Chapter 1: Sealed.
A man sat on the ground, which was reeking with the smell of blood. The surroundings were filled with numerous corpses.
The man had a sword intact in his firm grip, eyes seemed to have a resolve that reflected his urge to live.
He was sitting next to the corpse of someone who was wearing fancy noble clothes, similar to those of a Western emperor’s military uniform. A well-fitted coat with gold details and shoulder pieces. The clothes still looked rich and important, even though they were now worn by a lifeless body.
His sword was buried deep inside the man’s chest, and his gaze remained intact at the front as if he was staring at something.
The next instant, a voice that could give chills to anyone fell into his ears. "Kael Zeroth."
He was suddenly alarmed and quickly turned his head back. Behind him stood a man with his chest bare, an emblem of the sun embedded in it. His hair was golden blonde, and he stood there silently, watching him with pity in his eyes.
A bead of sweat appeared on Kael’s forehead, grip tightened on the hilt. "Apollo, what are you doing here?"
Apollo’s gaze remained on Kael for a while, as he grabbed Kael’s shoulder, grim remained firm. "I’m sorry, my friend."
"W-What do you mean by th—" Before Kael could finish asking his question, a piece of cloth suddenly wrapped around his mouth, making him unable to speak.
Kael tried to look away for a while, but he failed because there were more pieces of cloth wrapped around his head. "Mmmm!!!" His mind became foggy as he became unable to comprehend the current situation.
Then, another voice came from behind him. This time it belonged to a woman. "Kael Zeroth, a human who reached the stage of a demigod."
"I feel pity for you. Look at the state you’re in currently."
Apollo took a step forward, and a golden colour of mana started to wrap around his hand, as a bow appeared in his grip. "You don’t have to say all that, Athena."
"Don’t interfere, Apollo."
"Did you forget that Father stripped you of your position for supporting this mortal?" She said, directing her spear forward towards Apollo.
’What!? Apollo got stripped of his position as a god!? And... just because of me on top of that.’
"Don’t interfere with the order of father and the Divine Council."
Then, she kept her hand on Kael’s shoulder and whispered in his ear. "We told you to join us, but you denied."
"And you even killed a bunch of our people just because you wanted to oppose the gods."
A vein popped through Kael’s neck, colour of his skin started to turn red as if something had suddenly agitated him.
’That’s because you gods are evil, and that’s the side which you’re hiding from the world.’
She took a small pause, a faint smirk tugging on her lips as she continued. "So what if you reached the 11th star of aura? It doesn’t matter when it comes to beings like us, the gods."
"A mere human who reached the status of Demi-god dares to make the gods his enemies?"
A vein popped through her forehead, her grip on Kael’s shoulder strengthened lightly as she continued. "I’d like to kill you right here, but you’re not an evil being who kills people mercilessly."
"That’s why the Divine Council came to the conclusion to seal you for a couple of centuries."
’What? Seal me?’
She got back up, took a few steps back. Her gaze shifted towards Apollo, who was looking at the ground, shaking slightly as if he was grieving.
"Pathetic," she muttered lightly, and then clapped her hands.
The instant she did that, a bunch of cloth burst out from the ground and engulfed Kael’s body, then sank back into the ground as if they had never been there.
’Wait!!!’
Apollo remained standing there for a while, watching the body of his friend being engulfed by the earth. "I’m sorry, my friend."
He took a small pause and continued. "I’ll make sure to come back when you’ll get unsealed in future." He muttered as he clenched his fists.
In the end, he spent a thousand years trapped in the ground, sealed away from society.
The time that passed was too long to be described in words. The fact that he was experiencing it himself made the man feel even more empty.
No one in this world knew him anymore, and there weren’t any people left behind.
Because there is no human being who has lived a thousand and five hundred years in this world.
Kael just aimlessly walked through the middle of a forest in which he had been sealed, wondering where he should go. "The world has changed... not just changed, even the air is denser in mana than before."
To him, it felt as if he had become a ghost who was wandering in the world after a long time.
While he was walking, he came across a tree where he noticed a young kid, completely ragged in dirt laying unconsciously on the ground as if he had passed out.
’A kid? In the middle of a forest?’
"What kind of irresponsible parents does this kid have?"
He made his way towards that kid and slowly touched the kid’s forehead. "The kid isn’t sick or anything like that."
"He might be unconscious because of dehydration."
Kael gently lifted the kid in his arms and started walking. "I should go and find a river where I can quench mine and this kid’s thirst."
He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. The darkness that swallowed him after he shut them slowly filled with the mana strands of everything around him.
A dark blue coloured string of mana, which was flowing towards him from far away, came into his sight. "Found it."
The moment he reached the lake, he kept the kid on the grass gently. Kael made his way towards the water and started to wash himself lightly.
’This dirt, it’s something which is still making me connect to my past.’
A small sigh escaped his lips as he began to clean the dirt off his body. After cleaning himself, he cupped a small amount of water in his hands and made his way toward the kid.
"Wait... how should I make him drink this?"
He remained in that position for a while, thinking of a way to make the kid drink it. He finally extended his hands.
His mana escaped his body and made its way toward the kid, forming into the shape of a hand. Using it, he lifted the kid slightly and opened his mouth, making him drink the water from his cupped hand.
After drinking the water, the kid’s fingers began to twitch lightly. His eyes opened faintly, and he saw a man sitting before him. At first, it was all just a blur, but the word the kid spoke made Kael’s world turn upside down.
"Dad," the kid’s voice was soothing, yet tired.
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A/N
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