Of Sages and Songs to Slaughter

Previously...

Erebus took the spear and with a loud snarl and grunt, pulled it out from his stomach. Blood dripped onto the floor and the Wolf's eyes latched onto Simos. It's voice was something horrific- something I never wanted to hear ever again. "Half-breed. Why don't you be my first meal for the day?"

Simos gulped; "Gods, it's even uglier than I thought..."

"Erebus!" Casseus threw his dagger at the giant Wolf to catch his attention. It definitely worked, because the knife embedded itself in his muscular upper leg.

Erebus snarled and looked up to meet his grandson's charming smile, but instead, Claudeus stepped in front of Casseus and held up the Aegis.

Theia's POV

It felt like a bomb had exploded in the vast chamber; a bomb that engulfed all of us in the debris.

The back of the legendary Aegis blocked my vision as my brother lifted it up in the air; aiming it directly at the dark Wolf. A hand grabbed my shoulder to pull me back, but everything had moved so fast that I never saw who had tried to haul me to safety.

The black mass of energy was far quicker than my eye could even grasp, but I knew for a fact that it had hit the golden shield from my brother's hands at a terrifying speed. The Aegis flew across the chamber and the look upon Claudeus' face was unparalleled in astonishment- he did not calculate this happening. Nowhere in his plan did he list this as a likely occurrence.

Casseus was far better at acting from instinct. He grabbed his twin by the waist and pulled him back with him as he dove for cover behind a boulder. From my peripheral vision I saw my father dive for my mother. Logically guessing, the hand on my shoulder was most probably Malreus' and therefore, my father had targeted my mother. He shielded her from the black mass, just as her own force-field lifted up around us all. Simos was close enough that he had been enclosed in the protective bubble along with us.

This all happened seemingly at once.

The Aegis hit the stone floor with a loud clang and it was like time sped up again; pieces falling back into the same loop as before.

Nyx's hands were held high and the look upon her face was riddled with fear. The black smoke that flew up around her matched the black mass. It disappeared as she shouted; "You can't kill him!" Her yellow eyes were wide and frightened. "I will not let you!"

"You stole the Aegis?" My father yelled at the twins, but my mother's harsh hiss ended any further argument on the subject; "Thanatos!" With her fingers, she directed his head to the front . "Look!"

Our eyes darted to where the Wolf was standing and the remaining breath in my throat hitched.

Erebus' had slowly turned to stone from his feet up to just below his waist. He lifted his claws up into the sky and howled like a demon- it spread chills up my spine.

My father jerked up from his shielding stance over my mother and moved to pick up the Aegis, but my grandmother was faster. She sent the shield flying across the chamber; to the area directly behind her husband. My father turned around and snarled at her with his blood red eyes; "Nyx! Stop this! It's over!"

"You will not kill your father!" She said with a chocking tone- she was close to tears and it was horrible to witness. Was all of this too much for her? How long had it been since she'd seen her son? How long had she wanted nothing more than to tell him that she was so deeply sorry for everything she'd ever done? And now, she was meeting him again after such a long time like this.

Was I sympathetic to her? No, I... It didn't matter.

"Erebus has led you so astray!"

My mother attempted to pull the Aegis back, while my father distracted Nyx, but Erebus saw the plan. As the Aegis neared him, he reached out his clawed paw and pulled the shield up to him. My mother pulled the twins back to cover their eyes and shouted; "Don't look!"

Malreus and I turned our heads and found each other's eyes- we both looked horrible. Blood and sweat matted our faces and there was a sense of clear dread on our expressions. I quickly grabbed Simos' hair and pushed his face down. He grunted from the sudden yank, but didn't complain- at first...

"Some warning would be nice..."

"Shut up." I whispered and softened my hold on his black hair. "Are you alright?"

"No."

I nodded and left it at that.

"Do not fret, Thanatos." Erebus' wolf voice spoke and the same chill ran up my spine and left me cold. It was not a sound I would ever get used to- or want to get used to. "When I kill you, it won't be with this." I heard a bellowing crack and a sound like that of a large glass panel shattering into millions of pieces.

He couldn't have-

No.

No?

My heart galloped into a sprint and Malreus' hand tightened around mine. Simos was the first to speak; "The Aegis..."

Casseus ripped our mother's hand from his face and glared forward. "Casseus!"

"He's shattered it!" Casseus shouted back and pushed our mother back, in an attempt to keep her shielded behind him. She tried to move forward again, but Claudeus did the same, only more forcefully. "Mother-"

"Do not keep me away-"

"He shattered it!" Casseus shouted at her and pointed to the scene all of us were currently staring at in horror. Even Nyx.

The older goddess moved forward, unconsciously moving towards her older son. "Erebus? How... How did- The Aeg-"

"A piece of brass and gold that means nothing." The Wolf crumbled the Aegis in his hands like sand and it's black eyes found Thanatos' with an expression of wicked delight and severe malice. "You could just as easily have reduced it to dust- see where your sentiment places you on our pyres."

My father's face was cold and closed-off. His look of hatred had doubled as he watched the gold flake to the floor. A legendary weapon destroyed. Gone, forever. "I'm not the one imbedded in stone."

"A minor setback." He spoke like a robotic monster.

I suddenly realised what made Erebus so ungodly disturbing. It was his lack of reality. Or his supreme lack of care for it. Either way, he acted like the mere notion of gravity and time didn't even exist if he didn't permit it. If he didn't acknowledge it, it was null and void.

A pair of footsteps caught my ears. Another joined and I soon differentiated between two new guests. I dropped my hand from Malreus and stepped away from him and Simos, my eyes set on the second entrance to the main chamber. Simos and Malreus followed my eyes, and soon, the noise was so apparent that everyone else did too.

A dark head of hair emerged from the shadows and I heard a faint hiss from Simos. His anger was obvious, but his shock, less so. "Manos..." We were all half-expecting the king of Mania to arrive at some point. Well, most of us.

My mother sneered at the new arrivals. Manos and Boro looked around, shocked at the scene before them. "And who are these idiots?"

"We don't have time for this." My father said silently, more to himself than them.

Manos ignored everyone's clear rage and annoyance and instead, bowed in front of Erebus- completely unafraid of the large, imposing Werewolf and it's hungry black eyes. "My lord..." Manos smirked up at the Wolf and I heard Simos whisper; "Fucking moron. Deluded fool."

"What's that, Simos?" Manos heard his nephew and chuckled softly to himself as he extended his hands as if to say 'on whose side am I? The winning side.'

"Oh, sorry!" Simos shouted back; his voice was caked with dry sarcasm and a deep loathing. "I said 'fucking moron' and 'deluded fool'!"

"You always were a waste of a good crown prince." Manos bit back with a glower.

"And you're a waste of space, Manos. Go fuck yourself, you narcissistic murderer. Oh, wait! Calling you a murder is probably too generous. You have people to do that for you."

"Like Estra?" The mortal king scoffed and stroked a hand down his robe. I noticed the blood. My heart sank. "She put up a good fight, but her head slid off just like the rest."

"Monster!" I jumped forward to see if his head would roll too, but Malreus and Casseus grabbed me back. Simos didn't mind that I wanted his uncle dead and decapitated. He snarled and encouraged the hatred; "She didn't deserve that."

"I grow weary of mortal cares." The Wolf growled and before any of us could react, wrapped it's large, clawed paw around Manos' neck.

"M-my lord!" Manos wriggled like an insect in the death grip of the Wolf. My father made no move to stop his own- he didn't care for Manos and he was currently calculating how to end the Wolf's life without getting too close to those claws.

Simos' eyes widened and so did most of ours as we watched Erebus bring Manos up to his face. Boro moved back- totally shocked that his king was being treated in this manner. Manos was considered the most powerful man in the world, but he was still just a man. I felt Malreus move past me and I noticed his eyes were set on Boro; like that of a panther stalking its prey.

"E-erebus!" Manos choked on his words as he struggled to speak. The grip around his neck tightened and suddenly, a disturbing snap filled the room.

Manos' head lolled back; his eyes were still open wide with shock and dismay.

We all froze, somewhat surprised and I honestly wasn't sure why. We knew Erebus had no fond feelings towards mortals, but the manner in which he'd just ended this man's life was so... unsettling. My father didn't seem too shocked at all, but Simos looked pale as he stepped forward with a deep frown. I don't think he expected his uncle's death so soon- even if he was silently praying for it. Perhaps he'd still wanted to speak with Manos; to discuss all that had happened. To talk about Nyx and Xon and the whole ordeal, but now his chances of closure were even less, if not, non-existent.

But what happened next stunned us even more.

Erebus lifted Manos up to his face and pried open his mouth with one sharp claw. A faint dark bronzish light appeared close to Manos' mouth and it slowly grew in size and vibrancy.

I felt the force-field around us drop and my mother stepped back. She'd unconsciously let her guard down as her head turned to Nyx- her face filled with utter shock and bewilderment. "Wha- what is the meaning of this?" She whispered, but no one else could utter a word as we watched while Manos' soul travelled up to the Wolf's mouth.

My eyes automatically darted to my father only to find him staring wide-eyed and with an open mouth at Erebus. Thanatos was beyond shocked at what we were all witnessing. It was frightening to see him look almost fearful.

But it made so much sense now! All of it!

What didn't make any sense though, was how Erebus was capable in sucking up souls?

The bronze light faded into the Wolf's mouth and it's sharp canines closed with a satisfying chuckle. We watched in horror as the stone around Erebus' thighs began to crack and snap off in small pieces, until finally, he was able to rip out his one leg from the stone cage.

My father foresaw what was about to happen, so he pushed us all back towards the entrance with a heavy gust of air and conjured up a great wall of fire that separated us from the two gods.

"Thanatos!" My mother shouted at him and attempted to extinguish the fiery barrier with ice, but it quickly regenerated. Nyx shot out an electric bolt to stop my mother from tampering with the wall, but her attempt was blocked by Claudeus. He reverted it back to her and the older woman was slammed back against the stone wall behind her.

"Nyx!" My mother shouted in anger; her blue eyes lighting up with a white electricity that travelled down to her hands. "You knew the horror this could cause!"

"You know nothing of what I know!" Nyx hissed back and threw a ice dagger at my mother's neck. She backhanded it away from her face and returned the favour with a cluster of icy shards, aimed at Nyx's face.

"Stop this before Thanatos is hurt!"

Nyx scoffed; "My son will not be hurt! I will not allow him to be hurt again! This has nothing to do with you!"

The twins were lost with what to do- either they helped me with breaking down the wall of fire or they defended my mother from Nyx's attacks- not that mater would want the help, or need it. But Erebus quickly solved their lack of direction.

His large paw hit the ground and the chamber quaked with power. It was a signal- a call. The large array of magically enhanced and disturbing animals from the trials emerged from all corners of the chamber- intent on making us suffer.

Casseus and Claudeus drew their swords and daggers and slid into action as a harpy and a large jaguar dropped from our side of the cave. Malreus darted to catch Boro, who had sprinted for the exit as soon as the wall of fire had gone up.

My eyes were set on the tall barrier between my father and us. I was going to bring it down, or get past, one way or another. But Simos wasn't too keen on my idea.

He pulled me back before I could pierce a hole in the magical wall; "Are you crazy?"

"Don't, Simos!" I barked at him and shook him off.

"You're going to get hurt!"

I ignored him and pushed the blade into the fire. A shock of pure magic rushed through my arms and down my spine, sending me flying across the cave. I rolled onto the floor and was left a smoking mess. Simos snarled at me and dodged the sudden attack of a snake.

Those damn walking snakes!

I quickly pulled myself up, even if my body felt like it had been hit by a mallet. So breaking through wasn't a good idea then. Dammit.

Simos sliced the head off one of the snakes and yelled at me; "Theia! Help your brothers and-"

"Do not tell me what to do, Simos!" I pointed my dagger at him and drew it back. I threw it forward and it hit the snake sneaking up to him square in the eye. Simos jumped back- nearly having thought that I had aimed my knife at him. He gasped in relief. "Thanks..."

"Stay here and help."

"Theia-"

"I said don't." I ripped the air open, revealing a green portal. It wasn't often that I ripped at space to make my portals appear, but my patience was done.

"No!" Simos attempted to grab me back, but I was through the portal before he could reach me. I landed to the side of the two fighting titans.

At first, neither of them had noticed my arrival, but when I closed off the area to prevent anyone else from teleporting in, my father's eyes found mine. He'd felt the change in magic.

"No!" He shouted with fear and with a great effort, he pushed Erebus back into the wall, nearly using half of his magic in order to keep the large Wolf in place. "Get out! Now!"

"I'm not leaving you!" I formed a spear with my ice and threw it across the gap. It hit Erebus between two ribs and he howled out in pain. My father had to let go, because the magic was eating at his supply. Erebus recoiled from the wall and was sent flying forward, but he managed to land on his hind legs; scraping the ground with his long claws.

"Get out, Theia." Erebus barked aggressively and directed his dead stare at me. "This does not concern you."

"Think again." I jumped down from the high ledge above Erebus; a dagger drawn and ready. My duplicate that had made the icy spear faded away, leaving only green dust in its place. I might have tricked the Wolf with my mirage, but Erebus was still ready to defend himself no matter what. He smacked me away like a fly and I hit the wall- hard.

"Theia!" My father yelled when he saw the blood drip down my temple. I had hit my head very hard and the world was spinning. I saw Erebus growl with rage and jump forward to attack my father- the dagger I'd tried to use laying forgotten on the ground.

My vision faded in and out. I knew I'd been hit too hard- far too hard to make any sort of contribution. I had to take a minute to heal, but there was no time. Most of what was happening around me meshed into one big cacophony of chaos.

Simos and the twins were fighting creatures left, right and centre. My other and Nyx were screaming at each other and trying to keep the other from getting close to the wall of fire. Malreus had killed Boro- or so it seemed. His sword was dripping with fresh blood as he raced towards the barrier and screamed; "Get up! Theia! Get up!"

His voice was muffled and the black void kept fading in and out. I attempted to stand up; steadying myself against the stone wall. Blood filled my vision and I noticed that I was bleeding far too much. This is not good...

My eyes lifted to see what was happening with Erebus and my father.

They were tearing at each other; their magic was almost completely diminished and now they were left with their weapons. My father sliced at the Wolf's face with his scythe, but he jumped back just in time and retaliated by slashing out with his long claws.

It scrapped my father's arm, but it was a minor injury. Thanatos dodged around and skilfully slid underneath Erebus, slicing through his calf. The wolf howled out in pain and rolled away from the god of death. Blood spilled onto the floor and across my father's face.

It looked like he was winning.

Thanatos twisted around and smacked the hilt of his scythe across Erebus' face and flipped around the weapon again, slicing it's sharp blade across Erebus' face, cutting a deep gash across his right eye.

The Wolf cried out in pain and pure fury as it clutched his eye.

Erebus fell to his knees and my father grabbed his father's long snout in one hand, clasping his piercing canines together. Erebus was too weak to move. "Finally, you die." My father hissed and drew his scythe and held it under Erebus' throat.

My vision was finally aligned again and I could see clearly. The cut on my temple had healed and I wiped the blood from the side of my face. I stepped close to them, even though they were still quite a distance away from me.

I noticed then that Erebus had been able to break the stone mould from the Aegis rather easily when he'd sucked up Manos' soul, but now, after challenging my father, his power had shrunk again. Erebus' energy level was weakened.

So in actual fact, it was true- Thanatos was stronger than Erebus. Much stronger.

And Erebus knew it. So then why would he block off the cave and section himself off with the one person that could kill him? It didn't make any sense.

Unless...

My heart stopped.

"Get back!" I screamed at my father and moved up my hands to pull him backwards with my magic, but it was too late.

Erebus had planned it all- even his defeat.

A familiar glimmer of bronze and gold caught my eye and the bile rose up in my throat as I released what it was.

I fell to my knees when the sharp shard of the Aegis pierced my father's chest.

We're almost at the end...