Chapter 37: I'm God (Part 2)

After having prayed to the god he had just come to know about, the boy exited the shrine building.

Boy: "I … I didn't …"

Ozyllus: "… get to meet me. Is that what you are thinking, child?"

The boy wasn't really surprised to hear his voice again suddenly.

Boy: "You … are Ozyllus, is that right?"

Ozyllus: "I would like you to address a god with more respect, but oh well; I can let it slide for children I suppose."

He said and he sighed.

Ozyllus: "Yes, I'm Ozyllus."

Boy: "Hmm … so what exactly do you want from me?"

The boy asked with a bit of anxiety.

Ozyllus: "Oh, don't worry. I won't ask for too much."

He said as his voice got mellower.

Ozyllus: "I just want you to give me your eyes."

Boy: "Uh-huh?"

The boy didn't understand why the god would say something like that.

Boy: "M-My eyes?"

The boy could comprehend the words but not the meaning behind them. The fear of what it may be started to make him more and more anxious.

Ozyllus: "You don't need to be so troubled. You will lose your sight, yes. But in exchange, you will be doing a great service to humanity."

His words were not without any substance behind them. They were not mere deception.

Boy: "You …"

The boy could feel the emotions of the so-called god as he said the word 'humanity'.

Boy: "You say my eyes will be able to do something good for humanity?"

Ozyllus: "Yes, that's exactly what I am saying."

The boy couldn't just deny him now. The emotions he felt in Ozyllus' voice told him that he was not lying, not completely lying at least.

Boy: "I …"

He couldn't decide on what to do. He was put in a bind with nowhere to turn to for any help or advice.

Ozyllus: "Why are you so conflicted, child? It should be an easy decision. By sacrificing your eyes, you could, in a sense, save the world even."

Boy: "W-What?"

Ozyllus: "Yes, that is the extent of how great it would be if you give them up. It should be obvious what the right thing to do is."

Boy: "I …"

Ozyllus: "Come. Come to the bottom of the shrine, the entrance."

The boy was already heading down the stairs to where Ozyllus told him to come. He was already heading to the entrance. So he continued on.

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The boy had come down to the entrance. He could see no one there. Not a single human was present there.

Ozyllus: "This should make it easier for us, right?"

He said. The boy heard. But for some reason, there was a difference in his voice that the boy noticed.

Boy: "Hah!"

He gasped as he turned around. The difference that he had been able to pick up was that his voice, for the first time, seemed to be coming from a specific direction. That direction was behind him.

Boy: "W-Where did you come from … all of a sudden?"

Ozyllus: "Well, I just thought I'll try to let you see me since you are about to do something so noble. Appearing visible to the naked eyes might be pretty taxing in a soul's state but still, this is the least I can do for you. Now you can take pride in the fact that the eyes you gave didn't just save the world, but also captured the reflection of the god in them."

The boy fell silent. He just couldn't retort. Something absurd was going on. And he had no clue about what to do in response.

Ozyllus: "Well now, you must be wondering how exactly you are supposed to give me your eyes."

He said as he raised his hand to the boy's height.

Ozyllus: "It's simple actually."

He faced his palm at the boy's head.

Ozyllus: "You don't need to do anything in fact. All that needs to be done will be done by me."

A hint of darkness was on his face as he spoke.

Ozyllus: "Yes, just like the whole humanity doesn't need to do anything but sit back."

He moved closer bringing his hands towards the boy's eyes.

Ozyllus: "All that needs to be done in order to save this vile race will be done by me. They don't need to do anything."

He kept moving closer. The boy, on the other hand, was frozen in his place. He couldn't move. He was seeing the so-called god in front of him coming towards him seeming to want to grab his face.

Boy: "Uh …"

Ozyllus: "It's okay, child. There is no need to worry. Just stay there. It will be over before you know it."

The hand moved closer. The boy couldn't move.

The hand came even closer. The boy still couldn't move.

The hand continued to come closer. The boy continued to try and fail in moving his limbs.

The hand came closer. The boy didn't move.

The hand came closer. The boy moved.

Ozyllus: "Huh?"

He looked at the boy in surprise as the boy moved away from Ozyllus' approaching hands.

Boy: "I can't. I can't give up my eyes."

He shouted. He couldn't help himself. Ozyllus thought this would happen. But he thought this reaction would come much sooner. When it didn't come, he started to think this boy wouldn't resist for a second. But in the end, he did resist.

Ozyllus: "I see. Then what if we make a deal?"

Boy: "A d-deal?"

Ozyllus: "Yes, you let me take your eyes and the people of the shrine get to live."

Boy: "H-huh?"

The boy didn't understand. So Ozyllus continued.

Ozyllus: "I may have forgotten to mention this but all those people except the girl that is being left behind are going to die today."

The boy couldn't say anything. What was he supposed to say? He just couldn't understand.

Ozyllus: "Today, a man would cause a disaster the world would never forget. And the people of this shrine will be one of the many victims of it. You can save them though."

The people in the shrine were nothing compared to the world. But Ozyllus understood that the boy doesn't understand the true weight of what saving the world means. So he brought into the equation those the boy knew of. He understood that this will hit the boy's conscience harder.

Boy: "But w-why? Why is it supposed to be this way?"

Ozyllus: "Because that's what the world demands. Now then, make your choice."

He said as he looked straight into the boy's eyes.

Ozyllus: "Give your eyes to me and save the people in the shrine. Or keep your eyes and let them die."

He presented the choices. The boy was left to choose. Chose to suffer the pain of losing his sight and blindness for the rest of his life or to sacrifice the people he had just met and had treated him kindly.

Boy: "I …"

Ozyllus had already started to move closer as if he already knew what the boy was going to choose.

Boy: "I …"

The boy didn't retreated any further as if to make it clear what he has chosen.

Boy: "I …"

Ozyllus closed his eyes and opened them again as if to collect the resolve to do what he is about to do.

Boy: "I CAN'T LOSE MY EYES."

The boy shouted louder than he had ever before, leaving Ozyllus surprised.

Boy: "I can't do that. It's not fair."

The boy couldn't help but start crying.

Ozyllus: "I see."

Ozyllus said as he looked at the boy with sympathy.

Ozyllus: "This is why you are a human."

He said as he looked as the boy with pity in his eyes.

Ozyllus: "This is why you can never be a god yourself."

Ozyllus grabbed his head before the boy had any chance to do anything.

Ozyllus: "I lied. I'm sorry but you never had the option to do that."

He said as he sent the child in front of him in a vortex of pain.

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Police Officer: "Tell me, what's your name?"

Boy: "E-Ethan … Kales."

He said his name while barely keeping himself from breaking down.

Police Officer: "I see. Do you know where you live?"

Ethan: "I … live … in the St. George's Orphanage."

Police Officer: "Orphanage, huh? I see. Did you get separated from the rest of the orphans?"

Ethan: "I did."

Police Officer: "When did that happen?"

Ethan: "This morning. We were taken to a public park that we are taken to often … when I heard … a voice."

Police Officer: "A voice? What happened then?"

What happened then?

What happened when the voice called to him? What happened when he went to the shrine? What happened when he came out of the shrine? What happened when he saw the so-called god? What happened when that god took his eyes?

He knows the answers but was afraid to think about them. How could he not be? Was he supposed to remember the fact that he passed out from pain when his sight was stolen? Was he supposed to remember that for some reason, the next time he woke up, he found himself near a pile of dead bodies where only two people seemed to be standing? Was he supposed to remember that the only thing he could see was supernatural? Was he supposed to remember that he saw some auras among the pile of dead bodies that gave him a familiar vibe, as if they belonged to the monks? Was he supposed to remember that the ability to see normal things and not see the supernatural had been stolen from him?

How could he be asked to remember something so cruel? He would never be able to voice this complain. Because, in the next moment, the windows broke and chilling breeze flew in as a man in dark brown robe, a black cape and a golden helm walked towards them.

Police Officer: "Hey, who are you? What happened there?"

Dyne: "Nothing much, your buddies would have been an annoyance to me so I put them to sleep."

Police Officer: "What? Did you kill them?"

Dyne: "No, don't worry. I won't go around killing the police for no reason. As I said, I just put them to sleep."

The Spectre said in a matter-of-fact tone. The officer covered Ethan behind him as he pointed his gun at Dyne. Unfortunately,

Dyne: "That won't work."

Dyne caught the gun with his hand. The officer still managed to shoot but it didn't affect Dyne at all. After all, he's a ghost.

Dyne: "You need to go to sleep too."

He said as he chopped at the pressure point of the officer and made him lose consciousness. He did it so fast Ethan didn't move an inch.

Dyne: "Now then, you have become a holder of something that could be really troubling for me."

He said as he looked at Ethan.

Dyne: "I don't know why a normal human like you was chosen to do something like this but those eyes you have acquired by sacrificing your true ones; they could either end up saving the world or destroying it."

Ethan had no time to process everything that had happened there.

Dyne: "Thankfully, there are other ways to save the world. And so I am not going to take the risk of keeping you alive."

He said as he raised his arm.

Dyne: "This probably isn't your fault, but you will have to die."

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