In a dark small room, only the faint whirrs of a heated PC could be heard.
「Game Over」
Looking at the flashing light on the screen, the boy just sighed before leaning back in his chair. Right now, even gaming had lost the same thrill and excitement it used to have.
"What am I actually doing…."
The boy couldn't help but mutter in a slightly exasperated tone.
Aiden Evans, that was his name.
A 16-year-old orphan since birth with nothing given to him except his name. His childhood had been equally just as ordinary; he was cleanly funnelled through the American orphanage system, and at the age of 16, Aiden Evans felt like his life couldn't get any more dull.
It was so bad that sometimes he felt like he was living in solitude.
But It wasn't always this way.
Back when he was younger, Aiden Evans had a few friends back in the orphanage, but due to funding and other issues, the orphanage was forced to shut down.
After that, he and his friends, who were basically like family, were split up and sent to various different orphanages across the states that had space and could afford to take them.
He had never spoken to them since that day. As a result, his personality became more reserved. He wasn't necessarily a complete introvert; it was just that nobody really bothered to speak to him, and he didn't bother to speak to anyone else in turn.
As an orphan, if you don't really make an effort to speak to anyone, no one will really speak to you.
Aiden thought about this and couldn't help but sigh. It was summer break, and he was starting high school soon, and yet his life couldn't feel more bland.
High school.
It was supposed to be some of the most fun and impactful years of your life, and yet Aiden didn't really have much anticipation for it. After all, won't things still be just as they are now?
Aiden didn't want to dwell on such gloomy thoughts any longer and decided to get up and get a drink, but just as he did so, he heard a sudden sound.
Knock! Knock!
"Who is it?" asked Aiden curiously, swivelling around in his chair to look at his door.
But after waiting for a few seconds, there was no response, just another loud knock.
Knock! Knock!
"I said, who is it?" asked Aiden, now slightly annoyed. But just like last time, he was only greeted by another set of knocks.
Unable to stand it any longer and a little annoyed, Aiden got up to open the door, but as he did so, his jaw almost dropped to the floor.
'What the hell is this?! Cosplay!'
Aiden couldn't even be blamed for this sudden outburst, as in front of him were two figures that appeared pulled straight out of fantasy. There were two giant men, each standing at a minimum of 6'10. Their presence alone brought an invisible weight that didn't allow Aiden to speak rashly.
The two men were clad in gleaming bronze armor that seemed to shine with an awe-inspiring and mystical light, leaving any viewer breathless. At the same time, in their hands was a terrifying spear that gleamed with a menacing light.
On their heads was a large Corinthian helmet, its horsehair crest dyed deep crimson, sitting on their heads like a crown of blood.
Aiden wanted to get a better look at the two strange men, but the helmets partially obscured their faces, and what Aiden could see remained stern and shadowed. At least for Aiden, it was completely inscrutable.
Just as Aiden was observing the strange pair, the two men were also observing him.
"Aiden Evans?" asked one of the men.
"Erm, correct? How can I help you?" Aiden was a little thrown off by the sudden question, but the strange pair of armored men didn't seem to care.
After confirming that they got the right person, they simply walked right into his room. Seeing this, Aiden was stunned! Even if he was caught off guard by their sudden presence, he couldn't just let them walk in.
"Hey, hold it! Where do you think you're going?! This is my room! No, how did you even enter the orphanage in the first place?!"
The two soldiers didn't seem to care about Aiden's outburst and waited a few moments for him to calm down before starting to speak.
"Aiden, I am going to keep things simple with you," said the man. "Do you want to change your life?"
As soon as Aiden heard this question, his heart skipped a beat. It was ridiculous. Two strange men barged into his room, but for some strange reason, deep down inside his heart, on an instinctual level, Aiden felt like this man wasn't telling any jokes.
From that moment on, whether he wanted to admit it or not, Aiden's whole demeanor and attitude began to change. The two guards saw this change but still kept professional and carried on explaining.
"I will explain this in the simplest terms that you can understand and believe. Aiden, you are special."
Hearing this, Aiden didn't really know how to react. For a nameless orphan, this was the first time he had ever heard those words in his life. It was embarrassing, but Aiden was even slightly happy to hear it. Fortunately, Aiden kept his expression completely stiff and avoided embarrassing himself.
The soldiers didn't notice Aiden's little thoughts and continued.
"Aiden, your blood is divine. By this, I mean you are a descendant of the gods. Those magnificent beings from myth and legend exist, and they are calling for you."
As Aiden heard this, his mind went blank for a second. Gods? What the hell! A pair of cosplayers barged into his room, and now they were talking about gods. Instead of believing what they were saying, Aiden started to believe they were crazy!
But as if reading his mind and suspicions, the air around the two soldiers started to change. Suddenly, one of the soldiers' eyes glowed golden before his body burst into blinding ripples of lightning that danced all over his body like dazzling golden snakes.
As if not to be outdone, the other soldier clenched his fist and a blood-red flame bloomed from his hands, spreading across both his arms like a terrifying flame demon!
As Aiden saw this, his jaw dropped to the ground, and his glasses nearly slipped off his nose!
"M-m-agic..." said Aiden, stuttering so hard the words barely escaped from his mouth.
"So, what about it? Do you believe us now?"
In response to the guard's words, Aiden could only take a hard gulp. Aiden didn't know what to say. He wanted to deny the discovery, to say it was an illusion. It had instantly shattered the worldview and understanding of the world that he had built for the past 16 years, so Aiden couldn't accept this sight easily.
But when he remembered the warmth of the raging flames and the slight sparks he felt as some of the lightning radiated through the air, Aiden knew that the sight any normal person would label as an extreme hallucination was all too real.
"Since ancient times, the gods have existed and walked among men. The gods saw their creation and loved them. From this came divine union between man and the divine, giving birth to demigods.
The demigods had children, and their children had children, and so forth, until the blood of gods had spread throughout the human population."
"Aiden, you are one of them. The blood of gods flows through your veins, separating you from other mortals. You just need to awaken it."
"So, what do you want from me?" asked Aiden.
Seeing Aiden's cautious appearance, the soldiers just smiled.
"We don't want anything from you," stated the soldier. "Instead, we want to offer you something—a chance. A chance to change your life and live up to your divine heritage."
"We can give you a chance to awaken your divine blood, train your abilities, and develop your divine power with us at Olympus Academy."
"Olympus Academy?" asked Aiden.
"Consider it the formal education institution for descendants of the gods throughout the worlds."
Aiden was confused and about to ask further when he suddenly realized something.
"Hold on, worlds?" asked Aiden, confused.
Seeing Aiden's confusion, one of the soldiers quickly added,
"Of course there are other worlds. Although Earth may have been the favored world for the gods at one point, you don't think beings as powerful as the gods would only be limited to this one world, do you?"
All this news flowing into him at once was just too much for Aiden to take in, and the two soldiers seemed to notice all this. Reaching out, they handed him a small card.
"Here are some websites and a number you can call to get some more information if you're still confused."
Seeing this made Aiden even more confused.
"Wait, you guys have phone numbers? Hell, you even have a website?!"
As the two soldiers heard Aiden say this, they turned to look at him like he was a complete idiot.
"Kid, we're in the 21st century. Surely you don't think the gods don't even have something as simple as the internet? Even the gods have to keep up with the times?"
Hearing these words from two men dressed up in ancient Greek armor left Aiden speechless.
"Whether you change your mind and believe us or not, we will come back in a week to pick you up. Of course, if you still refuse to join by then, you can carry on with your life as usual. The memory of all this would gradually be erased from your mind as if this never happened."
Aiden wanted to talk to the soldiers a lot more. The brief conversation wasn't enough to solve his endless questions this brief meeting had left.
His worldview had completely changed within a few minutes, after all. But unfortunately for Aiden, the two soldiers promptly declined. In their words, they still had many more descendants they had identified that they had to meet with.
So after handing Aiden the card and leaving him with a few more words, the two soldiers said their goodbyes before exiting outside his room.
Aiden got up and quickly followed them outside his room, but he soon found that the two disappeared from his sight, leaving behind only a faint golden mist, almost as if they had never been there in the first place and it was all just a dream.
It was only the card in his hand that stopped Aiden from believing that he just had a crazy episode.
Walking back to his room, he looked at the card. Eventually, he couldn't contain his curiosity and dialed the number.
"Hello and welcome to the call line for Olympus Academy. How can I help?"