Steps of Heaven
(Last Time)
"Well, Lady Nemesis… If I make it to the Isles of the Blest, I'll be sure to spread your importance and have everyone there acknowledge the severity of the great goddess known as Nemesis! All will tremble at your feet, doubting their self-worth. Maybe even a shrine or two, of course a feast now and then would be needed…"
"Yes… a feast… shrines would be great…" Nemesis began to drool at the prospect. Bianca could've sworn that the goddess was in tears. "I- I've never had a proper feast in my name before…"
Bianca felt slightly apologetic for mercilessly picking at the goddess of revenge's sore spot, but her plan was going on well. After all, who wouldn't want a goddess on their side when they were about to go on a dangerous mission that could as well kill them.
[1 month later]
For being dead, Bianca never felt so alive. Not exactly a good thing when more alive meant more exhausted.
The "training" for the Steps of Heaven was basically just a run through of the various kinds of missions that they were required to do. Surprisingly, the heroes that were accidently killed during the mock quests spilled ichor instead of blood- but still faded away to nothing.
Bianca had to really work her body's limit in order to survive. The capture-the-flag simulation with the Minotaur and hydras was her closest call to death so far. A narrow dodge from the hydra's acid and a quick arrow into its heart was what saved her.
Thanatos hadn't visited her for a few days now. Each time he came to see her, he taught her a little more about how the Underworld was run, and helped her develop her demigod powers. While at first she could only summon bones and buried relics, her strength grew to the point where she could summon a half dozen her own skeletal soldiers and equip them with fairly adequate weapons. Iron or steel swords were what usually appeared, but if she concentrated enough, she could occasionally summon a Celestial Bronze weapon. Once, she managed to summon a dagger made of a strange, enchanted gold which she pocketed. Nemesis had also visited, sometimes to simply chat, but she informed Bianca on what was going on in the surface world.
During the time she trained, she learned that Nico had found out about their parentage. It shocked her to see him immediately summon the skeleton soldiers that she took so long to even attempt. Percy's face looked dark, as if he had missed several nights of sleep to muster the nerve to tell him of Bianca's death. Bianca was worried for her brother, as Nico being a son of Hades would make him a valuable target for abduction… Not to mention his desertion from the camp, which set him away from the most reliable help he could have access to.
"It's fine. Lord Hades will not allow his only living so- child, die from a petty monster. While he cannot interfere directly, he has ordered for Nico to have protection while he is on his own." Thanatos had assured her.
Those were the last words that he spoken the last time they had met. With no news on the god of Death, and of her brother, Bianca's nerves were painfully convulsing.
But she couldn't let her guard down for anything. Already, 7 of their 23 heroes had fallen. The only good news was that the training period would last for only another 2 days. Then, those who survived would be promoted to the stage of Praeparatio, and be assigned their first quests.
Just then, a voice boomed from the intercom.
"ATTENTION, HEROES OF THE STEPS Of HEAVEN! COME TO THE FRONT OF LORD THANATOS' PALACE IN UNDER 3 MINUTES IF YOU WISH TO LIVE!"
Uh-oh. Bianca remembered the last time that they were rallied. The poor boy who was about 3 seconds late had made a rather nice looking bat, but she wouldn't share the same fate if she could.
StepsOfHeavenStepsOfHeavenStepsOfHeavenStepsOfHeavenStepsOfHeavenStepsOfHeaven[1 day later]
Catastrophe. If asked to explain what had happened yesterday, she would have summarized it with one word, catastrophe.
[FLASHBACK] When all the heroes had made ranks in front of the doors, 7 golden laurel wreaths fell from the sky at their feet. Along with the wreaths, an assortment of weapons materialized in a circle around them. It was like a reverse Hunger Games setup, with all the contestants in the middle and the supplies surrounding them. "Heroes! Now is the time to truly prove your worth, if you are indeed the one to take the Steps of Heaven and ascend to greatness! The remaining seven heroes who manage to claim the wreaths will graduate from training and begin their stage of It wasn't an understatement to say that all Hades broke loose. Bianca immediately ran for a crossbow, grabbing it along with a about a dozen darts. Unfortunately, she did not know how to shoot a crossbow. She quickly reloaded her crossbow and tackled a girl who was fishing a wreath out from a pile of daggers. Pressing her knee against the girl's chest, she quickly disintegrated her with the weapon.
A boy who looked to be about 18 ran for Bianca with his arms outstretched. Bianca could sense that he was very strong, perhaps a child of a war god, so she jumped to the side, fumbling with the crossbow.
Eventually, she managed to load a dart properly, and so she aimed it towards the boy's head and released.
In an explosion of golden dust, the boy vanished. Bianca was sorry for having to do that, but she couldn't let anyone else get in her way. She wasn't ready to just end life, without seeing her mother again, without being with her little brother again.
With the wreath on her arm, she looked around for more enemies. In her peripheral vision, she spotted a boy running towards her.
"Woah, easy there." A boy who had the looks of a son of Apollo screeched to a stop. He was holding a golden bow, which gleamed of magical energy and the smell of baby wipes. Without any arrows, he wasn't in a position to shoot Bianca, but he looked determined enough to strangle her with the lead stringing if necessary. "Put that down, I don't wanna have to hurt you." He said, slowly approaching her. Bianca didn't have enough time to reload. She tossed the crossbow over her shoulder and drew the golden knife from her belt. She hated using blades, but it seemed to be her only choice. The boy lunged for her, twisting the bow so that it would catch onto her neck. Bianca slashed upwards, nicking the boy's left arm, but was caught by the bowstring. Luckily, she managed to grab onto the lead cord, but had to drop her knife in the process. The boy howled in pain, his forearm spilling ichor. But he pulled onto the bow tightly, determined to take out the daughter of Hades. Bianca struggled to free herself from the bow, but without being able to breathe properly, she was seeing black spots and was red faced from exhaustion. "N- no..." She croaked. The boy bashed her on the head with his elbow. Bianca sagged to the floor, her hands falling to her sides. No longer could she feel the bowstring tightening around her neck, she could sense her life force dimming to the point of almost non-existence… "No." She said, pouring the remainder of her strength into her words. "You will not touch me." The boy sneered- and immediately fell backwards as if he had been shoved. His expression morphed into one of fear, mixed with the worry of what would happen to him. "Wha- what's going on?" "Silence. The deceased shall not open his mouth until the daughter of Lord Hades, god of the Underworld allows him to." The boy's mouth clamped shut, forcefully muting his cries of protest. "You are yet to truly climb the Steps of Heaven, spirit. The Underworld has power over you yet." Bianca shouted, her neck slowly mending with each word. With horror, the boy realized that the more control Bianca had over her, the faster she healed, draining his life force by the second. He scrambled to his knees, tossing aside his bow and hurriedly bowing before her. Bianca smiled, her eyes having lost the tenderness of her character, turning into pure black as she channeled more power into her voice. "Serve me, and I shall bring you to the Isles myself. This, I swear upon the River Styx." Her voice boomed, gaining the attention of the other heroes who were in the midst of battle. The boy nodded, tears in his eyes. "What is your name…?" Bianca asked. With a flick of her wrist, she released the bonds on the boy's mouth. "My name is Daniel Solace, my lady…" He sputtered. Bianca smiled, her eyes returning to their normal color. "I see… Guard me." She said as she collapsed. [FLASHBACK END]
"Well, it seems someone has been busy." A voice chuckled.
Daniel flipped out his golden bow from his bracelet, notching one of the iron arrows he had made.
In the corner, Thanatos looked at the two demigods, amused at what he was seeing. "Bianca, my dear. I know you're anxious to become an immortal, but having a servant already? That's quite fast, even for a god."
Bianca managed a small grin, not quite reaching the eyes. She remembered enslaving Daniel the day before, but wasn't quite comfortable with it. "Is it time for my first mission, my lord?" she asked.
"Indeed." Thanatos pulled out a letter from his suit. The envelope was jet black, with an adorable puppy sticker on it to seal the contents. "It is custom for the parent of the hero to assign the first mission. This is from Lord Hades, your father." He handed it to Bianca.
Bianca studied the texture of the envelope, the sleek design quite suited the King of the Dead. I know this is the first time that I have made contact with you since you and your brother left the Lotus Casino. I am sorry; I could not acknowledge your existence without infuriating my brothers. While I may not be able to directly confront you until you have ascended into Higher Elysium, know that I will always watch over you, I will always hear your prayers, and I will always try my hardest to aid you. My mission for you, is one that you will rather like. I am sending you to the mortal world, to watch over Nico until the time come for him to seek the Labyrinth of Daedalus. As his powers grow, he will most likely attempt contact with you and your mother. I have prepared for this, so he will be greeted with an illusion of you that will give him guidance and warnings of what is to come. As for Maria… He is not yet powerful enough to summon a spirit that has been appointed the Head of Higher Elysium. The fake Bianca will warn him of this, but I've prepared a vision of what happened to your mother just in case. Bianca, remember what I said. I will never forsake my children, though you may hate me. I am your father, I am the god of Death, but I never go back on my word.
"Thank you, my lord." With her knife, she popped off the sticker, earning her a glare from the moving puppy (since when did it move?!). She unfolded the letter, once again admiring the smooth text.
Bianca.
[Author's Note] SimplyComplicatedProblems: Thanks again for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far, I hope I can provide the content that the readers are wanting! Thanks for reading, please continue to Read and Review!
Hi, Doc here with another chapter of Steps of Heaven!
This is probably my longest chapter so far, but I'm finally getting to the missions, which are the backbone of this story. I hope that you'll stick with me a little bit longer, even though it may have been slightly boring at the beginning!^^;;
Stay Awesome ~Doc Far