Life In The Forest.

"Zeus, are you there?"

Laine was siting inside a hut. He had used the power of elements to create a shelter made out of mud.

"Yes. What do you want to talk about?"

The orc turned human was in the process of roasting some meat. He had scoured the forest for something edible, and he finally found a family of three-eyed rabbits. He only took the oldest looking one out of them for food, but kept note of their location if he ever needed more food.

"How do you keep yourself alive?"

His was curious about his existence. If he was only a voice in his head, how was he able to sustain himself?

"I don't have to keep myself alive. As an existence, I can only die when I choose to."

The smell of burning meat had filled hut. The warmth of the bonfire added to the ambience of this place.

"What do you mean by that?"

Zeus sighed.

"Unlike mortals, gods exist in a different plane. Also known as the state of existence, this plane removes the limitations of our body and soul. We can do what mortals do, but our existence isn't dependent on the sustenance of mortals."

The meat was ready.

"There must be something that you need to exist. If you don't require food and water like Mortals, what do the gods consume?"

"Gods do not need to consume anything to survive, like I said before. But in order to improve our power, there is one thing that we require."

Using a piece of broken sword, he cut the meat into smaller pieces. He proceeded to place some of the pieces on a leaf and placed it inside pouch made up of Ghoul skin.

"And what is that?"

"Recognition. If mortals acknowledge our existence, we acquire priority from the heavens. The higher your status, the more priority you get, and the more power you can acquire if you spend that priority."

"So prayers do have a meaning?"

He took a piece put it in his mouth. The meat tasted sweet.

"Not prayers, but recognition. Prayers are a means for mortals to ask for help. We don't get priority for help. Our existence becomes more evident if they acknowledge it. They only need to know that we exist for us to gain priority."

"So the tributes from several temples all around the world mean nothing?"

"Yes and no. They don't directly give us anything, but those tributes might help us spread our names."

Laine took another bite and asked,

"I hadn't heard your name once before I died. How were you the head god then?"

"You had only ever been to two kingdoms in your life. Not counting the generations of people and kingdoms that came before you, there are 7 more kingdoms where people worship me as the 'God of Lightning.'"

The human chuckled.

"Are you lightning fast when it comes to procreation as well?"

He was amused by his nickname.

"Young'un, you can't even imagine how good I was in my prime."

Zeus wasn't offended. He started to reminisce of the past.

"So how did that nickname stick?"

He was curious.

"I had to kill a god-tiered monster to become a god. My preferred element was lightning, and I managed to defeat it with a move based off that element. The image visible from the heavens."

He sighed.

"Some dimwit gave me that name right after I ascended, and I was remembered as the God of lightning from then on. I don't mind that nickname, but the juvenile jokes that come with it do spoil my tastes a bit."

Lain tried to keep his laugh in.

"You can laugh if you want."

Zeus couldn't care less.

The human clutched his stomach and started to laugh loudly.

After a while, he managed to gain back some of his composure.

"Brat, you managed to amuse yourself on my expense."

"You didn't have to tell me that nickname in the first place."

Zeus scoffed and said,

"Your questions led me there."

Laine wrapped up the pouch and hung it from his waist.

"I guess you are right."

He got up from his spot.

"Only 5000 more swordsmen to go. How long do you think this is going to take?"

"2 months at the very least."

He picked up a sharpened black great sword from the ground and said,

"Can't afford to slack off then."