The Mythos Trials

Chapter Thirty-Three

Exiting Drevni Misteros went a lot faster than entering it had, thanks to Gwilym's assistance. Being lord and master of the Time Chamber clearly had its perks, since he seemed able to open doorways to wherever he pleased—as long as it was within the realm.

Phenex didn't get the chance to ask him if it was he who had opened up the hole that had dropped them from Drevni Misteros into the Time Chamber proper; by the time Gwilym had revealed his talents, they were where they needed to be.

"This is as far as I can go," Gwilym told them, gesturing toward the glowing archway in front of them. "If I leave the Time Chamber, it could collapse."

"Don't worry about it," Phenex said, giving him a curt nod. "You've done enough already."

"Thank you," Forneus added, shaking Gwilym's hand. "We should be able to handle things from here."

Light played across Gwilym's face from the archway, dancing along the glistening, smoky walls on either side. "Best of luck," he said, casting a meaningful glance at Gwen. "All of you. Do take care, Miss Lamelle."

Confusion knit Gwen's brow, but if she was curious as to the nature of his glance, she didn't ask. "Thanks. I'll try."

Gwilym offered them one last, enigmatic smile, just the slightest hint of worry touching his eyes. In the next instant, he was gone—the only sign of his swift exit the black hole where he'd just been standing, closing with an audible pop!

"No sense in standing around here," Phenex said. "Let's go."

As soon as they were on the other side of the glowing archway, they were greeted by the sights and sounds of Set's army being driven back. But not just by operatives: Caught between them and causing all the mayhem of an Arctic storm were the Leden Siva, Noc heading the assault and cutting down all—operative and monster—who stood in his way.

When the hell did they get here, Phenex wondered, and how?

There wasn't time to explore the myriad possibilities. From the crystal catwalks above to the network branching off of the Central Junction below was pure carnage. Operatives and Mythosian allies felled their enemies one by one, only to become victims to Noc's insatiable bloodlust themselves. Where there weren't corpses or piles of ash, there were bodies bound with glowing ropes or contained within cages across every level, everything from the tiniest of imps to the raging manticore. Arrows of silver and gold light rained through the air, striking down the swelling masses of lesser enemies. Lightning and fire blazed from above, followed by explosive flashes of light in gold, violet, and green.

In the midst of it all was Set himself. It seemed he had abandoned whatever frontlines he'd held on Earth in order to aid his forces here—which meant they were losing. In all of the chaos, Phenex didn't see Iris, but that didn't matter. They had Lucas, and they had the bottled ether, and whether the Leden Siva were here or not, they would emerge victorious.

Though not unscathed. Phenex knew that as surely as he knew his own flames, but he couldn't worry about that now, not when everything—the very future they hoped to achieve—hinged on their success.

Focus.

"Okay Gwen, this is what I want you to do," Phenex said, shouting over the din of battle. "Make for the central platform, and make sure this gets to Asclepius." He thrust the bottled ether into her hands, and pointed toward where Asclepius stood a short ways from the council gods. A column of colourful light surrounded them, nearly obscuring them and the artifacts sitting within their magic circle from sight.

"Okay, but what are you going to do?"

"Forneus and I will cover you, make sure no one gets in your way." Phenex darted a glance at the walkways on either side of them, and gave her an encouraging shove toward the nearest staircase. "Now go!"