Chapter 3.2 - Old Friend

From the lake, an explosion of water and rocks erupted, sending everyone to the ground. More intense than the first, panic spread out through the hillside. Guests were stumbling on each other and people screamed far and wide.

In the commotion, Adam's casket fell, destroying the flower arrangements and his picture.

His mother was protecting the grandmother with her body, as she couldn't get her up.

Following the explosion, something emerged from the lake.

"Calder, what the fuck is that!?"

A human tall as a house using the heaviest most elaborate war amour Adam had ever seen, was walking out of the lake. No one that stayed behind waiting for the ground to stop shaking, seemed to notice the frightful creature.

The earthquake was over, but the tremors caused by the man's heavy steps persisted. On his hand, once uncovered by the water, was revealed a war hammer. The weapon was as tall as the man himself, made out of hot steel that dripped from the corners, burning the grass.

"What a delightful smell of nature!"

Letting out a deep breath, the massive creature complained, revealing his deep husky voice.

"It can't be…" Calder's mouth dropped as he laid eyes on the unnamed monster.

Behind them, Adam's family manage to get up, thankfully they could not see the beast. It seemed he belonged to the same world as the two Gods.

"Who is that?!"

Adam was afflicted, the mysterious presence had a weird kind of energy that he recognized.

His family hadn't left, his grandma was too weak and apparently hurt. Bordering on panic, he grabbed the older God by the shoulders. Shaking him to get him out of the state of shock.

"Calder! Who is that?!"

When finally Calder looked away from the strange man, his eyes were empty.

"Marduk."

Seeing Calder's condition, made the lurking fear take over the Young God's mind. Looking proud, the newcomer kept walking as if nothing could hurt him.

"Is he the new God?"

As the giant spotted them, he smiled, sending chills down Adam's stomach. A red alarm for danger sounded on the boy's head. Something had to be done, quick. Adam could feel the stranger's intentions weren't good, although he was fascinated by him due to the odd sensation he provoked on the young God.

By the son's side his relatives were arguing with his grandmother.

"We have to go, it can happen again any minute!" Adam's mother was trying to make the lady stand up.

"We can't leave him like this." They were talking about the casket that had fallen, getting broken in the process.

"Calder! Didn't expect to see you here." The man opened his arms without dropping the hammer, he lifted the massive weapon as it was a toy.

Torn between his family and the armed giant, the Earth God couldn't think of anything to do. Not having a body really sucked, if only he could force them to leave, it wasn't worth risking their lives for a corpse.

"We'll come back, I don't wanna leave him here either but we have to get inside, mother." Adam's mother tried to reason with the lady. The grandson was begging for her to agree to get away from that enormous thing.

"What? You're not gonna welcome an old friend?"

Faking to be insulted, the giant stopped as he got to the top of the hill where the ceremony was taking place. 

His large torso even blocked the morning sun.

"You can't be here…" Still in trance, Calder finally said something but it was so low it was like he was talking to himself.

Noticing the weird shadow, Helena was more aggressively trying to reason with the old lady but she was stubborn as a rock. Seeing the situation depended solely on him, Adam approached his uncle who was also arguing with the lady, his mother.

The son had nothing to lose, so he grabbed his uncle by the shoulders and started to shout.

"Get out NOW!" He was hoping that the same way his grandmother felt his presence, his uncle would too.

Holding the air where his uncle's shoulder should be, Adam kept trying to shake him desperately while keeping an eye on the giant.

"You know, Cal," The man pointed the hammer at the paralyzed Water God. "It's nice what you do for the new Elementals, guiding them etc. But it also put you in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Without any warnings, out of the lake two whips made of water grabbed the giant by the wrists, pulling him back; however, the man didn't move an inch.

"Adam, go."

Calder's voice was calm but the tone was cold and dry. Then, his eyes lit up, glowing in a powerful way before he turned to the imminent threat, ascending into the air.

Back at his uncle Adam was getting tired of being useless even with all that power inside him.

"Please… Let me help."

The boy begged. Holding on to the last thread of hope, Adam rested his ghostly forehead on the man's ghostly head.

A thunder struck, echoing inside everyone's hearts and Adam opened his eyes. In front of him was his grandmother sitting on a chair and his mother at her feet. The boy looked around and couldn't see his uncle, but his heart froze when his grandmother grabbed his hand.

"Son, are you okay?"

Adam looked down at the hand she was holding, it wasn't his but he could feel it. Instinctively he grabbed her hand back just in case. Looking at himself he was wearing his uncle's clothes.

As overwhelmed as he was at that moment and lost at how he managed to get in his uncle's body, Adam had no time to enjoy it. Down the hill the Giant smashed the ground with his hammer trying to hit Calder who was launching water bullets from his palms.

The earth beneath them cracked, creating a separation between the family. As the Earth God was holding his grandmother's arm when her chair began to sink into the gap, he pulled her to him, avoiding her fall.

The soil was giving in and there was very little time to think.

"Run!" Adam shouted to his mother. He picked the lady up and headed away from the growing gap.

At that point the Giant Marduk was already completely free and laughing out loud at Calder's tentacle attacks that evaporated when blocked by his magma hammer.

Adam looked back and his mother was trapped on the other side of the gap that gave away too quickly, isolating her.

"Mom, jump!" The son shouted to warn her about a block of dirt beneath her that was about to fall into the crack.