Loki’s Successor System

Jin felt as if his heart had pounced out of his chest. It throbbed as the hovering, glowing ring appeared around Tristan's neck.

This could only mean one thing, and one thing alone.

"Tristan?!"

Tristan was a successor as well….

A blue ring like a misplaced halo of an angel's, hovered in a fixed position around his neck, and moved wherever he might without coming in contact with his skin.

[You can now be easily detected by Successors]

For Jin, it was the greatest epiphany he had witnessed yet. Stunned. Shocked. Horror-struck. Fear.

"Why did you two just say each other's name like that?" Dobby grimaced.

'That's right. Dobby and Ashton aren't Successors so they have no idea…'

Jin tried to hide his asset from the world in that he knew what the risks were.

Tristan was at a loss for words. He was utterly speechless. He lingered there; with his draw dropped, and his eyes gaped.

Until he finally remarked. "J-Jin? You're a Successor too?!"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

Ashton raised a brow. "Successor? What's that supposed to mean?"

Tristan heaved. "I was gonna show you guys earlier, but I guess it sorta revealed itself…"

Jin was still dazed. No way Tristan was a Successor as well? He had not even suspected anything.

He quickly deduced that this was the reason why Tristan had lost so much fat, and replaced it with muscle mass in such a short space of time.

The system was irrefutably the onset of his new muscular physique.

Jin peered at him, "Just how long have you been a Successor?"

Tristan averted his eyes. "About five months. A lot has happened since then and I did a lot of things I shouldn't have." hints of fear effusing out from his countenance.

He turned to Jin again, "At first I thought of the system as the best gift ever, but it's no gift, Jin," his eyes darkened, "it's a curse…"

Jin let out a stressful breath. His lungs had been brimming with it for so long. "Mine made grandma and Benjamin ill…"

"No surprise there for me. Ever since this thing appeared, my life has become all but bizarre…"

Dobby's eyebrows furrowed. "What the fuck are you two talking about!?"

"Jin," Tristan glared, "What God are you?"

Jin simply responded, "I'm the Successor of," his facial expression softened, "Loki … apparently…"

Tristan's eyes expanded. He was shocked. "That's … an evil one." fear was drawn by trepidation in his throbbing heart.

And suddenly, the rain began to fall again. The polluted sky was outraged and was deterred away from peace. It retaliated at the Earth with bolts of lightning, followed by deafening thunder.

"Evil one?" Jin's voice trailed off as the thunder resounded.

"Not all the Gods of Norse Mythology were good, Jin," responded Tristan.

This was something Jin already knew; yet recognition dawned on his face.

He hadn't thought about Loki as a God; he only took his Abilities and whatnot into account. Shrouding the enigma from the world, had distracted him from seeing something much, much bigger.

Loki was the God of Mischief, and as such, he could surely amount to nothing but mischievousness.

This could only mean one thing for Jin's future.

Dobby bolted up to his feet. "That's it! I'm through with you guys! What in the fuck are you talking about? I wanna hear the truth …"

"I'm also curious …" Ashton folded his arms.

Jin and Tristan slowly looked each other in the face.

Do they tell them? Or do they not?

Surely they would think that the existence of such a thing was just hogwash. No rocket science for Jin and Tristan; because people tend to only believe what they see with their own eyes.

"Should we?" Tristan raised his brows.

Jin heaved, "They've … been through a lot, and this might just sound insane to them … but I think as friends; we shouldn't be hiding things from each other—especially things like these…"

"Yeah, I think we should tell them," approved Tristan, looking up at Dobby, who had clearly run out of all patience.

Tristan stood, sliding his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Ash, Dobby. What I am about to tell you might sound insane but … bear with me, alright?"

He looked Dobby in the eyes, "Jin and I have assets that were given to us; assuming Jin didn't kill a successor and take his asset …"

Jin grimaced, "What?"

"With these gifts or assets, we are called 'Successors'. It is believed that we Successor Gods will replace the actual Gods in another century or so. Successors possess divine Abilities … and no, these Abilities aren't theirs. Successors aren't Ability Runners either…"

Dobby and Ashton had subtle nuances on their faces.

"I was gonna tell you guys earlier," his eyes averted, "I was gonna show my powers to you but then something came up and I had to kick you out of my car to avoid getting you involved. I didn't want you to get involved …"

"I had no idea Jin was a Successor like me. I had no idea he was facing the struggles I've been facing. I don't even know my own friends anymore," his countenance exuding nothing but worry; his voice—cooing subtly.

Jin's body remained supined. "Don't worry about that, Tristan," he droned, "I was hiding it from you guys. Unlike you … I had no plans to tell anyone about it." his eyelids almost completely drooped.

"I completely understand why you were trying to hide it, Jin. This is no normal shit. It's dangerous … I almost drowned myself on the second day of activating the thing."

Dobby scowled. "Enough. Enough—enough! You two are bullshitting me and I can't stand it anymore." his tone emanates extreme exasperation.

"We've got actual problems in this world to worry about. Don't go telling me about some inexistent Norse Gods when Jin's right there on the floor looking like a fat piece of dog shit…"

Ashton furrowed his brows. "It's not like you to make a joke like this, Jin. Not in such a predicament as well. We already know Tristan—he's a joker. But you … you would never wanna talk about stuff not proven to be true…"

Jin heaved. "See, Tristan? I just knew it."

Tristan raised an arm, "Guess, we're just gonna have to show …"

Suddenly, Baron appeared amidst the living room with Sylvia next to him, interrupting Tristan.

Tristan approached him, "Hey, you're an Ability Runner, aren't you? You got away from me last time, it's not gonna happen—"

Baron disappeared.

"Coward," he turned around, scoffing audibly.

Quickly, Sylvia hurried over to Jin. She dropped to her knees; and peered at him with worry in her glimmering, silver eyes.

"Jin, are you okay?"

"Actually … yeah. I feel much better now. But I'm still in a lot of pain. My head hurts like a mother fucker…"

"O thank God," she averted her eyes, "I thought you were dead." her eyes averted.

She was next to Ashton. He quickly stood, and edged away from her. The scent of her perfume dwindled as he withdrew from her personal space.

Dobby stood next to him. They both looked each other grimacingly looked at each other as if to ask, 'Who the hell is she?'

Soon, even Tristan stood next to them. What's more, he also gave that who-the-hell-is-she look.

They all looked at her as she remained next to Jin.

She looked at him, smiled softly and said, "Thanks … for taking that hit for me."

"I didn't save you because you were a girl, just so you know…"

"If you say so. We all know that's BS …"

Her smile then disappeared, "You saved me and whatever … but do you mind running away and not watching Baron and a cop fight next time?"

Jin grinned.

"Will do."