The battlefield was filled with corpses. The carnage of the struggle was still present. Most of the ground was dyed red from the blood of the fallen combatants. The unique scent of the crimson body fluid permeated the air. Only five people survived the gruesome conflict. Their armor was damaged beyond repair. Their weapons were broken. Each one of them had suffered some kind of internal injury or a fracture of one to a few bones.
"We did it." The youngest among them said, a knee on the ground.
He was the most injured among the five. His broken spear was planted on the ground to steady himself. Everyone could tell he was in bad shape.
"Indeed. We're one step closer to our goal… Mount Olympus."
A smile appeared on all their faces. They all saw something fall from the sky. The crash disrupted the quiet battlefield. The five people turned around and saw a figure approaching them. Before they could react, a sword appeared in his hand, and he swung it in a flash. Four heads rolled on the ground.
The kneeling young man screamed in sadness and anger. Looking closer at the mysterious individual, he was stupefied upon recognizing his identity.
"That's impossible. The gods can't come here and interfere. Lord Ares, how can you be here? Why are you killing us?"
"You ask a lot of questions, mortal. I'm a god. I do as I please. Besides, this is just an avatar of my body I created so that my father wouldn't catch me. Prepare to die and join your comrades."
"Why are you doing this? The gods said they wouldn't directly interfere."
"Hahaha… We do as we please with you mortals. If you had chosen me as your godfather, you would live. I can't have another god's mortals win this."
"So that's it. You're killing us because you are a sore loser… Our lives really don't matter to you."
"You are mortals. Why would I care about your lives?"
The young man lifted his body up with great difficulty and raised his broken spear.
"As a warrior, I must say I respect your courage. Facing a god, you are not cowering in fear. That's not bad, mortal."
"My name isn't mortal. I'm Aiken." The man yelled as he charged forward with his broken spear.
Ares moved his arm and slashed his throat, beheading him. In the next moment, the god's avatar body turned into mud.
OoOoOo
"Was I too late to save your soul? Don't tell me I've wasted my time with you… Hey, say something."
Aiken heard the voice and opened his eyes. He couldn't see anything around him as his surroundings were pitch black. Only his body, which had turned transparent, was emitting a faint light that was dimming as the seconds passed.
"Where am I? Am I dead?"
"Ah, so you're not gone yet. Good deal! You are in my kingdom, in the underworld."
"Are you a god?"
"I am."
"Show yourself, what is your name?"
"Settle down, mortal. I saved your soul and have a proposal for you."
"Don't call me mortal."
"But you are a mortal, Aiken. There is nothing to be ashamed of. It is the same when you mortals call us god. We have names as well."
"I'm not interested in your proposal. I cannot trust a god."
"I can't argue with you on that. But you should hear me out anyway, and stop wasting time. Once your light goes out, you will be gone for good."
Aiken saw the light losing its luminosity.
"Alright. I'm listening."
"I'm Hades. I'm the god of the underworld. I want to make you an offer. I will revive you and send you back to Pangea."
"You can do that?"
"Of course, I can."
"What do you want from me?"
"I want you to win Zeus's little game and get to Mount Olympus."
"What do you get out of it?"
"Aren't you curious about why I'm not among the list of gods for you mortals to choose from?"
"The thought crossed my mind."
"That's because Zeus deliberately left me out. I've been looking for ways to get back at him, but the restrictions he set on Pangea are pretty heavy on us gods."
"Well, that didn't stop Ares from coming."
"Hahaha… He had to pay a huge price for his reckless action. Even the avatar body he created wasn't that strong. The reason he waited for you guys to finish your battle was to have you be tired, weak and injured. In such state, he could easily kill you even with a mediocre avatar. If he had attacked when you were at full strength, the five of you could have battled him. That's how strict Zeus's restrictions are. But Ares's action gave me an opportunity to temporarily access Pangea."
"That's why you were able to bring me here?"
"Indeed. I'm not asking much from you. If you accept my offer, I will leave my imprint on your soul."
"I'm not sure I want that."
"Don't worry. A soul imprint trumps Zeus's Pangea system of god choosing. Basically, you will be choosing me as your true godfather. However, when I return you to Pangea, you will have to choose another god as I have no power there."
"Why are gods so obsessed about having their selected people win?"
"You will naturally understand if you reach Mount Olympus."
"Your offer doesn't seem that attractive."
"Well, you can die then. I'm sure another opportunity will present itself to me. I'm immortal. As long as I'm willing to wait, good things will come my way. I will find another opportunity to get back at Zeus."
Aiken sighed.
"Can you bring back my comrades too?"
"This isn't charity work. I explained to you how difficult it was to interfere with Pangea. You were the only soul I managed to get my hands on before it was too late. So what's your answer? Time is of the essence."
"Alright. I accept your offer. But that doesn't mean I trust you."
"Hahaha, good boy. Finally, I, Hades, have a chosen mortal. Zeus, let's see who will have the last laugh. I can already imagine your face."
"Wait a second. Wouldn't the gods notice if you sent me back there? Especially Ares. He just killed me after all."
"You are correct. That is why I'm borrowing Kronos's power. Even the gods won't notice a thing. You and I will be the only people who know."
"What power?"
"We're running out of time, mortal…"
Hades' voice became faint. Aiken could barely make out the last words. He felt an intense heat deep within his soul. His light, which was almost gone, was now radiating brightly.
"There you go, mortal. Since I'm a good godfather, I'm also leaving you with a gift. If you use it correctly, it will greatly help you achieve our goals. Now go… and win it for me! Hahahaha."
Aiken suddenly woke up. He looked around and instantly recognized where he was. The bed he laid on was familiar to him as well as the room he was in. He got up and went straight to look at the calendar. He realized something was weird when he woke up, but his eyes almost jumped out of their sockets when he saw the date.
Sad memories came to the surface. He had lost his parents a few months ago and didn't have any other family. He had just finished high school and was about to start college when Pangea came.
The young man thought Hades would send him back to where he died. He never expected the god of the underworld to send his soul five years back. Humanity would be forcefully pulled into the game soon. Aiken wanted to prepare himself before that day arrived.
He knew things other people did not, and he decided to take advantage of this knowledge. He went to various banks and got loans he could be approved for without collateral since he did not have any assets. He was able to collect 10,000 credits. Then, he went to loan sharks in his area and borrowed money like there was no tomorrow using his organs as collateral. He didn't even argue about the terms and signed whatever paperwork was presented to him. At the end of the day, he was able to gather 1.5 million. Though it wasn't much compared to the tycoons on the planet, the poor Aiken felt a little better. He wouldn't struggle as much this time.