“Wow man, I heard you’re a Demigod, that’s awesome man!” Jake gave an awkward chuckle at the words of one of his skater friends who were visiting his house, another speaking up after the first statement.
“Yeah, man, it was all over the news that some fire God or something appeared… sorry to say, but it’s lucky we weren’t there at the time.” Jake’s second friend said as Jake nodded.
“Yeah… hey Jake, you mind telling us what happened?” Jake’s first friend asked as Jake thought about it.
“I don’t remember much, but this is what I do remember.” Jake began his tale-
It started like a normal Friday, in the sense that school was out early, and Jake, as usual, was finished early with his projects and therefore free to do as he pleased over the weekend.
That usually meant either skating around or visiting the nearest library for the weekend.
It still confused Jake’s friends that he was cool, but he was also pretty smart, having some of the top grades in their school.
For this weekend, Jake felt like skating, as it was one of his joys, travelling around that is. Doing tricks was just a bonus Jake felt.
So Jake went to a skate-park, he was well known there, and no one batted an eye at his appearance other than asking why he was lugging around his bow from the archery club.
“It’s because we were practicing today. They left the bow with me to practice over the weekend.” Jake admitted to whoever asked, Jake leaving the bow next to his bag as he skated.
It was around noon when things went wrong.
It was June, so obviously it was hot, summer and all, but for some reason it started to get really warm. It was when someone had a heatstroke that people began to panic a bit.
And it was also when Jake went to check on the victim that everyone heard it.
The voice of a God.
“Ah… there you are, child of fire.” The voice boomed, no one hearing it but Jake, everyone else just hearing the sudden crackling of flames, before someone thought of looking up.
And it was at this moment where everyone else did, because this person had the clarity of mind to ask this question:
“Why does the sun seem so close?” Jake was panicking by now, wondering why no one asked any questions about the voice as the sun seemed to… crack, for lack of a better word.
Then there was a burst of light, all who looked at it were immediately blinded, Jake having enough forethought to shade his eyes.
Once the light cleared, there stood the God.
Bronze skin, eyes of literal fire, bright red hair that floated on a non-existent breeze, clad only in some sort of cloth skirting, cuffs and anklets of fire and in the centre of the chest pulsed a diamond of blue flames, veins leading from said diamond creating tattoo’s going all over the body of the being.
No one would look upon such a being and think ‘mortal’.
“Greetings, child of fire. I am Huitzilopochtli, Aztec God of Will, Fire, the Sun, and Patron of the South.” Now, now the voice could be heard by all, as the normal people clenched their ears in pain, to Jake, the voice was smooth and powerful.
To all others it was the roar of fire in their ears, a burning sensation from their ears which had no right to hear the voice of such a being.
“It appears that some mortals are in our presence. They are unnecessary for what will come.” The God, Huitzilopochtli waved his arm, and a wall of flames appeared.
It instantly incinerated all beings in the presence of Huitzilopochtli with the exception of Jake, who was wide eyed in shock.
“There… no distractions. Speak your name, child of fire.” The God would not be denied, and yet Jake only now realized that it was he who was being spoken to… and he was terrified at the idea.
Remember, Gods were not a secret… it was well known that Gods existed and could appear in the world, ready to slaughter humanity.
“Jake, Jake Thomas.” Jake couldn’t even bring himself to shout, his voice unnaturally calm, making the God nod, his face resembling Mexican’s in ethnicity as the God smirked.
Jake did not feel comforted by it, let alone the glow that came from the God’s throat.
“Jake Thomas… Excellent, Jake Thomas, I have descended upon this world for contest, a battle of wills and strength!” The God spread its arms, and Jake stood still, knowing that if he moved, he might die.
“If you are looking for a battle… why did you appear in front of me?” Jake asked, the God blinking for a moment in apparent surprise before looking closely at Jake.
“I see, you know not of your power? No matter, your power is not what I will contest. I, the Patron of the South, have appeared before you, Jake Thomas, because you are a child of fire.” Huitzilopochtli spoke as he held out a hand, clenching it into a fist.
“I am a God of the Sun. And you hold the essence of the Sun within you. I felt that it would make an excellent contest.” The God snapped his fingers, the sun above them shining brightly as suddenly the world around them darkened, as if the very sun itself was merely a spotlight for Huitzilopochtli.
“Essence of the Sun? I’m… oh crap.” Jake had but a moment to get the idea of what he was, before Huitzilopochtli raised his hands to the sun.
Any person who knew of a certain Sun-bro would know the pose.
“Indeed, you hold the essence of a God! You will battle me in a contest of Will! Should I slay you I will destroy this entire city and continue until I burn this entire world!” The God then gestured to Jake, the smirk of the God taking on a slightly more sinister look.
“On the other hand, if you manage to lay a fatal blow on my person, I will take it as my defeat! I grant you but ten seconds to gather your equipment!” Jake turned and ran.
Jake was terrified, but… but he felt calm. He did not know why, but he knew he had to move. He knew he could not stay still, lest he die.
He had to survive until Aegis sent a Demigod to fight Huitzilopochtli, and if that couldn’t happen, he’d have to try and give the God a fatal blow himself.
And Jake only possessed one weapon at current, the bow sitting by his bag… as for other equipment, the skateboard beneath his feet was the only other thing that might help him he felt… that didn’t stop him from grabbing something from next to the bag as the God began to move.
“Time is up, let the contest begin! Now we will see whether or not your will is enough to stand against me!” Jake immediately kicked off, turning just enough to see Huitzilopochtli hold his hand out, a thin stream of fire appearing in his hand… and then the hand blurred.
Jake didn’t know what happened in this moment, only that the place he was at just a moment ago had seemed to spontaneously combust, leaving behind slag while he had somehow ended up grinding down a rail as the God stalked behind him.
“Interesting, you dodged my spear throw!” The God exclaimed in joy, while internally Jake was panicking at how excited the Aztec God felt.
Jake had very little time to complain as another ‘spear’ flew where his head was just a moment ago, leaving Jake certain that following his instincts would allow him to stay alive.
And so that was what he did, at least, until the ambient heat of the floor seemed to be melting the very wheels of his skateboard, much to his internal despair…
He liked his skateboard, even if he was about to die he’d feel sad about it.
And if the wheels were melting, Jake soon found himself thrown from his board as he landed on smouldering grass.
It was but for a moment, but Jake marvelled at the warm sensation… and then he was attacked once more, causing him to roll forward again in an attempt to dodge.
“You are intriguing, being able to survive the warmth of my presence… but you only run. If you do not attack, you will not win!” Huitzilopochtli roared as he raised both hands, summoning two spears as he began to toss them even faster than before.
Jake was barely dodging, made all the more awkward by the fact that he was carrying his bow with him, unable to roll and jump around properly due to its weight.
It didn’t matter though, Jake needed it to win, and so he’d carry it with him. And as he dodged, he felt it.
The heat. The warmth… not from his surroundings, but from within… instead of being stifling like the uncomfortable heat of exertion or tiredness, it felt like the warmth from a mother’s love.
It comforted Jake, as much as it pushed him forward, driving him to continue, to live. It was while following this feeling, diving deep into his wish to feel more, that the God spoke in wonder.
“…It has barely been four minutes. In a mere four minutes of my presence triggering your growth, you have begun to feel the Sun, the power it grants us… you might be more dangerous than expected.” The God spoke with neutrality towards the end, raising its arm.
“I won’t allow you to defeat me.” Huitzilopochtli had a spear of fire in his hand… and then suddenly it was gone.
“-And that’s all I remember. From what Aegis told me, he picked up speed and hit me in the stomach, and I don’t know what happened next.” Jake informed his friends who were wide eyed with wonder at the event that happened the day before… too bad they had to leave.
Maybe Jake should ask what happened after he blanked out next time he saw someone from Aegis?
“Alright, so, Jake Thomas, real name Jake Ignus, will be joining Aegis. He is set to join Alexandria tomorrow.” Agent Karma read the report to the microphone, knowing that all relevant parties were listening in.
Namely, the Council of Demigods, the collective heads of Aegis, two of which were Edgar Yule and Rose Cora.
All of the Council had access to this live stream of information, no matter where they were, with the exception of one member who was constantly disappearing.
“Jake Ignus is a Demigod son of Apollo, who is a god of Archery, the Sun, and multiple others. He was triggered yesterday due to the Descent of the Aztec God, Huitzilopochtli.” Karma wondered about that missing Councilman…
He was the son of one of the strongest Aztec Gods, so he would have been better to talk about those Gods.
It was nigh involuntary, but a child of a certain God would end up curious on their parent, and research them. Following this, one would obviously research the pantheon said God belonged to.
It was the same with the other Council members, who collectively knew about Greek myth, Aztec myth, and Norse myth majorly.
No one except Rose and Karma were aware of whom Edgar’s God parent was, and it was a well-kept secret in Aegis. Suffice to say his parent was powerful, and ancient to a degree almost unmatched by most other Gods.
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“Huitzilopochtli, God of Will, War and the Sun, as well as Patron of the South in his myth, he apparently challenged Jake Ignus to a battle of will, threatening to destroy the world if he won.” Karma’s scoff was held in due to the serious nature of this report, though he had no doubt all other people listening scoffed.
As if one God could threaten the world. The Council was the strongest defence against such Gods, and Edgar, the strongest Demigod, had made a name for himself slaying them…
Only the top three Demigods could slay Gods though, one being Edgar, the second being Rose and the third was the previously mentioned Aztec Demigod.
That didn’t mean the others were weak though.
All other members of the Council were capable of defeating a God in a one-on-one setting, even if killing a God was a bit beyond them.
“Jake Ignus apparently tried to stall for time, running away under attack by the God, however at the time only one of our Agents was at the scene watching using a scrying spell.” Karma frowned at his own words.
Granted, Aegis had Charlie, who was a uniquely suitable counter against Gods of Fire or the Sun, but he had been in charge of the Australian branch and was awaiting the teleportation rune system to be powered.
By the time he had teleported, the fight was over, leaving Charlie in America with no God to fight.
This meant that Aegis was late, and that some untrained Demigod was forced into a fight that really should not have been his problem yet.
“Using a skateboard, Jake Ignus managed to evade the God for roughly three and a half minutes before the heat Huitzilopochtli emitted melted the wheels of said skateboard, forcing Jake Ignus to dodge on foot.” Karma would admit to himself in private that he was kind of impressed with what the boy had done.
“Soon after this, Jake Ignus began to access his powers over the Sun, and therefore fire, to the point that he was beginning to have sparks of yellow flame falling around him, and his footsteps were leaving a trail of fire.” It was a strange ‘Awakening’ but it wasn’t the strangest.
“Huitzilopochtli apparently felt threatened by Jake Ignus and his rate of growth, and so stopped holding back his power, sending forth his attacks at full speed, his first hit impaling the boy through the stomach.” Karma stated, thinking back to the recording he was shown of the fight.
Soon after Jake Ignus was beginning to Awaken his powers, the God Huitzilopochtli stopped holding back, as evidenced when he attacked at such high speeds that no one caught the spear throw until it was over.
Edgar, who watched the video as well and as expected, he easily caught the throw as it happened, saying that the difference between it and the previous throws was that the God was originally just using physical strength to toss spears around.
In this latest throw, Huitzilopochtli also used his control over fire to enhance the speed the spear left at, a subtle but important difference.
Jake Ignus was obviously blown back upon being hit, not possessing the armour Aegis provided to its Demigods and not being a Demigod holding a Principle of Durability or Strength.
The boy was launched more than a few metres away, the fire having dissipated upon completing its job, leaving the boy to roll and scream in pain.
Now at this point, Karma and the Agent found themselves unable to quite get what this God was saying. In person, Karma was of sufficient magical skill to be able to understand, but the Agent at the scene did not have this level of skill, and Karma could not translate a recording.
Edgar and Rose could though, and that was what allowed them to know what Huitzilopochtli said next.
“You… are absorbing my fire? What trickery is this!” Granted, when Edgar translated, he mimicked the tone mockingly, only to get slapped upside the head by Rose.
But everyone who had any knowledge of Gods and their powers found this bit interesting.
Jake Ignus finished rolling, clenching his stomach which had been burnt so badly as to be cauterized, and yet the spear of flames had not punched clean through him as they should have.
Indeed, he was injured heavily as if someone had taken a scoop or two of his stomach area and removed it, but he should have been far more harmed at this point.
Instead, the fire seemed to flow into the wound, and Jake Ignus glared at his enemy, his bright green eyes smouldering as they changed into a yellow some would immediately attribute to the supernatural.
“Impossible, that fire was mine and not yours to command, by how would you have stolen from me?” it was odd, admittedly, but no one really had an explanation for it…
One person mentioned the Titan of Forethought, but the idea was discarded considering Jake and his skill with the bow, as well as other personality traits.
The next point in the recording was surprising, and if Edgar and Rose were to be believed, immensely satisfying.
Jake Ignus, still holding his left hand over his stomach, held his right arm out, in a rather familiar fashion as a ‘spear’ of fire materialized in his hands as he threw his divine opponent with his new weapon.
Understandably, Jake Ignus was not trained in spear throwing, magic, or anything like that, and his opponent was a God of War, thus easily capable of swatting the fire away.
“Insolence! I shall smite you where you stand!” the God roared as he focused, instead of creating a spear, creating a sword…
Now admittedly, the Aztecs used spears and daggers more often, so Huitzilopochtli was expected to use those weapons, as a God of War though…
Well, War evolved with time, and so Huitzilopochtli tapped into that Principle and generated a weapon not commonly used by his people, in this case, a great-sword.
Karma still recalled how he and Edgar both shook their heads at the sight immediately, dubbing this as the moment the God began to lose the fight.
There were multiple reasons, such as Jake Ignus having a higher Principle for Fire than Huitzilopochtli, or the God having lost his composure…
The last one was important, as it led to Huitzilopochtli making a mistake as a warrior ironically… he began to try and fight with a weapon he was not used to.
The God stepped forward, much like Jake, a trail of fire being left behind from the soles of his bare feet, as he attempted to cut the young Demigod in half.
It was not to be, as Jake Ignus stepped to the side, holding his right hand in the air. Given Jake’s testimony, he was actually running on raw instinct the moment he got hit with the spear of fire.
In layman’s terms, he was fighting while unconscious… and so, his instincts and body did what his logical mind did not know it could do.
From the concentrated sunlight in the area, given that Huitzilopochtli was showboating and concentrating the rays of light as if it were a spotlight on their fighting area, Jake further concentrated it, blinding those who did not wear sunglasses as light condensed in the palm of his hand.
Rose nodded approvingly at this point as the light began to flow down Jake’s arm, towards his chest, then further down to his wound where it began to heal.
“Light based healing, admittedly light magic has a preconception as a form uniquely suited for healing… and being the son of Apollo, a God of Light and Medicine, the effect is probably even better than normal.”
That was Rose’s expert opinion on the matter as the wound healed itself, new flesh growing to replace the lost in a display of magical prowess…
Though in this case, it was less magical and more divine, given that Jake Ignus had no formal training with magic like most in Aegis did.
“You think I will allow you time to heal?” Huitzilopochtli gave a large sweeping slash to try and cut his opponent in half, though Jake had already mostly healed his injuries, allowing him to slide underneath the large slash.
Karma considered the move and found it to be acceptable. The God was too fast for Jake to escape to a distance where his bow was worth using, and a sword the size Huitzilopochtli was using was more like a spear in length.
Meaning the best position to attack from was in fact close range, as neither of them had the definitive advantage there when looking at weapons.
Like a storm, one would find the eye to be comparatively clear…
That isn’t to say it wasn’t dangerous though, as the God removed one hand from the grip of the blade to try and punch Jake, who had seemed to be coming up to a stand from his slide.
But instead of doing so, which would place his head exactly where Huitzilopochtli’s fist would pass through, Jake held his momentum and converted it into an odd sort of roll through the God’s legs.
The God was surprised by the move turning to launch a slash at where Jake Ignus would be, instead finding nothing as Jake moved with the God’s turning speed, and finally placing his bow into his hands.
It was this action that allowed Huitzilopochtli to catch onto where Jake was, but that wasn’t because the God heard the movement or anything like that.
No, he found Jake because the bow in his hands began to shine.
Karma was quick to understand the phenomenon; it was common when dealing with Demigods who had a certain weapon in their Principles, such as a sword for the children of Gods associated with swords.
This phenomenon didn’t have a name, people had different things they called it, Assimilation was a popular one though… mostly because that’s what Edgar called it and most Demigods looked up to him, despite his laziness.
What Assimilation did was quite obvious if one looked to the video, seeing Huitzilopochtli swing his great-sword from an overhead position, with Jake raising his now Divine Weapon and angling it as the sword hit.
Admittedly, a normal bow and great-sword colliding like this could only have one real outcome, that of the bow breaking. This was not a normal bow, and that wasn’t a normal great-sword though.
Firstly, the angling of the bow was helping here, as Jake did not meet the force of the God full on, as he would doubtlessly be destroyed in that situation.
It was extremely rare for a Demigod to be able to defeat a God in pure physical might, as most fights were decided by techniques and suitability.
With how he had moved the bow, the great-sword of fire only glanced off, hitting the ground. Unlike what one would expect, there was no explosion of debris or anything like that, but that was only because the heat of the blade had melted the ground the point that the sword easily entered it, meeting little to no resistance.
The fact that it hit the ground instead of its target was telling though, as Huitzilopochtli had his eyes widen as he stared at Jake, who calmly had his bow barely a half metre away from the chest of the God.
The string was taut, and Jake’s glare was emphasized by the yellow in his eyes as the arrow finally let itself be shown, a thin stream of light, the God barely had any time to even look at the light before he was hit.
It goes without question that Huitzilopochtli had his chest pierced by this ray of light, though Edgar shook his head when he saw this part of the video.
He was one of only three God-slayers in the world, and he knew when an attack was capable of killing a God.
While Jake’s light arrow was powerful… that was only relative to his position as a newly Awakened Demigod, running on instincts without his conscience to help focus his power.
So no, this was not a fatal blow to the God… however-
“…You have landed an attack on me. You fought through confusion, pain, your lack of combat experience, and managed to land an attack on my heart.” The God’s voice was suddenly much calmer, Huitzilopochtli nodding after looking at Jake’s eyes.
“Yes, you even fought through unconsciousness? That is impressive… Jake Thomas, I will accept this loss. You possess Will enough to be approved by me.” Huitzilopochtli nodded, and with that, his divine aura slowly receded, and with it leaving, Jake’s body finally released its tension, falling backwards as the God caught his body.
“…I bid thee farewell, Jake Thomas. And with my leave, you may have my blessing. Where others will falter, you will rise above as a beacon.” The God placed his palm on Jake’s forehead, a small glow appearing as the God nodded, laying Jake’s body down as he stood.
And with a snap of his fingers, and a bright light, the God was gone, and the light in the area was back to normal.
The video ended there.
“And that is the events of yesterday, June 24th of 2016, occurring at approximately one PM.” The date just let the facts stick out…
That a sixteen year old newly Awakened Demigod was forced to fight a God and only won because it was a competition with a God who actually stuck to his agreements.
“Agent, you know we didn’t need the date and time…” Edgar complained from a nearby couch, even as he let go of a crystal ball.
The fact that it was made in China did not stop Rose from messing with it to make it legitimate.
“Time zones are different, it’s why I add it in. And stop lazing on my couch, don’t you have your own office, or your own home even?” Karma knew Edgar had these things, Karma helped Edgar set them up after all.
“I’m not going. Rose wants me to do paperwork again. Why is she my secretary if she doesn’t do my paperwork?” Edgar asked as he snacked on a piece of chocolate.
“Firstly, she isn’t your secretary, I am. Secondly, she wants you to do paperwork because you haven’t been doing any since four years ago.” Edgar looked unrepentant.
“There’s a massive backlog because of this, and the only reason Aegis isn’t crippled because of it is because most important documents get sent to Rose rather. She has a right to complain at this point.” Karma added as Edgar rolled over.
“In addition, the only thing you do around here is train people in combat with weaponry. Granted that is necessary, but any of the other Demigods could do it, even I could.” Karma was not exaggerating or bragging, he really was that good when it came to combat.
He was the Head Agent of Aegis, as well as their ambassador. Consider that meant that he had to meet other supernatural races such as the one time he had to visit a Vampire coven in Wallachia.
And he met those powerful creatures as an equal, for Karma was the strongest human in Aegis, even if that didn’t mean much against a Demigod, it meant a lot elsewhere.
“Sure you could do it, but no one does it better than me.” Karma raised a brow and Edgar looked away… he was wrong here.
“Edgar, I acknowledge that you have the greatest knowledge of weaponry in Aegis, but Shane honestly teaches better than you do.” Edgar pouted at that, not wanting to be compared to the Demigod just mentioned.
“And as for the two other basics of combat, magic and unarmed, you know Rose and Samuel are better than you in those prospective fields.” Edgar nodded.
Indeed, the three God-slayers had a unique relation in which each one had mastered one part of combat to the point the other two acknowledged it.
Edgar was the authority on weapons, Rose on magic, and Samuel was the best hand-to-hand combatant amongst all Demigods, and that’s including someone who happens to be the son of Heracles.
“So Edgar, what are you doing?” Karma asked, staring at his friend and boss, who just stared back…
Then Edgar stood and walked away, grumbling about his friend not being any fun today.
“Edgar. You need to understand that you can’t just laze around all the time. Despite your power, you are not the human equivalent of a nuclear warhead.” Karma called out before Edgar could close the door, only for Edgar to sigh, looking at his friend.
“Karma. The problem here is that I am the human equivalent of a nuclear warhead… with all that entails.” Edgar closed the door, making Karma pause for a moment…
Karma was still slumped in his chair when the door to his office opened and Rose walked in, plopping down on the couch with nary a word.
“He was hiding here, wasn’t he?” she asked and Karma didn’t even bother wondering who she was talking about as he nodded without speaking.
“I’m worried Karma… Edgar… he hasn’t fought in a while.” That was an understatement.
From the year 2000 to the year 2014 Edgar was a man on a mission. Wherever a God appeared, he was either there, or busy fighting a God elsewhere, he was a modern day hero to the people.
And then at the beginning of 2015 Edgar suddenly stopped. He stopped fighting Gods entirely, saying he was going to relax for a while, tossing aside his combat uniform for an Hawaiian shirt, shorts and flip flops, and everyone was confused.
That was a year and a half ago, and Edgar had seemingly gotten worse.
“He… He didn’t like fighting, but he was always so proud of what he was doing… it’s weird that he suddenly lost that drive.” Rose said, and Karma nodded…
He didn’t tell her that he had seen Edgar coughing blood.
Edgar wouldn’t want to worry her after all.