My Life, Your Conscience
Day ???, year ????.
"You have returned."
A bulky old man with a giant trident in his hand. His eyes were as blue as the ocean, and his grey hair was sparkling in the sunlight.
"I have come for your head, Poseidon!"
The war had ended in the victory of Olympus. Today, he was going to silence the ruthless tyrant for his crimes against his family.
"Did she tell you of my whereabouts?"
The young man was consumed with boundless rage. He didn't give a damn about explaining things to a monster like him.
"Prepare yourself!"
The Aegis shone, accepting the feelings of its companion to facing a formidable enemy.
"I can't fight you, boy."
The golden armor that was covering his chest vanished. A purple mark of the curse was laid down right at the place of his heart.
"The seed is asking for its toll."
The lines that were supposed to be the reason for the power of gods had darkened in color. Pulsating like veins filled with blood, the purple poison had made its presence a necessity for his survival.
"I will have to apologize for letting your ambitions go to waste. But if you want to kill me, you will have to sacrifice your warrior's pride to execute a weak cripple such as myself."
'Thud!'
He dropped his trident to the ground.
"One way or the other, I am bound to suffer by the lashes of destiny."
In his final moments, the overbearing god was looking eerily similar to a mortal in loss. His final words to the boy were,
"Make your choice, Perseus. Ultimately, it is not my life, but your conscience, that is at the mercy of your will."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Day 113, Year 3000.
Gawain woke up, covered in cold sweat.
The look in the eyes of the helpless old man was burned into his mind. Unlike the other dreams, this one didn't involve the woman or the oath. This one was a complete mystery to his mind. The only two things that were similar to the original were the Aegis and the person that was supposed to be talking to the trident-wielding god, Perseus.
'Correlation. What is the correlation?'
Trident was the weapon of the god of the sea, Poseidon. If he makes that comparison, then that must mean,
"Poseidon was afflicted by a curse..."
That didn't seem right.
"Disease?"
The purple mark on his heart. The dark fluid flowed through his veins.
Gawain lit up the lamp.
'The seed is taking its toll.'
He went towards the shelf and took a notebook out.
"I have to note this down."
In a summary, he took a pen and tried to make sense of his dream.
"Perseus returned to kill Poseidon after a war between Olympus and..."
No other name was mentioned.
"A vendetta concerning his mother's death."
'Think, think!'
Who was she?
"Someone helped Perseus get to Poseidon."
Was it the woman from the oath?
"Lashes of destiny, crippled by a disease or a curse. Death was inevitable."
He drew the mark on his heart from memory.
"A purple eye engraving that had seven-no, eight lines coming from it."
Also mentioned as 'seed.'
"Finally, a choice to kill or spare."
My life, Your conscience.
'Knock-knock!'
Taken by surprise, his heart skipped several beats.
"Is everything alright?"
Celia's voice. He brought his hand to his heart and weakly said,
"Everything is fine..."
"Go back to sleep. Your body and mind need to be well-rested for tomorrow."
He looked at the notes, and then looked back at the door.
'She is right. I'll have plenty of time to go over this after tomorrow's competition. If I want answers, I will have to show some patience.'
He dimmed the lamp.
'I have to focus.'
-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Overseer's office, 3 hours ago.
"You did well, Siegfried."
"I didn't do anything."
'Gulp.'
Kiso Yoshinaka. The guy who had won a lot of money from this competition.
"You don't have to lie to me."
He took a sip of the wine to give company to the overseer.
"I am not lying to you, Kiso."
Tomoe, Pitted up against the commoner. An effort to kill the competition in a single move.
"It was his master that brought it up in the first place."
Joan Romée. She was the one who insisted on her student being put against the number one seed.
"Remind me to thank her later."
All of them had made fine stepping stones for the rise of Tomoe.