Venus was looking at the bright cold moon wondering what he did to deserve the position he took. He asked questions of other guards. Most of them ignored him while others laughed at his question. He asked about the assistant of the Ruler. As he described him, the soldiers either laughed or just nodded no. One of them said Osiris was his name. That there was no someone like this man in this place.

The man had a drunk gaze. Even his mouth was smelling wine and his blue eyes had lost all the light. There was a golden lighter in his left hand and a cigarette in his right.

‘’Are you sure?’’ Venus asked.

‘’I worked here for a few months’’ Osiris lit the cigarette and placed it in his mouth.

Venus took a quick look around, hoping that none would see Osiris working on duty. Servants were getting ready for the ball, placing flowers everywhere, and cleaning the statues. There were twice the guards that were before

‘’I have seen the Ruler, being with servants and nobles, even Thoth, but she never had an assistant.'' He explained and let the smoke out. Venus started coughing, as soon as he inhaled the thick smoke from his nostrils.

‘’Why you ask?’’ Osiris asked roughly.

Why do I ask again? The white suit fitted him perfectly. So did the three lines to his sleeve. And yet, the only thing that Venus wanted to do was to rip it out of his body and burn it to the fire. Was the priest right? The light gets conquered by the darkness.

Why did he ask a madman in the dark for a solution? Venus shook his head, trying to forget the conversation and he looked at Osiris.

‘’Osiris?’’ Venus said the man’s name as he realized why it sounded so familiar.

‘’Yes, I had the luck to have the same name as the mourning husband’’He laughed loudly and threw the finished cigarette to the ground, close to Venus’ boot, and stepped on it to vanish the small fire.

As he was now gone, Venus took the badge from his coat and caressed it in with his dressed thumb.

His mind returned to Hephaestus. That they kept a secret from him. The way he reacted when he saw them… Was it the right way to react after all?

Darkness arrived in his vision and his head became heavy like a stone.

‘’Why are you asking about me?’’ The man he was after asked behind him.

Venus saw that he was inside a room, a lab filled with chemicals and heavy books. In the center of the room, there was a machine made of copper and iron, two heavy pieces one that was up to the ceiling and one that was down to the floor as between them there was a dark dagger, floating in thin air, with electricity. Turning back to the man, Venus studied him as he was fixing everything around the room without any help from the cane.

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‘’What is this?’’ Venus asked shakily. ‘’Where am I? How?’’

‘’You don’t remember?’’ The man placed two more books on his desk and stretched his wrists as he was holding his cane. ‘’You were walking around the halls. You found me and then I asked you to follow me and you agreed.''

Venus flinched confused as he heard his dry but clear honest words. He could not believe him though. Why couldn’t he remember?

‘’I wanted to thank you for the position.'' He lied standing in a military position.

‘’Did you?’’ The man chuckled, knowing well that Venus was lying.''The Great Ruler did everything for you.''

It seemed that it was the truth once more.

The soldier changed the subject fast.‘’What is this?’’ Venus moved closely to the machine and showed the dagger.

‘’A weapon that contains spirits blood’’

‘’Magic?’’ Venus replied confused.

‘’You can say it like that.'' He laughed again, softly.

‘’It is a powerful one that keeps us away from the truth.'' The man lowered his head and looked down at the floor.

‘’You think that the machine can destroy it?’’Venus asked.

''Destroy it?'' The man asked, surprised. ''Do not think that small,''

''Then what?''

''Harvest it.''

The cogs screamed a wild noise as the lighting around the dagger became rougher. He could not understand how Hephaestus loved listening to sounds like this every day.

The sharp edge of the knife flew directly at Venus, thinking that it would fall to his body and kill him.

But in the end, it fell to the man’s left side of his stomach.

There was a crying sound but just for a half second.

''Spirits you are hurt''Venus gasped and leaned his hands to the man's body, concerned.

‘’No, I do not think that I am.’’ He replied calmly and pulled the dagger out as if it was nothing. Blood was nowhere to be found. Venus gulped and moved far from him.

‘’What is..'' Venus tried to think about what he had just seen.

‘’My vest ‘’ The man hit his black clothing. ''It is made of iron dust. Reflectable on spirit blood’’

‘’No’’ Venus nodded left and right. ‘’I saw it, you.''

''It's what?’’ The man placed the dagger on his desk and hummed confused and looked at his compelling cane.

It hit him, I saw blood. I…he thought and kept looking around.

‘’Why am I here?’’ He asked, confused.

The man strolled around slowly to the room as Venus was trying to break the enigma he had placed upon him. His head kept hurting even more and more. The light is fading and believes shattering.

‘’The Great Ruler needs protection. She gave you a chance.’’ He replied.

‘’Tell me the truth. Who are you?’’ Venus narrowed his gaze at him.

‘’I am a friend. An assistant of the Ruler.’’

‘’Stop lying to me'' Venus yelled and then squealed back from the fear that he might make someone like him furious.

''What was that?''The man asked.

Venus blinked and caressed his shaved head, remembering who might be, where he was what he was. He saluted fast with fear showering his face.

''Apologies sir.''

The man hummed satisfied.

He moved closer to Venus, groaning as his body was leaning against his cane and then. He caressed Venus’ cheek with the angle of his fingers softly.

‘’Is this because of your friend? That you think that I lie?’’

Venus felt a warmth around his face that flew around his body after. He wanted to speak, to move, but it was impossible as this warmth was conquering every part of it. Making him weak as his eyes did not escape from the helm.

‘’Are you still worried about it?’’ He removed his hand from his face and walked away from him.

‘’No’’ He admitted with honesty. Thinking of how they lied to him all those years, that they could have just killed him when he was asleep. Were they dreaming of killing him? Were they just playing with him all those years, tricking his mind to believe that they loved him once? The priest was wrong.

The faith of the light never weakened. It was the sort of persuasion to the darkness. But light defeats darkness.

‘’They made a choice’’ He lifted his chin and frowned. ‘’I made mine’’

The man seemed pleased with his answer.