~4~ Trust

"How are you alive?" Raijin growled.

Akuro waved his hand and his billowing black aura churned around him. "It's simple really, my aura can absorb any form of external aura it comes into contact with, including souls. I wonder, what happens if a soul is consumed? Is it like being shattered?"

Raijin tensed at these words. "Is that a threat?"

Akuro chuckled, the black markings on his body fading. Raijin assumed the inky substance was the boy's aura healing him. "No, don't worry, gramps, I don't have any intention of killing you, nor did I before."

"Wait, you're saying you were conscious that whole time?" Raijin asked in disbelief.

"Well, yeah I was. Sorry if it seemed like I was trying to kill you, I was just testing the limitations of my new power. You yourself said that I could never be on your level… so I figured I would go at you with everything I had." Akuro explained with a grin. 'It would seem the old guy is shaken up. So then I guess my powers are enough to challenge even a god… and this is only the beginning. Oi, I must say this is promising.'

"How did you get a hold on your abilities so fast? It's not natural." Raijin said in a low voice. He never trusted the boy to begin with, but now he was wary of the dark power the kid had.

"Well, let's see. It started when I first dodged the Thunder Golem's first attack." Akuro began to explain, his aura then dissipating, his horns disappeared, his eyes returned to normal, and the immense pressure he gave off faded and Raijin could finally breath.

"I did not expect my physical abilities to be increased to that extreme so at first it surprised me. Then I tested it further by leaping straight up, and sure enough I jumped pretty high. Just like in an anime." The boy smiled the innocent smile of a fool, but Raijin no longer fell for that. "Then I blocked the golem's continued attack midair, by accident really, and then I realized that controlling one's own aura is quite natural. It's just as simple as willing it to do something, and it does it. And so when the golem swung it's hammer at me, I willed my aura to push back, though I wasn't strong enough, as you saw. I didn't have a good hold on my power yet. And then I was struck by lightning."

Raijin listened intently, he was astonished at how fast Akuro was able to observe and adapt to his surroundings. He couldn't help but be on edge in the boy's presence.

"That was probably the most crucial part, I realized then that my aura could absorb things that it touched, if I had figured that out a moment too late my soul surely would've been shattered. See while it was true I was struck by the lightning at first, I then covered myself in a cloak of my own aura, which absorbed the rest of the lightning, but by then the wounds were already too great. Then I remembered I was immortal, and my body used the aura I had absorbed to heal itself. After that I decided to test my limits, both in physical and astral. As you saw, I was quite fast, and I also found that I was able to control my aura pretty easily. I mean, it's not hard, it's kinda like imagining something and then it just simply," Akuro waved his hands dramatically, "happens. Also I tested my aura control against the golem. I figured out that the soul of the golem was contained in the clenched fist of the hand with the gauntlet, so I used my aura to grab it and crush the soul."

"And you came after me because you knew you were immortal, so you could test your limits to the fullest." Raijin observed.

"Pretty much, yeah." Akuro confirmed. "And then I was struck by your gold lightning or whatever that was. To be honest, I kinda thought my soul would shatter then and there. But, as you can see, it didn't. Actually, I absorbed the full blast for the most part."

Raijin's eyes widened in shock. He felt dizzy. 'He… absorbed my strongest attack?'

Akuro grinned. "I imagine you have plenty of other spells that could wipe me out easily, that was most definitely one of your weaker attacks, no doubt. It did serve as a good experiment though. After realizing you were trying to kill me, I tried to use the aura I had absorbed and form it into an attack of my own, but it didn't work. Though I can absorb external auras, it seems, for some reason, I can't utilize it, other than to heal my body."

"Yes, that seems to be your limitation, hmm." Raijin said, but he was lying. It was not impossible for anyone to absorb external auras, gods do it all the time, but controlling it is difficult. Raijin knew this, but he did not want Akuro to know that he could one day control the power he was able to steal. If he ever learned of that… it could mean the end of the gods. 'I've created a monster…'

Akuro glared up at Raijin for a moment. 'The geezer is hiding something. I wonder what it could be… it's obvious he's wary of me now, so I doubt he'd tell me what it is honestly. Oi, maybe I should've held back a bit.' He popped his knuckles and stretched, shaking off the strange sensation after his body had healed fully. 'No matter. I don't think I need the three days any longer, but I'll take them either way. There are a few more things I would like to experiment with.' "So, gramps, I pass then for today, yeah?"

Raijin glowered down at Akuro, who smiled knowingly. "I suppose." 'Damn freak, he is going to be a problem. I wonder how the other candidates are. Mine is… too good.' Raijin raised his hand and then snapped his fingers. The surroundings changed once again and this time they stood at the base of a fancy staircase in a luxurious mansion with white walls, gold trim, rich furniture, decorations and strange treasures.

"Oi, fancy. What is this place?" Akuro asked.

"It's still the Temple of Fantasies, this is just the true form." Raijin explained.

"Temple? I don't know gramps, this seems more like a mansion than a temple."

"Yes well this is where we will be staying over night. Hmm the others should be joining us here soon."

This caught Akuro's attention. "Others? You mean the other Deities?"

"Yes. They are training as well, we returned early due to someone being a fast learner. Feel free to explore, I'm going to rest." Raijin said before disappearing around a corner.

'He's on edge for sure.' Akuro thought, then he grinned, excited, 'good to know my power frightens even a god. That means nothing can stand in my way of doing whatever I want!' His smile faded. 'Almost nothing. I still don't know what the other Deities can do. I still need to be careful of them, not just that but the other gods as well, Raijin seems to be a middle tier god, there are surely others that are much more powerful than him.' Akuro sighed, 'Oi, looks like I'll have to get stronger, huh?'

Deciding there was no use in standing around, Akuro started wandering the "temple", observing all the strange treasures encased on shelves; weapons, skulls, monster parts, jewelry, and more strange items that he couldn't even identify. Then he came across something that grabbed his attention. In a large glass case against a wall hung a stainless black weapon with blood red markings engraved in its surface and it's blade. "A scythe, huh? I wonder if I could possibly acquire this." He mumbled to himself, smiling with excitement, imagining himself holding the black scythe. 'I'd look so cool…'

"Yo." Came a cold voice that halted Akuro's train of thought. He turned to see a boy around his own age, maybe seventeen or eighteen. He was tall and lanky with pale skin, rich blue eyes and gold blonde hair.

"Yo?" Akuro replied, suspicious. He could feel a slight aura emitting from the boy.

"This place is cool, huh?" The boy asked, his cold eyes locked with Akuro's. He then held his hand out to Akuro.

Akuro glanced down at the boy's pale hand. His fingers were thin and feminine, it made him the exact opposite of threatening, but Akuro knew better. He felt the boy's aura, he was, without a doubt, one of the other Deities.

He extended his hand out to the boy, but when he grasped his hand in a handshake, the boy's grip grew firm, and a strange, nauseating aura pressed down on Akuro, who almost lost his balance. The boy grinned knowingly. 'I get it… he's testing me with his aura… if that's the game your playing, I gladly accept your challenge.' Akuro in turn willed all of his strength against the boy standing before him, willing his aura to crush him. The boy's smile then faltered and turned into an expression of frustration and focus, while Akuro glared and scowled.

For a long time, the two boys stood there in a face off, their auras clashing, both trying to overtake the other. The entire hallway stirred with a breeze, the air seeming to vibrate with power. And then it all stopped, and in that instant both of the boys retracted their pressure.

"My name is Darius, Darius Embra. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." The boy spoke.

"And I go by Akuro. And yeah, sure. Pleasure."

"Impressive, isn't it?" Darius spoke, changing the subject and turning to the scythe. "This place has a lot of really cool stuff, as well as dangerous." Darius stood on Akuro's left, admiring the pitch black weapon.

"Indeed, I wonder if the old man would let me have it." Akuro said.

"Ha, doubtful, these gods seem pretty selfish." Darius scowled, but Akuro couldn't help but think it was acting. "I hate greed, I believe greed is truly a terrible sin."

"Yeah…" Akuro said, "you could say that." 'I can't trust him. He's a schemer, for sure, he'll only end up stabbing me in the back. Oh well, if he tries anything I'll just have to kill him.'

"You seem strong, what was your wish, if you don't mind me asking?" Darius inquired.

Akuro's eyes narrowed, 'So that's what he's after.' "I do mind you asking, a man's gotta hold his cards to his eyes and his eyes only if he wishes to win the game, you know."

"Ha, understandable. Keep your cards then, and I'll keep mine." Darius's tone turned cold then, "and stay out of my way, and I'll stay out of yours. Fair?"

"To be honest I don't care what you do, as long as you don't become troublesome to me, then it's of no issue. All I want is to watch all anime and to play every game there is, if you stop that, I will kill you, got it?"

Darius gave a confused expression, furrowing his brow. Then he laughed, "yeah, sure man, whatever you say. Well, have fun staring at your scythe and dreaming of anime girls, I'm off now."

Darius turned about in his heel and strode away down the hall. Akuro glared after him. 'He is going to be an annoying one, for certain. Even though I could feel his aura, I couldn't tell what his aspect is. Is it possible he has no obvious element? Well, either way, one thing is obvious, he is cunning and not to be trusted.'

"Excuse me, sir." Came a soft voice from behind him. Akuro, startled, turned to see that nobody was there.

"The hell?"

"Down here, sir." The voice came again. Akuro then looked down to see a small creature with scaly skin, gray hair, large bleak eyes and reptilian features.

"What are you?" Akuro asked in surprise.

"I am what's know as a goblin, sir. Now, follow me, if you will. I will take you to your room." The goblin said.

"Erm, yeah, sure? I guess?" Akuro was confused but followed the goblin anyway. The stubby creature led him up a flight of stairs to the second floor and then down two halls to a white door labeled thirteen.

"Here we are, sir, this is your key." The goblin held up a long, thin, silver key. Akuro knelt down and took it from the goblins small hand.

"Thank you, erm..?"

"My name is Boil. Good night, sir. Rest well." The goblin turned away and strode back the way it came. It was surprisingly fast considering it's size.

'Well, that was weird. No matter.' He inserted the key into the fancy gold lock and turned it. With a soft click the the lock came undone and the door swung open to reveal a surprisingly empty room, all it had was a large bed and a shelf made from rich wood. The bed was luxurious, and as Akuro lay on it, he felt himself sink into it, the soft white blankets swallowing him up.

'This… is nice…' Akuro thought before he let himself drift into a soft slumber.