Chapter 1.5
Kyousuke dry-heaved over the edge of what was known as the Heavens, she had already thrown up more than a few times. The Heavens were heavenly in name only, seeing as it was essentially just another planet, given that said planet was a lot more advanced than Kasaheim. Massive pillars made from type of white stone, that rose above the clouds, were littered aroud the surface of the otherwise empty planet. These pillars were as large as a small town in both width and length and had the landscape of the ground below it replicated on it's surface. Each pillar held a temple to a certain god, living space if you would. If you were to look at the surface of the planet from space, you would notice that the seemingly random smattering of pillars began to increase in frequency the closer they got to the equator of the planet. This convergence of city-sized pillars formed a sort of elevated, highly-populated strip around the center of the Planet. This structure was what was known as the Heavens and was populated by many beings, though mostly Celestials and Avariels, who could technically be called angels. Living on extremely tall pillars was not the most practical idea, but it was the most flattering and for beings as powerful as the Gods, flattery was a must. Despite the need for flattery, a trend of uniformity between the way the Gods chose where to build their temples and how they looked certainly existed. The stronger or more influential a god was, the taller and further away from the central strip of the Heavens their pillar was. A strange thing about the Heavens was it's social structure and economy, as would be expected with having hundreds of individuals who could unleash a power comparable to dropping a thousand Tsar Bomba at the snap of their fingers living in close proximity to each other.
The economy of the Heavens worked in the way any currency usually would, except instead of material exchange, exchange of energy was used. It could be any type of energy, be it mana or any one of the many types of energy used to fuel the arcane arts of the universe, once traded the energy would always revert into a pure form of energy that could be gifted to the followers of any god as a 'blessing' to bolster their power known as Cero. Consequently, since the might and quantity of a god's followers bolstered a god's power and influence too, the worth of the Cero was cemented among the Gods. The pill that Záni had given Kyousuke was an specialized Cero, altered slightly so it negated the effects of transformation magic. Of course that was not the only thing the Gods could favour their faithful with, it was just the most common and easiest to obtain since all it required was energy that was pure enough not to destroy the delicate balance of the body's natural pool of energy. The things that carried true value, both as currency and a blessing, was a god's True Blessing. A True Blessing was always unique, dependant on which god had blessed you, as a True Blessing symbolised the god imparting a small portion of their domain of power to you. As such, those with a god's blessing where immensly powerful and could use that power in any number of ways. Exchanging True Blessings could be considered a guarantee between gods, a promise between equals to honour an agreement or have a part of the oathbreaker's power consumed instead. These exchanges were far and few inbetween, but they had a name known by all Gods - Final Oaths. It was to the pillars of one of Zani's Final Oath debtors that Zani teleported her and Kyousuke to.
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"Asclepius!" Zani set her massive goblet down in the courtyard of a greek-styled temple complex with enough force to send cracks out in the marble paneling and uproot a eucalyptus tree in the process. "Come out!"
After she repeated the action a few more times, a grey haired, youthful looking woman rushed out of the main temple to placate an overtly irritated Zani, perhaps a priest or servant of the god Zani had called Asclepius. Despite appearing so young, the woman carried the gravitas of a jaded old lady. She had probably dealt with the goddess at one point, a fact comfirmed by what she said in response to Zani's actions.
"Gods be damned, is it really necessary to break all the tiles everytime you visit? What do you want this time? Master Asclepius is out at the moment, needless to mention. His healing is highly sought after, as you know."
"I've come to make good on the Final Oath he made a while back." The woman's eyebrows did their best not to climb all the way up her forehead.
"I see, then come in. I'll go and tell the master about the circumstances. He should be back shortly, in the meantime make yourselves comfortable."
"Ah, I see you've noticed my friend then..." Kyousuke perked up at this, she had no idea that Zani had cast magic over her.
"Your concealment is as shabby as ever, practice otherwise you'll never be able to protect your precious ones." At this the grey haired priestess motioned for the duo to the entrance of the temple then urgently walked towards a small firepit in the other direction. Kyousuke looked at Zani expectantly as they walked towards the library-looking temple, demanding answers.
Why are you trying to hide me?
"That would be your eyes." Zani crossed her arms as she leaned against a bookshelf, sighing when Kyousuke tilted her head in confusion, another subtle show of confusion in an otherwise emotionless mask. "Your eyes are like an Authority's, a power stronger than most gods, meaning that you are not what you seem to be. The silver of your irises indicate that you can wield the power of an Authority, making you both a mortal and a potential Godslayer. It's a bad combination considering that both Gods and all other races will want to manipulate you since you can control such a large amount of power. That's not even including your psionic abilities."
So you brought me here, closer to the people who want to control me, for what reason?
"It was convenient, seeing as you peaked my interest and I needed to meet the person who could help you, though for different reasons obviously."
By now Kyousuke was already prepared to shoot off all her questions on her imaginary list, adamant on not giving Zani a moment of respite as payback for the forest.
Why are you helping me? You are a god too, so you could be manipulating me too. So why aren't you?
Záni smiled wanly, then she stopped leaning on the bookshelf and walked towards Kyousuke and placed a hand on her head.
"I guess I'm just one of the more pleasant gods. Let's just leave it at that." Clearly there was more to it than that, but Kyousuke let it slide seeing as Záni had dug up some unpleasant old memories because of her question.
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I guess you are. Apart from the molesting, of course.
It was at this point, she realised just how tall Záni really was. When she sat down on one of the chairs and was still taller than Kyousuke.
Eh? Why are you so tall now? You were at eye level in the forest.
Zani simply shrunk in size then grew again, all the while a huge smile plastered on her face. Gods could alter their appearance at will, though the change had to be similar to their original appearance, meaning size was no problem, she explained.
... Then what about original appearance? I thought gods just came into being?
"That's only true for a few of the Gods, like Death, most of us are former mortals granted godhood because of how famous or powerful we were. You'll notice many of the Gods aren't kings though despite the requirements, that's because that power must be your own and you need to be famous for a certain thing. I invented all the types of alcohol, which has no shortage of addicts. It's why I'm so strong."
You invented alcohol!? You get more interesting by the second...
"Talking about yourself? A mortal that He brought over from god-knows-where and that mortal also happens to have the eyes of an Authority." Just then the doors to the temple flew open, a scholarly looking man dressed in a labcoat and rectangular glasses stepped in.
"Záni? I heard from Nerinthe you came to make good on the Oath?"
Záni stood up, walked up to Asclepius and slapped him. The poor man was sent flying through seven bookshelves and landed in front of Kyousuke.
"Ah. How daring, going commando."
Asclepius felt Záni place her hand on his shoulder, a smile carved into her face.
"... Forget what I just said, what has gotten you in such a worry that you use our Final Oath?"
"It's her eyes, look carefully. I trust you can keep this a secret?"
Asclepius nodded.
"You want me to hide this, correct?"
Záni nodded.
"Follow me."
Kyousuke looked dumbfounded between the two. Were they married?
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Asclepius led the two deeper into the temple. All the while having a headache and a nosebleed, he knew the presence of a Godslayer would send the Heavens into a frenzy. This was not the first time Záni had brought such an individual into the Heavens, it probably wouldn't be the last either. It was, however, the first time Záni had brought such a cute one though.
"We're here, Záni please stay here." She gave him an ice cold stare, questioning his motives. "It won't do for another god to see my methods or abilities, even if that god is you."
At this she relented and sat down, motioning for the two to continue. So Asclepius led Kyousuke into a room that looked similar to a doctor's office, just ten times bigger. He then sat behind a desk at the far end of the room.
"You can sit there." He pointed at a chair in front of the desk. "You need something to hide your eyes."
Kyousuke nodded, imitating Záni's behavior and choosing not reveal the fact that she was a psion.
"A glamour or any spell magic risks being dispelled or seen through... How about a construct?"
Kyousuke had no idea what a construct was, but nodded anyway.
"Okay... Then a construct that won't draw attention... How about bandages? They'll be inscribed so that only you'll be able to take them off. That sound good to you?"
Kyousuke imagined her new look in her head for a while, then she nodded, satisfied with how it'd look.
"You don't talk much do you?" Asclepius noted. How observant. "No matter, let's get this over with shall we?"
Then Asclepius stood up and bandages formed out of things air. Kyousuke tilted her head, surprised that the gods had so many surprises hidden up their sleeves.
"Perks of being god of healing and medicine." He explained smugly before he placed his index finger on the bandage. As he began drawing symbols on the bandage, his finger started to glow white, like a small star had ignited at the tip of his finger. Kyousuke watched curiously, drawing Asclepius' attention. He finished off the inscriptions and turned to face her.
"I can teach you if you'd like." He smiled warmly, though that just made Kyousuke more apprehensive. Against her better judgment, she nodded. "It'll work better if we put the bandages on, you'll need to close your eyes after all."
Kyousuke turned around, back to Asclepius as he placed the bandages over her eyes.
"How does it feel?" Asclepius thought about what he had just said, a vacant look on his face. "Oh wait. You can't talk... I just look stupid now. Anyway, try and visualise a small pool, that is your body's natural energy. Now try and visualise a small river running out of that pool, start with a trickle then try increasing the amount. That river should lead to where you want the energy to coalesce. Keep in mind that the amount and speed that you send your energy at can bring about different results, for instance what the mages nowadays call fire magic is just a large quantity of energy that is sent quickly resulting in flames or heat."
Unbeknownst to Asclepius, he had been breathing into Kyousuke's ear the entire time, prompting some very arousing reactions. It didn't help that Kyousuke was blindfolded. The results of trying to control her flow of energy while being breathed on were... Amusing to say the least. On her first attempt, she released a potent beam of white hot fire from her hand, instead of the small flame she was supposed to create. Scaring the crap out of Asclepius as he tried to stop Kyousuke from burning down the entire room. Needless to say such a commotion caught the attention of Záni who burst into the flaming room to see Asclepius holding a blindfolded Kyousuke by the waist while whispering into her ear. Not his finest moment.
"I CAN EXPLAIN!" Asclepius shouted at her, forgetting that he was still next to Kyousuke who responded to it by increasing her output of energy.
"Pervert." In one move Záni dashed towards Asclepius, kicked him between the legs so hard that he was embedded into the ceiling and then some. She picked up Kyousuke and tried to take off the bandages. "Are you okay? Hnn! That damn pervert sure tied these bandages tightly!"
Actually that's what's concealing my eyes.
Luckily for Záni, Kyousuke had calmed down as soon as Asclepius had stopped holding her by the waist and whispering into her ear.
"Huh, guess the pervert did teach you somewhere useful after all. Energy Manipulation is pretty damn useful."
Speaking of that pervert, maybe you can help him down? He did listen to you and help you after all.
"Fine. We need to be at that meeting soon anyway.""
We? It's a bit dangerous for me to go isn't it?
"You're safer where I can see you, that way I can also protect you."
Kyousuke could see the logic in that, so she didn't argue. Instead she pointed up.
Alright. Get him down and we'll get this over with.
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The AUTHOR set foot outside the huge auditorium that the Gods used for their meetings. On his way here, he had sensed a large flare of energy being released on Ol' Asclepius' domain, it wasn't the best kept secret that Asclepius enjoyed playing the mad scientist, often creating concoctions and tools that the other Gods had good reason to keep away from. However it wasn't the presence of energy that had surprised the AUTHOR, it was the type of energy that he had detected. Had Asclepius somehow managed to teach a psion how to use fire magic? He waved these thoughts from his mind as a god approached him.
"Authority. Glad to see you could make it." Greeted the one of the scarce few other beings that could stand toe to toe in a battle with him.
"Deus." He replied, pretty miffed that someone he actually had to listen to had been sent to receive him otherwise he might've just flew over to Asclepius' domain to check out the interesting energy signature, but that would have to wait for now.
"The Gods have all gathered, you are the last to arrive, even Záni made it." At the mention of Záni, the AUTHOR shuddered. He would have to pay extra attention to avoid her.
"Well then lead the way." He tried his best to keep the fear out of his voice as he walked into the auditorium.