The table was scattered with maps, ancient scrolls, and artifacts that hummed with dormant power. Wukong stood with his staff slung across his back, idly flipping a gold coin between his fingers. NYx leaned over a darkened piece of parchment that pulsated with energy, its script shifting between languages.
"We don't have much time left," Wukong said. "Seven days until the Gathering. We'll be splitting up. Everyone has something to do."
He turned to the group gathered in the hall- Heracles, Orion, Susanoo, Eris and Ker, who stood silently near the shadows, her eyes like twin eclipses.
"I'll be searching for Silver," Wukong continued.
"Orion blinked."Silver?"
Wukong grinned. "The first werewolf. Strongest of them all. A monster so dangerous that the moon itself cursed him. He vanished after the Monster Accord. He's strong. Very strong.
"You think you can find him in seven days?" Heracles asked.
"I've got leads," Wukong said, tapping the coin against his head. "And backup plans."
Nyx sighed and stepped forward, her voice cool and unshaken. "As for me, I'll remain here. I haven't shown my face at a Gathering since my pantheon fell. My presence alone will unnerve the rest. Which may be... useful."
Orion glanced at her. "You've never gone back?"
"I keep to the night, boy. But that doesn't mean I've stopped watching. "Her expression softened just slightly. "This will be... interesting."
Wukong pointed his staff at Orion. "In the meantime, you're going to train."
"Train?" Orion raised an eyebrow.
"Every second counts. You're still young, but you have seen what's coming. Eris in the morning. Ker in the evening. Susanoo at night."
"Each of us will improve a different part of you," Susanoo said with a nod, lightning crackling faintly around his fingers. "Mind.Reflex. Technique."
Nyx turned towards Heracles. "You, I want tracking Sekhmet. I have a feeling she's still nearby. If Ra's is pulling strings, I want to know what he's planning."
Heracles nodded, cracking his knuckles. "With pleasure."
Wukong gave a final glance around. "Everyone knows their mission. We'll regroup one day before the Gathering."
As the others began to disperse, Orion stepped forward, motioning to Wukong.
"Hey. Can I talk to you privately?"
Wukong raised a brow but followed him into the side chamber, where the sounds of the others faded behind stone walls. The room was dim, lit only by a floating lantern of flickering blue flame.
"You knew," Orion said quietly. "About me. About all of this. Why didn't you tell me?"
Wukong looked at him with surprising gentleness. "Because if I did, you wouldn't have believed me. You'd have run. OR worse- tried to force an awakening that wasn't ready."
"But Nyx told me-"
"I know. That's why I sent you to her. Because she could show you what I couldn't. Also... because I trust her. Not just because she's beautiful, though gods know she is." He grinned.
Orion frowned. "I just... I feel like there is so much pressure on me now. I don't even know what I'm supposed to do now."
Wukong stepped closer, resting a hand on his shoulder. "The truth? You are under pressure. And it sucks. But some things are written before we are born. Doesn't mean you're powerless- it just means you have to choose how you rise."
Orion exhaled. "You think I'll awaken some kind of power?"
"I know you will. But not on my clock. When it's time, it'll happen. For now, train. Learn. Survive. You're in the game now, Orion. The stakes are everything."
Wukong left, and Orion stood there. Alone. For the first time in his life, the void in his chest-the emptiness he could never explain- felt like it had direction.
He didn't know what the future held, but he knew it had already begun.
Orion stood in the courtyard bathed in the purple twilight, swordless, breathless and staring at a woman who looked like chaos given form.
Eris smirked at him, dressed in a crimson combat robe with golden trim. Her copper hair shimmered like wildfire, and her eyes flickered between green and gold with every blink.
"You ready, star boy?" she said, tossing him a staff shaped like a twisted sense of marble and flame.
"Not sure I enjoy that nickname," Orion muttered, catching the staff.
"You'll get worse if you keep lagging." Eris stepped forward, and the air around her rippled. "You're training with me now. And I don't teach with rules- I teach through entorpy."
Orion narrowed his eyes. "Entropy?"
Eris grinned and raised her hand. From her palm exploded a swirl of red mist that formed into copies of herself- half a dozen spectral doppelgängers, each armed with different weapons: whips, daggers, swords, chains.
"Your task is simple," she said, stepping back, "it is to find the real me. If you can land a hit, even just one, I'll consider today a success."
The clones surrounded him instantly.
Orion backed up, lifting his staff. "If I hit the wrong one?"
Eris laughed. "You'll know."
The first clone struck with a lash of flame. Orion ducked, barely rolling aside as another swung at his ribs with a sickle. He blocked with the staff and kicked one back, only for it to vanish in a puff of red smoke.
He focused on watching for the one that moved slightly out of rhythm, the one who wasn't fully in sync.
There. In the corner of his eye.
Orion dashed forward, dodging through a barrage of attacks, and struck hard at the one-wielding dual blades. The staff connected- and the clone burst like glass.
Wrong one.
He flew backwards as a blast of energy hit him into the ground.
Pain flared across his back. But he smiled. He wasn't afraid of pain anymore.
He jumped to his feet and whispered to himself, "Again."
Eris watched from above, arms crossed. "Not bad, starlight. Let's see if you learn quicker than the last hero I broke."