Limestone

003

"Ciro." It was almost time for the ceremony, and that was when Diosa Luna made her appearance to the youngest of Sol's children. "It's your turn to supply the light."

Ciro groaned. After the siblings were born, the Sol stone that supplied Sol's judgement of competitors stopped doing so. Luna later deduced that the children of Sol were meant to "supply the light" in a sot of way, and this year it was Ciro's turn. The male didn't quite know how to do it, but there's a first time for everything.

Standing, Ciro slouched slightly as he followed Luna through the crowd. Ra and Kyri watched as their brother passed, looking slightly worried. As far as they knew, Ciro had never met their parent.

Besides his siblings' stares, Ciro had other eyes on him. Dios children ranging from five to eighteen all stared at the giant, wondering why he was following Luna.

"Have your siblings told you how this is gonna go?" Luna asked gently.

"They did. When I was six." Ciro sighed "But I'll just work it out."

Luna gave the youngest child a look, almost as if she was worried for him.

"Well like your siblings, we need to get somewhere private." Luna didn't seem keen on sharing anything else, but Ciro could see something in the Diosa's posture when he leaned down to listen to her. "From there, you can figure it out."

Ciro scoffed, leaning back up as he found himself in front of a door he'd always been prohibited from going through.

I think I'm starting to understand.

When Luna gestured for him to open the door, Ciro raised an eyebrow before shrugging and doing so. He walked in easily without looking at the room first, not speaking a word as he shut the door.

Inside was bright, gold plating reflecting the light of almost fifty extra Sol stones Ciro didn't know they had. It blinded both his eyes and his mind, and through the slight pain it was causing he could hear Luna begin the Sunbearer selection ceremony outside of the room.

Within the light, a figure started to form in front of Ciro.

He couldn't make out any detail at first, and for a moment Ciro felt panic as a feeling of paralysis washed over him.

"Don't be afraid, Ciro." The being spoke, burning bright as the Sol stones seemed to start shining brighter.

Almost like the sun.

"It's nice to finally meet you, my son." Ciro felt warm arms wrap around him as the ball of light engulfed him. "I am glad you are still here, how is Mirio?"

"G-Good." Ciro's eyes were wide despite the light, which he was starting to get used to. "How- how do you know about him? Well- of course you know him, it's just-"

Sol chuckled "Ciro, it's alright." They smile. "I'll tell you after the ceremony, but I need to control you for a while. Is that alright?"

"Conrtol-" A realization passed over Ciro. "You're not alive- this is in my head, isn't it?"

"Just like with your siblings, I have a connection to you because you are my son." He could hear the smile in Sol's voice as he was still being hugged. "It's how I knew you were mine."

Ciro nodded "Al- Alright." he sighed "Please be nice to my friends if you speak to them."

Sol laughed "Silly, I can't speak when I'm in a body."

"And I can?" Ciro leaned back, tilting his head.

"I'll tell you when this is over, we're late."

And then there was white.

When Ciro realized what was happening again, he was slouched against Ra as the a crowd erupted into pure anarchy. He felts completely drained and hollow, but he had no clue why.

"You alright?" Ra questioned quietly, dragging Ciro away from the crowd.

"The fuck ya mean?" Ciro coughed, voice hoarse "What even happened?"

"You don't remember?" Ra frowned as he pulled Ciro into a side room, an observatory only Kyri and Luna used. "That's strange."

"Don't tell me what's strange Ra, i can figure it out myself." Ciro grumbled, letting go of Ra and slouching against a wall. Across the room, Ciro realized that Quetzal and her son were speaking "We walked into something, let's go..."

Before Ra could respond, Luna waltzed in with an angry Mala Suerte on her tail.

"Ah bad luck." Ra muttered.

"I WILL NOT GIVE HIM UP FOR SOL'S GAMES, LUNA!" Mala Suerte screamed, eyes getting redder by the second. "TELL THEM THAT THEY MUST PICK SOMEONE ELSE!"

Ciro placed a shaky hand on Ra's shoulder to stop the older, who'd already bristled at the demand.

"We cannot argue with Sol's choice." Luna replied evenly, Quetzal covering her son with her blue-green wings. "They have decided that-"

"THEN TELL THE KID!" Mala Suerte shouted, an angry red glow cast through the room. "I DON'T CARE WHO DECIDES THAT XIO GOES IN, TELL THEM HE WILL NOT! I WILL NOT BE TOLD WHAT MY CHILDREN HAVE TO DO BY CHILDREN WHO ARE BARELY OLDER THAN THEM!"

"Watch yourself." Ra hissed, making the two incoming gods realize that himself and Ciro were there. One was looking more fatigued than the other, who was now angry someone was trying to downplay his younger brother. "Do not say my brother is not as worthy of the title respect as anyone else here."

Ciro continued to lean against the wall hard, feeling weaker than he ever had before in that moment. With all eyes on him, it was like they were waiting for him to speak.

When he didn't, Luna sighed. "We cannot change Sol's decree." She said "Trust me, there were some surprises for everyone."

"What have you lost from this?" Mala Suerte hissed.

"Yer talkin' like he's dead already." Ciro coughed, drawing eyes back to his form. "What draws ya to that?"

"Other than the fact that he's a Jade going against Golds?" Mala Suerte challenged, "What are you, five? You should know what's going to happen."

"By my guess, Quetzal's son is also in the trials." Ciro braced himself against the wall, now staring at them evenly. "There's never been two Jades before, but somethin' about 'em drew Sol to choose them. They have just as much chance as any."

Mala Suerte huffed, and stormed out. Luna watched him go before turning to Ciro and Ra.

"I'm sorry he insulted your family." She said, bowing her head.

"It's alright." Ra spoke, knowing that Ciro wouldn't want him to treat the situation with anger. "What do we do about Ciro though?"

"Oi, I'm feeling better." Ciro replied.

"You're still drained from what happened." Luna replied "It's weird, the twins didn't have the same reaction you do."

Out of the corner of Ciro's eye, he saw Quetzal's son tense at the mention of twins.

"I'll be fine, I still have a duty to travel with you." Ciro insisted "Besides, I gotta know who Sol picked."