Teru and the City

We returned home by heading down the long, intricate hallway, and proceeded to walk out of the cliffside like it was nothing. Ruby, Ipa, and Ken are all walking in front of me, waiting for me to leave the strange portal. And just like we walked in, we walked out and the portal vanished.

"What is our plan now...? Do we still go after Joro? They seemed pretty adamant about leaving him alone... which is weird, considering they didn't seem the type to have that Complex where they think they're better than that." Ipa commented.

"My exact thoughts. I think there's a reason they don't want us to kill Joro. Which means I will be doing it. Soul and Tama split off from us... does anybody want to do that as well?" I asked. I didn't want anybody to leave, but now was the time to give them the freedom to make the decision if they chose to.

"We don't plan on going anywhere. But we could use another party member. It would be useful for our journey..." Ruby told me. I was glad to know that she wasn't going anywhere, at the least.

"Papiya's game... should we play it? Apostility seems pretty important, and you could get Pretorian Blood in your body. Anima, that would be a huge power-up for you." Ken told me.

"Do you want to explain what that means? Power-up? Why?" I asked Ken, waiting for his answer... hopefully, a long one.

"Let's get back to the village, and I'll explain why it's so important." He told me. I agreed to his terms and began our walk back to meet with Hex and Dex once more.

It was a short walk back, compared to the walk to the portal, but once we made it, they were waiting for us.

"How'd it go? The meeting with Amaterasu?" Hex asked me. I was surprised she knew, but I told her not to worry about it.

"It could've gone worse... but now, I'm The Demon Patriarch," I told them. Dex was confused... but Hex knew what I was talking about.

"Woah... like, how Zeus was a Patriarch? You're one of those now?" She asked me.

"Correct. Because I killed Zeus, I gained his status and have a lot more power now." I explained to the two of them. They nodded to my explanation and discussed how awesome that was for me.

But I didn't feel different. I just felt like the same old person...

"What do we do know? New Olympia was the capital, and it's taken down... so, now what? Do we rebuild it? Do we make somewhere else the capital?" I asked anybody I could, but nobody seemed to know the answer.

After a long period of silence, I sighed and looked toward the destroyed city past the hill.

"I want to make it new again. How do we begin rebuilding?" I turned to Hex and Dex, but they didn't seem to know.

"Hey there Patriarch Boy!" A familiar voice spoke up in the crowd with his plaid shirt and crossed, hairy arms.

"Blacksmith guy! You're alive!" I yelled out to him. With a gritty smile, he nodded in agreement and looked toward the city with me.

"I told you to advertise my shop, not destroy it! Now, I'm out of business and we can't make a living!" He shouted out.

"Uh... sorry..." I innocently rubbed my hand through the back of my head and he laughed even more.

"I'm kidding, of course. I'm only here to congratulate you on taking down Zeus... even if it cost our city, we escaped with our lives. So, here I am thinking... should we rebuild it?" He asked me.

"I was thinking the same thing... do we have the money to rebuild it?" I asked him again. I was thinking about the economy and how it was effectively destroyed, but I came up with a remedy to that fact before long.

"Wait a minute, Blacksmith Guy. These materialistic people only care about their money... but what if we take it all away? After all, this is a new city, so the economy can't really go anywhere, not until we wipe it fresh." I told him.

"Stop talking about that word. It's annoying me. We'll rebuild the city! Hey, are you going to help?!" The man asked me.

"I wish I could... but I have some things to handle first. Afterward, I'll help..." I paused while speaking, thinking about my potions again.

"I'll figure out how to make enough potions to help everybody, and then I'll go off and handle my business," I told him. He agreed to my terms and profusely thanked me. I didn't even know this guy, but he was still so... kind to me.

"I suppose it would be stupid not to ask for your name at this point. So, what do people call you, Blacksmith guy?" I asked him.

"The name is Teru. And I already know your name, Anima, but it's so nice to officially meet you." He told me.

"And the same to you, Teru. Now, where's that enchanter lady... did she make it out alive?" I asked him.

"My wife? You know she did! Where is she..." He said, searching the small streets as if he would find her.

"Wasn't she the super grumpy lady? Is she a grumpy lady?" I turned to Teru, and he looked at me with a scary face, so I instantly looked away and held the fear in.

"Although, looks can be deceiving. What do I know, probably nothing." I said in nervousness. Why was this guy's face scarier than any Patriarch?

"Anyway... I'm going to go look for the ingredients. Do you know anybody else who would be willing to help repair the city? In exchange for something other than money?" I asked Teru.

"We'll see. I'll gather who I can, you just look for those stamina potions." He told me. I agreed to his terms and regrouped with everybody.

"Um... how do I make stamina potions?" I turned to Ken.