New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Gaius looked at Tyr, his eyes squinting in anger. He couldn't force the old god into action with threats of harm, since, as Tyr said, one couldn't harm time.

But he had other ways of forcing his hand.

"Tyr. Remember that I was the one to create the followers who give you power. I can just as easily erase them. I am the god of creation, but I am also the wrathful one, the god of destruction."

Tyr snorted a laugh.

"You ‌do that. Then I won't have the power required to do you that favour of yours. For a god, you aren't always the sharpest."

"Enough!"

In his anger, golden vortexes appeared all around Gaius, sucking in the dirt and stone comprising the mountain. Tyr frowned.

He wouldn't care if Gaius swallowed up this mountain, normally, if he was alone. He could always rip a new one from the ground.

But he wasn't alone. And he didn't want to bear the responsibility for the death of this abnormal.

He also didn't want to kill a person who was capable of inheriting his power. This was rare amongst the mortals, even if it was an abnormal.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Tyr opened his mouth to respond.

"Fine. I'll do it for you. But this time, you will duly owe me a favour. No more using my powers freely. Do you understand?"

The buzzing Aether blowing off of Gaius simmered down, and the vortexes shrunk until they disappeared. The god schooled his anger until it was gone.

"I will agree that I won't be using your powers freely. But you and I both know I am already overlooking something that you shouldn't be doing. So consider my favour repaid in full, as I keep turning a blind eye to it."

"Tch."

Tyr thought he had hidden his cave well enough for Gaius to not sense the mortal down there, but he guessed it was hard to escape the watchful eye of the current strongest god.

"Just tell me when it needs to be done."

"You have twenty-one hours, fifty-eight minutes, and thirty-one seconds. By that time, all abnormals should be gone from this world, and back to theirs, until ten years have passed."

Tyr nodded his head. That would leave him enough time to prepare the spell, and another thing he wanted to prepare.

Seeing he had gotten his way, Gaius was ready to leave. But right before he did, he turned his head back to Tyr.

"Next time I come to see you, this mortal better be gone from here. You know we shouldn't interact with them physically. Our divinity changes them."

Tyr chuckled.

"He came to me. I just didn't send him away. But he will be gone."

As Gaius left, Tyr shrunk back to his human size, taking on his old-man appearance again. He teleported back into the cave under him and kept the magic seal on it.

Tyr glanced at the Fey man, who was still deep in contemplation, learning to see the threads of time, like he was teaching him. A smile crept up on Tyr's lips.

Even if Gaius advised him against this, Tyr didn't care. He would keep the mortal by his side for as long as he wanted to, if it meant teaching someone how to use his powers.

Tyr had long since looked for a mortal that could inherit his legacy. Even if gods weren't supposed to hand down their legacies to mortals under the Mythical rank, Tyr had seldom ever found someone who could take it at all.

So he wasn't going to let this chance run by. But it was no mince feat to receive a legacy from a god. Especially a god of something as powerful and immutable as time.

'I hope I can teach him fast enough before Gaius comes back.'

***

On the surface of New Eden, Astaroth was reaching the zone where the dungeon was located. It was inside a mountainous range, spanning what looked like many miles across on both sides.

The dungeon entrance was at the bottom of the biggest mountain in sight, and by the looks of it, the only road entrance to the mountain range was being guarded by some Aces High lackeys.

He scanned the horizon and found a spot where he could climb a cliff and make it inside the mountain range unseen.

Astaroth was currently melded with White, so he dashed in that direction, trying to keep cover from possible patrolling players as much as possible.

Astaroth wasn't a climber, by any measure, so looking at the cliff, his stomach lightly churned. But he had to make it up there.

He tried jumping up, taking a massive leap, and blasting off the ground. But he only made it up a few dozen feet before gravity took hold of him again.

As he landed with a dull thump, Astaroth frowned.

From afar, the cliff looked like it was climbable. But now, from up close, he could barely see any footing he could leverage to ascend it.

He thought of using Propel to make his jump higher, but he knew it wouldn't suffice. Another idea he had was using Wind Walking to run up the wall, as a certain red superhero in comics could do.

But he was almost certain he wouldn't have enough speed to make it up there. But he was willing to try, anyway.

Focusing mana around his feet, Astaroth willed the wind to form a cushion of air under his soles, lifting him off the ground about a centimetre. He got into a sprint start position and faced the wall.

Bursting into motion, cracking the earth under his feet, Astaroth dashed at the wall, before he started running up its surface. His mind burst into joy as he felt himself ascend the cliff side vertically, as he ran like the wind.

But mere moments into his ascent, as he had reached a height of a hundred feet, he felt his steps become lighter, as he was suddenly edging away from the wall.

This translated into losing speed, and soon enough, his upward momentum stalled. Feeling gravity take hold of him again, Astaroth swore in his mind.

'Fuck!'