2 Zeus and gore bring the apocalypse

Inca and Sim like two ghosts snuck into the cave wary of the sleeping man within its depths. With them was a vial filled with a concoction which they made according to a recipe from the head priestess. During the production, Sim tried to taste a bit only to regret his choice. The taste as horrible as it was wasnt the worst thing about the potion. In fact it could be its redeeming quality when compared to the other effects of the drug. Sim vowed never to try anything colorful he couldnt identify ever again.

"Should we really do this?", whispered Sim.

Inca shot him a glare and kept moving.

He took out the vial and carefully poured its contents into the natural spring which happened to be the cave's water source and the victim's drinking water.

They slowly crept back towards the entrance of the cave.

"Phew now our job is done. Lets go back."

"I don't know, I feel guilty putting someone through what i've been through."

"Pah toughen up. He'll survive. Its supposed to be a cure for whatever mental illness he has."

Sim remained silent as he followed his brother back.

Sim and Inca were orphans as they grew up. The timid Sim was always cared for by his elder brother. Sims kind heart wouldn't be able to survive in this cruel world without his brothers ruthless heart.

A born leader, Inca led his brother and a group of mercenaries across the continent looking for work as escorts, guards, hunters and other miscellaneous work of which some were a bit unsavory.

It was hard work which didn't pay much for its difficulties. But, the group survived and lived their life in merry. It wasn't till they reached Orca, the city of crime that their happy tale came to a cruel end. They encountered an enemy they could not face, resulting in the death of all but the brothers.

The two survived and escaped to Haka to find their new beginning. Here they were tasked with looking after an honored guest from afar. The only other person with the same duty was Arya, a young man they met. His carefree and sometimes innocent character which also contained hints of calm and confidence inspired the duo and gave them hope in this unfamiliar land with no one but themselves.

When they were out of the cave, the duo let out a sigh of relief. Of course they weren't actually afraid of they loony man. It was just that in their task description, they were to be discreet and in case they were found out, their pay would be halved. They didn't even have to make sure the man ingested the liquid. Their job was only to mix it with the water.

As they departed, Sim sensed something and looked back. The man had awoken and had gone to drink the water. Eyes wide, Sim watched in trepidation and guilt. Almost opening his mouth to shout out a warning only for his brother to clamp his mouth shut and stare at him with a stern gaze while shaking his head.

He gulped and calmed down, resolute and no longer thinking of ruining their hard work.

The man crawled to the small pool of water and drank like a beast immersing his head in the water and gulping greedily before he sensed something wrong with it.

The duo watched in horror as the body of the man inflated as his blood vessels swelled up while he screamed fiercely yelling for something in a language they did not understand. The wounds on his body that had healed had started to bleed once again. The red blood was mixed with pus in amounts much larger than expected from an ordinary wound.

His eyes and other orifices including his mouth started to bleed. He started to choke on the blood before sputtering out what seemed to be his tongue. The bones in his body became soft and mush resulting in his collapse as his body twitched while violently spraying out broken pieces of bone and bits of organs.

Slowly the twitching mans body slowed to a still.

"Was that supposed to happen?" asked a shivering Sim.

"No, I don't think so."

"I ingested a bit. Will this happen to me too?"

Inca hugged his brother close and assured him,"No"

The scene not only scared Sim but Inca as well. Despite his bravado and experience with killing, he had never witnessed something as gory as this.

His body shook with a faint tremble.

***

In the temple, the two rushed in to inquire about the bizzare effect of the potion and collect their pay but they saw no signs of the head priestess Mika or her four guards. Instead, they saw a holographic image of a timer counting down the seconds.

The timer showed there there was only a bit more than twenty minutes left for whatever the countdown initiated. The two exchanged glances and rushed out of the temple to find Arya coming.

"Has Mika already left?"

"How do you know?"

"Of course i know. If you want to survive, come with me."

"What do you mean by survive? Also remember that crazy man? He's dead! The head priestess told us to put some kind of mixture in his water. She told us it was medicine and it would help him. But, it was instead a poison! He died in a very frightening manner right before our eyes. My brother ingested some of the liquid. Is he gonna be alright?"

As Inca blabbered on, Sim remained mum and started breathing deeply as if asphyxiating. Seeing this, he again begged,

"Help him! please!"

But, Arya was in deep thought from hearing the previous information. Meanwhile Sim fainted and his body leaned on his brother's

"Hey, we have to save him! Something is wrong"

"How long is left till the Abyss rises?"

"Wha-"

"The timer! How long is left till the timer reaches zero?"

"T-twenty minutes"

"Damn! we are wasting time! Carry your brother and follow me."

Despite his current despondent and panicked state, Inca was a man of action and immediately complied despite his tumbling emotions.

The trio ran out of the the city limits and Inca was surprised to see the city oddly deserted. They had not noticed this when they rushed to the temple but it seemed as if the city had turned into a ghost town.

The tailor shop which was once manned by the kindly old man or the grocery store cared for by the boy who wore the brown shirt with many stitches keeping it together were all missing. The various pubs and houses dead silent, the children usually shouting and giggling in the street playing games and chasing each other were now absent.

Instead, the whole city now had an aura of impending doom. Devastation and destruction promised on anyone who lay foot upon its grounds. That was what Inca's senses as a veteran mercenary were telling him.

"What happened here?"he weakly asked the person infront of him.

"Hmm...how do I explain this in a way you wont have a mental breakdown? Yeah, the world as you know it will end when the tiny timer you saw hits zero. The rest thought they kept it from me. But boy oh boy were they wrong. I knew the moment they found Zeus that it was over. Gift from the gods? dont joke with me. The personification of order was injured and detached from his element. Of course Chaos is gonna have a hey day!"

The dumbfounded Inca stared at Arya blankly. The young man sighed before saying,

"The kingdom of hell is rising. With it will come death and destruction. The surface world will transform into the Abyss. Blood will flow from both mortals and gods. Monsters unseen and unsung will roam the planet. The dead will no longer remain dead. The living no longer living. The limits of power released. This will be caused by taking out the linchpin that holds the fabric of our world together. The dimensions will merge and the limits of power broken. What is about to happen will make the prophecies of apocalypse and armageddon sound like a bad day at work."

Inca continued to stare blankly at Arya as they sprinted across the empty streets.

"What?"

Arya replied exasperated, "That was part of the prophecy from todays horoscope. It seemed to say a lot about what would happen after the end of the world. Anyways thats the abridged version of the truth. The real thing will be much worse. But also better. Because, the dead will stay dead and the living will not turn into undead. Though some might...who knows?"

From all that, Inca only understood that a) the world would end and b) the Abyss would rise.

"Now, its only a matter of perspective to see if this is a good thing or a bad thing." Arya continued.

"Yes, they world is gonna end and all our lives are gonna change buuut, on the other hand, we can be stronger and decide our own fates."

Inca stayed mum as he heard the words of this unreasonable man who was not at all like what people made him out to be. His own understanding of the character was also largely mistaken.

They soon reached a clearing outside the city where there was a wide and deep tunnel leading perpendicularly downwards.

"Well, here we are. Drop down that rabbit hole and you will end up with the rest of the residents safe and sound. Just remember, the Abyss is not a friendly place."

With that, the friendly looking young man called Arya shoved the two brothers into what seemed like and endless death pit.

**\\ My fellow daoists, this penniless priest begs for your stones so that he may conquer the 70th writing prompt and attain enough enlightenment to appear in the front page of the webnovel realm. So please spare some change.

In short, vote me some spirit stones please!

//**