"Now, let us proceed,"
"Hey, do you think you could turn down the intensity a bit… Looking at you is like looking at the sun: intense as fuck," I muttered, but the old man or I guess… young man spun me around and forced me to sit on the rugged and rocky ground.
"Stop being a pussy and close your eyes," The man said before placing each of his hands on both of my shoulders.
I immediately felt a strange energy flow through my body, and it definitely wasn't mana… but strangely, I felt a burst of cold and hot mana erupt from within my chest.
But, before I could even try to identify it, the man took a step back and wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead.
"It's been a while since I've done this," He muttered as I spun around and looked at his all-power presence.
So this is an intermediate god… but those scars going across the lines must mean he hates his godhood and most likely betrayed the gods.
"So, how is it?" I asked while drifting my eyes away from the man who was revealing a bit too much.
"Your bones are surprisingly dense with mana… Your body is insanely good at absorbing mana. You may not know this… but who is your mother? Your bone structure is similar to somebody I know,"
"Her name is Psyche, but she never told me our last name. Even my status doesn't say it… but what is the last name of the Olympian: Ares?" I asked, and the man's eyes widened with surprise but then looked at me with a bit of contentment.
"So you've figured it out, huh… But that's where you're wrong. Ares is a last name. All the Olympians use their last names and discard their first names upon rising into the supreme gods of Greece,"
"Of Greece? Does that mean there are more gods from other places?"
"Indeed, but they're in different places across the universe. Greek gods control hundreds- no, thousands of worlds, and it's the same for other places…."
"Also, does this mean my last name is Ares? If so, why doesn't it show on my status? My friends say their last name is there,"
"That probably means you inherited your mother's last name, meaning your mother's blood was stronger than Ares… Which was most likely intentionally done by Ares. It's obvious your mother was a puppet her entire life-... I spoke too much,"
As my bloodlust leaked out and a strange blood-red aura flicked around me, the man before me quickly apologized.
"I didn't know you could apologize," I muttered through gritted teeth.
"Your father will curse me if I don't show even the slightest bit of respect…."
"Tch… Whatever. He doesn't care about me anyway, so let's proceed with the process. What should I do to prepare?"
"Lay flat on the ground and relax your entire body. When I start engraving the runes into your spine, your brain will become numb as your spine is connected to your nervous system. You may lose all feeling in your body, but try to retain some of it. You need to relax as much as possible; otherwise, the runes will fight against your body instead of flowing with it, thus destroying your soul,"
"That's a bit scary…."
A drop of a swear ran down the side of my face, whispering good luck into my ear before passing onto my chest as I lay down on the ground.
"I recommend taking your pants and undergarments off. You'll be really sweaty later on,"
"N-Nah, I'm good… Also, could you wear something less revealing? I know your body is amazing and all, but you're making me straight up uncomfortable,"
"Stop being an idiot and shut up. I'll give you instructions to lessen the pain as well, so make sure to keep your ears open and follow each instruction carefully,"
"Sure, sure,"
Soon, a spark of bright green lightning exploded from the man's hand, and it crackled at the very tip of his finger.
Drops of sweat coated my entire body just from the fear of getting touched by that… and once he slid his finger across the very top of my spine, my whole body convulsed, and all my muscles tensed.
"Relax! Relax, you son of a bitch!" The man shouted, and so I clung onto the remanents of my slowly fading consciousness and tried my best to think peaceful thoughts.
Chocolate cake… chocolate cake… chocolate cake… chocolate cake… chocolate cake… chocolate cake… chocolate cake… chocolate cake… chocolate cake… FUCK! WHY CAN'T I THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE BUT CHOCOLATE CAKE-
"ARGHHHHHH!"
As soon as I lost focus, my body convulsed once again, and I began to foam at the mouth, but I still clung on.
I wasn't going to allow myself to die here… There is absolutely no way I would let myself die here.
"We're halfway there! You're doing a great job!" The man encouraged me, but his words just went in one ear and out the other as I gritted my teeth and tensed the tips of my fingers.
Blood halfway filled my throat, and my eyes rolled back into their sockets… and then everything went numb.
I couldn't feel anything and only saw sparks of lightning streek across my blurring vision.
"Huff… huff… huff…."
Of course, I ended up fainting, but upon seeing the abyss of my consciousness, I saw seven runes lined up in a vertical manner.
They were green but suddenly shifted with a dark purple tone, bubbling with a thick and gooey substance running down it.
The runes were in a different language, but for some reason, I could comprehend them like I've read and spoken them my entire life.
…
"The inheritor of nature and apostle of Tartarus descends from the clouds and stains the mountain tops with blood-red snow," I muttered as I slowly opened my eyes, only to see the smug face of this tortoise now man standing over me.
"So that's what you read… we'll see if that comes true or not because death is omnipotent and can even cut through fate,"