Chapitre 1: An Introduction And An Awakening
Sitting, I overlooked the town I now called my home. Up until this point, I'd lived in the UK - more specifically, London. I lived with my mother, Anna, and my younger sister, Elizabeth. My father wasn't in the picture - but not because he was a bad guy who left my mom or anything. No, he was actually something of a personal idol of mine.
He was a soldier, and he died saving his comrades from a bomb. He was on bomb disposal, which was probably obvious.
I come from a pretty diverse family. For example, my mom was born in Norway and while my dad was English, he was from a family of Greek immigrants who moved to the UK during the mid-20th century. Which meant I was pretty diverse in a few things - I knew three different languages, for one. English, Norwegian and Greek. I was also a mismatch of physical traits.
I had the tall and burly build most people in Scandinavia have, the olive tone skin often found in people of Greek descent but I also have forest green eyes I inherited off of my dad put together with the auburn red hair I gained from my mother. So, I'm a real mixture of things.
But even beyond that, I'm even more 'special'.
Firstly, I'm a reincarnator. Meaning I've already lived a life - even if it was a short one - and I've found myself living another life with my previous memories still intact.
So, I had an advantage every other person never had - I took life seriously from the get-go. Literally. As soon as I opened my eyes, I was mentally a fully matured adult. The only thing that held me back was my baby body, and that was soon solved by the time I was a year old. So, I quickly took to everything I never had a chance to do in my past life.
I participated in just about every sport imaginable, I paid attention in school and visited a nearby library every two weeks to learn about more advanced subjects--all of which was supported and encouraged by my parents. Mom was, and still is, a teacher so she loved that I was so studious.
Dad was the same, except he was much more excited about my enthusiasm for sports.
Speaking of my parents...my emotions for them were weird. I wouldn't say I looked at them the same way every other kid looked at their parents. But I did love them, in my own way. And despite my peculiarities, they loved me unconditionally as well. So, while I was loving and respectful to my parents (specifically my mom, seeing as dad had already passed on), I was much more independent than a normal person my age.
Even despite this independence and my experience with reincarnating...I was at a loss. Why? Because of where I'd found myself living after mom wanted to get away from our old apartment.
I'd only come with her because Liz and her were so insistent on me coming...yet I'd be lying if I said that was all there was to it. At the back of my mind, there was a voice urging me on. At the pit of my stomach, there was an urge pulling on me whenever I thought about moving to mom's hometown.
It was a small town in Norway, called Edda, and it was filled with a rich history and culture - I'd rarely ever heard of it from mom but I never really pushed her about it. But now I'm mentally beating myself for not asking about her hometown.
Why?
Because Edda didn't exist in my past life. Or rather, it did exist but only in a TV show - a show about Gods and Giants called 'Ragnarok'.
Which means I'm in a world where supernatural things occur...and I wasn't even slightly aware of it.
As to why I'm overlooking the town right now from a ridge, it was so I could think and clear my head. How many times had I and my family been close to death without even knowing? How many times had we been under the effects of the supernatural and hadn't known any better? It made me incredibly paranoid about my life up to this point, knowing I was now in a supernatural-esque world.
"I sense that you're troubled, reincarnator," an aged yet mysterious voice spoke from behind me and I shot up from my sitting position, years of sports and martial arts training giving me an explosive speed that allowed me to turn and face the woman behind me.
She was old, wrinkly, yet it was easy to see that once she had been a real beauty. Yet, like with all things, time had had it's effect on her.
Her hair was a silvery white from age and her icy blue eyes were wise beyond mortal years. She looked at me like she could see into my head and I felt bare in front of her.
Her smile spread wider as I thought that, and she spoke further, "As you are now, reincarnator, you are indeed bare before me. You wear your emotions on your face too easily," her wispy voice spoke in fluent Norwegian yet it felt like no matter the language she spoke, I'd be able to understand her, "But such thoughts are not for now. Now, we must discuss your role in the coming fight."
"No," I shook my head, waving an arm dismissively, "I'm not getting involved," I adamantly said, warily looking at the woman across from me.
Her smile only spread further, becoming very toothy, but she didn't push the issue any further.
Instead, she walked next to me and looked over the town. I felt on edge at having her slow close to me but I forcibly calmed myself, telling myself that she was no threat in the show and the fact she'd appeared in front of me told me she was an ally of kinds.
While I was thinking to myself, she began speaking again, "...I've been in this town, changing faces, for hundreds of years," she started, her eyes taking on a glazed over look as she bathed in nostalgia. She went silent for a few moments before snapping out of it and looking to me, "But you...I haven't seen anything like you in all those centuries. A man from another world, another life. A man born to be a hero."
"A hero?" I scoffed, not being able to help myself, "I'm sorry lady, but I'm anything but a hero."
Things went silent again before the lady chuckled, "Oh, really? What about the time you saved that lady from being molested? And what about the time you saved adopted a box of ill kittens, nursed them back to full health and got them to homes with families that would look after them? What about the time you helped your sister with the bullies making her life miserable--" I stopped her with a raised hand, a scowl growing across my face.
"Enough," I spoke, more in an embarrassed growl because I couldn't trust myself not to mess up if spoke in anything more intelligible. I may have lived a life before this one, but most of it was spent inside a hospital room, so I'm not exactly full of life and social experience, you know? "What do you want?" I got out after composing myself.
Her eyes glinted, hearing what she wanted to hear. I hated dealing with people like her.
"I wish to have you help the young Magne against the Jutuls. He isn't nearly as ready as you are," she said, turning to me and away from Edda, "You are a hero. A unique existence. A man who has lived two lives."
Shaking my head, I sighed, "I know that you know that I know what's going to happen in Edda," I said, getting the confusing words out before continuing, "So, I know I'm not able to be much help against what Magne has to face. I know how to fight, sure - but that's only against humans. Not superhuman Giants."
"You are not listening to me, Alexander Drakos - you are a hero. Just like Magne," she said and I narrowed my eyes at her as she continued, "Not just one either...You are two. Two lives, the embodiment of two Gods--you are unique beyond belief, Alexander Drakos, and you will be a hero to mark down in the annals of history. The future has already changed with you here and more enemies will soon arrive - you must be awakened otherwise I fear for what may happen," he smile had long disappeared and a serious look now took up it's place on her face.
She stepped toward me and I went to move backward, yet found roots covering my feet and holding my legs in place, "Wait--!" I yelled throwing up my hands to thrust the old woman back and away from me but it was already too late.
Her hand had lifted and rested itself on my forehead, "Awaken, God of Vengeance, Justice and The Forest, Vidar. Awaken, God of War, Ares. Awaken and bestow upon your embodiment your power and your blessings."
What happened next was unusual.
It felt like my veins were filled with fire and acid and molten metal. My muscles contracted so hard I was held as still as a statue and I was forced to stay still as I felt the volatile concoction flowing through my veins and how it burned and tore away at my body.
The pain caused my ears to buzz and my vision to tunnel, going black around the edges with white spots that floated across where I was looking.
I would've screamed in pain but my jaw refused to open and my vocal cords refused to work.
Inside my head, however, there was a voice that boomed over the pain. The voice was deep and strong, filled with confidence and vigor, but it had a roughness to it that gave my mind the distinct image of blades and weapons clashing against each other.
[In fire, we are forged. Through battle, we are sharpened. Through victory, we are completed.]
It boomed over and over and over again, getting louder and louder. It wasn't until it was so loud that I felt my consciousness shake that I realized I was internally chanting along with the voice. Even after I realized it, I didn't stop--rather, I couldn't stop. It was like my mind had found a life raft to hang onto and it wouldn't let go. It just kept repeating the same line in my head, along with the voice.
Then the voice stopped, and it was replaced with another voice. This one was different. It didn't shout - in fact, it was little more than a whisper.
Yet it still spread to every inch of my mind, commanding respect and attention.
[Though duty is a heavy burden, we can carry it. Though honor is a disadvantage, we can weather it. Though the terrors of the night are horrific, we can defeat them.]
This voice didn't repeat the same sentence like a war chant - which is what the first voice had done. It just said what it needed to say...and then it was done. And once it was done, something clicked inside of me and the pain went away. It was replaced by sensations of power, energy and an overwhelming understanding of my surroundings.
I could hear a small wolf not too far from my position, eating a small rabbit. I say 'not too far' but I couldn't see it when I looked around - and I could now see VERY far.
The trees that had been behind me - by apart twenty meters or so - were now something I could see in such detail that I could easily see in between the cracks of the bark and at the insects crawling around in there. Even from so far away.
My senses had been enhanced to overwhelming levels.
And it truly was the very definition of 'overwhelming'. I could barely hear myself think over the sounds, smells and visual information assaulting my mind.
Yet after seconds of that suffering, it seemed to stop. My senses were still superior to how they'd once been but it was like my brain had finally caught up to my senses and could accept the sensory information without being overloaded. I released a breath of air I hadn't known I'd been keeping and realised I was kneeling in front of the old woman who'd awakened these powers in me. Wenche, I believe her name to be - if my memory serves me right.
"Stand, Alexander. Stand and get ready for the fights to come," she said with a small smiled before she kissed a necklace that looked like Ravens feet and talons gripping a small crystal ball. In a flash of...something, she morphed into a Raven and flew away.
I rose, but only to look at her direction and angrily roar, "I didn't want this! I didn't ask for it!" I bellowed, my voice cracking and twisting, a heat building up in my veins as my anger surged.
I didn't want these powers. I wanted to graduate high school, go to a nice college/university and then explore the world before settling down with a nice girl and making a family. I didn't want to be involved in fights between Gods and their enemies. I knew I was special to an extent - I was a reincarnator, for God's sake - but I didn't want to be THIS special.
I was brought out of my thoughts by a cracking sound coming from the nearby trees. Turning to look at them, I recoiled in surprise when I saw them. As if responding to my anger, the trees stretched and loomed toward me, their branches growing longer and stretching like spears to the direction of where Wenche had flown off to. Not just that, I turned to look down at my feet and noticed the wetness that had been there once before was now gone and had seemingly evaporated - it was then that I saw the waves of heat billowing off of my body.
Taking a few deep breaths, the trees creaked once more and returned to their previous forms while the visible waves of heat coming off of me also disappeared. I closed my eyes and continued with my breathing for a few more moments before opening them and reaching for my phone.
Deciding to be extra careful now, I opened up my phone and looked up something on Google.
Vidar. The Silent God. God of Vengeance. The God who kills Fenrir, avenging Odin and survives Ragnarok. Mightiest of all the Gods and all Men, excluding Thor, and known for his strength, endurance and combat ability. He isn't in many myths or stories, due to his limited involvement outside of Ragnarok but that should say enough...To kill Fenrir and untold amount of nightmarish creatures during that tumultuous period of time, Vidar must've been one hell of a warrior.
Ares. God of War. The God who usually played the role of the antagonist. He seduced Aphrodite, fathering many different children. He was a masterful combatant, even if he was a bit of a muscle-bound idiot from what I've read. He was usually on the losing end, however, having lost to Hercules twice - no doubt because Ares was the villain. Villains always lose in myths, after all.
But that shouldn't take away from the fact that he was THE God of War. A God that lived for battle. Unlike Athena, he wasn't about strategy and tactics - he was about the nitty, gritty parts of war. The battlelust, the spirit of battle--that's where you'd find Ares. In a sense, he was somewhat of a berserker himself, like Hercules.
...So, I'm two Gods. Or the reincarnation of two Gods? The descendent of two Gods? It's a confusing thing but I can't say I'm too surprised anymore. Reincarnating usually puts you into the limelight one way or another, even if you don't know it.
Kneeling down again, I placed my phone down on the ground before pressing my hand against the ground not too far from the phone.
The usual hardness of stone that I would've felt before just wasn't there. So, I pushed.
My fingers dug into the rock and I clenched my hand into a fist, digging even further into the rock. It was like very brittle clay, not hard stone. Lifting my hand back, I held the crushed pieces of dust in my hand before letting the wind take it away from me.
Watching the wind take the dust, I thought about what the future would hold. Wenche had said my appearance had changed it, so I should be prepared for some funky shit to happen.
Brushing off the rest of the rock pieces, I looked down at the fist sized hole I'd made and smirked - this type of strength was going to take time to get used to. Thoughts of my newfound strength aside, I was also feeling a little shook up by the sudden change in my mortality. I mean, am I still Human? Or am I a God now? Things to think about later, I guess.
Picking up my phone, I stood. It seemed just in time too as my phone buzzed as a message notification appeared on the black screen. The message read: [Come home now, Alex. We're going to meet someone I should've told you about sooner. Love, Mom. Xx]
Narrowing my eyes, I wondered what mom meant by that, but I put the phone away and picked up into a jog.
Even before the godly powers, I was confident in my stamina - and now? I was confident enough to run a few marathons and still have energy left over! My stamina and energy felt nearly endless, like I had a high-tech engine inside my chest instead of a normal heart, and my lungs expanded more than they'd ever done so before, letting me take in more breath than I could before. I also had the suspicion that each breath tided me over much longer before I needed to take another as well. It was like one breath could be held for an hour, at least, but habit forced me to release it and take another.
Pushing those thoughts out of my head, I picked up my speed a little and began running faster than I ever had before. So fast I even slowed down when I got closer to Edda - I didn't want the town's inhabitants to see me running faster than an Olympic-level athlete, you know?
Before long, I arrived back home and I saw an unfamiliar yet familiar red car parked outside my new house. The car seemed familiar yet I knew I hadn't seen it once before.
It was only until I got inside the house that I knew where I'd seen it before.
Today was really full of surprises, you know?
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone