The Curious Case of Julius Andreas

"If you think only you modern men had a prophecy up their sleeves, then think again."

'I never thought about this possibility.' Adam thought to himself. Still, he won't easily believe this sudden declaration by the normal boy who was anything but ordinary. So, he shot a look at Melissa, and conveyed a silent message to her, which she instantly understood. 'Find out if he's telling the truth.'

Melissa can't read minds, although she has the power to know when a person lies just by a mere touch. So she did this to Tobias, and checked if what he just told them was true. She gasped a little, returned the look at Adam, and gave him the tiniest of nods. 'He's not lying.'

The tides have turned and Adam was now the one who got extremely curious about the prophecy that was known only to the Son of Time and his friends. 'Could it be? That there is another prophecy about the Son of Time aside from the one that the Dodona told us about?'

On the other hand, Julius hoped that Tobias said that only to keep them curious, because he doesn't want their enemies to know about the prophecy issued to him by Delphi. It's their trump card, and he doesn't want to give it away.

But Adam is adamant to know about it. He can't sit still after learning about its existence, yet not fully knowing what it talks about. If it's anything but helpful to their own mission, then the more he needs to know about it, so that they can prepare for countermeasures. How can force these guys to tell him about it?

His evil smile formed on his lips, and gave the commanding look at Melissa. 'Do it again.'

The next thing that happened was the loud screaming of Tobias from enduring Melissa's mental torture. "AAAAAHHH!"

"What is this prophecy that the boy was talking about, Julius Andreas?" It was a clear threat from the blondie.

Dammit! He's only given two options! And he didn't have any good choice either! Tobias really shouldn't have said that, for it only put him in more peril. He really should teach this kid the ways of modern cunning men, so that he'll know when to keep his mouth shut next time.

Next time – he's already thinking about it now, even though what's currently before him isn't settled yet. But if he thinks about the next time, he thinks it's a positive thought nonetheless, because it connotes the meaning that they are gonna get through this. In between screams of pain, Tobias shrieked, "DON'T SAY IT, JULIUS!"

'Perhaps the kid understands this too, all too well.' Julius thought. 'But seeing him like that doesn't help me make the obvious better choice. Dammit, dammit, dammit!'

"So, what will it be, Son of Time?" The blondie once again taunted him.

Julius clicked his tongue in annoyance, pissed at the fact that he's becoming lame again. His blood boiled in anger at the thought, and badly wanted to beat this stupid blondie to a pulp when he gets out of these binds and water prison. He noticed it before, during his fight with Cadmus, as if his body is taken over by some other force that was giving him the burst he needed in order to win a fight. Right now, it's as if he can measure the level of this 'snap' event, and he thinks that the 'bar' to this phenomenon is now at 85%. 'Just a little more….'

Speaking of the binders, shadowboy remained silent in the sides, watching his every move, and readying himself for the possible retaliation that he knew was coming. The guy who can summon the Cetus appeared to be interested now, also bracing himself for a fight that might ensue if the parties present won't come into a compromise.

Julius will have none of it – he's sick of feeling shit like this, and so he devised a trick that can possibly get him out of this freaking situation, one that possibly fool blondie and friends.

"Tell me who you are. Tell me who all of you are." He initiated his short-notice strategy.

"Ah, we haven't formally introduced each other yet, have we? Well, Julius, just call me Adam. I hold the power of Helios, the Omnipresent Sun." He said this in a very low tone, as if trying to initimidate Julius. But the guy knew better. He came face to face with four Guardians of Olympus already, a mere mortal or Sun-god wannabe doesn't scare him at all.

"And the rest of you?" He asked this to gain information about the rest of his troupe.

"That's Melissa, the Mythos of the Titaness Mnemosyne." He pointed to the girl who was torturing Tobias.

'Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory whose name I can barely remember', Julius now stuck this in his mind.

"You've met Isaac, he's not technically a Mythos, since the God whose power he manifests didn't exactly die."

'Could that shadowboy actually manifest the powers of Hades?' Regardless of whoever this Isaac personifies, he is a force to be reckoned with, and Julius knew he only won against him last time through sheer luck.

"Carl is Oceanus. That should be obvious to you by now."

'Thank Olympus, he isn't Poseidon.' He honestly thought that he holds the power of the Earthshaker. Not that Oceanus isn't a formidable enemy, it's just that Julius thinks it's better than having to go off against someone who holds the force of the great seas.

After a few moments of silence, Julius then asked, "How about a quid pro quo, Adam?"

[Quid pro quo – a term used for asking 'something for something']

Now this is a bargain that Adam was expecting from him. He knew that the Son of Time won't easily just give them the prophecy, and he knew that if he'll insist on knowing something, it will be about the prophecy of Dodona too. They are, after all, curious about each other's secrets.

Adam initially planned to tell Julius about the words by the Grove of Dodona, but upon knowing the existence of another prophecy relating to the one they currently have, that makes things a lot more complicated than it already is.

"But that's a curious thing to do, Son of Time." He responded, not pleased at his attempt to turn the tables at him. "I can easily just torture the hell out of your friend."

"I don't care about him." It pains Julius to say this, and he hopes that Tobias will understand why he's saying this.

"Oh?" Adam feigned in disbelief. He isn't convinced about the act of Julius.

"Don't you want to know about this curious case of Julius Andreas? It will be worth your while." Again, he bargained for answers. 'If I can just trick him to saying it fi –'

"And you're hoping that I'll tell it to you first? I would've told you about it long before already, without asking for anything in return. But now that you have something that I want, I can no longer give this information to you for free." Adam turned his back to him and paced around the room, fake scratching his chin as if he's contemplating something. "You know, if you want a piece of information that is this valuable, you have to pay the proper price."

'Damn you!' He wanna break out from this prison now, and strangle the guy, Ancient Greek style. 'Imma kick the hell outta you, and force you to tell me about that Dodona shit you're so obsessed about!'

Actually, while he was talking, he concentrated on breaking out from this place, by converging his magic in his core. This is only his theory, but if he is correct in his assumption, then he can use this skill to get himself out of this pitiful trap.

'If this'll work, you son of a bitch, I'm gonna give you a taste of your own medicine.' His hands are so hot now, and his chest feels so heavy, almost ready to unleash something terrible. 'I'm at 99%' He knows it – he just knows.

"No, Julius Andreas. You tell me about it first, not the other way around."

And then it happened. Julius couldn't hold it anymore and he snapped. A radiant burst of ominous purple light emanated from him, and the shadows at was holding him in midair dissolved, releasing him from his binds. Immediately after that, he conjured his gladius from his inventory, and sliced through the barrier of water that was enclosing him.

Finally out of the binds and prison, he transported himself close to Tobias, and pushed away Melissa who wasn't able to keep up with the series of ultra-fast movements by their prisoner just a second ago.

His curiosity about Dodona can wait for another time. His priority right now is to get outta here. He touched Tobias and as he was about to teleport away, he felt something tear through the flesh in his leg and he crumbled to the floor. He looked, and Adam was flailing his spear at him in dizzying movements that he had difficulty in dodging, given that Tobias was with him.

"Not so fast, Julius Andreas."