Tengen's cocky smile widened as he laughed, looking straight at Maxi. Then, with a smirk, he jumped off the table, leaned in close, and licked his teeth slightly.
"So, you finally asked."
Maxi narrowed his eyes.
"You know, the whole reason I got you all riled up about your mother yesterday was because I knew you'd ask this question right after I finished teaching you. I even dangled magic in front of you because you're a smart kid—quick-thinking. I figured magic would be the best way to distract you from knowing which gods blessed you. But I knew I couldn't hide it forever. Damn, you're so fricken persistent. Give me a break, kid."
Maxi remained silent, waiting for him to explain himself.
Tengen sighed dramatically.
"Okay, okay. There's a particular reason why I didn't want you to know, alright? It's because... well, the gods who blessed you aren't exactly strong or give... useful blessings."
Tengen chuckled. "And to be brutally honest... they're trash. D1 ass type of trash, if I am going to be 100% honest with you."
Maxi held his head in disappointment, but then—
He felt them.
His body became cold and rigid.
He could barely move.
It felt as if his body was too afraid to function.
His blood stood still.
His eyes did not blink.
His breath did not move.
As—
The three divine presences watched.
He remembered them. He recognized them. Their power, their presence, their tie to him—he remembered it all, and he felt it all.
Now, with all their divinity and all their power, they stared at Tengen with such veracity that it made Maxi's body shake as a result.
Then, he felt it—powerful killing intent from two of the divinities. It felt like piercing, hot, boiling spears through his stomach.
The third presence seemed to remain calm, but the feeling of looming anxiety that seemed to weaken his body told him the deity was barely holding back.
Maxi's stomach twisted in pain as he felt their rage boiling and burning his stomach alive.
Tengen smirked, clearly aware of the divine fury directed at him.
Maxi panicked as he stretched his arms toward Tengen weakly and shouted, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell are you doing?! STOP!!!"
Tengen only smirked. "What? I'm telling the truth. Can your gods not even handle something so small as the truth? If they can't even handle this, how did they earn their titles as gods in the first place?"
Tengen chuckled mockingly. "It must have been a fluke, a freak accident that gave three freaks their rightfully undeserved titles."
A burning sensation erupted in Maxi's right arm.
His breath hitched. Looking down, he saw it—
Maxi felt a strange sensation on his right hand. When he looked down, he saw that the right eye of his three-eyed symbol was moving. It was shaking and shifting, as the right-eyed symbol itself seemed to vibrate violently, disappearing into the lids of the symbol.
The pure violence of how hard the eye symbol was shaking made it seem as if it was fighting against something. It almost seemed like a force was holding it back.
But it also seemed as if the force holding it back was either too weak or was the byproduct of something else, because it did not hold him back for long.
It had already thrashed and moved a good length from its original position.
The moment it aligned directly at the middle of its eyelid symbol, it looked straight ahead. All the thrashing and shaking stopped as it locked itself into the perfect angle to look forward. A crushing weakness slammed over Maxi's entire body.
He couldn't move.
Even trying felt like moving while buried in a pool of sand.
His muscles locked. His limbs felt like lead.
Blood.
Thick crimson tears dripped from his eyes.
The bloody tears shone brightly in the room's light, as if made of gold. Maxi's eyes started to reflect their divinity as they turned a golden yellow.
A presence.
Divine.
Demonic.
It grabbed his hand.
Every vein in that hand felt like it was boiling, as if he was being cooked alive from the inside out.
The veins on his arm glowed an ominous red.
Maxi looked—but saw nothing. Yet, he felt it. A force was lifting his arm.
He felt and saw himself slowly rise with an air he had never had before—an air Maxi would never dare or even think about having.
Maxi rose with an air of pride.
He slowly stood up like a king rising from his throne.
His eyes were glazed over with an intense, expressionless anger that seemed to leave no warmth in the room, only a blood-chilling cold.
Maxi's hand raised up.
But something intercepted it.
Another force.
Strings.
Thin, invisible threads yanked his hand away from the unseen entity.
Maxi's consciousness flickered.
Darkness.
Then—light.
Maxi flashed back into consciousness.
His maid shoved him back onto the seat as she laid her hands on his chest. Her hands glowed faintly with what seemed to be magic as she checked his pulse, her face unusually tight with worry and fear that she tried desperately to push through.
He could hear Tengen pacing, muttering under his breath. His usual cocky demeanor was gone, replaced with sharp realization—
He had messed up.
Maxi tried to speak, but his throat felt raw.
The only words that came out of his mouth were ones that were not his own.
Ones that belonged to one of the divinities.
"YOU DARE."
His vision blurred. The edges of the room darkened again—
Flicker.
Back in the void.
The Veiled Man he saw before sat before him again, unseen strings wrapped around his fingers, controlling something unseen.
Maxi then looked at the figure holding his hand, and he saw the other figure.
Tall.
Very tall.
As tall as the Veiled Man.
But broader, more muscular.
Two horns sprouted from his head, mostly covered by his short, messy hair.
Maxi blinked. He couldn't tell the color of anything.
Everything was black, white, and gray.
The horned figure scowled and growled in a deep, primal voice.
That voice was one that only commanded. One that only gave orders, never taking or listening to any that weren't its own. In every single sense, in every single meaning... in every single concept of the words, it was—
KINGLY.
ROYAL.
and—
DIVINE.
Yet, with one small shake of the Veiled Man's head—
He growled again in anger and outrage, but then threw Maxi's hand away.
Clearly pissed, he couldn't do whatever he was going to do to Tengen.
His eyes flashed a dangerous gold and red light before he turned away.
Flicker.
Back in the room.
Maxi gasped for air.
Everyone was frozen in motion. His maid was frozen in the motions of casting her healing. Tengen was frozen in the pose of sitting on his table, leaning forward with his chin resting on his fist, elbows propped on his knees, conveying his deep contemplation of the deep philosophical answer he would give to solve the deep philosophical problem he caused.
It seemed the anger of that horned figure had even seeped into reality and stunned them in place.
Coloring the space red and making all the light shine gold.
After a few seconds, the maid and Tengen came back from their stunned states as they resumed the actions they were doing.
His maid was gripping his shoulders now, shaking him slightly. "Young Master! Stay with me!"
Tengen stared at Maxi with something close to guilt, but it was more akin to the kind of guilt you only feel because you're about to lose your job. His usual arrogance was gone, replaced with a tight, almost forced, apologetic and awkward smile.
Maxi felt heat around him.
A presence—warm, protective—wrapped around his body.
Not his maid's.
Or Tengen's.
Thankfully.
It was someone else.
It was—
Something... else.
Flicker.
Back into darkness.
This time, he felt arms around him.
Long hair draped over his chest.
A head rested on top of his.
It was warm. Comforting.
But—
There was killing intent.
Not directed at him—but radiating from the being holding him.
Divine.
Demonic.
Just as demonic as the horned figure, but different as well.
The airs were different. With the horned figure, it was just pure dominance, rule, order, pride, and power.
With this, the air was different. It felt soft, gentle, alluring, tempting, teasing, and almost loving. And it almost seemed like one bad move, and that love might turn into an obsessive addiction instead of a loving attraction.
Maxi tried to move, but the warmth overwhelmed him, pulling him into a deep unconsciousness.
And as he fell deeper and deeper into unconsciousness, a warm and dreamless sleep eventually grabbed hold of him.
Flicker.
Maxi's eyes snapped open.
He was in his bed.
His mother's arms were wrapped around him, holding him close and tight. He looked up and saw that his mother was asleep.
But he knew.
He knew.
That wasn't her back in the void.
That warmth—that presence—
It had been something else entirely.
Before he could dwell on it further—
A voice.
Familiar.
"Hey, you good, Maxi?"
Maxi turned his head and saw him.
Techxin.
Sitting in a chair next to the bed, watching him with an easygoing smirk.
Maxi smiled.
"As good as I can be, big brother. Where the hell is that bastard of a teacher of mine?"
Techxin smirked.
"Busy explaining what happened to Father."
Maxi's mind flooded with all the ways he wanted to punish Tengen.
But soon after came the realization that those were just fantasies that wouldn't come true because of his lack of power.
Maxi sighed in disappointment.
But then he came up with a better idea.
He grinned. "Hey, can you do something for me?"
Techxin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, sure."
Maxi smirked wider. "Can you punch him for me?"
Techxin laughed. "I'll do you one better. Just wait."
Maxi grinned, satisfied.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then—
Maxi asked the same question he had asked Tengen.
But this time—he asked Techxin.
"Can you tell me which gods gave me their blessing?"
Techxin smiled. "Yeah, why not? The gods who blessed you are—"
"A Demon King."
"A Demon Queen."
"And finally—a Dreamer who has gained enlightenment."
Maxi's breath hitched.
He finally had the answer.
The question that had haunted him.
The uncertainty that had followed him since his birth.
Maxi smiled.
And under his breath, he muttered—
"Finally."