"Therefore, I can easily change the timeline if I so choose. But your stupid ass forgot that our enemies exist outside time, so I can't seal them in a discarded timeline."
The glorious star of ZuiZui, the third sun, was preparing for rest, welcoming the beautiful night. Gregory Albert Percival was beginning to end his session with his son.
"And what does the Rewgey vial do?" Gregory asked sternly.
"They heal bone wounds of most races, except the Neptunians, due to their brittle bones." Young Caesar answered, with the same wild glint of madness in his deep brown eyes.
"Excellent. And what does the Hyrutai Vial do?"
"Uhm, doesn't it.." Young Caesar clicked his finger to recall the information desperately, "...heals Titans from fatigue and bleeding, but it can cause severe pain to hybrids? And even though it causes the pain, can it still heal Titan hybrids?"
Gregory smiled, "Excellent work, my boy..." He said as he closed the green leather-bound book he was holding, etched with a drawing of a vial and other pharmaceutical symbols, "...Take the books back. You have done exceptionally well today."
"Thanks, Father," Caesar said as he hurriedly carried eight stacks of books, hoping he could impress his father with his growing strength. He skipped from the central table to a wooden bookshelf and dropped the books on its base with a loud thud.
They were in a small and relatively bare room. It consisted only of a glass-panel central table, a U-shaped arrangement of hard benches cushioned with silk pillows, and a wooden shelf containing various books. Gregory adapted the style to eliminate any form of distraction to Caesar.
Caesar was barefoot, as he enjoyed putting his feet on the cold wooden floor. He carefully sorted out the books, making sure they entered the right space required for them.
After carefully sorting out the books, he turned around and hurriedly skipped to his father. He slumped on the couch and grabbed his firm right arm, which was bare as he was wearing a sleeveless blue shirt.
"Father, I have sorted out the books, I have done all assignments and daily tasks. Can I please go outside and play with Zeus?"
Caesar was actively, genuinely excited. He felt he deserved a proper leisure, as he just completed a two-horas revision after coming back from a grueling 6-horas of school.
But Caesar realized his father was staring at him deeply. His single monocle pierced into his soul, and his firm arm became stiffer, but amicable.
"Caesar, what is your goal?" Gregory asked.
Caesar wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. "My...goals?"
The Room was drowned in darkness. A single spotlight lit up the stage. The light fell on a young man. He was wearing a peculiar choice of clothing: A stark white, sleeveless shirt, tucked into a large pair of black trousers, with brown polished heels, and all contradicted with a comical large grey blazer. The crowd broke into a soft cheer of laughter, thinking the performer in front of them was a comedian. Art is valuable, but it is something that humans choose to explore. And this man stretches the concept to new heights.
Caesar pondered the question hard, thinking of a decent answer. "Maybe to be a rich entrepreneur, or maybe be well known. Is that the right answer?"
Caesar looked at his father, seeking validation. His monocle was still fixated on him, like an eye of a slaver beak raven. Gregory gestured to Caesar with his index and middle finger, urging him to lean forward.
"My son, have you ever heard of Attributes?"
Caesar was faced with another challenging question. "Isn't it what you are made up of. Like if you are nice or evil, short or tall..." Caesar touched his chin, "If you like soup or not?"
Gregory looked rather disappointed, with the wrinkles on his forehead etched more deeply than before, which made Caesar feel that he had gotten the question wrong.
"No, my son. You were close, partially."
Gregory opened his palm, and a sphere appeared over it. The sphere looked like a transparent ball. Gregory stretched his hands, and the sphere covered the entire room. Caesar felt a rush of adrenaline, and burst of strength, and a refreshing renewal of energy.
"Woah, what's that?" Caesar asked in excitement.
"This is an Attribute." Gregory said, " Attributes are basic skills that one with grace learns. These skills are simple, yet complex. Ironic, isn't it?" Gregory laughed.
"They are the amalgamation of your grace, to form a skill that requires mastery, but it is referred to as basic by the experienced. For example, Neverland, " Gregory gestured around the room, referring to the sphere surrounding it.
Caesar was intrigued. "This sphere is Neverland? It feels warm and comfy." Caesar said while hugging himself.
Gregory repositioned his monocle. "Indeed. It is an attribute that utilizes your grace to create a domain that boosts the power of you or your allies, and stops the output of your enemy.
Caesar smiled, "That sounds amazing."
Gregory looked pleased. "Indeed, and we have many more. Like Surgeon."
Caesar impatiently bounced on the cushion. "What's that? What can it do? Does it have something to do with a surgeon?"
"Patience, my son," Gregory said. "Surgeon lets you sense wounds — physical, and with mastery, even mental or spiritual. You can locate the problem… and know how to fix it."
Caesar's eye widened in awe. He looked at his hands and repeatedly folded his fingers. "Can I learn Attributes myself, Father?"
"Of course, anyone can learn it. Since Humanity has been conceived by the Almighty, his power, called grace, has lingered deep within us."
Caesar's eyes brightened with euphoria, until a face of confusion appeared across his face. "Why are you telling me this, Father?"
Gregory relaxed back on the cushions."You can't master every Attribute. Learn too many things without purpose, and they'll stay weak. You must choose which paths matter."
"Think of your dream — you mentioned becoming an entrepreneur. But in what? Furniture? Weapons? Technology? Without focus, you'll wander every road and master none."
Caesar wasn't shocked because of his Father's wisdom, but his method of laying out the wisdom. He would trade all the play dates in the world to listen to his father's teachings.
Gregory took a deep breath. "Your mother wanted to tell you, but I have to." Gregory adjusted himself into his regular talking position, and Caesar was perfectly fine with that.
"What is it, Father?" Caesar asked, and the Neverland went down. Even though the domain is not active, Caesar still feels the residual energy within him.
Gregory cleared his throat, "When your grace becomes sufficient enough, and it can mould itself, it transmutes to another form: Divinity."
Gregory paused briefly, then resumed.
"Those who awaken it can achieve wonders. It's rare, but during your birth, the doctor found something — a 53% chance of awakening. That's well above average."
It took some time for Caesar's brain to register the information, but when it happened, he screamed. Caesar ran around the small room, taking multiple laps while screaming at the top of his lungs. He eventually sat down next to his father, with no sweat trickling down his face.
"Father, have any of my siblings awakened a Divinity?"
Gregory's shoulders slumped, and his wrinkles etched deeper. His face wasn't painted in disappointment, but in regret. "Yes, another of your step-brothers has awakened it. But he chose to use it for a controversial purpose."
The man was carrying a suitcase, which he gently plopped on a side stool next to him. He unclipped the locks, which made an echoing sound that spread across the room, and he carefully opened the suitcase. Murmurs ran through the crowd, each wondering what the man was planning to do. Those who knew him were only there to supposedly make fun of his performance. He brought out a pure black violin with white strings, each string seemingly casting a light of its own. There wasn't a bow, and that made the murmurs grow louder. The man simply brought his hand over the strings, not too close to touch them. As his hands moved above the violin, sounds began to resonate. There was a screech, then a hum, then a symphony, then a melody.
The sweet sound of the violin was so harmonic and heart-warming that all the murmurs immediately ceased.
"My second wife had a second son, who developed a divinity. His mother is a Nature spirit, a river spirit to be precise, and when two races mix and create a spawn, THE CHANCE OF A DIVINITY IS DOUBLED, OR EVEN TRIPLED. His Name is Lovis Comet Percival. A son that actively hates me."
When the performance concluded, a roar of applause followed. The silent dominion of the room was replaced with chants, cheers, and praise. Flowers and gifts were showered on him, and the sweet sensation of success flooded the man's body. He raised his left arm and stretched his right arm to his side.
"I have achieved my dream, the dream I have longed for, the prize I have strived for, the wonder I have prayed for, the position I worshipped for."
"What am I after....."
He calmly bowed, and the crowd erupted in a wave of applause and whistles that filled the room.
"I AM LOVELY LOVIS," He screamed with his head bowed down, and his left eye glowed a deep blue hue.
"Okay, Father, I know my goal!" Caesar said with enthusiasm and excitement.
"Oh, I'm listening," Gregory said, while positioning himself to listen to his son.
"I want to get a divinity, and when I get it, I don't want to be very powerful and famous. I want people to be able to rely on me when trouble arises. I want to protect you, my mother, my siblings, my friends, and myself. I am going to be the strongest. YES, THE STRONGEST!!!!"
Caesar's words echoed in his head, as the spear he held pierced through the Figure. His very motivation never changed - it evolved. He wanted to be the strongest, and the dream got reinforced when he awakened his Divinity. He had met Lovlis, but never truly saw him, never truly understood him.
He went from being the strongest to being a Legend, striving to scar his name in history. Not like the supposed sinister warrior, as Melios, but as a hero who will be celebrated decades after his death.
"How? how? How? How? how? How? How? This is not possible" The Figure screamed with another emotion in his eyes; fear.
Caesar turned around to see the figure hanging on the spear, as it went through his chest. Caesar's chest was alright, so the attack, the future, or the malicious intent never got reflected. INTERESTING.
Caesar's eye caught Leo, who was bleeding profusely on her jaw, forearms, and thighs. You have to understand that even if Leo is rash or seems unpleasant, she was declared beautiful in the social norms. But that beauty has been drenched in blood.
Caesar held out his other hand and concentrated on the class he was previously in. He searched for a vial that could help in this dire battle. His senses were heightened tenfold, and he felt unstoppable.
He found what he was looking for, as the figure was trying to escape from the lance. Caesar noticed and brought the lance straight in a vertical form, and the figure's lance dug deeper in the figure's chest, who wailed.
Using his control over gravity, he pressured the object to come towards him. Out of the soot and smoke from the classroom, a small vial floated out. It was a glass vial with silver linings and a transparent but viscous liquid; the Hyrutai potion.
"This is gonna hurt," Caesar whispered as he increased the gravitational force in the vial, and it shattered into a million splinters. The viscous liquid poured out and burned on Leo's skin.
Her screams shook the entire porch, with the liquid making hissing noises as it came into contact with her scream. Even though the potion caused her pain, her bleeding stopped, and her pain soon subsided. Leo looked at her hands in awe, shocked by the rapid healing of the potion.
Caesar broke his lance, which made the figure drop into his outstretched arms. Caesar still felt the barrier on the figure's body.
The Figure noticed and chuckled out of relief, "You can't touch me anymore, your time is up..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Caesar clawed at his barrier. In a surprising and seemingly impossible feat of strength, Caesar tore open the barrier. The barrier was still unseen, but an opening was seen by the figure.
"Leo!!" Caesar screamed, "Punch him here!!!"
Leo never met Caesar before this event, and they were not companions. But Leo knew in her gut to trust Caesar. She saw a glimpse of her sister, her long, golden-tipped hair, her constellations of freckles, her jagged teeth; Leo knew to believe in Caesar.
Leo ran towards the figure at blinding speed, her right fist positioned for a devastating hook. Her fist shimmered to a blinding blue color, bracing for impact in the Figure's chest. The figure was annoyed and worried. He truly believed he was untouchable. He was meant to have a perfect defense mechanism, as the barrier itself doesn't exist in the physical plane. How can a teenager grab a metaphysical construct?
In a desperate attempt, the figure summoned 5 ravens to guard his chest, each raven forming a cushion to the impact, but he clearly underestimated Leo's strength.
As Leo's fist landed on the figure's chest, all the Ravens disintegrated, and the Figure felt something he hadn't felt in a long time: PAIN.
Leo smiled, feeling a sense of happiness and the sweet grasp of vengeance. From nowhere, Chalybe kicked the figure straight in his chest. "Don't forget about me, you brat."
Chalybe kicked the figure out of Caesar's hands and flung him into a wall. The figure realized that his Barrier wasn't healing. It was getting severely damaged. He was no longer untouchable.
A piercing sound shook the sky, a row of dark clouds covered the porch, and an arc of lightning tore through the clouds. The figure moved out of the way, narrowly missing the lightning.
"Damn," The figure scowled "Lightening doens't move this fast."
The figure heard multiple sounds of thunder, and he sent ravens to intercept them, taking the hit for him. But as fast as the ravens flew, the faster the hot bolts of lightning travelled. Multiple arches fell from the sky, like the wrath of a Paladin.
The figure turned around, leapt in the air, and caught a bolt of lightning. He immediately redirected the bolt to the shrub, which got vaporized. More flashes of thunder obstructed the figure's vision. As he looked up, he saw a monster. Zeus was above him, his skin starting to heal, but his braided hair becoming undone. His uniform was in tatters and ash, as he was partially shirtless, hanging on to a worn-out blazer.
He grabbed a lightning bolt mid-strike, and it turned into a staff of pure electricity, radiating pure heat and malice. Zeus brought the lightning down, hitting a clean strike on the figure. The figure couldn't react fast enough, and he got shocked. The lightning bolt travelled through his veins, bringing a pain of a billion volts.
The shock brought back raw and bitter memories. The sickening smell of gas, the heat of the underground, and the drenching flood of corpses. In a final flash, the fall of Chester Mine.
A large object picked up the figure. As the figure's eyes fixed into normal definition, he noticed he was afloat. Grabbing him in his 6 long legs was a giant avatar of a Merriweather Cockraoch. As the cockroach reached high altitude, it dived back into the ground, in an earth-shattering shock. The impact was devastating, and from the ground emerged a forest of piercing spikes, each slipping into the figure's body. The figure felt his vision crumbling, his ability non-existent, his goals dispersing in the void.
As the Avatar dispersed, Fenrir grabbed the figure by his leg and smashed him to the ground repeatedly. With each slam, Fenrir repeated the word "You're evil!" or "You monster!!". Fenrir's eyes looked more ferocious, with his fangs enlarging. He hurled the figure across the large compound, and before the figure landed, Fenrir was already there. In a final act of rage, Fenrir grew devastating claws like a wolf. He dug it deep into Figure's back and slammed him to the pavement.
The figure lost all hope of fighting; he considered himself a failure. The Chester mine was still burned in his mind. Hanging the corpse of his former teammates to remember them, and treasuring whatever armour is left of them.
A large mallet is slammed into his chest, pushing him deeper into the earth.
The figure was still lying down, taking all the hits. He has failed his master, and he has failed. He was staring at the dark clouds, wishing a bolt of lightning would end his misery. The reflective barrier wasn't even fixing itself. He wanted to sleep and rest. Failing a mission was bad enough, but losing all your family, village, friends, and honor..... that is worse. THE FIGURE HAS NO GOALS, NO WILL, NO REASON TO LIVE.
His vision was blocked by the head of a girl. She had stormy grey hair which was loose in a messy fashion, and a pair of grey soulless eyes. Her lips were agape, and then they maliciously morphed into a devilish smile.
"Remember me?" Megara asked, but her voice was disorganized, as if two people were talking at different speeds.
The Figure remembered the voice, and his heart dropped. "Impossible. I killed you, I made sure of it. How are you still here?!!!" The figure screamed.
"No, you killed my... her mother. Why are you afraid of me...her? She...my mother... did nothing wrong....You were afraid of me... her coming into this world. I....she is free." Megara's voice was hollow and sounded more mature, more ancient.
"But I killed your host." The figure stopped, then his eyes returned to the normal, unkind pair. "Her daughter. How selfish."
Megara's smile grew more devilish. "I... wanted to have fun with you. She...I want to hurt you."
Megara grabbed the Figure by his collar and threw him in the hair. As the Figure reached near the clouds, he felt cold.
He always felt cold, but this one was a chilling sense of hopelessness and failure. As he calmly descended, Megara swung her right fist furiously, and a gust of wind rushed over to the figure, and a piece of bone flew out from his body.
"Megara's....my ability is quite fascinating...complex. I...she can separate the bounded and bound the separated. So why don't I...she separates your organs from your body." Megara's voice sounded more sinister and evil.
With every gust of wind, bones, veins, skin, or entire organs flew out. Megara stopped abruptly, allowed the figure to drop near her to her face, and right-hooked him to the guts, separating the large intestine.
The figure was lying face down, not wanting to get up. A foot smashed his face closer to the ground, and he raised his head. Standing above him where the entire classroom. Caesar's eye burned furiously crimson, Chalybe with the hole in his chest closed, Jacques's foot on his head, Izobel with a sword in her hands, Chalybe with s hot bolt of lightning, and other students with pure disdain.
WHAT A FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!
"They all hate me. These students — they want me dead.Should I run? Should I disappear?Why am I hesitating? Why am I so weak today?No.Let me die. Let me rest.I've failed too greatly to continue.What was my purpose?They call me evil.I was just a believer.Let me die. Let me rest."
As the figure closed his eye, the deafening cry of a raven tore through the gloomy atmosphere. The dark clouds dispersed. A large raven, larger than the rest, the size of a mansion, peeked through the clouds.
It's Slaver beak glistening and reflecting light from the little rays of the sun. It's pitch black feathered head sapping light from the surroundings, and the six bloodshot eyes inducing fear.
Contrary to the enormous size, the Raven swifly cupped the Figure in its beak. As it was trying to escape, Caesar leapt towards it and repeatedly pounded on its warm flesh, but nothing worked.
"NO, NO, NO. COME BACK HERE YOU COWARD!!!!"
Students threw multiple weapons and abilities to stop the giant raven, but it hid behind the clouds. Zeus waved his hands, and the entire cloud dispersed. The Raven was gone. The figure had successfully killed students and had escaped.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Caesar screamed, and he fell unconscious.