Deicide: To Kill The Gods

For the first time in a while, I slept dreamlessly. Awoken by the weight of something on my chest, my eyes peeled back groggily to see Diana resting peacefully on my stomach– though, I had to admit she was heavy for such a small creature. After sitting up whilst being careful not to wake her, I regarded Yao's lifeless body for a moment. The way I had behaved when dealing with her was somewhat out-of-character for me, but the memories of Jasper I'd buried so deeply out of desperation had oozed back out to the forefront of my mind.

The man had haunted my dreams for far too long, and even now, his presence lingered behind my every step, the weight of those I'd failed to protect dragging me deeper into a hole we’d both dug. I dug his grave, and perhaps, he’d dug mine. Noticeably, her soul energy seemed to have been absorbed by my companion– who was awake now, yet she seemed to be putting most of her energy into absorbing Yao’s soul and thus was rather sluggish.

Gazing down at Yao, I almost felt compelled to fashion her a makeshift coffin from the earth. Until my mind flashed back to what she had done to Diana, and all traces of guilt were washed clean from my conscience. Turning away, a familiar voice sounded through my head. Isabella. Lately, it appeared she was talking to me more than usual, and I could somewhat understand why. Existing within my mind would grow boring enough to drive anyone insane, quite frankly.

‘I noticed your usage of Chronosphere.’ She said, voice light yet heavy at the exact same time. It was gentle, but generated a crushing force that could easily put me on my knees or cause a splitting pain inside of my head.

‘Though it was… lacklustre at best, for a mortal human like yourself, exceptions can be made.’

‘Humans like me?’ Well, the reason why Chronosphere always took so much out of me had become clear: I was never meant to use it. Chronosphere wasn’t an art ‘humans’ should be able to use, and as such, I could never grow used to using it. Though, it pegged the question: for such an ability to belong to Isabella, what exactly was she? I had asked her multiple times before, yet she always fell silent or found ways to dodge my question.

‘I… see.’ I responded within my thoughts.

‘However, you aren’t to let your guard down. I have a gut feeling that this trial will be the hardest yet, and serve to determine your fate here. I wouldn’t normally ask this of you, as your body isn’t developed physically enough yet, but if it comes down to it, use your second stage.’

I nodded. Though her tone was one of tranquillity, I could detect genuine concern and worry beneath her mask of cold confidence. A smile rose to my lips for a second as I thought about it, my heart warmed by her thoughtfulness.

“I will.” I spoke aloud, as a promise both to her, but also myself. “I won’t die here. I’ll save Hua, I promise.”

Isabella sunk back into silence, as I turned to Diana, who padded over. The final door had been marked out, and with a simple breath in, I pushed the doors open. My eyes met… the outside of the domain?

My bag sat where I’d left it, not too far from where I stood, propped up against a tree. Picking it up, I took out a singular vial of “liquid food” as Meryll put it, taking a swig. My tongue lolled out of my mouth in disgust, but I couldn’t deny that it was filling.

“If that was the last trial, that was very eas–”

My voice was cut off, as a bright flash of light filled the entire clearing and the ground trembled, threatening to split apart as I, Diana, and the bag, were transported to a different area.

–

My eyes opened, and I was surrounded by the sweet smell of cinnamon and apples. The place I was now in was very beautiful, decorated with lush, vibrant flora and fauna, with various arches lining a stone path leading to a house at the end. The area I stood upon was a large, circular stone plateau, with various runes engraved into its surface, which lit up as I forced soul through my palms and into the ground.

Glancing around, I saw not one, but two people I knew. Meryll, and… it had been so long, I felt, since I had seen the girl standing next to her. Words faltered, all sounds ceasing to escape my lips other than a strangled gasp, the familiar green hair and eyes drawing me in as I took weak steps closer, which quickened from a walk into a run.

However, I never got close enough. A man stepped out from the shadows, dressed in a traditional black hanfu robe, with various white markings, and it took me but a second to figure out who he was. Shuang Xiao, Meryll’s sponsor, and the Guardian Deity of Huagong Forest.

Black hair graced his shoulders from a high ponytail, forming a fringe over his face. The man was beautiful, so much so that he could only be described as divine– objectively. Any other word would be blasphemy. His golden eyes pierced holes into me, pupils slitted much like… Diana’s. Two horns were pushed through his hair, curling back like… Diana’s. My eyes flitted between them both, taking in the apparent similarities.

But that didn’t matter. A barrier of wind formed between Meryll, Hua, Xiao, and I, stopping me from reaching them. Meryll’s body turned sharply towards Xiao, a mixed expression of shock and anger on her face. Through the howling wind dome, I could only make out some of the things they were saying, but she clearly wasn’t happy.

“...wasn’t…we agreed!”

“...he dies….Mother… over.”

“....safe!”

“...can’t….me.”

The wind quietened down, and Xiao stepped forward, passing through the harsh winds with ease as he raised a hand gracefully. Meryll kept Hua back, as she clearly wanted to run towards me, simply keeping her eyes locked with mine as she mouthed a few words.

‘It’s’

‘All’

‘On’

‘You’

‘Now.’

I could do nothing but give her a simple nod and faced my final opponent, whose power dwarfed Meryll’s. And I had to… beat him? My hands shook, sweat trickling down my face. Such a feat was more impossible than the last task– there was no way to win this.

“For your sake, the trial has been amended. Your job is not to beat me,” Xiao spoke, and I let out a sigh of relief. “Your job is to survive my assault in any way you can for the next fifteen minutes. Meryll will be keeping track. If you can do so, you will have conquered my trials, and won the right to see your dear princess friend again.”

‘Strike first.’ Meryll’s words lingered in my head, and I didn’t even wait for him to begin. My body shot forward, the force causing the air to rupture as a boom echoed, Requiem raised above my head as I slashed downwards. No luck. The blade was stopped by one finger of his, air circulating finely around the tip of his index finger lip a razor, preventing the sword from coming into contact with his skin. He grasped the fuller between his index and thumb before moving his arm, throwing me across the plateau as my back slammed into the barrier.

Every movement of his carried nothing unnecessary. Every attack was completely and utterly flawless, I noted, as he fired off blasts of pressurised wind from several points that appeared around his body. Each blast was enough to cause craters in the floor, rubble flying everywhere.

“I would have expected something more from Mother’s incarnation.” Xiao spoke coldly, his voice carrying no hint of emotion. Each second dragged by, feeling like hours as I was able to do nothing but run from Xiao’s barrage of attacks, each one moving seamlessly to the next. Not to mention he hadn't even used any of his divergent elements, meaning he was still holding back.

–

Xiăo’s eyes followed Diana, who ran at my heels as I desperately evaded each blast or bladed crescent of wind. His yellow orbs twinkled, assault continuing even as he spoke.

“I am surprised, admittedly, that the defective one has taken a liking to you.”

Again, there was that word– ‘defective’, used to describe Diana. I couldn't understand why.

“Both you and Yao used that word to describe her. Why? What's the reason for it?!” I yelled out, my voice audible above the winds. Xiăo paused for a moment, before continuing.

“Diana is a defective puppet of mine, similar to the titans you faced in the first Trial, made to aid me here in the defence of this forest, and fashioned in the image of the Khaos Clan. All the other puppets are able to obtain a humanoid form along with their true form, yet she was not. As a puppet, she has no sentience,and her feeble life is tethered to the pseudo soul core within her chest. When that runs out, she will cease to exist. And because she has been wasting her energy healing you…”

An unsettling reality dawned upon me. Every time she had healed me, she was tearing away at her own life force. How many times had she healed me? How many times had she done that? Had she known?

Diana responded to my panic, clawing gently at my leg, trying to do something, anything to calm me down but it was to no avail.

“...She will not survive for long. So that pegs the question: what will you do, Atlas Reyes?”

I was hit by a wind funnel which threw me across the arena, before slammed down by increasing air pressure. I heard Meryll call out that five minutes had passed. Only five– that wasn't good. My body ached, and I hadn't even hit him once. He was a wind user, and perhaps fire as well. I could use all five elements, plus two divergents. Yet nothing I did could put a scratch on the man.

Pulling myself up to my feet, I let out a groan, rib cage pulsating with large amounts of pain. Isabella's voice surfaced, echoing from deep within the depths of our shared mindscape.

‘Why are you playing to his strengths against him? He's getting you flustered so you stop thinking.’ She chided, like a mother to her son. ‘Using air magic against a sage specialised in using it, let alone Shuāng Xiăo of all people, is the fastest way to be defeated. You have access to all five elements. Play to your strengths, not his.’

Instead of disappearing like normal, she remained by my side, commenting ever so often on Xiăo’s movements and instructing me where possible. As such, I kept a cool head and my movements became more fluid. Not enough to do any significant damage to him, but enough.

Lightning lanced through the inside of my body, jumping from nerve to nerve and quickening my reaction time and speed several times over as the charges jumped from my body to the ground.

[Overcharge]

Xiăo fired off another funnel and my body swung to the side, barely avoiding the attack as I raised my hand, firing off a sharp blast of white lightning towards him, narrowly missing his face.

I stepped forward, blitzing in front of him before throwing a flame-enhanced punch towards his gut. Instead of the sweet feeling of my fist sinking into his flesh, I was met with his hand wrapped around my wrist, the flame sputtering out as my body was thrown over his head and slammed into the floor.

I let out a sharp, breathy gasp as I rolled, vision blurring as I attempted to regain control of my breathing. Pulling myself up, my legs shook, and I couldn't do much other than stare at Xiăo.

The wind cut off, and his arm raised. I didn't know what was happening, until a sharp ring sounded through my ears, the sound discordant and painful. It was as though claws were ripping through my skull, drilling holes in an attempt to pick at my brain.

I let out a shrill scream, sinking down to my knees, hands pressed against my head as I clutched at air, fingernails digging into my palms, drawing blood in an attempt to get my mind off of the mental torture the Guardian was currently putting me through. Blood dripped down my face, originating from my nose, running in rivers onto the floor as I was rendered defenceless before the deity to do as he wished.

Xiăo let out a small sigh. It was as though he was attempting to pretend to care, but from his tone of voice, he seemed rather amused.

“Ah, well. You put up a good show. Time, Meryll?”

“Eight minutes.”

“You lasted eight minutes, child. Know that your sacrifice will bring Mother back into this world.”

He raised a palm, a large blast of wind that would surely end my life collecting in his palm as he held it aloft in front of my face. Time seemed to slow down and I shut my eyes, until a noise kicked me from my stupor.

“Kuu!” Diana's voice sounded as she stood in front, between Xiăo and I. Her body slowly began to glow, more and more brightly as my hand brushed her pelt gently, attempting to calm her down. To no avail.

The bright light became brighter and brighter, before going off like a flashbang, causing Xiăo to take a few steps back as I shut my eyes, before opening them. Diana’s cry had increased into an exceptionally loud roar, an octave below her voice previously. Her fur had hardened into… scales?

Diana's body had grown tremendously, now being around 9 metres long. Her body was covered from head to toe in black scales, her two horns having grown far longer and sharper, giving her a far more menacing appearance. Diana's spine was covered in protruding black spines, with her tail sharpened as well. Each of her limbs had spines protruding from the joints, with various purple specks across her body and a purple underbelly.

She let out a snort, appearing fierce, but I could see in her now-violet eyes that her strength was waning as she drew out more soul in attempts to protect me.

“Diana, don't. Please. I need you to protect yourself. Please!”

She turned her head towards me, and I could see that she wasn't going to listen. Opening her mouth, there were rows upon rows of fangs, and a blast of flames converged In her mouth, before shooting out towards Xiăo, searing the plateau’s floor and leaving behind the smell of molten rock.

Xiăo stepped forward, his fist planting itself in her chest, before he pulled back, blood dripping from the wound in rivers of red. Diana howled, her body falling to the floor as it grew smaller, returning to her smaller form. She whined softly and I swore I could feel my heart bearing out of my chest as my fingers ran through her fur.

“You'll be fine. You'll be fine, I promise.”

I begged not only her, but myself as well, trying to convince myself it would be fine. Sadness turned to anger which turned to resentment as I pushed myself to my feet.

‘I know I said only when you absolutely must…’ Isabella said, ‘...but I'll make an exception here. Let's put him in his place.’

“Second Stage,” I uttered aloud, for all to hear. It didn't matter who heard. Xiăo, Hua, Meryll, even the gods themselves. They could spite me as much as they wanted. But they didn't get to take her from me.

“Divine Incarnation.”