"This is our second ever meeting, Your Grace", the endless named fate said.
Although, Rio felt an odd familiarity with the being in his presence, he blurted out
"I've never met you in my life".
Fate chuckled softly, seemingly amused by him,
"I didn't expect you to remember. In due time, you will regain what has been hidden".
"What's hidden?", He asked utterly confused.
"This cathedral was originally built as one of the temples of the once renowned Greek gods", Fate said completely ignoring his question.
The Olympians were one of the existing races of gods along side the Aesir, the Devas, Hindu, Neteru and others.
"Why are you telling me about the dead gods that existed before the Great Calamity? This is pretty common knowledge. The apocalypse is documented to have happened at least ten thousand years ago, advanced technology and civilizations were lost and what not. What does that have to do with me?
"You incarnates are always so impatient.
Although your history is right, it is also incomplete. What happened at that time was the unintentional effect of a long standing war.", Fate explained.
Rio quickly grabbed the meaning behind what he just heard particularly the word 'unintentional'. "So you mean the world being the way it is now....was an accident?", He asked although he didn't expect a good response.
Fate simply sighed, "No one could have prepared for what happened. The different pantheons usually fought and bickered over who would preside over the mortal realm .
I always thought it was a pointless endeavor. They should have just continued influencing mankind subtly instead of trying to rule directly. Maybe things would be different now".
"I'm still a bit confused. Did the apocalypse happen because the gods couldn't stop fighting?", Rio asked.
"No. Their constant bickering was seen as a stain on divinity itself resulting in them angering the outer gods...the true Sovereigns of the cosmos", as Fate replied, she seemed to relive the event over.
"I'm still not sure where I fit into this. Humanity has managed to survive several centuries after this although our civilization greatly defers from those lost according to ancient history books".
"Divine beings can never be truly killed or destroyed. Even now, the rise in dungeon formations and magical artifacts possessing hints of divine power all but points to this and then there's you. Your return marks the beginning of another war.", Fate's tone went from soft to cold as she said this.
"You've just been rambling on and on about ancient gods without answering any of my questions!", Rio retorted noticing her tone change.
Fate observed Rio in silence and smirked.
"If you had actually showed any understanding towards what I've been saying, I would have incinerated you on the spot. But it seems everything is still under control".
Rio seemed utterly perplexed and frightened as he heard this.
'If I had understood anything she said even a little bit, I might have died?'.
"As I said before, this place was once a temple for a particular Greek god. Now it has been repurposed for your use. That overly loyal mass of shadows out is Alister. He was once the left hand of a servant of Order.
And for why you are here at this time...I'm unsure. I foresaw we would meet when you turned eighteen but it seems you're beginning to awaken rather early."
'Could this be His way of telling me not to meddle?', she thought before asking,
"Have you heard of the term 'arcane essence or arcane energy '?"
"Isn't that a power only high tiered mages can use?. It's extremely rare, in the last 4000 years there have only been about 30 or so official records."
"What does that have to do with anything?", He asked.
"Arcane essence is the fundamental energy of deities or rather the very essence of godhood. Those who can truly grasp the nature of that power qualify to stand at the top of this world", Fate explained.
"So those can use arcane energy are essential gods?"
"Not quite, the correct term would be demigods. Although they still quite different from true born demigods. Normally, mortals can only harness arcane essence similar yet distinct from divine beings however there are exceptions, sorcerers, who innately possess that power".
Rio pondered on the information he had just heard, simply fascinated by the cataclysmic event of the past and it's repercussions.
Trying to clarify some of the details, He asked," You said the gods are dead yet alive. If so, can they still be resurrected? Also, how many other people like me are there? And is there a way you can fix my core? Maybe that's why I'm here."
"I cannot repair what was never damaged. Your situation is quite unique. Magic so ancient that no one can even glimpse it's nature and a soul just as powerful. I'm certain that even you don't remember what your power is."
"What do you mean it's not damaged? Isn't that why I don't have any elemental or abstract affinity?", Rio was growing increasingly frustrated , he had expected to finally become somewhat whole.
"There is much I cannot tell you yet and there is much you must learn on your own, but for now I shall remove the restrictions placed on your soul."
Rio was just about to voice his growing frustration when he gasped. He collapsed to the floor, gripping his shirt, a searing heat assaulted his insides making him feel like he would explode at any moment. After what felt like an eternity the pain finally subsided, Rio crawled onto the chair feeling utterly drained. However, he realized that all that exhaustion was just mental, physically he was better than he had ever been before. The most profound change however was within his body. His core originally had a dull glow, similar to a dying lightbulb but now, it resembled a miniature sun that pulsed with an incandescent radiance, it was almost blinding.
Utterly perplexed, Rio asked, "what just happened to me ?"
"Like I said before, I simply released the restrictions placed on your soul. It would serve no more than to hinder you as are now."
"When were those restrictions placed?", Rio had no memory of such an event.
Fate looked at him with a strange emotion, then answered, "On your tenth birthday"
Rio remained confused, not only by what he learned but because it was related to another issue that had been eating away at his mind. He only had memories of the past four years. He was currently fourteen that meant most of his memories before he turned eleven were missing.
"Can you help me get my memories back?", He asked.
"No", Fate replied solemnly.
"So what then?...you just came here to remove my restrictions and leave?".
"With your restrictions gone, the knowledge of your powers will soon follow. However if you want your memories back, I advice you increase your mental tenacity. For your question regarding the gods, they can never be resurrected. However, they can incarnate into any demigod level mage that wields a significant artifact related to them, although said demigod must be able to wield the artifact.
"So that means, a demigod with an affinity towards water can't wield an artifact that belonged to a god of the lightning domain?", Rio asked.
"Correct".
'What about abstract elements like death magic or steel magic or gravity and even sound magic, how would they integrate with them?', Rio thought about asking these questions but then decided against it, thinking it would be best not to bother the being across the table with pointless questions.
Fate's eyes glowed as she focused her gaze on him. Rio felt completely naked under her piercing stare. He was completely ignorant of what was actually happening, Fate wasn't just staring at him. She was observing his string of fate, studying what new events would happen due to his early awakening. 'So this is what it has come to', She thought.
"Your destiny is not yours alone. Beware of Solomon and live well, Your Grace". As soon as the last words echoed, Fate vanished leaving behind an ominous statement, a warning and a sentiment of goodwill.
Rio remained glued to his seat, strangely calm despite all the information he just learnt which was actually very little but still quite valuable. In summary, in the old world, the gods were still alive but they constantly bickered about who would rule mortals. This apparently pissed off some more powerful and ancient divine beings resulting in their demise but I guess true immortals can't die easily. The gods are still exist albeit barely in the form of powerful artifacts.
"Most artifacts are usually found in dungeons and ancient ruins. Does that mean each dungeon and ruin is tied to a fallen deity? No, that can't be right, there have been past cases where no artifacts were founds according to the reports". Rio suppressed all thoughts about dead gods and dungeons, feeling that it wasn't normal for a fourteen year old to ponder on such serious matters despite the fact that he was an usual fourteen year old with severe gaps in his memory and currently in a cathedral several miles below a high level dungeon.
Rio turned his attention to his gauntlet or rather the profile section of it. The gauntlets not only acted as communication devices they served as the major network hub of all kinds of information. Mages are issued upgraded gauntlets to assist them in their duties, one of the various ways they helped mages was that they kept records of all magical abilities and skills gained among other things.
Rio's eyes widened as he read the information on his gauntlet:
Name: Rio Lyrien Darce
Tier: 5 Adept
Bloodline class: Weapons mage
Bloodline skill: Creation
Crafted weapons: none
Magical affinity: (Dual)- Spatial(innate), Lightning(innate), ice(earned)
Runic Arts( Innate)
Proficiency: Intermediate
Runes acquired- Paralysis rune, reinforcement rune, binding rune, ice rune(lightning)
Class: Triple natured
-Scholar
-Berserker
-Warrior
Soul affinity: Chaos(divine)
Innate skill: Synthesis
Abilities
Blink(spatial)
Ghost(spatial)
'So that's what she unlocked, chaos?
I've never heard of it. Is this normal for a sorcerer? A strange power maybe?
Dual classes are actually not uncommon but this mix is just too weird but three classes! Isn't this too unfair?', Rio thought.
'My soul affinity is probably what makes me a berserker, my runic arts puts me in the scholar class and my bloodline ability and class puts me in the warrior class, it all makes sense but still three classes?'.
After a quick search on the network hub, Rio found absolutely nothing related to chaos in the supernatural world.
'Finding nothing means one of two things. First, He was the first to ever have an affinity towards the Chaos element and there was no information so it had never been seen before or the second and most obvious answer - all information related to it was eliminated completely'.
"No, that's absurd", Rio said out loud.
'Not even the three great kingdoms could completely bury information and I can't think of any organizations with that kind of power.
I'm getting ahead of myself. Maybe, just maybe, I really am the first ever wielder of chaos and besides now I have even more questions'.
It was true that Rio had even more questions than before -why was he addressed as 'Your Grace' by the two entities he had met and what did that last statement Fate said mean?
'Who is Solomon? Why is my destiny not mine alone?'
"This is going to be a headache", He sighed turning his attention back to his profile, this time he wanted to further study his soul attribute and skill.
Soul affinity: Chaos(divine)
[The primal force of unpredictability, uncontrollable, antithesis of order, indomitable]
Innate skill: Synthesis
[chaos disrupts all before it but also creates something new from it. This skill disrupts and deconstructs existing spells to create something new.]
Condition: elements fused must be opposing forces or vastly different in nature
Condition: basic understanding of chosen elements
'The power to create new spells or skills. The possibilities are nearly endless as long as I can learn about different kinds of magic. This skill could also assist me in crafting artifacts, combined with my runic arts becoming a high tiered mage like my brother doesn't seem like such an impossible dream anymore'.
"Still, I should be careful with how I utilize synthesis and it would be better to inform only my parents and the old man", Rio decided.
After looking over his profile once more and taking important notes of somethings, Rio decided to explore the cathedral and who better to act as a guide than the entity that lured him here.
Alister appeared just as Rio summoned him, "How may I be of service, Your Grace?", the mass of shadows inquired.
"Tell me everything you know about chaos and the outer gods", He answered.