"Tsk, what is taking those humans so long? They should've chosen a fighter by now!" Mars clicks his tongue, sitting on one of the seats provided to them in their meeting room.
The room was a fancy oval room, adorning various types of gemstones and minerals embedded into the pillars and marble floor.
"Quite feisty, are you?" Amaterasu giggles at the Roman god's behavior, amused by his shirt temper. "You really want to fight, I assume. Considering your strength, you should be fighting in the middle of the rounds, not the early ones."
"Bah! None of that shenanigans! Spare me the wait and just send me already!" Mars cackles madly, whipping his head back and balancing the chair on two legs before tilting forward and back to a normal position. "I still don't like you," Mars says with a glare.
"That's not very nice of you," Amaterasu giggles in return, not letting Mars gaud her.
"Tsk, you're not fun, being a leader of a pantheon. You're soft as fuck," Mars clicks his tongue, glaring at Amaterasu who merely tilted her head slightly, her smile still present. "If you snap just one time and show me not to mess with you, maybe I'd stop pestering you and probably show respect, but nah, you're a wuss at best."
"And a wuss that has more strength and power than a god bred for war and battle such as yourself," Amaterasu fires back with a lighthearted and sweet tone, akin to a mother talking to her child. "Other than that, you are almost a forgotten god. All of you Roman deities are almost non existent because of how the Greek pantheon took over-"
"I believe you have spat enough on Mars' ego, Amaterasu," Jupiter grumbles from Mars' side, restricting the Roman god of war from pouncing at the Shinto head. "The whole Roman pantheon's ego, to be precise," the head of the Roman deities added with a small growl. "Any more jabs to our name will result in a commotion, I assure you, Amaterasu. Proceed with caution. We may not be as relevant anymore but we are as powerful as any of you here."
"Big threats coming from a small group," a god in samurai robes and armor chuckled from Amaterasu's side.
"Susanoo," Amaterasu grumbles, almost pouting at Susanoo's jab.
"Laughable attempts coming from a pantheon with entities walking around with an eye up their asses," Jupiter scoffs, stifling a laugh. "But let's face it, after this tournament, a war will surely break out between pantheons."
"That is a given," the Jade Emperor sighs in disappointment, just walking into the room. "The battle for creation will surely tear the fabric of what is normal now, and it will be up to us leaders of pantheons whether we will fight for command or not," he adds whilst positioning himself not too far from the table.
"Well, shit, now that you say that, I really want this tournament to end!" Mars whistled, his eyes gleaming in anticipation at the thought of an all out war between gods and goddesses. "That's a really good way to fucking die if I do say so myself."
"Now, now, we shouldn't fight over small matters like these," Hermes laughs from the side, serving drinks to the other participants. "I'm sure we will come to an agreement after this tournament is over. Fighting between deities are super overrated and are just such hassles, so we really shouldn't. It would be a massive waste of our precious time."
"I don't see the waste in it," Mars said, eyes closed, and a small smile present on his face as he nodded to his own words.
"Of course, you refuse to view it as wasteful," Hermes laughs in a good-natured way, lightly patting Mars' shoulder before pouring wine for the said god of war. "Any battle is worth living and dying for, at least for you."
Hearing Hermes say it with clear understanding, Mars grins happily before grabbing his goblet and drinking his wine in one go. After that, the Roman god of war merely slams the golden trinket down the table with no care for any damages.
"Hehe, no one is going to be fighting anyone. Not on my watch, unless I get bored, of course," Zeus giggled, sitting comfortably on his cushioned chair, a huge golden jug present in his hand. "With the utmost offense to all present here, I can end any of you in one punch, hehe. I see no reason to not end such a war if it does break out, but be my guests and start it after this whole entire fiasco is over. It might be an entertaining event to witness, at least."
"You're all going to get wiped to the floor anyways," Huginn, the black raven, jabs from Odin's shoulder.
"It's not even going to be a contest!" Muninn follows, ruffling his white feathers from the other shoulder.
"We shall see," Jupiter scoffs at everyone's remarks, his arms crossed. "Who is to fight for us next though? Why are we even waiting for humanity's choice? It will not matter, for we will win."
"We can't be too sure about that now, can we, Mister Jupiter?" Hermes hums a tune, now finished with distributing everyone's food and beverages. "After that Mulan's stunt, I believe that we should wait for humanity's choice so we can crush them with a counter."
"Crushing counter, you say. The rest of our combatants are not even present," Jupiter grumbles, gesturing around. "Namaka is not here, Nyx is not here, Brigid is not here, Quetzalcoatl is not present, Athena as well. The only one who I understand that is not here is that wild Egyptian, Set. Kālī as well, she is done with her battle," the Chief God of the Roman pantheon lists down names, a displeased expression present. "The others did not even send anyone from their pantheons."
"Oh, don't worry about that too much, hehe," Zeus waves it off with a giggle. "Namaka is testing her stuff, Brigid is planning, Quetzalcoatl is trying to force himself to fight the humanity he loves or we will eliminate his pantheon, Athena is training as usual, and I just don't want Nyx here," the Greek Chief God informed with a goofy grin, chugging from the jug of wine in his hands. "Mars can fight next if he wants."
"Oh, fuck yeah, I do!" Mars shouts, a grin blooming from his face as he shoots up from his seat. "I am going to the arena now! I will-"
Mars fell silent when an explosion happened outside of their meeting room, shaking the foundation of their area.
"Oh? I sense someone is approaching. Multiple individuals to be exact," Amaterasu voices out.
Heavy footsteps were shaking the room and the distant sounds of a familiar cackling can be heard. Upon hearing the voice, some of the present deities could not help but click their tongues in disappointment.
"Oh, it's the fucker," Huginn spat.
"Isn't he supposed to be leashed?" Muninn follows up, now hiding behind Odin's head.
The Norse Chief God merely stared at the door with a blank expression whilst his ravens ramble on.
Distant sounds of an electric guitar suddenly enter the ears of every deity that is present, the mad cackling of a man becoming even louder along with the music.
Soon enough, when the sounds of the instrument died only to be replaced by two bickering voices behind the door of the meeting room.
"You are insufferable! Mother and father will lose their minds if they find out about this!" An echoing voice of a male bellowed, his tone asserting authority as something slammed onto the door.
"Neh, neh! Let uncle have some fun, I say! It's bad enough that only one of us got picked! Move, Horus!" A voice laughs wildly, addressing the echoing voice.
"You absolute buffoon! You two are out of your minds! I would've let you fight, but you're going to make a scene just because! If you could control yourselves, then maybe our whole pantheon wouldn't be placing you both on lock down when things like these happen! But no, you two cannot!" Horus shouts from behind the door, getting a laugh from two voices. "And don't laugh! Anubis, don't feed his delusions!"
"Nah, uncle can go and kick some ass! Right, neh, uncle?" Anubis asked with a jovial tone, earning a chuckle from the uncle.
"Just get the fuck out of the way, will you?"
With a loud cackle, a guitar rift blasted into the meeting room and into everyone's ears. The wall and the door were blasted open as black musical notes went everywhere in the room.
Seeing the musical notes, everyone either dodged out of the way, placed a shield to protect themselves or did not budge. Zeus, not really caring that much, merely raised a hand to catch one of the notes before crushing it. After that, the god winced with a sigh of disappointment.
"Fucking Set and his Chaos Notes," the Greek Chief God grumbles, looking at his hand that is now painted black and is distorted and twisted to some extent. "My body still can't get over how his shit works," the god whispers in a displeased tone.
A silhouette was sent flying after the explosion. It landed on the opposite side of the now broken door, a grunt resonating from it as the familiar echoing voice resurfaced.
"Grr, this is going way too far, Set!"
Horus, a tall god without anything to cover his muscular top, wears a headdress styled as a red and white falcon with similarly colored feathers cascading from the head piece and down to his back. Golden rings were seen hugging his huge wrists and a flail was strapped to the white shendyt he is wearing, a type of kilt that wraps around his waist. While his body was mostly human-like, his feet were akin to an avian's, orange in color and fixed with sharp talons.
The Egyptian god stood up with a growl, pointing a shaky finger at the grinning individuals outside the room.
"Father and mother won't be happy about this. The entirety of our pantheon won't be happy about this, Set. You are being too rash-"
"Yeah, yeah, fuck you too, Horus," a gruff husky voice chortled as a god walks into the room, making everyone raise their guards.
Set, the Egyptian God of Chaos, wears clothes similar to a rockstar. A black leather jacket with a white shirt that dons a ripped hem, ripped jeans and black leather boots with a touch of animal fur. A choker with spikes wraps around his neck, and sunglasses sit on top of his long messy red and white hair, his amber eyes gazing at the gods with a mocking glint. Whisker-like markings are seen on his cheeks and a forked tail protrudes from his back. His hands wear black fingerless gloves with spikes on their knuckles, and inside his right hand is a red electric guitar with blades around its head, shaping the instrument into an ax.
"Normally I'd listen for a few seconds but that can go and fuck itself because I ain't standing aside with this one," Set chuckles, wrapping an arm around his companion, Anubis, who wear similar clothes to Horus with only the headdress being styled to be a jackal. "Fuck you and everyone present here, I ain't sitting down and wait for my fight. I want it now!"
"Oi, oi!" Mars growls a warning out. "You got some nerves trying to steal my fight!" He points at Set with an enraged expression, his arms practically shaking in anger. "Get the fuck out before shit turns ugly," Mars says, a hand resting on the hilt of his gladius.
Hearing the challenge, Set looks up and down at Mars, sizing him up before bursting out laughing. Anubis, who was also listening, follows up with a fit of laughter, almost wheezing at the words of the Roman god of war.
"Yeah, fuck that shit, sit the fuck down before I turn you into a twisted souvenir," Set grins madly, both hands now holding his guitar as if he is ready to strum. "I ain't gonna be told to wait for the fucking tenth round of this shitty tournament! I'm fighting at the start where it's still fucking fresh! Fuck being last place! The best deserves to be in the first! It's fucking bad enough that I didn't get to open this shit up. Who even let Shiva's bitch fight? Isn't that gal supposed to be a housewife or something?"
Set's foul words went on without stopping with the gods and goddesses listening to frowns present.
"Is there no way for us to persuade you to back down, Set?" Amaterasu hums with a smile, eyes closed as she tilts her head to the side.
"Do I look like someone you can fucking persuade?" Set shoots back with a raised eyebrow, gripping the shaft of his guitar with one hand before letting the weapon rest on his shoulder. "Fuck no. Fuck your requests. Ain't no way I'm letting any of you shitty heads dictate what I do. That's just not the best behavior for someone who is better than all of you combined!"
"Nah, this is unacceptable behavior," Mars growls but before he can unsheathe his gladius, Jupiter held his arm. "What-"
"Be calm, boy," Jupiter warns with a certain edge to his voice before pulling Mars down, making the latter sit down forcefully. "Do not risk injuring everyone here just because of an interference. One battle is not worth the risk of not being able to fight at all."
"Wise words, you old fuck," Set chuckles, his long tongue lolling out just to gaud Mars. "So, anyways, with the shit out of the way, I'mma be fighting in the second round. Pleasure doing fucking business with you lots," he adds, holding the typical rock sign with his free hand. "Y'all cool the fuck off and just watch the greatest in motion. Good riddance!"
And with that, Set and Anubis were gone as fast and abrupt as they arrived, leaving the deities to their own devices.
"I apologize-"
Horus begins speaking but is cut off by Zeus dismissive laugh.
"Hehe, don't worry about little things like that. I didn't expect that god would follow any orders, but it was your pantheon's fault for not using reverse psychology on him," Zeus chuckled, gazing at his distorted hand. "He would've thought of disobeying orders if you said he'll be fighting at the early battles. He probably would say that the best should be saved for last or some shit like that."
Hearing that, Horus merely sighs. "Yes, we did just that but it seems that Set caught on, going as far as promising to plunge Valhalla in an unending state of distortion if we dare try to manipulate him again."
"Uh huh! Set? Thinking? That's a surprise!" Huginn laughs, ruffling his black feathers.
"That god is not even capable of proper thoughts other than being the quote on quote, the best of the deities!" Muninn follows up with a laugh of his own.
"At some angles, he is the best," Jupiter scoffs, arms crossed, eyes watching the seething Mars beside him. "His power's effect is irreversible with conventional means. Our healing factors and powers have a hard time dealing with it. He is the perfect embodiment of chaos out of all the deities."
"Chaos," Zeus mumbles with a quieter tone. "Chaos gave birth to some powerful beings, but only Set actively pursued it with burning passion and desire to spread it. The other one I know who messes with such force is that brat Eris from my pantheon, but as much as I hate to admit it, Set reached heights with using Chaos to the point we cannot risk confronting him without a proper plan."
Hearing the words of the chief gods, Mars cursed under his breath, "Then I will pursue my power with greater passion then. After that, I'm going to slaughter that fucker, or die fucking trying."
"Then you should start training whilst everything is happening," Jupiter pitched in.
"You know what, chief? I think I'm going to do just that," Mars says before standing up and walking out of the room without any more words said.
"Hehe, the desire of the youngling is always so tremendous. Too bad that he won't be able to surpass Set," Zeus chuckles, chugging from his jug again now that the noisy deities are out. "Brute force alone won't even dent Set, or hurt him for that matter. Too bad that Mars only honed his fighting expertise and strength rather than expanding."
"Mars may not be the strongest in terms of versatility, but I assure you that he is stronger than most of us when it's a straight battle," Jupiter says without room for arguments, making some of the deities frown.
"Hmmm, we will see," Zeus hums. "We will see, for sure," he says once again before the voice of Heimdall began calling for them once again.
...
Freya stood on top of a massive coliseum, her coliseum, and her expression showed surprise. Her eyes are wide, mouth slightly open upon absorbing the scene in front of her.
The elegant white structures of her facility were completely covered in paint of varying hues. Her eyes roam around the area and see nothing but paint. There was paint on the seats, paint was splattered on pillars, and paint did not even leave the ground alone.
"There is paint everywhere," Freya says, an armored palm going down her face. "Reginleif, you said Vincent was testing his powers, you didn't mention that he turned my entire coliseum into a canvas."
"Eh? Was that a requirement? An important information to share? Pardon, I was not aware. I just thought that his progress is more important at the moment," Reginleif answers, scratching the back of her head with a small smile.
"Nevermind, you're correct," Freya sighs before looking at the clean patch located in the middle of the arena.
There they see a man sitting on a wooden chair with a coffee table in front of him and a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.
The man in the middle of the arena wears a blue buttoned-up vest with a white dress shirt under that dons a starched collar. The attire is with a silk necktie and is completed with ash gray trousers that are paired with his top. The man dons short but slick red hair, a full beard and mustache present on his face. Blue eyes stare at Freya and Reginleif and a small smile blooms on his face. If one were to look closely, a portion of the man's left ear is missing.
"Getting comfortable, I'm assuming," Freya says, grinning at the man in question. "It's nice to see you getting better with your abilities. Humanity really needs your expertise, Vincent" she adds, now standing in front of the man, Vincent van Gogh.
"Why thank you, Miss Freya," Vincent chuckles before gesturing to the kettle placed on the table. "Coffee? I want to enjoy a cup before I inevitably fight."
Summoning two chairs, Freya sits on one of them, followed by Reginleif.
"Hmm, I sense grief within you, Miss Freya," Vincent cuts to the chase, making the goddess wince at his words. "I've been too familiar with the feeling and all that comes with it. It pains me to see a good soul suffering from it."
"It's... complicated," Freya says before Reginleif cuts in.
"We are grieving after our sister's death along with the first fighter of humanity," the younger valkyrie admits with a sad smile, gazing at Vincent.
"Oh," was the only thing that came out of the painter's mouth. "Well, I cannot really say that the odds were really balanced, but did our vanguards show that humanity can fight back?"
"They did and they fought well," Freya says, her hands laying on her lap. "It was a miscalculation on my part that caused us to lose... and I am-"
"Hush, Miss Freya. We must not blame ourselves every moment we can," Vincent says with a frown that slowly turns into a knowing smile. "Live with it, make peace with it, and I know it is still fresh for you, but do your best to move on. Both of you," he goes on, sipping coffee occasionally. "I know it sounds harsh, but we can grieve all we can after we win this tournament."
Hearing the painter's words, Freya grew a small smile on her face. Although she is still saddened, she did feel better with a little help from the people around her.
"Come, drink with me. We can talk about anything before the next round starts," Vincent grabbed the extra cups from under the table before pouring coffee for the two valkyries.
Freya and Reginleif did not resist the offer and gave their nods as thanks.
"Now, where can we start this conversation?"
...
"Yo! Listen up everyone because the second bout of battles is here!" Heimdall roars through the Gjallarhorn. "After a longer waiting time due to some complications on the side of the divines, we can now proceed to our second fight! Let me hear everyone's cheers!"
And so, everyone roars in chorus, satisfying the referee who got even more excited.
"Alright! Let's start this off with humanity's next fighter! It's this guy!" Heimdall points at humanity's gate as a spotlight points at it as well. "The weight of humanity's existence rests on this man's shoulders! So, humanity better cheer for him!"
Then, the gates opened and not even a few seconds after that, it exploded with life.
"Woah! Not even a warning, but that's how I like it! Humanity's fighter is asserting his dominance!" Heimdall laughs in glee, now levitating once again using his platform. "Meet the man who was cursed by a mischievous god!"
Vines of different sizes crawled out of the long entrance. Butterflies flutter out of the opening as well as a myriad of animals. Water started flowing out of the entrance and soon started filling the sides of the arena.
"A man of passion and compassion! A man whose story took over the world by storm the moment he perished by his own hands!" At this, humanity was confused, not knowing any warriors from history with such a backstory.
Soon, colors came in splatters, painting the walls that separate the arena with the seats. Red, yellow, any color that the audience can imagine was visible as the songs of birds filled everyone's ears, followed by the soothing sound of the wind brushing along trees.
"He's a man who is cursed by a god! Forever to hear voices in his head until it finally broke him! Now, he is here to fight the divines for their actions!"
"That's not quite true, Mister Heimdall," a man's voice came from the entrance, an amused laugh following which halted Heimdall's speech. "I am simply here to fight for humanity and offer my life, that's all. No need to exaggerate my purpose."
Out from the entrance is Vincent van Gogh, sitting on a herd of capybaras that brought him up the arena. After the ride, Vincent gets off before kneeling in front of the animals and petting them.
"Thank you for the ride, friends. Go on now," the painter says, making all the animals retreat back to the entrance along with the vegetation.
Standing up, Vincent looks at Heimdall with an apologetic smile.
"Apologies for the interruption, Mister Heimdall. You can go on now," Vincent says, walking back a few feet from Heimdall and bowing his head a little.
"Geez, it's my job to hype up the people, but you do you," Heimdall grumbles before shouting, "Alright! Everyone, let me hear your cheers for humanity's fighter! Vincent van Gogh!"
The cheers came, but it was not loud. This made Heimdall grumble even more before sighing in defeat, not really expecting much of a reaction for a painter like Vincent.
Vincent on the other hand still has a smile present, not exactly bothered by the crowd's reaction. He merely reached from his back and retrieved a palette and brush as Heimdall began introducing the next fighter.
"On the side of the divines, we have a rowdy one! It's this guy!" Heimdall begins, pointing at everyone, spinning his platform as he does so. "You all might think that Kālī was chaotic but wait until you see this god in action!"
The gates of the deities' side opened as an electric guitar rift shook the entire coliseum, a mad cackling echoing from the depths of the entrance.
"He is the truest god of chaos in all of existence! The one and only that slain the almighty Osiris once! A god of unpredictability and disorder he is!"
A strong gust of wind rushed out of the entrance, a sandstorm practically engulfing half of the arena. As this is happening, the sound of the electric guitar merely gets even more intense, the laugh growing wilder and louder as it goes on.
"He is a god that has tampered with the very foundation of Chaos! A symbol of chaos and disorder, hailing from the Egyptian pantheon!"
The sandstorm rages on and Vincent could not even see the other of the coliseum but deep within the sandstorm, amber eyes glow and give a promise to consume the painter.
"Everyone! Give it up for the deities' chosen fighter!" Heimdall roars as the sandstorm disperses, sending loads of sand towards the audience, showering them. "Set!"
Without the sandstorm, Vincent can now see his opponent, making him smile. A gesture returned by Set as he grinned at Vincent, his hands gripping his instrument.
"Oh, a fellow artist from a different field," Vincent chuckles lightly.
"The stage is set, no pun intended, and both fighters are here!" Heimdall flies up and points at the crowd. "Now, let us commence the second round of Ragnarok! Fight!" With that, he signalled the start of the round with a mighty blow on Gjallarhorn.
{•===Start of Round Two===•}
"Fuck yeah!"
After the horn sounded, Set instantly strummed his guitar, sending a wave of sand hurtling at Vincent at a terrifying pace. The wave was massive, almost reaching the height of the entire coliseum which made humanity gulp and the deities cheer.
...
"H-how can a painter e-even beat that?" A man stutters, shaking as he stares at the impending doom in front of them. "T-that's overkill, it will kill the damn painter."
Doubt plagued everyone's hearts and minds but their world just got brighter, literally.
Strong gusts of wind swallowed the wave of sand, creating a twister that rose and sent the sand out of the arena, leaving everyone baffled and removing the shadow that loomed over humanity.
Humanity watches as Vincent wields his brush, painting on the air like it was a solid canvas. His painting became enlarged, large enough for everyone to see that it was a giant wave of fire that rushed at Set.
They watch as Set sends sand to block the wall of fire, but it does not matter.
They can have what little hope they can feel.
{•===To Be Continued===•}
YO! Not the best, but it is what it is. So... Thoughts?