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"Revenge is just the path you took to escape your suffering."
- Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach)
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<(Atem POV)>
<{Somewhere in the middle of the Saharan Desert}>
"I still can't believe that the half-blood human refused your offer of godhood. I always thought humans were some of the most selfish creatures in the nine realms. But I guess even the most insignificant of beings can sometimes surprise us, gods." Hela expressed her disbelief while surveying the barren desert surrounding us. "By the way, are you sure those two women would not need help with controlling their new powers? To my knowledge, mortals tend to make some very wrong decisions when they suddenly get their hands on unchecked power. They have a nasty habit of letting strength go to their tiny heads." She wondered aloud, not even caring that one of those mortals, Natalia, was standing just beside her, carefully listening to her words.
"Nah, Shiklah and Lilith are too smart to even think of betraying me. Plus, the moment they accepted their godhood from me, they gave up the right to ever go against me. So, I will always be stronger than them." I cryptically stated without revealing that my ability to create a pantheon literally renders it impossible for those I have transformed into New Gods to betray me.
"Plus, they had always been more powerful than the normal people around them; suddenly gaining more power shouldn't affect them too much. As for Blade refusing my offer to make him a New God, I completely understand where he is coming from. All his life, he has always wanted to be just a "normal" person and spend an ordinary life with a loving family. Well, that and kill as many vampires as he can. But my point is, he doesn't want to be a god. He is happy being a mortal. He wants to grow old with his wife, to watch his children grow up, to recount his tales to his grandchildren when he is old, and honestly, I respect him for that." I shrugged.
"I see. It seems like you know a lot about humans, don't you, my love? Do you care about them, perhaps?" Hela asked, raising an eyebrow at me. Even Natasha slightly perked up as if she was interested in my answer.
"I care about life, and I care about not letting innocents die. That's it. I am not a hero, so I will never put the life of a random stranger before my own. However, I am not a sadistic villain, and I will not stand by idly while people perish or the world is being destroyed. I am a god, and if I have the power to save someone, I will gladly use it." I truthfully answered. After all, there was no reason for me to lie. It wasn't like I was afraid of Natalia reporting my character to Shield and then them retaliating against me.
"You are speaking the truth." Hela expressed almost as if she had trouble believing me. "I know only a handful of gods who would admit to such a thing openly. Most of them are either too much of a debaucherous narcissist or a hypocrite with a savior complex to speak the truth as it is." She chuckled before looking in a particular direction as if she had sensed something.
As soon as Hela had stopped speaking, a murky green portal suddenly began to form out of thin air, and a familiar individual completely covered with thick metal armor slowly walked out from it, holding a sword and a shield in each hand.
"You made us wait?" Hela coldly stated as if she didn't even notice the medieval weapons in his hands.
"I apologize for that, but preparations for the trip took a little longer than I thought they would. However, we aren't late. The Solstice has just begun, so the barrier between this realm and Hell is at its weakest right now, which means it will be easier for us to cross over and return. However, we only have 24 hours. Typically, time operates quite differently in Hell compared to Earth. However, due to the Solstice, the two realms are currently parallel to each other, causing their time to coincide as well." Doom explained, letting the information sink in.
