There was an ornately carved skull with a crown, the eye sockets glowing an ominous crimson while the crown was alight with Hellfire and judging from the line down the center, it also opened with the gate.
He then took in the carvings on the door, depicting all manner of horrors and tortures that Tartarus had personally delivered upon the worst of existence banished to the deepest recesses of his realm.
...
( Nico POV )
He stood in morbid curiosity at some of the creatures shown on the carvings, recalling some conversations had with Tartarus but never really believing him on some accounts until now.
He also noted that with the atmosphere of hate coming from the lake, the gate radiated an ungodly level of bloodlust and malevolence, as if he were standing back in the darkest corners of the Pit for his hellish training again.
He was brought out of his thoughts though when Styx gently nudged him in the shoulder to get him to look at her. Seeing her concerned gaze he asked, "What?"
"Are you feeling alright?" she asked in a worried tone. "You got really drained and you've been staring at the gate for a while."
He paused for a moment to check himself, feeling ready to drop at any moment but he could hold for a little longer. They weren't entirely finished after all.
"Yeah …" he said as he rolled his shoulders, feeling remarkably stiff at the moment. "Let's just wrap this up."
"Okay," she said before the pair looked back at the gate and raised their hands together, aimed at the doors.
They focused their power at the gate together, causing it to be surrounded in auras of purple and green. The waters around them started to boil and churn violently as the heat rose again with the glow in the eyes of the skull brightening. Then the waters seemed to gain a will of its own as tendrils of it raised off the surface of the lake and floated towards the gate.
Nico watched in fascination as the tendrils of water roped onto the gate causing it to steam and hiss violently. The entire chamber started to shake then as the lake and gate glowed an intense green making Nico and Styx to squint.
Suddenly he felt a tug at his power and control of the gate making him start in alarm. He felt an impending surge of power and with a quick glance at Styx, he noticed her worried look directed to her own lake.
"Run!" he shouted as he lowered his power output, and being taken with the moment, swept up Styx in a princess carry before bolting back down the path.
Even in his tired state it took him only a few seconds to cover over 30 meters and not a moment too soon as he felt the power surrounding them peak.
He jumped to the mouth of the tunnel that had led in as an explosion erupted behind them. He landed with a grunt and kept Styx within his arms, his back to the volatile lake and the sound of crashing waves.
He felt something strike his back in droplets making him wince at the hot sting but he still made sure to keep Styx out of the spill range.
He got struck with more, of what he assumed was water from her lake, before the sound of water churning stopped completely though there was a distinct bubbling sound.
He waited a minute before releasing Styx from his grip, the primordial goddess looking at him in surprise and … something else. He didn't really have the time to ponder what since she looked over his shoulder and gasped, making him turn abruptly only for his jaw to hang open.
They remained speechless at what they saw, neither knowing what to say for several minutes.
"N-Nico …" Styx finally managed in an awed voice. "… This isn't a Mist illusion right?"
"No …" he said in equal awe.
"I thought this happening is ridiculously rare though," she replied.
"It happened to Percy …"
"Yeah but your cousin has equal parts shitty luck and luck of the Devil following him around," she refuted.
"No argument there," Nico answered as he observed what used to be a lake of Styx water.
It seemed that with his summoning of his gate and then adding Styx's power to add a binding to the gate, their power had merged into a perfect balance. He, as the heir of Tartarus, had influence in fire, darkness, and earth along with minor control of monsters and such.
However, it seemed that the gate being a focal point of his fire and earth had fused to the lake around it and … created something new entirely. What was once a lake of water was now a lake of lava and not only lava but green lava bubbling around the gate.
His Pit Gate as he tended to call them had retained the black coloration but now the flames atop the crown were green as well and out of the eye sockets streamed more of the green lava, as if crying.
The plot of land had also been submerged all the way to just where they stood, leaving the gate alone within the new molten lake.
"So … what do we call it?" Styx asked as she leaned closer to the edge of the lava.
"Careful," Nico said as he stepped near her while eyeing the lake warily.
He could still feel his connection to the gate but now he also had a faint one with the lake yet it felt a little … incomplete. He tried to focus on the lake and got some feedback but he could tell his control was not absolute. He then watched as Styx raised her hand over the surface and gave a look of concentration.
The surface bubbled more before it slowly started to rise beneath her hand but after only getting a few inches out of the lake it dropped back down as Styx released the grip with a tired sigh.
"I'm guessing you don't have full control either?" he asked only to get an annoyed glance. "Just an observation," he added in his defense.
"You weren't doing much better," she whined slightly before looking at him intently.
Without a word she stood and took his hand much to his surprise before she aimed their interlaced hands at the lake and closed her eyes. He felt her will and power flow into the lake, trying to bring it to her control but like him, her influence was incomplete.
However, this time he closed his eyes and willed his power to flow with hers, meshing them together. He felt her shiver slightly, from what he wasn't sure, but he ignored it as he felt the entire lake actually beginning to respond. He pulled at the feeling and could hear the lava respond to their collective will.
He then opened his eyes to see several tendrils of the lava flowing around them, steaming in the air. He glanced to Styx to see her watching it all with awe before she abruptly cut her connection, making his waver and causing the streams of lava to fall back into the lake.
"Well … that was interesting," she said offhandedly while glancing down at their still interlaced hands before muttering softly, "It seems we go well together …"
He was about to ask what she meant by that before she suddenly released his hand and said, "See you in the throne room later," and dissipating into green mist leaving him alone in the cavern.
He looked at the spot she had been in for a few minutes before shrugging. 'Odd … then again, Styx tends to be one of the more interesting of individuals,' he mused before looking at the molten lake of green lava again.
"Now what the hell to name this new creation," he muttered with crossed arms, "and it better be something as cool as Voidfire…"
...
( Andromeda POV )
Andromeda stood tall and proud as she observed the building around her. White walls and tiled floors, a large reception desk with a pretty secretary, warm smile and all. The buzz of a few office workers and other associates walking in and out around her. She herself stood in the center, catching numerous eyes scanning over her figure.
'They really are as polite as they're made out to be. Barely any obvious lust,' she mused as she playfully winked at a young pair, one man and woman seeming to be going to their lunch break, both having been eyeing her. At her wink both blushed slightly before moving on a little quicker.
'Ah, interns,' she thought with a giggle while looking down at herself. She was currently looking around the age of 35 or so, her hair pulled into a professional pony tail with one bang partially obscuring her left eye.
She was wearing a black business coat and matching skirt reaching mid-thigh, dark stockings and red high-heels matching her red button shirt beneath the jacket.
With a button or two undone to tease her bountiful cleavage and her attire hugging her every curve in just the right way she was at the center of attention. She internally preened at it but gave only a pleasant smile on the outside, waiting for her appointment.
Her goal was something that had never been done before, in the eons of Greek mythology all the way back to the time of the Titans. The new protogenoi were different and planned to direct the world into a new era and to do that, changes were unavoidable.
'I just hope everything goes according to plan,' she thought as she glanced at a flag held on the far wall. The red and white colors with the maple leaf in the center looking rather simple yet to the point in her opinion. She was brought out of her musings though when she heard the secretary call her name.
"Ms. Jackson, the Prime Minister will see you now …"
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Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.
...
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