Chapter 9 - the test of the gods(4)

In a stark white plane, where the only color visible was white as far as the eye could see, John stood alongside Khaos and Kronos. Khaos, with a hint of excitement in his voice, spoke up, "John, for our tests, we've decided to have you face them both together. It will save us a lot of energy, and since our tests are similar, it makes more sense for us to do it this way."

John, understanding the gravity of the situation, nodded in response. "I understand."

"Since you understand, let me give you the details of your trial," Kronos added, his voice serious and stern. "For our tests, you will be deprived of all your senses and will be made to hold onto your sanity for an unknown period here. Don't worry about getting hungry or anything, you won't feel any of that here. When we say deprived of all senses, we mean everything, from touch to feeling sleepy or hungry."

John's eyes widened in shock, struggling to imagine how he would not go insane after going through what the god of time had just described. "Do you understand? I mean, it's already too late to regret, so buckle up," Kronos added, his voice laced with a hint of warning.

John, understanding the gravity of the situation, replied, "Ah, yes sir. I understand."

"Good then," Khaos interjected, with a snap of his fingers, he removed every single one of John's senses. He could no longer feel anything around him, nor did he feel the ground he knew was below. Time slowly passed by in the domain of the first trial.

***********

Meanwhile, in a desolate land with red soil, as if it were soaked in blood, and weapons that covered the field as far as the eyes could see, the location where John's other test was being held. John stood with Kaelthar, who began to explain how his second test would be taking place. The god of war, Kaelthar, looked at John with a stern gaze, "Now boy, listen carefully, I am not a fan of repeating myself."

John, feeling a sense of unease, replied with a resolute, "Yes, Sir!"

"Fumu, my test is quite simple. Survive and kill, you pass once you are the only one standing." Kaelthar said, his voice low and menacing.

John couldn't help but let out an exclamation of surprise, "Eh!" But before he could say anything else, Kaelthar interrupted him.

"Now get ready, boy. Your enemies are already here. You shouldn't be dilly-dallying so much." Kaelthar said, pointing at the approaching army of goblins.

John cursed under his breath, "Fuck me." He quickly grabbed one of the many spears on the ground and took a defensive position. The hordes of goblins reached him, and while individually a goblin was weak, in a horde like this, there were few things as scary as it, at least for someone with John's level of strength.

Thus, all of John's trials had started in full force, and in neither did john have any chance of passing lest he gave up on common sense, and went beyond what he thought possible.

*********

Back in the plane where John had first arrived after the Priest had said his prayer, Khaos, Kronos, and Kaelthar stood as they watched John undertake his trials. Suddenly, a group of younger deities appeared in the plane, drawing the attention of the three elder gods.

"Father, and uncles, what is the meaning of this? Why were we not informed that such a promising candidate had appeared? And why have the three of you, the oldest among us, given him all your tests at the same time? What is the meaning of this?" said a chiseled blonde-haired man, who seemed like the leader of the group, as he approached Lord Khaos.

Kaelthar responded in a fit of fury, "Helios, how dare you speak to us like that? Just because the three of us have let you young ones have free reign over the humans, doesn't mean you have the right to talk to us in such a way. Remember, all your powers come from us."

"Calm down brother, they are just young, it's okay for them to have a bit of spur" Khaos stepped forward and looked at Helios straight in the eyes, with an incredible amount of aura emanating from him. "But your uncle's words are true, Helios. I am sure your mother and I taught you how to behave when speaking to someone older than you. And as for our explanation, do we need to explain everything we do to you? We liked the kid, so we took him. Is any more of an explanation required?"

Helios hung his head low and sweat dripped from his body. "N-n-no father, I-I-I am s-sorry, I acted out of line."

Kronos approached Khaos, his usual cold expression on his face. "You guys should probably leave now. As you can see, brother is not in the best of moods right now."

"Ah-ah, yes sir," the young gods, who had almost felt the life being drained out of them from feeling Khaos' aura, disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

"Haaaah, those young idiots. Just because they've gained a bit of following recently, they seem to believe they can start doing whatever the fuck they want, hmpff," Kaelthar said as he snorted and turned his head to the scene of John fighting the goblins.

"But brothers, how high do you think his chance of passing your test is?" Kaelthar asked as he looked at Khaos and Kronos.

"It's infinitely close to zero. I'm surprised that he hasn't lost his mind yet. Time in my test domain flows at 1000 times the speed it would normally. Any normal mortal would have lost their minds already," Kronos replied.

"But Kaelthar, why would you even consider making a young boy face an army of goblins? Even a Yellow Core warrior would find it difficult, but the kid hasn't even formed one yet," Khaos added.

"Well, the kid has to be at least that strong to get my blessing, right?" Kaelthar said with a grin.

"You serious?" Khaos responded, surprised.

"Well, yes I am. You think I would hand my blessing to anyone all willy-nilly?" Kaelthar replied.

"Well, no. The three of us can only have one warrior, so it would make sense for you to select yours diligently. But isn't this too much?" Khaos questioned.

"I don't think so. I mean, just look at the kid. He may be having a hard time, but it doesn't look like he's losing, does he?" Kaelthar pointed out.

"Well, that is true. But how does he know how to fight like that?" Khaos asked.

"Beats me. We'll probably find out as we slowly observe him. But for now, let's just observe," Kaelthar said, shrugging.

As such the conversation between the three gods ended, and they started to observe John who had been moving around the field, barely evading every blow that was made at him.

**********

"Haaah haaaah fuck!" John exclaimed as he looked at the broken spear in his arm. He quickly assessed his options and spotted a sword nearby. Without hesitation, he lunged for the sword, using it to impale two goblins at once. In one smooth motion, he then picked up another spear and used it to pierce through three more goblins in quick succession. But as he noticed that the spear had become stuck, he left it behind and grabbed an axe from a nearby goblin corpse, hurling it at an approaching foe. He then quickly retrieved another spear, ready for the next wave of attacks.

John fought with precision and efficiency, his movements a blur as he dispatched goblin after goblin. He could feel his energy draining and the wounds on his body piling up, but he pushed on, determined to survive. "These things just aren't ending… How many of these buggers are here? Fucking hell," he muttered to himself as he kept fighting, moving through the battlefield with careful precision, conserving his energy where he could. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, the number of goblins began to thin, and John knew he was close to victory.