The Lonely God (Rosekook)

17

"...Eris, once I 'freed' her from the shadow realm, offered me an oath of protection as a symbol of her gratitude," a clean-shaven Jeongguk was saying in front of the assembled deities. "I never really thought much about it before, but then at the battle I realised it could be the last measure to take her down...she had grown too powerful with the demi-god's blood. I figured provoking Eris until she fired her deadliest shot at me would work. But well....Zeus did her job of frying me up nicely."

A ripple of laughter did the rounds amongst the row of spectators.

Jeongguk turned to Zeus and took a deep breath. "My Lord, I understand that my actions have caused you and civilians much strife and trouble. I humbly beg for your forgiveness. You also have my gratitude for saving my life."

He congratulated himself on not vomiting there and then, suppressing the bile rising in his throat.

A low rumble of hushed whispers had him snap his head up to witness Zeus stand and bow ninety degrees in Jeongguk's direction. Jeongguk froze on the spot, blinking.

"What good is a God if he does not save his subjects, even if they are the most troublesome, unruly and disrespectful of the lot?" Zeus grunted. "You have my gratitude for your noble sacrifice Jeon—you saved not only Olympus but possibly the whole of this universe with your courage."

He bowed again and this time, one by one, the deities—from haughty Athena to a visibly uncomfortable Ares, to the smiling Apollon—stood up and bowed to Jeongguk.

He could only look on, rooted to the spot with his heart thundering in his chest like a runaway horse. The whole of Oympus bowed as one to him and incredibly, he even felt the prickling sensation of emotion itching at his eyes. He sniffed furiously, scolding himself.

Chaeyoung was standing a little to the side, bowing as well. She was the first to raise her head, shooting him what he could only describe as a proud smile.

This was he ever dreamed of—attaining the approval of the gods. It was...a dream come true.

"Uh hmm...this is nice and all...but do I get some sort of reward too now?" Jeongguk asked brightly when everyone had settled back in their seats. A collective groan and and spatter of face-palms did the rounds.

"Jeon you really are one shameless imbecile, aren't you?" Zeus sighed. "We can discuss your...reward, after we have addressed the more pressing matters at hand—"

"But it's not for me," Jeongguk interrupted, garnering frowns and glares for speaking over Zeus. "If you'll spare a quick minute, it wouldn't take you half as long as the time it takes to flirt—"

"Alright alright, what is your request?" Zeus growled. Jeongguk smiled.

"I was wondering if it would be possible to release my friend V from the Jeju prison? After all, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have saved everyone."

"V? Would that be Nemesis' great-great-great-great-great-great-great—"

"That will do Hermes, and yes, that V." Zeus stroked his beard. "Why was he incarcerated?"

"Who cares? If he does something again, he'll end up there soon enough." Hermes reasoned.

"And besides, at least Jeon hasn't asked for something like immortality...," Hecate mused, scrutinising Jeongguk, "that's quite surprising. The last I remember, a month ago, you were quite outraged at the prospect of not being granted immortality."

Jeongguk gave a toothy smile. "A month may be but the blink of an eye for you Gods, but it's quite a long time for humans..." he shrugged, glancing at Chaeyoung with a secret smile. "Perhaps I changed."