Chapter Two - The Train Terrorist

 In the midst of the chaotic situation, I sat back up on my seat. Forcing myself to keep a calm expression and fighting back tears. What do people normally do in these situations? Gosh! Who am I kidding? No one usually deals with terrorists on floating trains!

Wait.

Isn’t this a dream? And in this dream I’m a God aren’t I? That means I can’t die!

My once fearful expression soon turned smug. I looked over at the biker dressed person once more and noticed that their helmet actually prevents me from directly talking to them. Understanding that, I stood up and walked directly over to them.

“Hey!” They shouted. “Why are you moving from your se-.” They paused as soon as I stood directly in front of them.

“Mister!” Anica shouted. “It’s dangerous!”

“Anica, sit down!” Dernica panicked, pulling Anica back into her seat.

I quickly pulled over the filter and winked at the trio and gazed back at the helmet. “How about you hand over that button in your hand?”

“Huh?” He stared at me, astonished.

After a short pause which felt like it went on for an eternity. The biker dressed person moved their thumb towards the button and BOOM!

The whole train cart shook once more and I fell on top of the biker dressed person. I could feel my head crash into the helmet and a dizzying feeling swarmed my head once more.

I should’ve known it wouldn’t have been that easy.

I looked down at the biker dressed person whose helmet was mostly off their head after the fall. I studied their face, they had both a masculine and feminine face but you could tell they were male. They had jet-black and one small, streak of pink hair. The eyes were light brown but when reflected into the light, it also beamed pink. Such unique features. I moved the filter over them. They looked the exact same.

“What are you?” I said suddenly. “You look human, but also don’t at the same time.”

The biker dressed person also looked a bit distraught upon looking up at me until he snapped back to reality. “Get off me!” He said in a slightly deeper voice, shoving me off. He reached for the button. Quickly, I held him down and reached for the button myself. After successfully obtaining the button, I held it tight to my chest, stood off the biker dressed person, and ran out the back of the train cart.

The biker dressed person quickly got up and followed after me. I quickly opened and closed the next train cart doors. Along the way, I noticed that there were no other passengers in the train carts I was running through.

After I opened the door to nothing but the sky, I looked back to see the biker dressed person through the windows a few carts away. I quickly grabbed on the outskirts of the train and hung on tightly until the biker dressed person caught up to me.

He peeked his head out the cart door and searched around for me.

“Over here!” I shouted impatiently. I could feel my hands start to slip until he grabbed my collar and pulled me back into the train cart. “That desperate for this button huh?”

“Enough!” He shouted while trying to reach for the button. “You have no idea how dangerous that is!”

“I’m aware.” I smirked while holding the button over my head. I seemed to have the height advantage even if just barely. “If I press this then we both blow up, don’t we?”

“Not just that!”” He continued impatiently. He seemed to want to say more but bit his lip as if to stop his words and continued to try to reach for the button. I laughed at his attempts. “You!” He started again. “Do you really not fear accidentally clicking the button and exploding?!”

“How humorous!” I laughed in amusement. “Shall I let you in on a little secret?” I saw his face turn into fear as he faced me. “I’m a God, the ‘God of Forgiveness’, I’m not going to die even if something terrible happens.”

Once again he stared at me dumbfoundedly and quickly jumped and grabbed the button while I was bragging about my title. This time, it was my turn to stare back dumbfounded. “Next time, focus your attention on your enemy instead of spinning yarns.” He shook the button in his hand and ran back to the previous cart.

Without thinking, I jumped and grabbed his leg. He tripped and fell on his face in the middle of the two carts. I ran past him to the previous cart. I stared down at him in the other cart while he hung on to the middle of the two carts. “Next time, come prepared to actually kill instead of running your mouth with empty threats.”

While I was mocking him, I didn’t notice that when he fell, he dropped the button.

BOOM!

Fuck.

I saw the train explode while the biker dressed person flew backwards.His reflective, pink eyes, watered. It was as if the rain went up as the clouds moved down. His mouth worded only one sentence:

“I’m sorry everyone.”

And a huge beam of white light preoccupied my vision.

…

“Hello?...”

The young, black haired boy, no older than eight, slowly opened his eyes. His head spun as he tried to lift himself.

“Careful!” A tall woman with long, pink hair and huge curved black horns helped the boy up. “After a long journey, you must relax.”

The pink haired woman patiently explained the boy’s situation. “Your name is Julian, you were summoned to the future by the ‘Keeper of Time’ to live here peacefully, in Bravatia. I am Lord Eiena, the ‘God of Courage’. I will make you feel at home.” She patted the boy's head. “By the way, for a human, you have very mythical eyes.”

Julian followed Eiena everywhere. He dyed a bit of his hair pink and even copied her black outfit choices. After a while, Eiena grew busier so Julian decided to interact with the other people of Bravatia.

He made two close friends: Stefen and Dray.

Julian swore to grow older and protect Bravatia and everyone in it.

Several years later, Bravatia was in turmoil.

“Lord Eiena?” Julian asked as Eiena broke down in the middle of her room. Recently, many of the people of Bravatia have gone missing. Julian decided to pay her a visit knowing that her numerous missing believers would only take a strain on her mental health.

Eiena looked tired. She looked up and gave a sad smile towards Julian. “I found out where my missing believers went.”

“You did? That’s great!”

“The God of Preservation.”

Julian froze in fear. The ‘God of Preservation’ is known to turn their believers into spirits so that they can live in immortality. The believers of hers that don’t wish to be immortal anymore take the body of the currently living and switch lifestyles. Which means… Her believers are currently known as ‘dead’ to grant the ‘God of Preservation’s’ believers wish.

“Reviving the dead is known as the hugest sin amongst God’s which is why she resorts to kidnapping other God’s believers.” Eiena continued. “But worse news…” She looked up to make eye contact with Julian. “Stefen and Dray are also under her control.”

Despair.

Or was it fear?

Noticing Julian’s expression, Eiena’s expression took a more serious turn. “Don’t think of doing anything unreasonable Julian. As soon as you sell your soul to another God,I can no longer protect you as much as I do now.”

Julian nodded in response and Eiena patted his head.

As soon as the lights of Bravatia were no more, Julian snuck onto the first train ride he could in a biker uniform. Stolen from the first worldline thrift shop, it would be hard to understand where he originally came from or who he follows if any of the believers from Bravatia were to accidentally spot him.

After a long while of traveling, upon entering the ‘God of Preservation’s’ presence, Julian fell to his knees, begging for the believers of ‘The God of Courage’ to return to Bravatia. ‘The God of Preservation’ smirked. “If you can find different vessels for them to live in, they shall once again be able to live amongst you.”

Julian agreed and acted quickly. After hearing that the past believers of ‘The God of Preservation’ were to visit their God for prayer day, he overfilled the back train carts with holograms and planned to take over the train and threaten the current believers of 'The God of Preservation’ to return their bodies to their respective owners.

But none of his plans ever worked out.

‘Am I about to die?’ He thought. ‘What about everyone else? What about my God that I cruelly betrayed?’ As he felt himself drifting away, he could only utter a few words, hoping it would reach everyone’s ears.

“I’m sorry everyone.”

He felt as if he was floating away. Slowly, and surely, drifting into the afterlife.

TUG!

Julian swiftly opened his eyes and felt himself being hugged by another. His fall was broken mid air and he looked up at the endless amount of people holding him up from the train. They seemed to have made a rope out of people.

“But why?”

“Julian,” the voice of the man who called himself a God suddenly spoke. “You are forgiven!”