Chapter 54
Mera's point of view
The next week was spent quietly preparing for as many situations as possible. My unit would not be fighting, which they were not happy about. They would be reserves, incase we needed extras. I may also be a Descendant, but I am more powerful than they are and so I would be fighting with the gods and immortals.
Prince Alexander, Ennina and Cronus' son, was sending fifty of his best immortals from the army. We meet with them on Olympus to train and prepare daily. Those I spared with were impressed with my skills in combat, especially since I only discovered the gods existed eight months ago and have been training for less than that. Taking into account my leave of absence after Ariston's disappearance, they were incredibly impressed.
After one sparing session, many of the gods gathered around me, telling me what a spectacular warrior I was.
"I trained her well." Came a woman's voice from behind me, a voice I somehow knew.
I turned around to see an a tall, elegant immortal in battle armor. Her auburn hair was braided back, her pale skin glowing slightly golden, her dark green eyes shining with humor, an even smile showing her white teeth. Her cheekbones were sharp, her jaw bold but elegant, her forehead high and perfect, her nose long yet beautiful, her lips full and heart shaped. Her features were an architectural wonder, she was a stunning beauty. I felt a strong ping of familiarity. There was not doubt within me that I knew this woman and she looked at me as if she had known me my whole life.
"You trained me?" I asked her.
"In your dream," She told me. "Since you were a but a babe."
"Who are you?" I asked her.
"Zephera, daughter of winds." She introduced herself, bowing her head slightly. She held her arms open to me as she walked forward and I felt more than comfortable hugging her. "It is wonderful to see you outside of your dreams Mera." She kissed my cheek and pulled back.
"I feel like I have known you forever." I told her, my eyebrows knitted together.
"Well for the last eighteen years you have known me," She told me. "Until that fiancé of yours asked king Zeus to stop your training. I was not happy with that."
"He was only trying to keep me safe." I told her. She nodded, her smile not faltering.
"If he wanted you safe, he would not have stopped your training." She said. "He would have let you complete it."
"We do crazy things for the people we love." I told her.
"Believe me, I know." She said.
"Mera?" Came Cronus' voice behind me, I smiled and turned around to meet his eyes. I walked off with him to speak more privately. "There is a family dinner happening in a week, and we would all love for you to join us."
"Your family?" I asked him, he nodded.
"My parents and all my children and many of their children will be there along with Ennina and Sif. We all get together a few times a year." He told me. "I want you there."
"And how will you introduce me?" I asked.
"How about as the woman I love?" He asked. I sighed. "They are going to find out sooner or later about us. We are soul mates."
"I know." I told him, looking into his eyes. "You are certain they are not going to hate me for being with you?" Cronus took my hand and held it gently.
"My love, no one could ever hate you after knowing you." Cronus told me. "I want my parents and my children to know about us."
"But what if something happens?" I asked him. "What if when Ariston is back with me, he decides he wants me to himself? Your family will hate me for hurting you."
"Ariston would not ask that of you if you told him I am what you want." He told me. "If you tell him that you love him like crazy, but you need me in your life as well, he will accept that."
"How can you be so certain?" I asked.
"Ariston and I are alike." He told me. "And I was in a similar position once, having the woman I love, love another man. It was not easy at first, but now, not only am I okay with it, I am grateful she has that happiness." Cronus kissed my hand softly before continuing. "If you are not comfortable with this, you do not have to come. Why don't you take the day to think it over?"
"Okay." I told him. "You will have my answer by tonight." He nodded.
I turned back to the troops, only to have Cronus wrap his arm around my waist and pull my body back to his. Before I could protest that we were in public, Cronus kissed me deeply, making me forget about everything but him as I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned up on my toes to deepen the kiss. When that long kiss ended, I realized it was too good of a kiss to be upset about.
"Damn you." I said with a smile. "So much for keeping this between us. Now all of Olympus will know."
"As I said before," Cronus told me with a smile. "I am their future king. If anyone gives you grief over our happiness, you let me know." I shook my head and took a deep breath. I simply could not find it in me to be upset with him. I loved him too much.
"I guess I have to get used to these public displays of affection?" I asked him, he nodded.
"I enjoy kissing the women I love when I can." He told me and kissed me once more.
I was nearly trembling when the long kiss ended, the only thing keeping me on my feet were his arms around me. I was so dizzied by the kiss that I was certain I would fall to the ground once Cronus let go of me. His kisses are always incredible, but when he puts a little effort into them, they are overwhelming, making my body and soul feel like a supernova. I felt within him that my kiss was just as powerful to him. He kissed my forehead as I held onto his shoulders.
"Are you sure you want me to let you go?" He asked and I shook my head, still too out of breath and out of words to say anything. He seemed to have robbed me of my words with that kiss.
"I need to train." I told him when some of my wits returned. He nodded and slowly let me go.
"I love you." He told me.
"I love you." I replied.
I turned and walked away, back towards Zephera who was in a conversation with some other women. I felt like I was walking on some kind of mix of moonlight, sunlight and a cloud. I could feel the warmth of the blush on my face, knowing I could do nothing about the color.
"You have great taste in men." Zephera commented. I laughed and blushed.
"I love him." I told her with a shrug.
"Apparently he loves you as well." She commented. I glanced at one of the other woman standing there.
"Good for you honey." Said the redheaded woman who stood there. "He is one of the good ones."
"I know." I told her. "I am blessed to have such gods who love me."
During lunch, some of the women and even the men I sat with asked me a few questions, but never the ones I was expecting. I kept waiting for them to ask if I was leaving Ariston for Cronus, if I had no sense of decency, if I was cheating on Ariston, but those kinds of questions never came. They all seemed very supportive of my relationship with their future king, in fact, some of them were truly excited about this development. When I made this observation to Zephera as we walked back to the training grounds, she told me why that was.
"It is because you inspire them, they know you will make a great queen." Zephera told me.
"Queen?" I asked, she laughed.
"They all assume, after your display with prince Cronus, that you will be marrying him." She told me. "And by marrying our king, you will be our queen."
"Ennina will be your queen." I told her.
"A king can have more than one queen." She told me. "We will honor queen Sif as our queen as well, princess Ennina would have it no other way. And so it is easily assumed that you will sit at prince Cronus' side as well."
"I never thought of that." I told her, wondering if that was why Diokles calls me a queen.
I ate some ambrosia and drank some healing nectar on my way to training my unit. These back to back training sessions were draining me, but I had to train with those who would fight against the Nameless One's forces and I also had to train my unit.
When I saw Jason three days ago, he told me when the immortals were planning to attack. We had two days left, tomorrow we would take a day off training and prepare for the battle ahead. I was to learn some of the strategies and plans that were in place, and also the back up plans. Ennina is very thorough. Where most people have a plan A, a plan B, and perhaps even a few have a plan C, Ennina's plans went all the way to plan X and still she wanted to be prepared for the unknown.
There was one very important thing with the army of the gods, something that was important to the Greeks as well. If your troops know how to follow your commands that is good, but teaching and encouraging them to think for themselves when needed could give a huge upper hand if the tactic was employed correctly.
For instance, say a squad was cut off from the rest of their platoon and they were under attack. Instead of sticking to what they were told to do, such as attacking in a certain formation that would only work with larger numbers, the squad would adapt and take the best course of action that would complete their mission and keep as many of them alive as possible. Of course, this could backfire as well, if the troops decide that a perfectly good plan will not work and decide to take their own course of action. In doing so they would endanger their lives and the lives of their brothers and sisters in arms.
Like every strategy, it had its strengths and its weaknesses. But the gods have seen enough to know that the pro's out weigh the con's. Of course there was always that one situation no one can ever account for. Even when the gods are part of the battle, things are not always certain in war. All you can do is prepare as best you can and train your troops to do what needs to be done.
I called my unit to attention as I walked into the building we would be training in today. When I saw that they were all there, we began our stretches, then ran through different kata's, each made to train our minds and bodies in a different way.
When that was done with, I called for them to fall out and pair up. I found on the first day that leading came naturally to me, and my unit respects and trusts me enough to follow me. John was solemn, clearly still blaming himself, but he was far from useless. He was doing what Ennina had told me to do, channeling all his emotions into his fighting. The only problem was that this was making him more vicious, he did not stop once an appoint was down.
I had spoken to John about this, that he needed to get in control of his emotions or else things were going to go bad, but he paid me no mind. He still blamed himself for Helen's death and there was nothing I could say to change his mind. So for the time being, I make sure to always be the one to spar with him since I am stronger and faster than the other Descendants. With me he can truly let loose and let these emotions out. I hoped it was helping him cope, but I feared it would only make him angrier, more brutal. That would not be such a bad thing on the battlefield, but it could easily translate into his everyday life, and that worried me greatly.
When I called for a break for a second lunch, we went to join the others making their way towards where everyone ate in a huge field. Usually, once I let them break formation, we all became friends again, equals. But today my unit was strangely silent. I sighed and almost laughed.
"Alright, let's get this over with." I said to them as we walked. "Go ahead and ask."
"So you are really dating prince Cronus?" Dalia asked without hesitation.
"I do not know if I would say we are 'dating,' but yes, we are together." I told her with a smile.
"I guess we know where you disappeared to for three weeks. And what you were doing." John commented in a suggestive way. I would have reprimanded him, but I was too glad to see his old self coming back.
"What is he like?" Omea asked. I laughed
"In bed?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, in a restaurant. Of course in bed." She said and I laughed as I blushed.
"That is a private matter. But I will say this for him, he does not disappoint." I told her.
"I have heard a few of the goddesses talking about him." Omea said. "If he is even half as good as they say he is, you are one lucky woman." I laughed out loud at that and just nodded, saying nothing in reply.
"You're killing us here!" Hanna said. "Give us something to work with."
"There are not words." I said to them. "When we connect like that... there is no way to properly describe it. I love him, and I am beyond thankful to have him in my life and to know just how deeply he loves me."
Somehow, even after that long day of training, after dinner that night I could not help making love to Cronus. I needed that passion, that connection, that love. I needed him, all of him. I remembered when we were first together, I liked to tell myself that it was only the distraction I wanted, that Cronus and I were no more than friends. Thinking back on it now, it did not take long for me to realize that it had nothing to do with wanting a distraction anymore, it was Cronus I wanted, it was him I loved.
I laid next to Cronus, propped up by my elbow, looking down into his bright pale green eyes as he smiled up to me. There was a peace that ran through us both, a beautiful harmony as our souls mingled.
"Some of the women in my unit were asking about you." I told him. He laughed once.
"What did you tell them?" He asked.
"That you do not disappoint, that there is no way to describe it between us." I told him. "I told them it was a private matter. Although, apparently, there are quite a few other women on Olympus that you impressed with you skill set who not shy speaking about it." I told him, he laughed.
"That was a long time ago." He told me.
"So casual sex is not something you are interested in anymore?" I asked him. Even if it was, it did not matter to me. Cronus could do as he likes, so long as it makes him happy. I just wanted to hear him speak, I love how he explains things.
"Not at all." He answered my question. "People think that by being with only one woman that things will become monotonous, and if you do not keep the fire kindled between you and the one you love, that can be true. But here is what some people do not know, something I have learned from experience. A man who is 'free' who sleeps with hundreds of women, that is a dream for most men, but there is much that is misunderstood about such a life. If there is not someone this man loves, that so called freedom will become as monotonous as a bad relationship. With time, one woman seems like the last, faces blur together, names are forgotten. Yes, there is pleasure, sometimes a lot of it, but when all is said and done, there is this horrible emptiness within you as you come to the realization that you care nothing for the woman lying next to you, and that she cares nothing for you. In that moment, you realize just how alone you are. That is the very definition of meaningless sex.
"So you see, it holds no appeal for me." He said. "No part of me wants to go back to that, to sleeping with women that mean nothing to me. I could not take it."
"That was not how you saw things with me?" I asked him. "Meaningless sex?"
"Good gods no!" He said to me, looking at me unbelievably.
"I meant in the beginning." I told him.
"Still, the answer is no." He told me. "I watched over you your whole life, and when you blossomed into the beautiful woman that you are, I did not have that kind of an interest in you. Even when we officially met when you arrived on Olympus, I still did not covet you. You belonged to Ariston in my book and I was more than happy with my wives. In all honesty, it never crossed my mind that we would be anything more than great friends."
"So what changed?" I asked him.
"I felt myself slowly growing closer to you after Ariston was taken," Cronus told me. "But it was still not like what we have now. I worried for you, what I wanted most of all was to hold you and make everything alright, yet still, making love with you did not cross my mind. But I know the moment, the night things changed for me."
"The night Ariston made love to me through you." I realized and he nodded.
"Experiencing what it was like to make love to you, it awakened those feelings within me." He told me. "That night changed everything. As Ariston held you as you slept, he knew I was there as well and he felt the growing feelings within me. That was when he asked me to promise to take care of you while he was gone, and if anything should happen to him, he wanted me to be there for you. He told me that he wanted me to love you, that you needed my love, that you needed something to live for if he should die. He told me that if you asked, I had not only his permission, but his blessing to make love you. From there on out, I knew I was falling for you." He told me. I had tears in my eyes as he told me this story.
"I wish I could talk to him." I told Cronus.
"You will." He promised.
The next morning, Cronus and I got ready for the day together. As we showered, there was something I had to ask him.
"Cronus?" I asked. "Can Chimera's see into the future?"
"Not to my knowledge." Cronus told me. "Why do you ask?"
"Diokles keeps calling me 'my queen,'" I told him. "And yesterday, Zephera told me that if I were to marry you, I would be your queen as well. I did not know if the two things were linked."
"Is that why you have been so distracted?" He asked. "This whole 'queen' business?" I nodded.
"I never even considered it." I told him. "I never even wanted to be a princess when I was a girl."
"No, you wanted to be Tinkerbell if I recall." He said and I laughed.
"I loved the idea of all that fairy dust, and being able to fly from place to place." I told him as I shampooed my hair. Cronus came up to me, smiling down into my eyes as he put his fingers into my hair, massaging in the soap as my hands went to his muscular chest.
"Which is why A Midsummer Night's Dream became your favorite play once you started reading Shakespeare when you were eight." He said to me.
"It is easy to forget that you have watched over me my whole life." I told him. He brought me over to the little waterfall in the shower and I closed my eyes as he rinsed my hair. His fingers felt unbelievably good, as they always do.
Cronus put some conditioner in my hair and started the process again as he looked into my eyes. I loved feeling just how deeply he loves me, how much of him belongs to me. I felt like that moment in the end of Mama Mia when the three dads all get up to claim Sophie as their own, and one says "I'll take a third." That is how I feel about Cronus, knowing that a third of his soul belongs to me. The only difference is that when we are alone together, it does not feel like only part of his soul is mine, because he gives his all to me, holding nothing in reserve. I love him for that, I love him for all that he is and for every moment we spend together.
"You do know that I want to marry you someday, correct?" Cronus asked out of the blue.
"What?" I asked, looking into his eyes with a smile.
"Where did you see things going between us?" He asked me with that smile that melted my soul.
"You want to marry me?" I asked him, loving his eyes as my hands rested on his warm chest.
"Is the idea truly so far fetched?" He asked with that smile as he ran a finger along the empty ring finger of my right hand. "You do have two ring fingers. It is only fitting that they are both filled."
"Are you purposing right now?" I asked him, suddenly wondering.
"No," He told me with a smile. "When I am purposing, I will be down on one knee in a beautiful spot with a ring in hand. Not standing in the shower washing your hair." I laughed. "I am told by my wives that I am a hopeless romantic."
"It would still be as romantic if you purposed this way." I told him.
"And if I were purposing right now, would your answer be yes?" He asked.
"I am not ready to say yes to that just yet." I told him.
"We have time." He told me, he felt the worry come into me with his words, words that were meant to give me comfort, but instead made me wonder how much time I had left.
I did not have to tell him and he did not have to ask the question, there was a silent communication between us that had nothing to do with telepathy. We were simply growing to know each other so well that words were not necessary, just a look said what we needed to say. In this moment, his eyes were asking what was troubling me.
"What if when I die, I am not immortal and am reincarnated." I began. "What if in my next life I do not remember you, or Ariston, or Jason?" I took a deep breath as tears filled my eyes. "I am so scared that I am going to forget you all, to forget the reason for every smile that has ever graced my lips and every tear I have shed. That I am going to forget every moment I spent with the three of you, just like I have forgotten so many of the times I spent with Jason." I took a shaky breath as tears ran down my cheeks. "I am more afraid of forgetting than I am of dying." Cronus held me close and I clung to him as my tears flowed.
"Your memories will come back." He promised.
"How can you know that?" I asked him.
"Because I became mortal, more than once." He told me. I pulled back to look at him in shock.
"How? Why?" I asked.
"Sometimes, there were things that needed to be done, things we could only do as mortals." He told me. "Other times, we became so lost in our work that we barely got to see each other, so Ennina and I would take a lifetime off and be reborn into mortal bodies." I took in his words for a time.
"So you are saying I will remember?" I asked.
"It is different for everyone." Cronus told me. "I always got there first in those lives, to prepare the way, make some money and get us a home before she came into my life. She began to remember right after she reached womanhood. I began to remember when I was young as well. It still took years for us to completely understand who we were, to remember all the important things. It was not easy, but with time, it all came back and we found each other.
"Mera, we are going to find you in your next life, if you are not immortal." Cronus promised me. "With Diokles' fire within you, it will be much easier to pinpoint your essence. We will help you remember. It is going to be alright." I nodded and he kissed my lips softly. "Why don't you start a journal or a video log of everything, every memory you do not want to forget? That way, if it does come to pass and you are reborn, you will have your own face to watch and your own handwriting to read?" I nodded.
"I like that idea." I told him. He gazed deep into my eyes.
"No matter how long you are gone for, we will all be here waiting for you when you return to us." Cronus told me. "I am not going to stop loving you, and neither is Ariston."
"You left out Jason." I mentioned.
"And neither is Jason." He added in. "He has loved you and waited for you for this long, hasn't he?"
"True." I said.
Cronus washed the soap out of my hair and we dressed for the day, then headed to Olympus. Kallisto was there with Aaron standing off to the side. A map of Colorado Springs was drawn out. Out of town, in the mountains there was a flat stretch of land with a large fissure on it that ends in a cliff.
As they went through the plan, they made it clear what would happen. Cronus and I, along with a few of the gods, would make a campfire and sit around it tomorrow night, making it look like we were just having a friendly gathering. Once the Shadows descended upon us, our backup would arrive soon after, when it was needed.
"So you are using me for bait?" I asked.
"Yes." Ennina told me in all honesty.
"Good." I told her with a smile. "I am the only thing they will not risk letting get away."
"Cronus will be with you, just in case this is a trap." Ennina told me.
"I trust Jason." I told her.
"I realize that, but there is the chance that he got bad information." She told me. I nodded.
"What if they put up a shield and you cannot all teleport in?" I asked.
"Between Cronus, Kallisto and I, we should be able to handle any shields put up." Ennina told me with a smile. "I am not my grandmothers granddaughter for nothing." I nodded.
"Do not forget us." Came the Nordic voice behind us.
Ennina's face lit up and I turned around just in time to see her run into Thor's arms.
"How have you been my wife?" He asked.
"I have missed you." She told him and they kissed.
I noticed Thor and Sif's sons, Magni and Modi, were behind him, they both smiled to me, Modi winked though not in a flirtatious way, more in a "Were on your side" kind of way. I nodded to them both and smiled, glancing to Cronus, meeting his eyes. He placed a kiss on my forehead. Thor is a powerful god, it made me even more at rest knowing that he and his sons would be fighting with us.
As it turned out, Nike and Ouranos wanted to join the fight, but Thor needed them to sit on the thrones of Asgard until his return. For countless hours more we worked on the battle plans until Ennina called an end to the day.
We had a large family dinner that night at the house in Colorado Springs, Ennina and I cooked. Thor cooked with us as well, it turns out that he was the one who taught Ennina how to cook. I had to admit that the lamb chops he prepared were exquisite. Sif joined us along with many other gods. Quite a few of them commented that they were happy that Cronus and I found each other.
"I need to see him." I told Cronus after dinner. He nodded.
"Be careful." He told me. I nodded and kissed his lips. "I will be waiting in your bed when you return tonight." He whispered into my ear.
"Naked?" I whispered back and he laughed lightly.
"Unless there is another way you would like me." He said, making me laugh and shake my head. I looked into his eyes.
"I will see you later." I told him. We kissed once more before I headed out for our spot in the woods.
"Jason." I called his name. It was only half a minute later that he appeared.
"What are you doing?" He asked, worry in his eyes. "You should not be out here alone the night before bound immortals are coming to kill you."
"I wanted to see you." I told him. He sighed, and took me into his arms.
"Are you certain you can handle tomorrow?" He asked.
"Yes, we have been going over the plans since you told me of the impending attack." I told him.
"Please keep yourself safe." He begged.
"I will do what I can." I told him.
Jason kissed my lips deeply. We spent a few hours together, then he walked me back until we were just in sight of the house. We said I love you once more and I clung onto him. I did not know what tomorrow would bring, if my death would be among the possible casualties. I wanted to tell Jason this might be the last time he holds me in his arms for a long time. I wanted to promise him that I would always love him, that we would be together forever someday, but the words stuck in my throat. All I could do was look up into his eyes and kiss him with everything within me.
I walked towards the house with tears in my eyes, knowing it was wrong not to tell Jason what might happen, what the Moirae prophesied, but I could not break his heart. I could not hurt him again. I went up to my bedroom as the tears flowed to find Cronus waiting in my bed. He did not have the chance to ask me what was wrong before I was kissing him.
His clothing was already gone, and mine did not take long to get off. That night, as we made love, I cried at times. Not because he was hurting me, and certainly not because I wanted him to stop. He was the only thing making everything alright. The emotions within me were just too much to take. Cronus did not ask what was wrong, he just kissed me and held me closer in those moments as he made love to me.
The following day was a blur, and before I knew it, I was sitting at the camp fire with Cronus' arm around me. Kallisto sat next to Aaron. She wanted to leave him out of this, but it was known that they were lovers and it would seem suspicious if they were not together.
Ennina sat with Thor's head laying in her lap. Thor and his sons kept us all smiling and laughing with the drinking songs they knew, songs they taught us and soon we were all belting them out into the night. One thing was clear, the Asgardian's must know how to throw one hell of a party. When I made this comment, Thor begged for the permission to throw my birthday party this year on Asgard, saying that my mortal parents and my grandmother were welcome. I laughed and agreed.
It was around midnight when we all felt the darkness descending upon us. I summoned my twin adamantine swords as the others summoned their weapons, preparing for what we would face. I freed the warrior within me, giving over to that energy, that drive, letting it fill me. We were on our feet in the next moment. Nothing could prepare me for the sight that was before me.
Thousands of Shadows slowly closed in on us from all sides, surrounding us. The fearsome creatures of pure darkness and evil slowly moved towards us, marching to some unheard beat. Their soulless black eyes starred at us, a hunger in their eyes. Yet as I faced them down, there was no fear within me. I was born for this. What made no sense was the fact that there were no immortals among them, only Shadows.
Where are the immortals? I asked Cronus.
Hiding, invisible to us, he told me. They are waiting for the opportune moment to appear. Do not use your light on them, save that for a last resort and then control it.
The Shadows came to a stop before us, leaving three feet in diameter between us and them. For a moment in time, there was silence, so deep so dark. The calm before the storm. But that did not worry me, for in my mind, we were the storm, not them. One of the Shadows screeched, its horrible voice like fingernails on a chalkboard, and with that, they attacked.
The first three Shadows I killed with ease, my movements were fluid, one flowing seamlessly into the next. It was difficult to keep my light within me with all these Shadows surrounding me. My light was the gift passed down to me from Pandora, my strongest defense against these beings of darkness. But instead of letting it go, I used the building energy to fuel me, making me faster and stronger.
We stayed together around the fire, choosing to fight in that circle rather than go off on our own. We were stronger together. We stayed very composed. There did not seem to be an end to the Shadows around us, attacking us, but we kept them back, killing those we could. That was when all hell broke loose. I heard the blow coming and blocked it just in time before the sword could take off my head. And just like that, everyone was breaking the circle as we fought off invisible appoints. I just barely fought off the next round from my attacker.
I closed my eyes, knowing that they would be useless in this fight. I expanded my senses, keeping my breathing even, as I countered his attacks while launching a few of my own, I never touched him. Whoever the invisible immortal was that I was fighting, he was skilled.
That was when I heard the roar, deep and loud, filled with fury. Next thing I knew, I felt a whoosh in the air and I opened my eyes to see Diokles had the immortal pinned to the ground. He was no longer invisible, I just barely glanced at the immortal when I heard the next attack coming from behind me. This time, I jumped back, the invisible sword just barely cleared me before the next attack came.
I blocked the attack to my head, countering it with a blow of my own that my appoint blocked. We stayed in this battle, this deadly dance where it was either him or me. I felt Diokles, he had my back, he was killing the Shadows that were trying to attack me. As I fought, I felt my seventh sense kicking in. I let go and let my body move as it felt to. I knew his every attack before it happened, and so it was not long before my swords ended his existence.
As the battle ensued, it seemed that everyone was coming after me, the gods fighting at my sides were just getting in their way. I kept fighting, it seemed like I became more powerful as it continued. I moved swifter, each blow I struck had more strength behind it. I was lost in the battle, fighting off Shadows and bound immortals alike while the gods fought by my side. I felt invincible, that was dangerous but I was far too lost in the energy and ferocity running through me to keep my senses.
I began moving away from the gods protecting me, fighting my way into the middle of the fray. Diokles fought by my side. It seemed that whatever his spiked tail was made out of, it was as good as a Decimator when it came to killing Shadows. His teeth were just as dangerous.
I let out a battle cry that rang across the whole field as we continued to fight. I could not seem to stop, the power within me drove me on, taking out as many Shadows as possible.
That was when backup arrived. In the back of my mind, I heard other battle cries being raised throughout the battleground and knew I was not alone. Diokles and I killed hundreds of Shadows, yet still they pressed upon us. I was their main focus. Diokles roared and then that bright white fire spewed from his jaws, killing a dozen Shadows on contact and giving us more space to fight.
The sounds of battle surrounded me, the clank of weapons, the battle cries, the screech of the Shadows, the screams of the dying. Those sounds drove me on, making me fight even more ferociously, knowing it was my duty to protect them.
My body was running before my conscious mind knew where too. I felt where I needed to be and soon realized why. My unit was under heavy attack from the Shadows. I fought my way through to them. But once I was there, the reality of the situation hit me. We were surrounded and vastly outnumbered, we were losing, not just here with my unit, all of us. Something had to be done.
"If you have any tricks up your sleeve, now is the time." Omea said to me.
I knew what I had to do. I closed my eyes and focused my emotions, my energies, into the sky above. I felt a storm system near and pulled it to me, pulled it over us. I felt the electricity within it, the sheer power. I drew that energy within myself, letting it fill my being to the brim. That power raged within me, making me shake with all the energy. I felt everything around me, where every Shadow and immortal stood.
The storm was such an undeniable part of me that I knew I could open my eyes. I saw everything in perfect clarity, as if we were standing in day light and felt the storm roll in over head. I was someone else in that moment as that immense power surged through me. There were no more doubts in my mind, I knew what needed to be done.
Stay close to me, I cannot account for you all, I sent the thought out and knew that even though no one in my unit was soul mate, they heard my message. I felt them all gather closer to me as the sounds of thunder cracked overhead. I released the storm, sending lighting bolts down around us, striking down at those dark creatures. The light went right through them, destroying them as they turned into nothing more than ordinary darkness.
The storm continued and I felt myself hovering off the ground, it was all most too much to take, I felt as if my entire being was about to burst like fireworks. It was with that thought that I knew what to do next, something Cronus had begged me not to try again until I understood it more. There was nothing else I could do, the storm would not be enough to end this battle, only I had the power to do that.
I felt the light build within me into a lethal concentration, and I sent it out in a circle around me in an explosion of power. That light, Pandora's gift mixed with Diokles scared fire, burst forth from me like water on class five rapids in every direction, there seemed to be endless amounts of it within me. My whole body was glowing as the blinding light spread over the field. It was a wonderful sensation, yet I felt it draining me, I felt my body weakening with each passing moment.
I felt light headed, like everything was spinning around me, like I was swaying. There was a weakness in my chest, an exhaustion, like how I felt after I had not slept for a week. As my light left me, I grew weaker and weaker until my mind slipped away, until I slipped away.
