FLAW

"Now make a choice", Janus grinned evilly. "And make it quick"

"Why me? Why choose me of all demigods?", Athos said, anger surging in him. It was not as though he had slighted Janus in any way, yet the God chose to come and fuck with him. He felt as though he was a source of entertainment. A plaything.

"No particular reason half-blood. Just doing my job. Can't have demigods having an easy journey", said the left face.

"Hahaha! No reason? Liar! Listen, Mister. Your fatal flaw makes you sooooo suscepti-

"Shut up!", the left face snapped. "Oh! not you Athos. Anyhow! Back to the choices"

Janus slightly leaned forward and held up his left hand, holding up the blue key.

The left face spoke, "If you choose the blue key, your journey will be as you expected. Littered with a few traps that you can easily bust through. Your path to the forges of Hephastaeus would be unhindered. This is the easy way out. The SAFE way."

He then raised his right hand, with the red key.

The right face spoke this time, "If you choose the red key, your journey will be filled with peril! With danger! With the possibility of...DEATH! Oh! How exciting! Yet, you shall find objects that would help you immensely. After all, no pain no gain, isn't that right half-blood?

Athos clenched his fists. Both choices were appealing and had their own advantages. Typical of Janus. Causing indecision was what he derived pleasure from.

The sensible option for any mentally stable demigod who wanted to live was the blue key. There were enough dangers as it was in the Labyrinth and his current goal was to find the forges in the first place. But he just couldn't bring himself to grab the blue key, no matter how enticing it was. It was as though Janus knew exactly what choices to give to annoy Athos.

He closed his eyes trying his best to push down his anger at the two-faced god. He couldn't even beat any sense into him currently as Janus was quite powerful. Nowhere near the level of the Olympians, but powerful nonetheless. The God was not someone he could take on currently. After all, people faced choices every single day, every hour even. And he fed of that indesicion.

He couldn't turn back either, as he HAD to find the forges. And according to the metal angels, the labyrinth was the only way to find Hephaestus. A God's lair couldn't be in a mundane place.

The voice of his father echoed in his ears, "....All I hope is that you do not regret any that you make. for regret can consume you, like how it has consumed me...." His dad had mentioned that he too was offered a choice at the beginning of his journey. Was Janus behind that as well? No matter. He would do what his instincts were telling him. He needed to fight a God, and he needed all the help he could get.

He opened his eyes which were now filled with resolve.

"I'll take the red one", he said.

He knew it was stupid. He knew it was idiotic. But something in him just couldn't stand the fact that he was missing out on rewards, the fact that he was missing out on a chance to grow stronger. Was this his fatal flaw that Janus mentioned? Reckless ambition? Or was it his need to be the best? Or were both of them the same thing?

Janus threw the red key over and Athos snatched it out of the air. The key was warm and he could've sworn that he heard some laughter the moment he touched it. Icy cold laughter that had a touch of foreboding.

The god then snapped his fingers and the blue door and key vanished, leaving only the red one, which gained a light blood-red tint that made it look all the more menacing.

"See! I knew he'd choose me!", the right face gleefully said.

"Fine, fine! Here you go", the left face replied, dejected, while taking out a golden drachma from the coat's pocket using his left hand and giving it to the right, which promptly placed it back into the same pocket. Placing bets with yourself ensured no loss after all.

"My work here is done half-blood. Hope we never meet again", both faces then said in harmony, materializing a silver key and inserting it into the air. And with a flash of black light, the two-faced God vanished, leaving behind the large, blood-red door.

Athos stared at the empty space for a few seconds before walking up to the door and inserting the red key, unlocking it. He pushed the door open finding the very same tunnel he was in, but it felt...different. He couldn't place his finger on what exactly had changed, but he did know that something was off. It had the taint of Janus, that two-faced bastard.

Bob gave out a small chirp and jumped into the red door, turning back to stare at Athos, its silver eyes blinking. Seeing that, Athos nodded and followed, stepping over the door into the tunnel. He had made his choice and he would see it to the end. His fatal flaw may have led him astray, but so what? It was what made him...him. And he would face the consequences with his head held high.

***

It had been a few hours since Athos had stepped through the red door and he was honestly getting tired of the lame-ass traps that the Labyrinth threw at him. From rolling boulders that he smashed to chainsaw blades that he broke to random monsters that he pulverised. Janus' claims of the path being perilous hadn't come true but that notion was removed when he saw large shadows on the walls of the next bend.

Bob halted and climbed up Athos' arm, turning back to a disk just when the monsters stepped into the light. All of them were around eight feet tall with all sorts of tattoos littered across their bodies. They wore leather armour and were carrying cannonballs that looked quite small in their giant hands, and their heavily muscled arms implied that they threw said metal balls once in a while. Athos' eyes widened as he instantly recognized them when he smelt the scent of meat emanating from their large bodies.

They were Laistrygonian giants. Monstrous creatures that preferred human flesh over all others.

The three monsters sniffed the air and looked around, their eyes perking up as they spotted Athos in the tunnel.

"Demigod! Fresh meat! Feast!", said the smallest one spoke, his ugly face sprouting into a wide grin, remnants of his last meal still visible on his dirty teeth. But he was instantly smacked in the head by the biggest one, who was probably the leader of the bunch.

"We no eat! Lord Antaeus is bored! Bring demigod to him. Entertainment!", the leader growled, while the smaller one rubbed his head.

'Antaeus?', Athos thought, summoning Leviathan. Perhaps Janus hadn't been joking about his journey being perilous.