Nick Chapter 2: Deals with the Deia..._Throne of All: Tournament of the Gods

So it's me AaronDragon........ Again....... and it's like 3am right now for me.... holy Sally i'm tired right now....

so yeah stuff be going on, and imma probably do the next chapter and have it out by maybe even as early as tomorrow, but then AaronDragon is gonna be taking a breather and i'll be letting some of the other authors intro their own MC's (one of which is female.... Yaaaayyy this story will have gender diversity for a change!!!!).....

so i'll edit this after i've had at least nine hours of quality sleep..... that might be tomorrow or it might not be...... who knows?

anyway here's you chapter.........

ENJOY!!!!

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Nick

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I was sitting in an empty swing set and looked at the dog sitting in front of me. When we came to the park I was surprised by just how few people were actually here, I had expected at least a few kids to be running around with their parents watching them from the sidelines but the only other people here was a couple who seemed to be getting hot and heavy inside the covered slide.

“So tell me, who or what are you, what exactly do you want from me, and why did you chose me?” (Nick)

The dog cocked its head to the side.

“Before I tell you all of this I must first say that your ideas about religion and there being only a singular god are largely wrong…” (Dog)

I laughed a bit at that, the dog was already preaching to the quire on that point. I hadn’t believed in god, Christianity, or any other religious faith for a long time now.

“So all religions are wrong huh? That’s no real surprise really…” (Nick)

The dog’s ears perked up in surprise when said that.

“You accepted that fact rather easily Nickoli Lewet, most humans would try to refute or chose not to accept what I just stated…” (Dog)

I looked up at the sky, it really was a rather nice day today. Overcast but not so grey that it was dreary and depressing, if you looked for it you could even see the sun hiding behind the clouds.

It’s been what, four years now? Yeah, four years since I figured there must not really be a God, ever since I found out what happened to Sarah…

“Yeah well I’m not most humans. Just look at the world, look at all the suffering, the cruelty, and the just plain evil that occurs here. There is no way a supposedly benign and righteous being that is all-knowing and all-powerful would allow all that to go on unchecked or unpunished, not unless that being was actually just irresponsible or a cruel and uncaring dick… Since I’d like to think that IF such a being existed it wouldn’t be so irresponsible or such a dick, there must not be a God…” (Nick)

“So you do not have any faith in any sort of religion or higher power at all?” (Dog)

“Not really, sure just because there isn’t a God that doesn't mean that all other polytheistic religions are wrong, but I never really felt they were right either. The idea of Karma is disproven every day by countless people and their actions, Fate and destiny imply that there is only one fixed timeline to all things which is all but impossible, and the idea of life after death just seems like wishful thinking to me…” (Nick)

The dog started to laugh when I said that, it was actually rather unnerving to hear since the sound was so cheerful and beautiful for being brought out by such a morbid view of the world.

“I see, you really are not like most other humans Nickoli Lewet… for the most part you are right, but there ARE gods and there IS life after death, there are a variety of different options for life after death in fact…” (Dog)

I looked back down at the dog, I couldn’t believe I was debating philosophy and religion with a talking dog. My life really had taken a weird turn from this morning onward, maybe next there will be ninja’s popping out of nowhere to try and kill me or super powers will suddenly be a thing that's normal…

“Oh is that so? And I suppose you have some proof to back up this claim of yours, well that is if you expect me to believe it and change my own fundamental beliefs on how the universe works…” (Nick)

The dog just looked at me for a minute before it walked closer, stood up on me, and put its face right in front of mine.

“I can make you understand, but it will be very painful and it may end up killing you. I would prefer not having you die until you agree to aid us since your soul may attract the intention of other Deia then, so if I do this you must try your utmost not to let yourself die Nickoli Lewet...” (Dog)

I just smiled.

Well, this could be interesting… I wonder what this dog will do to make me “understand”, maybe it will just be something that pushes me deeper into madness… Well I guess that’s fine too, I can just embrace madness if it comes to that. Plus there’s still that remote possibility that this dog is real and telling the truth...

“Oh you don’t have to worry about that, I have something I need to do before I ever let myself die… Feel free to do whatever it is that you need to if you think it can convince me, I can take something as simple as some pain.” (Nick)

“Very well Nickoli Lewet, if this is what is necessary to make you understand and take my words and offer seriously…”

I felt the dog bite into my shoulder and then a strange wave of blackness overtook my vision, I could feel my mind expanding and begin to leave the confines of my physical body. I also felt almost unbearable and excruciating pain, it was as if all my nerves were on fire and freezing at the same time.

My sense of time was totally gone, it felt like this pain and blackness happened for an eternity and also only for a moment. I was prepared for this to be my life from now on, just being in constant darkness and pain, but then suddenly there was a flash of silver light and I felt all the pain begin to fade away...

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… Ugh… I may have overestimated my pain tolerance... what the fuck was that anyway?

“That, Nickoli Lewet, is what happens when a Deia forcefully brings a mortal soul to one of their realms of higher existence…” (???)

I turned around and looked at the place that the dog’s voice came from, there was a giant full silver moon that seemed to just hover in place over a vast expanse of calm water. It was night, but there were no stars or anything else really besides the water and the moon.

...What exactly IS this place?

“This is a realm made from my power, I believe you would best call it another dimension, Nickoli Lewet…” (???)

The voice sounded from right behind me, and I turned once more to see a vision of unparalleled beauty. She was clothed in a bright flowing silver remnant, had long silver hair, clear silver eyes, smooth and clear soft looking alabaster skin, and a face that could make anyone attracted to women weak in the knees. Plus she had a figure that filled out that remnant in all the right ways…

...Um you wouldn’t happen to be a certain talking dog with white fur would you?

“It was a wolf not a dog, the fur was pale silver not white, and I am a goddess as I have already told you, Nickoli Lewet.” (Goddess)

Something weird was going on, I could tell what she was saying was the truth and I could also feel a strange sort of connection to something that was far away yet very close. I tried to follow that connection to see where it lead and saw an image of myself with an apparently pale silver wolf instead of white dog standing on me with its mouth clamped around my shoulder. It looked like time had frozen at that moment as nothing was moving, not even that bird paused mid wing flap in flight.

... Ok, so I don’t understand what’s going on at all...

“Well that understanding will come in time while you are in this place, do not worry Nickoli Lewet. Now allow me to give a cursory explanation and then we can begin to truly discuss my offer.” (Goddess)

I tried to give a nod, but instead of feeling my head move up and down my perspective just shifted. It was at that moment I realized I didn’t have any sort of body in this place, I felt knowledge flow into my mind that explained why that was. My soul had been forcefully but carefully separated from my body and sent to this place, right now I was in a sort of state of undeath with my body being nothing more than an empty shell in the park.

“So let me first say that this place exists outside of the confines of time as you know it, everything outside of this place will seem to be frozen in time while you are here. This realm will also automatically feed your mind and soul the information I wanted to explain to you, while also assuring you of the truthfulness of all things spoken here. Usually this place is used as my courtroom and is meant to help me pass judgement or conduct contracts and deals with other Deia, but for now it shall serve to show you that what I will talk about is the truth since you seem unable to trust me otherwise…” (Goddess)

I could feel the truth of her words, this place really was amazing. Even now I could tell new knowledge and accurate credible information about the workings of the universe were being added to my mind, I could understand that the human concept of gods was inherently flawed and that there were countless beings of higher power known collectively as Deia. I could also understand that while it was rather easy for mortal bodies or vessels to die it was actually fairly difficult to kill a soul, thus even after someone dies most times their soul just moves on to whatever afterlife it is drawn towards. In a mere few moments my atheist views collapsed and were replaced with the knowledge of the existence of Deia, souls, and that there were countless worlds and dimensions besides Earth and it's galaxy.

“I am the Goddess Lunaria a goddess of honor and moonlight, I am the elder sister of a set of triplets sired by the former greatest god and master of all, Haltis. My siblings should be here shortly to introduce themselves since I have no doubt they were observing us and would have felt your soul leave your body...” (Lunaria)

Ah, a goddess of honor and moonlight huh? Well I’ve always kept what few promises I gave and I am fairly fond of the moon, but that isn’t the reason you’re here with me now, is it Lunaria?

“Very perceptive, but I would have thought that you would treat me with more respect now that you know what I am Nickoli Lewet…” (Lunaria)

Respect is something that is earned with me, not something I give freely away… not even to a god, in fact especially not to a god…

“I see, but I must say I do not quite understand your reluctance to respect and trust one of the Deia such as I…” (Lunaria)

I had a moment of clarity when she said that. Lunaria was speaking as if she had intimate knowledge of my feelings and thoughts, something that was very different from the way she acted when we were on earth and I thought she was just some figment of my mind or a mutant talking dog. I realized quickly that if this place was her’s it should favor her more than it did me, and since this place was letting me understand many things about the universe and was functioning as a sort of all powerful lie-detector it would only make sense if it was giving her even greater benefits. I figured what it gave her was some sort of mind reading or empathic link over me, gained only while I was in in this place due to it being her own realm.

“And you would be right Nickoli Lewet. Your incredible intuition and reasoning that lead you to that answer proving once again that you are a perfect choice for what we need you for.” (Lunaria)

And what exactly DO you need me for exactly?

“Well that should be easy silly, we need you to conquer another world for us!” (???)

When I heard this new bright and cheery voice sound from behind me, I turned around to see a handsome young man in dark armor spotted with silver dots and a cute girl in ripped jeans and a Foo Fighters concert tee walking towards me on the water. The man had wavy blackish hair, a strong and fit muscular figure, a kind face with a friendly smile, and he seemed to exude this feeling of acceptance. The girl was cute but looked to be somewhere in that 10-12 year old age range, she had shoulder length brown hair, bright and mischievous blue eyes, and an angelic face with a lovely smile. I guessed that these two were both Deia like Lunaria and were probably also those siblings she was talking about.

“And you would be right Nickoli Lewet... This is my brother Oros, god of conviction and night, and the smaller one is-...” (Lunaria)

“I’m Entia Goddess of clarity, knowledge, and starlight! It’s wonderful to finally meet you in person Nick, and can I just say that I absolutely LOVE your world!!! It’s no wonder Earth was one of father’s favorites, the music there is amazing, the knowledge you’ve managed to collect about the way the universe works is impressive in its amount even if it is all pretty inaccurate, and then there are all the amusements you earth humans managed to create! I just love cartoons and anime they can be so inventive and interesting, and don’t even get me started on videogames and films! Nick, you just HAVE to tell me all the details of that game you planned to make in a few years…” (Entia)

I was a little surprised at how excited Entia was and how close she came to whatever my soul was, but I couldn’t help but start to like this energetic and upfront Deia. She seemed like a cute and fun kid, but since she was Lunaria’s triplet I was sure she was probably far older than anything that could ever be considered as a child.

“Entia please remember, we are sister’s guests right now and we are in the presence of the one who will be our champion and pick which of us gets to inherit father’s throne. At least try to be respectful and hold an air of nobility and divinity...” (Oros)

Entia moved back a bit and gave her brother a nervous smile and shrug.

“Sorry brother, I just got a little over excited from meeting Nick for the first time… I’ll just be over here now, listening to my playlist... Give me a nudge when he’s decided what he wants his third power to be…” (Entia)

Suddenly there were pink and black headphones on Entia's head and I could hear a faint beat that almost sounded like Disturbed’s “Down with the sickness”. She just let her head bob to the beat and seemed to tune out of the conversation entirely. I was really beginning to grow fond of that girl… er, goddess… whatever she was, I was beginning to like her.

So you all are the ones that want me to go to some different world, right? I guess that means you want me to be your willing pawn there correct?

The look on Oros’ face was actually rather priceless, the level of shock that was on it was pure comedy. Lunaria just covered her mouth with a single hand and chuckled to herself.

“Yes Nickoli Lewet is quite intuitive, isn’t he? Even more than we originally thought, though I don’t think pawn is quite the right term…” (Lunaria)

I could feel the truth of that statement, but I was also a big mythology nut when I was a little kid. I could still remember how all the Greek, Roman, Chinese, Norse, and practically every other pantheon with multiple gods were always full of deceit, conflict, and screwing over mortals. Needless to say I knew that no matter how nice or considerate these Deia were to me, I was nothing more than a means to an end. The only question was what that end was, and what I could get out of this relationship for myself... And since I’m sure Lunaria, if not all of them, could tell I was thinking this, I was sure I would find that out soon enough.

“You really are a rather unique human Nickoli Lewet, you don’t even seem to mind being treated as a pawn by us if you can get something out of it you think is of equal value for yourself. It’s actually rather amazing how accepting of this you are…” (Lunaria)

“Is that truly how you feel about all of this Nickoli?” (Oros)

Yeah, that’s pretty much it in a nutshell…

“Well regardless of how you may feel, I will personally never think of you as a mere pawn and I’m sure my brother and sister feel the same. You should also at least know a bit more of the details of what we are asking of you...

Our father was essentially the god of all Deia and master of all the universe, he also died two days ago and instead of naming one of his many children as his successor he created a competition to decide who shall replace him and gain his power. That competition involves finding a human from Earth and getting them to agree to be transported to another world called Gaia, a world of magic at about the medieval level of technological and social development. Once there are 100 humans from earth who have successfully been transferred to Gaia, the real trial begins and those humans must aid us in seizing control of the planet by any means possible. 1000 years after the start of the trial the human and their respective Deia patron who hold the most control over the world of Gaia shall be declared the winner of the competition-...” (Lunaria)

And I suppose that means that this Deia gets to be the new god of all Deia and the human gets nothing out of winning the competition really, right?

“Well nothing was specifically specified in father’s trial or rules, but rest assured that should you win my siblings and I would be all too happy to shower you in rewards. Perhaps we could even make you into a Deia yourself…” (Lunaria)

Oros suddenly just appeared beside Lunaria, he smiled at me and nodded his head.

“That’s right, we would be more than happy to give you whatever it is you desire if you should win the competition! We will also do everything in our power to give you what you need along the way to help you win as well, Nickoli...” (Oros)

This was all seeming a bit too good to be true, but I could tell that no one was lying because of whatever connection I currently had with this place. It occurred to me that the connection’s strange assurance of truthfulness itself could be a falsely manufactured feeling, but every time I thought that my mind was flooded with facts and reasons of how that was impossible. Eventually I just accepted that as the truth and decided that there must be some other reason why this whole deal seemed to have no real downside. Then a few thoughts came to me, they were talking about this like only one person could be the new god of the Deia and king of the universe or whatever, but if that was the case then…

If there can only be one person to replace your father, what does it mean that there are three of you? Will you just split the prize between yourselves?

“No Nickoli Lewet, if you win the competition for us than you will be the one to choose which of your Patron Deia will gain the prize. In the end you are the one who will hold our future in your hands, you’ll get to decide which of us gets to gain the inheritance that should have been rightfully ours by nature of our very birth…” (Lunaria)

And just like that so many things clicked into place. Why these gods were being so nice and polite when they could have likely just ripped me from Earth and sent me to this Gaia world with no warning, why there were so many upsides to their offer for me, and even the comment Oros made to Entia earlier; everything just made so much more sense now. It wasn’t just about making an appealing offer to gain a willing and loyal pawn for them, it was about currying my favor so that if I won this competition thing I would pick them over their siblings. They weren’t just competing against other Deia, they were also competing amongst themselves for me and my favor.

How will you react if I, for instance, chose to pick Entia when I win this competition?

“Nickoli Lewet, I understand your concern, but my brother, my sister, and I have all already sworn a pact not to contest the choice of our chosen champion. We have also sworn that none of us will seek out vengeance on that champion for its choice, be assured that you are not at risk from us. We are truly your allies in all things Nickoli Lewet, well if you chose to accept the offer that is…” (Lunaria)

“Yes, what my sister says is true. Besides even if you chose to not pick me, I would be content just to have one of my sisters on the Throne of All as that would still mean I and my other sister will have an increase in power and authority. There would be no reason for us to resent that or the one who brought it about, in fact it would be foolish of us to do so…” (Oros)

It made sense, and I could feel that it was true as well, but there was still one last thing I needed to know before I would accept. If the answer was good than I had decided to take on the offer to go to this new world, even if I knew that there were some things these gods were hiding from me, I would happily be there loyal pawn and would enjoy all the perks and opportunities that came with being it. But if the answer was anything as bad as I imagined it could be with beings of this level of power then I would politely turn down the offer and go back to my old life and my dream of game design, I would try my utmost to forget that today ever even happened and I would move on. This was going to be the question that would decide what path my future would take...

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

...So what happens if I don’t end up winning this competition for you all? What happens if some other person wins instead?

Lunaria looked troubled, once more proving that she could read my mind in this place or at least do something similar, while Oros took on a look of deep thought, leading me to further believe that he and by extension Entia probably did not share in Lunaria’s insight into my thoughts and feelings.

“...Nickoli that questions has many answers… Of course if you lost on purpose I would see to it that you die in the most painful and long way possible and your very soul is permanently destroyed, even if one of my sisters offered you their protection. however if you lost merely due to poor luck or because there was a human that simply surpassed you in some way and thus won instead of you, well then I can’t fault you for that and I would likely make you one of my retainers if one of my sisters did not do so first.” (Oros)

“Nickoli Lewet, I can assure you that there was a reason we chose you to be our champion, many reasons in fact. We would not have picked you, out of all the many humans on earth, if we did not have the greatest confidence that you could win this competition for us. Even if you do not win for some reason outside of lack of trying we would not dispose of you out of anger, you have shown to us many times over in your past and even now that you have value and talent after all. We would likely decide amongst ourselves which of us you would serve under, and then we would take you in as an attendant or aid. That is what would happen if you were to lose for some reason like you fear, Nickoli Lewet.” (Lunaria)

...I see, that seems more than fair to me. Horrible permanent death if I fail on purpose, but a suitable new job offer if I do not win merely because of some unknown or bad luck… I accept your offer to go to a new world, but I have something that I HAVE to do before I can go…

“That’s fine Nickoli Lewet, just please go about doing it quickly as time is of the essence in this. There have already been sixteen humans who have made the transition to the world Gaia from Earth. While we are here and outside of the constraints of time is there anything else you would like to ask of us?” (Lunaria)

...Well now that I think about it there is something I’d like to know. Is there any way that I can start over entirely in this new world, like reincarnation or something?

“Yes, that can be done, my sisters and I have more than enough power to transfer you into a new body that we create for you, whatever age or appearance you want us to give that body…” (Oros)

“For an actual reincarnation as you are thinking of to occur, you must first die on Earth Nickoli Lewet, though reincarnation like this does indeed open up some unique opportunities. One of the opportunities that I believe you would be the most interested in is not just the chance to start over, but the chance to have a real family.” (Lunaria)

I wouldn’t say that the idea of being reborn into a family that actually loved and cared for me didn’t appeal to me because it did, it did a lot, but I wouldn’t let that be my sole reason for choosing which transition to the Gaia option I went with.

...Which of the two would you say is better?

They both answered at the same time.

“Reincarnation…” (Lunaria & Oros)

“If you reincarnate you will probably be able to learn the language of the region around you as well as countless other things like culture or common knowledge from your parents. You will also probably have parents or a guardian to protect and provide for you while you are too young to do so for yourself.” (Oros)

“The only real downsides of reincarnating are you actually have to die to do it correctly, and you’ll have less control over your appearance and initial location. We can effect some things, like choosing who your parents are and giving you various blessings which can sometimes let us tweak your appearance a bit, but there would be far less certainty and control over things than there would be if we just transported you and altered your body or made you a new one...” (Lunaria)

I thought about that for a while before I made my decision, then I thought about the details of what I wanted out of that choice.

Then I’ll go with reincarnation, I want to be born into a respectable middle class family, not too rich and not too poor, with decent connections but is not of noble blood, though has close ties to nobility. A family of merchants would be best, one that’s in a fairly large city or town as well.

“...That can be done, I have already found a human couple who meets just those criteria. Even better is it appears that they are actively trying to conceive a child as well, their first child and heir to their business in fact, so it is likely that you would be cherished and well cared for.” (Oros)

Perfect, I’ll go with them then. Next is about my appearance, I know you’re limited in what you can do, but this is important and will affect how I operate in that world. But First I want to know if there are other races of intelligent and dominant life in this new world since Oros specified the couple as human…

“Yes Nickoli Lewet, there are many different races of people besides humans. To name a few that you have similar concepts for: there are elves, dwarves, animal people, and demios which are remarkable similar to some of your representations of demons.” (Lunaria)

I see… well I suppose that being human is probably my best option, it would probably be best to stick with what I know early on anyway… Ok, if at all possible I would like to have similar looks as I have now as an albino, but with more attractive and agreeable features and a lithe frame instead of my current unnervingly serious features and lanky frame. And if I could I’d like my name to be something that can be easily shortened to Nick, just since I’m already used to being called that…

The two gods looked at each other, then looked back at me in confusion.

“Is that all? We had thought that Humans all wanted to become what they saw as the epitome of perfection in terms of appearance, are you sure that this is all you want Nickoli?” (Oros)

I thought for a moment, it was certainly all I needed to be comfortable with myself and my reincarnated body, but was it really all I WANTED? I did have two gods here willing to give me whatever I wanted as my new body as long as it was within their power, did I really want to settle for just that?

I guess make my new body as attractive as you can on top of what I already asked for then. Boyishly charming though, it appeals to a broader range than plain traditional handsomeness or manly appeal. Plus having to constantly shave and growing hair all over my body in random places would really suck, I would rather just not have any facial or body hair than have to deal with it all the time when I mature…

The two just shrugged.

“Very well than Nickoli Lewet, what you asked for is within our power to give.” (Lunaria)

Alright then, I guess I’m ready to go back to Earth now then… I’ll just have to kill myself to make the transition right?

“Yes Nickoli Lewet, all you will need to do is end your life on Earth and we shall shepherd your soul to the new empty vessel we will have created for it on Gaia right before the moment of the vessels birth. The transition should take only a few moments and it will be the last time we will be able to freely make contact or interact with you without it counting as one of our 100 allowed interactions. During this transition is also when we shall be imprinting powers onto your soul.” (Lunaria)

Wait, I get powers as well? Like super powers or magic or something? And why only three?

Suddenly Entia was right in front of me with her headphones around her neck blasting a song I recognized as “Everlong” being done by the Foo Fighters. She was waving her hands in a “let me handle this” motion at the two behind her and giving me a smile like she had been waiting for this moment for ages.

“I’ll handle this part you two!!!

Ok Nick, pay attention because I’m about to grace you with the wisdom of a goddess of Knowledge! So first off, and I can’t stress this part enough as it’s the most important thing to keep in mind, you shouldn’t limit what you think of powers as since they can be anything you can think of and can be as powerful as you can imagine AND you get to pick whatever power you want from within those confines. You could even choose to have the power to give yourself more powers, but it would only work if you actually knew how to do that in the first place, something no mortal knows essentially making it the worst power to have ever...

The actual level of strength and utility of what you pick depends almost entirely on how you conceptualize, understand, and use it. Basically if you pick the power to shoot fire out of your hands, which believe me is one hell of a lame power, how far and how deadly the flames are depends on what you thought about them when you chose the power, what you understand about them now, and what it is you want them to actually do. Got all that Nick?” (Entia)

I think I did, it seemed like your concept of a power was fairly fixed and only applied when you were picking it, how much you understood the properties of your power seemed like it was in a sort of fixed and fluid state since ones understanding of something could always grow, and lastly what you actually wanted the power to do at the moment of its use effected what it would do which would of course then effect its level of strength and utility. It actually seemed like a fairly comprehensive and open sort of system that governed these powers, that was good it meant my options were basically only limited by my imagination and what I could understand. Those weren’t very big constraints for me at all. That just left me with one question though…

I think so, but why can I only have three powers? Is that like a rule of the competition or something?

“Nope, you can only have three because each Deia can only give one power to their chosen mortal, THAT’S the rule. Besides most mortal souls can only hold three powers anyway, any more than that and their souls begin to deteriorate into nothing. There was only one exception to that norm from your world and that guy has already made the transition to Gaia, in fact he was the second one who did and even then he was only second by a few seconds…” (Entia)

Well I guess that does make sense, having immense power comes at a cost and it turns out I can only afford the cost of three, huh? Is there anything else I should know about powers?

“Only that you should think carefully about what you want to pick before you do, try and figure out each of the powers possible uses as well as its respective advantages and disadvantages. Most powers can be used in a way to accomplish just about anything, the hard part is you just have to figure out what that way is. Oh, and they do take a while to figure out how to actually use. Most times you mortals go through a few years of trial and error learning before you become even adept at using them, and that’s just if you figure out how to activate them in the first place…” (Entia)

I see, thank you I’ll keep all that in mind while I think of the three powers I want… now I really do think I’m ready to return to earth. I should be dead by today, which I hope will be in time for your purposes… if not I would appreciate Lunaria or someone coming to warn me before I die, it would suck if I die only for it to be too late to be one of those 100 human contestants to this competition…

“So you figured out what the rush was about by yourself without us having to spell it out to you, huh? I knew I was right when I thought you were a clever one, I knew it ever since I had a peek into your past!” (Entia)

“Sister... I thought we all agreed we wouldn’t mention that to Nickoli?” (Oros)

“Bro please, Nick here probably already figured we did something like that from the minute he found out what we actually are. If he didn’t care then he isn’t likely to care much now that I confirmed his suspicions, now is he sis?” (Entia)

“She is right Oros, Nickoli Lewet did in fact assume that we had knowledge of his past early on, in fact he assumed we knew more than we do.” (Lunaira)

The look that Oros had on was shocked at first, but then it turned sheepish, and lastly ended up in a sort of mixed proud and ashamed expression.

“All of which means he was an excellent choice for our champion… I shall go now to begin creating the new vessel for Nickoli’s soul. Goodbye Nickoli, I shall see you soon.” (Oros)

After the man in dark armor spoke he simply vanished like he was never here.

“I guess I should leave so that Sis can send you back now Nick, we’ll have to hang out later ok?” (Entia)

I’d be fine with that, anyone who can appreciate good rock music and listens to “Everlong” on a loop has some points with me…

“What did I tell you two? This guy is a keeper, clever, intuitive, creative, and he just gets it. I call dips on his soul even if he doesn’t triumph in the trial!!!” (Entia)

The girl disappeared just as suddenly as her brother once she made her final declaration with her finger pointed at Lunaria. As she vanished I heard Lunaria quietly murmuring to herself.

“...As if I would adhere to such a nonsensical notion as calling ‘dips’ on a person’s soul, besides if anyone should have dips it should be me due to the way he molested my manifested physical form…” (Lunaria)

I don’t remember ever doing such a thing to you…

The goddess just looked at me shocked.

“You caressed my face, neck, and back!” (Lunaria)

I petted what I thought was a dog with only the kindest of intentions, besides I’m not really going to think of you in a way that would ever lead to me molesting you like that of my own free will…

“Are you saying I’m not attractive enough for you!?!? Nickoli Lewet I’ll have you know that I am a very desirable being and have received countless proposals to even just grace some with a single glance!” (Lunaria)

And you’re also the one who ate a pop-tart off the ground this morning, but that’s beside the point… I won’t let myself get romantically involved in any way with gods, goddesses, or any of the Deia at all... I read plenty about what happens to mortals who do that in the mythology of my world, and I’m guessing that those myths are fairly tame compared to what reality is like involving beings like you…

The look on her face changed in a flash from shocked and annoyed to realization and understanding.

“Oh, yes well that is a rather wise decision. Deia don’t love the same way mortals do, we can’t really, and that often leads to trouble in a Deia and mortals romantic relationship. Not to mention all the countless troubles such a relationship would bring… Yes I believe you made a very wise decision indeed, though you certainly could have phrased it better.” (Lunaria)

I would have laughed if I could, it was actually rather fun to tease this one her reactions were always nice to watch. I think we could even grow to be friends in time, though considering she probably knows I just thought and I didn’t totally trust her or her siblings it might take a while for that friendship to form between us.

“Perhaps, but I would like to have such a friendship with you. Now hold still, i’ll send you back to your body now. This will probably hurt less than it did when I removed your soul, but it will still be painful…” (Lunaria)

Once again my senses faded away and were replaced by blackness and an excruciating pain I had almost forgotten…

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When I regained my senses I was sitting down on the swing again and Lunaira was sitting in front of me in her doggish-looking wolf form looking up at me. I almost let myself wonder if that was all just some weirdly elaborate dream, except I knew for a fact it wasn’t. There was knowledge and proof of said knowledges accuracy and validity embedded permanently in my mind and memory now. I would always know about the Deia, how the universe was incomprehensibly large, and how this talking animal in front of me was now my patron goddess Lunaria.

I got up from the swing and rolled my shoulder, there was no pain from Lunaria’s bite and there didn’t seem to be a wound when I looked either. I chalked it up to some godly mystical soul power and decided not to think more about it.

“I see you kept your word to me and did not die. I’m pleased with that Nickoli Lewet, very pleased. We would have had to rush with the preparations for your new vessel if you died while I returned you to this body…” (Lunaria)

I looked at her as a sudden unpleasant thought came to me as she said that.

“Will Reincarnating hurt that much?” (Nick)

Lunaria cocked her head to the side as her ears perked up.

“I can not speak for the pain of death you will experience, but the transition of your soul to your body should be painless. Whether the engraving of the powers you choose onto your soul will be painful however… THAT will depend solely on how well you thought them out and how closely they tie in with who you are…” (Lunaria)

I winced slightly at that.

Well I guess that's just another reason for me to think deeply about my future powers… I’ll need powers that are useful, but are also potentially deadly… After all, no one seizes control of a world peacefully…

I began to walk out of the park all while thinking of powers I thought would be good, Lunaria trailed along behind me quietly letting me keep to my thoughts. When I came to the entrance of the park I turned in the direction of the Rell family’s home and looked down at Lunaria.

“I’d like to take care of these next parts on my own if you don’t mind…” (Nick)

She looked up at me and cocked her head to one side in confusion.

“Nickoli Lewet, what could you need to do that can’t be done with me near you?” (Lunaria)

“A deeply personal matter I’d rather not talk about…” (Nick)

I looked at Lunaria conveying with my eyes that I REALLY didn't want to talk about it with her and that I would rather do this on my own. Eventually she just gave a whine, lowered her head, and spoke.

“Very well Nickoli Lewet, I shall see you again soon when you die…” (Lunaria)

I nodded and watched as the doggish wolf vanished into nothing with a faint breeze. It was for the best that I do this part by myself, well maybe not for the best but it was certainly the way I felt it should be done.

After all, revenge should just be about you and doing the most harm you can to the one whom you seek revenge on… Besides, I wouldn't want anyone but me to take part of this. I don't want to share killing that bastard who drove Sarah to suicide with anyone after all…

As I walked back to the Rell home, I took my phone out of my pocket and began searching for the next trains for today to Denver. I figure the four and a half hour ride should give me plenty of time to work out what powers I wanted and refine them, it would also give me time to seriously consider how to kill the man who ruined the life of the first friend I ever had………...

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so yeah that was the chapter............. stuff goes down in my next chapter, and Nick will finally reincarnate and make it to Gaia...... so you have that to look forward to.......

remember to comment, rate, review, follow, favorite, and share this story!!!! all the good fans do that stuff.......

oh, and i have a favor to anyone who can pull this off: "please write a kick ass review for this story, either now or around chapter 10, that can make it into the top 5 weekly reviews section here on RR.... this story desperately needs the PR......"

now for the easier favor: "just spread this story around to help it grow it's reader and fan-base.... and for the love of sally some one rate this thing.... the zero stars thing is just eerie to see for me...... i never have zero star fics (then again i always rate my own fics before anyone else so.....).... it's like the stars are mocking me every time i check the fiction page......"

anyway that's it for me.... imma sleep now....

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AaronDragon out.......

Nick Chapter 2: Deals with the Deia...

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