God's Game

CHAPTER 3: Nightmares

CHAPTER 3

**

The 7-year old me was always astonished by the gods. Mainly the topic about the gods when Magister Ammut taught us about them in our subject history: about how the 7 gods came down to Earth to tame the once chaotic human civilization 349 years ago; the great war between humans and the gods that came after that lasted a decade; and how the humans accepted defeat by asking mercy to the gods by worshiping them weekly.

Ever since human civilizations' forfeiture, humanity was divided into 5 empires: the country that is separated by a vast ocean, Atlantoss, that worships Aquarys, the god of water, sea and storm; the empire in the East, Eastlanta, that worships Celsior Terrae, the god of earth and nature; the empire closest to us, Thanatos who worships the chained god, Nekros, the goddess of discord and spirits; the empire underneath the country, The Abyss, that worships Vathos, the god of the underworld and fire; and my home empire, Hustasia, that worships Lord Levi, the god of justice and peace.

As for the other 2 gods; the Hand of god, the omnipotent among the gods, went back to the heavens after the great war and his disciples, called the Archangels, are chosen by him and they can only worship him if they are pure enough. And the Unseen was thrown by the Hand of god down the depths of hell for reasons only a dead man knows, never to be seen again.

And here I am, the 12 year old me, kneeling before an actual, living and glowing god. To say that I am freaking out right now is an understatement.

Lord Levi raises his hand, indicating me to stand up. I do as I was told and stood at attention. His gold eyes pierce through my brown ones. I feel my heart racing and cold sweat begin to cumulate around my body.

His hands stayed still in front of his chest as he gracefully walked past me to my bed. My eyes were glued to his face and I admired the gold crown embedded with emeralds that lies on his head. His white cloth, which is neatly secured by a gold belt that some say give him courage to fight for justice, draped down just above his ankles.

My eyes followed him. He tapped the bed and looked at me signaling me to lay back in bed. I obeyed and carefully went to bed. I laid there with Lord Levi by the foot of my bed.

He grabbed me by the ankle and I felt his hot palms touched my scales. He closed his eyes and shakes his head.

Will he throw me down the abyss now that he knows I have the scales? I mentally panicked. My hands started to shake and my intense sweating continued.

"My Lord, I-" he raised his hands once again to stop me from talking. My lips formed a line to prevent myself from talking again.

I trembled in fear and shock as he started to press on the scales. The red and black scales glowed gold, Lord Levi pressed harder and deeper. I felt a sharp pain that resonated to my body.

Lord Levi pressed harder on the scales and I couldn't help but shout in pain. My hands clawed the white dusty bed sheets. Tears were starting to form in my eyes.

I look down and see Lord Levi's index finger and middle finger already halfway in my skin. My vision started to get hazy and my legs were numb from the excruciating pain. Just as I start to daze off into the depths of sleep I saw my family stunned and kneeling before Lord Levi that is pressing on my ankles.

—

The loud buzzing of the busy people of Hustasia awoke me. I was in one of the wooden stalls in the market and my eyes pondered on the crops being sold. My eyes travelled about and saw the people busy with their trades and goods.

To the right of where I was standing was the huge wall of Hustasia and the huge iron gates in it. My eyes travelled to the left and saw the huge temple of Lord Levi.

"Huh, Lord Levi. I was so sure I saw him just a moment ago." I thought.

"Excuse me? How much for the potatoes?" A lady who looks about she is in the mid-30's, pulled me from my thoughts.

I stared blankly at her. I wanted to speak but I can't, it was like my mouth was sealed shut.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" She snapped her fingers, trying to get my attention.

We were both interrupted when the spears of the Hustasian soldiers made three loud clangs to the ground, signifying that someone with high stature is entering the gates. The huge iron gates were slowly pushed by ten Hustasian soldiers and made a noise that interrupted the busy market.

My eyes widen and my jaw dropped in shock when I saw a bloodied Alexander, my father, and Ahry running through the gates.

I step out of my stall and stepped closer. "Out of the way!" My father shoved me away as they pass me, he was carrying someone between his arms. Ahry followed closely behind crying.

"Brother.." she said with tears rolling down her cheeks mixed with the crimson red blood all over her body. Her white and gold dress was stained with red spots of blood. Alexander was escorting her while she held her stomach which appears to have a pool of blood indicating that she has a stab wound.

The crowd was murmuring as my family passed by us. Some cried tears while others were busy gossiping about the holy family's problems.

I looked once again at the three people who passed by me and then I saw it.

Between my father's arms a person laid dead. His brown eyes were blind folded and blood oozed down the blind fold. His hands laid dead as he was being carried through Hustasia.

My body was frozen, my eyes widen in disbelief. I shook my head and tried to run away in horror.

The person my father was carrying, it couldn't be... it couldn't be me.

—

I woke up gasping for air. I couldn't stand up and I felt my chest burning. I picked up the glass of water that is by my bed stand and drank it as fast as I could.

I placed down the glass back and looked around the room and noticed that I was all alone. The light from the sun that shone through the window engulfed the room with overwhelming brightness.

My mind still pondered on the visual that I saw in my dreams. It was just a dream. I thought to myself. I shook my head trying to erase the thought away.

I looked down on my ankle and saw that it was fully healed. Lord Levi! My mind shout in realization. Lord Levi must've healed me up, he probably pushed down the scales back. My mother must've prayed and Lord Levi heard her.

The wooden doors to the guest room swung open and my father and Ahry came crashing through.

"Brother!" Ahry ran towards me and gave me a warm hug.

I hugged back and gave her a weak hug. "How are you? Mother told us what happened via pigeon and father and I came here as fast as we could from bleaching and we saw you with Lord Levi? How does it feel to be touched by a god? Was he nice? I have so many questions!" Ahry rapped as fast as she could. Her steel gray eyes were full of enthusiasm.

"Ahry, now is not the time to bombard your brother with questions. He's still recovering." My father's deep voice reverberated across the room. His authority and courage is what I admire the most from him, Alexander and Ahry got it from him.

"I'm fine really! I think Lord Levi pushed down the scales, I don't really know. I passed out afterwards. I'll come and bleach with you to prove it!" I defended myself. I really am fine. Maybe a little bit of joy outside this room may help me recover.

"That would be nice! Father can Nicolous come with us on our bleaching?" She asked with puppy eyes.

My father looked at her and couldn't help but say yes. Ahry jumped up and down the bed in celebration with a loud yay.

"No one is going bleaching. You've already bleached the city down south." My mother immediately rained on Ahry's parade as she walked through the door along with Alexander and Arla. "Aegon, why did you say yes to our son who just finished recovering? What if he gets the scales again?"

"Fine. No one is bleaching. But we have to plan the Festival of Burgeon today." He looks at mother and she responded with a nod.

"I will set a meeting with the council and we will plan today. I also have matters to discuss with the council." She looks at me and Ahry "and you two are getting ice cream."

Ahry and I cheered and jump up and down the bed and laughter erupted in the room. The bleach must've went well because after years, my mother finally permitted us to have ice cream.

At least, the ice cream news erased the dream I had earlier.