Kronos (Book Two)

Funeral of Prophecy & Memory

April 3rd, 10 am


Takashi's alarm goes off. He hits the dismiss button. He finds himself determined to engage the day. He scans the area using aura to check his surroundings. It tells him that Ares is the only one with him.

He picks up his sword and unzips the tent. He taps his heart.

"Zone, FF2.5!"

He rushes out and an unarmored Ares clashes with him with a broadsword! Taki backsteps to find an opening but can't seem to find any in Ares' unarmored body.


He swings in a wide horizontal strike, but Ares parries it and kicks him back. Taki recovers quickly and charges forward. After he blocks Ares' sword, he feels a cut on his stomach. He steps back and finds Ares had used another blade. He doesn't complain as his healing factor kicks in. The god of war is preparing him for whatever Zeus will throw at him.

Taki suffers through more cuts, but he keeps going. He knows Ares is holding back.


"Ares! Give me more!"

The god of war obliges by sheathing his swords. A thin red outline of aura wraps around his body like a tight blanket. Takashi's eyes can't keep up with the movements as Ares steps forward and lands a single punch to the solar plexus that forces him out FF2.5


Almost all of the air leaves his lungs before his back hits the ground. A sharp inhale enters his lips, but blood is coughed up as he turns to the side. He tries to use his blade on the ground for support, but he can't even get one knee off the ground.

Ares' scarlet eyes encourage him. Takashi draws upon his inner strength and every emotion he felt since Zeus' trickery. The war god catches a glimpse of something as Taki taps his chest.

"Zone. F-

He falls into unconsciousness, but Ares catches him.

"Rest for now. Your willpower is a strong weapon. You will get there."

After he wakes up and does another sparring session, Taki notices he's not clutching his heart as much. Ares' methods are working for him. At some point, he will master this form and unlock the next level.

Ares hands him some bread to eat and he takes it to eat.

"Good job so far. Eat up and we will do physical training."

A pink portal opens up and a letter is dropped in front of Ares. He grabs it and sees a kiss on the envelope. He knows that this is from Aphrodite. He gives it a kiss which opens it up. He reads through it. Taki waits for him to tell him.

"They are holding the funeral for the Oracle and Mnemosyne today. She says most of the gods would be there. We need to risk it by leaving while this happens."

"But what about Helios?"

"I have a disguise in mind for that. But the reason we have to leave is because of Artemis. You know what she represents, right?"

Takashi remembers and Ares is right. They have to leave before Artemis gets a whiff of his scent and tracks them. He then questions why she hasn't found them already. Ares can see him thinking that question.

"I don't know what is holding her back from tracking us, but we can't lose the advantage."

"What time's the service?"

"Noon high."

Taki checks his watch. Right now it's 8am, Gaia time. He wolfs down the bread and they start the physical training.

--

Back on Earth, Colorado

Hikari receives a notification for the energy levels. They spiked up, but there was no feeling of danger as it settles down.