As I stepped back inside with a cold demeanor, Tricia trailed after me. I walked into the kitchen, finding they had managed to salvage the food I had made before my little episode. Sighing helplessly, I began assembling some plates and placing healthy servings on all of them. Tricia just stayed nearby watching my every move, making the silence increasingly more awkward. I finished plating the food before looking straight at her.
"You know it's rude to stare without asking right? By the way, I think you're drooling a little. I didn't know you were that hungry," I said before chuckling lightly.
She quickly grabbed her plate and wiped her face; a furious blush blossoming on her face and neck.
'Good job master! A few more sentences and you can get in her pants!,' Kuma abruptly commented in my mind. I started choking on the bite of food I was eating, furiously trying to cough it up.
'I said it isn't like that you fucking idiot! Stop popping into my head whenever you please! It is annoying and quite frankly, rude!'
I watched as Kuma flinched, then sulked out of the room with a drooped head. With one final pitiful look at me, he left Tricia and I alone. I was now grumpily chewing while Tricia managed to compose herself enough to start eating her own food. Time slowly passed, with nothing but the sound of silverware scraping plates, and the occasional glass being put back onto the table. By this point I was already at ease with the mood, but it seemed as though I wasn't going to be allowed to enjoy the silence for much longer.
"So are we going to talk about how you look like you're in your twenties now, or that you seem more expressive after having a mental shutdown the same way a child does? I didn't think my words held so much weight that you'd freak out like that."
I looked up slowly, just to see her picking at the remains of her food while looking right at me. I hesitated for a moment before giving a rye smile.
"Honestly, it isn't that big of a difference to me whether I look like an average high schooler or a young teacher. My appearance doesn't define who I am after all. As for apparently being more 'expressive', I can only say that I can finally be open with the both of you. It's like I was trapped before, and now everything feels so... free."
A gentle smile graced my face for nothing but a moment, but that one smile, that damn smile, seemed to hold way to many answers for her.
'God damn it. Why did he have to smile like that??!! Ughhh....Nick is right. I've fallen for him baaadddd. I was hoping this was just all a suspension bridge effect, but that stupid smile was like the sweetest poison to me and my heart!'
The second the silence was about to get solemn, Nick busted through the doors of the house.
"I'VE BEEN RUNNING FOR 30 MINUTES! JASON FUCKING GREY, MEET THE WRATH OF YOUR GOD!!"
Vesemir at this point was cackling hysterically in my mind.
'I like that one! He's got spirit, and some damn big balls to call you out in your own home! I wanna see what you're gonna do, hehehe.'
I stood up, cracking my neck and rolling my shoulders to get all the kinks out of them. Every crack seemingly created a powerful shockwave, and every step I took felt like the lumbering of a behemoth. Tricia could only swallow in a desperate attempt to not choke on her own saliva, especially after seeing all the rippling muscles I had across my arms.
'What would those hands feel like on me?' A wandering thought passed through her.
She quickly finished her food and escaped to her room upstairs, saying something about not feeling well as she practically ran away from her thoughts.
I lumbered into the living room, giving Nick a death glare.
"All this time, it seems you've failed to understand one thing, my dear brother from another mother."
His frown slowly collapsed into a confused look.
"What did I fail to understand then peasant?"
With a haughty attitude, he puffed up his chest and got into a low stance, ready to go on the offensive. I shook my head as I matched his stance with my own.
"You failed to understand I do not believe in God or gods. For you to claim to be my God, you first have to earn that right. What good is a god if the people don't believe in them? Your use has come to an end brother, as has your title."
The moment I finished speaking, the aura around me became domineering, yet solemn; ruthless, yet composed. The pressure I exuded at that moment made Nick feel as though he was staring into the depths of the abyss. He was in the presence of something no mind could fathom, and he had provoked such a being. A cold sweat encased his back as his legs shivered in fear. With a weak smile, he forcibly calmed his legs and faced me.
"Well I've already dived into the deep end. Now it's sink or swim time. HAAAAAAAAA!!!"
With a war cry to rile up his nerves he charged at me. A smirk graced my face as a single thought came to mind.
'Cheeky bastard. Ha.'
~
"Ughhhh," A loud groan emanated in the room.
A soft feminine chuckle followed the groan of pain as Tricia looked down on me, as I was sprawled on the floor in a star position. Jason stood in the corner watching as she gave me a few ice packs. With a snort he left the room with just a few words hanging in the air.
"Some God you turned out to be. Pathetic."
I could only thank my relationship with him that he didn't actually cause too much damage and just left a few bruises here and there until I collapsed to my injuries.
"He was too ruthless. What friend doesn't at least give me a courtesy hit in and instead mercilessly pummels me until I can't lift a finger?! I didn't land anything on him, it was like fighting a shadow. No matter how fast I swing, or how close I got, it was like chasing a phantom while wearing weights tied to my wrists and ankles."
She only looked at me with mild glee. I took that look as a sign she was enjoying my misfortune, and I couldn't even do anything about it. With a heavy sigh I rolled into a sitting position to face her properly.
"I wonder if he'd be willing to teach me anything useful. More than what he already has, mind you. It feels like something is about to happen and can't help but feel like he's preparing to do it alone. He's always been like this, but I hate how useless I feel. You know what I mean?"
She nodded in understanding, seemingly thinking along the same lines.
"He's been disappearing to train every day this week, almost like he's preparing for a war. He destroys himself in his relentless training regimen just to shamble his way into the house at ungodly hours of the day. Let's not even talk about how much blood we've been finding in his room this week. There's so much you'd think he's killing himself over and over again."
I sighed helplessly.
"Jason please...just let us help you."
~
I sat in my room in a meditative position. As I got into position I did a check on all my internals, making sure nothing was amiss.
'Everything seems stable for this final one.' I nodded to myself, drawing a steady breath, and releasing it slowly.
'You know doing this is the same as suicide right? Your body can not handle a seventh baptism. You're already lucky for having done six without blowing up. Frankly speaking, this is madness. No human has ever done this in history.'
I smiled at that.
'So something other than a human has? Tell me, what is the record for this. I want to see where I stand.'
I could feel Vesemir shake his head helplessly.
'Why is it you were born with such keen insight, but such a strong competitive nature? The bane of any smart person is hubris. (sigh). It's 19, by the current Werewolf King, Sirius. Werewolves have inherently ridiculous physical prowess, and an insatiable combative focus. Most of them can only reach the 7th baptism, placing them in the Beta class. To qualify as an Alpha, you must reach the 10th baptism. To be allowed the right to challenge or marry into the royal family, you have to reach at minimum, the 13th tier. On average, the Werewolf King has hit the 16th tier, most have only been at the 15th. Sirius' own father was renowned for having achieved the 18th tier, marking him as a 1 in a billionth genius. Then Sirius had to one up him and last I heard, he had managed to survive even the 20th tier. It was only legend that he had reached that level, so on paper he is still just at the 19th. Now do you understand?'
I had a small smile when he originally started talking, but that smile slowly turned into something almost maniacal the more he spoke.
'So you're saying right now I'm only just about to qualify as the lowest caste of the werewolf species? Which means there're that many powerful people who can give me a run for my money? Huh? HUH?'
An almost sinister laughter bounced around in the room, leaving Vesemir shaken to his core.
'Did unleashing his memories make him go insane? What kind of bastard laughs like this in the face of despair? What the hell is this kid???'
After calming myself down again, I felt that my smile wasn't leaving any time soon. With a newfound determination, I steeled myself. Vesemir prepared to forcibly stop me if anything seemed to go wrong and the room fell completely silent.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds passed.
The air in the room vibrated with the enthusiasm of a raging tidal wave. The entire house got enveloped in a deep and heavy pressure, scaring poor Tricia and Nick downstairs. They directly passed out to the shock, embracing sleep as the aura grew more and more heavy. The skies above the house darkened to a pitch black as enormous thunderheads raged above, the world showing how furious it was at this domineering little brat breaking the shackles it placed.
Lightning gathered into heavy streams above the unknowing Jason, turning into what seemed like a river of pulsating electrical energy. As it gathered it's power, ready to show this brat who's boss, a phantom figure showed up in the middle of the electric stream. Then a second one appeared next to the first. When both raised their hands, the World's Will that had been furious a moment ago, seemed to calm down substantially.
Down below, as the figures showed up, I felt my body breaking apart and couldn't help but scream at the top of my lungs. The pain coming from my body was like having every known and unknown form of torture happen simultaneously everywhere at once. My nose was profusely bleeding, my skin was tearing up and floating in the air around me, and blood leaked from my tear ducts.
'Stop this nonsense now boy! You're going to die!!!'
"NO! I HAVE TO KEEP GOING, I FEEL THE THRESHOLD RIGHT THERE, I CAN DO THIS VESEMIR!"
'You'll die if you try this! Please, the world still needs you damn it!'
"THEN HELP ME FUCKER, AND STOP COMPLAINING SO FUCKING MUCH! ARGGHHH!!"
All my exposed blood started to boil on the surface of my skin. In my mind's eye, I could picture a staircase with a doorway representing how far away I was from finishing my baptism. Every step brought more pain. Every step I took made a noise that shook my surroundings. My focus was beginning to fade away, slowly as I succumbed to the pain. Everything almost went completely dark on this staircase before Vesemir's voice resonated around me.
"I was hoping I'd be allowed to stay awake for a bit, but looks like I'll have to leave explanations for things to that ring of yours. (sigh). Brat, I'm going to be asleep for a little while once I help you. Bond with that ring, learn more things, and more importantly, don't be such an ass when I wake back up. Damn this sucks."
As the last words were sounded, I felt a strong hand press on my back, pushing me through the threshold. My focus was completely renewed and I felt my inner world shaking violently. I smiled weakly as the hand slowly faded away, and I couldn't help but mutter: "Old bastard, thanks for this, but can I stop having cheesy moments in my story for 5 minutes please? I feel like all I do is cry and lose shit, it's depressing..."
An old, rumbling laughter shook the void around me, then slowly disappeared.