Scar froze. His eyes went wide. "Wipe out? As in kill? This person killed gods?"
Felicity nodded grimly. "Yes. But he's not a person. He's a murderous entity whose only goal is to destroy all Celestials and dominate the Realms."
Scar's mind raced. He processed the horrifying implications. It had crossed his mind earlier… what had happened to the actual deities of this world. If he had inherited Hermes' legacy, didn't that mean the god was dead? It was a theory that had just been catastrophically confirmed; The gods were truly all dead. Slaughtered by this cosmic nightmare.
"So this Unos guy... he goes around killing gods?" Scar asked, trying to mask his dread with flippancy.
Felicity nodded. "Yes."
"And he was strong enough to take down the five most powerful gods in all the realms?"
"Yes," Felicity replied again.
Scar swallowed hard. "But… now that I have the legacy of Hermes... doesn't that technically make me a god?"
"It does indeed," Felicity said. "And that puts you in great danger. Which is why I am so keen on you staying with me."
Scar shook his head, letting out a scoff. "Now, nobody told me this power came with a target on my back."
Felicity shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, that's too bad. It's already yours. And with great power comes powerful cosmic beings who want nothing more than your demise," she stated bluntly. "And that goes against your principle of survival, doesn't it?"
Scar was silent for a moment. He didn't like this at all. First, there was Alicia blackmailing him, and now he had a literal god-killing entity gunning for his head.
Just then, a tactical thought struck him. "Wait. Does that mean there are other people out there with systems like mine? Since there were five gods... then there should be five systems."
Felicity smiled, a glint of pride in her eyes. "Indeed there are," she said. "When Keraunos began his killing spree, the gods of this realm decided to make a contingency just in case they failed to stop him: Scions. They created the systems and passed on their powers into them, in hopes that they will one day be inherited by compatible hosts."
"Oh, and let me guess," Scar chimed in, crossing his arms. "It was 'predestined' that we, the 'compatible' hosts, will be the ones to stop this guy?"
Felicity simply smiled, taking another sip of wine. "Look at you, finally getting it. You took the words right out of my mouth."
Scar shook his head vehemently. "Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. This isn't happening. I didn't reincarnate just to get recruited into some Celestial League of Justice."
Felicity couldn't help but laugh, the sound bright and genuine. "Relax. No one's asking you to be a hero," she said. "We don't even know where the other system holders are."
Scar raised a brow. catching the slip. "We? Who's we?" he asked sharply.
"That's not important," Felicity deflected. "All that matters is right now, for all we know, you're the only one who has an activated system.
Scar decided to let her refusal to answer his question go. But he was still curious about many things.
"Wait, you knew I was going to get my system, right? So how can you not know where the others are?" he asked.
Felicity sighed. "Only yours was foretold. We don't know who the rest might be, or if they're even born yet."
Scar furrowed his brow. "What do you mean if they're not born yet? How long has it been since the death of the gods?"
Felicity stared at him with ancient, unfathomable eyes. "It's been a thousand years since the fall of our realm gods."
Scar's jaw nearly dropped. "A thousand?" he voiced out.
Inwardly, his mind spun. Well, that makes sense considering Miley said the system was a thousand years old.
The lore correlated flawlessly. It all checked out.
He looked back at Felicity. "But if it's been a thousand years since the system was created, why did it take this long to find a host?"
"The systems were stored in the Death Plane, programmed to find a suitable soul to inherit the legacies of the gods," Felicity explained patiently. "And they would remain inactive until the right person is found, even if it takes thousands of years."
Scar scoffed. "That's just ridiculous. What if the other systems have been activated along the years over the past centuries?"
Felicity shrugged. "I do not see that as an issue. If the other systems have been activated years ago, then the holders should still be around till today." She placed her hands flat on the table. "After all, gods are immortal."
Scar's eyes widened in shock. "Wait... does that mean I can't die?"
Felicity nodded slowly. "Celestials age slower than mortals. Some don't even age at all, which means they can't die of old age. And since you have inherited the powers of the God of Speed, that consequentially makes you a Celestial." She leaned forward, her gaze turning deadly serious. "But make no mistake… there's a difference between being immortal and being invincible. You can't die of old age, but you can still be killed."
Scar exhaled a long, heavy breath. "Noted." He leaned back in his chair, processing the massive paradigm shift. "So, the other system holders are unknown and probably not even born yet. And I am probably going to fight this Keraunos by myself… which shouldn't be too hard since I have an overpowered mother by my side." He raised a skeptical brow. "You are on my side, right?"
Felicity nodded firmly. "Yes, I am. As long as you live here, and let me train and protect you."
Scar nodded slowly. "Sure, sure, we'll get back to that. I just have one last question."
Felicity motioned for him to speak.
"Where is this god-killing being? Keraunos?" Scar continued, his tactical mind looking for the immediate threat. "If he really hunts gods, I believe he should have appeared at our doorstep already, considering the fact that I have already activated the system."
Felicity let out a slow, burdened breath. "When Keraunos came to our Realm and discovered that the five gods had put away their abilities and became no more than powerless mortals, he was furious. He killed them and then proceeded to destroy the Realm. But before he could, a mysterious person came out of nowhere and banished him out of our universe. This person was incredibly powerful, but he wasn't strong enough to stop Keraunos, so he created a barrier surrounding our Realm to keep Keraunos from entering again."
"Hold up," Scar chimed in, holding up a hand. "If there's a barrier keeping him out, then why should we still be worried about him coming to destroy our Realm?"
Felicity sighed, the deep sorrow returning to her eyes. "Because the man who put up the barrier has been holding it up for a millennium now, and he fears it won't be long until the barrier breaks. And when that happens... Keraunos will be free to enter our Realm and destroy it."
Scar processed this, then shrugged and stood up from his chair. "Okay, this just seems like a bunch of fictional nonsense," he said. "If this mysterious person managed to keep the barrier up for a thousand years, he should be able to do it for another thousand."
Felicity shook her head gravely. "You don't get it. Creating the barrier took all that he had, and sustaining it drains his life force," she said quietly. "He didn't put it up to keep Keraunos out forever. He created it to buy you and the other system holders some time. To get stronger and more powerful than even the original gods, to finally stop Keraunos."
Scar sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Okay, okay. I hear you. And I will get stronger. That I'm certain of. But I will do it on my own terms. Not as your son. And not under your roof." He turned away from the table. "Let me know when the barrier finally breaks and Keraunos shows up. I will fight. But until then... give my regards to the man keeping us all safe. I have a feeling you know him well." He chuckled drily, and began walking toward the hall exit.
Felicity didn't argue. She just sighed to the empty room. "I won't try to stop you. But I am certain that if you leave now, you won't survive."
Scar paused mid-stride, looking back over his shoulder. "Why do you think so?"
"Because there are people out there who are after you," Felicity warned. "Keraunos might not be able to enter our Realm, but he has underlings who are present here. Acolytes actively seeking out the destruction of our world just as he is. And if they find out a scion of the gods already exist, they would stop at nothing to see you dead. And I fear they would succeed, given your current situation."
Scar frowned deeply. "What situation?"
Felicity leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers. "You're weak, unskilled, and untrained," she said with a brutal, clinical bluntness. "Sure, you might be fast and have a few tricks up your sleeve, but I assure you that you'll need more than that to hold your own against acolytes of someone as powerful as Keraunos."
She picked up her wine glass, her eyes tracking him from across the hall. "If you left now, where would you even go? And if people saw you—the one and only Henry Myers—walking about the streets, what do you think will happen? It'll be all over the news that I am an incompetent mother and my son is an aimless wanderer. You will draw attention to yourself in the process. And unnecessary attention is the last thing we need right now."
Scar turned to face her fully, his jaw clenched. "So what do you suggest? That I live with you as though I were your son?"
Felicity leaned forward, placing her glass down with a definitive clink. "I suggest that you make the smart decision and let me protect you," she corrected gently. "I'm not saying you should be my son, Roy. I'm only asking you to trust me."
Scar froze. Out of the entire monologue Felicity had just delivered, his ears only caught one word. A name.
His blood ran cold. The ambient hum of the dining hall seemed to vanish entirely.
"What did you just call me?" he asked, his voice barely a hollow whisper.
Felicity looked at him calmly. "Roy," she said, her voice perfectly steady. "That is your real name, isn't it?"
Scar shook his head rapidly, a terrifying panic rising in his chest. "You shouldn't know that name," he said sharply.
He knew she had looked into his memories. He knew she had seen his violent, bloody past and already knew everything about him. But that name... that name was something he had buried deep in the absolute darkest, most heavily guarded depths of his soul. It was a name he had wanted to forget so badly that he had convinced himself it no longer existed. It was the name given to him by the only person he had ever considered special. His mother. 'Henry's' mother, from their past life, before she had died.
"You have no right to call me by that name," Scar seethed, his eyes flashing with dangerous fury.
Felicity chuckled softly, unfazed by his mounting fury. "And why is that?"
Scar clenched his fists so hard his knuckles ached. "You don't need to know," he said sharply. "Just don't call me that."
Felicity tilted her head slightly, her pristine brow furrowing as she looked at him with an expression of profound, aching familiarity.
"Are you really going to stop someone from calling you by the very name they gave to you?" she asked calmly.
Scar frowned, his mind utterly failing to compute her words. "What are you—what are you trying to say?"
Felicity's lips curled into a sad, beautiful smile as a single tear formed in the corner of her eye.
"What I'm trying to say is…" she whispered. "…I was the one who gave you that name."