"Your eyes, Fate. They've changed."
Diogen was staring at me as I sat on the floor, and when I looked back at him, I saw something strange.
If I focused, I saw many different, ethereal versions of Diogen, scurrying in different directions. One of them came over to me and placed his hand on my shoulder, another stayed roughly where Diogen was already standing, one made their way towards the door, and one moved forward to get a closer look at me.
The vision should have been disorienting, but it was somehow easy for me to understand what was going on. The visions began to fade, leaving behind only the real Diogen.
The real man then leaned forward to get a closer look at me, glaring into my eyes, in the exact position as one of the visions had.
I understood.
It was showing me some of the next possible actions that Diogen could have taken. In other words, I was seeing into the future, though only by a few seconds.
"Your eyes, they have become golden,"
Diogen said, and I figured it must have been related to the power.
"This ability," I said, "I'm not sure if it will be of much help to you. It seems more beneficial for myself, if I were to be engaged in one-on-one combat." I was skeptical about telling the man the exact essence of the power, then felt selfish.
He has shown me some of his power and risked his life to protect me. He deserves to know, even if it is a risk for me.
"I can see a few moments into the future, or at least something like that."
Diogen looked at me unsurprised for a few moments before responding.
"That is indeed powerful. Most of us were not granted powers anywhere near that for our first blessing. I myself, at first, was only granted the power to control the rain within my domain."
"What is a domain?" I asked, wishing for more information about this strange world I had found myself in.
"Think of it as a home to the gods. A place claimed as yours, making you stronger when you are within it. It is another complex system which I haven't got enough time to explain in full, but soon you will be able to claim a domain as yours and gain a deeper understanding."
I looked forward to that day. It seemed a smart idea to have a base, especially if there were other gods like Zir, who wished to hunt me while I was still weak.
"We're out of time, he's coming!"
As if on cue, Zir burst through the floor from below and landed on the ceiling above our heads as we stared up at him. Rubble flew about the room in destruction.
I acted fast, focusing my vision on him, and time seemed to slow as many visions shot out from him.
There was not enough time for me to see the exact movements, all I could see was that none of them came towards me, only Diogen.
"Move, Diogen!" I shouted, but the god was a step ahead of me.
He vanished and appeared on the ceiling next to Zir, and the two stood impossibly upside down.
Diogen's fist sparked with lightning as he struck towards Zir. The blow was incredibly fast, but Zir easily swatted it away with his forearm and landed a palmed strike of his own.
There was no ability used, but the blow sent Diogen flying.
Before crashing into the wall, he vanished again, appearing beside me and placing his hand on my shoulder.
We vanished again.
---
Now I had begun to feel dizzy, and my eyes had begun to hurt. I no longer saw the visions, as though my power had run out.
We appeared in a prison cell, trapped behind the gated fence. As soon as we appeared, Diogen collapsed to the floor and sucked in deep breaths of air.
This is affecting him heavily.
Before I could ask if he was okay, he spoke between breaths.
"Zir is much stronger than when I last fought him. I will lose if you stay with me. Teleporting someone in succession with me is very tiring, even within my domain." He rose to his feet slowly, as his breathing became more controlled.
"I'm going to send you away. Far away, to a friend of mine. She will look after you while I battle Zir. Though hopefully, after he senses that you're gone, he will leave me alone."
I couldn't help but feel worried at the thought of being separated from Diogen. He seemed to be the only one willing to help me make sense of this strange world.
"Do not worry, Fate. The person I will send you to is a friend. She is one of the gods, and she will look after you. Any questions you have, you may ask her. If all goes well, then we will meet again."
I thought about what Diogen said before.
If Zir notices I am gone, would he not just chase after me and hunt me down?
I placed a hand to my eye, thinking of the blessing bestowed upon me.
I cannot remain weak. It is not a matter of choice, but survival. I must learn all that I can about my new existence. I will not be fodder to these gods.
Diogen stepped up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. He looked worn out, likely hurt from the blow that Zir landed on his chest, and I doubted whether he would win or not.
"Make sure that I meet you again, Diogen. And when we do, I will be much stronger. I promise you."
The man gave me a smile as his grip tightened on my shoulder.
"I look forward to that. Goodbye for now, Fate."
And for the last time, I vanished once again.
---
When I reappeared, I could tell that I was in a place far away, not only because of the change in presences around me, but because of the snow that fell from the sky.
I stood outside of a tent pitched in the middle of a snowy forest, and I figured the person who sat outside on a chair was the one Diogen had sent me to.
It was a woman, wearing nothing but cloths to cover her private areas, hardly fit for the snow.
She was beautiful, and her physique was strong and lean. Laying on the grass beside her was a gruesome sword, covered In white snow like the color of her hair.
She looked up at me, relaxed as I stood in the snow staring at her.
"Friend of Diogen's?" She asked, her voice deep yet feminine. "He's never been able to leave the newcomers on their own. I'm guessing you are the twenty-first god?"