Hello, it's me again!

And today comes the newest chapter of Out of Reach! Are you happy?

As always, before the chapter, time for your comments.

ShadowofAxios – I agree that demigods are mostly the victims of the gods' machinations, just like any other mortal. Tho there is a reason why he let Reyna and Hylla go – and partially it will be covered in this chapter.

Sergeant Angle – Thanks. Tho I was afraid that instead of morbid, this chapter will look edgy.

Aburg76 – Thanks. As to finish off Circe… Well, the answer is in this chapter.

StellarEngine – Well, the most important thing I will change is that I will not only use the Riordan-verse as the main source but also the uncensored version of mythology. And, it has some… dark and disgusting moments.

Crazzytony –Thanks, and yes, that was the whole purpose.

SlateAgate547 – The answer is simple, coming from what Auntie Dot said to him – the pirates were… well, pirates or in other words – criminals, with very heavy crimes committed in the past.

rubeneliasrivera – The answer is in this chapter. I hope that you are satisfied.

liuhong2001 – Very poor. He died in one of the most heart-breaking ways…

Sm0keyPanda – Thanks, and don't worry – everything as to how Six is using maze will be explained within a few chapters – after all, Six is not yet aware of it himself.

Iamnothere12 – Well… The answer is in this chapter.

rvbrwby – Yesyesyesyesyesyes.

Doot76 – Hehe, yes, pretty much, yes. And now to the rest… The reason why he let Reyna and Hylla go is completely different – I am not saying that he will never have small flashes of his humanity coming back, but it wasn't it for now. Those things will happen later. Such as small flashbacks of when he was a kid, etc. But later. And yes, he will modify his tactics and so on – it is a normal thing for a Spartan after all… For ammo problem… I think I might have some ideas as to how to deal with this in the future. As to his powers – I left some hints in the previous chapters. That and Spartans are constantly in the state of PTSD. And don't worry – him having a girlfriend will not happen anytime soon (if it happens even at all) – that is for the very far future.

CryKen – That is what we call the irony.

resendizjose903 – Definitely against some of them.

Spyash2 – No, he won't. Just because he is a super-soldier, it does not mean he is immune to everything – like Master Chief against Didact or Flood Gravemind for example. There are things that Noble Six will definitely not be immune against or will have a very hard time against, there are things he will be immune for sure… As for the rest, he will have to observe, learn, improvise, adapt, and overcome. This chapter will highlight what I am talking about.

Samuel Warshaw – Aww, thanks! I appreciate it!

StarKiller215 – Thanks! And I hope I will write Odysseus correctly next time.

Guest – Hm… Giving him a wolf companion might be a nice idea… I must think about it…

Guest – I hope too.

Guest – How about a wolf companion for the start?

Glrasshopper – Oh yes, pissed and shocked that's for sure! And yes, Artemis, her hunters, even some of the Gods will be very shocked when they will learn that Spartans have returned, more deadly and dangerous than ever. Ares is going to be thrilled, while Artemis… She will have many internal conflicts about her son being a Spartan.

not-so-british-brit – Well, hard to say for now. He definitely won't try to sacrifice civilians to obtain his goals or to win, so I guess this is the line. And I am not going to sugar-coat anything.

Guest – Thanks. And I do understand a reason why the school version is so heavily censored, but in this place I there shall be no censorships. I will not cover up any disgusting thing that Greek gods have done in the past.

LyKaiosK – So do I! I love writing this story.

13Deal – Thank you for your kind words.

Guest – I… Am pretty sure that someone will do it… If you ask nicely… But I am afraid that I won't be that someone.

CryKen – I will reveal Six's name soon. At least the one that was given to him by his foster parents.

Malgrath – The fate of both pirates and sorceress is revealed in this chapter.

NabucodonosorV - Thank you.

HyperUnity - …that's pretty much accurate on how much it can look. Accurate and funny.

Krumpte – Not gonna lie, that was a very funny comment, thank you.

And that is it! As always, quick info about my discord (discord . gg/ pghekDe) if you want to have more information about all my current projects.

And now, time for the story!

Out of Reach

Chapter 7

Paradise in Fire

"Run." That was all Noble Six said to the person standing before him.

Many would say that that act of mercy was unnecessary, that it could bring him to harm in the future. After all, mercy was not something welcomed on the battlefield. Mercy is a weakness. Mercy is a mistake.

But it was not an act of mercy from Noble Six.

Sierra B312 was alone, He had no support or intel from ONI or UNSC. He was all by himself. He could not merely ask where his enemies should be. He had to learn that by himself. He knew that he should find other camps as soon as possible.

Of course, Six already knew how to find them. It was a trick as old as the world. All he had to do is just let one person go. Survivors tended to escape straight to other cells, It was a normal human reaction after all – find another group that will help you survive. And Six knew how to use this very human instinct against his enemies.

As he fought throughout the island, he was searching for the perfect victim. The one that would surely run, towards other groups, towards his enemies.

And so he searched.

Pirates were out of the question. They were utterly from a different time, and they will most likely start to attack innocent civilians. Six decided that they should be eliminated without any mercy.

Witches, on the other hand, had a few more possibilities. Even if they would not run to any of the major camps, they could still contact the most dangerous ones, The Amazons and Hunters of Artemis. Even if the hunter did not have the most significant number (at least according to Lycaon), they were still very dangerous. The Amazons had contact with most (if not every) faction and held a significant monopoly.

All he had to do is just let one 'lucky' survivor alive… And said person would soon become his agent, a small rat giving him all the intel without anyone knowing.

And it would seem that he just found his victim.

She was no older than sixteen. She had dark eyes and black hair, Latina, most likely from Cuba or Puerto Rico, also had what might have been one of those weird blue business suits. It was apparent that she was one of the SPA workers, most likely working for Circe.

But the most interesting thing about her was not her appearance, but what, or rather who was behind her. It was another girl, almost a carbon copy of the first one, with just one significant difference – her age. The second girl was most likely twelve years old. It was apparent that those two girls were related. Most likely, they were sisters.

And so Noble Six observed them. The older sibling did everything she could to protect the younger one. She fought bravely against all the pirates.

"[You know, if she was born in the twenty-sixth century, she would be a great candidate for a Spartan.]" From inside Six of mind, Auntie Dot observed everything just as closely as her Spartan. She would record every bit of information and later analyze it repeatedly to help Noble Six in his future fight. And just like every AI inside every other Spartan's head, she often commented on everything she witnessed. "[She fights with great finesse, and she is ready to do everything to protect her sibling.]"

Six only gave a small nod. It was true. The girl before him had some predisposition to become a Spartan… Sadly, or maybe even luckily for her, no one will try to recruit anyone for a Spartan project for another five centuries.

And so, he observed her for a while, finally deciding that she and her sister will become his drones. He will use them to lure out all the other groups, hiding out in the darkness.

Soon, he approached her, walking without any hurry. Without any problems or remorse, he killed a few pirates trying to harm his new target and sister. He could not let anyone change his plans. He killed every pirate who tried to ambush his prey faster than anyone could notice.

It was just then when his new target has finally noticed him. Six could see in her eyes the look of pure horror. No matter how much she tried to hide it, how much she wanted to analyze him, he already knew that look. A pure fear, begging to be released and heard from the inside. And Six knew that this girl will not be able to hold her fear any longer.

"[Six, three targets at your seventh.]" Auntie Dot warned him. And just as she stated, soon, three women came out, most likely searching for survivors.

Sadly for them, they had run into a well-prepared hunter, who had them in his sights.

Three new women were wearing nothing more than a bikini with a few towels covering more of their bodies. In Six's eyes, they were somewhere between twenty-five to thirty-five years old. Judging from their screams and how derogative they were calling him, they might have been part of the Circe's cult.

Sweet and blood were dripping from them as if they just got out of the abattoir. Mixed feelings were visible in their eyes, with fear and rage in charge.

Soon, Six got their names. It would seem that his new targets thought that he will be an easy kill. Or that maybe he was a new ally. They were exhausted, and yet they tried to talk casually around this absolute carnage.

Bad mistake.

From a few phrases spoken between them, Six learned their names. Rebecka, Nina, and Elena. And Six knew those names… Those were the names of the females who brutally slaughtered their husbands and children. Those women were criminals who thought they will never be persecuted for what they did.

Six knew his orders. He knew the protocols. And so he pulled the trigger.

Sound of thunder filled the air, and soon cries of despair and agony had joined to create the cacophony of terror. Six felt nothing. He was designed to do this. He was now what he was always supposed to be – a killer.

On the other hand, his victim seemed to be even more terrified of him with every incoming second. But that was something Six has expected. Fear can make it easier to manipulate some people. One just simply had to know how to push his victim.

And Six could see it. The beginning to flee in his target's eyes. The call of her instinct to run away and never turn back. All she needed was just one small push.

"Run." Six gave her an order, with the same emotionless voice. Soon, he observed how a young girl took her sister within a second and started to run without looking back.

If she would do that, maybe she would notice a swift movement coming from a Spartan. But even then, she would most likely not understand what he did to her and her sister. And he did much, unknowingly to her.

[The trackers on both girls are fully online. We can now track them anywhere.] All according to Noble Six's plan. Soon both sisters would lead Six and Auntie Dot to another group associated with those so-called gods.

But now, Six had a job to finish.

And so, he moved further into the former female-only paradise. He moved slowly, without any need to even jog. After all, whoever was left on this cursed isle had no way to run. Not without Six noticings.

On his way, he was forced to open fire a few more times. Pirates or witches, he did not care. They were all standing in his way, and both those groups were responsible for many crimes. There was no need to feel any remorse for killing them.

Soon Noble Six reached what seemed to be the center of the island. He was surrounded by many burning remaining rooms and halls, which were perfect hiding spots for him. The temperature and fire could not even scratch his armor, and so he was safe inside the flames. Safe to watch the scene in the room below him.

In a giant hall, he noticed two figures. One was a male in his forties. He was wearing clothes that completely did not match anything that people wear in the twenty-first century. His most notable feature – a thick black beard.

Next to him, kneeling and holding her stomach, was a woman, most likely in her mid-twentieth, with long dark hair with the remnants of golden threads on her head. She had piercing green eyes, with many emotions flowing inside them like a storm: rage, pain, confusion, and so on.

From many of her wounds, a mysterious golden substance was leaking. Six knew that in no circumstances human blood has a bright golden color. In other words, he was now looking at someone who was disguising themself as a human.

"[All the evidence suggests that the male on the left is indeed Sir Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard. And judging how un-human that golden blood looks, I guess that the kneeling woman is Circe. I would suggest seeing where their conversation will go…]" As always, Auntie Dot worked analytic wonders from the inside of Six's head. Her tone of voice was betraying her curiosity.

And so, Noble Six obeyed his partner's suggestion and equipped SRS99.

"So, t wouldst seemeth yond thou art out of luck, thee naughty beldams!" Blackbeard spoke first, with a grumpy voice. It would seem that years of drinking rum has destroyed his throat and vocal cords. And yet, even with such a distorted voice, it was easy to notice how angry the legendary pirate was.

"You disgusting pig…" The kneeling woman, or Circe for short, was full of rage. Her voice was like venom, ready to poison and digest anything on its path. "How dare you raise your hand against me, Immortal Sourceress Circe?! Me, a daughter of Hecate and Helios?!"

Six could tell that both of those individuals were pretty egoistic and full of themselves. The way they talked and walked just screamed how much higher they think they are. But that was something Six knew how to use against them. Now all he had to do was just wait for the perfect opportunity.

For a while, both pirate and sorceress exchanged all the slurs and curses they could use against each other. In theory, Six could take the shot and eliminate them both. But Six could not take that much risk. He knew that if anything Lycaon had told him about the gods was true, then he would have to be very careful.

Even if the gods could be harmed by mortal weapons, there was no way to tell how many tricks they were hiding. Were they able to heal their wounds faster than any mortal? Were they able to survive the headshot? And most importantly – was there a way to kill them without them reforming in Tartarus?

That new information was not something. Six had an easy time to digest. He was dealing with something that, according to everything he knew, should be Impossible to exist. The so-called immortal beings, claiming to be above humans. And yet, here he was, trying to find a way to permanently kill a goddess of magic, just another day in the life of a Hyper-Lethal-Vector.

Soon, the Blackbeard had enough of Circe and started to beat her. With fists, boots, and even his sword. Circe was bleeding more and more with every second. She would soon be wounded enough to turn into dust and go to Tartarus.

And just when the legendary pirate was about to make the last strike with his sword, another characteristic sound of thunder was heard.

Instead of Circe, it was Blackbeard who received a mortal wound. The bullet from SRS99 pierced through the pirate's head without any problem. And soon Circe's face was covered in all that was left from the Blackbeard's skull. Nothing more than blood and brain tissue.

She was shaking. A pure dread was written all over her face, just under the blood. She could not understand what was happening. This whole situation was beyond her.

Meanwhile, Six continued to look at her through his visor. He was now forced to decide what to do with her. In any other situation, he would just shoot her in the head. But this was no ordinary situation, he was fighting against a goddess, he knew that he should expect anything.

"Any ideas, Dot?" Six asked his AI companion with his usual nonemotional voice.

"[Secure and contain her. According to the Intel given to us by Lycaon, killing her is out of the question for now.]" He didn't have to wait long for Dot's voice to fill his head. He knew that she was now running millions of scenarios on what to do with the fallen goddess. "[We must keep her either sedated or barely conscious. Then we must find a way to go back to the maze. There we might be able to find a solution.]"

Six nodded and proceeded with Dot's plan.

He jumped off the floor with a thunderous thud. The attention of the once-proud goddess was entirely on him. If previously she was scared that her magic was useless against the pirates, then now she looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

That is, assuming that gods can have heart-attacks. Or that they have hearts at all.

B312 slowly approached Circe. He did not need to rush anything. He actually wanted to observe what the immortal sorceress will want to do.

Circe quickly turned around and started to crawl towards one of the closets that were not ruined either by fire or brute force. Six could see that every movement of her body was painful to her. Her eyes were full of tears, and her face had just one expression – a pure pain.

Six started to look around a place before the pirate's attack was most likely a giant library. Most of the books were already burned or destroyed, but one thing remained untouched. It was an object that looked similar to a wand.

B312 already knew what Circe was trying to do. She knew she was too exhausted to use her magic, and thus, she needed a little boost. And what better way to boost your magic power than through a magic artifact. Sadly for Circe, Six would not let her reach her weapon.

And so, B312 walked towards the closet, barely acknowledging the crawling goddess beneath him. When he reached the wand, Circe was still barely halfway through the room. She could only watch in horror as Six took out her old magic wand… And then he broke it in half.

Then Six just flip over the closet, making all the remaining potions and books to fall over. Centuries of gathering knowledge about magic lost within a second. Then Six turned once more to face the goddess. He knew that containing her will be a complicated task, but there was no other choice.

Then again, even without any proper way of containing her, she could still be a significant Intel source on gods. After all, he could experiment on her to test the best way to defeat a god.

And so, he kneeled right next to Circe, grabbing her blood-stained dark hair.

"What… Of course..." She could barely speak. Her voice was barely heard in a room. Of course, that not an obstacle for Six due to his enchantment hearing. But that was another piece of information for him – Gods could also become weak. "Typical man… Forcing himself… on a defenseless maiden-"

Sadly for her, she could not end her sentence because Noble Six swiftly pushed her head to the ground. It was nowhere near strong enough to kill her, but she was not unconscious, with a nasty gold wound on her forehead.

Six knew that he did not have much time. He did not know how long it will take for a goddess to fully recover. Worst case scenario? She could wake up at any moment and attack him. He did not know the full extent of her abilities, her tactics, anything. All he had was unconfirmed words coming from a mutant.

And there was also another problem – Six had no idea how to return to the maze. He could simply go back the same way he came, but there was no guarantee that he would succeed with returning to his previous location. And with every second he wasted on this island, there was a bigger chance that Circe will wake-up and attack him.

But before he could do anything, he noticed a movement. Someone was observing him. And Six already knew what it was.

From the very first day he landed in the strange maze-like dimension, he was constantly being tailed. Said person was doing –at least in Six's opinion – an awful job at following him. He knew whenever this weird person was spying on time.

He also noticed that sometimes this anonymous person was accompanied by a large dog-like creature. Six has met a few of those creatures, but all of them were always hostile to him. This one, however, not only was much larger than others of its kind but also seemed to be domesticated.

Lycaon a few times mentioned those. According to him, those were Hellhounds, dogs of Erebus. Often they obeyed only one master – Hades.

Seeing how this mysterious person tried to tail his every movement, Six decided to play along and pretend that he was oblivious to the fact that he was being followed.

But enough is enough. Now it was the time to finally confront this little spy.

"Come out and identify yourself." Six started with the same emotionless voice as always. After a few seconds of nothing happening, he spoke again, with a more commanding voice. "Come out, or I will shoot you. Running away will cost you your life."

Judging from the sudden sound, Six deducted that the spy decided to finally confront him.

After a half-minute, the spy was fully visible. There was a man in his fifties before him, with short grey hair and a clipped grey beard. He was wearing casual clothing alongside a breastplate and military boots. In Six's mind, it was a weird combination. Still, after escaping Reach, Six learned to accept the weirdness around him.

Of course, it didn't mean that Six wasn't suspicious at all.

The old man was armed with a sword. And judging on his stance, he was a veteran of a sort. But that only raised more questions in Six's mind. Why was he using a sword? Why breastplate? And most importantly – why was he spying on him?

"[Yes, I can confirm that's our spy.]" A sudden Dot's voice appeared in Six's mind. She was already in her analyzing mode, using every piece of knowledge and technology to give Six the best advice possible on what to do next. "[The object looks like a human, but all the scans confirm that he was made artificially. You are talking to an Android…]"

More questions and suspicions. Humans in the twenty-first century could not create even the dumbest artificial intelligence, let alone a being that would imitate a human to such a degree. Was he the creation of those "gods"? Was he sent to spy on him?

"It would seem that you have finally noticed me." His voice was friendly, yet most people would be able to hear the hint of fear hiding behind his social behavior. Six already knew that this old man did not expect to be detected. "But I must admit that I would prefer to meet you under different circumstances."

Fear, paranoia… This man was trying to hide it pretty well, but Six could already tell that this man was a coward inside. That was useful; cowards are usually easy to manipulate.

Now it was time for Six to test the intelligence of this coward.

"State your identity and intention." Six once again spoke, emotionless as always. He noticed that it was slowly increasing fear in the android before him in less than a second.

"My name is Quintus." The first sentence and Six could already tell that this android was lying to him. But B312 had to admit, it was a well-trained lie. Many people would have problems with detecting it. "I have been kept as a prisoner by Circe, and these sudden riots have released me. I saw you fighting with those pirates and Circe's attendants, so I decided to follow you."

Lie after lie. Everything that Quintus said to Six was nothing more than a lie. But B312 decided to play along. He wanted to know how far this lie will take him.

Meanwhile, Quintus could not help but feel fear whenever this automaton was looking at him. Its faceplate allowed him to see no emotions what so ever. That thing behaved so unnaturally, to the point that it was not even logical. How was that possible that he could send such a clear message without any facial feature – do not mess with me.

"Do you know how to contain a goddess?" The silver machine before him asked. Quintus could not believe how apathetic it appeared to be. Not even automatons were this devoided of emotions.

Quintus looked at the dark-haired woman being held by his new silver friend. She was unconscious and had many wounds. The biggest and nastiest one was on her head. It was still leaking.

That was more than enough for Quintus to make him rethink his strategy on how to approach this black and silver anomaly.

"Well, without any form of magical metal, such as celestial bronze, it will be very hard, if not impossible. Thankfully, judging on how badly Circe was wounded, I believe we have a few hours before she will become a problem again." Quintus said quickly, betraying that he knew more than he wanted to say. "Maybe we could find a way back in my home? I had some artifacts from the time when I was a young demigod."

Six made a small nod. Then, with a dangerous goddess in his arms, he walked behind Quintus.

They were both in the open field after a minute, where there may have been one of the SPA's attractions. At that moment, Quintus took out from his pocket, something that looked like a whistle. The whistle itself had just one significant difference – it was made out of something Six could not recognize.

"I don't know if it will work, but I hope it still works properly. I will call for our transport." Six could tell that Quintus was once again lying. But as of now, he decided to still play the part of oblivious one.

Soon, Quintus used his whistle, but to both Six's and Dot's surprise, no sound came out of that whistle. It was almost as if it was not working. And yet, Six decided to not question Quintus about anything.

"Just please, don't try to attack her. She is a very friendly hellhound."

Six knew about what Quintus was talking about. After all, he noticed a few times a sizeable dog-like creature that sometimes followed Quintus from the shadows. And now it would seem that his spy was trying to summon his hellhound here.

And soon, from the shadows, a large hellhound came out.

This hellhound was larger than most tanks from the twenty-first century. But judging from the behavior, this hellhound – unlike other of its kind – was domesticated. And it seemed to be very loyal to Quintus.

"[What I would do examine this creature…]" Said Auntie Dot with a dreamy voice when she saw this hellhound through Six's eyes. And the Spartan had to agree – this creature seemed to be very interesting – at least from the scientific point of view.

"Please, just grab Mrs. O'Leary's fur, and she will be able to take us to my place." Said Quintus while quickly grabbing his hellhound. Soon Six followed his steps and did the same thing.

In less than a second, the world around Noble Six changed utterly. Darkness swallowed him whole. All around him, there was nothing. It was almost as if he was stuck inside a giant shadow. In short words, it was just surreal.

"Dot?"

"[I am already analyzing what is going on.]" Auntie Dot didn't even need to wait for Six's question. She was already working hard to understand what was going on. "[According to the satellites, we are moving very fast, practically jumping from place to place… Wait… Signal lost, we are back in the maze.]"

And soon, Noble Six found himself back in the twisted dimension of the maze. As of now, he was once again found himself in the part of the labyrinth he had never seen. It looked more modern, almost a little futuristic even… At least by the standards of the twenty-first century.

The place was like a favorite place for many scientists – laptop computers, blueprints on the table. There were also a weird set of wings, just hanging on the wall.

Besides the wings and blueprints, the room also had many art pieces. Even to Six's day, some of them were considered lost, at least according to what Auntie Dot said.

'Someone who knows how to operate through the maze… Not human, blueprints – most likely engineer, or at least inventor. Loves art… Intelligence, pride, knowledge about the maze… Dot… I believe that I know who this is.'

"[Yes, it would seem that our new friend might be the Daedalus himself… The only question is – how is this even possible?]" Dot's voice now was just dripping from pure curiosity in her voice. It was a mystery she wanted to solve.

Meanwhile, Quintus turned to his hellhound and started to pet its fur a few times.

"You did great. Now go and fetch me from Hermes Express my purchased order. I will give you something nice when you return."

As soon as Quintus stopped petting his hellhound, Mrs. O'larry barked loudly and then disappeared within the shadows.

For Six, it was a perfect opportunity to finally learn who this Quintus truly is. And so, he took out his M6G magnum and aimed at Quintus, who was still standing inverted to him.

"Drop the act, Daedalus." As soon as Six spoke this name, Quintus visibly tensed. It was apparent that his spy did not expect Six to know his real name. "And now, please answer my questions."

Quintus or Daedalus slowly turned around. He was tensed and also scared. When he finally turned around, Six saw pure fear in his eyes. Six knew that look all too well. He knew that Daedalus is trying to think of the best way to run away. He was now like a wounded animal, desperate to survive.

Sadly for Daedalus, Six already knew how to break desperate people. Daedalus will not be an exception from that rule.

Six followed Daedalus's eye movement. His sight was mostly focused on two things – his sword and the whistle. And so Six already knew what his opponent was trying to do – He would draw a sword, attack him using the element of surprise. Then, when Six will be forced to defend himself, Daedalus would use his whistle to summon his hellhound pet.

"Don't do anything stupid. Put your whistle and sword on the table."

Daedalus, for a second, was standing frozen, unable to do anything. Six already knew what was going on inside his head – it was going rampant. Daedalus did not suspect that anything will go like this. His plans did not work out like they were supposed to.

Sadly, instead of doing what Six told him to do, Daedalus made one of the most stupid decisions in his life – he drew out his sword. Or at least tried, because when his hand reached towards his sword, Six pulled a trigger. And soon, Daedalus got shot by a semi-armor-piercing bullet.

Then, not even a second later, Six dropped still unconscious Circe and jumped at Daedalus. He twisted Daedalus's arm and then pulled out the hellhound whistle and threw it away.

To Six surprise, Daedalus did not show any sign of pain. Even with his arm being twisted, he was still trying to take Six off of him. But that was pointless – after all, he was having one tone of weight put on his back.

Six took a quick look at Daedalus's other hand – the one he just shot – and noticed that he was leaking something similar to oil instead of blood. The weird substance had a strange gold color.

"[Interesting. It would seem that Daedalus only looks like a human only from the outside. Who would have thought that we will meet a real-life android in the twenty-first century?]" Dot watched everything from the inside of Six's mind. There were a few interesting things she noticed during that encounter and could not help but wonder about.

First – the fact that this Daedalus seemed to be immune to pain. Second – this weird oily substance leaking out of him. That and also his reaction time – it was much faster compared to an average man. Auntie Dot now had another mystery she wanted to solve.

And so, Six aimed at Daedalus head. No matter how much he would try, Daedalus would not be able to escape him. And Six already knew what to do to make Daedalus more cooperative.

"If you want to live, you will cooperate," B312 said with the same constant emotionless voice. He pushed his magnum against Daedalus's head and waited for an answer. Soon Daedalus was nodding like a madman. "Good. Now you will answer my two questions. First – why are you following me, second – how do you contain a Goddess…"

Apollo was cursed.

You may ask yourself – how is it possible that a god can be even cursed? But that was normality for Apollo – being cursed with the power of the prophecy. Ever since he received that power, he was cursed with the ability to know the fate.

He could see past, but he was not able to change it. He could see everything that was happening right now, but he was not able to intervene. He could see the horrors of the future, but he could not prevent it or even warn anyone about it.

This was his curse. To be forced to watch and know, but be unable to act. He was not even able to tell anyone about it. He could not merely say what will happen in the future.

Not even to his mother or sister… It was a curse that he was forced to face alone, for all eternity.

The only way he was able to alert anyone was through one of his oracles. And even then, it was possible only through some weird and ambiguous words.

And yet, even if he could see and know, he could not fully understand the prophecies. That was another part of his curse – even if he could tell, how could he say anything if he could not truly understand what he saw?

Apollo was not able to do much. He was often very close to becoming insane. And so, to save himself, he frequently indulged himself in every activity possible, be it sinful or not, just to forget for at least a moment.

That is why he was so close to Hermes. That is why he laughed so much. Why he had so many children or even flirted with so many people. It was the only way to escape.

And yet, no matter how he tried to run away from his prophecies, they would always find him. The curse of knowledge was still there, inside him, waiting in every eye he saw, in every word he heard.

It hard for him to pretend. That he was happy, that he was always cheerful, living an everyday adventure, not caring about the consequences.

For a cheerful god of the Sun, he was pretty gloomy inside.

And this that was like every other one. Apollo was sitting on one of his chairs in a secluded part of his palace. Beside him and Hephaistus, no one knew about this place. Unlike the rest of his court, this room wasn't colored with gold. No, this was one small room, where he could be alone with his prophecies.

He saw once more everything. Past, present, and tomorrow, he saw how Clarisse, Ares's daughter – brings the Golden Fleece back to the camp half-blood. He saw how it worked – first healing Thalia's tree and bringing Zeus' daughter back to life.

He saw how his sister is being kidnapped. He saw the future quest. He saw a great battle for the heart of western civilization, He saw the awakening of the great and dreadful beings, capable of defeating gods. He saw monsters who cheated death.

With every second, he went further and further into the future. Without control, without direction. He saw not only the future of the Greek pantheon but also the future fate of humanity.

He saw the moon being covered by cities. He saw planets and moons of the solar system, transforming before his eyes from lifeless deserts into beautiful gardens that would shame Hera's garden.

He saw humanity not as destroyers but as the creators.

Then, he saw forests burning in rageful red fires. He saw famine and pestilence. He saw war and then unity. Humanity standing as one. No more were they divided, there was no east and west. There was just humanity.

He saw humanity's odyssey to the stars—countless stars and star systems, some full primal life, some transforming through humans' actions, Hundreds of colonies throughout the stars.

And then came destruction. Human colonies, burning and obliterated. Beautiful gardens turned into nothing more than ashes. Rivers filled with blood, vaporating into the blood-red mist. Monsters eating humans, weird creatures slaughtering the entire human species.

Then came hope, Armored beings, born from the great sacrifice, born from and embellished with Orion's stars, turning the entire tides of war. They were the new hope for humanity.

Then, one of the armored beings faced him. Emotionless gaze from an armored giant was overwhelming even for Apollo. He could see how the fire was reflecting through his visor.

And then he was dragged inside the giant's visor. And he saw the horrors through his point of view.

He saw tearful silver eyes, full of hate, continually repeating: "I hate you! I don't want you! I wish you were never born!"

Then, there was a cry of a baby. And Apollo could feel himself falling into the void of pure darkness. He felt so powerless and so afraid. It was almost as if a large part of him was ripped apart from him.

And then there was a moment of happiness. A woman and a man, most likely a couple or even married people, taking care of a small lost baby. He could feel their love towards their newly adopted son.

The small baby turned into a small child. Growing up in a family home full of love. He could see the beautiful world he could not recognize through the child's eyes. He saw the stars with unknown constellations, plants he was not able to identify.

Then, a great horror came in. Fire, screams, begging for mercy. Gunshots, the scent of blood… He watched how a small paradise quickly turned into hell.

Apollo watched how the child's parents gave him the last goodbye. They put him into something similar to a weird jet plane. He watched them disappear, still repeating how much they love the child. And then, blinding light and the sound of an explosion. And then just pure silence.

And then Apollo was forced to witness another horror after horror in this child's life. He watched him instead of being given a new home, he was slowly turned into a perfect soldier. He watched his painful transformation into being of mass destruction.

Scenes of war filled Apollo's mind. He saw countless victims, he saw a pure barbarity beyond comprehension. He saw deaths and sacrifices.

He saw pure despair.

Battle after battle, world after another world. Pure destruction, slow death of the human race. The loss was too much for anyone to face.

The last thing he saw was the moment when the child – now full-grown soldier – took off his helmet. He had the same silver-black armor, more advanced than anything Apollo has ever seen. The soldier was wounded, barely alive.

At that moment, just for a brief moment, Apollo saw the soldier's past once more. He watched him grow up, he watched what happened to him. And he saw how his eyes changed.

From silver to vibrant blue. From warm and full of wonder to cold and emotionless.

At the last moment, Apollo saw his face for the last time. He knew he would recognize this face everywhere. He learned to whom this child truly belonged. Whose son this child was.

As he returned to reality, Apollo could not help but shiver. Like always, he could not fully understand what he saw and what will happen in the future. But he understood one thing. He knew that his sister did something unimaginable and unforgivable.

"Artemis… What have you done?"

And that is it. I hope you like it.

So, now Six has taken Circe and he found out who was spying on him - Daedalus himself! Now Lycaon is not his only source of information.

And there you have also a small glimpse into Six's past through Apollo's eyes. And many of you can probably guess, there might be some tension between him and his dear sister. That and in the possible future interactions between Artemis and Noble Six.

More chapters will follow soon. If you want to be up-to-date with all my projects, then visit my discord server (discord . gg/ pghekDe) where you can learn what is the current status of every project of mine.

And so... I think that's it. See ya in the next chapter!