Dust fell as a figure darted out of the cathedral at an extreme speed. The figure was missing an arm, and his good arm cuddled a little boy. This was Duke Gravier, who had escaped the cardinals by the skin of his teeth, carrying Theo as he ran off. Behind him, five figures immediately gave chase, wreaking havoc wherever they passed.
Soon after they passed, hundreds of people in the cathedral began pouring out and moving in all directions, spreading word about the 'betrayal' and blasphemy of the Duke. It wasn't long before the news spread everywhere. Meanwhile, Duke Gravier had long escaped the pursuit of the five paladins and gone to his mansion to prepare their stronghold to block anyone who would attack them in the city mansion. It was at this moment Theo woke up.
"Father?" He mumbled. "What happened?"
"Theo, do you know why we worship five gods? Don't you wonder at times who the sixth statue is that everyone looks up at to get their talent?" Duke Gravier patted his son's head as he asked, his hand sliding across his young face.
"Father, your hand!" Solstice cried, interrupting Duke Gravier's lecture. Behind Duke Gravier was a huge door from which another young man about five years older than Theo appeared; it was his elder brother. Behind him, a man dressed in formal attire and a woman in a maid outfit also appeared; they were the butler and the head maid of the house, Friday and Patricia. It was now that Theo finally recalled what had happened before he fainted.
"It's quite alright, I'll be fine. Come, Solstice." Duke Gravier reached for his son with his remaining arm and took his hand, bringing him to stand in front of him, near the bed Theo was on.
"Father, please tell me the truth; I can handle it." Theo said with a solemn face. Duke Gravier nodded and turned to face the butler. "Friday, please bring me the box."
"That box, sir?" Friday asked with a hint of nervousness. "Don't worry, I'm not dying. But yes, that box." Duke Gravier reassured him. "Right away, sir." Friday turned around and headed out the door.
"Solstice, sit. I have a story for you boys that has been passed down for about 800 years in our family, or so my father told me." Solstice followed his directive and sat on the bed while Theo sat up to listen more attentively.
"About 800 years ago, when the kingdom was still in its infancy, our patriarch was visited by three strange women who called themselves The Fates, and according to them, someone in our lineage will have an absurd talent that will fulfill a prophecy on the level of the gods. A prophecy even the gods dread." Duke Gravier paused for them to take in his words.
"But what has that got to do with us?" Solstice asked. Theo, however, had a look of self-ridicule as he easily connected the dots. He was the one behind the so-called prophecy. When he reincarnated seven years ago, he noticed how eerily similar this world was to the game they were launching: Olympus. It turned out that after a series of tests, the world wasn't similar but was an exact replica! He had been reincarnated into the game he worked on!
And now, he was finding out that the little surprise he had prepared for his boss and the other higher-ups was coming back to heavily involve him in his second life. "My talent... " Theo spoke up, "It's god, isn't it?"
"As expected, you are quick on the uptake. However, it doesn't mention what element." Usually, when someone gets a talent, they also get an element they have the highest affinity with attached to it. The talent itself is like the person's future occupation, mostly decided by what he has experienced in his first seven years of life, his likes, and his dreams, or most importantly, his destiny. Everyone is born with an affinity to at least one element, and that also decides what type of mana they can manipulate.
Theo, in his previous life, had added a secondary NPC that would come to grow even stronger than the gods of this world, though he didn't explicitly specify who the NPC would be, just that it would be a random noble child. This child would grow without any of the nine elements of the world as an affinity but instead have the otherworldly void affinity, which could devour all other elements. In other words, he would have no elemental affinity but at the same time be able to use all elements. This would make him more of a threat to the gods, and as the building blocks of the game, if the gods weren't the strongest, who would be?
"I know what I have to do." Theo sighed and hugged his knees. "We will have to stage a performance." He looked up at his father and said.
"Go on, I'm listening." Duke Gravier adjusted his position and said. Theo went on to explain an elaborate plan that took a little over ten minutes, and by the time he was done, Friday, the butler, was already standing behind Duke Gravier holding a jade box and waiting for the conclusion of their discussion.
"Sometimes, even I forget that you are a little kid." Duke Gravier paused. "But if I do this, will you really be okay?" Theo shifted forward and hugged his father. "It's fine, I'll be fine," he said, as though trying to convince himself. Meanwhile, Solstice, who had been there the entire ordeal, kept sitting there looking like a decoration.
"Friday, bring the box." Friday stepped forward with the jade box and handed it to Duke Gravier. Duke Gravier put it on the bed and directly put his thumb on the opening where there was a keyhole. Apparently, the key to this jade box was the Gravier bloodline. The box soon opened for all of them to see. Inside was a small round stone that was extremely black; even light seemed to disappear when it came into contact with the stone.
Theo's eyes constricted when he saw this small stone. This was because, even though the stone looked small enough to fit into one's palm, it was, in fact, actually a dragon's egg!