Dylan King and His New Roommate Called Goddess Athena [1st Book]

CHAPTER 48

"Terrible accident due to drunk driving?" Dylan responded. "What I knew from your accident was that your car got hit by a sleepy truck driver."

"Everything has been manipulated," William said as he looked over his shoulder. As the Flame of Aletheia did not turn black, he obviously spoke the truth about the manipulation. "Suddenly I was floating amongst the clouds," he continued as he shifted his focus to the front. "I felt peace at that moment. The humiliation and frustration no longer bothered me," he paused. "But then after what seemed to be an eternity, I heard a voice telling me to go back. While I was wondering who he was, a great force suddenly pulled me back. Before long, I was already awake on my hospital bed."

"The Near Death Experience," Nike muttered.

"I wanted to go to that place again," William said. "But I didn't want to die first, so I looked for another way. Weeks of searching then led me to a man named Tobias Martin. He's a scientist claiming to believe that our world consists of many realms. He promised that if I'm willing to fund his project, he will open the door to that place. I'm skeptical of his theory, but I ended up funding his project."

"This Tobias then accidentally opened the realm Kolaseos, and Echkarat came out from it," Apollo said. "Did I guess it correctly?"

"Yes, god Apollo."

"I came out two months before Athena and the others," Hephaestus said. "That means you have tried opening it two months before Echkarat appeared, haven't you?"

"Yes, Har... I mean... god Hephaestus," William said. "But... at that time... I have no idea if the world we found is Kolaseos," he paused momentarily. "I mean... I thought we've successfully located the realm I've been searching for. That's why I ordered Tobias to open it by all means."

"What happened after you told him to open it by all means?" Hephaestus asked.

"Tobias channeled more power to the locked world, as he believed it would crack open the realm," William said. "The result we got was nothing but a damaged machine."

Hephaestus nodded a few times; he also folded his arms before his chest. "So apparently Tobias managed to crack open Kolaseos in the parts that you didn't know."

"Yes, it would appear so."

"And on the next trial, you finally opened the portal in your place," Hephaestus said; he then looked toward Athena. "And the portal where Athena got out might also be the result of this next trial."

"For the first point, you guessed it right," William said. "But for the second point, I don't dare to say anything about it."

"What did Echkarat want?" Athena asked; she leaned forward with her left arm placed on the table. 

"He wanted to exact his vengeance against humans," William said. "I didn't understand what he meant, but he said that it was humans who made him thrown into Kolaseos."

"The humans losing their faith was indeed the cause why most of us were dumped into Kolaseos," Hera said. "But I truly never heard the name Echkarat. Have any of you ever heard about this god?" she asked as she glanced at the left and right.

"Never," Athena and the rest responded as they shook their heads.

"How did he want to exact his vengeance?" Apollo asked.

"He wanted to make all humans wander in Kolaseos," William said, instantly surprising Dylan, and apparently the others too. "In order to achieve the goal, he needed the power of other gods and monsters. He ordered me to do anything to lure out more of them from Kolaseos. But because he later sensed there were a few gods and monsters wandering nearby, he also commanded me to find them. To aid me, he summoned some Draugrs from Kolaseos, and he handed me control over them."