I get a new Coat
THE GAME OF DIVINITY
CHAPTER 12: The Sky gives me the middle finger
05/July/1996 (Because dungeon time difference)
I fumed to myself for hours about my very unlucky situation. I stopped in a burger house and I started stress eating and by the time I was done, I was 200 dollars poorer and the rest of the people looked at me like I was a freak of nature. In their defense, watching a 1,20m little girl devour four Extreme Deluxe Burger's, two large fries and three Large Colas in the duration of an hour was more than a little shocking. I only thanked gamer's body for preventing me from getting fat or I would be the first demigod whale in existence.
After getting a grip of myself, I contemplated on what to do next and how to proceed. I checked the train schedules and I saw that a train to Chicago from here wouldn't depart for another week. I couldn't afford to stay in one place for so long and I didn't even have a place to stay, I don't think Hermes would be very accommodating if I started to bother him every other day about finding me empousa lairs, so I had only one option. I had to take the train again and head for LA. From there I will take a train east and I will try to reach as close to New York as possible before shit hits the fan and from there I will figure something out. Yes I know not the best plan but I didn't have many options here.
I caught the train to LA without a hitch, my title proving its weight in gold, so I found an empty compartment and prepared for the 28 hour long ride, trying to calm the jitters in my body. I was starting relax when we were nearing San Francisco when an announcement was blared in the train. Apparently there was a bomb threat and even though we were reassured that it was a prank, we had to make stop at San Fran for the police to check the train in order to follow protocol.
Immediately this announcement sent me on edge. What were the chances that the train I was riding to LA, a city under Hades purview and hence a place Zeus couldn't interfere in fear of angering his brother, being forced to stop before reaching its destination for a bomb threat of all things without a God having interfered. Quite literally, no chance in hell. I couldn't even stay in the train, we had to evacuate for the police to do the search for the non-existent bomb.
As I was disembarking, I was looking right and left trying to find the monsters that most likely were sent to kill me when I noticed a peculiar sight. Near the train stood two guys and one girl all around their mid-teens and they were looking around the passengers for someone and being completely transparent about what they were doing, no subtlety at all. Curious I used observe and what I saw made my blood freeze in my veins. It seems dear ol' Gramps knew more than one way to skin a Demigod.
Marcus Rivera
Race: Demigod
Gender: Male
Level 15
MP : 900
STR: 35
VIT: 45
DEX: 40
INT: 30
WIS: 15
CHA : 50
LUC : 45
Info: Marcus Rivera is a demigod son of Bacchus and a member of the 1 st Cohort of the Roman Legion. Together with a son of Aeolus and a legacy of Juventas, they were sent by the augur to find a young demigoddess with a lot of potential that the Gods have taken notice and lead her to the safety of New Rome. He is anxious to not fail his first mission and hopes he can find the child before she is devoured by monsters.
That conniving piece of shit had sent the Romans to kill her. Oh they don't have such plans yet, they only want to protect a young demigoddess for now but when she steps into New Rome, Terminus is going to recognize a Greek demigod with a single look and then the shit are going to hit the fan. The Romans are a prejudiced lot and very set in their ways, if they find an existing child of Greece, they won't even blink before they put her head on the chopping block, and even if they don't Zeus can punish her for revealing the existence of the separate types of Demigods to the Romans and even if it wasn't her fault the vicious cunt only needs an excuse. She is pretty sure that a lightning bolt will fry her before the other Gods even get to know what happened and by the time they do, she would already be in Hades.
She has to hide and buy time until the inspection is over, she can't afford to be found, she will have to defend herself from them and there is no way she is killing them. First because she refuses to kill innocent children just because Zeus is an asshole and tricked them or ever for that matter, and second because she has no plans to piss off even more Gods by killing their children in cold blood without provocation. So hide it is.
The plan was going well, she found herself in some toilets and she had been hiding there for about 3 hours. They were the male side too, after all who would think to look for a female child in the men's bathroom. Unfortunately when petty Gods are involved anything is possible. The son of Bacchus actually went into the toilets to do his own business because the he had drank too much cool laid apparently and he saw her.
"Hey little one, my name is Marcus and I am here to help you, I am a -" I didn't let him continue, I put a panicked look on my face and I punched him in the gut with almost all my strength. He bended over and I hit him at the back of his neck with a much lighter strike rendering him unconscious. I hid his passed out form inside one of the private areas of the bathroom that in hindsight I should have hid into and run for it. Thankfully the inspection was over and I immediately boarded again hiding myself inside a private family compartment. Twenty minutes later the train departed and I let out a sigh of relief for the first time this day, making a promise to myself that when I become strong enough I will make sure to pay Zeus back for all the problems he caused me and he was most like to cause me in the future as well. After all I am a gamer and I have many worlds to collect power from. As long as I survive the challenges ahead, it will only be a matter of time. And with that happy thought I let myself fall to sleep the distant sound of thunder music to my ears.
A few hours later, I reached LA and the night was starting to fall. I disembarked and quickly let the station trying think of a place to crash for the night reassured at least that inside this city Zeus could not touch me. A little while later I sat in a café and tried to buy time in order to think up a solution in my accommodation problem when I had a very surprising guest take the seat on the other side of my table. He was tall and very handsome. Dressed in a very expensive tailored black suit and with a skull ring on his finger, he had the look of someone important and powerful, like a CEO or a politician.
Hades Aidoneus
Race: God
Gender: Male
Affiliation: Greek Underworld
Level: ?
HP: ?
MP: ?
STR: ?
VIT: ?
DEX: ?
INT: ?
WIS: ?
CHA: ?
LUC: ?
Info: Hades is the King of the Underworld and the God of Dead and Riches . You are not strong enough to know more.
I froze for a moment, I couldn't find a reason as to why the Lord of the Dead would take notice of me much less come to meet me himself. Usually if the Gods wanted something or wanted to punish someone they send intermediaries in their stead, so this situation was very strange indeed. Thankfully my self-preservation instincts kicked in and I bowed to him as much as our current area allowed me to at least.
"Lord Hades" I said with a slight bow, my gamer's mind hiding the nervousness from my face.
"Alexandra Bellum, I was surprised to see you in my city, I would have thought the latest star of Olympus would already be wasting away in Camp Half-Blood by now." he said with a raised eyebrow.
"Star ?" I asked, I didn't understand what he meant. When did this happen? And most importantly. Why did no one tell Zeus?
My question surprised him it seems and he answered with an amused smile.
"On the summer Solstice, Cernunnos sent the recordings of your dive in his dungeon and they had it played in front of the whole council and the minor Gods that were there as guests for the celebrations, you have become quite famous indeed since then and at such a young age too". The look of my face must have been particularly funny because he started laughing.
Me on the other hand, I wasn't laughing. It would seem that Zeus didn't come after me because I did something to offend him after all. The bastard has been trying to off me because of his inferiority complex. All that fear, all that running because the bastard is paranoid enough to think I would ever want his stupid throne. I was pissed, I was furious and I was trembling in rage, the fires in my soul were coming out in little sparks around my hands and I was doing everything in my power to keep them at bay.
Hades seeing my reaction actually froze for a second and then he gripped my shoulder squeezing it a bit.
"Calm yourself child, I don't know why you reacted like this but burning the whole place to the ground is not a way to solve your problem" he unleashed a bit of his aura as well snapping me out of my thoughts and then I explained to him why I had that reaction to his words.
"Typical idiot, seeing enemies and threats everywhere he looks, all the while alienating everyone around him. It seems killing children is his favorite past time these days." he said with a bitterness in his voice that if I didn't have my meta-knowledge I would be completely confused about, but as it was I understood. He was talking about Bianca and Nico.
"Anyway, now that you had your little moment it is time I explain to you my reason of approaching you" he said with a serious look on his face making me straiten myself up and give him my undivided attention. After all it wouldn't do to offend another of the big three, but what he said next surprised me.
"To understand the reason of my visit here you have to know a few things first. So I have a question for you. Do you know why World War 2 started?" his question was completely off the left field and I paused. This is Hades, he wouldn't come all the way here to talk to an insignificant demigoddess about history without having a good reason for it, so I answered the best way I could. I said to him what is publicly known. The world started when the half-blooded children of Big Three started to fight against each other. On one side Hades and on the other Zeus and Poseidon, with Hitler being his son and the war ending with his loss, prompting the Big Three to make some kind of Pact to have no more half-blood children anymore because they cause too much damage to the world with their powers.
As I talked, the look on his face become more and more amused and when I was done, what he said to me caused my eyes to pop out of my skull.
Hades then explained that the history was written by the victor and in this case Zeus. By vilifying his name and the little contact he usually has with the outside world as well as the reputation Death gods have in the Greek pantheon because of the aforementioned bastard none actually asked his side of the story and he couldn't exactly start shouting it either for reasons that were explained next.
Apparently Zeus had one of his children follow Persephone when she was coming back to her husband in secret through her special gate and into the Underworld. He was gifted a special item from his father that made him unnoticeable to the Gods for a few hours before becoming inert and had him carry with him a trio of spikes with him that were actually parts of the chains of Enkidu, a powerful artifact that can bind completely even Kronos in his full strength, though how he found such an obscure item from a faded pantheon he didn't know. Through the use of rituals and by dipping them in the blood of three true innocents (and I didn't even want to contemplate who constitutes as true innocent) he created a binding curse that when all three pikes are plunged in a Gods realm, they bind a huge part of the Gods power and influence rendering them as husks of their former selves and give the bound power to the one who created the curse, effectively empowering him and making him even stronger against his weakened foe. That's what Zeus did and also killed a child of his that was accusing Zeus of hurting his father which prompted Hades to become apoplectic in rage and that led to the War that followed and all the problems that happened until today. By the time all was said and done he was even weaker from extending even more power in order to assist his children in the War and he couldn't say anything because if the vultures of other pantheons and his personal enemies and rivals knew what has been done to him, they wouldn't hesitate to try to usurp him and take his place and so he remained to this day silent and unable to find a solution to his problem because the chains were virtually indestructible. They need special powers he didn't have and didn't dare to ask the people that did. Until I came into the picture at least. My Flames of War are apparently destructive enough to undo the spell, not because of my personal power but because they work as key against that particular artifact. Like how the dwarves created an indestructible chain to bind Fenrir the Wolf by using a few impossible things like the roots of a mountain or the saliva of a bird, the chains of Enkidu were created by using the Flames of War that were impossible to create anything other than ruin and destruction, making them one of the strongest anti-divine items in existence, magnitudes more powerful than even the chains of Hephaestus that were used to bind Hera.
With every word he uttered I became more and more horrified with what I heard. I couldn't believe that someone would be so depraved to bind his brother like that for power and then cause a war that killed millions of people only to preserve his own self interests. It was made abundantly clear that at some point Zeus needed to go. That type of monster never learns and he will continue to cause problems until he is put down and also explained why Hades couldn't hide his children in the Underworld. It was both to prevent them from fulfilling the prophecy but also because he was not strong enough anymore to shield them from his brother.
I said I wanted to help him but before I could continue he had to explain to me a few things first. The chains cannot be broken all at the same time because the power they absorb has to come gradually back to the Underworld or there would be untold destruction because of the power overload and it will be needed 1 and a half month intervals between each broken chain, making me have to stay inside the Underworld for three months in order to complete the quest. Apparently there are too many monsters inside this city, being the closest to an entrance of Tartarus and as such I wouldn't survive outside alone. The problem with this is that time Godly realms as I have experienced before work differently than in the mortal world. One month in the underworld is the equivalent of a year in the mortal world. It was also why Hades was enraged when it was decided that he would have to share his wife with her mother for half a year each. For him it would be only half a month that he could effectively spend with her but for her mother it would be six whole months, cheating him once again for something that shouldn't even be. After all when a woman gets married, she lives with her husband not her mother.
PING*
Legendary Quest: Release the Power of Hades
Objective: Break the chains that steal the powers of Hades from him.
Rewards:
?, ?, ?
Failure:
DEATH
YES/NO
I hesitated for a moment. If I accepted this quest I would effectively be stunting myself and my growth for three whole years denying me a whole lot of time of preparation for the wars to come but also and most importantly, it reeked of higher power intervention. If I stop growing for three years I would be 7 and a half by the time of the summer solstice of 1999 and my age would be around the same with the main cast of the book. Could I allow myself to be manipulated like this? This situation had the hands of the Fates all over it, but at the same time could I allow Hades to suffer like that and more importantly allow Zeus such an edge in the future? The answer is no. Zeus has already made himself clear of his opinion of me and weakening him by taking back the power he has stolen would be an excellent payback for all the trouble he caused me. For Now So I accepted.
Following my acceptance Hades said that he will grant me a guest room in his palace but before that there were two things we would have to take care of.
First was the food. I couldn't eat food from the Underworld so he would buy me plenty of food for me to have in my inventory, plenty enough to last me more than 3 months.
Second, we had to decide my rewards. He said he will grant me three boons, one for each chained pike destroyed and we would both swear on the River Styx so none can trick the other. He had been bitten too many times to trust anyone on their word anymore. And so it was done.
For my first boon I asked him to send my mother to Elysium. I knew that even though my mother was a very good person and I loved her she simply hasn't done something heroic enough to achieve that and there is no way I will let her waste away in Asphodel even a minute more than I had to. He was happily surprised that I didn't ask him to bring her back and for understanding that there are some things that even Gods are not allowed to do.
Second, I asked for an item that I can wear that will hide me from the sight of the sky. He gave me a very big smile at that and also told me that everything that screws over Zeus is something that he can get behind.
Third and last, I asked for a big flask filled with the water of the Styx. He was very reluctant to agree to that and I had to further promise to never use that water against him or his wife specifically. The water of the Styx when touching a mortal unless they had dived in the river in order to take the test for the Curse of Achilles dissolves their soul instantly, erasing them from existence. Immortals on the other hand if they willingly cross through river they sacrifice their immortality and domains becoming simple mortals forever. Getting touched by the water won't take away their immortality but it will weaken them so thoroughly that for the next lunar cycle they would be as powerful as a weak demigod. I possessing that flask can give a lot of trouble to an immortal and that's why I wanted it. It was an extra insurance against the pettiness of the Gods.
Deal done and supplies bought I headed for the underworld and after I settled in my room I was led to the fields of Punishment by Hades himself together with the Furies. The pikes were placed in all three of the different areas of the place and he thought it better to be done quickly with the most gruesome place first.
The sight was terrifying. Everywhere I looked I saw people getting punished in many different ways. From simple physical punishments like torture to very esoteric ones like the one of Tantalus. I even saw a guy tied to a chair and made to listen Opera 24/7 in full blast, it was a little funny that one.
A ten minute walk later and I had before me a pike with chains coming on top having been shoved inside the ground and pulsing with a blue and purple light. Immediately I got to work. I gripped the pike and I started focusing my flames on it trying to destroy it. I sat there for about 3 hours focusing my flames, but by the time my mana was completely gone there were only very few cracks on the pike. I immediately tried to apologize to him from failing but he waved me off and told me that he didn't expect me to achieve it in a day and that I had to do this to more times to manage to break it. Relieved that I wouldn't be becoming the newest resident of the Fields we returned to the palace for me to rest for tomorrow and him to continue to oversee his domain.
For the next three months minus the time I spent breaking the chains I used my time to train my stats (physical through exercise and mental through the library in the palace),Warlords Fang that I promised to myself that I wouldn't neglect again and naturally doing such a demanding exercise with my flames they gained many levels too.
+1 STR
+8 VIT
+6 DEX
+8 INT
+3 WIS
Warfyre(Lv15-Lv17): 340 dmg/sec cost: 14 mp/sec
Warfyre Imbuement (Lv13-Lv15): Coat your weapons with the Flames of War and enhance their destructive capabilities. +35 dmg cost 3mp/sec
Warlord's Fang(Lv4-Lv10): A long raged slash used by focusing your mana into a fine blade around your weapon, aim and swing. Legend says that true Master's of this skill could cut armies in twain with a single slash of their blades. + 300 dmg/per slash, cost: 47 mp. WARNING: When combining it with Warfyre this skills pulls out the whole destructive powers of the flame. Cost: 63mp
I even gained a new perk for reaching 50 on Vitality. An awesome one at that.
Uzumaki Clan (I): Through this perk you gain a small part of the Uzumaki's great vitality. Doubles the amount of vitality gained for every 5 points of VIT. ( 7- 14).
Now my stats look so much more badass than before.
Status
Name: Alexandra Bellum
Race: Demigod
Gender: Female
Title: Street Rat
Level: 12 (2000/ 115200)
HP: 1780 HPReg= 10 % /h
MP: 1414 MPReg= 14mp/min [ I know that Mp stayed the same but I had made a mistake on previous chapter, now it is correct ]
STR: 110 (Physical strength, how much weight you can carry)
VIT: 50 (Your health points, gives you 14 hp per 5vit * level)
DEX: 61(65) (your speed of movement, accuracy)
INT:35 (your ability to absorb and retain information as well as your Mana
6 mp per 5 in * level)
WIS: 33(47) (Mana regeneration +1 per 5 WIS)
CHA: 21 (overall attractiveness and persuasion)
LUC: 12(17) (Drop rate for items, money and games of chance)
Status: 5
So here I am now on my last day in the Underworld focusing my flame for the final time on the last pike. With a shout and explosion of my flames the last pike shattered. The difference became apparent immediately. Grey energy started coalescing everywhere filling the whole dimension with power, the feeling it radiated was quite peaceful, like a good rest after a long day of work and Hades practically exploded with power. Previously he looked like a very handsome mortal that was used to power. Now he became power incarnate, shadows were creating a black aura around him and the whole placed trembled in his presence. I felt to my hand and knees unable to stand in front of such behemoth and I gritted my teeth doing everything I could so I did not pass out. Thankfully it only lasted a minute and I could stand again.
New skill acquired: Aura of Dominance(Lv1-Lv10): Unlocking this skill you can sense the auras of everyone around you in a 5 meter radius. Actively using this skill you can project your own aura of dominance and make those weak of will falter and fall to their knees. Active use cost 100 MP
"Excellent work Alexandra, I finally feel like myself again, thank you" he said with a small smile that I couldn't help but return.
"Don't mention it Lord Hades, it was the right thing to do" I said and his grin turned a little playful at that.
"The rewards where quite an incentive as well I believe" I smirked at him and I answered honestly
"Yes they were an incentive, but after I learned the truth I would have done it even without a reward you just offered me the boons before I could accept and I didn't mention that little fact" impish grin taking over my face and after he stared at me for a second, probably to judge if I told the truth, he turned his head to the ceiling and started laughing uproariously.
"Well played child, well played and as promised your rewards, your mother is already moving in Elysium" he said as he handed over a flask as big as my torso and a black and silver hooded coat that went to the middle of my thighs.
Styx Water Flask
Info: A flask containing water from the River of Mortality. The water is capable of destroying both mortals and immortals alike in different ways. For the truly knowledgeable it can be an ingredient of many and great possibilities.
Coat of Shadows
+ 10 DEX
Special: Shadows Embrace: When wearing this coat and its hood, if you stand unmoving in a shadow you become invisible
Special: Bane of the Sky : Those who wear this coat can become undetectable by all sky deities or sky entities. Cannot hide from primordials.
Info: An enchanted coat made by Hades and gifted as a boon to Alexandra Bellum. It has the power to hide the wearer in the shadows and more importantly completely obscures them from any and all beings of the sky, even deities. The cloak is extremely durable and in case of taking damage it will mend completely in 8 hours. Primordials can bypass these enchantments.
PING*
Legendary Quest: Release the Power of Hades
Objective: Break the chains that steal the powers of Hades from him. (CLEAR)
Rewards:
700.000 XP, Flask, Coat
(QUEST COMPLETE)
Level Up x3
Name: Alexandra Bellum
Race: Demigod
Gender: Female
Title: Street Rat
Level: 15 (163000/382000)
HP: 2200 HPReg= 10 % /h
MP: 1705 MPReg= 14mp/min
STR: 134
VIT: 50
DEX: 61(75)
INT:35
WIS: 33(47)
CHA: 21
LUC: 12(17)
Status: 20
With my quest done and boons acquired it was time for me to leave. Hades didn't want me to stay in the Underworld more than necessary, he said that I had lost a lot of growing time as it is so with a cordial goodbye he gave me a black pearl and told me to crush it and it would lead me outside of DOA Studios. As I crushed the pearl excited about my new levels and stats I was completely ignorant to the shit storm I unleashed on Olympus.
Meanwhile Olympus - Summer Solstice
21/June/1999
"….. and if there are no other pressing matters I believe it's time to begin the celebrations of this year's Summer Solstice" said Zeus with a superior smile on his face.
Hera, Queen of the Gods had an empty look in her eyes trying to keep herself together and with dignified.
The rest of the Gods major and minor where relieved that the boring part was over and were ready to start either retiring to their temples or having fun in the party that was soon to follow.
Everything was going fine until something strange happened. On Zeus left middle finger that was adorned with a blue sapphire with a black band, the ring started glowing and getting hot. Zeus tried to remove it but it was impossible and the glowing turned from the previous blue to a very intense red. At this point the King of the Gods was screaming in agony, the red glow had engulfed his whole hand and it felt like his very soul was on fire.
The rest of the Gods didn't know what to do, some of them were trying to help the King and relieve him of his pain but most them were putting a fake concerned look but on the inside were laughing in glee in seeing the 'Almighty King' on his knees screaming in agony.
This scene continued for a few more minutes when a litteral aura of red flames engulfed the God completely and then a huge amount of Grey energy left him for parts unknown.
When it was done, the King was unconscious on the floor looking like he was 80 years old instead of the usual 35 and the hand that contained his ring was burned to ashes a black stump taking its place.
Amongst those gathered Ares, God of War felt exactly what these flames were and whom they belonged to and was wondering what he should do. Should he punish the little missing brat for causing so much trouble or showering her in gifts for giving him such excellent entertainment? After a moment of deliberation he decided on a mixture of both. After all, the bastard deserved whatever he got and he had to punish her for disappearing for three years without giving a sign of life.
~ChildeOfWar