"I'm here!"
That soft voice drifted gently to the ears of the man who slowly opened his eyes. Brilliant light greeted him as he awakened.
A woman in a flowing white dress that trailed down to touch the green grass seemed to glow even brighter under the sunlight beneath the lush tree.
God Mervous could no longer contain himself; he smiled faintly, expressing the warmth clearly felt in his heart.
"Young goddess..."
He murmured softly while beginning to step toward the woman, the beloved who had been dwelling in his heart. He loved her so deeply that he could no longer express it in any words.
The woman's gentleness and affection made God Mervous unable to turn his heart to anyone else. She was the destiny of love sent by the universe for him. That was how God Mervous felt right now.
Longing for the lily scent of the woman urged God Mervous to move closer to her. He wanted to pour out all the emptiness he felt when separated from her.
However, just as God Mervous was about to approach, a strong wind began to envelop the garden. The clear sky suddenly turned cloudy and dark.
A portal right beside the woman opened, revealing a figure with a mask and wings flapping in the air.
The eye lines indicating that the figure behind the mask was smiling mockingly at God Mervous were clearly visible, as if there was something he wanted to express. Until finally...
Splash!
"Wake up, coward! Are you going to sleep all day?"
God Mervous was startled. He opened his eyes and found a woman whose face was very similar to the one in his dream just now, looking at him with an annoyed expression, as if she had been waiting for some time.
"I'll wait at the training grounds. Five minutes—if you're late, you'll have to pay with a special punishment from me," said Teressa with a crooked smile at the corner of her lips.
Still the same as before, God Mervous just remained silent without responding. He didn't even nod at all now, seeming to take a neutral stance, unwilling to reply.
***
God Mervous stepped into the room specifically designated for Teressa's training.
It felt like his soul hadn't fully gathered yet; it was still difficult to open his eyes. But before God Mervous could breathe in the fresh air of the training room, a sword flew toward him. With a single active response, God Mervous managed to block the attack.
"You're late, and you must face me first," said Teressa from a considerable distance, but full of suspicion.
In a brief moment, she drew another sword at her side, ran as fast as lightning, and nimbly prepared to attack the man before her.
Although God Mervous was only half-conscious now, his mastery of war instincts that seemed to have merged with his being made him quickly grab the sword that had been thrown at him earlier.
Clank! Shing!
The sound of the swords clashing was heard; both appeared to have strong instincts. They were able to parry and defend themselves.
God Mervous smiled faintly—this was trivial for him. He very much enjoyed enemies like Teressa who suddenly tried to defeat him, who clearly held the title of combat commander, expert in warfare mastery, and had successfully slaughtered more than 1,000 demons and their armies.
God Mervous then moved to take position on the right when Teressa was off guard and thought he would go left. From the imbalance Teressa felt now, God Mervous didn't want to lose his opportunity.
He quickly ran behind Teressa, causing the woman to finally lose her focus. In a brief moment, God Mervous then attacked Teressa, successfully making the sword held by Teressa fly into the air.
In no time, God Mervous's body also soared in the air, now holding control of two swords. He tried to attack Teressa again until the woman said, "Enough, Kayrus! You win. I don't have any weapons left now."
Teressa surrendered; she couldn't do anything else at that moment.
God Mervous smiled briefly—of course he would win. He placed his weapon on the sandy floor, thinking all this was truly over until he forgot that before him was Teressa, a woman with countless tricks.
"Too bad you're so weak, Kayrus!"
Boom!
Teressa threw powder in his eyes, creating a cloud of dust that enveloped God Mervous. He became frantic, losing track of Teressa.
Shing! Slang!
Teressa made movements that were difficult to read, and when God Mervous struggled to understand her movements, Teressa quickly unsheathed her sword, climbing onto God Mervous's body with the sword directed almost at the man's neck.
"Tsk. You need to train to be more vigilant, Sir Kayrus," Teressa teased the man.
She quickly rose from God Mervous's body, standing tall until finally realizing something.
"Oh my! Are you hurt, Kayrus?" asked Teressa when fresh blood flowed from God Mervous's arm.
God Mervous still appeared to behave as usual, then helped her and felt guilty about it all.
"I'll call a healer to..."
God Mervous stopped the woman; he then pointed in one direction to her.
"Just that leaf."
Teressa didn't understand, but somehow she became obedient to the man just like that, following what God Mervous said.
"Here. And... what for?" asked Teressa, not understanding. God Mervous just remained silent. He then applied the leaf, taking a small container that looked almost like a bottle of concocted potion.
He didn't sprinkle much of the powder, and in a short time, he asked Teressa to open it through eye signals.
"The wound?" asked Teressa in amazement.
"There's something called pharmakon; we can make our own potion for emergency times like now."
"I thought you were mute all this time," Teressa replied.
He smiled and then rose first. "You know so much about potions?" asked Teressa when she noticed God Mervous's footsteps.
"How to gain power. Is the power over an element really true?" asked Teressa again, now turning to look at the man.
"It depends on how you believe it. Not just anyone can get power; only some and the chosen ones will receive that power."
Teressa furrowed her brow; she seemed to understand the man's words and again harbored feelings that increasingly made her suspicious. "How do you know so much about all that? Who are you really?"
God Mervous fell silent until a thundering sound was heard.
Everyone seemed to be running, including a guard who came to meet Teressa to report what had happened and on Libradon's orders as well.
"His Majesty commands me to inform you about the arrival of the leader from the eastern land. His Majesty wants you to get ready and also welcome his arrival," said the guard to Teressa.
Teressa nodded; she had already suspected the royal guest's arrival. She then hurried away, but before that, she faced God Mervous first.
"We'll end our training, Kayrus. Thank you for your hard work today; we'll continue later."
God Mervous stopped Teressa; he held the woman's arm, making Teressa widen her eyes. She briefly thought the man wanted to harass her again with his action of casually holding her hand, but the question from God Mervous's mouth made her stop.
"Who's coming? What's the leader's name?" he asked, making Teressa furrow her brow in confusion.
She tried to free herself, not wanting to be touched, then replied, "I don't know either," Teressa answered briefly and left.
***
God Mervous arrived when the trumpet was sounded along with the palace gates opening wide, welcoming the arrival of a king and his armies.
"Commander Leomord," muttered God Mervous when he saw the figure with his horse whom he recognized.
Without needing to ask further, God Mervous clearly recognized the figure who was the palace guest this time.
The welcome appeared to proceed very well, witnessed by all the palace inhabitants.
"Welcome, Your Majesty. It is an honor for this palace to receive you, King Sou Yen."
"Thank you, Libradon. You welcome me very well."
Libradon called Teressa, introducing the woman to Sou Yen.
"She is my sister, Teressa."
The introduction seemed to go well. God Mervous tried to confirm the appearance of the person he felt he recognized.
He then moved forward, breaking through, and when his eyes clearly saw Sou Yen, his steps paused momentarily.
Sou Yen was not just a king but also a God figure like himself. He had authority because to maintain stability in this world, the element of wind was the power he possessed.
The controller whom God Mervous knew quite well.
Without thinking further, God Mervous immediately approached him, causing many eyes to fix sharply on him.
"Notus! Do you recognize me? Please, help me. I'm trapped in this body," said God Mervous, who directly approached Sou Yen.
Libradon immediately called his guards when the commotion could no longer be avoided at that moment; he was immediately restrained by two guards.
God Mervous tried to rebel but failed because his power was no longer effective.
"He tried to harm His Majesty King Sou Yen; I don't want to see this slave again. Give him the death penalty!"
Teressa was shocked; she didn't agree with Libradon's words, but she was powerless.
Meanwhile, Sou Yen appeared to be trying to understand the situation that was happening until finally, when God Mervous was about to be taken to the underground prison to be sentenced to death, Sou Yen realized something was odd.
He then said, "Wait!"
Everyone stopped; he looked at the man who now stared at him deeply.
"Did you just say..."
"Notus! Believe me."
"Zeus."
Libradon didn't let the conversation continue any further because he felt something wasn't right about that dialog.
"Quickly take him away!"
But before the two guards could move, Sou Yen raised his hand.
"I will agree to the eastern treaty and give this man to me."
Everyone appeared shocked, not believing those words would come from the mouth of King Sou Yen.