The Goddess's Hero

Enslaved

Skye's POV

It had been four months since I had arrived in Nexus and all I could see was red. Nikolai gave me a tour once Nero commanded that my training be finished here. Gold walkways led to gold temples the gods called houses. The trees were green and plush with gold bark. The very grass we walked on had gold roots. The one thing that gave me the biggest headache was the crystal clear waterfall enlarging the gold and ruby mountain with the sun shining directly on it. Nero was more vain than I first realized.

But that didn't bother me as much as the thought of Jacqueline. She broke the rules and I was being punished for it. Sure I was free to roam Nexus and walk side by side with the gods, but my people, my friends needed me. They were fighting for their lives and each decisive battle drew closer to our annihilation.

I spent most of my days and nights with Nikolai learning about other races and their history and culture. Today I was hammered with the Minotaurs' expressly strict regulations on foreign policy. I needed a break. No, I needed to break something. I didn't know exactly where I was going but when I entered the nearest building I was extremely pleased to find weapons of all shapes and sizes. I picked up a hefty mace, a weapon I have never used before, and swung with all my might.

The armor I had targeted clattered to the floor with a loud bang. It felt good. I swung the mace again at a nearby dummy. It withstood the blow. Growling, I swung harder. The chain wrapped around the dummy's neck but the ball had missed entirely. If it was a live target it wouldn't have mattered. I would have been happy strangling the demon until it returned to the earth. But this wasn't a live target and I wasn't able to kill anything here in the world of gods!

"Agh!!!" I screamed and kicked the dummy in the face. It splintered and broke off its pole. I felt a little better.

"Poor dummy. What did he ever do to you?"

I turned quickly but saw no one.

"No, not there." I swerved to my right.
"Nope, not there either." I turned to the right again and pushed a weapons rack out of the way. No one was there. "As entertaining as this is, I think I'll tell you what you have already figured out. I am not there." 

"Who are you?!" I yelled.

"No need to raise your voice."

"Who are you?" I growled.

"Isn't it more polite to introduce oneself before asking for ones name?"

"The reason you are speaking to me while I'm in Nexus proves you already know who I am. For the last time, who are you?"

"Fine, you wish to name me then name me."

What is this voice and what is its purpose?

"What do you want?" I asked instead.

"I want what you want."

Not true.

"How do you know what I want."

"Your soul is bare to my eyes."

Demon? No, Nero wouldn't allow the race to enter here. A god then?

"Then you will only say what I want to hear." I countered.

"True."

I turned back towards the dummy and unwrapped the chain from its neck.

"And what you want is to kill something."

Isn't that obvious? I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.