The tip of my sword twists into the ground. I sit near the edge of the broken open window, with my back against the pillar. The moon beams like a white torch amongst all the dark fog. The cool night air strokes my skin but does little to relieve the resentment seething beneath my skin. Not for the king alone, nor the gods, but myself - how could I have let all this come to be?

I should've known, I should've known.

I feel out of place, lost if I am not by his side. Even the moon seems to look at me, as if to say, you are not where you're meant to be. And I want to ask it to watch over him for me - for now, at least. But what could the moon ever do except watch?

Armor hisses behind me. Footsteps.

"You won't find the answers there, my son," comes Erebus' voice, low and leaden, as if not to wake me from a slumber. "Believe me, I have tried."

I lower my sword to my lap, keeping my eyes set on the black horizon. "I don't seek answers," I tell him, sensing his strong presence behind me.

A wisp of wind from his wings moves the air as he stands beside me now, far closer to the ledge than I would care to be. "Revenge isn't the answer, either."

I look up at him, the hood of his cloak masking the side of his face. "Is that not what this entire plan is? For revenge?"

"No," he says, with a single shake of his head. "It is greater than revenge, Azael. It is a war. A battle that we must win - no matter the cost." He turns his head to me now, his eyes graver than ever.

"I do not care for the rest of the world," I assure him. "I do not pay the price for anything."

Erebus lingers on me, although not meeting my eyes, but staring into something that only he must see. "We all pay a price eventually," he says after a short while, staring back into the distance.

"If you are implying that my cost is Cassian," I dare to voice, even the words ripping at my tendons. "You are sorely mistaken. It will not happen. The whole world will burn before I let him die."

Erebus' lips unfold. "I believe you," he says. "So let that be the very thing that drives our victory. Because if Tallon doesn't kill Cassian, Avel will."

A frown forms on my face. "But why? Why does Avel care so much?"

"Because he wants to rule the world, to take all the power, just like any other rotten God," he explains, "and he can only do so through controlling the heart of the ruler of the most formidable empire. Tallon's heart is as weak as his will, which Avel uses for his own benefit. But it is not Avel's fault that Tallon is evil - it is his own."

I shake my head. "But I do not understand how ruling over humans means power. He is the God of Life Breath, could he not just kill us all with a flick of his finger?"

"Remember, it is not within his rights to do so, even if he has the power to - such an act would have him killed by powers higher than you can imagine."

My frown only deepens. "There is a God of all Gods?" I pose, wondering how that could possibly be.

"Of a sort," he answers, and then outstretches his hand to the side without looking. Black air warps from it, a dark force that sends my sword flying into his grasp. "But, if he manages to rule over humans in all kingdoms, or even Eldorium alone, he will use them to further his power. Alone, he will not be able to kill all of the Gods, but over time, most of us have left some sort of... artifact, if you will, that serves as a weapon to be wielded by a mortal. One that can slit the skin of a God if necessary."

I watch him examine my sword, the moonlight catching on the steel. "So, he can use the humans to find them and help him kill the Gods?" I venture, trying not to feel at unrest without my sword at my hand.

"Precisely so."

"And have you made... an artifact?"

His dark brows pull together, and the tip of his finger traces up the sword. A trail of black smoke follows, wrapping around the steel like tendrils. Part of me waits for it to disappear, or perhaps shatter into shards. But if we are to win, I must trust him. At least a little.

The smoke sucks back into his palm, revealing a sword like that of his armor - dark like obsidian, with an under glow of an ancient aura that mortal eyes can scarcely see. Within the middle, a deep, deep purple gem. His eyes meet mine, his as black as any void - all the whites vanished.

"Now I have," he says, holding the blade so that I may grab the hilt.

I squint at the gemstone. "What... what did you do to it?" It is the same as it was, except no longer made of steel, and the gem is a new edition, of course. My fingers reluctantly wrap around the hilt. The gem bursts to light - a bright purple, and black seeps from the sword like blood. My eyes widen. "What is it doing?" I demand, watching as the black drips onto my skin, shiny like liquid silver.

Erebus cocks his head to the side. "Peculiar," he remarks, completely unshaken.

My back is pressed against the wall - hard - as if I can get away from it. "Tell me what it is doing."

"I do not know."

The black seeps into my skin, gone, as if it was never there. My blood feels cold, and my heart chokes inside my chest. "You made it an artifact? What for?" I press, looking up at him with desperation.

He frowns at it. "For you." He shifts his gaze back at me. "You are very much capable of killing a god, for you are a demi-God yourself, but the sword will help you."

I twirl it in my hand, its lightness almost impossible. "Thank you."

Erebus nods and turns away, back inside. "You will need it," he says, "for when you go to visit the Gods."

My neck twists to the side to watch him walk back into his throne room. "Why?"

He continues to walk away slowly, his wings dragging like petals of death behind him. "Because you must find out who is on our side, or who is going against us to die."