"Dad!"
When Sol sprinted towards the end of the long trail, he saw his father as he had thought.
He was still at his monstrous height, but his figure was dyed in blood coming from his missing arm and the hole in his chest.
'Cough! Cough!'
Han Min suddenly vomited out a mouth full of blood. He was actually still alive!
"Dad!"
Sol rushed towards Han Min when he saw this.
It was inhuman that Han Min was actually still alive. It didn't even look like he had a heart anymore from the hole in his chest.
This type of physical resilience from his body did not match the strength he had shown. It was like there was supposed to be more to his strength but it was either restricted or was lost.
Sol quickly put down Amon, before he knelt beside his father. Meanwhile, Amon was looking at Han Min with a pale face
Sol almost couldn't recognize his father. His unnaturally smooth and vibrant black hair was completely gray; his youthful appearance which did not match his age was gone, replaced by the wrinkled face of an old man.
"...Dad."
"Cough... S-Sol…? Damn it."
Han Min cursed.
'Did that bastard purposely take the battle in this direction?'
"Sol, leave now!"
Han Min was barely able to utter those words.
"But Dad, you… I don't want to lose you. I want to go back to the village and train with you like before. I want Amon and the other kids to bug me to play with them. I want to hear the villagers' warm greetings when I return from the forest. I want… I want to go home, Dad… Sob…"
All of the pent-up emotions Sol was holding in burst out uncontrollably. Tears ceaselessly poured down his face.
Amon couldn't help but have tears appear in his eyes as well.
This was the first time he had seen his Big Brother Sol like this. Even while they were escaping the village he was the one to comfort him; never showing the worry and anxiousness he was feeling.
But Amon forgot that Sol was only just a few years older than him. Of course he would be nervous, and of course he would be terrified.
"Sol… What did I tell you to do in these situations?"
"Sniffle… That I should be strong. But I can't Dad, I'm not as strong as you."
Amon clenched his clothes and tried to hold back the tears that threaten to fall by holding up his head.
Now he knew where Sol got his strong Will from. All the things he admired about Sol came from his father.
Amon then thought about how some of their tribesmen were turning against Sol's father; calling for him to be kicked out of the village. Amon regretted that he didn't beat the crap out of those kids even more now.
Hearing Sol's words, Han Min placed his large hand on Sol's head gently.
"Look at me, son…"
Through his tears, Sol managed to raise his head to look at his father's pale face.
Han Min smiled warmly as he said.
"The look in your eyes resembles your mother's own. When I look at you I would always recall her; the both of you would always question and doubt your abilities at every step of the way, not knowing that when I look at you both I see two strong, kind, and resilient individuals who I am proud of."
Sol's sobs died down to sniffles, then to a few hiccups at a time.
"Solovin Iziah Solaris. Your second name is from your mother's name, Zia. She's the only woman I ever loved, and I'm happy that I'll be able to see her again… So, don't feel sad son..."
Han Min's voice suddenly trailed off while his hand on Sol's head slipped and fell to his side.
"Dad…?"
"…"
"Hiccup."
Sol didn't mournfully cry out at his father's death, he merely bowed his head and cried silently.
"Big Brother Sol…"
Amon softly called out from behind, but then he suddenly saw something and called out to Sol again but this time with a yelled
"Big-Big brother Sol, look! That's…!"
Sol was quick to raise his head to see what Amon was shouting at, but what he saw made him at a loss for words.
His father's legs had partially transformed into many golden specs of light.
"What's happening?"
Sol asked baffled, but by the time he finish his words, his father's entire body quickly turn into golden specs of light.
"Ah, no wait!"
Sol grabbed at the golden specs, devastated by having his father's body disappear like this. But as he reached out, the golden specs of light suddenly began to swirl, forming a vortex.
Inside this golden vortex appeared an illusory, starry black crescent moon. Looking at it, one would get the feeling that a universe was contained inside this small crescent moon. It was largely different from the tattoo that appeared on Sol's forehead; it was more developed.
Before Sol could react, the illusory crescent moon shot towards him and entered his forehead. Sol then felt a stabbing sensation in his soul like something was branding itself on it, but it only hurt for a split second before a cooling sensation washed over him.
Two things happened when this crescent moon entered Sol. The runes on the four bracelets his father gifted him flickered with light while an additional spiraling runic symbol was branded on it.
The other event that happened was occurring somewhere far away.
In a world unknown to mortal beings.
"Bring me my son's Enigma from the Mortal Realm."
Inside a pitch-black void, a voice was heard rumbling out like thunder.
Suddenly, golden runes appeared out of thin air in the shape of a door. This magical door then opened causing light to pour into this dark void.
However, even the bright light from the door was unable to reach far into this darkness. It seemed as if the darkness was swallowing up the light, stopping it from getting further into the void.
After the door was open, a handsome young man wearing a strange, but luxurious-looking golden attire stepped out.
Smirking, this young man nonchalantly said.
"It is not easy for us to go to the Mortal Realm, it will take many, many years. And the price will be-"
"Child of Hermes."
The calm but thunderous voice rumbled in the dark void cutting off the young man. Then, inside the dark void, two golden suns appeared in the sky far above the young man.
No wait, those weren't suns. They were the eyes of a being, an extremely, extremely large being.
The pupils of that being landed on the young man who looked nothing more than an ant in its eyes.
When the gaze of that being landed on him, the young man's nonchalant air melted away to be replaced by a struggling expression. Merely a gaze, but the pressure of this gaze felt like it was going to kill the young man.
With a pale face, the young man hurriedly choked out before being killed.
"I-I am a direct descendant of Hermes and a third-generation Heir to the Pantheon of Gods. If you dare to kill me-"
Snort.
Bleh!
The young man violently coughed up a mouth full of blood from that snort.
"You are right, if I kill you that annoying fellow will use it as an excuse to spurt lightning in my Realm. Just leave and do as I command. The price does not matter."
Swoosh!
As soon as those large eyes closed, the young man turned and dashed out the golden door with a panicked look on his face.
But internally, he was cursing the large being.
'Fuck you, fuck your mother, fuck your women, and fuck your fucking children! Fucking bastard dare harm me, wait until I tell grandfather of this!!'
After the door closed, darkness fully returned to the void once more.