'How?'
Those were Geass' last words, or whatever his real name was.
Paul looked into his eyes with his one eye as the light left this man's eyes. "I'm a Heimdall".
Paul was not acknowledged by just 5 Divine Gods; he was acknowledged by more than 5 of the 9 Divine Gods.
On the day of his awakening, due to his limited mental capacity, he could not endure the strain to see all the images projected in his head by the Divine Gods before emerging out of the pool of water.
This was why he recognized only 5 Divine Gods who acknowledged him, but yesterday, after his conversation with his twin sister, Paul was left thinking.
'In the night, when mom was killed and you were overwhelmed by rage, while you manifested your powers, I could swear that you were also factioned to the Divine Dionysus'.
'Remember mom's anger fits? How the house becomes shrouded in wine-colored mist, I also saw it yesterday with you. That's why I'm baffled, are you sure you were acknowledged by only 5 Divine Gods?'
That question had always been at the back of Paul's mind after his last conversation with his sister, but he never had time to think about it.
Not now though.
Pushed against the wall, left with no choice but to fight against the very same awakened warrior who taught him the little he knew about the basics of combat, Paul knew from the beginning that he stood no chance of winning.
And since he couldn't win, left with no choice, he searched for a miracle that would help tilt the odds of this battle in his favor. A miracle that could save his life.
Desperation made him remember his sister's question.
'What if I was acknowledged by more than 5 Divine Gods?'
In that moment, Paul did not really care if he was acknowledged by the Divine God Dionysus. What he cared about was if any other Divine God acknowledged him that he didn't know of.
The Divine Dionysus would give him powers related to wine and wine brewing but since he was not his mother, Paul had no delusions that he could fight with whatever power it was.
Claire Arrakis took a lot of time to build up her arsenal of powers with which she killed one of the assassins that came after them.
This was why Paul looked deeper, for the dormant powers of another Divine God. He hoped to find what he was looking for.
At first, subjected to Geass' battering, Paul was affected so much by the pain that he could barely even think. But he had an unbendable will.
His yearning to protect his sister prevailed against the pain.
Paul got used to the pain.
For years, as a teenager, Paul was already forced to adapt to psychological pain, being the death of his father. A few days ago, he was dealt even more psychological pain, forced to adapt again.
He was yet to fully adapt and now, this night, for the first time in his life, he was exposed to the agony of physical pain.
It was agonizing but in Paul's mind. 'It hurts less than what I face every night when I think of dad, and mom'.
'If this is all what physical pain is about, I can take it'.
In that moment, he displayed his unbendable will.
His unbendable will to stay alive, fight, and protect his sister by any means possible and available to him.
The more the lean man bested him in combat, beating him and leaving him battered, the more he adapted to the pain.
No mere awakened warrior was able to use this crazy strategy to get used to pain, only a Cosmopolitan like Paul could since not only did he have the God power of healing, he also had the God power of superhuman strength.
The more pain he felt, the more he yearned to survive.
The more pain he felt, the more he yearned to protect his sister and it was at that moment that out of the blue, boom! It happened.
The lean man circled behind him again as Paul braced for another impact but this time, something changed.
Before the attack hit, he saw an image, a moving image in his head.
Before the lean man's knee could smash into the back of his head, he saw a moving image of it first.
For a brief moment after, he stumbled, subjecting himself to even more punishment as his tempo was disrupted by what he saw.
He continued taking a beating but he could not take the image out of his head, and then, he made the connection. 'Foresight!'
'I am factioned to Heimdall'.
Having spent the past few days alongside Heimdalls, from Geass to the assassins that were after him, he had a deep knowledge of Heimdalls.
For the first time since the battle started, Paul saw a route to victory but unlike the normal person that would react excitedly and jump for joy, he was somber and calm. Only trauma and pain could make a new adult like him turn like this.
With his sunken eyes, eye since only one of his eyes was open now, he stared at his opponent attentively as he kept on beating him.
He soaked in all the combat experience, mixing it with the occasional bursts of foresight and finally, he was ready for a leap of faith.
Paul prepared himself psychologically to end the battle.
In the next burst of foresight, he would end the battle and just like he planned, he did it as foresight triggered again.
The lean man did not see it coming at all.
To him, getting acknowledged by 5 Gods was already the greatest anomaly in history, there was no way for Paul to be acknowledged by another Divine God.
It was this lack of information that resulted in his death.
Thud!
With his eyes still wide open, this man's body finally fell to the ground. He was dead.
Sam got his 3rd human kill in just his 3rd day as an awakened warrior, and the culprit this time was his combat teacher.
The pale glow of the moon illuminated the night.
Still silence like an empty hollow tunnel dominated this farm for a few short seconds after the body hit against the ground, only the sound of the breeze caressing the plants and weed echoed.
With the adrenaline gone all of a sudden, Paul swayed before collapsing on his knees. His eyes were blood-red and heavy.
All his God essence was exhausted, he felt light-headed.
Turning his head back, he saw Tina, Gina, and the farmers outside staring at him with fright all over their dark features.
The pale moonlight shone over this farm, highlighting his kneeling silhouette against the backdrop of crimson and the corpse. It was an eerie sight.
Paul was absolutely tired but he could not stop, he had to move.
Before moving though, he finally removed the scarf from Geass' face, paying attention to his facial features. He didn't see much but he saw enough.
Geass had silky black hair and a seasoned face of a warrior, his eyes were still open. Paul closed them. "You can rest now". He muttered.
Shaking, he struggled to his feet before looking at the farmers one last time. "What way leads to Greenland City?"
"That way". One of the farmers answered instinctively, pointing to the west.
Paul looked; it was a journey to the west.
Bending down slightly, he covered Geass' face with his scarf again, letting him rest in peace then he took his twin daggers. He also took the leather pouch that was tied to his waist before stripping him of his brown leather armor.
Ignoring the blood, he wore the brown ranger armor, sheathed all 4 daggers in their sheaths, tied the leather pouch to his own waist before standing back up.
Paul didn't leave yet though, he hesitated then said. "Help me bury him, he deserves a proper burial".
And with that, he moved.
Paul started his journey west.