THEOS

Chapter 69: It’s an Ancestor

I live… What?

Luke attempted to look around in the whiteness, only to find that he couldn't.

I’m not really here. Is this a dream?

“What is this? Who are you?” He asked. His eyes landed on the giant hunched forward and sitting atop an obsidian throne.

Is he Max’s dad?

He was muscular, and nearly naked. Dressed only in a loincloth, white hair fell down his shoulders and covered his face. Only his eyes, two solid blue orbs, were visible through his wild mane, and folded frame.

“This is my home, and I am Prometheus.” He said casually, his voice deep but parched. As if he hadn’t had anything to drink in ages.

Shit. Oh damn. This is… Luke’s eyes widened in surprise.

Bloodlines. I assumed they came from somewhere. I knew they would. It’s in the name but– a Titan. He thought, carefully keeping his expression neutral. Who is Max? Why would the Seed pick his body? Why was someone related to a god even being raised by a mortal fisherman?

And Prometheus on top of that.

In the myths he’s one guy who’s pretty consistently good, at least from what I remember. Gave fire to mankind and some other stuff… But there’s something wrong here.

The egg I got, for the burning eagle. It’s born from one that ate Prometheus’s liver. Has been for millenia according to the description the Seed gave me. That can’t be a coincidence.

“I wonder, have you heard of me? Does my name still mean anything?” He asked desperately.

Luke frowned, not having expected that question. But something about how he asked, told Luke it would not be good for him if he answered wrong. “I’ve heard stories. Vague ones. I’m not sure if they–”

“You have?” He leaned to the very edge of his seat in excitement. His hair still obscured his face, but Luke could practically feel the smile on his face. “What do they say? Do they sing about my sacrifice? Of how I valiantly fought against my own family on Zeus’s behest? How I taught him and his brothers the secrets of Divinity. How I guided his children to the same feat so that he could stabilize his rule. Or how I negotiated with the Othrysians for their surrender. Or how I created the greatest kingdoms Theos has seen for them to rule. Have you!?” His eyes shined.

“I ha–”

“YOU LIE.” He roared, and for a moment the whiteness shimmered and cracked, giving Luke a tiny glimpse at something disgusting, before it repaired itself. Prometheus leaned back into his throne heavily. His chest rising and falling rapidly. Tears, stained with blood, dripped down the length of his hair and fell onto his chest. “I’m sorry. They’ve erased me, haven’t they?” He said miserably. “One mistake. That’s all it was. I thought I could do it. I really did. I thought I could break the limits of Divinity. Ascend even higher. Is that so bad? Is that sooo bad? We all wanted it.” Bits of blood soaked spittle flew through the air.

What is he even talking about? Luke thought. Becoming more frightened and more unnerved every second he spent in the company of the Titan.

The world rumbled and shook. The giant figure of Prometheus slipped from his throne, and collapsed on the ground. He coughed and splatters of blood littered the once pristine whiteness. Blackness crept outwards and infected the world from where they fell.

“What was that?”

Prometheus groaned miserably. Every fiber of his being oozing misery.

“It is too soon for us to speak, and our …connection already grows faint. My prison is most detestable.” He lifted his arm and waved. Color crept into the world to reveal a hideous sight.

A crazed expression peaked through the Titans hair, revealing pale skin and rows upon rows of yellow shark like teeth where his lips should have been. His muscles shrank to show an emaciated frame. Scarred skin hung loosely on thin bones, with dried blood caking his entire midsection. His throne, nowhere to be seen as his illusion broke.

“Tell no one that you carry my blood.” He rasped. “I do not know which of my descendants sired you, but your bloodline is pure. Pure as if you were my own.” He took a deep breath. Blood, black and foul spilled from his nose. Chains clanked and scraped against the stone, as he wiped his nose with his arm. A river of red tears spilled down the side of his face.

He looks wretched.

In the distance an eagle cried, and a gust of wind ruffled the Titan’s hair. He closed his eyes in resignation.

“DO NOT PITY ME!” He roared. Turning away in shame.

“I–”

“The warden comes to feast upon my flesh. A fate I must suffer, still.” He whispered. “Do not seek me. I will find you once I am free. I am sorry. Madness takes me sometimes. You must never–”

He closed his eyes. A flaming beast slammed into him, its beak ripping into the flesh of the giant. He howled in agony.

“Never what?” Luke asked, but it was too late. His vision went dark.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself back underneath the slab of metal alongside Lukeus. He gasped for breath as the crushing pressure of the stone, and the accompanied agony all returned at once.

His mind reeled as he tried to come to terms with what he had seen and the magnitude of it and what it meant, before he discarded the chain of thought entirely, and opened his Status.

Advance first. Figure out what the meeting with the crazy Titan means for my life later.

Status | Skills | Quests | Inventory

Name: Lukas King

Tier: Mortal

Bloodline: Eyes of Insight

Mana: 809 / 499 000.5

Rate: 15% per hour

Strength: 999

Agility: 999

Constitution: 999

Arcana: 999

Stat Points: 423

Charges: 7/10

He ignored the line about his bloodline on his status. As much as he wanted to learn what it meant and what it did, he had bigger and quite literally more pressing problems. If he lived he would have plenty of time to figure out what the Eyes of Insight were, and how he could use them.

As things were however, he’d be crushed to death if he didn’t get stronger immediately. He needed to break through the Warrior-tier. Adding one free point to each of his stats at the same time, he sighed in bliss, as for the first time in over a week, his stats increased. Just now realizing how much he had missed the sensation of his body improving. This time, whether it was because of how long it had been or because he was finally crossing into the next tier, the improvements felt even more profound. His strength surged manifold, his body toughened far beyond what it ever had before, and his nerves lit up with activity, his thoughts slowing to a crawl and his vision, hearing and other senses sharpening. Each far beyond what a single Stat Point should have offered.

His Status flickered away.

Aethereal Mana gushed into him, and his own reserves began to surge before suddenly coming to a halt. He felt something change within his mana.

It rippled, and coalesced, the change starting from his heart and spreading out through the rest of his body in an instant. It still felt ephemeral, like it always did, but it felt more real somehow. Both closer and deeper.

It was as if he had been seeing it through a window this entire time, and now it was right there. Without any obstruction. Just waiting to be used.

It was a subtle change, but a profound one, and as it flowed within his body, he could feel it brush against the fabric of space itself. Pushing against it the same way his hand might push against a rock.

So that’s how warrior’s fly. He grinned in spite of his circumstances. I feel lighter too. He thought, the weight pressing down from above felt lighter, and the sting of the ground against his face just a tad more shallow. Just a little more tolerable.

I have a few more minutes to live at least.

Focusing on his hand, he channeled mana towards it, and then out. In a sensation similar to his boots, it caught in the air. He pushed against it, fruitlessly. The block of metal pinning him was too heavy for him to lift it off of him.

“Luke!” Lukeus grunted from beside him. “Are– you still alive?”

“I am.”

“Good.” He went silent. “Any ideas on how to get out?” He gasped.

“Do you have any more of those Hero-tier talismans?”

“Two of each.”

“Good lets–”

“Heracles won’t survive.” Lukeus shut him down immediately.

“She’ll protect him, but we’ll die if we don’t.” Luke pleaded.

“What then? We can’t beat her.” He whispered.

“What th–”He groaned in pain, and suddenly the load on Luke got heavier. Lukeus had stopped resisting.

“Lukeus. Lukeus!” Luke yelled. “Stay with me!” Desperation mounted inside him, as he tried to think of a solution.

None came.

He grit his teeth as he lifted with every ounce of his strength. Already knowing that it was futile. His mana was already beginning to run thin, and the second it ran out, he would be crushed along with Lukeus.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Is this it? What was that quest? I broke through the Warrior-tier. Now what?

…Do I use the Charge? A traitorous voice inside his head whispered. Urging him to give in and escape from his suffering. Blood spilled from his mouth, as the last dredges of his mana kept him alive.

Reluctantly he reached out towards the Seed. Hesitating, in what he thought might be his final moments. He really didn’t want to run again.

Just a few more seconds. Yeah. Right at the last moment. When there’s absolutely no other choice. That’s when I’ll use a Charge, and not a second before.

Thunder boomed, and the telltale noise of rain splattering against the ground filled his ears, making his breath hitch.

It wasn’t cloudy before, was it? He thought deliriously.

“ARKE!” A voice resounded through the air.

The metal slab shifted and the pressure on Luke eased, before it vanished entirely, revealing a lone figure standing over Lukeus. A vial appeared in his hand, and he poured it into his mouth.

“Zeus.” Arke said softly. “I wasn't–”

“Silence.” He whispered. Immediately, her mouth snapped shut. “Are you okay?” He asked Luke, another vial appeared in his hand, and he held it towards Luke. His gray eyes beaming down at him softly and with kindness.

This is insane. Prometheus and now Zeus?

“I’m okay.” Luke said numbly. Gingerly accepting the offered vial with shaking hands, he opened it and downed it in a single gulp. In too much pain to even lament wasting on minor wounds, what was possibly the highest tier healing potion he had ever touched.

He marveled as his broken skin stitched itself back together, and the coppery taste of blood in his mouth receded.

“Lord Zeus, I–” Arke started to say.

“You were going to kill two of my son's friends infront of him.” Zeus looked at her with a blank expression. His eyes snapping to Heracles, still restrained in the air with a rock in his mouth. Noticing her gaze, she immediately let go of his son.

Her jaw clenched, and she straightened in the air. Her earlier nervousness seemingly gone. “They broke my laws. It is my right to punish them.”

“Who broke your laws?” He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

“They di–”

“Who.” He interrupted her again. His voice barely above a whisper, and nearly inaudible among the sound of thunder.

“My Lord–”

“If I am not mistaken, it was Heracles that commanded his fleet to press past your barrier. Was It not?”

“It was My Lord,” She said.

“So why was it that you would punish these two?”

Her face set into a frown. josei

“My Lord. Heracles is your son–”

“Are you suggesting that because he is my son, that I will punish you?”

“Of course not My Lord. Your justice and integrity are without question.”

Zeus combed his hands through his beard. “That is true. Punish him. Right now.”

“What?” She asked dumbly.

“Father this is–”

“Silence.” Zeus said. “This woman thinks I’m an unjust king. I must prove that I am not. She will punish you for breaking her law, and after she has done so, she will return with me to Olympus and explain to me what her law is, and why she made it. As is in accordance with the Creed, and the oaths that bind us.”

“My Lord, by the authority vested in me by the Council I am allowed to–”

“Do you think I don’t know the rules of my own Council?”

“I don’t My Lord.”

“Then why are you telling them to me?”

“I–”

An arrow shot forth and bounced off Zeus’s shoulder.

“Sorry!” Rex shouted from the edge of the barrier. Wings made of eyes in mouths flapping behind his back.

This guy. Luke thought to himself with a grin on his face, as he fell face first onto the ground unconscious.