《Rise From The Shadows》


 1 Chapter 1

    "Your time has come. You shall rule and bring order to this corrupt world!" a powerful voice commanded as tens of hands dragged me away from the dark shadows and towards a shimmering bright light.


    Overwhelmed by my sudden awakening, I yearned for precious air that was within my orbit, yet seemed to escape from my grasp as I constantly reached for it. I attempted to move around the empty space in hopes of relief, however, I was incapable. I couldn''t shift. I was chained to the brick wall that stood behind me by a sort of thick, titanium cuffs wrapped around my wrists and ankles.


    Finally conscious of my surroundings, I recalled everything about my situation. A fire burnt in my soul. How long has it been since I was sent into a deep slumber in this dark, empty, and disgusting dungeon cell? A year? A decade? A century? I lost track of time.


    Killing me, the goddess of climate change and weather would lead to the end of this world, yet they thought that me sleeping for all of eternity would keep things in order? Locking me up in an isolated space might have been a good idea at the time, but did he honestly believe that it was a permanent solution? Argenteus! I promise you will regret all the sins you have committed and a fortune you will pay.


    "Titanium, disassemble," I demanded to be released. The cuffs disbanded into tiny powdered bits almost instantly. With a skeptical expression, I mumbled, "That''s oddˇ­"


    For the most part, it takes close to a minute for my elemental powers to fulfill a given task and an instant result has never happened before, unlessˇ­ CO2 levels must be higher than they should have been! Oh no! It''s true that I was more powerful than I had ever been, but at what cost? In the meantime, I knew that consuming CO2 would be the only way to regain balance in the atmosphere. Escaping this place would be a great use of energy.


    "BRICKS AND OBJECTS THAT STAND IN MY ROUTE, DECONSTRUCT. UNWANTED PEOPLE, BEGONE WITH THE WIND," I yelled, placing a curse upon the mansion. I stormed through every wall, destroying the place and everything that prevented me from my goal.


    With all the commotion, I was spotted. The guard trembled in fear as they laid eyes upon the ever so powerful goddess, shaking so much that they were unable to bow in my presence. Although I was feared, respect and followers I did not have.


    "O-h my! The prisoner has awoken and escaped! The prisoner has awoken escaped! Call for backup." the guard pleaded for reinforcements from his colleagues.


    With the use of intense wind, I was able to throw him across the end of the corridor. I walked towards him, with an unwavering look, I grabbed him by the collar and declared, "it''s Goddess Taes to you."


    "Catch her! Call the lord, inform him about the escape," the reinforcements the timid guard called for arrived and were ready to fight. Although I admired their bravery, they were too dense to realize that silly humans stand no chance against a goddess.


    "Out of my way," I carelessly said, waving them away, and they went flying into a wall. I had no time for insignificant followers of Argenteus. They called him over, and that was all I needed.

 2 Chapter 2

    "In recent news, XXXX company announced bankruptcy as a result of the CEO losing the company amulet of wealth. On another note, a starter company suddenly skyrockets in product sales. Could these two incidences be related? Could the starter company have stolen the amulet of wealth from the major company? Lord Argenteus, any comments regarding this "coincidence"?" A news reporter interviewed the god.


    "I grant wealth to whoever deserves it, if one can not protect the bestowed holy gift, then they shall live on with the consequences of their sins. Debt and poverty." Argentus responded with an arrogant attitude live on the news channel and acted as though he was the only god on this planet. Suddenly, an unrelated person heads towards the Argenteus and whispers something in his ear. Never had the world witnessed a holy figure such as a god, freeze on live television, then sprint out of the room with a red face, yet there Argenteus was, doing all of the above.


    I sneered at the amusing scene while watching TV from the comfort of the God of wealth''s expensive sofa. At this point, everyone gave up on restraining me. They even served food every few minutes. Funny how things change so fast.


    Last time I was around, it was the year 1998, having quality time with my family. My grandparents, the Kings and Queens of England, were with us in this very mansion. How I miss those days, but I knew better than anyone, it could never be the same afterˇ­


    BAM!


    Argenteus slammed the living room door open, dashed towards me, attempting to smack every living thing out of me. Did he honestly believe that hurting me would be that easy?


    "Fire shield," I created, effortlessly blocking a solid attack from the muscular god before me.


    "How dare you!" he screamed, wincing in pain from the second-degree burns on his hand.


    "You feel pain? That sure is good to know," I smirked, making uncountable torturous plans in my mind. "How have you been these days, uncle?"


    "I am your father now, and you should accept it. Your mother may have conceived you with my deceased brother, but I am her husband now. We even have twins. Nothing you do can change that," responded Argentus to the five-letter word he hated most.


    "You? My father? That''s funny! Last time I checked, you killed the man that made me. And for what? Only to take my mother away from him even though she never loved you. You know better than anyone else my place in this. A witness? Yeah, that works. A victim? Even better! Not only did you want to get rid of the husband, but you also wanted the child long gone. I guess deep sleep was your only option since me dying would mean that you would too." I strolled around him, glaring at his every move while assessing his weak points. Having my guard down in this fight would be a disadvantage. "You killed the God of Technology. I heard the temple of memes designated to my father was taken down. Thanks to you, there aren''t any good memes anymore. I would regret to inform you, but today is your last day in this world."


    "You can''t do anything! No one worships you. When I sent you away, you were but a child that had powers but wasn''t eligible to have a worshipping method. You are weak. I am strong and everyone wears my amulets (how people worship him). That fire was probably the best you could do." he stood arrogantly in front of me, believing how incapable I was.


    "You know what? I changed my mind, I won''t end you," I smiled and placed my hands behind my head as though surrendering, "but that doesn''t mean others won''t. Water bubble."


    Water formed a sphere around him, preventing him from escaping. Five glorious figures stepped out from a hidden room, each one with powerful aura emitting from them.

 3 Chapter 3

    "I knew something was up when you hid us in another room," claimed a gracious young face. With tears running down her smooth fair face, she raced towards me and pulled me tight in her embrace. "I didn''t know you went through so much. Argenteus convinced me that you ran away after your father''s death. I trusted him because he was the closest person I had left after Frigus passed. I''m so sorry, my dear."


    I hugged my mother silently. As much as I wanted to cry, I couldn''t. I felt betrayed by everyone around me. I even just came to know of my siblings that share a murderer''s blood. I would have asked her to turn back time, but she was already weak enough after the whole fiasco happened and she had to stop time in order to make it before the prime minister did. It''s sad how no one uses their time wisely and directs it to her these days...


    "Yongnian, move over, you''re not the only one who hasn''t seen Taes in decades. The grandparents also want to see her." announced my grandmother, Goddess Chea.


    "Chea is right, but before we get even more distracted, what are we to do with Argenteus?" asked my paternal grandfather, while stepping up to the huge water bubble that was stuffed with a God.


    "I suggest we take away his position as prime minister, all his property, fortune, etc. and banish him from Canada and the United Kingdom, that is unless the rest of you would like to sentence him for life." Argenteus''s mother suggested. Although she was his mother, she couldn''t bear to hear about his evil deeds. He not only cost her her firstborn son, but also her only granddaughter. Had she defended him, I would have been astonished, as she has always been a woman of equality. After all, she is the Goddess of diversity.


    "Loss of assets and life sentence preferably," Goddess Chea agreed.


    "Too bad death sentences are illegal. Agreed," my mother pouted.


    "Proceed," both my grandfathers agreed simultaneously.


    "So it''s confirmed, he will spend the rest of his life in prison and all his assets will be given to his family members." I finalized and accepted, although I hoped for a harsher punishment upon him. When it was time to move him, I called out, "Water release."


    "God Lefu! Goddess Chea! God Proelium! Goddess Yongnian! Taes! You all want to turn against one of your family members? Your flesh and blood? Don''t be so harsh. How about I give up my position and everything will be good?" he pleaded, slowly walking backwards, as though about to escape at any moment.


    "Look him up Taes." Grandfather Proelium ordered.


    "Gladly!" I exclaimed, waving a hand goodbye, "Box, form."

 4 Chapter 4

    A few days later, at the mansion,


    "Grandmother, isn''t it about time I have my own temple where people can worship me?" I casually asked Goddess Chea.


    "Oh, heavens I almost forgot! Your temple needs to be something that can empower you. Take my temple for example. Since I need people to be healthy for my healing powers to grow, everyone that visits has to do a special mix of yoga that strengthens them as a whole. You, on the other hand, are powered up by carbon dioxide. How about a fire temple?" the goddess of health excitedly suggested.


    "I was thinking of a tree planting tree sanctuary. I know that will weaken me, but the atmosphere already has more than enough carbon dioxide to last me for centuries. It gets to a point where it is overwhelming," I explained nervously as I reached out and held on to her hands.


    "Alright, we''ll start with the preparations immediately," she sighed disappointedly. "I need to head out now, time for the human''s prayers for me. Farewell, my dear."


    I smiled at her as she exited the room, and as she was out of sight, I sat back and relaxed. Grandmother Chea was always a kind person in my perspective, but when things don''t go her way, her inner "devil" is unleashed. I feared that she would not accept my proposal, but seeing that she agreed without a second thought, she must have gone soft because of my twenty-two-year-long disappearance.


    Planning a place where people would worship a god for all of eternity requires uttermost focus. I had examined the area in the past few days and I came to the conclusion that my tree sanctuary will be neighbouring the meme house my father managed.


    A girl''s laughter erupted out of the blue from behind the wooden door that separated the corridor from the living room. It was rather odd, considering that only my two grandfathers were home and all the servants were well trained and taught to not make a sound outside of their private quarters. The wooden door flew open just as two figures stepped in as though they owned the place.


    "Oh, remember when that girl tripped and fell on her face? It was such a waste of time. I gave her a golden opportunity to talk to her crush and she just blew it! Can you believe-" the girl that seemed to be in her early twenties recalled a story to the blond boy who stood alongside her. She stopped mid-way through her sentence as she caught a glimpse of me. She stared at her companion, then glared at me, who happened to be doing the same.


    "Who are you? How dare you sit so casually in the living room of the four gods of Canada! Do you know who we are? This is a capital offence! You never even greeted us accordingly! I am the goddess of chance and opportunities, and together with my brother, the god of truth and lies, we will end you! " the newly introduced goddess announced with disgust, and the god nodded.


    "You two must be the twins'' everyone talked aboutˇ­Delictum and Fraus?" I stated the obvious, hoping the two would backtrack everything they assumed after my comment.


    "THE TWINS? FIRST NAMES WITH NO TITLE? IS THAT HOW COMMINORS TREAT HOLY GODS THESE DAYS?" Delictum yelled at the top of her lungs. About to smack me in the face, I grabbed her hand and swung her across the room with the help of the wind.


    CRASH! There she went, hitting her head with the vase that stood in the way between the wall and her skull.


    Fed up with all the ruckus in the room, both my grandfathers waltz into the room, resembling a titan who was about to kill everyone that stood between them and peace and quiet. "Taes, what the heck are you doing that you''re making so much noise?" god Lefu frowned. I presumed that the hurt sister was enough to answer his question. He caressed his granddaughter''s head as he worriedly asked,"Delictum! What happened here? Why are you hurt?"


    "This witch threw me after trespassing into our house!" although hurt, Delictum was anything but inaudible.


    "Witch? You mean Taes? Oh, dear! Taes is your sister and the goddess of climate change. She controls the four elements. She is anything but a witch!" Proelium corrected.


    "Are you saying that father had a child before us?" Fraus speculated.


    "No, I am saying your mother had a child before the two of you. Taes is the daughter of your mother and your uncle," Proelium cleared up the misunderstanding.


    "She''s our older sister? We go on a trip and come back to find ourselves with a sister?" Fraus flared up in anger. "I am the god of truth, yet none of you said anything? Why do my powers only go as far as controlling what people say? I need some time alone," Fraus charged out of the room with a red, angry, face.


    "Waitˇ­ so the person I was about to hit was my sister? I have a sister? I have a sister!" Delictum exclaimed at my fascinating existence. Who would have thought that she would be angry one second, and happy the next. "I can''t wait to spend time with you! All my brother does is listen to humans being humans and lying. I can never do anything amusing with him. What a workaholic!"


    "Don''t you work too?" I wondered.


    "I do, but all the human''s most valuable items they give me for an opportunity are just garbage. I almost can never activate my powers with them," she complained. "I hear you control the four elements. That''s so cool! All I can do is give people opportunities. How do people worship you by the way?"


    "Oh, my powers run on carbon dioxide, so I''m planning on creating a tree sanctuary where people plant trees when they come to worship me," I explained.


    "Trees will absorb the carbon dioxide, so why are you building it? A sanctuary will not be how humans worship you!" Proelium declared.

 5 Chapter 5 END

    "Let her do whatever she wants. Everything will be alright. It''s her temple, not yours." Lefu argued against his brother-in-law.


    "Everything will be fine? That''s rich, coming from you." Proelium mocked.


    "What''s that supposed to mean?" Lefu protested.


    "The humans didn''t give you the unhealthy food you asked of them and you placed the curse of the coronavirus upon them!" Proelium claimed.


    "I placed that curse because they worshiped my sister more than me, not because I didn''t get what I wanted." Lefu proudly stated.


    "ENOUGH! I am building a sanctuary whether anyone likes it or not!" I screamed with a fire in my eyes. "Did both of you forget how you weren''t born gods? It was all thanks to that crystal you all touched on your double date with grandma Chea and grandma Vielfalt that all of you guys became gods. Think of the people! Everything you do is meant for them! So stop being selfish and get it together!"


    The room was filled with drop-dead silence. All three of the gods gazed at me, stunned by my words.


    "That''s rightˇ­ how could I forget? Hey, Proelium, remember when you gave Vielfalt a bunch of different types of chocolates on her birthday and she accidentally used her powers on them and turned them all into deserts from different parts of the world? That had to be the best day of my life." Lefu chuckled.


    "Yeah, that was great! Remember how that same day a group of thugs stopped us when we were on our way home? You passed me your extra pocket knife to protect myself, but I made them calm down and apologize with the help of my powers. I had no sweet clue what was going on," Proelium snickered, then turned to me and apologized."Taes, I''m sorry. You can plant those trees if you want, but the consequences are yours to face."


    "I understand," I nodded.


    "Gah! Mother, let me go!" Fraus shouted.


    My mother and grandmother Vielfalt walked in with Fraus dragged behind them. It was a refreshing sight for the most part, though, I could have made do without Fraus''s obnoxious voice.


    "Everyone here is a liar! I don''t want to have anything to do with any of you! Especially your mother! You cheated on my father with my uncle!" he accused.


    " The only person you should speak ill of is your "precious" father. Your uncle was your mother''s first husband and Argenteus killed him and locked me up in the dungeon for two decades," I rolled my eyes at the naive boy before me. He sure was too gullible to be the god of truth and lies.


    "Your sister is right. Argenteus was the one who killed your uncle and deceived me into marrying him" my mother confirmed.


    "F-father is a murderer? How can that be?" he stuttered and appeared lifeless. "I''m so sorry, I should have been more considerate. What did you guys do to him?"


    "We locked him up for life, and stripped him of the prime minister title." my mother responded.


    "Okˇ­" he sighed disappointedly with the day''s outcome.


    "Everything will be okay. Our family is back in order and the sinners are where they belong." I assured him. The crowd rested on the sofas and looked at one another. Everyone laughed.


    The End.