Cassandra fought drenched in rainwater.

Both infantry forces had first engaged in the customary clash of organized formations, but the weather had quickly disrupted it. The rain had turned into a heavy downpour with blowing wind powerful enough to cast horses down to earth. The ground had melted into mud on which armored men slipped. The wounded were left to be trampled on by their own comrades or struck down by enemy spears.

The battle lines had collapsed from lightning bombardments; some cast by Zama’s mages on their cursed hill and others by Andromache. It was a testament to both armies’ discipline that individual warbands managed to keep cohesion as they clashed on the muddy plain. The screams and shouts of men were drowned out by the noise of crackling thunder.

The skies themselves want us all dead, Cassandra thought as she dodged one of Zama’s falcata and nearly tripped on drenched grass. Her fork’s hot surface caused the raindrops to transform into steam on contact. If the veil of mist didn’t partly obscure her movements, she would have been long dead. Two gushing wounds, one in her right shoulder and the other in the left thigh, itched as rainwater touched them.

Zama lacked Ultor’s strength or Romulus’ speed but struck with seasoned skill. His falcatas cut through flesh as easily as raindrops. More worryingly, he guessed Cassandra’s movements before she even made them. He dodged to the side when she thrust her fork at his chest, struck her shoulder when she left an opening, and aimed with supernatural precision. Many soldiers had already fallen to his flurry of blows. Their corpses littered the muddy ground next to Cassandra’s broken shield.

Dispater tried to flank the general from the left with a silver sword. Zama saw it coming too late to dodge, but a Valian shield-bearer immediately moved in his way and parried the blow. Dispater’s eyes shone with a bright yellow glow and the shield-bearer turned into a statue of gold. A yellow spot on Zama’s left cheek briefly formed before vanishing as swiftly as it appeared.

He can only foresee attacks from the right with the [Eye of Athena], Cassandra thought. Flanking him from the left is our only shot at beating him.

Zama himself was dangerous but manageable. If anything, he struck Cassandra as less powerful than a combat-oriented [Hero] like Jason of Iolcus. His foresight and buffs couldn’t fully compensate for his old age and lack of legendary weapons.

Zama didn’t fight alone, however. A dozen shield-bearers in heavy golden armor protected their general and kept positioning themselves in Cassandra’s way. Two mages assisted from the back of Zama’s personal guard but hadn’t attacked so far. Instead, they constantly reapplied buffs on their leader whenever Andromache dispelled them.

“I am a [Demigod],” Zama taunted Dispater, “and no upstart [Hero] may turn me to gold.”

“Then I will turn you into burning flesh!” Andromache snarled from the back as she cast a thunderbolt from her staff. The lightning bounced off Zama’s chest as it hit a magical protection of some kind.

Rook, who had recovered from his dizziness, joined the fight. The griffin’s melted wing prevented him from flying so he leaped at Zama with his sharp talons. The general saw it coming and two of his bodyguards immediately moved in Rook’s way with their shields raised. Rook’s magical claws tore through the metal like paper and slashed the arms underneath.

No sooner did the wounds appear that they healed before Cassandra’s eyes.

The [Regen] status. The same healing effect that Kairos had gained from his crown affected all of Zama’s army.

The Lady of Cinders and Andromache supported Rook with bursts of flames. The two mages at the back of Zama’s formation cast spells in tandem to counter. A wall of mud rose to swallow the flames before turning into a tide of dirt that threatened to swallow Cassandra. She used her fork to propel herself high above the enemy formation and target the mages with a fireball. Once again two shield-bearers moved to protect their frailer allies. Cassandra’s flames heated the metal of their armors but failed to bypass them.

The members of Zama’s royal guard didn’t shout warnings or even exchange words. They acted on instinct. Like the ants of Vali, they coordinated naturally.

They’re extensions of Zama himself, Cassandra realized as she landed on the ground behind the general’s formation, sandwiching them between her, Dispater, and Andromache. Until we can take him down his soldiers won’t rout.

Dispater seemed to have found a workaround though. Another soldier engaging him in a duel turned to gold and sank into the mud, defeated. Zama’s mages could buff their allies enough to help them resist most ailments, but not a [Hero]’s Legendary Skill.

The other soldiers pushed Rook back and the general pointed his sword at Dispater. Zama’s men instantly moved as far away from the Lycean [Hero] as they could.

Cassandra looked at the skies. A current of electricity gathered in the black rain clouds.

Zama had realized the danger Dispater posed to his soldiers and pinpointed a target for the [Thunder Hammer] spell.

“Lord Dispater, run!” Cassandra shouted as loud as she could. “Andromache, clear the skies!”

Dispater’s eyes widened in horror as he took a step back and almost tripped on the mud. Andromache raised her scepter but Zama’s mages summoned ice spikes beneath her feet before she could cast anything. The nymph had to turn herself into mist to avoid being impaled from all sides.

Cassandra charged at the mages to disrupt them but heard Rook shout a warning. “Cass, left!” shrieked the griffin as the two shield-bearers he struggled with tackled him into the mud. “Left!”

Cassandra barely had the time to look and see an indistinct figure lunging at her through the downpour. A dagger cut through the air, aiming for her neck.

A Rogue!

Had he been hiding behind a shield-bearer from the start? Or used [Invisibility] to remain hidden until he could strike before the downpour revealed her position?

Whatever the case, Cassandra fired a burst of flames with her fork to repel the assailant. The soldier died screaming as her ghostfire pierced through his magical defenses, but his interruption distracted her at a critical moment.

The clouds screamed and lightning fell down on Dispater.

The thunderbolt illuminated the skies and struck the earth with such strength that all raindrops across the point of impact evaporated on the spot. A flash of light swallowed the world.

When Cassandra could see again, a mighty shadow towered over the unharmed Dispater.

The gigantic man had severe third-degree burns all over his body from the impact. The lightning had deepened his existing wounds and opened new ones. Smoke rose from his helmet. He didn’t seem to mind either way.

Ultor had saved his employer again.

“You will not survive a third strike,” Zama warned the [Demigod] as his soldiers closed ranks around him.

“I may die,” Ultor replied, his flesh so hot from the residue heat that raindrops evaporated on contact. “But I will never fall.”

Ultor charged into the fray with a fearsome roar that shook the heavens themselves.

Two shield-bearers barely managed to get in the [Demigod]’s way before he could reach Zama himself. Ultor grabbed one of the soldiers by the leg and used him as a club to beat up the second to death.

Zama’s soldiers abandoned Cassandra, Rook, and everyone else to flank the [Demigod] assaulting them. The fighters’ spears cut through Ultor’s burned skin and mages nailed him with ice spikes.

He did not stop. He did not relent.

But he could not reach Zama.

Though he moved as fast as a panther, Ultor had gotten slower, sloppier, weaker. The [Thunder Hammer] spell had probably damaged his muscles. A third strike from the spell might very well slay the undefeated gladiator.

Zama clearly believed so. He remained safely out of range and pointed his falcatas at the [Demigod] to call another lightning strike.

“What do we do, Cassandra?” Andromache transformed back from mist into a nymph next to her crewmate. “The gladiator will not last forever.”

“Can you clear the weather?” Cassandra asked as she regrouped with Dispater and Rook.

“Not unless the fool general stops buffing his mages or the sphinx riddles them to death,” Andromache replied. Light and steam came from the hill where Zama’s mages had taken refuge. “They are gnats compared to me, but many rats can stand up to a cat together.”

Cassandra bit her lip as she helped Dispater get back to his feet. “Are you wounded?”

“Only my dignity,” her father-in-law replied. His silver armor was covered in mud. “Zama wants me dead first.”

Cassandra glanced at the battlefield and struggled to see through the downpour. Some of Zama’s soldiers who had beaten back their Lyceans counterparts moved towards her group’s position to perform an encirclement. Our retreat is cut off, Cassandra realized. If we don’t rout Zama now the rest of his army will converge on us.

“How many of his soldiers can you turn to gold, Lord Dispater?” Cassandra asked her father-in-law.

“All of them if their Vitality is lower than my Charisma.” The old [Hero] spat on the ground. “Which with their buffs is less common than I expected.”

“I could buff your Charisma,” Andromache suggested.

“I could peck out his shiny eye too,” Rook said while glaring at Zama. “He won’t be so tough without it.”

Cassandra tried furiously to think of a solution. Paralyzing Zama’s soldiers would lessen the pressure on them but wouldn’t win the battle for them. If only they could affect the general directly.

Her thoughts turned to how Zama’s cheek had started to turn to gold as one of his soldiers turned into a statue, even though he should have shrugged it off entirely. Could there be a way to bypass this—

Cassandra’s eyes widened as thunder echoed above her head.

That’s it, she realized. The weakness of [One for All].

“Andromache, at my signal, cast debuffs on Zama’s weaker soldiers,” Cassandra told her ally. “Vitality and Agility.”

The witch frowned. “Strengthening Dispater would allow us to target all of the soldiers.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Zama would shrug debuffs off if Andromache cast them on him directly, but if Cassandra’s intuition was correct…

Dispater’s gaze flared with understanding. He had figured out his daughter-in-law’s plan and thought of a step of his own. “Cassandra, the tactic we discussed at the camp—”

“No,” Cassandra replied immediately. “Not unless we have no choice.”

“You must. Even knowing the cost. Ultor gives us an opportunity, we won’t have another.”

“You will not—”

“I will,” Dispater replied with a determined look. “I’ve survived the worst.”

Cassandra clenched her jaw but her father-in-law held her gaze. There was no hesitation in it, only the grim steadfastness of absolute confidence. The fork in Cassandra’s hands suddenly felt so heavy…

Thunder boomed above her head.

If they failed they would all perish.

“Alright,” Cassandra said as flames burnt on her weapon’s tip. “But if you lie to me, I swear I will hound you to the Underworld.”

Her father-in-law smiled. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“What’s the plan?” Rook asked without his usual chirpy excitement. If anything, he sounded tense and worried.

“Clear the path to Zama,” Cassandra said. “Andromache, cast the spells when I shout ‘now.’ We won’t have another chance.”

“Madness!” Andromache hissed. “He will see you coming!”

“I know!” Dispater replied as he charged. “I’m counting on it!”

Cassandra roared as she followed after him. Rook quickly outpaced her and Dispater. “For the shinies!” he shouted as loudly as he could.

The griffin’s voice couldn’t match that of Ultor. The [Demigod] tore a mage in half with his bare hands and a mighty shout. Spears and axes had pierced his skin in half a dozen places. Of Zama’s escort, only a single shield-bearer and a lone mage remained.

The [Thunder Hammer] struck before Ultor could finish them off.

Lightning powerful enough to sink a battleship hit the [Demigod] for the third time and fried the mud for meters around into dust. Flesh ruptured in some places to reveal ribs and bones underneath.

A charred statue stood surrounded by dead men. The wind blew and the downpour raged.

Yet Ultor did not fall.

Even if he struggled to stay on his feet.

He’s still alive?! Cassandra thought. Even Zama appeared shocked when Ultor let out a bellowing breath.

However, the [Demigod] of gladiators’ legendary resilience had reached its limits. Ultor stood in place shaking with terrible burns on his chest, arms, and thighs. It took all of his strength to stay still. He had become a sitting duck who might collapse anytime.

It won’t be in vain, Cassandra thought as the last Valian shield-bearer intercepted her group. I swear.

Rook tackled the shield-bearer to the ground, leaving the path clear to Cassandra and Dispater. The last mage nearly swept them aside with a spell. Dispater swung his sword first and the spellcaster fell screaming in the mud; his two hands having fallen off his arms.

Dispater charged Zama before his bodyguard had even hit the ground. His sword was raised, his aim true. “Memento Mori!”

“Fool,” Zama replied. His stance now held weakness and the eye of Athena glowed. All of Dispater’s strikes would be predicted, parried, and neutralized.

“Now!” Cassandra shouted as she followed behind Dispater. “Andromache!”

The witch waved her scepter and cast her magic. “[Agility Down], [Accelerated Vitality Down]!”

The magic targeted Zama’s soldiers, but it was their general who flinched. A pressure fell on his old shoulders, his eyes widened in surprise.

Cassandra had guessed correctly.

You can spread your buffs to your allies, General, but the relationship works in reverse too, Cassandra thought as her fork’s points became searing hot. She made sure to move in Dispater’s shadow, from the left. You take on their ailments and debuffs so they won’t suffer from them.

One for all and all for one.

Whether Zama shrugged off weaker ailments and debuffs as they started to affect him or could decide to reject them as they started to take hold did not matter. As shown by Dispater’s gold curse, they affected the general for a few critical seconds either way.

Debuffs alone weren’t enough to paralyze Zama though. The general quickly powered through his handicap. One of his falcatas sent Dispater’s sword flying in a parry.

The other struck Dispater in the left hip and sliced through his armor.

Dispater did not try to dodge. He let the sword through with a forced smile, ignoring the blood, ignoring the pain.

Only when Cassandra appeared from behind her father-in-law did Zama realize his mistake.

By using the correct angle, Cassandra had shadowed Dispater and let her father-in-law obscure her movements.

The [Eye of Athena] could only predict what it could visually observe.

Now it was too late. Zama tried to back down, to dodge, but foreseeing an attack meant nothing if he couldn’t physically avoid it. His debuffs slowed him down.

“Tiberius!” Cassandra’s weapon burst with the fires of revenge. “For you!”

The Fork of Nemesis gored through the general’s chest, and his army collapsed with him.

As spear and sword clashed, so did the past and the present.

Siblings exchanged swift strikes and parries on the steps of a staircase of stone. They went up and down as the flow of battle moved from one side to another. Both moved faster than any normal man. Each of them swung and thrust their weapon almost faster than the naked eye could follow.

The sea raged around them. Ships crumbled under a stormy sky. Giant sea serpents battered against the magical shield separating their battlefield from the world beyond. Cracks formed in the barrier and raindrops started falling through.

A second fight took place in the duelists’ memories. Kairos felt it with each parry, each subtle shift in their fighting stances. Somewhere underneath the armor of Romulus, his brother Taulas’ memory remained vivid.

The spear is a strong weapon, but it’s most effective at mid-range, Kairos remembered his brother’s words. In close quarters, its lack of maneuverability makes it a hindrance.

The child Kairos had been would have risked himself in a foolish attack and left himself open. The man he had become kept a healthy distance between himself and his rival. His thrusts were careful, measured. He stayed on the defensive even if it meant letting Romulus gain ground.

The Legate of Lycaon’s heavy sword fell on him as swift as an executioner’s blade. Kairos backflipped down the stairs as it hit the spot where he stood a moment ago. The Thalassocrator trembled as the blow shattered steps.

“If you are so confident, why run away?” Romulus taunted Kairos. “We are almost at the bottom of the stairs.”

“I could never defeat you,” Kairos admitted as he failed to find a hole in his foe’s defense. Each thrust of his spear had been parried, each swing of the Fang of Aurelia deflected. “But this is not like before.”

Kairos smiled.

“I learned.”

Kairos had always sought to defeat his brother the warrior’s way, when he should have won like a rogue.

Calling upon the wind, Kairos dodged a lethal swing by propelling himself high above Romulus. The movement brought him back to his fateful duel with another undead: Jason of Iolcus. Much like he did back then, Kairos struck from above. His swirling winds and flames descended upon Romulus in a pillar brighter than the sun.

The undead Legate was no Jason though. Romulus let out a bestial snarl as a tattered cloak of murdered souls materialized on his back and protected him from the flames. Kairos didn’t recognize Tiberius among the anguished faces in the crimson apparition, though he knew he was somewhere in there.

Kairos landed above Romulus’ position on the stairs. Souls escaped the vile [Demigod]’s cloak in a volley of dark projectiles.

“[Spellblade], [Heartseeker], [Sun of War]!” Kairos’ Dawnspear glowed as bright as the sun when he threw it. The weapon’s holy light dispelled the souls as it surged through the air, aiming straight for Romulus’ heart. The Legate of Lycaon barely had the time to parry with his sword.

The resulting explosion blasted the lower half of the stairs and part of the Thalassocrator’s deck. The Legate of Lycaon fell through broken wood and stones into the depths of the giant ship’s bowels.

“Pelopidas the Tempest, King Lysander, Jason of Iolcus, Thunderclaw the Nemean Lion, Helios the Sun that Was, Pirate Queen Teuta...” Kairos took a deep breath as he summoned his spear back to his hand. “These were my lessons, brother, alongside so many more.”

“And my name will be your last!” Romulus leaped in the air with superhuman strength high above Kairos. The blast had cracked his armor in many parts and shattered his mask. The ghastly visage underneath snapped its fangs at Kairos.

The Travian King threw his spear at his possessed sibling before he could even land. Romulus deflected the projectile with a swing of his sword, but the blast that resulted tossed him against the barrier protecting the Thalassocrator. The cloak of stolen souls let out a red flash as it collided with the magical defenses.

The Thalassocrator’s defenses crumbled.

Hybris hissed in triumph as he swiftly lunged at one of the ship’s defensive towers. The structure collapsed under the [Demigod]’s weight. The archers manning it either fell into the sea or were swiftly eaten by Hybris’ hungry mouth. Above them, the Foresight managed to shatter the harpoon binding it to the Thalassocrator and sent Mithridates’ men falling to their death.

“It’s over, Taulas!” Kairos shouted as Romulus struggled to get back to his feet at the deck’s edge. His cloak of stolen souls flickered in and out of existence from the magical aftershock. “I have surpassed you!”

“Shut up…” The Legate of Lycaon hissed.

Kairos did not listen. “You can surpass the gods! Fight him back, Taulas! Put the wolf back in his cage!”

A dreadful aura arose from Romulus. The cloak of souls regained its bloody shade.

“You are talking to something that is gone.” The voice that came out of Romulus’ mouth was deeper, bloodthirsty. “His soul has been mine since the moment he was born.”

The beast within had shown himself.

“As yours will be!” Lycaon snarled through his puppet’s wolfish fangs as he sent another volley of souls at Kairos.

Kairos quickly ran up the stairs and summoned his spear back to his hand. The wolf-god’s projectiles hit the stairs and the temple at its top; they hit the Thalassocrator’s deck and its defenses; they hit Hybris and empty air. Each soul exploded into a fiery detonation that further damaged Mithridates’ flagship.

Using the winds to carry him faster than his feet, Kairos reached the top of the stairs and the temple’s entrance unscathed. Half of the pillars had collapsed and the structure only barely held together.

The possessed Romulus climbed the debris on all fours with nightmarish speed. He swung his sword while running. Kairos barely had the time to lower his head as the blade came within an inch of splitting him in half from the waist up. The puppet of Lycaon finished his deadly rampage into a pillar, the impact shattering it completely. Part of the roof crumbled on Romulus and buried him under heavy stones.

“All you inspire in me is disgust, my ancestor. I have seen you for what you were in the Necromanteion.” Kairos glared at the debris. “A cruel beast who used a father’s child as a shield because he was afraid of a fair fight.”

“This is the inexorable law of nature,” Lycaon replied through his puppet as he rose. He took a step forward and crushed a stone under his feet. “The weak are the food of the strong. The beast stirs in all of mankind. Don’t you hear it howling for blood?”

Kairos’ grip on the Fang of Aurelia tightened. His mother’s spirit demanded blood. “Let’s play by your rules then.”

Kairos faked a strike with the Fang of Aurelia. Romulus took a step to the side to dodge the feint, only to leave himself open to a blast of wind from the Dawnspear. The blast sent the possessed undead flying straight inside the temple.

“I will stab your vile heart and put you down from inside your prison,” Kairos threatened Lycaon. His eyes scanned the room. No sign of life or decoration besides a solitary throne at its center. Where is Mithridates?

Had he run away now that the battle is lost? Or was he waiting in ambush?

Kairos had no choice but to focus back on the threat at hand. Romulus’ armor was broken, battered from the multiple blows. The evil force animating him did not relent.

“Your shadow will never threaten my family ever again.” Kairos’ voice dripped with disgust and wrath. “Your Age of Wolves will never come to pass. There will be no grand escape from your prison, no rape of Persephone nor murder of Orgonos. Only an ignominious, pitiful death to answer for all the people you slew.”

Romulus swung his sword wildly at Kairos. Unlike the careful strikes and expertise of Taulas, the new style reeked of animal fury. The possessed puppet moved on all fours. His swings were the mad swipes of a savage beast. They were quick, lethal, and unpredictable.

The wolf-god had fully subsumed his host.

Kairos focused on the soft wind around him blowing between the last pillars. He sensed the air with his Dawnspear and became one in the atmosphere. He predicted how Romulus’ wild movements would end the moment he started them.

Their dance lasted less than a minute.

Kairos dodged a swing and a thrust, kicks, and bites. He was the wind, the breeze of Travia.

“I will put you down like the chained dog you are.”

The only thought on his mind was hate.

Hate for this hateful beast who had tried to murder Kairos children before they were even born, enslaved his brother’s soul, and made his mother’s sacrifice necessary. Hate for this abusive ancestor who had condemned his own descendants to a legacy of humiliation, deceit, and exile. Hate for this monster who wore his countless crimes as a badge of honor.

Hate. Hate. Hate.

This is what my ancestors felt when they struck down the Olympians, Kairos realized. In devouring the Old Gods, Lycaon, you have become like them.

Kairos only needed to strike once.

Lycaon had abandoned all notion of defense so he couldn’t parry the blow. His cloak of stolen souls swirled to protect him like a vile shield. The Dawnspear pierced it and the armor underneath both anyway.

Kairos impaled a wolf-god to the temple’s ground.

“The weak are food for the strong, Lycaon?” Kairos twisted the spear. Lycaon’s roar of fury was music to his ears. “You’re right. Your death will mean your victims’ freedom, my ascension to the New Gods, and a glorious future for both Lyce and Travia.”

With his spear firmly in place, Kairos grabbed the Fang of Aurelia with both hands and brought it down.

“Die!”

Romulus grabbed his forearms with both hands before the blade could hit his heart. The undead Legate hissed in desperation as Kairos pushed harder and harder. “Give me back Tiberius!” The Travian King snarled. “Give me back Taulas! Give Hades and his son back to Persephone! Give them all back!”

“There is no escaping the bloodline!” Lycaon snarled back through his puppet’s lips. The flames in his eyes reminded Kairos of the pit of Tartarus the wolf-god had crawled from. “I am the blood that runs through your veins! The hunger in your belly! With each murder you committed, it was my mouth that you fed!”

Romulus kicked Kairos in the chest and threw him off.

Kairos rolled on the ground of the temple more angry than hurt. He rose to his feet as the possessed Romulus struggled to get the Dawnspear out of his chest. “All the blood I’ll see is yours spilling on the floor,” Kairos warned. “Right about now.”

He heard footsteps and froze.

“Please don’t mind me.”

A figure walked from behind the throne and stepped into the spotlight. Kairos mistook the man for an automaton for no longer than a second; his [Observer] Skill immediately recognized Mithridates.

“Go on.” The Poison Emperor chuckled without joy, his left hand hidden behind his back. “I do love tragedies.”

Kairos hastily pointed the Fang of Aurelia at Mithridates. He didn’t dare summon the Dawnspear to his hand, lest it freed Romulus. “Are you here to play a part in it?”

“Play? In a way. My [Pantheon] is empty. My army is routed. My plans for a Thessalan Empire are dashed.” The Poison Emperor glanced at the holes in the temple. A sea of fire surrounded his crumbling battleship. “I have come to congratulate you, Kairos. You have ruined everything I worked so hard to achieve.”

“You’re welcome,” Kairos replied with wariness. “I did my best.”

“Alas, you left your work incomplete.” Mithridates revealed the hand behind his back and the weapon it wielded. “So long as I live, I will never stop fighting for my dream.”

A broken trident of terrible beauty.

Kairos’ heart skipped a beat. He summoned the Dawnspear to his hand and charged at Mithridates, Romulus be damned.

Too little, too late.

“Oh Pontus, Protogenoi of the sea and patron of Pergamon!” The broken [Trident of Poseidon] glowed in the Poison Emperor’s hands. “I make you an offering! All my foes will go to a watery grave! I will be the flow of calamity, the river that washes away the slain! I am the tide of destruction!”

Mithridates shed his mortal skin in a flood of saltwater.

Kairos felt Romulus’ hand grab his shoulder as the tide washed them both away.

On the deck of the Foresight, Julia raised her bloodied gladius at the last enemy standing. “Surrender, the day is ours.”

“Today mayhaps, but tomorrow belongs to His Majesty.” Even alone and doomed, Absyrtus hung on to his sword. His men were either bleeding on the Foresight’s deck or had their corpses thrown overboard, yet he still sounded convinced of his master’s inevitable victory.

Julia had to admire his loyalty if nothing else. “If he aims to rule Tartarus mayhaps.”

“Glory to King Mithridates!” Absyrtus charged at her in a final, suicidal display of foolish bravery. The fact that a dozen soldiers immediately moved to defend their queen did not deter him. “Glory to Perga—”

A ballista bolt tore Pergamon’s last soldier apart and threw him overboard. Julia looked over the deck as Absyrtus fell into the sea below.

“Thank you, Thales,” the Queen said as she reviewed the battlefield. Mithridates’ fleet was naught but sinking wrecks now. Hybris had partly coiled around the Thalassocrator and proceeded to squeeze it.

Her husband was nowhere to be seen.

“Move the Foresight closer,” Julia ordered. “We must assist our king at onc—”

The world trembled.

Julia almost fell overboard as a shockwave shook the Foresight. She barely managed to hang on to a soldier’s shoulder just in time to watch the Thalassocrator snapping in half below them. A mighty tide of water sent floatsams floating in all directions. Hybris himself, the [Demigod] and self-proclaimed master of the seas, was thrown back into the water.

The true master of the oceans had emerged from the Thalassocrator’s remains to make his fury known.

Julia, Thales, and the Foresight’s crew could only watch in horror as a gargantuan shape rose from the sea and all the way to the skies. A pillar of wooden scales as strong as a fortress’ walls pierced the rainwater clouds. The creature was serpentine in nature, but thicker than Talos and longer than the horizon.

Its emergence sent mighty tidal waves to ravage the Lycean-Travian fleet. The bay swallowed ships by the dozens. Agron’s Bridgeburner was flung at Pergamon’s walls and snapped in half on impact. The Cetae retreated to the sea’s depths in a panicked rout.

Julia looked up with terror and wonder as her [Observer] Skill identified the creature.

Mithridates-Apollyon, the Last Leviathan

Legend: The Poison Sea (God).

Pantheon: Diadochi.

Level: ???

The clouds turned a dark shade of purple as the beast let out a screeching roar.

Mithridates-Apollyon’s [God of Poison] Legendary Skill has turned the weather to [Acid Rain].

All living creatures will take passive [Poison] damage from the rain! The damage will bypass Resistance and Immunity!

A raindrop fell on Julia’s hand and the sea turned to poison.

Kairos struggled to stay awake.

He vomited saltwater, but more filled his nose and throat. His left hand was half-submerged, the right touching the wood flotsam that carried him away. Neither held a weapon. Maybe they had been washed away by the current, the waves, the tide of destruction.

A spike of wood had gored through his belly. At the edge of his vision, Kairos saw his guts spilling out in the sea; the rest was occupied by the largest sea serpent he had ever seen. The skies were turning purple. The seawater splashing on his face felt foul and deadly.

I have… Kairos struggled to form a thought as his vision blurred. The Foresight floated in the distance far too close to the divine serpent. My spear… my children are here… my kingdom for a spear…

“The Age of Wolves has come.”

The grim shadow of Romulus towered above him. The Fang of Aurelia’s sharp blade glittered in the broken Legate’s hand as he struggled to stand on the flotsam.

“Your wife will wail and your children will suffer. But know that I am merciful, my errant pup. You will meet them all soon, so very soon.” The avatar of the wolf god raised the sacrificial dagger above Kairos’ heart. He had a sense of irony if nothing else. “In my stomach.”

Kairos turned his head and looked at his brother in the face. “F… fi…”

“A deathbed prayer?” The wolf-god delayed his execution. “Pray for my forgiveness, my child, and I shall take you back. Back to my pack. I will tear apart your false skin of mankind and reveal the fangs underneath. We will paint the stars with blood.”

“Fight…” Kairos blurted out saltwater. “Fight him… brother. You… can...”

The possessed Romulus let out a snort of disdain and brought down the athame.

Kairos expected a sharp pain in his chest. That was how death should have felt.

He felt nothing but the wind.

“I…” The voice coming out of Romulus’ mouth sounded weaker than before, yet so subtly powerful all the same. “No… no… not him… not…”

A trembling hand took in Kairos’ own. It felt cold to the touch at first, but the Travian King sensed a strange warmth underneath. Steel fingers helped Kairos’ own close on a dagger’s handle.

“Kairos… please…” Romulus guided Kairos’ hand closer to his chest. “I can’t… not long… not alone…”

“I… I know,” Kairos whispered with what little strength he had left. “I’m sorry.”

“Do not…” Taulas’ rattle sounded almost like a chuckle. “I am… so proud of you.”

The Travian King pushed his mother’s fang into his brother’s chest. A light swallowed them all.

And Kairos Marius Remus met his Fate.