Emperor of Time : The Battle of The Gods

Ryan's room fell into silence after Lord Anubis left. The only sounds that could be heard now were the breathing of one human and one creature.

However, this was no ordinary creature. It was Fenrir1 in human size. A wolf that stood about 195.58 cm tall from the shoulder, stretching from head to heel to 304.8 cm long. Its fur was dark gray with a few shades of black. Its yellow eyes with vertical pupils glowed.

And Ryan knew Fenrir in mythology records sized much more bigger.

"H-hello..." Ryan broke the silence, his voice trembling.

Fenrir looked at him, then sat down with an expression that could only be described as indifferent.

"Ah... I guess you can't speak human?" Ryan ventured.

Fenrir nodded slowly.

"Uh..." Ryan smiled awkwardly. "What do you want to be called? Wolfie?"

"Grrr..." Fenrir let out a low growl that sounded like a warning.

"Okay, not that one," Ryan said, half laughing. "Let me see... how about Fen? It's simple... but..."

Fenrir nodded, this time with a little more enthusiasm.

Ryan's smile widened. "Nice to meet you, Fen."

Fen snorted unimpressedly, then hopped onto Ryan's bed, laying down like he owned the place. His large body took up the entire space.

"E-uh... that's my bed..." Ryan exclaimed, jolting up from his chair.

Fen only glanced at him briefly before closing his eyes, clearly unbothered by Ryan's protests.

Ryan scratched the back of his head, caught between confusion and amusement.

"Damn it... Is this how pet ownership works? I thought I'd at least get a say in the bed situation!"

He sighed, realizing that he had an ominous creature as his new roommate. A wolf destined to kill Odin, the father of the gods. But maybe this wasn't so bad. After all, if Fen was going to take over his bed, he might as well get used to it.

Ryan stepped out, on a mission to find a sleeping bag or maybe a mattress. He figured he'd need something to crash on for the night. But deep down, he had a nagging feeling it wouldn't just be a one-night affair. This excavation project could turn into a long sleepover on the floor.

With a sigh, he returned to her room. He managed to find a mattress and a sleeping bag. Luckily, the team had kept them for emergencies. Who knew a little digging could lead to a camping trip in a room?

He flopped down on the mattress. "Good night…" he mumbled, followed by an inner voice that added, "Doggie."

Fen lifted one eye and looked at Ryan who was lying on the floor with his back to him, and closed his eyes again.

***

"Ryan! Ryan! WAKE UP!"

A man's voice boomed in Ryan's mind, jolting him awake. He blinked into the darkness, confusion swirling in his mind.

What time is it? He reached for his smartphone. 5 AM.

"Who the hell..." he wanted to curse but his words died in his throat as Fen's nose and jaw filled his vision.

Ryan held his breath, staring into Fen's glowing yellow eyes.

"You need to get up and train your body. You're so weak." The voice echoed in his head again.

Ryan's left eyebrow twitched. "Did you just talk?"

"Yes."

"But your mouth didn't open..."

"That was telepathy."

"Wow..."

"Wake up."

Ryan's eyelids drooped, heavy with sleep. "Fen, it's still dark..."

"No, you need to get up now and train your body."

"I'm still sleepy..."

"Grrrrr!"

Ryan shot up from the mattress. "Okay! Okay!"

Fen nudged Ryan's arm, leading him to the bathroom. "Get ready. We're going for a morning jog in a few minutes."

Frowning, Ryan walked to the bathroom, grumbling under his breath.

"Damn it! What an ass..." He stopped mid-brush as Fen's voice rang out inside his head.

"I can hear you."

Ryan nearly choked and squirted toothpaste everywhere.

'Never keep a pet with the power of the Gods...' he muttered to himself inwardly.

And from that moment on, Ryan knew. This was going to be a wild morning.

***

Ryan stepped out of his room and walked into the kitchen. There, he found Fatma, the cook, busy with her work.

"Good morning, Fatma."

"Good morning, Mr. Ryan. You're up really early today!"

"Yeah, planning to jog."

"Wow, that's impressive! Let me finish cooking breakfast, and we can catch up, okay?"

"Sure. See you in a bit."

As he walked away, a thought occurred to him. Where was Fen?

He scanned the kitchen, looking for the great being who had become his mentor.

"After all," he mused, "Anubis himself brought Fen to me. Hopefully, he hasn't disappeared."

"Fen..? Where are you?"

"I'm here, inside your shadow, you idiot," Fen's voice came out, full of sarcasm.

"Ah.." Ryan chuckled. He had almost forgotten Fen's strange ability to hide behind his shadow.

"Once you're outside, jog a hundred laps," Fen ordered.

"A-a hundred? Are you crazy?" Ryan protested.

"Pathetic. You're so weak. You never do any physical training, I can see it." Fen's voice echoed in Ryan's head.

"But I lift artifacts and sarcophagi all day long!"

"That's not training!" Fen roared.

Ryan frowned. "This annoying dog..."

Still, he felt a little scared. Fen had a way of increasing his fear. With a resigned sigh, he started running around the villa.

He ran at full speed, knowing that if he slowed down, Fen would let out a tirade that could wake the dead.

"After the lap," Fen continued, "you must do a hundred sit-ups and push-ups!"

"Aaaaarghh!!" Ryan couldn't help but scream.

He felt like he was in military training.

***

"Damn it. Damn it!" Ryan cursed under his breath as he finished the day's training.

"Good. All done. You have to do that every day. Do you understand?" his instructor said.

"Oh my God…" Ryan sighed. The daily training load felt heavier than a sumo wrestler after a buffet.

"Good, pray as much as you can. The gods will be pleased to hear it," the instructor added, a smirk creeping onto his face, mentally.

"...."

***

"Good morning, Ryan. Why are you looking so gloomy?" Dr. Maria asked as Ryan sat down next to her for breakfast.

Ryan peeked at his shadow and said, "Good morning, Dr. Maria. No, no, I'm fine. Just a bad dream that I want to get rid of."

Dr. Matt, who was sitting across from them, couldn't help but chime in. "Haha… Two days ago you had a vision, and last night you had a nightmare. If you keep this up, we should start charging you for entertainment. What's next? A horror movie marathon while you sleep?"

Dr. Maria laughed too. "The ancient gods have some evil plans for you."

"Right, huh? I can't wait to hear what weird shit happens next," Dr. Matt teased, clearly enjoying it.

Ryan forced a smile, stabbing his waffle with his fork and knife, trying to pretend everything was okay.

"Well, I think you might be right," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I really will have more of weird shits."