Persepera

The 21st of Thargelion

The Year 4631 in the Era of Mortals

It took twenty minutes to tell the story and another half hour to convince Tess it was true. It wasn’t until Aima verbally admitted, through clenched teeth, Arche had bested her that Tess finally put the knives away. With the situation diffused and the two women staring each other down, Arche climbed the dais. There was something about the structure that seemed familiar. Perhaps it was the red glow of the columns or maybe it was the way Medea had formed from a sacrifice of his blood.

The whole thing stank of Ares’s influence.

The treasure chest that held the Fleece was gone. It was a small thing, as it had appeared with little explanation, but it added to the strange feeling in Arche’s chest. The bowl and altar were back, ready for another sacrifice. Arche looked at the writing again. Once more, he easily made out the word ‘fill’ but the rest of the inscription was worn away. Frustrated, he gripped the edges of the bowl and tried to take a closer look.

Energy flooded him in crashing waves like the shore in a storm. Mana flowed down his arms into the bowl and altar. He couldn’t tear his hands away.

You have discovered a Shrine of Ares.

Would you like to attempt to Convert or Destroy?

WARNING

Doing this may invoke the wrath of Ares.

Failure to Convert or Destroy may cause death.

Convert

Destroy

“A shrine of Ares,” Arche muttered.

Anything that could strike a blow at the god was worth the risk. He wasn’t sure what converting the shrine would do. He wasn’t a god, but he had a Divine Spark. That alone might be enough to convert the shrine to him but, considering how secluded the shrine was, he wasn’t sure what good it would do, especially when he didn’t know what the shrine did in the first place. What good was a place to worship if no one worshipped there? And who would worship Arche in the first place?

Destroy was a much more enticing option. If he destroyed the shrine, he doubted Ares would be able to recoup the loss quickly. Or, at least, as quickly as if he only converted it. It was a much more definitive blow.

There was the threat of death and wrath, but he was already sworn against the god. This was a chance to strike first. Even if he died, his agreement with Thanatos would at least ensure it wouldn’t be permanent, just extremely unpleasant.

“Arche, what are you doing?” Tess called out, breaking through his thoughts.

“Something stupid.”

“Have you thought it through?”

“Probably not. This is a Shrine of Ares; I’m going to break it. Everyone should get clear.”

Argos sent several things through their connection.

Concern. Anxiety. Running through a forest. Freedom.

“I mean it,” Arche said. “Quickly.”

The others clambered off the steps and moved well away. Gritting his teeth against the pain he knew was coming, he focused on his desire to destroy the shrine.

The response was immediate and blinding.

The world fell away as Arche was pulled into his headspace. He stood before the pool that represented his Mana. Deep below the orange depths lay the Divine Spark. Above would normally be a gray sky full of soft lighting with no particular source, but now an angry, red crystal bathed everything in crimson light. The roiling, round surface of a sun formed around it. Just feeling its rays made Arche want to hit something. He recoiled from the emotion, recognizing it for Ares’s influence. Mana drained up toward the giant gem like a tornado of water.

It was a splash against the sun, hardly making a difference.

The grass below his feet smoldered and with it came pain, dull and detached. The sun drained him. Stole his Health, his Stamina, his Mana. It would consume him or he would consume it, there was no other course.

Arche dove into his Mana pool. He fought against the current, sinking down until he came level with his Divine Spark. Several fleshy protuberances branched from the gem, all healthy and vibrant. Above him, the water level dropped quickly as more and more Mana funneled into the sky.

Arche placed a hand against the Spark. He was dying, he could feel it. The sun above would take everything from him, burn him from the inside out. Here, in his Mana, his consciousness was sheltered from the angry rays, but it was only a matter of time until the sun drunk down to his core. He wasn’t sure what would happen when it reached the Spark. If it consumed it, would it kill him beyond what Thanatos could restore? Would he be resurrected as a normal human, no longer carrying the Divine? He’d been told the Spark was infused with him and couldn’t be removed. Could this sun devour his soul, leaving nothing left for Death? The thought terrified him. He didn’t want to die, not really. There was still so much he hadn’t done yet, hadn’t learned.

If he had to die, at least it was a fitting penance to die in defiance against the God of War. The first time he’d died, he’d been plotting to start one. Perhaps this death would prevent one. His thoughts turned to Tess. There was still so much left unsaid between them. His last words to her had been flippant, hardly important. Mistakes. He should have warned her of the danger. Should have made things clear to her. What would she think if he didn’t come back?

Then there were the others that counted on him. Helwan, Basil, even Cora. Most of all, Lyssa. His first friend and his Companion. He had spent more time away from her than with her, now. Ephyra was a wonderful place, full of knowledge, but it was the wrong place without Lyssa there to watch his back. He might never see her again. Never get to share all the wonderful things he had learned. All the horrible secrets.

War was never clean.

His friends were drawn into his battles, targets for Ares to hurt him. More than that, Myriatos itself would be a target. He knew, because that’s what he would have done. His original self. Alex Dazend. Dishonored soldier and international terrorist. He had wanted to see the world burn for its sins and forge a new one from the ashes. As much as he was fighting Ares, he was fighting himself.

Could he defy the God of War and stay Arche?

Was it enough to not want anyone to die but him?

Profession Paths are available.

Explore Profession Paths?

Yes

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Yes

The prompt appeared and disappeared by itself, intruding into his mindscape where the system was usually absent, then Arche was ripped away.

The void surrounded him, drowning all sensation. In front of him was a young man, perhaps seventeen. He was lithe and toned, clearly fit for running, and wore a very simple, sleeveless tunic. His hair fell in gentle, golden curls around his face and his eyes had a soft, blue glow to them. On his feet were winged sandals. Arche’s breath hitched as he tried to take it all in.

“‘H’ is for Hermes, I presume.”

The lad tutted at him with crossed arms.

“You know, after all the invitations I sent you, I really thought you’d have come to see me sooner. I hate waiting, you know.”

“Invitations?”

“What did you think your Profession Path was going to be? God or Demigod, you’re one of us, now.” Hermes rolled his eyes. “And I’ll remind you that you’ve caused quite a bit of trouble for me. Billions of souls go about their afterlives, all automated, all neat, and then you come along, and I’m writing algorithms on the fly just to try to explain half the shit you get up to.”

Arche blinked. Hermes was a fast talker.

“Sorry?”

“Oh, you’re sorry? Well, that makes it all fine then. He’s sorry, everybody! Look at him! Never mind the eight-thousand four-hundred odd equations I’ve had to write just to fit that Divine Body skill into Tartarus.”

“Wait, you coded Divine Body? If it was so much trouble, why give it to me?”

Hermes was already shaking his head.

“Nope. Ares gave it to you, marking you as one of us, but you were already one of them. Mortals, I mean. Divinity is not supposed to be in Tartarus, so every time it pops up, it creates errors and anomalies. Problems that I have to go fix. I think I’ve finally zeroed in on the proper way to automate it, but believe you me, Anipsiós, I’ve been working around the clock to try to fix this mess.”

“Sounds like you should be blaming Ares, then.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I have blame to spare for everyone. Hiding a Shrine under a populated, system-recognized city? Oh, ho, ho! He’ll pay for that one. You’re actually doing me a favor by trying to destroy it. A pity it’s killing you, though. Ugh, don’t even get me started on when you cheated death last time. I can’t believe Thanatos let you do it. Old fucker’s getting soft. I was all happy to watch, relive the glory days of when I was a psychopomp, and then BAM”—Hermes smacked his palm with a fist—“he sends you back! Oh, but boy has he resented Ares for a while.”

“Why am I here, Hermes?” Arche asked, trying to rein the god in.

“You? Oh, right. The Profession Paths. Well, you’ve got to pick your path, obviously. You can’t just be a generic little semi-deity. Nope, everyone’s got to have a function. Ares claimed you, so here you are.”

Hermes put his hand behind his back and whipped out a wand wrapped with two intertwined snakes. He gave the wand a dexterous flick and stone paths extended outward from Arche like spokes on a giant wheel. Arche looked at each of the paths but they all seemed the same.

“What’s the difference between them?”

“Who said there was a difference?”

“If there’s no difference, what’s the point?”

“The point is that you have to choose, Anipsiós.” Hermes tilted his head. “You’ve rebelled against your sponsor, but your Divine Spark remains. You can nurture it to become a god or smother it and become a mortal.”

Arche blinked. Those were options?

“If I become a god, can I remain in Tartarus?”

“Hmm. Rules, rules, rules. That’s not up to me, cousin, that’s up to the boss. It’s their world, we’re just dying in it. Technically speaking, they’ve only banned interference from the Ouranic gods. The Olympians and others from above. Yours truly excluded, of course, for services rendered.”

“If I became a god in Tartarus, then I wouldn’t be Ouranic, right? I’d be…what’s the word?”

“Khthonic. That’s true. A very good point. I’ll bring that up next time we chat. But the long and short of the situation as it stands is that I don’t know and you don’t know. So, time to choose. God or human?”

Arche blinked, taken aback. But then, hadn’t he already made this choice? In his profession, he could have chosen Ancient Hero, but he’d been drawn to Demigod. That choice hadn’t failed him yet. He’d set himself against a god. He could defy one as a man, but to defeat one, he had to be more. He needed to be able to protect those he cared about. He needed to be better than he was.

“I’ll see this through. God.”

Hermes smiled for the first time.

“Excellent, Anipsiós. Then you had better think long and hard about the kind of god you want to be. I guarantee you, it matters.”

“When do I have to make that decision?”

“By the time you reach the end of your path, of course, whenever and wherever that may be.”

Hermes indicated the paths around Arche, which consolidated into a single stone walkway. Arche took a step forward.

Hermes threw his hands out to either side dramatically.

“Congratulations! You are no longer a mere, passing demigod. You are now a god-applicant!”

“That doesn’t change my profession name, does it?”

“It’s an invisible marker. Never gotten to bestow one before. Normally the god-parent does that. I’ve coded the algorithm to assign you an epithet – your godly name. Use it or don’t, it doesn’t matter to me.”

Arche felt some trepidation as the conversation began to wrap up.

“This…shrine, business. Is it going to kill me? Did you pull me from the moment of my death to give me some pep-talk about becoming a god, just to watch me die as soon as I go back?”

Hermes shrugged.

“Normally, yes. It’d be funny. However, a Shrine is a big no-no. So, just this once, I’m going to give you some help. Now, you can still fail, don’t get me wrong, and don’t expect favoritism from here on out. You’ve got to make your own way just like everybody else. It’ll be harder for you, since there won’t be clear tasks. I can’t give you quests directly, anymore. You’ve got your own path to forge. A god unlike any ever made. It’ll be exciting.”

“Thanks?”

Hermes made a shooing motion with his hands.

“Don’t do that! Might make the boss mad. I’m serious about the favoritism thing.”

He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially.

“Don’t worry about the algorithm stuff, though. I complain about it to the boss to keep up appearances, but I’ve been bored automating everything. Nothing like some hand-jammed technomagic to keep things fresh and exciting, right?”

“Uh, sure?”

“That’s the spirit. Have fun!”

Hermes disappeared and Arche was thrust back into his headspace. The Mana was nearly down to his Divine Spark, which glowed brighter than before. A single strand connected it to Arche’s avatar. He couldn’t beat the shrine, even with Hermes’s help, so long as he kept hiding from it. But this was his mindscape and that gave him the homefield advantage.

Arche used the last of his Mana to rocket upward in a geyser. The sun was huge and even angrier than before. His grass fields were on fire. Thick, black smoke choked the air but Arche didn’t need to breathe, he needed to act.

Using his hands to guide his intent, he swirled his Mana in the opposite direction of the tornado. He felt the Mana shift, reacting to his commands, and what he lacked in fine control, he made up for in sheer will. The Mana stopped flowing into the sun, hanging suspended in a billion droplets, each one reflecting the sun’s rays. Then, Arche connected to the sun.

It was within his mindscape, an angry and roiling thing, but he was the one in control. He flew into it, pushing past the raging surface and dug deep into the well of power. At the center of the sun was the ruby, pulsing with angry light. Arche placed his hands on either side of it and pulled. A strange energy filled him, burning as it flooded through his body.

Where his own Mana was a pool, this was a lake, a sea. It threatened to drown him, split his seams with excess energy. In desperation, he siphoned it away, using his connection to the Divine Spark, trying to store the excess. Another line siphoned from him but he couldn’t tell where it was going. It had to be Hermes’s influence, which he took as encouragement that he was on the right path.

The sun shrank, slowly at first but picking up speed, compressing inward as Arche siphoned off more of the rage energy. It raced along the connection to his Spark, filling the expanse. His Mana levels rose, converted and purified through his Spark. When it was full, he pushed the rest into his walls, strengthening them with the tidal flood. Finally, the last of the sun’s energy drained away and it disappeared entirely. Arche brimmed with energy and had nowhere to put it. His Mana Pool was overflowing, spilling metaphorical water across the burning plains of his mind. There was too much to shove into his walls, he didn’t have time. He had to find a way to store or burn the energy before it killed him.

As he turned his eyes to the sky, once again gray and lifeless, the idea hit him. The shrine had been an angry sun, but he could make a new one. Calling upon the purified energy stored in his Divine Spark, he channeled it into the sky, forming the loose energy into another orange crystal. In it, he put every memory of the real sun, every rise and set. Every quiet moment of reflection and companionship. Every comforting memory of his friends. He put every peaceful thought, every protective instinct, every desperate desire for a better life. He poured everything he had into it and everything he wanted to be. Last of all, he poured in his memory of Tess. His mindscape shifted around him, but his focus remained on the sun, big and beautiful, before him.

He filled it with his hope, his dreams, and his love.

Arche fell out of his mindscape, returning to the real world. He was on the ground, completely spent. Tess cradled his head in her lap, gently stroking his cheek, while Argos rested his head on Arche’s stomach.

A Shrine of Ares has been Destroyed.

Enyalius proved victorious.

Then, all went dark.