Chapter 2: Borrowing Ideas

(Third Person, ???, Past)

Silas stared at his new wife with a dubious expression. His shoulders were slumped and his beautiful silver eyebrows were raised almost passed his hairline, surprising considering he usually kept a cool calm face.

He gave her a weak smile. “Natalie, I love you but I will never give you my power. This will spark the doom of us both or you would leave me forever.”

Natalie scoffed at him. “We already made a deal but it isn't as one-sided as you think. Allow me to explain the finer details.”

Silas' hands haven't left her sides and now with her arrangement of freedom completed she decided to drop the loving act. She grabbed his hands and slid out of his range of grasp. Immediately after she left his reach, her guard against him risen and she looked at him with untrusting eyes. He swore he felt a piece of his heart chip and fall.

She glanced at the young god, taking a small glimpse of his hurt face. She sighed, “I don't hate you and I’m not going to use you...much. You know how I am yet you dare to intrude on my personal space, attempt to coerce me to be with you, a stalker, for eternity. I believe this is worth me distrusting you and slightly wishing for you to suffer.”

Tears started to fall from his eyes. She wasn't finished, “However, we are partners. I’m not going to abandon you and force you to be the scapegoat. I'm not going to condemn you a horrible existence. We can work this out and maybe become friends. I’m not a monster after all.”

He rubbed his eyes then asked with enthusiasm, “What to do now?”

Natalie chuckled and patted his shoulder. She thought, ‘He is like a small dog. A bit of praise or love and his tail wags. I wonder why he was different earlier?’

“First thing is we need to create a system that overwrites the control of the gods. This has to use a little power and my progress is determined by how much power I can steal from the other gods; basically leveling up with more stole power.” She gestured to herself.

Silas ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “It is possible but that creates a weakness. If they realize their power is being stored and not converted then they can manipulate the system through the energy.”

She smiled. “Yes but there is a way around that. Me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Did you forget you are a mortal? A mortal soul is still a mortal.”

Her smile grew. “I’m a mortal for now but if you infuse me with your power won’t I mutate into a demigod? Think about, your power would melt within my soul and become a different signature.”

He pondered it for a moment then shook his head. “That won't work as well as you think. When I declared you as my wife I imprinted my signature on to you, making you mine regardless of what you do. The other, bigger issue is a god can’t change another god’s power.”

She could feel rage boil in her stomach but she kept it down with a smile. “That means I have my own signature. Why would you imprint on something that already has your signature? I’ll just turn the energy into my own and slowly become a demigod. Afterall I'm not a god.”

He stared at her for a moment then giggled. “Ah, my wife is super smart.”

She felt a chill go down her back and she suppressed her disgust towards him. “Thank you. After the base of the system is created, we could add extra features when we collect more energy.”

He nodded. “I can easily make a cultivation system for you but what should it be based on? I remember you reading Chinese novels and they had a solid system for the most part.”

She turned away from him and sat at the lonely bar in the back. She made sure he couldn't see her face fill with hatred. She used to read Chinese novels when relaxing at home, typically with less clothing than she normally would. It was a guilty pleasure of hers because her family taught her she should only appreciate entertainment from their culture. She used to read Chinese novels when her family would go out of town and enjoy the fruits of other cultures, including their more adult products.

The young god cocked his head in confusion. He could feel from the imprint that his love was currently feeling strong emotions but he couldn't understand why. He knew that she disliked him despite her efforts of hiding it but he doesn't know why his statement made her like this. He shrugged his shoulders and thought it was nothing.

He strutted towards her and poured her a cup of ambrosia. He watched as she sluggishly picked up the cup and down it in one gulp. He could feel her emotions grow stronger and more volatile but he ignored it, thinking it has nothing with him. He poured her another cup, drinking in her figure with his eyes.

She could feel his gaze and greeted it with a glare. “Just give me power.”

He looked surprised at her behavior. “Alright, I’ll do it right now.”

He ducked under the bar then gave her a new cup. The cup was seemingly made from a heart, it even pulsed slightly. Then he poured a strange grey liquid in it. He spat in the cup and swirled it around. It started shimmering a strange green color and the liquid itself was a vibrate pink. It smelt of lilies and bleach.

Natalie pointed at the drink. “Is that safe?”

He shrugged. “I don't know. My knowledge tells me this is the first time a young god have given their powers to a mortal. Normally it is a drop, just enough to make a connection and turn them into champions of our names. You will be the first demigod that came from a true god.”

She lifted the drink and shivered, feeling the warm heart pulse in her hand. She closed her eyes and swallowed the drink, hoping it didn't taste horrible. The smooth cold liquid tasted as if all the fruits on earth was blended into a drink, surpassing the taste of ambrosia. When it pooled in her stomach a warm feeling enveloped her body, filling her with warmth and comfort.

She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being light. She felt she was flying.

Silas watched as Natalie fell off the stool and lay on the ice floor. Her body was steaming and sweating profusely. Her clothes instantly turned to ash and the floor started to melt; the water underneath boiling from her heat. She sunk into the dark watery abyss, a universe that even he had not explored.

He vaulted onto the bar and sat there, watching his realm of reality destroy itself. The obsidian walls crumbled and splintered; the pieces fell onto the ice creating large holes. The ceiling flickered in and out of existence while the lights ceased to exist. He watched the destruction of own existence.

Only the lonely bar stayed the same, perfectly still in all the chaos. Incorruptible in a corrupted space.