Even though I had only known him for a few hours, it was clear to me that I liked William Johnson. He had immediately stated that it was too late to begin training, so he had instead shown me and Ethan to what would be our bedroom whilst we trained. He had also asked that we be awake and ready by eight in the morning, so Ethan had set an alarm for seven on his phone.

The second he left our room, Ethan collapsed onto his bed as I began to unpack. His breaths were long and deep, so it was clear that he was enjoying being back to a normal oxygen level.

Now, our room wasn’t what most people would picture when they heard the word ‘bedroom’. But I liked it. It was a cave. It was a little bit larger than a normal bedroom, and two beds lined the walls, one on either side. And they were bare walls, I should add. The room had no paint, carpet, wood, or marble; nothing. But that was strangely comforting.

At the end of either bed, there sat a desk and chair. In between the beds, at the far end of the room, there was a chest of drawers, in which I put our clothes. Near the entrance to the room, which was strangely an ordinary door, there was a weapons hanger, so I had put my belt and swords there safely.

‘Well, all-in-all,’ I said, putting my hands on my hips, ‘it’s not too shabby, huh?’

‘It’s strangely cosy,’ Ethan replied. ‘And he showed us where to wash our clothes and stuff, yeah?’

‘Yeah, he gave us the layout of the camp,’ I said, sitting down on the bed on the left side. ‘He said to meet in the dining area tomorrow after we’ve eaten.’

‘Oh, Gods, how am I supposed to get food if I don’t speak German?’ Ethan cried suddenly, sitting upright.

‘He said that everyone here knows at least decent English, idiot,’ I said, trying not to roll my eyes. ‘Were you not listening?’

‘Apparently not,’ he said, smiling confidently.

‘You’re hard work, you know that?’ I teased. ‘And do you mind if I go to bed? I’m shattered.’

‘Why would I mind?’ he asked, sounding nearly appalled. ‘Go right ahead.’

‘Thanks, man,’ I murmured.

I didn’t realise how tired I was until I said that. As I tried to stand up to go to the bathroom and get changed, I felt my entire body give up. My head hit the pillow before I even realised what was going on.

***

Never before had I actually had the displeasure of waking up to an iPhone alarm. And now I can say with confidence that whoever made that wretched thing deserves to be locked away until the end of time.

I was in such a deep sleep that I apparently did not wake up when it first sounded. Once I finally did hear it, though, I leapt up so quickly that I made Ethan jump about three feet back.

‘What the hell is making that noise?’ I shrieked, even going as far as to ready a fighting stance.

Ethan frantically dived for the device, slamming the button to turn off the noise. He looked at me awkwardly, and I wondered for a moment what exactly I looked like. Most likely, I looked like a crazed man that had been dwelling on the inside of a forest for years.

‘We are not waking up like that every single morning, are we?’ I said dangerously.

‘Once we get used to waking up at this time, it should be no problem,’ he replied quietly. ‘Until then-’

‘We are not waking up like that every single morning,’ I repeated before heading to the bathroom to change.

The bathroom was another small cave that connected to our room. The door connecting the two was surprisingly normal. Inside, one would find all standard bathroom equipment: a toilet, a shower/bath, a sink, towels, and everything of the sort.

I did not leave the bathroom until I had received confirmation from Ethan that he was ready. Shortly after, the two of us departed for the dining area, both to eat and meet William.

I did not know how much I was allowed to eat, so I settled for just a few pieces of buttered toast. Ethan, on the other hand, had everything that anybody could’ve ever wanted for breakfast. His plate was full of bacon, egg, toast, sausages, and everything else that comes to mind. And he ate it all. I thought I was a beast when eating, but I felt ashamed of myself as I watched him wolf it all down.

All throughout the meal, the two of us discussed our new lives. We spoke about what William might make us do, what he might help us train, and what we thought we’d be able to do once we were finished.

‘If he really is as good as he’s made out to be,’ Ethan said, pushing his plate forward, indicating that he was done, ‘then it’ll take us years to get to that level.’

‘I don’t really wanna spend years on this, though,’ I murmured. ‘Sure, I wanna be good; I wanna beat Maltor. But I’d rather just get to a point where I’m great enough to win after a few months of training than spend years becoming the greatest.’

‘I think even a few months may be a bit much, looking at you,’ came a voice from behind me.

Once I noticed Ethan smirking, I turned my head back. Sure enough, William Johnson was looming over me, grinning. He was still wearing a white robe, a new one I hoped.

‘Is it eight?’ I asked hopefully.

‘Indeed, it is,’ he replied happily. ‘Now, would the two of you be kind enough to follow me outside?’

He turned and began to walk out of the dining area. Ethan and I rose from our seats, and it was only then that I noticed what William was holding. A staff. It was slightly taller than he was and looked like a long stick. It was rough and jagged in most places, and I wondered for a moment whether it was painful to hold. A spiral of sorts adorned the end of the staff and I presumed that that was where any powers were shot from.

We followed William to the entrance of the cave silently. The boy and girl from the previous night stood at the entrance, and they gave me and Ethan strange looks. They must have forgotten that I had spoken German last night, as they tried to have a private conversation with William.

‘Sir, are you sure they can handle your training?’ asked the boy.

‘Certain,’ William replied, and I could practically hear his smile. ‘From what I’ve heard, these two boys are some of the most gifted demigods alive.’

‘But you’re training-’

‘They can handle it. Trust me. And, if you wouldn’t mind, I have to request that you open the door.’

‘You can understand what they’re saying, right?’ Ethan whispered.

‘Somewhat,’ I said, equally as quiet. ‘From what I can gather, those teens don’t think we can handle this training. William is saying we can.’

Ethan opened his mouth to respond, but his words were drowned out by the noise of the cave wall separating.

‘What about the altitude?’ Ethan said once it was over.

William turned to face us. ‘Your body will forget about the altitude once we begin training. You won’t even have a chance to think about the cold.’

I wasn’t sure whether it was the sudden drop in temperature or those words that sent a shiver down my spine. I sincerely hoped that it was the temperature, which was certainly plausible. As the cave ‘door’ was now open, billowing winds rushed in, causing my hair to fly back and my mind to nearly give up.

William, on the other hand, stepped outside as though it were a regular day. He even seemed to pause for the sole purpose of taking in his surroundings. He looked like somebody stepping out into the sun.

Ethan and I gritted our teeth and pushed through the wind. I had faced worse conditions. This was nothing compared to what I had been through.

‘Kid,’ said the girl as I walked past her. ‘Just a heads up, do everything he tells you to do, even if it sounds weird.’

‘What’s he gonna make us do?’ I asked, suddenly panicking.

‘Make you the best version of yourself you can be,’ she said defiantly, and her tone clarified that she would not elaborate.

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Now completely concerned about what he was going to ask us to do, I slowly stepped outside onto the ledge. It was even colder than it had been when we landed. Ethan was turning blue.

‘Are we just gonna be training on this ledge?’ he said slowly, his teeth chattering.

‘No, no, don’t worry,’ William replied cheerily, not even looking back at us.

He walked to the left side of the ledge, and it was then that I noticed a thin flight of steps trailing up the side of the mountain. Wordlessly, Ethan and I began to follow him up.

It was strangely irritating to see how casually William strolled through the battering winds whilst Ethan and I were trying our hardest not to pass out. About halfway up the steps, Ethan wrapped his arm around me in a final attempt to remain standing.

‘T-This’ll all be w-worth it, r-right?’ he stammered.

‘It better be,’ I growled, gritting my teeth.

The peak of the mountain was somehow unlike what I had originally expected. I had thought that it would be a jagged point, but, in reality, it was a small flat area. I then realised how stupid I was to believe that we would be training on the point of a mountain. Obviously it would have to be an area of about this size.

Up there, at the peak, it was colder than anything else I had experienced. I had been through freezing temperatures before; The School had performed multiple tests to discover the minimum temperature that Maltor and I could survive in. And even after all of that, I still felt colder than I had ever felt.

I looked down at my hands. They weren’t going blue. Ethan’s were. Then it hit me. The School had also designed me and Maltor to be able to withstand very cold temperatures. Sure, it was still hell to experience, but I was in no danger of any health problems. Ethan, though? We had to be careful.

The three of us stood in complete silence for a moment before William said one of the most outrageous things I had ever heard.

‘I suggest you take your shirts off.’

‘I beg your pardon?’ I shouted. ‘Can you not feel the-’

Then I remembered what the girl had told me.

‘It’ll help your body get used to the cold quicker,’ he explained. His tone suggested that he saw nothing wrong with his suggestion. ‘And you’ll forget about the cold once we begin training anyway.’

‘I-Is he insane?’ Ethan murmured.

‘We have to trust him, right?’ I said quietly, gently taking his arm off of my shoulder.

I slowly pulled my shirt over my head and the cold stabbed my chest and back all over. Yelping in shock, I determinedly threw my shirt to the ground.

I stood completely still for a moment, trying, and failing, to make my breaths deep and steady. Closing my eyes and trying to ignore the stabbing pain, I thought about my friends back in RoCity. I was doing this for them. I had to. I had to save the world.

When I finally re-opened my eyes, I saw that Ethan was staring at me with one of the most horrified expressions I had ever seen on a person.

‘I never knew you were so muscular,’ he said quietly. I think he thought that I couldn’t hear him.

‘I’m not muscular, I’m skinny,’ I said, just loud enough for him to hear. ‘I have to be light so that I can fly.’

‘If you think that’s skinny then I’m scared to wonder what happens if you start exercising.’

‘There will be plenty of exercising while you’re here, I can tell you,’ William chuckled. ‘And, Ethan, take your shirt off, if you wouldn’t mind. Albert’s fine.’

‘I’m genetically modified,’ I murmured, just loud enough for Ethan to hear.

After spending a few more moments psyching himself up, Ethan finally pulled his shirt off over his head. And the second it was off, he let out a horrific scream of both shock and pain.

‘It’s cold!’

‘I hate to break it to you,’ I said slowly, ‘but we’re on top of a mountain.’

I had meant to be funny, but the look on Ethan’s face showed that he was clearly not amused in the slightest.

‘If you’re really that cold, then we should begin with the training immediately, yes?’ William said, finally turning to face us.

Straightening my back and puffing out my chest, I tried to look as ready as possible. Ethan, on the other hand, looked like he was fighting to stay alive. My body also seemed to be trying not to give in, but I tried my absolute hardest to steel my will. If I could fly all the way from The School to Birmingham, I could take on the world.

‘Right,’ William said loudly, in a much sterner tone than before, ‘now get down and give me as many push-ups as you can.’

Ethan and I stared at him in complete silence. Push-ups? That was probably the thing that Ethan and I had least expected, even though we had not given it much genuine thought.

I suppose we had been expected to train sword-fighting and controlling the elements, and things of that sort. But I certainly wasn’t complaining. I had always been good at things like push-ups, but maybe I wouldn’t be so good in the current temperature.

Still unsure as to whether or not we had actually made the correct decision by coming here, I slowly got into position to begin my push-ups. I was interrupted, however, right as I began to go down for my first one.

‘Your back isn’t straight,’ said William’s voice.

‘Pardon?’ I grumbled, still in position.

‘You’re pushing your waist towards the ground,’ he continued. ‘You’re risking injury.’

It then hit me exactly why he wanted us shirtless. Sure, maybe part of the reason was so that we’d get used to the cold, but it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to say that he wanted us shirtless to get a better view of our forms.

I tried my hardest to straighten my back but it apparently wasn’t good enough. So I tried again. It wasn’t straight enough. On my fourth attempt, however, it must have been at least good enough, as William let me continue.

Now, even though I was good at push-ups, that still didn’t make them any less painful. It took a lot of effort, but I managed to do forty-three. Somewhat strangely, I was not sweating in the slightest. Sure, I was slightly out of breath, but the cold definitely helped combat the sweat.

William and I stared at Ethan for a moment and all he could do was return a blank stare. It appeared as though he did not get the hint.

‘I’ll do them with you if you’re embarrassed,’ I tried carefully.

‘Excellent!’ William cried, his face lighting up. ‘That’s the attitude we need!’

I smiled awkwardly. I still wasn’t too comfortable around William, but if he really was going to train us to the best of our abilities, then I would have to, right?

I sharpened my will and did another round of push-ups, but this time Ethan did it with me. Of course, I did less on this second round, and they were harder, but I still managed thirty-six.

And that’s what our day consisted of. We did push-ups and burpees at the peak, ran laps around the camp, did more push-ups and burpees at the peak, and repeat. All day. It had been eight o’clock when we started, and it was six o’clock in the evening when we finished, with only a lunch break at one.

Needless to say, Ethan and I were panting and exhausted when William finally declared that we could go and eat. I felt like cheering.

William, Ethan, and I sat at a table far away from everybody else and began eating. Ethan and I were wolfing down our food like there was no tomorrow, but it felt good.

‘So, in simple terms, you’re going to get as little rest as possible,’ William said, smiling.

‘Thanks for the heads-up,’ Ethan murmured through a mouthful of food.

‘We’re going to be doing exercises similar to today’s from Monday to Saturday,’ William continued. ‘On Sunday, however, we will hone your sword skills and your Titan powers.’

The term ‘Titan powers’ sounded so familiar that I could almost touch it, but I also had no idea why it felt that way.

‘Now, hold on, sir,’ Ethan said, putting his cutlery down and taking up a look of pure annoyance. ‘Today is Sunday.’

William chuckled. ‘Now, it’s not exactly like we can jump straight into the good training, is it? I know how much you want to, and I apologise if this is not what you expected, but we have to take the necessary steps. Great people start from nothing.’

‘That was deep,’ I heard Ethan grumble. ‘So we have to wait another week before we can start sword-fighting?’

‘Unfortunately, yes,’ William said solemnly. ‘But it’ll be worth the wait, I assure you.’

The conversation slowly drifted towards the situation in RoCity, so I tried my hardest not to listen. Once I was done, I excused myself and headed back to our room.

On my way there, the girl from the entrance saw me and rushed over.

‘How was your first day?’ she asked, sounding almost excited.

‘Difficult,’ I grumbled. ‘But William’s promising that it’ll get better, and I’m choosing to trust him. Oh, and, by the way, what’s your name?’

‘Hannah,’ she said, smiling slightly. ‘Daughter of Dionysus. And you’re Albert, right?’

‘Yeah,’ I said glumly. I hated how everybody knew my name. ‘That’s me.’

There was an awkward moment of silence before Hannah spoke again. ‘You look tired. You should probably rest.’

‘Yeah, I’m exhausted,’ I said, smiling faintly. ‘Good night, I guess.’

She wished me goodnight and I slowly walked back to my room.

As I sat down on my bed, I realised just how numb I felt, and I doubted that it had anything to do with the intense exercises we had done. I felt so inexplicably broken that it was almost as though my mind and body were separate entities.

It was starting to hit me that I was actually doing this. I was taking the steps to beat him. Maybe even kill him. The words felt alien in my head. When would I get used to it? I had to fight him. I had to do what was right, no matter how I felt about it.

I had to ignore our past. Looking back would only prolong the suffering. I had to keep pushing through. What we went through simply didn’t matter. It was crystal clear to me that it didn’t matter to him, so why on Earth should it matter to me?

He had looked angry when we had fought. No, he had been much more than angry. There were no words to describe the emotion that had been so thoroughly coating his face.

But he wanted mass genocide. And that was certainly up there with one of the worst things a human could do. Amy had wanted the same thing that he did, and I had killed her, right? So why couldn’t I do the same to him? They were both sick and twisted people that found some sort of joy in mass murder. They were the worst of the worst. And I had to save the world. That was my purpose.

My throat closed as I pictured my sword in Maltor’s stomach again. His blood slowly dripping down my blade as the two of us looked at each other in complete horror once more. I had to kill Maltor. I had to kill my best friend. That’s what I had come for, right? I had come here to train to kill him. So I would. I had to.

***

The next day was very much the same as its predecessor. A lot of exercises. It felt like we did more exercises than we had done on our first day. The cold made my entire body scream for me to give up, but I pushed through.

Just after lunch, Ethan and I had been doing our umpteenth round of push-ups, when I heard William’s voice say quietly, ‘Make sure your breathing is steady.’

My vision tunnelled. Grandad had said that before. When I had been learning Velere. I froze mid-push-up.

‘Take a long inhale as you go down, and exhale as you push up. And make sure your timings are consistent.’

My hands were in almost unbearable pain, which one would expect when doing push-ups on a mountain, and it was taking everything I had to try and ignore it.

Grandad would want me to do this. He would want me to save the world. I had to do this for him, too.

As we were doing some burpees a few hours later, I suddenly became immensely thankful for the fact that William was not making us do this barefoot as well as being shirtless.

Throughout that day’s exercises in particular, William stressed that we needed to keep our breathing steady at all times, even if we were not exercising. He constantly reminded us that breathing would soon become a crucial part of our training, and in a way that we least expected.

Time either flew by or felt twice as slow whenever we were exercising. But the last hour before dinner was always excruciating. No hour should feel that long.

‘Just think!’ William shouted at me and Ethan as we grunted our way through push-ups. ‘Think about what you’re doing this for!’

‘We’ve gotta…save the world…’ I grumbled.

‘Gotta…kick…Maltor’s ass…’ was Ethan’s response.

And it was either a drop of sweat or an unwanted tear that dropped from my chin at that moment. We were doing it.