had more time. Yet now he’s free. I am far from prepared.”
“You couldn’t have known, not like it’s your fault..” Attempting to comfort him, she felt his back tense up beneath her stroking fingers.
“It is my fault. His entire existence here, our being thrown out of the presence of the gods. It was all my fault. The reason my father..no. The reason Fenrir has become the way he is, is solely because of my foolish beliefs.”
Unwittingly to himself, he had wrapped an arm around Yuri, holding her tightly against himself.
Yuri did not mind one bit, softly wrapping her arms around the pained Hikaru, waiting for him to continue.
“I...i was a foolish child. I admired the humans i observed. I still do. I believed that they could flourish more without the control of the gods above them. I wished to see what wonderful things they could achieve when granted true freedom..”
He sighed, clenching his fists.
“Yet my father, who did not approve of my ideas at first..slowly warmed up to them the more i spoke of them.. I should have been quiet. I should have shut my mouth and did my training. Yet i continued speaking to him. Telling him of the advances i witnessed mankind achieve.”
“That was when..my father fully adopted my beliefs..”
--
“You must understand. This discovery goes beyond everything we held true since the beginning.”
A giant form. The form of a beast, loosely shaped like a beast. Its form unclear, yet somewhat resembling that of a proud wolf. It stood at attention, addressing several other slightly smaller figures.
“What you say is insanity. You realise you’re calling livestock that barely learned how to communicate..disgusting”
One of the figures the beast was addressing, a larger figure, resembling that of a rotund man, spoke with obvious disgust at what the beast was suggesting.
“I am calling them intelligent.” The beast spoke calmly, with a resolute tone that would not make anyone dare question his resolve.
“What you are suggesting goes against the entire basis of what we built the world around! This is something that is not possible, we did not invest enough mana to create anything with enough power to do much. All they are able to do, is farm more miniscule amounts of it, which is barely enough to sate our hunger!”
Another one slammed his fist against a table, shaking it.
“Do you not realise that these..humans. Have long since overcome the limitations we put upon their mana. Observe what they are able to achieve with only what they have.”
Breathing out, the hot air of the beast's breath changed, forming images and scenery.
It depicted humans of various countries, and ages. Images flowing past so quickly no mortal could see more than a single image. Yet these gods saw it all. They saw humanity creating their own laws, managing their own livestock, shaping tools, forging armour, even somehow using magic.
What they saw, were more primitive versions of themselves. Of when the gods were still young, discovering their powers, using them to slowly shape themselves and the world around them. It was so long ago, that not even stones remained from that time.
“...Unbelievable.”
The gods were in shock, they were too blind to the world they created.
“Indeed. This, is what i meant. They have created so much. And will create much more. They are no longer livestock from which we collect faith. They are on their way to become gods of their own..”
Walking up the rest, the beast looked down onto them, his eyes shining with desire.
“I wish to see this journey to godhood.”
One of the other gods stood up, moving her hair out of her face in a motion that could freeze water and boil metal.
Her features were beautiful, her movements brought up all manner of reactions at the same time.
She was the goddess who was in control of the shape of this world. Who designed it to look as it did to fit her standards.
She was Freiya.
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“I am..afraid that can’t happen.”
Her voice shook the table, which could not contain itself at the sound of its creator.
“We cannot let these mortal creatures even attempt to come close to us. If they do. We would no longer have a place. They would be replacing us. These creatures created by us are too far ingrained with with our essence in order for that to result in anything but..disgusting incestual creations. The creation can never overtake its creator..surely you understand that from your position, Fenrir!”
“Precisely what i was thinking.” Fenrir answered with a barely visible grin.
“They are too far ingrained with us. They cannot be allowed to keep going, for we already know it would ultimately result in nothing.”
“So you do understand.” She sighed in relief.
“Instead. We must purge these previous creations of ours. This entire world created by our hand. They have no future without us. We must let a world be created on itself, without our influence, then..only then will we be able to see just how close to godhood a mortal can come.”
Fenrir could not hide the excitement in his voice, his jaw dripped with saliva.
“..You...Not only do you wish to do something that would ultimately destroy us..but you also want to destroy the entire world we created..!? Something being created from nothing..you realise that what you are saying is very similar to how we were originally created…”
Taking a step, Freiya felt her body, which had never lost its calm since its existence first blossomed. Her body shook. With anger, with fear, with surprise, she was unsure, but she knew she did not like this.
Neither did the other gods.
“What are you even saying!? You realise it took an infinity for the probability of our creation to even become possible. We would all starve to death from lack of mana by waiting for a new source to appear!”
“Are you insane!?
“What is the purpose of that!?”
“There is no purpose. Only discovery and curiosity.”
His lips curling to show his saliva dripping teeth, Fenrir stared down at the other gods.
“Where did you even get these insane ideas from..”
Freiya asked with a slightly shaken voice.
“My son. Created from my body and shadow. He is the genius behind this realisation. He made me realise. Made me realise the pointlessness of our system. What point is there if it is not interesting.
“Father..no..that was not what i meant!”
Hikaru, who was standing behind his father all this time, as shocked as the other gods, ran up. Standing in front of him.
“Perhaps not. You are young. I simply built upon your genius with my wisdom, Hikaru! We will see your dream come to reality!”
Fenrir roared.
“Father! Even if we did do something as horrible as that, we would starve to death before we saw it come true!”
Hikaru tried to argue. He tried to convince his father to think this through, to change his mind. Yet it had the opposite effect.
“You are correct my son..i have been foolish to not consider that.” Fenrir lowered his face to look down at his son.
“That is why we will need a source of mana to last..a source of mana so abundant here…!”
Opening his jaws wider than his entire body, he stared at the other gods.
“You’re insane!? You would devour a god!?”
“ALL IN THE NAME OF DISCOVERY, NO HARD FEELINGS HAH!”
What followed next was blurry and inconsistent. It was a battle that would not take root in Hikaru’s brain. A battle that could have destroyed time itself, causing it to twist and shift. Lasting an eternity, but also a single moment. This battle, ended ultimately with Fenrir wrapped in chains made from the blood of the other gods.
Trapped forever in the mortal realm, where he would never be able to amass enough mana to even speak.
This should have been the end of his story, yet Fenrir still lived.
He did not need to speak.
He only needed his thoughts, to achieve his dream, his son's dream.
For that he would destroy the gods and the ground they stood on.
He was proud of his son, his son whose thoughts had gone far and beyond what his ever did during his infinity of existence.
He would not let the genius of his son go to waste. He would see it through.
Even if that festered into insanity.
--
A distant roar, bringing with it a new wave of wind fueled by the darkest of mana.
“I wish to free humanity from the gods to let them achieve their true potential. Yet he..he wishes to rid the world of humanity to reach a hypothetical higher potential. He is taking my ideals and twisting while claiming they are for my sake.”
Fueled by disgust, Hikaru almost spit at the ground.
“Wow..sounds like a doting father huh..”
Laughing awkwardly, Yuri looked down at her feet while rubbing her head.
“....It is..the opposite. He is using my existence to pretend that his existence has meaning. Instead of finding his own.”
Hikaru’s face stayed stoically serious while he said this, not looking at Yuri.
“....Sorry.” Squeezing his hand, Yuri pulled him down into a close embrace.
“I guess i don’t really get it, since i never had parents of my own..” Smiling awkwardly, she slowly stroked Hikaru’s head, who remained unresponsive.
“But you know...i don’t like seeing you like this..seeing you in pain..”
She squeezed him slightly.
“So..i’m going to make you feel better. I’ll do what i do best. I can’t really fight that well, especially without my dagger. But i can do this..I will steal your father's strange obsession, and stop him from destroying the humanity of this world. So don’t look like that..i much prefer you when you’re trying your hardest to remain serious but still letting out a small barely noticeable smile..”
“Yuri. Do you realise what you are saying. This is a fallen god. A true fallen god. Not a lowly offspring like me, or some other low minion of the gods..this is a true god. One of the originals. And you wish to steal his..his thoughts?”
Placing his hand on Yuri’s head, he could only feel the emptiness inside him grow into a deeper hole.
“Hmmm..i mean. I did get a god to fall for with me and do my bidding..” She smiled slyly at Hikaru.
“Besides..if there is something i learned from my time in this weird..world where magic seems to be the answer to most questions and problems..is that what i suggested is probably possible. We just need to find someone capable of explaining it properly.”
“What are you..what are you talking about, Yuri.”
Slightly confused, Hikaru looked at her, wondering if she was finally out of ideas.
“What i am saying is. Uh. Look. Gods. You. Gods are made of mainly mana right?”
She asked, guessing wildly.
“You’re correct..non-mortals are usually not mortal because they are mostly created from mana. Which is why they need mana to survive. I am only an offspring, so i can sustain myself on the petty mana from food items.”
He explained.
“Then! If gods are made of mana. And mana can be controlled, like i have been doing. It means what i’m suggesting, is actually possible.”
She nodded, proud of herself.
“Yuri. That is comparable to saying that since gravity is real, and that we are affected by it, and can affect its force by being far away from the earth, it should be possible to float if you find out how.”
He shook his head while furrowing his brows.
“But you can do that with mana, so i’m correct!”
“You do not understand my point..”
He argued.
“It’s possible. We just need someone who can figure out how. With the ability of my runes, and the mana of my dagger. It should be possible.”
“You do not have your dagger.”
“That’s why we will go find it once we figure this out, and go execute the plan.”
She nodded once again, and began pulling on his hand.
“Let’s go, i need to send a letter through that teleport service. I know just the person who can help figure this out!”
“...Very well.”
Hikaru did not have the strength to argue any more. He was emotionally drained, and he felt his heart sinking lower and lower into his chest. Consumed by the familiar dark mana around him.
“Don’t worry Hikaru. I won’t let your dream be corrupted like that”
Looking back at him, Yuri smiled lightly. A smile so full of light, that it managed to push away the dark mana surrounding his heart. Her smile was one that held only good will and truth. The truth that she would be a protector of his dream, despite it being his fault that this catastrophe was upon them.
Yuri’s words pulled him out of the fog and into her light. As long as she was with him. He knew they could never lose.
Her smile would not allow it. And he in turn would not allow for anything to take away her smile.