ATHENA OLYMPUS
The heavens themselves seemed to recoil from the brutal ballet unfolding. — POW!!! — Treadway's fist, a blur of motion, slammed into Zeus's gut, the divine air escaping Zeus's lungs in a strangled gasp.
Before Zeus could retaliate, another blow, this time to the cheek, cracked like thunder, whipping his head to the side. A coppery tang, the taste of divine ichor, tainted the air.
Zeus roared, a wounded lion lashing out in desperation. — POW!!! — His fist, imbued with the remnants of his godly power, connected with Treadway's jaw.
The impact reverberated across the celestial plains, a shockwave that sent ripples through the cloud.
Treadway staggered, but only for a heartbeat. Zeus, sensing weakness, pressed his advantage, a savage uppercut aimed at Treadway's exposed ribs. The blow landed with sickening crunch, the sound echoing through the stunned silence.
Wiping his ichor from his lip, Zeus unleashed upon Treadway once again the Master Bolt, another THE RULER, a concentrated beam of divine energy. It struck Treadway full force, the celestial energy shimmering and crackling against his skin. But the beam faltered, its power dissipating harmlessly, leaving not even a scorch mark.
— Sigh... — Treadway sighed, a sound that carried across the ravaged landscape, a sound that spoke of weary resignation. His eyes, dark and inscrutable, fixed on Zeus. Then, with a speed that belied his earlier sluggishness, he delivered a devastating right hook.
— CRACK!!! — The sound of bone shattering was sickeningly clear, a death knell for Zeus's pride. Zeus flew backwards, crashing into the earth with the force of a meteor.
The impact carved a crater into the soil, the ground trembling beneath the force.
Zeus lay amidst the rubble, his breath ragged, a few teeth scattered amongst the dust like fallen starts. He tried to push himself up, his movements weak and uncoordinated. — You'll never be a god... — he rasped, his swollen gaze, clouded with pain and defeat, fixed on the human descending from the sky. — Y-You never... You will never be one of us!
Treadway tilted his head, a gesture of almost clinical curiosity. — A god? — he echoed, a slow smile spreading across his face. — Do you think all this, — he gestured around at the devastation, — is because I wanted to be a god?
A harsh, echoing laugh burst from Treadway's lips, his head thrown back. — Ah! Ah! Ah! I said it from the beginning, you are not gods. You are human beings, blinded by the immortality of cultivation and magic.
Treadway's hands moved in a fluid, almost dance-like motion. He used the Dragon King Art, drawing upon the very essence of life, the Qi that flowed through all things. A crimson dragon of pure energy materialized in the air, scales shimmering like rubies, eyes burning with inner fire. — I'm going to let you have a taste of the Essence of Light, — Treadway murmured, his voice laced with an almost mocking tenderness. — Isn't that what you wanted?
I remember thinking, "What is this human saying?" "Will he give the King's Force to Zeus? Why?" A flicker of unease danced within me. "Will I be able to eliminate him when the time comes? And more importantly... do I even want to? Wouldn't it be better to use him, to control the gods through him?"
The crimson dragon spiraled downwards, plunging into Zeus's body. A wave of golden energy erupted outwards, bathing the fallen god in its radiant light. Zeus levitated, his hair swirling around his head like a halo. His wounds knit glowing themselves closed, his skin glowing with renewed vitality. A beatific smile stretched across his face, transforming his ravaged features.
— Do you understand now? — Treadway began, his voice ringing with power. — The Light is the only true God! There is no... — he grunted, a flicker of surprise crossing his features, but Zeus cut him off.
— Hahaha! — Zeus roared, his laughter echoing across the heavens. — You fool! You just gave power to your enemy! — he lunged towards Treadway, electric Qi crackling around his fist, now infused with the golden energy of the dragon.
"That was a big mistake," I thought, a cold dread creeping into my heart. Zeus should have surrendered. A sad end for a great hero, a great god.
…
In the assembly hall, silence reigned. Servants and soldiers alike stared at the massive viewing screen, their faces pale, etched with fear and disbelief. Even the lowliest knew what this meant. The tide had turned. A few murmured prayers to the gods, now seeming so distant, drifted through the hall.
Aphrodite, however, wore a radiant smile, her eyes sparkling with an almost manic intensity. "She's been... different lately..." I mused. She hasn't been dallying with other men as much. Could it be because of this human?
…
I watched Treadway's butler, a figure of quiet authority, as he surveyed the battlefield. His brow was furrowed, his hands clasped behind his back. He analyzed every detail with a chilling detachment, as if he already knew the outcome.
Treadway's soldiers moved with an unnerving calm. They tended to the wounded, organized their camp, their movements precise and efficient. They didn't even seem to care about the battle anymore. "Why?" I pondered. "Have they simply accepted their fate? Or is this some deeper strategy?"
Logically thinking, their reaction was the most rational. The army had already done what it could, if they win, they win. But if they lose, they die. "Their role was to go head-to-head with the Union army and save the Treadway's energy, did they complete their role, or was it a strategy...?" I thought, gazing at the image on the screen.
This human... he was an enigma. The most unpredictable being I had ever encountered. A whirlwind of contradictions, a force of nature, worked like a psychotic demented. "But it's only a matter of time," I told myself. "No one is smarter than me. I am in control. I always am. It's the natural order of things."
Even if he's stronger... I will always be smarter. But a nagging voice whispered in the back of my mind. "Is that fear I'm feeling? Fear of... Becoming... a wife... like the deceased Hera...? Bound to a husband like Zeus...?
"Nonsense!" I snapped mentally. It's Aphrodite's influence, I realized. That woman was a master manipulator, able to amplify the emotions of those around her. A subtle, insidious genius. This woman's manner was monstruous.
Too bad I am superior to her.
…
Zeus charged blindly towards the boy, a blur of motion, electric blue flames flickering around his clenched fist. He was upon Treadway in the blink of an eye.
The boy stood his ground, his expression unchanging, as if he were watching a child's tantrum. — You're vain... — he murmured, his voice laced with pity.
— Full of yourself. Beyond redemption! — He sighed, his right hand calling and closing around the hilt of the broken sword. Golden flaming Qi surged through his arm, igniting the shattered blade.
The sword, though broken, possessed a strange nobility. Rusty, scarred, the blade fragmented and uneven. The steel was dull, stained with the patina of ages. The runes etched upon it were cracked and barely visible. The edge, jagged and irregular. The hilt, worn and tattered, its white leather dirty and torn. The angelic wing carvings chipped and broken; the long past battles were visible. The sapphire nestled in the cracked pommel, a single, flickering spark of its former glory. The crossguard, bent and damaged, missing gems, a symbol of neglect. The wings, meant to symbolize the Light's protection, broken and incomplete. Why did he use that worthless garbage?
Time seemed to slow, the air thickening, heavy with anticipation. A shiver ran down my spine as the cool air of the hall brushed against my skin. My finger tapped nervously against the armrest of my throne.
The cloying sweetness of Aphrodite's aphrodisiac perfume filled my senses. My legs, crossed at the knee, began to feel numb.
Everything was eerily silent. Even Dionysus, usually lost in a haze of mead, was awake, his eyes focused on the screen, a rare moment of clarity in his drunken stupor. It was as if Treadway possessed the ability to manipulate time itself. "Did he stop time... How to fight against that thing...?" I mused.
With each passing moment, I felt myself succumbing to his presence, a reluctant acceptance blossoming within me. I began to formulate a plan, a contingency, a way to control him. Prepared to resort to the methods of the Fang family, poison if possible.
…
— Holy Sword: Excalibur! — The human's voice echoed through the heavens. I didn't see him move. I couldn't follow his movements at all. I only saw the flashes of light, blinding bursts of energy emanating from the broken sword. They were cuts, precise and deadly, aimed at Zeus.
The cuts formed a hexagram, a blazing net of fiery energy. There was no escape. Zeus was too close, too committed to his attack. He couldn't dodge. He couldn't defend.
— BOOOOMM!!! — The explosion that followed dwarfed anything I had ever witnessed. It was a cataclysm, a natural phenomenon unleashed. I remembered reading ancient texts, scriptures that spoke of weapons capable of generating winds of unimaginable power, of creating fiery maelstroms that consumed all in their path. This was beyond anything described. The very air shimmered with the raw, untamed energy.
I no longer had any doubts or questions to ask. I was going to marry him. Accepting the facts was important to find a solution to the problem.
— AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! — Zeus screamed, a sound that tore through the heavens, a sound of pure agony piercing the gods ears. He was engulfed in the inferno, the golden aura he had received from Treadway now fueling the flames that consumed him.
I could see Zeus clawing at his head, his divine flesh charring and blistering before my very eyes. His screams echoed across Olympus, a cruel materialization of the Treadway's attack. It was a sad, brutal end for the greatest god that had ever graced Olympus. Even the stoic faces of the assembled gods in the hall reflected the horror of the scene.
Treadway stood amidst the devastation, his posture relaxed yet firm, a stark contrast to the chaos he had unleashed. He cleaned a trickle of blood from his nostril, his expression unreadable.
Ironically, wisps of smoke curled from his own body, he too had been touched by the immense power of his own attack.
"Is he suffering from his own attack?" I wondered, a chill running down my spine. "Is he so strong that not even his body can handle the raw power that flows through him?" A terrifying realization dawned upon me. "He has the powers of a god trapped within the body of a mortal."
The implication were staggering. Such power, unrestrained, unpredictable... it was a force of nature, a raging storm that could obliterate everything in its path. And I, Athena, goddess of Wisdom and Strategy, was about to bind myself to it.