THEOS

Chapter 3: The Old Man

Hmm. He stroked his beard. Uncrossing his legs, and landing softly on the ground, he walked in a circle around Luke. Poking and prodding his body with his finger as he did a lap around him.

I uhh I dont Luke stuttered. Not knowing what to say, and caught off guard by his sudden appearance. He didnt want to admit to anything, but at the same time he didnt want to lie to someone with abilities he didnt understand, lest he anger him. The Old Man was capable of flight, and had arrived before him minutes after Luke had possessed the body. Who knew what else he could do. The supernatural being entirely unfamiliar concepts to Luke.

No. No. No. He muttered to himself, before lifting one of his legs and folding it across his hip and then the other, once again floating in the air. Sorry to bother you young lad. Your body displays no signs of possession. Your soul is stable. More than that, both your soul and body are in perfect sync. Luke allowed himself to relax. So he didnt know. If I hadnt noticed that same body you're in right now laying dead earlier, I would never have guessed otherwise.

He winked.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Luke's thoughts skidded to a halt as he stared, open mouthed, at the old man. Stunned that his secret had been exposed already.

What do you want?

Bah. What I wanted was to be left alone. Instead I have those ruddy Olympians breathing down my neck. Treating me like their servant, and expecting us to clean up their mess. Tell me. How is it my problem that a thief, a dead thief at that, escaped them and fled somewhere onto the archipelago. Especially when every sane person knows that a soul has a limited window of time to make its way into the Aether or risk dissolving by staying on Theos, making the search effectively useless.

It isn't. Luke offered. Recalling that the Seed also mentioned something similar about the environment being inhospitable to non-corporeal entities.

Precisely! It isnt my problem. Instead, they have us poor folk, trying to live our lives in peace, searching every one of the hundreds of islands. Looking for someone who could steal from them, and get away. Let me ask you this. If this alleged thief can run away from the Olympians, what chance do we, us poor and weak members of a small and weak organization like the Luminous Sky, possibly have of finding him?

I imagine the chances are very low. Luke responded evenly.

Next to none! A complete waste of time, and they know it. The fact that I actually ran into you. Hah! He smiled broadly. Displaying a row of perfect white teeth.

Luke mulled over his words. Luminous Sky, those were the people who had Bellerophons Blade according to the quest the Seed gave him. The Old Man just so happened to be a member. What were the odds that he would get a quest, and moments later meet someone directly relevant to it? Luke, looked at the Old Man consideringly. Next to none, he decided. The Seed must have foreseen this happening.

For whatever reason, the Old Man didnt want to help the Olympians. Arke, Zeus, and Bellerophon. It was hard for Luke to even wrap his head around them being real. They were supposed to be myths. Ancient legends. Conjured by ignorant folk to explain how the world worked. Not people of flesh, blood, and bone. Never would Luke have thought that hed one day be discussing how they conducted themselves with someone who was genuinely inconvenienced by their existence, and be inconvenienced by their existence for that matter. Or that he would get dragged into something far beyond his imagination, and make off with a prize that they were now combing the world for.

Right. Luke looked at him warily, still on guard for any unexpected surprises. The lack of response from the Seed, however, put him slightly at ease. It had alerted him of danger when Arke was gunning for him minutes ago, and given him means of escaping. Seeing as he still had plenty of Charges stored up incase of emergency, he felt that, for the moment at least, he was safe. Charges, Luke realized, that he didnt understand. Not completely.

The Old Mans smile slipped from his face. I have no love for the Olympians, but their power makes them terrible enemies. Overtly disobeying a request made by them is unwise. At least for the likes of me. Look at you, they destroyed your body, and recovered what you took from your remains. Still, they exert their power over us, just so they could punish you. Forcing us into this mockery of a hunt.

Luke nodded slowly, his thoughts churning as he tried to make sense of the situation. The Old Man was clearly missing some pieces of information. Critical information at that. As a consequence, he had drawn the wrong conclusion. He recalled the time spent as a soul. As an incorporeal being. In hindsight, it wouldnt make sense for a bodiless soul to physically run away with something. After all, it's not like he had arms to carry it. From the Old Mans perspective, he had failed and fled in a sorry state. Except the Olympians could have claimed that he ran away with a critical piece of knowledge or something. Which also ran the risk of whoever captured him, also learning what he knew. In a way, by saying that Luke hadnt escaped with anything, they were reducing his value in the eyes of others, but still leveraging what power they did have to capture him. A situation that aided both Luke and the Olympians.

Its like when a criminal cant go to the police, without risking their own crimes being discovered.

He didnt know what Luke had taken. Or that he was just a random person from a different world. He was imagining Luke as someone capable of going head-to-head with very powerful people and escaping by the skin of his teeth. In the process, likely attributing his current lack of power as a result of possessing a powerless body.

If he knew Luke had an artifact capable of turning a powerless nobody into a god, they likely wouldnt be having this conversation. It would start a blood bath. In the chaos that would ensue, there was no guarantee who the Seed would go to. They had even managed, through some unknown means, to figure out his general location and started a manhunt for him. Unfortunately for them though, the person to catch him wasnt loyal to them. Potentially, giving Luke an opportunity.

So What did you steal? He leaned forward. Looking at Luke eagerly.

What do you plan to do with me? Luke asked in return. Deciding the less he said, the better it would be.

The Old Man sighed as crossed his arms over his chest. I dont know. I doubt that theres anything you could do for me as you are. He smiled. How about this? Come back to the Luminous Sky with me, and recover your strength. True allies are hard to come by these days. In exchange for not turning you in, I need your help with something once you pass the mortal threshold.

My help with what? A wary expression appeared on Lukes face as he considered the offer. Seriously tempted to accept it. Especially because all evidence seemed to point to the fact that their encounter had been arranged by the seed.

That, my new friend, is a secret. Here. A silver ring on his finger briefly flashed before a small pile of clothes appeared in his hands. Black versions of the same robes the Old Man was wearing.

What are these? Asked Luke, trying his best not to show his surprise at clothing just appearing.

Members of Luminous Sky keep to a strict dress code. Those robes are what the Outer Disciples wear. He explained.

So I just put these on and follow you back to the Luminous Sky? Then once Im strong enough, I help you with something and were even?

You got it.

No one will be surprised if I show up with you? Luke looked at him skeptically.

Whatever technique you used to take over that body, its seamless. I can't even tell that it's not originally yours. Granted, I dont know much about the process, but even if there are signs of possession that I cant detect, they should fade in a day or two anyway. As for you showing up suddenly, the Luminous Sky is always recruiting. Me returning with someone I claim has talent wont strike anyone as odd. My position as an elder guarantees that much.

Luke blinked, as he processed the Old Mans words. He had deduced that he wasnt the only one on the path to godhood from the information that came with his quest, but to learn that there were entire organizations dedicated to it was a shock.

Okay. I want to know more about what you guys actually do though. Luke agreed after some thought. Worst case scenario, a rumor would spread about what he possessed, and the Old Man might act out of greed. So long as he had a Charge or two to spare though he was fine. It also gave him an in to get started with his Quest.

The Luminous Sky is decent at keeping itself on the up and up. At least as far as an organization full of bastards trying to be gods can be. Dont worry were not Demons or anything.

Right. Thats good. Luke nodded.

Demons?

Im Nefkha. The Old Man introduced himself suddenly.

Luke. He responded, taking the robes from his hands.

Might as well. He thought, awkwardly getting dressed. Relieved that he could get out of the rags that he was wearing, and simultaneously annoyed that he was still dirty underneath them.

Ahh! I forgot how annoying it is to carry mortals around. Here, this should be big enough for you to sit on. His ring flashed, and a large circular shield came into existence.

Luke desperately wanted to ask how he was doing that. Even though he knew the answer would be magic. Instead he kept his mouth shut, and did his best not to be visibly surprised by anything he saw. Breaking his character would result in a bad end for him. If Nefkha thought he wouldn't be able to help him in the future, then he had one less reason stopping him from handing Luke over to the Olympians.

Aeoluss fate still fresh in his memory, Luke resolved to do whatever he could to avoid it. He stepped into the dome of the shield, and they took off into the air. Gripping the leather straps with white knuckles, Luke couldnt help but compare how much better traveling was when the Seed was carrying him. Or when he didnt have bugs flying into his face.

Struggling to breathe with the wind pulling the air out of his lungs, he looked over to Nefkha, who seemed completely unbothered by it. So much so that his robes werent even flapping. Shaking his head, he adjusted his posture in a semi successful attempt to make breathing easier.

They covered ground quickly and in silence, mostly because Luke wasnt able to talk at the speeds they were moving. Something that he was grateful for.

A couple hours later, they arrived at their destination.

A small artificial mountain range, with twelve mountains in total. Each of them, perfectly identical and arranged in a semi-circle. Luke looked at them with disguised awe, every mountain had its peaks cut off, leaving a flat plateau, on top of which were castles made of white stone. Located in the center of the range, was a city.

Here. Take this token to the Administration Building in the city. It's the tall one, next to the Arena. You cant miss it. Theyll set you up with what you need. The rules prohibit me from showing any undue favor, and its best that you keep a low profile, at least for a little bit, so we wont have much contact. Ill keep an eye on your progress though, and once youre strong enough Ill find you. If you try to run Im sure the Olympians would like to know that you were here. Nefkah threatened as he landed on a road just outside of the town.

You have my word.

Hmm. Try not to show off too much either. I dont know how strong you used to be, but take your time recovering your strength. The timing of your arrival is curious, and I dont want any of the others suspecting anything. He nodded, and with a pat on Lukes back flew away. Eyeing the town, he began walking towards the buildings. Eager for the day to be over.