The Atlantian System: Creation

Leta’s eyes drifted to the manticore’s body, and an odd feeling in her gut, not unlike hunger, tightened her abdomen.

While they had been focused on the bulgasari, the manticore body had begun to decompose in an interesting way. A fine layer of obsidian crystal had spread over its corpse in random spots before slowly crumbling into tiny black flakes as small portions of the monster began to cave in on itself.

‘Gada? Should I be concerned?’

[It would appear that the creature’s body is in the process of Nanite’s self-destruction, resulting in a form of fast calcification - or, in this case, obsidian-ification.]

Curiosity got the better of her as she slowly extended her fingers to grip the beast’s coarse mane.

[Corrupted-Manticore. Inert Nanites: 1,642,593. Absorb inert Nanites? Yes/No?]

‘Oh my goodness.’ She needed to wipe saliva from her mouth at the number of inert Nanites. It was nearly as many as what she’d gotten from the Minotaur, and that beast had been massive.

[Warning. Corrupted-Manticore is in the process of Nanite self-destruction. Inert Nanites: 1,503,981.]

‘Oh, crap!’ It was going down fast.

“Leta?” Allister looked concerned as they packed their weapons while Leta stared at the monster’s corpse. “We must depart.”

“Right. Um,” She looked up at the two men, then back down at the body. “Give me a second.”

[Inert Nanites: 1,472,458]

She mentally selected the affirmative option as she dug her fingers into the manticore’s bristle-like mane.

Under her touch, the body began to turn shallow and empty, and its muscles turned ash and stone. She could hear Allister curse under his breath as they watched its scales turn matte and rough, and its fangs begin to fall from its gums as it appeared to decompose in rapid time.

Between the sudden decomposition and the rapid petrification, the body was quickly disintegrating before their eyes, but not quickly enough.

“Atreus!” Hayato’s voice crackled over his transmitter, “Leta’s lightning did something to the electronics up here. The theater’s blacked out, and the employees are trying to find out why. They’ll be headed your way soon.”

“Dammit.” Atreus’s growl was low and full of bared teeth. “Leta!”

“Give me just-” She grunted through a strained body, the sudden and massive influx of inert Nanites nearly making her lightheaded.

“Enough!” Atreus grabbed her shoulder to pull her away from the body forcibly but cursed as a crackle of electricity arched between her and his outstretched hand.

Leta didn’t even realize what had happened. She was so transfixed on absorbing every last available Nanite that her hands were buried in ash and obsidian dust.

[Inert Nanites absorbed: 1,375,692]

“Leta!” Allister’s urgent shout finally snapped her out of the trance she’d felt herself fall into and she looked up to see the Hunter, Bonnie, and Atreus hustling to the second cave room where the bulgasari had come from.

“We have to go.” He urged her with wide, pleading eyes, “They’re almost to the entrance.”

Rising as quickly as she could on shaky legs, she stumbled after him and into the darkness.

The second cave room was larger than the first but was filled with rough boulders that looked to have once been stalagmites before being broken from the cave floor over the millennia. The uneven placement of the stone columns meant that only a tiny cavern area was navigable by foot. The group had to scamper up and over dozens of sharp-edged boulders before arriving at what looked like a bottomless pit roughly a meter wide.

Atreus looked up to his second in command, “You first.”

Bonnie replied with a whine of apprehension as she pawed at the hole, kicking a small pebble, which quickly disappeared into the darkness.

“Oh, go on, you overgrown poodle.” Allister huffed and picked up the wolf, who promptly put both paws on his shoulders as her ears flattened against her head with an ‘oh, please, no’ expression. Her whine only earned her an eye roll from her partner as he used one hand on her rump and the other at her shoulders to keep her close and steady.

“None of that now.” He chuckled before stepping into the pit, his falling form barely fitting through the hole as it vanished with Bonnie’s echoing ‘awoooo’ of protest.

“You next.” Atreus motioned for her to jump.

Leta felt her mouth dry as she looked into the void at their feet. She’d never liked roller coasters, and the idea of free falling made her already racing heart feel like it was about to burst out of her chest and run in the opposite direction.

Gathering her courage, she took a deep breath, brought her arms in close, and jumped.

The fall was unexpectedly short, maybe two or so meters before it hit at a sharp 45-degree angle. Leta couldn’t help the scream that bubbled out of her as her uncontrolled slide through the tunnel picked up speed.

She did her best to keep her booted feet together as the tunnel began to curve left and left again before widening as the distant light of an exit quickly approached.

Said exit came in the form of a large hole in the tunnel floor that emptied like a sink drain, her frantic slide suddenly turning into an abrupt fall to a sand-covered floor below.

Leta yelped as she rolled forward, nearly face-planting into the dust before a hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to the side just as Atreus landed where she’d been laying, his body keeping balance and making his landing look effortless.

“Everyone okay?” He asked, looking around as everyone gave him a confirmation.

Leta whipped the dirt from her face and looked around, realizing they were again in a small cave-like alcove on the side of Lycabettus Hill not far from one of the less used trails. Hayato was at the mouth of the alcove’s entrance with one hand extended outward to what looked like a translucent blanket of shimmering air that billowed and rolled gently like grass in a breeze.

Slowly rising to her feet, she made her way over to get a better look, one hand going to her sore bum, which felt like it had been scrapped raw over the rough stone.

“What is that?” She asked, keeping some distance between them in case she accidentally disturbed whatever it was.

“Trickster’s Mantle.” Hayato answered matter-of-factly, his body never moving, “It allows me to shield us from prying eyes, but only so long as I concentrate.”

“Oh, shit! Sorry.”

Behind her, Bonnie was lying in the dirt, her heavy pants and wide eyes showing she had not recovered from their trip down the tunnel.

“A hundred years you’ve been getting into trouble with me, and you still can’t handle drops.” Allister sighed as he gave the wolf a loving pet that did not match his teasing tone.

“On your feet, girl.” Atreus said quietly to the wolf, “Night approaches quickly, and we have much ground still to cover.”

Everyone gathered together behind Hayato before he lowered his hand, and the blanket of rippling air dissolved into the wind.

“Go. Go.” Atreus’s voice urged them to hustle as they exited the alcove, which appeared to be as little more than a deep gouge on the rocky side of the hill.

From there, it was a short run to the tree-lined trail and another five minutes before they arrived at the road where the car was parked.

Everyone piled in, and Atreus started the vehicle with an awkward chuckle, “Well, that could have gone better.”

“I could have been of assistance,” Hayato said with a straight face, his even stare following Atreus in the rearview mirror.

“You absolutely could have.” Atreus acknowledged, “But your skills lie best with weapons of stealth and cunning, not against a manticore in closed quarters. Also, I could not risk losing you if we were in dire peril and needed an escape.”

“Our next den will be one of particular interest to you-” He paused as the phone in his pocket vibrated.

“Emprós.” He answered, but the volume on the phone was so low that Leta couldn’t hear what was said.

Atreus then glanced at Leta from the rearview mirror. “Yes, she’s fine.” He said before his lip twitched in amusement, “On moment.”

Turning in his seat, he held the phone out for her, “For you, your Majesty.”

Leta took the offered device and held it to her ear. “Hello?”

“WHY ARE YOU A BAD LISTENER?!” Ismene screamed from the other end of the line.

“Wow. Even I could hear that from over here.” Allister chuckled as Leta held the phone away from her now ringing ears. No wonder Atreus had the volume so low - their enhanced hearing would have left her deaf after that shout.

“What did I do?” She answered defensively, feeling like she’d just come home from school to her mother yelling at her for leaving her socks out.

“Did I tell you to eat the manticore? No! I explicitly told you not to eat it. Now we’ve got to deal with car crash traffic as well as a whole host of other troubles.”

The car lurched as Allister pulled the vehicle to the side and hopped the curb, jostling everyone as an ambulance passed with lights and sirens blaring.

From the phone, Ismene huffed, “Put me on speaker.”

Slightly terrified to do anything else, Leta complied.

“Allister! Hand a left, doll. The initial route has got a car accident.”

“Hells, alright.” The giant grumbled but complied, pulling the car into a hard left turn at the first chance.

Atreus’s frown deepened as he watched the ambulance fade into the distance, “How behind does this put us?”

“An extra thirty minutes,” Ismene answered, “Normally, it wouldn’t be too big of a deal, but this means that the ogre at the next den will start waking up soon, and you won’t have the option to catch it sleeping.”

“Hang on,” Leta’s brows drew together as the Priestess’s statement caught her attention, “Ogre? What else is in this den?”

“A bunch of gremlins and a drow.” Ismene answered.

Hayato cursed at the news, “Chikushou, just what we need. A damn drow.”

Leta looked about the car, confused, hoping one of the other men could answer her, “What’s up with a drow?”

Allister answered, “The closest thing to describe a drow is a dark elf. Dark skin with a bit of a purple hue, white hair, comely, but some of the most wicked and evil creatures I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting.”

“They’re fast and cunning,” Atreus added to the discussion. “And they are opportunistic as they come. Of the Blessed, they are some who are most ruthless. A manticore would kill you for stumbling into their territory. A drow would make it their life mission to kill every friend and family you’ve ever known, down to the boy you had a crush on in grade school, just for getting their order at the cafe wrong.”

“Charming,” Leta snorted sarcastically, “But why tell us about all the monsters in the den now? Why not let us know before we leave?”

“A few reasons. One, time was of the essence, and if you were strapping yourself down for all the bumps in the road, you’d never get out the door,” Ismene’s annoyance at Leta’s disregard for her warnings slowly started to dissipate, “The second reasons goes back to the whole ‘I can’t give you the answers to the test’ situation. If I’d told you about the bulgasari, you would have unconsciously packed fewer metal items you’ll need later. Just trust me. I’m a professional regarding this whole predicting the future business so I know what I’m doing. Reread the cheat sheet I gave you and follow the instructions, and you’ll be fine.”

“Now, I know you’ve got some questions that are a bit more private, so go ahead and take me off speaker.” Ismene’s voice was almost pleasant, but a command was hiding in her tone that didn’t leave room for misinterpretation.

Leta followed her instructions and put the phone back to her ear, “Are you going to answer my questions, or is this going to be considered answers to the test?”

Ismene’s heavy sigh crackled the air on the other end of the phone. “I’m going to answer as best I can. There are some things that I can’t tell you yet because I still need to ensure you’re in a good place to get those answers, physically, mentally, spiritually speaking. However, I’ll always be honest and tell you if the answer hurts you or someone you know.”

Leta pursed her lips. She didn’t like the answer but knew it would probably be the best she’d get. “Why didn’t you predict the attack on the hospital?”

“I did, but unfortunately, too late. The Blessed have a being called a Warlock or a Witch, depending on the gender. They are the evil counterpart to Priests and are one of the few beings I can’t see the future of - I can only glimpse their movements through the eyes of those they interact with.

“Anyway, there is a Witch here in Athens that is the one all the other Blessed report to. Her name is Elizabeth. A real piece of work - she killed her infant brother when she was two because his crying annoyed her. Back to the topic at hand, all the futures that I had of her were that she was commanding legions to begin attacking the dig for artifacts. I now know that while I was under, she’d managed to wrangle a wraith to bring in an army from somewhere else in Europe outside of my reach.”

Leta could feel that indignant anger bubbling up in her throat again, “So my dad was bitten, and my mom was kidnapped because you were napping?”

She could hear the sharp scowl in Ismene’s tone at the insult, “Hey! I am doing the absolute best that I can with all of this. Do you want to try sifting through millions of future probabilities every waking moment? Do you want to try staying focused on things while you’re awake when your vision is being invaded by new probabilities being created every millisecond? The probabilities when I went under were not good, to begin with, but there was nothing I could do. What did you expect? I call up the Governor and tell him to pull his head out of his ass? You’ve met the guy. Do you think he’d listen to one Priestess?”

Leta pursed her lips, her bubbling anger turning into a simmering pit of lava ready to erupt at a moment’s notice. “Can you tell me why he didn’t send more people?”

Ismene paused for a second as if she were consulting the probabilities to see if her answer would affect anything.

When she did speak, her voice was low with the gravity of her words, “I think you know the answer why.”

Leta nodded to herself, her lips pulled back in a thin line.

“Top of the food chain?”

“…Uh huh.”

Leta blew out a breath as she leaned back in her seat, her stomach tightening in her building rage. After a long pause, she could growl, “Why?”

“Again, you know why. You don’t want to dwell on it, but you’ve already drawn your own conclusions. That’s why you need the weapon. That’s why you need to be clearing these dens. You need to be ready, and you need to be ready very, very soon.”

“We’re here,” Allister called, flicking his blinker on as he prepared to turn into an underground parking garage.

“One last question,” Leta asked hurriedly though her anger and yet to dissipate, “Is my mom still alive?”

Ismene was quiet for several seconds, once more seeming to pause so she could check the probabilities of the universe, before answering, “I can’t give you the answer, but I can give you a question: what do you think?”

Leta took a deep breath, frustrated that she couldn’t get a straight answer, before giving it some thought.

“My head says realistically, it would be a miracle if she’d made it to the mountain at all. The heart? Well, my heart’s a hopeless optimistic that wont give up the idea that she might be alive until I see her body myself.”

“Good,” Ismene’s voice on the other end of the line was firm as if something had been cemented into fate’s tapestry, “Hold onto that optimism for as long as you can. That’s a rare thing for Chosen. Anyway, you don’t have long. We’ve got some upgrades to work out.”