Chapter 14: Primordial Deities (I)

"So it's true, huh? You've risen from the dead."

Gods. Do y'all hate me or something? Malik thought as another annoying person entered his room.

He turned his head to the door and immediately felt like he should've just died somewhere in that gate when he saw it wasn't just Marie who had come to disturb the little bit of peace he'd had for just a morning. Louis stood beside her, looking at Malik like he'd seen a ghost.

"…Yo," Malik sighed out from his position on his bed, sat up and surrounded by several screens surrounding the topic of deities and blessings.

He'd been wondering what exactly had happened with the other members of his party but had been a little too preoccupied with his own shit to sweat the details. He heard they were alive and that was good enough for him.

"…Did you go insane in that gate?" Marie asked as they walked further into his room, moving one of his many screens to take a look at what he was researching.

She rose an eyebrow at its contents, looking back at him with a questioning expression. "'Deities and Their Many Names'? This is what you're doing after nearly dying?"

Malik ignored her words, his mind focused on finding as many details as he could've surrounding that damned green lady.

There were so many records that showed a list of nature based gods and spirits but none that had similar looks or as great powers as his mysterious nudist lady. There were definitely no records of a being like her that could've stopped time from her presence alone.

She was at the very least on par with the higher gods, like Marduk of Mesopotamia or Ra of Egyptian. Her presence was as overwhelming as the accounts from those two's Blessed have shared. Theirs didn't seem as intense, Malik's head still aching even though it had been two days since her visit.

"Why are you two here?" he finally asked them, tapping away at his screen, his still stinging green eyes not moving from his research. He felt like it was obvious, on the tip of his tongue, but he was missing something.

She scoffed at his question, looking at him with anger burning behind her eyes.

It was too much of a pain dealing with her and focusing on his research so he just hoped that his personality would piss her off enough to get her to leave like it always did.

"Mal…I mean Malik."

He paused his scrolling to look up at Louis, not at all surprised the guy knew his real name considering he'd seen the news his dad had shared all over the cloud about finding his long lost son.

Though just because he wasn't surprised that his face and identity was plastered everywhere, it was another thing to have a total stranger saying his name.

"…Stick to Mal," he said slowly before returning to his screens. "What is it? I thought visitors could only be friends and family."

"I think that's the longest sentence he's ever said in his life, Louis."

"You're not funny, Maria. Stop trying to be."

Louis held her back from smacking Malik over his comment, the injured hunter not even flinching as she growled at him.

"Maria! Seriously!" Louis snapped, letting her go to glare down at the woman who scoffed again but at her teammate this time.

"Fuck this," she hissed before turning to Malik. "I just wanted to say congratu-fucking-lations to making it out alive, you fucking asshole."

She stormed out after that, making sure everyone in the building knew she was pissed from the way she slammed the door as she left.

"…Sorry about her."

"Apologizing for someone else is dumb as fuck, Louis. What were you gonna say?"

Malik finally gave the guy his attention. He wasn't getting anywhere either way, a lot of information surrounding gods having become encrypted since Nature's Reckoning. He could've easily fixed that issue, but with so many eyes on him at the moment, it was best that he laid low and didn't try hacking government restricted information.

At least not yet anyway.

He watched Louis sit on the visitor's chair beside his bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees with a serious expression on his face.

"Where did you go when you vanished?"

Malik stared at Louis with his head tilted to the side in curiosity.

He'd been asked several questions since he'd popped back, but nobody had asked him that. Not as bluntly anyway.

He didn't know if it was information he was meant to keep to himself or share but he guessed that his changed physique and appearance was a small enough clue.

"…I have no fucking idea, if I'm to be honest."

It was the truth, Malik never one to beat around the bush.

"…You're searching up gods because of your new blessing. Did you transport to a god's domain?"

Huh, Malik thought as his original impression of Louis changed slightly. He's not as dumb as I thought.

"Not sure if I should be talking bout it. The dogs are on my ass."

Louis' lips pursed as he nodded in understanding.

"But Mal! That's huge! Getting re-blessed…Has that ever happened before?"

Malik sighed heavily, pressing a finger to the side of his head and trying to press his headache away.

"No. Not from any known sources anyway. Fuck me," Malik cursed right after admitting that fact.

The more he thought about his situation, the more it was starting to look like a 'you're the chosen one' type deal and it was stressing him out more and more.

That meant responsibility. That meant being forced into big ass situations. That meant dealing with big ass stakes.

He fucking refused. The unknown deity could've smiled him for all he cared.

"…Let me ask to get that information out of the way. Where'd y'all vanish to? And the cousins?"

"That's the thing, Mal! We all were practically kicked out of the gate. We'd popped up right back to where we started. You were the only one still inside as the gate collapsed. It was like it only wanted you inside. Like the gate was…alive? Those two guys scurried off soon after, looking freaked. This whole thing's fucking confusing, Mal."

"You're telling me," Malik mumbled, rubbing his stinging eyes.

So exactly what Miss Batista told me. They didn't see the green lady at all. Just who the fuck is she?

"…Hey, Louis. Ya ever heard of a big named god that can control nature and shit?"

Louis blinked at Mal. "Ain't that just your typical forest spirit?"

Malik shook his head. "Nah. What forest spirit can stop time like that or even have their own domain?"

Louis' eyes widened before he put a hand to his chin, thinking.

Just as Louis was about to say something in response, his eyes filled with surprise, the room's door banged open and a bunch of suits walked in right before Mrs Batista appeared.

She was wearing a forest green suit that time, a smirk on her face. Funny woman, that she was.

Malik was about to tell her to come another time just as she'd practically chased Louis out and closing his door shut. But then her next word stopped him in his tracks.

"Gaia."

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