I was surrounded by those people and escorted out the room.
Umm… Even if this was to get rid of me… This is a little too much, don't you think?
At least they allowed me to walk on my own so I wasn't being pushed or pulled around.
They brought me deep into the building and we even went through several checkpoints which the red skinned woman passed through without a problem.
If I remember correctly, she belonged to a race that was considered to be a demon on her planet but to us on Earth, she basically looked like a red skinned Oni from Japanese folklore, except she wasn't a muscled brute and was just exceptionally tall.
Eventually, we reached a lift where the security suddenly stopped and I was now alone on the lift with the woman.
I opened my mouth to speak but she quickly turned and placed a finger on her lips, indicating I should be quiet.
I shut my mouth immediately.
Now I don't think they are trying to execute me anymore because they didn't even bother searching me in case I had any weapons on me.
Then again… I guess this red Oni woman could probably just pick me up and toss me aside even with my enhanced strength.
The elevator eventually came to a stop and it seemed like we were underground judging by the dark corridor ahead of us.
She took a step out and the lights flickered on prompting me to follow behind her to pass through another door that led to what I can only describe as a circular arena.
Is this some kind of public execution or something?
But instead of stopping in the arena, she continued past it, seemingly to another door that led to a control room of sorts.
Just looking at the dust around the place, it's obvious that it has been a while since anyone has been here.
I wonder what this place was supposed to be?
She went over to a control panel to start it up, turning on the lights and turning on the ventilation before she grabbed two chairs from a stack, dusted them off, then placed them facing each other.
"Please," She gestured at the chair.
I was really confused by this turn of events but I sat as she requested.
She took a seat as well across from me, the chair barely big enough to fit her and her legs were so long that her knees were almost up to her chest when she sat down on it.
"First things first," She started, tilting her legs at an angle to better accommodate her seating position. "I am Olivia, current director and overseer of the Mortal God branch within the Ministry of Anomaly Management."
I nodded my head slightly, "Nice to meet you."
"Mister Lin," The red Oni known as Olivia continued, pulling out a tablet that looked like a normal sized phone in her palm. "Do you know why you are here?"
I blinked, "Is it not because I'm affected by the miasma and in danger of turning into an Anomaly?"
"We have scanned you, Mister Lin. The results of the scan turned out to be negative on miasma corruption."
"So… I am not going to turn into an Anomaly?"
She shook her head, "You are not. There is, however, one problem."
I raised an eyebrow, wondering what the problem might be. Did I break some kind of law without even knowing about it?
She took a moment to suck in a breath, as though she was considering her words carefully before she spoke them, "The scanner has detected divine energy in you."
I blinked a few times, my mind taking a moment to comprehend what she just said.
Divine energy, something that can only be found in Mortal Gods and the Guardians that serve them.
I pointed at myself, "Does that mean… Someone chose me as a Guardian?"
She shook her head, "No, Mister Lin… Or perhaps I should now address you properly… Mortal God Lin. You have awakened as the newest Mortal God and the first Mortal God of Singapore."
I blinked again and pointed a finger at myself, "Me?"
She nodded, "That is correct."
"But… Maybe that divine energy is just remnants from the Guardian I was with today? That Litana woman or something?"
"We have thought about that but the energy came from within you so that is not possible. At this point, we are still not a hundred percent sure so I have brought you here to test if you really have awakened as a Mortal God."
"You mean… I awakened into one despite already having been awakened?"
"You are not the first and it is normal for Awakeners to awaken again when met with a life and death situation. So now we have to test if you are one."
I looked around the dusty room, "Here?"
"No, the hall outside, Mister Lin. This place was prepared in the event that we might need to test for a Mortal God that has awakened inside our island city but as you surely know, no one has had a chance to use this place ever since it was built."
"We were really sure we would get one, huh?"
"Indeed. My predecessors were… Very optimistic, yes. But it turns out they were right in the end."
"So what am I supposed to do? How do I test if I am a Mortal God? Is it another scan or something?"
"Are you aware of the specialties of Mortal Gods, Mister Lin? As in, what makes them different from other Awakeners?"
"Are you talking about their powers? Unlike normal Awakeners, Mortal Gods have powers that are tied closely to some sort of mythological figure and they become like… A personification of them? They are essentially the myth that comes to life, right? Though I also know that the myths they awaken as are also tied to their ancestral roots or their own culture somewhat."
She nodded, "That is correct."
"And you are saying that I am one of them now? What God am I even?"
"That's the problem with new Mortal Gods, you won't know what your divine figure is and you have to figure it out. Your clues are your abilities so what abilities do you have?"
I shrugged, "My original awakened powers have been enhanced strength and after that event where I almost died, I found that my strength has been increased even further."
"So perhaps it's a mythological figure with great strength? Do you know of any mythological figures in your culture that may fit that description? Are you ethnically Chinese?"
I nodded, "I am… And I don't think I have any ancestors of a different culture… I think… But beings of great strength are a plenty within the Chinese pantheon… Is there another way to narrow it down?"
"Did you awaken with an artefact? Or some kind of item that you might have obtained upon your awakening?"
I scratched my cheek, "Not that I know of? Do I need to do something to summon it or something?"
"Unfortunately, I am not completely sure of this as information is limited on artefacts belonging to Mortal Gods. From what I have at least heard, some of them awaken with the artefact in hand. One of the Mortal Gods within the UAS had awakened with his scroll and feather pen in hand."
"Well… I don't have anything like that… And the only thing that changed for me is the enhanced strength… I don't know, maybe it could be Sun Wu Kong? But I didn't get a cudgel and I don't see a monkey tail so maybe not? Should I try plucking my hair to see if I can create clones?"
Olivia shook her head, "Even as a Mortal God, you would not gain all the powers of your mythological counterpart from the very beginning. Some unlock with time, some require you to know more about yourself and others might only come to you after you've grown in strength."
I nodded, "Yeah, I know that. Something about the person needing to synchronise with the divine or something? Or was it something about having a better understanding of the myth itself? Which is why if you figure out who your mythological counterpart is, you would get a big boost in your powers."
"You seem to be quite knowledgeable on this, Mister Lin."
I shrugged, "I was interested in this for a period of time so I researched it."
"Still, I suppose we should first test you on your divine energy. I brought you down here because this place is secured against any forms of surveillance so anything that happens here will not leave this place. Can you try to release your divine energy?"
"Erm… I'm not even sure how to do that but I will try…"
I closed my eyes, trying to see if I can sense anything different about me, like maybe there is some special energy that I can feel?
Hmmm? There's this thing near my chest area that feels a little solid… Maybe that is it?
I tried to imagine an invisible hand reaching in and pulling the thing out and surprisingly it obeyed.
But as I tried to pull it out, it felt like it was stuck at the very edge of my body, unwilling to come out.
"It feels like… Something is stuck inside me… But I can't pull it out," I told her.
She nodded, "I understand. This might still be the fact that your body is still getting used to your divinity. I have a solution for this."
I turned to her, wondering what the solution might be.
"The arena outside… Let's have a quick spar."
…
What?