THEOS

“You killed him?” Rex asked Nel the second he woke up, hours after the deed had been done. Despite his question though, Luke could tell that he already knew the answer. He had been expecting that outcome, probably since the moment he got taken, and discovered why. Afterall, a hostile reunion with Jax’s treacherous clan couldn’t have ended much differently.

It’s not like a warrior would ever lose to a mortal. Even Jax knew he was going to die. Luke thought bleakly. He still chose to come back and warn us though. Even tried to have me kill him. Did he want me to do it before Nel came back with Rex? Spare them the pain or something?

What a guy. Luke sighed, once again feeling a heaviness in his heart. The harsh reality of Theos bearing down on his shoulders. It was far too easy to forget that death lurked around every corner and in every shadow in this world. Not that it was hard to understand why. Immortality was a prize that many would die for.

“There wasn’t another choice.” Said Nel. Her tone flat as she stared off into the distance.

“You could have left him alive! He was my friend…” He whispered, guilt etched on his face as he angrily brushed a tear away with his sleeve.

“That wasn’t an option. Look– I… I didn’t want to.” She sighed. “But, there’s a lot at stake. I’m sorry, but I really didn’t have a choice. Not then, at that moment. I– I shouldn’t have brought Jax with us. He would have been safe at the Capital. I should have known that the Rebel would put pressure on the different factions, and that the Skyscar Clan would be among the first to bend their knees. I knew about the blood compass, but I didn’t think… I shouldn’t have brought Luke either but, what’s done is done.” She sighed, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around her familiar's neck. “I can’t change the past, and there’s no room for regret now.” She said, her voice low but steady. “I really am sorry things had to be this way.”

She’s acting tough, but killing him got to her. I doubt she’s used to doing this sort of thing, but she’s too smart not to see the situation as it is. Not killing him was asking for trouble, and she can’t afford to be merciful. Not when it would cost not just her, but everyone who’s relying on her too. Luke scratched the back of his head, and slowly shuffled back an inch, adding what little distance he could between him and Rex as the boy's face twisted in sadness, and his shoulders heaving as grieved the loss of his friend.

If I were in her position– I would have done the same. That doesn’t make it any easier to live with though. Luke thought to himself, remembering those he had killed in the past. Life in this world, it’s not like Earth. Theos is harsh. Nel knows that, I learned that, and Rex will understand– eventually.

“Is going to the Cyclops really that important?” Rex asked.

“It’s the only way.” She said confidently. “Despite their battle a century ago, Grandfather is convinced that she is content with her half of Sylcra. He plans to give her the east side of the island permanently in exchange for her help. His hope is that at the very least, she’ll power the teleportation altars while he and the Rebel battle, but what he really wants is for her to join him in crushing the Rebel once and for all. The two of them against one hero will result in an easy victory.”

“He’d give half the island to a monster?” Rex scoffed.

“Cyclopes aren’t monsters.” Nel said hesitantly. “They’re an old race. Ancient and powerful. Perhaps a little misunderstood. Besides, practically speaking, half the island already belongs to her… This would just make it formal. And Grandfather would. An uninhabited part of the island is a small price to pay for the lives of his family.”

Oh right. This Rebel probably plans on killing all his descendants. Wouldn’t make sense to let them live and plot revenge, and with Arke preventing anyone from leaving, she probably can too. Unless Cyzicus has a way to teleport people off the island like Alexia did. Hmm.

“We won’t need to do any of this if Gramps just becomes a Saint.” Rex argued.

“I’m sure that if Grandfather had the luxury of time, he would not consider ceding half his territory to her a viable option. Unfortunately, the Rebel has struck, and he can’t hide. Not when we’re so close to a Giant Tide. He’s unable to break through as he is, and unless Sylcra does well in the Olympics, it’s unlikely that he ever will. Which means this is the best he can do. Besides, Sophia has proven to be an agreeable neighbor. Not once has she ventured into our territory, and she’s only killed humans who provoked her first. This is the best option.”

“Still… I don’t like it. To rest our hopes on someone we don’t know.”

“Grandfather has known Sophia for longer than you and I have been alive. Besides, your approval doesn’t matter. Unless you can think of a better solution, this conversation is pointless.”

Rex frowned in response.

“What are cyclops like? I’ve never met one before.” Luke asked.

“Like humans, but bigger and they only have one eye. I’ve never met one either, all I know is what Grandfather told me. Supposedly there aren’t many of them left anymore. The Titans hunted and killed most of them, and those that remain mostly live on the fringes of civilization, alone and in isolation. Like Sophia.”

“Why in isolation?”

Nel shrugged. “I don’t know. They probably just like being alone.”

Well, I can’t really argue with that logic. Luke thought to himself, as he opened his status, and added a handful of points to his Constitution and Arcana stat. Suppressing a wince, as a twinge of pain ran through his body. The after effects of killing a Warrior-tier monster still caused him some pain, but whatever damage had been done was fading quickly.

By Nel’s estimate, they would reach Sophia in a little over a day, and he wanted to be as strong as he possibly could when they got there, which meant spending all his Stat Points before then. Realistically he knew that even the peak of the Mortal-tier was woefully weak compared to the forces they would be arrayed against, but even so, every point of strength he could gain would increase the odds of his survival.

So long as he had enough mana, he was confident in defeating most mortals, and an increase in constitution was always welcome.

“How old are you?” Luke suddenly asked.

“Me?” Nel said, craning her neck and looking at Luke.

“Yeah.”

“I’m nineteen. You?”

Nineteen. Luke’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I’m sixteen.” He lied, as he considered her words. In truth, he didn’t know how old he was, or rather how old Max’s body was. The memories he had inherited from Max didn't depict anything from before the Fisherman had found him, but both his adoptive parents were sure that his actual age wasn’t far from what they had guessed. Now that he learned that it was possible to track people’s bloodlines though, he was more than a little worried that someone would show up and claim some relation to him.

If that happens though, at the very least they won’t be able to call me out on my personality. More importantly, whatever method that’s used to track me by blood, probably can’t be deceived by changing my appearance. That’s a problem for future me though, and only if it ever comes up. I can’t imagine someone abandoning a kid in the ocean, and then trying to come back into that same kid's life more than a decade later. At the same time, gods are real now, so nothing is really outside the realm of possibility.

That said, I doubt the Seed would have chosen a body that came with baggage that I can’t deal with. Besides, whoever my relatives are, they let Max die once. They can’t care too much about me if they let that happen.

“Becoming a Warrior at that age, that's… impressive.” Arya, Yjarn, and basically all the other Inner Disciples at the society were into their twenties, and most of them were nowhere near the threshold. For her to already be a warrior… Cyzicus doesn’t do things by half.

“Mmm. I suppose. It would have been embarrassing if I hadn’t become a warrior by now. Honestly I wanted to delay a little longer and build a better foundation, but Grandfather said that the earlier you advance through the tiers, the easier it is to advance within the tier. On the other hand, having a flimsy foundation makes you weaker than you otherwise could be. Striking a balance between potential and strength is tricky.”

“Isn’t potential the obvious choice?”

“Not necessarily. The higher you get your attributes before you break through, the more potent they are after you break through, and whatever attribute you break through with, gets a massive boost in efficacy. So ideally, you’d want to be as close to the peak as possible with all of them before you cross the threshold. Actually doing that is hard. There are some shortcuts you can take, like being boiled alive,” she grinned, “which massively boosts your general constitution, but they aren’t easy and tricks like that stop working after a while anyway. The way it was explained to me, you want to train in the most efficient way possible and get all the easy and least time consuming benefits, and then push past the barrier as soon as you can. The earlier the better.”

“Huh.” Luke grunted. With the Paragon’s Path, I should be looking at a very solid boost if that’s the case. I wonder if there's an equivalent path for people who ascend through the tiers as fast as possible? The Speed Runner to my Paragon. Seems unlikely, but who knows. At the very least, I doubt that the Paragon is the only special path.

Opening his status, he dumped another handful of points in Arcana and Constitution. Clenching his jaw as a wave of agony coursed through his body, hoping as he did, that no one would question why his mana was increasing so suddenly.

I’m not touching Rex or Nel, so it should be fine. I’m pretty sure that they can’t see how much mana I have, and neither of them have touched me. So long as the griffin doesn’t start talking, I’m golden.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Luke heard the Cyclops before he saw her or her home. The crisp noise of metal striking metal, reverberated through the air at regular intervals, and became louder and louder the closer they got.

At least we know she’s home. Luke winced, as he stuffed his index fingers into his ears. The sound of clashing metal growing so loud it started to physically hurt his head. And if all Cyclopes like making this much noise, it's no wonder that they live in isolation at the fringes of society. This is insane.

Not long after they heard her, they started to fly over a junkyard full of what appeared to be the abandoned remains of her projects. Giant pieces of metalwork littered the grass as far as the eye could see. From helmets with brilliant red or blue plumage, chest pieces big enough to be houses, metal hills that Luke thought could be shields, and even swords so big they looked like they were made to cut mountains in half instead of people.

A good portion of her creations were covered in rust that leached onto the ground around them like a disease. While others were so polished that the reflected light of Theos’s suns blinded them if it caught the right angle.

Suddenly the hammering stopped.

“WHO?” Sophia asked, her voice tore through the air. So loud that their teeth chattered with the accompanied vibrations.

“I am Agnella Daughter of Kyzikos and Granddaughter of Cyzicus.” She yelled out.

“I am Rex Son of Kyzikos and Grandson of Cyzicus.”

Luke’s eyes darted between the two.

“I am Luke.” He yelled, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. Doing his best not to look at Nel and Rex as they gave him looks of exasperation.

“Lady Sophia, we have come to discuss a matter of grave importance, and humbly request an audience with you.”

Clouds boiled in the sky, and the ground shook. A single eye, made of light, blocked out the sky above their heads. It blinked.

“NO.”

Welp. Something tells me that we’re not going to be taking no for an answer.