FALSE GODS

14 Monster on a Platter

Marcus Petromax lounged on the king’s bed with the lady princep curled up against him. Lia felt spent and kindled at the same time. It was early morning, past sunrise, but the skies looked deceptive. She tried to recover memories of the night, but her mind was foggy, and her body urged her to rest.

Lia knew that the God-King had slept with her, but the particulars and events escaped her. She remembered floating in the air, feeling boundless pleasure and euphoria. Somehow, the goddess had found a salubrious source of joy. But will she be given another chance in the future? Her thoughts returned to the present.

“How far have people gone over the ocean, Your Providence?” she purred innocently.

Marcus chuckled. The young goddess had not yet thoroughly embraced immortality. Such questions were remnants of her mortal life.

“There is no ‘far’ in the ocean, my dear. It is just there, all around us. But they say the Apostolis has gone the farthest into the ocean. Yet, titans before us have ventured yonder but felt no need to share their exploits with their progeny. Our late comrade titan, Amadeus Morpheus, loved to sail, and we would go on long voyages together. We conquered Krakens, Sea dragons, and Leviathans. We met Mermaids, Sirens, and Capricorns. Our ship, the Theostolis, which we sailed with during our expeditions, lies somewhere at the bottom of the ocean.”

“The Theostolis? It was gone before I was born. How did it sink?”

“The behemoth, Charybdis, took it from us. We were young sailors, foolhardy daredevils, who steered our vessel right into its trap. It is nostalgic to recall those days. We lost ships and crew and gold so often that our grandfather, Thaddeus Petromax, punished us with a ban on our travels for five years.” He laughed, this time like a younger person.

Lia went silent for some time and then posed another question.

“What is this, Charybdis? I have only read about it in books.”

“You are a curious girl, aren’t you?” Marcus teased, playing with her hair.

She giggled and pressed her face against his chest.

“Our predecessor, Titus Lucifer, one of the progenitors of titans, was the first to cross paths with Charybdis. It was during a storm, much like the one we are up against. He had domesticated several beasts of the land, like the drakon, the manticore, and the hydra. The barbarians of the coast reported to him of a ferocious sea monster that swallowed ships whole. Lucifer set off on a voyage like we have, in search of adventure and glory. He found the behemoth and humbled her. Since then, it has been a ritual followed by every God-King to seek Charybdis. She escaped us in our last encounter, but we shall conquer her this time.”

“It is said in the books,” Lia claimed, “that it has an insatiable thirst for the ocean and wishes to drink it dry by the end of time. And that it can swallow a thousand ships whole. And-“

“I fear some of the rumors are true. But most of them are exaggerated. It is truly a formidable creature worthy of being a titan’s adventure. But she is cunning, and once you fall into her trap, you cannot escape,” he added ominously.

Lia shivered and clung closer to him.

“Will the monster try to swallow our ship?” She asked, worried.

“She can try, but it shall be her last attempt.”

“You say ‘she’ as if it is a female?”

“Ah, that is a story for another time, child,” he replied, patting her head.

On the Apostolis’ main deck, God-prime Nerva was engaged in overseeing the crew when there was an abrupt change in the weather. The sky waxed into such an overcast one that it was almost pitch black; the wind raged with a vengeance, and the waves threatened to capsize the ship.

Nerva directed the crew to immediately bring down the sails and fortify the ship’s masts and hull with elemental protection. The group of priors made a dozen white orbs hover up the masts to illuminate the decks.

She observed that there was a slight tilt in the vessel.

Listen to your instincts, Nerva- a voice inside bid her.

Nerva approached the main mast and started scaling it. On reaching the top, she chanted, “Anemos Alma.” Her body soared up over a hundred feet.

“Oculus fos,” she uttered, and the surroundings lit up in her vision. She could see through the darkness. The spectacle she saw over the ocean deeply troubled her.

She returned to the deck, shut her eyes, and called out to her master.

“Your Providence! Something terrible is about to happen!”

Moments later, Marcus Petromax apparated beside her in full garb.

“My King-”

“Yes, we know, Nerva. Charybdis is here. It has come seeking us.”

The Apostolis was stuck in a whirlpool and was sailing in circles, gradually being drawn to the sinkhole.

Charybdis was a primordial monster of the ocean, which could bring about maelstroms, waterspouts, and rainstorms. Its accursed breath could darken the skies and obscure the sun for weeks.

“How do we make the ship escape the whirlpool, Your Providence?” Nerva exclaimed.

“Oh, there is no escape from it, my child.”

The Modo citizens had been commanded to stay below deck, but there was audible panic from the quarters. The princeps were barely struggling to do their tasks in the face of the ferocious wind. It had started raining hailstones. If the ship went down the sinkhole, apart from Petromax and Nerva, it was unlikely that anybody would survive.

Petromax took flight and ascended to the main deck. For the most powerful god in creation, levitation was child’s play.

“The Charybdis is a creature of the cold and dark,” he thundered. “In light, the surface is no longer her territory.”

The minor gods looked on, wondering what miracle was about to transpire.

The God-King raised his right arm with the palm pointed to the sky.

KAIROS MUTATIO!

A pillar of verdant-white light beamed up into the sky and pierced the dense clouds. It sundered the inky firmament, and bright sunlight shone through. The clouds fled, and a sun-kissed sky greeted the sailors.

The whirlpool dissipated, and the turbulent waters became restful to harmonize with the weather.

Modo citizens rushed to the deck. Their hurrahs and applause echoed throughout the ship.

Even the minor gods looked on in amazement at their King’s display of power.

He is the one true God-King, Nerva thought. The one she loved.

In the distance, a bawling roar rose. From the northern waters, a creature leaped from the ocean. It had an enormous gaping mouth with hundreds of claws along the edge. Its muzzle alone was a thousand feet across, five times as sweeping as the Apostolis. The body was plant-like with a stalk that sprung up over several thousand feet. Tentacles from the edges of the mouth, with sea-weed heads at their ends, swiped around it frantically.

It screeched again, its mouth puckering and unpuckering, revealing a mesh of corrugated teeth. Slime and sea mud and weeds flew over long distances, splattering the ocean surface. Keeping its distance from them, it sent its long tentacles out towards the ship.

Petromax held up his arm as if grasping a sword.

“Come to us, Devoratrix. GLADIO DEVORATRIX!”

Winds from all directions seemed to flow towards him, erecting a translucent elemental sword. The weapon began as a regular sword and broadened as it grew, seemingly touching the heavens, with its tip spanning into a hundred feet. Petromax swung it down towards Charybdis. The blade hit the tentacles, cleaving them on contact, into a shower of dark blood and grime. The creature let out an ear-splitting screech that rang through hundreds of stadia. The audience had to cover their ears, and some Modo citizens collapsed. All the objects made of glass and lime shattered or exploded.

Charybdis retracted its remaining tentacles and dove into the ocean, sending an enormous tidal wave in their direction.

It was time for God-prime Nerva to act. She held out her hands in a defensive stance and screamed, “Anemos Aspida!”

The tidal wave collided with her air element shield and disbanded. Charybdis was gone, not to return.

“Shall we go after it, Your Providence?” Nerva asked in excitement.

“There will be no need for it, my dear,“ Petromax assured, “the creature has learned her lesson. Her retreat is a sign of submission.”

He hovered above the ship and then descended to the waist deck land amid the cheers and praises of the Modo citizens.

“We are triumphant in this expedition!” he declared amid the celebration. “The Ascendancy stands stronger than ever!”

God-prior Calix approached Nerva and whispered something to her.

The God-Prime's bearings faltered; she turned to her master and reported the news within his earshot.

“Your Providence. We have received an urgent message from the Gulf of Stratos coast. Her Providence, Anaktoria Elektra, has requested you to summon the Ascendancy Court.”