The Daughter Of Night

Chapter Fifty-Two - Caius Fulfils His Vow

Chapter Fifty-Two - Caius Fulfils His Vow
Posted: Wednesday 25th September 2024

Apollo
We didn't have to walk far.

Hades had been correct. Nyx did find us.

As we crested a hill, the ground crunching beneath us as it was made of glass, a door came into view.

"Get ready," I muttered, clutching my bow tighter, thankful as ever, that I did not have to worry about preparing my stowed bow as I had needed to do every time I wanted to take a shot when I was Lester. I took an arrow from my quiver and notched it in my bow.

I glanced over at Caius and saw that he too had now donned his armor. Unlike mine which was golden, Caius wore bronze armor. The sword that he held in his hand was very familiar and I realised it was the weapon that Ariadne had used. It sent a small jolt into my spine, but I shook it off. I needed to focus if I had any hope of getting Caius out of here alive.

The door opened slowly and Nyx stepped out. She looked the same as ever. Regal, in an all-black set of armour. There was a sword at her side, but she did not seem like she was desperate to pull it from its sheath, her hands were folded in front of her.

"You have reconsidered my offer?" Nyx asked, ignoring me and addressing Caius, whose face was a stoic mask.

"No," Caius said simply, "I have come to kill you grandmother."

Nyx laughed. "You hope to overcome me? With only Apollo by your side?"

"Yes," Caius clutched his sword tighter.

"You are either brave or stupid," Nyx said.

"I think both," Caius offered. "You killed my mother."

"She killed herself," Nyx spat, "Ariadne was expendable. You were her true purpose, and you are here now."

I was almost shaking with rage.

"You speak foolishly Nyx," I said, "I will not abide it."

Nyx's eyes finally turned from Caius to me, "Ah Apollo. I thank you for playing your part so well in my plans. I had hoped that the Triumvirate would have been the end of you, but alas, not all plans come to fruition."

I glared at her.

Nyx laughed again, "Oh if looks could kill..."

"You'd have been dead a long time ago," I offered.

"I cannot die!" Nyx stated, "It is impossible. I cannot fade, I am the night, I am the darkness."

"I don't care," Caius said. Without another word, without me being able to stop him, he charged forwards.

His blade clashed with Nyx's, the bronze sparking as it met the Stygian Iron. They moved so fast that even my immortal brain struggled to comprehend it. A whirl of darkness and light, or bronze and iron. I fired a few arrows but was hesitant to fire too many for fear of hitting Caius.

I notched another arrow and took a deep breath, firing off an arrow which struck Nyx in the shoulder, causing her to stagger back and the flow of the fight to be broken.

Her sword clattered to the ground. I scrambled down the glassy hill as Caius approached Nyx slowly.

"There is one thing you forget Nyx," Caius said. Icor was trickling down one side of his face from a small nick, no doubt from Nyx's blade, on his cheek. But other than that he was uninjured. "You may be the embodiment of night, but I am the embodiment of life. And you, grandmother, are alive. I am the embodiment of immortality, and you, grandmother, are immortal."

As I got to the foot of the door to the Mansion of Night, I looked on in almost horror, as Caius grabbed Nyx by the collar. He dragged her closer to him so that they were face to face.

For the first time in my immortal life, I saw a shadow of fear cross a Primordial's face and I felt a shiver down my own spine.

"As you once said to my mother, I am something wholly new. I am a new type of being, I could destroy even Zeus. Or, if I chose to, I could destroy you."

Caius began to glow.

And don't get me wrong, I have seen immortals reveal their true forms before, but this was something else. It seemed as though Caius was leeching the life from everything around us, from the air itself. The glow was concentrated on his free hand that was not holding Nyx, some things seemed to be forming there but it was too bright to look at.

When the glow subsided, Nyx was struggling in Caius' grip and in his free hand was a seemingly nondescript vial of a pure black liquid.

"How- What did you do?" The Primordial demanded.

"I made you mortal," Caius said, "I have taken your Primordial essence, the power over Night now resided in this vial." He held the vial up so that Nyx could see it. "You can die now Nyx."

The Ex-Goddess' eyes widened in terror, just as Caius' sword met its mark and as he thrust it through the place where Nyx's now mortal heart beat. I watched on in awe as Caius withdrew his sword and Nyx's body crumpled to the ground.

Caius was breathing heavily as he looked down at Nyx on the ground. The door beside me dissolved into nothingness.

My son looked up at me, his sword was dripping with red blood, proving exactly what he had done in turning Nyx mortal. I had no words. What I had just witnessed was both indescribably amazing and terrifying at the same time.

"You did it," I said simply.

Caius' legs gave out underneath him and he fell to the ground. The vial containing Nyx's essence clattered to the glassy floor beside him.

*

Caius
I floated in a void of nothingness. Nothing could reach me here. Except for one voice.

"Son of Apollo," It said.

I opened my eyes, but I still couldn't see anything.

"Who are you?" I demanded, "Where am I?"

"That is of no consequence," the voice said. It was a deep gravelly voice, but it didn't spark any fear in me. It flowed through me leaving a comforting feeling, but also leaving the imprint of its power. I shuddered.

"You have done what was until now impossible," The voice said, "you have truly destroyed an immortal. Nyx is gone never to return. You have almost depleted your own powers in the process. You have joined the ranks of immortals before you who have become killers. I ask you, was your revenge worth it?"

I didn't know how to answer.

The voice chuckled.

"You are so young child," it said, "one day you will realise what you are, what you are capable of is immeasurable. You have a choice to make..."

"Caius wake up!" A different voice said, interrupting the other one. This voice I recognised, Apollo's.

I opened my eyes and took a breath of the acidic Tartarus air into my lungs.

Apollo's concerned face came into focus above me. I watched as relief spread across his face as I pushed myself into a sitting position.

"Are you okay?" He demanded.

"Yes I am fine," I said. I was shaken, but I was fine.

"You did it!" Apollo declared, "You defeated Nyx."

"What now?" I asked.

Apollo frowned. "What do you mean?"

Was it worth it? The person's voice resonated in my head. I wasn't sure.

"What do we do now?"

Apollo sighed and reached a hand out to help me up, "we go home."