Chapter 1 - Unexpected Guest

"To every blessed soul stepping on this land, on behalf of the 99th Divine Festival, I welcome you to God's land, Solmir."

As the greetings were said, everyone in the crowd began clapping while massive fireworks illuminated the clear sky.

Some people were screaming with joy, some were whistling as loudly as they could, and others were simply clapping or enjoying the food especially prepared for the occasion.

This went on for a few seconds until the representative, also known as Tharos Emberwyn, King of Virelia, raised his right hand slightly, pointing his palm towards the audience with a slight smile.

The clapping stopped, and the fireworks disappeared. Everyone's attention was focused on him, waiting for his words.

King Tharos began to walk slowly across the stone platform in front of the other kings, who were seated in simple yet expensive gold thrones. Guards (one for each king) were also listening to him while observing their surroundings.

King Tharos took a deep breath, stepped back a little, and stood in the center, making sure the massive flag with a sword illustration was directly behind him.

"For ages, this land we stand on was the place of wars, chaos, and death. Of course, none of us saw those times and have been living in peace. But why? How did those horrible, blood-freezing times end? How did we escape from the claws of monsters and regain our freedom?

Mighty Gods!

As you are all aware, the gods descended into our world over a century ago. With their arrival, wars stopped, monsters backed away, and we started to live in peace with each other. Their help and teachings have been nothing but good to us. Their divine grace is the reason we live and breathe every day.

Then, 99 years ago, they offered us a chance. A chance to have all the power, wisdom, and happiness in the universe. They each shared a part of their power with a sword and stuck it into this indestructible stone.”

As he spoke, he leaned over next to a golden-colored cover and pulled it, revealing a sword embedded in the platform. Everyone gasped in amazement as the sword with an ornate hilt with golden carvings, diamonds, and emeralds was revealed. Part of the blade that was not embedded in the stone shone brightly, causing closer viewers to squint.

He threw away the cover, showing the sword with both hands, and continued.

“And they said, ‘Whoever pulls the sword will have everything the world has to offer.’”

The entire crowd clapped in joy and happiness as the king lifted his hands up.

But a few seconds later, with a single gesture, he silenced them again.

“Now, to start the festival, let’s greet the all-powerful gods!”

When the king finished his speech, a loud trumpet sound came, loud enough to be heard by everyone but silent enough to feel like music. Before it even stopped, another one came in a different tone. And then another, and another…

Each sound brought something different. First came the wind, blowing from different directions on each sound. Torch flames followed, burning even hotter. Clouds cleared in a second, and the bright sky shone even more. The flowers have begun to bloom in brighter colors than before.

In total, people heard seven different sounds, from every direction. Some people looked up at the sky; others looked around to find the source of it, but they couldn’t.

In a few seconds, the sound stopped, and seven figures began to descend from the sky, each of them shining like a star in the endless night.

As they descended slowly, they opened their arms, welcoming everyone to their land. People in the crowd felt a warm hug, like a baby in its mother's arms. Some started to blush, and others closed their eyes, feeling the warmth.

When they got in a distance that people could see them clearly, the masks covering their faces were shining brighter than the sky, so most had to squint their eyes. Each of the gods had a white mask with two golden lines across it, crossing over the almond-shaped eyes. On their forehead, there was a symbol of a crescent and a star. No one knew what it meant, but people accepted it as a symbol of Godhood and divinity.

No one made a single voice. Even kings rose from their thrones to pay their respects.

As soon as they arrived on stage, everyone placed their right hand on their heart and began praying for the next minute. This was a tradition among the people of this world, where they could seek forgiveness and blessings from the gods.

When their prayers ended, each god lifted their hand and touched their heart once, showing that they indeed accepted their prayers. Then the one who stood taller than others, known as the Allfather, took a step forward and began speaking in a low-pitched, heartwarming voice.

"I do not see any reason to keep everyone waiting. Let the festival begin," he declared, as each god extended their hands.

In their hands, a wine glass filled with an orange-colored drink appeared unexpectedly. At the same time, everyone in the crowd, including the kings and their guards, received the same treatment.

The drink was anything but ordinary. Even as a king, you could not get it from anywhere. This drink could only be made using the gods' magic, and it was only available to those who attended the festival. Because no one, except kings, could attend this festival twice, everyone wanted to try it as soon as possible. And those who tried it said nothing could compete with the flavor.

While everyone was enjoying their drinks, following the Allfather, all of the gods threw their glasses into the air without taking a sip. Even before the drinks could spill, they shone like stars and transformed into pigeons. Each pigeon flew around in circles, creating a choreography with one another. Everyone was excitedly following their movement because they knew... They knew what this meant.

Gods were choosing worthy mages to pull the sword!

After a few seconds of flight, pigeons landed on the shoulders of seven people.

Everyone's gaze shifted to the chosen ones as Allfather began to speak.

"Everyone! The worthy mages have been selected,” he announced. “Come forward, chosen ones, and put yourselves to the test!"

The crowd cleared the way for the chosen ones to pass through, while two of the kings began to chat silently.

One of the kings whispered to the one next to him, asking a question.

"King Eldric, do you expect anyone from your country to draw the sword this time?"

"Five years," he replied. "It has been five years, and no one has even moved it except that idiot. I’ve lost hope.”

"Me too. But I still don’t get it, someone as arrogant as him… How could he pull the sword without even struggling?”

“That is what I would like to know too.”

While they were talking, the chosen ones began to walk up to the stage to show their worthiness.

A few minutes had passed, and already two of the chosen mages had failed to even move the sword slightly.

Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn away unexpectedly when the third mage approached the sword. Instead of watching the mage, they each looked up at the sky, observing the black mist and what came out of it.

As everyone saw the black mist clear, a man appeared, falling. The person started jerking his limbs, followed by a weird noise he made that couldn’t be understood.

“Is someone actually falling?”

“Is this real?”

“Could it be an illusion?”

“No, no one would dare to trick the gods!”

“Is this part of the festival?”

People continued to chit-chat while the man was still falling. Since this was everyone’s first festival, except for kings and gods, they were utterly confused by the scene. But the thing is, kings looked as confused as the crowd.

“Will he stop?”

“I don’t think so; at that speed, it would be impossible for a normal daha to stop.”

“Should we help?”

“I think we should, because he might die.”

As everyone was still discussing, a pair of arms lifted from the crowd. It looked like that person was trying to stop him from falling, but he was not strong enough, so his hands started to shake.

The falling person did not seem to slow down enough and was not going to land safely this way. Following him, another pair of hands rose. And another, and another.

Close to ten people lifted their hands to help this person. Each hand was shaking, having a hard time levitating the man.

Just before he was about to crush, the Allfather raised his arms from his sides, stopped the man mid-air, and lowered him slowly.

Those who lifted their arms lowered them. And before even the Allfather could put him down, people started clapping. Seeing the gods help someone in front of a crowd was not something they expected, so indeed it was worthy of celebration for them.

They created a circle when the person landed on the ground safely. He was standing on his feet but still mumbling something while covering his face with his arms.

…

“No, no, no…”

Tiberius was still mumbling a few seconds after he had safely landed. He didn't expect to be magically stopped in midair and brought to his feet.

Fearfully, he slowly lowered his arm, realizing that the wind had stopped and he had not yet collided with the ground.

As he opened his eyes, he just saw a lot of people around him dressed in their expensive clothes, watching him with curious eyes.

“How did I—”

He suddenly checked his body by patting his hands from his chest to his knees. There was not even a scratch, let alone an injury.

Tiberius became curious about how he did not die and landed safely on the ground. He was still breathing heavily, and his heart was pounding as if it wanted to get out. So he leaned forward and put his hands on his knees. Tried to control his breath and slow his heart a bit.

A few seconds of trying worked, and he was feeling a bit better now.

He straightened his back and looked around. People were still staring at him with curiosity.

“Where am I?” he asked as he stepped forward.

But as he took a step, those in front of him also took one back with a fearsome expression.

“Why are you so tall?” one of them asked with a shaky voice.

“Huh? I am not that—”

Only now did Tiberius realize what they meant. He stood out as the tallest person in the crowd. And by a large margin. The tallest one after him would reach his shoulder height.

This was a surprise for him. Even though he was a tall person, around 1.84 meters, he was just considered tall. Nothing too impressive to mention. But here, he was like a giraffe in a savanna.

There was also one more thing he realized. They didn’t look strong. On average, their body frames looked smaller in general. But it was somehow understandable, unlike the height difference.

He did not understand why he was in a place like this or why people here were a bit different than him. Maybe this was a dream. But things were too real for a dream. Or maybe he was teleported somewhere else on Earth, since the way he came here couldn’t be explained with anything else.

“Where am I?” Tiberius asked.

“You are in God’s land, Solmir,” said someone, taking a step forward.

“God’s Land? What is this? A joke?” Tiberius asked with a smile on his face.

“How dare you mock our gods!” someone said.

“Do not disrespect the Allfather!’

“You should be punished!”

Everyone started to throw curses at him until they heard a voice.

“My dear guests, there is no need for chaos…” said the Allfather without any anger or aggression in his voice. “… Open the way so we can understand what he wants.”

Hearing this, people made a way where gods could walk and see the man for themselves.

As before, they levitated themselves and flew over the people until they reached Tiberius.

People were curiously watching what was going to happen next because it was forbidden to mock the gods and their authority in these lands. Of course, gods themselves never stated a rule like this but to enter the festival, there were list of rules that needs to be followed (which are decided by kings.)

When the gods saw Tiberius up close, they stopped moving and stood motionless in the air.

Tiberius could not believe what was happening, and his eyes were wide open. “How the hell are they flying?” he mumbled to himself.

The situation was becoming more unbelievable by the second for Tiberius. First teleporting here and then falling from the sky. Then not being hurt even after the fall, followed by people claiming this is the land of the gods. And now, flying people. “How absurd could things get?” was the thought swirling in his mind.

“You…” said the Allfather.

“You do not belong here,” said the other god next to him with a feminine tone.

“How could this happen?”

“You should not be here.”

“It is impossible!”

“What shall we do now?”

Each god became panicked. The scene they saw was nothing but Tiberius, a simple man surrounded by others. It was not an absurd one for the likes of them. At least that is what it looked like.

“You shouldn’t be here!” said the Allfather with anger now. The shift in his voice became unrecognizable to others.

This was not common. Usually, gods would not raise their voice, let alone get angry, even if someone insulted them. But this… This seemed to be the most despised thing.

“What is going on?” asked Tiberius, seeing them angry. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Just kill him,” said one of the gods to the Allfather.

No one understood what was going on. Not Tiberius, not the people around him, not even kings who followed gods from the ground. They were confused as everyone else. Why did this person make the gods angry? Why do they wish to kill this man?

As thoughts started to surge through everyone's minds, the Allfather pointed his hand toward Tiberius.

Suddenly, a fire started out of his hand. It grew larger and larger to the level that nearly everyone could feel its heat. Close ones started to step back from the heat, and some even covered their faces to protect themselves.

Fire slowly formed into an arrow-like figure, pointing to Tiberius.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey. I didn’t do anything. Why are you trying to kill me?” Tiberius screamed and turned back to find a way to escape. But his legs did not listen to his words and he tripped over, falling on the ground. He tried to lift himself up but couldn’t. The other god, next to Allfather, had also lifted their hand and had stopped his movements.

“You shall not live,” he said as he shot the arrow-like flame.

“Noooo…” screamed Tiberius in terror, while everyone was still watching silently with both curiosity and fear.

A man started running in the crowd with a cape covering his head and face.

Before the fire could reach Tiberius, which was less than a second, that man arrived and stood in front of him.

He lifted his hand towards the fire, and in an instant, it disappeared.

“Huh,” a loud voice raised from the crowd.

Everyone had the same reaction. Nobody expected someone to interfere with God's business, let alone stop their attack.

The crowd started mumbling and chitchatting after this unbelievable moment, as the gods seemed confused. Of course, their face could not be seen, but their sudden movement when that man arrived could.

“Who are you, and how dare you interfere with the act of the Gods?” asked the Allfather.

The man lowered his hand toward his cape and slipped it behind, revealing his face.

He was a handsome man with pitch-black hair, with a small scar next to his right eyebrow.

“Since you are a god, I suppose I am the devil,” he said with a confident tone, lifting his head towards them.

Seeing his face, everyone, including kings, gasped at the same time.

Because this was him. The man who did the unthinkable, the one everyone was jealous of but also hated. The only man who had pulled the sword of the gods but put it back, denying his own destiny, Rael Dusk.

“How dare you interfere with our act?”

“I am just saving a daha, that’s all,” he said. turning his face towards Tiberius with a smile, which disappeared immediately.

“You are not a daha, are you?” asked Rael.

“Wh- what is daha? I am a human,” replied Tiberius in fear.

“A what?”