Chapter 46

“You are in real shit now, Kali,” Jupiter roared. “You have done a lot of harm and will pay for your crimes.”

Kali roared and summoned a trident in her lower hands and twin scimitars in the upper hands. She charged at the two who had entered her lair with a scream of rage and fury. Freyja smirked and got into a ready stance while Jupiter’s hand began to crackle with lightning. But as Kali closed the distance to her throne, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Freyja standing there with a smile.

She helped me to my feet and said, “Come, my love, let us free our friends and leave this place.”

“What about Jupiter?” I asked glancing back in time to see him lash out with two thunderous lightning bolts that sent Kali flying onto her back.

She smiled, “He will be fine! He is on the Council for more than just his status as leader of his Pantheon!”

I nodded and led her to the two cells that were occupied. She used her magic to open the doors and then assisted in releasing the Oracle and Katie from their bonds. We couldn’t wake Katie up, so I carried her out of her cell. Freyja opened and checked the other two, coming out with two bracers and a sad look on her face. We turned to head to the transit tube around the corner when I heard a yell of frustration. I turned to see a trident sailing through the air at Freyja. She was too distracted helping the Oracle to notice, and I reacted before I had even decided to. I put Katie on the ground and dashed to stand between Freyja and the incoming projectile. The pain of the impact was intense, as the prongs of the trident tore through my flesh.

I looked down and saw the first prong had pierced just below where my right clavicle meets with my shoulder. The center prong had pierced just below my sternum and the final prong had pierced just above my left hip. I could taste the blood as I began to cough and sputter. I could feel my strength leaving me as I fell to my knees, causing Freyja to turn and look at me in horror. The last thing I remembered was seeing her cry as she begged me to stay awake, but I couldn’t, and I let darkness take me.

I expected to find myself back at that long house where I had met Freyja, but instead, I found myself in a formless void. I looked down and my clothing was gone, though my wounds were still visible. I wondered if this was the limbo, I had been warned about but couldn’t think of why I would be here.

I was uncertain of how long I floated in the nothingness when a point of light appeared in the distance. I watched as the point grew in size, until I realized that something glowing was approaching me. My first instinct was to run, but I couldn’t navigate my way in this void. Nothing I did would move me out of the glowing object’s trajectory. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact, but nothing came.

I slowly opened my eyes and was met with the bluest eyes I had ever seen. The girl’s face looked to be about twelve, only starting her first steps into womanhood. She looked at me with both happiness and wonder, though I couldn’t think of why that would be.

“It’s you, isn’t it?” she asked in a melodic voice that made me smile and sent shivers down my spine.

“Um, I’m not sure if I am,” I replied, confused by her statement.

Her impish smile widened, “It is you! I can feel it through the bond, but you’re growing weak. You can’t leave just yet, there is too much work to do, and we still have to meet!”

“I am confused,” I replied, scratching my head. “How is it we still have to meet, if we have already met?”

She kissed me on the forehead, “Because, I haven’t been born yet Daddy! Now wake up!”

With those words I felt a warmth spread from where she had kissed my forehead. I felt drowsy, as if about to fall asleep, with her final words still ringing in my head. When my eyes opened again, I recognized the ‘hospital’ room that resided in the rebirth floor of the healer building. As I glanced around the room, I saw Freyja asleep on a nearby couch. Although she didn’t look like she was in a comfortable position; she looked somewhat peaceful in her sleep. The puncture wounds still hurt, but not as badly as when I blacked out. I moved to try and activate my bracer, but found my arms bound to the bed. I strained to break free from my bonds, but I couldn’t seem to make any headway.

My attempts to break free woke Freyja from her sleep, and she looked around frantically until she saw me.

“Pathios, you need to calm down, dear,” she said softly, moving closer to the bed. “I don’t need you to hurt yourself after finally getting better.”

I stopped struggling and asked, “Why am I bound to the bed? How long have I been here? Did everyone get out okay?”

Freyja gave me a warm smile, “They had to restrain you when they were healing you. Your body reacted strongly to their magic due to the poison that was coating Kali’s trident. You have been here for nearly a month, being brought back from the brink of death a few times, but we lost you at one point and you went somewhere not even I could reach. Katie and the Oracle are fine. It took a while to remove the chemicals which were rendering her unconscious from Katie’s body. The Oracle has been taken for psychological evaluation and treatment for what Kali did to her. I got out unharmed, thanks to your selfless act, and you were touch and go for a while. From what we gather Kali was able to get away, but she has been injured.

“Jupiter was able to remove most of one arm and the hand from another arm before we left. It was only a little while later, we believe, that Kali was able to strike him down. His body was sent to the Dungeon lobby via the transit tubes. There was nothing anyone could do to save him by the time help arrived. He was given a hero’s funeral and buried in a special cemetery created for the Gods who might die. He was the first to fall since we built this world and, despite his attitude, he’ll be missed. I still can’t figure out how you came back, because you were so far gone, and I was so scared. We all were. I had to send the others home on occasion to rest and bathe. I promised them I would watch over you while they were gone.”

Freyja got up from her chair and began undoing the various straps that restrained me to the bed.

The memory flashed in my mind, “I think our daughter helped me come back. I am not sure, but I remember her saying she hadn’t been born yet and called me Daddy.”

“What did you say?” Freyja asked in a hushed whisper, pausing in opening the last strap. “I need to know exactly what happened when you ... died.”

I looked into her eyes and said, “I felt weak and lost consciousness. I didn’t realize I had died, not even when I woke up in a void of darkness. I was floating in nothingness, unable to move in any direction. I wasn’t sure how long I was left suspended there, but a pin prick of golden light appeared in the distance. It slowly grew and I realized it was coming towards me. Since I couldn’t move, I closed my eyes and waited for what I assumed would be my death. When nothing happened, I opened my eyes to see her face right in front of me. She looked about twelve and told me that I didn’t belong here. When I asked her who she was she told me I knew, she just hadn’t been born yet. Then I woke up here.”

Freyja’s hands had crept to her stomach as I told her and when I finished, she looked down at her tummy with a look of awe.

“There has been talk between the Pantheons that such a thing was possible,” Freyja said as she rubbed her stomach. “Still, no one in our Pantheon has ever witnessed such an event. They were usually omens, but I cannot think of a reason you would see this now. The fact she was a teen must mean something, or it was just the best way for you to accept the interaction. Still, I must thank this little one for helping to bring her Daddy back to me.”

I smiled and reached out to touch Freyja’s belly. Freyja’s eyes went wide when my hand touched her.

“I can feel the bond you have with our little one,” Freyja said in awe. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t divine energy glowing where your hand is touching.”

I couldn’t help but smile, “Do you think that little ritual you performed is responsible for it?”

Freyja shrugged and replied, “I’m not sure, love. It was only meant to build a bond between us, though I never expected it to work, and this is a new development.”

“What kind of bond was it supposed to make?” I asked moving my focus to look at her, rather than at her tummy.

She blushed and said, “Um, I am not sure. From what I recall of the spell, it was supposed to let us feel one another and help ensure the health of the baby. Usually demigods are born from a male God breeding with a mortal. There have been instances of the reverse occurring, but the risk is greater.”

“I see,” I replied. “I think it had an effect, but not the one you intended for me to have.”

“Really, what do you mean?” She asked, intrigued by the idea that some change had indeed occurred.

I began running through the various challenges in my head and replied, “During the Challenge, when the party was split up, I could tell when threats were near. That was why they were having trouble sneaking up on me. As for the party, it was the earpieces that assisted with locating them. When I arrived at where the party was hidden, I couldn’t tell where any of them were, even Katie.”

“So it sounds like you have developed a danger sense,” Freyja muttered, mostly to herself. “That is a unique trait and rarely does it manifest. It is usually an inherent gift to specific races within the construct of Eden. I wonder what else might come from this bond.”

Wanting to change the subject, I asked, “How is Katie doing? She wouldn’t wake up when we were leaving, and the Oracle was too messed up to be able to give me any answers.”

“Katie is okay for the most part,” Freyja answered. “To protect her mind, she put herself in a state of hibernation. Think along the lines of how a tree goes to sleep for the winter. Dryads can do this at will and usually in situations where food and water might become scarce. It is dangerous, as she could have been tortured to death without her assailant being able to tell they crossed the line. Once we got her back here, we were able to coax her out of it, though she became distraught when she learned of what happened to you. From what the others tell me, she has been working nonstop making potions. They figure it is to take her mind off what happened and to make sure you have them in the future to prevent it from happening again.”

“The loss she worries about having could still come,” I grumbled. “Kali is in the wind and she said that she had other gods helping her. Now the Council is short a member, and I am sure Shiva is not happy with what happened. They are reaching the malcontents somehow and that needs to be found. They got to Silvia far too quickly to be coincidence and she was given a serious boost in power. This was the first time we have seen the crystals used to augment the abilities of an adventurer. That changes things and makes the threats all that more profound, as well as dangerous.”