Reliving my entire life in a short amount of time, without the ability to remove trauma from the brain, had been the biggest nightmare I could have ever expected to experience.
Everything I had forgotten was exposed to me in plain sight, with no chance of misunderstanding.
As the intensity of my training continued to increase, so did the atrocities I had blocked off of my mind.
Most things I was able to do, I just knew I could, but I had forgotten how I reached that point.
Tears never stopped once.
I wanted to scream, I wanted to leave this torture and get back to a safe place.
But I endured.
Time continued to pass, and my memories became so unbelievably painful I started to think Long was fabricating them, it couldn't be possible for a human being to survive the conditions of House Damocles, it was straight out hell on ground.
Long said he didn't fake anything and was ready to swear on the Styx if I needed more assurance, but when I heard his comment and the fact that he agreed with me, an uncontrollable fury exploded in me.
Lightning started exploding around me, everything in my wake was destroyed in a matter of second, as I reached the edges of the cave I started to punch the wall with all my force, until I bled, until my bones were exposed.
I healed and continued to destroy everything I could.
When my energies were exhausted after days of punching the wall and basically creating another cave, I started to look for a purpose, there must have been a reason for such things to even be conceived.
Again I went to Long asking for a plausible reason.
"I'm sorry Dimitris."
At that comment I felt like my soul was leaving my body.
For a full month, I was a machine. Work out, eat sleep repeat. I never talked, only followed instructions. I had grown numb to my past.
Then one night Odysseus face was shown to me. How tight he hugged me just after my transmigration, everything we had been through.
Merlin, how he was the first to acknowledge my potential and taught me the ways of nature magic.
My men, Asmodeus, Circe, Hali.
Zeus and Hera, my new parents. My family.
That was the last night of training.
3 months had passed, I didn't know what to do anymore. Long called for me.
"You are indeed a smart kid. I will now teach you how to tame the demonic arm. And after that perform the ritual to make me your spirit circle."
I just nodded. After so much time without talking, I started having difficulties speaking and I didn't want to heal myself. It was a testament to what I had been through.
3 of the longest months of my life, had brought me to this.
I used sign language to ask my question.
"What will be of you and this place?"
"Sign language? Do you not want to talk?"
I shook my head.
"Very well. We will just cease to exist, but before that I'll also give you a spell you'll love when you start your farm hahahah."
"Let's start with the taming now."
____________________
-Odysseus POV-
After everything that happened, I couldn't even bear to look at Dimitris in the eyes. I knew I had messed up. I knew how much he loved his family, but I thought that maybe he could start thinking of us as his new family, we could show him what love truly meant.
Yet every attempt my men made to even talk with him was met with either indifference or straight violence.
Only that girl Hali was allowed to talk to him, and when she discovered what I had done, didn't waste a second to come and complain.
<
From that day I couldn't sleep a minute, every time I closed my eyes, Dimitris' face filled with a sense of betrayal and disgust appeared before me.
My men started to blame me because their second commander had been avoiding everyone, they were right.
He was starting to open up with me and I destroyed everything with my own hands.
Merlin wasn't helpful either, he said something about Dimitris' demonic arm, that I shouldn't take everything to heart and that I should just keep training to be the man worthy of him, strong enough to really protect him.
"Merlin, I can't possibly continue like this. I feel like dying every time I close my eyes, I need to go apologise."
"He will kill you Odysseus, it's not time yet."
"What do you mean time? He even stopped coming to your lessons!"
Merlin didn't say a thing and continued to tend to the now dying garden. Every plant in the greenhouse was crying. Nature was rebelling, even Merlin, the mage of flowers, couldn't do anything about it.
"CAN'T YOU SEE THAT EVEN NATURE IS REBELLING AGAINST US? THE SEA IS TUMULTUOUS, THUNDER IS STRIKING EVERY WHERE EVEN WITH A CLEAR SKY, WE NEED TO APOLOGISE!"
"Odysseus, what are you going to apologise for?"
"For telling everyone…"
"Then you will be killed."
"What do you mean? Isn't that why he's angry?"
"Angry is a cute way to put it, I've never seen nature resonate so violently with someone. But no, that's not the reason."
"Then what?"
"He loves House Damocles more then he is able to love his own self. If you apologise for telling what wasn't yours to tell, you will be killed."
"THEN WHAT THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO MERLIN? I'M TRYING MY BEST TO THINK OF SOMETHING!"
"It's not time. He needs to be able to tame his demonic arm and to stop loving House Damocles, trying anything before that is useless."
I left Merlin's study completely disheartened.
I just needed to wait. My man hated me with his entire being, but I was supposed to just wait.
After I promised to never abandon him… I'm pathetic.
That night, while looking at Dimitris from afar I saw a reaction for the first time in a while. His emotionless face lit up with curiosity and soon after disappeared leaving a trail of petals.
Where was he going? It was too early for his new routine of training, so he was either going to Hali or Merlin. I got ready to follow him, if he really was going to that woman, I couldn't just stand still.
Soon enough, however he was back on the deck and started undressing under the moonlight.
I unconsciously moved closer and when I saw he was readying to jump I sprang in action.
He slapped me, mocked me, then said to the intruding Merlin how it was clear he was trying to create a certain someone and it was now clear to him that he wasn't needed anymore.
He jumped. I immediately tried to follow his direction to bring him back, but he had already disappeared.
"MERLIN? WHY THE FUCK WOULDN'T YOU STOP HIM!?"
"…"
"AND WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ABOUT HE ISN'T NEEDED, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING OF MAKING OF ME?!"
"It's a misunderstanding… fuck, I should lose the habit of keeping secrets from him, he is my disciple…"
"MERLIN BRING HIM BACK! WE NEED HIM, WE NEED TO TELL HIM EVERYTHING! I CAN'T… I can't live without him…"
Merlin stayed silent watching at the sky he murmured something about he was receiving enough beating from Arthur in Avalon and if they really wanted to do something they could teach him themselves to tame a demonic arm, then looked at me and said with the most deadpan expression.
"He has completely disappeared, we can only wait and hope. I will order the men to anchor the ship."
____________________
Days passed like that, I stood in the newly made garden of flower bloomed on the bow of the ship, flower that felt like they wanted to kill me.
I was but a shell of myself.
To know I was the reason of everything, was enough of a torture on itself, but to also know that if he didn't comeback within a week of his departure he'd die was too much.
The seventh day came.
"Merlin, if he doesn't comeback tonight, I will kill myself. There's no reason to live knowing I'm the reason of his death."
"I understand."
Nothing much happened after that.
Time was ticking and dusk soon approached.
No sign of Dimitris anywhere.
All my men were reunited, I had already explained what would happen and they wanted to be there for me.
Hali was furious.
Eurylochus couldn't stop sobbing.
Merlin was starring at the sky.
And I, I was losing all hope.
I'm sure even in the underworld he will not even look at me.
I was ready to jump and put an end to this suffering.
There really wasn't a good reason for me to keep going.
Rain started to fall.
Even nature was crying for him.
It was time.
"ODYSSEUS WAIT, THIS RAIN! IT'S NOT SAD!"
"What do you mean, even the sky is crying for him."
"No! Wait!"
RUMBLE
Thunder started to dance in the clouded night sky.
The downpour undeterred yet carrying a certain gentleness to it.
The garden Dimitris had recently produced started glowing and transforming.
Merlin's voice came from my right.
"Daffodils…"
I didn't know what to make of this information, Merlin and Dimitris had a deep connection with flowers, but I was completely ignorant on the subject.
"Is it a good sign? What's their meaning?"
"It's a beautiful sign Odysseus, daffodils speak of new beginnings, rebirth."
My heart started to beat faster, could those flowers really mean we had a chance? Was Dimitris really coming back?
Then the world trembled, a huge serpent shot out of the water, on its head Dimitris was silently watching the world unfold before him.
His eyes shining with a brilliant green were devouring everything as if he hadn't been able to see for a long time. When he finally located the ship, he jumped from the serpent that immediately dissolved like it had never existed. Then Dimitris himself disappeared again just to appear before me in an explosion of petals.
He exhaled, clearly exhausted, but I sensed it immediately, and so did everyone else.
He had gotten incredibly stronger than before.
"I-" coff coff.
He tried to speak but his voice extremely rusty didn't let him and he immediately started to cough.
I tried to move to him, but he held up his hands and started making some strange signs.
"He says he hasn't talked for almost 6 months and it'll take some time for him to recover."
"6 months? He was barely away for a week!"
Dimitris again started to make signs but stopped midway, slapped his forehead and snapped his fingers.
A fire message appeared big enough in the sky for everyone to read.
"The place I was had a different time refraction from here. I don't know where your hearts stand, I am sorry. My actions were exaggerated. But you also acted out of place."
Then a smaller message appeared just for me.
"I may have overreacted, but you didn't even try to apologise. That, I won't forget."
"DIMITRIS I WANTED TO APOLOGISE FROM THE FIRST MINUTE! IT WAS MERLIN WHO STOPPED ME SAYING YOU'D KILL ME!"
Merlin jumped from behind me.
"YOU BASTARD! WHY'D YOU SNITCH ON ME LIKE THAT?!"
A single word came out of Dimitris mouth, albeit with much difficulty.
"Fa..ther."
That single word was enough. Everyone run for their life, but there was no need, Dimitris had thrown Merlin up in the sky with his own spell.
And lightning struck.
Merlin's charred body fell back on the ship, a beautiful garden, many times stronger then before appeared at Dimitris pointing finger.
Every wound healed almost instantly.
How much had he trained. Fuck I'm falling behind too much.
Once his wounds were healed, Merlin immediately begged.
"Please no! Although this is a puppet the pain is real! I swear I will not keep secrets from you anymore! PLEASE DON'T!"
Dimitris looked at Merlin without emotions. Snapped his fingers again and a new message appeared.
"You swore to teach and protect, not lie and deceive. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."
He then added in a little clearer voice.
"Mother."
[The ONLY housewife issues a decree using her authority.]
[for every lie the mage of flowers will tell to his disciple Dimitris Damocles, he will suffer a full power strike from The Lightning Bringer]
[rule successfully applied to the master-disciple vow.]
Merlin was shocked and so was everyone else, to receive a full power strike from the GodKing was sure to spell death for everyone.
"Fuck, fair enough. At least is not retroactive."
I was in utter disbelief, if that was the price to pay for lying I didn't want to even think what awaited me as punishment.
Merlin then continued.
"Did you tame the demonic arm? What circle is that, I'm a little confused."
Dimitris raised his left arm and the once dark black runes had turned in his skin color, just slightly darker.
Merlin put his thumbs up, but was soon hit again with another piece of news he didn't expect.
"Circle of… Nat…ure. Coff coff… the Long."