Chương 6: Eidolon

"Why am I sitting between the two of you?"

"Because if I sat next to Aren, you'd keep complaining about being the third wheel," Vilkie replied from his left, not sounding particularly concerned as she brought a silver fork to her lips.

"I'm still the third wheel! This just makes it even more awkward!"

"Don't say that, Nerez. Think of us as your siblings. That's what it means to belong to a faction," Aren added from his right, taking a sip from a jewel-studded goblet.

"First of all, why are you both sitting so close to me? This table could seat a hundred people!" The three of them were in the parlor of one of the rooms in the dormitories. But the place looked less like a dormitory and more like the private chambers of some mythological being. Even "silver" fell short as a way to describe that "silverware".

The sheets on the enormous bed looked as though they were made of clouds, and from a waterfall of crystal-clear water in the wall sprang little channels that ran all across the room.

"I can already picture myself stepping into one of those channels if I wake up in the middle of the night..." Nerez said after looking around once more.

"Don't worry. The water gives off a faint glow in the dark," Aren replied with a smile.

"Look, I appreciate you guiding me to the dormitories, but how long are you planning to stay here? Don't you have rooms of your own?"

"I bet you want to be alone when the nymphs come back to clear the plates," Vilkie said with a mischievous smile.

"You couldn't stop staring at them, after all..."

"In my defense, they were wearing sheer togas. Anyone would've stared... even Aren, if you hadn't covered his eyes with your hands..."

"Besides, what Nerez really wants is to steal the silverware and run away before the challenges begin," Aren added, lifting a fork to his mouth.

"But it doesn't matter where you are. We're all going to be transported there anyway."

"Tch... there goes my master plan."

"If you really want us gone, all you have to do is say the magic words," Aren said, idly toying with his empty fork. Nerez let out a tired sigh and thought for a few seconds before answering.

"All right. I don't know how much use it'll be to you, but you can stay near me during those so-called 'challenges'."

"An alliance, then!" Aren exclaimed, getting to his feet.

"That will do for now. But sooner or later, I'll convince you to join my faction, and together we'll build a pantheon that will go down in history." Aren held out his hand. Nerez shook it reluctantly, and the demigod left with a satisfied smile.

"And you?" To his left, Vilkie was still chewing, her cheeks puffed out. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"But I'm not done yet..."

"You have food in your own room!"

Finally alone and at peace, Nerez sat in one of the armchairs on the balcony of his "dormitory".

"It was a risky gamble... the only thing on my mind while swimming was escaping the cycle of reincarnation, and the moment I reached that barrier of light, I threw myself into it without hesitation." What happened after that? Nerez had no idea how much time had passed since then. The only thing he knew for certain was that he had woken up somewhere beyond his understanding.

In the distance, he could make out the other four peaks that, together with the one he was on, formed the city of the gods, all of them filled with sumptuous palaces, hanging gardens, and rivers that spilled into waterfalls above the clouds.

"Despite having lived for hundreds of years, they have the energy of youngsters... Are all gods like that?" Nerez sighed to himself, thinking about the two demigods.

"If my intuition is right, they could go far... and that means my plan to stay unnoticed and enjoy my last life in peace and quiet is going to be in danger." Nerez rose and walked to the marble railing.

"But if there are no more gods of fate... No. I can't let my guard down. That angel-faced demon has to be like a cockroach. I don't believe it'll be that easy to get rid of her."

"So, I'm a cockroach now, am I?" Nerez's blood ran cold. That voice wasn't from the present. It was a memory, a line that had surfaced out of nowhere during that date.

"I have to be imagining things... I knew I shouldn't have tried those mushrooms with legs."

Nerez had been so tired that he had fallen asleep on the bed without even changing clothes. And that was fortunate, because the summoning had caught him while he was asleep. What woke him was the hard slam against the ground.

"You all right?" Aren asked while helping him to his feet.

"I am, yes. My back, not so much." Under Vilkie's curious gaze and the laughter of those around him, Nerez got up and straightened his jacket as best he could. It took him a moment to realize it, but it was the same black jacket he had worn on Earth. Since he had been an orphan with no family in his first life, he had probably been cremated in that very outfit.

"I see the Divine Order works fast," Aren said.

"Since we're allies, the three of us were transported close together."

"First of all, where are we?"

"We're still in Empyrean Peaks," Vilkie replied. Now the thousands of candidates were gathered in what looked like some kind of plaza beneath one of the city's main buildings. The building's foundations were elevated, making it look as though the structure rested atop the summit of a gigantic wall. It was on the platform where two staircases converged and the main one began that the figure of Zorovan appeared, though this time his granddaughter was nowhere to be seen.

"Very well, candidates. I hope you're ready to begin the main event of the Festival of the Gods," Zorovan said, addressing the crowd.

"But first, I must make one thing clear: those who cannot invoke their Eidolon will not be able to participate."

"Eidolon? What's that? Can you eat it?" Nerez muttered to himself. But Zorovan did not keep them waiting long, and the answer soon came.

"As you all know, an Eidolon is the tangible manifestation of your soul. Those who cannot give form to that manifestation will never be able to use their power to its fullest."

"Do you two know what he's talking about?" Nerez asked his companions, not understanding the explanation either.

"You basically have to give shape to the feeling inside you," Aren explained, extending his hand.

"The feeling inside me? Mm... hunger? I didn't even get breakfast, after all."

"Hahaha, deeper than that." As he spoke, his outstretched hand began to glow, and the light took the shape of a sharp longsword. Its blade was red and gave off an aura that was anything but peaceful. If Nerez had to describe it, he would say it was the opposite of Aren's usual serenity.

"I think you've got some unresolved inner conflict, my friend. I recommend a psychologist..."

"A psychologist? Wait, you called me 'my friend'. Does that mean you finally consider me your friend?"

"No, it's just a way of speaking... Mm? But isn't this my chance?" Nerez asked, extending his own hand.

"If it doesn't work, maybe I'll end up in limbo, and then I can escape legally and start a farm under these mountains..." But even as he spoke, his hand began to glow as well.