Chapter 7: Family

Odin blinked as his eyes adjusted to the lighting in the room. While still in a daze, his eyes started roaming across the entire room as his mental faculties acclimatized to the abnormal situation he'd just faced.

He'd been in a prophetic dream, immersing himself in an apocalyptic scene. Then, just suddenly, he'd watched an abrupt end to the world before immediately being pushed out of the vision. But even after spending a few seconds in reality, he was still terrified in every true sense.

What sort of creature could possess such a terrifying claw attack that could decimate the entire planet with a single swipe? And how could the powers on Earth resist such immense power?

Odin couldn't help but break out in cold sweat, his face turning much paler. The world-ending calamity would occur late in the third year of the apocalypse. So, the powers of Earth had less than four years to prepare if they wished to avoid total destruction and extinction.

Was that time enough for Earthlings to build a powerful force to resist the enemy while also facing the apocalypse?

Odin saw no hope of that happening in such a short time window. Even with the knowledge of the future, he couldn't delude himself that he would grow powerful enough to fight against the owner of the giant claw that could easily rip the fabric of space apart.

"Odin, are you okay? Please, say something."

Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice, filled with care and tenderness. It was like sweet spring water, cleansing his soul and chasing away his fears.

Odin immediately cast away the memories of the vision before fixing his eyes on the three people by his bedside. His eyes grew moist as his gaze roamed back and forth across their faces.

His adoptive mother, little sister, and Nicole were all as he remembered — beautiful, gentle, and full of life. He couldn't hold back his emotions as he locked gazes with them. At that moment, he really appreciated having his family and close friend more than ever, especially after experiencing the apocalyptic vision.

"Odin, you've woken?" The voice filled with concern sounded again. "Are you feeling okay? Do you feel pain anywhere?"

"Aunt Lucy," Odin replied, his voice hoarse. "I feel just fine. Sorry for making you worry."

Luciana Martinez, Odin's adoptive mother, was a widow of Hispanic descent with an elegant face that gave off a sweet-tempered vibe when she smiled. Even though she was already past forty and a biological mother of two, she was still beautiful. Not even the plain casual clothes she'd donned that day could hide her captivating figure.

Despite the fact that she was legally his parent, Odin still called her aunt because he couldn't just forget his own biological mother. But the two of them were as close as any family ought to be since they'd spent a substantial fraction of the past twelve years living together.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Aunt Lucy asked again as she placed her palm on his forehead. "Oh, my God! You're burning up." She frowned.

"Bella!" She continued, her voice starting to tremble. "Hurry up and call the doctor. Be fast!"

"Okay, mamá," Odin's little sister, Isabella Martinez, replied with haste while placing down her phone. For as long as Odin could remember, she had always been a playful jolly little devil who was ever smiling and giggling. However, at that moment, her pretty face was etched with worry as she ran off to call the doctor.

"Aunt Lucy!" It was at that moment that Nicole chimed in. Her voice was also unstable, probably due to worry. "What do you think is wrong with Odin?"

"He might have caught a fever," Luciana Martinez replied. "Let's wait for the doctor and see."

"Aunt Lucy, I really feel fine," Odin said, feeling sorry for making his close ones worry. "I could even run a marathon—"

Before he could complete the sentence, his body trembled suddenly as his vision became blurry. Once again, he felt like he'd just experienced thousands of tiny explosions going off within his mind. He couldn't help but let loose a groan as the splitting headache assaulted his mental faculties.

"Odin, what's wrong? Please say something..."

His ears could still pick out the worried voices of his adoptive mother and Nicole. However, he wasn't in a position to reply as his vision was starting to fade.

But it was just then that his blurry vision seemed to catch a glimpse of a crystal-like display manifesting before him. It was a light shade of red and a bit translucent. Within an instant, it grew upon his mind and filled up his entire vision, clouding out everything else, until he could make out the pitch-black words on its surface.

[REAPER'S ORIGIN ORDER ACTIVATING...]

[PLEASE WAIT...]

Unable to hold on to his visual senses long enough to read the rest of the text on the crystal-like display, everything went dark as Odin passed out. He'd once again entered a comma.

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Luciana Martinez took a deep breath as she tried to tamp down her worry. With a sickening pool of dread forming in her belly, she watched as the medics closely examined Odin.

The scene in front of her was, in some ways, familiar. It reminded her of some memories she had wished to forget.

Twelve years ago, after she'd just given birth to Bella, her last born, a misfortune descended upon her family and close friends. Her husband and Odin's parents got involved in a terrifying road accident while returning from a friend's party. The tragedy claimed all their lives, leaving her a widow and Odin as an orphan.

At that time, Luciana had been filled with grief for months after losing her husband and two friends. However, since she had to take care of her kids and the then orphaned Odin, she'd toughened up. She immersed herself in her work and soon learned to live with the sorrow while doing her best to look after her family.

It had been twelve years since then, and she'd almost forgotten the sorrow. And just now, when everything was going well, she had to face whatever was going on with her dear Odin, who had seen one misfortune too many already. He was lying prone on a hospital bed in a coma, the cause of his condition unknown.

"Are you sure that he was conscious a few minutes ago?" One of the medics asked after examining Odin for a few minutes.

"Yes," Luciana replied, nodding. "He was awake for a minute or two. We even exchanged a few words. But as we were talking, I realized that his face was pale and sweaty. I placed my hand on his forehead and noticed that he was burning up. I hurriedly sent my younger daughter to fetch the doctor. But he lost consciousness before you arrived."

"You mean that his body temperature was quite high before he sank back into the coma?" The doctor queried again while placing his palm on Odin's forehead. From his facial expression, he seemed a bit skeptical.

"Yes!" Lucian replied, not minding the doctor’s expression. "It was abnormally high, definitely above the norm."

"Oh, okay," the doctor said while jostling down a few notes in his notebook. "Just by looking at his vital signs, I can tell that his condition is now stable. We'll have to conduct more imaging tests to determine why he's still in a coma. However, I highly doubt that there's anything wrong with him. Based on my experience, he should be able to wake up soon."

"Oh, that's a relief," Luciana said. "Thank you very much, doctor, for your assistance."

"It's my job and pleasure to help out any patient, Mrs. Martinez," the doctor replied with a smile. "Take heart. It has been only two days since we admitted Odin. But his condition should take a turn for the better, especially if he has already woken up once. Just stay by his side and occasionally talk to him to help him recover."

"Okay, thanks once again, doctor. I'll do that."

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