"How dare you touch the ambrosia? It is mine!" Gyges roared, and the very air trembled with the force of his voice.
"Go! Now!" I shouted. "Kratos, save your daughter. I'll hold him off."
They didn't answer. There was no time for empty words.
I stepped into the Titan's path. His limbsif they could even be called that were twisted masses of fused trees, stone, and earth, all growing from the massive, pulsing eye at his center.
He struck. I activated the shield's aggressive defense runes flared to life, and the impact was deflected, shredding his limb to pieces. Chunks of earth and wood crashed to the ground.
"You will vanish," Gyges thundered, regenerating his shattered arm before my eyes. Earth and bark wove themselves together, forming a grotesque new appendage.
He struck again. And again. His blows shattered the island, reducing it to rubble. Water surged in, devouring the land. There was no time to waste I had to find a way to kill him before I drowned in the coming storm.
The eye. Perhaps Gyges' entire body was just a shell built around it.
I gathered a focused burst of power. Will surged over my body. Raising my shield, I charged upward, smashing through roots, stone, and soil. When I reached the eye, I drove my spear deep into it. The blade plunged in and moments later, the Titan exploded from within. Gyges screamed. His body trembled, then began to collapse.
"I curse you... You will die with me," Gyges rasped.
The fluid from his ruined eye poured over me it burned like fire. My skin began to slough off, flesh peeling away. I tried to resist and hurled myself back as far as I could. But my strength gave out, and I crashed onto the rocky shore. The spear slipped from my grasp. I watched in horror as the skin on my right arm blackened. My will clashed with the spreading corruption, barely holding it at bay.
*
Buff:
Nature's Favorite – Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance are increased by 60%. Life energy flows through your body, reinforcing and rapidly healing it. Partially suppressed by Gaia's interference.
Debuffs:
Curse of Gyges – An ancient curse now feeds on your life force, draining it with every passing second. It will persist until your body is entirely withered. Gaia's influence amplifies its effect. This curse is bound to your soul and cannot be removed. (Curse bound to Damocles.)
Magical Vulnerability (60%) – You are shrouded in a powerful layer of hostile magic. All spells and magical effects deal significantly increased damage.
*
What was happening? The Curse of Gyges was clear enough but the Nature's Favorite buff and the magical vulnerability? Those were harder to explain. Had Diana intervened, shielding me from the curse? And the second debuff… only one being came to mind Hecate. This all felt planned.
The skin on my arm began to heal. I quickly retrieved a fragment of ambrosia, coating it in will so it wouldn't vanish. Sitting on the ground, I focused everything I had to expel the curse... but it was no use.
"Trouble came from where I least expected it," I whispered, rising to my feet. "The most important thing now is to contain it. As long as I have my will, I can keep the curse in check. I still have time to find a cure. Maybe Kratos would spare a little more ambrosia."
I rose, cloaked myself in will, and soared into the sky. In the distance, one surviving ship still drifted Athenian. I crashed into the water beside it I really needed to learn how to land properly. They helped me aboard.
"Your deeds may surpass those of every hero Greece has ever known," said Androcles, clapping me on the shoulder.
"I agree," Kratos added with a nod.
Fewer than a dozen had survived. Gyges had taken too many lives. Only a few had escaped the wrath of the Titan.
"Kratos, how much ambrosia do we have left?" I asked.
He looked at me with cold suspicion. For a moment, his hand moved to the hilt of his blade.
"Why do you ask? We had a deal: you'd take only a small portion and you already have," he said flatly.
"Gyges managed to place a curse on me. I can feel it eating me from the inside. Maybe ambrosia can stop it…"
"Maybe?" Kratos narrowed his eyes. "Or maybe you'll just waste what could save others."
"You doubt me?" I asked, bitterness rising in my throat. His gaze, his voice… everything about him felt alien. As if I was no longer his brother-in-arms.
"What's wrong with you, Kratos?" I asked, cautiously stepping closer.
He suddenly raised his blade and pointed it at my chest.
"Don't come any closer," he said coldly.
I met his gaze and understood immediately it wasn't him. There was something in his eyes, an emotion he couldn't control. He was being influenced.
"Listen, it's Ares. He's playing with your emotions. Lower your blade, or have you already forgotten everything we've been through together?" I said quietly but firmly.
For a moment, his hand trembled. The blade lowered reluctantly, as if against his will. But in the next instant, rage took hold of him again.
"You are no longer a Spartan," he said flatly.
Behind him, the surviving Spartans stood at the ready. Taking his side, they were prepared to fight.
I felt a cold knot in my chest. I could strike right now. I could take the ambrosia by force. But if I did, he would tell Sparta. Then there would be no way back. I'd be branded a traitor the one who took the last cure from the children suffering back home.
I didn't even know how much ambrosia I'd need to heal. Maybe even what I had wouldn't be enough.
Clutching my spear, I stood frozen, torn with doubt.
"Fine," I said at last, calmly. "You will always be my brother. As is every Spartan."
Kratos looked away. I could see it he wanted to say something, but stayed silent. Ares had already made him his champion. And now, it seemed, he would do anything to keep Kratos entirely his.
There was no more time to hesitate. I had to find a way to break the curse and grow stronger fast. Then, I would need allies.
Timarch must help me. He knows how to rip Sparta from Ares' grasp. And with Spartans at my side, I can face anyone who stands in my path.
***********************
In a garden full of trees laden with all manner of fruit, a girl stood silently. She gently gathered the fruit into a basket, then paused, clutching one in her hand. She raised her eyes to the black, starless sky.
Behind her, a portal shimmered open in silence a rift glowing with darkness. From it stepped another woman, clad in shadowy robes with a deep neckline that left little to the imagination. A black crown rested upon her head, and her eyes were completely white. A crimson-violet cloak billowed behind her.
[image]
"Hecate," said the girl in the garden without turning around.
"Demeter," the dark guest smirked. "You shouldn't have meddled in matters that weren't yours."
"I interfered because I wanted to," Demeter answered calmly, turning to face her.
"I've been given full permission to do whatever I wish with you," Hecate hissed, her lips curling into a predatory smile.
"I won't surrender so easily," Demeter's voice rang louder, and a surge of emerald energy burst from within her. Her hair glowed with fiery copper light, her skin took on a verdant hue. The earth trembled. The trees whispered, bowing toward her. Grass reached for her feet. Nature responded to its goddess.
"Of course you won't. That just makes it more fun," Hecate chuckled.
Purple energy ignited in her palms, and arcane circles began to form around her, inscribed with unknown runes. The symbols flared to life, sealing the magical circuit as the air brimmed with power.