The wind stirred unnaturally.
The skies above the sanctuary had begun to weep. Black clouds rolled in from nowhere, the air thick with divine static as if Olympus itself bled chaos from afar.
Leonidas stood by the ancient window, his hand pressed against the cold stone frame. His expression turned grim—his body tensing.
Then, it hit him.
A violent pulse through the ether—Megumi's divine aura wavered for a moment like a candle in a hurricane. It flickered again.
And again.
Leonidas stepped back in panic, eyes wide.
"Oh no…" he muttered. "His power—it's draining. The magic from the River Styx is breaking down. His life… is in danger."
Nyx immediately rose from her meditation circle, golden irises flaring. "What did you just say?"
Leonidas turned, voice filled with rare fear. "He's burning too much power. That fight—against all the Olympians and the Titans—his soul's struggling to contain it. The River Styx made him immortal, but even that has limits when pushed to extremes."
Medusa approached, her serpent hair calm, yet her tone sharp. "Then we go to him. We fight."
Nyx nodded. "We won't let him die alone."
Leonidas clenched his jaw. "No. If you go now… you'll die before you even reach him."
Nyx's fists shook. "Then what? We sit here while the only man who ever gave us freedom dies?"
Leonidas looked between the two women. For a moment, he hesitated. Then he said what he swore he never would.
"There's… one thing we can do."
Nyx blinked. "Say it."
"I can bring back Ava. And their child."
Silence.
Even the wind outside ceased, as if the world leaned in to listen.
"You… can bring them back?" Medusa whispered.
Leonidas gave a single, solemn nod. "Ava's soul never passed through Hades' gates. She was held… by Olympus. Suppressed. But if I open the right path, I can find her—and their unborn child. The boy's heart is cracking under the weight of vengeance. If anything can reach him, it's them."
Nyx stepped closer. "That's why he sent us away. He knew this would happen…"
Leonidas looked down. "He didn't want to lose you two… like he lost them."
Medusa nodded slowly, tears brimming. "Then let's not waste time."
Leonidas turned, and from his hand emerged a glowing sigil—a seal older than Olympus, buried during the war between gods and titans. He traced it in the air, and a swirling vortex opened, flickering gold and obsidian—a doorway between realms.
"What we're doing breaks every law of divine balance," he said. "Even the gods fear the place we must go."
Nyx stepped beside him. "So let them fear us."
Leonidas looked back one final time, as the heavens groaned in the distance.
"Then let's bring Ava Valentine home…"
The three stepped into the portal—into the shadows of memory, love, and death.
And behind them, the wind whispered a name the gods had begun to fear:
Megumi.