Pantheon Online-Chapter 9 - Oracle

As Colt landed face first in the snow, he turned to sure at the man in bewilderment! 'What the hell just happened!' Colt replayed his tackle in his mind to understand what had just gone wrong. Meanwhile, the man who had been on guard looked around the area as if he had not seen Colt at all!

When Colt had tried to tackle him, he had passed straight through the man to crash in the snow on the other side the moment their bodies collided. He had thought the man had used some kind of skill, but that was obviously not the case. The other two men that his shout had awoken also looked around with confused expressions.

However, none of them seemed to be able to see Colt at all! Even though he was lying sprawled in the snow right in front of them.

"Aegir! What are you shouting for!" Harald exclaimed with some anger in his tone. "You woke me up for nothing!"

"I swear I sensed something! There's something out there!" Aegir replied as he tightened his grip on his sword.

"Quit talking nonsense! The only thing out here is a few wild animals and us!" Harald scowled at his companion. "If you start spouting Old Bjorn's nonsense about spirits and the gods again, I'll beat the stupidity out of you!"

Harald and the other man pulled their furs tighter around their bodies before turning over to ignore Aegir. Colt was at a loss for words as he watched them bickering. He could not help himself as he clambered to his feet and moved to stand right in front of Aegir. The man shivered under his gaze but otherwise had no reaction to his presence!

Colt tried to touch Aegir, but his hand passed straight through the man's chest. Aegir's eyes went wide as he quickly moved to the side and stared at his previous position.

"This is so weird. It's like they can sense me but can't understand that I'm actually among them." Colt chuckled as he wondered if this was really how a God would feel. A moment later, his expression became dark as he stared at the sack that contained his target.

"If I can't interact with anything, then what am I meant to do about you?" Colt moved towards the sack and crouched down next to it. 'I wonder if…'

Colt pressed his face against the sack to sate his curiosity, and it passed right through it. He gasped slightly as he spotted the woman within. She looked to still be a teenager, but it was her silver-coloured hair with blue streaks that took his breath away.

A few moments had to pass before he came out of his daze and notice the bruises upon her face. She was clearly sleeping, but Colt could see her warm breath in the air and how her body would tremble from time to time. Seeing such a pitiful sight made Colt furious for how she had been treated.

Forgetting that he could not interact with the world around him, Colt reached out a hand to try and comfort her. As his hand landed on her face, a sudden alert sound entered his mind before a notification popped up.

[You have discovered Ania Eraldsen, a woman who prayed to the Gods for help. Do you wish to Bless Ania and bind her as your Oracle? Y/N?]

Colt frowned at the notification. He had not experienced much of the game so far, so he had no idea what the consequences would be if he accepted it. However, it seemed like this was related to his only Quest, and he was afraid that denying it would mean failing.

"Yes," Colt replied to the notification through gritted teeth.

[Blessing In Progress…]

A golden light suddenly emanated from behind Ania's eyes, making Colt yelp lightly. It had taken him by surprise, but the golden light was slightly mesmerising. Five seconds later, the light began to fade, and a new notification popped up.

[Congratulations! Ania Eraldsen is now your Oracle! Ania's stats have been upgraded due to your Blessing. Divinity Points (DP) +1] ƒ𝐫𝒆𝐞w𝗲𝚋𝗻૦𝘷e𝙡.c𝑜𝙢

[Skill Received: Oracle]

[Cost: 0 DP]

[Description: Use this skill to communicate with your chosen Oracle.]

[Skill Received: Minor Miracle]

[Cost: 1 - 10 DP depending on Miracle]

[Description: The lowest grade Miracle that allows Gods to interact with the Mortal Realm in Minor Ways.]

Colt inhaled sharply as he read the description of his new skills. 'Why does it seem like I'm a supporting character!' Colt chuckled lightly after he thought about it. It actually made sense that there had to be limitations on a God so he could appreciate the developer's way of doing things. 'I wonder what I could do here once I get stronger?'

That thought suddenly gave Colt an intense drive to discover just how much Power Gods could wield in this game. It would certainly be interesting to find out at least!

'The question now is how do I go about setting Ania free? I should communicate with her first, right? So that she can prepare herself?' Colt pondered over what he should say to convince her that he was a God who heard her prayer. After all, if Colt were in her position and a random voice started to talk to him, then Colt would assume that he was going crazy!

Colt kept his face inside the sack to gauge her reaction before he activated Oracle. A strange sensation rose up from his stomach before spreading throughout his body. It was an indescribable feeling of being connected to Ania.

"Ania…" Colt whispered as he tried to rouse her from her sleep without alarming her. "Ania…"

Ania's brows turned into a frown as her lips and cheeks moved to form an irritated expression as her eyes slowly flickered open. "Mm, what is it?"

As she mumbled in her half-awake state, her eyes suddenly went wide as she stared at Colt's face floating inside the sack! Well, in her eyes, what she actually saw was a dim golden, featureless face that appeared to be looking right at her!