58 DESTROYER
Ichor coated him from head to toe and the bellows of Atlas drilled into his skull but he couldn't take his eye's off the heart. It looked as though it was carved from the very sun - bright and golden. He couldn't stop staring at it but once he remembered he had to eat the damn thing he almost barfed. He took a deep breath, swallowed, threw out some arrows and put the heart in his watch.
Just then, the ground began to faintly tremble and an ancient aura settled on the mountain.
"YES! Slay this pest mother! I beseech you!", Atlas spat, the golden tears forming trails on his cheeks. His newly reformed chest was heaving but having his heart ripped out did deal him a critical blow. His arms were trembling and sweat caked his brow.
'Oh Nononononno! This is NOT happening', Athos thought, his eyes widening. He immediately brought out the coin his father gave him and prodded it.
Suddenly, the ground cracked beneath him and he was thrown off balance but managed to stay on his feet. The granite chunks in the distance were trembling dangerously and the cracks began spreading.
'Shit! Come on! Faster!', he prodded the coin once more and it began to glow bright gold. 'Finally!'
The coin quickly floated in the air and began spinning but the very next second spluttered out just as fast. It ceased glowing and fell back lifelessly on his palm.
*BOOM*
Athos was thrown to the ground as a part of the mountain broke off.
"MOTHER!", Atlas hollered as the cracks spread to his knees.
Athos stumbled to his feet and looked down, finding the bottom of the mountain slowly crumbling into a sinkhole. The ground was tilting and chunks of the mountain broke off.
"AAREEAOOMARGHH HORMMEARKH MOORAYHRE MARGORIJU!!!", a deep voice rumbled.
Athos could feel the ground tremble when every word was spoken - it was as though the mountain itself was speaking.
'Ourae? Mountain Gods!', he thought. He knew that they were entities who were incredibly loyal to Gaea but did she actually manage to convince Oreios, the personification of Mount Othrys, to commit suicide?! Just what lengths was she willing to go to kill him?
He frantically prodded the coin again while the Thoon's cleaver broke off from the mountain's surface, disappearing into the sinkhole. The coin glowed bright gold but began to flicker on and off, as though something was interfering with it.
"Gaea!!!", Athos yelled in anger and the faint sound of laughter overlapped with the deafening sounds of the mountain collapsing. He began sliding downward but he stabbed Leviathan into the earth, stopping himself from falling into the sinkhole.
"MOTHER! CEASE THIS MADNESS!", Atlas yelled as he sunk deeper into the summit.
*BOOM*
The ground below Atlas gave out and the funnel cloud came crashing down.
Athos watched with wide eyes as the sky met the earth.
And all was black.
***
Cold.
A burning cold.
"GAH! AAAH!!!", a confused Athos yelled as he came to his senses. "What on.....Shouldn't I be dead? Or am I?"
He was a large white world...no, he was on a mountain. He could somewhat see the tips of other mountains in the distance and snow crunched underneath his weight. It was snowing quite heavily and he could barely see the peak of the mountain he was on but why....why was it calling out to him? His senses were going haywire, urging, commanding him to scale the mountain.
He fought the urge to say, "A place of power, it's gotta be!"
He looked himself up and down, growing more and more confused by the second. Everything was intact - from his duster to his axe, nothing was out of place. Just...how was he alive? The sky meeting the earth would evaporate everything a hundred leagues surrounding it. Atlas himself said it in the books!
That bitch, Gaea, interfered with his dad's coin, trapping him on the crumbling mountain. A vein pulsed in his forehead and he rammed his fist against the ground forming a mini-crater while kicking up snow. Primordial or not, he would rip her apart!
He calmed himself and Perastos morphed into comfier wear. Getting to his feet, he stretched his limbs and looked into the distance. The peak wasn't all that far away, so he began his journey up the snowy mountain.
***
Serene.
Calm, peaceful and tranquil.
Athos didn't think any other word could describe the place before him. He'd thought that the top of the mountain would be more chaotic than ever but he couldn't be more wrong. A layer of clouds separated the summit from the rest of the mountain and when he broke through he almost forgot to breathe.
The first thing he noticed was the silence that pervaded the place. The sound of his heart beating was clearer than ever and he could hear his every breath. It was a stunningly beautiful scene. The innocently twinkling stars were akin to droplets of white sprinkled across a black canvas and colourful nebulae were splayed across a sky untouched by pollution. The layer of clouds below formed a sea of white that contrasted with the inky heavens, showing off a dichotomy that only served to enhance its beauty.
He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding and sat down. He wanted to soak in the atmosphere for a few moments but suddenly tensed, sensing a presence behind him. He turned around and his eyebrows almost disappeared into his hair.
A giant man sat cross-legged on an elevated platform - his stature was large enough to dwarf any other person by merely sitting. His body rippled with muscles and white ash covered his skin but his neck glowed a dark blue. A long snake was coiled around said neck - its sleek black scales glinting dangerously as it flared its hood while its tail drooped down to his chest. A long necklace made of large brown seeds also hung around his nape while two earrings, one large and one small adorned his ears. The skin of a tiger covered his waist and his long, thick hair was tied in such a way that it looked akin to a crown. Freshwater sprouted from his head and trickled down his body and down the mountain, forming a mighty river in the distance. A crescent-shaped moon floated next to his head as though bound by his very presence.
The man's eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and heavy. He exuded an aura that was eerily similar to Gaea in terms of ancientness but was dissimilar in every other way. While Gaea oozed power and might chaotically, he was more controlled - like a sheathed sword. Next to the man was something that probably made Poseidon's trident look like a piece of wood. Athos' inner mythology nerd immediately recognized the trident-esk weapon. It was the Trishul. The weapon of one of the Trimurti in Hindu Mythology.
The Weapon of Shiva, The Destroyer.
***
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