Chapter 13-trapped in trial of a god
The group traveled to Greece, following Apollo's cryptic hint that a shard might be hidden within the Parthenon's shadows. Their search led them to a grand museum, its halls filled with relics and towering marble guardians. At first, nothing seemed unusual—only the silence was heavier than it should be.
Then, one by one, members of the group began to vanish. No sound, no struggle, just absence. Arthur realized too late that the statues themselves were moving, their cold marble eyes tracking the intruders.
The centerpiece was the Statue of Athena—taller, sharper, and somehow alive. Its strikes were brutal, precise, and terrifying. The group was forced into a cruel paradox: they had to fight for their lives, but could not risk shattering the priceless figure of a goddess. Every clash of stone and steel echoed like a crime.
Meanwhile, Arthur found himself separated, stumbling into a hidden chamber. There he discovered the truth: a girl cursed by Athena, branded an Iraclis—a vessel of divine punishment. Her eyes leaked blood, her body trembling with the weight of divinity she never asked for.
Arthur asked softly, "What's wrong? Everything okay, girl?"
Through tears, she nodded, whispering that she could no longer live among friends, forced instead to dwell in shadows with the statues that obeyed her curse. Athena's judgment had bound her here.
Arthur tried to purify the curse with Prism's light. For a moment, hope flickered—the chains loosened, her eyes cleared. But divine punishment cannot be erased by mortal defiance. The curse recoiled stronger than before, clawing at her soul.
Arthur clenched his fists. "Then we'll find you justice," he swore.
When the group reunited, their battle with the Athena statue raged to its peak. Blows that could shatter mountains were traded, each swing echoing divine wrath. At last, they broke the enchantment—the statue crumbled, releasing the shard.
Or so they thought.
The shard twisted, its surface warping into scales. From the rubble rose a Gorgon, its serpentine form hissing with Athena's lingering malice. The true arc had only just begun The museum was silent when the Athena statue crumbled. Too silent. Then the marble walls shifted, bending into a labyrinth that swallowed them whole.
Stone doors slammed behind each of them, cutting off the sound of their allies. Alone, they faced the hiss of serpents in the dark.
Arthur's Trial
The Gorgon emerged from the shadows, its stare catching him before he could react. His body stiffened, stone climbing over his arms, chest, and throat.
At first, he fought it—straining every muscle, summoning his divine fire. But the more he resisted, the faster the stone spread.
Then he realized: this wasn't just physical. The petrification fed on fear, on denial, on resistance.
Arthur stopped struggling. He slowed his breathing. He let himself sink into the stone, his heart still and calm.
In that surrender, he became one with the marble… and then broke free, shattering the illusion around him. The Gorgon howled, fading into smoke.
Clarita's Trial
Her chamber held a towering Athena statue, cracked and bleeding. She cried out, begging the goddess to answer, to grant her strength. The Gorgon approached, wearing Athena's face twisted in mockery.
Clarita fell to her knees, reaching upward, hands clasped in prayer. "If you are truly the goddess I serve—guide me."
The silence broke. A whisper passed through the stone—Athena's voice, distant yet clear: Rise.
With tears in her eyes, Clarita stood. The false Athena struck at her, but Clarita's faith held her steady. The petrification touched her, but could not claim her. The statue dissolved, leaving behind a fragment of divine light in her palm.
Elizabeth's Trial
Elizabeth's chamber was a mirror hall. Dozens of reflections showed her in battle, in pain, in weakness. Each step forward, the mirrors cracked and bled.
The Gorgon appeared behind her, whispering all her failures. Its eyes flared—and her reflection turned to stone one by one.
But Elizabeth refused to collapse. She smiled, bitter and sharp. "If I fall, I'll fall laughing."
She mocked the monster, cutting it down with relentless ferocity, until its own reflection shattered into dust.
Jack's Trial
The Gorgon hissed and lunged. Jack staggered back, pretending to trip, pretending to panic.
"Don't look at me!" he cried, covering his eyes. The Gorgon sneered and raised its claws.
Then—Jack grinned. "Gotcha."
He lashed out, twisting its arm. The Gorgon met its own gaze in the mirrored wall. For the briefest moment, its body froze. That was all Jack needed—he touched its shoulder, and its form rotted to dust under his decay.
Noah's Trial
Noah's chamber was the darkest. The Gorgon circled him, its hiss constant, its stare unrelenting. But Noah did not flinch. Instead, he raised the artifact slung at his side—a relic of his making, carved to consume.
"You think you're the predator," he whispered, "but I am the cage."
When the Gorgon lunged, Noah slammed the artifact against its chest. A vortex of energy tore through the chamber, sucking the monster's essence inside. The serpents screamed, the eyes dimmed, and the Gorgon was gone—sealed within his creation.
At the end, they awoke together in the museum hall. Whole. Alive.
Yet they remembered every second of their stone skin, every hiss, every strike.
It was then the Athena statue—now repaired and towering once more—spoke with a voice like marble grinding:
"You have endured. You have faced the Gorgon, not of flesh, but of fear. Remember this, for the true trial has yet to come."
The labyrinth faded, leaving them shaken but stronger after that the girl who was an iraclis turn back normal as Noah go to help her reach home aka at the camp since he's the fastest or did he leave? Wdym did he he did leave but gave Arthur an artifact before he do so now the group here have the stones they can open the Portal to the underworld where real terror start