1

  No words, I did not know what I could describe this as, but a journey filled with power and bloodlust was what we were going on, magic, something that only manifested at the very end of someone's life, to harvest and use it...

  "Hey hey snap out of it" A slight ringing of metal made me refocus, the sound of Jupiter's thick gauntlets clapping. "We aren't doing this to kill, we'll find another way, and she... is our way" he placed a hand on Europa's shoulder, and her mouth curled slightly into an uneasy expression. It seemed that the world rested on the shoulders of this slip of a girl, although I was told I held the world in my hands, and I could only imagine Jupiter taking on the world. My eyes adjusted, against a newly formed world, with the power we have... surely it was a far off dream, I blinked again, vision returns.

  "I don't have any plans for the world you know... I haven't even seen all of it..." I blurted, if I had to hold the fate of the world I felt like I should know what it was like first. I had only known the small villages I had protected, or the larger city that Jupiter had taken me to, and in both places no one seemed really… there.

  "It's on the way" Jupiter reassured me.

  "What?, the world?"

  "Yes"

  2

  It was a bit more complicated than that, but the essence of it was a group of 14 locations all across the world, whatever was housed in each would supposedly help me come to my decision, I still wasn't comfortable with all this resting on me, but I wasn't about to voice that now...

  "Are you sure that by the end I'll know what to do?" I had dug my hand into the soft dirt, carving the image of the locations into the ground, and lines between them. Mindlessly, I just drew into the dirt without a clear picture of what Jupiter was saying.

  "If you don't do anything, you won't, but no matter how bad this plan might go, you can make up the difference with effort" It was a reasonable argument, if I traveled the world, I would meet all kinds of people. If I really could change the world it would be best to learn about all the people who lived in it, right?

  But, that wasn't very reassuring, effort could be directed in any direction, would he really be okay if I came to destroy the world as long as it took effort to make the decision? I don’t think he meant that, but should I really be trusted with this? I didn’t even know who I am, let alone what’s best for other people.

  I decided I shouldn’t push it, I was at the beginning of the journey, no use worrying about the end...

  "What's the first step?" I asked.

  "Why don't you consult that map you drew"

  Jupiter's words made me realize I was still drawing the symbols and lines in the ground, at some level I could understand the nature of the world, but there was still much that I couldn't see. I stood up as the others circled around the map, First, a shrine dedicated to the God of the Just, its deep within a forest under the overhangs of cliffs.

  The second point, a vast city with a grand tower at it center housed the shrine to the God of Laws, it was a great distance from the last point. The next was far below the surface in jagged ashy caverns, the shrine to the God Over the World Turned Downward, a maw of the earth seemed to surround it, I knew that this is where all demons came from.

  Fourth was another shrine to the God of the Just. "Why is there two of them?" I crouched to get a better look at the two. "There are two Gods that have that title, you'll soon find out why, as for how I know... I can't tell you right now."

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  It wasn't surrounded by anything, just a shrine in the middle of a field…

  The next and fifth shrine was at the top of a mountain of mountains, it's peak reached far above the clouds, to the God of Power. I only knew of a legend that wandering souls gathered to the top of this mountain, but why hadn't those of the graveyard gone? perhaps it wasn't true.

  The God of Movement was next, its shrine was in a salt flat with mountains on all sides, almost shaped like a bowl with the shrine at the bottom, each of these shrines had to have been built by somebody... did they also travel down this path to make them?

  Marking the exact halfway point there was the shrine to the God of the Creations, I decided not to continue looking past, I would be a different person by the time I reached the other side of the world, it was a scary thought. The only thing that marked this shrine was a small cabin, was it inside? or was it the shrine? I would find out eventually...

  If I would... then what was the point of hiding anything?

  3

  Why didn't we go the other way?

  For a moment the thought crossed my mind, somehow I knew we could do it, something like intuition guided me when I thought of the world, it was like I knew it inside and out. But none of this information would reveal itself to me, only out of the corner of my eye or straining my ears did secrets come to me. Sure I could wait till they revealed themselves to me, but I couldn't wait, something like an itch kept me from finding peace in not knowing.

  "Hey can you keep an eye out?" My thoughts were interrupted by Jupiter and Europa talking, I could see her lift one lens away from her eye before dropping it back on "Ow ow, no good it's too strong here" She held her glasses closer to her face, like she was trying to cover her eyes more than they already were.

  How could it hurt to see? Was there something wrong with her eyes after all? Was it some kind of disease? I wanted to know, but she didn’t seem very happy to talk about it, and I had already asked about her eyes and received answers I didn’t understand, why don’t I try something else…

  “Where does it hurt?” I stepped in front of her, hoping to get some answers by appearing worried, but… it didn’t seem to work. She clicked her tongue and looked up at me, placing her hands on her hips. “When I look at you!, there’s something wrong, why don’t you let me take a closer look I’ll figure it out!” I didn’t mean for her to be mad, maybe I did something wrong.

  4

  "I told you I'm fine you don't need to see here if it hurts you!" I protested, but I was told to sit here while Europa looks over me again. "Don't worry we've picked up a few ways to deal with this" Europa began digging around my armor, trying to take it apart at the joints, to no avail. I had no idea the sturdiness of this armor, nor even what it was made of, but it was clearly built to have no exposed parts, in some respects it was like a cage... what was it built to keep in?

  "There!" A glint in Europa's eye shone as she reached a third, completely magical arm, through my chest. I looked up to Jupiter, he muttered something under his breath and his pitch black armor seemed to blot out everything, almost like it grew, with a mind of its own, it was hard to look directly at it but if I didn't it would disappear, was it some kind of magic? It was a terrifying world of darkness that spread from him, and I didn’t know what it could possibly do, or why he would activate it…

  "I can't... reach" Europa struggled and strained against my armor, as if trying to reach deeper, I didn't feel anything strange yet, it was all silent. "It's stubborn, it clings to your life Elias" Jupiter began to analyze, maybe he had experience with something like this, or magic was always like this.

  "What does that mean?" As I asked Europa gave up and pulled her arm out, it faded away quickly outside of my body.

  "The soul doesn't let go easily, if it was unfulfilled in life it may drive those who take its magic to fulfill their desires, Elias, you want to know our secrets right?" Maybe I was easy to read, but how quickly they found out my desires gave me a sense of unease "Yes, it's like I can't help but go looking for answers."

  Europa gave a playful scoff and knocked her hand against my helmet, of course it did no damage. "First you gotta stop being so dense" she put her glasses back on, and Jupiter's influence seemed to vanish as well.

  Jupiter added on soon after. "In other words we can't tell you, maybe you can't see it now but deep down you understand why." Jupiter then cracked up a little, a small laugh before sighing and looking at the ground. "Or maybe you don't know yet, figuring it out is your job after all, I'll wait for your answer."

  I could feel an almost newfound purpose, I wasn't being lied to, I was being challenged. Challenged to learn and grow on my own, so that I would be stronger in the end, it made sense and I could rationalize it.

  “Elias…” Europa spoke up, her voice was a little quieter and her tone was much softer, a little broken.

  “If I die, you can have my eyes.” Out of the blue she said the strangest thing, did it hurt that much?

  “What?”