1 Alaric Arstan

"Date: 13th August, 2021.

Location: Castle Sothesbury, off the coast of eastern Europe.

On December 21, 2020, the sky opened up, and Gods descended to the Earth.

A year of disease, strife, and war ended with the destruction of civilization, as we know it. At 12:01 am, night turned into day and the heavens glowed golden to herald the start of a new era.

All over the world, men and women wielding unimaginable power appeared from the sky. Humanity tried to fight back in the only way it could, but its guns and tanks and missiles could do nothing to these beings. In merely four minutes, they rounded up all the major leaders of the world and made a proclamation that echoed in even the darkest corners of Earth.

'Today, the Earth you knew has ceased to exist. Your Gods are here, and henceforth, the duty of all of humanity is to appease us. Fret not, for we are just and kind. The time has come to go back to the past. Once, you knew the way to the Heavens: you fought, you bled, you prayed, and above all…you lived. You lived a life of adventure, a life of peril, a life…of meaning. We have but one command: give us odysseys that surpass everything your forebears achieved, and in return, you shall be granted the keys to so many things that you thought impossible. We will be watching. In this new world, anyone can rise, and anyone can fall. Raise your eyes, humans, for we have opened the Pathway To Grace once again. Either change with the world…or die.'

The screams of hundreds of leaders being put to death almost drowned out that last, chilling word. As their heads rained down from the sky, the doubt that it was all a dream began to vanish.

A period of darkness followed the proclamation, where humanity had to learn the hard way that the Gods were serious. They left demiGods in their wake, who did not hesitate from killing anyone they wished to enforce the rule of their masters.

A new government was-"

"Boss, he's here!"

Looking up from the book he had been writing on, Al blinked at the henchman standing at the door.

From the small window in front of him, the faint smell of the sea wafted in, disturbing the thin flame of the candle set beside the book. It lingered in the confines of the small room, drifting in between the two men staring at each other, before being swept away by the breeze given birth when Al stood up and swished his cloak.

'Silence. Yes, remember, silence is my secret weapon,' he thought. 'Being silent will make me look serious, instead of exposing the fact that I'm new to this.'

Darkness was all around them, so he stretched his hand toward the candle holder. His clumsiness got the better of him, though… as he knocked it over and set the page he had been writing on aflame.

'Crap, crap, crap…no! He thinks I'm a seasoned villain! Remember old man Joseph's 3rd rule! When in doubt, stare, stare, and stare some more!'

Ignoring the fire that began to engulf the entire book, Al turned around and fixed his gaze on the henchman. Beneath the mask, his face twitched with uncertainty, but to the outside world, he was the very symbol of someone who had everything under control.

The henchman was scratching his head, unsure about what exactly was going on. He did continue to look at his boss, though… until finally, the cold darkness in the empty eye sockets of the skull he had chosen as his mask succeeded in unnerving the man.

"I…I'll take care of that, boss. Was it an offering to the Gods to grant us good luck?"

'Huh? It actually worked?'

Al blinked again, but this time, it was with surprise. For good measure, he held the gaze for a few more seconds before nodding.

"I knew it! Please go ahead. The others are waiting for you."

As he began to descend the steps that the man had climbed to reach him, the last thing he saw was his underling praying piously in front of the fire.

The descent didn't take long, but it was long enough to let the doubts he had set aside creep back into his mind.

'What if none of my traps work? What if he's too strong? What if someone betrays me?'

The sight of five men waiting for him at the foot of the stairs served to stop these questions. They looked the same as the one above; short, muscular, wearing grey vests and grey pants. They bowed awkwardly when he arrived, and as he ignored them and began to sweep his way towards the door in front of him, one of them stepped forward and began to speak.

"He took the bait, boss. Leary sent word. They'll be here any second now."

'Oh, thank God!'

He almost felt like jumping in the air as he heard the news, but with only a nod, he began to follow the path leading from the exit door of the tower.

The doubts returned, but they were a lot quieter now. When he was halfway to his destination, he glanced back at the tower. Of its four spires, three had crumbled, and the one he had been sitting in until now was dark. Gloomy and forlorn, its stone walls stood in the backdrop of a cloudless sky whose stars shone so brightly that he was tempted to stop and gaze at their brilliance for a few seconds.

He had no intention of messing up his first odyssey, though, so he quickened his pace. Soon, the path led under the cliff that the castle was present on to the opening of a small cave.

Due to his clumsiness before, he had had to descend the steps of the castle in darkness. There, he had at least had the walls to grab onto for support, but here, a single misstep could send him headfirst to his death.

'Come on, come on, hurry up…'

His long stride had left them behind, so he had to wait a few moments for them to appear. The one who had spoken before had a torch in his hands, so with another nod, Al tried to make him understand that he should lead the way.

"Of course, boss! We hadn't heard of you before, so we were doubtful, but we can see now that your future is bright! The Merriweather family will always be ready for a collaboration! You can reach us at 819-916-0987. We will even offer you a discount!"

The last thing that Al had been expecting was a sales pitch, so he was pretty bewildered. They stood in front of the cave, staring at each other, until the mask worked its wonder again.

"Er…sorry, boss, I got ahead of myself. Please, follow me…"

Watching the man go down the steps hewn into the floor of the cave, Al commended old man Joseph in his mind and vowed to buy him a bottle of bloodnectar as soon as this odyssey was done. With the other four following behind him, they made their way down to a small cove where the sea swept inward to form the perfect area to land if one wished to secretly enter the castle.

There was even a small beach, and through the opening of the cove, the moon could be seen in the sky, resplendent with no pesky clouds to block its glory.

'Damn...it was supposed to be darker.'

If it were something that he had not expected, it might have sent him into a panic, but thankfully, it was one of the things he had prepared for.

Looking across the beach, he nodded at a man who was standing there with his arms behind his back. His long hair and beard made him look old, but his cheeks were smooth and his eyes were spirited. Getting the signal, he took out a palm-sized book from his pocket and began to read something under his breath.

With a 'whoosh', a strong gale blew in from the outside, but instead of cutting through their robes and making them feel cold… it made the entire cove go dark.

'Magic! Holy fuck…that's cool!'

Like a little child seeing snow for the first time, he stretched out his hand to see if there was anything he could feel. The sudden darkness hid him, thankfully, and as the sound of a boat being rowed reached them, he snapped out of it and hastily walked back in the direction he had come.

"Positions!"

He gave the command in a deep voice that was so dissimilar to his that he almost gave a start. This voice modulator was worth the cost, he thought, before emptying his mind to concentrate as the prow of the boat came into view.

Two hazy figures soon became visible on top of it, and in the silence of the cove, their whispers were carried over the wind to his ears.

"You were right! Rejoice, fair maiden, for the villain who hounds your village will soon meet his death upon my sword!"

"Oh, thank you, brave Ser! I knew you were a true Knight the moment I saw you! My maidenhood awaits to be plucked by your gallant giant!"

'YUCK!'

Over his distaste for what he was hearing, Al heard the frenzied breath of the man whose imagination had definitely been aroused due to her words, among other things.

He rowed faster, and soon, the two of them were standing on the rocky shore, ready to climb the steps and kill him while he 'slept'.

"Now!"

His shout was meant for the mage. All of a sudden, a bright beam of light shot out from his hand to blind the newcomers. The man swerved left and right, waving his sword around uselessly, while Al's henchmen all jumped out of their hiding places and trained the crossbows in their hands on his body.

By the time he adjusted his eyes, the woman had already run over to take cover behind the henchmen. Understanding came to him slowly, but when it did, his face blanched and he took a step back before shouting, "You! You dared to scheme against me? Well, you made the wrong choice! You'll have plenty of time to regret, later! Hear me, villain! I am…"

"Fire."

The 'thunk's of crossbow bolts piercing through his armor sounded like music to Al's ears. He had prepared himself for the sight of the blood that seeped down the wounds to form a puddle at the man's feet, but still, his hands shook as he waited for the hero to die.

More than anything, the hero looked surprised. He raised a wavering hand in Al's direction and spoke in a halting tone.

"Y-you were supposed to wait for m-me to finish my speech…"

He collapsed then, and after Al processed his words, he burst out laughing.

If not for the voice modulator, the shrill laugh of an 18-year old would have betrayed his age. Controlling himself, he walked forward to his opponent and turned him over with some difficulty using his foot.

He had fallen on his stomach, and when his position was changed, the hand that he had been hiding behind his back was exposed. From it, a small, glowing marble fell out and rolled across the shore.

The mage instantly stepped forward, but Al was quicker. As if he had done it many times before, he fluidly plucked it up made it disappear in the pockets of his long cloak.

The mage gritted his teeth but said nothing, as expected. As the villain of the odyssey, all the spoils were supposed to belong to him, so while brushing his fingers tenderly over the marble that was somehow warm, he walked back to the hero and kicked him again to make sure that he was dead.

'Never hurts to be careful…'

After confirming his status, he bent down and gave the speech that he had prepared.

"Did you really think I would let you turn the tables by distracting me with your speech? Typical. If we were acting in a movie from the 1900s, that would have worked. I laid nine traps for you in the village. Nine! Clearly, I overestimated you. You fell for the first one! It was so obvious that I was sure it would fail, but I guess the power of tight clothes cannot be underestimated… well, your story ends here. Farewell. Strip him of everything of value! You can keep what you find!"

Walking up the stairs leading back to the castle, he could hear the sounds of the henchmen and the mage squabbling for the magic armor the knight. He could have taken it, too, but one of the rules of old man Joseph had been that it was never too early to build a reputation. Greedy villains could always be seen begging for henchmen to work with them, so it was best to avoid that fate if possible.

After returning to the top of the only remaining spire in the castle, Al lit a candle and saw that the book he had chosen had not burned away completely. A small scrap of paper was left, its edges scorched black by his 'prayer' that seemed to have worked.

Staring out of the window, he remembered the wizened face of the woman who meant everything to him, and a thought echoed in his mind.

'Mother, I've begun my journey successfully…no matter what, I'll save you.'

Sitting down with a flourish, he snatched up the quill he had been using before. With a smile across his lips, he raised his hand and wrote down the secret wish that he hadn't shared with anyone in the world, and when he was done, he read it out loud…before setting it on fire, too.

"My name is Alaric Arstan, and I…will become the World's No.1 Villain."