ASCLEPIUS
Oh my, he's destroyed Athena's city, she's going to be furious. I can hear them discussing in the halls right now.
"He destroyed my city! Why can I not avenge them?!"
"My daughter, we cannot act now, we have not summoned a human in more than 3 millennia."
"It still does not change the fact."
"Athena, this is entertainment for the gods! I cannot simply wave my hand and make him disappear, there will be consequences, there will be another war."
"Father! Have you never thought about how I felt? My people...my city! All those lives lost because of that human! How can you stand idle and leave him to himself?!"
"Athena, as I said I canno—"
"You foolish old man!" Athena clasped her lips in realization.
The veins on Zeus's head bulged. "Shush, you insolent woman! Is this how you speak to your father?!"
Hera grabbed her husband's arm. "Dear, please! Her city was destroyed, she's just feeling a little rebellious today, it won't do you any good to have all that anger today after all."
Zeus looked at her with scorn and contempt. Then looked towards Athena, "begone."
Athena took to her exit swiftly.
I suppose this is entertaining in more ways than one, Let's see how long you can entertain us mortal.
MATTHEW
I awoke to the smell of ash, and the brown dust beneath me, my eyes are foggy, and hurt, where am I? I look around to see the orb still shining it's devilish purple. I—I remember, that light that came from the ground, no it was flames, dark purple flames that swallowed everything it touched. No, that flame came from me, I saw it rising from my wounds burning it and healing it, but eating away everything beside me, reducing everything to cinders. Oh, father, mother, what have I done? I've killed, I just killed people, my own family, I've wasted another family, just as I did before, and they loved me just as much.
I fell to the ground. "Dammit, Dammit, Dammit, Dammit, Dammit! Again! Again! Why?! Why did this happen to me?! I just wanted to live a life where I could protect everything! Where I wouldn't take anything away from myself!"
"Why..."
AREIOS
"Leonidas, I swear this is the last time we come here, to help these boy-lovers in war, is an embarrassment."
"We need to kill these Persians they insult the whole of Greece! If we do not retaliate then it will truly be an embarrassment!"
"I did not come here to help Athens, I came here for war! And we will have our victory!"
"King Leonidas! Commander Areios! The city is just within reach!"
"Good! Let's see what battle plans they have for us."
Patiently I awaited for the city of Athens to come into view, only to find it in tatters and flame.
"What is this?! Are they so weak the Persians have already defeated them?!"
"No, Arieos, that is not the work of Persia, it is something else, something deadly."
"It doesn't seem to be around anymore."
"Men! Host the docks!" Leonidas ordered.
We arrived in Athens to the smell of burned wood, and grainy columns of stone, charred either to dust or burned to a sandy touch.
We walked through the embers of the destructions to find that there were still survivors, children and only children. 7 girls, and 15 boys were found.
"Wait! What about the orb Leonidas?"
"Yes that would be beneficial to our country, let's haul it back."
The orb was dull and faint with the inside covered by the clouds of dust, a shadow of its former self.
"Areios, are you sure this still works?"
"Only one way to find out."
I place my hands on the alter, it lights a red, a sign of Ares.
"Just what I wanted."
"No wonder for a knucklehead, you haven't died on the battlefield yet Areios." Leonidas laughed.
"We bring it back then, Leonidas?"
"Yes. Carry it back we need at least 20 men for this."
Out of the corner of my eye I saw one of my soldiers pick up another child, a boy.
"Wait! Commander Areios! This boy is still alive!" The soldier told me.
"Then take him back, least we could do."
The soldier nodded, raised the boy onto his shoulders and carried him to the ship. I turn around back to the orb.
"Now, how should we bring this back?"
MATTHEW
"Why...why would you do this, why did you leave me...Matthew?"
She started choking me, "wait, plea—"
"That's the same thing I said before, yet you still left me even when that was happening!"
"I—I!"
I jostled awake tears streaming down my eyes, sweating over my body, gasping, I could still feel her hands clawing around my neck.
I looked around me, with children surrounding me in the room, I heard waves around us, we were in the bottom of the ship, but whose?