After the warm tingly sensation left, I opened my eyes again. Hold it right there! When did I have them close? Also, what is this coldness I feel?
"What's going on?"
...
What's this? Is that... my voice?
I have a voice? What?!
Looking up in confusion, I saw only the grinning faces of each God. Freya was the first to hand me a large shell that reflected light.
"Great One, please look at your reflection and let us know if the avatar is to your liking. We can change it if you are displeased."
Avatar? I looked at the shell and something stared back at me. It was a human boy! What was a human doing here? Also, the coldness was explained for. We were in one of the deepest parts of this sea. Looking at Zeus suddenly made me feel cold. In fact, looking at the all the Gods made me feel cold. Many of them didn't wear much.
Whatever. They can choose what they wear. On the other hand, I wanted to check out my new body. Finally, a body that I could control! It felt slightly odd at first as it was very hard to control my movements. After dropping the shell twice, Gaia took the hint and poured some of her powers in this new body. That slight discomfort immediately disappeared.
With a grateful nod, I turned my attention back to the shell and frowned. Apart from Freya who was known to be a beauty, none of the other Gods or Goddess looked remotely human. I didn't know if humans normally looked so fanciful but I wanted something more normal to blend in with them.
The boyish face staring right back at me in the reflection had sharp features, bright blue eyes and golden hair that attracted too much attention. Being a boy was fine. Being a boy that attracted weird attention was not.
"I want a more ordinary look. This is too outstanding. Anybody would see me in the dark with this golden hair."
Zeus chuckled and Freya pouted. "But this is a beautiful form that many would kill for. It's perfect!"
I shook my head. I didn't want to be perfect, I wanted to be normal.
"Let me try," Hades said and stepped forward.
In a flash, the appearance transformed once more. I looked in the reflection and noted that apart from my gender, everything was completely different. Although I was still a young boy, my eyes reflected age, my skin was tan, my eyes and hair were now black like the void. They matched with his hooded cloak perfectly.
It didn't look as flashy as before but it definitely screamed 'suspicious'. However, that wasn't something normal either. Frowning, I tried to style the hair downwards hoping it would be better but it only made things worse.
"Hahaha! Was that meant to be normal? Great One, please allow me to try. My brother hasn't seen living humans for years but I have."
"I guess it's worth the try, please do."
Never in my existence have I been more wrong. Zeus' sense of normal was atrocious. No, nothing was wrong with admiring a perfectly sculpted body. However, giving a young boy the body of a well-trained fighter was simply ridiculous. Not only did it stick out like a sore thumb, this simply lacked common knowledge.
"Friend, most humans do not have the discipline to maintain those muscles. Many live humbly and enjoy the simplicity of life. Great One, if I may, I would like to attempt to create an avatar suitable for your cause."
"Stiff as usual," the gigantic God grumbled but stepped aside anyway.
I nodded and allowed Buddha to work his magic and waited for the change to happen. Once the tingling stopped, I opened my eyes and was pleasantly surprised. It was an image I was pleased with.
This boy was around twelve years in human age, a little on the short side. He had light brown hair and hazel eyes. Everything else was generic such as developed muscles but not bulky like Zeus' avatar. He appeared intelligent yet mild tempered, unlike the ferocity that Hades' avatar displayed.
I liked this avatar very much. It synced perfectly with what I wanted and I gave Buddha a thankful smile. From behind him, Isis swooned. As to the reason behind her actions? I don't know.
"It's perfect! Thank you, Buddha!"
The serene God smiled and nodded before taking his place behind a very nervous looking Sedna. Gaia was standing in front of Sedna and after whispering something, Sedna took a step forward with resolve in her eyes, stirring up nervousness in me. What is it this time?