I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. "I didn't do anything to Kaleon! I—"
He cut off again, but this ti, the fury in his eyes shifted into sothing else—puzzlent.
"You." His gaze bore into , scrutinizing every inch. "How do you have Kaleon's essence?"
"W-what?!"
Before I could process his words, he did the most unthinkable thing.
He sniffed .
Yes. He slled .
Great. Why do I always et the weird gods and creatures?
As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, he took things a step further—floating into the center of the room and turning upside down.
The contents of my utility vest ca tumbling out—my ergency food stash, tools, and other knickknacks clattering onto the floor.
No… my at jerky!
"H-hey! Put down!" I flailed uselessly. "I swear to god I didn't do anything to Kaleon!"
His eyes glinted. "Which god do you swear it to?"
What?! What does that even matter?!
"Fine! I swear on my life!" I yelped.
The mont the words left my mouth, he flicked his wrist, and I dropped back to the ground—none too gently.
Before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, he teleported right in front of , closing the distance in an instant.
His face was inches from mine, his narrowed eyes searching mine for any sign of a lie.
Hello, personal space?!
"There's no mistake." His voice was firm, eyes sharp with scrutiny. "You have a very faint trace of Kaleon's essence in you. Who are you? What are you to him?"
"I told you—I'm Carl!" I threw up my hands in frustration. "And I have no idea why I have his essence! I'm a mortal from Earth. I ca to Mythica for work as a zoologist—to care for endangered creatures and conserve their habitats!"
I exhaled sharply, my patience wearing thin. "And the next thing I knew, I was thrown into Mythica, solving its problems left and right, and sohow—sohow—ended up as an Interim Owner!" I rubbed my temples, my voice rising. "Does that explain things?!"
Then, realizing sothing even more pressing, I scooted back, eyes narrowing.
"And please—" I motioned at the disturbingly close proximity between us. "Don't get overly close to . It feels weird."
"A Carl from Earth? The Origin World?"
"W-what?" I blinked. "Origin World?" I repeated, my brain struggling to keep up. That was a new one. Is that what they called my world?
"Yes. The Origin World—where everything begins." He rubbed his chin, nodding to himself. "I see. So you're from there."
Then, just as abruptly as this bizarre conversation started, he turned his back on and strolled back to his seat.
Wait. What?
After all that? After interrogating midair, shaking out my pockets like I was a piñata, and practically sniffing like a lost puppy—he was just done now?
I stood there, frowning.
Who even is this guy? A god? A celestial being? A professional interrogator with boundary issues?
Then, as if the whole upside-down interrogation never happened, he looked up at and gestured toward the empty seat in front of him.
"Sit. Let's talk, Carl." He smiled.
That smile sent a shiver down my spine. Not because it was nacing—no, that would've made sense. Instead, it was the kind of smile soone gave when they knew sothing you didn't.
The kind of smile that said, Oh, this is going to be interesting.
I hesitated. Given the last few minutes, I wasn't sure if sitting down was the best idea. But at this point, refusing probably wasn't an option.
With a wary glance, I pulled out the chair and sat.
"Alright," I said, crossing my arms. "Let's talk."
"First, tell —where's Kaleon?"
I took a deep breath and told him everything. How Kaleon had fallen into an eternal slumber. The Ancient Realm War that shook Mythica centuries ago. The imbalance in the leylines. The silent siphoning of the realm's energy. And, of course, how I sohow got roped into all of this and ended up as Mythica's Interim Owner.
The man listened intently, his expression shifting ever so slightly at certain points—eyes narrowing, lips pressing together, a furrow appearing in his brow. Yet, for the most part, he remained composed, absorbing every word like a scholar dissecting a particularly intriguing puzzle.
Despite all this, he still hadn't introduced himself.
I leaned forward slightly, unable to suppress my curiosity any longer. "Who are you?" I asked. "You clearly know Kaleon."
I expected another cryptic response, maybe even another round of floating interrogation. But instead, the man simply tilted his head, regarding with sothing unreadable in his gaze.
"Well?" I prompted.
"You sure ask a lot of questions for soone who just crash-landed into the Seventh," he mused, a smirk tugging at his lips. Then, after a pause, he exhaled. "Fine. Since you've been honest with , I suppose I can return the favor."
He sat forward, resting his elbows on the table. "I am Enlil."
I blinked. "...Enlil?"
"As in the Enlil. God of wind, storms, and the heavens. Forr ruler of the divine council of all realms existed. One of the original arbiters of balance." He gave a dramatic flourish of his hand. "Or, as the other gods so affectionately called , Lord of the Air." Official source is novel※fire
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
Wait… Lord of the Air?
A mont ago, he seed more like the Lord of the Airhead to .
He stared back.
Then he grinned. "Ah, I love this part—the mont mortals try to figure out whether to kneel or run."
And the way he carries himself—so smug, so confident.
What the... I didn't even have thoughts of wanting to kneel or run.
"Actually, I've never heard of you. I don't really know much about the mythology of... uh, what mythos are you from?" I admitted.
Enlil's aura shifted, and the atmosphere grew dense, pressing against my chest like a weight I couldn't shake off. It was suffocating—like the air itself had beco thick and unbreathable.
Oh crap. I think I just angered him.
The room darkened as an invisible force pressed down on . My lungs refused to expand. My body scread danger.
Enlil's golden eyes glead with amusent, but his aura was anything but playful. "Unbelievable," he muttered, voice dripping with disbelief. "A mortal from the Origin World—and you don't even know ?"
I clawed at my throat, struggling for air. "I—I swear it's not personal!" I gasped. "I—I was more into Greek and Norse mythology!"
The pressure stopped. Just like that.
I collapsed onto the chair, sucking in greedy gulps of air.
Enlil scoffed. "Of course. The Greeks." He rolled his eyes, muttering sothing about "overdramatic Olympians" and "Zeus ruining everything."
"Well, Carl, I suppose I can't bla you. Their myths are overly advertised in the Origin World."
I blinked at him, utterly dumbfounded. "Advertised?" I repeated. That's how he's choosing to see it? Like mythology was so kind of overplayed comrcial?
Enlil waved a dismissive hand. "It's not important." Then his expression shifted, a glimr of sothing sharper in his gaze. "What is important is that it seems my brother needs my help."
A crack of cosmic thunder split through my brain.
Brother?
Wait… don't tell —
I stared at him, my mind reeling. This Lord of the Airhead was Kaleon's brother?!
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