Into the Fire Part I: Requiem of Souls (Universe in Flames Book 9)

by Christian Kallias

  “You must have gotten used to it by now.”

  “Not really, Chase. In fact, I would like us to discuss something before you talk with my brother.”

  “Can’t it wait? I— I have so many things to—”

  “No, Chase, it can’t wait. Do you remember that favor I told you I would ask of you one day? The one you can’t refuse.”

  Chase swallowed hard.

  “Vaguely.”

  “No, Chase, not vaguely. Today is that day.”

  Chase sighed as he mentally braced himself.

  “What is it you want me to do?”

  “Convince Zeus to take my place here, and then get me the hell out of this awful place.”

  Chase’s face dropped. “What?”

  “You heard me. I’ve had it being cooped up in the Underworld. So forgive me for being this blunt, but I want out.”

  “Now that Zeus has been killed, can’t you just leave if you so please?”

  “I wish. There’s a ritual that needs to be processed before that happens. It involves Zeus nominating a new king of the Underworld. In this case, he can nominate himself. As for getting away, I can’t teleport, not to mention change planes of existence, which is why I could never escape this place even if I wanted to. You, however, don’t seem to have a problem coming and going.”

  “What will you do when you’re…out?”

  “I haven’t given it much thought. Find a nice planet, I suppose. Look at the sun, smell the fresh air, make love to a woman. I don’t think I’ll have a problem finding activities.”

  “What about joining our fight?”

  Hades scoffed.

  “Why am I not surprised you would ask me this? Chase, don’t take this the wrong way. But, I don’t think so.”

  “You’re a great fighter; we could use you.”

  “Against Arakan?”

  “Yes, don’t you want to avenge your brother?”

  Hades laughed out loud.

  “What’s so funny?” Chase retorted.

  “You’re kidding, right? I’m going to risk my hide the first moment I get free after tens of thousands of years to avenge the man that trapped me here. The irony of that statement is so thick you could almost taste it in the air. At least you have a good sense of humor; I’ll grant you that.”

  “This is not a time for holding grudges.”

  “You know what, stay down here for a few thousand years and let’s have this conversation again. How about that?”

  “Hades—”

  “No! I’m done talking about this. I’ve helped you when you needed it the most, and all I’ve asked in return is that you grant me one favor. This is it. Will you hold up your end of that bargain or not?”

  Chase hated the situation, but he could understand Hades’ position. If he were in a similar circumstance, he would also like to escape it. See the sun, feel the breeze pass through his hair. That thought brought Chase’s dad and his current predicament to the forefront of Chase’s mind. Even though he didn’t remember the man, he hated the idea of letting him rot in a cell on Erevos. Even when he was fighting Oryn there, he sensed a pull just to go there and get him out. But right now he had to deal with this unexpected development.

  “Very well. I’ll keep my end of the bargain. What if Zeus doesn’t want to take your place?”

  “You just make sure he does.”

  MENELAS’ hands were bloodied from him repetitively hitting the force field keeping him in his cell. His talk with Aphroditis had turned his world upside down. If she told him the truth, that he would soon get his chance to fight Arakan, then he would have to be ready. He would need to transcend his powers to their limits to kill the Supreme Commander of the Fury.

  Doubts invaded his mind. When he last fought Arakan, things had gone terribly wrong, and it was only by a miracle he survived. Though Menelas was a proud warrior, he had put his ego on the back burner when he learned he would become a father. The only reason he went against the supreme commander in the first place was to protect his family. But, he had been unprepared for that battle. Arakan had defeated him and stopped an inch from taking Menelas’ life. Most likely so he could prolong Menelas’ suffering for years. And for the longest time, Menelas wished Arakan would just end his torment. He could have taken his own life, but something always prevented him from doing so. Right now, though, he would be grateful if he was given a second chance.

  Is Athena alive? Will I ever see her again?

  These thoughts haunted him ever since Arakan last visited.

  Menelas caught something from the corner of his eye and jumped around to look. To his horror, Arakan was standing tall not three feet from him, and the Fury’s blood started boiling.

  He instinctively brought his aura to bare and fired a powerful yellow fireball toward the supreme commander. The fireball flew through Arakan and exploded on the reinforced wall behind him, miraculously leaving the wall unscathed.

  “I see you haven’t lost your keen reflexes,” said Arakan with the unmistakable vocal distortion of a long-range holo-transmission.

  A hologram, that figures.

  Menelas sent daggers toward Arakan’s hologram as his inner rage continued building up inside of him. He desperately wanted to rip the Fury’s heart from his chest. And if Aphroditis’ vision held true, he would get his chance. But then Menelas noticed something odd about Arakan. A dark aura surrounded him and gave him an even more imposing presence than usual.

  What the hell is this? I’ve never seen such an aura emanate from any Fury.

  “What the fuck do you want? And, what did I do to deserve two visits in such a short time, though I really wished you were here inside this cell with me?”

  “I can see that, and, perhaps, you’ll get your wish soon enough. Now that Olympus has been destroyed and that I have slayed Zeus, I can move toward the next part of my plan.”

  Menelas’ eyes widened.

  Olympus is gone? I can’t believe this monster bested Zeus in combat.

  But perhaps the aura now surrounding the supreme commander was a clue on how Arakan could have defeated the head of the Olympians, considered by many as the most powerful fighters in the universe.

  “Or perhaps you’re just trying to get in my head.”

  “Oh, believe me, Zeus has bitten the dust, and I would imagine his brother Poseidon has succumbed to his wounds as well.”

  “And I should care why? Exactly?”

  “I guess it matters not to a caged rat what I do. My return trip is giving me time to think, and while I would have loved releasing you from your hole just one last time before I put you down like the rabid Zargon that you are, I think I’m just going to dispose of you.”

  Anger saturated Menelas’ heart.

  Figures. Aphroditis built up my hopes for nothing, once more.

  “Though,” continued Arakan. “I’ll have to make sure your agony is equal to the level of betrayal you’ve displayed toward me. So, we might see each other once more until the end of your pathetic existence. By then you’ll be just a shadow of your former self, so I thought I’d say goodbye now, while you can still stand.”

  “How noble of you,” hissed Menelas, through gritted teeth.

  “You should consider yourself lucky. After all, I kept you alive all these years and only slightly tortured you until I lost the taste for it.”

  Only a madman would describe five years of daily torture as slightly.

  “You know what, Arakan? Go fuck yourself!”

  “There, there. Are those the last words you want to utter while you can still speak?”

  “What does it matter to you, coward? Not even having the guts to fight me on a level playing field. That speaks volumes how misdirected the Furies are for following a fool of your caliber.”

  “You’re going to regret those words. And soon.”

  “The only thing I regret is not ripping your head off of your shoulders when you assumed the throne after your father fell in combat. This— is my only reg
ret.”

  “Are you certain about that? What if I told you that your precious Athena is next on my kill list? Granted, I probably killed most of the Olympians already, but she is currently helping your sons trying to win a war that was lost ten thousand years ago. And, perhaps, if you had taken the throne from me back then, things would be different. I do revel in the idea of you dying slowly while knowing you could have changed all of this, if only you had the bequeathed courage of a true Fury warrior. So, you see, Menelas, in the end, you’re the coward, and I’m happy you’ll die knowing that.”

  The rage inside Menelas exploded to a level he didn’t know he possessed, and the entire catacombs shook around him. His eyes repeatedly blinked orange, and for a second he thought he saw worry in Arakan’s eyes.

  “I hate you! But don’t think I’m that easy to kill. I might have stopped trying to escape my prison for years, but like a cockroach, I’ll do whatever it takes to survive so I can kill you myself.”

  Arakan laughed out loud and the sound from the holo-transmission saturated his deep voice. Menelas heard a darker echo to the supreme commander’s voice and it told him that no matter what had happened to him on Olympus, it had forever changed him, perhaps even more than Arakan was realizing himself.

  “You’re welcome to try, but I’m afraid you won’t survive much longer. Still, after I’m done ripping Athena’s head from her shoulders along with her spine, I’ll kill your sons Argos and Chase.”

  Chase? Who’s Chase?

  “I can see from your look,” continued Arakan. “That you don’t know who I’m talking about. Chase is the Fury currently disillusioned in thinking he can bring me down. He’s poisoned Argos’ mind as well as my daughter, Oryn, to join his quest. He was born Laiyos, though. Does that ring a bell, now? That’s right, I’m expecting them to come here and try to get revenge for the death of Zeus, and now that they allied themselves with Odin, then perhaps they might even try and rescue you.”

  My sons are still alive?

  “I don’t believe you, you just want to mentally torture me since you so pathetically failed in trying to break me physically all those years ago.”

  “It is true that I take pleasure in seeing you suffer, no matter the shape that suffering takes. But believe me, your sons have been a major thorn in my side. Still—” said Arakan looking at his fist engulfed in a black aura, “I no longer fear them. I can deal with your sons, with Athena and whoever is stupid enough to step a foot on Erevos. I’m the Fury god! Nobody can stop me!”

  Fury god? This asshole has lost all his marbles. Not that there were many left in the first place.

  “I don’t know what drugs you’re under, but you obviously have lost your mind—”

  “That’s what my entourage has tried to tell me but I no longer listen to their snake tongues. I no longer believe any of them. I’ll take great pleasure killing both your sons. Who knows, perhaps I can keep you alive just long enough so you can watch them die with your very own eyes.”

  Menelas felt something in his brain snap, and the entire cell filled with a bright orange aura, burning like a sun about to go nova. He growled as the walls started to crack around him.

  “Mmm— I wondered where your defiant son got his powers. And while I refuse to believe he is the Ultra Fury of legend, he is a formidable warrior who has killed many of my best fighters, as well as my own son.”

  My son? The Ultra Fury? Perhaps Aphroditis isn’t as mad as I thought she was.

  Menelas smirked. “Good.”

  “Enjoy this last moment of freedom, Menelas. I’m not taking the chance that your sons reach Erevos and try to get to you. Something tells me that the fact you resisted torture all these years means you know something. Something they could use against me. I could see it in your eyes back then; I could tell you were holding something from me.”

  I was, motherfucker; the very weapon that will bring you down.

  “You were always perceptive, except to see your own failure and cowardice, that is.”

  Arakan smirked. “Are you done?”

  “I’ll be done when your heart stops beating.”

  “I’m afraid you won’t be around when that happens, hundreds of years from now.”

  Menelas felt a warm presence inside of him and remembered what Aphroditis had told him. And while he had no doubt that Arakan had a terrible fate lined up for him now, he would survive it and be granted that one chance to right the wrong that haunted him ever since he was cast into the catacombs.

  The presence whispered inside his mind.

  Fear not Menelas, Chase is coming.

  “Wanna bet?” answered Menelas defiantly to Arakan.

  Arakan’s hologram withered and was almost cut off before it stabilized again.

  “Oh, before I take my leave, as I’m approaching the wormhole that will bring me back home shortly. Know that if any Fury other than myself steps inside the room you’re in, it will self-destruct. So, you see, I really hope your sons come and try to rescue you, that way I’ll kill two birds with one stone. Enjoy the rest of your miserable existence. Goodbye, Menelas.”

  Arakan waved goodbye before his hologram turned into nothingness.

  Before Menelas could usher a single thought forward, four powerful red thunderbolts shot from each corner of the prison and brought him to his knees, as millions of volts ran through every cell of his body.

  5

  When Zeus appeared nearby, Hades took his leave and vanished into thin air.

  Chase had a hard time looking his grandfather in the eyes. He still blamed himself for not being able to heal him.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” said Zeus.

  “It doesn’t feel that way.”

  “Of course it wouldn’t. Always the hero, barely celebrating a victory, and always taking the weight of the world on your shoulders. You do remind me of your father; Menelas, too, was always blaming himself for the deeds of others.”

  The mention of Menelas brought tears to the corners of Chase’s eyes.

  “I— I think he’s still alive.”

  Zeus’ eyes widened.

  “Then why the hell are you here talking to me? Go rescue him. That’s what you do, isn’t it? Run toward danger, no matter how big, to save the ones you love. I’m surprised you’re here instead of rescuing your father. That is, if you know where he is.”

  “On Erevos, or so Oryn says.”

  “Speaking of Oryn, I had hoped she’d come here with you. But, if she says Menelas is alive on Erevos, then that’s where you should be, Chase.”

  “She’s been taking your death really hard, I— I didn’t know if seeing you and saying goodbye all over again was appropriate just now. But I can bring her back, later.”

  “Please make sure that you do. I don’t intend to stay around here for too long, Chase. Unlike Ares, I think I’ll go to Elysium pretty soon. I’m old, I have seen countless civilizations rise and fall, including my own. Part of me wants to stick around and see what happens, but the other part wants to go to Elysium, and—”

  But Zeus stopped short.

  “See if Zalara is waiting for you there?” said Chase.

  Zeus nodded as twin tears fell from his eyes.

  “I thought Elysium was reserved only for Olympians.”

  “Nobody ever comes back from Elysium, Chase. Therefore, nobody really knows for sure what is there.”

  “Surely you must know?”

  “No, this is the universe’s best kept secret.”

  “What if there is nothing awaiting there, then?”

  “Then nothing will happen.”

  Chase had observed other living beings and how they dealt with death. He somehow never feared it. Of course, back then he had no idea he was an immortal being. The thought immediately brought troubling thoughts to the forefront of his psyche, like what would happen when Sarah would die of old age, but Chase preferred pushing them away into a dark corner of his mind. Right now, he couldn’t afford to be distracted. He had a h
ard time as it was dealing with everything else. Including telling Zeus that his journey towards Elysium would have to wait.

  “I— I need to ask for a favor.”

  “I don’t know what I can grant you from down here, but ask anyway.”

  “You’re not going to like it, though.”

  Zeus’ eyes clouded.

  “Chase, what do you want?”

  “I need you to take Hades’ place in the Underworld.”

  “What? Is that a joke?”

  “I’m afraid not. I owe him a favor, and well…that’s what he asked.”

  Zeus chuckled.

  “I don’t see what’s funny about this?” said Chase.

  “It’s more irony than ha-ha funny, Chase. You see, I’ve condemned Hades here for all eternity. Only I can break the cycle and only if someone of my blood takes the mantle. I never thought that rule would one day trap me here.”

  “Does that mean…?”

  “That I will accept Hades’ wish? Yeah, why not. I haven’t been a good brother, Chase. Nor have I been a good father to my children. I— I was too selfish and too focused on my own goals and many in my family have paid the price. I should have been more loving and even you, my own grandson, I treated you badly when you first came to see me on Olympus. I was grieving still and anger and hatred had become like two unwanted but dear friends at the same time. If that makes any sense.”

  “It does. I did feel the turmoil inside you when we met.”

  “I’m sorry I acted the way I did.”

  Chase didn’t expect Zeus to apologize, but then again, he had been such a different person after Chase had shown him the torture his daughter Aphroditis went through and having his other daughter, Oryn, back in his life.

  “That’s okay. You know, in hindsight I saw it as a test. Before you could trust me, you needed to see I could take on the mission to save Oryn and rid the universe of the Furies.”

  “And perhaps part of me, on a subconscious level, wanted to test you. My conscious mind was just mad at anything that reminded me of Zalara and her tragic fate.”

  “I can understand that, though.”