Chapter 5; Zeus; Hemhir 25th, 329SR; 22:05

Zeus sat in his room, his head hurt, and his eyes felt dry. He could hear the clatter of silverware downstairs, the thought about what they could be eating crossed his mind, but he let out a sigh as he took his mind off it. ‘It sure is quiet down there…’ He couldn't ignore how left out he felt. Yycan rested his head on Zeus, but rose as a grumble escaped from the boy's stomach. Yycan whimpered. The house was so quiet, that even the sound of water running through the pipes could shatter the silence.

"Be strong," Zeus commanded, he kept his eyes on the ceiling.

Yycan whimpered at him.

"I am not apologizing. I didn't do anything wrong."

The sound of a metal plate being placed on a rack, was followed by footsteps up the stairs coming closer. Yycan whimpered, the spirit lowered its head back down. The door opened and Nova peeked her head through. Yycan turned his head the moment she entered, jumping from the bed and running to her. Zeus looked down and saw Nova with a worried face. Zeus stayed focused on the ceiling, trying to ignore his stomach’s grumbling. Nova nervously played with her hands, she looked concerned.

"Did Loomy like the pond? I didn't see…" Zeus asked.

"Loomy? Uh- Yeah, yeah Loomy loved it… But… Aren't you hungry?" Nova asked.

"No."

"Are you lying?"

"No…" There was a hint of frustration in Zeus's voice.

Yycan whimpered at Nova, his tail low. Zeus squinted at the ceiling, but a drawn out growl escaped his stomach. Nova raised an eyebrow at Zeus, he avoided eye contact as he sighed again.

"Zeus I am so sorry I got you involved…" Nova apologized while she looked down at her feet. “Please forgive me…”

"What?" Zeus’s head whipped toward Nova.

"I got you in trouble…" Nova said quietly.

Zeus squinted as he looked at her, cringing at the sad tone his sister had. ‘This utter doofus!’ Zeus grit his teeth as he quickly got up, standing on the bed and looking down on Nova. She looked up at him, noticing his enraged expression, and stepping back. Zeus grabbed the pillow behind him and hoisted it over his head. Yycan noticed and barked at Zeus, Nova raised her hands in defense.

"If I didn't- Ah!" Nova cowered as Zeus threw the pillow at her face. “I’m sor-”

"Stop apologizing!" Zeus spat. "You didn't get me in trouble! You didn't even ask me to help! I was just bored! None of us did anything wrong!" he stressed with clenched teeth.

Nova was shocked at the sudden outburst. Zeus shook his head as he crossed his legs on the bed, bouncing slightly off the mattress. He let out another sigh as he leaned back, then returned to looking at the ceiling. Nova knelt down and picked up the pillow, then set it down on the bed and took a seat herself.

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” Zeus huffed.

"Well… I mean… We didn't listen to mom…"

"Who even cares… Mom says don't go in the forest, but then she barely watches us when we play, so does she even care? Can't believe she slapped me right after praising me…"

A loud pair of footsteps came up the hallway. Zeus squinted at the ceiling as his stomach growled again, Nova frowned. Yami walked into the room, he noticed Nova and then walked toward Zeus.

"Yo, heads up!" said Yami.

An aluminum package struck Zeus in the head and fell to the side of his bed. 'Huh…' It was a pack of bite sized cookies, chocolate chip and ginger, his favorite flavor. Zeus gulped as he picked it up, the package crinkled as he clenched his fingers.

"Why did you bring this…" Zeus glared at the oldest sibling.

"Aren't you hungry?" Yami said as he jumped into his bed, bouncing against the mattress.

"No. I don’t want it," Zeus tossed the package back to Yami.

"Zeus…" Nova sighed.

Yami caught it, then tilted his head at Zeus. "That's a lie, you're definitely hungry," Yami smiled as he threw the pack of biscuits back.

The bag hit Zeus’s hip. He sighed as he squinted harder at the ceiling.

"No, actually, I'm not hungry!" Zeus grunted as he whipped the cookies back.

"Zeus, Yami is just trying to-"

"Eat the cookies stupid," Yami laughed as he threw it back again, cutting Nova off.

"Why are you throwing it…" Nova uttered with a quiet tone as she shook her head at the two of them.

"Stop. Throwing. The bag!" Zeus stood on the bed and whipped the package at Yami.

Yami grinned as he cowered behind his quilt, peeking out at Zeus who stood on the bed. 'Ugh…' Zeus fell back down and bounced against the bed as he pulled the sheets over himself.

"Okay okay, I'll stop throwing the bag…" Yami promised.

Zeus sighed, closing his eyes and trying to sleep. Yami tore the package open, and fumbled through the bag. Zeus waited to hear the sound of a crunch, but instead felt a biscuit hit his head. Yycan whimpered.

"Rah!" Zeus pounced out of bed and ran at Yami.

"Oh shit! Haha!" Yami laughed as he jumped off the other side of his bed.

Zeus ran around the bed, only for Yami to jump back on and run to the next side. Zeus was about to jump onto the bed, then he remembered that he was in trouble. 'Tsk… Man…' Zeus walked back to his bed.

"Oh?" Yami commented as Zeus calmed down.

"I'm just gonna get in trouble again for no reason…" Zeus pouted.

Yami pursed his lips as he fell onto the bed, sitting on his lap. Zeus walked back to his bed, and picked up the small brown biscuit that was on his pillow, it was dry and brittle. He set the cookie down on the night table, then dusted the crumbs off his bed and laid down. Nova looked to the door with concern, she quickly ran over and put the cookies in a drawer. 'Huh?' A pair of steps approached from the hallway, Zeus knew it was mom from the slow pace of her steps.

"Light's out, it's time for sleep," said Theresia.

Zeus didn't look at her. Eos yawned as he walked into the room, he rubbed his eyes as he crawled onto the bed. Theresia stood by the door for sometime, then turned the light off and walked down the hall. Zeus closed his eyes, and just tried to fall asleep as quickly as he could. However, the sound of someone shuffling under their sheets caught his attention.

"Yo…" Yami whispered.

"Huh…" Zeus opened his eyes and saw Yami sitting upright .

"What'd you do? Why is mom so pissed?" Yami whispered.

"I didn't do anything… This is so dumb…"

"We went into the forest," Nova whispered.

"What? Really?" Yami repeated.

"Yeah… Loomy ran in and so we went after him…" Zeus shook his head.

"Huh…" Yami uttered with a curious tone.

Eos sat up and looked around the room. "Hey, why are you whisper-"

"Sh!", "Shush!", "Be quiet Eos!" the three turned and snapped at the youngest.

Eos quickly covered his mouth with both hands.

"Wait… That's all you did?" Yami asked.

"Yeah…" Zeus answered.

"We also opened this door we found, it led into the mountains… At the end of the forest," Nova added.

"There's a mountain back there?!" Yami's eyes widened.

"Yeah! It reaches the clouds I think…"

"The clouds? That's really big…" Eos whispered.

"Huh… So maybe it was opening the door that made mom so mad?" Yami suggested.

"She only got mad after Zeus admitted we went to the forest…" Nova replied. "But… before that he did mention the door…"

"See that's why it's weird…" said Yami. "Me and Eos ran into the forest, she didn't say anything to us?"

Zeus stared at the ceiling as he listened, barely caring about the conversation. But those words hung on his mind like a hook. 'Wait hang on… What?' Zeus sprung up and looked at Yami with a shocked face. ‘Yeah… Yeah wait she did watch them go into the forest?!’

"The fuck?!" Zeus snapped, shouting loudly.

"Sh!", "Idiot, don't be loud!" Yami and Nova cautioned.

"Shoosh!" Eos added with the strictest tone he could make.

"Hold on… That doesn't make any sense!" Zeus stammered, still speaking with a room volume.

"Be quiet!" Yami stressed with grit teeth.

"This is so unfair, what!" Zeus shouted angrily.

"Zeus! Be quiet and go to sleep!" Theresia shouted from her office down the hall.

Zeus’s entire body clenched, his anger making his head throb. 'Oh no fuckin- Oh my… Ugh!' Zeus just dropped back onto the soft mattress and tried to sleep. Yycan whimpered as it licked his clenched fist. Eos, Nova and Yami looked at each other awkwardly as Zeus huffed in and out. 'How the hell does this make any sense… I get in trouble but Yami and Eos don't?! All she ever does is praise them and yell at me…' Zeus opened his eyes, meeting Yycan's concerned gaze. 'What did I ever do to make her hate me! You know what! I don't even care! I hate her!' Zeus squinted, as he felt his eyes water, he shut them.

"Hey Zeus… You okay?" Eos whispered.

"I'm fine…" Zeus choked on his spit, his throat felt tight.

Yycan jumped onto the bed and then sat down next to Zeus, trying its best to comfort him. Zeus shifted over to the right and gave Yycan more room, the wolf nuzzled his way into a comfortable spot and closed its eyes.

"I can… I can try talking to mom about-"

"I don't care, don't bother… Mom is an idiot…" Zeus cut Nova off, his voice cracking slightly.

"That really brought out the grump," Yami scratched his head awkwardly. "Well, I don’t think its a big deal. I'm going to bed… I have a race tomorrow with speedy over there…"

“Whose speedy?” Eos asked.

“I’ll tell you about it tomorrow,” Yami let out a satisfied sigh as he closed his eyes.

Eos pulled his sheets over his head and rolled over. Nova looked at Zeus for a few more seconds, but then laid back and closed her eyes as well. The room fell silent. Zeus sat with his thoughts as he held Yycan close. 'All she ever yells at me for is always stupid crap… And what the heck is even so bad about the forest?! There was nothing there! Why am I the only one in trouble!'

***

A few hours had passed. The light snores of Yami filled the room. Nova was silent. Eos would turn every few minutes, Zeus heard his pillow fall gently to the floor.

'And not to mention she doesn't even watch us that often! It was only today because ooh Eos's gift is so special… It's just a rabbit and he's super fast! He's barely different from the rest of us, so what gives! Ah, I'm so confused!' Zeus turned onto his back, and stared at the ceiling. He had been going back and forth with his own frustration for the past four hours. The boy rose up out of bed, Yycan looked up at him.

"Huh…" Zeus looked around the dark room, his eyes had adjusted to the pitch black darkness. "Why am I still awake…"

Zeus leaned back down and closed his eyes. After several minutes, he just found himself opening them once again. 'Huh?' Zeus rose up yet again, Yycan tilted his head at him.

"Why can't I sleep?!" Zeus whispered to himself angrily.

'Sleeping is like… The easiest thing to do… How am I struggling at this?' Zeus looked to the left, Yami was fast asleep, so was Nova. 'They're sleeping easily… So what gives…' Zeus laid back and looked at the ceiling. Zeus looked at the ceiling for several minutes. 'Man… It's really boring to be the only one awake…' Zeus shifted himself out of bed and sat upright. Yycan jumped down and looked up at him with a happy smile, the wolf’s black tongue hanging out of its maw.

"At least you're awake…" Zeus patted the Yycan's head. "Well, we both sleep at the same time anyway…"

Yycan whimpered at Zeus.

"Stop it already… You don't have to worry about me… I'm not sad that mom is being a huge idiot…" Zeus whispered.

Yycan jumped up and put its paws on Zeus's legs as he continued to pet it. Eos rolled over and his other pillow flopped to the floor. Zeus looked over at his little brother, sleeping peacefully with one foot off the bed.

"No wonder we always find his pillow on the floor…" Zeus walked across the room to Eos's bed.

Zeus picked up the pillow as Yycan walked about the room. He put the pillow next to Eos's head, however as he looked up, he peered through the window. 'Huh…'

"Woah…" Zeus whispered.

It was the first time he saw the front of the house at night so vividly. 'Shouldn't it be dark?' The color of the grass and the trees almost looked dark blue. Zeus stared at the trees in the distance for several minutes. 'What's so special about the forest…' Zeus shook his head, then turned back and saw Yycan staring at the door. Zeus rubbed his eyes as he took a deep breath, sitting down at the end of Eos’s bed.

Zeus peered out the window, his eyes still locked on the forest. 'What is so special about that door…' Zeus glanced down and noticed the lock on the window, he turned back to the door. The only sound was from the soft breathing of his siblings. 'Wait… I'm the only one awake… Mom is asleep too…' Zeus felt his heartbeat hasten, he turned back and breathed out. 'So… No one would really know if I went to the forest right now… Would they…' He slowly stood, glancing at the door one more time as his hand reached for the windows lock.

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Zeus felt the smooth plastic handle, turning it, and unlocking the window before slowly pushing it open. 'Yami used to do this… Until he hurt himself and mom got upset.' Zeus lifted his leg and stuck it through the window, putting his foot down on the slope of the roof. Yycan jumped onto Eos's bed, and then over the window sill and outside. Zeus gulped as he listened to the ambient silence, the field of grass and the forest was incredibly dark. Zeus started to doubt himself as he sat with one leg hanging out of the house.

"I can do this… I can do this-"

"Do what?" someone asked behind him.

Zeus turned immediately, almost screaming but he held his voice. Eos walked up to the window as he rubbed his eye. His simple blue t-shirt seemed to blend into the darkness well.

"Shut up! Stay quiet…" Zeus scolded Eos.

"Huh… Okay…" Eos yawned. "It's so dark… Why is Yycan jumping on my bed… Why are you sitting on the window like that?"

"Ah!" Zeus held the sides of his head as he looked at Yycan. "You woke him up!"

Yycan looked away without making a noise, the spirit whimpered awkwardly. Zeus shook his head.

"Listen, just go back to sleep if you're tired… I'll be right back…" said Zeus.

"Where are you going?" Eos asked with a lazy tone.

"I'm going to find out what's so special about that door… The one me and Nova found yesterday…"

"Didn't that get you in trouble?" Eos scratched his white hair.

"I don't care… I get in trouble all the time… What's one more grounding…"

"Aren't you afraid though? Of the dark?" Eos asked.

"Huh? What's there to be afraid of… It's just dark…"

"But… There could be stuff in the dark… Stuff you can't see…"

"So? All of our spirits except Yycan light up, i'm not afraid. So why should you be?"

"Nova's books always talk about monsters… And they love hiding in the dark…"

"That's just a stupid book… It's not real…" Zeus shook his head, getting slightly frustrated. "Eos the dark is just the world without light, it’s no different… There’s just no light… Now go to bed, I'll be right back, I have to find out…"

"Can I come?" Eos asked.

"Huh?" Zeus looked at him again, then looked up with a squint. "Sure… Why not?"

Eos stepped through the window sill, holding onto it as he put his foot on the slope of the roof. The front deck was only one story high, but its roof reached the windows on the second floor.

"Walk slowly… Don't slip…" Zeus instructed as he made his way down the roof.

Upon reaching the edge, he looked off and saw some of the patches of dirt where flowers were planted. Zeus leaned off the roof, holding on to the edge as he dropped suddenly. He held on, his feet dangled in the air as he looked down. Upon letting go, he only fell a short distance, squatting to land.

"Alright, you do the same…" said Zeus.

"Uh… Is it gonna hurt?" Eos whispered.

"Not if you only fall a bit… Just try to get your feet as close to the ground as you can."

"Okay…" Eos replied nervously.

The white haired boy sat down, then shifted himself to the side, and let his body drop. Eos held the roof, before letting go and falling. The second he hit the ground he immediately fell backwards onto his rear. Unlike Zeus, he didn't break the fall or absorb the impact.

"Oof…" Eos uttered, he stood up and dusted his pants off.

"You should always break your fall… Land by squatting or rolling…" Zeus instructed.

"How does a fall break?" Eos asked with a squint.

"That's…" Zeus looked up. "Huh… I don't really know, good question… Whatever, let's go. This way!"

Zeus jogged lightly toward the back side of the house, a bright light followed him. Zeus turned as he ran backwards, seeing the light blue flames flow off of Eos. The darkness around them intensified, the sudden light from Eos caused their eyesight to readjust.

"Don't start running fast, I can't keep up with you…" said Zeus.

"I just want the light," said Eos.

"Weren't you scared? Why'd you want to come all of a sudden?"

"Well… I changed my mind," Eos replied with a big smile. "I'm not afraid of anything! Because mom says I'm going to become the strongest!"

"Huh?!" Zeus uttered with disbelief. "As if you'd ever be stronger than me! I can almost take on Yami!"

“But I am faster,” Eos said with a smug grin.

“Winning after losing so many times must feel great doesn’t it,” Zeus squinted at him.

"Hehe!"

The two brothers reached the forest and stopped just short of it. Zeus took a deep breath before he continued forward. Eos was hesitant, but he followed behind. Zeus turned and looked up at the sun, the big white circle in the ceiling gave off a faint amount of light at this time. The inside of the forest was much darker.

"I wonder if we'll find castles and stuff on the other side…" Eos pondered.

"All we found was a big mountain… It was so big it looked like it was touching the sky," Zeus recalled.

"Woah…" Eos whispered.

After just a few minutes of walking, the rock wall came into view. Zeus started to jog forward, Yycan and Eos followed close behind. ‘Here…’ The rectangular cut out into the wall was dark, it almost seemed like a black hole, but as the light from Eos’s flame grew closer, the rusted brown surface was illuminated.

"Alright… Here it is," Zeus exclaimed with open arms.

"Woah- ho!" Eos gasped, laughing with childish excitement at the sight. “Hahah, it’s a rock! Haha!”

"Alright, now let me try and open this…" Zeus crouched next to the metal surface.

The golden rabbit named Wubble jumped forth from out of nowhere. It hopped up onto Eos's palm and then into his chest. Eos jumped back and forth as he thought of what to do. Zeus approached the wall, putting his hands against the rock as he tried to feel for metal. A golden ear sprouted from the right side of Eos's head, he suddenly dashed back into the trees.

"Huh…" Zeus turned.

The blue light lit up the forest, Zeus saw Eos, the source of the light, behind the bushes and leaves. Then the light moved forward, Zeus stepped back as Eos ran straight at the wall. 'Idi-' Zeus paused as Eos ran up the wall instead of crashing, making it up five meters before his foot lost grip. Eos tried to kick up further, but turned as he slid down the steep slope of the wall and onto his rear.

"Woah!" Eos laughed as he fell backwards to the ground.

"That was pretty cool, I didn't expect that…" said Zeus. "But be quiet, or else mom might hear us…"

"Haha!" Eos stood up as he looked up the giant wall. “That was awesome!"

Zeus lightly smacked Eos's head. "Stop, shouting! If I miss dinner because of you I'm definitely taking yours!"

"Sorry!" Eos replied as he covered his mouth.

"Now, give me a second while I get this open…"

"Wait… I wanna see how big this mountain is… I'm going to run all the way around it!" said Eos.

"Huh? Oh, alright, don't get lost though," Zeus cautioned.

Eos bent his knees, then leaned forward with a grin as he kicked off. Zeus was taken aback by his acceleration, Eos followed wall curving to the left. 'Holy shit… I doubt he'd be stronger than Yami and me, but he really is way faster… Eos is pretty amazing-' Eos flew right by Zeus in the same direction he just ran. ‘Huh-’

"Huh!" Zeus turned around, the blue light approached once again.

Eos's feet dragged against the dirt as he came to a stop. Zeus looked at him with disbelief, he turned his head back and forth as he tried to make sense of what just happened. ‘He… Went around it that fast?’ Zeus looked in the other direction, then squinted as he realized it curved toward the right.

"Well, it's not too big… I can run around it really quickly…" Eos examined. "Hm? Why are you making that face?"

Zeus looked at Eos with a blank stare, his mind had gone blank.

“Did you… Have to turn?” Zeus asked.

“No, I just ran along the wall…”

Zeus stared at the wall with a dumbfounded expression. ‘Wait… But…’

"Uh… Wait here…" Zeus instructed. "Yycan, let me on…"

Yycan lowered itself, Zeus mounted the large wolf.

"What are you doing? I thought you were going to open the door?"

"Uh… Just… Gimme a second… I need you to stay right there Eos…" Zeus instructed.

Zeus tucked his legs in and leaned forward, Yycan kicked off the ground. Zeus's hair bumped up and down with each step.

"Wait!" Zeus suddenly ordered, Yycan slowed down.

Zeus and Yycan paused in front of another door, it was just like the one they just came from. 'There's more than one door?'

"Keep… Going…" Zeus gulped.

As Yycan continued forward, Zeus was focused on the mountain the entire time. After a few minutes of running, Zeus noticed something high up along the mountain side. There was a flat surface, unlike the jagged rock around it, and larger than that of the doors. 'It's… What is that… Is that also part of the mountain? It's too high up and I can't see it well in the dark…'

"Keep going, Yycan…" Zeus instructed as he continued to ponder.

Zeus didn't even react as he saw yet another door, this one beneath the strange flat surfaces above. 'What is this… Something about this isn't right… Mountains are huge aren't they? And… And… There’s supposed to be… The stuff Nova always reads about…' Zeus's thoughts came to a stop as he passed another door. After a few more seconds, he saw Eos up ahead. Yycan came to a stop and turned its head to Zeus.

"Oh hey, you ran all the way around!" said Eos.

Zeus just stared at Eos with a blank face.

"You didn't do it as fast as me though, hehe!" Eos gloated, but tilted his head as he noticed Zeus's expression. "What's wrong?"

"Where… Where is it…" Zeus asked.

"Where is what?"

"The… The world?!" Zeus shouted.

"I don't… I don't get it?" Eos raised an eyebrow.

"Mom always says beyond the forest is towns and rivers and cities… But this is just… Just a wall?! This whole thing is a big- circular… Wall!" Zeus shouted in disbelief.

"What?" Eos replied. "I don't get it…"

"Mom lied… But why?" Zeus asked himself.

Zeus continued to look down, his thoughts raced rapidly as he tried to understand. He turned back the way he came and stared down the path.

"If this is… a giant wall… The doors… Wouldn't that lead outside?" Zeus questioned.

"Yeah… I suppose?" Eos tried his best to answer.

"Come on, there's another door, I saw something weird down there… Yycan! Go!"

"Woah, hold up!" Eos called.

Yycan suddenly took off around the wall of rock. A blue light caught up behind Zeus, he turned to see Eos keeping pace with Yycan. After about a minute, they reached the opposite side of the wall. Zeus looked up and saw the same strange flat wall.

"Eos, see that?" Zeus pointed up.

"Yeah… Huh… That's weird… It's like… A big square…"

"Think you can get up there and check it out?" Zeus turned and asked Eos.

"Yeah, no problem!" Eos flexed his arm.

Eos zoomed off into the trees, the light from the golden ear on his head slowly faded into the forest. Then came back quickly as he ran forward and picked up speed. Eos charged out of the forest, his teeth grit as he ran up the wall. He made it just short of the flat section, then fell backwards.

"Ah!" Eos grunted.

"Yycan! Catch him!"

Yycan ran for where Eos would fall, then suddenly puffed up and expanded its size. The wolf became plump, Eos landed against Yycan, falling into the folds of its fat before rolling off and landing gently.

"Woah! Yycan got bigger!" Eos pointed.

"I taught him how to do that a long time ago, after Yami fell and messed up his leg," Zeus explained as Yycan shrunk back down.

"Oh, that's really smart!"

"Of course it is, I'm a genius," Zeus spoke like it was to be expected of him.

"Let me try again, I can get up if I have more speed!" Eos shouted as he ran back to the forest.

'What… Did he just say more speed?' Zeus watched the golden light move through the forest and stop again. After a few seconds, the light brightened, Zeus gulped out of anticipation. Eos ran out of the forest in an instant and up the wall, easily grasping the ledge.

"Ho-! You- You did it! Eos that was insane!" Zeus cheered from the ground.

Eos hung from the ledge, his body giving off a white light. Zeus squinted as he noticed something around Eos's back. 'What is that?' There were strange rings around Eos, five in total. A small one around both ankles and wrists, and a larger one behind him.

"When did you learn how to do that?!" Zeus shouted.

"Huh? Ah!" Eos yelped as he hung from the edge, he slowly pulled himself up. "Wait… I wasn't going to show anyone this…"

"Huh?" Zeus tilted his head.

"It was going to be a secret technique in case I can't win later…" Eos explained.

"Huh- You're already keeping secrets like that?!"

Eos sat on the ledge, he tried to put his hand against the flat surface and felt around it. Zeus watched from the ground, eagerly waiting for some kind of assessment.

"It's… A wall?" Eos stated unconfidently.

"Yeah no shit!" Zeus shook his head.

"This… This kind of feels weird… I don't think its a rock…" Eos continued to feel around. "It's smooth like glass?"

"Like glass? You mean like, glass cups or glass bowls?"

"Glass in general… It's even kind of shiny…"

"Why is there a wall of glass in the mountain?" Zeus muttered to himself as he looked down.

"Can Yycan do that thing again? I don't know how to get down…" Eos asked.

"Yycan, puff," Zeus commanded.

The dog muttered slightly as it breathed in, then suddenly expanded like a balloon. Eos jumped off, landing on the dog's stomach and then bouncing off again. Yycan opened its mouth as the air was pushed out of him.

"That's kind of fun," Eos giggled as he slid off Yycan.

"He hates it, he might get mad if you try to do it often," Zeus mentioned. "Yycan, let's get this door open!"

Zeus knelt down next to the door as Yycan turned into a pale sludge. The strange mass moved towards Zeus and engulfed his arm, wrapping around it perfectly. Eos watched in awe. The wolf had transformed into a white glove, shaped to the size of Zeus's hand. The nails tipped with sharp claws, and his wrist was shrouded in a mane of fur. Zeus pointed his fingers at the gap between the door and the wall. Yycan slipped through and the white substance moved to the other side. Eos and Zeus looked at each other for several seconds, before they both heard a click. Yycan leaned against the door and pushed it open.

"Oh! That’s sick!" Eos jumped.

The door opened, and the two of them stood in front of the darkness.

"It's even darker in there…" said Zeus. "Make some light..."

"Woah…" Eos uttered, he moved forward slightly and raised his hand.

A white flame lit up over his palm, lighting up the dark interior. 'I feel kind of nervous… Like I'm doing something I shouldn't… But I want to know why… Why is mom so upset at me for opening this…' Zeus glanced at Eos, who looked back at Zeus with determined blue eyes. Zeus nodded, then started forward into the dark.

The interior was not what Zeus had expected. The floor was made of uneven rock, there were wires or roots littered about everywhere. Eos's flame lit roughly five meters of the darkness around them. The ceiling was quite low, but at some point as they continued through it had gone much higher. A droplet hit the ground somewhere else in the cave, a splash echoed through the ambience.

"Ah!" Eos took a short breath as he jumped, his voice echoed several times.

Zeus squinted as he heard Eos’s voice a few more times.

"How'd you do that?!" Zeus asked, he was keenly observing every angle to make sure there was nothing in the dark with them.

"Ah!" Eos shouted, his voice echoed once again. "Woah, it just happens…"

"Seriously? Let me try… Hello!" Zeus yelled, the sound echoed at least five times.

Zeus turned as he continued through the cave, looking up to find metal grates acting as walkways. He stopped as he noticed doors at both sides of the path.

"Yo, Eos, check it out…" Zeus pointed up.

"What the? Is that another door?" Eos tilted his head.

"There's a way up…"

Zeus pointed to a small ladder hanging from the side of the small bridge. They approached the wall, the light from Eos reflected off the rocks. Despite it being a ladder, it didn't reach the ground. The first step of the ladder was several feet in the air above Zeus and Eos.

"I can reach this… Yycan, stretch," Zeus ordered.

He extended his arm straight up, the glove hand stretched forward as Yycan extended off of Zeus's arm. The claw grasped the side of the ladder, Zeus jumped and used it like a rope. Eos watched as he climbed slowly, reaching the ladder and putting one foot on it, he climbed up onto the bridge.

"Alright, grab on, I'll pull you up…" Zeus lowered his extended hand, it dangled in the air above the ground.

Eos grabbed onto the hand, then pulled himself up with assistance from Zeus. Eos quickly reached the bridge as well. 'This platform is made of metal… Are there supposed to be metal bridges inside caves?' Zeus walked to one side, the doors on either side had a glass panel to see through. A red light on the other side dimly lit a corridor, with pipes along the ceiling and walls of evenly cut stone. A strange sensation came over Zeus, 'I don't know what this is… Where are we… This isn't what mom told us…'

"Hey Eos… I'm getting a bad feeling about this… Eos?" Zeus turned and looked across the bridge.

Eos was staring through the glass panel of the door on the opposite side. ‘Where does that go…’ Zeus made his way over, all the while keeping an eye on the other door. However, as he turned, and looked through the other door, he understood why Eos froze. Zeus pushed the door open. The two of them stepped forward and stood next to each other in silence. Zeus's mind went blank as he saw it, 'What…' There were three large glass windows spread out across a massive stage. Beyond the glass, were tall trees just short enough to be looked over. And in the distance beyond the tree, at the center of a field of grass, was the house they lived in. The white circle in the sky above the house was beginning to glow brighter, the morning was approaching. Zeus felt a strange sense of worry, as he looked at the window to his room from a distance.

"It's… The house…" Eos broke the silence with a simple comment.

Zeus looked around the wide open room, it was unlike anything he had seen. The walls and the floor were black, there were very dim spotlights along the ceiling, and a few on the ground. Zeus noticed them light a stairway that led down toward the stage. He started down the steps, his eyes locked on the house the whole time. There were pristine white tables set up around the massive hall. As Zeus reached the stage, he put his hand against the glass and looked down.

"That's…" Eos stuttered. "That's the path… The path we ran around… If that's the path then… This is that glass part of the mountain… It was a window…"

"A… Window…" Zeus repeated.

"But how come we couldn't see through it? I thought glass was supposed to be clear?" Eos mentioned.

"I want to check that other door… Eos, come on! It'll be morning soon… We have to be quick!" Zeus huffed, his heart was racing.

‘This feels really wrong…’ Zeus turned and ran up the stairs, he still didn't know what to make of what he saw. As he reached the top, Eos zoomed behind him and followed close behind.

"Why was mom keeping this a secret…" Zeus muttered to himself.

Zeus placed his hands on the door, then looked around. 'Huh… What kind of door is this? There's no knob or handle? Why is there just a bar?' Zeus pulled on the bar, it didn't budge, but upon pushing it, it actually moved. The door opened, Eos walked through, but Zeus was even more confused by that. Zeus ran forward down the path, opening the next door and finding themselves in the hallway with the red glow. Eos gulped nervously as he looked at the strange surroundings. They were no longer inside of a cave.

"This place is kind of creepy… Why is that light red?" Eos stressed.

"I'm not sure… Nova reads about caves… But this is nothing like what she rambles about…" Zeus muttered.

"I wonder… Does mom know about all of-"

A door on the other side of the hallway suddenly opened, it was at least five meters away from the two. Zeus and Eos both jumped at the sound, tensing up as they both froze with wide eyes. A sniffle was followed by a white boot stepping into the corridor. They continued forward, revealing a person in white robes with a golden mask on their face. The golden mask had two holes to see through. Zeus and Eos were paralyzed with fear.

"What the fuck! Holy shit, that scared me… How did you two get down here? You aren't supposed to be here," the man in white said casually, their tone sounded masculine.

Zeus took a step back. 'Who is that… That's a person… A person lives in the cave?! ' Eos was frozen in place, his legs shaking.

"How'd you get down here?" the guard crouched and raised his palms. "Do you understand me? Can you speak? How… How old are you two…"

"Uh…" Zeus tried to speak, but he barely uttered a word.

Zeus looked up and his mask and felt his heart skip a beat again. It was so soulless, unnatural, different. All of the warnings his mother had told him flooded back into his mind, and a sense of regret came over him. ‘I have… I have to protect Eos!’ Zeus grit his teeth, a sense of responsibility gave him courage. Eos’s voice quivered, he was shaking repeatedly.

"Eos… Run!" Zeus shouted.

"Huh- Hold on-”

The golden ear sprouted off of Eos's head as he turned around. He kicked off the ground and ran as fast as he could in the other direction. The air popped as Eos stopped and took several turns, however, Zeus was paying attention to the man.

"Woah, what the, where did he go?! Wait, wait it's okay, just talk to me…" The man took one step forward.

"Yycan!" Zeus raised his hand.

The white sleeve stretched forward quickly, bouncing off the ground and jumping at the man with the gold mask.

"What the! Ah!" the guard screamed.

Yycan tackled the man in white robes to the ground, biting down on his shoulder. The guards' screams of terror turned to cries of pain as Yycan clawed and bit at them. Zeus couldn't take his eyes away, he backed up quickly.

"Yycan, we need to get out of here!" Zeus shouted with uneven and rasp breaths.

Yycan jumped off the man. Zeus turned and slammed his shoulder into the door, tumbling over after. His heart beat so fast he could barely think straight. Zeus scrambled to his feet. He grasped the rail, threw one leg over, and then let go. Yycan yelped, losing its form and stretching to Zeus as he fell. His feet hit the ground hard, a rippling sensation travelled through his knees.

"Ah!" Zeus cried.

The boy clenched his teeth, he barely thought of the pain as he limped to his feet. Zeus’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the cave. He got to the door and shoved it open. 'Eos must have come this way! He's probably already at the house!' Zeus's chest was heaving, but he kept running, a wave of relief flooding over him as he saw the white walls of the house beyond the forest.