"So son.... Are you ready to become a God?"
You could silently hear the wind flowing down the corridor in which we were standing in. Only me and a human galaxy who just asked me if I am ready to be a god....
'Okay, deep inner breaths.....'
I kept my gaze on Father, my expression unchanging. My mind was far too overwhelmed to fully process his words.
"... Okay let me explain while we walk."
Father suddenly was behind me, gently pushing me ever so slightly towards where the circular hall was.
"You see, there are those who follow, and there are those who lead and inspire. You, my son, are one of the latter—just like me. We are meant to show the world what it can become. Of course, not everyone is pleased with our vision of progress."
We quietly went down the hall, as Father kept talking. For a moment I thought of asking what the hell he was talking about but maybe if I waited long enough, he would make sense.
"And so your father and his colleagues, like the three you met yesterday, are called heretics or enemies of state. But we are, in fact, separate branches of the same collective, working towards a better future. However each one of us has different ideas and so we act seperately."
'Did he just say he say he is an executive member of a cult.....'
Not that it was something I hadn't thought of already with all these get-ups. But the fact that they weren't like 1 cult but seemingly a cult that had different branches like different gods for each brand was rather unusual. Not a singular cult—no, this sounded like an alliance of many.
I then although with caution, turned a bit towards Father. His body seemed filled with more stars then usually when he spoke about his work, as if he were showing enthusiasm or something like that. I then opened my mouth and asked him a question.
"Why are you telling me all this, Father?"
"Well who wouldn't be a better replacement for a colleague of mine, than my own son! You will gain the title of Ojer and be blessed with your very own branch. You will follow in my footsteps."
Even hearing it didn't seem realistic. He wants his 12 year old son to become an apostle of a cult which is seemingly not looked upon very well if it is known at all to the outside world.
'Nuts... he is totally nuts...'
"You will be able to use the powers of a god after today's ceremony my son and maybe then you will also be able to use magic if fortune favors you."
I halted immediately in my steps and looked again towards father, turning around in a flash.
Magic
Something Wendel didn't seem to have the ability to use because due to some reason he had no ability to produce Mana himself. Therefore his skin also had turned greyish, the reason however was never explained to him nor did he have ever the chance to ask his father what was wrong with his body. He always evaded the topic and went to ramble on about how Wendel should try to learn as much as possible.
But now... if what he said was true... then he could really use magic. But inheriting the power of a god would mean that the spear I saw back then really was a...
"A divine vault. Yes Wendel, you will gain a Heder."
Father said it as if he had plucked the thought from my mind.
"So hurry up. I don't want to be late and end up being called a bad father by those hotheaded freaks."
Rather ironic coming from a living galaxy.
Father then nudged me a bit and brought me back to walking towards the large door at the end of the hallway.
'Okay Ely...calm down, this is surely a joke. I mean who would give such an ability to a kid. I mean, especially a 12 year old.'
However it seemed that I had forgotten what my father told me earlier, this was a cult. Nothing normal would happen in here, even if I wanted it to be normal.
But this opened a door for me, like Father had said. If I were able to use Magic or even to an extend Heder, then I would be able to live a leisure life while doing what I wanted. I just needed to try my best and use my strengths....
Although my mind kept telling me to think over things, it seemed like deep down, I already knew that I wanted this to happen.
"Wendel, the door will open in a moment, so simply wait till it opens and walk into the middle of the hall. Take the spear, after that, all you have to do is get through the trial. It may take some time and if you fail you will die but I trust in you. Now heads up!"
I only felt for a short time a slight pat on my back and then Father was gone. Nowhere to be seen like always.
'Wait, DID HE JUST SAY I DIE IF I FAIL?!
That part definitely wasn't in any book I read. Especially, why the hell would someone try something which could kill me when I had just gotten another chance.
Clank!
Nonetheless before I even had the chance to refuse, the doors in front of me slowly opened.
A blinding light came through, making me squint my eyes, as I saw again the pristine walls and pillars I saw last time I was in the room. In the middle there was still the circular table which had no middle part, however this time, one seat was missing as well its part, making an entrance to the middle.
There floated the spear—held aloft by a swirling mist of golden particles, glimmering like enchanted dust.
Clank!
I then entered the hall, walking only a few steps till the door closed behind me again.
Throughout the hall, hundreds of hooded individuals were standing around. All in a bowing position. Each one also seemed to be part of another group, all together 12 different type of hoods were there.
However, the only group that seemed to be rather small was the group of only 2 black hooded ones. They were the guards that stood by my rooms door.
By the table were also 11 other individuals each one sitting on their respective chair. Each chair also had their own intricate design.
One had been made entirely out of wood and plants, while another looked like a throne made out of different kind of weapons that were partially rusty or bloodied.
Father sat on nothing at all, suspended in air as though the laws of physics bowed to him.
The other guys sitting there were the other cult executives that father told about. The three that I had seen yesterday also sat next to each other.
Some of them however were hard to identify. They were translucent, projected in shifting oil-like colors.
'Most likely a spell of some sorts that lets you be somewhere where you aren't...'
The only other individual that seemed to have come in person was a tall and broad shouldered man coated in silver armor.
A silver cape adorned his back with the inside of it being red. His helmet seemed also unusual as it had 6 total slits in it.
I kept walking, having again the rough scent of incense in my nostrils.
The only thing one could hear in the room was low humming from the hooded people.
If I could I would have already run but the pressure seemed far too high to do something that Father hadn't told me. The moment I went outside my room, was the moment where there was no return.
And so I kept walking down which the spear seemed to notice, a faint glow pulsing from it with each step I neared myself to it. As I was within arms reach to it, I felt the stares of hundreds of eyes.
Hundreds of eyes bore down on me. Some filled with compassion. Others with worry. A few with scorn.
But the strongest gaze of all was Father's.
His body turned pitch-black. A single, massive star glowed in place of his head, beaming a blinding focus on me and the spear.
If there was something that could make me scared right now, then he was the most likely answer. He was simply unreadable...
So to quickly escape this situation, I did the only thing that I could in this moment and grabbed the spear with a slow but careful motion.
Nothing happened.
Then—
Darkness
All I saw was darkness, just like after I had died.
A cold feeling crept up and I couldn't do nothing. However even though everything was dark, this time, I still felt things, I still had my body.
Then from one moment to another, a light blinded me so hard that I covered my face with my arms. My body also stopped feeling cold, as warmth enveloped my body.
Looking ahead, I saw it.
Shimmering body.
Looking as if made out of gold.
White garments floating around it.
A white hood that covered their head.
Faceless.
It was a god.
That was the only thing I could think of when seeing it, a god. Something out of reach for anybody to really see.
It was a man made out of liquid gold just like Father with no face. Over his head a ring made of light adorned with several spikes and in his one hand, a spear looking as if it had been made of pure energy.
My body stopped functioning like normal, a movement seemed so unreal, that my body was unwilling to do it.
Then it turned towards me.
'Okay calm do-'
"Quiet."
The word echoed from countless voices at once, like a celestial chorus.
The godly being then came closer to me and closer.
"Let us begin."