Fate/GODs. Ch 5. The need to improve.
[Start.]
As he'd predicted, the training that Aegeus and Atticus put him under was brutal. He was expected to do his usual reinforcement training, but when they found out about the flow state, an ability Atticus mentioned was an offshoot of something called "Thought Acceleration", and wasn't that a familiar name, they drilled him harder, making him activate it to try and get his reaction time to be faster.
He'd found a neat way to actually put it into practise, dancing on these small pillars they had set up. If he fell, he'd have to scramble to use reinforcement.
Atticus, Aegeus, and Theseus all take turns throwing the bronze plates at him. He's extra careful to avoid Theseus' plates, as they embed themselves into the damn pillars.
Eris has been scarce lately, off doing her own thing. He's also hearing talk around the palace that word is spreading of her arrival, and choosing him to be her new "hero". There's also some dirty looks he's getting from people that bet on Alcides.
If he weren't so exhausted, he'd probably give them the bird, but the snub seems to work just as well.
He's slowly getting the hang of the memory partition aspect, his mental trains of thoughts becoming their own defined areas rather than random tangents that operate at the same time. It's slow going, but he can at least operate two, one focused to what's happening on the outside.
Leaning back, a plate whizzes by his chin, cutting off a small bit of beard fluff. He'll probably never have a flowing beard, but that's fine. Too scratchy anyway. The backward flip to another pillar is unplanned, but the two other plates Theseus has thrown at him need to be dodged, and he's already got too much backward momentum.
A jug is thrown towards him, his foot lashing out, already reinforcing itself before moving, to kick it into the air. Avoiding the plate behind it is almost a half second off, cutting the hair off his leg before it goes by his face.
Three weeks of training, all leading up to this? He'd call bullshit, but the infusion he got from Eris seems to be boosting his luck. Though, the need to fuck with people as a basic instinct he could do without.
He likes having a roof over his head, thank you very much.
Aegeus' slowed down voice rings out, likely calling an end to the training. A final plate is thrown, and his knife is in his hand, slamming against it and launching it upwards.
Definitely bullshit.
Balancing on one of the pillars, everything slowly comes back into focus. Theseus is cheering excitedly, and both Aegeus and Atticus look proud.
"Well boy, you had seven near misses while you were locked inside your own head. But, none of them hit you this time. I'd say that's a success. We'll be moving onto the combat portion within a month. I've called in a favour from a friend, though he's a bit unique. You'll also likely be cursing my name for the entire time." Aegeus' voice is steady, the man having his arms crossed over his chest.
Hopping down from the pillars, he walks over, curiosity burning in him. "A new trainer? What's he like?"
Aegeus hums, taking a seat on the masonry behind him. Cheinten sits down, crossing his legs on the stone under him, watching Atticus take a deep drink of his wine, and laughs when the plate lands by Theseus, making him jump.
"I'll be honest with you boy. His training is gruelling. Some of the hardest I've ever heard of. Having witnessed a small amount, and then being called a whelp when I flinched at it, I can vouch that it will be like wading through the river Styx with boulders on your back. But, you seem to have a single minded need to improve after your fight with Alcides. Your magical training with Atticus will still continue, but physical training will exclusively be spars between you and Theseus, and whatever exercise you manage to cram in."
Cheinten frowns, nodding his head, and doing his best to ignore Theseus hanging off him. "Alright. Sounds reasonable then. What's his name?"
Aegeus huffs out a laugh. "His name? It's-"
Sitting in a dark room with Atticus isn't how he pictured the end of his day would go. Still, learning how to summon power from Eris is a small price to pay.
He hasn't gotten anything beyond some minor misfortune getting people angry though.
The man teaching him rubs his face, obviously disappointed. "This isn't working Cheinten. We need something to wake this up, something that'll actually get it to work. You've made offerings, you've won her favour, so now I'm pretty sure it's just an issue with you at this point."
Standing up from the magic circle, Cheinten frowns over at the drunken priest. "Well what do you want me to do? I'm not taking a dive off a cliff just to properly wake up the gift she gave me."
The man takes a large drink from his cup, some of it splashing over his neck. Cheinten can only shake his head in minor disgust, but apparently this is how the man shows respect to Dionysus. Eventually the man stops, taking in a deep breath.
"Maybe if you actually showed her respect, instead of talking to her like an annoying friend, this wouldn't be an issue."
"And I've told you, I'll adopt the customs and shit, but I'm not worshipping someone that hasn't earnt it. And so far, all Eris has done is put me into a shit situation that I'm still certain I shouldn't have won, and then slapped me in the face with a power I can't even use. How am I meant to respect that?"
Watching Atticus slam his cup onto a table, he feels he might've gone a step too far this time. "You respect that because it's fucking expected of you! I don't care how gods are seen in your country, but over here they actually do things! Great, terrible fucking things! You respect their power, the way they can change a city with a look, the wars they start!"
Growling he fires back, ignoring the warning signs. "That aint worth respect! They hurt people for fun, and then fucking destroy others when they get bored! How is that worth any of my goddamn respect!? The only God I know up there that hasn't hurt someone that didn't deserve it is Hestia!"
The cup is thrown at him, and while he avoids the hit he still gets splashed with the wine. "That's LADY Hestia to you, ya bag of shit!"
"Titles should be fucking unnecessary, she should already know she has my respect without me having to say she's a "lady". She's the fucking queen of the hearth, why the fuck WOULDN'T I respect her!?"
Atticus moves forward, grabbing him by his toga and lifting him. "They're necessary, because it's expected of others to hear you acknowledge them as well! You don't just call a god by their name and be done with it, unless you're a Demigod! AND EVEN THEN, It's unlikely that they'll look on it favourably!"
"Well if they have a problem, maybe they should use their words to make it clear! I'm not fucking psychic!" He's very tempted to just drop Atticus with a knee to the jewels, but that might just make the man refuse to teach him.
Growling, the man looks like he's about to swing for a moment, before sighing and dropping him back to the floor. "Look, Chein. Gods are different from people. Even friendly gods are liable to hurt people without meaning to, okay? I know you're fine with making offerings, but just try, and I mean TRY, to show respect. Eris may not care too much, but I know a lot of the other gods care."
Cheinten is silent, watching the man leave the room. Sighing, he moves to sit back in the circle.
"Alright Eris. You gave me this stupid power, could you at least tell me how to activate it? I'll call you something like "Lady Eris" if you want me to. Just give me SOMETHING to work with!"
That something comes in the form of the wine covering him igniting. He's about to scream, when he realises it doesn't burn. Not even a bit.
The wine vapours are strong, but soon enough he can hear the cup rolling, wine trailing out of it as if it never emptied. Looking over at it, the wine is slowly moving, forming into a strange shape.
"A… bearded man? Eris are you telling Dionysus to fuck with me or something?"
As more wine trails out, the shape of a snake covering a woman is also visible to see. Frowning in confusion, he watches as they form, the blood from the circle also being used.
Every liquid seems to be put towards the creation of these images, and eventually the fire pulls off him, making its own circle around them.
Standing up, he looks towards the… painting? It's the only word to describe what he sees. Pictures that should be impossible with just wine and blood are here, a visage of what he assumes is Olympus being shown to him. Marble, a golden light. And two smirking godly beings. One of which looks like a white haired Eris.
Watching the woman trail her hand through the wine, he sees electricity spark at every point she touches. He'd take a step back, but something is compelling him to reach forward.
It's not easy even thinking about ignoring it, and he can't help but get closer.
His hand reaches out, taking a knee against the ground. There isn't a strange joy, or even elation. Merely a sense that something strange will happen.
He welcomes it. The sense of chaos coming from inside requires it.
His hand is taken in theirs, and he feels it. Surging through his arm, the sheer chaotic energy from Eris is far stronger, a touch of electricity to it that flows into his arm. His nerves lock up, his hand flying to the side.
He hears a crash, but he doesn't see what happens, merely along for the ride as he feels the infusion of power in his body. The need to cause mischief and division is strong, but he reines it in for the moment.
This is not the place. Not yet.
He's pulled into the pool soon after, jolting upwards from the circle to see Atticus staring in concern.
There's a strong smell of wine in the air, but there's nothing to indicate that any was spilt. He doesn't even feel the spots on his clothes that were hit by it.
What was… "Was… Was any of that real?"
Atticus blinks for a moment, before a wide grin spreads across his face, belting out a laugh. "Ha! First visions are a hell of a kick in the teeth huh? What did you see?"
Frowning, he stumbles over to the table, taking a quick swing of Atticus' shitty wine. "I saw a place built from marble. It was gorgeous honestly. And, I saw what you described as D- as Lord Dionysus. And a white haired woman that looked like Eris. They grabbed my hand, and then it surged with magic energy."
The man nods, patiently waiting.
"Hey Atticus. Did you… Did you lose your temper at me?"
Atticus slowly shakes his head. "Damn, it must've needed a strong kick to wake yours up. Mine only had my teacher leave the room. Do your people really not get visited by gods that often? I thought it was a joke."
Cheinten laughs, sitting heavily, nodding his head.
But he'll need to speak with Eris. That lightning makes him a bit concerned that it's slowly becoming hers. The last thing he needs is a chaotic inclined Zeus.
Then again, considering how she looked…
Shaking his head, he tries to focus back on Atticus, not noticing the sizzling magic circle.
He's slowly starting to realise that there was something fishy with the fight he had with Alcides around the ninth time Theseus knocks him on his ass.
He can avoid most of the boys' hits, but it only takes a few solid whacks to knock him over. But Unlike with Alcides, they also don't run the risk of making him see blackspots. So maybe it's just him.
Unfortunately, it's also made Theseus a bit more of an arrogant shit.
"C'mon Cheinten. Where's all that strength you had while you were fighting Alcides? Knock me over!"
Standing up, he massages his shoulder for a moment, windmilling it to get some feeling back, before planting his foot.
'Thought acceleration. My skull runs over!'
Watching everything slow down, he moves forward again. Theseus is fast, but in the world of slowed perspectives, the man that can dodge is king.
Landing his first hit of the session on Theseus' cheek, he knocks the boy back with his fist, sending him stumbling. Running, more like jogging from his perspective, he moves at Theseus, planting his foot just to the side of the boy's head.
He's getting faster. Damn it.
The boy is already back on his feet, but that won't help him.
Spinning, Theseus isn't quite fast enough to avoid getting clipped by his other foot, knocking him back to the floor. This time his foot doesn't miss, but it doesn't seem to phase him much.
He deactivates thought acceleration when Theseus grabs his foot, activating reinforcement when the boy throws him. He can do without the impact into the dirt, but at least it isn't stone.
"Alright. That's enough for today. Cheinten, all I can say is that you need to get faster. Your avoidance is good, but you'll eventually just face opponents that can power through it. Theseus, don't take hits you can avoid, even if they won't hurt you. That's how you get poisoned."
Aegeus' words resonate with the boy, and Cheinten nods in agreement. Still, how does he get faster?
Humming, Cheinten walks over to Aegeus, seeing he's been joined by Atticus, and the man named Asclepius. His outfit, and the way he styles his hair, is familiar, but he can't quite put his finger on it. All he knows for certain is some of the myths, meaning Jason might come by sometime in the near future.
"Heya. Don't suppose any of you have a recommendation for how I could be faster? I've got nothing."
The three of them frown in thought, though he can't help but quirk a grin when he sees Atticus idly drink his wine.
"Well, you could pray to Lord Hermes? He's known as the fastest among the gods for a reason y'know." Aegeus' suggestion has him nodding. But he isn't exactly satisfied with it.
"Any other suggestions?"
Atticus snaps a finger, drawing their attention. "You could strap rocks to your legs! Then, when your body is used to moving with the rocks, you'll be faster."
He's very satisfied with that thought. And it's not exactly a bad one.
"Alright, that could work too. Maybe I'll do that anyway. Any others?"
The three of them hum, before Asclepius nods slightly.
"Well… there is one thing."
"I'm not sure this is a good idea guys."
Staring down at the giant pig, Cheinten gulps nervously. It's easily nine feet tall while laying down. What the hell is magic, some kind of super steroid?
"Don't worry about it Chein. All you gotta do is stab it's brain, then it'll die and you can eat it!" Asclepius, Aegeus, and Theseus are all looking down at him from the top of a tree, currently safe from the boar.
Watching it sniff the air before zeroing in on his position with its head, he's relieved he doesn't automatically stain his clothes. Holy shit this is actually terrifying.
"O-Okay. I'm just telling you now, I'm about two seconds away from shitting myself. How am I meant to stab this thing when it's head is bigger than my body?"
"The spear we gave you should be enough for the job, you just have to get close!" Aegeus' shouts are both reassuring, and also attracting it's attention. God fucking damn it.
Seeing it begin to huff, scraping the ground with a… hoof? He gulps again. "You'll bail me out if I'm about to die right?"
"Nope! But don't worry, if it kills you we'll sacrifice it to Lady Artemis!"
Friends like this huh?
The pig is standing now, and it's absolutely giant. It could probably swallow half his body.
Hefting the hunting spear, he slowly moves, watching the pig follow his movements with its head. It's hoof is still scraping against the ground.
The pig runs towards him, and he does the intelligent thing. Running towards the largest local body of water and praying that he can drown it.
Who knows what'll happen though.