Chapter 4: You Are Alone

Silas looked at Natalie with a sad expression and said. “You will go to Siena. It is a solar system ran by three Greek Gods. I don't know them personally but they do respect me. I’m sure if I tell them to let you visit your powers and play with their believers they will.”

She nodded then turned her attention to a passing moon. “Is it safe?”

He shrugged, his bones groaning. “I don't know. I have a limited amount of information. I can tell you that visitors hate going there and consider it the most annoying planet to be at instead of a dangerous one. They say people are hard to trust and are very conniving. The only other god owned universe similar to that is Viren. Everyone hates Viren. I guess the only thing I can say that may help is, make those skeptics believe in you.”

She wearily smiled at her bad luck. “I guess I’m going to have a hard time. I would like to be sent there as soon as possible though.”

Silas nodded then said. “As you wish, I’m too weak to fight for you to stay by me. I only hope you do come back though.” He touched her shoulder and a beautiful gray swan tattoo appeared on her skin. “This a temporary way for you to talk to me and send me energy if needed.”

She touched the tattoo and felt slightly raised skin. “Alright. Any warnings before I go?”

She turned and saw Silas point a magic-enhanced finger at her. A blaze of white and blue lights burned her eyes, blinding her with its intensity. The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was, “Head North. Don’t die too soon. I do not have the energy to save you again.”

Pain. It enveloped her senses. She didn't want to open her eyes but she had a feeling she needed to. She laid wherever she was for a while, letting the cool breeze wafted over her inflamed skin. She stayed there until she could hear someone walking her direction.

She opened her eyes and sat up slowly. She could see an endless plain of grass with white mountain peaks in the horizon. The wind fluttered through her red hair and she could smell the fresh dewdrops on the grass. She turned to the person standing next to her. She was surprised to see a young female wearing traditional Bhikkhu robes and braided hair considering the world was created by Greek Gods.

The female stared at Natalie and looked mildly amused. “I assume you are a foreigner. No one would sleep in these forests even if they had an army with them yet here you are. Alone and naked.”

The redhead chuckled and stood up, not bothering to cover herself. “For you to say that I must assume you are wearing armor and have someone with you.”

The woman stared at the demi-god then gestured to herself. “I am Rehna. I am from the planet of Gaea and I have the power of plants. While my power is not as strong as most of my tribemates it is enough to roam the plains and forests of Athen alone.”

The foreigner smiled then began walking in a random direction. “My original name is Natalie but I feel it be more suiting to change it.”

Rehna follow the red-head, curious to know where she is going. “Oh? What are you going to change it to?”

She smiled at the tribal woman. “Probably Akuji, it means death and awake. It’s very fitting for my current lifestyle. It also has the first three letters for Akuma which mean demon. Aku also means to begin. I feel this name should be sufficient as it describes my beginning, middle and possible end of life.”

The robed woman stopped in her tracks. She wondered why would anyone name themselves such a bleak yet hopeful name. She stared at the Akuji walking away, watching her hair flow and shine like fire. Her back was straight and her steps were even, almost as if she walking her path to success. Her curiosity was at her peak and she wanted to see what is her future.

Akuji stopped and turned to Rehna. “Are you coming?”

She laughed then caught up with her. “I was thinking, let's go.”

The two women continued their leisure walk through the plains, taking their uncertainty with stride. They walked for hours, enjoying each other company. During their trip, they only encountered small animals but they would run the moment they saw Akuji. She would give a wry smile every time they would run away. Rehna couldn't tell if she was disappointed or annoyed the animals would escape her range of sight. Honestly, she was very surprised, she had been living on Athen for 5 years and this is the first time she traveled three feet without being attacked.

The demi-god turned to her. “Is this normal? I heard this solar system is dangerous.”

She laughed. “It is! Usually, I have to kill one monster every three minutes and the humans are even worse. I guess naming yourself a demon is fitting considering those creatures love attacking things weaker or stronger than them.”

Her walking partner hummed in disapproval. “That’s a shame. I think I need to kill a few of those furry animals. I need to make me an outfit.”

Rehna jabbed her hand into her robe then pulled out a long piece of blue fabric. “I'm sure you can find a way to wear this.”

Akuji stared at the cloth then sent the brunette devil eyes. “You had this on you the whole time?”

She shrugged. “You never asked me for clothing nor did you indicate you wanted clothes. I thought you were a nudist.”

She growled at the nomad and snatched the fabric from her hands. In short work, she turned the fabric into a thinly wrapped dress. It was loose and covered her private bits while providing a bit of style to the woman.

Rehna whistled and felt her dress. “You look nice. Someday I have to ask you to make me an outfit.”

The redhead scoffed, still annoyed with the tribal woman. “Can you tell me more about this solar system and this planet?”

The robed woman gave her a dubious stare then yelled. “Are you serious?! I thought you knew where you are going! Why didn't you ask me during this walk? I have been following you for four hours now!”

She waved her off. “I may not know where exactly we are but I do know our destination.” She pointed her scarred finger north, aiming at the base of two mountains. “I can feel a large amount of potential that way.”

Rehna rubbed her temple and sighed. “I’m not going to have an argument with you, mostly because you are the perfect monster repellent.” She looked up and pointed at the sky. “Do you see that?”

Akuji looked up and saw a large metal structure with three pipes stretching through the sky. She followed the chrome structure and could barely see it connected to a distant planet; the pipe seemed to be in the middle of the planet. She turned her attention back to the largest metal structure at the center of the pipes. It reminded her of the international space station but five hundred times larger. (178000 ft by 120000 ft) (54500 m by 36500 m)

The nomad patted her shoulder. “That is what we call Gatho. It connects the sun, moon and all three planets in this solar system together. It was created by our saviors Athena, Gaea, and Prometheus, they gave our dying planets life and the ability to live.”

Akuji could feel the admiration and respect radiate from Rehna eyes. She turned towards the structure and could feel the flames of passion start in her heart. She wants to be reverend like the gods that saved them, if not more loved.

All she had to do is figure it out.