Gestation, John Gold [good books for high schoolers .TXT] 📗

couple of hours. It turns out, I have an aura of my own now. The guards stay away from the odd boy standing across from the temple. Passers-by give me a wide berth, too, and the birds are afraid to fly down onto the ground.

The city wakes up, shopkeepers show up to sweep the street outside the stores, and I notice a mother and her child walking by. The boy sees me and bursts into tears. His mother turns, notices me, picks her child up, and runs off. Death has come to Imir.

The door to the temple opens. I step across the road, pulling my hand out and adjusting my cloak as I do so. A woman screams nearby.

The priest is waiting for worshippers at the altar, but I’m the only one who walks in.

“Hello. You’re the new father abbot at this temple?”

“Yes, my son. What brings you here?”

“I knew Nikon, the old father abbot. What happened to him?”

The priest looks closely at my face under the cloak.

“Ah, well, he was killed in his cell a couple of years ago.

“How? He was strong, and he had the protection of the god.”

“The thief broke in at night and killed him, taking the key to the storage locker.”

“Was he caught?”

The priest grimaces.

“No, but his sins were atoned for by his parents.”

“What happened to them?” My heart stops. I need the answer, but I’m afraid to hear it.

“Why do you ask about the parents? Ah…you’re Sagie?” The priest looks at me with an arrogant, satisfied look on his face.

I couldn’t care less that he figured out who I am. With one blow, I force him to his knees and start to choke him. The priest gets a good glimpse of the skeleton hands gripping his throat.

“The god won’t let–”

“Your god isn’t here! I’ll kill you before he has the chance to show up.”

The darkness under my hood instills terror in the priest. It’s all he can see.

I tighten my grip.

“They…” I let go slightly. “They ran away, I swear! Your father broke out, picked the lock, and ran off. Your mother was supposed to be executed first, and she was here.” I have a hard time controlling myself, and I start to empower my arms. “Wa-a-ait!”

“Wait for what? You killed my mother and think I’m going to let you go? I’ll eat you, drink your soul, and make it suffer!”

The priest is trying to say something.

“She said she hadn’t seen you and didn’t believe you could kill anyone. The worshippers were enraged at Nikon’s death and demanded blood. Right before we hung her, Arman broke through the line of guards, freed her, and ran off.”

“Where are they??”

“I don’t know…”

I let the priest go. He coughs before continuing.

“They were seen on the road to No Man’s Land in the south. That’s all I know. The god didn’t help us in our righteous efforts, and we lost the track.”

“If anything has happened to them, I’m coming back for your soul and your god.”

I toss the priest away and run out of the city. Tears stream down my face. Everything I cared about and loved, everything that was good and dear in the world was gone. Father, mama… I’ll avenge you! I promise, just stay alive.

∞ ∞ ∞

In the south of Katain, there was a city named Viral that was famed for its culture and considered a resort area by the players. It had the best restaurants, brothels, casinos, nighttime shows, and concerts. The whole city was always a whirl of fun.

Three men were sitting at a table.

“I told you, Tiamat, they have the best beer here. And the food! It’s amazing. When they bring out the meat in the cream sauce, you’ll realize that coming here was worth it.”

The two-meter giant, who was dressed like a barbarian, nodded lightly and glanced at the bottom of his empty cup.

“I know. There’s something dirty and uncomfortable about just making an avatar and using your strength like this. I feel five orders weaker, almost helpless.”

“But that’s the only way you can enjoy this ale. Come on! If you’d come here in your own body, the whole city would have died, and the food would’ve been spoiled. Set, why so sad?”

“They don’t have wings. Remember how much we liked them?”

“Stop it! Just enjoy what they have. Soon we won’t even get that.” Idzumi polished off his glass with a single pull.

Tiamat and Set glanced at each other before looking at Idzumi.

“They’re fast. Is that why you asked us to come here?”

“Yep. Akashi said that the humans have completed their first stage of development, and war is about to start.”

“Who are they going to be fighting?”

“Undead raised and guided by the small pantheon of the last era.” Idzumi smiled, his whole expression beaming happiness, excitement, and anticipation. A thousand fires burned in the night sky, and people danced around them. The magical scene calmed him down when he was feeling agitated.

“Finally, the kids will have a decent opponent.” Tiamat glanced at the fires, deciding to have a little fun and turning them into the figure of a phoenix. The fiery bird covered the moon, and the city was plunged into shadow.

“The little ones have had enough fun in the sandbox. It’s time for them to see what it’s like to fight a real enemy.” Set decided to join the fun, too, and a giant dog with three flaming heads appeared on the mountain next to the city and howled terrifyingly at the phoenix and the moon. The glasses on the table shattered.

The trio laughed merrily even as panic broke out around them. The people there had been enjoying themselves without realizing what awaited them, but rumors were about to break out regarding the bad omen.

End of Book 1

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