Down With The Gods

Wyn lounges in the living room, overindulging in his daily dose of memes. Though it’s a nice warm day outside, his allergies flare up, causing him to sneeze repeatedly. Around half an hour after noon, his parents return from work for their usual afternoon break. Instinctively, Wyn quickly hides his phone, just like when he used to turn off the television as a kid, hoping his parents won’t think he’s been unproductive all morning. He joins them at the dining table for lunch. For reasons unknown, his parents start discussing his grades, despite the fact he graduated years ago. Wyn can’t make out most of their conversation, but at some point, the discussion heats up. He finds himself yelling, but no sound comes out of his mouth. He tries again and again to scream as loud as he can, but nothing happens. His head pounds with stress, feeling like it’s about to explode. Then he wakes up.

“WHO’S DRIVING?” Wyn shouts in panic, startling everyone awake.

Anish, dazed and confused, scrambles to grab the steering wheel and gearshift, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

“What’s wrong with you? It’s on autopilot!” Anish says once he realizes where they are.

“Are you, like, trying to be funny?” Christine asks.

“Not at all. Sorry.”

“At least you get to sleep again! Good job!” Yu says.

As time passes, the team gradually shifts back into their usual chatty mode. Mira manages to get Anish talking about his daughter, which causes him to become garrulous.

“Was she into tech?” Wyn asks.

“No. Heck, I wasn’t into tech myself! Most of the stuff was fake, from a single supplier.”

“From call center to selling fakes. Very improvement, such inspired.”

“Is your friend, like, okay?” Christine asks Yu.

“Not sure. Maybe the dream he had is having some effects on him,” Yu responds, laughing.

“Is he, like, okay to lead?” Christine asks, clearly concerned, while also misinterpreting Yu’s playful tone.

“He’ll be fine. You gotta forgive him. He’s a bit old,” Mira chimes in.

“I’m WHAT? Wouldn’t that make Anish ancient?”

“I feel like I could be Yu’s dad.”

Wyn checks his wristband and sees that the train creature has finally been registered. The description reads, "Choo choo mofos!"

“I bet all the cringe descriptions are written by elites.”

“Isn’t it cool we were the first ones to fight it?” Yu says.

The lively chatter quiets down as the vehicle parks itself in front of the weather dome. From the outside, the dome doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. But once inside, the building creates the illusion of an open ceiling, despite being fully enclosed. Every twenty-four hours, the eight sections of the dome cycle through different weather and sky conditions. With each reset of the clock, waves of creatures matching the conditions are released. After defeating them, souls can relax and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere. Currently, two hours remain on the clock.

Anish scans the dome, surveying the upcoming conditions, before gathering the others and inviting them to an area where the next condition will display a night sky. Unfortunately for them, when they arrive, the section is engulfed in a fierce blizzard, and the creatures, having been undisturbed by recent visitors, remain very much alive.

Not a fan of cold weather, Yu begs the team to move to a warmer area. They quickly relocate to a windy desert section next door, waiting for the clock to reset. From the moment they arrive, Wyn and Mira exaggerate about how much sand has gotten into their mouths and eyes. Christine wants to tell them to stop, but she too has inhaled more sand than she’d like and can’t manage to speak. Anish, the only one with an open eye, anxiously watches the clock. As soon as it hits zero and resets to twenty-four hours, he grabs Mira’s hand – out of all people – and urges the others to follow him. Being the first group in the area, they must now face creatures from both the previous and current weather conditions.

Utilizing water fountains, Yu quickly dispatches bat-like creatures, alternating between water slashes and blade thrusts from his water dashes. Meanwhile, Christine and Anish team up against the yeti-like creatures on the ground, using their powers to form a massive snowman that smashes the enemies into pulp. Anish, with his other hand, controls his javelin with wind power, stabbing through a line of smaller, rounded bunny-like creatures with ruthless precision, skewering them like meat on a stick. Mira, thrilled to finally fight smaller foes, enjoys using her whip to bind and explode the moth-like creatures. Wyn, on the other hand, decides to sit this one out, observing his team’s performance.

Within fifteen minutes, only one creature remains. Yu finishes it off with a flashy move – jumping into the air and sending a water fountain from his blade that slices the bunny in half, sending both halves up in the stream purely for the dramatic effect.

"Showoff!" Wyn quips.

"We haven’t had much chance to use the moves we learned from the Dojo against big enemies," Yu says.

"Right? Feels good to get that chance here!" Mira adds.

A few minutes after the creatures are defeated, the night sky begins to glow with shimmering hues of green aurora. It captures everyone’s attention – except Christine, who’s seen it before. As the display unfolds, Mira reaches out to hold Wyn’s hand.

"You should hold Anish’s hand too," Wyn whispers to her.

"NO! I want you, Oppa!" she insists.

"'Want' as in?"

"I’ve been dry since you and Yu came back for me."

"Me and me, what? Oh! Right...Well, Anish is always available."

"NO EFFING WAY!!!"

"You know he’s been really kind to you. At least hold his hand."

Reluctantly, Mira grabs Anish’s hand with her other hand. Almost immediately, she notices how sweaty it is.

"Ewww!" she exclaims.

"I’m sorry! I got nervous. Your hand is so soft! I’m having...having...!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down now, big guy. Just come sit next to me, and you can hold my hand instead. Jeez, we’ve got two individuals with some…high demands here," Wyn says.

Misinterpreting Wyn’s dry humor, Anish takes him seriously and actually holds Wyn’s hand, admiring the aurora. Wyn is caught off guard but doesn’t pull away. Meanwhile, Yu and Christine sit next to each other, quietly staring up at the sky. They aren’t holding hands, and surprisingly, they aren’t talking either.

After several hours, the aurora fades, leaving behind a star-filled sky. Lying on his back, Wyn notices a cluster of four stars flickering in the distance. Slowly, two of them fade out completely.

"You see those two flickering stars?" Wyn asks, pointing toward the sky. The team looks up. "In a sky full of stars, a couple of dying ones seem so insignificant," he continues, pausing. "You know, I was once a bright star. Bright in college, bright at work – or at least that’s what everyone told me. I don’t know what happened or when, but...I lost my shine."

"You weren’t the only one. I messed up too," Mira says, tightening her grip on his hand.

"At least your stars were shining. Mine was, like, a dud. Haha." Christine adds, but no one joins in her laughter.

"Maybe I was lucky not to have lived that long?" Yu remarks.

"You had it good. A great start to a great life," Mira replies.

"My perspective on life changed once I had my daughter," Anish says, a fond smile crossing his face. "She brightened up my whole world. Sometimes all it takes is finding that one thing to flip your life around – if you’re lucky enough."

A silence settles over the group, as none of them have experienced the life Anish speaks of. Wyn remains focused on the two flickering stars, waiting for them to fade away.

"What do you guys miss the most?" Yu eventually asks, breaking the silence.

"The time I spent with my sister," Mira replies.

"My family," Anish says.

"Just existing in general. Like, somehow I didn’t hate life that much," Christine says.

"Maybe watching hamsters on adventures, a few people...and dogs," Wyn says.

"Like 'The Adventurous Hamsters'? You’re sick! For me, as anyone and their mother would’ve guessed, it’s singing to an audience," Yu adds.

"Hmmm, dogs. I do, like, miss corn dogs," Christine says.

"’Corn dogs’?" Yu asks, confused. "What breed is that?"

"Like, they aren…"

"I like corgis and shibas," Wyn interrupts quickly.

"Then I’m more of a cat person," Yu adds.

Christine gives Wyn a stink eye, knowing exactly what he just did.

"I love huskies! I wanted to pet Cerberus so bad!" Mira exclaims.

"Did you ever eat a dog, Mira? It’s a thing where you’re from, right?" Yu asks casually.

"This is derailing into a trainwreck. Let’s all stop talking about dogs," Anish says before Mira can respond.

As the clock displays twelve hours remaining, the team gets up, but the flickering stars still refuse to fade. Wyn and team return to the campsite to discuss their next destination. Mira, determined to expand her search for her sister, suggests the Dark Forest. She has been asking the city cats about her sister’s whereabouts every time she sees them, only to be disappointed. In line with what David said, she hopes her sister is collecting catnips in the forest.

Anish, however, clarifies that he hasn’t been anywhere besides the Abandoned City, admitting he won’t be much help moving forward. To Wyn, this adds another reason to visit the Dark Forest. He has made it his next goal to purchase a bestiary.

Before they leave for the forest, Anish consults Catota for guidance. Like other city cats, Catota is impervious to the areas outside the city. She advises Anish to speak to a forest cat once they arrive in the Dark Forest.

"Alright! Let’s be careful and watch out for each other out there!" Wyn says.

With that, the five leave the Abandoned City. At campsite number five, they are greeted by a black-and-white cat, welcoming them to the Dark Forest.