The Path of the Gods Part III: Erosion of Faith
"It is laughable how you believe yourselves so superior, when you need mortals so much just to continue existing," Miraak said, looking at Zeus with a faint mockery in his voice.
He sheathed his black greatsword with ease. In its place, he drew two identical swords, much smaller, yet truly special. They bore a perverse, dark color, as if they absorbed the light around them.
Yes, that was exactly it. He had recreated his own blade. And it was no longer a single one; now there were two. As he held them, with smooth movements, tentacles made of darkness seemed to writhe along the blades, as if something living dwelled within.
Zeus did not attack. He remained floating in the air, watching him with a serious, almost oppressive focus. Miraak took advantage of that instant to change his equipment, as if he knew this too was part of what was about to happen.
With a simple motion of his hand, he tore away the armor he had been wearing. Before it could touch the ground, a long, dark robe appeared over his body. However, in the blink of an eye, the robe changed shape, becoming the jacket he always wore; the one with the skeleton drawn on the back, accompanied by the word death.
But now it was different. Clearly improved. It was composed of other materials, materials that felt openly divine, of different kinds. The enchantments had also been enhanced, surely thanks to those components.
Even Zeus could feel it. A clear resistance to lightning emanated from that armor just by looking at it. Miraak had truly prepared himself in every possible way to face him, which only worsened the mood of the king of gods.
As if a mere suit of armor could stand against him.
"Give me the answer. What did you do?" Zeus said, losing his patience.
Miraak looked at him, but did not reply. He was not like those villains who explain all their plans and hand their enemy the information needed to prepare.
"You are a god. Find out," Miraak said, staring straight at Zeus.
He swung both swords, and from them emerged whips of shadow that slammed into the ground with force. Miraak's magic began to envelop the surroundings, forming a vast shadow beneath him, a deep darkness from which more twisted tentacles started to rise.
Miraak's draconic form, composed of the auras of the dragon souls he had devoured, became more solid. Black scales covered part of his face, and his hands transformed into dark claws.
The wings, which had previously been only spectral, also took on a physical form, a deep and threatening black.
His eyes, an intense orange with reddish dragon hues, shone with a fierce light.
Zeus, floating in the air and looking down at Miraak, radiated power as lightning coursed through his body. Even so, he continued to feel those occasional disconnections, something that irritated him slightly. It was enough for him to turn his head just a little to the side.
And Miraak seized that moment.
"FIIK LO SAH"
"SU GRAH DUN"
"TIID KLO UL"
"WULD NAH KEST"
Miraak unleashed the shouts in rapid succession, one after another. The first created an identical copy of himself at his side. The second acted like an enchantment, drastically increasing the speed of his weapons and wrapping them in wind. The third stopped time completely. The last was used to appear directly in front of Zeus.
Two Miraaks attacked at the same time, striking fiercely at Zeus's vital points. Neck and chest. All while time itself seemed completely frozen.
Even so, Zeus moved his head with absolute calm, observing both of them. His body filled with even more lightning, as if stopped time were not a prison, but a mere inconvenience. As if the will of a god could force even the world to wait for him.
The lightning intensified in an instant, and a thunderous explosion tore open the space between both attackers.
Even seeing that Zeus could counterattack, neither of the two stopped.
Before being hurled away by the blast, they left clear marks on the god's body, precisely at his weak points. It was not enough to defeat him.
But it was enough to prove that he could be reached.
Zeus frowned, genuinely annoyed, as golden blood began to flow from his body.
"Arrogant," he said, looking toward Miraak. "That was your only moment where you might have accomplished something. I hope you enjoyed it."
His body turned into lightning and launched itself at him.
With pure energy concentrated in both hands, he appeared before Miraak and struck so fast that it seemed as if he pierced his body with lightning.
But it was the spectral clone.
Meanwhile, the real Miraak shouted with force.
"FUS ROH DA"
Zeus moved his hand, as if striking the air, effortlessly deflecting the shout.
"You are a fool if you think making me lose believers will weaken me," Zeus said calmly, appearing in front of Miraak and driving a knee straight into his stomach. Then he grabbed him by the back of the neck and struck him again in the face.
Miraak reacted instantly. He moved his dagger swiftly and placed it directly in front of him, making Zeus impale his own leg.
"Argh!" Zeus growled in fury as he felt the pain.
Miraak was about to release another shout of power.
But Zeus clapped his hands immediately. The detonation was so loud that it made Miraak lose his balance for a second, interrupting the shout.
"You are a damned fly. Do you think you are better than those who faced me in the past? This is not even the smallest fraction of my power," Zeus said, grabbing Miraak by the shoulders and hurling him toward the sky.
Appearing behind him in a flash, he delivered a brutal kick that sent him crashing back into the ground.
He stopped when he noticed that, once again, his leg had been pierced during the exchange.
"Trading damage for damage. Stupid," Zeus said as he descended upon Miraak.
"I am not like those lesser gods who weaken when they lose believers. Even if you killed every single person who has faith in me, I would not fade. As long as one person remembers my name, I will continue to exist. And I will remain the king of the Olympian pantheon. Come on, kill them all and prove it."
He tried to stomp on Miraak's head, but Miraak rolled across the ground, evading the attack and slashing with his sword, releasing a black whip that tried to split Zeus apart.
Zeus caught it with his hand with absolute ease and responded with a direct kick to the stomach.
"You turned into a lizard, and that is all. But I can grant you that pleasure. At least you managed to hurt me a little, so as a reward I will destroy you with all my power. So you understand that the gods are not to be trifled with."
He could feel the gaze of the other deities upon him.
And of course, he could not show weakness. He wanted to prove that he had always been, and would continue to be, one of the most powerful gods. Or at least, that was what he believed.
Zeus's body began to grow rapidly, reaching an enormous size, so colossal that it seemed to touch the sky itself.
A single one of his feet could easily destroy a city.
From above, he looked down at Miraak. Miraak raised his gaze, breathing heavily. There was no fear in his eyes, only a look filled with struggle, with absolute defiance, without surrender.
Zeus's hand fell toward him, descending as if to crush a simple fly.
At that instant, Miraak moved his hand with precision, as if activating a spell. Not a defensive one, nor an offensive one. It was something he had prepared long before.
Zeus's hand stopped just centimeters from crushing him.
That was when he felt it.
An enormous amount of faith vanishing.
He had said he did not care. But after all, the existence of gods was based on that. And as he himself had claimed, being the son of one of the primordial beings meant it would not be so easy for him to fade away.
But that was only true as long as humanity existed.
And what Zeus was feeling was different. It was as if his name were being erased from the minds of people. Not destroyed. Not denied. Simply eroded, memory by memory. Something that only happened with death. No, not even then. Even after death, souls retained those memories.
"What did you do?" Zeus asked again, this time with a more tense tone.
He closed his hand, trapping Miraak along with a large chunk of ground, and lifted him up.
When he opened it, Miraak was there, somewhat battered, covered in dirt. It was not a smile of victory. It was the smile of someone who knew the damage had already been done.
Meanwhile, in different parts of the world where Miraak had carried out missions for other gods, stone monoliths began to glow softly.
People who passed near them seemed to lose consciousness for a brief instant. When they opened their eyes, they felt as if they had forgotten something. Something that did not seem important.
In the Loto casino stood an even larger one, clearly the central core of all of them. Those trapped inside continued gambling and enjoying themselves as always, but now each and every one of them carried a mask hanging from their waist.
They passed near the monolith and offered it a brief prayer before continuing to play cheerfully, unaware that something eroded a specific memory each time they did so.
Each prayer made the momentary confusion they felt from being trapped there disappear. They became clear minded. However, instead of wanting to leave, many simply stayed, convinced that whatever was outside was not meant for them.
It was noticeable that some people were missing. At times, others could be seen entering shortly after through the massive doors.
Not only in the mortal world.
Even in the Underworld, there was one.
Hades stood not far away, watching it with interest.
"Hmph. He worries so much about someone who is not even his son. All of this just to annoy my brother and make sure he does not attack him again," he said.
Although he spoke as if it were foolishness, a faint trace of jealousy could be heard in his voice. His thoughts lingered on the idea that, deep down, he would have liked to do the same.
"I will let it slide for now. As long as you land a blow on my behalf," he added before turning away, ignoring the object infiltrating his domain. After all, even among gods, some debts were not collected immediately.