In the depths of the Gulf of Ocmarun
Submarine base of ancient humanity
I woke up slowly.
The first sensation was that of an absurdly comfortable bed, something almost unreal after so much time in tension.
The air was clean, and the metallic ceiling emitted a soft electrical hum.
Then I heard his voice: deep, precise, and serene.
[How are you, General?]
—Gideon...? —I murmured, trying to focus my sight.
[Are you alright? Does anything hurt?]
—Relax, I'm fine... what happened to me?
[You arrived unconscious in the ship approximately ten hours ago, General. I only took care of transferring you to this room.]
—But how did you do it?
[Anti-gravity technology.]
—...I see. Thank you, Gideon. Leave me alone for a moment.
[As you command, General.]
Gideon's voice hum faded away.
I was left alone, my breathing still slightly heavy.
I inhaled deeply, exhaled, and murmured:
—Status Window.
A soft sound resonated through the air.
A translucent screen appeared before my eyes.
[NPC Status Window]
Name: Sam Raymond
Race: Human
Age: 12 years
Titles: Successor of the Supreme Entity
Level: 9°
Vitality: 1080 / 1080
Mana: 2002000100000000 / 2002000100000000
UniqueTrait: Random NPC, Player Soul
Job: Slave (F)
Class: None
Strength: 9
Agility: 9
Speed: 9
Vision: 9
Endurance: 9
Intelligence: 9
Wisdom: 9
Adaptability: 9
Luck: 9
Charm: 9
Available Points: 00
*See more /*
Skills:
— Transcendental Eyes (Ex)
— Karmic Luck (Ex)
— Dimensional Charm (No rank) [See more]
Condition: Virgin
Charisma: 75
Sexualdesire: 42
Stress: 61
State: Worried
I stayed staring at the screen, my heart beating slowly.
Everything... felt real.
Too real.
—So... none of what I saw was a dream —I whispered.
I double-clicked the window, opening the extended panel to verify if at least something had been preserved.
[NPC Status Window - extended]
BasicSkills:
— Systematic Transcendental Omniscience
— Infinite Speed
— Dimensional Adaptation
— Absolute Resistance
— Power of Creation [See more]
Traits: Familiar, Protective, and Vengeful [New]
Personality: Very Expressive, Unstable, Reflective [New]
Other Titles:
— Master of Gods
— Mercenary God
— The Extinction of the Gods [See more]
Achievements:
— Surpass the permitted limits
— Ancient knowledge
— Eternal Love
— Transcendental Attraction [See more]
After finishing reviewing everything, I let out a long, tired sigh.
The translucent reflection of the screen showed my face: younger, but with the gaze of someone who had lost too much.
—I lost my money... my stats... and the only reliable source of information —I said in a dull voice— I don't know if everything will be harder... or simply hard from now on.
I turned off the window.
Silence returned.
Only the distant rumble of the ocean accompanied my thoughts.
---
Bepnis Strait
Plain at the foot of the Albur Mountain Range
House of the Gorgons
The sky had a diffuse violet tone, a prelude to dusk.
Melissa observed the horizon from the large living room window, motionless, with an expression torn between calm and distance.
Her body —still strange to her, half human, half serpent— reflected in the glass, distorted by the light.
Esteno and Euryale watched her from the table, silently.
Esteno:—"She looks much better, doesn't she?" —she whispered.
Euryale: —"Yes..." —she replied, tilting her head—. "But I have the feeling she is trying to understand something... or forgive herself."
Melissa let out a faint sigh. Her voice, almost a murmur, broke the silence.
Melissa: —"Ladies... I'm going out."
Euryale, alarmed, stood up.
Euryale:—"You can't go out! What if a human sees you? With that appearance they could attack you!"
Melissa: —"Don't worry" —she replied with a forced smile—. "I just want to walk a bit."
Euryale wanted to insist, but Esteno approached.
She took her arm and whispered into her ear:
Esteno: —"Let her go, sister. She needs to breathe... space, silence... time for herself."
Euryale hesitated for a few seconds, then resignedly nodded.
Melissa crossed the threshold.
The air was cold and the ground damp. The serpentine movement of her body still felt clumsy, alien.
When she looked up, she saw a flock of birds flying over the plain... and their beauty stole a moment of peace from her.
But when she raised her gaze, the winged bodies suddenly stiffened, falling like stones to the ground, turning into gray statues that crumbled into dust.
Her eyes widened.
Tears burst out without permission.
Melissa:—"Damn it..." —she whispered, wiping her face in anger—. "I can't even look without destroying."
She continued forward, without direction.
In the distance, a metallic structure rose: the wall built by the iron puppets.
From its surface, one of them emerged. Its female voice, precise and serene, cut through the wind.
[Miss Melissa, I am Artia. How are you?]
Melissa: —"I'm fine" —she said, pretending calm—. "I feel fine."
[Why do you lie?]
She looked at her, confused.
Melissa:—"Excuse me?"
[I asked: why do you lie?]
Melissa: —"How do you know that?"
[Sensory scanners. Besides, do you forget I was the one who performed your physical and psychological evaluation?]
Melissa: —"I don't want to think about that."
[I understand... Do you want anything?]
Melissa: —"Do you know when Sam will return?"
[Are you referring to the Marshal?]
Melissa: —"Yes, I suppose so."
[Currently I do not know the Marshal's return.]
Melissa: —"Oh... I understand."
[But if you wish to know where your subordinates are, I can inform you: they are inside my facilities.]
Melissa: —"Subordinates?"
[That is correct: Lady Lilith and Lady Athena.]
The name echoed in Melissa's mind like a sacred reverberation.
A former priestess of the temple of Ataxia should not pronounce it... much less hear it spoken by another.
Her pulse quickened.
Melissa: —"Please... take me where they are."
[Agreed. Follow me.]
....
Albur Mountain — Inside the base
Hera's sudden appearance triggered all alarms.
Automatic cannons immediately rotated, aiming at the intruding goddess.
Before the first shot could be fired, Athena and Lilith intervened, stopping the defense protocol.
—What are you doing here, sister? —they asked almost in unison.
Hera: —"I have come to request a favor from you" —respondedcon solemn voice—. "In the name of the Zones."
The goddess of wisdom crossed her arms.
Athena:—"What favor?"
Hera: —"I want you to report everything that human does. Directly to us."
The goddess of pleasure narrowed her eyes.
Lilith: —"So you've already realized..."
Athena: —"What are you talking about, sister?" —she asked.
Hera stepped forward, her gaze grave.
Hera: —"I confirmed the worst. That individual... is not an Immortal from the eastern continent.
The Zones fear his existence may resemble his, even after four thousand five hundred years: The echo of his manifestation still makes the Jade Emperor tremble."
Athena raised an eyebrow, incredulous.
Athena: —Compare him to that degree? You are exaggerating.
Lilith, however, remained silent.
Lilith: —"So he did it..." —she whispered—. "He did exactly what he said he would do."
Hera: —"That's right" —she affirmed—. "We all saw it through Mother's Divine Mirror. That is why, under my suggestion... it was decided that you will keep him under constant surveillance."
Athena: —"And why not eliminate him?" —she replied sharply—. "If only Odin and Ra cooperate, they could assassinate him."
Hera sighed.
Hera: —"When Zeus regained consciousness after you left Olympus, he confessed to me that he did not feel a physical power of that magnitude, he compared it to the Titans.
And because of that, a direct confrontation has been ruled out."
The goddess of wisdom struck the ground with her spear.
Athena: —"Gods fearing another mortal? Ridiculous! Not even the Giants inspired fear in us."
The goddess of desire looked serious.
Lilith—"You don't understand, sister. Most of them have realized it, haven't they sister Hera?"
The goddess of Commitment smiled with a mixture of exhaustion and fear:
Hera:—"Yes... All of the council agreed, after the enormous disturbances following the destruction of the Temple of Ataxia became evident... That strike, by its scale of power alone, is within a range comparable to a Primordial."
She paused. Her words sank deeply.
And she continued:
Hera: —"If that Glitch as he calls himself; had been at that level of rage when he first stormed Olympus, plus the existential disturbance perceived by Hestia. There is no doubt, if he had wanted, he would have razed all of Olympus Island without leaving a trace."
The goddess of pleasure forced a nervous, curious laugh:
Lilith: —"The worst part is he only used physical power... He didn't use even a fraction of his energy."
Hera: —"And that... is what makes him terrifying" —she whispered to herself.
The goddess of strategy frowned.
Athena: —"That's impossible. Mana is still a sub-energy of existential power. We gods are still superior."
Hera: —"You are wrong" —she intervened with a cold voice—. "If that mortal manages to understand the nature of existential power, as the Martial Godonce did... except unlike him, if this one uses energy, he would not only surpass us... he would directly crush us like ants."
Athena—"Then there is no other option... we must find a way to kill him" —the voice of wisdom insisted.
Hera: —"No. The losses would be incalculable, perhaps worse than those we suffered with the Martial God. We must preserve strength to maintain the balance that Mother Gaia left us."
The goddess of strategy looked at her, incredulous.
Athena: —"So we just watch him? And let him walk freely through the world?"
Hera: —"As long as he does not change his simplistic, mundane nature and lack of ambition, he will not represent a direct threat. What is worrying now are two things: The Moirai prophecy and dark energy."
Athena:—"That is more important?" —she scoffed.
Hera: —"The corrosion in the roots of Yggdrasil was predicted by Gaia when she sealed the traitor" —she explained seriously—. "If that energy leaks, humans... and any species... could access a power they were never meant to touch."
The goddess of desire nodded slowly.
Lilith: —"And now that I'm like this: who will investigate the corruption?"
Hera: —"According to Freya, Sylvestra will assign her daughters. Both are capable of recognizing beings with Gaia's will."
The goddess of pleasure narrowed her eyes.
Lilith—"You felt it too, didn't you?"
Hera: —"Yes..." —she said, lowering her voice—. "It is terrifying to think such a being exists. That is why the Zones will act cautiously."
The goddess of wisdom frowned.
Athena: —"And when they discover the origin of his power... what will they do?"
Hera: —"That we will decide when the time comes... As long as he is not an Incarnation or an avatar, we will be able to contain him."
Athena paled.
Athena:—"An Incarnation... of them? But it has been more than three thousand years since they last appeared in this world."
Lilith crossed her arms.
Lilith: —"If he is one... and confesses it to me... I will report it immediately. That way his threat will cease to exist."
Hera: —"Good" —she said with a gesture of approval—. "I count on you."
A golden flash of light descended from the ceiling; the Bifröst enveloped her and disintegrated her into sparks.
Silence returned... and Artia immediately appeared, her sensors activated.
[I demand an explanation of what occurred.]
Lilith and Athena looked at each other, tense.
But before responding, a female figure appeared at the end of the corridor.
Her pale skin contrasted with the metallic glow of the place.
It was Melissa, frozen, watching that scene with wide-open eyes.