My Powers Came Back!

"I worry for you.

Your delusional imaginations that you would escape me... *sigh*"

"If you go on like this, you would be forcing my hand, and..."

He stops when he gets a hold of the collar around Gorak's neck.

"You could get seriously hurt!"

*BANG!*

As Chalding comes to the end of his speech, he pulls Gorak by the collar from under his chin with great strength, banging his face against the bars of the cage with a sudden and immense force.

It hurt. But of course, it did. Chalding used his god-strength to pin Gorak, who is now as weak as any man, against the prison bars.

"Oh! That'll leave a mark...", Chalding chuckles.

"You're a maniac!" Gorak winces in pain. He is immortal, but he still feels pain.

"Yes, Yes I am. Yes I absolutely am.

I bet it hurt much worse when you tortured those poor humans...

They must have called you the same things... a 'maniac'. A 'monster'.

How does it feel to be stuck right in their position?..

To be weak, powerless, helpless and at my mercy." Chalding's eyes grew darker with his words.

.....

"Horrible, I imagine.

In fact, it is so horrible a position that you so desperately wish to escape me."

He holds Gorak in place, ensuring that his face, still pressed against the bars and suffering from the friction of the movement, is on the same level as his own face.

He moves his head closer to Gorak's. Lifting a finger in between their faces, he moves it from left to right repeatedly as he speaks.

"Oh. No. You. Don't. I won't be having that.

Between us, we have a beautiful relationship going!

The next time you try to leave, I'll gouge out one of your eyes! Let's see how you impress that little girlfriend I keep hearing about!"

His tone was deathly.

The dark, fearsome aura emanating from him as he spoke of gouging out eyes showed that he means every single word, and knowing Chalding, he would do it without batting an eye.

_____

Chalding was cruel. God of Retribution, and true to his name, he had come up with the worst and most unbearable methods of punishing rogue beings, mortal and immortal; be it Guardians, Demons, or even fellow gods.

And particularly, for this dark man sitting in this cell, Chalding had gone all out. He had isolated Gorak, holding him captive alone in the most distant prison in the Cosmos. Chalding had several powerful underlings but had chosen to guard this prison himself.

He forced Gorak to watch videos teaching kindness and charity. That's like making a child watch a Compendium of horror movies and intense violent scenes.

He even made him participate in packaging and labelling gifts for children for Santa, and in building homes for the less privileged and endangered creations, without his powers.

What's more, Chalding was Queer and a weirdo who loved to get handsy with Gorak just to torture him. It disgusted him to no end.

What could he have done to merit such horrid treatment?

Upsetting the balance and enslaving humanity...

Oh yeah, he deserved to be put away for all of eternity. He had broken the Sacred law of the Keepers. Even he knew he had gone too far, but that would not stop him. He would go to any lengths to be the most powerful.

They dared to make him into a laughing stock! He would leave this place. He would get his revenge. He would show them all!

____

Suddenly, *BOOM!*

The entire "Hold" shook vigorously, suffering from what seemed to be an immense earthquake. They had been hit by a massive heatwave and ultraviolet radiation; the product of a great explosion.

The Hold tilted, turning sideways and destabilizing everyone; the prisoner, his tormentor, and all of his tormentor's minions, and forcing them all to fall in one direction.

In that brief moment when everyone was thrown aside, Gorak noticed the lights on his power-limiters flinch for a millisecond and he felt his powers surging back into his body like he was conducting electricity.

His powers were coming back!

***** KNOW YOUR GODS! *****

Previously, on Know Your Gods...

LOCATION: The Keepers' Hold

Empyrean: Hey guys! What's up? *innocent and sociable*

Gorak: You?! *fuming*

*turns to Chalding* What's he doing here?!

Empyrean: Of course I'm here to see you, Gorak my old friend! *cheerful*

It's been a long time... over 200 years?

Gorak: See me? More like make a mockery of me. Hmph!

Empyrean: Haha! Funny as always. It's good to see you, friend. Surely, you're happy to see me...

Chalding: Empyrean is here to fortify The Hold further. As you know, he is the brains behind the Atmospheric pressure surrounding The Hold.

What with you running around all the time, I had to call him to add further surprises to make The Hold a much more interesting playground! *smirks mischievously*

Gorak: What?!

Chalding: *continues* He will be intensifying the levels of Atmospheric pressure on the planet, and of course adding on more traps!

Empyrean: That's right.

Gorak: "..." *stunned*

Empyrean: I still came to see you though. How have you been? I hear you've been having a lot of fun... *smiles confidently*

Gorak: !??! You-

....

*BANG! BANG! BANG!*

Lilyak: *muffled* Hello... Is anyone home???

*BANG! BOOM! BANG!*

The Hold shakes slightly with each bang as Lilyak hits the outer walls of the Hold, trying to get someone to answer her.

Lilyak: *muffled* Hellooooo!

Awkward silence...

Guards of The Hold enter in a hurry. Run up to Chalding, their boss.

Guards: (To Chalding) Sir, there's a glowing lady outside the premises.

It's Lilyak, goddess of Positive Emotions, aka the goddess of Love.

Chalding: How on earth did she get past my barrier, and the Atmospheric pressure?

She's like a godd*mn ghost! *shocked*

Lilyak: *muffled* Hello?? I'm here to visit my brother! Let me in!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Gorak: *sigh*

Lilyak: *muffled* I brought cookies!

Emphyrean: Cookies?

(To Chalding) Let her in?

Chalding: No one is allowed into the Hold without a permit from the Council.

She in particular is not allowed to visit the prisoner. Especially since the Hold is currently on lockdown after his great escape attempt.

Gorak: "..." *guilty*

Chalding: Hand me a communicator. I'll speak with her.

Guard hands him a communicator.

*Squeee... *

A small section of The Hold's outer wall opens revealing a speaker within.

Chalding's voice comes through to the floating Lilyak.

Chalding: Hey, over here. Hello.

Lilyak: *Speeds over to the speaker*

uh... yeah, h-hello? *slightly embarrassed*

Chalding: *blushes a little from Lilyak's cute voice*

Lilyak: I'm Lilyak. I'm here to see Gorak, my brother.

Chalding: Do you have a permit?

Lilyak: Um... no, but I...

Chalding: *professionally* "I'm sorry, Lilyak but The Hold is currently on lockdown. You cannot visit the prisoner without a permit from the Council."

Lilyak: But- But I brought cookies, and cake and lots of sweets...

I worked very hard making them...

Chalding: "..."

Uh... That will be accepted. Drop them in the cabinet below.

*cabinet opens*

I'll make sure the prisoner receives your gifts, after they have been thoroughly inspected, of course.

Lilyak: Gee, thanks. *cutely*

Chalding: No problem! *cheerfully*

Lilyak: Can- can I make a request?

Chalding: Haha... *chuckles delighted*

Of course. Let's hear it!

Gorak: *rolls his eyes*

Lilyak: Okay! Can I speak with my brother?

Chalding: ... uh... *hesitant*

Lilyak: Pretty pleease? With sugar, rainbows and unicorns on top?

Chalding: *blushes because Lilyak is just too cute*

...uh... um... Alright! But just for a minute, okay?

Lilyak: Okay. *smiling with joy*

Chalding: Hands communicator to Gorak.

Keep it short. Got that? *whispers to Gorak with a serious expression*

Gorak: (To Lilyak) Hey Lily! *happy*

Lilyak: Hey 'Boo-boo bear'! *excited*

How are you?

Gorak: Don't call me that- *embarrassed*

Empyrean: Boo-boo bear? heh. *smirks*

Chalding: Boo-boo bear... *raising brows*

hahaha...

Lilyak: Aw... what's wrong, Boo-boo bear? Are you being bullied by those meanies?

Cheer up. I got you delicious sweets...

Gorak: Really? Gee... thanks Lily. You really didn't have to.

Lilyak: Of course I did.

Mom says hi...

and ooh... guess what? I found your little girlfriend!

Gorak: What? *blushing*

Empyrean: Oh, girlfriend. *smirks teasingly at Gorak*

Chalding: girlfriend?! Who is this girlfriend? *upset*

Lilyak: She's an immortal now!... the guardian of her planet... that little planet you attacked. What's it called?...

Earth!

Empyrean: Earth? I plan to visit that planet one day...

I'm curious about how those special mortals live. I hear they have something called carriages they travel in.

And they relax by getting a naked beating called a 'massage'...

Interesting.

Chalding: Really? Well, I would love to see that! Inform me of your travels.

Empyrean: Sure will. *smiling*

Lilyak: *continues* Now she's immortal, you two can live happily ever after once you're out of the Hold!

Introduce us then, okay? I would love to meet her...

Chalding: You have 30 seconds left. *wants to hear no more of Gorak's "girlfriend"*

Gorak: ... um... Lily, we're out of time.

Lilyak: Aw, come on! Alright boo-boo bear.

Gorak: Take good care of yourself, okay?

Lilyak: Sure I would. Love you, bro. Bye.

Gorak: Bye...

*Crunch, crunch*

*Crunch, crunch, crunch*

Chalding: Whoa, these are really good!

( To Empyrean) Want some?

Empyrean: Do I? *sarcastically*

He takes one.

*Crunch, crunch*

Wow! So delicious.

Chalding: Didn't I tell you?

Gorak: Hey! Those are mine! They are not for you, neither are they for you to share!

Chalding: We're inspecting the goods. They will be delivered to the prisoner in turn. *smug*

Empyrean: *Crunch*... oh, it's really good. Can I try some cake?

Chalding: of course *hands Empyrean some cake*

Gorak: *fuming* Give it to me!

Chalding: Hey, tell your sister to bring some more next time.

Lilyak: Sure I will! I'm glad you all love my sweets!

Gorak: Lily...

Empyrean: Oh... she's still on the line... *approaching Gorak's cage*

(To Lilyak, through the communicator)

Hi Lily, this is Empyrean.

Lilyak: Oh! Hi, Empyrean.

Empyrean: You are an excellent chef. These are delicious. I'm honoured to have a taste of such magnificence. Bravo!

Lilyak: *giggles* Thanks.

I could have some delivered on the next Council meeting...

Empyrean: That would be most welcome. *gladly*

Chalding: (To the communicator) Oh, and bring some more next time you're here again, please...

Now all three gods are slightly bent over the communicator in Gorak's hand.

Lilyak: Yes, I will. As always. I'll make more since you guys love it so much.

Chalding hands the bag to Gorak, after taking out half the treats for 'inspection'.

Gorak: Finally! *Crunch, crunch*

You're getting better Lily. These are really good.

Lilyak: Aw... you think so?

Gorak: I know so! *with a mouthful*

Lilyak: *giggles* Alright guys, enjoy. I'll be leaving now.

Gorak: Bye Lily.

Empyrean: Byee!

Chalding: Bye, come again soon!

Gorak: "..." *facepalm*