Chapter 1.7 - God's Gate

Adam was familiar with the concept of partying. No one did it like him, so when the idea came up, he felt more like himself again. Pushing to go back home now wouldn't work, so it was best to play along—and drinking never hurt anybody.

"Cal is a legend there. You're gonna love it!"

Gracefully, the Deity squeezed Calder's cheeks after the compliment, then headed to the gate, waving at them to hurry.

Adam smirked at the old man, who shrugged playfully before following Shu.

From up close, the door was tremendous. As it opened, causing the ground to shake under the weight, a view of the open sky filled Adam's eyes.

"Wait, we're not on the ground?" Adam realized as there was no sign of land near the doorway.

Shu and Calder giggled at the boy's reaction and kept close, watching him walk out into the night sky.

A chilly breeze blew through his hair, making him gasp for a second. He was really alive.

Gazing down at the edge of the floor, there was nothing beneath the structure except for miles and miles of clouds.

"Holy shit, we're flying?!"

Feeling as if he was in another crazy dream, Adam turned to examine the gate from the outside.

Made of rough quartz stone, it reflected most of the light that reached it. The borders were engraved with symbols of the Four Elements of Nature, repeating themselves from one side to the other.

"This is the God's Gate."

"Who put this here?" The boy was tempted to touch the quartz wall to see if it was real.

"Probably the first Gods." Calder gazed at the playboy, who looked marveled by the construction, which made the wise man hurry to enter.

"Who are those?"

"The First Elemental Gods to ever exist," said Calder, walking toward the edge.

"So you're not one of them?" Adam raised an eyebrow. Calder was old—very old—and he wouldn't be surprised if the man had been there when Earth was created.

"No, I'm not." The old man replied with a frown. "They are long gone. All that's left of them is their power, which now resides in all four of us."

"Hm…"

Adam was more interested in how they would get out of there. Judging by the two people who were supposed to guide him, he wasn't in the best of hands.

"I assume we can only get out of here by flying, right?!"

Calder nodded with a smirk. Adam could see the old man's mischievous plan and began to walk backward.

"How do you wanna do this?" asked Shu, who was already flying beyond the edge. Their light skin made them pop out against the night sky.

Adam stopped with his back against the gate's wall. On the opposite side, Calder was ready to open his mouth, but Adam got ahead of him.

In a whim, the boy bolted out from the wall and ran toward the edge. Every step brought him closer to the abyss. His good sense told him to stop, but he ignored it, as always.

Passing by Calder, Adam winked, and the old man clapped with a resounding laugh.

On his last step on firm ground, Adam jumped into the dark sky, laughing his ass off.

"Yahoo!" he shouted before the air left his lungs.

One second later, he was falling.

Kicking and screaming, the boy regretted his rushed action.

"Hel…" The air fled his lungs.

Breaking the wind with his face, Adam caught flashes of clouds as he crossed them, getting his face wet each time.

"Hi!"

Adam heard a happy, sarcastic voice.

"Help me!"

Calder was flying by the boy's side, grinning from ear to ear.

"You chose this approach."

"Fuck you!"

For some reason, the old man really enjoyed the boy's dirty mouth.

"Just stop."

"I can't!" said Adam, as he heard the most useless advice ever.

"Have you tried? It's really not that hard."

Adam's mind was spinning. It really wasn't the time for charades or whatever it was that Calder was trying to say.

"Fuck!" He cursed as he realized he wouldn't be getting any help from the old man. "I can fly!"

The boy said to himself as he closed his eyes against his instincts.

I can fly…

I can fly.

I can fucking fly!

Mimicking the heroes he'd watched, Adam stretched his arm and did it—simple as that.

There was no explaining.

When he opened his eyes, the wind wasn't suffocating him anymore. By his side, Calder had a proud smile on his face.

"Watch out!"

Unaware of his surroundings, Adam looked straight ahead and was met with tree branches. He was swallowed by leaves and wood that scratched his arms and face.

"Get out of there!"

Disoriented, Adam headed toward the voice.

Opening his eyes again, he saw a forest below. He was flying. Not falling—flying.

"Holy fuck!" The boy was relieved he didn't die—again—as he glanced at the trees and felt the breeze on his face.

Even without looking, Adam could see Calder's satisfied face.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" the boy said to the old man.

"What?! I didn't push you."

Squeezing his eyes, Adam couldn't believe that silly man was a God.

"Fair enough," he shrugged.

Both Gods exchanged looks, then cracked a laugh.

After calming down, they returned to the route to meet Shu.

Calmer and euphoric to be actually flying, Adam enjoyed the view of the stars and the dark sky from a perspective he had never had before.