I AM THE SON OF THE ALMIGHTY FORGOTTEN GOD

His true identity

“He would've told the truth if you guys had been stricter! What is this nonsense? You can’t just let a criminal walk around near my child! He almost killed my Arson!” Mrs. Barnett’s voice faded away as the headmaster escorted her out.

Eugene ended up detained in the headmaster’s office for two hours, interrogated about how he managed to bring a weapon to school. What could he possibly say?

Left alone to contemplate his mistake, Eugene was instead entirely consumed by how the pen in his grip had turned into a dagger. He was only lucky he managed to restrain himself just in time; otherwise, this room wouldn't be the headmaster's office—it would be a prison cell.

“I won’t forgive him! I’ll make sure my dad kicks him out of this school!”

Arson’s distant threat weighed heavily on Eugene’s chest. His shoulders slumped, and his heavy breath sounded utterly exhausted. His mother had just been buried, and Eugene was about to drag his life into an even more miserable reality.

He glanced at the glass buffet cabinet; his reflection looked just as pathetic as the old Eugene—only now he looked much worse, with bruised features, a bloody nose, and eyes burning with an unusually bright, fiery iris.

Eugene instinctively stood up and approached the glass, making sure what he saw wasn't a trick of the light. The color of his eyes grew brighter, just like what he had seen back at home earlier.

“What is the matter with me? Why are my eyes changing color?” He panicked, rubbing his eyes out of anxiety that someone might notice and think he was abnormal—because it truly was abnormal.

Then the door swung open. Eugene jerked back, expecting the headmaster—but it wasn't him. Two men in sharp suits, looking like bodyguards, stepped toward him.

“Eugene Sidernum… you are ordered to come with us.”

“Am I being taken to jail?”

“Young Master Keaton wishes to speak with you. We’ve been instructed to bring you to his estate.”

“Why?”

Despite his confusion, Eugene went along. His movement immediately triggered Arson’s fury, who rushed over to intercept him.

“Where do you think you’re going? After almost killing me, you’re trying to run?” Arson sneered with mockery.

“This boy isn't going anywhere! I’m reporting him to the police!”

“He's under the protection of the Keaton family now."

Hearing that, Arson and his mother were utterly shocked. Above the Barnetts stood the Keatons, towering far higher—and what they heard only fueled a burning rage in their chests.

“Why would the Keatons want a pathetic nobody like him?!”

“We don’t owe you any explanations, so step aside.”

If there was ever the ultimate humiliation a Barnett could suffer, it was being forced to back down by a higher power—and ironically, backing down so that the boy they used to bully could walk away in peace!

Eugene still didn’t understand why the Keatons wanted him, but seeing the faces of Arson and his mother brought a quiet wave of relief and satisfaction. Yet, that tension crept right back up the moment he finally stood before Leonidas Keaton, the respected young master of the Keaton family.

“You must be wondering why I called for you, right?” Leonidas stepped closer, his gaze full of mystery as if it locked onto Eugene entirely. He stared intently at Eugene's necklace, then shifted to his eyes.

“Looks like something not made on earth, doesn't it?” he asked, referring to the necklace. “Perhaps this is also what triggered yet controlled your power.”

“Power? What am I, a Marvel superhero or something?”

“No. You’re much more than that,” Leonidas replied, standing tall. His robust physique wasn’t forged from ordinary hard training—he carried the air of someone who wasn't born like ordinary mortals. A cool smile touched his lips, yet his gaze pierced through as he said, “Nice to meet you, son of Hephaestus.”

Eugene froze, his mind taking a little longer to process those words.

“Wh—Haeph—what?”

“There’s no doubt about it. You are the only son of Hephaestus of this generation, and you’re going to shake up the Olympus Realm for being the first after 300 years.”

“Wait, what on earth are you talking about?”

Leonidas looked at the bewildered Eugene; his green eyes felt like a comforting canopy, giving Eugene an odd sense of safety and calm—just enough calm to listen.

“You are a demigod, Eugene Sidernum. Your father is a god, he is Hephaestus the god of forge and creativity.”

“That makes no sense.”

“That makes a lot of sense from how you escape death once with your cosmic defense; in the pool—Arson Barnett’s house.” Eugene’s mind flashed back to the incident. “And this necklace…”

“It’s my mother’s!”

“Did she mention it connected to your unknown father?” Eugene couldn't answer, but it was clear. Leonidas added, “and how you forged a pen into your weapon. That’s your father’s echo.”

“That was… a demigod power?”

“Yes.”

“I’m really, really… a demigod?”

“Yes.”

Eugene still could barely process what he just discovered about his true identity. It wasn’t something he could easily believe, so Leonidas took him to a deserted street between woods of Philadelphia.

“Why are we here?” Eugene stepped out of the car, looking completely confused.

“We’re going to Horochora.”

“What’s that?”

“A borderline.” Leonidas left his chauffeur behind, walking straight down an endless-seeming asphalt road. “It’s a place between our world and the Olympus Realm. Somewhere demigods must reach before they're recognized enough to live in the Olympus Realm.”

“What’s the Olympus Realm?”

“The world of Gods and Goddesses; to be exact—heaven.”

Eugene was still processing Leonidas's explanation when he felt a sudden shockwave, as if he had just passed through an invisible, low-voltage electric barrier. Then his eyes went wide, fixing on something entirely inhuman.

Before him lay a vast expanse of lush, vibrant green grass. In the far distance stood towering hills, but right at the end of the pathway stood the most breathtaking, dazzling civilization—architectures built of flawless gold and white stone.

Eugene felt entirely robbed of words after traversing through such unearthly wonders. Seeing Horochora felt like gazing straight into paradise itself; and the place treated him to his very first sight of a winged horse.

“I didn’t know Pegasus is real,” Eugene muttered as his first words, after the carriage driven by a Pegasus transported him and Leonidas to the peak of the hill where a palace-like structure stood.

“It’s a place for manifestation.”

“You live knowing these kinds of things exist?”

Leonidas ignored Eugene’s awe and casually stepped through the grand gates as if he were entirely used to the place. But just as he approached the main entrance of the palace, two guards intercepted them.

“You do not have permission to bring in an unregistered individual,” one of the guards said, casting a chilling glance at Eugene.

“He’s the son of Hephaestus.”

The two guards exchanged looks, a mixture of surprise and skepticism flashing across their faces.

“Then leave him outside and request formal permission from Impala.”

Leonidas let out a sigh—annoyed, yet powerless to argue. He turned back to Eugene, who stood five paces behind him.

“I’ll go inside and get clearance for you,” he said.

“Why? You just said I’m Hephaestus’s son.”

“You are, but you don’t have access to enter these very doors.” Leonidas cast a fleeting glance at the grand portal, muttering under his breath. “Usually, your deity parents would summon you so you wouldn't have to beg Impala for permission, but I don’t know why your father still hasn't called for you.”

“That tracks. He didn't raise me and let my mother starve to death anyway. Bet he’d be shocked to find out he has a half-human son.”

Leonidas met Eugene’s sharp glare and biting sarcasm in silence, before turning and stepping inside alongside the two guards.

Eugene wandered near the entryway. He felt as though he were walking through a living Greek mythology fantasy—one vastly superior to any fiction broadcasted on television.

He still couldn't quite wrap his head around being in a place deemed non-existent by mortals, yet the ground beneath his boots felt entirely real, harmonizing with the ethereal, heaven-sent melodies of nature echoing around him.

“Look who just arrived…”

A heavy, deep voice broke Eugene out of his daze. He spun around quickly, his body locking up as his blood surged in a wild, frantic rush. His eyes remained unblinking, frozen in sheer terror as a pair of massive, glowing golden eyes locked onto him.

“Welcome to Horochora, little human.”

Eugene felt as though he were staring death right in the face.