Warm and Cold
Witnessing Izekiel's injuries heal and bullets stopping mid air, the king was so afraid that he left in a hurry. The stadium now only had Izekiel and the citizens of Var.
After hearing Izekiel words, the stadium fell silent before screams and shouts once again appeared. Were they positive comments? No. The complete opposite actually.
"Go kill yourself!"
"We don't need a God here!"
"You Gods and Goddess are all untrustworthy!"
"This is no place for you!"
"Var doesn't need a God!"
"Fuck off your fake!"
'Of course, getting the trust of Var's people is not easy if I want to pretend to be a God. They were abandoned by one after all.'
"I will not abandon Var," Izekiel stood firm. "I promise that I will make Var rise once again," Izekiel continued to speak positively over the numerous yells telling him to leave.
Who are the citizens of Var? They are people who had survived the abandonment of a God, and raised themselves through their own efforts while their ruler did nothing but sit on the throne like a lazy pig. So what if you can stand firm under lots of pressure and objections for now? Sooner or later you'll break! So what if you have a powerful backing? With so many people here, how could the powerful backing tell who killed you when we all feel the same?
This place is a place where there's no such thing as peace, so there was really no point in trying to convince others with words. If you only know how to bark, then you'll get hurt and the only thing you have to blame is your own arrogance. The rules here were simple as that. Izekiel was not that stupid, he was at least aware of that fact and was prepared to get hurt.
Just as he predicted, the people of Var started to not just attack him with words, but also with their abilities. Although he had the power to block their attacks, Izekiel chose not to and stood still on the platform. He had no intention to fire back at them, not at all.
"I understand your hatred towards your former Goddess abandoning you," a rock hit his head, "and I will not tell you to pretend it never happened and try to whitewash your history or wipe it clean."
"You don't know shit!" a wind ability then twisted Izekiel's arm, making it turn purple and look deformed.
His arm then healed as he continued to speak with a smile on his face, a gentle look in his eyes, "I don't believe that Gods or Goddess have the right to such thing, after all we were created by humans such as yourself. I feel a strong sense of responsibility, and believe I was created in a time a place like this because I was needed in this nation. I don't want to believe that I am a mistake created from the prayers of someone who had only wished because they had lost their rationality, so I beg you to not chase me away as if you've never wished. No matter how much you hit me, I will accept it in the place of my senior."
Izekiel who had been taught proper mannerism as a crown prince in Celestar, moved his right leg slightly back, leaned forward, placed his right hand to his heart and the other behind his back to bow in front of the crowd. Despite the fact that fire was burning his skin, wind was twisting his bones and many other abilities were also coming at him, he never went against his words.
Even though his body was being healed again and again just to bare the same suffering with the pain never being able to turn numb, he still remained the same pose as if he was some great master who had just finished his performance.
The elegance of his "performance" and his ripped clothes created a big contrast. To others, he might even look like a beggar who dreams to be king one day.
As if a beam of light was shinning above of Izekiel who was still bowing, the audience couldn't help but describe Izekiel with one word, "heavenly". The rapid attacks started to slow down and gradually stopped completely as if the people was enchanted by a spell. The crowd of people even felt like they were starting to forget how to breathe let alone attack others with their skills.
How could a person like this exist?! They have never seen such a stubborn person like Izekiel in their whole life! People are attacking and you don't try defend or get angry but just continue to bow? Fuck we're starting to think that we're in the wrong here!
Lifting his head, Izekiel let out a gentle smile that seemed to bring warmth to others like a spring breeze. His golden eyes although dull- looked clear and beautiful under the sun. He looked very pure and gentle as if he could never commit a crime or even have bad intentions. An angel was what he was, quite literally too.
The audience started to feel guilty. They attacked him both verbally and physically, yet he still smiled at them so kindly... fuck it's not just "think" anymore! They're definitely the ones in the wrong! Yes, it's them!
Seeing that the attacks ceased, Izekiel finally stopped bowing and stood tall again, his warm smile never disappearing from his face. Just when he thought everything was over, his body suddenly felt cold, especially his neck.
With a clean slice, Izekiel's head fell onto the ground while a male wearing all black landed on the platform where Izekiel was standing on. The whole stadium fell silent, it was Feng Zhiyuan.
'Maybe I should be less disrespectful to Alice, the soul orb was useful this time.'
He seemed to have forgotten that he wouldn't die even without the soul orb. If someone wanted to kill an angel, then go for the halo then kill them. If their target was a being with divine blood, aim for the heart, not the neck.
A head then reformed on top of Izekiel's neck and once again, only Izekiel's bloody skin and red stained clothes could prove that such an incident ever happened. Even though his head was just cut off by the other man, Izekiel still continued to smile.
"Why didn't you block?" Feng Zhiyuan asked in a low voice.
"I will not go against my words. The hatred that you hold towards the former Goddess of Var, take it out on me," replied Izekiel.
"I'm an atheist, I follow no God and bare no hatred towards the former Goddess of Var," Feng Zhiyuan said coldly.
'... If you're an atheist then say so! I could've blocked that! You're telling me that I took that for no reason?!'
"Attacking for no reason... is that an provocation to start a fight?" although there was a smile on Izekiel's face, there was a dangerous glint in his eyes which made him look mischievous and provoking up close. If Izekiel didn't have that face, he would definitely look like a threat.
"I saved you from a dragon, and you want to fight me?" questioned Feng Zhiyuan. "Are you strong enough to go against me? Do you even have enough power to become Var's saviour, or are you just playing around with the title of "God"?" his onyx eyes were terribly cold.
"I will save this nation," Izekiel repeated his intention once again, ignoring Feng Zhiyuan's questions. "I will definitely save it," his golden eyes shined with determination.
Was that determination towards saving Var, or becoming a God? Of course it was the latter, but no one knows aside from him. He can promise that he will save Var though, because that is how he'll become a God in their eyes.
'Don't worry Feng Zhiyuan, you have my word. I did not endure all that pain just to sprout lies.'
Cold dark eyes stared into warm golden ones, the contrast was quite big. The two of them were like the sun and the moon, except if they were comparing hearts and not looks, Izekiel would not be the sun and Feng Zhiyuan would not be the moon. It was the opposite actually.
Izekiel's appearance is warm and bright, but his heart is certainly not. Feng Zhiyuan might be cold, but if his intentions could be reflected in his personality he would not be. The sun and the moon, who is which?
"I don't care about you do in Var," Feng Zhiyuan then pointed his bloodied sword at Izekiel's throat that was stained by the same blood, "but if you try to destroy Var in any way, I'll kill you," he spoke coldly before sheathing his sword and turning around to leave.
The people who were watching turned to look at each other in silence before leaving one by one. Well if their idol Feng Zhiyuan has left this guy alone, then what was the point in them doing something? No point at all! Just go home! Go home!
Watching as Feng Zhiyuan leave, Izekiel then noticed something on the ground. It was a pair of sport shoes. Looking at Feng Zhiyuan's feet, he had realised that the other only had socks on.
When did Feng Zhiyuan take his shoes off? Was he even wearing shoes when he first landed on the platform? Did he put those shoes down when his head was regenerating? That seems to be it, otherwise he would've had the front seat to seeing the cold man take his shoes off.
'For me?'
Izekiel looked down at his own dirty feet. He had been walking barefoot ever since he landed here, but now the so called "cold hearted man" had just gifted him his own pair of shoes and walked away barefoot.
Thinking this, Izekiel let out a small genuine smile. It seems like the other only acted cold, but his heart was actually quite warm.
Following behind Feng Zhiyuan, a girl with straight light brown hair tied in a high ponytail asked, "boss, why did you let him go? You could've killed him to avoid future trouble."
No, the truth was that he couldn't kill him. Feng Zhiyuan bet that no matter how much he cut down the other man, the other would just continue to regenerate.
"With that ability, if he really wants to help Var, it would be useful," Feng Zhiyuan refused to admit the truth out loud. "You go to the Xavier residence and thank Klein for helping with the emergency last week."
"Yes boss," the girl then left, leaving the cold faced man alone.
Walking down the streets, Feng Zhiyuan started to think about Izekiel's plead. He wanted to not be chased away just because he was a God created by someone's prayers and wishes by mistake... but who made that mistake?
"Could it be me?" Feng Zhiyuan mumbled to himself. He, an atheist, was unsure whether he really wished for such a man to exist himself.
But then again, maybe a man with such a warm smile and great temperate like that really doesn't actually exist. It's hard to meet someone like that nowadays.