"Ba-thump!!"
"Ba-thump!!"
Taking a deep breathe he calmed down his heart which was about to explode out of his chest.
Clasping his hands on his face he gave out a soft chuckle which echoed throughout the room.
There it was again the same dream, the cursed dream that reminded him of things he did not want to remember.
What's worse he even clearly remembered the story his mother told him, her voice was still buzzing inside his head.
But what crazier was he was the one inside the story.
That feeling was familiar, weird and creepy for him while his gut feelings told him the content in the dream was different from what he has heard.
Because...
There was bloodshed and painful cries of a devastating battle in his dream.
"I must be going crazy." He clasped his head on his hand and took and let out a long sigh.
But well, at the end of day that was just his feeling and dream nothing more.
"Heh, the more I try to run from it why does it always follow me?"
He looked at the clock on the table beside his bed.
It was just 3 am in the morning.
He had gone to bed at 12 last night but now he was awake at 3 am.
'I didn't even sleep for more than 3 hours.' He rubbed his forehead as he knitted his brows in a tight frown.
It had been another sleepless night for him.
He looked at the bottle of sleeping pills beside his bed and extended his hands to take one of the pills but his hands stopped in mid air.
'Take care of yourself.' The familiar kind voice of his mother echoed inside his brain.
"Hah, you want me to take care of myself huh.." With his head bowed down he scoffed. "Mom, you are too cruel."
In order to take off things from his mind he decided to go for a long drive to the ocean, look at the sunrise from his favorite spot and walk around the sandy beach.
Changing into a pair of trousers and a cotton shirt with a sneaker he exited his bedroom, locking the door silently behind him.
Before he started his monochromatic and busy schedule of the day, he wanted to prepare himself mentally for every challenges and troubles that were going to come at him.
-
-
[Celestial Realm]
[The Imperial Palace of the Jade Emperor.]
"Jade Emperor!!!"
The silence and peace in the whole heavenly palace was disturbed when a hoarse voice of a woman echoed throughout the silent palace.
Sitting on a golden and beautiful throne that was shining with light even brighter than the sun itself was an old man with a wise and calm appearance on his face.
Bathing on the holy light, he looked holier than any other existences one could imagine of.
Looking at the haggard woman whom he had expected to arrive anytime soon he spoke slowly but his voice firm and precise.
"What brings you here, Goddess of War??"
With her face still filled with old wounds and scars, dried blood on her shining armor which had turned dull because of the blood, the Goddess who was once praised in all three realms as the beauty among beauties stood in front of the jade emperor looking like a century old lady.
"You know it more than anyone else."
With her blood shot eyes she looked at the heavenly emperor without a single hint of fear in her dark brown eyes even when speaking with the Emperor of heaven.
"This insolence!!"
One of the gods from the eastern side fumed with anger and yelled at the lady deity.
Gesturing him to stay quiet the Jade Emperor glanced at the pitiful appearance of the deity who among the Mortal gods was the one held in highest regard.
"Speak." His calming voice echoed throughput the hall of the imperial palace.
"I have been searching for centuries and centuries." Holding back her tears she spoke loftily do as not to show her weak moments and her true emotion.
"I roamed each and every realm, every corner of the Earth, heaven and hell, I left no stone unturned." Clutching the sword as tight as she could glared at the Jade Emperor.
"Why didn't you tell me??" She shouted at him.
"Why didn't you tell me that God of destruction has reincarnated in the mortal world?" At this point she was almost shouting out her heart at the jade emperor.
Rubbing his temple the Jade Emperor looked at the Goddess of war who was on verge of breaking down. "So you found out huh?"
"What do you mean by that?" Trembling the goddess of War looked at the Jade Emperor who looked as if he was about to say something.
"After the war, I sent his soul for reincarnation instead of having his soul perish in the afterlife." Before the Goddess of War could speak he added.
"And yes, I have sealed off his power and memory so you could not detect him until today." The Jade emperor spoke without any fluctuation in emotion.
"I wonder what happened…hmmmm.." The Jade Emperor summoned a mirror from the eternal spring of life.
A golden framed mirror whose reflecting surface was clear as that of diamond flew right into the hand of the Jade Emperor.
"Show me the God of Destruction's whereabouts."
The surface of the mirror got fuzzy and blurry. The distortion quickly subsided and a clear image of a modern man appeared on the mirror.
Seemed like the man had injured himself and let a drop of his blood fall on the shrine of one of the god.
"Seems like the water god's shrine." Looking closely he noticed the remains of the centuries old destroyed shrine of the Water God.
"Ohh..so that's why, his power got leaked out huh?" Jade Emperor contemplated over the fact completely ignoring the anxious Goddess of War who was waiting for him to speak.
Unable to hold in her curiosity since she could not see the mirror he was holding , The Goddess of War cried out.
"Since The God of Destruction is at the mortal world, let me go there as well." She fell down on her knees and kowtowed before the heavenly emperor.
"I will do anything. So please let me go to him…I..I…" The emotions and feelings she had buried deep inside her for two hundred years came flowing out as tears spilled out form her eyes.
"I miss him to death."
The whole hall was filled with the sad cries of the strongest deity, the deity called to be the cold-hearted amongst all, the deity who scoffed at everyone and everything.
Everyone looked amused and surprised at this unexpected outburst of the strongest female goddess.
"Hush child!" The Jade Emperor appeared right before her. He could not see her crying her heart out like that after all, all the gods, goddess and deities were his own child.
Right before everyone's eyes, he whisked her away from the royal hall to the pavilion of tree of life.
" They disappeared!!"
-
The goddess of war had tightly shut her eyes. When they halted she opened her eyes slowly.
"T-This place….." The Goddess of War stuttered as she looked wide eyed at the Glowing tree that seemed beautiful than anything she had ever seen.
Al though she had never been here, how could she not recognize this place when she could feel the strong power flowing and surrounding the tree.
"This is the tree of life." The Jade Emperor spoke without letting her say anything.
"I have brought you here to make a deal." He looked at the Goddess who was still surprised at the sudden change of place.
"Deal??" She looked at him confused and in doubts.
"Yes, the one that would let you fulfill your wish without disrupting the rules and balance of the heaven." He answered her solemnly.
"An Equivalent exchange!!"