| [ ] |

 .

“The hell was that?!” I screamed loudly as soon as I regained consciousness.

 .

Upon opening my eyes, after being enveloped by the darkness. Sunlight greeted me. And I found myself sitting on a bench, in front of an unknown town’s square with a fountain in the middle of it.

. 

“...?!”

At first, I was astonished. I was supposed to be inside my house’s basement, together with my sister. 

But now...

Now, I find myself in an unknown environment. A peaceful countryside town, with various kind of people roaming around.

. 

“Good morning Tom! I have come to deliver you the food, as usual.” (Unknown Woman)

“Thanks miss Adele. You are such a nice girl.” (Unknown Man)

“Blush~!” (Unknown Woman)

. 

“Come here ladies and gentlemen, today I will show various amazing tricks! Whoever finds the gold coin, takes it!” (Jester)

. 

“Children of the Gods! The ‘Church of Flora’ is recruiting people again today! Come and test yourselves, if you possess healing or light magic, we shall welcome you among us!” (Priest of Flora)

. 

“Come gather around children of men. I will tell you the origins of our world. How it was born?! How we came to be?!” (Scholar)

 .

Hearing various people of different ages talk and shout loudly. My mind was amazed for the first time in a while.

‘Was I perhaps teleported in some foreign country?’ This was the first thing that I thought of, after coming to this town by unknown means.

. 

Naturally, I did not know where I was. Nor what type language the people here spoke.

However...

Seeing how my sister was not around. 

Consciously  thinking that she might have send me to a random part of the planet, thanks to that suspicious ritual.

I sighed, and said.

“This is troublesome.”

“...”

. 

The most important rule when losing yourself in an unknown environment is to keep yourself calm. Afterwards, ask for direction from the populace.

If I can find a police department around here. I think it should be okay. They might help me, and also lend me a phone which I can use to call my parents.

Hopefully, this country does not discriminate against foreigners. If they did. They might make it difficult for me to return home, by making me spend a week in prison. 

. 

“Clar, big brother will probably give you a long term punishment when he comes home. I hope you are prepared to face my brotherly warth.” (Angry Face)

Making my mind up, to discipline my sister when I return. I get up from the bench I am sitting and look for a reliable person to ask directions from.

.

I take a look at the young couple. They seem to be having a lovely time. Let’s not disturb them.

The priests seem to be preoccupied with gathering attention from the masses. Better not involve myself with him. He seems to be thirsty for recruits.

Oh! The scholar seems like a nice man. He is teaching some poor children about the world.

I think he is reliable and very knowledgeable. Let’s ask him for directions.

. 

Choosing the scholar as a target, to get information. I slowly make my way towards him.

He seems to be gathering various orphan children. Gathering them near a bench, like the one I sat in, when I woke up and giving them lessons.

Closing my distance with him step by step. I reached him in a few seconds.

. 

“Children of men. Let me tell you a story of age long past.” (Scholar)

“Once upon a time. There existed a lonely god who traveled the void, in search of light.”

“He was a humble god of no noble origins, nor great importance.”

“That god spent an eternity trying to find hope, in a world stained in darkness.”

“Unable to find anything that might catch his interest.”

“The God understood that if he could not see, he would create.”

“And thus he created the stars. Shining lights outside of our planet, that served to reveal the truth on this black world.”

“Upon creating light, God was greeted with a type of warmth he never felt before.”

“As such was the case. He decided to make a bigger star to warm him more.”

“And thus, the sun came to be.”

“But. God was not satisfied with having only light and warmth. He created earth to stand upon. Mountains, seas, lakes and rivers.”

“He the [God of Creation] ‘Solaris’, gave birth to our world by realizing all the concepts we know of today.”

“Solaris was the first god of our world. The origin of everything.”

 .

Interesting. Is this perhaps their religion? It does share some components with another religion I know. But how came I never heard of this creation myth before?

 .

“Upon completion of his world, Solaris was happy.”

“He had a place to belong. A world to love.”

“Solaris found hope in our world.”

“But this did not last for long.”

“Gods are like humans too. They get bored and feel lonely. It’s in our nature to be interactive beings.”

“Unable to cope with his loneliness. Solaris decided to create others like him.”

“From the warmth of the sun, he took fire. And with it he created [Elaine]. The Goddess of Light, Hope, and Fire.”

“From the dust of earth, he took stones. And with it, he created [Lana]. The Goddess of Earth, Strength and Agriculture.

“From the fresh and salty waters of the planet. He took two types of water and mixed them together, creating [Marina]. The Goddess of Water, Ice and Purity.

“From his breath. He exhaled. And with it, he created [Aria]. The Goddess of Air, Kindness and Cruelty.”

“And with his blood, which he willingly fed the planet. He created [Viviana]. The Goddess of All Life Forms.”

.

Wow....

This god is making a lot of females companions. Why do I feel like he is sexually frustrated? 

It’s not like I want to complain about him making a harem but... He probably was making his dream girls with the intention of fucking them in the end.

Guy had been lonely for ages. It’s not like I can’t comprehend his goals. He has all the rights in the world to have sex when he spent millions of years in the void.

“....” 

Hm. Now that I think about it. The god of creation must have been oldest virgin in this world. That is before he created his companions obviously.

.

“Once the Goddesses were created. Solaris took took them as his wives.”

“Together with them, the god of creation designed the laws and inner workings of this world.”

“He assigned Elaine the duty of illuminating the world. Fill it with warmth. So that plants, creatures and men could live without hardships.”

“He assigned Lana the duty of managing the planet’s continents, resources and biomes. So that the earth could be fertile and abundant.”

“He assigned Marina the duty of keeping the waters of the world clean. So that no impurity or diseases would leach on its inhabitants.”

“He assigned Aria the duty of filling the atmosphere of the planet with air. So that no one would die from asphyxiation.”

“And to his beloved Viviana. Solaris gave her the authority to rule all creatures.”

. 

Beloved? Did he fail at making his girls like him?

I seriously don’t understand why a god such as him would love only one person?

Well. 

Whatever.

. 

“After having given all of his tasks to his noble wives.”

“Ahem~! Solaris made love with his wives. Ahem~! Giving birth to the second generation of gods.”

.

“He he he he he~” (Little boys)

“Te he he he he he~“ (Little girls)

.

“...” (Scholar)

“No laughing. If the priests hear you, they might become angry.”

. 

“!” (Children)

“...” (Children)

.

“Ahem-! Let us take of, from where we left.”

“The second generation of gods were: “

“The God of Mortals, [Regis]. Son of the goddess of life, Viviana.

“The God of Death, [Ernesh]. Son of the Goddess of Darkness.

“The God of Paradise, [Dion]. Son of the goddess of Earth, Lana.”

“The Goddess of Madness, [Lucy]. Daughter of the goddess of light and fire, Elaine.”

“The Goddess of Love, [Milena]. Daughter of the goddess of water, Marina.”

“God of Songs, Liberty and Scholars, [Ray]. Son of the goddess of air, Aria.”

.

“That’s a lot of gods...” I said out loud unintentionally.

The moment I spoke these words. All the children that were gathered around the scholar turned their heads toward me. ‘The suspicious man that was only wearing pajamas.’ And began to wonder who was I.

.

“???” (Children)

Oh no! I should not have made my presence known to them. Now they are all looking at me as if they want to dissect my very existence!

.

“Indeed. There are many gods in our world.” The scholar turned his head to look at me too. Afterwards he continued.

“The mythical gods of creation.”

“The first generation of gods.”

“And also the second generation of gods.”

“Mythical gods are the true sovereigns of our world. While their children and grandchildren are gods we do not have much information on them, despite having rised many cathedrals in their names.”

“I believe that diversity is not much of an issue. People can believe in whichever god they like to choose as theirs.”

“I know that it’s confusing. However, gods are divine beings who are tasked with the duty of managing the planet by the the god of creation.”

“Some of them have fallen to the dark side and joined the Demon God. But we still believe in them. In their desire to keep the world balanced.”

“Clap~!” (Clapping hands)

.

“Alright children. This is all for today. I will go into more details tomorrow.”

“Boooo~!” (Children)

“But you promised us that you would teach us until the very end.” (Little girl)

“Yeah! You said that we can hear the full story.” (Little boy)

.

Seeing the children complaining at him. The scholar scratched his cheek and seemed to be thinking about something.

Nevertheless, he did not seem to have found a way to make up to the children.

As such, he reached for his backpack that was put on the left side of the bench and took some treats.

.

“These are the chocolates that lady Veronica gave me this morning. You children can have them.”

“Is this enough to forgive me?”

Looking at the treats spread out in front of them by the scholar’s hands. The children’s eyes shone like stars.

They quickly got up. Looked at each other in the eye, as if they were communicating telepathically. And said:

.

“We forgive you teacher!” (Children)

“Now give us the chocolate.” (Little boy)

“Hurry up before we change our mind!” (Little girl)

.

Having bribed the children only to get a bit more time at his disposal. The scholar distributed the chocolates one by one to them.

Once they had their own chocolates in their hands. The children looked right and left. Afterwards, they ran away at full speed!

. 

“What the heck!?” I said with a surprised tone of voice.

.

“Slum children are very wary of their surroundings. Me giving them treats can become risky...”

.

“Risky? How so?” I asked.

. 

“Risky in the sense that some scum might come and forcefully take their food away. Those damn poor excuses of fathers and mothers, are terrible parents.” 

It seemed like the scholar did not hate the children. He loved them instead.

What he hated, was their parents.

Why hate the parents???

It’s not like anyone can live a good life in society. Money and food are everything. And sometimes, those who don’t have these two things become beasts.

I have seen orphaned children a few times in my country. But I never hated their parents, because I knew that their parents were the result of the loopholes society had.

< There is bound to be darkness in places where the light shines too deep. >

. 

“I understand.” I guess they were afraid of being seen eating chocolates.

. 

Looking for a while at the ally, which the children choose in order to leave the town’s square. The scholar eyes trembled for a bit, as several scenarios appeared in his mind.

Afterwards, he looked at me again. This time with an an annoyed expression.

 .

“Don’t you know that it’s bad manners to interrupt a lesson?” He said.

 .

“I am sorry... I am kind of lost... and you seemed the right guy to bother.”

 .

“So. You admit that you interrupted my lesson because you wanted to talk with me. Could you not have waited a little?”

. 

“Yes. I admit it was improper of me.” I apologized while giving him a bow. “However, I am in dire need of your help mister Scholar.”

.

“Call me Alfred. I am Alfred Maxwill. Being a scholar is not my main profession.” (Alfred)

(((Author: It’s not a mistake. Maxwill is his surname. Maxwell was too obvious.)))

.

“Pleasure to make you acquaintance Mr. Alfred. I am Edmond. Edmond Arc.”

.

The two of us presented our right hands to one another and shook it.

He looked to be a bit pissed off at me. But it was not something he couldn’t bear with the amount of intellect he had. 

I thought he must be used to being interrupted in his lessons. Hence there reason why I chose him as my guide.

. 

“Mr. Edmond. How can I help you?” (Alfred)

. 

“Honestly... I do not know how to explain everything. Therefore I will summarize it into a short sentence.” (Edmond)

.

“I am a lost man in an unknown environment, please help me find my way home.” (Edmond)

.

“What?!” (Alfred)

Immediately after saying this sentence, Alfred’s face showed astonishment.

.

>>>

To be continued...