It was cats all along?

It was around 5 in the morning. The orange tinge of the sky burned hot as it ran through the neighbourhoods and skyscrapers. Sharpening shadow and squinting eyes.

*huff* *huff* *huff*

I crumbled breathlessly on to a bench as I rested from my morning run. It wasn't easy but exercises like this would help my body slowly develop. 

In a power hungry world I needed to be constantly training and improving myself. Always on the look out for myself and the world.

It was funny. 

As I looked around the park I had run about, the rising sun and the chirping birds reminded me of home. Although it contained monsters and villains and even aliens I think. The author must've taken a lot of inspiration from his home.

Pulling out a small kebab I bought from a street vendor, I nibbled and waited. 

You see, the plan to get this power-up required a lot of preparation. A lot of building of trust and image. I couldn't haphazardly stroll right on in and ask for it. No. I needed to convince them to allow me in.

A smile spread across my face at a thought. After last night, I was sure they'd be interested now.

*meow*

Right on cue, a small calico cat meandered from behind the bench I was sitting on. It strode on over with its cautious gait and looked up at me with innocent eyes.

I smirked and ripped a piece of meat from my kebab and tossed it over its head. 

With a small reach of it's mouth it caught it midair and quickly gobbled it down. The smacking of it's mouth onto the piece of meat was a familiar sound.

In the past three to four days I have been feeding stray cats in my spare time. Spare time which I had a lot of. So frequent visits from familiar or even unfamiliar cats were expected whenever I went out.

This was supposed to be a major trigger in the novel for a certain character. A hidden villain one would say, behind the foolish grin of a beggar you would meet on the street.

It went like this:

In an unfortunate string of events a poor bloke was bankrupt and tossed into the streets by some gangs. Apparently he was pulling too much attention from the authorities with his dangerous inventions and loud testing grounds.

So much so, neighbouring gangs were catching the attention of unwarranted police investigations. They were caught up in the governments heightened supervision of the area, so they soon enough bankrupt the man and ruined his inventions.

In despair and poverty, the man led a life of crime becoming a thief. He stole from the rich and domineering gangs of Ruby Valley which so viciously ripped his dreams away from him. This allowed him to continue his research funded by his schemes in the night.

As crazy of a scientist as he was, the man was also compassionate to the small. Once having a daughter of his own, the man understood the struggles of those struggling in this wasteland as he called it.

An act that eventually led to his unforeseen power up was tending to the feral cats. Coupled with a trinket laying somewhere around the city he had picked up, the scientist was granted a special ability of sorts.

The attention to detail was lacking in the novel, however I pieced some bit of information together and concluded it was a blessing of sorts.

You see, blessings were gifts granted by gods. 

Yes, gods exist in this universe.

Usually they granted a divine power as well as a permanent buff of sorts to certain attributes pertaining to their domain. Given as a thanks or an investment of sorts.

The plot of the novel was actually set up against the backdrop of the aftermath of a war. A war that involved the gods of this universe.

So usually blessings were given to an avatar of a god or an apostle. Rarely were they just given for free. This was the reason as to why I had been doing all these things. 

I couldn't simply just ask for one.

Finally watching the cat finish its food, I half-expected it to meander off once again. But the small cute creature did the opposite. In fact it looked right up at me and purred. As if it was trying to tell me something.

As good of a sign as any in this weird world, I stood up in preparation.

"Yes, kitty? What's wrong?" Playing the fool never backfired, right?

*meow* *meow*

The cat prodded his paw against my foot before slowly walking away. Hesitantly I followed unsure of what to make of this.

It was true I understood this progression, but the novel didn't delve too deeply in the specifics of this power up. It was like a one-off comment thrown out and never revisited.

So when the cat soon enough led me to a dark alleyway, I was startled by the numerous eyes glowing in the darkness. 

Was I making a mistake?

Perhaps they could tell my uncertainty and fear since a certain black cat emerged from the shadows. Pairs of eyes parted for this cat in particular. 

Their leader?

"...Fellow human, do not be afraid..."

"..."

Of the strange things I thought I might encounter in this world, I was surprised a talking cat caught me off guard.

"I am the priest Burbo, and I represent the 243rd founding temple of our goddess, Nala. Your presence would be most appreciated, young one."

Watching the black cat's mouth move so in sync with his words, I was soon enough convinced this wasn't some prank.

"Ah... could you explain?"

As much as I would like to get stronger, I'd like to read the fine print. What if it was a devil's contract? Soul-binding? Blood sacrifice? Memory wipe?

There was too much in the balance I just had to ask.

"...If you'd follow, we will open those eyes of yours." A movement of black soon grew as the congregation of cats (including the calico one I followed) converged down into a large pipe sticking from the ground. 

It took merely a few seconds before I was totally and completely left on my own.

"What the actual..."

I hesitantly turned around and upwards. It didn't seem like anyone else had seen this scene unfold.

I was the only one.

Would anyone believe me?

Tapping my foot against the ground I steeled my resolve. I clutched the edges of the downward pipe, said my prayers, and slid the rest of my body down into the endless abyss.

In the end, I still couldn't believe it was cats.