narrated by Dwayne Renlanton

  I woke up before everyone else that morning.

  I began preparing breakfast, feeling very Positive

  about the day.

  I set my food on the table and started eating before anyone else had woken up. Once I was done, I went to the room to check on joseph.

  I entered and found him asleep at the computer.

  I woke him up, and the moment he opened his eyes, he tried to punch the screen. Fear covered his face.

  I grabbed his hand before he could break it, slapped him, and said, "Wake up, you idiot."

  Joseph got up and ran straight to the bathroom.

  I followed after him. "What's wrong, Joseph?" I asked.

  He looked in the mirror and said, "Show me your watch."

  I stepped closer and said, "Alright."

  He took a quick glance at my watch and muttered, "Good," then headed to the kitchen to prepare his breakfast.

  I followed him again. "What’s going on? I don’t think a normal nightmare would scare my brother that much."

  He sat at the table and replied, "Don’t worry. Dreams are just dreams—they have no meaning or connection to reality."

  I leaned forward, pressing my forehead to his and whispered, "Listen, we’re not ordinary people. We are godspawn. Our dreams might reveal the future—or the past. So be careful."

  He looked at me and said, "Understood."

  I nodded and replied, "Good," then continued on my way to the butcher shop. It was my turn to do the shopping that day.

  The road was empty—completely deserted—but I didn’t care. My mind was preoccupied.

  What could have possibly shaken Joseph so badly?

  I bought some meat and exited the shop.

  On my way back, I saw two masked men walking toward me.

  As I passed them, they turned around. I drew two pistols and said,

  "You know who I am, don’t you?"

  They unsheathed poisoned swords and replied, "Yes, we know. Dwayne Renlanton, one of the Devil’s Brothers."

  I smiled. "Good. That saves me the trouble of introducing myself."

  I opened fire, forcing them into cover—exactly what I wanted.

  The moment they hid, I spotted a demon behind them.

  Luckily, I’m one of the few who can see demons. I stared directly into its eyes—making it mine and taking control of it.

  I commanded it to tear them apart while I made my way home. That’s exactly what happened.

  It stepped toward them, dug its claws into their skulls, and ripped off their heads.

  I changed plans and went shopping for the rest of our supplies, taking advantage of the trip. I arrived home around noon.

  I found my brothers sitting at the mission table.

  I put the groceries in the fridge and joined them. "So, what’s the mission this time?"

  Jason pulled out a box of weed cigarettes and passed them around.

  "The mission?" he said. "There’s none today. But we do need to head to the secondary base to recruit some new allies."

  I looked at him, confused. "Allies?"

  Nikolai lit his cigarette. "Soldiers. We’re going to recruit some of them."

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Without saying a word, I lit my own and went to grab my gear.

  I opened my weapon chest but only took a lightweight rifle and two flashbangs.

  We headed to the armored vehicle and found the new recruits already waiting.

  As I approached, they saluted me. Rage sparked within me. I grabbed one by the throat.

  "When you see one of us, you kneel, you piece of trash!" I shouted.

  Joseph stepped in, placing a hand on my shoulder.

  "There’s no need for that. They’re soldiers, not peasants—we’re not royalty."

  Stalin approached the recruits.

  Seeing them kneel before him, he turned his head and entered the truck.

  "Good," he said. "Otherwise, I would’ve scattered you across the temporal void."

  We boarded the vehicle. Jason drove, the soldiers sat in the back, and we sat in the main cabin.

  Joseph leaned toward me again. "Don’t be so harsh—they’re new."

  Stalin replied, "I don’t believe there’s a soldier out there who doesn’t know the rules of the organization they want to join. And even if they didn’t, that doesn’t mean they get to treat us like equals. We’re not of higher rank—we’re godspawn. We’re not normal."

  Jason looked at Nikolai. "You’re the oldest—why don’t you say something?"

  But Nikolai was already asleep.

  We let the soldiers join us in the main cabin—to build camaraderie, as Joseph put it.

  One of them asked me,

  "Why are you part of this organization? You’re godspawn. And why did the war start between the organization and the Elemental Gods?"

  I took a deep breath and began to explain.

  "We’ve been part of this organization ever since our parents died. That’s when we discovered our divine powers. The gods sent assassins and soldiers after us. It wasn’t safe to stay alone, so we joined this organization. After that, the attacks mostly stopped.

  The Elemental Gods know the danger of attacking an organization as massive as ours.

  A group aiming to take over all of Azmythian is not something they can afford to provoke.

  The war began because we’re godspawn—though oddly, none of us descend from the Elemental Gods.

  Our bloodlines are greater. We are descendants of the Five High Gods:

  – Nikolai holds the blood of the God of Wisdom and Knowledge.

  – Stalin holds the blood of the God of Life and Age.

  – Jason, of the God of Speed and Travel.

  – I carry the blood of the Goddess of Nature and Motherhood.

  – Joseph carries the blood of the God of Weather."

  The soldier’s face turned pale.

  Joseph grinned at him. "Don’t be scared, scum. We’re not going to eat you."

  The soldier chuckled nervously. "I just want to know one thing—where did you get bloodlines like that?"

  I stood up. "I wish I knew," I said, and stepped out. We’d arrived.

  It was a massive fortress, topped with iron domes strong enough to withstand any missile system.

  We entered together and made our way to the training yard—the only place without tiles, just bare sand.

  I stood in the center. "Now we begin the train—"

  Before I could finish, I found myself in the air, looking down.

  A giant was biting off my legs.

  Just before I passed out, I activated my secret skill and screamed

  "Avenge your master!"

  I hit the ground, then five giants burst from the soil and devoured the one who had eaten me.

  The last thing I remember was Maria’s voice screaming,

  "You will all pay for this!"

  I woke up at home, surrounded by Natasha, Maria, Elena, and all my brothers—except my legs, of course

  They were talking about time travel to get me new legs. I interrupted,

  "Enough. We need to get me new ones—fast."

  Everyone looked at me in silence.

  Then Jason stood, picked me up, and placed me in a wheelchair.

  I rolled toward them.

  "Alright, I’m not going to the future alone. Who’s coming with me?"

  Natasha stood. "I’m the commander here—I decide. I choose Maria."

  I smiled and grabbed my sword.

  Maria was the only girl I truly cared about—my dream girl, really.

  I leaned in and whispered to Natasha, "Thank you."

  I slashed the air like Joseph once had and said,

  "Let’s go bring back my legs."

  Maria took the wheelchair and pushed me to the portal.

  As soon as we entered, two men blindfolded both of us and took us to a doctor. They never spoke the entire trip.

  We stayed silent too—she assumed I knew what was happening, that I had dreamed of the future.

  But in truth, I had no idea. I was just following my gut. I hadn’t dreamed of anything about this at all.

  Most of my dreams are nonsense anyway—like fighting a giant cat wielding an AK-47,

  or seeing Joseph surrounded by three women, one of whom looked fifty.

  They brought us into the doctor’s clinic, knocked me out, and fitted me with new metal legs.

  As they returned us to the portal, I heard one phrase:

  "I can’t believe the war’s still going in 2050."

  We entered the portal.

  I didn’t wake up immediately—I fell into a coma for five days.

  Chapter Four, narrated by

  Dwayne Renlanton