Chapter 1.3 - Unfinished

There, inside Earth's core, an explosion of lights and lasers revealed a new Adam. 

Covered by the golden clarity he was not in the Earth's core anymore. The young man emerged in a new place. A room with tall marble pillars that resembled ancient Greece. 

Adam was also dressed differently. Before he was using the same clothes he went to the party with, but after crossing he was dressed with a light sort of armour. It was mainly golden and black tunic, with ornamented shoulder blades accompanied by a matching belt. It wasn't heavy but sure looked like it. 

The fabric of the underclothes had a silky touch that made his body feel cool. He turned around trying to get a complete look but it was hard without a mirror. 

Echoing claps called his attention, interrupting his Cinderella moment.

"Congratulations, son." 

"Calder! Never thought I'd be happy to see an old man in a dress." 

On one side of the room, at the top of a glamorous staircase was the grizzled man smiling at Adam.

"You are wearing skirts too."

"Oh, that's why it is so windy down there." 

He smirked back at Calder who shrugged in response before walking out of his sight. 

"Hey! Wait!" 

Anyone that looked at the number of steps would feel discouraged to go up but not Adam. The armor was not heavy and he was feeling super energized. Running up the tall staircase was as easy as walking on a plain road. Once at the top he a new section of the room was revealed. 

The first thing to be noticed was the thick enormous pillars. Their bases were ornamented in gold and supported the white marble leveled dome in baroque style.

Underneath the dome were four human statues. The creatures represented were gender-less but obviously Godly. Each one carried a different Element. 

One was holding in their hand a real live flame that involved their arm coming from their chest. The fire was flickering in a bright shade of red. 

The second one was with arms opened looking up. As Adam paid more attention and noticed the whole thing was pulsating up and down, in the pace of a heartbeat. Curious, the newly arrived looked down, for his surprise there was no base supporting it either. The statue was levitating on its one.

Some droplets wet Adam's face as he walked over to the third one. A whip of water came from its feet, making a turn on the torso and flowing to the hand to turn into an orb of water that moved like the waves at the beach.

The fourth one was the strangest, it looked like it wasn't finished. It was looking straight into the horizon and leaning on one knee while the other was still inside the rock, only partially carved out.

Behind them was Calder, looking outside at the blue sky with a few white clouds passing by. The room was opened in one side, allowing for a magnificent view of the woods at the foot of the mountain where the temple was.

"Why isn't this one finished?"

Without moving, Calder answered.

"That's the Earth God." The old man looked even wiser looking away to the horizon. "It can't be separated from the Earth. That's what holds everything together." 

"Never thought about that."

Adam reflected on how he got there. It was a second ago but it felt like aged had passed already. 

"It was Her that brought me here?" 

Calder looked at the younger man. 

"The Planet?"

Quiet the wizard-looking man nodded. He was waiting for Adam to continue. 

The boy was eager for answers. Too much had happened to him in so little time. He went to space and back to the center of the planet all that after he had just supposedly died, which was weird because he felt healthier than ever.

"Does this happen to everyone who dies?" 

He was talking about the clothes, the temple, the weird flying statues. All of that was absurdly crazy.

"No, only to the chosen ones." Calder began to stroll in the room as he talked. "Every once in a while, a God ceases to exist…"

Adam mirrored Calder that was walking on the other side of the statues.

"Can Gods die?"

"I didn't say they died." He stopped and looked at the boy in between statues. "I said it stopped existing."

"What's the difference?" 

Adam didn't appreciate enigmas or the vague way Calder replied to his answers.

"The difference is that a God has to decide not to live anymore but their power never disappears."

They both met after finishing the turn around the statues. Adam was upset for not getting a direct response and Calder didn't seem to care.

"That's why you are here. You've been chosen to inherit the divine power of the Earth God."

Following Calder's eyes, Adam admired the face of the unfinished statue. He was analyzing the white solid eyes when they moved and looked straight at him.

The statue triggered something in Adam. As a spear being logged into his brain, uncoordinated visions dominated his mind. Mountains, deserts, forest, volcanoes, caves, animals, plants, rivers, seas, cities, buildings, houses, men, women, children. All the things that were in contact with the Earth, Adam saw. 

He didn't just "see" them, he felt them, their energy, their breathing, their dreams. It was like he was a part of each living thing, as was the Planet. 

Shocked and exhausted, Adam fell to his knees. 

"What was that?"

Offering him a hand, Calder showed him a generous grin.

"That is the Elemental Gift you just inherited." 

Confused, Adam took his hand while gasping for air. 

"You are the new Earth God." 

Calder opened his arms in a grand gesture while projecting his voice to echo around the temple.

"Ok…"