𝟏.𝟔: Imprisoned god II
𝐈 glanced at his outstretched palm—broad enough to cradle my entire face like a winter scarf.
My fingers twitched, moving on instinct to reach for his… but then I remembered why I was caught up in this absurd nightmare to begin with.
My expression darkened. I swatted his hand away and forced myself up, ignoring the jarring pop of my joints and the stinging throb of bruises decorating my arms and knees.
Pain flared like little sparks under my skin, but I ignored them all.
The grass clinging to my damp skin and the dirt smudging my legs only added fuel to the frustration building in my chest.
Give me one good reason to trust you after all the sh☆t that just went down, I snapped.
The man—deity? celestial fashion model? whatever he was—blinked, almost startled. Like he hadn't expected my bite or my attitude.
Maybe he thought I'd crumble into a teary pile and beg for divine answers.
To him, I probably looked like a cranky toddler who'd just face-planted in the sandbox and was now throwing a tantrum about her ruined castle.
That image only pissed me off more.
I could've died! I continued, voice rising. You told me to open some magical door but didn't think to mention the demonic abomination chilling out in your front yard? Wait… don't tell me that thing was acting under your orders.
My eyes narrowed as the thought settled. You let that happen, didn't you? Took your sweet time showing up while I was out here playing Hunger Games with a hellhound. What exactly is your goal here? Answer me!
I didn't recognize my own voice. I couldn't even remember the last time I yelled at anyone. Hell, I never yelled. I was the quiet one, the one people yelled at.
But ever since I arrived here—wherever "here" even was—everything about me had shifted.
My emotions, my instincts, my reactions… nothing aligned with the version of myself I was used to. And I didn't know if that was a terrifying thing or an awakening.
With a sigh, I dragged a hand through my tangled hair and winced when my fingers caught on a mess of dirt and tiny pebbles.
Geez… what has my life become?
A low chuckle broke the silence, pulling my gaze back to him.
He tapped the heel of his staff against the ground, and to my disbelief, it shimmered and faded into nothingness. My jaw dropped.
But the magic show wasn't over.
Before my very eyes, he began to shrink—by more than a foot. His towering form adjusted itself until he now stood just a few inches taller than me. Still intimidating, still impossibly regal… but less Olympian.
His lips curled into a lazy smirk as he took in my dumbfounded expression, clearly amused by my inner crisis.
"Walk with me," he said, and this time, his voice wasn't a haunting blend of echoes.
No eerie whispers. No thunderous resonance.
He sounded… human.
Just like me.
I still had questions—so many questions—and a major bone to pick with him. But I figured those would unravel soon enough.
So I fell in step beside him, the sting in my joints easing as the unknown ahead called for answers.