บท 26: Ouranos
Shout-out to my new patron:
Justin avalos
You are a legend!
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"Well of course you've been expecting me old geezer! You sent some creepy skeleton dressed like the Grim Reaper to my house in the middle of the night just so you could speak to me!" Garth shouted at the Primordial.
Ouranos raised an eyebrow at the audacity.
"...Grim Reaper? I do not know any adventurer by that title."
Garth sighed.
"Of course, you wouldn't. Apparently that's not a thing here..." He muttered.
Fels walked forwards to stand in front of the set of stairs. He bowed slightly, although Ouranos kept his eye on their famous guest.
"Lord Ouranos. I have brought Freya's newest child as requested."
"You have done well Fels. Thank you for bringing him here. Now that we are finally together, let us discuss everything at hand." He lifted his head slightly towards Garth's direction. "Please come and stand where Fels is young man. I'm sure you wouldn't want an 'old man' to keep aged his neck turned like this."
Garth scoffed slightly before taking his hands out of his pockets. He took a tentative step forwards while keeping his eyes trained on Ouranos. Fels saw him take a second step before something strange happened.
Though it was momentary, Fels could have sworn that he'd seen their surroundings lose all colour for a split second before Garth blinked out of existence.
Shocked by the abrupt phenomenon, Fels stumbled backwards, whipping his head left and right trying to find the boy.
"I...what?...where did he?" He rasped out before quickly turning to Ouranos.
To his surprise, Ouranos did not appear to be looking for the boy either. Rather his eyes were turned to his left side now looking up the shadowy wall with his eyelids narrowed.
Fels followed his gaze and settled upon a sight that left him completely stumped, his brain (if he still had one) malfunctioning as it tried to process what he was seeing.
Garth was hanging onto the wall with his hand dug into the stone bricks. His body was suspended about twenty feet high up, with the majority of his body concealed by the shadows.
He was so hidden, Fels would not have been able to notice him without Ouranos's guidance. Garth let out a smirk and chuckled in some sort of strange mirth.
"Impressive, Lord Ouranos. Your eyes followed me even when time was frozen. The fact that you could do that even with your true power suppressed...makes me wonder the real extent of your might. I guess one should not underestimate a Primordial."
"Better that most learn that now and not when it's too late." Ouranos craned his neck to address the adventurer. "But for a mortal to be able to exert his control over time like that...I do not remember it being something we ordained when we descended. It makes ME wonder exactly how much of YOUR might you've concealed."
Garth smiled before letting go of the wall and let himself drop lightly onto the floor. He'd practiced enough by now to prevent spider-cracks from forming when he landed anywhere. He walked over to the pathway in front of the thrones and held his hands in his pockets again.
"I don't suppose I'll have to pay for that." He gestured back to the wall. Ouranos slumped slightly in his chair.
"No. It won't be necessary."
"Well that's fine I guess. Mind telling me why you summoned me here now?"
"Very well. I hear that you like things being put bluntly, and that you don't appreciate beating around the bush. So I'll say it simply. I called you here to ask of two things. The first of them is...what is the true reason behind your power?"
Garth cocked his head to the side, his brows lowered.
"You realize that that is a very personal question, correct?"
"Perhaps. But it is necessary that I ask this for the safety of the people."
"Safety of the people? Are you serious?"
"Indeed. You are an unknown element...a foreign piece on the board. Surely someone with your power would have been heard of far and wide before coming to Orario. But no matter how much we dig deep, there is no mention of anyone even resembling you. Therefore, with no reputation to go by, I must learn directly from your person what your intentions are."
"And if I refuse to tell you them?"
Ouranos leaned back in his chair.
"Then we shall have to expel you from Orario, for the safety of the populace."
"Funny you should say that to the person who saved all your collective asses a few days ago. And if I am that dangerous, what makes you think I may not turn on the people themselves like some man-child throwing a tantrum?"
"Then we would be forced to intervene with our real Authority, and scratch you off the map of the mortal realm. You will never re-enter the cycle of reincarnation, in the chance you may be able to obtain that power once again in your second life.
On a side note, I do not personally feel you would react that way towards the innocents, so I don't think it would come to that. So will you tell us your secret?"
Garth scratched his head.
"Well...to be honest, I don't know what the source of most of my power would be. I do know that my soul is the reason for my magic, but unfortunately, I don't truly know the reason behind my physical strength."
"Your soul, you say?" Ouranos strained his eyes. "Then why is it that I cannot see one inside you?"
"Because only Freya can see it. My soul is meant for her eyes alone."
"And why would that be?"
"Because I have a skill called Vanadis Odr."
Ouranos curled a finger around his chin, deep in thought.
"Husband of Freya. So you are her destined one?"
Garth nodded.
"It explains why she is so tight lipped about you. She wouldn't happened to have shown you any...preferential treatment has she?"
"Apart from the fact I can share an intimate embrace with her above all other men she could have chosen? Beyond that, she has done nothing."
Ouranos lowered his hand.
"And yet you can channel Arcanum..."
"That is something I don't really know the answer to." Which was true because Garth could only guess the reason behind that particular piece of information. Ouranos sensed this and resigned within himself to think about this. Not one word of falsehood had come from the boy's mouth yet. He could sense genuine confusion in him...but something still felt off. He raised his head to look at him again.
"Did you meet any deity before you came here?"
"I did."
A-ha, so then there was something after all.
"Did they ever give you their blessing?" Ouranos asked, intrigued once more.
"I'm not sure if I would call it a blessing per say...gifts?...yeah, gifts would be more appropriate."
Ouranos narrowed his eyes, having at last found a lead.
"And what was his name, Mister Garth?"
Garth smiled, flashing his brilliant teeth at the Primordial.
"His name is Nekros."
...
Garth never knew it because he couldn't sense it. And neither could Freya because she wasn't powerful enough to do so, and if she had been, she was always to distracted by her soulmate.
For every time Garth spoke that name, his mouth would release a ripple of power in the air. Such was the might of the Transcendental. It was small, unnoticeable ripple to most, but filled with such potent Authority, those whose did sense it knew exactly what the boy was speaking of.
Ouranos certainly felt. Having existed longer than most other deities in this reality, he'd become more in tune with the flow of the universe. And he knew power when he saw it, felt it or heard it.
At the mere mention of that name, Ouranos was suddenly overwhelmed with such a small modicum of power, yet so dangerous and potent, he felt his Arcanum rear itself in fright, drawing back as far away as it could in the face of this stranger.
This shocked the Primordial to the core, as when any deity in the mortal realm felt truly threatened, their Arcanum would release itself to protect its wielder. Yet his own, so much more vast and powerful than that of the others, felt like it scurried away similar to an ant before a hurricane.
As if it knew, despite not having any sentience of its own, that it stood no chance against this mere ripple, this echo of might from a being that even Ouranos could not comprehend.
Have you ever been so shocked that you appear to be stoic and unshaken, as if you were unreactive to what shocked you?
That despite all your senses and instincts going haywire, you appear unfazed?
The warmth from the torches lit on either side of his throne which had always accompanied him and gave him a measure of comfort suddenly felt like blistering ice on his skin.
"Is that so?" He managed to say, to his pride in a quiet and and controlled voice. There was no wobble in it, no indicative of the absolute terror bubbling within him. "Then there shall be no further talk on this matter."
Fels wobbled in shock at the abrupt turn of the conversation. He'd researched every deity in existence currently in the mortal world under the wing of Ouranos.
But he had never heard of such a being with such a peculiar name. He'd expected some sort of interrogation of this unknown, yet apparently Ouranos wanted nothing more to do with the topic.
Garth looked unsure of what to do, for once. He'd expected something more, like to be asked who this 'Nekros' was or something like that. Yet the seeming concerning subject had just been dismissed.
Well, not completely yet...
"I must ask however, before we close this topic...what are your intentions in Orario?" Ouranos asked.
Garth looked down and pondered. Contrary to what a lot of people though, he'd been pondering on that very subject quite a bit ever since his tea with Nekros.
There was no point in chasing power. He had all of it at his disposal, plus the new abilities which he was still trying to figure out. Taking that into consideration, was it worth traversing the maw of death in search of greater might? Somebody whose potential was infinite?
Long had he pondered on his purpose. Like one famous protagonist said, 'Ideals without Power is a joke, and Power without ideals is just empty'. So what were his?
Thankfully he found his answer during his interaction with Ais Wallenstein. To see into her vulnerable side, to know her wishes. He'd already seen it all on a screen and there was nothing she told him that he didn't know. But he had not been prepared for the raw emotion behind it.
Upon these revelations, he'd decided upon the path he would choose in this world. He looked up at Ouranos with steel in his eyes.
"I want to bring together a group of powerful adventurers, strong and courageous. With this group, we will hunt down the One Eyed Black Dragon, and then we will conquer the dungeon by reaching it's bottom most floor. That is what I want to do."
"Hmm." Ouranos looked at the boy in front of him, detecting no falsehood in his speech. "That is an interesting goal to pursue. One may even call it noble."
"So what's your judgement of me now?"
"I suppose I can let you stay in Orario."
"Good. Now what was the other thing you wanted to ask me about?"
"Ah yes. Tell me, do you believe in talking monsters?"
---
Ouranos watched as Fels led Garth back through the secret passageway so that he may return home. The conversation went as well as he'd hoped it would. And now he had an extremely powerful ally to help in his cause.
Though Ouranos could not help but feel a hole in his stomach, as the flames of the torches still felt cold on his skin. He leaned back in his throne and stared up at the ceiling, as if he were looking for the sky.
"Sweet Gaia...what has come upon our world?"
He scrunched his eyebrows as his eyes narrowed deep in thought, one name constantly bouncing back into his mind.
'Nekros...'
---
(Garth POV)
"I must thank you again mister Ragnar for agreeing to help us with this." Fels said to me as he led me out back into the night air.
"Don't worry about. It seems like something worth looking into you know. I doubt I'd find any more interesting topics than this to occupy my time with."
"Well even if you agreed if only to sate your intrigue, I must still thank you. With you on our side, our operations will be much easier."
"And Ouranos will keep his part of the deal?" I said to Fels in a low tone.
Fels looked like he nodded in response.
"Of course. We will let you proceed with those certain 'ambitions' of yours provided you do not overstep boundaries. And in return you will help us with our own. A fair deal won't you say?"
"I suppose. Well, the night is waning and my wife is waiting. So I fear I must go now Fels. It was interesting to say the least."
"Until next time then my friend."
I cast [GREATER TELEPORTATION] and reappeared back in my room. Freya was thankfully still asleep. I shimmied out of my clothes and entered the sheets beside her, with a content smile on my face.
Thanks to Ouranos's backing, I would now be able to put a few arseholes in their places and not be penalized for it.
I could hardly wait.
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