How to Be a God [ManXMan]

Prologue

[AN: This is the THIRD book. Please read the other two before you read this one.]

~Prologue~

For the longest time now, this weight on my shoulders is all I have felt; it is all I can ever think about and I cannot remember a time when I did not have it. I know that there I did not always bear this a burden, as I know I once lived a life of luxury and happiness. That was so long ago, though, and I cannot remember it. However, that is not because I lost my memories, but rather that I prefer not think of the life I can no longer have.

Thinking about it only makes the burden more unbearable anyway.

Because of this, I decided to stop thinking all together, and it worked for a while. No thoughts meant I no longer had to worry about anything else except the burden that had fallen on my shoulders, the burden that will crush me should I waver or give up. And I am not just talking about the burden of the Greek sky; I am talking about the burden of betrayal.

A betrayal that I would do well to forget.

I have been holding up the sky for many, many years and I am as comfortable with it as I can be. After all, how can I wish for something else when I cannot remember what my life used to be like? This burden is familiar now, and though it never grows easier, it never becomes harder, either.

Why, then, is someone calling my name and disturbing my peace, after all this time?

"Ainmire!"

At least, I believe that to be my name. What if it is someone else's?

It would not be the first time I have roused myself into thinking again because I believed that I was being called, when in reality, no one even knows I am here. It does not help that I have always been able to hear what is going on outside the enchanted metal that I am encased in. I would even go so far as to call it a curse – to be able to see and hear what is going on around me, but be unable to intact. Zeus must be a very cruel god to have thought of this torture.

"Ainmire," an unfamiliar female voice says again, close this time, and I can feel hands touching the enchanted metal. However, these are not the hands of someone who intends to move the statue everyone thinks me to be, which the humans have done many times before. These are hands of the willing. The voice continues, though it takes me a moment to realize that the owner is once again speaking to me. "I'm not sure if you can hear me right now, but I – we – need your help."

As she is speaking, the burden's weight starts to grow as the statue's enchantments come to life now that someone is willing to take the burden from my shoulders. I am not sure whether I should be crowing with joy or crying out in fear that someone would so foolishly try to take this spot from me. My awareness spreads to my eyes, allowing me to see the young woman, whose head barely reaches my knee.

To my horror, I begin to shrink, which signals the end of my time inside the statue. I feel like I should be relieved to finally be free, but I only feel more concerned, knowing that this young woman will be taking my place. She is but a mortal, after all. How does she plan to take this burden and keep it?

Due to the sudden shrinking of the statue, the large globe ends up falling on my shoulders, which are no longer metal but flesh. I manage to catch it before it can crush me or the young child standing on the pedestal next to me, who foolishly reaches up in an attempt to assist me in catching the large sphere. I want to hiss at her, to tell her that she is not strong enough, as a mere child like her could never hold up the Greek sky, but she shoves me out of the way before I can. Weakened as I am, it takes less effort than it should have to make me fall from the pedestal and as I fall, the burden drops further until it lands on her shoulders. Almost instantly, there is a loud crack as her legs cannot remain straight and she falls to her knees.

For a horrible second, it looks like she will not be able to hold the burden up. However, the enchantment begins to take hold before she can drop it, forcing her to hold it up no matter her physical prowess. Before she turns into the statue, though, she manages to whisper through clenched teeth, "Read the letter."

She barely gets the last word out before the enchantment changes her body from flesh to gold, and then to bronze. And with that, she is gone, under the control of old Greek magic. If I was brave, I would go back up on that pedestal and force the enchantment to take me back. But I am not that brave, nor would the statue take a sacrifice that is not willing. And there is nothing I want less than to return to the unending torment brought on by the burden.

As I come to this realization, I start to notice the crowd that has begun to gather. The humans are all holding up these odd, square devices while they whisper among themselves and many of them are dressed in far too little clothing. As they all stare in awed confusion and call out questions in a language that I understand but have never heard, I begin to feel overwhelmed. With the feeling of being overwhelmed comes the need to escape and I just barely think to grab the oddly-colored scrap of folded parchment – the letter she mentioned – at the foot of the statue before teleporting away, using magic that feels different from what I remember.

[AN: Well, this marks the beginning to a new book. For those of you who are curious, Ainmire is pronounced AHN-meer. Hope everyone is doing well!]

[UPDATE: To fix some minor plotholes that have become more note-worthy over the course of the series, I have made a few edits here and there to hopefully remove some of the more useless yet still confusing aspects. This should not impact the story or plot, just don't be confused if you have read the story before and notice something slightly different.]