Reeva woke up in an unfamiliar space. This ti, he was sure of where he really was. The ceiling above him was made of wood—old, brittle wood that looked like it might crumble at any second.
He breathed in the dust and coughed, straightening his back as he rose from his sleeping position. What greeted him was an old room he had only seen twice in his life. It was the Sun God’s shack.
Beside him, he noticed legs—clad in blue overalls.
"You’re finally awake. I thought I lost an apostle for a second there."
Reeva looked up to see the Sun God, wearing a straw hat, smiling warmly at him for so reason.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice groggy. The last thing he rembered, he was still in the dark pit.
"I pulled you out when I felt the darkness start to stir," the Sun God replied. "But I was a bit too late. You got caught in so sort of illusion. And for your information, my healing powers aren’t enough to pull you out of that place. My domain couldn’t reach into the void."
"I was in an illusion?"
"Quite a nasty one at that. You should thank for pulling you out in ti. Otherwise, your whole existence would have… well, ceased."
Hearing that, Reeva could imagine what kind of experience it might have been, but the more he thought about it, the less he wanted to know.
"Thank you… Does this an I passed the test?"
"Yep, you passed," the Sun God said with a chuckle. "You’re officially my apostle now. Your job is to deliver my ssage to the people in the material world."
At that, the word of the god seed to travel far and wide, reaching every weed flickering in the firelight. It fluttered for a mont, then resud its usual sway.
The Sun God pressed a finger to Reeva’s forehead, and a tinge of golden light shimred at the tip of his finger. A warm sensation spread through Reeva’s entire body as mystic force suddenly flowed into him, settling in the sa area as the yellow circle.
"Wow, you really are a demi," the Sun God remarked.
"I already told you," Reeva replied. "Do you know anything about this… circle?"
"Words can’t always explain the full truth. Still, I haven’t seen many of your kind, even back in my day."
"Back in your day?" Reeva asked, curious.
"Yep, back when I was human. I used to encounter your kind more often. It usually ended in a fight, and I’d kill the demon. I call your kind ’Demi’ since you’re basically half demon. Didn’t they teach this in history?"
"Perhaps I’m being rude here, but when did you ascend?"
"I don’t mind," the Sun God said, smiling. "It’s not a secret anyway. Let think... Being here really sses with my sense of ti, but if I calculate correctly, I should be around 3,247 this year. I don’t know the exact date, though."
"See, that’s far too long for any living human to rember."
"I guess you’re right," he said with a chuckle. "Though I thought the Sun Church would’ve at least taught this to their priest."
"I don’t think we have any other demi besides and my maid."
"Then my church must’ve done a good job eradicating them," the Sun God said, gazing through the broken ceiling at the stars. "Those guys really were the worst. They got so powerful so quickly that most of my friends couldn’t resist."
"It’s a great power, for sure," Reeva admitted. "But I must ask—is there a downside? The more I use this kind of power, the more my human life fades, right?"
"Exactly. The more you tap into it, the more you chip away at your humanity. Eventually, you’d turn into a demon."
"A fate worse than death, I suppose," Reeva said, thinking back to when he turned into a demon.
"Trust , it is," the Sun God confird gravely.
"I’m still not entirely clear on this... What exactly is a demi? I used my coldness to block mystic force and that transford parts of into a demon. Is that the sa thing?"
"Yep," the Sun God said, nodding. "Eventually, you’ll lose control and turn into a full demon... wait, you’ve already turned into one?"
"That’s what I’m saying," Reeva replied, half-smirking at the Sun God’s slip.
"How did you turn back? Does your partner also possess a divine artifact?"
"The first ti was in your temple, in the punishnt room. My mystic power got burned out. The second ti, I used a device I got from the author..."
"Wait, say that again," the Sun God interrupted, raising his hand.
"Say what?"
"The last part."
"A device I got from the author?"
The Sun God’s expression suddenly changed, as though sothing incomprehensible had just crossed his mind.
"See, what I heard was: ’Device I got from the █████.’"
Reeva’s face mirrored the god’s confusion. The words sounded garbled, familiar yet distant, like hearing a whisper in a dream and trying to make it out but never quite managing.
"What?"
Dumbfounded, Reeva struggled to grasp what was happening.
"Who did you just speak of? Why would they restrict themselves? Even I couldn’t hear it. Is this where you get your foresight from?"
"I... yes, that’s where I learned of your future," Reeva answered, his mind racing. Restricting words from being uttered was one thing, but preventing them from being heard by a god? That required imnse power. Either soone had spent a lifeti accumulating mystic energy, or they were a god themselves.
"This being," Reeva began cautiously, "I suspect he might be The Absolute One. A god that existed before your reign."
"There’s no such being here," The sun god replied, now more confused than ever.
"The desolate black rock—it’s his domain."
"That makes sense. I can’t leave this place, or else the system will collapse. I didn’t know there was another domain out there," the Sun God mused. "Say... is he still around? If so, I need an explanation as to why he wouldn’t help ."
"Unlikely," Reeva answered. "If he were alive, his land wouldn’t be a desolate black rock."
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