Chapter 3 - Night Terrors

After a day full of politics in Sparta, Matthaios finds peace inside his chamber near the Queen's throne room. The Champion of Sparta sits on his crimson bed, sighing by the form of exhaustion. The Spartan Demi-god takes his armor off, placing it near his rack of weapons where the Arms of Sparta are stationed still. He browsed at his selection of weapons, yet something was missing from his arsenal, and only his aunt Athena is the one he could seek for it.

He wanted to try the Blade of the Gods out, the weapon that his father Kratos used to take the original God of War's life, Ares. His collection of weapons is almost complete, and he knew that he would come back to Mount Olympus to ask where he could obtain it. After viewing his weapon stand, he went back to his bed and laid down to call it a day. The Demi-god lulled himself to sleep in the nude, yet something forbids him from doing so.

A series of nightmares plagued the Demi-god and this wasn't from the past that reminds him of his wrongdoings, it was the future that tells him we wouldn't make it as the glorious Demi-god of Sparta. Two Gods could be responsible for the nightmares he is experiencing, almost falling into the abyss and the horrors of having the sequence of dreams of negativity, and this has brought him to discomfort.

"What have I created... A monster amongst men." Matthaios heard the voices of his mother Aphrodite being disappointed with his actions of war and terror.

"You are becoming just like your father, Matthaios." He could also heed to his aunt Athena's voice.

"Full of hatred and vengeance... That's you, Spartan." There was his aunt Artemis who reminds him of what is expending him.

"I had hopes of you being the savior of Greece... But I was wrong." Apollo's voice could be heard in the Demi-god's head.

"You are a great warrior, Matthaios. But a friend? You were awful." Heiron also speaks in his horrible dreams.

"All of Sparta will not acknowledge your actions if it went too far... And we wouldn't recognize you as a Spartan anymore." Queen Colubra shared her inner apprehension if the Demi-god steps out from his limits.

The sound of Calliope's flute came in before she speaks. "I thought you would save me, brother. Are you going to abandon me just like what our father did?"

"You never loved me, Matthaios. This was all made because of an oath you would break." Melinoe spoke out from her fear of Matthaios leaving her.

"You are nothing but a slave to the Gods just like your father. First, you dishonored him, yourself, and Sparta." The new Oracle from Sparta shares what his fate is going to be via dreams.

"The Oracle is right, Champion of Sparta. You dare to disobey the Gods, yet you serve for them." The Ephors began talking to support what the Oracle said.

And lastly, the voice of the Ghost of Sparta was present. "I wouldn't be so proud of you anyway..."

They all repeated the same thoughts from them at the same time, and how convoluted it is made Matthaios wake up screaming in anguish and anger. "Silence!"

The scream coming from the Demi-god disturbed the Queen of Sparta and the Captain, interrupting their good night's sleep. Matthaios was about to slam his fist into the walls, but Heiron immediately rushed in and stopped his knuckle from hitting the concrete. Queen Colubra entered his chamber and finds a way to keep things tranquil by sitting beside the Champion of Sparta she once took care of as a child, asking what is unnerving him.

"By the Gods, Matthaios. What is bothering you?" The Queen asked to learn why did he shout.

"I should have perished for what I've done." Matthaios expressed it while staring blankly.

"For what, Matthaios? You did well from the Council earlier." Heiron also sat beside the Demi-god.

"You two don't usually come by here and consult what I am up to... Something is strange in the atmosphere." Matthaios took deep breaths after waking up from his dreams.

"Don't you wish to have us by your side?" The Queen stood up, holding his wrists after noticing its frequent tingling.

"I'm fine, my Queen. I just-" The Spartan Demi-god sighed, not being able to explain what he saw from the nightmares.

"Suffering from terrible dreams, I get it. Even the bravest Spartan I know is getting nightmares." She tries to reassure him while Heiron is recalling something.

"Is it true? That I'm becoming a monster among men?" Matthaios asked the Queen if he is now undergoing a phase where he'll languish over from his downfall.

"That is not true, Matthaios. Do not listen to them." She convinces him that it was just a dream, nothing more.

"By not listening, you mean defying the Gods? Am I becoming just like my father?" It felt like their point was true towards the Spartan Demi-god.

"Why do you feel like you are always compared to the Ghost of Sparta? He is gone, my friend. You don't have to live up to the legacy he left." Heiron reminds him of his father Kratos.

"I have to, Heiron! I just don't get it. Should a Spartan kneel to the Gods? Did my father give up his pride hoping that they would end his suffering?" Matthaios has a load of questions to ask left unanswered.

"We all do. We are nothing but mortals, after all. Your father had to oppose the Gods because he had the power to do, but what did it cost?" The Spartan Queen tells the consequences that Kratos has suffered upon killing the Gods.

"Wrong! I am a Demi-god... A Demi-god... Damn right, I'm a Demi-god!" Matthaios' eyes glowed after saying such things.

"Does a Demi-god kneel to his superiors?" Heiron asked both of them.

"I don't have to, and why am I even letting myself become one of their lifeless puppets?! My father makes a fair point..." Matthaios realizes that he doesn't have to be on the side of the Gods to live.

"I am warning you, my friend. It does have consequences. Your insubordination will lead you to damnation." Heiron warns the Demi-god.

"What are they going to do? Send me to the Jails of Tartarus? Prison of the Damned? I'd rather die with honor than kneel to the Gods I do not owe." Matthaios stood up facing his armor.

"What about your mother, Matthaios? She loved you more than anything else. You owe her your own life." She kept on convincing the Demi-god.

"It's no use, my Queen. I deeply apologize if I wouldn't stay here in Sparta for so long. The Gods are right, I should stay in Olympus." Matthaios said after putting his armor on, wrapping the Blades of Athena's chains in his forearm.

"And where do you think you're going, Matthaios?" The Queen asked where his destination is.

"Mount Olympus." The Champion of Sparta has decided to go back to the place where the Gods are staying.

"I couldn't do anything but to send you my best wishes, my friend. Farewell." Heiron knew he couldn't stop Matthaios.

"Goodbye, Matthaios. Sparta's gates are always open for you." Queen Colubra stood up from where she is sitting, telling Heiron that they should go back to sleep.

He closes his eyes before opening it slowly, and it was glinting lustrously. Matthaios has come to spend his nights climbing Mount Olympus to stay at his father's throne room, and if the Gods try to bother him, he wouldn't hesitate to hurt them. Even if he is becoming quite disrespectful towards them, he cared a little about what he is about to face when he did. He prepares himself for anyone and anything that will come to stop him from doing what is must and that is killing the remaining Gods of the Greek Pantheon.

He walked out of the Gates of Sparta, leaving the city he truly loved to head back to Mount Olympus. There, he walked alone, not eager about the dangers of the dawn that the Goddess Eos might bring. With Helios' power and relics being passed upon Kratos after his death, there is a chance that Matthaios has inherited the ability to use the sun for him to gather enough energy for his travel. But it was night time and the Demi-god didn't need it yet for his long walk.

He has reached the other side of the Mountain, bypassing the Gates of Athens and Mount Aroania before making his way to the top of Mount Olympus. There, he began climbing the rock formations once more, doing it with ease since he had the place memorized. And after an exhaustive trek, he has reached the city of Olympia. Inside the city-state, he strumbled upon Olympian Sentries, staring at them one-by-one with murderous intent.

The sentries surged to attack the Spartan Demi-god, and he was brave enough to face these beasts upon him. Despite being outnumbered, Matthaios finds himself in a position where he could defeat the Olympian beasts using the Blades of Athena. And so, he starts swiveling it around to strike them using the sacred weapon. The Olympian Sentries did not stand a chance from the blades, and they weren't given any chance to get close to the Champion of Sparta.

After defeating The sentries, Matthaios' eyes lit up as he goes near the darker portion of Olympia to supervise his thoroughfare. He wasn't rageful or hasty this time, but instead, he uses the sunlight of Helios that is passed through him. He didn't need the relic such as the God of Sun's head, his self-production of light gives him enough energy to use it even if the moon is prominent due to the absence of the sun.

The Spartan Demi-god radiates enough sunlight to see where he is headed, and he is grateful enough that he has discovered yet another skill naturally. Matthaios roamed into the city of Olympia until he arrives at a dark and murky cavern that is left unfolded, or is it? That is what he is about to find out if he enters, and he was courageous enough to do it. The light coming from his body beamed into his path, following where the light emerges until he reaches the end of the cavern.

Inside the cavern, he was mesmerized by whom he saw sitting at the rock formations. On the surface, there was the gorgeous Goddess of Dawn herself. The Spartan Demi-god accidentally found the missing Goddess inside the caverns of Olympia, but he didn't want to help her in the first place. A weakened Eos could barely move due to the lack of sunlight brought by the death of her brother Helios courtesy of the Ghost of Sparta, not to mention the curse that Aphrodite cast on her.

"Eos." Matthaios discards the Blades of Athena to his back.

"I'm guessing... You are the son of the Ghost of Sparta and the Goddess of Love." She began acting desirably to impress the young Spartan Demi-god.

"Damn right, I am... What madness has fallen upon you?" He doesn't have a clue that Eos was reviled by his mother Aphrodite.

"Save me, Spartan. Save me..." Her voice could be barely heard due to how weak it is.

This is where Matthaios has to decide again if he is going to utilize his wisdom or let his rage manage him, his eyes shone red for a short period before making his final decision. She is one harmless Goddess because of her diminished state, and the Demi-god dropped his guard down and decides to spare Eos believing that she would also guide him. He stepped into the platform where she is sitting, standing in front of the stunning but vulnerable Goddess of Dawn.

To be continued...