67 APATHY

Athos' eyes shot open yet all he saw was darkness.

He frowned and sat up, scanning the area around him but all that met his eyes was more darkness.

There was nothing.

Vast nothingness engulfed his vision, reminding him of the time he had almost lost his mind during his partial ascension. He trembled for a second before burying that haunting memory in the back of his head and looking down at his hands, expecting nothing more than more darkness, but surprisingly, he could see them quite clearly. They were much bigger now that he'd shed his mortal form and were practically bursting with vitality and strength.

His link with Perastos and Vajraha was undisturbed and the Leviathan ring gleamed on his right hand. The "Vajraha" tattoo faintly pulsed on his forearm, its golden aura waxing and waning with his every breath.

"Where am I?", he muttered and stood up. The last thing he remembered was the Wine God's yell of horror and pain after he'd let loose the bolt of Lightning. It was suffused with such terror and fear that he could still hear it faintly echoing in his ears. Had he fainted after using Vajraha? Was his dad okay? Was Dionysus rendered incapable of forming a body?

He sighed before tensing up.

'Questions for another time. First and foremost, I need to know where I am', he thought.

Just then,

"Arghhgrroahree"

A guttural roar tore through the murky darkness. There was nothing pleasant about that frightening sound. It was almost otherworldly. It would make one claw at their ears in agony, for its ghastly voice seemed to grate at one's very soul.

Athos froze before summoning Leviathan by habit.

"Huh?", he mumbled in shock as his axe failed to materialize.

He looked down in confusion at his fingers but there was no ring in sight. His vision blurred for a split second and when it cleared, his hands were smaller and he felt much shorter, as though someone had chopped off his legs. His vision blurred once more, and the golden 'Vajraha' tattoo disappeared and Perastos vanished, now replaced by a tight-fitting black tracksuit with a blue design - the very same one he'd worn on the day he first stepped out of the island. All his items and all the power he'd fought for were suddenly stripped away.

He calmed his beating heart and slipped into a battle-ready stance. If there was one thing he knew to do, it was to fight. To fight till his last breath, regardless of how injured or tired he was. To fight till his flesh was ripped away. Till only bone remained.

Yet, he had to admit...without his gear and Divine strength, he felt...vulnerable.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Loud footsteps reverberated through the air and they seemed to come from behind him. His body went rigid and his nape turned icy, cold sweat dripping down his back. Hadn't he just spoken a whole bunch of nonsense about fighting till his dying breath? Was that all bravado? Empty talk?

He grit his teeth and attempted to turn around but it was in vain. His body refused to listen to him, choosing to root his legs to the ground as if it were rebelling against him. Was this how it felt to be on the receiving end of his draconic aura?

Just then, he felt a presence brush past his back and he felt as though someone had stabbed him in the chest with hot iron. Beads of sweat trickled from his forehead down to his nose as he felt the being slowly circle his body. Fear slowly creept into his heart, swallowing his courage and burning his bravery. He sealed his lips lest he let out an accidental whimper that would draw the ire of the monstrosity that lurked in this accursed abyss.

He felt Frail.

Puny.

Insignificant.

Weak.

A low growl sounded, and the footsteps disappeared into the distance a few seconds after that, but to Athos, it felt closer to eternity. He collapsed, his body no longer responding to his desperate pleas while he gasped frantically, almost choking on the very air he so longed for. Once he collected himself, intense shame welled up in him. He, a man who had stared down Gaea herself, was scared shitless by something that he couldn't see.

He shakily got to his feet and neatened his tracksuit which was soaked in sweat. He straightened his back, his heart beating out of his chest, and slowly turned around fearing what he might see but all that met his eyes was darkness. Was it gone? Was it over?

*BANG*

"Arghrrgroarhee!!!"

With an unearthly screech, a vaguely humanoid figure charged out of the darkness stopping in front of him. It dwarfed him in size, but what was most disturbing was its aspect.

Everything about it screamed…wrong.

It didn't have a fixed appearance - Eyes, teeth, and tongues grew and vanished, morphing and contorting into nauseating shapes that somehow managed to keep the monster in its humanoid outline. Its countenance was so incredibly revolting, repulsive, and off-putting, that it could drive someone insane. Its eerie tentacles only added to its already loathsome and abominable image.

Athos froze. His mouth hung open and his legs refused to move no matter how much he begged them to. His eyes turned bloodshot; his brain unable to comprehend the monster's vile appearance that only seemed to turn more horrifying by the second. A tentacle as thick as his arm extended, slowly creeping toward him, its swaying motion almost hypnotizing. He watched as the slimy tentacle coiled, storing energy. After which it pounced, wrapping around him - pulling him off his feet. His face reddened as he frantically grabbed at the many tentacles but their strength was too overwhelming.

He was raised higher and higher as more and more tentacles wrapped around him but as he continued to sink into the cold, slimy prison, he spotted something odd. A pulsing purple gem seemed to be embedded in the monster's everchanging torso. Its shape seemed familiar but he really couldn't put his finger on where he'd seen it before. Suddenly, three silhouettes flickered on said gem's surface. Their backs were slightly hunched and they carried what looked like a piece of thread and a pair of scissors.

"The Fa-MMmpph!!", a tentacle wrapped around his mouth, sealing it shut but his eyes widened nonetheless. The silhouettes raised their hands in a palm with their thumbs tucked in and closed their fingers in a fist. They did this multiple times but before Athos could make any sense of the signal, the tentacles began to tighten in an attempt to crush his body.

"mMmmphh!!!"

He called out every last bit of strength in his body and struggled to break free but it was for nought. All he could do was stare at the abomination's ever-increasing eyes that held an emotion that seemed infinitely close to apathy.

***

"Aaaah!!!", Athos woke, clutching his chest but a sharp jolt of pain that shot through his right arm made him fall back soon enough. That was a nightmare?!

"What the fuck?!", he mumbled deliriously as he slowly opened his eyes. He was underwater in what seemed to be a golden bubble. He could see schools of fish swimming in the distance, while a pod of whales curiously stared at him through the golden barrier.

He looked down at his body, finding Perastos snuggly wrapped around his Divine Body and Vajraha calmly pulsing on his right arm which was now bandaged. Just as his confusion reached its peak, a voice sounded behind him.

"Ah! You're finally awake!"

***

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