Orion sat on a stone bench in stunned silence, his thoughts spiralling like the stars Nyx claimed he was tied to. The chamber was quiet now. Only the gentle flicker of the purple torches filled the void, but even their warmth felt far away.
His fingers gripped the edges of the seat, white-knuckled. "I don't get it," He said finally in a low voice. "How am I connected to all this? Why me? I'm just-"
Nyx, still half cloaked in shadows, raised a hand gently. "You not 'Just', anything, Orion. I don't know why you were chosen. I don't know when- or if- you'll waken any divine power."
Orion met her gaze. "Then what do you know?"
Nyx sighed and stepped closer. Her eyes were deep voids. "I know this: when the time comes, your closest ally will be the stars."
"The stars?" Orion echoed, confused. "What does that even mean?"
She smiled faintly. "Figure it out. That's your first test."
Orion fell silent again, trying to process the weight of everything he'd just learned. The Prophecy. The Forbidden Acednants. Himself being the fourth. It was too much.
"How... how did I end up like this?" He asked, barely above a whisper."
Nyx tilted her head. "That answer lies buried in the stars you were born under and the people who kept certain truths from you. But it isn't the time for that now."
He looked up at her. "So what now?"
"You'll stay here. AT least for the next few days," she said, crossing her arms. I'll bring you to the Gathering myself. That much, I can promise."
Orion stood, reluctant. "I need to talk to Wukong. He has to know what's going on."
Nyx hissed through her teeth, shaking her head. "You still don't get it, don't you?" Her voice was sharp, almost disappointed. "You think this wasn't part of his plan? You think he didn't know how this exact conversation is going to go."
Orion blinked. "...What?"
Nyx's eyes narrowed. "All of them- gods and monsters- they're playing games, child. They've been playing them since before your ancestors lit fire in caves. But Wukong? He is the worst of them. The most brilliant. The most chaotic. HE sent you here knowing what I'd say. It's part of his dysfunctional, tangled mess of a plan."
"So I'm a pawn?" Orion muttered, bitterly.
"No," Nyx said, a strange smile tugging at her lips. "You're his gamble."
She exhaled. "Still, you're not wrong. He does need to be told." She turned on her heel. "Let's get your babysitter."
They walked out of the chamber, back into the great, obsidian hall lit by hovering orbs of blue flame. The walls still whispered with faint echoes of divine stories carved into stone—of battles, betrayals, and cosmic reckonings.
In the middle of the room, Heracles and Eris sat cross-legged on the floor, locked in a heated match of "Red hands." Heracles' knuckles were pink; his expression was fixed in focus.
"Don't blink," Eris smirked.
"I'm not blinking," he grunted.
Heracles struck-fast-but Eris flickered her fingers and summoned tiny, sparking embers in front of his eyes. He flinched. SLAP!
"Ah, you little-! "Heracles pulled back his hands. "That was cheating!"
"I'm the goddess of discord. It's my job," Eris grinned, flicking her nails smugly. "We can always test strength the old-fashioned way."
Nyx cleared her throat sharply. "Children."
They turned. Heracles stood quickly, rubbing his hands. "Everything alright?"
Nyx nodded. "We need you to help us contact the dam monkey."
Orion raised an eyebrow. "You can contact Wukong with a bow?"
Heracles grinned and patted the massive bow on his back. "This isn't just any bow."
They left the temple and stepped into the clearing outside. The air felt heavier here, time itself slower, shadows longer than they should have been. The trees surrounding them barely moved despite the wind.
Nyx stepped into the open field and pointed towards the sky. "Aim there. Long and strong."
Heracles cracked his neck and lifted the bow. His muscles tensed, sculpted like a living stone as he drew the string with perfect form. A golden arrow appeared, gleaming in the sunlight.
Nyx raised her hand and touched the shaft.
"Instantly, the arrow's light vanished.
It turned pitch black- so dark that even the surrounding light bent around it. There was no reflection, no glimmer, no edge. Just a silver anti-light, a jagged thread of oblivion.
Orion took a step back. "What is that?"
"A whisper," Nyx said calmly. "One only gods can hear,"
Hercules loosed the arrow.
Fwsshhh-
The sky ripped open as the arrow streaked forward, silent and unstoppable. Wherever it passed, the sky darkened. Clouds turned to smoke. The blue above was swallowed in a tide of starless black. For a moment, it was as if the night itself chased the arrow through the heavens.
"Then, suddenly, it stopped.
The darkness reeled back, like the sky exhaling, and daylight returned in an instant.
All four stood in complete silence.
"...So," Eris said. "How long until he sends something back?"
Nyx stared into the fading trail. "Oh, he's already heard it. Let's just see how long he takes to answer."