Chapter 9
2712 Words
"There is something weird here, I just can put my finger on it," Zenith muttered in a whisper as the three of us quietly strolls the beachside of the island we have landed on an hour or so ago.
I didn't answer and instead, I looked around us. Everything is fine, no signs of life nor monsters which is great, for better or for worse. Dead trees, dirt sands, and bloody waves under the same bloody skies above us.
"Is it just I or the view is getting a little bit hazy?" the son of Zeus pointed at the nearby driftwood which indeed is being distorted in our vision, "I normally experienced this in Scythia when it's too hot. What do they call this? Oh, yeah. A mirage!"
I shook my head vehemently as I looked at my skin, "It can't be a mirage, the sun is way too weak to produce heat let alone a mirage! To me Asher, give me your nose."
Zenith and Asher looked at each other in confusion but my heart is beating so fast right now, my mind is getting into haywire and my gut is showing me that the worst possible scenario has indeed happened.
"Your nose, now!"
The sound of my voice is so fearful and panicked right now, the son of Lytta quickly ran towards me and offered his soft, black canine nose which I touched with my hand as fast as I can.
Wet...
Gods, no!
"We're too late..."
Zenith and Asher finally get what I am saying when we heard soft peals of laughter echoing around us that drowned the sound of the very waves.
"We're caught, hook, line and sinker, Gala," Zenith said as he forcefully raised his right hand towards the distorting skies, "Zeus: Jagged Strokes!"
Arcs of electricity erupted from his hands as it snaked its way around us trying to break free from the trap we stupidly put ourselves in.
But the very electricity itself became distorted and bend itself to the will of our captor so much that Zenith quickly stopped producing them.
Asher tried a more brute force approach as he began to run dead ahead with as much speed and strength he can muster only to be disoriented and forced back to where he came from.
"No use resisting it," I whispered as I try to force my brain to think of a solution but the only thing logical it's trying to tell me is to run as fast as I can, "We are now at the palm of his hand to do as he please."
The High Priest shook his head and refused to accept the inevitable, "Syden! It's us! Zenith, Gala, and Asher! Don't you remember? Auxiliary Class! Your friends! Comrades! Don't do this! I'm, we're not your enemies!"
It looks like he finally succumbs to the potent powers of our friend and fell to his knees with his eyes and mouth wide open.
As he began to laugh softly at his own stupid thoughts with his saliva dripping from his mouth.
I looked at Asher which thankfully faring better than the two of us.
For my own brain is finally reaching its limits.
No matter how hard it tries to fill my head with thoughts and relevant facts, the sheer power of Syden is overpowering my reluctant self to fight a comrade.
"Asher, save forget about us, save Syden," I beseeched my furry friend as I was brought to my knees and began to lose my thought processes, "I can see it in the thoughts he is sending to overpower me. He has been like this since the Second Fall, since the death of, "him"."
And with that, I finally lost everything I have taken pride in my whole existence, my very fears come true.
The time when I cannot think properly anymore.
-0-
Amidst an ocean of useless thoughts and stupid musings, I heard a distant sound, a cry?
No, a howl of a dog.
A loud and hopeful one but it is not just howling it is singing...
This tune...
It's familiar.
Evoking clear memories in my fuzzy brain that can't be forced to think of anything substantial.
Two boys singing to the tune of this melody side by side with pure innocence and joy at each other's company.
Out of tune they may be, they are living for the moment and seemed to look at each other with utmost trust.
And love...
"You see I can't beam without you
I can't love without you
I can't prance and I can't hum
I'm findin' it hard to do something!"
I remember this.
This stupidly ear-catching song they repeatedly sing when not doing and at each other's company like it means the world to them.
"Now some people say stupidness takes,
So very easy to find,
I'm finding it hard keeping your face behind me!"
I opened my eyes and I saw the drool covered Zenith now trying to stand up on his own and sing the lyrics on top of his lungs.
"Can't love without you!"
I tried to push my face away from the sands filled with my own pool of saliva and tried to gather my thoughts around those annoying words that seemed to give clarity to my muddled thoughts slowly.
"Can't love without you!" I followed as Zenith looked at me encouragingly as we sang the rest of the song as we saw the mirage before us slowly becoming clearer.
"Now I feel bad when you're sad,
I feel sad when you're bad,
If you only feel what I'm goin' through
I just can't love without you!"
"I just can't love without you..."
And after we finished the song the golden feather appeared from my chest and pulsated in an ethereal warm glow that chased away the powers of Koalemos himself to show that we are not on the beach at all but in the middle of a wasteland filled with dead trees, skulls of animals and a long-haired boy wearing nothing but tattered boxer shorts showing his dirty lean but muscled body and behind his grimy matt of hair, an astonishing baby-blue eyes that are filled with wonder and surprise as the golden dust motes around us showed the memories he may have been longing for so long.
It showed us Avesa, Zenith, and Taurei sitting inside the room of the Priestess and discussing what seems a rather sensitive and embarrassing matters of the heart because the daughter of Aphrodite just barged right in without so much as knocking before slamming the door behind her as she shoved Zenith to the floor and lounged comfortably at the bed of the room owner.
"Someone called for a love expert?! Welp, I'm here. Just a disclaimer, I am the black sheep of this generation's Goddess of Love and Beauty's spawns. I am not offering a refund for anything and certainly not that delectable gummy worms! Goodness, no wonder you are always eating it during classes! That's so addicting!"
"You can take some more here, Estelle. Her Honor just send the second shipment for the month but because of my twin brother's problems, he can't eat them at the same pace as before."
"Well, don't mind me if I do, Avesa because I think my friend here is in love!"
"Love?! Well, I know he "loves" me, my mother, and Ave but I think it is more of imprinting in animals. We are the first ones who accepted him, feed him, so it's normal he is inclined to stick with us."
"Zenith is right, Estelle. Her Majesty told us that unlike me, which is born from her humanoid form bearing her humanistic qualities, Rei here is a little bit different. He is born from her pure rage and animalistic persona, specifically the peacock with which she identifies with. I am more of a mortal goddess than a demiurge since I was conceived in a non-physical way, that much she is sure of. But with Rei, well, she is still finding things out."
"Well, while I will just leave the finding things out with your mother, I think I can help with finding out if he is just feeling that way. You see, love is universal, as my mother always says. Being with someone like my Asher, helped me understand that animals, man, demigods, demiurges, gods, titans, primordial deities and anything in the middle, as long as you care for others enough to protect them, cherish them, that is love. My beloved told me that animals call it instinct but really, what's the difference? When a baby is trapped under a gigantic boulder, the mortal mother of no drop of immortal blood in her veins singlehandedly lifted it easily and threw it away to save her child. Change a scenario to an elephant and her spawn and the same thing will happen."
"So even if Rei here is more of an animal than human, he can still feel, "real" love?"
"Yes, Zenith. But Taurei, why the long face? You finally learned the truth about love and you should be jumping for joy now!"
"It's too late, he already hates me."
"Oh..."
"So that's why he defeated an entire swarm of monsters yesterday by letting them trample each other stupidly, Rei."
"He said he loves me. He is serious about it and he wanted me to be his after all this bloodshed is over. But I don't know how to answer. I wanted to be with him but I don't know what to do. I hesitated and he took it badly. Now is it too late?"
"No! No, no, no and flat out no, Taurei! It is never too late as long as you can tell him what you really feel. Tell him the truth. That you are ignorant about the feeling and you just learned about it now. Hurry, before he leaves for battle!"
But their conversation was cut short when Clite burst through the door in a panic.
"Typhon! He appeared suddenly at the frontlines! A great earthquake hit the faultline just outside the great wall of Poseidon!"
"No! What about Gala, Eonia, Morris, Vaski, Vivet, Syden, and Kairos?!"
"They are forced to face Typhon by themselves! We have to head there now, Avesa!"
The scene shifted to a gigantic peacock falling towards the ground and transforming back to the boy we all know and love.
"I love you, Syden. If this is the end, I hope you can hear me say this..."
"Taurei..."
The son of Koalemos fell to his knees and cried out loud and screamed in pain as he writhes on the ground clutching his chest and seemingly want to take his heart out to ease his suffering.
"TAUREI! TAUREI! TAUREIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
A blast of potent stupidity was unleashed unconsciously in our direction but to our surprise, we didn't lose our minds.
Instead, it showed us what he is thinking right now.
He is blaming himself for his foolishness. For his stupidity of not understanding the truth earlier. For losing the one he loves the most.
When we reached where he is squirming Zenith angrily looked at the husk of what once our classmate, "So are you just going to spend the entire day flailing about on the ground or you are going to let the three of us clean you."
He stopped kicking and screaming when he heard the disappointed tone of the High Priest as he blinked at him in surprise.
"Short Fuse?"
I can't stop myself from laughing out loud as I try and failing miserably trying to clean the disgusting saliva on my hair, face, and clothes.
The son of Zeus just facepalmed himself as he gingerly held out his hand to grab the grimy arm of our friend pulling him up unceremoniously.
"Sane enough to recognize me at the very least, Gala."
Syden quickly looked in my direction and furrowed his brows as if trying to remember me before his eyes widened, "Know It All?"
Asher howled in joy as I gave him a quick slap across his face, "Keep insulting us and we will just leave you here, Syden."
The son of the god of stupidity then grinned at our canine friend confidently, "Feral Hunk!"
Lytta's spawn playfully grabbed his neck and pretended to rip his throat off as he chuckled and sobbed while looking down at the sorry state we found him in.
"I'm..."
"Alive. You are alive Syden. That's the only thing that matters now," Zenith said firmly that made him cry even more, "Now, you can cry while we are scrubbing you from head to foot. I heard a stream not far from here. Let's go there, you i***t!"
And with that, he put his arm on our friend's shoulder and shook it a little to assure him that we are here with him now.
-0-
"Thankfully, this river doesn't have a god or we will be kicked out by the sheer much we have removed from Syden and we haven't left his head yet!"
I am sitting behind a tree in front of the campfire where I am watching the wooden pot of Asher boiling happily as the delicious scent of herbs and spices wafted all around us.
Weaving clothes for our old friend.
The son of the goddess of rage barked in agreement as I heard him splashed more water at our friend who is clearly annoyed about it.
"I can take a bath on my own, you know!"
"Yeah, right. On normal circumstances, you can. Not when you are this dirty. Now, strip!"
"What?!"
"You heard me, right? I can't clean your thigs if you are still wearing that rag."
"But, I am..."
"What, shy, embarrassed, or uncomfortable?" Zenith asked irritably as judging by the sounds they are making, our friend is resisting him, "Is this the time for this? We need you to be cleaned, scrubbed, and bathed before dinner! You do remember Gala "hates" disgusting smells, right, Syden?"
"Zenith, no! I am scared! I shouldn't even let you all bath me!" Syden begged that made the son of Zeus stop whatever he is doing.
We heard a distant rumble of thunder as the temper of our friend is slowly rising to a critical point, "Why? Because you are gay, Syden?"
I stopped my weaving when he finally dropped the question he is clearly avoiding earlier.
"Yes..."
"What the actual f**k, Syden? My father himself has a guy lover!" Zenith said matter of factly that made Asher bark in agreement, "Estelle's fiance here is technically and for all intents and purposes an overgrown dog and you are worrying about us giving you a bath just because you are gay?!"
"Zenith..."
"I know that you love my brother way before almost anybody else, and did you hear me say something about it?! None! If you cherish him, then you can bet I am not going to let you walk around like this! You're technically my brother-in-law for gods sake! Rei will definitely let me have it if I don't make you presentable! Now, strip and let's be done with this! I've got better things to do than giving a bath to a guy with the help of a dog."
I heard a heavy sigh then Asher whimpered after a few seconds as Zenith gasped in disbelief.
"Well, what can I say, Asher? If ever we get to meet my brother again, he will be the luckiest guy in the world, eh?"
The canine barked in agreement as they proceed with whatever they are doing.
Okay, that's it, too much information!
"Athena: Fallen Spear..."
I whispered before summoning a silver spear and willing it to fall to wherever Zenith is right now.
I heard the scream of shocks as I heard my spear hitting the river.
"If you don't stay quiet, I will send "needles" next," I grumbled loudly that made them all apologize in fear that made me smile a little.
It's nice to have the company of our friends, eh, my Vaski?
As if to answer my thoughts, I feel my heart is warmed by the feather as I heard in my ears the waves of the peaceful ocean he loves the most.
- Writer
