Chapter 5

Before I knew it, I was back in my body, and it was still night time. Opening my eyes, I see Arthur peacefully sleeping with his arms spread out like a star. With sleep not coming back, I decided to go out for a walk. Get a head start on training.

I couldn't remember the dream for a while, but as I slowly got into the moves I had been doing since I could walk, the memories slowly came to me. It was sad how the absence of the gods and goddesses could cause civilisation as a whole to crumble. To see people like me look so sick, so helpless and tired. Some even looked like death was weighing on their shoulders. It was unbelievable. I had doubts, fears, thoughts of running away, but I couldn't do that. I couldn't let them down, and some things still didn't make sense.

I was about a few stone's throw from the opening when Arthur burst out frantically shouting my name. 'I don't think the others heard you. You should scream out more.' I mockingly stated while running to him. Arthur shakes me, roughly pats various parts of my body before deeming me safe. He muttered a few words of how he felt scared when he woke up alone before leaving me alone and vanishing.

Arthy returns when the sun is in the middle of the sky but doesn't enter. Instead, he calls out to me and leads me to the decapitated god. 'I know we discussed the possibility of welcoming others into this battle of yours, but I thought long and hard, and it's time to tell you the secret.

Long ago, many years before we formed the first human, gods were full of anger, hatred and unused energy. Gods had always fought one another. It wasn't anything new, but these two took it to the extreme, and before we knew it, they had both fizzled from existence. According to Zadra, we were meant to have forgotten they ever existed, but Zadra stopped it. They instead became a reason not to go too far.

The point is, my dear, there's no way you can fight them all. It's not just impossible but unthinkable. So the only way you have a sliver of winning is if we get the other gods to kill themselves.'

'But Arthy, how would I make that happen. If they see me, it's destruction on sight. There's no way they'll focus on one another. Rather, I'll be a reason to focus all their powers on one entity. It can't work,' I say while dragging my foot through the ground.

Arthy makes a clicking sound in his mouth while shaking his head. Before his hand can connect with my head, I dart about. 'Are you telling me you haven't learnt anything from our times' training? Have you never made me move certain ways just because you taunt me?

All you have to do to win is play with their egos. Gods are egocentric idiots. Play with who could be the strongest of them all and taunt them. Before you know it, they'll be shouting over one another and battling each other that no one would have time for you.'

Arthy's words left me a lot to think about, but by the time the sun rose a second time, I made my decision. It was the best and only way, guarantees me more practice time, they tire and probably kill one another, and instead of fighting ten giant gods, I only have to fight one giant god. So though he/she would be the most dangerous, I'll decide what to do then.

Arthy and I thought about the ways we could plant the idea in their minds. We agreed that me going to meet them would only bring my death, but we also didn't know how to stroke and destroy their egos without them meeting me. We thought the sun rose for seven days without us having any idea whatsoever. We had told the god of greed our plan, and he was the one who led us on the path to take.

'Are you both so dumb that you forgot that Arthy could travel through domains?… Arthy, you forgot yourself, didn't you? Anyways, your stupidity aside, write on stone tablets varying rumours which hurt them and place where they would see.

Place what you want them to do at the end, trust me, their anger wouldn't allow them to break the tablets. So keep doing it and changing the rumours; if you stick to one, they wouldn't believe you. Please do it for one full moon cycle. If they don't bite the dust at this point, then dig your burial site and say goodbye.'

We turn to each other, but there's nothing we can do but listen to him. He did make a lot of sense, and this was better than the nothing we had. So we got to work planning, thinking and plotting. With Arthy's speed and transformation, we could spread them around the domains and even others.

We thought that taunting their egos wouldn't be enough to destroy them, but by involving the other gods and goddesses, we would be creating only one path for them to take, thereby closing all escape routes.

Arthy was always in a state of hysteria every time he came back from the domains. No matter how many times I told him to explain what happened, he'd look at me and begin laughing all over again. Arthy had not laughed so freely in such a long time that I could not move from such sight.

His head was constantly thrown back, his green hair with black flecks moving with each shake of his head. His eyes with gold flecks were closed until he laid them on me and began laughing again. The wrinkles on his forehead had reduced, and I could do nothing but watch as he lost himself in his laughter.

After a few days, I would later find out that the gods were raging and cursing my name every time they laid their eyes on the tablets. Of course, he would have found that hilarious and wouldn't stop laughing for suns to pass but still, I couldn't find it in myself to be angry with him.

This time next moon, I hope to be done with this and on to the next phase of my life. However, winning did not mean that everything would be solved, that the repercussions of their hatred would be removed. The other gods and goddesses would need to be sated, and we would need to find a way to be self-sufficient. Strong on our own. My destiny truly is troublesome.

*****

The gods:

Kiluaroth wasn't sure what he was to do with the many tablets that littered the edge of his domain. At first, picking them was easy; reading through the contents was a bit insulting but quite predictable and seeing them, again and again, became irritating. When he became aware that he wasn't the only one dealing with unwanted notes, his heart was put to rest.

Though the letter contents were enough to push a small god to anger, he was one of the first, a part of the big three. A note like this wouldn't breed anger in his heart, wouldn't cause him to retaliate. Though he knew of the risks battling his companions, he thought of the outcome should they win. It means that they would be able to vanquish and say goodbye to the horrible humans who did such to their princess. Even now, years after it had happened, it was still a touchy subject to talk about.

Everyone was frowning at the situation. I did understand their anger and somewhat underlining sense of fear even though I disagreed with the situation. It's not easy to kill a god; killing one you know is way more difficult, especially for us. Even before humanity began, we had lived together probably were even all formed at the same instance. To want to kill one another is something; to do it is another.

'She's smart. I'll give her that but not too smart. She's aware that it would be difficult for us to sign off on this gamble of hers. We need lots of deliberation for we can't rush our decision. Personally, let us kill her. We are more powerful than her, and there's no need to engage in such frivolous acts', said Zadra when nobody would comment.

Some nodded their heads, but I could tell that while we had grown to hate them, the humans, no one wanted to take the life of an innocent, a real innocent. After all, she wasn't there, neither had she committed a crime punishable by death. Killing her would be a waste of effort and might stain our hearts. So while we wouldn't have wanted to agree with him for his despicable attitude, he did tell the truth.

'I agree with Zadra about what he said.' Jacilis mutters while looking down.

'Just because I agree with him doesn't mean I think it is the best course of action. Ok, maybe that's what agreeing means, but you get my point. It would be easier to get rid of the girl but think about how that would make us look to the other gods and the humans. Yes, we hate them, but they still worship us even though they don't know that, which is good for our egos. So I think we need to be fair in our dealings with her. Also, I'm pretty sure every human knows of her presence here, and if she dies, wouldn't that turn them against us. So even if we kill her, their turning against us will kill us.'

There was nothing we could say, the lady had spoken, and even if we didn't want to say it, we had spent so many centuries listening to her, and we weren't going to stop anytime soon. So, with no end in sight, I tell everyone to go back to their domains and think. We would decide sometime soon.