The blades of grass billowed, following the course of the wind.
Under the constant barrage of the soft air currents, eyelashes flickered; the young man sleeping on the blanket of green threatened to wake up.
"Ugh…" Soft groans escaped his lips, becoming clearer as his eyes opened more.
Laying amidst the shadows of the clouds hovering up high in the sky, the young man blinked repeatedly in his attempt to get sober from the grogginess that attacked his mind.
"Wha- what…" As clarity started to overcome the sleepiness, the young man sprawling over the field of verdant green slowly began to realize his environment. And as far as he could remember, a cloudy sky and windy fields were not part of his room.
The boy blinked. "Where… am I?" He muttered, the words flowing slowly out of his mouth as he moved his head around to get a clearer picture of where he was.
Through a small amount of effort from his part, the boy pushed himself out of the ground. He sat up on the grass with his back arched slightly forward and slowly rubbed his eyes, a futile attempt to correct his sight, for it was not wrong to begin with.
"…Where the fuck is my room?" He blurted, fully realizing now his surroundings were not born of a mind still clouded by dreams.
He was truly in the middle of nowhere.
"Is this some-" Amidst his words, the young man narrowed his eyes. A strong wind took him by surprise.
His clothes billowed violently, and he almost raised his hand to cover ahead and refrain the wind from hitting him.
Flap! Flap!
Amidst the sound of wind racing against his face, the young man listened to something differently. "Um?" He murmured in instinctual curiosity.
Strangely, at the remark of the boy's curiosity, the wind started to die out, and the environment slowly retreated to normalcy.
Now unpressed by the wind, and quite quickly forgetting about it, the young man slowly reached out to the origin of the distinctive noise – a paper, buried beneath his right thigh.
By careful movements, the young man reached out his arm in the paper's direction. He grabbed it with certain delicacy at the beginning, before fully taking hold of it and bringing it closer to him.
Taking a look at the item, the young man found himself troubled, lost while taking sight of the item.
The page facing the young man had nothing written on it, a blank leaf with nothing but whiteness in it. However, the light hitting it made it slightly transparent, enough for the young man to notice something written on the other side of the paper.
I hope it's a letter from whoever did this. Thought the young man, turning the paper in hopes of finding something useful.
The other side of the paper revealed itself to the boy, and thus were the written words on it. But when his eyes rested over the black letters, the boy unconsciously frowned upon reading it.
"What the hell 'BeginAwakening' me-?!"
The young man couldn't fully pronounce his words before they were halted by his surprise, a reaction to what was happening before him – the paper was changing. In a way never imagined by the boy as the solid item quickly turned into a white mist, escaping from his grasp.
"What the fuck?!" He blurted out.
And before he could do anything else, the young man watched as the mist shot downwards, seemingly phrasing through the ground and disappearing into the earth, an eerie silence following after.
No wind howled or leaf billowed, only the sharp breath of the young man – who kept his gaze downwards – could be heard.
Until the world trembled.
RUMMBLE!
Spontaneously, the ground roared. And everything between heaven and earth shook by the potency of the earthquake.
"Wow!" The scream of the young man, taken by surprise and shock, echoed through the empty world.
Despite his efforts, even sitting down was impossible for him. By nature's strength, he was forced to lay down on the ground once again, very forcefully.
The boy hissed, and tried to open his eyes when hitting the ground. But when the sight of the sky was revealed to him, the scenery scared him, at the same time it aroused a sense of curiosity from him. For the sky was split apart, and every cloud present in it was scattered to the confines of the world, hidden from the boy. What only lasted was a clear blue sky.
Hoom…
However, when the sky cleared, it was soon filled by distortions – wraps in the very reality itself. But it happened so fast, so quickly, the young man could only take notice of what followed after space quivered.
Obelisks of titanic proportions surged in the sky, their numbers hard to count as they consumed the vastness of the sky.
"What the fuck!" The young man screamed once again, a little of panic finally hitting him.
And because of this little panic and suddenness of these events, the young man was incapable of taking notice of the characteristics of these obelisks. Their metallic surfaces, the light coursing through their exterior and the silent the world followed after their appearance.
Drawn to them by their glow, the young man instinctively looked up at the light coursing through these objects' surfaces.
His eyelids felt heavy, and when he least noticed, the young man was once again unconscious.
[???]
"Ah!" The young man screamed in his awakening, anxiety still pulsing through him.
It was a strange sensation to him. As soon as he lost consciousness, clarity hit him immediately after, waking him up.
When awake, one of the first instincts the young man experienced was this will to stand up, for he found himself laying down on the ground once again.
However, after the immediate and initial surprise, amidst the process of even exerting some strength to stand up, the young man halted his actions – he was perplexed. Unconsciously, his breath quickened by the sight welcomed by his eyes.
Around the young man was a bright world, clear as any normal day. The clouds up in the sky seemed incapable of impending the sunlight to reach the world. Which was strange, for no Sun was up in the skies. And even more strangely, the sky was different, to say the least.
What should be a vast clear blue sky by how bright the world is, was actually an uncommonly beautiful azure taking the place of the common heavens. And scattered across its expanse were stars forming constellations never seen by the boy, glowing like neon lights in the darkness of midnight cities.
"What- this is-"
"Surprising, isn't it?" A melodic voice echoed in his ears.
"Woah!" Out of surprise, the boy let out a scream escaping his lips. And by reaction, he tried to get up from the ground once again.
What was unexpected, however, was the fact the boy put more strength into his actions than needed. And the moment he noticed, he wasn't lying on any ground anymore. But in the sky, surrounded by the infinite starlights.
And when nearing a certain height, getting so close to the sky, the young man also instinctively knew how far he was from the ground.
"Shit!" He screamed loudly. "I'm gonna die!"
"You will not, My Lord." These words, muttered by that same beautiful voice, were whispered to the boy's ears. "Be calm, nothing will come to harm you." The warm voice echoed again, stretching as far as the world encompassed.
Listening to this voice, the young man tried to frantically find it whilst in the middle of the air, spinning and twisting his body in all directions.
And at a certain moment, the young man found himself facing downwards, and thus he easily graced with another surprising sight.
Beneath him, beneath all the skies, there was no ground. No plain, no grass fields, no mountains. Just an infinite cerulean ocean stretching to every corner of this universe.
And amidst this ocean, right near the spot the young man thought to be by when he shot himself to the sky, there was a figure of purple and white standing. Something difficult for the boy to discern what it was due to the height he found himself in. But if he had to guess, an option came to his mind.
"A woman?" The boy muttered, his fear momentarily disappearing.
But after the mutter of his words, the young man noticed his body stopped ascending and for a very brief moment, it was static in the air.
His recognition of that fact would normally surely scare the most out of him, for he knew in the next moment, he would be falling. Strangely, the young man felt completely calm regarding what came next.
"As I stated, My Lord," The voice reached out again, to every corner of this world. "your fear is baseless here. Come, approach me." She said, and around her words, reality seemed to leech onto it. For a moment, the boy thought to be seeing the very existence itself responding to the woman's will.
Such thought was only reinforced when the young man noticed the abrupt halt in his fall, and with his body not suffering any harm from the immediate break.
"Wh- what?" He murmured in surprise, widening his eyes when noticing how slow he was moving now downwards.
Slowly and steadily, the young man witnessed himself getting closer to the water, a fact he was digesting.
But when his feet landed on the ocean beneath him, and the expectation of his feet sinking into it was not met, his already damaged thought process worsened.
"Wha- how, why…" His eyes glanced down, at the ocean and his feet, trying to comprehend one more absurdity he was witnessing.
In this situation, the young man wasn't aware how his body was responding to it. His vision was tuning, the faint sound of wind was getting gradually muffled and the lines his mind ran to think over seemed blocked every time he tried to understand his surroundings.
Truly, this young man seemed on the brink of a mental breakdown due to how much he was trying to comprehend in so little time. However…
As a sweet breeze, a single voice swept all this away.
"My Lord," The woman said, announcing her presence once again. And with these few words, she got the attention she wished as the young man staggeringly turned his eyes from the ocean to her figure. "we have got much to discuss."
"You…" Exhaling through his words, the young man has his eyes fixed on the woman. "Who are you?" He asked, the new clarity of his mind allowing him to notice the certain distinguishable features of the woman near to him.
Silky hair of marble-white cascaded from her head to her shoulder, with faint curls forming at its edges. Some of her threads were neatly tied, forming a sort of simple crown on her head.
Her violet skin bore a flawless hue, glowing softly as it was bathed in light; particles of equal color danced around her, radiating from her attractive, toned figure draped in white and gold tunics.
And the most captivating of her features – her eyes. Scleras holding the color of darkness surrounded a dot of gray – which seemed to hold an entire fog, or cosmos in it.
"It is my utmost pleasure to finally be in your presence, My Lord." Respect was dipped in the intonation of the woman's voice, an aspect enhanced by the bow of her head and her back arching forward.
…
In complete silence, the boy blinked once. Then, twice.
"What…?" He blurted in uncomprehension.
"As foresaw," She straightened herself, her eyes meeting his. "you must be confused, My Lord. Do not fret, all will be explained in accordance." She said, her arms hanging straight by her side. "Firstly, I must introduce myself for our conversation to run smoothly, Lord John."
She knows my name… The boy, John, thought inwardly.
Noticing no apparent word yet coming from the boy, the woman proceeded to her introduction.
Her right hand moved regally, resting over her left breast. And followed by a slight bow of her head, her lips parted. "It is with utmost pleasure I introduce myself before the son of my Paramount. My name is…"
Through her introduction, John observed the woman attentively. Every gesture and movement of hers was captured by his sight.
So when he saw her lips move and no sound came from the woman's mouth, the young man couldn't help but frown his brow in doubt of what the woman was doing.
Unbeknownst to him, his curiosity would soon be responded to. For the next moment, the word the woman pronounced finally revealed itself to the world.
Ἑ̷̡̟͚͙̬͇̜̦͐͂̈́̿͌̈́̚σ̸̺̝̗͍͓̘̺͔͔̋̋̍̑̑̅̅τ̴͔̙̞͙̺͓͕̈́̆͐͒̾̒͑̍ͅΐ̴͕̜̝͕̝̹̍̓̐̅̓͆͆̚͜͜͜ᾶ̷̨̦̟̝͚͐͗̈́͊̕̚͜͝͠
Bz…
An agonizing, almost indescribable sound traveled to the young man's ears. His eyes widening by the sharp noise, the pain of his eardrums and head forcing him to kneel down almost instantly.
With his hands attempting to cover his ears and eyes glancing at the ocean beneath him, the sight he observed over the reflection of the violently rippling water scared him.
A humanoid – at least resembling it – shape mirrored on the shaking water now bathed in a purple light. And strangely, the form stretched. Not onto the surface, but deeper into the water, heading into depths no light reached, disappearing amidst the darkness. Until the entire depths shone with a gray light, seemingly alive – like an eye.
It was a scene of terror.
But as soon as the young man blinked… everything disappeared.
No sound, no form, no light, everything returned to its previous state. Just a boundless ocean and two individuals standing on top of it.
With shaky hands against the water, the young man looked at his trembling reflection on the water. What the fuck was that?! He screamed inwards.
"Or you can simply call me Hestia, My Lord."
Slowly, the young man lifted his head to look up at the woman, his expression fearful and cautious of her.
At notice of the young man's face, the woman pursed her lips weakly. "I am sorry about my introduction, My Lord. But for an easier comprehension of what we are gonna discuss, My Paramount, Lady Ealibeth, decided it was better for you to suffer this impact from the beginning."
Ealibeth? Amongst the woman's words, this was the one the young man focused on. "You… you know my mother?"
"I am under direct service to your mother." The woman replied. "To be more precise, I am your mother's Handmaiden. It is for this reason I have come to welcome you."
The young man frowned. "Welcome… me?" He muttered, gathering strength to stand up once again. "Urgh!" But whilst raising, the pain he felt through his body seemed to return for a moment. "Ju- just give me a moment."
Seeing the young man's state, the woman, Hestia, decided to act. "Calm and ease,My Lord." She said.
"Hm?" Murmured the boy, listening to her words. And then, he felt her words – her orders.
The confusion clouding his mind, impeding his thoughts to flow naturally and the pain consuming his body and spirit slowly dispersed. Both were scattering into nothingness.
Looking into his hands, the young man noticed the darkness around the corners of his sight disappearing, his eyes getting a clarity he didn't experience in the past moments since he woke up from sleep.
What is happening? Thought the boy.
"Are you better now, My Lord?"
John glanced up to take a look at the woman standing before him, and observing her beneath the light from the skies, an instinctual thought surged in his mind.
She is beautiful. "Yeah. I'm… better." John said, pushing himself up to his feet.
Hestia smiled at his answer. "I am glad to hear that." She responded.
"Sigh…" Releasing a sharp exhale through his nostrils, the young man looked around in his now new calmness and clarity. "I have so many questions…" He muttered, rubbing the back of his head.
"The reason for my presence is to clear your doubts and deliver knowledge to you, My Lord." Hestia promptly said, getting the boy's attention to her. "Mentioning it, may I proceed and follow Lady Ealibeth's order, or is it your wish to first clear your doubts?"
"I…" John thought about it for a moment. "Sigh… I have certain doubts."
"And what are they?"
"This place… You… What-" The boy paused in his words. "What is happening here?" John asked with finality.
One second of silence was held by Hestia before she replied, "What is your opinion of what is happening here?"
Listening to his question being answered by another question despite the woman saying her presence was to clear his doubts, John couldn't resist letting his head tilt to the side with disbelief in his eyes.
"Wha- what is my opinion?" He blurted out. "I don't know. Am I not in a dream, am I?"
"No." Hestia answered. "But your line of thoughts is not completely incorrect." She added.
"What?" John muttered. "How is it not incorrect? What else could…" Abruptly, the words coming out of the boy's mouth halted, the last ones hanging in the air. A thin veil of realization covered his eyes.
The young man looked around, at the environment surrounding him. He looked to the ocean beneath him and the skies covering his head and the horizon.
Slowly, he retreated his glance back to the woman before him. "Impossible… It can't be."
In reaction to the boy's attitude, the corner of Hestia's lips curled up, forming a satisfied smile. "'Impossible', you say. I expected different words from you, My Lord." She stepped forward. "When given the opportunity, Lady Ealibeth relayed to us all how the 'impossible' was something you sought. And now, when experiencing it, you do not believe in it."
With attentive eyes, John followed the woman walking past him. "You expect me to believe right away in the fact I'm within my own fucking mind?! Inside a- a fucking kind of Mind World?!" He turned to her, her violet back a contrast to the blue-white horizon.
Hestia looked over her shoulder, allowing the boy to see only a side of her delicate face.
"Exactly." She replied, returning her face forward.
In disbelief to her words, John stared blankly at the woman's back.
"Do not fret, My Prince." Hestia said, spinning on her heels. The tunics attached to her divine silhouette billowed in response to her swift moves. "It is my duty to give you a push of faith for you to believe."
Regaining a certain focus, John stared at the woman. "How?"
In response to the question, Hestia approached the young man. When the distance between both were less than two steps, her feet halted and stood side by side.
Slowly, Hestia's right arm, resting all this time by her side, rose for a moment. When at a certain height – beneath her chest – it hung in the air with her hand opened, calmly expecting someone to take it.
With calmness and gentleness, she asked, "Do you believe in me?" Her eyes stared at John's, and they didn't wave at any moment.
John's eyes blinked, and now they were looking at the smooth purple hand reaching out to him, ignoring the strange and captivating minuscule particles orbiting around hand. What he saw was an opportunity to clear his doubts, even if this opportunity was almost illusory in his mind.
And despite his movements backed by doubts and the caution taking his mind, his hand nonetheless reached out to Hestia's – and he grasped it firmly.
Witnessing the large hand covering hers, dimples appeared on Hestia's face as a result of her light smile.
"Good." She said, lowering her and the boy's hand out of their sight.
"Let's begin." Hestia said, the darkness of her eyes glowing.
And without notice once again, the boy found his sight darkening by his closing eyelids.
…
"Urh!" John's eyes snapped open and instinctively, he inhaled a large gust of air in an attempt to regulate his hitching breath.
He retreated his hand from Hestia's grasp and staggeringly, the young man retreated a couple steps, his feet causing ripples on the water.
Trying to find some support, John let himself fall down on the ocean. His legs arched and his open hands met the water's surface, helping him remain sitting.
"Uff…Uff…" The air from his lungs escaped through John's mouth, his eyes slightly widened facing the sky. And slowly, he looked at Hestia. Contrary to him, the woman remained standing. Her hand retreated to her side and her eyes glanced down at the boy sitting on the water, calmly waiting for his next decision.
Continuing to take deep breaths, John took a last long breath to regulate his respiration. "Ah…" His eyes facing the sky fell to look at the ocean, his contemplative look reflecting on the cerulean water. "Shit… What the fuck… That was… surprising." He said.
His words brought a quiet sense of satisfaction to Hestia, as revealed by the subtle changes in her expression. "I am extremely grateful to hear that, My Lord." She said, keeping her distance. "How do you feel?"
"A little bit of everything." John said, slowly. "My happiness will probably take over completely in a few minutes, but till there…" He glanced up at her, smiling weakly. "I think I can say I'm also overwhelmed."
Hestia took a long look at the boy. "By any possibility, anger?"
"No, no." John shook his head. "Maybe a little bit unsatisfied by knowing my birth and life were not exactly how I thought it to be, but not angry. With a gift such as this…" He raised his hand in front of him, and suddenly a wisp of golden light erupted from his palm. "Kind of hard to be angry. It's literally the best thing it could be given to someone like me." He closed his hand.
Hestia raised her left eyebrow. "A young man?"
John looked up at Hestia. "Chuckle, sure. We can say that." He said, his face going back to neutral. He spent a few moments staring at the woman. "So… how is it like? Being a Goddess, I mean."
Hestia smirked at the boy's curiosity. "There are good and bad parts. The final answer mostly depends on what path the God has taken." She replied, giving off a rather vague answer. "In my case, it ended up having a weight I wished not to carry. Reason why I abandoned Olympus and have chosen to follow your Mother."
"I see…" John nodded vaguely. "Is Zeus an asshole as we portray him in Myths?" The young man asked out of curiosity.
"Everything depends." Hestia said. "The Zeus you know is decent compared to the one I used to call brother."
"Damn, I am sorry for you." The boy chuckled. "Now, what do I do? Wait here till things are finished with me, or you have something else to tell me?"
"For now, I do not have anything to share with you, My Lord. As for what to do, you could spend your time… discovering your world." Hestia swept her hand horizontally, gesturing to the entire world.
John frowned. "How?"
"Your world, My Lord. Whatever your commands are, they are this place's Laws." Hestia said, blinking out of existence.
Staring into the space where she was, instead of standing up to start right away, John put two of his right fingers on his left arm.
And then he pressed his skin between his fingers.
"Ouch!" John screamed shortly, quickly rubbing the area he just pinched. "Yeah, still not a dream." He muttered, letting out a sigh as he turned his look forward.
Pressing his hands against the ocean's surface, the young man stood up with some effort. He set his gaze to the horizons, taking in this, his world into his sight.
"Okay, what am I gonna do now?" He muttered, thoughtful of his next steps of action.
And despite the boy's initial struggle in thinking what he should do, he quickly came up with an idea to test out his new capabilities.
John raised his arm forward and behind this movement his will was carried, and thus an order was delivered to the world.
Whoosh…
From the boy's standpoint, a small ripple spread across the water; an indication of the world around him – his world – responding to him.
Steadily, the water ripped open in front of him, a small circle of nothingness opened up on the surface of the ocean.
"Okay. Now…" Raising his other hand forward, John put the two together, palms faced. "Expand." He muttered, pulling his hands away from each other.
Following his actions, the hole in the ocean expanded, creating a sort of upside down dome in the water, not a breach straight to the depth of the ocean.
"Ha, this is cool as fuck." John said, letting his hands drop to his sides. Immediately, the ocean's surface started to return to normalcy.
Watching the movements of the water, John took a deep long breath. "Okay… let's do something real now." He muttered, raising his right hand once again.
Casting his glance down, the boy landed his eyes upon the cerulean ocean – or more precisely, upon the particles emanating from the ocean. Particles that disappeared into nothingness when reaching a certain distance from the ocean.
With his eyes focused on these particles, John made a gesture with his hand, twisting it clock-wise whilst closing his fingers into a fist.
Fush!
Accompanying immediately his movements, the particles that dozed off to its apparent vanishment moved. They followed the boy's movements, drawing a curve in the air before gathering in a single point. Quickly, the small lonely particles amalgamated in a large sphere of blue light, with the incoming particles from the ocean naturally and slowly dragging themselves towards this sphere.
But paying no attention to it, John turned his hand upwards, his hands stretched closed into a right angle.
With a weak twitch, the sphere of light started to move, in direction to the boy's position.
"Ha." The boy laughed humorously at the experience, this small feat bringing a certain joy to him. "Now, to mold it." John muttered, looking at the sphere of light hovering above his open hands.
After observing it for a few moments, John approached his hand to the sphere, and casually he took hold of a part of it between his thumb and index fingers. Then, he pulled it.
And he did the same actions three more times, all to different directions, creating a quite different shape and form in his hands. That is, until he put one hand upon the light and beneath it. Then, effortlessly, he pushed both sides together, flattening it.
"Now…" He held the form in his hands and stared at it, projecting his thoughts into it.
Following the boy's will, the light slowly started to change. Its blue color started to change, both color and texture, to something weary and brownish.
When it stopped changing, John took an interested look at the object in his hands. "Nothing written, obviously." He muttered, leafing through the blank book he created.
But midway through the pages, John stopped his actions. He didn't close it, just let the book rest over his left hand while he lifted his head to the sky, looking up at the stars. "This will be interesting." He said, reaching out his right hand to the skies.
Up in the skies, above where the young man stood, amongst the countless stars glowing amidst the dark space in contrast to the bright world beneath, one special constellation vibrated violently.
"Come." John said.
Whoosh!
Under his words, that same twinkling constellation responded. It changed, the light emanating from its stars gathered in its center, forming a conglomeration of light. And when enough of this light gathered, it moved.
The light shot through space, downwards, cutting the world vertically. It seemed to slice the world in two for a moment.
"Uff." Feeling that light, that energy landing on his palm, John let out a small puff of air escape his lungs. "Will you look at that?" He muttered, observing with interest the concentration of energy which had its size changed to fit into his palm.
Slowly, John brought his eyes closer to it. And the more he did, a certain sensation hit his mind. At a certain point, he didn't need to look closer to it to see what was within the light.
"Hmph." A good humored scoff was released by the young man. "'The Vampire Diaries, Season 2', good times… I wonder how the history of that world turned out." John muttered in short contemplation, keeping his eyes at the memory. "Now, let's see if this idea of mine works."
Raising his right hand slightly, stopping at his chest's height, John observed with curiosity and anticipation whilst the light in his right hand now hovered above the book in his left hand.
And when the energy sunk into the book's leather cover, John's eyes shone with a light that covered them like an otherworldly veil, gray and pale.
Following, the constellation in the skies – the same which the energy was drawn from – its light intensified, and it kept so for a while until the book devoured the light wholly.
Seeing the result of his actions, a smile crept into John's lips. "Interesting…" He muttered, passing his fingers over the book's cover. Or more specifically, at the words it now held.
"'The Vampire Diaries ‐ Season 2'…" John murmured, sliding his fingers beneath the cover and pushing it upwards, revealing to him the book's first page.
There was nothing on the page but the book's title repeating itself, so the boy went over to the next one, and there, he saw something which caught his interest.
"Ep. 1: Page 4. Ep. 2: Page 10…" Reading the black letters apparently printed over the pages, a little bit of joy escaped into John's voice. Not that he attempted to hold it back. "It worked, it fucking worked! Holy shit, that's awesome!"
Lifting his head from the book John looked around him, at the vastless ocean around him. He was thinking once again. But this thinking didn't take long.
Retreating his hand with the book to his side, John kept his right hand in front of him, pointed at the ocean. But different from before, it wasn't just the particles that responded to him, but the water itself as well.
Under the boy's influence, the ocean's surface rippled and bended, shaking as droplets of water slowly rose from it. But within seconds, it wasn't only drops of water that would take minutes to fill a bottle, but large quantities – enough to fill a pool – were under the boy's will.
"Okay… Now, I do this." John murmured, waving his right arm in the air in apparent random directions, but as it was under his command, he knew better than anyone there was a pattern in his movements.
After a few seconds, John let his arm hang in front of him again as the object he created floated above the ocean. "Done!" He said, dropping down his arms.
Splash!
Released from his mental grip, the object John created fell on the ocean, creating small waves expanding in opposite directions to the platform.
Taking a look at his creation, John approached the floating wooden platform and stood by it. The next moment, he put a foot on it and step up on it, giving it a few jumps. "Good, it's solid." He said, satisfied with the result. "Now…" Already in thought of something else, the boy raised his hand once again. And while on this, he didn't notice the response of the world to his actions was now shorter than the previous times.
Water and lights surged from the ocean, both glowing in an azure light. These lights moved, following the boy's will. They gathered together right above the wooden floor floating on the ocean, taking shape and form.
And in no time, before the young man, a bookshelf appeared. One of old oak wood, open from front and back. Perfectly positioned in the center of the wooden floor.
"Good." Seeing it, John approached the bookshelf with low steps, admiring his work a little as he touched the bookshelf.
Changing his sight from the shelf to the book, John took a long look at it before he slowly positioned the book on the highest space of the bookshelf.
Doing this, the same changes that the young man experienced earlier happened again. A veil of gray light covered his eyes, like mist, but contradictory to the words used to describe the small phenomenon, the young man's mind felt clearer than ever regarding a certain specific knowledge.
"Whoah…" John exclaimed in low tone, the small changes his actions brought bringing a certain awe to himself. "I remember… everything of that season." His thoughts slipped by his lips. "So more clearer than before; so more easily to reach out that knowledge. Every object, every character, every word said and at what moment said – I remember everything…" He murmured, the astonishment of his actions taking more and more of his mind.
Staring at the bookshelf, the boy lifted his head to the skies, once again taking in the sight of those countless constellations. Some as bright as the dawn of creation, others slowly losing the light within them, vanishing into nothingness.
And with such scenery before him, a great smile bloomed on John's lips. "This will be fucking amazing to do…"
…
Whoosh!
Blinking into reality, Hestia took sight of the world owned by the young man once again.
Looking ahead of her, a small smile tucked into her lips. "It seems you were very proactive, My Lord." Hestia said, approaching the young man.
Taking notice of the woman's presence and turning his head to look at her, John smiled. "A little." He said.
The boy was sitting on the wooden platform. Behind him stood dozens of bookshelves standing on top of the floor, lined and perfectly organized by the golden plaques attached to each shelf and what was written in each plaque.
Getting up from the ocean's surface, John looked at Hestia. "Since you are here, I must assume it's time, correct?" He asked.
Hestia nodded. "It is. However, if you want to postpone it until you arrange everything here…" She looked up to the skies, taking notice of some differences from when she was here earlier.
"No, I want to go." John replied. "The most troubling things have been dealt with, the rest can wait. I'm getting excited to meet new realities. Even more when they are worlds I thought to never exist." The boy said, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
At the boy's response, Hestia smiled. "It sure must be an exciting moment for you, My Lord." She said in understanding.
Approaching the young man, she inquired. "You remember the steps we saw earlier, correct?"
John nodded. "Still fresh." He said, looking downwards, at the ocean's direction. Raising up his arm, the world obeyed him, and the depth of the ocean beneath him brightened, casting shadows on the surface.
Strangely, shadows of aquatic creatures that swam through the boundless ocean of the boy's mind – but not only normal aquatic creatures. And even more strangely, all these creatures didn't seem made out of flesh and bone, but… something more immaterial.
Taking a look into the vanishing figures as the light coming from the depth weakened, Hestia held an interested look. "It seems you are managing well your world, My Lord. That is perfect." She said, returning her eyes to him. "Then, if we may." She reached her hand out to him.
Without hesitation, John raised his hand and took Hestia's, holding it firmly.
Above their intertwined hands, a thread, a wisp of golden energy surged. Hovering right there in the air.
Seeing the wisp, Hestia nodded lightly before turning her glance to the boy. "You already know where you wish to go by now, My Lord? A place that is not your home." She questioned, the hand she was holding the boy's hand started to glow.
"I thought a little about it." John nodded, observing the glowing intensifying. "Throw me at Mystic Falls, or the universe which it is in, in this case."
"I see, an universe of magic." Hestia muttered, mostly small talk as she continued what she was doing secondarily. "May I ask why of your choice?" She inquired.
Watching the process currently being carried out by the Goddess, John calmly explained his motives, "Just thought it to be good enough. And it felt right as well." No matter how trivial they were.
"I see." Hestia murmured, not commenting much else as she turned her attention back to their intertwined hands.
John also didn't say anything else, and just calmly observed what the woman was doing.
And whatever was this process, it didn't last long. For only a few seconds after the start of it, the glow coming from within Hestia's hand ceased.
"It is completed." She stated, retreating her hand, taking it with her the thread of golden light created by the boy. But at this moment, the brilliance emitted by the thread was many times more radiant.
"That's it?" John asked, taking a look at the wisp of light.
Listening to the boy's words, Hestia smirked. "Does it seem easy?" She asked, rhetorical as she didn't allow John to answer it. "You are correct, My Lord. Compared to what most require to achieve what you can, this is easy. But fear not, My Lord. It will take some time until you are capable of accomplishing it on your own. A few years, maybe? It will depend on your progress." Hestia commented, taking hold of her chin while in contemplation.
Listening to Hestia's words and keeping his stare at the small thing he created, John couldn't help but let a soft chuckle escape from him.
"Why the laughter, My Lord?" Hestia asked with curiosity in her eyes.
John shook his head, meaning it was nothing much. "It's juts… it still sounds absurd." He said. "Travel across existences, where I was born, my reality and even this…" He listed the things she told her in their short conversation. "Not the easiest thing to believe if someone does not experience it themselves."
"I must agree; I myself could not believe what I know these days if not for the assistance of your mother." Hestia commented, meanwhile distancing herself from the young man by one step. Then casually, she let go of the wisp of gold, with it quickly disappearing from this world. "That is why when you experience it personally, and not by my words, this truth will solidify even more in your mind."
"Let's see." John said, watching Hestia go back to her casual stance. "Now, what do we do?"
"You will wait a few minutes here, My Lord. Even with my guidance and your fragment's nature, it still should take some time before the location it wishes to settle is found." Hestia replied, approaching the boy once again to face him up close. "Me? It is my time to give you my parting gift. With permission of your Mother, of course. Also, with your permission?" She said, awaiting his answer.
John nodded. "Go on."
With one step closer, Hestia was now mere centimeters separated from the young man. Both of them stared at each other. Whilst the Goddess was calm, John was patient and eager for what came next.
And putting her hands on the boy's face, Hestia started to deliver her gift.
From where she stood, the ocean rippled once again, gentler than ever. Almost like afraid to interrupt the Goddess.
"Be my words marked in Beginning, where I rule for Eternity;
Hestia closed her eyes, and whispers slowly came from between her lips. And surrounding her, marks of unknown origin started to weakly flick into reality.
Firstborn am I, and Youngest am I also. Free is My Spirit, Unbound and Everlasting.
At Dawn, I am the First Remembered… At Dusk, I am Last to be Forgotten…
Since Primordial, My Vows Stood Unfalse, and My Fire Pure.
My Hearth is Warm, Protective and Enduring…
The marks suddenly solidified, printing themselves into the walls of reality. Meanwhile, purple and crimson flames surrounded them, creating pillars of fire that split the skies.
For when the Fire is Ceasing, The End is Near, and thus is Born a New Beginning.
I invoke the Ancient Laws, wrought in Time Immemorial and Space Unexistent…
To Permit the Cosmos as My Witnesses, for I welcome this Soul into its New Life…
Steadily, Hestia bowed her head. Her forehead met the young man's. Her form threatened to destroy the shackles of reality.
May in His New Journey, always be a Hearth to Warm him, and a Home to recover from Wounds…
Be my words marked in End, where I have ruled for Eternity."
At the end of her words, in this world and beyond it, existence retreated to a primordial silence. Where nothing existed and the universe had no one to witness its beauty.
Just slightly lifting her head, Hestia's lips now rested over the boy's forehead, giving it a light kiss. And from this, she slowly retreated to her normal stance, taking one step back.
When John saw her expression, he could see she was impassive. And at this moment, he could tell nothing from just looking at her. She seemed detached from existence.
"The Blessing was carried." She stated.
Listening to these, John looked at himself. He rubbed his finger over his forehead very lightly, and a thought came to his mind. "It… tickled?" He didn't understand much of what happened, so that's what he blurted out.
The words Hestia muttered were foreign to his ears and the events taken around him took most of his attention. When things ended, the most he felt was a small warmth around his heart.
But despite this, at his comment, Hestia smiled warmly. "I am sure it did, My Lord." Her words were joyful, delighted by the boy's reaction. "My time in your company has ceased for now, My Lord. It is time for me to bid farewell."
"I guess so." John nodded in understanding. "Will I see you soon?" He asked.
For the first time, Hestia took a mischievous expression. "Who knows?" She shrugged her shoulders.
"Okay…" John nodded, then an idea came to his mind. "Then, can I get a hug from you?"
"A hug?" Hestia questioned, almost tilting her head to the side.
"Yeah, a goodbye one." John affirmed, opening his arms.
… "I can not see why not." Hestia agreed, opening her arms slightly.
Taking a step further, John fell into the embrace of the Goddess. And different from almost every contact he ever had with any person in his life, he felt a physical, comfortable warmth hard to describe.
He felt… secure.
"Thanks for your blessing." He whispered under his breath. "And tell Mom and Dad I will be fine." Unconsciously, his hug on her got tighter.
"You are welcome. And you may rest assured, My Lord. They know, but I will carry your words." Hestia replied, smiling broader.
Seconds passed, with the boy letting go of the woman.
"Thank you for everything, Hestia." John said, distancing himself from the Goddess. "Hey, it's too late to ask if my mother has an Aphrodite following her as well to bless me too? You know, to get some luck with love."
"…" Listening to the boy's question, Hestia got quiet, until she herself broke the silence. "Hahahaha! Ah, I am sorry, My Lord. But that is not my decision to make. But fret not, I will deliver your words." She said, humorously.
"Wait, there is an Aphrodite following my mom? I was joking." John said with widening eyes.
Hestia smiled at the boy's reaction, a warm and gentle smile. "I hope We may see soon, My Lord."
Before these words could fully scatter into the wind, Hestia was gone. She had left this world.
Seeing that he was by himself once again, John let out a large sigh. However, before he could enjoy the loneliness, a whisper flowed under his ear.
"Happy Birthday, My Lord…"
John stilled.
"Sigh. Thanks, Hestia." John wiped the corner of his eyes. "It was nice meeting you." He said out loud, walking back to the wooden platform.
When he retreated to the small library of his creation, the boy hummed a tune whilst working. With every star he captured from the sky and every book created out of immaterial, he did it with enthusiasm and caution. The young man was enjoying the moment profusely.
When he needed to create new bookshelves, the young man would patiently think during moments of the name he would write on the adorned golden plate right above the shelf.
Right under these names, there were specifications. Numbers referring to each line of the shelf, and followed by it was a name informing what exactly could be found in that row of the shelf.
Amidst this world of calmness and serenity, the young man silently did what brought joy to him. And he did it for a few moments until something happened – a sort of connection.
"Hm?"
Beneath the surface of the water, in the deepest parts of the ocean where no light could reach, a wisp of golden light surged.
This light illuminated the ocean more than it should be capable of. For even on the surface, small dusts of golden light resurfaced from the ocean, scattering in the air and disappearing into the world. Just for it to quickly disappear, and the ocean to retreat to its normal behavior.
"I think it is time." John muttered after taking notice of the short events in his world.
Taking a look around, John puffed some air out of his mouth. For some reason, he felt nostalgic. "To a new journey…" He whispered under his breath.
And with a flex of his will, the young man disappeared from his own world as well.