Leon POV
Charon barely moved as he extended his hand toward me first. His long, thin, and bony fingers wrapped around my head like a vice, his touch was cold. I could feel a strange, almost magnetic pull, but it wasn't painful. Just...weird. His grip tightened briefly, and I expected something dramatic, maybe a flash of light or a sudden surge of power. Instead, nothing. After a moment, he released me and motioned to the next person.
One by one, Charon grabbed each of my group's heads; John, Viper, Evelyn, Barir, Betsy, Merith, and finally Lux. Each time, there was that same eerie stillness, the brief tightening of his grip, and then...nothing.
We all exchanged glances after he finished, unsure of what had just happened. I didn't feel different. no newfound power rushing through me, no sudden clarity or strength. I almost wondered if Charon had tricked us, but his words cut through the silence.
"Your seals will break gradually," Charon said flatly, wiping his hands on his cloak, "Over the next few days, you'll notice it. Go back to your job now, you need to clean up quite a lot to at least make back a few coins."
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Charon POV
As they trudged back to the shore, continuing their miserable little job, I watched them for a while...scrubbing the walls, wiping, picking up trash, just like all the others before them. My eyes lingered on him. The one who felt...off. I looked down at my hand, still tingling slightly from the contact. That extra seal. Yeah, I felt it. It wasn't supposed to be there...or maybe it was, but not for long. It wasn't strong, either. Barely held together, like it was waiting for someone to notice and take it off. I did, of course. It was almost too easy to break, too obvious.
But I knew who put it there. Oh...I knew.
And that's the problem.
If it had been any stronger, I wouldn't have touched it. Not without backup. But this...This was different. This was meant to come off. It was like a warning, or maybe a test, to see if anyone was paying attention. Aphrodite and...what a dangerous trap they've set for me...it'll be better if I just think that only Aphrodite was involved...the other...they're dangerous.
The rumors all those centuries ago...it was true...and it started.
I have to keep quiet. Pretend like nothing happened. If the wrong eyes find out...well, let's just say I've seen what happens to those who cross the wrong people. I best keep my head down for now. Maybe I'll go hide with Mother.
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Leon POV
It was the worst week of my life, we worked for 1 week straight and got like a 100-coin profit each. But that's ignoring our 1 million expense, and these spirits were ferocious as most of us were injured every time we went out. I also learned how everyone fights and plots out how the escape will go, and it wasn't long till we heard rumors of Hermes planning another visit. It was in about 3 months, giving us plenty of time to plan things out, for now, we just need to figure out this magic thing.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Over the next few days, everyone seemed to be able to tap into their magical potential. Evelyn was snow, Lux was, of course, light, John was wind, Viper was darkness, Merith was fire, Barir and Betsy were lightning, and mine...well, mine was a bit more specific, I can create light constructs.
I can't shoot laser beams out of my eyes or use them to heal people like Lux, which was fricking unfair. But I'll have to make do, we got 3 months.
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Over the past two months, I've thrown myself into preparation, every waking hour dedicated to the escape plan. It's become an obsession, a relentless drive to gather every possible resource and piece of information. We're planning to ambush Hermes when he next visits. The plan is straightforward: once we've got the information we need, we'll get ourselves arrested and sent to the most dangerous group of prisoners. It's risky, but it's our best shot.
The escape plan is all mapped out, but there's a significant gap in our knowledge of how to actually kill a god. Even Lux, with all her former divine knowledge, doesn't have the answers. She's been a help in many ways, but this is one area where her insights fall short. We don't intend to go that far, though, unless that's the only way to get the information we need. The primary goal is to defeat Hermes just enough to create an opportunity for escape, not to challenge him to the death.
So, we've been focusing on gathering resources, making sure we're prepared for every eventuality. We've stockpiled weapons, bought up every piece of armor we can find, and scouted out possible escape routes. Sasha worked on ensuring that our group stays under the radar while we're building up our arsenal. I tried convincing her to come with us, but she refused it at each and every turn, so the only way to repay her now was to just give her some money to renovate her cell after we're gone and maybe promise her to use one of our wishes to move her to the jail in Elysium if we reach the end.
We're betting everything on this one shot. If we fail, we're dead. But the potential reward...freedom and the way for me to reunite with my family again.
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One day, I found myself alone with Evelyn, despite working with her and knowing of her liking of me, she never really pushed it nor have I really questioned her more directly about it as we had our minds set on the escape, in terms of determination when it comes to escaping, she would come second after me, and I thought that there was no better time to ask her than now as I barely know her anyway.
"Evelyn...why do you want to escape? What are your motivations in doing so?"
"Hmmm. My father." She answered, "He's really sick and I really want to see him again, when the god whisked me away and asked me to help birth a child with someone I didn't even know...well...the sentence he gave me for refusing such a ridiculous proposal was here...I talk with my mother a lot, but my father is the only one in my life, he doesn't have a lot of time left, so I plan on meeting him before anything happens, as far as I know, he should still be alive...but he thinks I'm dead."
"Why can't you gather a crew sooner?"
"No one wanted to join, and even then, Mother prevented me, and she told me about you. Saying that only with you will we stand a chance. She couldn't help reverse the order either...so I resent her a bit for that."
"So, I'm curious about that...why do you have so much contact with her? At least compared to us...No other demigods seem to hear from their parents, let alone have direct communication."
"I don't really know why. I assumed it was something all gods did, you know? I thought they all stayed in touch with their children and helped them out when they were in trouble. It wasn't until I ended up here that I realized how different my situation was."