Halfway down the road, a voice called out to me.
Diana.
"You?" I frowned. "Why are you here?"
"To give you a clue and to keep you from being consumed by your own rage," she replied calmly. "It wasn't the gods. Those behind this… they deceived the kings. Manipulated them into doing what they did. It was all part of their plan."
"How do you know all this? And if you wanted to help why didn't you do it sooner?" My voice trembled with anger.
"I learned the truth too late," Diana said softly. "After everything had already happened."
"So it was the kings of Arcadia, Aegis, and the former king of Messenia," I said, already passing judgment on them in my mind.
"Yes," Diana nodded. "But they were only pawns. They had no idea what they were truly doing. They were deceived used. The real culprit hides in the shadows."
"Who?!" I barked, unable to hold back my fury. Everything inside me burned. Rage clawed its way out, threatening to devour what little control I had left.
"There are entities… semi-divine," Diana said. "Their purpose has always been to carry out the will of the higher powers. But now, they wish to change that. They're tired of being tools. They want to overturn the entire order."
"Then why did you warn me about Olympus?" I asked.
"I didn't know how they would act," Diana admitted. "That's why I warned you about the gods. But I didn't expect the blow to come from another side."
"Then it's Charon?" I said, remembering his words. His only goal to become the god of the Underworld, and rule it alone.
"He's one of them but not the only one," Diana answered darkly. "There are several. And all of them hunger for godhood. They nurture those capable of killing gods… and set them against Olympus."
My fists clenched. My fingers dug into my palms until they bled.
"Then why was I meant to blame Olympus?"
"Because the wine that enchanted you," Diana said with a sorrowful tone, "contained a rare elixir known as the Kiss of Aphrodite. It cannot be acquired by mortal means. Only the goddess herself can grant it."
"You know too much," I said, staring hard into her face. "Who are you?"
She said nothing. And I asked nothing more. I walked past her.
Now, I had one goal left remember every one of those faceless demigods… and find the one who orchestrated this.
I reached the place the elder had told me about. The ship was already waiting. I boarded, stepped to the edge of the deck, a little apart from the helmsman, and silently looked at the shores I knew so well. They had been my home.
The ship set sail. And I departed.
Farewell, Sparta.
"All things must end eventually," came a familiar voice.
I turned. Dammipp was standing beside me. At first, I thought it a hallucination, a trick of the mind but no. It was him. Only, not alive.
"You called, and I came," he said with a gentle, almost sad smile.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, unable to meet his eyes.
"I don't blame you. I forgive you," Dammipp replied. "Honestly… I never expected to die of old age anyway. What hurts the most is that Sirana is gone. But I know… she's in a better place now."
He fell silent, gazing toward the horizon.
"I want to ask you to let me go. My soul was pulled from the Underworld because of your will. But I want to be with her again. Still… know this: if you ever need me, I will fight by your side. Just say the word."
"Of course! Forgive me for everything. I can never repay this sin," I said, barely keeping the tremble from my voice.
"May your path be clear, brother… Farewell," Dammipp said, and began to fade into the air.
"I'll remember. Always. Farewell, brother," I whispered.
Now there's no more waiting. No hoping something will change. From this moment forward I alone decide how my fate unfolds, and who remains in it.
Whoever dares interfere… will curse the day they chose to play this game.
They treat human lives like dust in the wind. But I will show them what it means… to be human.
*********************************
We didn't make it to Athens right away. The sailors, entranced by the voices of the sirens, steered the ship straight into the reefs. It sank. At first, I was confused, unable to grasp what was happening. And by the time I realized it was already too late.The sirens, who had sunk the ship, quickly paid for their mistake when they tried to feast on flesh. I managed only to help the surviving crew reach the shores of Crete.
Life on the island gave me time to reflect, to accept everything that had happened.Of course, that wasn't the only reason I couldn't leave.
Crete was inhabited. Survivors from shipwrecks, all stranded, unable to escape. The reason was simple: Talos, the bronze giant, guardian of the coast, destroyed any vessel that dared approach. None had ever passed him. Those who tried died.The island had become a trap.
I tried to kill Talos once. I hoped it would give me a chance to sail away.But he was too strong. His body would repair itself no matter how hard I struck.I fought him again and again to no avail.
So I gave up for a time and began preparing. I honed my body and tempered my will.
I learned from those who, by fate's cruel hand, had also been stranded on the island. Among them was a man named Diogenes.He was strange. Blunt. Always barefoot, dressed in nothing but a single garment. He said exactly what he thought and cared nothing for rules. But that didn't mean he lacked wisdom.
Our conversations were awkward, strange, and irritating. Yet despite his harshness, his words found their way into my heart forcing me to see life through a different lens.
The most amusing thing was how he ended up here.
He had wandered the docks, climbed into a barrel to nap and woke up in the hold of a sinking ship.To this day, I still don't understand how anyone could land themselves in such a ridiculous situation.
At Diogenes' suggestion, I also took up blacksmithing.He told me, "The way you forge iron is the way you forge your character."It gave me a way to disconnect, to lose myself in the work. I began forging armor something that could withstand whatever came my way.
I abandoned the traditional round shield. Instead, I designed something more aggressive sharper edges, a brutal silhouette. I sketched the design with charcoal on a slab of stone.Now, it was time to bring it to life.
It took me months to forge every piece of the armor. I grew so used to it that I felt almost naked without it.
I was taught the basics of smithing by a local blacksmith named Isocar, who agreed to mentor me in exchange for a promise to destroy Talos.He had come to Crete hoping to sell his wares across the sea, but fate had other plans.More than anything, he wanted to return home to his wife and sons.
I turned a rough chunk of ore into iron, smelted out the impurities, beat it into shape, and began forming the shield.But I didn't just forge it I poured all of my will into the metal.This shield wasn't just protection from blades.It was to become a shield against the gods themselves.
My hammer struck the glowing metal, each blow bringing me closer to the vision that had burned itself into my memory.The shield wasn't elegant. It was coarse. Angular.But it held everything I had every bit of skill and strength.
And maybe that's why it was beautiful.
I lifted the shield so heavy that no ordinary man could hold it for even a moment.Along with it came bracers, greaves, and finally the breastplate that clung tightly to my chest.
When the armor was complete I believed victory would be mine.
I waited for Talos on the shore.
His footsteps thundered long before he came into view. The earth trembled with each step.He was forged from pure bronze soulless, emotionless. A machine.His only purpose: to destroy anything that approached the island, and to patrol its coast without rest.Every challenger had fallen to him.
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The sword in his hand was colossal like him.As if crafted for battles against titans and perhaps it had once clashed with them.
"In battle, we are reborn," I said, stepping into his path."I believe in nothing now nothing but myself."
I donned my helmet, raised my shield, and leveled my spear.
No matter how much pain or how many obstacles lie ahead I will grow stronger.