Mornings have been always dreadful for Theo. Especially when every nights end with nightmare.

  Familiar cold sweat pour down his body. He heaves and breaths as he felt an impact across his chest.

  The scars from the bus crash aches.

  The world is slowly coming into focus and he begins to remember the day .... before.

  "Have a good sleep, buddy?" The god on the bedsides table said to him.

  ... Fuck. Why can't he have normal dream so that he can go to sleep forever.

  As he begrudgingly get up from his tattered bed, his clothes stink with the smell of sweat and sewage from yesterday heist. Ew.

  He pulls open the wardrobe and rummages through it.

  Most of his attire are barely holding together. He settles for one of the less torn ones, throws on a hoodie, and ditches his wind-shredded disaster of an outfit in the basket.

  "Wanna hear about hero now, hero?" ... Ugh. He heads downstairs, he leg aches with every steps. But fortunately, not as much as he expected from a day like yesterday.

  Into the bathroom which is, luckily, not occupied. Seems like he woke up early today. At least no arguing about who get to use it first.

  He looks into the mirror and see a streak of yellow on his ... hair. Huh.

  His black hair now have multiple strand of blonde. In fact .... He lift his hair exposing his forehead and more blonde hairs.

  Looks like he is a full blown delinquent now.

  He groans, his hand running down his face.

  "Just gonna assume this is because of the hero thing-a-majig."

  "You look good! Just like me back then!" Hermes’ voice chimed from the sink, the coin glimmering in the dim light.

  "But I am much more handsome!" He sounds smug, not considering how throwable he is right now and Theo doubt he can do anything when he thrown the coin into the toilet.

  But something tells him flushing a god down a toilet wouldn't be a good idea.

  He finishes his routine in the bathroom and enters the kitchen where he see Ellie's eating breakfast. He sits down in front of her where his own plate is waiting for him.

  The warm scent of cinnamon eggs fills his nose, a welcome change from yesterday’s stench of sweat and sewage.

  His plate sits on the rickety, crooked table—scrambled eggs on toast. Simple. Perfect.

  Theo sits down across from Ellie. She doesn’t even look up. She’s too busy studying, eyes darting across her textbook as she eats. She’ll do great. She always does.

  He should take her somewhere fun. It’s been too long since they had a real family trip.

  But that’s hard to do... after the accident.

  His fingers drum against the rickety table. His mind drifts back to yesterday’s talk with Hermes.

  'Prophet huh?'

  "Ellie." He said, snapping her out of her studying spree.

  "Yeah?" She is looking at him now but eyes suddenly darting behind him for a moment. Hmmm.

  "Take this coin and flip it 10 times for me." He hands her Hermes who is yelling about somethings. She looks at the coin, her eyes widen for a spilt second.

  "I picks it up at old man Dan's yesterday" Her eyes widen for a split seconds.

  Ellie stares at the coin, then at Theo. "Old Man Dan?" Her voice is slow, careful. "Yeah. He said it was worthless."

  She purses her lips. "Weird." But she takes it anyway, like she's already expecting something.

  "Okay ... So just flip it? Why?"

  "Just to see something." Her first flip makes the coin landed on its ... side.

  "... have to go through the weirdest of trails, and have the oddest luck ... " So she is a prophet. Good to know.

  She picks up the coin, not seeming surprised.

  "... Does this normally happen, Ellie?" he asked her.

  "Yeah... I dunno. It just happens." She exhales, rubbing her temples. Another flip, tail this time.

  "Being control by fates feel very weird." Hermes said, falling into a head.

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  "What wrong?" Head. Then sides. Two times already in just four attempts.

  She is completely ignoring, maybe he should avoid digging into it for now. Head. Sides. Tail. Sides. Tail. Tail.

  "... So what is this suppose to be? Did Dan tell you this is a luck coin or something?" He hands him back the coin.

  "Something like that, yeah." He pockets the coin along in the same pocket of the watch he snatched. He should go sell it.

  Ellies looks at the clock hanging just above the dining table, it's almost time for school. She stands up, leaving her dish at the sinks picks up her bag. She left the house and left for school.

  "Good luck with the test!" Theo said standing in front of the entrance.

  "Yeah!" And she if off. He should start his work.

  Locking the door, Theo stretches his legs.

  "Hermes. About the hero thing?" He starts down the usual path to Old Man Dan’s antique shop.

  "Finally!" Hermes groans.

  Theo turns into an alleyway, eyes tracing the looming wall ahead. His hands burn just looking at the height. He already knows the ache waiting for him.

  Yesterday's chase left him sore—every muscle stiff from running, dodging, climbing. He just hopes he doesn’t fall halfway up.

  "A Hero—a Chosen One—is a rare kind of proxy. A one-in-a-million phenomenon," Hermes' voice hums in his ear.

  "Their Divinity doesn’t just resonate with a god—it perfectly matches. A flawless fit. If they ever held the same amount of Divinity, they would wield the same authority and power."

  He sighs. Why does he even have to climb a damn wall to get to a shop?

  Well. Dan’s shop isn’t exactly legal. It’s part pawn shop, part black market, tucked away on the top floor of a private building. No elevator. No stairs open to the public.

  That leaves Theo with one option.

  He backs up. Breathes in. Then sprints forward.

  His feet leave the ground—hands latching onto the brick.

  And—

  He lifts.

  "And there’s more. When a Chosen One is accepted, both they and their god grow. The proxy’s body strengthens—Divinity no longer stagnant, but expanding."

  His grip tightens effortlessly.

  No strain. No trembling arms. No burn of overworked muscles.

  For two years, he’s climbed this wall—every time harder than the last.

  Every time, his fingers raw, his shoulders aching, lungs screaming.

  Now?

  Theo felt no such things.

  "And the god? Their influence over Chaos increases exponentially."

  He reaches the top before he even realizes it.

  ...So this is the “Hero” thing Hermes has been blabbing about.

  Standing on the roof, he’s greeted by the warmth of the sun and the endless stretch of blue sky.

  Dan’s shop is still a few blocks away.

  Theo exhales.

  …Guess he’ll have to get used to this.

  "Why not just use Passage?" The coin hums lazily in his pocket.

  Theo vaults over an AC unit, momentum carrying him into a leap. He lands on the next rooftop in a smooth roll—then stops.

  His fingers clench.

  "...I already owe you a lot. Not really keen on adding more to my tab."

  He takes off again, sprinting toward a fire escape. His feet hit the metal ladder hard as he pushes himself up.

  "Dude, relax ~" Hermes drawls.

  Another roof. Another jump.

  "I'm not that shallow to loan-shark someone who's got family to take care of."

  Theo lands hard on the balcony of an old apartment building, the railing rattling beneath his grip. He runs along it, balancing on the edge before launching himself toward a shorter house.

  "Besides..." Hermes' voice drops, drawl. "I'm not in a hurry."

  Theo’s breath catches.

  A cold sweat slides down his back.

  The rooftop he stands on is five stories shorter than the building where Dan’s shop is.

  Usually, this would mean another long climb.

  But today?

  He exhales, flexing his fingers.

  Never in his life did he imagine he’d have actual superpowers—and yet, here he is.

  Now... how did he get back home yesterday?

  Right. It was when Hermes offered to help him find his way. So if he just thinks of a place, will it work?

  He extends his hand outward, fingers spread. Grabbing at the air, he focuses on the rooftop ahead, picturing himself standing there.

  The air shimmers again, stars flickering into a forming circle.

  He focuses hard—picturing himself standing on that roof. Right there.

  The circle wobbles. Sputters. Fades out.

  "Oh yeah, that can happens," Hermes says casually.

  A couple more times but no to avail.

  "DAMMIT."

  He'd ask Hermes for help but yesterday said otherwise.

  "What are you waiting for?"

  "I don't know? For god to grab me?"

  "Just grab it"

  "WELL I AM CERTAINLY TRYING TO!"

  He certainly can’t teach anyone.

  "I can feel you thinking some rude, dude."

  …

  Alright. Let’s try teleporting somewhere closer.

  He leans over, peering down at the alley below. Maybe a smaller jump will be easier?

  This time, he repeats the motion—reaching out, but now focusing on the alleyway instead.

  A flicker.

  The air shimmers, tiny specks of light sparkling into existence—a circle forming in front of him.

  The stars spiral faster, spinning rapidly—then rushing toward him.

  In the blink of an eye—

  He’s in the alley.

  He feels a bit sick, similar to the feeling when he manages to land after being dropping from the sky but much more mild.

  So this is the cost, good to know.

  He attempts to teleport back to the rooftop he was just on.

  It works. Exactly as expected.

  So why the hell can’t he teleport to Dan’s shop?

  He tries again. Still nothing.

  …

  A thought clicks.

  He grins.

  "Hey, Hermes?"

  He pulls the coin from his pocket.

  "Yeah, dude?" The coin shakes slightly in reply.

  "You can take over my body, right?"

  "Nah, dude. At most, an arm."

  The coin hums—a small vibration running through his palm. Interesting. He’ll ask Hermes about that later.

  "That’s good enough to use your power, right?"

  A pause.

  "Yeah? …What are you thinking?"

  Theo’s grin widens.

  "Catch me."

  "Wha—"

  Before Hermes can protest, Theo grabs the air and pulls.

  The stars rush toward him.

  Sky.

  Wind.

  He’s falling.

  The rush of air screams past his ears**, whipping against his face. His stomach lurches, panic clawing at his chest.

  Instinct kicks in—he locks onto the rooftop ahead.

  His arm moves on its own—Hermes grabs.

  A flash.

  The air bends, stars bursting in his vision—

  THUD.

  His feet slam onto solid ground.

  Theo stumbles forward, legs wobbling beneath him. His breath ragged, his heart hammering like it’s trying to escape his ribcage.

  Success.

  He’s in front of Dan’s shop.

  The door slams open.

  Dan bursts out, gun in hand, eyes darting wildly—only to find Theo, disheveled, breathless, and looking like he just crawled out of hell.

  A long beat of silence.

  Dan squints.

  “…What the fuck happened to you?”