The Ancient Genes

Max spent his time with Sera and Juju. Juju was the centipede's nickname which Max came up with. He thought it would be a good idea to allow her to call out names.

Max roamed the Spirit World with Sera and Juju by his side as he spoke out words like 'trees', 'Water' etc. While letting Sera see it for herself.

Even though it took a bit of effort, Max was patient as it wasn't his first time. As Max thought about the past smile blossomed on his face.

He remembered how tough it was to teach Lilly. In comparison to her Sera was just a genius at learning things.

After spending a few hours, Max got out of the spirit world leaving Sera and Juju behind. The wounds on his body were healed. But his face was pale and he felt a bit of weakness due to the blood loss.

" I can't ask anything more than this. Let's just move on.", Max mumbled before moving on.

This time he was extra careful not to draw in even a bit of energy.

After a while, Max felt that the energy from earlier was just a joke. The real deal was in here. He wondered if he would just pop up like a balloon if he tried to absorb even a bit here.

That was just his inner thoughts. He wasn't daring enough to try it though.

Well jokes aside, Max finally reached the end of the cave.

" Fog…", Max murmured in surprise. But the next moment he realised that he was wrong.

" You gotta be kidding me! This isn't fog. The energy is so pure and abundant that it has manifested itself in this form."

" I can't even imagine what is in here? This is exciting. Did I discover a rare treasure?", Max licked lips in excitement. It seemed that this situation was going to be worth it.

Max dove into the fog and used his hands to propel the fog away. As he went deeper into the fog, the visibility decreased further and further to the point where he couldn't see anything in front of him.

Max turned behind and found nothing but fog.

" Don't tell me that I am going to starve here till death….well whatever I have been walking in a straight line. If I don't find anything. I will just turn around."

After walking a few more steps, Max banged into something and stumbled back.

" Ouch! What the hell is it? Did the cave end?", Max groaned.

" Grr!! "

Max looked up as he heard the rumble and to his surprise, the fog drifted away as if a fierce gale had blown them away.

"Shit!"

Max uttered as he looked at the humongous gate.

At the top of the gate, some words were written. The strokes and the writing looked elegant and there was a strange aura emitting out of the words which made Max look up to it in reverence.

Even though it was an unknown language, Max could clearly spell it out.

" Trial of God "

" Hoho...you can spell it out kid..", Suddenly a voice sounded next to Max's ears.

" F*ck!! That scared me to death…",

Max jumped up and looked behind him. But there was no one. He turned around and scanned his surroundings.

" What the hell!"

There was nothing. There was only darkness around him and nothing else except for the humongous gate.

" Who was that!! Show yourself!!", Max yelled in the darkness.

" Don't shout...I am here.", the voice replied.

" Why can't I see you? ", Max asked in vigilance.

" I am just a bit of consciousness. My true body has already ascended. Anyways, welcome to the 'Trial of God' challenger. Let's get start-"

" Wait!! Stop!! I don't like where it's going. First, explain to me what's going on.", Max immediately interrupted the voice.

" Do we really need to do this? Out of the 86 people who came here in the past. Everyone had decided to take the trial. It's just a waste of time.", the voice replied a bit annoyed.

" Still. I want to hear it!! Don't just rub it off!!", Max shouted in anger.

" Ok fine...I should just say it. It's my job anyway. This place is 'Trial of God' and I am the God of Tech, Hephaestus. Let me tell you some of the secrets of this world.", the voice said in a desolate tone.

"Hey-"

Max wanted to say something. But he found no words coming out of his mouth.

" Now that I am speaking. Let me finish first.", the voice said.

And then it went on for two long hours….

After the voice was done, Max felt the restraint on his voice gone. He stared at the darkness with a blank look on his face.

" I know you are surprised and all. But it's the truth. You need to accept it and move on. You have to-"

"Shut up! Two hours! Whole f*cking 2 hours!", Max mumbled.

" Huh?"

" Don't 'huh' me. I already f*cking knew the whole thing.", Max yelled in the darkness.

What he heard was nothing new. It was the whole drama currently going on. The Demons, Primal Humans, Heavenly Demon etc. Though it was a bit more in detail, it wasn't necessary for him to know. Besides adding a bit more entertaining value, it was nothing useful.

" Why..I mean How?..", the voice seemed to be a bit confused.

"That's because I am this generations awakened one. The so-called one of five.", Max said as he rolled his eyes and made huge hand movements.

" Why didn't you say so? Haha...I never thought of meeting one of my descendants here.", the voice said with a laugh.

" Tsk..you were the one who sealed my mouth ", Max said with a scowl.

" Haha..now did I? "

' Shameless ancestor..tsk..tsk..not one of these guys are good.'

" Well anyway, I am curious about one thing. Are there two Gods of Tech or more?", Max asked.

" What kind of question is this?"

" Well, if yes. Is there any way to differentiate. Because, I got a bone to pick with one.", Max spoke but didn't expect to hear what he did.

" Who dares to imitate me!! I am the only one, Hephaestus."