When I told Hephaestus that I needed to catch Hermes and asked whether he could build a trap for him, he first wanted to know why. Once he heard my plan, he proposed an artifact that could help me. However, he could only attune it to the mortal realm I needed someone who could realign its paths through different worlds.
Thus the compass was born. A marvel for its time.
The thought of where I might find the missing piece struck me suddenly. In Athens, there were scholars astronomers who studied not only the stars, but the hidden routes linking the worlds. Until I saw it with my own eyes, I hadn't believed them. The Earth looked entirely different from how I had imagined.
In the dawn of time, when neither time nor space existed, there were only the primordial gods and the void. A great war erupted between them a battle that tore the cosmos apart. Their dead bodies became the cradle of new universes. Millennia later, from their remains, the Titans awakened and from the Titans, our world took shape.
Thus Earth was born. Over thousands of years, the soil formed, nature came to life, and at last, the first humans emerged. When the gods came and overthrew the Titans, human civilization began along with Greece itself.
If I recall all the maps I've seen, Greece was always at the center. Around it, only darkness and the unknown. But that does not mean nothing lies beyond. There are paths to other realms: Egypt, the Northlands, and beyond. These worlds were born from the same cosmic beginning, but each followed a different path.
Hecate the goddess of crossroads, gates, and mysteries resides in the In-Between. The compass can guide me to her, if I can attune it to the coordinates of other realities.
Hephaestus's island was barren only stone and sky. And yet, despite its harshness, craftsmen from all over Hellas came here, seeking the god's blessing and perfection in their craft. Living here was nearly impossible. Every time Hephaestus forged new divine weapons, the volcano would awaken, spewing lava that consumed nearly the entire island. Only a small patch of land, protected by the god himself, remained untouched. There stood a settlement of artisans.
Merchants especially loved visiting Lemnos you could purchase magnificent creations from the locals for next to nothing. On the island, I found a ship, whose captain agreed to take me to Athens. The journey was brief, and soon, the city stood before me… but something was wrong.
The sky looked strange, and a heavy, withering atmosphere hung over the city.
"What happened here?" I asked a merchant as the ship neared the docks.
"You don't know?" he replied, his voice edged with fear. "The plague has begun."
The plague?
Was it the same one that nearly took Kratos's daughter? Another bloody game of the gods… They delight in watching mortals fight against the impossible. Human lives are dust in the wind to them. I won't let thousands perish for Olympus's amusement.
I thought of ambrosia the fabled remedy that could cure any illness. But where was it? I couldn't remember. Fragments of my past life blurred and faded. I barely remembered anything at all.
"Vengeance or life," I whispered to myself.
I knew I was approaching a threshold. The choice I would make would define who I became in the end: a protector, or an avenger.
Every story is unique because you can't turn back time and change everything.
Kratos already had a family, and he was only twenty-two. I thought I had time that there was still a future ahead. But as it turned out, I had none. I needed to return to Sparta. But would I make it back? Timarchos had promised to investigate. Perhaps he already knew who was behind this… perhaps he had found some clue.
I asked when the plague had started symptoms had appeared just three days ago. I still had some time, but the disease was spreading with terrifying speed.
I spent nearly two weeks with Hephaestus, learning the secrets of his craft.
This illness… it is no ordinary disease. Hades himself must have released it. At first glance, he seems neither good nor evil but that is where the true horror lies. With chilling ease, he seals the fate of thousands. This plague could wipe out entire cities within weeks. No war would claim as many lives as this.
The ship docked in the port, and I barely recognized Athens. Things had gotten worse. The sick lay in the streets, coughing and delirious, abandoned to fate. Those who were still healthy hid in their homes, afraid to step outside. Figures in white robes and simple masks moved silently through the streets, examining the dying.
Death and despair clung to the air like poison.
Looking at the people dying in the streets, I buried my thirst for vengeance deep inside. For now, a greater purpose called.
"Damocles!" a familiar voice cried out. "I knew you hadn't perished!"
It was Diogenes. He approached in long strides, as if the world's misery didn't touch him at all. Gods damn it, the old man didn't even seem to notice the plague.
"You're not afraid of getting infected?" I asked.
"If I fall ill then it is the will of fate. And if I don't I'll go on living," he replied with a slight grin. "Besides, I'm strong as a bull. Still young," he added, proudly lifting his gray head.
"Tell me, Diogenes. The wisest minds in all of Greece live in Athens. Have any of you found even the slightest solution?"
The smile vanished from his face. He sighed heavily and shook his head.
"No. We don't understand what we're facing. The disease resists both treatment and reason. The healers are powerless, and no potion seems to help. The priests, even when blessing the sick, can only ease their suffering for a short while."
I understood then my suspicion was confirmed. This was no virus, no poison, no natural contagion. It was a divine curse, and only a chosen few could hope to cure it.
Of course, I could go to Hades and kill him. Perhaps I even had the strength to do so. But what then? The souls of the dead would cease their passage to the Underworld. They would flood the Earth, and in place of the plague, there would rise an army of the dead. Hades' death was no solution.
"I know of a cure that might help," I said.
"Truly?" Diogenes perked up, his eyes wide. "What is it?"
"Ambrosia," I answered.
In that moment, memories flared in my mind. The Garden of the Hesperides its fruits, said to grant immortality. But that is only one side of their nature. The truth lies in the essence of the fruit: an immense concentration of life itself.
I remembered Hades' words: "The root can nourish the land for millennia." If I cut it down… could I doom the world?
Perhaps I had been a pawn all along. Maybe that was why he spared me to forge me into a tool for his game. It was all too intricate. Too precise. And only now, as the plague consumed the city, did I begin to understand the monstrous depth of the scheme.
"A substance that grants immortality… and can cure any illness…" Diogenes murmured, stroking his beard. "It… it might work. We must find it. At once."
He didn't waste a second. Without hesitation, he headed toward the Academy. I followed him, knowing full well: If my mind had still been clouded by hatred, I would've agreed without question.