Its smooth voice entranced Orion, feeling as calm as a boat on tranquil waters. Though nowhere to be seen, the speaker rang a bell in his mind. He had no recollection of ever hearing the voice before, yet it felt strangely familiar. "Who are you?" Orion asked, his tone giving no clue about his current feelings.
"You don't remember me? And here I thought my entrance was impeccable." A light chuckle resounded from every direction, making it impossible to tell its origin. "Well, it ought to be expected. Our last meeting wasn't yesterday after all," the stranger said. A few hushed words followed, but Orion couldn't hear them over the voices in his head. They would remain a mystery to him.
"Fifth month's research log."
"Images, giants, shackles."
"Voices, thunder, glyphs."
"Freezing, sins, confession." He kept spewing words like a waterfall. With every sentence, the vision in his eyes turned more tunnel-like.
The mysterious voice interrupted him, "Orion, you know you are talking to yourself, right?" It didn't understand if Orion knew about the things he did. And if he knew, and continued, it didn't know what to do anymore. He would have been a lost cause at that point.
"Fifth month's research log."
"A voice appeared, origin unknown. It seems familiar."
"I don't like it."
"what's the Reason?"
"It doesn't like me."
"Or me, it didn't state two. Who." Orion and himself openly displayed their prejudices against the unknown entity. Unbeknownst to them, or him, it gave the answer the other party looked for. "So you don't know. At least there is some hope still left."
No one spoke a word for a good minute, each waiting for someone else to continue. If the surrounding voice wasn't lifeless, one could hear even a pin drop.
"I can see that you haven't given up yet, something I honestly didn't expect," the invisible existence spoke, not hiding its prospects. Truth be told, it expected to find him as a hollow shell of his old self. The fact that one could still talk to him laid far out of his expectations. "But since you have forgotten me, I need to freshen your memory." Following its mysterious claim, the scenery in front of Orion's eyes changed.
Like a bird, his view stretched across a barren red landscape. All-consuming chasms covered the wasteland similar to the explosives in a field of landmines. Except for iridescent crystals floating among the dark clouds, the same bleak hills and valleys repeated themselves.
Beneath his floating self knelt a boy shackled to the ground. His figure shivered, clashing the restraining chain links against each other. His appearance caused an audible gasp to escape Orion's lips.
Twelve massive figures surrounded the youthful stature, looking down at his insignificant self. Like a block of ice, they stayed unmoving.
An ominous tentacle, with its rough, scaly texture, appeared suspended in mid-air. Its existence shook against the serenity that encased it, trying to break free from the clutches of time.
"No no no…," Orion muttered, his voice trembling. "I escaped, didn't I? I shouldn't be here. This isn't real!" He screamed, wrapping his hand around the pain in his chest. "I confessed! What do you still want from me?"
"I'm impressed," a familiar voice appeared behind him. It was the same that talked to him a few moments ago. Turning around, Orion saw a hazy figure. His shallow breaths blurred his vision. He couldn't tell what talked to him, just like back then. 'It was you.'
Everything reverted to normal. The temple vanished and the skies turned clear. Surrounding him was a never-ending black void, just like he got used to.
"You were there that day," Orion said, remembering where he heard the voice before. His rough voice carried an undercurrent of disbelief. "You stopped time to talk to me," Orion recalled the scene. Except for the environment, everything was the same. He was still a prisoner to the statues' might and the supposed god continued to mock him for it. "You are here again. Why? Do you want to laugh at me? Tell me just how weak I am?" Orion asked, his tone freezing.
"I don't know how you reached that conclusion, but you're mistaken. I have neither the intent to hurt nor mock you," the delicate voice echoed.
"You said you're a god, right? Why didn't you help me back then? Isn't that what a god should do?" Orion doubted the other creatures' previous words with an incredulous tone. He couldn't grasp how someone with that kind of power would ever do something as vile as this. Leaving a lost child in the clutches of destined doom. 'How could you?'
"It wasn't the right time for me to-"
"You left me!" Orion's shout fell into the claimed god's words. "You left me behind! Left me there, like a rusty piece of copper, not worthy of your high and mighty attention!" He wailed, his body unable to shed tears. Orion didn't know why he reacted the way he did. He struggled to recall the events that had transpired. All that stuck with him was the promise he made that day.
"Orion, If I could, I would have saved you," the unknown voice said between his cries. "To be honest, I tried. If I didn't, I wouldn't be here right now."
"How the mighty have fallen. You think I believe you?"
"You don't have to. But neither am I obligated to do anything to help you." The additional comment shook Orion's world like a wrecking ball. In his haste to jump to a conclusion, he forgot to think about the connection they had. None. They never met each other in the past, so why would they have any responsibility toward each other? Was it right of him to expect it to rescue him?
"B-but you should have saved me, right? There's no way you wouldn't. You're a dog after all." Orion stammered, his words lacking the confidence from earlier. He didn't even notice the mistake he made. "Why have power only to waste it?" His shivers couldn't be solely attributed to the cold anymore.
"You don't get it, Orion," the voice spoke with profound pauses. "You view the gods as grace. Like beings created for justice and salvation. Creatures whose only task it is to satisfy your needs." Before giving Orion a chance to interrupt, it continued.
"Let me once again burst the bubble of your imagination. The statues you seek to defeat are also gods, just like those you beseech. God doesn't mean grace, Orion." The echo of its words suffocated Orion. "It means supremacy!" The last phrase reverberated in his head, overpowering even the constant voices.
In his mind, there was a fork in the road. On one side, he could believe the unknown being, shattering the world as he knew it. Or, he could refuse its claims, keeping his peace of mind.
"What do I think?"
"Is it right…"
"To follow its truth?"
"Or seek my own…"
"Like back in my youth." Orion scampered from thought to thought, landing far back in the past. Had he believed that person back then, everything would be different. Would he risk it again? Too bad that there was no way for him to pay them back for what they did. 'Unless…'
"So being a god means supremacy? The authority to act as one pleases?" Orion asked in a tone hiding his intention.
"So you believe me? Not quite. Just like there is royalty above royalty, there are gods above gods. You describe the top of the food chain."
"Then one just has to reach the top." The relentless fire in him, which lost a lot of its prior vigor, once again blazed with ferocity. He saw it. The first step leading to his revenge revealed itself. "How do I become a god?"
The space in front of Orion rippled like drops of rain on a peaceful lake. Tremors raged within the abyss, breaking through its overbearing presence. A hazy figure, like the one Orion saw earlier, emerged. Inky black slate-like skin covered it, almost blending in with the grey surroundings. The voices in his head raised a ghastly shriek at its appearance.
"It's about time I introduce myself. Lux, harbinger of arcana. Bearer of eons' wisdom." Silence ensued its imposing words.
"Fifth month's research log. I've lost it."
"Lost what?" Lux couldn't understand the reaction of Orion. In its head, it imagined either grand praise or a speechless face. Well, speechless, it was, but not the way it wanted. One couldn't help but notice the deadpan look in Orion's eyes.
"My sanity," Orion stated, exasperation laced in his words. He took another look at the tome that took shape in front of him. The shining gold lining of the milky white pages blinded him. 'A book is lecturing me about godhood.'