air between the mountains was sharp and dry, the kind that stung the lungs when you breathed too hard. Chloe's force marched through the Greek wilderness, her soldiers cutting through the silence like iron ghosts. The children rode in the center, quiet but watchful. Baron trailed behind them, head low, eyes on the horizon.
The march came to a halt when the wind shifted.
Two figures stood on the ridge ahead. Calix and Valerie.
The Athena soldiers raised their spears. Baron's hand went to his sword, eyes narrowing.
Chloe raised a hand. "Hold."
Valerie stepped forward first. Her long black hair was tied back, armor streaked with ash. Calix walked beside her, tall, calm, the shadows bending faintly around his feet. His presence was cold enough to make the front line uneasy.
"Chloe," Valerie said, voice steady. "You're marching home."
Chloe gave a curt nod. "We are. Step aside."
Calix shook his head. "No. We need to talk. To him."
His eyes met Baron's.
Baron's grip on his sword tightened. "You two don't get to say his name."
Valerie crossed her arms. "We aren't defending Nero, Baron. We left him."
That made the soldiers shift. Even Chloe blinked.
"You what?" Baron asked, tone rough.
Calix spoke then, slow and level. "You're not angry at Magnolia. You're angry because Nero made you fight his war. That boy did what he was told. You all did."
Baron's jaw locked. "He scarred me. Burned me. Mocked me."
Valerie's tone softened. "Because Nero told him to. The same Nero who laughed when you failed."
Baron's glare faltered. The silence stretched, filled only by the wind over the stone.
Valentina spoke next, stepping out from the group. "They're right." Her voice was young, but there was no hesitation. "Magnolia didn't want to fight you. He looked terrified when he did."
Baron looked at her, something in his expression cracking. "You-"
"I was there," Valentina said. "We both were." She glanced at Abraham beside her.
Abraham adjusted his glasses, eyes cold but sharp. "Nero's the root. He made all of you fight for pride, not reason. If you want justice, it's him you should face."
Baron looked at the ground for a long time. Then he sheathed his blade. "Then we go to Egypt. Together."
Chloe's expression softened. "About time."
Valerie smiled faintly. "Then we're agreed."
They camped that night by a low riverbank. The water shimmered faintly with the moonlight, almost too calm after everything.
Kibo sat with Valentina and Abraham near the fire, quietly mending gear. The Athena soldiers rested in disciplined silence. Baron sat off to the side sharpening his blade, pretending not to watch Valerie and Chloe whispering.
The awkwardness didn't last long.
Valentina stood and smirked. "Hey, Baron," she said. "You talk a lot for someone who lost to a kid once."
Baron's head snapped up. "What?"
"Arm wrestle," she said simply, rolling up her sleeve. The scales on her arm caught the light, glinting green-gold. "Unless you're scared."
The soldiers nearby started grinning. Even Chloe's lips twitched.
Baron snorted, setting his sword aside. "Fine, girl. Don't cry when I break your arm."
They clasped hands over a flat rock. The firelight flickered on their faces. The air tensed.
"Ready?" Valerie said. "Go."
Baron pushed first, veins standing out on his neck. Valentina didn't move. Her smirk widened.
Then, slowly, she pushed back.
The rock beneath them cracked.
Baron's arm trembled. "What—what strength is that?"
"Sobek's," Valentina said. "God of might."
The Athena soldiers laughed. Chloe folded her arms, smirking. "Seems you're not the strongest one here anymore."
Valerie leaned over, grinning. "Told you, Baron. Pride before pain."
Baron grunted as Valentina slammed his arm flat against the stone.
The whole camp erupted in laughter. Even Calix cracked a faint smile.
Baron rubbed his wrist, muttering, "She's cheating. Has to be."
"Keep telling yourself that," Chloe teased.
The laughter faded into easy quiet. For the first time in years, none of them were fighting each other. The night carried their laughter across the river like an old, forgotten peace.
Tomorrow, they would reach Egypt.
But for now, they were soldiers, allies, and something close to family again.
The torches burned like a sunrise trapped indoors, fire clawing against the stone walls as if Ra himself had turned his gaze upon them. The heat filled the arena, and none of them spoke for a long time.
Saijew stood at the front, his jaw tight, his limp worse from the strain of standing. "If Sekhmet walks again, the balance between gods and mortals is broken," he said. "Apophis didn't release her for chaos alone. He released her to end divine order itself."
The Pharaoh didn't move, his face carved from gold and shadow. "Then she must be stopped before she remembers who she is."
Poison tilted his head, his tone low and cutting. "And if she already remembers?"
The Pharaoh's eyes met his. "Then Egypt burns."
That silence that followed felt alive. The younger ones shifted uneasily, their divine marks pulsing faintly on their skin. Emma's voice broke the quiet. "If the child is still inside her, then she can be saved."
Saijew turned, his tone sharp. "No. You don't understand what that means. The goddess of destruction doesn't share her body. She consumes it."
Emma didn't flinch. "Then we reach her before that happens."
Sous stepped forward, arms crossed. "You're talking about hunting a god, not some Empire pawn. You've seen what Ahn did to the vault. You really think a child can survive what's inside that thing?"
"She's still alive," Delilah said weakly. "I felt her spirit when we found Sekhmet's body. She was scared. She screamed before I left."
Magnolia's fists tightened. "Then she's still there. We'll find her."
Saijew's hand shot out, gripping Magnolia's shoulder. "You're not ready for that."
Magnolia met his glare without hesitation. "Ra didn't ask if I was ready when he made me his flame."
Isamu stepped between them before Saijew could reply. "Enough. If my son fights, he fights with sense, not arrogance."
The Pharaoh raised his hand, silencing them both. "You will not rush this. Sekhmet is not an enemy to fight blindly. She is a curse reborn. We strike wrong, and we wake her fully."
He turned to Delilah, who still knelt in her chains. "You will lead us to where the goddess lies. You will correct your sin."
Delilah nodded shakily. "Yes, Pharaoh."
Kahn exhaled. "We'll need more than this room if we're facing a god. The Greek lands are moving too. We can't ignore them."
The Pharaoh's golden eyes narrowed. "Let them come. They built their empire by stealing gods. We forged ours by surviving them."
He looked to his generals, Saijew, Kahn, and Isamu, and then to the children who bore divine contracts strong enough to shake the world. "Prepare your ranks. Summon the priesthood. Every temple, every shrine. The lioness has stirred. The sun will not be outmatched.
The soldiers began to move, orders echoing through the corridors.
Saijew turned to Magnolia, his voice quieter now. "If you're going after her, you listen to me this time. No more running off. We do this right."
Magnolia nodded once, his face set. "Then tell me what right looks like."
Saijew's expression hardened. "Right means we win, and she doesn't wake."
The Pharaoh rose slowly, the light bending toward him. "Then Egypt marches for the first time in a generation," he said. "Our gods may sleep, but their blood walks among us."
The torches flared again, the flames twisting into golden spirals that reached toward the ceiling. Every pair of eyes in the chamber reflected the same light.
Egypt was awake.
The laughter lingered long after the match ended.
Valentina sat back on the broken rock, shaking her arm out with a grin, while Baron rubbed his wrist and muttered curses that made the soldiers around the campfire snort.
Chloe leaned against her spear, the faintest hint of a smile still on her face. Valerie chuckled quietly beside her. Even Calix allowed himself a small, rare grin.
The camp had not felt this alive in months.
The firelight flickered across their faces, casting their contracts' sigils in soft, divine glow. Athena's disciplined soldiers kept watch around the perimeter, silent shadows moving through the trees.
Kibo stared into the flames, his voice low. "Feels strange… laughing again."
Abraham nodded. "We're heading back to Egypt. That alone is strange enough."
Valentina smirked. "Maybe Egypt's gotten better at keeping its walls intact."
Baron shot her a look. "You'll find I hit harder with a sword than an arm."
"Sure you do," she teased, then nudged Abraham. "Tell him about the time Magnolia burned half the training yard trying to show off."
Abraham raised an eyebrow. "The one where he almost melted your spear?"
Kibo snorted. "That one."
The laughter came again, lighter this time.
When it died down, Chloe stepped forward, her tone returning to command. "We leave before dawn. Egypt will be preparing for war. You'll follow my orders exactly. No detours."
Her gaze swept over each of them, Valentina, Abraham, Kibo, Baron, Valerie, Calix. "If what the Pharaoh said is true, Sekhmet walks. The last thing we need is to give that thing a reason to notice us before we reach the Nile."
Baron straightened. "Then we move quiet and strike fast when called."
Valerie turned to her husband. "Calix, you've been quiet."
He stared into the fire. "Because I'm thinking. About Nero. About how long we've served a man who'd burn this world to keep a crown shining."
Baron looked over, expression unreadable. "You sound like you're done serving him."
Calix's tone hardened. "We are."
Valerie nodded. "We're done being tools for dying gods and rotting kings. Egypt fights for survival. We've been fighting for pride."
The silence that followed was heavy. Even the wind stilled.
Baron finally looked at them, at the fire, at Chloe, at the children. "Then when this ends, we end him."
Chloe met his eyes, her voice low. "You mean Nero."
Baron nodded. "The Empire doesn't need a god on a throne. It needs men who remember what it means to bleed."
Abraham spoke next, calm as ever. "Then when we return, we tell the Pharaoh what we've seen. The Empire won't stop. But Nero will fall."
Valentina looked between them all, the firelight catching her golden eyes. "Then let's make sure we live long enough to see it."
Chloe straightened, her armor whispering against her cloak. "You heard her. Rest now. At dawn, we move."
The group began to settle. The laughter faded into low murmurs. The fire cracked.
Valerie sat beside Chloe, voice quiet. "You and Baron still walk like ghosts around each other."
Chloe's jaw tightened. "We both remember too much."
Valerie smiled faintly. "Memories don't fade. But they can be rewritten."
Chloe didn't answer. Her eyes lingered on Baron across the camp, the old weight still there between them, something unspoken, unfinished.
Above them, the stars stretched cold and endless over Greece.
Tomorrow, they would cross the sea to Egypt.
And the world would start to shift again.
The camp had gone quiet.
Only the sound of the river, low and slow against the reeds, filled the air. Most of the soldiers were asleep. The children huddled around the embers of the fire. Only the leaders remained awake.
Chloe sat with her spear laid across her knees, cleaning the blade in steady, practiced motions. Valerie sat beside her, cross-legged, her dark hair catching the glow of the dying fire.
For a while, neither spoke. Then Valerie turned her hand upward and let her contract hum softly through her skin. Thin green vines rose from her palm, twisting together until they formed small, moving figures.
She smiled faintly. "Say Baron defeated Nero. If so possible."
Her tone carried the lightness of a joke, but her eyes stayed sharp. "How would being an empress sound?"
Chloe glanced over, unimpressed. "You've been thinking about thrones lately."
Valerie waved a finger. The vines shifted, shaping two figures, a tall one with Baron's broad frame, another cloaked in Nero's silhouette. The figures clashed, sparks of faint red light bursting where they met. The Nero figure stumbled, fell, and crumbled into petals.
The vines reformed again. Baron stood triumphant, a crown of gold leaves resting on his head. Beside him, a second crown bloomed over a smaller figure, her own.
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You always did like your stories pretty."
Valerie's grin turned knowing. "Stories are just futures that haven't decided yet."
Chloe scoffed. "You think Baron wants a crown? He barely wears his own skin comfortably."
Valerie tilted her head, watching the tiny vine, Baron raise his sword in silent victory. "He wants redemption. That's close enough to a crown. And if he earns it, someone should stand beside him. A balance."
Chloe's gaze drifted to the real Baron across the camp. He sat near the edge of the firelight with Calix, both men quiet.
Valerie caught the look and smirked. "You never stopped caring."
"I stopped believing" Chloe replied. "That's not the same thing."
Valerie let the vines fade. "Belief is optional. The feeling never left."
Across the fire, Calix leaned back on his elbows, watching the flames. Baron sat across from him, polishing his sword but not really seeing it.
Baron finally broke the silence. "You two still make it look easy."
Calix looked up, puzzled. "What?"
Baron nodded toward Valerie, who was laughing softly with Chloe. "You and her. How are you two so happy together?"
Calix's answer came slow. "We're not always happy. We're steady. There's a difference."
Baron frowned. "And that works?"
Calix met his eyes. "It works because we don't pretend to be perfect. We argue, we break, we fix. We don't run from it."
Baron's jaw tightened. "And if she walks away?"
"She won't" Calix said simply. "Because she knows I'd follow."
For a moment, Baron said nothing. Then he looked back at the fire. "You make it sound simple."
"It's not," Calix replied. "But it's worth it."
Baron gave a short laugh that didn't reach his eyes. "Maybe in another life, I'd have been lucky enough to learn that first."
Calix studied him, then said quietly, "You still might. But you'll have to stop running from ghosts."
Baron didn't respond. He watched the fire until the logs broke into red dust, and the night swallowed the sound of their voices.
From across the camp, Chloe glanced once more toward him.
Valerie's vines coiled back into her skin, and the image of crown and throne vanished.
"Tomorrow," Chloe said, her voice calm but distant, "we head for the desert. Maybe he'll find his answer there."
Valerie nodded. "Maybe we all will."
The wind picked up, carrying sand through the trees, an omen of the Nile waiting.