The God of Gravity part 3: Apocalypse

Chapped Lips

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*

Sayuri and her companions found a place to stay. It is under a dam in the wall that once separates the forest of Olympus and the Demigod Districts. Its turbine has been destroyed and leaves an indefinite hole, wider than a normal house. It is a perfect place to get shelter from the falling radioactive fallout. The water is frozen and shines faintly, lighting up the concrete ceiling above it. Their footsteps echo inside it.

Hiroki leads the way, walking on this ledge that seems to be a pathway right next to the water channel. It leads to a metal door mounted on the wall. He tries to open it but it would not open.

“Let me open it,” says Philip. He kicks it down. The door crashes inward, the dust flies around, and when he turns on his flashlight, they find a pathway running far and deep.

“Oh,” says Jasper leaning to see what is inside. “an interesting place to stay.”

“We have to be careful though. We might not be the only ones who are here.”

Jasper pushes Philip inside. “It'll be fine.”

Then the rest of them follow. Philip is wary of any sound other than the ones they make. Hyun is calm as he walks beside Sayuri to her right. Both of them are at the back end of the group. She looks straight ahead. Her face is not frowning as she usually does. Everything is too peaceful for her to be irritated with.

Feeling her lips getting cold and chapped, she bites and moistens it although making it worse. She wipes it with the back of her hand after removing her gloves. It is still not enough. She needs something that can hydrate her lips. From her water bottle, she drinks but realizes it still does not cure her chapped lips. That is when she thought of something. 

From the ground, she slowly raises her gaze then looks at Hyun's lips. His lips are healthy and a little red unlike hers. They glisten slightly from the light. He notices her so he looks at her but she already looks forward. 

“What's the matter, my lady?” he asks.

She does not answer and walks slightly forward to show him that she does not want to talk. Confused, he pinches his lower lip, narrowing his eyes, and wonders. Finally, they found a room, big enough for all of them.

“Alright,” says Jasper, looking around the room. “This is a good place to stay.” It is a storage room full of tools and construction materials. Rust and dust he smells from the air right when he takes off his mask. “It smells kinda bad here.” He shrugs and accepts it. “Well, it's better than nothing.”

He turns around and sees Sayuri leaving through the door without saying anything. Yawning, he finds a spot for himself and lets Sayuri go where she wants. Hyun on the other hand, follows her. He is still quite curious about earlier. 

“Damn… I'm so tired!” yawns Jasper, lying on the ground.

“At least put a sheet or something on the ground you are lying,” says Hiroki.

“Why?”

“Nevermind.” 

Jasper is already closing his eyes when Hiroki said that. Philip sits in the corner, hesitating if he is ready to sleep. He just watches how Hiroki takes care of Prisha—who is already sleeping. He covers her body with the blanket thoroughly to keep her warm while he sits on the ground having a hard time feeling sleepy. 

He notices Philip. “You need something, Philip?” he asks.

“Uh, nothing,” he says moving around trying to get the position that is comfortable for him. He closes his eyes shut but he could not sleep.

“Leo is a human like me, right?” Hiroki asks.

Sitting up, Philip answers, “Yes, he is.”

“I wish I could be like him. He can fight against deities and demigods although he's human. Without any of you, I think, Prisha will not be safe with me. I couldn't even fight.”

“We fight in different ways, I suppose.”

“Oh, right…,” he realizes. “I forgot about that. Well, goodnight, Philip.” He lies down beside Prisha.

“Good night…,” he replies and starts to sleep again.

Meanwhile, Sayuri is in a theater-like panel room. It is the monitoring center of the dam but now, it is empty and a few corpses lying here and there. The screens are pitch-black but the emergency lights are still lighting up the room although they have not been charged for a long time. She likes to stay here for that single reason. Hyun finds her here.

“Aren't you tired, my lady?” he asks.

She is sitting on a chair, facing the dusty panel and he approaches from behind. To his surprise, she stands up and walks to the center of the room where a circular space is found. Holograms used to dance here but now it does not. Scratching under his ear, Hyun thinks she is avoiding him.

Regardless, he talks to her, approaching her from behind. “What's the matter?”

Hesitantly, she glances at him and only points at her chapped lips. She does not speak but he knows what she means.

“You want me to heal them?”

She nods and faces him. She looks at his chest. He brings forth his hand, touching her cheek. His thumb is against her lips when he heals it and makes her look into his eyes. Both of them do not avert their gazes. As if their eyes are locked in place for that moment. He can hear her heart beating faster than before.

“My lady,” he whispers, nearing his face. “may I ask you something?” She answers with a trembling nod. “Have you kissed a man before?” Slowly, she shakes her head. “Do you… want… to try now?” he asks in a quieter whisper.

She did not gesture or say anything about her answer and just let him grab the back of her head, pulling her closer to his face. They close their eyes and their lips touch. He leans forward while she wraps her arms around him. Her heartbeat goes wild and she could not stop it. She is sweating although it is cold. His mouth tastes like blood. Hearing the sound their lips make, makes her feel embarrassed. She somehow likes how their breath get mixed together. 

Hyun could not let this chance slip away. This is the moment he has been waiting for. Getting this close to her is what he has been fantasizing about for a long time. She is not like the goddesses he kissed before. For some reason, her kiss tastes rewarding. 

Then just as they are in the c****x of their long, and sensual kiss, she lets go and pushes him away. So hard, that he stumbles back and falls on the ground.

Her hair is covering her face as she breathes in and out through her mouth. She is glaring at him. He is breathing hard too but with a satisfied smug on his face. She leaves the room, leaving him alone in it.

He stands up l*****g his lips. Feeling a rushing feeling from his chest, he could not stop himself from smiling.

On the red planet, they have their own problems. Like Olympus, the Martian Capital, Olympus Mons has fallen. The whole planet is slowly plunging into anarchy. Cities could not handle the number of refugees they are getting. After hearing that planet Earth has been destroyed, their hope is lost. The enemy has won—they think. There has not been any battle on this planet after the destruction of Olympus Mons but the people are panicking. It led to disorder and more confusion. The lower-ranked deities fought over the higher positions that have been left empty. Civil war breaks out and there is no one to stop them.

Somewhere on the planet, Tsar and his army hide in a volcano. They have been using this volcano as a hideout for a long time. On his throne, he sits breathing slowly and inches away from death. Tubes of liquid and blood connected to a machine are running to keep him alive for longer.

Arina walks in circles, stomping her every step. “Useless doctors!!” she rages.

“Calm down Arina,” says Viktor, standing in place in front of Tsar.

“That… Silva…,” growls Tsar. “poisoning me…” He coughs blood. A servant caresses his back. “Ugh… I will get… my revenge…”

“You will, my lord,” says Viktor. “You just need to rest, get better, and I will help you get your revenge.”

“Let me avenge you, my lord!” suggests Arina.

“No!” roars Tsar. Viktor steps back in surprise while Arina is startled. “Both of you are still naive. Silva's poison… her metal poisoning is hard to cure. We would need… a God of Healing… to cure me. I will die!”

Arina says, “But your revenge!”

“I will get my revenge! But in another life!”

Widening eyes, Viktor asks, “What do you suggest, my lord?”

Tsar stands up and shoves away the hands of the servants around him. The electrodes and tubes that keep him alive have been snapped. “Viktor!” he says the young god's name while grabbing both of his shoulders. Smiling eerily, he says, “you will do it for me.” 

“How… my lord?” he asks swallowing.

“I will give you my power! And you will raise the child to become more powerful than me!” He laughs very hard and coughs.

“What?” asks Arina.

“Arina, leave all of us here!”

“But-”

“Go! I don't have much time left!”

She walks to the door except for the servants, doctors, and Viktor. Narrowing her eyes, she glances at them before closing the door. Her frustration is immeasurable.

“Why am I always treated like a child?!” she screams.

In the room, all of them pretend they did not hear her as they start their preparations. Tsar kneels on the ground while the servants brought tools for the doctor standing behind him. Viktor is standing in front of him, looking like he is not in favor of the decision. 

“Rejoice, Viktor!” Tsar declares. “I pass on the power to you that's been passed on to me by my ancestors. You will reign, my young warrior! Although not connected by blood, you will always be my child. Tell Arina as well. Tell her… she doesn't have to act tough. I love her as my daughter.” 

The doctor injects something into Tsar's shoulder to numb his senses so he will not feel any pain.

“I will, my lord,” says Viktor, trying to put a stern face.

Tsar loses consciousness and that is when the doctor slices his head open.

*

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A month has passed since Lord Seok trusted us to watch the whole bunker. It's July now and nothing peculiar happened. We don't go out to the surface very often now. The reason is that everything is stable. The population of humans is enough, we find no more survivors in the districts, and maybe that means Hera is not in the Capital anymore. I don't believe she is dead although I thought the same to Mom and Dad. I need to fulfill my promise to them.

Right now, Darius and I are resting in our room. I lie on my bed while he does pushups on the floor. It feels like a prison because there's nothing else much to do. We just train while waiting for time to be deployed on the surface. Time is supposed to take away the pain but it does not work for me. As time goes by, I miss Mom and Dad more and more. If there's a way to bring them back, I'll do it.

Oh… way to bring them back from the dead. 

There is only one deity in this bunker I could ask that will help me. I've heard horrible stories about the dead being revived and the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The chances of success in doing it are very slim. Even so, I'll try.

I get off of my bed and walk to the door. Still working out, Darius asks, “Where are you going?”

“I'm going to ask Lady Mila something.”

“Okay,” he says as he continues to do pushups. “Just don't cry when you return.”

“What are you saying? It's not about that.”

“Well, good luck.”