The God of Gravity part 3: Apocalypse

Leafless Woods

-

*

“Retribution,” says Enzo.

His fist hitting Dragunov in the face is like destroying a watermelon. His shoulder and body are still intact. Only his head is vaporized. The land behind him is decimated up to the southern seas that separate Olympus and Asgard. Huge tidal waves crush the flawless ice on the surface. The Ra desert is reached. The clouds are cleared up halfway around the world. The survivors in the world are witnessing this disturbance in the atmosphere. They wonder who can do this. But the answer will always fall on Enzo or the King.

Dragunov's body kneels, then falls to the side. His blood flows from his neck like an open faucet. Enzo throws back his sword to get to Danae as fast as he can. Aurelia and Mila are still crying. Danae is closing her eyes, seconds away from death.

He carries her and says, “Let me bring her alone.”

Aurelia lets go of her sister, giving her to him. He leaves as soon as he grabs her. To where they do not know. They just let both of them go. Danae's sisters cry even more.

“Where is he going?” asks Darius.

“It's better if we don't know,” says Juliet. She is behind Mila, comforting her.

Darius wonders even more but that is all he could do. Then Aiko emerges from the bright light near them. She is panting very hard.

“I'm sorry, I'm too late!” she apologizes. “What happened.” Aurelia and Mila in tears looking at her. They could not say what happened with their own lips. “Where is Lady Danae?” she asks. All she gets is the slow shake of Aurelia's head. Aiko starts to well up in tears too. “Where's Enzo, at least?”

“He brought her somewhere we don't know, my lady,” says Juliet.

“He might need our support, he might... take it harder on himself.”

“You're right, my lady,” sobs Mila. “He doesn't show it but he's very sad right now. We should be there for him. Please bring him back to us. He went that way,” she points to the south.

“Okay, I'll find him.” Aiko disappears.

It is not hard to find him as there is no cover on the beach. From above, she sees a blue light in the water from Enzo's feet, going to the deeper part of the sea. Danae is nowhere to be found. She approaches him from behind. Using the seawater, he washes his face. He turns to look at Aiko.

“Lady Aiko,” he nods. She cannot see any grief on his face.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I am.” He leaves the water and stands on the sand with Aiko.

“Where's Lady Danae?”

“I returned her to the Sea—where she belongs, as well as the past Deities of the Sea. Don't worry, King Rai would tell me to do it if he can.”

“You love her, right?”

“Of course, and always will be.”

“But why aren't you looking like- Uh, never mind.”

“I'm looking like I'm unaffected? Being affected is the last thing she would want from me.”

“Oh, right,” she says, looking to the side. “So, what now?”

“We'll finish all of this right now.”

“Finish what?”

A shockwave occurs from him. It spread through miles and miles. Every part of the Earth is reached. Everyone feels it passing, circling the whole world a few times. The good people feel secure and the bad people feel dread.

“I know where they are,” he says. “It's time to finish this once and for all. Tell them to pray for you. I need you to bring me to every part of the world where I sense the enemies.”

She is amazed and could only nod. She appears and tells the House Leaders. They felt that shockwave so there is no need for her to convince them. She returns to him after telling Mila and the others that he's fine.

“Let's go,” she says. “Where do you want me to take you?”

“In the battlefield.”

“Back there?” she points behind them.

He nods and they teleport there. Running, he goes to a cave at the side of the mountain. There lies his first victim.

“Who's there?!” roars a man from deep in the cave. “Enzo?!” he realizes in fear.

“You're not going anywhere, Lord Heron,” says Enzo.

“Try to get me!” he laughs, trying to paint an illusion.

Enzo slices him down without any resistance. His hip is removed from his upper body. Coughing blood on the ground, Heron looks at Enzo's eyes, shining in the darkness. It is the last thing he sees before he dies. Aiko waited outside, He comes out swinging his sword to remove the blood before putting it in its sheath.

“Let's go to Olympus now, my lady,” he says. She nods and they disappear.

*

-

I wake up as I intended to do. None of my “friends” is by my side. I wake up being taken care of by a human nurse. I'm inside a house, riddled with holes. They're covered with wooden planks, hopefully, to keep the bad air away. It doesn't work though. I can smell it. These people have no idea that they're slowly killing these patients in this room. Except for me of course.

I cough, sitting up. The nurse goes to aid me but I'm fine. I just coughed out the ashes and bad air from my lungs. I feel much better. She makes me lie down again.

“I'm thirsty,” I beg.

“Hang on,” she says, with a kind smile. After the disaster that happened, she still has the courage to smile. She comes back to me, bringing with her, water. “Here.”

I sit up again to drink properly. Then she tries to make me lie down again. “No, I'm fine,” I say to her.

“You must rest,” she insists.

“Really, I am.” I stand up, showing her that I'm healthy as a horse.

She lets me go without further ado. Thank goodness she's not too much of an insisting person. I can't trouble her more as there so many people she has to care for. I'm healthy and I should act like it. There are spare masks, hanging beside the door on the wall. I grab one, wear it and leave. They deploy this tube-like thing outside the door. I follow where it leads with other people. Then there's this deployable airlock. It's just a truck with an airlock system.

We pour out from the truck as soon as the door opens. I look around and see the mountain peaks soaring high up in the sky. We're in a valley. All of them are covered mostly in snow, the ashes are getting fewer, as well as the clouds. There are holes in it for me to see the blue sky. The deities must be making ways to remove it.

Speaking of which, where are they? They don't seem to be near me. Standing on the street, I realize the security is tighter than ever. There are men with guns on the rooftops and others that patrol around. Demigods are also tasked to focus their senses on unusual activities. After I showed them that Lord Heron is a traitor, they're not taking any chances this time.

I have no idea what happened to Lady Danae. I'll ask Mila. Walking on the street, although everyone's face is covered with a mask, I can feel their melancholy. Their feelings cannot be covered by mere masks. This mountain village is quite lucky not to be decimated totally by the explosions. Although damaged, the houses are still standing. They look like they're suffering but their perseverance keeps them standing.

The gate that I think is the exit of this camp is heavily guarded by demigods. There's no other way to leave “normally” so I figure out it's best if I do that. Then a demigod stops me.

“Turn around, he says.”

I turn around 360°. “Okay,” I said with a straight face. “let me out.” His other buddies laugh at what I did.

“You're trying to be funny, kid?” he asks, taking my joke as offensive.

“No, just let me through.”

“Let me say it clearly, this time: Go back.”

I sigh because I don't want to do this. I think it's unnecessary. I remove my mask, showing them who I am.

“Oh!” he realizes. “Lord Leonide. Sorry, we didn't know-”

“It's fine, just let me pass.” I wear my mask back.

“Right away, my lord.”

They open the gate for me. It creaks in a way that it shows how long it has been shut. I go through the gate as soon as it opens wide enough for me. The path is frozen dirt with few tracks. At the left and right of the road, are leafless trees. They're frozen to the core. Where I'm heading is somewhere I sense Mila is. She's far from Lady Juliet and her friends. Seems like she wants to be alone. But since she is the nearest, she's the one I'm going to ask about what happened. Maybe Lady Danae is dead and Mila is sulking deep in the leafless woods.

I leave the road and go to the left side. The snow is quite deep. I think I need to fly to get to her. But I'm hungry. Nevertheless, I need to ask her. I fly above the trees. Then her black hair contrasts the snow so it's easy to spot her. I land behind her as she sits on a boulder. Maybe Lady Danae really did die.

“Mila,” I say. She doesn't show her face. “What're you doing here?” She didn't answer. “It's cold out here. Let's go to your friends.”

“Leave me here.”

“Why?”

She scoffs. “Just leave.”

“Okay.”

As soon as I turn, she says, “No, don't.”

She wants me to stay, after all. I stand beside her and she holds my arm. “It's about Lady Danae, isn't it?” I ask.

“Yes,” she sobs, sticking the front of her mask on my arm. She begins to cry.

“How did Lord Enzo take it?”

She's not answering, busy crying. I waited for a couple of minutes until her whimper becomes lesser. I don't know what to say now. I don't even remember how I got through the death of my family. Oh... that's right. I had them: My friends. Maybe that's what she needs right now.

I pat her head and say, “It's gonna be okay.” After that, I have nothing to say. Her whimper seizes, becoming snuffles.

“How's that supposed to make me feel better?” she questions.

“Then what did you want me to say?”

“Figure it out yourself!” she blurts out, looking away from me.

“Nonetheless, Lady Danae didn't pass away for nothing. She saved us from Dragunov and as I know, she's a great and kind goddess. She has no regrets.”

She turns to me and asks, “Do you really think so?” Her eyes are telling me she wants to know so badly.

“Well, I'm not sure.”

She pushes me away. I trip on the snow. “You're hopeless,” she says without looking at me, pouting her lips. Her eyes begin to well up in tears again.

“Maybe I am.” I stand up and pat my clothes to remove the snow. “But you're beyond hopeless.”

“If you don't have anything better to say, leave me alone.”

“I just remembered how I used to act. I was this so annoying?”

“It's nice that you're suffering like I did—trying to wipe your baby tears.”

I sit on the same boulder with her. My back is against her back. “I understand what you feel,” I said to her. “The pain comes not from the death of the person but the thing you failed to do with them before they're gone. I'm even questioning my existence now. If I die today, then I will. But when I'm still alive, I'll do what I can to help my friends.”

“Help?” she questions. “Like how you treated me and Darius the other day? Give me a break! You've changed. You're not the Leo we used to know.”

“Maybe I ‘did’ change.”

“You changed because I lied to you?”

“Partly, yes. But knowing it freed me from something I don't know yet. I'm calmer than ever.”

“I was terrified when you went out of control, Leo. None of us could stop you. What happened to you?”

I try recalling my memory. “I don't know. My memory ended after I knew you lied.”

“And you're cool with it now?”

“Yeah. I'm cool with it.”

“Are you forgiving me?”

“Hmm... Not yet.”

She elbows my back and grumbles, “I just wanted to make you feel better. Danae was wrong that you'd understand my purpose.”

“She did? She's right. I do understand. I was just joking.”

“Well, stop that. Who do you think you're talking to?”

“A crybaby,” I tease.

I expected her to be angry but she falls silent. After a second or so, she asks, “How did it feel when you killed those five deities the other day?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“You looked like you're not you. You were very violent.”

“Do I have a choice not to? They were killing our people.”

“I know but... I didn't know you're capable of doing that.”

“Eventually, there will be a time for each of us to take a life to protect others. Mine just came earlier than any of you. You're the Goddess of Death and you're disturbed by death. I'm beginning to question if you're really the Goddess of Death.” I scoff a little.

She elbows my back again and this time, it's more powerful. “I hate you!” she growls, standing up. I fall on my face against the snow. When I turn, she glares at me with her eyes behind her goggles. “I'm leaving, you jerk!” Then she flies away.

I stand up on my own. I'm alone in these woods. Getting her out of here is success anyway. But damn... I forgot to ask her about Lord Enzo. Never mind, I think he's fine. Ugh... I'm hungry. Maybe they have rations to share back at the camp.