At the last second, I pivoted with my Boots of Mercury and activated their wings to slow our descent. We still hit the base of Mount Olympus with significant speed, but my negation to fall damage helped blunt any impact.

Sporus unwrapped himself from my waist, pulling out his dark bow from Camilla as we took in our surroundings.

The base of the mountain was swaddled thick with dark, ancient trees, a mixture of pine, oak, maple, and more. Their towering presence blocked out much of the moonlight. Because it was late fall and it was still very early in the morning, some of the tree branches were covered in frost, reflecting the hints of silver moonlight that were able to break through. It was nearly impossible to see the staggering frosted peaks of Mount Olympus, but its shadow loomed larger than the forest far ahead of us, hiding in colorless clouds that occasionally sparked with lightning.

“Should we create torches with your gladius?” Sporus whispered as we began trudging forward, his breath freezing visibly because of the morning chill.

“Not yet,” I replied, my voice equally quiet. “Later, when we get higher up with the snow. Let’s keep up a jog to keep our bodies warm and to speed through the challenge.”

Even though the temperature was just above freezing, making my nose sniffle, I didn’t want to risk being seen by any of Caesar’s spies or mythological monsters that would want to kill us. The lower parts wouldn’t be as challenging, with only mischievous satyrs who would try to throw water over our torches and centaurs whom we could easily take out. Our journey would become increasingly more difficult once we got past the lower slopes and especially once we reached the peak.

For the good part of an hour we were met with no resistance as we jogged, fueled by Cleopatra’s powerful coffee. Besides our huffing breaths and thudding footsteps crushing the occasional leaf and twig, the only thing we could hear was the wind rustling through the trees. In a weird way, it was kind of nice, the quiet serenity of the morning after all of the chaos of dying, battling through hell, coming back to life to fight an exhausting civil war, again. Though I would have chosen a different partner to run with, Sporus wasn’t so bad. He would only make eye contact occasionally and kept to himself for the most part.

As we ran, I used my constantly active Historical Insight to guide us away from the satyrs, nymphs, and centaurs that popped up along our run. It would have been a cakewalk had my Chrono Loop decided not to kick in.

At first I didn’t notice it, thinking that when we first jogged by a satyr and nymph playing music together, the satyr fluting while the nymph hummed, only to see the exact same scene, that there must have been dozens of them partying so late at night.

I sighed, my run becoming endless. Sporus wouldn’t notice. To him, it would feel like nothing was happening, as he would only experience one finite moment.

The satyr and tree nymph were both very beautiful, despite being monsters. The satyr had a chiseled chest and fair skin, dancing with his goat legs as he played the flute. The wood nymph was almost invisible for how she looked exactly like a tree trunk, only carved to illustrious proportions, hiding nothing.

They were also both very drunk. The nymph laughed as the satyr played his flute, more than likely seducing her given the lustful nature of satyrs.

As much as I wanted to leave them alone, my Chrono Loop did not care.

Please forgive me, I thought, perfectly throwing my pilum where it would hurt the satyr the most. I cringed as the satyr collapsed in pain, crying out in agony. Though he did not die, his lustful pursuits did, forever. I cringed looking away.

Honor (-50): 160

Sporus turned back to look at me with shock, the Chrono Loop now broken. I quickly explained to him the new nature of my Historical Insight.

“So you made him a eunuch?” he chided in a harsh whisper.

I shrugged. “It was either that or start dancing. Again, it had to be random, unplanned.”

Sporus frowned, although there lay a hint of humor. “Knowing both of our histories in becoming eunuchs, that is just cruel, Maximus.”

I couldn't help but laugh, completely in agreement.

We increased our pace to avoid the charging centaurs that came to investigate the wailing satyr. Once we were clear of the lower-tiered monsters, the mountain forests began to thin out, giving way to a rockier path and increasing incline. The steepness of our path made us slow our pace down some, but not significantly. It would once we reached the middle.

“Do you miss her?” Sporus suddenly asked without breaking his pace. I knew who he meant without him clarifying. Camilla.

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“Yes,” I admitted, my heart aching at the thought of her. He nodded, more than likely feeling the same.

“Did you love her?”

This question I was still unprepared for, even though I had seen a thousand variations of it. If I lied, he would not believe me. It would be better if I told the truth.

“Very much so, even after all of the betrayals.”

“And if you didn’t have Cleopatra, would she have been your bride?”

Again, only telling the truth would increase our teamwork.

I sighed. “Yes.”

Sporus was in front of me as we ran, so I couldn’t see his face. I did, however, see what he looked like in another future where I used my Jupiter blessing to speed ahead of him. He looked haunted, as an ex lover does when seeing their beloved with someone else. I felt tremendous pity for him, not sure of what to say.

“I always knew,” he whispered quietly. “She looked at you with such reverence. I have always felt like a replacement for you, one less desired.”

It would only kill him to confirm this, of how Camilla expressed such desire and love for me in hell. I needed him though. Being four against the whole world, I needed all the help I could get. The futures where I told him the full truth, he would be less bold, more prone to getting himself killed in apathy.

Instead, I told a different truth to distract from a killing blow.

“She forfeited her life to keep yours,” I admitted as our steps became increasingly labored on the inclining slopes. He turned his head back, confused. The next words were very painful to deliver. “Pluto would only let us return to life if we took the place of our beloved. A life for a life. The Fates could not allow such a distortion of their threads. So instead of killing you, she opted that you could live and be happy, to have a second life you deserve.”

I could see Sporus blinking away tears as he looked away. We kept up a steady pace for the next few minutes without speaking a word. When he turned back to look at me, there was a stoic peace in his glistening eyes.

“Thank you,” he whispered, to which I nodded. “Does that mean—”

“Yes,” I said, cutting him off. “You are not to repeat a word I say. It… it was the only way.”

Sporus nodded, not saying another word.

As horrible as it was telling him that truth, I knew he would have my back now.

As we reached the fourth hour of our hike, we had to slow to a walk. It was much too challenging to run with the amount of boulders littering our path and the jagged rocks everywhere. Snow was becoming more prevalent too, as was the freezing wind. The air felt like it was stabbing at my flesh between my links of armor. Both of our teeth started to chatter. It was time for fire.

“Here, take this,” I said, handing him my Gladius of Julius as I withdrew my Praetorian Flameblade. Cleopatra’s sword instantly ignited at my will, flooding us with a flash of heat and light. My eyes dilated to the bright flame, blinding me temporarily. The price for warmth was well worth it.

For a few minutes, we leaned against a boulder and warmed ourselves. The clouds were getting closer to us, bringing more freezing wind and snow. Soon, we would be drenched in snow.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Sporus said, “but I am looking forward to when you teleport us out of here.”

“Same,” I said, bringing the burning sword as close as I could to my face. We both huddled closer to the flaming sword, trying not to make eye contact as our frozen breaths collided.

Luckily for us, the fire did not extinguish as we resumed our hike. We would be greatly exposed now, but that was the price to pay to keep our fingers from frostbite.

Our once moderately challenging path became strenuous as the mountain rose. Our path eventually narrowed, with a steep edge on one side. I could survive if I slipped and fell, but not Sporus.

“Oreads up ahead,” I said, pointing to what appeared as an ordinary rock wall. Only, when we would come within fifteen feet of the wall, two beautiful stone nymphs would pop out from the rock to attack us. Before my Chrono Loop, they would have engaged with us, even danced gracefully around us with batting gray eyes to draw us towards them. They would have meant us no ill will, even inviting the other stone nymphs nearby to sing with them as snow drifted around us.

But now, after emasculating one of their own, they would attempt to avenge satyr.

“Should be fun,” Sporus said, drawing a shadow arrow.

The oreads, not often hostile, had no special weapons or powers. But they were made of stone. The new futures showed that Sporus’s arrows would be useful, only making them more frustrated. Even my Pilum of Mars would do very little. The force of the throw would only keep them at bay until I ran out of stamina.

Because of how fast I had become and how high I could jump thanks to Jupiter, I could easily outmaneuver them and keep going. I could even give Sporus my Boots of Mercury to help his ascent. But those oreads were relentless. These two would gather more stone sisters and chase us till the peak, where we would have even more monsters to face. If we took that path, we would fail.

There was only one way to defeat stone.

“Won’t that kill us?” Sporus said, hanging his bow on his back and preparing to make a run for it after I told him my plan.

“Not if we run fast enough,” I said, offering an encouraging smile.

“Unless you have one of those Chrono Loops,” Sporus added, frowning at the plan. His curly dark hair whipped from the violent wind, catching snowflakes as it did. “How am I supposed to keep up with you? Don’t your abilities make you almost five times faster than most humans?”

“You can ride on my back if you’re afraid,” I teased.

Sporus shook his head. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll make it.”

He wasn’t entirely wrong, he would need some assistance. I took the lead walking forward, holding the flaming gladius in my left while preparing to jump. The oreads broke free from their places on the narrow path stone wall. Their heads cracked as they turned to glare at us. Their intention was to bludgeon us to death with their fists. They would succeed if I failed.

“You ready?” I asked Sporus, bracing myself.

“If I die, I’m going to make Pluto drag you down to Tartarus with me.”

I chuckled, watching the oreads break into a dead sprint at us.

Here it goes, I thought, taking a running leap.