A loud clap resounded through the spacious empty hall. Perseus' head was turned away, his left cheek a shade of red, a drop of blood trickling from his mouth. He closed his eyes and lowered his head to the one who had just slapped him. There was no need to punish him in any way, however Atropos still felt like slapping him the moment they returned.
"Perseus…" she spoke, her voice tinged with anger. "You of all people should know better than to interrupt me in that situation."
"My apologies, lady Atropos." He said, lowering his head even further. "I only did it out of concern for your well being, as well as the success of our mission."
"I already know that. I simply am angry at you for coming between me and my sister."
Turning around, the young woman walked away in slow steps. She tried to not allow it to show on her, however everyone present was able to tell how exhausted she was.
The battle against the aliens had taken a great toll on them. They had to abandon one of their ships and they lost one of their warriors. Their leader had to overuse her ability as well, going so far as to bring out her obsidian armor. That went to show how their new opponents are not to be taken lightly.
Despite being from a lower realm, one of them has already reached Gamma Rank in her control of the 23rd halo. If not for Atropos' ability the battle would've had a completely different outcome.
Perseus remembered the rampaging giant they saw when they infiltrated the other world. Something told him that things could've been much worse.
"Milady…" he spoke with a bit of hesitation. "Should we request backup?"
"No." Atropos replied, having expected such a question from him. "I don't want anyone else interfering."
"... Understood."
At the far end of the vast hall was a throne behind which a door was hidden. That door seemed to lead to the quarters of the person who used to rule over this castle. Atropos had taken residence there, claiming it for herself as the new master of the palace.
"Fate had always been a mystery, even to us." She said. "Lachesis being here means the artifact isn't that far away. Once she reveals its location or goes to reclaim it, I will be the one to take care of her."
"Milady." Perseus called before she opened the door.
"What?"
"We have already confirmed that Lady Lachesis is in this world." He said. "We also managed to destroy the portal they used to arrive here. Should we prepare to resume the ritual?"
"Right…" pausing for a moment, Atropos stared at the floor before adding. "You can go ahead and do it. We wasted enough time as is, I don't want the crazy old man to send anyone to check on our progress."
Once the long raven hair disappeared behind the metallic door, Perseus finally allowed himself to relax. He held a hand to his aching cheek then wiped the blood leaking from his mouth. He then turned to face the other Olympians who have been watching in silence the whole time.
"What are you waiting for?" He said, his lips curving up a little. "You already heard her. Let the Summoning begin."
A few hours later, the crimson pillar built above the Nephilim castle began radiating an ominous glow. The runes surrounding it started moving, and new ones came into existence one after the other. Soon after, the entire globe was enveloped in a translucent crimson sphere.
The entire planet was painted in a faint red hue, and anyone who laid their eyes on it would come to the conclusion that the end is near.
As he gazed at the sky with a somber expression, Sam could only wonder what the Olympians were planning with such a large scale operation. He knew one thing for sure and that's that they have to put an end to it before it's too late. Unfortunately they didn't have the leeway to make any mistakes and thus he was forced to tread carefully from now on.
He had moved back to the Sanctuary with all of his Valkyries to prepare for the monster attack Ramla had foreseen in her visions. It was clear that the red sky was the signal they have been waiting for, and as if to confirm their predictions, the shadows all over the world began to flicker, rising and taking a tangible form defying all science and logic.
~[]~
"So… it's finally starting…" Ramla said with labored breaths.
"Yeah…"
Sam couldn't help but grimace as he looked at her. Somehow she seemed much older than the last time he saw her. Life seemed to be seeping away from her body and she could no longer open her eyes.
Sam guessed that it was the effect of using her power. Each time she peeked into the future her time would accelerate taking away a few precious days from her.
She had told him that only five days remained from her life span. That was a day ago, and she had used her powers since making him doubt that she had more than a few hours left to live.
"Sorry for disappointing you…" Sam said, eying the old woman. "I should've known that the enemy would try to trap us here…"
The only reason she persisted so far was so she could ensure that her people survived. The plan was for Sam to take them to his world before this one came to an end, but with the Bifrost destroyed they were all trapped with nowhere to go.
"No no, it isn't your fault." Ramla replied with a wry smile. "I should be the one apologizing. Had I realized that the timeline has changed, maybe then I would've been able to warn you sooner."
"... Let's not think of what's already in the past." Sam said. "We still have a chance. If we do this properly, I'm sure everything will turn out just fine."
Though those words came out of his own mouth, Sam struggled to believe them. He was referring to the portal gate in the Nephilim palace. It was the only way out from this forsaken land, but getting there would be nothing short of impossible, especially with a few hundred thousand mundane humans tagging along.
Of course, if they manage to put a stop to the Olympians everything would become much easier. But all of it didn't matter for now. They first need to survive the incoming onslaught and the first wave was already upon them.
"By the way, what's this thing you have been working on?" Ramla asked. "I remember seeing it in the vision but… I never got to see what it does."
"Ah, this?" Sam said, lifting a small fist sized orb off the table. "It's just something I've been meaning to try. Hopefully it would help us in the upcoming battles."
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