The Astral soul system-Chapter 209: New gods

Zen opened the door to his room, walking in and finding everyone in their beds,Neo was still sleeping and Syl was gone.

"Oh, dude. Your friend just sort of... disappeared"

Zen didn’t respond and just went to his bed, laying down. He already knew that. She had used most of her energy helping Neo and could no longer keep her physical form. The other two didn’t ask questions, assuming it was just an ability thing and Zen’s calmness seemed to reassure them.

According to Syl ,Neo should awaken soon, though how soon he wasn’t sure.

A few minutes ago

"What?"

Zen didn’t answer, tilting his head. He himself didn’t know where that had come from. He remembered Theia saying he would "Feel it" when she woke up but he hadn’t expected it to be instant.

"I don’t -"

Zaria quickly got up and dashed out of the garden. He already knew where she was going so he followed behind,although he couldn’t quite keep up.

In a few minutes they quickly made it to the infirmary and as Zaria turned the corner to enter she gasped

Sitting there on the bed was Jade draped in the white hospital gown. Her vibrant green hair flowing in the faint wind. The moonlight from the window touched her skin making it sparkle faintly and giving her an ethereal quality. Her eyes were fixed outside on the moon, giving her an air of melancholy and her body wasn’t moving, something about the way the light bounced off her,her pale skin,and her fragile stature made her look a bit... spectral. If you didn’t look closely you’d have thought she was a ghost at first.

"Jade"

Zaria breathed out joyfully and ran to embrace her.

Jade didn’t react, only moving after a few seconds to look at Zaria who had her head buried in her chest.

Finally making it there, Zen stopped at the side of the door, looking in without making himself visible.

"What are you doing?"

Theia asked.

Zen didn’t reply, just watching.

"Zaria..."

Jade said,her voice cracking like she was feeling how the word sounded on her lips.

Zaria smiled, looking up to finally see her face when she suddenly gasped,, taking in a sharp breath.

"What is it?"

Jade asked,a distinct lack of emotion in her voice.

"N-nothing."

Zaria quickly shook her head, looking into Jade’s...eyes.

Zen also reacted, though his was different, because he’d seen those eyes before, they were his.

Her eyes were completely pitch black with only her iris being visible,a bright silver ring

Jade stared at her for a good few seconds before speaking,her voice completely devoid of emotion.

"You’re lying"

"..."

Zaria froze in place.

"What? No, I’m -"

Jade suddenly looked up, her eyes locking onto Zen before suddenly transforming again back to their "normal" look

They were different, almost inhuman. The two emerald orbs stared at him and then back at Zaria. Zaria looked as closely as she could but Jade’s eyes didn’t have the usual layers a human’s did. It usually went Sclera,iris,pupil, but looking at jade now it was just the white and the exact same green going inward.

She looked similar to her usual self, but not the same, and that made it even more uncanny.

Before anyone could speak Jade’s eyes suddenly closed and she fell back to the bed, unconscious again.

The room went completely quiet after that for a few seconds before Zaria looked back at Zen

"..."

"..."

**********

Zen looked at his hand and clenched it firmly, looking up at Neo’s bunk above his.

"How did I know?"

He’d been wondering since he left the infirmary. It wasn’t like he’d heard her voice, he hadn’t had a vision or anything, he hadn’t even intentionally said it out loud. It just happened.

It seemed he’d been underestimating the "Bond" Theia spoke of.

Back to Jade.

She was definitely different, though exactly how would have to wait. Luckily she hadn’t transformed in her sleep. In their disguised state Astrals were almost indistinguishable from humans,the only difference being the eyes which Zen also had, though because he often wore a hoodie and messy hair,no one focused on his eyes.

Jade on the other hand was sure to stand out more, though it wasn’t enough to cause suspicion... yet.

He unconsciously fiddled around with his necklace, rubbing the smooth surface with his thumb,a habit the body had picked up without them noticing.

He eventually decided he’d have to wait till he saw her tomorrow. He wouldn’t be allowed to stay with her in the infirmary during the night, he’d already tried asking., appearantly it was an inappropriate request.

His hand slowly moved from his necklace to the choker, his thumb tracing across the leather and metal before ending at the gem in the center.

It didn’t seem to react unless he tried to take it off somehow so he hadn’t gotten shocked.

"Sun wukong"

He muttered, remembering what Zaria said about the Jingu headband

"Zephyr"

He suddenly called.

"Yes boy?"

"You’re a god, correct?"

"I believe I made that clear"

"Where did you come from?"

"What?"

"Different planets have different myths, though almost all of them are dead by now. Which one is yours"

"Dead gods..."

Zephyr muttered, Zen’s statement striking a chord in him.

"I found the rock with your powers on a faraway planet with signs of a destroyed civilization "

"..."

"That was your home?"

"I don’t think so"

Another memory issue?

"Boy,you once said you knew my story. Tell it to me "

Zen briefly recounted the legend of the shadow god and his people that Aurora had told him to Zephyr.

"Hmm...yes...that sounds... about right"

"You don’t know?"

"I can’t remember"

Zen wasn’t surprised. There were already inconsistencies in the story, like how Zephyr’s entire family was said to be dead but the one they were chasing was appearantly his brother.

"And what about your brother? The one who wants to destroy everything"

"All I know is I’ve been keeping him sealed for what feels like eons. I can’t remember how or why, but he will destroy everything, and he will do whatever it takes to kill me "

"You mean me"

"You became involved in this when you walked into my barrier. If you have a way to separate us and restore me to my power,i would gladly leave you out of it"

"..."

"That’s what I thought "

Zephyr went silent for a minute before speaking up again.

"The world i came from was...simpler, smaller,yet thousands of times grander than what I see now. An era built off humanity’s worst that publicly showed it’s best "

"..."

"Men with godlike powers roamed among mortals, doing as they pleased,all at the price ofdevotion "

Zephyr let out a sigh,a strand of exhaustion in his voice

"Chaos was the world’s central theme. Even the fabric of reality itself could be bent with the snap of a finger if you were strong enough. Though there was one rule. A rule which all reality followed that I broke"

"What was it?"

"Gods are not born, they’re made"

Zen remembered in the legend too. All the gods mentioned were said to be created at the beginning of the universe, and a few later by external forces. Zephyr Black, the god of shadows was the only exception.

"Mark my words boy, on my name and divinity. I may not remember how,yet, but I’ll break that rule one more time "

Zen didn’t react, going silent for a few seconds before he finally got it.

"Me?"

"Yes, and when my brother comes, you’ll be ready. You’ll need to be no less than one to defeat him"

Theia scoffed

"You’re getting ahead of yourself pervert god. Once again,we have no obligation to help you, and if anyone’s going to make my host strong, It’s me. What are the benefits of being a god anyway? Look at you,you used to be one big bad god and now you’re just some bum with amnesia that won’t leave "

Zephyr didn’t respond to that but Zen did, directing a question to Zephyr.

"What exactly is a god? Is it just someone who’s very powerful? Can an astral even become one?"

"Race has nothing to do with it, and there’s,no better way to explain it to you now but a god is an entity with dominion over a certain aspect or domain of reality. Exactly WHAT you are, doesn’t matter. I have a vague memory of meeting a cat god in my past life. I don’t know why but I’m filled with annoyance and an insufferable feeling as i try to remember it"

As soon as he finished,a quest suddenly showed up in the system.

[Storyline Quest unlocked]

[New gods]

[Study under him,and help the king of shadows reclaim his memories and power. They will be of more use to you than you think]

[Progress: 0.01/100%]

[Notice: rewards will be granted whenever you reach a milestone in the quest. As you unlock more memories and information, the quest itself might evolve and change]

Zephyr sounded like he was going to laugh out in joy.

"It seems even the universe itself is saying this is the way. Prepare yourself boy, and get some sleep. Starting now,one way or another,i will make you a true god"