A story for my reincarnation au.
@alexoreality I told you I was going to do it.
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There was no music.
As he walked through the cobblestone streets of the city, Nika was surprised by the lack of people on the streets in the middle of the sun festival.
"The party yesterday was realy wild shishishi" the god remembers imagining that the people were still sleeping. Jumping onto a roof he laughs balancing on the tiles as the sun rises over the horizon
"Hi other me, I think we're too soon"
From where he was, he could see something in the center of the city, on his altar. A large amount of food lays on a golden plate, smiling Nika stretches his arms throwing himself to the altar
"They won't mind if I start earlier" so Nika takes the big piece of meat from the plate, holds it out towards the sun before taking a big bite.
Something moved in his mouth. Nika spits out the piece he bit off at the same time as he looks down at the meat in his hand where he could see verms ,worms and bugs in the food. Horrified he throws the meat away before checking the rest of the offering, the fruits were rotten, there were bugs everywhere. Candles extinguished.
Looking around Nika began to notice that things were strange. There were broken windows, clothes and shoes on the streets…there was blood on the stone floor of the city.
How did he not feel it?
In anger, the sun god hits the golden plate causing it to fall, revealing the painting on the altar. Some of the sun's rays had been erased making the symbol look like a dragon's claw.
"What…"
"Enjoyed my little offering Nika?"
Turning towards the sound Nika saw the taller woman, on her head a long crown adorned her hair. The empty orbs staring at him.
"What did you do?" Nika says taking a few steps forward only to fall to his knees as the chains caught his wrist, the smell of the sea coming strong "Kairoseki?"
"Ah yes. Your grandfather's creation to subjugate the rowdy gods, Lord Mar didn't even realize why I wanted it for" Im walks slowly towards Nika who is kneeling on the last step, at the goddess's feet shadows circled removing some of the stones
"What have you done with my devotees?" Nika asks again angrily, the straw hat (an offering from the same city for about 200 years) hanging around his neck
"You shouldn't worry about them right now…you're the one in danger here"
"See Sun Lord" Im keep saying while holding Nika's face with one hand, her fingertips leaving dark marks on the fair skin "I have a goal and you are the only thing in my way"
"Do you think that taking me out of the game will make you win? My father and grandfather will not let you get away with this Im. You will spend eternity in the World Beyond" the young god says changing his position minimally ensuring more movement for his arms
"Without the freedom to assert your voice, even justice and truth can be controlled"
Nika feels his heart ache with what the goddess suggested, she intended to eliminate three gods at once. Rewriting the distribution of power in Divine Land.
The god looks up to the sky feeling tears form at the sight of what his world would become, then he searches the sky for a cloud to answer his call
"FATHER" screams Nika to the clouds, they weren't loaded to bring rain but they would be enough to carry the message to the lord of the storm
"It's no use calling your father Nika, he can't hear you. How do you think my acolytes entered your city without you noticing?" Im explains as Nika notices the thin, almost invisible veil of darkness covering the city "How did their soldiers slaughter and chain your devotees within the city you are patron?"
Nika look at the humans who accompanied Im, as soon as he recognized them the betrayal hit him like a punch in the face. There were Queen Donquixote Domenica, King Nefertari Dune and many others who celebrated together at the beginning of this same week.
"PAPA, HELP MY PEOPLE" Nika pleads for the lives of his followers as a small rain cloud approaches
"It looks like it's going to rain" the goddess pulls something out of her tunic, an irregular dagger made of the same material as the chains "It's a shame he doesn't see what's going to happen"
Tilting his head slightly to the right, Im signaled her acolytes to light the candles. Black flames danced in golden candles whose flames were usually white.
Nika's eyes widen with tears as he realizes what Im was doing. This was not an execution, this was a sacrifice.
Slowly, Im ran the tip of the blade across the empty orb of her eyes muttering words that couldn't be understood. In a quick cut she opens a wound in Nika's chest.
"May the light offer itself to the void"
And then Im thrusts his hand into the open cut, holding the god's heart with his hand.
Nika didn't scream.
Stopping crying, a loud laugh came out of the freedom god's body. The pure sound echoing throughout the square. Displeased with the reaction, Im hold the heart tighter.
In the blink of an eye, Nika brings her hand to Im's chest. Glowing fingers gripped the skin exposed by the cleavage, just above the goddess's heart.
Nika throws his head back laughing out loud, the rope holding his hat comes loose and the hat disappears just like the sun that was covered by clouds.
"I'm going to kick your ass back into the empty" says Nika between laughs
"I want to see you try" and with a quick movement, Im removes his hand from Nika's chest and she falls motionless backwards. The right hand of the god closed into a fist.
As soon as Nika's head hits the ground, rain begins to fall.
Im looks at the cloud with her head up, she extends her arm towards the cloud showing her arm bathed in golden blood and the orb of light and fire shining through her fingers.
Taking one last look at the dead god, Im turns away from the city. Nefertari Dune pauses for a moment, his eyes going to the god he had spoken with just a few days before. Closing his eyes, the king bows briefly before resuming his path.
At the altar, bathed in blood and showered in mourning. Nika was dead.
—
Zinabi climbs the stairs slowly, each step echoing in hus head as a reminder of his failure. The rain fell hard, the wind roaring and tearing the roofs off the houses.
Suddenly the wind dies as the god kneels on the gold-stained stone.
"No" he looks at the motionless younger god, his eyes still open and a smile on his face.
Zinabi pulls Nika close, laying his son's head and shoulders on his knees, fingers through the white hair that once floated like clouds and now looked like ordinary hair.
He runs his hands over Nika's face, squeezing the skin as if he can't believe his eyes. His skin didn't stretch.
Looking further down he would have vomited if he wasn't a god, there was a hole big enough for a hand to fit in.
The golden candles on Nika's altar were corrupted by black flames that had already been extinguished by the rain. Rage roared in the ears of the god of truth, his son was sacrificed to Im, the goddess of the Void.
"I'm sorry, it's cold" taking off her hooded cloak, Zinabi wraps his cold body (Nika was never cold) in the cloak and holds it in his lap. He had noticed the mark left on his wrists by the handcuffs and could only hold his son closer to his body as tears streamed down his face.
Then he started to sing.
he never stop singing until they had reached the shore of the island, and there standing in the sand was Mar. The god looked with pain at his son and grandson who approached the water
"The sun has gone out, its glow chained to the sky"
Mar didn't needed his son to know that, he could already feel justice becoming distorted with the absence of freedom.
The elder god holds out his arms for hisbgrandson to be placed in them. Arranging Nika in his arms, Mar notices his fist still tightly clenched.
"What does he have in his hand?" Mar asks, attracting the curiosity of Zinabi who affectionately takes his son's right hand and begins to open the fingers carefully.
Surprised, Zinabi couldn't resist laughing at the sight of a dark purple and irregular seed. It was as big as a ping pong ball and completely misshapen.
"Nika my sweet boy" Zinabi admires the seed while laughing through his tears "you didn't go down without a fight"
"He freed Im… freed her from her divinity"
Mar laughs out loud before placing a kiss on her grandson's white hair. Nika's eyes had already been closed, but hisbsmile remained intact, the pride of his actions permanently stamped on his face.
"She might still be immortal….but she's human" Zinabi holds the seed in his hand thinking about what to do with what his son got.
There is silence for a few moments, the momentary joy fading as Mar bent down to place Nika's body in the water.
"I'm still not ready to let him go to the World Beyond" Mar watches as the waters cover Nika's body like an embrace as it pulls him down to the depths "We can only hope that the waters will bring him back one day"
"The bottom of the sea is a lonely place, Nika doesn't like to be alone"
"He won't wait long, soon thousands of men and women will be sailing these waters. Singing, adventuring…being free"
"That's right"
The god of the seas looks at his son before extending his hand asking for the seed. Watching the seed against the light, Mar knew Im had done the same, turned Nika's heart into a seed, into a fruit.
Closing his eyes he throws the seed against the sea causing a wave towards the open sea.
"Under the sky, on the earth, facing the sea. who eat the fruits of the devil will never be welcomed by the sea. My arms will pull them down to the depths where the sun does not belong"
Father and son look at each other feeling the wheels of the universe change, they needed to win the war until Nika returned.
Once again, they failed him.
