Evelyn begins to wince and moan as she comes to. She opens her eyes, but her vision is still blurry. "What in the hell?"
"Great! She's coming to!" A familiar voice called out. But was no longer from in her head. "Evelyn are you okay?"
Evelyn was finally able to focus her vision and her eyes were laying on Freya over her and smiling at her. She felt like crying when she grabbed her and pulled her into her giving her the biggest hug, she thinks she's ever given anyone.
"You're here! You have a body! I'm so happy!" Evelyn began to cry.
Laughing, Freya had to admit to her, "I'm sorry to disappoint you right now."
Evelyn pulled back to take a clear look at Freya and said, "What do you mean. Look at you! You're here! You have two arms and you're not covered in blood."
"Is that all you remember by physical body as?" Freya laughed an uneasy laugh.
"It's called Astral Projection," A man's deep voice bellowed from behind her. "Nice to meet you finally, Evelyn."
This man, Evelyn felt like she had some kind of connection to him. He was tall and made Kanaka look weak in reference to muscular structure. He had white hair and a long beard and wore a robe with an array of hues of blue. She was amazed by his fair complexion and oceanic blue eyes.
"Who are you?" Evelyn says blankly.
"Oh man, you don't know who this guy is?" Another man says as he comes into view laughing and smiling. This other man was tall like the first and was wearing a yellow open floral shirt and green swim trunks with a pattern of pineapples on them. He had a muscular build like the other man and had short brown hair and a brown stubble of a beard. "I guess it's understandable but he's completely radical dude!"
"Uncle, will you please!" Freya snaps at him.
"I must apologize for my brother," The first man said. "King Triton isn't fond of manners."
"Guilty as charged brotha!" The named King Triton says.
"King?" Evelyn said. "Uncle? Brother?"
"Let me introduce myself," The first man said. "I am King Neptune."
After a moment of silence from Evelyn she quickly looked at Freya and said, "Oh shit! I'm dead?"
"Oh no. You're not dead!" Freya laughed. How about we all move into the main hall.
Once in the main hall, Neptune sat on his throne and Triton took a seat at another throne next to him. Surely added just so he had a place to sit.
"So what did I do to please God so well he demanded my presence?" Evelyn asked sarcastically.
"Bold of a question to ask a God my dude," Triton laughed.
"My brother is half right. I think I would be a little offended if you start to talk in a formal manner and start calling me sir and start bowing." Neptune said. "You don't need to do any of that."
"Okay, what am I doing here?" Evelyn started with. "Why is Freya out of the system? I remember how I lost consciousness. Given the circumstance, shouldn't I be dead?"
"Wow, so much," Neptune laughed.
"I can answer a few of these for you Evelyn," Freya said. "In this Astral place I can leave the system and have a body. So, I can tell you, King Neptune, he is the system architect."
Evelyn's eyes went wide and said, "Woah."
"Woah, huh?" Neptune laughed. "I expected something more."
"Well yeah," Evelyn exclaimed. "That literally means that the system is a gift from God!"
King Neptune, Triton, and Freya were all laughing at Evelyn's resolution.
"Damn brotha! I wish the humans back on my domain were half as funny as yours are," Triton laughed.
"I guess I would like to add as to why my brother is here," Neptune said. "He commanded a domain of the sea on a planet called Earth."
"Yeah but while there I made home to a nice city called Atlantis. They did some things and boom shocka-locka boom, Atlantis fell into the ocean. We were teleported here. Now my people are sea creatures. Or fishmen."
"Fishmen are fishmen," Neptune corrected him. "The people of Atlantis are still people. In every way they look, smell, and all other senses and such, are still human. But they can breathe and swim underwater."
"Can you guys tell me what I'm actually doing here?" Evelyn interjected.
"Right," Neptune said. "Your link to Freya in the system got interfered with. Whatever the hell that thing was, Freya almost got kicked out. And if she did, well, I'm not so sure. But I think she'd be dead."
Looking at Freya, Evelyn whispered, "What?" Then snapped back to Neptune and said, "Wait. Didn't you make everything here? All species, beasts, monsters and animals? How do you not know what interfered with the system? And how do you not know what happens to Freya if she was kicked out of the system?"
"Oi, does she not know what us Gods do?" Triton said.
"No, she doesn't," Neptune said. "None of the humans do." He looked at Evelyn and said, "Let me explain. We God's were given places in the Universe called Domains. On these Domains, we're free to do whatever we want. I decided to create life, a world. It's actually a norm among us God's to do so. You'd be surprised about how much life there is on other planets. Anyway, that's what I did. The thing is, we cannot interfere with other God's domains. With that said, I cannot intervene with a foreign species. Orcs are not my creation. It seems a God created a species that was so toxic they destroyed their own world but were so overdeveloped that it didn't faze them and migrated. My planet being a target."
Evelyn watched Neptune and said, "I think what you're going to say next."
He nodded, "I do not know what or where that being came from that interfered with the system. I had never seen it before nor in my history recall anything but the Orc's coming."
"And it ain't one of mine either," Triton said.
"They're also not Fishman or Merfolk," Neptune said.
"You didn't create Merfolk," Freya corrected.
"Intergrading of species to creating a new one I did," Neptune said. "They've been trying for so long with no results because I didn't allow them. Once I made what would come from it I allowed them to have a breakthrough. So, like I said, that thing is not from and intergrading of species of my creations."
"So what am I supposed to do?" Evelyn broke the tension.
"I'm so sorry Evelyn. This must be confusing to you," Neptune said.
Assuming she was going to be here for a while she took a seat on the floor and said, "No I get it. I came to terms a little bit ago that I didn't die. Nobody has filled me in in how that's possible but I'm going to believe it. But I guess I can get to know you, Grandpa."
"GRANDPA!" Triton bellowed in laughter.
Neptune just smiled, "What makes you think I'm your grandpa?"
"You made Siren's, Freya made me one. I think that fits on the family tree," Evelyn smiled.
Neptune smiled and said, "So what would you like to know?"
"Why did you make the system?" She quickly said.
"Straight to the point?" Neptune said.
"Well, yeah. What I really mean is why Freya? Why is she the only one granting a system? All the other sirens in history are going in blind by the time they turn 18, right?"
"Well, yeah," Neptune admitted. "They're at a disadvantage to those who gain powers these days since they can obtain them whenever, but the Sirens are just normies until they turn 18. Though once they do, the power levels compared to other's is way more than they could truly imagine. Now as to why I chose Freya…" he looks over at her and smiles. "I admit I took favoritism over the Siren's. When I crafted them, Freya was the last. I thought I had portioned them equally from the power I had but had quite a lot extra. So, I poured all of it into her. So, she is surely the strongest. When I ordered the sirens to pass on their power, I couldn't let Freya do so being the strongest, so I chose who to inherit her powers would be by choice."
"Did you know this?" Evelyn asked Freya.
"I found out a couple hundred years after the event," She admitted.
Smiling, Evelyn said, "How much does it eat you up inside that you can't throw that in all their faces? Being daddy's favorite?"
Blushing, Freya responded, 'Every day of my existence."
Triton just sat there laughing.
"What do I do if I meet any other siren's?" Evelyn asked. "Like how one attacked Freya before giving me the system."
Freya looked at Neptune and said, "The system never had anything on that."
"Right," Neptune said. He stood up and walked over to Evelyn, who stood up to face him, and he put a finger on the Siren Mark on her arm. "There," he said.
"What did you do?" Evelyn asked looking at the mark.
"You will now have an infinite mission," Neptune said. "When a siren is nearby, you will get a notification. But only if they've already awakened. That is the only thing you will know until you can see them with your own eyes. Then you can pull up stats on them to find out which siren they are. Befriend them and recruit them to your crew."
Evelyn eyes went wide and then she rubbed her head and said, "That's a problem. I'm kind of already part of a crew."
Neptune smiled and said, "I think after the previous encounter Godric will understand that you can't be part of the crew forever."
With a sad look on her face she said, "Really?" she looks up at him and back down, "I guess you're right."
Neptune kneels down to meet her at eye level. Puts her hand on her shoulder and used his finger to lift her chin up and could see water welling in her eyes. He smiles at her endearingly and says, "Listen and trust your Grandpa. How about this?" He touches the mark again and says, "There you go. Now, every time you reach a level at a multiple of five, you can meditate and visit me here in my temple." And smiles at her.
She looked at the mark and at him. Then she leaned in and gave him a big hug. "Thank you," She whispered.
When she pulled away, Neptune was smiling at her and said, "I think it's time for you to go back now. But I'll see you in five levels."
"Yeah," she sniffled. "You will."
"And I'll be here too," Freya added. "But I have to admit there are a few things about the system when you get back," She admitted. "Once I woke up in the system, I did disable your daily quest and human killing exp gain. That will be reactivated since I'm absent. But since you're not level 10, that exp gain for killed will be reduced and the amount of exp you need to level up will be increased."
"Why is that?" Evelyn asked.
"Let's just say you finished the tutorial," Neptune smiled.
They all turned their heads as they could hear yelling down the hall.
Before she could open her mouth to ask a question, Neptune said, "Goodbye Evelyn." And she disappeared.
The person yelling entered the main hall as soon as Evelyn disappeared.
"SON OF A BITCH!" Scarlet yelled. "BRING HER BACK!"
"Scarlet, you need you calm down," Neptune said to her.
"Calm down? Calm down?" Scarlet was enraged. "Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for her? And now I find out she's in the realm with you and I run here, and you just send her off? What the fuck!"
"Damn missy. What's the matter with that miss attitude?" Triton laughed.
"You shut your damn mouth, Triton," She barked.
Seeing Freya there she walked and said, "And you! You blocked my calls! Constantly whenever I tried reaching out to her!"
Freya hung her head apologetically.
"Scarlet. You need to calm down," Neptune said again.
Looking at Neptune with anger in her eyes she said, "I'll calm down when you fucking bring her back, dad. No way in hell am I calming down until you do."