The Sun, The Moon, And The Stars

EPISODE IX: The Catalyst vs. The Sea God

For context for this chapter, not all of the 12 gods in Greek mythology exist in this universe, so keep that in mind while you read. Everything will be explained in the story, so don't worry about that.

Enjoy!

[Tw: mentioned death/killing]

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Bdubs laughed. "Oh, that's funny," he said nervously, patting Cub's shoulder. Cub looked confused and slightly disgusted. "You just said you were my friend."

Cub rolled his eyes. "I said I'm not your friend," he corrected Bdubs, who dropped his smile. "I want you and your ridiculously powerful abilities out of here as much as the next guy, believe me. But you're not on my hit list." He nodded off to the side and Bdubs looked over to see Xelqua, who was sitting and talking with Skizz. "I want them dead."

Bdubs' eyes widened as he turned to face Cub again. "You can't kill them," he said, throwing his arms in the air dramatically. "They're a god!"

Cub quirked a brow. "And?"

"All of the Heavens could be thrown out of balance if you kill them," Bdubs said, then shook his head. "This is insane! Gods are immortal anyway, I don't know how you could possibly- Oh Void."

Cub unsheathed what looked like a fishing hook, or possibly a prong of a trident, and held it out for Bdubs to take a look at. "You heard the story of the death of Poseidon, no?" He grinned slyly when Bdubs nodded, the whites of his eyes turning black. "Guess who's responsible."

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Long ago, Poseidon ruled the seas with a mighty vigor. He commanded the seas and its people, and he created life within them. He was one of the strongest gods in history.

Was.

The catalyst, a former god cursed by Demeter to became a monster, was a creature made of a parasitic substance called sculk. As a god, its goal was to gain enough power to infect the gods themselves and control them to its will. But as a cursed monster, its goal was just to spread and survive. And Poseidon was getting in the way of that.

So the catalyst set out to kill him. The only way it could was by stealing his trident and using it against him. And the only way it could do that was to infect him with sculk, which proved easier than it previously thought.

It was a quick death for the Sea God, and a devastation to the balance of the Heavens.

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Bdubs was horrified. "You- You're the catalyst?"

Cub's eyes returned to normal and his grin turned to a wholesome smile. "Good guess," he said. "I'm... close to it. But I don't owe you an explanation to that. This," he turned his attention back to the small piece of... whatever it was in his hand, "is a piece of Poseidon's trident. The rest was scattered across the world after Zeus discovered that it could be used to kill gods." Cub chuckled. "He doesn't know I still have a part of it."

Bdubs stared in horror at the small piece of weapon - Poseidon's god-killing weapon - in Cub's hand. "You're going to use that to kill Xelqua?" he said in disbelief.

"Correct," Cub answered.

"But... why?" Bdubs looked up at Cub now. "What's the point of killing them?"

Cub sighed. "I don't know if you've noticed," he began, "but they're kind of trying to take control of the world and send it into chaos." He quirked a brow at Bdubs, who just kind of stared at him. "I'm trying to protect the world that I want control of!" he said finally. "How am I supposed to infect the whole world if it's controlled by a whole ass god of chaos?"

Bdubs flinched. "I- I don't get it," he said softly, seeming to start to zone out.

Cub groaned. "I can't really dumb it down any further," he said, rolling his eyes.

Shaking his head, Bdubs said, "No, no, I meant, like-" He sighed. "I don't get why you immortal beings are constantly at each other's throats for control over the world. I mean... Can't you guys accept being equals and having equal control?"

Cub paused before bursting out in laughter. "Ahh, you're hilarious," he said. "'Accept being equals.' Yeah, like the gods were ever 'equal.' I get cursed for trying to gain more power, but Zeus can have all the power he wants. Poseidon ruled an entire realm of this world. And Hades, too! But what about the smaller, less powerful, and less known gods? We got nothing. There's no equality among the immortal. You should know that; you're immortal yourself."

"What? No I'm not-" Bdubs froze, studying the incredulous expression on Cub's face. "I am?!"

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Cub and the catalyst are not the same person. Cub is just a vessel for the catalyst to survive in :)