Akhon stood among the ruins of Olympus.
The war thundered around him—divine screams, cracking stone, fire raining from the heavens—but in that moment, it all sounded distant. Muffled. Like the world had wrapped itself in cloth.
He blinked.
A tremor ran through his spine.
Not through the earth. Not like Poseidon's quakes or Zeus's thunder. This was different.
It came from within.
He staggered a step, pressing a hand to his temple. His divine senses—sharpened over the past months of battles and godslaying—flickered. His perception blurred, then twisted into something he didn't recognize. For a heartbeat, his eyes glitched, as if the world had been rewritten mid-frame.
And then came the pull.
A soft tug, like an invisible hand brushing against his soul. Not malevolent… not exactly. But it wasn't natural. It wasn't from Olympus. It wasn't even from the realms of the gods.
It felt older than that.
He gasped, stumbling to a knee.
> > [System Alert: External force detected.]
