Rage of a god

Dorian gasped, unable to believe all the man had said. There's no way he could be Zeus, he thought.

But indeed I am, a voice echoed in his head; it's his voice; Dorian panicked; he looked at him with more terror than he'd ever before.

Things couldn't get much worse for him now he thought. Don't think such things, the man's voice spoke in his head again. Life will always find new depths for you. That is if you let it off course.

Dorian looked outside into the beating rain desiring to be out there, safe in the unpredictable turmoil of the mud and rain. All he'd heard of Zeus, none had been faltering, none had been safe, his sheer savagery was too gruesome for him to imagine.

Dorian feared his head would be taken off if he made it for the woods. He could only keep himself calm and eat his gruel, but he couldn't; the tension was rising with the silence, and, with it, his heartbeat.

The monster raged on, on the outside even worse than before, and the storms got even worse, thundering louder and louder.

"Hey, Dorian!" Zeus said.

Dorian panicked. He turned to look at him, scared to see his face, but he wasn't looking at him; he had his attention on his food and had gone silent.

Dorian felt he was waiting for something, and almost instinctively, out of the fear of total annihilation, the word poured out of his mouth.

"Yes?" His face had gone pale from fear and his mouth shivered as he spoke. He could hear the spoon brush against the side of his plate as he turned the gruel, Dorian felt more uneasy with every turn.

"Dorian, what do you suppose you are?"

"What?" Dorian does not want to keep the god of everything waiting.

"I mean, which are you?"

"What?" Dorian felt uneasy. Am I supposed to know something? He felt Zeus expected him to know something but he wasn't following.

Stories of how Zeus had handled people who didn't follow him ran through his mind in that instant; they had been fun stories, stories to listen to by the fire on a cold day, not stories to star in.

He gulped and in a shivering voice he spoke, "I don't know"

"What!?"

Dorian panicked. "What do you mean you don't know aren't the options clear enough?"

"What options?" Dorian screamed in fear, unable to control himself.

"Oh my, I think I forgot to give them. Dirina was stunned, what is he on about?" Zeus burst out laughing. " I've always loved to speak in riddles; I must apologize. Sometimes it gets the best of me." He finished with a light chuckle and Dorian was still confused.

What's wrong with this guy? he thought. Speak your mind, Dorian. The words echoed in his mind like alarm bells. I forgot he could hear my thoughts! His heart raced and Zeus burst out laughing again.

"I'm sorry," he said as his laughter slowly died. "What I meant was, which one are you?" He looked Dorian in the eyes and said, "Monster or man?"

"What?"

"Yes, Dorian, those are your options, you've gotta choose wisely. But to say one or the other is quite easy. The truth is, choosing is something you do every day. It's living as you've said." Dorian nodded, staring into the god's eyes. He could clearly understand what he meant.

"In my life, I was an ugly monster, Dorian. I was given the world to take care of but I became greedy, I wanted it for myself, all of it, so I cut the world off from its source, I let evil enter, I let it all decay and this is what it is now, that what the universe is, a never-ending season of decay, a mountain of flesh with its citizens in constant competition for who will stand at its peak. I was given the most refined of beauty but I turned it into an ashcan of a universe"

He took a deep breath; Dorian was still processing his words. Source? Decay? Ash can? Then Zeus continued.

"I won't be forgiven, and I won't forgive myself; given the opportunity, I'll right my wrongs again, but we only get one chance, Dorian. Your path is laid, you must choose. Man or monster, which will you be?"

Zeus put out his hand and a green light came out of it. The light had a seductive quality to it; Dorian felt powerful just by looking at it; he wanted it, he wanted it badly; he felt that nothing was out of reach; he'd finally have control of it, control of all his life and all his world.

Zeus watched as the light entices him; Dorian found himself falling into it; he leaned in closer, and Zeus shut his hand.

Hall balled it into a fist and Dorian jolted back, finally getting back his senses before he could say anything. A heavy blow landed on his face, knocking him off the rock he sat on.

He looked at Zeus, as his cheek burned with pain. Finally, he could see that viciousness to his nature, and he dragged himself backward on his ass.

Zeus got on his feet, eyes burning with rage. With his tightened fist, Dorian could see his muscles stretch and compress. He moved away faster trying to run out of the cave.

"If you're just like them," Zeus said, "then it's best I kill you now! You can't have such power, not the likes of you!" His voice thundered and Dorian knew he'd die at any moment.

No, not like this, he thought. Zeus took a step forward, and it felt like a volcano had ruptured. Dorian couldn't think; his heart was beating too fast, faster than the rain, and with every step the god took, it doubled in speed.

A flash of lighting brought the exit to Dorian's notice again; I'll run for it, he thought; he managed to get on his feet; the distance between them was still quite significant as he ran for the exit.

He made it a few feet forward but felt like he had been swept off his feet. He floated in mid-air for a second and darted backward like a bullet into the grasp of Zeus.

Zeus had his hand around his throat, his eyes blaring with lightning; he clenched his fist around his throat; Dorian couldn't breathe; he felt his Adam's apple touch the back of his throat.

He was dying, staring at the cold, unfeeling eyes of a god. He remembered Helena, her face flashed in his mind like a vision of heaven.

I'll never get to thank her, he thought. He felt his throat crumbling under the pressure, then he fell to the ground and began coughing.

"Perhaps you have some promise, but your desire for vengeance sets you on a path so familiar to many men in hell. Who will you be Dorian? Who would you be when you've had your vengeance?"

Dorian couldn't help but stare into his eyes and he found himself lost in the rage within them. Paralyzed by fear he couldn't speak. Zeus walked up to him and stretched out his hand.

"Take my hand, Dorian"

Dorian looked at his hand and then into his eyes. The green light came back again, beaming brightly from his palm.

"Take it, it's yours"

Dorian hesitated, is this a trick? Then Zeus got down on one knee, leaned into him, and said, "Listen to me, Dorian, this isn't power, this isn't strength, don't let it fool you, now take it."

Dorian stared into his eyes he felt a bit of encouragement surge into him, he slowly put off his hand and Zeus clasped it with both hands like a bear trap, Dorian panicked but Zeus smiled, "Don't forget my words, Dorian"

The whole world began to melt around them, leaving them standing in a bleak whiteness then Zeus faded away too leaving Dorian falling, falling into an endless white space

******

"Victoria, did you feel that," Hercules said. They were all badly beaten, holding back to fight the monster Gluttony, which had done them no good.

A Small beaming sun floated over Victoria's head as she pants heavily. "Yes," she said. "They're coming for him."

She looked at him, and across the arena was Gluttony lying motionless on the yellow sand.

"But what do we do if they get here first?" Cheshire said, lying on her back, battered and bruised.

"When they get here, you all go fight; I'll manage here." Suddenly they all looked up, sensing something approaching.

High above the castle, deep in the afternoon sky came crashing a red star, blaring as a flare. In the distance outside the city border, the grey giant, the Warmachine that had crushed Hellena, was running to the city at full speed.

"Well, when they get here, we won't be holding back," Cheshire said. "that for sure."

Gluttony twitched and began moving again, and slowly, he got up. Victoria looked at them, "Go now! She screamed "Don't let that thing destroy the castle"

The star crashed on the castle faster than they had anticipated and an overwhelming flash of red light filled their eyes while they could all clearly hear the roar of the war machine even from this distance as the castle crumbled around them.