We Have Serious Issues

I fall through blackness, the pain in my body fading away to a dull throb before disappearing completely. I continue to float, the shadow closing in around me like a snake, large and deadly. The menacing serpent threatens to consume me as it swirls in and all around the dark mist. Whispers bombard my ears like the voices of the dead who crawl up wishing for their long-since ended life to be returned to them.

The snake coils around me, closing in. It slithers across my face and then leaps away, turning into Erebus as it hits the ground. He turns and stands before me with that same cruel smile he had had before. I brace myself for battle, but as I do, Erebus vanishes, turning into nothing more than evanescent smoke.  

“That was oddly convenient.” I mutter, sheathing my staff.

There is a comforting solidity beneath my feet. Along with it comes a faint but welcome light. Strangely, I can hear…singing. Coming with the chorus is an angelic being in blue robes. I hear an oddly young voice call out “We missed you Aether.”

“Who are you?” I demand. The angelic being descends as the light and music fade away, leaving only him. I get the feeling that I have seen this man before, but I cannot place him. This will drive me insa…Oh, it is the winged man in robes from my vision. His long black hair is styled in a flat sort of afro without curls, as though he had just woken from a long sleep.

He seems to have two faces, and yet, only one at the same time. One is a golden mask, like the ancient Greeks used for plays, frowning. The other is the face a young man, hardly older than I. Handsome, but with skin so pale he may be dead. His eyes are closed, giving me the feeling that he is asleep. He is wearing blue and black robes, styled for battle or everyday life.

The man looks confused, “Aether, you do not recognize me?”

"Obviously. And who or what is Aether?"

He descends to the 'ground' and his eyes open. The red irises fix on me in utter surprise. "You seem different. What happened to you? Your godhood is weak and, no, it is almost nonexistent!"

"What are you talking about?"

"We can sense the power in each other. We cannot hide what we are from our own kind without much focus. We can sense it in mortals who have godly blood as well. Almost like, we can smell the ichor that flows through their veins, and the ichor diluted by human blood in half-gods."

"And you can sense that in me?" I ask.

"No, that is the point! Before, the godhood in you was almost overwhelming even to us. But now it is diluted, almost like you are no longer a god."

"Are you insinuating that I am a deity?"

"No, you were much more than a simple god. We trembled in fear of what you are, or were."

“By whom do you mean ‘we’?” I ask.

“The other gods.” he answers.

“I do not know what you are talking about.”

"How could you not?"

"A few months ago, all of my memories were lost. I know not how. But I suspect Erebus took them from me."

"No, that isn't possible, even he couldn't do that."

"What?"

"It's extremely easy to take the memories from a mortal, but to remove the memories of a god, much less a primordial deity like you..."

"A primordial deity?" I repeat. Erebus had said something similar.

"You don't even know that?" He sighs. "In the beginning there was Chaos, from that, we don't know how, you sprang forth. Aether, the pure light of the heavens. Along with you came Gaia, Chronos, Ananke, Hemera, Nyx, Uranus, Erebus, and a bunch of others. You guys are beyond the gods, we represent certain aspects of things, but you guys actually personify them. You are directly tied to your element."

"And you are saying that I am the element of light?"

"Yes."

"That would explain a lot." I look down and wonder why this conversation feels so easy.

"But for you to have your memory stolen... that's like six thousand plus years just gone? It doesn't make sense, even Lethe couldn't...wait." He looks down for a moment, pondering something.

"What?"

"Nothing. The point is, it doesn't make sense for you to have lost your memories."

"Are you accusing me of lying?"

"No, no. I'm saying that you being an amnesiac must have come at the hands of someone of unbelievable power."

"Who would you suspect?"

"I honestly have no idea and I don't know who would."

This dream is becoming strange. I no longer feel like I am asleep. Something is stirring within me, something coming from this man.

"Who are you?" I demand.

"I am Morpheus, the god of dreams."

"That explains your presence here."

"Yes, but I've been trying to reach you since you left us. My master doesn't want me to talk to you, but we miss you."

"Explain that, you miss me? You know me?"

"Yes,” A sad smile crosses his face, “very well."

"Then please, explain who I am! Not what, but, as a person, who am I?"

Morpheus looks down and back up with a smile, "If you really don't have any memory of that, then it means that who you are is your decision. You make who you are now. Don't worry too much about your past."

"This sounds like a farewell." I say.

"It is; my master has discovered me. Goodbye."

"Tell me the truth."

"I have told you nothing but the truth, Aether. Now farewell, anapnoi ton Theon."

"What does that mean?" I demand, but lightning seems to strike Morpheus, and I return to the empty blackness that had tried to consume me before. Only now it is different, more comforting, something that I can rest in.

 

ɂɂɂ

 

I awake to immense soreness throughout my body. Looking around, I find myself in my bedroom back in the Fox-Hole. What happened? Oh yes, I fought Erebus. I attempt to stand but find it a terrible struggle. I have to manage sitting up first. When I do I look down at myself and find that I am still in my clothes. Thank goodness nobody tried to change me.

I sit for a while to process my thoughts, what occurred during the battle with Erebus, and all that Morpheus told me. I cradle my head in my hands, wondering what exactly is going on. I am a primordial god? I personify light?

Now that I am no longer in the dream, where things are easy to accept, I almost start to hyperventilate from the insanity I have experienced.

There is a knock at my door and I quietly squeal in fear as it opens. Barth stands in the open doorway and when he sees I am awake, a smile comes across his face. He enters the room and leans against the dresser.

“Thank God you woke up.” He says.

“Which god?” I mutter.

“What was that?” He asks.

“Nothing. Why is it so surprising that I am awake?”

“Dude,” He says, “It’s been three days since you guys came back from the raid.”

My jaw opens against my will, and I sit there in utter shock. “Three days?” I repeat.

“Yeah, a lot’s gone on too.” He replies, “It isn’t my place to tell you, but you’re in for a really unpleasant shock.”

“What should I do?” I ask him.

“Solution told everyone that when you woke up, you were to report to the Great Hall immediately.”

“Thank you, Barth.” I say I look around the room. “Where is my staff?”

“Darren gave it to Zayin so he could upgrade it.”

Good idea, “Thank you again.” He nods and as he leaves I mutter, “Now that just leaves getting up.”

I manage to get to my feet after several tries. I go to my closet, but decide not to bother with getting dressed. The stairs are a bigger challenge than getting out of bed, but after much more time than it should have taken, I find myself in the Great Hall.

At the head of the table sits Solution, her head is in her hands and she looks as though she had been crying.

“Are you okay?” I ask her.

She looks up at me, her eyes puffy and bloodshot. She tries for her usual grimace, but then shakes her head.

“What happened?” I prompt.

“He’s gone.” She says at a near whisper.

“Who is?”

“Darren.” She answers. “He’s been taken…by the Dark God.”

The shock and fear that comes over me is like a wave, crushing me with its pressure. “How did this happen?” I whisper, the fear turning to anger. “How?”

“We don’t know. He went outside to check on something he was afraid had fallen. He said that he had a bad feeling about it, but he went anyway. We waited for a couple hours, but he didn’t come back.”

“How do you know he was taken by Erebus?”

“Because,” she says with tears forming again in her eyes. From her lap she pulls up Darren’s gauntlet, the one that marks him as leader. Smeared on the fingertips is black soot. “We went out to look for him. There were obvious signs of a struggle and around it we found a few pieces of his armor. They were stained black, like soot, but we knew it wasn’t normal. It was something that could only have been caused by the Dark God, we’re sure that he’s being held at the Tower. Come to think of it, that soot was a lot like the white stuff you produced when you attacked that dummy.”

“I cannot pretend to know about that.” I say. She looks back down at the table, while melancholy settles within me. “Have you made any plans?”

She scoffs, “What would you suggest? That we storm his castle with a bunch of guys and take Darren back by force?”

“If we must.”

“That would be suicide.” She says. She pauses for a few moments before continuing, “He disappeared two and a half days ago, roughly five hours after you fought the Dark God.”

“Are you blaming me?” I ask.

“I don’t know.” She says, “You tell me.”

Anger comes over me and I seethe, “Do you honestly believe that I would subject my best friend to any of the possible horrors that could be brought upon him while in the possession of Erebus?”

Now Solution stands up, infuriated “I hate to admit that you are one of my people, but you are. I can’t say that I want to accuse any of my people of treason, but ever since you showed up here, things have gone to hell.”

“Have you considered that I am here because things have gone to hell?” I challenge.

“How could you know that? You don’t have any memories, right?”

“Correct. But what I do have is a strong sense of right and wrong. I do not know what exactly is going on this world, but you can be damn sure that I will do everything I can to make it return to the way it should be.”

Solution looks as though she wants to argue more, but the fire goes out of her eyes. She slowly sits back down and folds her hands together, resting her chin on them. “Arguing will get us nowhere.” She says.

“Agreed.” I say. I sit on the seat next to her. “Darren must be brought back.”

Solution nods in agreement. “I want my brother back as much; more than anyone, but trying to save him is suicide.”

That makes me stop. “Brother?” she nods.

“He’s my twin, we came here together. Found in a silver basket with an owl engraved on it.”

Darren and Solution are siblings, twins even? That cannot be, they are nothing alike. Although, now that I consider it, it does explain a lot of their behavior. I quickly shake it off. “I had a dream.”

“That’s really what you’ve got to say?” She replies.

“It is important.” I tell her. “I spoke to a god. He claimed to be Morpheus, the god of dreams.”

A look of anger flashes across her beautiful face, “My brother is gone, probably enduring horrible pain, and all you can give me is some stupid dream?”

“It was not just a dream.” I insist. “I really spoke to the god himself. I cannot explain it, but I just know that it was real. He told me that gods can sense the godhood in each other. Thinking back on it, I could feel something while talking to him. I am unsure, but I think I may have been sensing the godhood within him.”

She sits up slowly, and fixes me with a look of angered inquisitiveness. “What are you implying? Are you trying to tell me that you're a god?”

"Both Erebus and Morpheus told me that I am.” I answer. “Erebus hinted at it, making it sound like something I should know. However, Morpheus went into detail, telling me what god I am. I do not know if I believe him, but if he was right, most things about me are explained."

"Are you stupid?" She asks, "Or did the Dark God knock a few screws loose?"

“Does this not explain things?” I challenge her, “What is so off-putting about me? The white soot, the lights coming on the second I wish them to? I was able to survive a fight against Erebus himself. Explain that if I am a mere human.”

“He beat the hell out of you.” She reminds me.

“Yes, but what he did should have killed me. I was beaten and knocked out by him when I should have been literally ripped to shreds. And what of my obvious connection to him? Something about me is different, that is what I have been told. Now we have, at the very least, an idea of what that is.”

“Fine, let’s pretend this is true.” She says, “The Greeks had a very large pantheon. Which god are you?”

“Erebus and Morpheus both called me Aether. I asked Morpheus about it and he told me that I am the primordial deity of light.”

“So if you’re a god, then why do you lack power?” She asks, “A god should have all sorts of amazing abilities, the least of which are immortality and the ability to change your form. That isn’t even the most pressing question. Where have you been all this time? Cowering with the other gods? I don’t think we can trust you if that’s the case. And another thing, why do you seem so human?”

“Erebus did something to me before Darren found me. I do not know exactly, but I think he stole my immortality and most of my power, along with my memories. I do not know where I was before this, with the gods or by myself, or perhaps I was not even in a human form. Erebus said that he was only able to take a human form when that human picked up his statue. Perhaps I was the same way. For now that is beside the point. I am human now, and I want to defeat Erebus more than any of you. ”

“I don’t know what to think.” Solution says. "You talking to a god I can accept, or at least entertain, but you being one is a bit hard to swallow."

“I agree.” I admit, “It is a lot to take in, and even more to accept. Frankly I am not sure I believe it myself.”

“Then what is the point?”

“I am not asking you to believe it.” I explain, “All I am telling you is what I have heard and examined.”

“Do you have any way to prove it?” She asks.

I shake my head. “I just wanted to inform you. Until we can find answers we should focus on retrieving Darren. You are in charge beside him, which means that you are the leader until he returns. I am sure there is something that we can do to bring Darren back safely. But first I must tell you something else. Before my fight with Erebus, I heard his plans for the world. Now you need to know what he is going to do.”                              

      

ɂɂɂ

 

“I won’t tell you anything, I’d rather die.” Darren says, tied in chains in the Dark god’s castle.

The Dark god pinches his nose with his thumb and forefinger and speaks calmly, but impatiently, “What could you possibly know that I would want to hear?”

Darren looks down, confused. ‘Then why am I here?”

“I have my reasons?”

“Oh, could you be more of a cliché?” Darren yells, “What are ya gonna do next, tell me all your plans to scare me into submission?”

Erebus chuckles, Darren amuses him, just wait until he finds out…“Oh please. What could I possibly gain by explaining to you the details of my plan? Besides, I would hate to scare you with the implications of what it will bring about.”

“Oh no, I love a good scare, thrill me.”

Laughing, the Dark God throws his head back, and then suddenly grabs Darren’s neck and holds him in the air. “Listen to me boy; I am in no mood for the immature ramblings of a lowly slug such as yourself. So you shut your damn mouth, or I will torture you until you beg for death.”

“You don’t scare me.” Darren says.

“Surely not with a weak threat like that.” Erebus loosens his grip on Darren’s shirt, but doe s not let go. “You know, eventually your friends will likely come and try to save you. When that happens I will kill them all slowly as you watch. When your entire world is extinguished before your eyes, then, and only then will I kill you; slowly, painfully.”

Darren gets close to Erebus’ face, and spits in it, “Do all you want, Lord of s**t.”

Exasperated, the Dark Lord says “You’ve asked for this. Given our relationship, I will be merciful” He then drops Darren roughly to the cobblestone floor.

“Relationship?” Darren says. The Dark Lord’s mouth twists into an amused sneer. He raises his hand and a black mist forms around it. It converges on Darren, who starts screaming. 

Author's Note

As before, I just hope you enjoy and tell me what you think.

Reviews

[David Ung]

I think this chapter is good, not the best but very very good. It has great moments and I love the dream. Huge plot twist that Darren is now gone. I would love to read more from you. :)

[Xavier Lee]

Don't think I'm disagreeing when I say this but how is this not the best? I don't think it's the best chapter, but I'm curious as to what makes it so. It was fun to write, but I know it could use a bit of editing. Thank you for the review and I hope you'll continue reading.

[David Ung]

Maybe it is the way Aether explains to Solution that he is a god. I love it but I think that you can make it better.

[Xavier Lee]

Probably. Thanks for narrowing it down.
That wasn't sarcasm.

[BryanCX]

A very interesting piece, even though I know less about greek mythology, but I guess I am learning some now. I can feel a less rushing throughout the last few chapter you had written. Still awesome with those dialogue though, I am still struggling to put dialogue into used in my story somewhere also, but reading your works give me some great tips. I go ahead and read more of this. BrX

[Xavier Lee]

I imagine most books begin a little rushed. I'm hoping this will be a little educational for those unfamiliar with mythology, so I'm glad you felt like you were learning.