Chapter six (A tale told by a god) (new)

On a cold season the town awakes into a misty morning and fresh ocean breeze, as the sun comes up from the horizon the fishermen can be seen docking at the bay while their wives and children awaits them. The stores open up at around eight am and the bus roams around to pick up its passengers. Thanatos awoke to the same cold air as he heard a number of young people who happily chatters with one another. He peeked out from his window and saw Mayumi walking out of the gate and greeted some fellow students. The apartment still has some vacant rooms but just below the building was two occupied rooms rented by six men, they are far older than Mayumi but she is able to manage the apartment while studying. Thanatos is aware that Mayumi’s parents have already passed away but he was not the one who collected their souls. After the girl left Thanatos saw her little pet follow her afterwards.

He still takes the form of Cassandra when he goes out of the apartment but his disguise proves to be too much of distraction for other people. Thanatos’s form was that of a beautiful woman who can only exists in the mere fantasies of every man and yet he pays no attention to the eyes of the public. Thanatos followed the young girl until she had reached their school but going inside was not an option for the god. He chose to walk around town and see if he can gather some information about the girl. A number of people who he had asked can only tell him about the sad tale of Mayumi but these were not the exact things that he wanted to know. As he strolls down the street he can feel an odd pressure coming from underneath the earth and there seems to be some kind of unstable energy around the town.

Thanatos remembered the old days where there were no such technologies nor convenient things that made life easy, food needs to worked hard for and only a few people has knowledge and freedom. He has been to so many places throughout the centuries and he witnessed just how the mortals blossomed but as they gain knowledge and freedom they then unknowingly eats up the world to the point where a lot of precious natural gifts has already vanished. He continued with his walk but there was a piercing gaze that made him turn his head, it was different from the gaze of those people who were just enchanted by his disguise, he knows that someone else was in the town and he is sure that it could be a god as well.

Mayumi kept thinking about her new tenant and how gorgeous she was but the woman’s eyes reminded her of something. Before leaving the apartment her pet Midoku seems to be uneasy and it was not normal. The little puppy followed Mayumi around as if it was afraid or weary of something and it all began when Cassandra moved in. Elise noticed the troubled look on her friend and decided to talk to her about it

“Hey, you ok? You look like you got rejected or something.”

“I’m ok and No I did not get rejected since there was no guy after all.”

“So what’s eating you?”

“My pet is acting strange but he looks ok. Maybe he just doesn’t like our new tenant yet”

“Someone rented a room? So who is it?”

“Her name is Cassandra and believe, she is far more good looking than any celebrities that I know”

“She’s that beautiful? Where is she from?”

“She didn’t tell me but I’m sure she is a foreigner because her appearance is different but her eyes are unique.”

“Unique how?”

“They were Reddish yellow but I can tell that she was not wearing any contact lenses and her hair is also eye catching, it was a wavy dark blue that really matches her appearance”

“And you’re jealous of this woman? Don’t worry Mayumi, with your big boobs I’m sure you’ll snag a guy or two, just make sure they are good guys ok?”

“I have no plans on engaging in any relationship for now and you should know well why.”

“Ok ok, don’t get so grouchy. But I do want to see this new tenant soon. Hey did you know that we are getting a new homeroom teacher?”

“Really? What is our new teacher like?”

“The other teachers are talking about it. I heard that it’s a young man and a very good looking one too. But they say he seems too perfect and that the other female teachers were just joking around”

“Well we’ll see for ourselves soon right?”

While the two were talking the classroom door opened up and a new face stood in front of the class. The man was more than six feet tall and has a good build, his dark blue eyes reveals that he is foreign and his glasses gives him a mature look. The students were at awe specially the girls as they laid their eyes on their new teacher.

“Well good morning everyone, first of all I want to introduce myself. My name is Henry Philip Nors and yes I’m born from a foreign family but I lived most of my life in this country. I know what happened to your previous teacher but don’t worry because I’m a cautious guy and I go home while the sun is still up. So is there any question?”

The students were very eager to ask their new teacher with so many questions and Mr. Henry answered them all politely even telling them that he is in fact single. The atmosphere was very light and warm but Mayumi has a feeling that Henry was hiding something so she instinctively raised her hand and ask him a very strange question.

“Mr Henry, Do you believe in spirits or monsters?’

Henry paused for a moment and looked at the entire class. Normally the other students would have chuckled a little or laugh even but he was told that there was a rumor going around that a lot of strange things were happening in the town. He adjusted his glasses and began explaining all that he knows.

“Well, for starters I’m actually fond of supernatural stories and that’s part of the reason why I came to this school but I’ll tell you kids some interesting information but you should promise not to tell anyone ok?”

The class agreed and stayed quiet waiting for their teacher to tell them what he knows;

:”Are you familiar with gods and deities?”

“Well we heard that they were worshiped in the past but now most are Roman Catholic and they banned the worship of them.” A young man answered clearly.

“It’s correct. But before there were gods and sprits there were humans first of course. The first humans lived a simple life and as time goes by they began wondering how the world was created and this was one of the questions that started it all. They thought that there was a higher power watching over them and they believe that everything on the earth was somehow connected to that power. The human mind is filled with such imaginations that soon every village, every cities and every nation started to believe at the existence of the gods. They created various gods that were linked to their everyday lives like farming, fishing, hunting and even drinking. But above all else these beliefs gave birth to new beings and those beings were the gods themselves. Each god was tasked to do what humans believe them to do. This sort of co-existence lasted for a time but the gods themselves gained awareness and chose a different mindset.”

“How is this connected to evil spirit Mr. Henry?” The boy asked once again

“Just listen because we are just getting to the good part.”

The students were at the edge of their seats and their focus was pinned on their teacher.

“As i was saying. These gods were worshipped and they think that it was their birth right to rule over the humans so they started to act like kings. They demanded respect and offerings in exchange for their help. In time most gods became weary of their fellow gods and their hearts got filled with doubts. On normal human terms it’s only natural to choose who the rightful one to lead is. An internal dispute broke out and different factions countered each other. These factions needed a force to battle their foe and they created what you call minions. Each god has their followers and back then the only way to defeat a deathless god is to make sure that no one would worship them and they of course targeted the humans. In their battle the humans were the ones to suffer and the minions were created to attack mortals while the souls of the murdered ones seek justice and forevermore roam the earth but there was one thing that the gods never expected to happen.”

“What was it?” Mayumi asked eagerly

“That the humans would rebel against them. The gods can interact with the mortals and cases where humans and gods produce offspring were not too uncommon and the most famous one was Hercules. Hercules can’t live forever like his father Zeus and only a handful of demigods were immortals and some of these demigods actually sided with the mortals and battled the gods. The gods always wanted to get what they want and if they don’t then they see to it that someone will get punished. This act of arrogance had lead to the birth of the cursed ones like medusa the woman who was cursed by Athena for no apparent reason. Their wrongful acts piled up and soon the mortals wanted to find salvation from somewhere else.”

“Did they find it Mr. Henry?” Elise was usually not into this kind of discussion but the way her teacher explained it caught her attention

“They did somehow. Their beliefs were toppled by the new one called Christianity and the crusade began. The Catholic Church was not powerful before but their way of converting people was undeniably effective.”

“What did they do sir?” a student at the front asked.

“They killed those who would not convert. A large number of women were burned alive and many more were slaughtered. The Christian church did not spread kindness but instead they controlled the hearts of many with fear. The old gods were demonized and thus the worshippers of the first gods dwindled to the point where most of them vanished. The remaining gods fled and hid taking what keeps them alive.”

“But I thought they have minions to fight for them and that they were powerful so why did they flee?”

“In every organization they have enforcers or soldiers who are trained to go against such beings so it could be possible that the gods have faced such humans who were able to fight them head on. With the first gods gone their minions got lost and left unchecked but their purpose is till the same in their minds and it is to devour humans.”

Mayumi realized where the discussion was going and she tried to fill up the rest of the story.

“Then the Monsters that were in the old stories are the abandoned minions of the gods and their victims turned into the ghosts that haunt people?”

“That is right. But a spirit is a different one. Spirits are elemental beings that reside in the natural things that make up our world like fire, water, earth and wind.”

“What about the first gods? Do they still exist?”

“It’s a possibility but who knows.”

The class ended and the students were even more mystified by the stories that they have heard. Elise wanted to walk home with Mayumi but her friend insisted that she go home first. Mayumi waited for Mr. Henry and she gathered up all her courage to ask him things once gain. The rest of the students were gone and Mayumi took the chance to talk to him.”

“Mr. Henry. Can I talk to you for a bit?”

“Oh you’re that student. So what can I do for you?”

“I know this will sound strange again but have you heard of monsters that make people lost or take them to a different place?”

“Well there are some stories about it in some folklore. Is there something in your mind?”

“Can you keep a secret?”

“Ok I’ll keep your secret.”

“I had some strange dreams before where I was taken to places that I don’t recognize but I was saved in the end by different people, it happened two times and the second one was very recent.”

“The ones who saved you, what are they like?”

“I can’t clearly remember the first one but the more recent was a young man wearing a black attire and he easily killed the monster who wanted to eat me. The two of them had similar weapons and those were scythes though I can tell that their scythes don’t look the same”

“Well I can’t say for sure but there are some stories where people have dreams that looked very real to them, but then again there are a lot of things that can’t be explained. So tell me, is there something else that you can remember from that man who saved you?”

“Well he has golden red eyes and blue hair; he also pulls his weapon out from the ground.”

“By some chance did he said something to you? Like his name maybe?”

“After he killed the monster he turned to me and I woke up after that, but it was strange because I was at the roof top of my apartment when I woke up but I remembered that I was walking home before having that dream.”

“Was that the first time you’ve seen him?”

“He looks familiar in some way but I can’t remember if I have seen him before. Why are you curious to know Sir Henry?”

“Nothing special. But you know. There are spirits who still guards some humans so he could be your guardian angel of some sort.”

“Really?! But why do you know so much about this kind of things?”

“I’ll leave that to your imagination. You better head home now, it’s not safe to walk alone but then again, maybe you guardian will appear before you to save you once more.”

Mayumi felt some truth about what her teacher have said and she wanted it to happen. She went on her way while Mr. Henry watches from a far he is certain that the man who saved Mayumi was his twin brother Thanatos but the first one still makes him wonder. Hypnos sat on his desk inside an empty classroom; he let out a deep sigh and removed his glasses. He manipulated the minds of the teachers into thinking that he is a newly hired teacher but having a disguise while staying at a certain place was normal especially for gods like him. He feels that the center of the disturbed energy was in the school but finding someone who has a link to his brother was unexpected especially when that someone is being protected by something else aside from his twin. He stood up and lit a cigar while watching the sunset, Hypnos can feel the unearthly beings in the town but he can’t feel the presence of his brother who became an adept into concealing his existence.

End of chapter six.