In Tartarus's shadowed depths, where despair clung like damp rot, Ares stood in a war-forged chamber, blood-red armor glinting under flickering torchlight. His blade, crusted with gore, rested against a wall
carved with battle scars. Before him knelt a shade-lord, a grotesque humanoid of charred flesh and glowing ember eyes, its tattered cloak dripping black ichor. "You," Ares growled, voice like grinding steel, "take my hounds to the mortal's home. Find Colton, the spark-bearer." He tossed a torn scrap of cloth—Colton's bloodied shirt from a shade fight—into the shade-lord's clawed hands. "Let them smell his spark." The shade-lord nodded, its jagged maw twisting, and stepped through a portal, clutching the cloth. Two massive war-hounds followed, their fur matted with blood, eyes burning red, jaws snapping. The shade-lord held the
cloth to their muzzles, their snarls echoing. "Fetch me that spark," it hissed, voice dripping with malice. The hounds howled, a bone-chilling cacophony, and barreled through the portal, their barks shaking the air.
On Earth, under a Saturday morning sun, Kevin hit the ground hard, dirt scraping his cheek as Derek's fist loomed above him. The front yard of Colton's house, a squat two-story with peeling paint, reeked of blood and
fear. Derek, the town bully, sneered, his muscle-bound frame towering over
Kevin. Joey and Mike, his lackeys, laughed, their grins sharp as knives. "Thought you'd play hero for Colton's birthday, huh?" Derek spat, yanking Kevin's shirt, tearing it. Kevin's ribs ached, blood trickling from his lip.
"Damn it, Derek, let me go!" he gasped, swinging wildly, missing. Joey kicked
his side, pain flaring, as Mike cracked his knuckles, ready for another hit.
A howl split the air, raw and hellish, followed by frenzied barking. Derek froze, fist raised. Joey stumbled back, eyes wide. "What the
hell was that?" he muttered. Mike pointed to Colton's bedroom window above,
stuttering, "D-Derek, look!" A massive hound, its fur black as tar, eyes glowing red, smashed through the glass, shards raining. It pounced on Mike, jaws clamping his throat, blood spraying as bones crunched. Mike's scream choked off, his body limp, torn flesh pooling red on the grass. Derek and Joey screamed, faces pale. Joey bolted, sprinting toward the street, but another
hound burst from the shadows, tackling him. Its teeth ripped through his chest,
ribs snapping, blood gushing as Joey's cries faded into gurgles.
Kevin scrambled to his feet, heart pounding, as Derek stood stunned, eyes locked on Mike's corpse. "Run!" Kevin yelled, grabbing Derek's arm. They stumbled toward the house, the front door ajar. Kevin yanked it open, but the shade-lord stood there, charred flesh gleaming, ember eyes blazing. Its claw lashed out, slashing Derek's throat, blood spurting like a fountain. Derek
collapsed, choking, his body twitching as life drained away. Kevin froze, the
stench of blood overwhelming, his legs locked in terror.
A portal's hum roared upstairs, golden light flaring. Apollo's voice boomed, "HOUNDS!" The shade-lord hissed, "Oh no," and dissolved into black smoke, surging into Kevin's chest. Kevin's eyes rolled back, and he crumpled, unconscious. Footsteps thundered downstairs—Colton and Apollo burst into view, Colton's armor glinting with Hestia's sigils, the ring-spear gem
pulsing on his finger. The hounds circled, snarling, their maws dripping blood.
One lunged at Colton, jaws snapping. He triggered Hermes's speed, blurring
aside, and fired a solar flare, blinding the beast, its eyes smoking. Apollo drew his bow, an arrow of light piercing the second hound's skull, blood and brains splattering the porch. Colton spun, thrusting the energy spear from his ring, impaling the first hound's heart. It collapsed, blood pooling, its howls
silenced.
Colton froze, staring at the spear as it dissolved back into the ring, his hands shaking. "How the hell did I do that?" he stammered, eyes wide. "I'm just… me. A nobody kid who couldn't even win a fistfight last week." Apollo's gaze softened, pride flickering in his eyes. "You're no nobody,
Colton. The Prometheus spark carries the experience of every bearer before
you—centuries of battles, instincts honed in wars you never fought. It's why your moves click, why you wield that spear like a god's champion. The spark grows stronger with each life, and in you, it's awakening fast. You can't see it, but it's there, burning in your blood."
Kevin groaned, stirring on the ground, eyes fluttering open. He saw the dead hound, its bloodied maw and crushed skull, and scrambled back, screaming, "Oh my God, what is that thing?!" His voice cracked, panic seizing him. Colton knelt beside him, gripping his shoulder. "Kev, I can explain
everything, I swear, but we gotta go now." Kevin nodded, trembling, blood still
on his lip, eyes darting to the carnage—Mike, torn apart; Joey, a shredded
heap; Derek, throat slashed, eyes glassy.
Colton stood, voice shaking. "They were assholes, but… Derek was just a bully. Mike and Joey, too. They didn't deserve this." He looked at Kevin, his best friend since they were kids, always there, especially after his
dad died. "Kevin's family, Apollo. We can't lose him." Apollo nodded, eyes sharp. "We won't. My office—there's something there we need." He touched Colton's shoulder, Hestia's armor shimmering into a worn jacket and jeans. Apollo's form shifted, becoming Mr. S., the social worker, his face weathered but kind, glasses glinting. They scooped up Kevin, his body trembling, and
hurried down the street, the Saturday sun mocking the blood-soaked porch.
At Apollo's office, a cramped room in a strip mall, papers littered a desk, a faded "Mr. S." nameplate glinting. Apollo rifled through
cabinets, drawers clattering, muttering, "I know it's here." He paused, hand hovering over a locked box, his face tense. "Colton, this is the Eclipse Aegis," he said, voice low. "A silver pendant, forged by Hephaestus, that turns black as night when Tartarus's servants are near." He opened the box, pulling out the pendant, its chain glinting. It was jet-black, darker than the void,
its surface swallowing light. Apollo's eyes met Colton's, fear flickering. They
turned to Kevin, whose eyes snapped open, solid black, a cruel smile twisting
his face.
"Cronus will never fall," Kevin's voice hissed, a chilling rasp that crawled like spiders, each word dripping with venom from Tartarus's
depths. "Your sister's screams will echo forever, spark-bearer, her soul shredded in our grip. Your mother, your home, all you cherish—we'll burn them to ash, crush them under our heel, whatever it takes to snuff your spark." Black smoke erupted from Kevin's mouth, writhing like a living thing, coiling into the floor, vanishing. The pendant flashed silver, its glow steady. Kevin
collapsed, blood leaking from his ears and nose, his breath shallow, body
trembling.