The room where Adonis stayed was quiet. It was the kind of silence that only existed in places, where everything down to the last detail was controlled.
Adonis sat cross-legged on a thick fur rug, the fibers were white as snow, warmed by a low-burning flame by a carved stone hearth in the corner of the room. The air carried the scent of stone, metal polish, and faint incense, subtle enough to be missed by anyone who wasn't paying attention with more then their eyes.
In front of him, a wide window of reinforced crystal overlooked a frozen lake that stretched out like a sea of glass. The world beyond was white and yet crimson laid hidden underneath.
Mars was the planet he was on. Not the same one found in the milky way galaxy, now known as the Eden Galaxy.
This was Mars 2, one of the several planets in the Ares galaxy. Similar to its other counterpart, this red desert planet actually spent most of its year locked in ice and snow. The sky outside was cloudy with white clouds, covering enveloping the sky, as snow continued to fall. The temperature of the planet is said to be at 20 degrees during the snow season. Which last for nine of the twelve months on this planet.
And in the center of that frozen world stood a large sprawling fortress-castle of House Blud. Not grand in the way palaces were grand. Grand in the way bunkers were, built to endure wars and disasters.
Adonis's eyes were closed, but his awareness extended outward. He breathed slowly. In and out and again repeatedly.
Four years had passed since the Trial of Styx. And in those four years, he had learned a truth that would've broken most children: The main house did not raise its young on New Sparta. They hid them. It was to protect them.
After the first generation that created the Clan of Blud and its following houses. Rival houses, and Clans from different pantheon factions… targeted the new heirs and anyone else of note. One hundred years after the Oath Above All, was established, it nearly fell after over one thousand children across the different pantheons were killed.
There were too many enemies in the universe for a newborn. So in the main house Blud house after the, Selection Ceremony and Trial of Styx, once the children become one year old the main house children were taken here.
To the Mars Castle. Where the stone was cold, it was isolated and only the house of Blud, knew how to survive its harsh cold and hellish heat. The children will stay until they turn seven. Then returned to New Sparta, where they will enlist in the Agoge.
In the ancient times the agoge was a brutal, mandatory education and training system for male Spartan citizens, beginning at age 7 and ending around age 21. Designed to create unbreakable soldiers, it focused on intense physical training, pain tolerance, stealth, and indoctrination of loyalty to the state. The boys lived in barracks, endured extreme hunger and cold, and were beaten for disobedience.
In this world it is somewhat similar to the original, but extremely different. For the Blud Clan and it's founding houses it is a right of passage. All clan members must participate in it in order to be accepted into the clan and benefit from its name. Whether you are a main or branch house member. But for the everyday person, or clanless or clan rejects from others houses or pantheon's. It is how you gain citizenship in the Spartan empire.
Several people every year from all over the universe come to take part in the Agoge. If you are over the age for it, then you would have to go through conscript service. This where you are basically a servant of the house Blud clan. Depending on your age and skill set you could be a high ranking Spartan warrior, but not a officer or political position. But several of any number of occupation were available in the empire as long as you had the skill or talent.
But the service last for eight years regardless. Once it is over you will be come a citizen of the empire, but will not have he same rights of scion's of the house of blud. Who have absolute authority, but political positions can be taken or nobility can be gained.
Majority of the high ranking officers, will be the children of the main and branching houses. Only a few exceptional people who are not in the clan or married to the family, ( Which even if they are, rarely ever get picked to be officers). The only people of note are mothers officers, they do not handle majority of the fighting like fathers officers, but they are still capable individuals.
This type of system has caused strife between the citizens of the empire. But once they see the difference between them and someone from a godly clan, it normally stops them. But like I said only truly exceptional people get those positions, but even if you are smart or wise you must be above the rest no matter what. That is why the Intergalactic Empire of Sparta is known for being the strongest no matter what.
Adonis breathed in again, deeper this time, and let his senses widen. Mana existed everywhere in this universe. That was one of the first things he'd understood, before and after his rebirth.
Mana wasn't magic itself, it was the key to the door of the infinite ocean beneath the surface. A ocean with limitless possibilities, that the people of this universe haven't even discovered half of. Mana is used to shape ones thoughts be into spells, reinforced or strengthen the body, manipulate the alchemical structure of a object. Alter or manipulate the weather or even break or rewrite the very laws of the universe.
Magic comes in a few forms.
The lowest being Rudimentary. A foundational, low-level, or early stage of magic that focuses on basics, often instinctive, but can extend to enchantments or more depending on the discipline. This is where I was in my previous life, thanks to my teacher I was able to attain high level of rudimentary even without a discipline. Which made me like a Swiss army knife for magic.
The next level would be Thaumaturgy. this is where you have a high understanding of magic and see it not as a unknown force, but see magic as a form science. Which makes casting spells and doing rituals a lot easier.
To some those who follow the path of Thaumaturgy are looked as magical scientist or engineers, most of the advancements in rituals, and magical technology, or artifacts are because of this field. But people who go down this path tend to lose their humanity because they only see the results and not the bodies they stack up to achieve them. Yes that means human experimentation, on the levels of what was seen in world war 2, or the Japanese Imperial Army's Unit 731.
The next height would be a Grand Magician. But the title has many different alternates. From Arch Mage, Wizard, or Witch and more. It depends on what Pantheon galaxy your in, each one uses their interpretation. This is said to be the highest seat one can reach in one or two lifetimes. Normally to do this you must master a form of magic to the point you take it to knew heights and discover a new type of magic. Or create a high level spell or ritual that could effect a whole continent.
Normally those with this rank have a color or nickname associated with the rank. Which in the universe holds a lot of power, and backing. Their are several schools, that are seen as neutral planets, to gather the most talented individual's, and brightest minds. It was actually the setting for the second book in the series.
But the highest rank that is universally agreed upon in the magical community is Supreme. This title is not something one can gain from just mastering multiple disciplines or rituals or even creating a new form of magic. Only two individuals in the entire series of Beyond the New world have achieved the rank of Supreme.
In order to get this rank. One must create a true miracle. Miracles in this universe are classified as law rewriting magic. Which can range from creating a whole new magical species, changing a planet down to its subatomic level. To creating a whole new universe on the level of the Big Bang.
No more info on that rank was given. Uncle Jasen said it was to be explained in his final book, where the final true big bad will be revealed. But that clearly hasn't happened since disappeared. Which makes me think is the big bad some powerful Supreme rank magic user. Could that also explain why he am in this universe?
Jonathan centered his mind, and dismissed those thoughts. He couldn't figure out those things now even if he wanted to. He had to become more powerful. Kill the people who tried to curse him. Find his Uncle and figure that entities name. The figure out a way home.
But right now his biggest issue was controlling his mana. Or should he say sensing it? That was the first gate he needed to pass. And controlling it without guidance was another kind of torture. Mana backlash was a pain that could cripple or kill someone.
Jonathan reached outward, carefully, the way one might reach to notice the world around them. Then once he found the mana he would call it to his body. This was the exercise called mana meditation. It was meant to call the mana in ones body to the surface, but his teacher told him a better method, and highly dangerous one but still a good one.
By using my internal mana to call the surrounding mana into my body I can increase my mana reserves and power alot quicker. But this has to be a very slow process, If I wasn't careful I could overload my body and die, if I was lucky.
The mana around Adonis responded. It was quick but it did respond timely. It moved like a living particle one at a time. As he inhaled, and exhaled the mana entered his body. To the point a faint translucent aura shimmered around his small body, it was so subtle it was more like the air was bending around him.
Normally aura of scions of the Ares was red like Ares' rage. But his aura, as feint as it was, was not. It wasn't even the extremely golden aura known like divine glory. That was something only the strongest individuals of the house of blood could achieve. The current patriarch of the house of Blud has achieved this divine aura.
Adonis's was pale and colorless, tinged with faint violet only because his eyes carried that hue, like a reflection. The aura thickened, and his chest tightened, while his heart accelerated.
His breathing became harder to control. Mana wasn't just energy. It was alive. It was in everything from the tiniest bug to the largest magical beast. You were ether loved or blessed by mana or you learn to control it. Some learn to cooperate with it like it was nature itself.
Adonis clenched his jaw and kept absorbing the mana around him. His muscles trembled, as
sweat began to cover his face. A five-year-old body wasn't meant to hold much. Or maybe his since he wasn't talented enough. But he kept pushing through the pain either way. Then his focus slipped, just a fraction.
The aura collapsed inward, not exploding, or snapping back with mana backlash. The mana just stopped flowing into his body which was lucky for him.
Adonis opened his eyes. And immediately he doubled over slightly, hands braced on the floor, his breath coming in sharp pulls. Sweat covered his face, and started to seep through his clothes. A skin tight body suit underneath his thick tunic. It was designed to help maintain one bodies moisture, and central heat.
All the children must wear these since we are not trained to use magic or aura to last in this harsh environments.
Adonis felt like he'd just sprinted miles. His lungs burned, and his limbs ached from exertion that wasn't physical, but still left the body shaking. He swallowed, forcing his breathing to slow. In… out… in… out… And as he steadied himself, Jonathan's older mind resurfaced fully, the way it always did after a hard attempt.
He stared out at the frozen lake. My teacher was right. Trying to sense mana and control it alone was hell without talent or the proper ingredients or triggers. But compared to last time things are progressing a lot quicker. In his first life, it had taken nearly a full year to sense the mana field clearly enough to even begin shaping it inside him.
Now? Just one month, but he knows it would have been a lot quicker if his teacher was with him. To bad I can't see that happening right now anyway. She must still be at that school teaching.
He stopped himself from letting his mind drift, and instead focus on his current circumstances. A month, and he could already feel, call and gather mana into his body. Completely absorbing the mana into his very being and soul was a difficult process.
His teacher said it normally takes regular people almost years, with physical to feel and unlock the ability to use mana. Their are some eastern, and druidic ways of quickening that process though. While talented individuals and demigod children do instantly or within a day. The average demigod child should be able to do it within a month or two.
So that confirms he wasn't talented, but simply average among demigod children. Which means the contract he formed with that entity didn't give him any extra boons, well as far as Jonathan could tell. It seemed that it blocked the curse from restricting him. If only he knew what type of curse it was he could know what it affected specifically.
I would have to visit a curse breaker at some point. I found out about them to late in my last life, mostly cause their a secretive bunch. They can break or cast any level of curses. They can even tell what type of curses was inflicted on someone even if it was broken decades before. Adonis stood up. He was taller now but still small, and still a child, but not an infant. His limbs had lengthened, his posture had changed. His body was lean, and tightened with early signs of muscle coming in.
the original novel said that the river of Styx in this universe, can have this affect, it's not as powerful as the original one Achilles was dipped into, but it did strengthen ones body, and made them more resilient and durable. And since the Blud clan have been bathing in it for generations our bodies have learned to absorb more of it's blessing.
When I get older I will have to try, and find the locations of other nature boons like in the books that the MC found.
The room around Adonis was large and furnished in the Blud way, functional luxury. Thick rugs. Simple carved furniture. Weapons displayed not as decoration, but as a possible weapon to kill invading enemies. And near the far wall, a wooden post stood anchored into the floor, runes faintly visible along its surface was a training post. This was just used to practice self defense.
After I was old enough to walk in the castle. The castles two Spartan warriors took their time and taught me the basics. Adonis's gaze narrowed slightly as he looked at it. Because that post reminded him of something he needed to take care of or mainly someone. And he knew exactly where to look.
It was for Caius. And he was already in the training hall.
Adonis made his way through the large castle walking past the servants as they bowed to him. He pushed open the heavy door to the next corridor that led outside. he stepped out into air that bit his skin immediately.
Cold wind whipped across the stone walkway. He could see the training hall door, partially covered in snow that had been swept aside in certain. Even in winter, the house of Blud didn't stop training. In the center of the training hall, under a dome that let in natural light, stood his brother who was punching a wooden-post.
He was the Fifth son and twelve child. Caius Blud.
He was older by two years, and already on the edge of the age to start the Agoge. He was still a child, but still had the same features of someone who belongs to the Blud family. Tanned Sunkissed copper skin, with long black hair, but his eyes were black like their mother. But his build was still lean, but had limitless potential to grow.
As I gazed at him, I noticed as he practiced punching the wooden post infront of him. I could tell he was punching at full strength and his rhythm was quick and brash, instead of consistent and measured blows.
Normally these post have a magic ruin setting to enhanced the impact of ones punches. A famous setting around the Blud family, is to a newbie punch the post when, the impact ruin is set to the highest pain setting.
Adonis could see the post was set to tingle on the mild difficulty instead of tough. And Adonis instantly knew what that meant. Caius was bored and was waiting. Not actually training.
Adonis walked closer to the inner training hall, his boots crunching lightly from the thin snow left on them. Caius turned, noticing him, and his face broke into a grin that looked too innocent to be real.
"Oh, Adonis your hear!" Caius called, waving him over.
Adonis walked forward. His body was calm, and his mind ready. Caius gestured to the rune-post.
"I heard Captain Atreus and Seris have been giving you the basics lessons. Why not come here and test them out," Caius said.
Adonis stopped a step away. He could see the runes now, faint lines carved into the wood, glowing almost imperceptibly.
There were different settings. Every training post in House Blud had settings. From Tingle. Shock. Stun. And burn. These were meant to train Agoge initiates and some were meant for seasoned warriors. Each setting had three level's of difficulty. Mild. Tough. Hell.
Hell was meant for punishment. Or high levels of training. Caius leaned closer, voice lowering just slightly, like this was private brotherly advice. "I heard you got the full blessing of the Styx's," he said, eyes wide with fake admiration. "To bad seventh sister Gorgo left last year. I'm sure she would have wanted to help you and me train for the Agoge together. But don't worry since you have the full blessing like first sister Helena and first brother Pleistarchos, I know you should be fine to punch it."
I almost smiled. Not because he was funny. But because he was to predictable. Of course Caius wanted to test the "blessed baby" now that Adonis was old enough to be hurt in ways that mattered.
And of course he chose a moment when Harmonia or the officer's wasn't here. And he framed it like it was training. Because in House Blud, cruelty was always another way a culling the weak.
Adonis tilted his head slightly. He let his face soften, and let his eyes widen just a little. He showed Caius what he wanted him to be. A naïve little brother. A child too young to see the trap.
Caius messed with the post setting, thinking I wouldn't understand, since I wouldn't have received that training yet. Then he stepped behind me, guiding my shoulders into position.
"You want to do it like this," he said, adjusting Adonis's stance. "Feet apart. Don't lock your knees. Twist your hips when you punch."
Adonis nodded slowly, as if absorbing wisdom. Caius tapped the rune-post with his knuckles, casually. "Go on," he said. "Hit it with all you got. Don't be scared."
Adonis stared at the wooden post. He could feel the mana in the runes. It was primed. And he knew Caius had turned the pain setting to hell. It wouldn't kill him, but it would be able to drop a five-year-old to the ground, blessing or not. I would be on the ground twitching and pissing my pants, while the suits would just recycle the liquid and clean it. If I wasn't in it then it would still hurt like hell.
In my past life Caius and sister Gorgo pulled this prank on me, and that exactly happened. They said it was to teach me as lesson, and remind me who was at the top, and who was lucky to be born. Jonathan didn't forget that pain or that lesson and he planned to pay it back to everyone in this family.
Adonis breathed in. Then looked up at Caius with his innocent lavender eyes.
"Brother Caius," he said, voice small, "how do you throw the punch again?"
Caius's grin widened. He knew that's exactly what he wanted. He raised his fist and demonstrated in the air, sharp, clean strike with an ok form. "Like this, Adonis."
Adonis nodded again. Then stepped forward. He clenched his right hand into a fist. And quietly, so quietly no one watching from the walls would even notice, Adonis drew mana into his hand. It wasn't something crazy powerful, just something barely enough to be considered on the rudimentary level on natural enhancement.
But for a six year old demigod child it will be more then enough to hurt him. Caius has been training for two years longer then me, and from what I remembered in my past life, he had a instinctual ability to use battle aura around this age. So if I'm right this will be enough, at worst he will have a few sprains or a broken rib or four.
Adonis drew back his hand back, and turned it into a fist. As if he was going to punch the post. Caius's eyes gleamed with excitement. And right as Adonis's fist launched forward. He turned his hips. And redirected the strike. And threw a right hook into Caius's side. It landed with a dull, shocking thud.
It wasn't a child's punch. It was a concentrated impact reinforced with mana. And Caius's eyes went wide. His breath vanished as it exploded from his lungs. His body folded and curled over. He dropped to the ground clutching his ribs, choking on air that wouldn't come. Adonis stood over him with a cold gaze and a calm composure.
Caius began to wheezed, his face turning red, eyes watering. "What the...." he gasped. "Adonis....why..."
Adonis tilted his head slightly. "I know what your plan was," he said, voice flat. Caius blinked, still trying to breathe.
Adonis continued, almost conversational. "You set the rune-post to the hell level. It would have hurt me. Maybe incapacitated me."
Caius's expression flickered. He was clearly shocked, but was going to try and deny it anyway.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he croaked.
Adonis nodded once, slow.
"Then punch it," he said, pointing at the post. Caius's eyes shifted away. Not to the post, or to Adonis. But to somewhere else. And to Adonis that was answer enough.
"That's what I thought."
Caius swallowed, still on the ground.
Adonis looked down at him like he was looking at something beneath consideration. " If your wondering why I'm doing this, it's because of everything you and big sister Gorgo did to me since I could remember."
Caius muttered. "What are you talking about. We haven't done anything to you?"
"Oh. And what about the ice rocks in my bed at night?" Adonis said. "Or destroying my room and my things? You know Ms. Harmonie had to clean those messes every time."
Caius stiffened.
Adonis's lavender eyes narrowed. "What about killing the pet mouse I took in, and then hanging it on my door handle?"
Caius's eyes widened. The color drained from his face. He tried to scramble backward. But Adonis stepped forward slowly.
"Yeah," Adonis said softly. "I know about everything."
Caius's voice shook. "It wasn't— I didn't—It was— Gorgo, who...."
Adonis crouched slightly, bringing himself closer. "No it was both you and big sister," he said. " She isn't here anymore, but you are." His voice turned colder. "So until I can see her again… I'll make you pay enough for both of you. And since you don't leave for another five months, we have plenty of time to establish a new order. Brother ."
Caius forced himself upright, shaking, pain twisting his face. "You can't..." he began, trying to pull rank, trying to cling to the hierarchy. "I'm a main house... you can't attack...me "
Adonis cut him off. "Brother," he said, voice calm as ice, "we're both part of the main house." Adonis stood taller. Mana gathered faintly around his fist again. "So I can, and I will again and again."
Caius's eyes widened in sudden fear. Because he realized...This wasn't a child's tantrum.
This was a reckoning. But how. How could a five year old whose barely learned to fight hit so hard. Even if he got a lucky punch in. Then Caius noticed a feint light around Adonis's hand.
"Is that man—"
Adonis hit Caius in the face, cutting him off mid sentence. Again. Again. And again. Adonis aimed for every part of Caius's body. Ribs. Stomach. Collar bone. Shins. The places that hurt and taught lessons without killing, because killing a sibling without permission would bring consequences even the children of House Blud didn't ignore.
But Adonis wasn't merciful. In the future a few of his siblings become warlords and monsters. And this one here was one of the worst. He became a Warlord and betrayed the Blud Clan to rival houses and pantheons.
So until Adonis could kill him and the rest of the bastard's he shares blood with. He was gonna be precise and break each and everyone of them who hurt him. And it all starts with you brother.
Adonis didn't stop, even when Caius stopped fighting back. Blood dripped from Adonis's fist staining the stone floor. Adonis stood there breathing steadily, his fist not even bruised as his mana dissipating in faint wisps.
Then a voice cut through the courtyard. Adonis turned recognizing that voice anywhere. "Young lord." It was Harmonia's voice.
Harmonia was running toward him, her handmaid garments pulled close against the cold. Behind her walked Atreus and Seris.
Atreus, his father's spartan warrior. A high ranking officer from outside the family. Their he stood
stoically, and reserved. The kind of man whose silence felt like judgment. He was a tall broad shoulder man, who wore ebony armor covered in white fur.
Next to him was Seris, his mother's Spartan warrior and a high ranking officer. A woman built like a predator, with eyes that watched everything as if cataloging weaknesses. She was the guardian of the Mar's castle. While Atreus would report back to my mother or father, depending on the nature of the children or events of the castle.
Harmonia reached Adonis first, dropping to her knees, hands on his shoulders, checking him frantically. "Adonis, what happened?" she whispered, voice tight with fear.
Adonis looked up at her. And smiled gently. "I was playing with big brother Caius," he said sweetly. "And things went too far."
Atreus stepped closer, gaze cutting to the unconscious Caius. "Too far?" he repeated, voice low. "He is bloody and unconscious."
Adonis's smile faded. He looked at Atreus with the calm confidence of someone who knew exactly what he was doing. "That's to be expected," Adonis said. " After all we're Blud."
Seris's mouth twitched into a almost smirk.
Harmonia's hands tightened on Adonis as if she wanted to pull him away from this whole world. Adonis didn't let her. He turned his head toward Atreus. "Captain Atreus," Adonis said.
Atreus met his gaze. "Yes, young lord." Adonis pointed toward the courtyard's far edge, where a stone pit yawned open.
An isolation pit. A training punishment chamber. Its walls were slick with frost, climbable only if you had strength, grit, and skin you didn't mind tearing open.
Adonis's voice stayed calm. "Take my brother," he said, "and toss him into the pit."
Atreus raised an eyebrow. "It is nearly freezing down there."
Adonis nodded once. "My brother has messed with me far too much," he said. "So he'll learn the hard way not to do it anymore."
Then he added, coldly: "Better he learns now… than in the Agoge, where he'll be open game for anyone."
Seris's smirk widened slightly, approving.
Atreus's gaze sharpened. Because he understood the implication. Adonis wasn't acting on impulse.
He was acting with strategy.
Harmonia looked pale. " Lord...." she began, but Adonis gently pulled away from her hands and faced Atreus directly. "Are you going to disobey an order from your lord?" Adonis asked, voice even.
Atreus stared at him. He knew the rules. No officer unless from the Main House can disobey a clan lord.
Then he slowly shook his head. "No my lord." He moved to Caius's limp body, lifted him with practiced ease, and carried him toward the pit. He paused for a heartbeat at the edge. Then tossed him in.
Caius's body vanished into darkness below. A faint impact echoed. Then silence. Adonis and Harmonie then exited the training hall.
Atreus turned back toward Seris. "I will go and tell the Patriarch of what has happened," he said.
Seris tilted her head slightly. "You're going to go all the way to the unknown region, to tell the Patriarch about a silly sibling squabble?" she asked, tone amused. "The oldest daughter was far worse than this, and even then we didn't say anything."
Atreus's face did not change. "No, it's because of that" he said. "You saw it too."
Seris's eyes narrowed. "You mean the young lord using mana, or what looked like it."
Harmonia stiffened. Adonis remained calm, though inside Jonathan's mind tightened. As they headed back to his room to clean up.
Atreus continued, voice steady. "I am sure that it was mana. That means Lord Adonis can use magic."
Seris let out a quiet sighing breath that might have been a laugh. "Fine. Go," she said. "I'll handle the castle like always."
Atreus nodded once and turned away, heading toward the hangar carved into the mountain side of the fortress. Within minutes, he was in a starship. A compact, armored vessel built for speed and survival in hostile space. Within minutes the engines ignited.
The ship lifted from Mars's frozen surface, breaking through the thin atmosphere into stars.
Adonis watched from his room as the ship departed. He didn't feel fear if anything he was excited.
Only to see his family again after such a long time. And remember the faces of those he hated.
Atreus's ship warped, as space began bending and, folding. The stars stretched into lines.
Then within minutes, he emerged before something that looked impossible. A black metallic wall in space.
A structure so vast it made planets look small. It looked Endless, stretching beyond ones vision. A gate opened in it like an eye parting.
Atreus's ship passed through. On the other side, space looked different. There were little to no stars or planets with in view or scanners. It was like looking at a abyss.
But a huge planet hung there just off from his. Its oceans were dark blue, almost green, with violet landscapes. Atreus ship descended, and landed in a marked zone near a cliffside ridge. Where Leonidas's ship the Gorgon was. Around it was the bodies of several mythical beast. probably destroyed by the ships defense systems.
Then he stepped out the ship. And immediately, the world tried to kill him. Monsters rose from the tree line, eldritch creatures with too many limbs, too many eyes, bodies shaped like the nightmares of old myths made flesh.
Atreus moved through them like they were nothing. His spear in one hand and shield in another. His body moved and carved through the beast and jungle. He fought for nearly an hour, carving a path through monstrous bodies until he reached a camp.
A war camp with torches burning. Bodies lay scattered to the side, monsters, not men. Several individuals were carving them apart and butchering them for their body parts. Which have several uses for a number of magical experiments.
The landscape was half destroyed, carved by battle into trenches and shattered stone. And at the center of it sat Leonidas Blud. The patriarch, and the demi-god.
He sat in front of a fire like it was a throne, broad shoulders bare beneath a heavy lion pelt, long black dreadlocks tied back, beard trimmed, eyes like golden ember flames.
Around him stood his high officers. The five of his oldest children, tall, armored, already carrying the weight of war like it belonged to them. But they looked unbothered by the environment
Atreus approached, and kneeled
"Lord Leonidas," he said, voice steady, "I have come with a report regarding the youngest son… Adonis."
Every head turned. Even the fire seemed to quiet. Leonidas didn't move at first. His back was still to Atreus.
A long breath passed. Then Leonidas spoke, his voice was deep, and stern. "Atreus… my old friend."
He turned his head slightly, just enough for one eye to catch the light. "Is the matter regarding the youngest son not something you could have put in a transmission message… or said to the Matriarch?"
Atreus didn't flinch. "My lord," he said, "I wanted you to see this with your own eyes."
He handed Leonidas a small holo-tablet. He turned back around and activated it. An image flared to life above the device, projected in light. It showed the Mars Castle training hall. The rune-post, and
Caius falling. And Adonis standing over him. Adonis's fist glowing faintly as he beat into Caius.
Leonidas stared at the image. For a heartbeat, his expression didn't change. Then his gaze narrowed, as he deactivated the image. The fire reflected in his eyes like something waking.
He then looked back, not at Atreus, but at his officers. At his children. His voice cut through the camp like an execution order.
"SPARTAN'S!"
Every Spartan warrior straightened into a military attention. His children stepped closer, eyes sharpening, as they were in a parade rest.
Leonidas stood. The firelight painted his muscles in bronze and shadow. "We are heading to Mars Castle," he said. "Be ready to move in ten minutes."
The camp erupted into motion as everyone moved already knowing their roles. Leonidas's oldest children moved efficiently as well, as they started to clear a path from the monsters heading back.
Leonidas turned once more toward Atreus. And for the first time, something like interest, real genuine interest, burned in the patriarch's eyes.
"Inform the Matriarch of this and tell her to meet us at the castle," Leonidas ordered.
Atreus nodded "Yes, my lord."
The fire behind Leonidas crackled. Far away, on a frozen planet, Adonis stood in his room, his lavender eyes looking to the sky, waiting for the events from his actions to unravel.