"So... now that I'm a merchant from this plaque, what is my job? I mean, I really only have one sellable asset to my name, and those are my potions. If I integrate that into the world's economy, wouldn't I lose value?" I asked Dex for clarification.
Dex explained that I had the ability to buy items at a commercial price, or, a cheaper price than what we would see in stores. If a potion was ten gold, I could buy it for eight gold and then resell it for ten gold. Meaning, that I would have twelve gold in total. I could repeat this process, adding two gold to my pockets each and every time I sold a potion. He explained it simply enough and made it extremely easy to wrap my head around, but I could also take advantage of this in several ways I thought about.
So, I'm just a reseller then... I see. And, could I sell my products to the dealers who buy other stuff? Could I become the commercial seller?" I asked Dex again, pondering the thought of all the money I would rake in if that were to happen.
"I guess that's right, but you'd need the fame to do that. And... I don't think your name has the best reputation to it, does it?" Dex asked me again with a nervous smile. I scoffed, knowing he was right and also knowing I couldn't do anything about it.
"Well, no matter," I commented for the last time, looking at the front door as it opened and everybody poured in.
"Ah! Dex! Where's Hex?!" Ruby asked, hounding around the house for Dex's wife.
"She's at home! She felt a little sick this morning, so she decided to stay out of today's fun activities. Sorry, Ruby." Dex told her. Ruby impatiently looked to the side and held back an irritated look that kept getting worse.
"Oh, I should've asked this sooner, but it's better than everybody is here right now. Anima, what happened between Zeus and you? The whole city is in a lowkey panic and trying to get out of the city, so something is stirring... what exactly is happening?" Dex asked me.
"I wish I could tell you, but I'm actually pretty confused myself. You see, Zeus tried to wipe my memory to turn me into his Apostle so I could become the next Vessel for Zeus. We figured out the man Zeus is inside of is called 'Ono', and he's related to Jane and Janice in some way. Those two people were ones that we met outside of New Olympia, and who also got us in. For having a police force, they seem awfully latent about us standing up against Zeus, so we know that isn't a crime, but other than that, we're left in the dark. What do you know?" I asked Dex in response to his question.
"Well, I haven't known Zeus for a while, but I knew it's probably a good idea to get close to him because he's the overseer of this city. It's strictly business and I wouldn't really call ourselves friends." Dex explained.
"So, he has the most power, but you own the most property? Then why does Zeus have all that power if you own the damn capital?" I asked Dex again. Something in everybody's stories wasn't lining up, and I was getting closer to figuring it out...
"It's simple. Zeus is a powerful spirit, and I am not. I'm just a man, but Zeus has run this city for as long as History has been recorded." Dex tried to continue to speak, but I stopped him on an impulse I had regarding the recorded 'History'.
"And who wrote the history you're so familiar with?" I asked him. It seemed to click in his head as he told me that Zeus was the one to write history.
"I got it now. It's manipulated history. Back where I'm from, it was a pretty common thing as well. History was only ever written by the victors and the losers were never given a voice except through tall tales. That's why people are scared now and they weren't before, right?" I asked Dex again, but he didn't know.
"Um... I don't really know what's going on right now, but would it help to explain that Zeus can't use any magical attacks? I mean, that's what Anima said; somebody is always doing it for him." Ruby added on.
"She's right... now there's something else on the table. Who is the one the citizens are afraid of? Zeus can't attack, do the citizens even know that?" I turned back to Dex again with my finger on my lip.
"They would have to. Zeus doesn't attack himself and he has an army, they wouldn't need an army if Zeus could attack." Dex explained.
"Well, I know that. Do the citizens know that? It's a detail that could be overlooked so simply... assuming they don't, they're afraid of Zeus's attacks... tell me, how long has this current Zeus been in power for?" I turned to Tama, who explained the first time to me.
"I think around three months or so..." She mumbled.
"And, what about the Zeus before him? Are we getting close to a shift again?" I asked. It was slowly coming together in my mind now. I think I was just about there now.
"Well now that you mention it... it was also three months. Do you think Zeus is pushing because he needs a new Vessel?" Tama asked me again. Now, we were all deep in thought, yet I couldn't finish this puzzle.
"When I went to class, he had so many Disciples and Apostles, so why doesn't he just take one of those..." I mumbled again, thinking to myself. We sat in thought for thirty seconds as millions of thoughts ran through my head when Soul finally spit out the answer.
"Anima. He gathered a ton of mana to use that memory-wiping attack, right?" She asked me, standing up after I confirmed her question.
"He used all that mana on you! He doesn't want his Disciples or Apostles, because you're here!" She shouted out.
And just like finishing a puzzle, all of the pieces connected in my mind.
It makes sense. I'm a Hero, I have capacity nobody else does, and Zeus used to be a Hero as well, so now it was making all sense. A Hero Vessel for a Hero's Vessel. Zeus wanted my body. However, he couldn't directly attack me...
"You're absolutely right! However... if he can't attack, he'll probably send his Disciples to me to attack me." I commented. Ipa shook his head and we all turned toward him.
"Now you're overlooking something. Anima, he didn't attack you because he wanted your body. He couldn't damage it, or else who knows if he would be able to get into it. Zeus is probably perfectly capable of attacking, just based on his ability to use that memory wiping attack on you. I don't think we should overlook that." Ipa told me.
"You're definitely correct. Zeus can attack, which means the air element has the capability to be a deadly force?" I asked out loud again.
"No...? Air isn't deadly. There's never been a recorded case of the air element killing anybody across the world. Something else can attack, but the air element can only enhance." Soul explained again. The puzzle was slowly crumbling, until Ruby, of all people, fixed it again.
"Then, is Ono the one attacking?" She asked. We all turned toward her.
"Ono... that's right! Is Ono still there in Zeus's body? He must be! We wanted to separate the two, so they're definitely two different people..." I realized.