59. ACHERON
Abloodcurdling scream jolted him awake. Sending his heart into panic and his body, falling back on years of training. He’d barely opened his eyes before he moved to shield Sofreya’s body with his. Ash whipped his head up with laser focus, surveying their surrounds.
An ear-shattering rumble shook the ground.
“Holy fucking shit.” Sofreya sprung awake.
“We need to move!” Ash shouted above the maelstrom.
Giant boulders were raining from the dark Tartarus sky. They were burning red hot. The smell of smoke was thick in the air. The last trial had begun. Earlier than expected. Today, they would be conquering Mount Gehenna.
Ash pulled Sophie up from the ground and ran. The only focus right now was to protect her.
Another bloodcurdling scream sounded. It was Nyx.
Pallas, Chronos and Nemy came barrelling toward them.
“It’s Nyxy. It’s not good, Ash,” Pallas panted.
Fuck. There was no medical evacuation for the last trial either.
Ash nodded. “You three”—he pointed to the three angels—“recon a path for us. Sofreya, you’re with me.” He wasn’t letting her out of his sight.
The three angels sprinted away toward Mount Gehenna.
Ash pulled Sofreya with him, running toward the sounds of Nyx’s pained cries.
Shit.
As they neared, flashbacks to his first trial where Deymos was crushed by a boulder edged into his vision. At least for Deymos it was just his legs. Nyx didn’t have that kind of privilege. A bolder had crushed their entire lower body and all he could see was their chest and arms.
Blood. So much blood.
Their cries of pain were haunting, hollowing. The vision of a visibly distraught Morpheus who held onto his lover’s hands left a sinking feeling in Ash’s chest.
“Stay with me, Nyxy, stay with me,” Morpheus repeated. His face was pale, all drained of colour. He was going into shock.
“Brother.” Ash placed a hand on Morpheus shoulder. “I need you to step back, and I need you to focus. We need to get this off them, okay? We need to keep moving. Can you do that?”
Morpheus swallowed hard and nodded. “I can do that. I can do that.” He was shaking.
Years of training, years of trials had made Ash numb to gruesome situations like this. His body was on full autopilot. Ash pursed his lips and did what he did best.
“Eros, Athena. As soon as this fucking thing budges, I need you to start healing. They’re losing blood and can’t afford to lose any more. Got it?”
“Roger.” Eros and Athena nodded, kneeling beside Nyx who was moving in and out of consciousness. Eros and Athena were the best healers in the Tienthan. If anyone could do it, it was them.
“Everyone else, we’re pushing this motherfucker off.”
The boulder was at least six metres in diameter, and the worst part? They would have to do it slowly, so that Eros and Athena could heal as they went. If they went too fast, Nyx would lose too much blood.
The angels, Sofreya included, stood on either side of the boulder, their arms outstretched.
“On my command. Prepare to push.” Ash paused. “Push!” he commanded.
They combined their powers to nudge the boulder.
Nyx screamed as the boulder inched off them. The sound was horrifying. Ash could hear the wetness of their blood, the crunching of bones.
Ash could see the glowing healing mana that left Eros’s and Athena’s hands. “Push!” he shouted again.
They repeated the motions until at last, Nyx was free. Morpheus was beside them immediately, placing his calming, sleeping power into their mind.
“Nyxy will be alright,” Eros stated.
“Ash!” Achlys shouted, pointing to the dark sky above.
A meteor shower of rocks was headed straight for them, glowing hot against the grey sky.
For Fates’ sake.
Sofreya moved suddenly, manifesting a stretcher from grass, vines and dirt. She packed it together wordlessly as Eros and Athena moved Nyx onto it.
“Deymos, Sofreya, move ahead. Clear the path for us. Get us to the others,” Ash commanded.
They moved.
The rest stayed behind to carry Nyx upon the stretcher.
They were running across the grassy clearing. Dodging. Ducking. Barrel rolling as piping-hot red rocks catapulted for them. Deymos and Sofreya worked together seamlessly to create a barrier around the group. Sofreya used a combination of her air mana and her demigoddess powers of creation to whip away rocks. Deymos used his shadows to deflect them.
They neared the base of Mount Gehenna.
Pallas came running to them. “Is Nyx alright?” he asked Ash.
Ash nodded. “They won’t be able to climb though.”
“No med evac?”
Ash shook his head.
“Shit.”
They pushed the stretcher up against a tree.
“Morpheus, stay behind with Nyx until they wake up. Athena, you’ll be their security.” Ash commanded. He turned to the rest of his crew. “We need to keep moving. Climb the mountain and—”
A monstrous scream, one that Ash had hoped he would never hear again, echoed through the entirety of Tartarus. The ground shook. The trees bent from the force of it.
It felt like thousands of tiny poisonous spiders had run down his spine.
Typhon.
Ash would remember that scream for the rest of his life. Typhon had come out on Ash’s very first Hrabrost Trial. The King of Mount Gehenna. A minotaur made of shadows and nightmares who stood thirty feet tall. At his beck and call, under his command, were the beasts of Mount Gehenna.
“Listen in!” Ash called out. Everyone rushed in closer, creating a half-moon shape around him. Ash grabbed a stick and crouched down on the ground, flattening the dirt in front of him with a swipe of his hand. “Situation. If you haven’t fucking figured it out, that was Typhon. It means we’re in for a shit fight.” He drew a circle in the dirt before him. “Mount Gehenna is a steep climb.” He drew three rings around the circle. “It is unknown what creatures have been released along with Typhon. All that is known, is that they will return to Mount Gehenna when Typhon does.”
Ash kept is voice calm and steady. “Mission.” He drew an X in the centre of the first big circle. “Return Typhon to the confines of Mount Gehenna, so we can all get out of this hellhole.”
Ash looked at all his comrades. His Starlight. Her face was screwed into focus and determination. Which made him want to get this trial over with, so he could take her home and hold her.
“Execution. There will be two phases. Phase one will begin when we step away from this admin area.” Ash pointed to the small pocket of forest they were currently standing in. “And it will end when we reach the opening of Mount Gehenna. Erebus, Pallas, Nemysis, Chronos.” He pointed at the four angels. “You are Team Alpha.” They nodded. “Deymos, Sofreya, Achlys, Eros, you’re Team Bravo.” Ash looked to Sofreya. To her credit, she didn’t look the least bit scared. She was raging. Ready.
“Team Alpha, you will head up the mountain first and secure a safe position before the opening of Mount Gehenna.” Ash drew a straight line running toward the X on the floor, stopping just a few centimetres before it. “You are to follow the commands of your team leader, Nemysis.” The angels of Team Alpha nodded.
“Team Bravo, you will follow Team Alpha at a distance and occupy the safe position once it is secured and provide security from the rear.” Ash drew another line, running parallel. “You are to follow the commands of your team leader, Deymos.” Angels of Team Bravo nodded. “I’ll be a few paces behind you all.” As the words left his mouth, he couldn’t help but look at Sofreya. Her eyes turned to worry. Ash didn’t want to be separated from Sofreya. Not in the slightest but he also had the Aerial Legion to command and manoeuvre through this last trial. Just for this trial, she was one of his soldiers.
“Morpheus, Athena, when Nyx wakes, you are to climb Mount Gehenna and find me. You will be under my command as Team Charlie,” Ash said. The two angels nodded. Morpheus looked less distraught as Athena pumped more healing magic into Nyx’s body.
“Phase two begins when we leave our secure position on top of Mount Gehenna. As a team, we will fight to secure and detain Typhon.” He highlighted the circle around the X again. “You will still be under the command of your team leaders. So keep your damned ears open. From there, we will combine our powers to reseal Mount Gehenna’s entrance. Phase two will be complete once we return to our secured position for a debrief.” Ash pointed at their secure position, just a few paces back from the entrance of the mountain.
“If you get lost, keep climbing that fucking mountain. If you get injured, keep climbing that fucking mountain. Whatever you do, do not stop. The mountain is mysterious and you will suffer a painful death if you stop for too long. Do you have any questions?” Ash scanned the group of angels. A day of rest had done them well. They would get through this trial as a team, hopefully with no casualties.
Everyone shook their heads. “Good. We leave in five minutes. Get some water in you. Who knows when we’ll be able to stop.” They all disbanded. Some turning around to their team leaders to discuss tactics, but not Sofreya.
Ash didn’t care about water or preparation. He all but ran to Sofreya and pulled her close. He kissed her deeply, needing to feel their two souls intertwine for a fleeting moment. After a whole minute of breathing her in, Ash let go.
“What was that for?” she asked breathlessly.
“Just in case.”
“Are you getting soppy on me?” She smiled mischievously.
“Only for you.”
She peered up at him. So small and precious he just wanted to squeeze her at all hours of the day, but her voice was filled with worry. “You won’t be far behind, will you?”
“I won’t be far. You might not see me, but I’ll be behind your team. Try not to cry, alright?” Ash teased, earning himself a hefty punch to the chest. Before she could pull away, he gripped her wrist and pulled her in closer. “I lov—”
Sofreya shut him up with a quick kiss. Her sweet breath dancing across his lips had that ability. “Why did that sound like the start of a goodbye?” She kissed him again. “We don’t do that anymore, you big idiot. It’s you and me until the sands of time claim us.”
And she was fucking right.