Chương 21: Chapter 21. Oh Oh Oh

Wrote this on the 25th, hence the title.

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[Where's my gift?]

My mind might have grown a conscious after Totality had plunged his claws in Diana's body, but it hardly took me a full minute before the reality of things came back to me. I had no reason to feel guilty for what had happened to her. She would have gladly done it to me just to save Themyscira.

With no remorse, I stood up and took my chance to leave the island. I trekked down the mountain as fast as I could. I stumbled on rocks and hollows on the ground, my bare feet legs suffering the most as my toes hit the hard ground and slid on the dewy grass. The scattered trees became my guides. They allowed me to switch directions quickly and stopped me when speed made it hard to take sharp corners.

Even with the running, no one was following me. Behind me, things were so quiet as if everyone up there was dead. But that could never be a reason to slow down. I would only rest if I made it to Metropolis, or anywhere nicer than Themyscira. Thoughts about what the world out there would look like without Wonder Woman popped up every once in a mile. They all revolved around the same idea though. It would survive, regardless.

One fallen hero wasn't a reason for the world to stop rotating, or, revolving. The Justice League would form with a nicer replacement.

My sight was set for the small dockyard I had spotted while climbing the mountain. Dawn would be breaking soon. I could tell from the gradually sinking moon. I would make it to the shores before the sun set in. I would be in the ocean as it caressed on my skin, and, I would have a fisherman's breakfast from the ocean.

I was beginning to feel alive after going through such a depressing ordeal. I didn't let thoughts of fighting or killing stray into my mind, and I was set on keeping things positive for what was ahead.

Things finally looked as if they were working for me. So, why was I all cooked up in a cave, narrating my story to myself while teaching myself how to constantly remain impartial to emotions? Why hadn't I made it out of Themyscira after getting such a golden opportunity? Even as I made it to the river and super-jumped to cross to the other side and continued down its path?

Bad luck can't even begin to describe what happened, just as I came to the dockyard. My suspicions about all Themyscirans being gathered on the mountain were right, because no one was in sight, and no one was following me.

To me, that was a good sign. But, to other residents in the flora and fauna of the island, that was a sign that it was safe for them to come out. And they came out in waves, though, still hidden and lurking away in the shadows.

I first had to fight my way past a huge, really hungry crocodile that had all its eyes on shredding my bones. It put up a fight, but I worked things out politely, and it sank back into the depths of the river.

Next were creatures that I later came to realize came from the Forest of Myths. I understood what that meant when I found myself face to face with a Kanga that looked nothing like a regular size Kangaroo. Something must have been done to her because of the way she kept on punching against a building with her splendid punches.

We threw glances at each other as I tried to carefully walk away without inspiring a fight, but she was just to excited, and the adrenaline misguided her to punch me, throwing me into the cold, cold, coold! river.

I got so worked up about it as my body froze and participated in the impromptu boxing march that I had been invited too. Fighting against a centuries old Kanga was a teaching moment for me as I got kicked over and over until I ran out of cursed energy and decided that it was better to keep on running before my attributes continued declining.

Ding!

<Strength: 80/200>

<Speed: 150/200>

<Agility: 150/200>

<HP: 150/200>

My strength was the lowest because I had flowed cursed energy to increase it to a whooping (400/200).

Lucky that all the other creatures were too afraid to come out and fight, and the Kanga being bored with chasing someone that was twice as fast as it was, my running to the dockyard was without more incidents. Except for the horses that recognized me and neighed so loud that I felt as if I could pluck my ears out.

I soon reached the dock and found a canoe. It wasn't much to look at. It didn't have the promise of adventure, or safety in the dangerous ocean for that matter, but it was all I could get, and it was the better option.

I did hesitate in the hopes of finding something better. But after looking around and seeing that nothing more decent was around, I untied it and jumped in to paddle down stream. The waves carried me, and the paddling stabalized my motion.

Before long, I could see the outline of the coastline, and my heart palpated with the excitement of a bride unveiling the face of his future wife. I was about to go out into the world, FREE!

I paddled the canoe to the river side and jumped out into the riverbank, taking the canoe out with me. The river was winding down and would take so many turns before it finally drained into the ocean, so I had to take the shortcut. I put the canoe over my head and ran towards the ocean. Coming out of the grassy jungle, my feet felt the cold sand as they sank into it while colliding with some big pebble stones.

I was just a few steps into throwing the canoe into the ocean when a lightning shot across the sky followed by a thunderous roar in the sky.

"Just a little rain." I thought to myself. "Not in the slightest a good reason to reschedule my travel."

Another lightning bolt struck across the sky, but this time, thunder didn't accompany it. Things got even more suspicious as the bolts came in quick succession, and lower in the sky, almost as if they were planning on hitting me. But that didn't stop me from moving forward.

However, I came to sudden stop as a mighty voice that made the air around me vibrate, came from, around me? "Do you prefer a quicker death?"

It felt as unusual as it sounded, but I couldn't dismiss it as a figment of my imagination.

Another lightning bolt struck before me, this time, hitting the sand and pushing the ocean wave away from the beach. This bolt sizzled for a bit, making it more unnatural than ever as I stare at the electricity before me. The skies could never look any darker than they did that night. But the bolt only manifested for a while, before it vaporized in the air. It left an impression of itself on the ground. A standing ovation that it was as real as the sand it had imprinted itself on.

"Take a step forward, if you dare to escape your fate." The voice resounded, condensing the moisture in the air to form water droplets that fell down like the rain. "Or take a step back, if you want to make things right."

My surroundings flashed with rythm as fast as he spoke, lighting the environment with multiple bolts of lightning plummeting on everywhere on the ground and water, except for where I stood.

My body shuddered at the thought of me turning into toes as soon as I made a step forward. I would be turned into crisp just like that, even with my superior attributes that weren't registering the current threat.

Chosing not to be ignorant and waiting for things to settle, I took one step back.

"It's good that you realize that fate cannot be escaped. Especially not when it's tied to a prophecy." The voice spoke and it rained again, alongside an electric display in the sky. "You are only one that can exorcise the curse that ails Themyscira for ages. Do that, and, you will be free."

Objectively, my mind quickly jumped to a rebellious state. Who was this cheap S.O.B. ordering me around, telling me what to do? I was already done with that kind of life, and was a step away to becoming the kind of man I always wanted to be. (Or burning to crisp).

"Try to escape and you will have the wrath of Olympus raining down on you." The voice threatened just as the air cleared out, and the raining stopped. Nothing more was said, and I was still frozen on my tracks.

"Son of a Bitch!" I cursed as it finally dawned on me. "Typical god stuff!"

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