Scene One: Smoke Before the Storm
The sky split open with fire.
A pillar of crimson light crashed into the earth outside the monastery, shattering boulders and trees in every direction.
Megumi snapped upright, hand already sparking with divine light.
Leonidas stood beside him. "He's here."
A low rumble echoed through the valley. Steps — too heavy, too angry to belong to anything but a god.
Ares.
The War God strode from the smoke, his crimson armor still steaming, helm shaped like a snarling beast. In one hand, he carried a cleaver so large it could split mountains.
Nyx's breath caught in her throat. "He found me."
Megumi moved between her and the smoke without hesitation.
Leonidas stepped back — but not far.
They all knew what was coming.
Scene Two: "She Is With Me"
Ares stopped a few feet from Megumi, muscles taut with fury. His eyes burned with betrayal as they landed on Nyx.
"She was forged by Olympus," he snarled. "Built to serve me. Return her."
Megumi didn't flinch. "She's not a weapon anymore."
Ares raised his blade. "She's mine."
"No," Megumi said, voice low, alive with storm. "She is with me."
For a beat, even the wind held its breath.
Then Ares lunged.
The blow struck Megumi like a thunderclap, launching him across the monastery courtyard. He slammed into a stone pillar, cracking it down the middle.
Nyx screamed his name.
But before Ares could move toward her—
Lightning burst through the sky.
Megumi rose from the rubble, golden blood dripping from his lip. His aura flared—unsteady, crackling, warping the air around him. His irises glowed white-hot.
The Fallen King was stirring.
Scene Three: Wrath Unleashed
Ares charged again.
This time, Megumi caught the blade.
Stone beneath his feet shattered from the force.
With a roar that shook the earth, Megumi slammed his fist into Ares's chest, sending the god flying backward in a streak of crimson light.
Ares crashed through three walls before stopping, gasping. For the first time in centuries, he felt fear.
Megumi walked toward him, face blank, halo blazing behind him — no longer golden.
White fire. Black lightning. Rage incarnate.
"You enslaved her," Megumi growled. "Like you tried to erase me. You broke the wrong lives."
He descended on Ares with a storm of punches, each one cracking armor, shattering bone, ripping divine essence from the War God's form.
"You. Don't. Own. Her."
Ares screamed as Megumi's hand gripped his face and slammed it into the earth.
Again.
And again.
And again—
Until a firm, burned hand seized Megumi's wrist.
"Enough."
Leonidas.
His cloak billowed with dust, eyes locked on Megumi — not in fear, but command.
"She's free. You proved it. Now don't become what they are."
Megumi's hand trembled.
Then slowly, his glow began to dim. His breaths became ragged. His pupils returned.
He stepped back, chest heaving.
Ares lay broken in a crater.
Scene Four: The Warning
Bloodied and beaten, Ares rose unsteadily to his knees.
He spat gold and grinned through broken teeth.
"This changes nothing," he hissed. "You've declared war on Olympus."
Megumi helped Nyx to her feet, never taking his eyes off the War God.
"Good."
Lightning rippled across the sky again — this time not from Olympus, but from him.
Ares vanished in a crack of red light.
Scene Five: The Aftermath
Night fell over the mountain.
Leonidas sat by the fire, sharpening his sword. "You lost control," he said without judgment. "But you pulled back."
Megumi sat across from him, silent, knuckles still raw.
Nyx rested nearby, curled in a cloak Megumi had given her, finally… safe.
Megumi looked at his hands.
"Next time," he whispered, "I'm not sure I'll be able to."
Leonidas didn't look up.
"Then we make sure there doesn't have to be a next time."