Chapter Five Strength in The Bond

 

 

 

The room is dim, a throne elevated in the air looks down upon five other thrones. All of them are decorated to fit the occupier's appearance. Each chair on this day is filled with a body, not a single being is absent. There was no way they could be absent, it would be treason to be absent. Sin sat upon his throne, listening to the ideas they pitched out despite never joining the conversation. His eyes are figuratively closed as the Five Deaths talk out of turn. They chat about the subject slipping their minds of how dire the call is that it takes all of them. He sits watching, the sight of their enjoyment enrages him to no end.

Sin slams his fist: "I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"

The room dies, not a single peep, the Deaths tremble at the sight of his anger. A metal echo follows behind the outrage.

Sin sits up: "THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR GAMES!!"

One of the deaths builds up the courage to speak: "What do you need from us, my lord."

Sin Points at a wall, and a glass mirror shows the Thunderous Kingdom: "I WANT THIS CITY WIPED OFF THE EARTH! I WILL NOT TOLERATE FAILURE!"

A second Death gets the balls to speak up: "Wouldn't it be better to just kill the people that you want to kill?"

Sin Snaps his attention to the death raising his hand: "Implode."

The death screams, pleading for his life: "WAIT SIR IM SORR-"

They pop! The demihuman's rib cage sticks out of his flesh as other bones stick out like a pin cushion, like all of the gravity came crashing down leaving a meat sack on the floor beyond recognition.

Sin: "Phantom!"

The shadow seeps into the room taking the form of a massive set of armor kneeling down to him.

Phantom: "Yes master?"

Sin points his hand down to him, a mark brands his armor: "You are now the fifth death, don't disappoint me."

Phantom bows his head further: "Thank you for this gracious gift Master, I will not fail you."

Sin swings his hand back to the mirror: "You will slaughter every single human, demihuman, and or demigod possible!"

Phantom raises a hand to the air. 

Sin calls on him: "Yes Phantom?"

Phantom spots the mutilated corpse on the floor: "Nevermind Master."

A feathered death raises its wing in the air: "Sir, if you don't mind my asking, what did they do to merit your judgment?"

Sin clenches his metal claws: "They took the one thing that let me endure the living. The one person that protected them from me. He is now gone."

Sin sounded hollow, his words burned embers under the Five Deaths. 

The harpy: "When do we assault the kingdom?"

 

 

 

 

#

 

 

 

 

Ash: "Try again."

Chris stands hunched over, breathing heavily. Ash stands at a distance crossing his arms.

Chris's mentor pushes him: "Do it again!"

Chris musters the strength to lift his upper body upright. His arms ache with each movement, consistent trembling even in the resting position. Sweat raced down his forehead trickling continuously, his cheeks were hot to the touch. No amount of fire resistance would cool him down. Running on fumes, Chris pulls his hands up. In one last effort.

Chris used the last of his energy: "GATE!!"

Chris held his hands out, the liquidity portal formed a few feet away, the magic robbed him of breath starting to suffocate due to his lack of stamina. 

Ash zooms to him: "Let go, Chris!"

The boy tips over holding his neck, and the portal collapses in on itself into nothingness. Chris takes in a big breath of life-saving air. Color floods back into his features.

Ash kneeling by his side: "It's okay, breathe. You did wonderfully."

Chris's eyes waft over to Ash, a fatigued look in his eye tells Ash all he needs.

Ash picks him up: "You done well Chris, training is over."

Heading inside for the day, Chris fast asleep in his arms. Ash lays him down on the couch. Vex and Levina appeared in a flash, bringing a draft of humid wind; their mouths soaked in blood as they carried the hearts of demons in their jaws. Ash moves to Hades' laboratory, Vex, and Levina in tow.

Ash curled his lip: "This place disgusts me."

Bitting the bullet, Ash carries on: "Lay the hearts on that table. Vex, get me a bucket of lava."

Ash grabs utensils from a cupboard: "Lavina, tend to the boy, keep an eye on his breathing. Mana exhaustion is dangerous."

Lavina vanishes into thin air just as Vex emerges from a gust of wind, the lava sloshing around in the bucket making a pop sound. Pointing to the table of hearts, Vex lays the bucket haphazardly. Ash grabs the remaining materials from a magic storage crate. In his hand, a glowing pen slowly blinked between magenta and purple. 

Ash dismisses Vex with a wave of his hand: "Make yourself scarce."

Vex gives a quick bow of the head before leaving. Ash stands over the table, the ingredients sit there, and four hearts are spread out on the table in a row. Grabbing the pen he dips the point into the lava, just enough to coat the tip. Ash begins his task, precisely and carefully writing runes into the hearts. One mishap can ruin the whole rune, each letter has to be perfect. Finished one, and the words blink as the heart slowly beats to life. "Four hearts is barely enough to substitute a real heart, adding any more will put my whole body in jeopardy."

Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath, "Hades practiced this millions of times on my brothers and sisters, I mesmerized every rune along with their meaning. Every. Single. Rune."

Ash inch by inch: "This will give me one whole day in the overworld, that will have to be enough to save them from Sin and the gods."

The second heart is done, an ache came over his hand, "Two more, just two more, then the hard part."

Hours go by, the fourth and final heart is done leaving Ash's dominant hand obliterated. "I learned all these runes hoping it would save us, sitting in that metal chair strapped down with no escape in sight. Watching them scream for days on end unable to do anything but watch their life drain from their eyes just to be discarded to a pile of my brothers and sisters and repeat the process all over again."

Ash pumps himself up: "Okay Ash, you got this, you felt worse things than this."

Plopping a chair to sit on, he lays his arm on the table, his palm facing up as he takes deep breaths. He dips the pen in lava, hating every painstaking second. The pen hovers over his arm. "Here we go."

Ash inhales through his nose, holding it. He places the pen to his skin, Ash kicks and flails his body violently trying desperately to hold his arm down. He clenches his teeth, breathing through them, Ash begins to write on his arm. The flesh sizzles as he writes through the pain. 

Ash snaps: "FUCK! This is nothing ASH! Do it for your friends Damnit!"

Tears glide down his cheek, halfway down his arm, lava now coursing through his veins. An hour of torture later he has done one arm and now the other. Fully prepared for the pain, the pen digs through his arm carving magical veins into his arm. The second arm took way less time than the first as he burned through it. 

Ash rested his head on the metal table, his hands outreached in front of him. "One more step."

Lifting his head up, the hearts are beating, "I can use a few spells until my magic veins give out."

After some thought the spell comes into mind: "Absorb."

Slowly, Ash sinks the first heart into his chest, then the next one, and so on. The hearts connect to the lava veins giving cognition to the four hearts, they begin pumping lava through each other circulating the flow. 

Ash: "It is almost complete, all that's left is Chris."

 

 

 

 

 

#

 

 

 

 

 

 

Athena ran up the steps to the throne room, and Zeus, Ares, Apollo, and Artemis sat on their respective thrones. 

Athena calls their attention: "Zeus, the Thunderous kingdom is under siege!"

Zeus stops his conversation with the other gods to listen: "Do you know who is besieging the kingdom."

Athena gulps: "The King Lich's Five Deaths."

The Gods snap to her, then back to Zeus. The name shook the invincible beings.

Zeus taps his fingers against his throne: "Call all the Gods to the throne room."

Athena rushed out to the open: "Hermes!"

Hermes taps her on the shoulder: "Whatcha need Athena."

Athena cuts to the chase: "Rally up all the gods to the throne room. Zeus's orders."

Hermes snaps his fingers leaving a puff of smoke in his wake. Upon entering the throne room, Hermes is seated on his throne.

Hermes holds a thumbs up: "All done!"

The throne room quickly fills, laughs and bickering saturate the quite boring throne room. Eleven gods have answered the call. The others didn't think it included them or just didn't care enough to attend.

Zeus quiets the room down: "Thank you all for coming for my call."

Apollo from his throne: "Only because we got nothing better to do!"

Artemis next to him: "Shut it Apollo, he is talking."

Apollo smiles in defense: "What! I was just fooling around."

Zeus clears his throat: "Okay~ I called you here to warn you of the dangers of this adversary."

Poseidon scratches his big white luxurious beard: "Which one brother, have the children rebelled against us again."

Zeus voices it out: "The Lich King."

The Gods went into an uproar. Fear could be felt by everyone, not even Zeus held a strong composure. 

Poseidon slams his trident down: "Quiet! Everyone calm down! Yes, the Lich King is back, it doesn't mean he has any quarrel with the gods. As long as the gods stay out of his affairs we will not get dragged into a needless war."

Zeus nods: "Well said brother, that means no interaction with humans or Ash's companions."

The room comes to an agreement: "Now, has anyone seen Hera, she disappeared suddenly without a word."

Hermes stretches: "Last time I saw her, she was in the underworld." 

Zeus scratches his brain: "Why would she be there? Doesn't matter, as long as she stays out of The Lich King's way."

The throne room empties after the meeting, Athena chases after Artemis.

Athena called out to her: "Hey wait up!"

Artemis slows her pace only but a little: "What do you want Athena?"

Athena: "I wanted to ask what you are going to be doing."

Artemis smirks: "Oh nothing. Just going to be hunting the greatest prey."

Athena tries to pry: "And what would that be?"

Artemis blows it off before leaping off Mount Olympus: "You will see."

"I can't help but be worried, I should ask her brother to keep tabs on her."

Athena spots Apollo: "Hey Apollo, can you do me a favor."

The stunning God sways his golden locks to the side, and his bow and quiver hang on his back.

Apollo gives a righting smile: "Sure!"

Athena: "Can you stick by your sister, I fear she is going to do something reckless."

Apollo pats her shoulder: "Understood, thanks for telling me. I will go right away."

Athena: "No, thank you." 

He races off to the cliff of Mount Olympus, leaping off in an athletic matter. "Fffuuu, I hope that will do."

 

 

Throne Room

 

 

Zeus sat upon his throne waiting for the god of blacksmithing Hephaestus. Upon arriving, the bulky rough blacksmith hitches his way to Zeus.

Hephaestus comes to the steps of Zeus's throne: "Sorry for my tardiness, Nemesis asked for a favor."

Zeus caresses his beard: "Your creation came back to life."

Hephaestus was stunned: "You sure?!"

Zeus only nodded to his response.

Hephaestus scratches his head: "This is bad, I never should have made that thing! It was never a good idea to fuse metal and soul together, it always ends poorly."

Zeus: "No more dwelling on the past, is there a way to defeat it."

Hephaestus shakes his head no: "Sorry, a weakness never crossed my mind when creating it, my only thoughts were to make the perfect weapon."

Zeus: "Then prepare for war. Gods are a foolish bunch."