MASK

Athos munched on a sandwich as he sat on rubble that was once the stands. A black shirt covered his previously battered body and his somewhat roughed-up backpack lay next to him. His head had ceased bleeding and his body wasn't all that sore anymore. It was probably because he had passed out for a long, long time after his battle.

He was almost fully recovered, as his healing factor usually went up to eleven when he slept, and the ambrosia he'd packed had helped too. It was useful, especially after a demanding fight.

Heh, fight.....

It wasn't a fight he'd just had. A better description would be a one-sided beatdown. The only reason he was alive right now was due to the God of Blacksmiths saving his ass. He still couldn't believe that he'd wasted a favour, but he thankfully still had one left. After all, he'd saved two lives and had been repaid for one.

His eyes flickered with anger as he relived getting blasted around by the abomination. He'd been toyed with by a Goddess' flawed creation. Humiliated. Humbled.

His fist slammed into stone with rage, levigating the chunks of rock to his side.

He had to grow stronger.

Strong enough to incite fear in Gods and Titans alike.

Strong enough to strike fear into Tartarus itself.

And strong enough to have Gaea beneath his feet.

Well, being the earth, she was always beneath his feet...but that's besides the point.

Strength...that's what he'd come here for. That's why he'd chosen the red key, despite the blatantly obvious risks. It was time to obtain the objects he was promised. Of the many, many things Janus was, an asshole included, he, at the very least, was not a liar.

He quickly polished off his sandwich and jumped off the stone mound wearing his torn backpack that was starting to become something of a burden. He'd taken it off to fight Anteas but it was quickly caught up in the chaos that followed. Losing his supplies mid-journey would be a pain in the ass.

The spectator's wall was fairly intact, with the main seat having a good-sized crack where Anteas had slammed his fist in anger.

He leapt onto it with a small grunt and looked around for any place that bastard Anteas could have hidden his belongings. He refused to believe that all the stuck-up giant had was his loincloth.

A few minutes went by with him scouring every nook and cranny for clues, but it was in vain. He'd found nothing except stone, stone, and more stone. He grunted in annoyance and jumped down the wall, all the while racking his brain.

'If I were a sadistic and temperamental giant with as much arrogance as the size of my belly, where would I hide my most treasured items?', he thought to himself, rubbing his chin, his eyes wandering all over the arena before landing on the large Poseidon banner in front of him that covered a large part of the spectator's wall.

Anteas had revered Poseidon, his father, greatly. His veneration was to such an extent that it bordered on insanity, but his fanatical belief and worship of the sea God was quite odd, given that the ability which granted him conditional immortality originated from his mother.

On second thought, the words 'fanatical worship' didn't cut it. Every skull and bone that ordained the ceiling, every drop of blood that was split in the arena, every death, every cheer and boo, all of it was dedicated to the Earthshaker. The guy was completely bonkers and that fact was further enunciated when Poseidon declared Percy as his favourite son. All that hard work and killing down had gone down the drain. Thus, if the mad giant would hid anything anywhere, it would be a place related to the God of the seas.

Athos walked forward and grabbed the banner, and with a light tug, ripped it off with ease, revealing a large circular door with two hinges. It was certainly large enough for a fifteen-foot giant to squeeze through.

"Jackpot!", he whispered with a small grin.

***

Athos walked down a large tunnel lit by faintly glowing stones that were embedded deep into its walls. Every step he took echoed slightly and his heart started to beat with anticipation.

Soon enough, after a minute or so of walking, he came across the giant's hidden stash in a large cave. It was well....odd.

Everything was strewn about in heaps, with no organisation whatsoever.

Swords, helmets and broken armour lay on the ground collecting dust. Probably trophies from Anteas' battles, as none of them would have remotely fit him. There were even a few vases, and old cracked pots for some reason. Moreover, the fur coats of large wild animals and monsters adorned the ceiling and floor. Orange and purple shirts hung to the side along with a few bead necklaces. Perhaps the remnants of demigods who were unlucky enough to wander into the labyrinth.

'Damn, there's a lot of stuff here', he thought as he practically waded across piles of artefacts and weapons, looking for something of value. He ignored all the swords and spears for he really didn't need a weapon. Leviathan was more than enough and it had served him well so far. What he needed was utility and perhaps something that could assist him with his battle with Achelous.

His eyes scanned the ground and quickly landed on a bronze bracelet that was way too small to fit a fifteen-foot-tall behemoth. He crouched and picked it up, admiring the craftsmanship it boasted before taking off his watch that had been rendered useless after his last fight. He slipped the bracelet on and it tightened around his wrist, giving out a slight glow, as though acknowledging its new owner.

It was beautiful, but he had no idea what it was supposed to do. He tried shaking it, mentally willing it to work and even verbally commanding it, but it was unresponsive. It seemed to be ornamental, but he knew better than to make such assumptions.

He shook his head and pushed the bracelet to the back of his mind. He continued to navigate his way through the mess that was the cave before coming to a halt before three objects that sat at the very back.

The moment he laid his eyes on them, he knew they were special. These were the things that Janus had promised he'd find. Ohoho...they were special indeed.

A small glass bottle with glowing blue liquid sat on the left.

A sand dollar sat in the middle.

But the third one was partially hidden, covered by a dark shadow. It was the largest of them all and emanated something that felt....evil. He slowly walked closer, and his eyes almost bugged out.

The question he had asked Nereus....about there being different pantheons. He had guessed right. He was in the Riordanverse, and different pantheons indeed existed. The evidence was sitting right before his eyes.

A large, red, menacing Oni mask with curved black horns and glowing black eyes stood on the cave floor with no visible support. The eyes seemed bottomless and a wave of pure, primal angst washed over Athos. His muscles clenched in fear and he instinctively summoned Leviathan as he felt danger.....but there was nothing. The object remained motionless.

He slowly inched closer for a better look and found something written right below the mask, carved onto the ground.

'Shuten-Doji'