Mad God – Reborn

A few days after she escaped from the unabashedly presumptuous fingers of Athos, Nilier was back home, hiding away in her own little realm, which was small, but only on the scale for those at her level. It wasn't meant to impress like the twins' home, or dominate and overwhelm like the realm of Skoorn. It was… peaceful, just like how she always liked it. Wherever one looked, it was nothing but a stretch of endless green meadow, with soft grass swaying under a gentle breeze. As for buildings, there was just a single wooden house standing not far from the center, simple in design, which gave it a warm, welcoming feeling. Behind the house, there was a lovely little garden filled with vibrant colors, going from red to blue, through yellow and green, faintly glowing, especially at night. There were flowers of every kind, some that didn't exist anywhere else, each one cared for by her hands only. She was right amongst them in that moment, too, standing up and glancing towards a small pond twinkling nearby, its surface perfectly still, reflecting the blue sky like a mirror.

"Ugh..." Nilier moaned, wiping her hands, looking pouty, because usually, tending her garden gave her ample time to relax. But... it wasn't working now. “Stupid… idiot… pervert…!”

She just couldn't help it. That man was still annoying her thoughts! Shaking the earth off her fingers, her arms went crossed tightly under her chest, pouting still, with a red face. Why couldn't she get him out of his mind?!

"How dare he?! Who does he think he is?!" she continued, pacing back and forth, strolling out of the garden, occasionally kicking at the ground in frustration. "Touching me out of nowhere, asking stupid questions, getting that close!" She stopped, looking towards the pond, "That stupid grin. Hmph!" Suddenly, she couldn't hold back anymore, and she turned sharply, marching toward the pond. "I don't care about him!" Yet, she still knelt down near the water's edge, watching the surface turn from reflecting the sky to suddenly showing the land, as if someone was zooming past fields and forests alike. "…Just checking."

She muttered, trying to tell herself why she was doing it. She had to look for a long time, swiping with her hand, switching the image from mountains to the deserts, combing through mortal cities and towns, even the ocean, but... she couldn't find him. Why was that? She should be feeling him, yet when searching for his presence, she couldn't find him. He couldn't be gone just like that! A God, especially a natural ascendant... couldn't die so simply. Where did he go?!

"Where are you…" She whispered, getting even more annoyed, and then... finally, she sensed something. "There! Damn it... Why?"

She had to focus properly; otherwise, the image felt fuzzy, and she was unable to focus on his figure. When the picture finally smoothed out, he stood atop a mountain peak, arms stretched out, letting the wind whip against his clothes and hair, clearly enjoying it. She watched as his red eyes scanned the horizon, then moved his legs in a particular pattern... disappearing and reappearing at a different peak.

"Still doing that...?"

It was clear that he was in the middle of practice, trying to get a grip of his new speed, and when satisfied, he zoomed across the continent, forcing Nilier to spend minutes trying to find him again. She simply couldn't mark him... How was he hiding his presence from her?! Was it because he now knew others could watch him? But... how? How was he even doing the hiding if he didn't know how they sensed him?!

As she was thinking of that, she finally found him again. Now he was in a dense forest, walking around, actually walking while his hand brushed against tree trunks as he passed them, his expression thoughtful. What now? Huh?! He was gone again. Did he... sense her? Impossible. But then, why try to run?! After another hour of searching, she finally found him once more, this time, inside a mortal city. He appeared in the middle of a crowded street, walking among them without any of the mortals perceiving him, not even when bumping shoulders with them. Some of the mortals thought the others were provoking them, ending in a brawl that he just watched, eating an apple as if it wasn't his fault.

"Idiot." She snorted, yet her gaze didn't leave the water. "How are you doing that so easily…"

She murmured because the ease with which he was picking up on his powers bothered her more than his attitude. It had taken her years just to move this easily around, but for him it was what...? Days? Then, manipulating mortals' senses so they ignore him? That took another few years.

"Monster…" She whispered again, but then, the man suddenly looked up, as if gazing at her, "…Hm?"

As she looked back down, furrowing her brows, Athos stood still, continuing to eat that apple, loudly crunching on it, his eyes unblinkingly staring. Then... He smiled? And... his head tilted slightly? Why?

"What is he doing…?"

Suddenly, a strange feeling crept up her spine, and she watched as Athos took a step, appearing to float high in the sky, his face now larger in the pond's reflection.

“Wait…!” Nilier leaned back, suddenly having a really bad premonition, "…No!" She yelled out and froze, forgetting to dispel the image, "That's not possible!"

"Oh!" Athos raised a hand, and she could even hear him speak, "Found you!"

"No!" Nilier yelled, finally turning it off, but it was too late. By then, the surface of the pond began rippling violently. “No, no, no—!”

The air in her realm shifted as the wind picked up, and then, she could feel the doors to her private realm being forced open. Sensing the intrusion that was about to come through. By then, Nilier finally shot to her feet, her eyes wide for the first time... No. Since she had met him, this was the second time.

"He can't—!" She tried to say, but by then the pond's surface cracked like her mirror was shattered, and then, a hand shot through it, climbing out from the water with a grin, but to Nilier, it was more like a horror show.

There was nothing else to do because a moment later, he was floating above the churning water, all wet, his hair sticking to his body, looking around curiously, wiping his hands into his clothes, but those were just as soaked.

"Whoa! Nice, please, Miss Peeper."

"What did you call me?!" She yelped in a squeaking-like voice.

"Peeper." He said, tilting his head and rubbing the insides of his ear, letting the water out, "I sensed that something was watching me. Again. This was the second time I could sense it, by the way, so it is a pattern, as far as I'm concerned." He went on, as if it were the most normal thing to explain. "Meaning, you have an addiction to peeping on others. It's rude, you know!"

"..." Nilier had a lot to say, but... she couldn't. She didn't even know how to think anymore; she just stood there, watching him in absentminded horror.

"So… You live here?" He turned toward her after looking around, wearing a grin, "You've been watching me from this place? Did you see when I pissed a hole into a mountain?"

"STOOOOOP! I DID NOT! I MOST DEFINITELY NOT! WHO WOULD CARE ABOUT SUCH THING?!" She screamed, gasping for air like she was drowning a moment ago.

"Want to see it? That was awesome!"

"Wha...?! Eh? Huh? Hah?!" She stammered, blinking her eyes like she was going blind, "How…?"

"So," Athos began, reaching downwards, "I usually hold it in one hand and—"

That was all he managed to say, because suddenly an invisible force had grabbed his wrist, stopping him from reaching further down.

"Hm?" He looked at her, puzzled, "Want to see it or not?"

"I was asking how you came here?!" She yelled at him, her face redder than a tomato.

"Oh! You're asking how I did that? Ah, sorry, sorry, I thought you liked peeping, and I am not against giving you a show. I haven't been with a girl for ages. I was getting excited and missed some steps, sorry. I'm not the best when it comes to flirting, but you are also a peeper, so... I guessed you were into things like this. " Nilier was about to curse him and send him to Alfina and Oynega as he clearly was like the two... but then he stepped closer, completely ignoring the tension in the air. "I just followed the feeling."

"What… Feeling?" She asked, taking a hurried step backward.

"The feeling of being watched." He explained casually. "Were you ever watched? Did you know that if you concentrate, you can feel it on your back? Same thing."

"That's not possible." She blurted out, "You shouldn't have and couldn't have sensed it. You are barely a few days old! No. That's impossible."

"A few days?!" He snorted, crossing his arms, "Girlie, I'm plenty old, okay? I can read and count. I can also hold in my pee. Most of the time."

"..."

"Anyway," He shrugged, seeing his joke did not land the way he wanted it to, "I mean… I'm here. So I clearly did it." He looked around again, spinning once in place like a child discovering something new. "This place is amazing! I should make my own." He added as he crouched down near the grass, running his fingers through it. "Huh. It feels… different. This place has abundant energy, but... Where does it come from? It feels way different than the thing down there. Why...?" He asked, barely audible, furrowing his brows, "Where does it come from...? Where...?"

Nilier watched him, falling silent while her heart was beating faster than ever before. It was not even because he broke into her realm, but the sharpness of his senses. Could he tell the difference between her realm and the mortals' world? It was only a difference in the quality of the energies permeating them, but that was all. Hers were pure as it came from the time when the Cosmos was still... But she didn't dare to think further. She didn't want to think about that...

"You... You..." She stuttered, "You broke into my realm."

"Oh." He looked at her again, "Was I not supposed to do that?"

"..." Nilier's eye twitched before pressing an answer through her teeth, "Of course you weren't!"

"Ah." He nodded seriously. "Got it. Sorry. But also, you were peeping so... call us even?"

"I WASN'T PEEPING! STOP BRINGING THAT UP! I WAS—" She didn't finish the sentence because the man before him suddenly moved... towards her home!

"I'm thirsty!" He said, stretching and moaning, "You don't mind if I invite myself in, do you?"

"I DO!" She rushed after him, yelling, but it didn't matter... he was already in her house... His filthy hands touching everything and his scent... ruining her world... forever.