Chapter 54: Second Act: Boy and God
After Nekros left his final bits of wisdom regarding his thoughts on mana, Marcus asked him a few final questions that had been lingering in the back of his mind.
"Mast-... no Nekros. You're a god... aren't you?"
For a moment there was an uncomfortable silence that lingered in the air.
Nekros didn't respond to Marcus and the boy only waited for a response.
Marcus had long since assumed this master of his was special after escaping Ebonscale.
The only reason he hadn't inquired previously was because he had far more pressing concerns than identifying his master's background, but now, he had a brief respite that allowed him to think clearly and assess certain things.
"Indeed I am. Is that all?"
If Marcus was surprised, he didn't show it on his face and remained completely stoic and unmoving.
"No," Marcus replied firmly to keep up his momentum. "Why is it that a god of all things would need the help of a mere orphan. Let alone an orphan, shouldn't a god be immensely powerful and have droves of servants waiting to do their bidding?
Nekros did not reply and so Marcus continued.
"Not to mention, why would a god need help at all? They are a god after all and as such shouldn't be so.... needy.
After saying this, Marcus started to feel an invisible pressure descend on his shoulders, and he found it slightly harder to breathe but he continued as if nothing happened.
"You ask me to sign a contract, but from my understanding, a contract requires the consent of both parties. This means for that brief moment, you found yourself in need of whatever services you thought I could provide you with.
Marcus exhaled a deep breath before he continued.
"...My parents... they hadn't taught me much about the gods, but they did mention that they existed, and with their mention of them, I was also informed about how strong they should be."
Once again, only silence permeated the surroundings, and as Marcus continued to speak, it only became more unnerving by the second.
"You see, Nekros, I've asked myself these questions constantly in the time I was left to meditate, and in doing so, I had plenty of time to think about my enemies," Marcus spoke with a cold glint in his eyes that not even the blindfold was capable of obscuring.
"Do you consider me an enemy boy," Nekros's spoke as his words finally broke the tense silent-treatment he'd been giving Marcus.
"Heh... an enemy? Of course not. You're a god and I'm a hu-...hah...omen.
"The two can't even be compared. I'm only questioning your actions."
"You've given me a new chance at life and even helped me in gaining new power; however, your previous words never left my mind."
"Oh, and which words were those," Nekros spoke in a slightly curious tone.
"The ones where you mentioned to me that 'nothing is free in this world'."
A few seconds passed with silence reining once again but after that, Nekros's sly, yet powerful voice rang out in Marcus's head.
The god was chuckling.
"Good, you're maturing. I wasn't sure how long it'd take for you to do so, but this conversation is extremely pleasing to the ears."
Marcus was still keeping his phlegmatic appearance, but inside, he was confused.
He'd thought that after speaking to a god in such a disrespectful tone that he'd get some kind of rise out of him, but it seemed he was wrong. Why Marcus would do such a thing was completely unknown.
"Nice try boy, but my sister and I are the king and queen of manipulation. You're little probing won't get a reaction out of me. However...
For a moment, Marcus felt uncharacteristically cold. It almost felt as if he had a dozen swords all placed around his neck with no room to move, and if he so much as breathed to hard, he'd find his neck severed cleanly from his head.
"This will be the last time I allow such disrespect to go unchallenged."
Nekros exhaled a breath and the invisible presence of death instantly receded.
Marcus felt a cold shiver run down his spine from the earlier feeling and felt a slight anger rise in his chest.
He'd be sure to remember this...
"You wish to learn about the contents of the contract I presume," Nekros spoke in a bored tone.
Marcus didn't answer, but the god took his silence as compliance.
"Very well.
"What I want from you is simple. I want you to help me kill the gods and goddesses of Terra."
This time Marcus's stoic expression faltered and his eyes widened ever so slightly.
"...W-What?!"
Marcus instantly recalled the deathly presence he'd felt from his master a second ago, and felt that this god must have lost his mind. How could he, an omen who was barely managing to survive being hunted by other humans, comprehend fighting a god. It was mad.
"Calm down, I didn't revive you just to send you to die."
Marcus held a hand to his chest as he let out a shaky breath.
"For now, just focus on improving your strength and everything else will fall into place," Nekros spoke in a knowing and gleeful tone.
Marcus didn't appreciate the lack of details, but he figured he was lucky enough in receiving the information he had.
After finalizing a few more details with his master, Marcus moved on to his physical training. This was the next step he needed to take before he could start practicing the [Spectral Scythe] mage art.
His master informed him that since he'd specialize in becoming a battle mage, he'd have to strengthen his body further.
Luckily, Marcus's body was decently in shape due to him constantly running to escape from those seeking to capture and kill him.
Although, running only did so much.
Marcus needed to practice his technique with the scythe.
In the three years he'd been enslaved, Marcus hadn't touched a single weapon, let alone the practice scythe he'd used when he was out training with his father.
'Well I guess it's time to make a new one,' Marcus thought as he stared at the dark forest surrounding him.
"With all these materials laying around, it should be simple enough."
And with that, Marcus moved to craft his soon-to-be second training scythe.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone