Power that could rival the gods. What a fucking joke. Here he was struggling with just a follower. Kaelen realized his potential wouldn't fight for him. But before that, he had to go home. It was the first time he thought of it as one.
Kaelen could no longer glide with the wind. The weight of his wings was too much.
He stared at the sky, took one breath, and closed his wings. Once his fall had gained momentum, Kaelen opened them.
He landed in front of the house. The chains returned.
Kaelen looked at his body. Shirt torn completely, blood covering his body. His body gave out one step from the door. He hit the ground facing up. The fast regeneration was useful for the first time.
He stood up and opened the door.
Multiple voices came from the room next to his. The door was open.
Everyone was working their asses off. His photos and files were everywhere. Their eyes were swollen from days of work and no rest. All of it for Kaelen. Kaelen felt guilty for something he hadn't even done.
Kaelen stopped there.
They noticed him quickly, shirtless, standing at the doorway.
Nevyziel quickly turned her attention to her laptop.
Everybody else just stared at him.
"Oh." Kaelen looked down. The blood was still there.
Zeph came back with a towel.
Everyone looked at Kaelen, then at the files. Going through the work was easier than knowing it was for nothing.
"What happened?" Aurelion asked.
Kaelen sat down on the chair and analyzed his injuries. "Fights broke out. Not with them. I started a new religion. I became a god. Everything. I don't even know where to start."
Kaelen hammered the table with his hand. It broke. The mess was even worse.
Arms locked around his neck from behind. He couldn't mistake them for someone else's. They were Nevyziel's. She whispered something in his ear. Not just words, it was closer to a memory. Kaelen knew what it was before she finished. And that was all Kaelen heard. No words or sentences. His mind flowed with her voice.
A knee struck him in the back. Kaelen struck back into reality. "Answer me," said Nevyziel.
"What?"
Nevyziel stood there silently. She removed her hands and left, her footsteps growing louder as she walked away.
Kaelen wiped the blood off his face, hiding it.
Caeran tapped him on the back. "Don't worry. It's fine, champ. Get yourself together."
Two sets of footsteps disappeared down the hall.
The papers moved behind. Kaelen turned back. Zeph was there fixing the mess.
Kaelen stood up and crouched next to Zeph, cleaning the floor first.
"What is your story?" Kaelen asked.
"I don't have a tragic story like others but I have gone through things as bad as everyone after I came here," Zeph said with no emotion on his face.
"Wait, so you grew up like this?"
"Hmm." The still face remained.
"Why the sad face?" Kaelen said, smiling, trying to open the hard case.
"Well, someone has to suffer. People need us to suffer for them. They won't accept it, but still. It is what it is, man. Like Ravus caused more. happiness than all of us combined."
"I know. I used to think the same when I was your age. But it's about who did it, not the reason behind it. A student is responsible for his work, not the teacher who gave him the tools."
Zeph dropped the paper in his hand and stared at Kaelen. "Your age is irrelevant to this. Your opinions on what's important hold no weight. The source starts it all. Even the ending."
Kaelen's side of the floor was done. Kaelen stood up and stared at even bigger piles of paper. "Where did you even store so many papers?"
Zeph smiled, thinking he'd won. "Changing the topic? Because you know you are wrong."
"So answer this. If the source really is the only thing that matters, then isn't the teacher's parent better? Or even their parents? The first human ever? The first being ever?"
Zeph stood up. "Yes, if you want to go that deep, I am ready."
"Ok, bro." Kaelen went to his room.
He dropped onto the bed, flat on his back. He turned to his left side against the dark wall and blinked as fast as he could. A trick he had made on his own months ago after he couldn't sleep from four hours of gaming.
Someone knocked on the door. "It's important." Aurelion said once and left.
Kaelen opened the door. Everyone had assembled in the kitchen. How could they never afford a meeting room?
Eight people, each convinced they mattered most, sat around the same table, planning their next heroic achievement.
The papers were gone, and only a single file was on the table.
Kaelen sat on the only chair left. Next to Nevyziel and Aurelion.
Aurelion started the meeting. "I received a news came to me a few minutes ago." Aurelion stared at the file. "The god of war has his hands on something powerful. And they are already preparing to attack with it. So, we have to do this quickly."
Caeran placed a strange device in the middle of the table. A second later it lit up, projecting the base of the god of war.
The base covered an entire forest.
Caeran zoomed in deeper.
Rest camps, watchtowers, workstations, entire factories were everywhere.
He zoomed it even further.
The security was tighter than a national army's. Guards, detectors, warehouses filled with weapons, tanks, everything.
"As you can see at the corners, there are multiple towers which will detect any powers of ours. And they already know that we will come, but they also know there's no point in stopping it because they can't. So don't go thinking the work will be as easy as getting started. So we will go in there as soldiers and find out what's wrong." He looked at Silas, "Without fighting."
"How do we get in?" Nevyziel asked.
"Just wear their uniform. And once you get inside, do your work. Find a way to reach whatever they have. Destroy, steal, use, whatever you want to do, just get rid of it."
Kaelen reached out for the file, his fingertips only pushed it back.
"How can I trust these two? Have they ever done something correctly?" Silas said, looking at Lyne and Nyx.
Silas tossed the file back to Kaelen.
Aurelion tapped the table. "Good."
"You don't need to either. You are on a team with Nevyziel and Kaelen. Zeph, Lyne, and Nyx are not your problem. Even if they mess up, you will be in the different side of the base. They will never suspect you."
Kaelen turned towards Nevyziel. She was already looking at him, smiling.
Nyx took a breath of relief. "Thank God I don't have to worry about this guy."
Kaelen turned the first page. Nevyziel peeked into it, her head on Kaelen's shoulder.
Threat level assessment:
The name immediately got his attention.
Solmar. The favorite son of war.
"Strongest god of war follower. He can turn allies into enemies who wouldn't stop with each other's blood on their hands."
Nevyziel leaned closer. "You think you can take him on?"
Kaelen pointed his finger at the line. "He can get your allies even if they are a city away from you."
"Oh, shit."
"I could take these alone." Kaelen said, already chuckling at his words.
He didn't look up after that. Nevyziel's shoulder stayed against his, the page kept turning under her hand, and that was as far as the room reached him.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lyne said to Zeph.
Zeph turned towards Caeran. "Do I really have to work with these two?"
Caeran opened the file. "Well, I don't really see them working without each other."
Nevyziel turned the page.
Officers: Perfectly exist between average followers and monsters like Solmar. It would take at least a thousand soldiers to beat one officer or a thousand officers to beat one Solmar. Physically, no other god's followers get stronger than theirs. But without the abilities of Solmar, they are just superhumans.
Silas slammed the desk and shouted, "I have given my whole life to this. And these kids are getting the same respect as me." He pointed his finger at Lyne and Nyx. "I am done. Done. Fuck you. And fuck you." His footsteps remained loud even after he disappeared upstairs.
It got Kaelen back into the meeting.