The old man with the eyepatch stood in front of the four 'helpers' that appeared out of my body.
His presence felt different…
Overwhelming. Scary. Intimating. Ominous.
Even though I had no idea who he was, the feeling of suppression all those myths felt was obvious.
They didn't dare take any step closer to him.
The man hadn't even deemed them worthy of his words. Only lifting his hand to ready a hard flick.
Without even finishing his motion, the mythological beasts and heroes of legends started to scream.
They tried to run away. To fully get out of his sight.
But they were too late.
Be made a flicking motion, and a bolt of lightning struck at them. Hurling into the crowd's centre.
Then, a massive explosion nearly blinded and made my ears burst from the sound made by it alone.
It was a good thing it happened light years away from me. Allowing me to see the collapse myself.
The godly destructive power…
The confidence I had in myself started to lessen with every moment. Making me scared internally.
I didn't want to die…
Such a thought struck my heart before I was able to convince myself that this entity was an ally.
Kang Hyuk seemed to know of him, at least.
He seemed oddly quite while standing with the rest of them, showing a qualitative difference in status.
Who was this man?
He turned around and looked at me, then lowered his only functioning eye to the half-dead spirits.
"Noblesse Oblige, please bring them with us." The people next to him didn't seem like subordinates of his, but they also seemed to be oddly distant. Like they weren't together for any personal friendship.
It was the way he addressed her that was the hint.
The starry sky suddenly changed, and I felt like I was in someone else's home. In a small living room.
At least, it was 'small' enough in my perspective.
There was around three sofas on each side of the room, and a large TV hung up on the last wall.
Seemed average…
The formal yet old European dress wearing woman called 'Noblesse Oblige' sat next to the old man.
In the middle of the room were two figures.
Hungry Wolf and Python were magically bound next to each other, but they didn't dare resist.
Not while the old eyepatch geezer was here.
Zeus sat next to the other person. Someone who gave me a feeling of coming from ancient times.
But also a much less known of an era.
Egypt? Persia? I wasn't quite sure. All I knew was that her clothes seemed quite classy and exotic.
"There are so many of them today." The exotic woman seemed surprised by my current situation.
Having almost killed alternate versions of myself.
"Mystery, we have a job." (Zeus)
"It doesn't sound that serious from you." (Mystery)
"Silence. The both of you…" The old man quieted them down like they were kids in front of an adult.
He then turned his head and looked at me after a long thought. I didn't turn away from his face.
"How much do you know right now?" He asked with much deliberation, and I thought of my reply.
I could've told him a lie or refused to answer, but I knew such a thing wouldn't work in my favour.
It was better to make a decision based on reason.
No matter how annoying this whole thing was.
"That this place has multiple versions of me, and they want this 'power' of mine. Tell me… What is this? Why me…? Who is trying to destroy my entire world, and what's the point of telling me about it?"
"You have a lot of questions to ask." The old man's expression didn't change a shade, and responded:
"I'm the culprit of that."
"…What?" I couldn't make any sense of it. Was it normal for a culprit to reveal themselves easily?
"You can call me 'Odin', the Chief God in Norse Mythology." Although the old man said this, I knew that wasn't all. Almost everyone in this realm setent perfect replicas, but overlaid onto other people.
I'm not sure if Odin existed in the boundless cosmos and infinite worlds, but this wasn't 'him'.
This was someone else.
Someone who definitely knew me, but whether it was a friendly or thorny relationship wasn't known.
The truth was hard to figure out.
Maybe I could've used my 'Narration' ability to tell what he was thinking, but I wasn't that reckless.
It was hard to know what a strong mind would do to my personality. I was already dealing with 'stains'.
Remnants left behind after diving into too many people at once. Their thoughts… Their feelings…
Making me way to sympathetic towards them.
"Is that the truth?" I looked at Kang Hyuk, the man who combined with the God King in Greek Mythology, 'Zeus'. When I asked this, he merely turned his head away from me. Looking guilty.
That much was enough to form an opinion.
All those external memories I'd gained from others was pushed to the side. A fury birthed in me.
My own angry heart.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" I got up off my seat and ignored the half-dead prisoners.
My hatred focused all on one person.
What would my life be like if this bastard hadn't tried to start an apocalypse? Where would I be?
At the very least, I wouldn't have to feel pain and have to do wicked things just to save people.
"You've become a mess." Odin acted like he knew me personally. Saying exactly what Clarissa said.
I was thinking about whether to attack him or not.
Since I was no match, I let him drone off. Saying whatever he wanted while I thought up a plan.
"Was I not one before?" (Adam)
"You were the type of guy who kept on telling yourself what you were SUPPOSED to feel." (Odin)
"That's a normal thing." (Adam)
"It's not. Others act based on feelings, while you change your feelings to suit your situation." (Odin)
"It's useful." (Adam)
"Right. Emptying yourself of emotions is a part of who you are. That's why… 'she' exists." Odin pointed at the snake woman, Python, which made me hesitate. He continued: "Why do you think she appeared among all your infinite selves in here?"
"Coincidence…" (Adam)
"There are no coincidences in this world. All things have a cause and an effect." (Odin)
"Are you trying to lecture me now? Why mess with me like this? What did I do to you?!" (Adam)
"Maybe if you listen, I might tell you." Odin narrowed his eyes, then changed the topic:
"Anyway, 'Python' is a version of you from the world where you successfully awakened your own Gift: 'Empty'. She is your most 'evil' self, who threw away compassion to only do as she pleased." The old man first gestured towards the snake woman.
"Next is 'Hungry Wolf'. Who embodies all your fears and longings. He is your greatest contradiction. A man who, after emptying his emotions, suddenly desired to be loved. To love others the same." Then Odin moved on to the now unconscious wolf man.
I heard the sound of the front door outside this living room opening, and a man quickly entering.
Behind him were two more figures that had been captured. Electric burns covering the two of them.
The man with a smart look glanced at me, then placed the other new prisoners with the others.
The first one looked a lot more similar to me, but much more handsome. Having a different personality. As if expecting this, Odin naturally moved on to gesture at this man in particular.
"Ironically, there was one who fused with the myth of the first human to exist: 'Adam'. After losing what he loved, he became a messenger of death. The world was almost destroyed because of him. He is your anger and grudges. Your pettiness." (Odin)
"I don't need a refresher on the guy in that drama mask. I get what you're going to say." (Adam)
"Do you really understand it?" (Odin)
"It's strange you think I'm only made up of apathy, anger, fear, and whatever that is, but does that matter? There are scum worse than me in the world, so why are you trying to punish me?"
"…'Punish'?" He looked at me strangely, then at the four others that were sitting down around us.
The exotic woman, four eyes, the old European woman, and Kang Hyuk. They looked at me weird.
Wanting to say something, but unable to do so.
Maybe I could use 'Narration' in this situation to figure out they'd thoughts, but it was too risky.
And scary…
The more I used this ability, the more it felt like I was getting used to being a pushover to others.
Why should their feelings matter to me anyway?
They were themselves and I was myself. Whatever they may feel, it shouldn't cross the line with me.
Right…?
I'd been emotionally numbing myself to the point I'm overly sensitive l. Being such a damn pushover.
A mature person acts after assessing what they could gain, while a reckless fool acts on instinct.
I was being rational…
To the point I'd easily noticed the strangely sorrowful malicious gaze aimed in my direction.
Odin made my back shiver with his heavy stare.
"…Right. 'Punish'." He repeated again while approaching me, then touched my shoulder.
When he retrieved his hand, I found that a large fragment of my poisonous Evil Mana was stolen.
It floated in the old man's hand peacefully.
As if being above another's hand wasn't weird at all. This action scary enough to make me stagger.
My heart was constricting too fast from fear.
The eyepatch wearing old man spoke again:
"As brash and arrogant Gods, we just didn't like your world at all. So we're destroying it. You just happened to have been in the middle of it. Think of it like a trial. Overcome it, or die." Odin lowered his arm, and I immediately tried to stop his actions.
However, it was too late.
Like a vial of toxins, the Evil Mana is held back from using contaminated the four imprisoned spirits.
I didn't know why, but my power became much more potent in Odin's hand. Lethal enough to kill.
And maybe because it was my own power being used, the 'Curses' the dying spirits left struck me.
Making me blackout from pain.
"AAAAAAAAGH!" I wasn't able to scream for too long, and was immediately back to where I was.
Floating above the giant frost snake corpse, and with four more dead bodies thrown in front of me.
I held onto my consciousness desperately despite the pain. My senses telling me that I could die.
A voice was left behind in the empty space.
Giving me a certain type of hole.
"If you want to kill me badly. If you want your revenge on me, then come to 21 Faust Street on Leylin Lane. That's where I live. That is… if you can survive this." The voice seemed oddly robotic.
Regardless, since he thought this much was enough to kill me, there was no way I'd die here.
He thought I couldn't fuck up his real world self?
JUST WAIT UNTIL I GOT OUT OF HERE.
I didn't care if this was technically taking my anger out on an innocent. BOTH OF THEM ARE DEAD!
One day, I'd come back for my revenge properly.
They'd better clean their neck until then. I'm taking their heads and hanging it as hunting trophies.
I'll play the villain then. You'll see…!