The sheer weight of Kaleon's history and choices was almost too much to process. Yet, despite everything I'd heard, sothing still didn't sit right with .
It nagged at the back of my mind, a puzzle piece that refused to fit.
"Kaleon started the war for Hestia," I said, my tone laced with frustration.
"And after finding out she was alive, I thought he'd want to stay with her. Isn't that what anyone would expect? But instead, he chose eternal sleep. Forever. Doesn't that strike anyone else as… off?"
Agnos leaned back, arms crossed, his expression sharp.
"I've thought the sa thing. When I received the creator's will and instructions, I knew sothing wasn't what it seed. He specifically told to bring his body to the core."
Viracocha's brows shot up.
"Kaleon left instructions for you?"
"Yes," Agnos said with a smug smile.
"Why? Are you planning to challenge ?" His smirk deepened, daring the Incan god to respond.
Viracocha shook his head.
"No. In fact, I find it plausible."
He paused, his gaze drifting as if lost in thought. When he spoke again, his voice carried a new edge.
"The core holds his essence. If he wanted his body brought there, it could an sothing's wrong with it."
Agnos scoffed. "What could possibly go wrong with the creator's body? Don't start spinning wild theories."
Viracocha's tone sharpened. "You might not know this, but Kaleon once told that the essence he left in the core is tied to his creation powers. If his body were ever compromised, that essence could save him."
His eyes suddenly widened, and he shot to his feet. "Oh no. This is bad. This is very bad!"
"What? What's going on?" I asked, startled by his sudden shift.
"Kaleon! His soul and body must be in danger!" Viracocha declared.
"That's impossible," Jiuge interjected firmly. "His body and soul are in the Lake of Tears, protected by Hestia's divine power. No one can touch him."
"You don't understand!" Viracocha began pacing, anxiety etched into every movent. "Kaleon's destructive powers must be growing unstable. They could be trying to consu him! Why didn't I realize this earlier? I should have—"
"Whoa, whoa, hold on," I said, stepping in to stop his spiraling. "Inca god, can we rewind for a second? Maybe explain it in less 'apocalypse is nigh' terms?"
Agnos let out a slow breath, his tone grave.
"Carl, there's sothing you need to know about Mythica's balance. The nine leylines aren't just sources of creation. They also house destructive powers. These forces must remain in balance. If sothing tips the scales—like with the two leylines that were corrupted—it affects Kaleon's power balance too." The source of thɪs content is noⅴelfire
His explanation hit like a truck.
My mind raced to connect the dots.
"Wait. So if Mythica's experiencing imbalance, Kaleon's destructive powers are—what, trying to take over his body?"
Agnos nodded grimly. "Exactly. If that happens, Kaleon will awaken. But not as the creator you've heard about. He'll beco a god of destruction. Mythica would fall into chaos worse than anything seen during the Ancient Realm War."
My stomach sank. "What do we do?"
Viracocha's gaze turned steely. "We et the founder of CCP."
"Huh? What?" I blinked at him in disbelief. "You're telling Mythica's teetering on the edge of annihilation, and your brilliant plan is to talk to my boss?"
Jiuge slapped the back of my head. "Ow! What was that for?"
"For being rude to a god," she said flatly. "And for forgetting that your boss is the Unknown God of the tal leylines."
I stared at him. "Wait, what? The tal leyline was destroyed ages ago! What's the point?"
Viracocha fixed with a pointed look. "Destroyed doesn't an it can't be restored."
"Hold on." My brain stumbled over his words. "It can be restored? Then why hasn't anyone done it?"
"Because restoring it requires Kaleon's essence and will," Agnos explained, his tone grim.
"But with him in deep slumber, we can't exactly move his body to the core. The only one who might help is the mistress locked away in the Eternal Prison. And unless you've figured out how to casually waltz in there, we're at a dead end."
My stomach twisted as their plan began to dawn on . "Wait a second. You're not… you don't an—"
Agnos smirked. Jiuge remained silent, but her expression said it all. Viracocha, though, looked at with sothing unnervingly close to hope.
"Oh no. Nope. I'm not his descendant or chosen one or whatever nonsense you're thinking. I'm just a mortal, rember? Agnos, you said that!"
"But the fragnts of Kaleon's power chose you," Agnos said, his tone maddeningly calm. "You absorbed them, Carl. That has to an sothing. If the fragnts accepted you, you might be able to restore the tal leyline."
I groaned, rubbing my temples. "You're not taking no for an answer, are you? Why do we need to et him? What would that do?"
Viracocha replied with a calm but weighty tone, "We need to restore his leyline."
And then... nothing. Just silence.
I blinked, waiting for soone to fill in the blanks. When no one did, I cleared my throat. "Err, can we try that again but with a full explanation this ti? I hate being the guy constantly asking, 'Why?'"
Instead of an answer, Jiuge smacked on the head—again.
"Stop whining and just do as he says," she snapped. "You'll understand later."
I shot her a glare, rubbing the spot she hit. "Seriously, if I really am Kaleon's son, I'm filing an official complaint to my 'father' about how you treat ," I retorted, narrowing my eyes for extra emphasis.
The next thing I knew, I was being hauled—dragged, really—off to et the founder of CCP. My boss. The other Unknown God of Mythica.
********
The CCP founder stood before , impossibly poised.
His eyes locked onto mine, sharp and piercing, like they could cut through steel—or maybe just the fact that I was about to have a minor existential crisis. Aweso.
His long, dark hair cascaded down his back like he'd just stepped out of a shampoo comrcial, impossibly smooth and voluminous in that "I'm a god, I don't need to try" kind of way.
He wore an earring on his left ear, making him look like he belonged in a high-end fashion magazine or maybe the lead guitarist of so underground dragon rock band.
So... he was the founder?
Sothing nagged at . A familiar energy. Like déjà vu, but stronger.
Then he tilted his head at —that sa subtle tilt I'd seen before.
My stomach dropped.
Oh. Oh, no.
A jolt of recognition hit like a ton of bricks: I had t him before. That guy who'd been lurking in the shadows of the cafeteria, watching like so sort of creepy, all-knowing divine being.
"Wait." My voice ca out slow, realization dawning. "You're the creepy cafeteria guy?!"
Naga blinked once. "Ah, so you noticed."
And then he smiled. Oh boy.
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