Pan was troubled by the recent events as the war was spiralling out of control. The Titan armies are now carrying out mass burnings of forests and blocking the flow of rivers in the mainland. The chopped up trees we're used to build dams to stop the flow of rivers and thereby creating droughts across the land claiming the lives of animals and nature spirits alike. Zeus has helped with rains to fill up the river bed full of water but that also caused the threat of floods where the rivers are blocked. It has become very dangerous for dryads, nymphs and any other nature spirits to travel the mainland.
The last three years of the war had seen the Olympian supporters get defeated as the Titan armies have carried out attacks using Hellhounds. The creatures of shadow and darkness were very useful to strike quickly and disappear before they could respond. With this hit and run tactics, the Titans have managed to even the field and stop the rate of victories that the Olympian armies enjoyed in the start.
The fact that those who were suffering were those under his protection was not lost on him. This was why he was about to seek the help of someone that would actually able to help him and that was Aegon. He found the Sun God with goddess Hestia and Iris at the very edge of Mount Olympus.
"Forgive me for intruding Lord Aegon but I would like to have a quick word about an urgent matter." Pan said as he walked towards them
"I understand, Lord Pan. Your forests are being targeted by the Titan army and the nature spirits are suffering from constant attacks under the cover of night." Aegon said
"Then surely you can help me. The danger these monsters from Tartarus pose to my domain and children are profound and it will affect the world tremendously." Pan said as he looked between the god and two goddesses
"We understand your plight Lord Pan but the fact of the matter is this is a diversion devised by the Titan King. If the Olympian army moves from the mountain then the seat of powers of the Gods will be vulnerable." Hestia said
"Since installing those thrones you Gods have been all about protecting your seats. You don't care about the damage that is being done across the world." Pan became angry
"Please don't be angry with the Olympians, Pan. Creating the seat of powers will inevitably change them and we knew that. They have put a portion of their soul into the thrones and that is going to be difficult for them to work around for some time. Give them some time to adjust after that they will be restored to their previous selves." Aegon said trying to break any hard feelings
"The more time we waste means more lives are lost." Pan said as he became sullen
"I am sorry that we couldn't properly respond to the Titans Lord Pan. It was not deliberately done but we were actually busy trying to track a creature that the Titans were after." Iris said
"I don't understand." Pan looked confused
"We are dealing with the Crooked One, Lord Pan. He has plans within plans. I am sorry to say that the Titans have the tactical advantage right now. Kronos unleashed a portion of his armies to terrorize and burn down forests with coordinated attacks. These attacks happen under the domain of night using the children of the night like Hellhounds and other shadow creatures. This makes us unable to respond effectively while protecting the newly erected thrones of Olympus. That is actually what Kronos wants us to believe while his true target is something else. Lady Iris, if you may..." Aegon explained as he looked at Iris earnestly
Iris waved her hand and a rainbow formed over the most that spread across the place and an image of a lake shimmered into existence in the air.
"Moooo..." They all heard this sound and soon a creature with the body of half-bull half-serpent surfaced over the waters while it swam around without a care in the world
"What is this creature?" Pan asked in confusion
"This is the Ophiotaurus. It is not well known in the world as it keeps a low profile and can be rarely seen by anyone. It is born from Gaia and Ouranos. The creature is pure and innocent to an extent if anyone manages to sacrifice its entails to fire then a terrible power will be granted to the one who does the deed. I believe the Titans are after this creature and sacrificing it will grant them the power needed to destroy the Gods." Aegon informed them
"How is that possible?" Pan asked in surprise
"There is great power within innocent beings. The Ophiotaurus is inherently a pure creature and anyone who sacrifices its entails will be absorbing the latent powers that are imbued within it. The power of two Primordials are within the creature and what a terrible power it holds. The Titans have unleashed destruction across the world to let them sacrifice this creature without our interference. To acquire the power one must sacrifice the entire entails. So, by distracting us Kronos will be able to empower himself or someone he trusts to destroy the Olympian Gods. This is their plan." Aegon concluded
"If that is the case then why not just capture the creature." Pan asked
"It is not that simple. It senses negative emotions very easily and my aura is too much in sync with the creature as I am born from the vengeance of Ouranos. It must be someone with a level head and a calm mind and I was hoping Hestia will do this." Aegon suggested as he turned towards the Goddess of Hearth
"Me? I don't know whether that us a good idea." Hestia said as she chuckled awkwardly
"You can Lady Hestia." Iris encouraged
"If you can take over and deal with the Ophiotaurus then that will free me to deal with the Titan army. You are the only Olympian that has successfully managed to sync with your seat of power. Until all the gods have done that they are vulnerable and I can't protect them and lure the Ophiotaurus out at the same time." Aegon said as he looked earnestly at Hestia
"I will try my best." Hestia finally agreed
"Lady Iris will keep watch over you while I hope Lord Pan will assist you with taming the Ophiotaurus." Aegon said as he looked at the two gods
"I would be honoured to assist you, Lady Hestia." Iris said with a smile
"I will do my best to help you as well Lady Hestia." Pan assured her
"What will you do Aegon?" Hestia asked curiously
"I believe it is time I pay a visit to Othrys and greet our Titan friends." Aegon said with a smile as he became consumed in a golden light and blasted away disappearing among the clouds as he travelled to the Upper Heavens.
XXXXX
Tecton was the general of armies of Upper Heavens. It had taken him several long decades of training to prove that he was the best to lead the Angels into the war that his Lord was preparing for. He dearly hoped they were going to win the fight against the monsters that have been released from Tartarus by themselves without the aid of their Lord because he was sure the Titans will be swarming Lord Aegon the moment he arrived at the battlefield. It was for this reason that some of the angels came up with a way to increase the power of Lord Aegon.
It was well known that the Solarium metal had magical properties far better than the Celestial Bronze. Unlike the Celestial Bronze, the Solarium has very good healing properties when imbued with their divine energies. This led some of the angels to further research the metal and they found out when the metal charged with the divine energy of an angel or a god is immersed in water for three days the water gets turned into a viscous fluid that can heal any wounds by pouring it over the wound.
They were still researching with the metal but Lord Aegon somehow got a notion to use the metal in a very dangerous way. Well, Tecton was not going to question his Lord again but he was very much worried about what was going to happen. Still, he did his job and had set up all the necessary items in a secluded chamber in the palace. He was now just waiting for Lord Aegon to show up.
"I don't know whether this is a sound idea Tecton. Anything can happen with this procedure." one of the angels that prepared the chamber said to him
"I hope this works. Since Lord Aegon is a God this might just work." Tecton assured the other angels
Before anyone could respond Aegon walked into the room flanked by two other Angels.
"I hope everything is ready as per my instructions." Aegon inquired as he looked around the chamber
"Everything is ready, my lord. Are you sure you want to proceed with this procedure Lord Aegon? Tecton asked hesitantly
"Don't worry Tecton. I know what I am doing. Let's begin." Aegon said
"Please unruffle your wings and lie face down on that stone table," Tecton said
Aegon did as he was told. As he laid down his hands and legs were bound by chains and the angels made sure to hold him down as well. The angels removed his armour and began to inject needles into his spine. There were metallic tubes connected with the needles and slowly they began to pour molten Solarium into the tubes. The only reason that the tubes and the needles didn't get damaged was because they were made up of Celestial Bronze.
Aegon felt a searing pain on his back as the molten metal cane in contact with his spine and soon he was screaming uncontrollably.
"My Lord use your light and channel it through your body. We will take care of the rest." One of the angels that were overseeing the procedure said
Aegon did as he was told and began to draw power from his domain and channelled his Light along his body. The Angels also began to imbued his body with their own light and his pain eased as his own natural regeneration began to accelerate. Slowly the Solarium began to seep into his bones meanwhile Aegon began to take long gulps of Nectar to ensure his energy levels never went down at any point.
"Now is the crucial stage, my Lord. You have to project as much energy as you can and let your body be at a high temperature. Never let the metal solidify until we say so." One of the Angels advice as they began to increase their own energy output
For hours this continued as the Angels poured over the molten Solarium into Aegon's body. But finally, all their hard work paid off as the feathery wings of Aegon began to slowly change into that of metal.
"My Lord, you may now start to slowly cap in your energy output." Tecton commented
Aegon did as he was told and began to diminish his aura bit by bit until he completely reigned it in.
The Angels also stopped infusing their energy into Aegon. As the light died down they watched the Solarium was still spreading across the wings of Aegon despite cutting off the energy flow.
"Your physiology has adapted the metal into your body, my Lord. Now all that is left is for the process to complete and then we can analyse how this addition will affect you." One of the Angels said
"Is there any chance this will become a problem?" Tecton asked
"No general. The initial danger has passed. Lord Aegon's body has clearly accepted the metal into his system. There is nothing to worry about now but still, I recommend Lord Aegon remain under our observation." another Angel suggested
"I think I will be staying here for a while Tecton. Make sure that our troops are ready by tomorrow early morning." Aegon commanded
"Yes, my Lord." Tecton nodded and left the chamber
XXXXX The next day XXXXX
Aegon slowly opened his eyes and he found himself inside the chamber. He stood up and flexed his body. He was expecting some resistance from his body but he felt quite great. In fact, he felt more strong and powerful than ever before. He felt as if he could take on an entire army of Titans by himself. The power that was surging through his body was truly euphoric and it was really making him overconfident. To distract himself he began to examine his body and found there were some startling changes.
For one his muscles have become very much strengthened than before. He didn't know the extent of his strength but he felt as if he could just topple a few mountains by his physical strength alone. Then there was his glowing wings. They had completely changed to a metallic form but he didn't feel any weight with this new addition. He ran his hand through his wings and felt the metallic surface. It felt smooth but the tip of the feathers was deadly sharp. He folded his wings to his back and they dissipated into light particles. With a smile, he walked out of the chamber leaving a group of angels who were sleeping on the floor.
He didn't have to walk too far before he ran into Tecton in the hallways.
"My Lord, you are awake?" Tecton asked in surprise
"Awake and ready for the assault on Othrys. In fact, I feel as if I should just rush in and cut Kronos and the rest of his brood into fine little pieces. Come on." Aegon enthusiastically said as he walked to the armoury with a spring in his steps
Tecton quickly caught up with him.
"My Lord, are you sure this assault should happen today? We can postpone it to a later date when you are more familiar with your powers." Tecton suggested
"No. This has to happen today. Concentrate your efforts in destroying the Titan army. I will deal with the Titans." Aegon said as he continued to walk towards the armoury undeterred
Tecton sighed and reluctantly followed after Aegon.
MOUNT OTHRYS
Krios, the Titan of Constellations and Stars was getting ready to deliver a report of the success of the Titan army of last night's raid. This time they had taken some prisoners mostly wood nymphs. After all, his Titan brothers needed some form of amusement and these nymphs were going to provide that whether they like it or not. He managed to tie all the nymphs in a long chain and he pulled the prisoners with him as he climbed the mountain. The rest of the monster army consisting of Hellhounds and Fire demons were also settling themselves to take a break from the burnings and fighting that they partook last night.
As Krios climbed up towards the palace with the nymphs in chains he saw Iapetus climbing down.
"Look here, brother. I managed to catch some entertainment for tonight." Krios said as he shook his chin held hand to emphasis the point
Iapetus was about to comment but he had to shield his eyes as the cover of darkness was suddenly lifted and the morning sun appeared in the sky is hiring the beginning of a new day. The Titan was not the only one that was caught flat-footed. All the monsters were also suffering from the glare of the Sun.
Iapetus didn't know what happened exactly but he was blasted off from the mountainside as a tremendous force struck him across his body with a blink of an eye and he blacked out.
Krios managed to shield himself by surrounding himself with an energy shield as his instincts screamed of danger. Thankfully the blast was not targeting him as it hit Iapetus square in the chest and Krios saw his brother get blasted off a long distance.
"We are under attack." Krios managed to scream but it was for nought
An ocean of arrows began to rain down upon the army and began claiming the lives of hundreds of Hellhounds. The screams of monsters filled the air as arrows continued to claim lives left and right.
Krios panicked and looked around for the enemy but there was no one on sight. Then he began to hear a strange sound of flapping wings. At first, he thought that was just a figment of his imagination but pretty soon all the chaos among the army stopped as they all heard the same sound and then there was utter chaos as Angels flew into the monster army and began to cut them down without any mercy. It was as if the sky itself had fallen over the Titan army as the numerically superior Titan army became crushed by the initial assault.
Krios pushed away the wood nymphs to the side and was about to rally the monsters back into a defensive formation when a huge beam of light struck just before him stopping his movement.
"Hello brother. Did you miss me." Aegon taunted as he brandished his spear as the light field down around him
"You have made a grave mistake by attacking the home of Titans puny God. Your end will be by my hand." Krios screamed as he took out an axe and charged at Aegon like a mad man
Aegon blocked the overhead strike by Krios with his spear. The ground shook under the strength of the blow but Aegon didn't feel anything. With a smirk, he twisted his spear deflecting the axe to his left and over his right shoulder he quickly struck Krios on his cheek with the spear.
Krios screamed as his flesh became burnt by the contact of the spear. He quickly swiped his axe aiming to take out the left leg if Aegon but at the last second the God just raised his leg. Krios dodged to his left as the spear almost struck his knee. Before he could recover the tip of the spear came straight for his eye. Krios deflected with his axe and sparks flew as the weapons came into contact.
The next few minutes were the hardest moments in Krios's long immortal life. He was quickly forced into a defensive position as his opponent went into full attack mode. He tried his best to defend against the onslaught of attacks but frankly, he was having a very bad time. With every second that passed the speed and strength of Aegon was only increasing.
Aegon was having the time of his life. He didn't know why but his body was filled with an absurd amount of power and he could feel that it was only raising to new heights as this battle raged on. He admitted that Krios was an able and worthy opponent to have but Aegon quickly switched from his absurd power strokes to quick precise jabs with the tip of his spear. The change in tactics quickly caught Krios off-guard and Aegon quickly capitalised on this opportunity as he jumped and a quick jab to the Titan's shoulder found its mark as his spear punched through the armour into his enemies shoulder. Golden Ichor flew out of the wound like a river and the Titan fell to his knees. Aegon didn't wait for anything else and quickly stabbed the Titan right on his chest. He channelled his energy through his spear and the Titan immediately caught fire and began to get burned. With one Titan down he turned towards the other one.
Iapetus groggily stood up and his head was spinning. He couldn't see anything clearly for a minute and he stumbled over a rock and fell face-first into the ground. He struggled for some time until he finally managed to stand by supporting himself using a nearby boulder. As his vision cleared he saw a golden spear right before him and that was the last thing he saw as the first punched through his heart pinning him to the boulder. A huge fire quickly consumed Iapetus ending him and sending his remains to Tartarus.
This was the scene that greeted Atlas and the reinforcements that he was leading to attack the enemy forces. Seeing his father getting burned away made the Titan mad with hatred. With a roar that shook the battlefield, Atlas rushed down the mountain aiming his spear and shield at Aegon.
Seeing this Aegon smiled. He raised his hand and his spear dislodged from the boulder and returned back into his hand. He spun the spear in his right hand and from one end he channelled aa massive amount of energy at Atlas.
A red hot beam of laser blasted away from the spear and aiming to claim the life of the charging Titan. Atlas quickly put his Celestial Bronze shield upfront and braced himself. The energy beam struck true on the shield and despite the strength of Atlas he was being steadily pushed back. Also, the shield was becoming hot and difficult to hold.
Atlas tried to roll away from the energy beam but the beam followed him to the new position and he was once again forced to defend himself with the shield. His shield was becoming red hot and his arm was already getting burned by holding onto the shield for a long time. He looked behind and saw that the monsters that came with him were looking dumb and staying behind him doing nothing.
"Attack you, dumb morons. Attack." Atlas ordered the monsters and that jolted out the monster and with screeching war cry they charged
The rushing monsters made Aegon stop his assault on Atlas and shifted his attention to the monsters. The tip of his spear suddenly became consumed by a golden flame. It grew to the size of a football and he released the flame at the monsters. The effect was immediate as the battlefield before Aegon became consumed by flames burning away all the Hellhounds. The fire demons managed to manipulate the flames and escape the worst of burns and charged into Aegon.
Aegon was ready for that as he struck a demon right across its head with the tip of his spear. The force behind the blow broke its neck and it fell and dissolved into golden dust. Another reason jumped at Aegon but he caught the monster with his spear stabbing it through the stomach making it scream in pain. He threw the monster at three rushing monsters breaking their charge. Two monsters tried to flank him and he kept his spear horizontal to his body and two energy beams blasted away from the two ends of his spear punching a hole through the monsters killing them instantly.
Aegon suddenly sensed a large build-up of energy and he quickly stabbed his spear into the ground and surrounded himself with an energy barrier. Not moment later a tremendous force struck the barrier. The ground beneath Aegon shattered under the onslaught of power but his barrier held true but he felt another build-up of energy. He didn't want to test his limits here as he had other goals to accomplish so he unruffled his wings and with a mighty flap he became airborne.
Atlas smiled in satisfaction as his second attack managed to break through the barrier and consumed the Sun God in his destructive wave of energy. But his supposed victory was short-lived as he saw a glint of gold and he felt hand quickly crush his face. Atlas felt himself being lifted off his feet and the next thing he knew he was being thrown through a boulder. His back arched as the hard rock shattered under the force of his fall and he rolled along the ground shattering more rocks until finally, he managed to arrest his momentum by stabbing his sword into the ground.
Atlas didn't get a moment to catch his breathe as Aegon was upon him swinging his spear. He managed to catch the first strike from Aegon with his sword but his hands shook from the power behind the blow. Again and again, Atlas had to defend himself from the onslaught of attacks from the Sun God.
Aegon tested the defences of Atlas with a series of jabs until finally, he managed to press the tip of his spear into the flat of Atlas's sword and lock it in place as he pressed the sword with the Titan's body. He looked at the wide eyes of the Titan and released an energy blast from the tip of his spear. Atlas was blown away from the mountain itself by the power behind the blast as it was too close to the Titan's body.
Aegon looked up and saw a Titan with a long scythe in his hand observing him. Without further delay, he flew to the top of the mountain.
XXXXX
Tecton had his doubts before the battle but thankfully there was no problem so far. His major fear was that there would be storm spirits that were loyal to the Titans in Othrys. Strangely they were absent here and he feared a surprise attack anytime but so far it never happened.
In the absence of storm spirits, the Angels had the air superiority and they were able to pick out any troublesome monsters with their bows. The ground forces were also fairing well as they had managed to box in the monsters inside a circle and was steadily slaughtering them.
Tecton was troubled when he looked at Lord Aegon. So far only three Titans had shown themselves and his Lord had managed to defeat them without any help. But there was a question that was nagging him. Where did all the other Titans go to?
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another Titan at the very top of Mount Othrys. He saw Lord Aegon fly towards the Titan at breakneck speed all the while burning everything in his path. It was a wonderful sight to see as the place that signified the power of Titans was burning like there was a forest fire and a long line of fire was now reaching towards the very top as his lord few over the hordes of monsters and setting them on fire. With the army of Light doing its job perfectly he could afford to turn his attention to his Lord for the time being.
XXXXX
Aegon glided through the air smoothly as he covered ground rapidly towards the Titan king leaving a trail of burnt ground and half-cooked monsters in his wake. Within seconds he reached the top of Othrys and he swung his spear at Kronos. The Titan of Time blocked his strike with his scythe and began exerting his divine energy.
"The last time you were here you showed me your true form. Well, let me return the courtesy now." Kronos said as a brilliant light consumed the Titan and Aegon were forced to shield himself using his own energy. Even with that protection, Aegon was blasted off into the sky by the release of the Titan king's true form.
When Aegon regained his balance he saw the true form of Kronos for the first time. The Titan's skin was red as blood with a face that had horns pointing straight up. With eyes as black as night, the Titan had claws for hands. The sheer energy that the Titan expelling was enormous and Aegon realised this was a fight that he could not win without unleashing his own true form. But his hubris got the better of him as he rushed at the King of Titans in his diminished state.
The moment Aegon neared the Kronos everything around the world vegan to get slowed down and the Titan's scythe came dangerously close to his heart. At the last moment Aegon took on his true form and the resulting wave of energy managed to push the trajectory of the Scythe to change somewhat but it still scored a hit as it cut into his flesh but the wound was not deep. The pain was unbearable even if it was not a deep wound as the Scythe was made to weaken the soul of a Primordial God. The pain distracted Aegon and he was blasted away by Kronos with an energy induced punch.
Aegon fell into the battlefield and his form incinerated most of the surviving monsters in a matter of seconds.
"We will retreat, Tecton. We have done what we are here for." Aegon said as Tecton came to support him
"Retreat...Retreat..." Tecton called out and the Angels began to teleport out one by one
Some angels released the Nymphs from their bonds and took them away and flew into the sky.
"My Lord are you alright?" Tecton asked in worry as he saw the pained look on Aegon's face
"My vision is blurring. The Scythe touched my body. It is affecting my soul. Take me to Olympus and call back Hestia. Her flames..." Aegon lost consciousness before completing the sentence and Tecton didn't waste any time as he teleported away in a ray of light leaving behind a burning Othrys.
MOUNT OLYMPUS
Aphrodite and Demeter were walking in the nearly grown garden that Demeter had grown by her own powers.
"This is a wonderful addition to this dreadful place. I can feel the Love flowing in the air like a gentle stream." Aphrodite exclaimed as she spun around and breathed in deeply
"Can you believe when I suggested creating a garden Hades mocked me?" Demeter complained to her friend
"Men. They are all the same. They have no taste of the finer things in life. The beauty and peace of this place can never be understood by them. The passion it takes to give life to all these flowers are outside their understanding. Don't worry about them. I like this place." Aphrodite commented as she glided her hands through the leaves of a bushy plant
Their peaceful bonding moment was interrupted by a flash of light. They saw a clearly unconscious Aegon being supported by an Angel who was struggling to hold the Sun God and his weapon at the same time.
"Brother..." Aphrodite rushed towards them closely followed by Demeter
"Lady Aphrodite please help. He is wounded." Tecton struggled to say
Aphrodite supported Aegon and helped to carry him to healing bed.
"What happened to him?" Demeter asked
"We attacked Mount Othrys. Lord Aegon was wounded by the Scythe of Kronos." Tecton said as he pushed in his own energy into Aegon
"Oh no. Did Aegon say anything before he lost his consciousness?" Aphrodite asked
"He said something about Lady Hestia's flames." Tecton answered as he helped Demeter to take off the armour Aegon was wearing. They saw the wound and it was bleeding Ichor like a river. Demeter placed her hand on the wound.
"The wound is not fatal to his body but it is siphoning his energy at an absurd rate." Demeter observed
"Of course. The Scythe was made to shatter the soul of Ouranos. It is too powerful that even a small cut by it can become fatal. We have to find Hestia quickly. Her flames might be able to heal him." Aphrodite said
"I will look for her." Demeter said as she rushed out of the chamber
"Don't worry brother. You will be fine." Aphrodite murmured as she kissed Aegon's forehead lovingly and waited by his bedside as other angels came in and tried to heal her brother