(6 months later...)
Morning fog covered the dirt roads that wound between the first houses in the village. Kaeron, once just a handful of huts built with wood and hope, now stood as the newest Greek polis with a growing and steady population.
Its architecture, though simple, already showed signs of devotion. Stone statues imitating the serene countenance of Akhon adorned the entrances, and makeshift altars had been replaced by a central sanctuary, where people lit vegetable wax candles and offered bread, flowers, and personal items.
The young god was a constant, though elusive, presence. His silhouette could be seen in the square some mornings, helping to lift a fallen beam, blessing the water, or leading prayers on holy days. But he was not always there, as he came and went.
At first, the transition between planes had been painful. Each step toward Olympus tore him away from the world he protected. But over time, Akhon's divine body adapted. His essence learned to expand without breaking. Thus, he could be on Earth... and in heaven.
Meanwhile, the god was watching his people from a hilltop. It was his custom to do this; he liked to see how people lived their normal lives, just as he had done in another world. He didn't know why, but he supposed it was a mixture of curiosity and fascination with how people lived in the past.
The air was warm, scented with wood and earth. Children played in the stream, and the voices of the elders wove stories about the new idols of the temple. A few faithful worshippers worked on repairing the palisade that protected the fields.
Akhon raised his hand and, without saying a word, called the system. A soft golden glow appeared in front of him, floating in the air like a veil of divine information.
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🌌[⟦ DIVINE SYSTEM ⟧]🌌
🧿 Divine Name: Akhon
📜 Class: E — Awakened One
💠 Domain: Power (Awakened — 14%)
👑 Title: Guardian of Kaeron
❤️🔥 DIVINE VITALITY
🩸 HP: 6,300 / 6,300
🔥 Energy: 1,350 / 1,350
🌟 Divine EXP: 5,750 / 10,000
🧱 Authority: 3
📊 BASE STATS
🧬 Attribute Value
⚔️ Strength 101
💨 Agility 89
🛡️ Endurance 108
🧠 Willpower 84
🎯 Accuracy 93
Click here to see list of [Active Skills]
-Current Number of [Active Skills]: 5
Click here to see list of [Pasive Skills]
-Current Number of [Pasive Skills]: 6
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He closed his eyes for a moment, meditating on his progress.
In six months, he had taken steps that would have taken him years as a mortal.
Six months.
It wasn't much. And yet he felt like he had lived a lifetime.
The world of the gods was different from that of men, not only in scale but in rhythm. Divinity did not understand minutes or seasons. It measured time in changes. In transformations, to be more precise.
And Akhon had changed.
Faith, however small, had real power. Tangible. Transformative. It enveloped him like an invisible cloak and strengthened him from within. With every prayer, with every glance at the sky, the bond grew denser, more vivid. And Kaeron, that small village hidden on the edge of oblivion, was the epicenter of that bond.
He still remembered the day he decided to keep it hidden from the Hesperides. It wasn't out of fear.
It was... instinct.
They were guardians. Keepers of secrets older than he was. If they had discovered what he was doing... he probably would never have left the Garden again.
So he hid it.
He hid Kaeron behind a subtle veil of magical mist, disguising the energy of prayers as whispers of nature, camouflaging rituals with harvest festivals, concealing altars as stones along the path.
Was it right?
He didn't know. He told himself he was doing it to protect the people. To prevent them from becoming pawns in a divine game that didn't belong to them.
But there was a quieter, deeper truth that he sometimes dared to touch with his thoughts.
Maybe, just maybe, he was doing it because he didn't want to share that part of his life...at least not yet.
Because there was something about those prayers... something addictive. Something that seeped through his skin like a warm current. Like contained ecstasy.
Every time someone invoked it with sincere devotion, his body trembled slightly. As if a wave of divine dopamine was released. As if the universe itself confirmed that he existed.
Sometimes he didn't know if this was because of the system or if he himself had become addicted to these new sensations.
But they were real, as real as his clothes.
And that unsettled him as much as it strengthened him.
The line between protecting them and possessing them... was getting thinner and thinner.
Then the whisper of the wind through the leaves interrupted his thoughts. It was the only sound for several seconds, until Akhon stopped dead in his tracks.
It wasn't a common feeling. It wasn't paranoia.
Someone was following him, but who?.
He turned his face slightly, without making a sound. The landscape showed no signs, but his body... his essence knew he wasn't alone. It was an invisible twinge between his shoulder blades. A pressure that didn't translate into pain, but into alertness. As if reality had been slightly distorted.
Then, as if the system was responding to his intuition, a notification appeared with a slight mental "ding":
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📥 NEW MISSION RECEIVED
🔴 MISSION: "The Silent Watcher"
📜 Description: "A presence lingers at the edge of your awareness. You are being observed, but not by mortal eyes. Discover who is following you, why, and what they intend. Be swift, divine one — even the gods have shadows."
📊 Mission Rank: 🔴 High Difficulty
🎯 Objective(s):
— Detect the stalker
— Confirm their divine or non-divine origin
— Confront or communicate with the entity
— Report findings to the System
🎁 Rewards (upon success):
Divine EXP: +2000 Strength: +6 Willpower: +5 Authority: +3 Unique Skill or Artifact: [???]
⏳ Time Limit: 6 days (Mortal Time)
📍 Location: Greater Kaeron Territory
🛑 Failure Consequence:
— Loss of local trust
— Increase in divine tension (Olympus monitoring intensifies)
🧠 System Tip: "Look beyond what you see."
🟢 [ACCEPT] 🔴 [DECLINE]
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"What...the...?"