THEOS

“When did you guys find out?” Luke asked nervously, his eyes deliberately wide and his tone low in what he hoped was a manner that conveyed to them not to discuss the subject tooopenly. This was bound to be a hard conversation at the best of times. This wasn’t the best of times.

The symbol of an ominous red eye, generated by the Seed, floating at the edge of his vision was a stark and unforgettable reminder that nothing he did went unnoticed under the watchful and all seeing gaze of the god judging the trial. Granted, the main object of the surveillance was to root out impropriety and excessive violence, but there was nothing stopping Hephaestus from taking a deeper interest.

Considering that Luke had exactly the kind of thing that a god would usually be interested in, implanted in his soul, well he was nervous.

Even though Hephaestus wasn’t likely to care considering he was spying on warriors who might as well be ants to him. The chances of any of them having anything of interest to the deity was pretty low, and as such, maybe the god wouldn’t care to pour over and dedicate resources based on anything that interested him. But if he did, it would be a simple matter for the god to work backwards from what he knew of Luke, and find out that he possessed the God Seed– if he knew about it.

His task would be much easier than the one Arke found herself occupied with. It would be a simple matter for the god, to go to the Society, ask about Luke, find Nefkha, and then come back and dig the artifact out of his soul. Or for him to have one of his drones do all that, and report back to him.

I have a charge or two to spare if it comes down to it, but let’s not go there.

So, excessive paranoia or not, I can’t let this conversation spill anything too secret. Better be safe than sorry and all that. At the same time, I can’t be too cagey either. Mind reading seems to be off the table as an ability people possess, but as old as gods are, they can probably read me like an open book… So play it easy Luke. Try, but don’t try too hard. Try without even seeming like you're trying. And when I lie, keep it simple and keep it easy. I can control my body pretty well, so there shouldn’t be any physical tells but my words can probably give me away just as well.

“I knew the moment you helped Arya on the stairs.” Spiros said, crossing his arms over his chest and donning a particularly obnoxious lopsided grin.

Maybe he suspected, but he didn’t know then. And of course he’s still on that thing with me and Arya. Luke let out an annoyed sigh.

“Don’t be thick– stop preening, and it wasn’t like that. I just wanted all of us to succeed.” Luke said, and it was true too. Maybe in a few years he would reconsider the whole thing and his priorities would change, but he couldn’t care less about involving himself romantically with someone. Now he just needed to convince the biggest simp he had ever met of that. Looking at Spiros’s looney smile, it was bound to be a tall task. Thankfully, Spiros also knew not to push it too far, at least while Arya was around.

Seeing as she was leveling him with a glare of her own, the Son of House Paris probably wouldn’t make jokes like that for at least the rest of the day.

“I’ve been living with a Hero for the past few months… It’s changed my views a little bit. About what living a long life is actually like. If we’re going to climb to higher and higher levels of cultivation, then I want to do it with friends. As much of the journey as I can. But what about you? How are things?” Luke asked in turn hoping not to derail the conversation with philosophical talk.

“We’ve been good.” Arya answered. “Spiros and I mastered the technique at about the same time, and we met Len. He told us your message. After that, I returned to the Society–”

“And I went to Mysiath.”

Luke perked up at the name. Next to Sylcra, it was the biggest island on the Dolian Archipelago with two thirds of Sylcra’s square footage. But while Sylcra was on the fringes of the island chain, Mysiath was surrounded by a host of tertiary islands that paid it tribute. One of which was Carim.

Supposedly, it acted as the de facto and unofficial Capital of the archipelago. A title that used to be held by Sylcra, until trouble with Sophia, the Rebel, and the decennial Giant Tide had shifted the geopolitical landscape and made the island more dangerous in the eyes of traders. Based on the books in Cyzicus’s library, Mysiath was also one of five islands that were ruled by Hero tier cultivators– Emperors.

Of the remaining islands, most were overrun by monsters not worth fighting, and as such, were too much work to tame and make habitable for humans and simply declared forbidden territory. While others had been cleared by enterprising organizations of warriors and immigrants. It was a careful balancing act though, between safe and unsafe.

Taking over islands and naming yourself Emperor wasn’t quite as simple as Lukeus had made it sound and there were hoops that you had to jump through to even be allowed the honor of trying. It hadn’t always been the case, but like all good things a bad actor had ruined it for everyone a few millennia ago by being an unrepentant evil asshole. His atrocities had forced the gods to intervene in the matter. Now there was a committee appointed by the Olympians prospective Emperors had to appeal to and get vetted, and you couldn’t just take a piece of uninhabited land anymore either. Chances were, if it was on a map then it was managed by the council of gods, making it the collective territory of the Olympus and you had to play by their rules to rule it.

If it wasn’t on a map, which was intentionally a thing because the gods did value enterprising individuals, it was a free game for pretty much anyone, with the exception of known evil people. But you had to go far and would likely die on the way there. It was easier just clearing out an already discovered land mass, and paying taxes.

Because even if you went the extra mile and tamed an unmapped parcel, Olympus still claimed ultimate dominion over a good chunk of the planet. A chunk that unless you were a deity yourself, you wouldn’t be able to escape. Meaning, it just made more sense to make a good impression with something like the Tournament, and petition a deity that way.

Still, it raised a rather interesting question as to why Spiros hadn’t returned to Carim and gone to Mysiath instead.

“Why did you go there? Luke asked.

Spiros scratched the back of his head.

“I wanted to get in touch with the family in Troy. Tell them that I learned a technique, and to ask if I could come home earlier. The Emperor there is friendly with the House of Paris, and he’s the one who arranged for us to be on Carim so…” he shrugged his shoulders. “Anyway, the family said no, so I just asked him for a ride back to Carim after that Arke woman left to talk to Myko and June. That’s when he asked a few of us from the tomb to compete in the Tournament for him. I said yes, and Arya and a few others joined as well… and here we are! Unfortunately, most of the people who were able to make it out were too old so… yeah.

“What about you, why Sylcra?”

“Honestly, about the same as far as the tournament goes. I went to Sylcra. Cyzicus asked me to compete for him, and here we are.” Luke grinned.

“Why not come back though?” Arya asked.

“It was the biggest island on the archipelago and I wanted to see the world a bit.” Luke said honestly, well sort of. He had picked the place based solely on the fact that it was the biggest island, and seeing some sights had factored into that decision as well. Mostly though, he had figured that he would draw less attention in a larger population. Unfortunately, that plan had gone out the window the second he returned to civilization.

I really should have thought all that through better, but you know what? Lesson learned. Next time I do anything like that, I’m ready. I already have a few different sets of clothes and even an entire set of bog standard warrior tier artifacts. The kind of stuff that’s decent but so generic that you can find it anywhere. Those and the mask, and no one will know a thing.

“So what’s with the–” Spiros spun a circle around his face with his finger.

Luke frowned, and then shrugged.

“It was an accident. The reward I picked changed my face to look like this. It was a little weird, but I didn’t mind too much at first… but it turns out I look just like– you know. And we all know how the Empress died, so it’s given me a few headaches since then.”

“Hmmm. I’m guessing you can’t change it back. Or wont?” Arya asked.

Can I?

Obviously, he had thought of doing so before, but then, how would he explain that he had a new face. Just admitting that he had the ability to perfectly disguise his looks to the people he was around, removed a major card from his sleeve. Not to mention all the potential consequences and trust issues that might arise from doing so.

The only reason he was revealing the information to them in the first place, was that they had talked to Len, and had already pieced together that he was Luke. It wasn’t like he could pretend he had always looked like this.

Could I?

No. I’m way too handsome now.

“No, I’m stuck like this,” Luke lied without hesitation. An argument could be made that they deserved an explanation about what the last few days of awkwardness and secrecy had been about, but this went beyond that. Luke wasn’t just going to tell them his secrets because they asked.

Thankfully, both Spiros and Arya just nodded and accepted. Either because they had bought his lie, or because they knew now wasn’t the time to pry. Either way, Luke was grateful.

Unfortunately, the conversation kind of just petered out after that. With none of them knowing what to do or say, they just sat in silence.

“So, what’s the situation with the scrolls?” Luke asked, shuffling around. He reached behind him and with a flex of his will sent Maximus to his storage ring. Realizing a moment later, that one of the black scrolls had been wrapped around the blade/

“All three of us can go anytime we want… Well two of us can. We didn’t get the last white scroll. We separated you from the complete pair with exactly a second left on the clovk though, and me and Arya are the same. Figured it would be an advantage when we fought the next person. Leave early and all that. The only question is, do we actually follow through with your dumb plan to stay behind and leave you to fend for yourself, or if we stick together as a group until we get the last scroll, and advance together.” Spiros said.

“Or…” Arya drawled. “We could send you to the next stage, and Spiros and I can stay behind.”

Luke blinked in confusion. “Why would you do that? I’m oka–”

“Because you took a few hits while you were asleep, and if Theseus and Ella can leave early because they’re,” she pinched her fingers together leaving only a tiny gap, “this close to being sent home, so can you. Especially after all you’ve done.”

“Look I appreciate the offer, but I–”

Spiros tossed something to him, and entirely on instinct, Luke caught it. Only realizing after the fact that it was a scroll.

“We’ll see you in the next round Luke. Thanks for all the hel–”

The world flickered orange and gold, and the next thing Luke knew he was standing back in Cyzicus’s throne room.