AntiGod: The Odyssey Of God

***

Year 2020

“I’m sorry we have to meet like this, Akuma. But I need your help to save our people.”

“Sorry to meet like this? Dude, you hijacked my damn dream.”

“I am sorry about that…”

The mysterious golden-haired man bowed his head in plea, causing the brilliant halo above his head to dip in unison, along with his two magnificent wings. As he moved, feathers drifted gracefully from his expansive wings, and my attention was captured by one particular feather as it floated delicately to the shimmering floor beneath us. “…But you know. It’s not like you were dreaming about anything important.”

“Gah-ah. Y-You don’t know that! For all you knew, Alice was gonna confess her dying love to me. She was gonna leap into my arms, and I would get down and propose.”

“…Umm… You have quite the imagination, huh...? And I think you mean un-dying love.”

(The hell kinda dream even is this? Where’s the epic boss fight? Or the giant chimera that rears its ugly head when I least expect it? Or Alice dammit! All I got was some tall ass angel guy, cockblocking my sweet date.)

“So-umm… Dream angel… Why exactly is my first lucid dream about a random cosplayer?”

“...”

We stood in silence for a moment.

I pondered on what could have made him so quiet, and after exhausting my brain I came to one conclusion… This guy must have had to use the bathroom.

(A number two, huh? I completely understand angel man. Nothing’s worse than holding on to a big one.)

Breaking the silence, his futuristic armor rustled against his body as he chuckled. It was a white color, the same as snow. It mostly covered his upper torso, forearms and thighs but there were still a few pieces here and there.

If you ask me, the thing looked straight out of a sci-fi movie.

“Out of all the questions, you ask that...?" he scoffed. "...And here I was ready to explain how I know your name.”

(Yeah, I already know how you know my name. You're in my dream.)

“No this isn't some dream. Think of it like a phone call.”

“!”

(Did he just read my mind? Wait…This is my mind. So then did he read my mind’s mind?! Creepy…)

“Pardon me for being rude but we must skip the formalities. I'm running out of time, you see.”

His sweet and welcoming tone shifted to that of desperation.

“I need your help, Akuma. I need help in saving our people and the entire universe from-”

“Excuse my interruption, mister-uhm… dream angel? But by our people do you mean other angels?”

“Yes exactl-”

“You’ve got the wrong guy for the job. I watch a lot of anime, so I know where this is going.”

As Akuma went on and on, the mysterious man started to visibly lose his patience. In the moment he yelled:

“LISTEN!!”

With that sudden roar, paired with his ferocious crimson glare, you better believe I shut the hell up. If his intention was to spook me then he more than succeeded. I was all ears to anything and everything he said. I think I even entered a saluting position out of sudden shock.

“The world as you know it is not how it should be. And I need your help in restoring it to its natural order… It seems I’m running out of time. Before you leave, I shall release the seals on your soul. Also, after you leave, please visit the Church of Michael, and tell the priest what you saw here.”

“?”

(Church…of Michael…?”)

As he said those final words, my entire body felt heightened. I felt like my very soul was transcending. The space around me grew distant -like I was in outer space or something. Then I saw a bright light. Its warmth hugged my entire body and blinded my retina.

***

You know that feeling when the amount of sleep you’re getting is oddly suspicious?

“Surely my alarm had to have passed by now?” you ask yourself. Yeah... that’s how my day started. Well… if you ignore that strange dream I had.

I was already flirting with the idea of waking up for like ten minutes now, but that alarm still just never rang. I was starting to think I really was late for school. And at that point I might as well just sleep in, right?

That’s when it hit me. Like a sudden flash zinging through my mind.

(…Alice… She’s supposed to come back to school today.)

It was a hard-fought battle, but I managed to escape the clutches of my sweet warm blanket paired up with the final boss known as “the pillow.”

My strategy was rolling out the bed and landing headfirst on my carpet floor, a strategy that never failed me.

Getting up from the floor, I limped my way through my door and into the bathroom.

Unfortunately, the first thing I saw was a damn bastard.

“Good morning, sweet brother.” I greeted with a warm and gentle smile.

{Of course, the smile was fake but details-shmetails.}

“Heh?... Damn man what time did you get to bed… You look disgusting.”

“…”

“…”

This rude bum of a human is Tenshi Tiryns. My biological brother.

We may have been brothers, but we couldn’t have been further apart.

While I was a 17-year-old, high school junior and the apex of all light-skin men, he was a 24-year-old dark skinned bum.

The only real similarity we shared, appearance wise, was the style we kept our hair -both in locs.

“…My. I’m as dazzling today as any other, huh.”

{He decided it was best to ignore his brother’s rude comment.)

I shifted my gaze to the bathroom mirror in hopes of not having to look at this guy’s dumb face.

But when I did, I noticed something unusual. Strange even.

In the mirror, behind my reflection I could’ve sworn I saw the image of those enormous wings from my dream. The very same ones behind that weird angel guy. Except now, they were tagging behind me.

“I guess I’m still kinda out of it, huh” I muttered.

“What-?”

“Nothing.”

“It's a wonder how you even wake up in the morning… One day you're gonna end up dead with that horrible sleep schedule!”

Following that harsh and clearly untrue claim, he headed to the door leading to his room.

“Jokes this early in the morning huh?”

“Who said anything about joking?”

Then he faded into his dark room and while closing the bathroom door.

“Wait!”

“Hmm?”

“Fu-fu. Did you know the chances of dying to a serial killer is lower than your chances of dying to me.”

“…”

“…”

“Go to school man.”

*SLAM!

(Geez man. I hope that door breaks.)

As if out of habit, I ended up catching a glance of my Greek god of a body’s reflection through the corner of my eye. And I ended up having a mini modeling session of sorts. What can I say? The bathroom light was just far too enhancing.

***

My room was laid out like a typical boy’s room.

You had my small bed in the top right corner, my game in the top left corner and a whole lot of nothin’ everywhere else.

Glued to my wall, may or may not be a poster of someone who I may or may not have taken a picture of. But again. Details-shmetails.

The school uniform was mandatory for all students, so there was no question about the outfit for the day. Of course, that wasn’t something you’d hear me complain about. I quite like how the uniform looks on Alice.

And if you ask her, I’m sure she’d say she loves the uniform on me as well.

***

I took my usual stroll down the stairs to make breakfast, and that was when I saw it.

And at the bottom of my carpet journey, I would be met with an obstacle that could only be described as the devil's work.

"Ah, we meet again, Satan," I muttered under my breath, steeling myself for the confrontation. "Today is not your day; my wife has recovered from her nasty cold, and I can practically sense her need to see me from here."

This was the second adversary I faced daily.

{The first was his pillow}

The sight before me was so repugnant that it could make the strongest stomach churn. I swallowed hard, summoning my courage to battle this beast. "Wooden floor!" I declared, ready to spring into action. You see, my father resides on the lower level of these quarters, clinging to his old-fashioned ways, adamantly refusing to cover the floor with carpet. It’s as if he’s under some sort of spell.

Now what was my plan for today? Naturally, my tried-and-true tactic:

A daring leap!

***

I was the type of person who didn’t really have maintenance in my morning routine. So I always ended up with plenty of time to spare before having to catch the bus.

So how exactly did I spend those remaining minutes you might ask? Fufu. Isn’t it obvious…

On this particular morning -pretty much every morning- I found myself diving back into the world of One Piece for what felt like the millionth time -truly the greatest piece of fiction to grace my eyes.

Before I realized it, an entire episode had flown by, and it was time for me to leave.

As I approached my bus stop, I could feel a grin spreading across my face, the anticipation bubbling within me as thoughts of our time together danced in my mind. It always filled me with joy.

There were supposed to be more of us in the morning, but all the other kids chose to drive to school a little later, which meant it was usually just me and her. That "her" is my devoted and wonderful girlfriend, Alice!

Or... so I wish.