The Ancient Prophecy

45 : The Awakening - Sot

Sot opened his eyes slowly . There was much more light than he remembered . Did I die and get into Elysium.. ? He blinked slowly , adjusting his eyes to the light . I guess I spent so much time in that shitty place that forgot light exists ..
He blinked a few more times and saw a blue sky above his head surrounded with white clouds . I must be dreaming or something ..or would it actually be.. ?
Sot moved his head to the right and saw the sillhouettes of familiar houses in the distance . Oh my gods.. He smiled . We are back !
The son of Hermes tried to get up but a sharp surge of pain went through him , making him fall back with a grunt . Then he saw a close figure right beside him .
"So you finally woke up ? Great , I thought I had to prepare a funeral rite for you ." Petros said in his emotionless tone . Sot's smile dropped slowly . I never thought he would be the first person I see after I wake up .
Sot lifted his head slightly , enough to not cause him another round of pain . He realised Petros' hand was around his wrist .
"I was checking your pulse ." Petros quickly let go of his wrist "Making sure you would not die ."
Sot thought he saw some different expression on the demigod's face but when he looked again he had that same expressionless face . Why do I still bother to try to read him ? The boy remained silent , slightly frowning .
Petros frowned at him too "At least be grateful that I carried you here . You are fucking heavy ." he took a moment before adding ,"And I also patched your wounds ."
Really ? "Uh.. thank you ." Sot finally spoke .
"I suggest you rest for a moment before doing anything , you got injured enough to black out afterall .." Petros said , avoiding his gaze .
"Where are the others ?" Sot asked .
"Phedora and Charis are making war plans with Thanatos just some metres away from here . They said they wanted you to have some silence ." Petros explained .
Sot raised both his eyebrows "Wait.. Thanatos is here .. right now ?"
"He saved us back there in Tartarus and brought us here again ." Petros finally looked back at Sot with his brown eyes .
"So we succeded ?"
"Well.. we got the soul . We just need to do the ritual ."
The soul..
"How did you do it ?" Sot suddenly asked .
"Do what ?" Petros raised an eyebrow in confusion .
"Back there in Tartarus when you caught the soul . Why did it work when you did it but not when Phedora did it ?"
Petros took a moment to answer "Phedora has never done a spell . Even if she is blessed by my mother or not , a spell this advanced can only be done by someone with experience ."
That kind of makes sense .
"For how long have I been unconscious ?" Sot tried to sit up on his elbows .
"Quite a while ." Petros said , helping Sot lean his back on the tree behind him "Honestly .. I have been worried you will not wake up for much longer .."
"Because you have to carry me again if I would not wake up , is it not ?" Sot smiled ironically .
Petros sighed , pinching his nose bridge "No , it is because I care about you ."
Sot's smile dropped . He was looking at the son of Hecate in question , trying to detect any sign of him lying . But there was no sign . He was actually meaning what he said . Sot frowned "If you care so much about me , then why did you said all that ." I do not need to specify what , he is smart enough to know what I am talking about .
Petros frowned , as if he expected Sot to say that "Because you have to accept the truth at some point ."
Sot looked away , a line forming between his brows "..I know ." I have always known.. but hearing it from somebody else was... painful . I guess I saw it coming . Sot's frown dissapeared , replaced by a blank stare . I never hated Petros , I just hated the words he said . And I would not anyways stay mad at him forever . "I am sorry ."
Petros looked at him with surprise "Why are you saying sorry ? It is my fault ."
Sot arched an eyebrow in confusion "No , it is not . You just wanted to open my eyes ... which I thank you for . Even if it hurt me for a moment , you saved me from a incoming heartbreak ." he tried a smile "If you want maybe I can help you with Char-"
"Stop ." Petros interrupted him . His tone seemed cold "Just stop ." Sot saw him clench his knuckles "I do not like Charis , she does not like me . She does not like anyone .. I meant in a non-platonic way . So stop ."
"Oh..." Sot looked down with embarassment "Sorry for jumping to conclusions in the first place ."
Petros remained silent but Sot could see him calm down a little . He could cut the tension with a dagger .
"Can you stand up ?" Petros asked , breaking the silence .
"Let's see.."
After some moments of struggle , Sot managed to get up with the help of Petros . The son of Hermes leaned some of his weight into Petros as they walked to the place where the others were .
"Hope they did not do the ritual without us .." Sot said .
Petros smirked "They can not . At least not without this ." he gestured to the necklace hanging from his neck . Sot recognized the relic they used back into Tartarus to trap Athena's soul .
"So you just wore the hope of restoring peace at your neck this whole time ?" Sot smiled .
"Guess you can say that.." Petros smirked again .

***

"Finally ! We have been waiting for centuries !" Charis said in a loud tone as they approached .
Phedora stood right beside her and in front of the two girls stood Thanatos , looking in question at Sot and Petros . Unfortunately the god was still holding the scythe in his hand .
"Does he have to carry that mortal weapon everywhere ?" Sot whispered to Petros .
"Are you scared ?" Petros flashed a mockingly smile .
"N-no .."
"If you say so ..." Petros was still smilling .
As they walked closer to the other three , Sot saw the other two artifacts laying on the green grass . They were shinning in the afternoon light . The Aegis and Athena's spear . There was only one left to begin the ritual .
Petros carefully passed Sot to Charis , which seemed to suprisingly keep her balance as the son of Hermes leaned into her even if she was shorter than him .
"So we can finally begin the ritual ." Phedora smiled as Petros stepped closer , taking the necklace from his neck and putting it on the ground with the other artifacts .
Phedora fumbled through her backpack and took out a little glass vial . I wonder how it did not break through our whole expedition into the Underworld .
"So you are not mad at him anymore ?" Charis suddenly asked .
Sot looked at her with surprise "You knew ?"
"It is quite obvious when you are mad at someone , you know ." Charis smirked .
"Fine , Char , you got me ." Sot smiled .
"Are you feeling better after your one century nap ?"
Sot rolled his eyes "Not really , as you can observe ."
The sound of Phedora opening the glass vial silenced the demigods .
The daughter of Zeus circled the artifacts slowly , pouring the liquid contained in the vial over the artifacts . The liquid shone brightly in the sunlight .
Some white smoke rose from the artifacts and into the blue sky . It was as if the artifacts were burning .
Not even in a second , they started flying of the ground , swirling into a wind current .
A light appeared inside the current , almost blinding . It grew bigger and bigger until there a whole sillhouette made of light .
"I suggest you close your eyes so you do not get blinded by the true form of a god ." Thanatos said .
They all closed their eyes . Moments after , Sot felt himself sweating from the temperature emitted from the sillhouette .

After some minutes of sweating , the hotness finally seemed to dilute slowly .
"You may open your eyes now , demigods ." a new voice said .
Sot opened his eyes along with the other three demigods .
Before them stood Athena , her Aegis shield and spear in her hands , the Gorgoneion at her neck .
Everyone kneeled before the goddess , lowering their heads . Even Thanatos lowered his head a little in a sign of respect .
"We have awakened you back into the living world . We welcome you back Athena , the goddess of wisdom and war ." Phedora spoke , her head still lowered .