The storm around the island had faded.
The clouds were pulling back. The wind had cald. The sea no longer roared like it wanted to kill everything in sight.
But inside ?
I felt worse than any storm.
You ever have one of those monts where it feels like things might finally be okay? Where after all the crap life throws at you, you get a glimpse—just a small one—of sothing good?
That's what it had been. Until everything shattered.
I wasn't like so movie hero. I didn't scream or cry in slow motion. I just stood there, staring at Pham's body, while sothing deep inside twisted and broke. I wanted to say sothing—anything—but my mouth felt sewn shut.
The last few weeks ran through my head like a cruel joke.
All those days building the boat together. The stupid jokes. The weird als. The long talks under the stars.
"Why are you tying the rope like that?" Pham asked once, watching fumble with a knot.
"I saw it in a survival show once," I said, tongue sticking out as I concentrated. "The guy made it look easy."
"It doesn't look easy."
"Shut up."
He laughed, the kind of loud, goofy laugh you couldn't fake if you tried. "You're lucky I'm strong enough to hold this thing steady. Otherwise, we'd both be swimming."
"I thought you liked swimming?"
"I like not drowning more."
We both laughed then. I didn't even realize I'd let my guard down around him that much. It felt good.
I blinked, and I was back in the present. The sll of blood replaced the scent of salt and wood. His body hadn't moved. Not a twitch.
I crouched beside him, my hand resting lightly on his arm. It was still warm. That hit harder than I thought. Like his body hadn't figured out he was dead yet.
"You idiot," I whispered. "You were supposed to see the world."
His face was calm. That sa dumb smile still on his lips. Even when Poseidon's trident had torn through him, he hadn't scread. He just smiled at and said thank you.
That was it.
A goodbye disguised as kindness.
I looked at the wreck of the boat we had built together. Pieces of it scattered across the beach, shattered and soaked in blood. Just like our plans.
Sothing tightened in my chest.
I wasn't reacting the way most people probably would. When I died back in my old world, I didn't feel much either. No panic. No terror. Just a little regret. A little sadness. But mostly emptiness.
That had been my life, anyway. Empty. Numb.
I kept my head down. Took what ca. Never pushed back. Even when people treated like crap, I just swallowed it and kept moving.
I guess I got used to it.
But then I t Pham.
And sothing changed.
His dumb jokes. His excitent over the smallest things. His weird obsession with naming sheep. He made things feel real again. I didn't even notice how much I started to laugh. How much I started to care. For the first ti in… I don't even know how long, I didn't feel alone.
He gave sothing I didn't think I deserved—friendship.
And I let him die.
Because I was too weak. Too slow.
Too late.
So, life has decided show yet again, good things never last long.
My rational side evaporated, and rage was all I felt.
And when rationality leaves, people do crazy things.
***
Poseidon stood tall, his sea-blue eyes glinting with disdain as he stared down at us—at the lifeless form of Polyphemus, still shielding my broken body.
"What a useless waste," he muttered, voice cold and final. "I don't need such a useless and pathetic son."
That was it.
That was the mont sothing inside snapped.
The grief didn't leave—it hardened. Crystallized into sothing I didn't know anything about.
My tears dried not because I was at peace, but because my soul had ignited. The hole in my chest where sorrow had lived was now a furnace. I felt my body burning up, as if my veins were on fire. But I ignored it.
I looked up at the self-proclaid god who murdered his own son, for a simple and ridiculous reason, and all I felt was rage—pure, unfiltered, world-scorching rage.
I pushed myself up, broken ribs screaming in protest, body trembling under the weight of it all—but I didn't care. I stood tall. I faced Poseidon as I felt a burning sensation in my eyes.
He looked mildly annoyed, like my defiance was a fly buzzing in his ear.
But I wasn't a fly.
I was becoming sothing else now. Sothing beyond a human.
"You are no god," I said, my voice low but burning. "You're not even worthy of being called an animal. Polyphemus was more human than you'll ever be. A thousand tis more. And you murdered him just because he dared to live."
Poseidon's lip curled. "You dare speak to that way, insect? Don't you realize your situation right now? With a single blow, you will beco dust."
"You disgusting excuse of a father," I spat out the blood that gathered in my mouth. "Even if it kills , I will kill you."
The air itself seed to recoil.
Poseidon's eyes widened, then narrowed into fury. The sea roared behind him as he raised his arm. "So, you have chosen death. I was considering, for my son's sake, to spare you if you groveled at my feet—but now, you'll beg for rcy before I erase you."
He wrenched his trident from Pham's body—his own son's body—and with a thunderous growl, hurled it straight at . It looked like everything was moving in slow motion as the world around fell silent sohow.
I didn't move.
I didn't flinch.
"Gods. Demons. Monsters. Humans." My voice echoed with cold fury as I clenched my fists. "It doesn't matter who or what you are. If you hurt those I care about…"
I gritted my teeth.
"…I will kill you. I'll kill you all. I shall tear down your lofty thrones, and drag you to the depths of hell. I'll erase your very existence until there's nothing left."
The trident ca closer. Ti slowed. The world blurred into silence and motion. Yet I stood tall, facing my death head on, my eyes still locked on Poseidon.
And then—
A voice resounded in my head. Deep. Mocking. Proud.
"Very well, mongrel… You have gained this King's interest. You are worthy to bear witness of my glory."
It wasn't mine.
But it was within .
It echoed through my bones, my soul, my blood. Poseidon froze mid-motion, his expression shifting from rage to… unease. And then—shock.
"Your eyes… They're..... red… No—are you also of divine blood! What are you?"
I raised my hand.
And caught the trident mid-air as I closed my eyes.
The impact should've torn my arm clean off. But instead, it shuddered in my grip and fell silent—like it had just been grabbed by sothing greater than the sea.
My eyes closed. Yet I could see.
Not the beach. Not Poseidon.
But sothing older. Deeper
Golden palaces under blood-red skies.
A throne that sat above all. A man adorned in gold, with crimson eyes like mine. His arrogance was suffocating, his presence overwhelming—but behind the sneer was a sadness so deep, it hurts to even imagine.
I saw him in war—raining spears of light from the heavens upon gods and monsters alike.
I saw him on the battlefield—undaunted, proud, untouchable.
Yet, I also saw him kneel beside a dying friend—clutching the broken body in trembling arms. A single tear fell down the cheek of the so-called King of Heroes.
The helpless laughter and acceptance, after a snake took away his chance of immortality.
He had everything… and yet nothing.
And for the first ti—I understood.
Humans at our core, we aren't so different.
And then, like muscle mory, the words slipped from my mouth:
"Equip… Archer."
A golden light exploded from within , blinding and divine. Poseidon shielded his eyes as the world was engulfed in a brilliant golden light.
My torn clothes vanished. In their place, radiant golden armor assembled piece by piece, gleaming with regal authority. A long crimson cape unfurled behind like war's own banner, flapping in the windless air.
My reflection in the ocean's edge showed strands of my wet black hair turning gold, glowing faintly in the storm's aftermath. My eyes… they weren't mine anymore.
They were the King's. Crimson. Burning. Tiless.
Poseidon staggered back, the sea trembling beneath his feet. "That… that armor… No! That power belongs to—!"
I cut him off.
Not with actions. But with a whisper.
"Open—Gate of Babylon."
The sky behind cracked. No, it rippled. Like reality itself had bent, kneeling to power beyond comprehension.
One by one, golden portals blood into existence, humming with unnatural energy. Tens at first, then hundreds, then thousands.
From each portal, ancient weapons hovered—swords, spears, bows, axes, hamrs, chains—all legendary, all divine, all pointed at the god of the ocean. The black sky was now shining golden, as if the sun had risen again.
Poseidon's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible… it can't be. You are not him. He is dead… that monster who killed his own gods…"
I stepped forward, every step echoing like the march of judgnt.
"Maybe I'm not him, maybe all of this makes no sense." I said, voice deeper now, laced with sothing not quite human. "But right now?"
I raised my hand emotionlessly.
Hundreds of blades locked into his position from behind , trembling with barely restrained destruction.
"I am his wrath."
Poseidon shook his head, trying to focus. Then he scoffed, " Even if you are him, I am POSEIDON! " His grip on his Trident strengthened as he stared down at .
He didn't know how close he was standing to his death.
****
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