The Supreme God Amatus was ancient. He remembered a time when he was the only deity and when all people lived in one place. During all that time, he never thought that a human could defeat a god.
"Tell me what you have learned about Ater," he commanded the daughter of the nature goddess Oloro.
The Supreme God wore a wreath of purple and pink flowers around his head. His face was beautiful but cold… Such distant and unattainable beauty can only be seen in Roman sculptures. His eyes were deep chestnut brown but took on a greenish hue in the sunlight. Long, black hair fell all the way to his waist. He was built like an athlete, with a lean but developed body. He wore a semi-transparent white gown that trailed behind him on the floor.
"Ater Arbor was born in the tribe of Veteres. As a kid, he caused some trouble and was exiled. After that, he somehow joined the then-Master of Blood, Set. He returned to the Veteres tribe two years later and became a regular participant in gladiator fights. However, he chose the profession of a doctor after Set's death, replacing him in the role of the Master of Blood. Shortly after that, he was appointed as the personal physician of the Chief's cursed son, the Prince. He, the Prince, and a few others from Mundia were sent to Europe a few months ago. In Europe, they orchestrated a coup against Queen Theresa, who was forced to marry the Prince, and Ater returned to the continent to kill the Chief. My mother, Bereginiy, tried to stop him by trapping him in her mind palace along with his accomplice, Captain Edward, but the two of them managed to kill her. After that, Ater killed the Chief and adopted Eldricka."
"Thank you for the detailed report, young one," nodded the Supreme God. "Can you tell me more about the Prince? Ater works for him…"
Oloro was ready: "Of course. The Prince of the Veteres tribe is the eldest son of the late Great Chief. He was supposed to inherit Eldricka, but it seems he had ulterior motives, and his father marked him as unworthy. In fear of his son, the Great Chief cursed him, severing his affinity for magic. After arriving in Europe, he crowned himself King of the Holy Roman Empire."
"Why was the Chief, the most powerful sorcerer in the world, afraid of his son?" Amatus asked more to himself than to her.
"Don't you think that question is a bit… foolish? Considering the Chief is dead? He knew the Prince and what he was capable of. His ability was demonstrated by the assassination of his father. Also, Eldricka's current host is Ater Arbor, his loyal servant. All the cards are in his hand; we can only wait and see what the King will do with them," concluded Oloro.
The Supreme God pondered. "The Prince seems like a dangerous figure. In light of recent events, I don't want to underestimate anyone. I will descend to Earth and visit him later today," said the God. Oloro crossed her eyes, looking at him: "B-but sir, the agreement was that gods would no longer descend to Earth! Not after the whole mess with my son, Liber! That's what brought us to this situation!"
Amatus made a mocking beak shape with his hand, opening and closing it sarcastically. Oloro started to retort angrily, but the Supreme God waved his hand, and the daughter of the nature goddess disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.
The Prince was sitting in a summer house in the garden, drinking tea from a ceramic cup. Opposite the Prince, in front of an empty seat, another cup of tea was set. No one was around the Prince.
"Eh? No way!" Amatus shouted, looking at the cup of tea. The Prince froze for a moment but did not appear disturbed. He calmly placed his cup on the saucer and pointed to the other cup opposite him. "I was expecting you," the Prince said with a smile.
Amatus appeared out of nowhere behind the Prince, hoping to scare him. After seeing the prepared second cup of tea, the Supreme God was the one who was shocked. 'How could he predict me? We haven't descended to Earth for centuries! How did he know when I would come? How does he know I love tea! Who is this man?' Questions flew through Amatus's mind. 'No… No… Stay calm… Don't let a mortal get under your skin,' he reassured himself.
Not letting his surprise show, Amatus sat down and took his cup of tea. He slowly tasted the lukewarm liquid. He choked. 'Wormwood, mint, and honey! My favorite combination!' the god thought, astonished. He coughed and put the cup down. The Prince watched him silently with his ever-present smile. "I am very glad to have a deity join me for tea," the King said with a broad grin, "what can I do for you this beautiful afternoon?"
Amatus decided not to dwell on how this mortal knew so much about him. "I'm here because of Ater."
"You mean, because of Eldricka?" the Prince corrected him.
Amatus wanted to make a dramatic entrance, to frighten this mortal and force him to do what he needed. He had a feeling he wouldn't succeed.
"D-Do you know who I am?" Amatus asked unsure of himself.
The Prince simply nodded. Amatus hadn't felt this humiliated in millennia! A mortal behaving so casually around a god? Unheard of! People used to die from the mere presence of Amatus!
"Eldricka is too dangerous for ordinary mortals. Only the great chiefs can possess her! If you do not renounce her within seven days, we will destroy her ourselves!" the Supreme God gathered his thoughts.
"Oh, please! If you could destroy her, you would have done so long ago! The goddess is dead, and you find yourself in a bind, don't you? Eldricka and the evil spirits that Liber destroyed are somehow connected, aren't they? You can't influence either of them! And that is what's bothering you!"
Amatus made an angry grimace. The mortal was right. 'Wait, how does he know that Bereginiy is dead?' "Eldricka is a plague that will kill humanity!" Amatus slammed his fist on the table.
The Prince's smile became twisted again. "Eldricka is a plague that will kill the gods! Every last one of them!" the Prince shouted back. "Why do you want to kill the gods?" Amatus asked, astonished. The Prince just grinned at him like a wolf at a lamb. The Supreme God knew he was already breaking the rules by descending to Earth and would have to justify himself to the others later. If he allowed his anger to take over and killed the Prince, he would never be able to explain himself. That would be the definition of excessive interference! Amatus simply stood up from his chair and looked down at the King: "A monarch is to a god what a rat is to a monarch! Don't forget that!" the god said arrogantly as he began to fade. He wanted to have at least a dramatic exit. However, the Prince had the last word.
"Rats carried the plague that killed kings."
Amatus completely disappeared. The Prince fell to his knees and began to breathe panic-stricken. Red as a poppy, sweat dripped from him. His royal robe was completely soaked with it. "That was a god! What an aura! What power! I barely maintained my composure," the Prince shouted from the floor. Frejo ran out from the castle. "What happened?!" he shouted as he approached the Prince. However, one thing caught his eye. He approached the empty cup of tea that Amatus had used. "Hey! Who drank my tea? A man can't even go to the toilet without leaving his tea unattended!"
The Prince started giggling from the ground: "Frejo, my silly friend, I must say you have a very refined taste in teas."
Amatus sat in his chair. "The Prince is a genius of an unseen caliber! Who knows what all that man knows!" the god babbled a mile a minute. "I-I don't believe I can do anything to him without breaking that damned non-interference rule!"
The god twiddled his thumbs in a quandary. He didn't know what to do… "I know! I'll visit Ater! I'll scare him into renouncing Eldricka before he even returns to Europe! Haha, I'm a genius!"
Ater was sitting in the grass beneath the former Black Tree. He was plucking petals from a white flower, lost in thought. Edward watched him from a distance. He knew Ater was talking to her. Eldricka was constantly talking to Ater, telling him who knows what! The Captain didn't like it, Arbor always looked tired and kept delaying their return to Baraka.
'I sense a divine presence. Don't be afraid, it's not hostile,' Eldricka said to Ater in his mind.
"MORTAAAAAL!" Amatus roared as he appeared beside Ater. Arbor didn't even look up from the flower he was plucking. "I am Ater. Ater Arbor. And you?" the Dark Doctor asked disinterestedly.
The Supreme God was crushed. 'What's with people these days? Where are the good old times when mothers would throw their children at my feet?' Amatus complained.
"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? HOW DARE YOU WITH…" the god stopped. He saw that shouting was getting him nowhere. He sat down opposite Ater.
"You killed the goddess Bereginiy, didn't you?"
'Tell him the truth,' said Eldricka.
"No. Captain Edward killed her, I couldn't even scratch her."
This confirmed Amatus's theory. He didn't expect to get that information so easily… Now he was a bit confused; he didn't want to leave the conversation so soon, but he had nothing more to ask.
"So… Eldricka is inside you now?" asked the god.
'Be cautious! This old fox is the supreme god of all pantheons, the strongest force to ever walk the earth. Even the two of us together are not his match!' Eldricka spoke.
'What is he the god of?' Ater asked.
'Guess, it's pretty obvious,' Eldricka giggled.
"Yes, she chatters all the time. Is there any way to shut her up?" Ater asked. He was surprised at how calm the Supreme God appeared. He expected to be in big trouble for killing Bereginiy, but Amatus clearly had no intention of fighting. In fact, the Supreme God was smirking as if he had already won.
"No. The noise in your head is your fate until you give in to her. Then the real problems begin," Amatus still had a triumphant smile on his face.
It clicked for Ater.
'He's the god of love, isn't he?' Ater asked Eldricka in his mind. 'Right on the mark! Love, the force everyone believes in! The force everyone experiences and the force everyone loses to!' Eldricka said.
Amatus was finally in his element. Looking into the cold, predatory eyes of the Prince, he couldn't feel even a trace of love behind them. But Ater's gaze was warm, human, and behind it, Amatus could see his infatuation as clear as day. 'Now, I just need to find that woman, and I've got him in my grasp!' Amatus thought contentedly.
Amatus stood up from the ground and brushed the dust off his white robe. "Well… Until I get rid of some stupid rules, I can't really threaten you effectively… But if you do something too foolish with your newfound power, you'll lose your head whether I'm breaking the rules or not. Is that clear?" Ater nodded. Amatus faded once more.
Edward had been observing this conversation from a distance. "Who was that?" the Captain asked. "The god of love," said the Doctor.
Eldricka was deeply dissatisfied. Ater had adapted to her presence too quickly and immediately quarantined her as a separate entity from his consciousness. If the host does not identify with Eldricka, she cannot take control. The mental walls around Ater's psyche were tall, black, and topped with barbed wire. Eldricka had never seen anything like it before. This one would be a tough nut to crack.
"The god of love? I don't think I can just punch him to death!" Edward and Ater started to laugh.