Chapter 2 - Deal with the Gods

“A human?” Rael asked, tilting his eyebrows. Even before Tiberius could say anything or react, Rael bent down and touched his hand. “You really are not one of us,” he said as a slight smile appeared on his face.

"You really are not one of us," Rael said, his eyes wide with delight.

“O-one of you?” Tiberius asked, terrified. His question terrified him even more than he was before.

Seeing his worrisome expression, Rael held out his hand so he could lift Tiberius up.

“What are you—”

“Rael! Move away; let us finish what we started,” said the Allfather, still with an angry voice. This was the first time Allfather had ever ordered rather than speaking in front of a crowd.

“What if I don’t?” Rael replied without moving his body, only turning his head slightly to the right.

“Then you shall be killed with the man you seem to be protecting,” the god behind Allfather said with no hesitation.

Rael did not respond. Not for the next couple of seconds. He simply moved his gaze to the sky and frowned. He was thinking of something, perhaps a plan or an escape route.

Tiberius was completely perplexed by everything going on. He was keeping track of everything and hoping for the best, because it was the best he could do.

Rael broke the silence with his words.

“Do as you please, but…” He turned toward the gods and raised his head to look at them since they were still levitating. “...Let him draw the sword first.”

With the shocking demand of Rael, everyone in the crowd, even the kings and the gods, stood silent. Everyone was confused and surprised by his words. Not because trying to pull the sword was something out of the ordinary for someone, but because those who could try their chance should only be chosen by the gods and gods only. Their fated pigeons find and decide on the strongest and worthiest ones in the crowd and land on their shoulders. And only those are meant to try their chance.

“It is not fair,” said the next mage, who was about to pull the sword.

“I agree. This is a chance that is given to us. We do not wish to share it with an outsider, and I believe dear gods would understand us,” said another one.

“Silence,” said the Allfather, with a voice that came from each side of the Solmir, shaking the ground, drowning everyone in fear. “This is a matter only gods can decide, and mere mortals will not interfere.”

Tiberius, like everyone in the crowd, had frozen in fear, not having the slightest idea what to do. Heaviness in the air was already choking them, not letting them breathe easily. No one, no soul standing on that land, including kings themselves, had any idea what would happen if gods were to be angered, since this was the first time. No one made a single noise. Except for Rael, that is…

“You all hate me, don’t you?” he said, looking at the worrisome faces of people trying to hide their shaky knees.

However, his question changed something, at least in some of them. Of course, no reply or answer. No one dared to say a word over Allfather’s word. But their face said it all. A disgusted expression on them. As if he had committed a sin and was trying to justify it.

“I take this as a yes…” he said, giving away a smile, “…and I give you all a chance to get rid of me, right here, right now.”

“How?” asked someone in the crowd unexpectedly.

Everyone turned to the person who had asked the question. He got scared of people’s reactions and tried to hide himself, but Rael was more than happy for this one.

“Easy! As you all have heard or read in newspapers, two years ago, at the 97th festival, I was one of those who was chosen to pull the sword. I did pull it, unlike others, but I put it back, refusing the gift the gods blessed us with. I disrespected them, but they still showed me mercy and asked me to leave these lands and never show my face again.” He stopped and took a few steps to the side so everyone could see him.

“After 2 years…” he continued, “…out of curiosity, I came back to these lands, and events escalated differently than I expected,” he said, pointing his hand toward Tiberius.

Tiberius was still confused and scared, but he realized he had no choice but to listen, at least for the time being.

“Now, I come to you with a suggestion. As you all witnessed, this man enraged the gods for some unknown reason. Of course, I am not interested in the reason, unlike any of you,” he said with a confidence as if he knew what was going through people’s minds. Saying these, he turned towards the gods and opened his hands to his sides.

“Dear gods, I ask you this. If this man here, standing before us with nothing but fear, can even move the sword slightly, which has never been done, you let us go and we don’t come back. But if he fails to do it, we both accept any punishment you wish for us, including death itself.”

No one responded, of course, out of fear. But their face told more than enough. While some still had terrified expressions, others could not hide their smiles in any way. ‘Getting rid of the man who calls himself the devil’ didn’t sound bad to anyone.

However, some of them refused to agree because it would be unfair to the chosen mages and people of the six nations.

“Hey, hey, hey, hey. I'm not sure who you are or where I am, but no one can play with my life for their own entertainment." Tiberius rushed up to Rael and screamed at him.

Rael slowly raised his hand. “Do not worry, we will walk out of here alive,” he said with a smile. “Unless,” he raised his voice suddenly, making sure everyone in the crowd could hear, “...gods do not wish to share their divinity with others, unlike they promised.”

Following these words, people's gaze shifted from Rael to the gods, with demanding looks. Of course, mortals had no influence on their choice, but gods had always prioritized people over everything else when making decisions. All the dahas recognize gods as fair rulers who prioritize peace over all else, so Rael's words piqued their interest.

Suddenly, the gods levitated to a further height, creating a circle to discuss the matter without informing anyone. No one could hear their words. So they stood silently and waited for them to come and share their decisions.

…

A minute had passed, but they were still discussing. It didn't appear that they were going to come down now, so Tiberius tried to blend into the crowd and flee, but Rael noticed and grabbed his arm from behind.

“Where are you going?” he smiled.

“Running. I do not plan to play your stupid games,” he said with anger mixed with fear.

“You don’t have to worry. As I said, we will walk out of here alive. I hope, at least,” he giggled.

“You hope? Are—” He was about to snap, but he was too afraid that becoming angry at the person in front of him would cost him time and possibly his life, considering how he acts before so-called gods.

“Look, I do not know who you are, where I am, or how I ended up here, and I do not plan to play your sword game. Where are we, in the Middle Ages?” He tried to keep his voice down, but the more he talked, the angrier he got and unwillingly raised his voice a bit.

“Trust me, nothing will happen,” Rael tried to calm him down.

“Trust you? Who are you—”

“Shhh. They are coming,” he said, interrupting Tiberius’s question.

“Oh no,” he said, terrified. He had wasted all the time he had and now did not even know what was going to happen to him.

As the gods descended, people fixed their gaze on them. Again, they all had their own opinions, but as they stated, only the gods’ decision matters, and it is absolute.

“A decision is made,” the Allfather declared. "We have decided to allow the man to try his chance only if he so desires."

As he said this, he came closer to Tiberius, followed by a slight wind.

“What is your name, young man?” asked the Allfather.

“Ti-Tiberius, Tiberius Kane,” he replied with a shaky voice.

“Tiberius Kane, are you willing to draw the sword of gods, which hasn’t been drawn in the past 99 years? Only one man, out of hundreds of powerful mages, had drawn it, and he himself is requesting that you should take on this challenge. Do you accept this request, and do you think you can work your magic?”

Tiberius began to drown in fear with each word. He was a realistic person. He was not going to draw the sword if no one had done so previously. He is not an arrogant adolescent who believes he can accomplish anything. And magical power? He wasn't even capable of performing a card trick, much less using magic.

“Rael Dusk and you will be allowed to depart if you agree and are even able to move the sword. Failure to do so will result in death as your punishment.”

The heart began to race in Tiberius's chest. Rael's suggestion was not something he expected them to consider seriously.

He was in the office five minutes ago, yelling at his boss for failing to sign his vacation documents, but now… He would undoubtedly prefer to work for a year than put his life in danger in a situation he fell into out of the blue.

He began to shake his head, indicating that he was not in agreement. Suddenly, though, Rael gave him a menacing look with wide eyes.

He was unsure how to react. Choose between accepting, failing, and dying, or disagreeing and not knowing what will happen to you. He did want to ask what would happen if he refused, but he already had a guess. It was probably death.

With the hope that Rael is right, he answered, "I—I agree."

Two faces lit up with smiles as he nodded. Rael was clearly the first one whose plan had succeeded. Unexpectedly, King Tharos was the other. Tiberius was the only one who saw it, but he was too terrified to pay attention to a smile at the time.

Allfather sighed and said, "Then, it is decided. Come forth and draw the sword."

Unsure of what to do, Tiberius walked slowly toward the platform of the sword. He approached the stage and turned to face the audience. All eyes were on him. But he wasn’t stressed about it. He had attended numerous meetings and given speeches in front of hundreds of people without difficulty. Now, however, his life depended on it. Not only his, but also a stranger who decided to put his trust in him out of the blue.

One of the gods broke the silence by saying, "Pull it."

His heart continued to race. Most people in the festival could hear his breathing, and his throat was as dry as a desert.

In an attempt to gather himself, he inhaled deeply, grasped the sword from its hilt with both hands, and pulled as hard as he could.

He wasn't even expecting to have a chance at wielding the magical sword because he was an average-built man who had never worked out before. As he expected, after struggling for a few seconds, nothing happened. Even though Tiberius was still trying—truly struggling to pull—he was unable to move the sword.

Seeing that there was no way he could even move it, he thought of giving up, and he was about to do so. His grip got weak, to the point that he was about let it go, until…

Rael yelled, grinning, "Put your back into it."

From the moment Tiberius agreed to pull the sword, his smile hadn’t disappeared, as if he was sure that he could pull it.

He straightened his back and gave the final pull his all, holding the hilt tightly and refusing to let it go.

And it moved…

He moved the sword just one inch from the rock so that it could be seen by those in the crowd. Feeling the movement, he stopped pulling and looked at Rael with shocked eyes, still not letting go of the hilt.

“You scared me for a second,” said Rael, letting out a small laugh.