Grove of heaven - chapter 19
It did not take long.
Where Arthur would have searched for weeks, Abyss already knew. The Iraclis were not strangers to him-he had felt their breaths in the wind before, their whispers caught in the air currents, their pain echoing across the night. He had spared them once, refusing to reveal them to the gods.
Arthur hated that.
"You knew," Arthur muttered, his fists tightening as they approached the hidden city. "You knew this whole time, and you didn't tell Olympus?"
Abyss did not stop walking. His eyes glinted coldly as the wind stirred around his shoulders.
"The gods are as corrupted-if not worse-than those they condemn. Take Garon, for example. More divine than either of us, and yet nothing but a slave master."
The words hit harder than a blade. Arthur faltered, his protest caught in his throat. Abyss's tone had cut him off more effectively than any argument could.
Inside the Iraclis society, panic had already begun. Garon had felt the coming storm.
He rose from his throne of chained bodies, his form rippling with shadow. His eyes narrowed, and with a lazy flick of his wrist, his body dissolved into strands of rope. But before he vanished, his voice slithered through the hall:
"The enemy comes. Whoever can save themselves, do so. The rest-meet me at my grove."
Then he was gone.
The doors exploded open.
Abyss and Arthur stepped into chaos. The Iraclis scattered like frightened animals. Those too weak or too slow froze, cursing their fate. But neither Abyss nor Arthur delivered death.
Wind howled through the chamber as Abyss leapt skyward, his hand carving through the air. A vortex tore the Iraclis from their hiding places, dragging them all into one place like leaves in a storm. Arthur raised his hand, pure light surging from his palm, purifying the corruption that weighed on their souls.
Abyss's gaze cut through them, sharp and merciless. "Foolish of your kind," he said, voice carrying like thunder, "to follow the very hand that cursed you."
And then, without waiting for gratitude, without explaining further, Abyss turned his back. Arthur followed, still shaken.
They walked beneath the evening sky, the wind cold against their skin. Arthur broke the silence first, his jaw tight. "You... I can't stand you. Everything about you. You slight, you sneer, you think you stand above us all-"
Abyss didn't even glance at him. His eyes were fixed on the stars. "Your love or hatred means nothing to me. You mean nothing. But if I decide to hate you..."
Arthur's steps slowed. "What?"
Abyss's lips curved into something darker than a smile. "Then it's game over."
Arthur frowned. "When did you start using words like that? 'Game over'? And how would it be game over for me?"
Abyss finally turned, eyes flat as the void. "I'd simply explode your organs from the inside."
The silence that followed was heavier than any scream. Arthur shivered. He knew Abyss wasn't bluffing.
With no leads left, they sought Athena. If anyone could track Garon's schemes, it was her
The Grove of Heaven pulsed with a sickly beauty. Garon sat upon his throne, smug as ever, when the cliff above erupted in fury.
Derek launched himself downward, blade glinting with dark light, his roar shattering the stillness.
But Garon only lifted a finger.
Chains burst from the earth, rattling like a thousand screams. They caught Derek mid-strike, wrapping around his arms and legs, halting his attack just inches from the god's throat.
The first Iraclis howled, thrashing against the binds. "You follow this bastard?!" he shouted, voice raw enough to shake the air. "Can't you hear them-the millions buried beneath the surface, crying for freedom?!"
Corruption surged from his body in waves, dark fire crackling across his skin as he forced one hand free, slashing downward with a roar. His blade finally bit flesh-
-but it wasn't Garon who bled.
Maron.
The traitor stepped forward at the last second, catching the strike with his own body, his expression blank as if the pain meant nothing. With a cruel twist, he drove his own power forward, forcing Derek back and binding him against a tree with living chains.
The bark groaned. Roots twisted hungrily around Derek's limbs.
Garon chuckled, cruel and deliberate. "Wait a while," he said softly. "The tree will devour you, just as it did the others before you."
Derek snarled, straining as the roots dug deeper. "Cowards... every one of you..."
Meanwhile.
At the sanctuary of wisdom, tension hummed like a drawn bowstring. Athena stood tall, her eyes sharp as silver blades. Abyss met her gaze without flinching, though the old unease stirred inside him.
He remembered being her pupil. He remembered obeying without question. But after Medusa-after hearing the truth of the innocents cursed in Athena's name-obedience curdled into defiance.
Now they faced each other as equals. Almost.
"You'll find him in his grove," Athena said finally, her tone clipped. "But hear me, Abyss. Do not kill Garon. His punishment must be... measured."
Abyss's expression didn't shift. His voice was colder than the winds swirling at his fingertips.
"If I catch him, I'll kill him."
The silence cracked between them.
Before Arthur could react, Abyss seized his wrist. "Tell me, Arthur. Have you ever felt what it means to exist... without existing?"
Arthur blinked. "What-?"
The world vanished.
His body thinned, unraveling into pure wind. So did Abyss. Together they streaked across the skies, faster than lightning, silent as ghosts.
When Arthur reformed, his knees buckled. He collapsed against the dirt and vomited, the air itself still buzzing inside his chest.
Ahead, the Grove of Heaven spread across the horizon, impossibly lush, disturbingly radiant.
And somewhere within, chains rattled.
As always, Garon slipped away. The air tore open in chains of light, and with a mocking smile he vanished, carrying with him only those he deemed "worthy."
Abyss appeared in the ruin he left behind, his winds slashing through the roots and chains until Derek collapsed free.
For a moment, the grove was silent. Then Derek looked around-and froze.
Every flower swaying in the garden pulsed faintly. Faces shimmered within the petals, eyes closed in eternal sleep. Each blossom was a soul, bound and devoured.
Derek's voice cracked, his earlier fury turning hollow. "I told you... every cry beneath the surface. Every scream... he's buried them here. He's the devil himself."
Abyss clenched his fists, the air trembling around him. He didn't answer. He didn't need to.
Far away, in the heart of his stolen kingdom, Garon sat upon his throne-
a monstrosity of gold and bones, dripping with wealth stolen from countless worlds. His eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction, lips curling into a smile that was nothing but hunger.
The devil lived. And he was winning but for long once abyss reach their it would be a groove of ashes.