THEOS

When Luke finally returned to where he had left the others, with Ella in tow, the sight that greeted him wasn’t one he expected.

Battle scars littered the ground and his companions were nowhere to be found within the vicinity. Just charred and smoking trees and puddles of water scattered on the ground.

“I think your friends went home.” Ella said flatly.

Well, the Seed probably would have told me if the quest had failed, so… They should still be around. Luke thought, trying to keep himself optimistic. Or atleast Spiros made it through whatever this was.

The evidence didn’t support that theory however.

Considering that both Spiros and Theseus were drained of mana when he had left them, and the fact that they would have only recovered fractions of their reserves in the brief two hours he was gone, them putting up and winning a fight seemed unlikely.

Arya may have had a chance, since she was still relatively fresh. That didn't explain why they had left. Or at the very least, left a message.

Or did they? Perking up at the possibility, he raked his eyes across the clearing in search of clues.

I did take the scrolls when I left, which means that they would have wanted me to find them. If they thought that far ahead.

“Does this mean I can have a scroll then?” Ella asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Luke closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and reached for his white scroll. Ella’s eyes lit up in joy, and eagerly like the child she was, she raced towards him with outstretched hands.

“Wait. I have one condition.” Luke said, pulling it away.

She pouted.

“If you see a guy who looks like me, or a guy and a girl dressed like me–”

“We’re splitting up? She interrupted him.

“... yeah.” Luke blinked.

“Why? I thought we made a good team.”

“We can still be a team, but I need to look for my friends.”

“Why?”

“Why do you ask so many questions?” Luke asked tiredly.

“Well, this is a competition, and it's pretty obvious they got eliminated. Just find another white scroll, and we can move onto the next stage together. I can even help you fight if someone comes for one of ours.”

“And give you another black one?” Luke grinned at her.

“Well… you do have three.” She said, her eyes greedily drinking in the sight of his three remaining black scrolls.

“I gave you the white one, so that when we separate, my scrolls will show me to the nearest white one. That’s how I intend on finding other people.”

“I thought you gave it to me to avoid a fight.”

“No.” Luke denied immediately. It wasn’t entirely a lie either. The truth was, that he was pretty close to empty, but if push came to shove, he was confident that he could win. That said, he wasn’t sure he would survive whoever came after her, and he wasn’t going to delude himself by thinking that someone wouldn’t.

“But you don’t need to give me a scroll for that. People would have come for you regardless. Why go looking?”

“You have a point.” Luke admitted. “People will come for me, but that doesn’t make being a sitting duck a good position to be in. Anyone can pinpoint where you are, and attack you in all sorts of ways. They have all the leverage, while I’ll just constantly be looking over my shoulder. I would rather be the hunter than the hunted.”

“If you say so.” She shrugged.

“I do.” Luke sighed, running his hands through his air. “Can you do me a favor and see if you can find any clues about my friends.”

“Fine, but I doubt we will.” She muttered.

The two split up, with Luke looking east, and his newly made friend searching the other way.

He didn’t expect to find anything, but he couldn’t shake the sense that there was more going on here than he realized.

Luke had taken both of their scrolls when he left and both of the attackers had chased after him like he had anticipated.

Unless there were three people hiding out, but then why attack them at all. Without any scrolls, picking a fight isn’t worth the hassle. This place is big enough that finding people without a scroll is a pain too, and there aren't many rabicorns in the area. Probably because of the hydra, but… still.

If it wasn’t a cultivator, then what? Some kind of monster? He frowned.

That was a possibility. Other cultivators were only a part of the challenge. Except there weren’t any signs of a creature. No footsteps in the ground, no scales or severed claws, not even splatters of blood.

Did Theseus betray them? He didn’t seem the type, but it's not like I knew him all that well either.

Frowning, he stepped back into the clearing. He wasn’t a detective, but he had been in enough fights that he could piece the major beats of one based on the evidence that was left.

The whole clearing was destroyed. But everywhere there was a puddle, there was also the tell tale scorch marks of flame, and vice versa.

If they had fought, then the battle scars would have been separated more. Both Spiros and Theuses have long range options. And frankly, now that I think about it, Arya would have had her dagger planted in Theseus the moment he showed any signs of aggression.

I know our techniques. Even without it constantly active, the truth underlying it is so ingrained that I can see someone gearing up for battle. Both Spiros and Arya should be able to pick up the signs pretty quick.

Not to mention that Theseus was one good hit away from being sent home. He wouldn’t risk it.

“Luke, over here!” Elle yelled from within the forest.

Racing towards her, Luke found her hunched over a message written in ice, reading:

We’ll be back.

T.

“Looks like you were right. Your friends are still in the tournament.”

“Yeah, but why would they leave?” Luke frowned.

“I don’t know, they’re your friends.”

I don’t like this, but I guess there isn’t much I can do about it either.

“Alright, I guess I’m staying then.” Luke sighed, even as he thought about his next steps.

Being forced to stay in one place was practically a death sentence when he was carrying something that could be tracked by the exact people who wanted it most, but maybe he was just looking at this the wrong way.

There wasn’t a rule saying that he actually had to hold onto the scrolls.

Walking back to the clearing, he looked around. His ambush in the cave had been remarkably successful, and while this particular location wasn’t suited to the exact same tactic, it didn't mean that he couldn’t do something like it.

The scrolls he was carrying were after all, not only a great target but amazing bait. If used right.

He walked around the clearing, until he found a spot that was both protected, and overlooked the clearing in the branches of a particularly leafy tree.

Then about fifty feet away from it, in a puddle of water right next to a particularly scorched bit of ground, he he buried his sword in a thin layer of dirt, and dropped his scrolls over top.

A little clumsy, but whoever sees this will think two people fought, and both eliminated each other. Hopefully.

“Alright, we have two options here. One, you can take the scroll I gave you and leave. Preferably far away. Two, you put the scroll on the ground with mine, and find a spot to hide with me. With this many scrolls, we’ll have people coming after them in no time, and we can ambush them.”

“Why not just give me a black scroll too, and I’ll be on my way?” She said, eyeing the black scrolls on the ground with greed. Her hand gripping her platinum blade with a white knuckled grip.

Alright.

With a flex of his will, Luke’s sword ripped out of the ground and with force greater than was strictly needed slapped into his hand.

“Listen, I didn’t want to fight you. I just killed a hydra, fought a child of Poseidon, and then sent two people home. One of which was the lady with the vines that stole a scroll from you in the first place. There are people in this tournament that can give me a challenge, but frankly speaking, I don’t think you’re one of them. Please don’t mistake me rationing my remaining mana for an admission of weakness. It's only the fact that you asked nicely and didn’t attack me, that has stopped me from fighting you. I think it would be in both of our best interests, if you didn’t push me. I’ve already given you a scroll, because with this many black ones, I’ll be attracting white scrolls all day long. It’s only a temporary loss. I won’t have you taking advantage of me though.”

Ella’s wings extended out from her body, and fluttered nervously, even as her face settled into a mask of neutrality.

The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, before she nodded, and with a graceful flick of her wrist, tossed the scroll Luke had given her into the bunch.

“Glad to have you on board,” Luke grinned. Then using his sword as a shovel, once again set the trap.

Once it was done, the two of them perched on the pre-selected tree, and waited.

“So, tell me about yourself.” He asked after a while.

“Mmm. There's not much to know. I grew up in Iliad. It’s mom’s Holy Kingdom, so it's pretty boring. I just spend most of my time with tutors trying to learn different techniques, and stuff.”

“You’re mom… Is she a god?” Luke asked.

Please don’t be Arke. Please don’t be Arke. Please don’t be Arke,

“Mhm.”

“Is her name Arke?”

Ella’s eyebrows suddenly shot up and she frowned at Luke. “No. Arke is my mom’s sister… and she’s not a god either. Have you met her?”

Well, she’s hunting for a treasure bonded to my soul, and one time she tried to crush me to death until Zeus himself intervened. But there’s no real need to tell Ella that.

“She’s not a god?”

“She’s close, but no. I’m surprised you know about her, but not what she’s most famous for.”

“Well I know some stuff. And she was kind of terrorizing the place where I’m from for a bit, until Lord Zeus came and took her away. Not a lot of people like her do they?”

“No.” She shook her head. “They do not.”

“So what’s she famous for?”

“She’s something called a Paragon. It’s this thing where you have to ascend past each level perfectly, but–”

“She’s stuck.” Luke finished.

Ella nodded. “For a long time.”

Well, I guess that explains some stuff. I always thought since she managed to beat Aeolus that she was a god, but then if she was, she wouldn’t need the God Seed would she?

Not that something like that isn’t valuable on its own merits.

“Have you seen her lately?”

“I’ve never seen her.”

“Oh. So who’s your mom then?”

“Iris.”

“Oh.” He said, carefully keeping the relief out of his voice.

That sounds familiar. Goddess of rainbows… I think?

“What’s it like? Having a god as a parent?”

She shrugged. “I don’t really know. She’s so busy that I haven’t seen her since I was three.”

“Oh.” Luke stayed silent for a moment. Talking to people had never been one of his strong points. Talking about heavy subjects with kids he didn’t know that well, even more so.

What do I even say to a girl that hasn’t met her mother since she was three?

“I’m… I’m sorry to hear that… I didn’t know gods could be busy. I just kind of assumed that most of them would do what they want.”

“My tutors said it’s her turn to fight in the Abyss. She’ll be free for a few thousand years after that and be able to spend her time with me. Assuming I don’t die of old age before that happens. Honestly, even if I am alive… It's been so long since I met her, and it will be even longer until I do, that I don’t even think that matters to me anymore… Does that make me a bad person?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“No.” Luke shook his head. He wanted to ask about the Abyss and ask her a thousand more questions about Arke. It was even part of the reason he had let her tag along with him in the first place. Instead, he awkwardly patted her on the back between her wings. “It doesn’t.”

Ella curled into herself.

“Have you ever had circular doughy bread with tomato sauce and cheese on it?” Luke asked and his storage ring flashed, and a pizza box appeared in his hands. One made by the best chefs in Cyzicus’s castles. He grinned slightly when she shook her head no.

“Oh, you’re going to love it.” He said, ripping a preservation charm off the food and took a deep breathful of its distinctive and delicious smell. It wasn’t quite as fresh as some of the pizza he had squirreled away in his inventory, but it would do for now.

Before either of them could take a single bite though, a figure flew into the clearing.