Just as he clicked on the folder, dozens of pictures, documents and old reports from a thousand years ago appeared before his eyes.
Something he found strange was that most of the pictures showed the same place, a dark and ancient room with a few more than a thousand human-sized pods. There were also words annexed to these pictures. One of which showed an entire city buried in a horde of mice.
After seeing the photos and not knowing what they were, he opened a document named Humanity's Fall. A thin old man appeared on the screen and started to speak.
"Today is the first day of January, year 3400. Until now, 99% percent of humanity has died or ran away. The planet is angry, every animal in the world has gained wisdom and were bestowed with powers we aren't able to understand. Dogs who were the best friend of men, are now rising walls of rocks from the ground and spitting multiple fireballs on our people. One of them said this is the retribution for hurting their mother, and that she gave them those powers to seek justice in her behalf... Ah!"
The man was speaking when a yellow mice quietly appeared behind the man and a huge spike was shot from its small mouth bursting the old man's head apart.
"Heavens..." Roderick gave a step back. He now began to understand what those people came to steal, this device has information and data from a thousand years ago. And from the looks of the folders, it has been updated even now. Calming himself, he opened the next archive dated a few decades later.
"We knew it! It was all the planet's faults. After giving so much power to these beasts, their greed is not smaller than ours. They were created to be sent on a crusade against humanity so the planet could be restored after we are gone. However, it seems the beasts greatest experts have found their own reasons to fight and instead of killing, they are holding humans captive and treating them as slaves."
....
After hours looking through all the information, Roderick stumbled upon seven folders. With each folder he opened, his eyes would gain a hint of horror as his face constantly paled. On the last folder, his body collapsed and he fell on his knees. He never found himself as shocked and terrified as now. These seven folders also helped him to understand what the picture he saw in the begging were in the end and this brought him even more terror.
"What have I been doing..." Roderick stared at his own hands, and he realized he is not different from those alchemist he deemed monsters. In a few moments, his eyes recovered their light. 'I can't stay like this, I must find answers.'
Leaving the ship hidden from others view, Roderick charged himself and released the energy from his feet in order to return to Eden. Seven hours later, Artemis, Ares, Neptune, Hermes, Athena and even Hecate, Roderick's mother were waiting by the beach with worried faces.
"Are you really sure it was him?" Athene questioned Artemis, who had just told them what happened with her and Roderick.
"She is right."Hermes agreed. "I can't believe that boy could unleash all that power. He managed to take that monster far away by himself, a monster the four of us wouldn't even hurt, I hope he is fine, though."
The sun was setting when they saw a figure flying towards them. They stared at him, stunned when the figure landed right before them.
The were circles in his eyes, and he even looked thinner than before, but the biggest change was his abyss in his left eye.
"Son!" His mother embraced him as she cries. The other also walked forward and congratulated him.
With the incident resolved, everyone has prepared a huge banquet for him in the headquarters. Because of the scale of the incident, all the factions had been invited to the event. Roderick, however, was standing on the balcony thinking for himself.
"Hehe." Laughing softly as he thought to what he saw. Down on the main hall, he saw a young maiden seating together with a few others of her age and his body shook when he noticed the small bell hanging on her neck.
Suddenly he felt a cold hand pulling his sleeve when he stepped back. Artemis in a silver-white dress stood in front of him, her eyes shining brightly as a thousand stars. A hint of red appeared on his face when he looked at her, but it soon disappeared. He turned to stare at the moon.
"Looking at the moon, it's hard to believe what happened a few hours ago."
Hearing his voice in a somewhat absent minded way, she replied. "Even right now I can't understand what in the world are you."
"Me too. Would you believe if I told you I was the god of thunder and lightning?."
The moment the words left his mouth, Artemis stopped moving. It was like his entire aura changed to the one belonging to a supreme figure standing above all. Her mind froze for a second she gasped.
"Do you like it when everyone just sees you as Artemis?"
"What? Well, differently from you I was raised in the headquarters so I got used to it."
"Don't you want one for yourself?"
With his question rigging in her mind, she asked herself the same thing before she nodded shyly. "I don't know, I think so."
"What about Melanie?"
With her face deeply red, she asked. "Melanie?"
"Hehe..." Bringing his face closer, embraced her small figure and said in her ear. "What, don't you like the name Melanie. But I think it really suits you, Mel."
Her face was so red it started burning. Not being able to hold anymore, she smashed his feet and ran away with a face as red as a tomato.
After seeing her figure vanishing in the distance with a smile on his face. Roderick turned and jumped down the balcony, this was the last day he would be seen in this island.
Walking in the dark street, Roderick gave a last look at the huge building where everything started when he received a call on his obelisk.
"Oh, have the three of you decided? Understood, meet me at the docks in 30 minutes."