What do you think?

—Well? What did you think?

I let out all the air I had in my lungs and took it in hard again.

—It's a really impressive story.

The five people in front of me smiled and nodded.

—You can't even imagine living it.

The most talkative of the 4 apostles, Viktor, told me. He is quite nervous, and comments on almost everything. He has shaved hair with a cloth cap and a rather plain face.

—Besides the 4 of you, how many others are there?

—Besides us, three more people.

William answered me as he put on his glasses. With the short hair, the glasses and his composure, William conveyed a sense of serenity and intellectuality that I liked.

But what he said shocked me. There are only 7 of them, there really are only a few left.

—There really are only a few of you left.

—Orcs are going to be the least of your problems. There are all kinds of races, all kinds of beings we face.

This time I was surprised that it was Megan speaking. She has long red hair. She is the youngest of the 4 and the most intense.

—How many of you were there before the war started?

Silence.

—We're not going to answer that, Cam.

This time it was the Goddess again. It's not the first time I've been told they can't answer something. But I guess this question was too much.

But it really was a crazy story. My head hurts from swallowing it all.

—You still have a while left, do you want to ask anything else?

The old man who dragged me to this place was watching me from his seat. In his suit, if you gave him a cigar and a glass of whiskey with two ice cubes he would look like a rich guy doing business.

—Well, I'm curious, when you were treated like gods, who were you?

They looked at each other for a moment and it was Viktor who spoke first.

—In Rome they called me Vulcan, in Greece they called me Hephaestus, in China I was Zhu Rong. That is, the God of Fire.

—In Rome I was Neptune, in Greece my name was Poseidon, in China they called me Gong Gong. The God of the Water.

When William finished, Milos followed him.

—In Rome, Jupiter. In Greece, Zeus. In the north I was Thor. The God of Lightning.

—In Rome I was Diana, in Greece they called me Artemis and in the north, Skade. The Goddess of Bowhunting.

The last to speak was Megan.

I'm not the greatest expert on mythology, but the names they had said I certainly knew. I'm sitting in front of legends.

—Time's running out Cam.

I thought about whether I had any more questions but I really had nothing more to say. I think I had been told enough in an hour.

In front of me William spoke.

—If you don't mind, I would like to ask Caelum a question.

Everyone was a little surprised to see that William was the one who wanted to ask me a question.

—Go ahead.

With the permission of The Goddess, William looked directly at me and asked me in a rather serious tone.

—How do you feel about achieving a peaceful world where everyone exists without war and mistreatment between humans?

Wow. What a question.

I really know that's an impossible utopia to achieve, but saying it, just like that, might hurt.

Imagine that you've been fighting for something your whole life, in their cases thousands of years, and suddenly someone tells you it's nonsense. It must not feel very good.

With that in mind I stood mute for a moment without responding causing William to lose his patience a bit.

—Has the cat got your tongue? Don't be afraid to speak your mind.

I looked a little surprised. Can I really say whatever I want?

Well, if they want to kill me it's not like I can do anything either.

I put on a nervous smile and began.

—Personally, that goal is an impossible utopia to achieve. Or at least in the short term.

The God of the Water looked at me intrigued.

—What do you mean?

I sighed.

I get lazy explaining things. Are they really gods? So many explanations that I want a day off at the beach.

—Human beings are not perfect beings. Just as we have love, we have hate. Just as we have affection, we have envy. And I could make a very long list. But I am going to ask you, and if you can answer Goddess I would appreciate it. Are you exempt from these negative qualities?

The 5 of them were a bit perplexed. Had they really thought about anything for more than 5 minutes?

I am really disappointed.

Amidst the silence, The Goddess started laughing loudly.

—That's really interesting, Cam. So tell me, should I eliminate the human race from Earth?

I gulped.

All the hair on my body had stood up.

I have to calm her down, and well, if she'd let me live it would be a pleasure.

—Oh Goddess, omnipotent and omnipresent being, I would never say such a thing. I think, as your creation, you should accept us as we are.

Sitting on the couch I bowed my head.

I sighed mentally.

Suddenly a feeling I felt a short while ago came back to me. That feeling of death, of fear, but stronger than before. My whole body was asking me to run away from that place, but at the same time something was telling me: 'If you move a hair I'll kill you'.

A small screen appeared before my eyes.

---------

Skill improvement:

Mental Resistance (D) --> Mental Resistance (C)

---------

After that the attack ceased. But again the doubt, did it cease because The Goddess had stopped attacking me, or because I had gained the skill.

When I looked up from the ground The Goddess was looking directly at me.

—You know Cam, I like you, and I have a feeling you might be a good apostle, but tell me, what are we doing wrong? Why is our plan of 'A World Without Evil' destined to fail?

What's the problem with that plan's name? One of the top three worst names for a plan.

—It's not that it's wrong, it's really a great idea, but it's that human beings have hatred, fear, they have a lot of characteristics that make it impossible. Right now you are directing your hatred towards me because I have told you something you don't like, it's the same for humans.

I took a deep breath.

I said it. Now if she wants to kill me then let her kill me, but now I can die in peace.

The Goddess, to my surprise, smiled. And in the blink of an eye she rose from her chair and appeared at my side.

She brought her small mouth close to my ear and whispered.

—You really are interesting. I want the tests to be over now so I can have a little taste of you, Cam.

A shiver ran up and down my spine.

—Don't mistreat him, Goddess, he's still a rookie. Besides, he's right.

I was surprised that it was Milos, or the God of Lightning, depending on where you're from, who came out to defend me.

—I agree with Milos, it's been a long time since we've had contact with humanity and I think we should revise the plan.

The Goddess spun on her heels as she smiled seeing Milos being supported by the God of Fire, or as I call him, Viktor.

—I didn't mean to scare the boy. But he said a couple of interesting things.

I am very nervous. Before I knew it my leg had started to shake.

—I think the tests should continue, but it's true that we may have to change our targets. There is one thing I want to ask Caelum, if he can still answer one last question.

—Yes, yes, yes, ask sir.

How can I refuse if it is the God of Water who asks? 'No, I'll pass on answering.' That's like saying, 'Please kill me.'

I'm surrounded by crazy people.

—I wanted to confirm with you. Would mankind, faced with a common goal, reduce hatred for each other?

Oh, an intelligent question, that's a surprise. All around me the 5 people had their eyes on me.

—Well, I suppose so. But there will always be a complaint. Whatever is done, there will always be a part that humans can use to take advantage of each other. That's in human nature and it will take years to change it.

After my words I was afraid. But to my surprise there was no threat.

—Well Cam, time's up. I'm sending you back to the table. Ciao.

Without my being able to complain I went back to the table. Unaware that the Gods were still talking to each other.

—Now tell me you 4, who are neither Gods nor humans, what I should do.

The 4 who were treated as Gods trembled before a true Goddess.

The oldest of the four and the one who had been rated as one of the strongest spoke.

—Goddess, I believe we must defend humanity. That is what I did, do and will do. The only thing, I don't think we have infiltrated enough of the human culture to know in what real way we can make the human race better.

—And where is the answer Milos?

The Goddess had asked a clear question, and she wanted a clear answer. The greatest of the demigods knew it.

—The answer lies in the people who will be your apostles.

The Goddess smiled.

—Then let us wait for my dear Apostles to finish the tests. Afterwards, we will ask them, after all, their answer will determine the future of humanity.