Thyrios did not travel back to Olympus.
He crawled.
Not physically his body was barely holding together but spiritually. Every step through the sky felt like dragging a shattered soul through broken glass. His divinity flickered weakly, barely enough to keep him conscious, barely enough to keep him existing.
He hated it.
He hated him.
The mortal king's face lingered in his mind.
The look of disappointment.
That hurt more than the blows.
Thyrios clenched his jaw as the gates of Olympus came into view, vast and radiant as ever. Nothing had changed. No alarms. No concern. The gods lounged, talked, laughed utterly unaware.
Of course they were.
Mortals were mortals.
Lesser gods were… replaceable.
Blood leaked freely from his side, divine gold dripping onto the marble steps as he stumbled forward. His breath came in shallow, uneven pulls. Every movement sent pain lancing through him real pain, the kind gods weren't supposed to feel.
He gathered the last thread of his divinity.
Just enough.
The world folded, and he appeared inside the palace chambers.
He collapsed to one knee instantly.
The hall was vast, radiant, suffocating.
Twelve thrones stood in a semicircle above him.
Some gods were present.
Every one of them far above him.
Thyrios' head dropped. His hands pressed against the marble floor to keep himself upright, fingers trembling.
The silence was worse than the pain.
"…You're bleeding," Apollo said mildly.
Thyrios flinched at the sound.
"I… apologize," he said hoarsely. "I was… delayed."
Ares leaned forward on his throne, eyes narrowing. "You look like ate shit."
Thyrios swallowed hard.
Zeus' presence pressed down on him like the weight of the sky itself. Lightning crackled lazily around the king of the gods, not in anger — in irritation.
"Well?" Zeus said. "Report."
Thyrios forced himself to breathe.
"The disturbance was investigated," he said quickly. "I found nothing of significance."
Athena's gaze sharpened.
"Nothing?" she repeated.
"Yes," Thyrios said, nodding too fast. "A false ripple. Residual fluctuation. Likely a misreading by the Fates."
The words tasted like ash.
Hera scoffed. "Then why do you look like you were dragged through Tartarus?"
Thyrios' jaw tightened. "Sparta was… uncooperative."
Ares laughed. "So you tripped over a mortal and bled all over yourself?"
Thyrios said nothing.
Zeus' eyes narrowed slightly. "You're telling me a check resulted in this?"
"Yes, Lord Zeus," Thyrios said immediately. "The city resisted divine presence briefly, but nothing outside expectations."
Athena studied him.
Quietly.
Carefully.
"You saw nothing unusual," she said.
"No," Thyrios replied, voice tight. "Nothing at all."
The room went still.
Ares stood.
The sound of his armor echoed through the hall as he stepped down from his throne, a spear manifesting in his hand without warning. Thyrios' breath caught.
"You're lying," Ares said flatly.
Thyrios' head snapped up. "I would never..."
The spear moved.
Pain erupted.
Thyrios screamed as the weapon punched clean through his shoulder, divine blood exploding outward as he was slammed back against the floor. The impact cracked the marble beneath him.
His arm violenly ripped off.
He gasped, vision blurring, body spasming uncontrollably.
He wouldn't dare scream more. Ares was known to enjoy torture.
Ares raised the spear once again and slammed it unto his thighs pinning him straight unto the marble. (Mind you the spear was a thick one.)
Mmmfgh. Thyrios screamed inwardly
"You've got some big guts lying in my face," Ares growled.
Thyrios sobbed, teeth clenched. "I..I swear..!"
"Enough."
Zeus' voice cut through the hall.
Ares withdrew the spear with a sharp yank, blood spraying across the floor. Thyrios collapsed fully now, shaking violently, barely conscious.
Zeus rose from his throne.
The pressure intensified.
"If there was nothing," Zeus said calmly, "then there is nothing."
He looked down at Thyrios with clear disdain.
"You failed to maintain dignity. That is your only crime."
Hera waved a hand dismissively. "Clean him up or throw him out. This is unpleasant."
Athena said nothing.
Her eyes lingered on the blood pooling beneath Thyrios.
Then she looked away.
Zeus turned back to the thrones. "Sparta is irrelevant. Mortals always overreact to divine presence."
Ares snorted. "If something was there, it would've screamed."
Apollo smiled faintly. "Or begged."
Laughter rippled through the chamber.
Thyrios lay on the floor, trembling, his divinity barely holding him together, humiliation burning deeper than any wound.
Zeus spoke one final time.
"This matter is closed."
The pressure lifted.
Guards moved in to drag Thyrios away, his blood smearing across the marble as Olympus turned its attention elsewhere.
Sparta was forgotten.
The king who fought a god was dismissed as a slightly bigger ant.
Thyrios's lie was never questioned.
----
Axiomel didn't hurry home.
The road felt longer than usual, though his pace was steady. The sky above Sparta had already returned to normal, as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
Which bothered him.
The necklace rested against his chest, warm beneath his tunic.
He reached the cottage just as the sun dipped low.
The door was open.
That alone was enough to make him stop.
"…Mother?" he called.
"I'm here," Eleni replied quickly.
She stood inside, unharmed but visibly shaken, hands still trembling slightly.
"You're back late," she said, then stopped herself. "Never mind. Are you hurt?"
"No," Axiomel said. "What happened?"
She stared at him for a long moment.
"…You didn't hear?"
"Hear what?"
She let out a slow breath. "The king."
Axiomel frowned. "What about him?"
Eleni shook her head in disbelief. "Leonidas fought a god."
Silence.
"…Come again?"
"A god came to Sparta," she said. "Demanded answers. Made threats."
Axiomel felt a strange tightening in his chest.
"And?"
"And Leonidas told him to leave," she said. "When he didn't… they took the fight to the sky."
Axiomel stared at her.
"You're serious."
"I watched the clouds split open," Eleni said quietly. "The ground shook. People prayed. Others ran."
She swallowed. "The king came back bloodied, but standing."
Axiomel sat down slowly.
"…Huh."
That was all he managed.
"You don't seem surprised," Eleni said.
"I met a traveler today," Axiomel replied. "He asked me strange questions."
Eleni stiffened slightly. "What kind of traveler?"
"One‑eyed," Axiomel said. "Old. Annoying."
Eleni froze.
"…Did he give you anything?"
Axiomel reached beneath his tunic and pulled out the wooden necklace.
Eleni's eyes widened.
"Take that off," she said sharply.
Axiomel blinked. "Why?"
"Just..take it off."
He studied her face, then slowly slipped it over his head.
She stared at it, breathing uneven.
"…Where did you meet him?"
"On the road," Axiomel said. "Why?"
Eleni didn't answer immediately.
"…Some travelers," she said carefully, "are more than they seem."
Axiomel smiled faintly. "Yeah. I got that impression."
Outside, distant thunder rolled as the sky darkend for a downpour.
Axiomel leaned back in his chair, eyes drifting toward the darkening sky.
"A god fell today," he said quietly.
Eleni nodded.
"And he lived," Axiomel added.
She looked at him sharply. "What are you thinking?"
"That maybe," Axiomel said slowly, "the world isn't as untouchable as it pretends to be."
Eleni said nothing.
She had learned long ago not to argue with that look in his eyes.