2 Reward

"All goals have been met. The Odyssey has ended. Victor: Villain."

Al had been watching the flames lick and curl around the piece of paper while turning it into ash, but as he heard a flat, emotionless voice that seemed to be coming from everywhere, he got up and looked out the window.

The sky that had been filled with dark and foreboding clouds until now had turned golden. This was his first time seeing this legendary phenomenon that had accompanied the arrival of the Gods, so holding his breath, he stared at the pristine rays of light that filtered through the gaps in the clouds and struck the sea like glittering knives being thrust down from above. He was only able to bask in their magnificence for a few seconds, though, before everything in front of him blurred and he suddenly felt as if his stomach had been infested by mice.

The uncomfortable feeling passed in a few seconds. Teleportation was one of the first wonders the Gods had displayed, and when humanity had been given the means to replicate the same feat in return for one of the first steps it had taken to follow the Gods' wishes, governments all over the world had gone crazy.

Yet, just like in the case of all magic, there was only so much they could understand, but even this had sent the scientific community into a frenzy.

'There's a time and place for everything, Al, and this is not the time or the place to be thinking about these things… Focus on the reward!'

With this thought, he waited for his eyes to adjust. His species was still new to shuttling through space in the blink of an eye, so all sorts of side effects were present such as disorientation, indigestion, and even unconsciousness.

As the haziness in front of him finally cleared, the sight that was waiting for him took away the breath he had been holding until now.

At first, it seemed like he was standing in a large cathedral of old, its towering dome rising so far into the sky that its top was barely visible. In front of him, a large space stretched out, big enough to fit thousands of people inside. The floor was tiled by marble that glittered as if it had trapped the sun and stars within, and the air was crisp and fresh, with the smells of early rain and morning mist. He had heard that everyone who obtained the means to fly would first fly up here, as it was the image of the galaxy that was etched into the floor for reasons that no one knew.

There was no one above him, though, but just as he was about to finish searching, he felt a hand push him with so much strength that he stumbled away from where he was standing and almost fell on his face.

He turned around with more surprise than anger. This instantly turned out to be a mistake, though, as he saw the one standing behind him scoff and say, "So I was beaten by a city dweller? Oh, don't bother. Anyone whose first instinct is not to swing a punch when shoved is definitely someone who lived a sheltered life. What were you? A software engineer? Manager? Or under that mask, are you just a nerd who's seen nothing of the world? I've got my eye on you, boy. Now stop clogging the teleportation area!"

With a smirk at the end, the hero that Al had just defeated walked away with a swagger. Al didn't even know what to say. It was true that the aftermath of the descent of the Gods had led to the belief that those who had grown up with nary a taste of conflict were the weakest links waiting to be broken, but he had never expected that he would give away so much about himself in such a small gesture.

'Mom warned me. She told me they would all be cruel… so maybe I need to change, too,' he thought, and just as he remembered his mother, he began to run in the opposite direction.

The large hall was split so that the area where heroes, villains, and others could teleport to the locations of their odysseys was in the middle, while the part to the North was for the heroes, just as the one to the south was for the villains.

There was a lot of empty space, but groups of people were standing and talking between themselves in every direction he could see. Apart from them, there were individuals who were looking around and shouting something, but Al didn't have the time to listen.

Soon, he arrived at a counter made of the same black marble as the floor. Short of breath, he heaved for a few seconds before finally getting out the words, "Alaric…Ars-Arstan. Here to collect my reward."

He stretched forward his right hand on top of the counter, then. He felt it go warm for a second, and after a moment, the woman who was standing behind it said, "What's the hurry, kid? Anyway, good job. You finished the first of your ten initiate odysseys perfectly. It's not every day that I see a newbie do so well… As for your reward, it appears that you requested a healing ward. You've only earned the most basic one. Here you go."

Breathlessly, he cradled the object thrown in his hands by the woman. It had appeared on top of the counter magically, and for a few seconds, she seemed amused by his demeanor.

"You wear the mask of the skull, but you're almost acting like a child. Get out of here, quickly, before you draw attention."

He hadn't even paid attention to her until now, but as he heard a tinge of concern in her tone, he saw her for the first time. Middle-aged, she seemed more handsome than beautiful, but the easy smile that was on her lips made his heart feel warm.

"Thank you, madam. I'll be on my way."

Walking towards the exit, Al studied the ward. It looked like a palm-sized leaf that seemed no different from any that could be found beside a road, but as he caressed it, he could feel the same faint warmness that had emanated from the marble he had picked up before. Carefully putting it in one of the deepest pockets of his cloak, he looked up with a smile and straightened his back which had the tendency of slouching whenever he wasn't paying attention.

"You, sir. You seem like a young and strapping villain! Would you like to consider joining the service of the God of Fire? All new recruits will directly be given a fireball spell!"

"Ignore him, Sir! Everyone knows that you need to obtain a Blessing before magic can be used! Without it, spells are useless! You don't look like you've finished ten odysseys, so the God of Earth has the best offer for you! All new recruits will be given a special defensive cloak to protect them in this new, cruel world!"

"My God can burn that thing to nothingness!"

"Oh, really? Them mine will bury you a hundred feet underground!"

Shaking his head, he left the two to their squabbling. The doors marked as the way out were so large that giants even 30 feet tall would be able to go through without having to bend. Wrought in ornate silver and gold, they stood open but strangely, only a wall of light was visible where one would expect to see the outside world.

Al plunged into the wall as if he had done it a thousand times before. After his stomach twisted again, he found himself in a large, bustling room.

Having learned his lesson, he walked forward confidently. On the side of the room that he had been teleported to, there was only a wall with a stained glass window that depicted a God wreathed in flame, but on the other, there were numerous wooden doors with queues in front of each.

He joined one of them. On top of each door was a light that blinked either green or red. Each time the green light was given, the one at the front would open the door and disappear within.

Constantly checking on the ward and the marble he had earned in the odyssey, Al waited for his turn. He looked around from time to time, noting the modern, no-nonsense architecture of a conference room adapted to a new purpose, but mostly, he was looking forward to laying the ward on his mother and seeing her finally awaken from the coma that had gripped her for months.

When it was his turn, he quickly ducked into the room and ripped off his mask. Taking a deep, unfiltered breath, he rested his palm on the right side of the small cubicle he had entered. A small tile of the familiar black marble was present there, and below it was a metal door that rattled in response.

A moment later, it opened. Finding all his clothes undisturbed, Al marveled at the sophistication of the technology of the Gods for a moment before taking off the cloak and retrieving the ward and the small marble.

A few seconds later, under a dark sky, he was walking down a teeming road between skyscrapers which disappeared in the clouds when one looked up. The air stank of sweat and the road was rough, but Al walked away from the gigantic doors behind him with a smile filled with anticipation. Just like the exit doors from before, it seemed as if all the people were walking into and out of a wall of light, and apart from a few who gawked at it, most paid no attention.

'Its always so easy to forget that something like this would have left the world agape just a year ago…'

His thoughts were slowly replaced by giddy excitement as he neared the public teleportation area that would take him to his home. The wide road split into ten smaller roads, and after taking the one farthest to the right, Al entered an alleyway that was much less crowded. The alleyway branched left and right, too, leading to dimly lit paved roads that were mostly empty. Finally, after walking for ten more minutes, he paused in front of a branch and looked up to see the signboard that hung in the air.

"Way to Portal leading to: Avenues 40-60, Veristos City, N.U.S.A, New Earth."

All of the alleyways were also between tall buildings, so despite the streetlights, darkness enshrouded most of the area around him. Only a small patch of the ground around him was illuminated by the glow of the signboard, but as Al re-read the words to make sure he was going the right way, he thought nothing of it.

Hence, when a pair of hands grabbed him from behind and dragged him away, he was caught completely by surprise.

Even the will to struggle came slowly. By the time he managed to raise his hands to attempt to get free, he was thrown on the ground so roughly that a lance of pain shot up his back.

Everything happened in a blur, then. He could feel hands and legs, punching, kicking, slamming him into the ground again and again until he tasted blood. His world became one of pain, but still, when he felt someone reaching for the pocket where he had kept the ward…he screamed hoarsely.

"NO! PLEASE! IT'S FOR MY-"

A punch to his face shut him up. He was powerless as they took it away, and even after that, they hit him some more for good measure.

His vision swam, but his eyes darted around, trying, failing, yet trying again to get a glimpse of his attackers. He finally found one he felt was familiar…and as he recognized the hero who had shoved him before, he let out a gasp.

"Enough. No reason to bring a murder investigation down on us. Take care, 'villain'!"

Spitting on him, the man left with his cronies. Al felt weak and disoriented, but he held the face he had seen in his mind.

Agony pulsed all over his body, but with it, the face pulsed, too. It changed between the hero, a man with a cleft lip, a woman with a scar on her forehead, and a girl wearing thick makeup.

Those faces gave him strength. It was the hateful sort that filled his mind with rage, but he accepted it all the same.

It took five excruciating minutes to get to his feet, yet as he leaned against a wall and felt the empty pocket in his pants, the rage spilled over, and with a wordless scream, he fell on his knees and gave himself over completely to the tears that arrived like a flood.