~THIRD PERSON POV~

Erebus grinned as he studied the boy  before him

The young man's features were beautiful but not as perfect and flawless as those he had seen before

And when he smiled the purest smile anyone had ever seen it lit up the night sky and made the stars shine with delight

His eyes were bright but it wasn't the light kind of shine but a dark glint as if he was contemplating a murder 

the permanent scowl with a razor straight line did nothing to aid the boy 

his hair was now dirty and decoloured over the time 

and the many scars all over his ripped we'll toned athletic body made the kid look like an evil overlord's son getting ready to kill his adversary 

the way his whole self exuded evilness and deathliness  that could not be hidden from the eyes of those who saw him 

He was a demon, but if anyone knew the kid would know he was a kind soul and that had sacred Lord Erebus God of darkness more the once 

kindness in this world would only get you killed 

but Erebus didn't have the heart to do what needed to be done 

But he knew the boy would understand if he knew everything

"The 'Ancient tree body' is the body of a deceased person with the blood of divinity it is a dangerous body to forge 

but  

If you want to achieve immortality, you have to acquire something called a 'Spiritual Body'

it was a necessary evil 

and with the runes and scripts finally falling apart  after so many eons their sanctuary was disappearing along with them 

just five years measly five years was all they got with the child and as only three of them were ready to train the new soul that refused the chain of the gods that they so graciously blessed upon him 

but now the runes were falling and a spatial rift would soon devour this place 

the fates had forced their 

it was ironic as fate  would decide someone's free from fate's future 

and as a dying God, he felt that helping the child dolled up with wrath along with an exempt will free  from the bounds of the river of fate 

And it was as the old God said 

' all is for the best ' 

and it was a great boon for any mortal 

to have the body and spirit of the god's soul to help the child

So the boy did exactly what Erebus wanted it to do

he gave the nervous child his most " don't worry" smile 

and tossed him the celestial core of his disciple may the world river embrace her 

if he could he would have never done such a taboo thing 

but the child was clearly a mortal without a spiritual root 

and so he needs a core and he had a core and by back luck or fate it was pure one without any elemental affinity 

perfect for the boy and his path 

he just prayed that his previous disciple  would forgive him

"First you have to swallow this," he said as he threw the core that looked like a white marble to the kid 

the child caught the core and studied it 

the white shimmering, bright pearl of core glowed brightly in his hands 

his permanent frown deepened 

and he looked at me with puppy eyes 

"Do I have to?" he asked clearly struggling to contemplate whether he should take it or not 

Lord Erebus God darkness barely controlled his laughter and nodded heavily 

the boy hesitated a moment and then

He swallowed the core whole and the white glow became darker as the core touched his tongue 

As if the core suddenly became heavier

Erebus was worried the boy might have lost his appetite

but  the boy swallowed 

Then suddenly Erebus felt something as the core power began melting  inside the body of child 

it felt like a huge explosion inside the body

then he picked up the boy and threw him into the million-year-old ice water pond 

as the child hit the water he let out a blood-curdling scream 

and the water broke and the lake cracked as the boy's skin began turning dark

as the child  screamed the lake split and formed into a whirlpool in the middle of the pool of water

the child let you another scream and floated to the surface screaming

Erebus was horrified by the pain

"Is the child dead?" He shouted to Lady Tong 

She shook her head and replied: "No"

"but you should jump and guide the spiritual energies to form the spiritual veins as I don't think the child will be able to think through the pain so you know what to do Lord Erebus" 

Lord Erebus nodded as he too jumped into the freezing ice-cold water 

......................................................................

~ FIRST PERSON POV DAVID~

"Do I have to?" I asked feeling particularly afraid as I held the glowing white ball in my hand 

moments ago I had tried to look at it with my soul's eyes

it was as if I was staring right at the sun as I held it in my hands 

It was blinding white and seemed so hot that it burned me

I was sure I was going to pass out anytime now

and I felt the bile rise up in my throat as I got the NOD from the man 

I swallowed my none existent  salvia as I  looked at the ball in my hand

What am I supposed to do? I thought to myself

What should I do?

I closed my eyes tight trying hard not to cry

I just accepted the fact and with one motion a pit in my mouth 

the ball tasted disgusting it tasted of  death and decay

and yet the man said to just swallow it as if swallowing was no big deal

what was I supposed to do? 

How did the man expect me to do this? 

Did he even know about these things? 

What happens if he can't find anything wrong with this?

 Is there something wrong with me? 

Or this ball?

but I ignored the panic and the disgusting taste and swallowed the ball 

and cool wonderful energy began to  flow through my system

like a warm soothing shower washing away all my sins

I sighed as the cold water washed away my tears

I stood there for a second just enjoying it 

and the warmth from the water helped soothe the burn

I felt refreshed and I started to float away in the water like a feather floating on the ocean

it took me a second to realise it wasn't feeling but I was actually flying through the air 

and then I hit the water 

and it stung like fire.

 Water drilled right down into me until I thought I was dead for sure. 

the  pain and heat of it was unbearable

I felt like I was burning alive

I wanted to cry out for help but my throat was dry

I couldn't move so much as I struggled to breath

and the water seeped into my pores making every part of me ache and 

 feel sore

I felt a sharp pain shooting up through my body as I felt myself begin to suffocate

I opened my eyes slowly to see my surroundings but I couldn't 

the darkness scared me more than the pain ever did I let out an ear shattering scream 

I heard something fall from above me

it was soft as a feather landing softly into the water

was that a person?

I closed my eyes again afraid to open them

could I trust what I felt in my gut?

Could I trust my instincts?

They weren't as strong as they usually were 

"circulate your spiritual energy" a distant gruff voice spoke to me as I felt hands wondering all over me 

 and I felt someone gently brush my head 

trying to ignore the raging pain I tried to gather the energy but failed 

again I tried but the pain was  just too overwhelming I felt like a broken ragdoll

my muscles ached terribly

I felt weak 

I still couldn't focus

I tried and kept trying

And try harder

My mind was blank I wanted to leave so bad

 it hurt...

"Don't fight it let it enter your very core let your anger aid you" I heard a muffled voice 

 in the darkness speaking to me

but pain flashed like someone had stabbed through my arm and my blood began to burn.

I was about to give up when a chant appeared in my mind 

and like someone had thrown a lifeline to a drowning man I grabbed onto it and began to chant like my life depend on it 

"Cycle" the voice came again louder this time 

"Draw in the water into you drink it, breath it, absorb it, devour it" 

so against my better judgment 

I pushed the cold water everywhere I could

 surprise when the water followed my spiritual energy, 

so I cycled my energy along with the water forcing it into my muscles,  skin, even the very centre of my bones.

 It was an endless moment, but still, it was over 

sooner than I'd thought.

but I was celebrating too soon as the pain came back 

my body began to twist involuntary 

and I could feel the pressure and pain

from before coming back with more force and intensity

I cried out painfully and in that moment 

I withdrew in my soul space 

as I lay there in my lake crying from the pain that came in  short bursts I thought 

"I hate my life so much" 

....................................................................

~THIRD PERSON POV~

Lord Erebus was shocked as he watched the broken, twisted and  burnt body of the boy lying limp floating in the pond 

His body wasn't moving much anymore, as he'd run out of energy sometime today. 

When he twitched, it was like lightning moving through dead flesh more than any conscious attempt at motion, and his skin was all but invisible beneath swollen black veins. the spiritual ice water ran throughout his body 

as foam trickled from his teeth as his own blood ran from his ears, the corners of his eyes, and even sweated through his pores.

 He'd lasted more than a day, which had left even lord Erebus  astonished. His standards were high—too high, really—but this child had still surprised him.

even his former disciple who had long surpassed him and died had only lasted half an hour 

that was nothing compared to the boy 

but it wasn't over far from it 

Lord Erebus guided the spiritual energy and the chilled deadly water throughout the body 

forcefully not just opening but creating spiritual channels as well as meridians in short he was destroying recreating a new body for the boy 

Lord Erebus consider himself a kind loving God but he couldn't be kind to this boy 

they were pushing him into a dangerous path from his connecting  cushy life the least he could do was give the boy a chance to survive 

he began using his divine essence spark and lightning to stimulate and cast the body 

he worked with such precision and without any emotion as if he was working on a cast of iron instead of a living breathing body 

then suddenly an idea struck him and he immediately acted on it 

once the boy's new body was forged his spiritual veins and meridians spread through his body like tree veins with the heart as the stump he was now an actual tree with the roots buried inside him 

 and then he connected the core of his former disciple of his soul creating a game empty core 

if the child was lucky to awaken a spirit his core would be more powerful than a 1st-grade golden core 

but then he did something no other God had ever gone he began fusing his driven spark with the core 

Lord Erebus skilled wickedly and sent power into the boy's chest 

"I am about to die anyway at least I can feel better for fooling this Pope child" he muttered 

a light flashed around the boy's chest 

as he fused the core and divine spark he felt the child rage slipping into the core's essence 

he felt the rage 

the anger was blonding as it was like  a fire in the core he felt the pain and fear of rejection from the core as he felt it

but then

as the core of the core was being consumed by the rage 

Erebus for the first time felt pain 

the pain became less intense as the core was being burned

but the divine spark fought against it and finally subdued it 

as the core was becoming stronger than ever

his core was evolving as Erebus fought the flames of rage 

the rage felt like  it was burning

Erebus felt like he was burning too

with the fire that raged inside his heart 

it felt like it was ripping his insides apart

he was burning inside but outside

he felt like he was melting inside

He felt the anger and hate within him grow and grow

As the heat of the anger and hatred grew

finally, after eons, Lord Erebus God of darkness survivor of Olympus was finally afraid 

A memory of an old friend came to him 

his rage was great too 

but he had extinguished it and made peace with himself 

his friends  word carved at his soul and so he decided to carve those words in the boy's soul 

[Divine Rage can make people uncomfortable. It can feel disruptive, chaotic, frightening or unpredictable. We must remember, The aim of divine rage is not vengeance but to reorder the world. It is precise and purposeful never use it for oneself but others]

Erebus felt a pang of saddens as he remember his old friend he was the only true kind and loving God unlike his breathing  the vain and selfish ones 

he remembered the hunched back the twisted legs and the fiery wrath that he channelled into his forge 

and through that memory, Erebus came up with another inspiration 

Erebus began to cast divine inscriptions, divine runes and even divine words of creation on the very bones and soul of the child 

the boy's back seized up. His eyes rolled up into its socket, and foam bubbled up quickly at his mouth as he choked violently.

Erebus ignored the boy's struggle in favour of continuing

his work as if nothing had happened

He knew the boy wouldn't die the heart won't let him 

Seven days and seven nights the boy squirmed like a worm on a frying pan, 

and when it was over only the tired and dying Erebus looked happily at his handy work 

only a single day remained for all of them 

but lord Erebus was proud of the boy 

with his body forcefully transformed he should have not even have woken up 

with all the pain 

he looked at the colourless eyes of the boy 

he felt a pang of guilt for he had stolen the boy's soul mirror 

but that was the only way he could think that could protect the boy 

now no dirty or being can see into his soul 

no one would know he is unbound unless they throw him into the river if fate and time 

but even with all the pain, the boy had  suffered because of them 

there was no madness in the eyes of the boy 

his will wasn't broken his mind wasn't shattered 

Lord Erebus God of Darkness began to cry for the first time since he began to walk this cosmos

he was proud 

he was happy

but he didn't know why

He was sad

The last day had come 

the final day the last day 

Lord Erebus was excited

the child's body and the child's soul was ready to

he was ready for it

the child of wrath carrying the heart of the Tree 

Lord Erebus was relived 

he didn't have to worry about the child anymore now 

he could go on peacefully now 

but before he disappeared he wanted to see the boy's..............