Destiny On The Line

Bemused eyes twinkled—blinking twice as Athena gazed at his face with a smirk that only relayed an ominous threat. 

Yet, those bitter fears ornamenting her face made the god of war feel more powerful—and dominant than her, which was unlikely before. 

"A—Ares." Athena finally uttered as she waited for some strength to return. 

Ares leaned, closing into her face. Silver eyes met ambers again. Both said nothing, and not one commenced any argument. Instead, the god savored every inch of her and suddenly changed his reaction to concern that Athena briefly noticed. 

She was surprised to see it. She even let out a soft gasp that also alarmed Ares. 

The two broke their gaze, and Ares went back onto his feet. 

"Well, it is nice that my little offering is not dead."

"Ares," Athena repeated as her forehead wrinkled—knotting her brows at the center. 

"Hmm?"

But before her questions could escape from between her lips, Athena was inevitably pushed down—sent to the cold and hard floor that did not anticipate the violent touch of her skin. 

Fuming and in a deep, cold tantrum, Eris looked down at her, not flinching at what she had done. 

"Tsk, tsk—hold those raging tempers, my goddess." The god suavely said, coquettishly chuckling as he pulled out the chair that restrained Athena to the floor. "You had enough fun with my Owl. I heard of those glorious cheers with every scourge you inflict on this maiden. I am impressed!" His eyes smoldered in admiration towards the goddess, who stood motionless and stoic. 

Upon noticing this praise, Eris held back and lightly laughed while trying to hide the growing crimson on her cheeks. A smile then plastered on her lips. 

"Very well then—but those scars were not enough." Something in her tone amplified. There was the flow of hate and ill will. Her eyes painted murder as she faced the helpless Athena. 

Eris then recalled the undoing of the silver-eyed lady when she was still a goddess. She narrated to Ares how Medusa was wronged, as well as Arachne. "Both of them did not deserve any punishment." She began, "It is not their fault that the perfect goddess had this hidden jealousy towards those lovely mortals."

Her words spewed out like salt on open wounds. Athena glowered at her, dispelling her wishful thinking of a better chapter ahead as a mortal. Now equal to her, Athena's temper brewed as she exclaimed, "How can someone think highly of themselves but still listen to murmurs made by rotten tongues?"

By that, Eris had had enough. 

She pulled Athena out from her petrification and threw her down again as she snarled and left a long scratch on her arm. 

"Your words meant nothing to me now!" The goddess yelled—scorning and entangling her hair like a twisted vine with no hope for release while she groaned in pain. 

Amber orbs of Ares saw the agony on Athena's face when Eris's hold hardened. He did not display any emotion nor flickered when more suffering was imposed on his prisoner. He just watched the ordeal—inhaling the quiet cries though teeth were bitterly grinding behind that blank façade. 

His muscles tensed, not knowing why. No sooner, some kind of heat rose from inside him as he continued to witness the violence Eris inflicted on Athena. 

The god of war then went blank—

His thoughts ceased, and there was nothing. 

Everything went dark, and nothing more. 

From such an unidentified phenomenon, Ares's heart pounded in triple beats. His ears began to hear a high-pitched sound, and sweat saturated his face. He was in shock—nailed to the ground as he tried to decipher what was happening. 

But not for long—the strange occurrence faded, not until everything returned that an illuminated image of Athena flashed before him, with her doe eyes calling for help. 

Ares aggressively blinked and saw what he had just envisioned—the sight of Athena, helpless under Eris—was indeed a reality. It was supposed to be an image he would be joyous about. Athena's downfall was his long dream, along with Zeus's reign. He hated her. He loathed her to his deepest core. 

Somehow, why did he feel remorseful? 

That time—when he revealed himself to her as the wolf, he could have just easily slit her throat as she collapsed into his arms. But no—the high heavens made a change and played with him like a puppet, winding the key to his brain and completely altering his outlook toward Athena. 

Upon raising her hand, ready to strike at the frail maiden, Ares immediately halted Eris. He caught her hand and forced her to stop. 

"Alright—didn't I say to hold your temper?" He reprimanded, pushing the goddess of discord to his order. 

"Your little Owl needs to be taught a lesson! She still did not understand that after all those beatings, she had to know she was no longer the favored goddess of wisdom! She is nothing but a useless swine."

"I know. You already did what you wanted to do." Ares then looked down at Athena, who remained faced down—seemingly easing her running adrenaline—and grabbed her arm as he wiped the blood that trickled down from the scratch that Eris left. "Look at this," He continued, "You already made so many marks on my Owl. I plea that you and Enyo go slow on your punishments—save me the last spot. I will ensure to give her a wound she will never forget." His demeanor suddenly turned the whole quarter dark when he maniacally grinned. 

His presence felt like a monster devouring every living thing on its trail. It felt like a shadow obliterating the light, consuming everything beautiful in its belly. 

Upon hearing what he declared, Athena looked up at him and pondered on his sentence. "He is going to end me." She assumed openly. "I will be dead, perhaps, before I even leave this forsaken place."

After the god cleaned her wounds, the silver-eyed maiden stayed low while her captors kept talking. She unwittingly eavesdropped on their riddled plans as she heard Ares say while studying his blood-stained hand, "Anyways, I did not call you to come here," 

"I come here to get Athena. I still see her as useless to your reign—not until Enyo informed me about a certain transaction."

Ares mindlessly nodded as he set his eyes covertly, glancing back and forth between his hand and Athena.

There was dead air for a while. And when the distant tweets of birds resonated, Ares finally told her, "I know about the ships, but I do not know of Athena's involvement."

"Like what you said, for advice. We, too, needed your little Owl's opinion." Eris smiled.

Even a fool would snicker at what she said. 

However, Ares said nothing as he let her pass across him and took Athena by force. 

When the two women were about to reach the door, Athena carefully turned her head around and saw Ares staring down at his hand that was smeared with her blood before he looked back at them. She was appalled by the scene and immediately turned away. 

The feeling was heavy, even choking at some point. Every corner of the room was so ominous that it haunted the soul every second. Despite being treated with the same brutal sentiments by Eris, Athena was glad to have escaped the quarters. Though in her head, she unexpectedly hoped for imminent death, knowing that to remain under Ares, Enyo, and Eris for a long time was Tartarus in a real sense. 

"I would rather be a beggar on the streets than be in this wretched place." She tearfully thought. 

The doors slammed shut—and off Eris went as she dragged Athena to someplace she only knew. The good thing about the short walk was that the goddess remained silent. Her mouth did not attempt once to scold her prisoner.

Not until—

"You better regain some strength." She calmly said, "Today is different, Athena. Today, the stars aligned in your favor." Her lips faintly twist in the corner without breaking her sight on their pathway. 

Little Owl lowered her head, suspending any responses for her nemesis. 

"May Thanatos's spirit curse me. Bring me eternal peace, oh, great heavens!" Athena silently prayed as tears began to bead on her downhearted silver orbs.