Chp 9

Ares stood at the edge, lost in his thoughts. He had wounded his own son and Agnes's soul was now lost amongst the lava. Then, he heard another praying, surprisingly it was from Perseus.

"Ares, brother, I pray to you. Meet me at the temple of the gods. You said we are not equal, so come prove to me you are right. Prove to our father that you are right", Perseus prayed to him.

"I hear you, brother", said Ares as he clutched the small wooden knife that Perseus had dropped earlier on. Ares, of course, had a plan to torment his half brother.

Before he moved on with his plan, he secretly appeared to where Theron was held. Queen Andromeda's soldiers were fighting the Chimeras and to his surprise, his twin sons, Deimos and Phobos were fighting alongside the army. He went in and saw Asclepius brewing his medicine to calm the pain on Theron's shoulder. Asclepius sensed his uncle's present.

"Ares", he acknowledged the God of War.

"How is he doing?", asked Ares.

Asclepius sighed and said, "He lost quite a lot of blood. He's dying. There is nothing I can do, but easing the pain you had done".

"You can't save him?", said Ares and Asclepius saw the sorrow and regretful in his eyes.

"No, he is but a mortal. There is nothing more I can do for him. I'm sorry", said Asclepius, "I'm here because Phobos came to me and I told them the same thing".

"Give us a moment", said Ares and Asclepius left. He approached his son and kissed his forehead.

"Father…", said Theron as he opened his eyes.

"Forgive me, Theron. I didn't mean to hurt you", said Ares as he held his son's hand.

Theron gripped his father's hand. "I forgave you, father", said Theron, "But please, all I ask is for you to stop all this madness. What will you gain from killing Zeus? It won't bring mother back to life".

"I'm too far in to pull back, my son. I must finish what I have started", said Ares.

"Please father, I beg you, don't do this. You won't gain anything from this", said Theron before he began coughing out blood. On cue, Asclepius came back in and gave some more medicine, but Theron refused. Slowly, the grip was loosened and finally, Theron closed his eyes and stopped breathing.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Ares", said Asclepius. For the first time, he saw the God of War crying. Ares wiped his tears, grabbed Theron's bracelet and left.

-MEANWHILE-

Chrysantos tucked her youngest brother for his afternoon nap. "Chryssy?", said Aries, "Will Theron be back?".

"I don't know, Aries, but pray that he will", said Chrysantos. Aries got up, closed his eyes and held his hands together like how he always does for every prayer.

"To any gods, please make sure my brother returns home safe from harm", Aries prayed, "Father, please look after our brother". Aries lied back down and went to sleep. Chrysantos left the room. Clea was asleep and Helius was sitting at the stool nearby the door.

"What are you doing, Helius?", asked Chrysantos.

"Do you think they'll come home?", asked Helius.

"I've been praying", said Chrysantos, "Let's hope they will come home safe". Helius nodded and yawned.

"Will you be alright on your own?", asked Helius again.

Chrysantos nodded and said, "I'll just sit at the kitchen and make some more bracelet". Helius nodded and went to his room. Chrysantos sat down and weaved her bracelet. Then, she felt the ground shook a little. She got up and went to the door to see what was going on. She saw someone knelt on the ground and got up. He was wearing armour with fur cape. He turned to her and smiled.

"Father?", she said. It was Ares and immediately she ran to him. He hugged her and spun her around. "I knew you'd come back!", said Chrysantos.

"I'm only here for a while, Chrysantos. I have to go back later", said Ares and Chrysantos's smile fell from her face. Then, she remembered something.

"Where is Theron?", she asked as she looked around. Ares pulled out Theron's bracelet and gave it to his daughter.

"I'm so sorry Chrysantos", said Ares. Chrysantos held the bracelet and hugged it as she cried. Ares hugged her daughter. She knew her brother won't come home.

"Hush now, my golden flower and look at me", said Ares as he held his daughter's face in his hands. He wiped her tears away. "You are my daughter. You must be strong", said Ares.

"Aries prayed for his safety. He even prayed to you!", said Chrysantos before running back to the house. He knew he had to let her go. Helius appeared as Chrysantos passed through the front door, crying.

"What happened? Why are you here?", Helius asked.

"Your father is calling for you and I'm here to deliver you to him", said Ares.

"Why was she crying?", asked Helius again.

"Theron is dead", said Ares. Helius looked devastated. "You must come. Your father is looking for you", said Ares again and Helius nodded.