Twilight of the Gods ✔️

Chapter 24: Odi the Punisher

Burn Odi's corpse.

The gold cursive glinted malevolently on the paper. Haydn wanted to ignore the task. Odi was potentially useful to him. If he were to burn him, then the God would be free to possess whoever he wished, taking his powers away with him.

What does Nyx want? It didn't matter before, but the latest hint made the Lady of the Night more of an enemy than an ally. Or was she the one speaking the truth and Odi was the one deceiving him?

In Haydn's hands were two conflicting pieces of information. On one side there was Odi, back from the dead with a promise to lead him directly to Evelyn. On the other hand, there was Nyx, a dark deity who never broke her promises telling him that the path to Evelyn was through destroying Odi's old body. Both things could be true, but both things could also be false. Either way, he knew to Nyx and Odi that he was just another chess piece for them to use.

"What are you thinking about?" Odi's corpse shifted toward him, bones creaking as he moved.

"Finding Evelyn," he said, opting to tell half the truth. "You said you would give me a direct path to her."

"I did say that, didn't I?" He let out a rough, staccato laugh that shook his rotting body.

"Yes," Haydn said, letting a bit of irritation seep into his voice. "In exchange for me bringing you to the palace."

"You did do that," Odi agreed. "Very well. Come here." His skeletal hand motioned for Haydn to sit in front of him.

He dipped his hands into Haydn's chest, pulling out a blackened soul. Odi shook his head in mock disapproval. "You are as irredeemable as I remembered. Do you really want to see Evelyn with your soul like this?"

Hayn frowned at his remark. His soul had gotten this corrupted because of his search for Evelyn. Besides, Odi was hardly in a position to judge him, not when he could send the old God back to his unmarked grave.

The corpse ran his bones over the inscriptions, creating a hollow scratching sound. Suddenly, the soul glowed and a red line appeared. It stemmed from the center of the soul and led out the door of the room. Haydn's breath caught in his throat. It seemed too good to be true.

Odi placed his soul back into his chest, with the red line still visible. "The red line is the bond you share with your soulmate," he explained. "It should lead you to Evelyn or whoever is holding her soul."

Haydn's head whipped back toward him, turning away from the door. "What do you mean whoever is holding her soul?"

The old God smiled wickedly. "If Evelyn were to fall out of favor with a God, they could've removed her soul as punishment. It would imprison her in Limbo for all of eternity."

"Then I guess it's a good thing that there are barely any Gods left," Haydn said. This made Odi frown in response.

"Watch your words," he warned. "I can take away my blessings just as easily as I grant them."

Haydn clamped his mouth shut. It was a credible threat. He got up from the cushions, ready to follow the red line out the door.

"Where do you think you're going? We have other things to do," Odi said. He was standing with flesh hanging precariously off his bones.

"I'm off to find Evelyn." Haydn didn't know how he could've made that more obvious.

"I wasn't joking when I said that I intended to bring back the glory of the Gods. Just do this one thing for me," Odi said.

Haydn was starting to think that Nyx had the right idea when it came to burning Odi's corpse. The old God was such a nuisance that it would make his search for Evelyn easier.