Peremis Timeless

Chapter 11: The duel

Percy's POV

"Percy honey, the time is up" a voice occurred from the outside of my room.

I groaned and rolled on one side. Why the Hades did Hestia call me up so early. I didn't have the opportunity to have a full sleep last night. The thought of the duel with Ares kept making me struggling and rolling around the bed. Speaking of which...

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed and sat straight up from my position. How could I be so careless. I had been so prepared for the day and then I wake up late for it.

I ran to the bathroom and tried to take a shower. Well I tried. I stood under it for around thirty second and felt no presence of that coldness of the morning water. I stared up at the shower and my eyes widened in shock. The water was still running, yet they rolled off my skin and hair as if I were made out of some kind of waterproofing materials. I panic, and summoned Riptide and stood in a defensive stance, still ass-naked in the bathroom. Then when things have calmed down, I slapped myself for my own stupidity. It was probably Dad's power to allow me to enter his kingdom without changing to another outfit every time. What pissed me off even more was that I already knew I had this in me. Generally, I consciously allowed the water to soak my skin. I probably lost my brain this morning so unconsciously, my power turned me into some kind of waterproofing animal.

Sighing, I stepped out from the bathroom and put something on. As I half finished with my pants, my eyes darted to the mirror. Becoming a god has a lot of benefits, though. My shoulders and arms became broader as well as my chest. Those muscles at my torso now became so visible that if I wore a tight shirt, they would be seen. I knew I was too muscular and big for an eighteen years old adolescence. Only once blessed by the Fates, those muscles were magnified. Standing at 7 foot, I was topping over everyone at school. The problem was, I already possessed this body the moment I woke up from the street, the black alley near The Fifth Avenue. I couldn't understand how a kid living on the street for that long could sustain that certain mass. I decided to put those questions aside and rushed downstairs for breakfast

I saw Hestia at the kitchen, washing the dishes. She was in her thirties form, the only form she would appear around me. Generally, everyone would regard her as an innocent twelve years old girl. Oh boy they were so wrong.

I hugged her from behind, resting my chin upon her red hair and enjoyed the smell of burning marshmallows radiating from it.

"Is that pancake that I'm smelling?" I smirked.

"The sleeping prince has finally awoken" She teleported behind me and rubbed my hair. "What a miracle"

"Mom!" I whined, trying to push her hand away. "Your hand is full of soap. And you are messing up my hair!"

"It's already messy" Hestia rolled her eyes. "Tell me when have you ever combed your hair?"

"Well...uh..."

"I figured as much" she crossed her arm. "Anyway, you have to hurry otherwise Ares is going to start calling a coward for coming late."

"Oh right the duel" the memory came back as I hastily dashed to the table, picking up the folk and started digging into the pancakes.

"Percy! I know you are late. But that doesn't mean you can just swallow the food. Chew please." I heard Hestia calling from behind.

"Don't worry mom.." I managed to reply with a mouth full of food. "Food you make is too good to eat it slow."

Though I didn't see her, I knew that response had set a smile on her lips. Around five minutes, the towering pile of pancakes now was reduced to just a few spots of syrup.

"I'm done" half chewing, I ran for the door. "Bye mom"

"Wait!"

That pulled my feet to a stop. Hestia walked up to me and held my collar.

"You didn't button your shirt probably, look" her delicate and slowly unbuttoned the wrong ones and buttoned them again. Her eyes still kept on what she was doing as she spoke. "You are a grown up now. You know how to make important decisions now. So at least those trivial things must be regarded properly, so that others will regard you."

"Done" she said and brushed my shoulder, smoothing the wrinkles on my shirt. Her eyes kept glancing left and right at my shoulders and held them. Her hands squeezed them tight as she stared at me with worrying eyes. The eyes that a mother would give to a son that is going to war.

"Percy, are you sure that you want to do this?" She said. "This could be your first and last battle"

Those words brought back the fear I had been hiding in me. The fear that brought my hand shaking, and they flashed between my eyes. Tears swelled up in Hestia's eyes as she seemed to have noticed it.

"Oh my poor son" she brushed my cheek. "How folly of me to allow you to walk to your death"

At that point, I somehow found back that small beam of courage. This was not only the fight to protect Artemis. But also my fight to reassure my mother, to prove that I have grown, that I can take care of myself now.

I held her hand and pressed them against my cheeks. "I'll be find mom. I need to conquer this fear or forever I'll be running away from it. I'm not only fighting for Artemis, but also myself as well; and I can reassure you, that I will win no matter what"

Hestia closed her eyes and nodded in satisfaction and relief.

"Then go, Percy. Go get your pride and make me proud"

I disappeared with a smile.

I was walking through Olympus with my head high. I caught some nymphs giggled when they walked pass me. I just smiled at them for courtesy. This place is beautiful and all, but everyone here's so strict and they all keep to themselves. Although, there's Aphrodite and Apollo who are probably the liveliest people here. Ares could be considered the liveliest person here because he just comes to pick a fight here and there. Walking without knowing my destination, I decided to follow the stream of people that were pouring towards the south of the Market Square.

Soon enough, the towering arena looked before me, shining like a pearl beneath the sun as cheering of the audience echoed from its walls. The arena basically looked like the Roman coliseum but this one was a whole different story. It was spotless and pure white, and enormous, probably about the size of three football fields.

As I was taking in the size and might of the architecture of the place, a man wearing a golden robe ran up to me.

"Lord Perseus! Lord Perseus there you are!" He panted.

"Come quick! The match is about to begin. You wouldn't like to miss The King's introduction." He didn't allow me to say a word before dragging me towards a massive archway that led into some kind of a basement beneath the area.

After many stairs and turns, I was pushed into a massive changing room, with armour and weapons hanging at the side of the walls. Silk lying on the red carpet, as the fountain surged water into a pool the size of my room. Rose petals were already set floating on the water. This place looked more like a hotel than an arena.

"Quick girls! Bring in the armour and shield. Be careful with them will you? Lady Artemis picked these herself, I don't want to see any scratch on it before the start of the battle!" The man ordered and a bunch of nymphs came rushing to the room on the other side.

My armour was simple, yet defined who I am. It was made of platinum, yet light and was extremely fit for movement. No wonder Artemis personally picked these. She knew the only advantage over Ares was speed, so she had to maximise that as much as possible. I stood as the nymphs tightened my arm and leg guards, trapping my belt and placed the metal helmet upon my head. One nymph offer me a metal shield, with my symbol, an hourglass engraved on it.

"Now now now" the man that brought me here examined the work his servants have done. "You look more like a warrior now. Ready for killing eh? Tell me, what weapon do you prefer? Axe, hammer, sword, spear, mace? We have all types of weapons that will fit you perfectly"

"Uh thanks but I already have a swo-"

"Well so that's it then!" He cut me off before I could finish. "Good luck with the fight! You will need it."

And he pushed me towards the gate that led to the centre of the arena. I could the the audience on the other side, across the sand bed that I would be fighting, that soon my own blood would be spilling. Cheers and shouting already filled up the arena. There were nymphs, centaurs, satyrs, and pretty much every other mythical being allowed here.

Then somewhere, between the now silencing noises, Zeus's voice came, as if he was shouting from afar.

"Today is a special day, where tradition has been held in this building for thousands of years. The challenge has been accepted, where men will fight for their pride, glory and might! Shall I now introduce you, for folly or brave, this person has made the challenge, which he now will hold to his words. Olympus, I present you, Perseus, the Lord of Time!"

The mechanical sound vibrates behind the walls around me as the gate was being pulled up. The crowd erupted into cheering of excitement, some even chanted my name. Well, if I have come this far, there would be no coming back.

I made the first step as my heart hammered widely against my chest. Another step as it nearly stopped breathing. Third step I held my breathing. The next I exhaled in relief. I kept making, one after another until I was in the middle of the arena, surrounded by sea of creatures and entities. To my right, where the privileged seats were dedicated to the major gods, Artemis looked at me with hoping eyes. I waved at her, despite knowing where I was and that had earned me a look of disgust from Zeus.

He stood up and held up his hand, the crowd went silence.

"And now, shall I bring to you, The Undefeated!" The crowd erupted into cheering before their king could finish his speech. However, Zeus's voice still somehow overwhelmed that noise. "The King of The Arena! The Champion of Olympus! Ares, the God Of WARRRSSS"

The gate in front of me started pulling up, as a tremendous roar came out from the darkness within. Before that metal gate could be fully pulled, Ares already smashed through the gate. His roar was accompanied by the cheering of the crowd, as they started chanting his name, and thus, the whole arena forever that day echoed the name Ares.

Ares stared at me. That smirk on his face from gaining the crowd's support ticked me off even more. I gripped my shield tight as I was about to wipe that smirk off him.

Zeus's voice again boomed from the throne. Immediately, everyone obeyed so I decided to take my place in front of Ares who looked cocky as hell. I was about to wipe that grin off his face.

"Every weapon you can think of is allowed, except anything that involves help from someone else considering this fight is only one-on-one. The prize to the winner is will become the future husband of Artemis, goddess of the Hunt"

What the Hades is he announcing!? I didn't say that I would marry Artemis after I win. Look like I had another argument to attend.

Aphrodite strolled in between us in a beautiful, gold, fitted armour with a card above her head that said "Perseus vs. Ares" She gave Ares a grin that made him practically melt, she turned to me and winked and mouthed the words, 'Your welcome.'

For what?

As soon as she was a couple of feet away, Zeus roared again from his throne "BEGIN!"

Ares was too caught up in checking Aphrodite out as she leisurely moved away. Oh, now I understood what she meant. She was purposefully walking as slowly, and beautifully as possible to catch Ares' attention and let me attack him while he wasn't expecting it. Perfect.

I pulled out Riptide from my sword belt and uncapped it. I lunged at Ares from a distance leaving a prominent cut. I decided not to charge because if there's one thing I learned, it's to never rush into battle. He didn't get to dodge since he was still in a daze from Aphrodite's catwalk. However, my early assault pulled him back to the battle. He checked the cut on the chest plate of his armour and smirked at me.

"Not bad for a greenhorn. Not everyone can manage to make a scratch on this armour, let alone cutting it."

My eyes darted to his hands, which immediately glowed in a battle-thirsty red light. Moment later, Ares was holding two massive black swords, nearly doubled the size of mine. How could he muster that strength still intrigued me until now. I pulled my shield closer, lower my body to a defensive stance. I had been warned about Ares's brutality, so I was prepared for it.

But he came at me fast—and strong. The first impact between his swords and my shield reverberated my entire being, even shaking the other hand that was holding the sword. Ares retreated the blade. But before I could launch a counter attack, his swords were already reaching for my neck again. He swirled the blade on his left, and despite the enormous mass and size, the sword swung like a gust of wind, fast and precise. I barely had time to bring the shield to my side to block his attack before he hurled the other sword towards me. My shield was spin so my only option was to retreat from him. And so I did. Before the tip of the blade could pierce my chest, I fell backwards, missing death by an inch.

The initial clash sent the crowd roaring in excitement. Ares and I both halted to regain some strength, mostly me.

"So how does it feel newbie?" Ares lowered his swords and glanced at me with a smirk. "To finally witness my might?"

I wept the beads of sweat from binder my chin and smiled back.

"Not bad for a weakling"

Immediately, I regretted saying that because it brought Ares to me with even heavier blows than before. I raised my shield high as both his blade hammered down on my head. Artemis had told me Ares would be slow with his colossal size. But she was wrong. He was fast, much faster than any scenario I had during my training with Artemis. But that wasn't a surprise since he was a warrior that had had thousands of years of training. It just I was a little overwhelmed by it. I tried to find an opening, but there was none to counter him. Ares span towards me like a spinning wheel, swords extended out from both hand. The blades repeatedly clashed onto my shield

Clank! Clank! Clank!

My eyes widened as they witnessed the dent on other side of the metal shield, as the swords tried to force their ways through to split my skull. I had no chance to counter at all, and despite all of that brutal assault, Ares seemed to not even break a sweat. However, his opponent was not on the same balance. Sweats drenched my shirt and my arms shook from just holding up the shield to bear the impact. I was losing ground as Ares advanced further, swirling and hurling the swords at my sides and front as I was pushed from side to side like a boat every time his swords clashed again my shield. What scared me was that he didn't fight as serious as the initial assault, since there wasn't a lot of sword techniques but just him swinging his swords wildly with brutal force. He was toying with me. He wanted to gradually diminishing my strength. So that I would be on my knees, broken, tattered and begging for his mercy.

Ares hammered both swords again, but this time he didn't release them. Instead, he put more pressure onto the shield. My knees buckled, yet I kept my stance, holding my shield against that formidable force. But I was no match for him. He kept pressing and pressing down and my knees reached lower and lower towards the sand. Finally, with a grunt, Ares brought me to my knees. Despite my arm still raising, my grip was still strong on the shield handle, I was in no position to move. If Ares decided to stop toying and snatched my shield from me. I would be dead in seconds.

Ares lowered, I saw his eyes peeking at me at the edge of the shield.

"You will regret the challenge you made Perseus." He applied more pressure and my knees buried deeper into the arena's sand.

"No...I'm not!" I tried to push back, but that made no dent on his strength.

"Do you think your little training with Artemis can defeat me?" Ares flashed his teeth. "She is not my opponent Perseus. You should have just learned from Poseidon or Athena. Instead of practicing how to runaway like her."

At the mention of Artemis set my veins budging at my temples. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have been able to stand against him until now. I appreciated her effort and hard work just to prevent me from getting slaughtered by Ares. If I could not fight for my survival, then I should at least fight for her hard work.

So I pushed against his swords, as my knees rose from the ground little by little. Unknown strength rippled in my blood and arms as I fought against that formidable pressure. Ares's eyes widened in surprise as I fought against his strength, as my knees rose slowly until I lifted them off the ground.

"You...have...no right...to underestimate her!"

With a roar, the mustered strength surged out at once as I pushed Ares back and rose to my feet. Ares stumbled backwards, surprised by the sudden force. As Ares was regaining his composure, he left himself wide open.

An opening!

I charged at him quick for that given opportunity. I went low and swiped my sword across his thigh, which had no protection and thus my blade left it with a clean cut. Ares's roar of pain sent the crowd crazy. He glared at me with such fierce that could pierce my chest. He swung his sword, but his movement was considerably slower than before due to the injury. So I slid under him and slammed my shield into his back, causing him to stumble and lost his balance. Finally, a knee of the God of Wars was brought to the ground.

A glimmer of hope ignited in me. I knew there was along way to defeat him, since all of that attack and I only managed to have him stumbling. I glanced at the privileged seats of the Major Gods and that glimmer of hope seemed to die suddenly just like the way it began.

Despite the roaring and cheering of the crowd, for I was probably the first to have made that much impacts on the God of Wars. The Major Gods' countenance wasn't amused or surprised as I expected. Their faces were grimy, and I was astonished by the fearful look tangled in Artemis's eyes.

Soon I know why she was fearful for me. A few feet away, where Ares was shamefully brought down by an amateur. He had his back to me, and his gaze was solely on the ground at his feet. Somehow, I could feel a dangerous, more likely to be deadly aura radiated from his shoulder. But it did not affect me, as the power engulfed the atmosphere of the entire arena, sending the crowd to silence.

At first it was just a low growl. My heartbeat slowed as it merged with the dropping rate of my sweats towards the ground. Soon, that growl became louder and what followed sent my hands shaking from fear.

Ares's back grew bigger, snapping the straps of his armour. Those arms somehow extended in width and length, accompanied by intimidating budging veins. He suddenly turned his head at me, sharp as a knife and I stepped back instinctively. My body was right to react so, as he now looked more like an animal than a being. What scared most me was those eyes, those red of flame eyes, that filled with hatred and rage.

Consciously, a soft voice echoed in my mind.

"Be careful Percy" Aphrodite warned "He is in his Berserker Rage. Try to run if you can until Ares has calmed down."

Then Ares slowly turned around to display his mighty form. The armour had broken off from his enormous body. The underneath shirt ripped under that growth. He took one step towards me and I made a step back. Those those he made me struggling to survive before now turned into something even nastier.

I swallowed a hard glum in my throat as two battle axes appeared on his hands. The sharp arc licked and readied to taste my blood.

He gave out a berserker cry, and the reverberating effects sent my muscles frozen, and made my brain too petrified to move. That magic also engulfed Olympus, sending a wave of dead silence throughout the whole mountain.

Before I could blink, Ares was right in front of me, eye to eye and I had a feeling that if I stared at those eyes for a little longer, they would have pierced my head. But I didn't have a chance to respond to that, as Ares swung his axe at me, initiating the fourth clash.

I rose my shield barely in time to block, but the blade went through it like a knife stabbing through a sheet of paper. The axe's edge was inches before splitting my head in two. Ares pulled back the axe, along with my shield that now stuck to it with incredible force. He pulled the shield from his axe and snapped it in half with his bare hand in front of me, indicating that I would be facing the same fate.

Ares gave out another battle cry and charged, his axe swung so fast and unpredictable. I held my sword up to block, but he deflected my blade away with the other axe.

Crap! He left me wide open.

Before I could recover, a mind-shredding pain screamed from my chest. The blade of Ares's axes shone brightly from the coating of my golden blood. The intense burning was bad, as the cut on my chest looked quite severe. However, before I could step away or do anything, Ares assaulted again, this time trying to split my skull. With one hand on my chest, trying to stop the bleeding, I sidestep, dodging the downward blade. But I wasn't as flexible anymore and Ares became so fast that my eyes could barely catch his hand movements. He slipped behind me before I could notice and then, another intense burning of a cut ran along my back. I screamed in pain and my knees buckled. I dropped to the ground before I my brain could think, with one of Ares's axe still buried in my shoulder plate.

I was still on one knee, but that was soon over. An intense pressure landed on my cheek. With a punch, Ares effectively brought me laying flat on the ground. I tried to rise, but i had no chance at all. He grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled my head up, to a position where he could land another punch. Wind blasted outwards from the powerful force between his knuckles and my cheek bone. I grunted as he pulled out the axe that still stuck to my skin and cried when he struck that nasty thing back on my body again. His grabbed my neck, his grip choked the life out of me as Ares lifted me up like a doll. My feet struggled, dangling in mid-air as they tried to reach for the ground. Ares still held me in the air with one arm, as my hands tried to grab his wrist, tried to twist it so he could release the hold, so I could get some air to breathe. But Ares was merciless. He brought my face closer to his and flashed his teeth, the canine teeth looked vicious and long.

"You will regret for humiliating me, Perseus." He gritted his teeth. "I will make sure that you will never have a chance to see sunlight again"

He landed a punch directly at my face. I heard the bones of my nose broke into pieces due to that force. That punch sent me flying to the wall behind me, and the impact caused the arena to rumble. No one cheered, not a single whisper was heard. That was because they all knew, the outcome of this battle. This place has turned into a torturing chamber, and the fight would soon become Ares chopping meat. I tried to rise again, but my arms felt weak and they gave out, so I ate dirt for the second time.

Ares advanced, slowly as death also awaited to bounce on me. He grabbed my hair, gave another punch and my head crashed against the wall behind, adding another crater to this area walls. Then he landed repeatedly one punch after another and I only gritted my teeth to endure. My bone cracked, muscle busted and blood oozed from the bruises on my skin. He gave one final punch and I only hugged the ground, tattered and defeated.

One of my eyes, managed to open a little, to observe the surroundings. Everyone was silence, only the wind was my companion.

"Stop the match!" Somewhere I heard the familiar voice. "Father stop the match please!"

Then I saw her, holding her father arm and begged. I wanted to pull her away, telling her not to do it.

"I will do it! I will marry Ares. Please just stop the match."

But Zeus's face remained the same, cold and expressionless. Somehow, I had a feeling he was smiling inside, but then, I have disrespected him before in front of the council. Zeus would be even more pleased with having Ares to finish me off.

"It's a fight to the death daughter" he glanced at her. "Unless one party accept defeat, otherwise I cannot do anything about it."

Her eyes turned to me, and she seemed broken. That was because she knew, she knew I would never yield, never give her up.

Ares saw my eye contact with Artemis and he leaned closer to my blood-coated face.

"After I'm done with you. I'll come for her. How interesting would it be to see her beg when I take her to my room tonight?"

I clenched my fists, felting my nails piercing my palm. But it wasn't painful. No, because I have felt enough pain, enough that even another cut wouldn't add to it. Just image Artemis in his arms, powerless set my veins budging. Then I felt it, as if it became alive inside me. Ripple of magic ran along my spine. No, it wasn't myself that controlled that magic, it was my own hatred, the madness laid asleep in me. The ugly side, the monster I never wanted anyone to see.

But Ares's words have woken it from its slumber.

Before I knew it. My skin was already on first, causing Ares to jump back in surprise. The crowd cheer in my wake as I rose to my feet, the pool of Ichor underneath hissed and vaporised by my heat. Riptide appeared at my hand, as I focused on Ares, the beast inside roared from the burning eyes. Ares summons his battle axes, cracked his neck as now he had had a worthy opponent.

My legs sprinted before I could observe anything. I came at him with that strength, that rage and madness. My muscles screamed under that burning skin, evaporating the sweat that rolled down my body. It was a blur of sword and blades. Clashing and slashing. Ares struck me with his axe several time, shoulder and chest. But I could not feel the pain, for I have endured all of that. I pulled out the axe that buried on my shoulder and launched at him as if nothing had affected me.

When I had regain my vision, I was the only one left standing, as Ares was on his knees, bleeding and panting. He grabbed for the sword, but I wasn't having none of it. A storm of power surged out from me, swallowing the vicinity around us. I could feel the air still, as time had slowed down to its origin. Even if Ares wanted to activate that Berserker Rage, it would take million of years for him to reach it. I landed a punch on Ares, sending him flying across the area.

But I was not done, not for everything he had inflicted upon me. I could smell the vapour in the air, drawing closer. I could feel the torrent of water from under the sand, flowing from the fountains, bathtubs and the heart of the mountain. The all flowed to my calling, and exploded from the ground. A colossal arm made of running current rose to the sky as everyone widened their eyes in surprise. Ares grunted and glared at me. He let out a battle cry and charged.

Foolish

I pointed my finger at him, and the Giant Hand followed my command. It swallowed Ares easily, drowning him inside that liquid. The arena grumbled as cracks ran like lightning strikes on the ground. I could feel the vibration of the earth, as if all of its energy flowed inside my veins. The arena shook, accompanied by the yelps of the audience.

I allowed the water to retrieve, and left Ares laying on the sand. Lifeless, soaked and beaten. But I knew that was not enough, for his hand was still crawling on the sand, searching for his weapon. The moment his hand got a hold of that axe, I folded my fist and that intense pleasure yet tiresome rushed through me again.

I could feel the air molecules frozen, not by the absence of heat, but by time. Everyone within the vicinity of the arena seemed like statues, with extreme realism. I glanced at my opponent, whose eyes were as red as Hell Fire. But he would never be able to activate that Berserker Rage again. For I slowed time down so much, that it would take million of years for that rage to resurface. At this point I knew my power alone could defeat him. Make him crumble beneath my feet. For with a blast of my power, eons would flow through the God of Wars. Though he was immortal, however no being could escape the grasp of time; the grasp of death. For eventually, gods or mortals, we would all become dust, and return to the hand of Chaos, who was the life of the universe.

But for what he had done, for what he had said to Artemis. I couldn't turn him into dirt, make him disintegrate without knowing the taste of pain and humiliation. So I lunged at him, and landed the first punch to pay back the hundreds he had gifted me. The moment my knuckles made contact with Ares's cheek, by magic released its hold on him.

It was a good punch, as it sent the prick warrior flying and crashed against the wall, cracking the structure. The was not done, not for that punch alone. I commanded the fire from its sources; lamps, hearth, kitchen to me, as a hand of flame rose to the sky. The hand grabbed Ares, and his scream due to the burning flesh added pleasure to my ears as I threw him to the sky using the strength of that magical arm. As Ares was falling down, Hestia' power again ran through me, as I balls of green fire appeared at my hand.

Greek Fire.

I shot one after another at him, but not without adding my own power to increase their speeds, thus created a force so strong that they knocked Ares to near unconsciousness. But feet sprinted before I could realise. I landed my knee on his chest, the coughing of blood and rib breaking sent pleasure to the ears. Then my knuckles started hurling towards his face, as trails of golden blood connected mine and his skin. I landed, one punch after another, as my rage...my fury, my pride poured out through each punch. I screamed, and spatted out the emotion, the boiling blood in my throat. My fists were smeared by Ichor and dirt, as the broken knuckles screamed in their agony. Yet I ignored the pain, for I could not feel it, nor hear it. Like the grunting of the crowd, the gasping of the Gods, the cries of the God of Wars.

Until all my strength was drained. Until my muscles aches, my bones get brittle and each punch become just a brush on his face that I stopped. The person laying underneath me wasn't the proud warrior I knew. In fact, I couldn't recognise who he was anymore. That face now was shattered and coated by blood, like Ares himself that now was laying in his pool of Ichor.

I rose slowly from his chest, as my legs felt weak and wobbly. I couldn't make more than four steps from Ares before I too collapsed on the ground. At that point the battle was over, as I heard a cheer came from the crowd. But they felt like background noises to me, as I couldn't feel anything more except exhaustion and pain. In my blurry vision, that familiar appeared again, blocking the blazing sun that was forcing my eyes to close. The droplets hanging at her eyelashes and blurred her silver irises prickled my skin, as I wanted to raise my fingers and wipe them from her. So she would never feel sadness, but only know wonder and beauty. Artemis held my hand as she smile, the kind that was enough to brighten my day.

"You won" I read her lips. "You won"

"I told you so..." despite the sore throat from screaming and the cracked lips, I still managed to give her my brightest smile. I was rewarded with another smile as she slapped my chest in a playful way.

"Watch it once you are healed"

We were silent for a moment, with only the wind and the sand surrounding us. As if Olympus was left abandoned.

"Artemis..." I squeezed her hand.

"Hm?"

"I'm tired..."

"Then close your eyes" she brushed my hair, a single tear droplet fell from her chin and kissed my cheek. "I'll be the first person you see once you open them."

With that, in my blurry vision, I felt a her soft tender lips pressing against the skin of my forehead. Like a soothing lullaby, I allowed unconsciousness to take over.