Zeus

Axel is lying down on the floor like a dead body.

He slowly opens his eyes. His body feels numb, a surge of pain from his head. He gets up and puts his hand on his forehead to ease the pain. The surroundings have changed. He is standing in nothingness, a black void all around him, not a single hint of his surroundings. Axel looks around and then at his hands. He notices a shiny, bluish black object attached to his hands.

Suddenly, a blue digital holographic face, thrice the size of Axel, emerges in front of him out of thin air. Startled, Axel loses control and falls on his butt.

"What the heck?" he says.

"Sorry to startle you," the holographic face says.

"What are you?"

"I am Zeus."

"What are you?" ignoring Zeus's reply.

"Well, I am an Olympian," Zeus says.

"Olympian?"

"Yes, I am, in your terms, an AI."

"In my terms?"

"Yes, as soon as you woke me up, I reconfigured myself and adjusted to my surroundings."

"Okay...", confused by the reply.

"You are probably wondering what is happening."

"Yes, still trying to grasp what's happening."

"You are in my subconscious,"

"What?"

"You are in my head," Zeus says.

"I know what subconscious means," Axel says.

Axel looks awkwardly towards Zeus, who is smiling endlessly.

"How can I get out of here?" Axel says.

"Ah well, before that, let me do something," Zeus says.

Zeus is talking to himself, while Axel appears to be a lost soul wandering through the wasteland. Axel's cries for help are ignored by him. Zeus finally awakens from his reverie when Axel yells at the top of his lungs.

"Get me out of here!" Axel says.

"Okay, I learned everything about your world from your memories and the internet. Now I can assist you, Master," Zeus says.

"Master?"

"Yes, you are my master"

"How? Why? When?"

Zeus points his eyes towards Axel's hand. Axel looks at it and realizes

"Oh, so I am your master."

"Yes, Master."

"First of all, my name is Axel. Call me Axel."

"Yes, Master Axel. I know everything about you."

Axel stares blankly "Just Axel"

"Okay, Master, just Axel."

"Whatever," Axel sighs.

"Let me finish my introduction master just Axel" Zeus continues

"I am Zeus, Olympian, one of a kind, source of infinite energy. Anyone who wears me shall be granted powers beyond their imagination. Now at your service."

"Infinite energy?"

"Yes, what you are wearing on your wrist has infinite energy inside. Master just Axel"

"Okay, stop calling me Master, just Axel. Call me Axel."

"Okay, Axel."

"That's way better." Axel says.

"What would you like me to do?" Zeus asks.

"Get me out of here."

"Roger that," Zeus says.

Axel raises his eyebrows in surprise and everything around them starts fading away, Axel looks around in awe; everything he witnesses looks unreal to him.

He is back on the ship and looks confused. He tries to find Zeus, and then Zeus says

"Axel, I am right here."

Axel looks at the object. A neon blue circle lights up on it.

"It seems you have suffered a few injuries," Zeus says.

"Yeah."

Axel looks at a blue light emerging from his shoulder which he tied up. He unveils the wound beneath it. The scar seems to be covered in blue light and has started regenerating.

"Wow, advanced cellular regeneration straight out of science fiction,"

"The wound will be completely healed within 10 minutes,"

"Thanks, but didn't you say that you have infinite energy?"

"Yes."

"Then, why is my wound taking 10 minutes to heal?"

"Because your body is not compatible with handling that kind of raw power."

"Okay. We need to get out of here" Axel says.

"Okay," Zeus says. Axel starts levitating in the air and his body feels light, but he seems unable to balance himself.

"Wow, I am actually in the air,"

"Axel, you need to keep your core tight or else you might start wobbling in mid-air" Zeus says.

"Okay."

Axel controls his body and starts to get the hang of it. Zeus guides him and Axel starts moving forward in mid-air.

"I think I have the hang of it now."

"Good."

"If I can float in mid-air then I can fly too, right?"

"Yes, give it a try."

Axel changes his posture and pushes forward. He slowly gains speed and zooms out into the open sky. He flies through the mountains and the trees, enjoying the early morning breeze. He does all kinds of stunts while flying his heart out. After having fun with nature, he looks up into the clouds.

"How high can I go?"

"Not much. Oxygen levels are lower the higher you go. I won't recommend doing that. "

"How high can I go safely and stay there?"

"About the height of the birds flying above us."

"Cool, let's go."

Axel flies up in the sky, straight to the bird's height, and stops there. He looks around with excitement and inhales to the maximum capacity of his lungs. He lets it all out with relief.

"This feels so good."

"Axel, may I ask why you are here?"

"Just wait, this is the best possible spot to witness it."

As soon as Axel utters those words, the sun rises from the horizon and the sky turns orange, extending to blue. The land glistens with the sunlight, and everything looks so mesmerizing that Axel stops, as if he has frozen in time. His eyes widen, his lips form a little smile, his muscles relax, and he keeps staring at the sunrise.

"It is beautiful," Zeus says.

"I know."

"I am noticing more humans in the vicinity," Zeus says.

"That's my camp. Let's go before they come looking for me," Axel says.

Axel zooms towards the ground and lands almost 100 meters away from the camp. He brushes himself off and starts walking towards the camp.

"Zeus, can you hide somehow?" Axel says

Immediately, the object in Axel's hand disappears. Axel moves his hand to touch it. He feels the object, but somehow it seems invisible.

"I hope this works for you, Axel."

"Yeah, it's cool. Seriously, what can you not do?"

Sabrina notices Axel in the woods talking to himself. She looks at him for a while and then decides to greet him.

"Good Morning." Sabrina says.

Axel gets startled by the sudden appearance of Sabrina. "Hi… "Good morning," Axel says.

"What are you doing out here? I haven't seen you since I woke up," Sabrina says out of concern.

"Ah, I was just..."

"You must have gone to see the sunrise," Rony says from behind.

"Yes, that."

"And here I was wondering, where did Sabrina go?" Rony says, teasing Sabrina.

"It's not going to work on me, Rony. There is nothing between us," Sabrina says.

Axel looks at Zeus on his wrists and smiles,

"Why are you smiling, Axel?" Zeus says

He immediately looks at Rony and Sabrina. Luckily, it seems like none of them heard him talk.

Axel says in his own mind that they didn't hear Zeus speak.

"Yes, because I am talking through your neural network by simulating it. No wonder they can't hear me, but that doesn't mean they can't hear you," Zeus says.

"So, you can listen to my thoughts," Axel says out loud.

As Rony and Sabrina turn towards Axel in wonder, Axel makes weird faces as he tries to conceal his emotions.

"You said something?" Sabrina says

"Nothing, don't mind me," Axel says.

'Thank god they didn't realize what I said' Axel says in his thoughts.

"Why are you hiding me, by the way?" Zeus says

"Keep quiet till I reach home. That's an order."

"Roger that"

"Axel, don't just keep standing there," Sabrina says.

Axel walks alongside Sabrina back to the camp.

"You have been acting a little weird."

"Sorry, I didn't have much sleep and I fell."

"Oh, Are you hurt?" Sabrina looks at him with concern.

"No, luckily I am okay."

"You guys should be dating, seriously," Rony says.

"Shut up Rony. Sorry Sabrina, he is a bit cracked."

Sabrina laughs while blushing a little. Axel looks at her awkwardly and scratches his head. Rony smirks and looks proudly at Axel.

"For now, I think this is fine. Maybe sometime later.,"Sabrina says and walks ahead.

"She's so into you, man."

"He is right," Zeus says.

"Shut up both of you!" Axel says.

"Dude, there is only me, don't tell me, you are also feeling like that, huh" Rony says and teases Axel.

"Let's head back to camp, shall we?" Axel says, irritated by Rony

"Well, whatever.You want to deny it, go ahead." Rony shrugs his shoulders.

The camp goes on and Axel enjoys his entire trip. Finally, they head back home, and Axel slams open his house door. Eve hugs him and greets him. Axel freshens up and has dinner with Eve.

"Well, you look energetic, something good happened."

"Yes," Axel says, and smiles without looking up.

Eve looks at Axel and feels at ease with a sudden increase in enthusiasm.