The world dissolved into a silent, smothering black.
Deo's consciousness drifted, a fading ember in an infinite ocean. The memories the cosmic war, the demigod's bottomless hatred threatened to consume him. The powerful resolve he'd found, the memory of his grandparents, felt like a dream fading into static.
I'm disappearing, he realized with distant horror. This is what it feels like to stop being.
Panic, cold and sharp, pricked at him. « System. Status. »
Nothing.
« Menu. Inventory. Anything! Help me! »
Only the silence answered, more profound than any sound.
He was unraveling. Dissolving.
Just as the last of him began to scatter, a voice cut through the nothingness. It was lazy, amused, and utterly clear.
"Go back."
Deo's awareness recoiled. Who ?
"It's not time yet."
Before he could form a question, a forcegentle but utterly irresistible pushed him. His consciousness tumbled backwards, hurtling toward a single, fixed point of light and sensation.
---
His eyes snapped open.
A ceiling. An unfamiliar water stain shaped like a distorted rabbit.
Then, her. Anya. Staring, a medical textbook frozen in her lap.
He took a sharp, real breath. The air smelled of antiseptic and blood.
Anya flinched. Then her face flooded with a relief so profound it made her eyes glisten. "You're... you're awake! Sekhet?" she asked, the name tentative on her lips.
Sekhet. The name echoed strangely in his mind, a ghost of another life. "Deo," he corrected softly, his voice a rough scrape. "My name is Deo. I... I heard you, before. When I was out. But it's Deo."
A faint blush touched her cheeks. "Right. Sorry. Deo. You kept saying that other name. In your sleep. Over and over."
He nodded, his gaze drifting past her to the wall. The creeping black rot, the tendrils of decay… they were gone. Vanished.
"Did you…?" he rasped, gesturing weakly.
"Just cleaned the wounds," she said, her voice gaining strength though her hands still trembled. "The rest was… you. The light. The words in my head." She hugged her textbook to her chest like a shield.
He saw it then the dark bloodstain on her floor, the pile of crimson-soaked towels. The evidence of his mortality.
"Thank you," he said, the words feeling utterly inadequate. "For not running." He offered a hand. "I'm Deo. For real."
She took it, her grip firm despite everything. "Anya."
"I owe you an explanation. I have… a system. It talks to me. Heals me."
"A system? Like a video game?" she asked, her brow furrowed in that clinical, analytical way he was already starting to recognize.
"Something like that. It's how I got here. I was running from…" He paused, the memories a chaotic jumble. "Anya, I think I saw… I think I met…"
God.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
The sound was sharp, authoritative, and utterly wrong on her apartment door.
Anya froze. "Who is that?" she mouthed, her eyes wide.
Deo was on his feet in an instant, every sense screaming. He moved to the door and looked through the peephole.
Two figures stood in the hallway. Dark, form-fitting tactical gear devoid of any insignia. A man with silver-streaked hair, looking profoundly bored as he examined his nails. And a woman, powerfully built, her arms crossed, her face a stoic mask of impatience.
« Alert: High-Density Divine Energy Signatures Detected. » « Scanning... » « Entity 2: Threat Assessment: Cataclysm-Class. Rank: ???? »
Cataclysm? Deo thought, his blood running cold. What does that mean?
« Query Received. Covenant Threat Tiers: Primordial. Celestial. Cosmic. Apotheotic. Cataclysm. Bane. Hazard. Nuisance. Entity 2 is a Cataclysm-tier operative. Capable of national-scale destruction. »
National-scale destruction. And she was clearly the muscle.
He focused his will on the bored man.
« Entity 1: Threat Assessment… Error. Insufficient Data. Profile Inconsistent. » Threat Assessment: error. Rank: error.
Give me something! Scan him!
« Error: Insufficient Divinity or Access. Cannot compute accurate rank. Cannot determine threat tier. »
What? How is that possible?
The man looked up from his nails as if he could feel the failed scan. He smiled. It was a lazy, dangerous expression. He knocked again. A rhythmic, almost mocking tap.
"Hey in there," a voice called through the door. Lazy. Amused. "Felt one heck of a metaphysical party. Neighborhood watch. Open up?"
A pause. The tone shifted, losing its feigned friendliness.
"Name's K. This is Boris. We're here about the hole you ripped in the world. Open the door. It's better than me phasing through it."
Deo and Anya shared a look of pure dread.
"He knows," Deo whispered.
"What do we do?" Anya hissed back, her hand clutching his arm.
« Warning: Direct Hostile Intent Not Detected. Probability of Successful Defense against both targets: 0.003%. Recommendation: Compliance. »
Deo took a deep breath, steeling himself. He turned the lock and opened the door.
K smiled. "See? Civilized." He strolled in as if he owned the place, his eyes immediately taking inventory of the room, the blood, the two of them. Boris followed, her silent presence making the spacious apartment feel claustrophobic.
"Woah." K whistled, his gaze landing on Deo. "You're the source? Talk about a big bang in a small package." He shook his head in mock wonder. "I'm K. No rank. No house. The guy they call when things get… weird."
"You… you were in my head," Deo accused, taking a step back.
"Just a little nudge. You were about to dissolve into cosmic soup. Not on my watch." K's gaze turned intensely analytical, sweeping over Deo. "Your energy… it's all over the place. Raw. Divine, but not. It's fascinating." He then looked at Anya, his expression softening a fraction. "And you... you're clean. No resonance. Just a very brave, very unlucky bystander. Kudos."
System, is he telling the truth? Deo thought desperately.
« Analysis of energy residue suggests a 94.7% probability of truthfulness regarding the 'nudge'. Broader motives and statements remain unverified. Insufficient data for full analysis. »
"What do you want?" Deo demanded, stepping slightly in front of Anya.
"Right now? To stop your untapped, screaming power from accidentally turning this city block into glass." K grinned, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Long term? You need training. Control. And I know just the place."
"Who are you with?"
"Let's call it… the Covenant," K said with a theatrical sigh. "We handle things like this. Keep the world spinning and blissfully unaware of the things that want to eat it." He looked at his partner. "What's his read, Bor?"
Boris held up a small, crystalline device that glowed with a soft blue light. "Apotheotic-class resonance. Unfiltered. Highly unstable. Confirmed."
"See?" K clapped his hands together once, the sound sharp in the tense room. "You're a walking catastrophe. Fun! So here's the deal. You come with us. We get you a decent breakfast and explain why you seeing capital-G God is a really big, really dangerous deal."
Deo looked at Anya. Her initial fear was fading, replaced by a fierce, burning curiosity.
"And her?" Deo asked, his voice firm.
"She saw it all. She's involved. Her choice." K shrugged. "Come along for the ride. Or stay here. We'll wipe her memory clean. She goes back to her life, never remembers the cute guy who bled on her floor. A tidy solution."
"No," Anya said, startling everyone. She stood up straight, squaring her shoulders. "No memory wipe. If he's going, I'm going."
K raised an eyebrow, a genuine flicker of interest in his gaze. "Brave and smart. I like it. Fine. But no take-backs. This isn't a field trip."
He turned to leave. "Boris, call it in. Tell Braxor we're bringing in the anomaly. And the intern."
The large woman stiffened almost imperceptibly. "Sir," she said, her voice a low, respectful rumble. "Please. A moment of caution. Refrain from addressing Lord Stone so casually on an open channel."
K waved a dismissive hand. "Oh, he loves it. Keeps him on his toes." He laughed it off, but Boris's expression remained stern.
She sighed, a sound of long-suffering patience, and spoke into a comm unit on her wrist. "Shadow One to House Ironheart Command. Package acquired. Plus one civilian. Requesting transport clearance for Lord Stone's audience."
K stopped at the door and looked back at Deo, his lazy amusement replaced by a glint of something harder.
"Welcome to the war, kid. Time to meet the higher ups."
The apartment door clicked shut behind them. K led them not to the elevator, but to a plain service door at the end of the hall.
"Roof access," he said, pushing it open. "Better view."
They emerged onto the windy rooftop. A sleek, matte-black vehicle sat humming silently. It looked like no car or helicopter Deo had ever seen all seamless curves and no visible propulsion.
"Our ride," K announced. A section of the hull slid open, a ramp descending without a sound.
Inside, the contrast was jarring. Plush, comfortable seats. Warm, soft lighting. A small table set with pastries, fresh fruit, and a steaming carafe of coffee.
"Eat," K said, sliding into a seat and propping his boots up. "You look like you could use it."
Deo's stomach growled loudly. He hadn't realized how ravenous he was. Anya sat cautiously beside him, her eyes wide.
"So," K said, biting into a croissant. "You saw Him. Capital 'H'."
Deo froze, a piece of mango halfway to his mouth. "How did you…?"
"Your energy's screaming it. Loud. And messy." K took a sip of coffee. "And incredibly dangerous."
"Dangerous how?" Anya asked, finding her voice.
"Think of reality like a… well, a reality." K waved his pastry in a vague circle. "Stable. Predictable. Boring. Seeing what you saw… it's like taking a cosmic blowtorch to the fabric of it. Leaves a mark. A hole."
« Confirmation: Observation of a high-tier divine event creates localized reality fractures. Permeability to adjacent dimensions increases exponentially. »
"Things on the other side of reality notice holes," K added, his tone grim for the first time. "Hungry things. And they like to poke their heads through to see what's for dinner."
"It's not just about this city, is it?" Deo asked, his appetite gone.
"Nope." K popped the 'p'. "Try this dimension. And a few of its neighbors. You, my friend, are a multi-dimensional hazard. A walking, talking extinction event waiting to happen."
The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.
"So who are you to handle that?" Deo asked, a defensive edge in his voice.
"Us? We're the cleanup crew. The Covenant. Twelve houses. Twelve Apostles. We've been around since… well, since things needed cleaning up."
"Apostles?" Anya whispered, her medical textbook forgotten.
"Descendants of the messiah's original twelve disciples. Don't get all religious about it; it's just genetics and a talent for channeling power. Each house handles a different flavor of divine whoop-ass."
"Flavor?" Deo asked, intrigued despite himself.
"Divine energy. It's not one thing. It's… everything. Light. Storm. Stone. Life. Death." He nodded toward the front where Boris sat, piloting the craft in silence. "Boris is from House Ironheart. Defense. Fortification. Hitting things really, really hard. Their boss, Lord Braxor Stone, is a serious guy. No sense of humor. Doesn't appreciate my nicknames."
"And you?" Deo pressed, his mind flashing to the System's frustrating error message. What are you?
K's smile was sharp and didn't reach his eyes. "Me? Oh, I'm not in a house. Houses have rules. And schedules. And meetings. I'm a freelance enthusiast."
"You fight… for fun?" Anya asked, horrified.
"I find things that are trying to devour humanity… interesting. It's a hobby." He took another sip of coffee. "Pays well, too."
« Warning: Subject K's profile remains inconsistent. Exercise extreme caution. »
Deo ignored the system's alert. He had no other choice. "This energy… regular humans can use it?"
"Sure. Most never know how. Some tap into it subconsciously. The athlete who shatters a world record. The genius who invents the impossible. The artist who paints a masterpiece that makes people weep. They're brushing against it. Leaking a little power." He pointed his croissant at Deo. "You? You've got a firehose. And no idea where the nozzle is. Or that you're flooding the neighborhood."
"And you find these people?" Anya asked, her scientific mind latching onto the mechanics of it all.
"Find them. Train them. Recruit them. If they're willing. The alternative is the memory wipe. For everyone's safety." K's gaze was level, leaving no doubt that it wasn't a request.
The vehicle began to descend. The gentle hum of the engines changed pitch.
"Speaking of," K said, brushing croissant crumbs from his shirt. "Time to meet one of the bosses. Remember, be polite. Braxor likes 'Lord Stone'. He's big on titles." He winked. "I think they're stuffy."
The ramp lowered once more. It revealed not a city street, but the vast, gleaming interior of an immense underground hangar bustling with similarly strange aircraft and people in tactical gear.
K stood up, stretching lazily.
"Welcome to the first day of the rest of your very, very strange life," he said, his voice light but his eyes deadly serious. "Try not to get devoured."