"Apep."
"The Serpent of Chaos?"
"The Eater of Light? The Serpent of Endless Night?"
<...Yes.>
"The Serpent of Unmaking? The Eternal Adversary!? That's my father!?"
Nevaris and Cue were walking beside a picturesque lake. A colossal waterfall thundered down from a sheer cliff face in the near distance. White torrents plunged into the basin below, sending up drifting veils of mist that shimmered in the sunlight.
The distant roar a steady backdrop to Nevaris' current shock. He slowed, his eyes drawn to the spectacle that should be calming, but did nothing to ease the wild beating of his spectral heart.
He squatted by the edge of the lake, its surface calm and reflective like a sheet of polished glass.
"You're telling me…my mom got knocked up by the serpent god that's been trying to devour the Sun since the beginning of time?" he mumbled in disbelief.
"Haha….hahahaha," Nevaris laughed in sheer disbelief at the impossibility of what he had just heard.
"They're real. The gods are real."
He fell onto his back and gazed up into the sky. His mind reeling as he tried to grapple with the reality of everything he had studied. All the myths and legends he had obsessed over, were true.
Nevaris shot upright in an instant, startling the cube beside him. His eyes were as wide as saucers as his head turned mechanically toward Cue.
"D-Does that mean…" he gulped nervously as his gaze turned brighter. A strange gleam settled in his eyes, the heat within them almost manifesting into flames. "...goddesses are real as well?"
Cue's cubical body became rigid. <...yes.>
"Freya? Gaia??"
"Frigga??? Isis?!?"
"HERA!?!?! ALL REAL!?!?"
<.....>
Taking its silence as an affirmation, Nevaris leaped up and landed in a triumphant slide that would put envy in the hearts of all soccer players Earth-wide as he screamed with all his soul.
"YOSHHHHAAAAAAA!!!!!!"
Cue: <*sighhhhh*>
Nevaris turned with a manic light in his eyes and grabbed Cue, his words coming out in a rush.
"Where are they? How can I meet them? No! First tell me what I need to do to attract the attention of a goddess! Are all gods really as hedonistic as the stories on Earth portray them as? Do I have a shot at some ultimate GILF ass!?"
BANG
"ITAIIIII!"
…
Nevaris knelt in front of it with his head lowered.
"I apologize for my lack of restraint," he said solemnly.
Cue sighed as parts of its body began shifting like a rubix cube.
Cue spoke about the gods like insolent children, and the pure waves of disgust rolling from its voice when it spoke of the Greeks. Yeah, that can't be any more clear.
'Greeks are just as bad as the stories. Noted.'
After calming down, Cue regained its impassive tone.
Nevaris blinked, "Pressing matters?"
Getting serious, Nevaris dropped his questions about the gods and focused up.
Cue continued.
"The basics, and some of my own educated guesses."
Nevaris took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts.
"Strength is law, survival of the fittest, and all that, right?"
"Haha, okay professor!"
<...>
*cough, cough*
"There are a plethora of different races–"
"...There are nine races that rule the continents of Elysium. The dragons, seraphim, vampires, werewolves, dwarves, elves, witches, humans, and arachne."
"Seriously? What is the point of this!?" he yelled in frustration.
Cue floated close to his face, its nonexistent eyes piercing into his soul.
Nevaris frowned, "Why the hell would I go around offending anyone? I am more than happy just laying back and chilling with my ladies and family. Thank you very much."
Something about the way Cue said that didn't sit right with Nevaris, but seeing that it was agreeing with him, he nodded with a smug smile.
Nevaris didn't answer. He didn't have to.
In an instant, everything around them blipped out of existence. All Cue could see was a pitch black emptiness that seemed to swallow the very essence of reality.
But as if expecting this to happen, Cue continued to speak without pause or even a hint of inflection in its voice.
Nevaris' voice echoed throughout the void. It sounded distorted, warped. Like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.
"And what is that?"
"You think I don't know that?" his garbled voice cracked the space around Cue under the weight of his volatile emotions.
The cracks around it grew thicker as the pressure of the emptiness intensified.
At some point, the pressure had vanished. The empty darkness receded like a tide as the lake and waterfall came back into view.
Nevaris was now seated silently facing the water, his face an unreadable mask as he listened.
Cue let his words rest in the air between them. He didn't rush Nevaris, just floated beside him in its own form of solemn comfort.
Time passed slowly as the two of them sat in the silence, listening to the steady roar of the waterfall. The sound filled the valley, yet it was strangely calming.
With a deep exhale, Nevaris closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, a new light shone brightly within them.
He turned to Cue, his expression serious. Lacking any of the lax, joking demeanor it held before.
"How do I protect them?"
Cue let out a breath of relief inwardly before responding.
"Haven't I already evolved once?" Nevaris asked.
Cue twisted its cube as if shaking its head.
"Not to mention that I have a class as well," Nevaris muttered.
"Ugh!" Nevaris pulled his hair in frustration as he sunk his head in his hands, wishing he could kill Nevaris all over again for not paying enough attention to his classes.
"So we have no direction, no heading. We are essentially just shooting blanks into the dark," he said dejectedly.
Cue mused.
Nevaris turned his head in confusion. As if to answer his questions, his interface popped up, but the screen displayed this time was different from before.
[Skills]
[Ultra Adaptation(Unique), Inner World(Unique), Martial Paragon, Predator's Instinct(Racial), Imoogi Transformation(Racial), Divine Will(Racial), Chaos Venom(Racial), Apocalyptic Flame(Racial), Super Regeneration(Assimilated)]
Curiosity overtook him as he stared at the screen and tapped one of the named skills displayed.
[Ultra Adaptation(Unique): After exposure to extreme elements or environments, your body will adapt and never face difficulty in similar environments again. After suffering a near-fatal injury, similar methods of attack will be much less effective. Growth is increased exponentially, and without limit.]
The description caused his eyes to widen in disbelief, but the extra text underneath made his jaw drop.
[Unique effect: Those injected by your venom have a chance to have a racial trait unique to their race plundered and assimilated into your own being.]
"T-This…" Nevaris stuttered incoherently.
Nevaris flinched. "Then Ana…"
Cue responded softly.
Nevaris swallowed his saliva as he thought of the implications of those words.
'Whatever, no matter what, she is my wife. My adorable little mouse, and nothing is going to hurt her again. Nothing.'
Nevaris swore in his heart. Thinking up to here, he turned and asked Cue with a mischievous smile.
"So what's the plan 'oh great guide'?"
Ignoring his mockery, Cue's sides pivoted as it responded.
He winced at the jab, his ego bruised. He snapped back quickly, "Me killed? Don't you mean us?"
Nevaris stared at it with a blank expression, utterly speechless at the cold-hearted reveal.
Nevaris shrugged. No arguments there, learning about the dangers surrounding him, he was just as eager to nip this debuff at the source.
Nevaris nodded. Then a strange sensation took over him.
Looking down, he saw his soul form beginning to fade as he felt a pulling sensation from all around him.
"What will you do?" Nevaris asked hastily as he began to feel light-headed.
When his words finished, Nevaris' form had already disappeared. Leaving the world to fall to serene silence once again.
Cue floated in the air for a moment facing the spot he had disappeared before turning and flying off toward the planet's North pole.
===
A/N: Long one today! Hope I didn't lose any of you guys, but I felt like this chapter was crucial to future development. Alright, now the story will be progressing a little faster. Time to meet new people!