A complete disaster. That was what it felt like from what she could sense. Earth torn apart. Grass burned away until only a dry cracking earth remained behind. Trees up rooted without care. It was a disaster. A tainted mark upon the land. Another scar they used to mar the countryside.
It made her angry. Even though she couldn’t see, sensing it was enough. Her muscles tightened up just thinking about what they did. Everywhere they went they left behind a path of ruin. They had to be stopped. The killing wouldn’t end until then. ‘They’re savages. There’s no reasoning with such wanton death and destruction.’
Athene marched deeper into the warzone. She could still feel some of the heat that scorched the earth. The wide sweeping devastation soaked into her mind the more her power allowed her to see. Every crumble under her foot and burnt smell poured inside her, trapped as an indelible memory. It strengthened her as she went towards the future. A future she could see clearly without the need of her eyes.
As she started for the edge, she found something. It broke up the flat ground. Her powers only provided a rough shape of everything as her mind couldn’t handle all of the information. She knelt down with some curiosity. The peripheral disappeared around her. Everything focused on what was at her feet. It was still difficult for her to make out the form. The pattern was irregular.
She picked up one of the smaller pieces. Rubbing her thumb over the surface revealed it to be brittle to the touch. The outer layer chipped off easily with a slightly hollow sound to it. It seemed strange. She thought it was a branch from a tree that miraculously survived, but it wasn’t. Her mind started to fill in more of the blanks. It wasn’t long before she understood. ‘Bones! They were inside the inferno!’ She immediately dropped it. The rest of the person was mangled remains that she felt grateful for once of not being able to see such horror. ‘Those bastards! They killed another. Their crimes only continue to increase against them!’
Searching around the burnt remains, she found a second person. They were just out of reach from the first one she found. ‘They must have been trying to reach each other even while burning. But they ended up just out of reach dying so close.’ Athene turned her power off briefly and activated it again. Two trenches appeared in the ground. ‘Least I can do is bury you together, at each other’s side. Maybe you’ll find each other in the next life.’
Athene went around the area to look for any more signs of dead soldiers. She remembered Abeiron’s words. ‘Omega’s on the move. There might be others around here. Maybe even one that’s still alive.’ Near to the most identifiable fighting, she found nothing. Expanding her powers, Athene saw uneven destruction further away.
It took some time to cover the new ground, but it was worth it. She found someone still alive, unconscious yet alive. A little of her power was all she needed to get him awake. “You fought them, right?”
“Huh? Right, that child knocked me out.”
“Hey! You fought them, right?”
Looking at Athene, he had a suspicious glance checking her over. After he finished, the tone in his voice changed as well as his stature. “This doesn’t concern you.”
Her hands tightened up. He clammed up over a difference of branches. “I don’t care about what orders you have. Everyone’s involved now!”
“Go back to whatever base you belong to woman.” The man started walking away from Athene breaking off any further discussions.
A ripple came out from her feet. Stone ripped up from the ground on all sides blocking any path out. “Now listen here!” Dark shadows fell over her eyes. Her face developed harsh features to accent her emotions. “I don’t give a damn about any sort of orders you got you Omega bastard! I only want two things answered from you! Did you fight them? And if you did, how long ago was it?” She took a few heavy steps towards the man. “Now answer! Immediately, before I extract it personally!”
Chapter 230 – Alone on the Void
The explosion from the Omega spire caused enough panic in the Capital to make travel difficult. However, enough back alleys existed to make it easier. After a few minutes, the smaller less used roads ended up almost completely empty, the citizens already fled the area. It gave him enough to make it back.
Ourias leaned up against the corner of a house. He stared into the distance with his sight focused on a house. It smashed up against the rest in the neighborhood. Everything fell apart with little signs of repair or maintenance to keep it from collapsing the rest of the way. Yet, the condition of the homes didn’t seem to affect the mood. Children ran around playing with no regard. Adults worked out of what they could to keep life continuing.
He watched for an hour unmoved. Every so often, he would smile at something and then force himself to hide it. Something kept him from moving either forward or backward. He wanted to leave, but couldn’t bring himself to do it.
It was another hour before anything happened. One of the kids in the neighborhood chased after a ball, kicked too far by their friend. The boy ran after it. He stopped a house away from Ourias, finally catching up to the ball. Because Ourias’ attention was on something else, he didn’t notice the kid until it was too late. He slipped back behind the wall of the house, a futile attempt.
The boy turned around and ran back to his friend. “There’s a Whitie here! Whitie!”
As though an alarm sounded in the street, everyone ran off in different directions. It only took three seconds for them all to vanish from sight. Silence fell upon the entire area. An eerie quiet, everyone knew.
Ourias poked his head back out. He sighed to himself. It was a sight he was familiar with, yet one he hated for different reasons. He started walking into the street. A few curtains still not shut quickly closed upon his appearance.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
The sudden desolation of the street made the walk feel longer than it actually was to the house. It only took a minute, when it seemed more like an hour. Each step was painful. The roles reversed. He was the one that sparked fear in others by his mere presence. Nothing needed to be said. The sight was more than enough for anyone to flee.
Worse for him, he couldn’t disguise himself. Every one of them knew him too well. He tried it before, but it only made the situation even worse. The images of his children crying in the corner the moment they saw him as though he had tricked with a horror-fueled nightmare. They burned the images into the back of his eyes never to forget. He could fool some, but not everyone. Not the ones that mattered to him.
For his mistakes, he had to live with the walk. For his misfortune of such a destiny, he had to struggle to hold on to the important things.
He cursed it all.
He knocked on the door.
Child’s voices leaked through the weak walls of the house. “He’s here! It’s the Whitie!”
“Whitie’s here!”
“Don’t answer the door!”
“He’ll go away.”
Ourias pursed his lips into a thin line. He lowered his brow a little, hardening himself.
Another knock.
He was not leaving. He was committed.
Scrambling feet faded into the distance. They tried to get further away from him. However, he persisted. The third knock brought the echo of a different set of steps. They reached closed until pulling the wood door open.
A young woman, just barely hitting her thirties, appeared at the threshold. Even before she appeared, a hard lined scowl carved deeply into her face. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to see you. Did I need more of a reason?” He glanced around over her shoulder in search. The way she stood in the doorway made it clear she didn’t invite him inside.
His response only made her scowl worse. “Don’t you have some mission or some other place to be ruining someone’s life?”
A twitch flickered in his eye for a moment as he tried to refrain from showing any reaction. “I’m not on a mission right now. As a Titan I choose what I do.”
“Must be so nice for you.” She wasn’t even trying to hold back her venom. The longer he talked the worse it seemed to grow.
Ourias wanted to reply immediately, but he felt himself getting dragged along at her pace. He had forgotten how many times they fought like this. Each time pushed the dagger in a little further. “I became a Titan so I could be with you again. I’m doing this for you.”
“I don’t need your help. I didn’t need it for the five years you were gone out of our life without so much as a letter! I sure as hell don’t need you coming back now! I’ve already told you the fifty other times you’ve come crawling back here, yet you keep showing up.”
“I live here too. They’re my children as well. I want to be their father.”
“They don’t need a father that never shows up! And when he does it only terrifies them!”
He had a response, but he knew it was pointless. It was a mistake he made not realizing the consequences. Every time he tried it only came out as an empty excuse. It was just more fuel to the fire. “I’m still their father, even if I’m different. My heart hasn’t changed.”
“No, you’re one of them. You’re just the lap dog to the King and his whims. You only cause fear and bring tragedy.”
“I’m the same man that loved you before all of this. Please let me in.”
“You’re not welcome here.” She began to close the door. “I don’t care if you show up every day for the rest of your life, nothing will change the differences between us.” The door closed immediately after. It was the final word.
Ourias sighed. ‘That went about as expected. It’s not like one more visit is going to change her so easily, not after I’ve left her alone for so long.’ He pulled out the accessory he bought from the woman earlier. Walking over to the closed window, he placed the item on the ledge. ‘You’re wrong. I’ll keep trying and prove to you I’m the same man you fell in love with.’
He still had hope. It was the only thing he had left.
Glancing around the neighborhood, it felt less welcoming than before, which was difficult to achieve considering how it started. He knew when to leave. Ourias stepped away from his home. Unlike before, the walk away was over too fast. He tilted his head to look back one last time.
He disappeared.
A few hours passed quickly for him. Eventually, he made it back to Omega. The flow of agents went more out than expected. They continued to recall more to throw into the defense of the Capital. Only a wide search net could find them.
Ourias walked up the wall, noticing Rheia still stood alone unmoved. The height she had gave a good view of the Capital and Atlantis. He leaned against the wall with only the air to support his feet. “Still challenging?”
“Of course,” she answered immediately, “The invitation is always open.”
“I see.” He expected such a typical response from her. Their time together was short, but she seemed the easiest to figure out of the Titans.
“Another failed visit with the wife.”
His eyes slid over to glance at her briefly. She never even made eye contact with him. ‘It’s a little unsettling how much you know.’
“You keep trying anyway, even though you know how it’ll end up every time.” Rheia stopped staring at the entrance. Her head tilted back to look at the city. Slowly, she began to move higher up with no action. Ourias matched her pace. The higher they went the better the view of the countryside became. They could see the sun painting the mountains and trees in a soft white glow and green as far as could be seen. “That’s why I picked you.”
“Oh? I thought it was because I defeated the twelfth seat,” he joked.
“I could see it in your eyes when I saw you walk through those gates down there. The eyes are very important. They tell you everything.”
He was getting more out of her than he expected. Small talk wasn’t something he planned from her. A change of scenery was all he wanted. “You pick everyone in the Titans that way don’t you.”
“Naturally. When I see their eyes I know.” A strange smile seemed to come across her face in a rare moment not fueled by aggression. “Of course, you still have to prove your strength.”
Ourias had some curiosity listening to her. “What did you see in mine?”
“Infinite determination. Nothing was going to stop you. You would achieve exactly what you wanted no matter how dirty you had to get to reach it. It’s your power. You have zero ambition, even more so than someone like Teris. You only wanted the seat on the Titans to see your wife again. That’s why you lost your second fight even though I know you could go much higher.”
“Is that so,” Ourias said, keeping a poker face through her surprising insight.
“But even for that lack of ambition, I know you’ll fight when they come.”
Her comment made him even more curious. She didn’t have the same view as the others any longer. “You believe they’ll reach the Capital?”
“It’s the eyes. I could see it in that boy the General’s claimed. Nothing’s stopping him.” Rheia seemed finished and started walking down the wall. “So prepare yourself for the fight. They’ll be here soon.”
A glance down at the back of Rheia told him enough. Ourias stared back out at the horizon. ‘You’re out there. And you’re coming. Rebellion or destruction. None of it matters to me. Whatever you’re planning I will stop you. I will protect them!’