Ch. 014: Sombre Revelation
I hate cliffhangers. That's probably why I avoided dramas my whole life— no patience for unresolved tension. But this Watcher, whoever or whatever he was, seemed to relish leaving me dangling. The suspense lingered like a storm cloud, suffocating and charged with energy.
"You said you had something to do with Hades' time travel, right?" I asked again, my voice level but sharp. I wouldn't let him sidestep me this time.
The Watcher stood at a distance, his dark silhouette haloed by the shimmering nothingness of this surreal place. He didn't turn, didn't speak— just stared into the void. A full minute passed.
I exhaled slowly, my patience thinning. "Are you going to keep pretending I don't exist, or are you finally going to answer me?"
He chuckled, a sound both disarming and unsettling. "So quick to temper. I expected better from someone with your... reputation."
The casual jab grated, but I bit down my frustration.
Finally, he spoke, his voice a low hum that carried an eerie weight. "When you were reborn, and Hades became the Black Book, I saw... glimpses. Threads of what might come. To say I had something to do with it would be overstating things. But yes, your arrival here was no coincidence. Our fates are... intertwined. In more way than I originally thought."
"Intertwined how?" I pressed, masking my unease with a calm I didn't quite feel. "You must remember something. Anything."
The Watcher turned then, his glowing eyes boring into mine as if delegating whether to reveal what he really had in mind. "Ah, persistent and perceptive. I see why you were chosen."
I frowned. "Cut the theatrics."
He clapped slowly, mockingly. "Fine, fine. You're no fun. I'll tell you what I know— three things, to be exact. The first is this: when the time comes to choose between the three, you must choose the wise. Not the strong, not the beloved. The wise."
The three what? Gods, people? A cryptic puzzle. Great.
"The second," he continued, his tone growing darker, "concerns your body. Your borrowed form is fragile. Push yourself too far, and you'll slip into hibernation. And trust me, old wounds? They don't just scar— they fester. Death isn't a theory for you anymore; it's a very real possibility."
I nodded, filing the warning away. "And the third?"
His smile disappeared, replaced by something grim. "The First Calamity is almost upon us."
The air seemed to chill at his words. My heart thudded against my ribs, but I kept my composure. "What do you mean by 'Calamity'?"
He began pacing, his movements restless, like a predator trapped in a cage. "You've read the Black Book, haven't you? Then you already know the barest outlines. But those pages... they lied to you. Every word was a carefully constructed fiction."
My fists clenched, but I forced my voice to remain steady. "You're saying the myths are fake?"
"Not fake," he corrected, his tone suddenly sharp. "Distorted. You thought your actions were aligning history with the myths, setting things 'right.' But all you did was light the spark for the coming disaster."
The weight of his words hit me like a blow. "What disaster?"
He stopped pacing, his glowing eyes narrowing. "The Calamities. A sequence of catastrophic events designed to tear Olympus apart— its gods, its foundations, even the mortal realm itself. They're not accidents. They're triggers. And the First Calamity... it's almost here."
I swallowed hard. "Why me? Why am I here? To stop it?"
"To rewrite it," he corrected again. "You're here because you know the myths better than anyone else ever could. But your purpose isn't to repeat them. It's to subvert them."
The pieces began to fall into place. "Then someone's orchestrating this," I said, more to myself than him. "The Calamities. They're not natural— they're part of some plan."
"Exactly," the Watcher confirmed, his tone unnervingly calm. "And if you're wondering who's pulling the strings, well... that's a mystery even I can't solve. But I do know this: the First Calamity will unfold on Zeus' 2000th birthday."
The mention of Zeus jarred something loose in my memory. He'd mentioned his birthday to me before... but it hadn't seemed important. Now it felt like the keystone to everything.
"What happens on his birthday?"
The Watcher shrugged. "How should I know? I don't see the future. The only one who knows what's to come is you."
The cryptic response sent a shiver down my spine. "Me? What are you talking about?"
"You already have all the clues," he said simply. "You just haven't put them together yet. Think. Use that formidable mind of yours. The answers are there, waiting to be found."
I stared at him, my thoughts a whirlwind of doubt, determination, and questions. Before I could speak again, he stepped closer, his glowing eyes locking onto mine.
"One last piece of advice, scholar," he said, his voice dropping to a near-whisper. "Your knowledge is your greatest weapon— and your greatest curse. Think twice before you act. The myths you know are not your guide. They're your warning. If you truly want to enjoy this second chance at life, you'll need to create a future outside the myths. That is the price of your rebirth."
The weight of his words pressed down on me like a physical force. My purpose here wasn't just to save Olympus— it was to reshape its destiny entirely.
Suddenly, the ground beneath me trembled. The clouds at my feet began to dissolve, and I felt myself sinking.
The Watcher chuckled, the sound echoing eerily. "Ah, looks like our time is up. You're waking up, scholar. Good luck— you'll need it."
"Wait!" I called, panic lacing my voice. "There's still so much I need to know! Why is Olympus so different? Why are Calamites happening? Who's behind all this?"
But the Watcher simply smiled, enigmatic and maddening. "Perhaps we'll meet again. Or perhaps not. Either way, remember what I said and make sure to entertain me down there."
The last thing I saw was his glowing eyes, watching me with a strange mix of amusement and pity as the clouds swallowed me whole.