Mountain of the Immortals

Climbing the next leg of the mountain was much easier, despite the steep incline, since we didn’t have to do it against a snowstorm. I also continually directed winds to push up and open a way through the snow, which turned out to be extremely useful more than once. High snow banks meant no visibility on the ground at all, so if it weren’t for my winds to clear the path, we would likely have fallen down a snow-covered crevice at some point. Nothing lethal for a god, of course, but it would have cost us a lot of precious time nonetheless.

Around three hours later, I started to worry about whether we were going to reach the top of the mountain before my weather manipulation skill ended. We had already entered what was supposed to be the cloud veil obscuring the top of the mountain, but since I had moved the clouds out of the way, this wasn’t a problem at all.

But no matter how much I pushed, the range of my spell wouldn’t allow me to clear enough of the clouds for them to completely disappear. It was like there was a forcefield around us, which meant we were still surrounded by clouds and terrible weather on all sides but only further away than seven thousand inches.

We were pushing close to three and a half hours on my skill when suddenly a thin ray of sunlight hit my cheek.

“We’re almost there!” I shouted and starting running forward, excitement filling me for the first time in what had felt like centuries. “The clouds are coming to an end.”

The women matched my speed and followed me as I climbed up what was no doubt the peak of the mountain. It took me a couple of minutes before I had reached an altitude high enough to completely move all of the clouds above us.

With an unobscured view, I realized two things. The first one was that the sun had almost set, which was evident from the beautiful layer of orange fluffy clouds that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was such a beautiful sight and for the first time in thousands of years, I felt like I was on top of the world. Which led to the second realization. This was most definitely a place where my father would not be able to track me, no matter what kind of divine power he used. Mount Orthys was nothing compared to Olympus. And I was to become its master.

I glanced at the women beside me who were still admiring the incredible view, and I did exactly the same. The coloration of the sun’s last light reflecting on the clouds made their faces glow with a radiant beauty. In that exact moment, there was nobody on this world I’d rather be there with.

“We’re still not done,” Artemis said, pointing at the last stretch of uphill on the mountain.

“Let’s do it together,” I said, and offered my open hands.

Aphrodite placed her hand in mine without hesitation and I was surprised that it took Artemis only a second to make up her mind to take my hand as well.

We walked for a few minutes like this, all the time watching the majesty of the sunset above the clouds. I could get used to living here. With these two beautiful goddesses and the impossibly poetic sunsets. I could only imagine how amazing the sunrises would be.

Before walking hand in hand became too uncomfortable, we finally reached the top of the mountain. Contrary to what I’d believed, the top of Olympus wasn’t some rugged stony peak but rather a lush, shallow valley with trees, grass, and a view to die for.

By some magical means, all of the lands below Mount Olympus were visible to us from up here. It was as if the hundreds of clouds that we had gone through to make it to the top did not exist at all from this perspective, and had only existed on the way up in order to guard this place.

There was enough room in this green valley for a whole city to be built and I could feel the energy of the place coursing through me already. It was as if my senses were heightened or if I had gone to bed early after a long day and woken up completely rejuvenated. It was the best, most healthy feeling in the world.

I turned my gaze lower, and scanned the surface of the valley until I finally spotted what I was looking for, a small white altar with an orb on top of it. The control altar of this whole place. It looked very similar to the one I’d seen Cronus control on Mount Orthys, though I had only managed to lay my eyes on that for a few seconds before he noticed me and I first experienced the difference in our power.

“It’s time,” I said, and started toward the altar.

The grass was soft beneath my feet and the breeze off the Aegean mixed with the scent of fresh grass entered my nostrils and pulled my mouth into an involuntary smile. It was the most beautiful place I’d ever been at and definitely a place fit for a king—one who protected everyone instead of just ruling over them and letting them fend for themselves.

“Are you okay?” Aphrodite asked.

I only noticed then that she was pulling my hand back. My hand had been stretching out toward the orb without me even having noticed. The place of power was summoning me and its call was so irresistible that I could barely hold myself back from making contact.

“I’m fine,” I said absentmindedly, and continued stretching my hands out to reach the orb, more deliberately this time.

“At least wait until I buff you,” Aphrodite said, and immediately started casting her buffs.

I forced myself to pull my attention away from the orb and nodded at her. I waited for Aphrodite to cast her spells on me and then, for the first time, looked at the orb to investigate it, rather than just being entranced by it.

The altar upon which it was standing was made of spotless, white marble, its five edges rounded and smoothed so perfectly that the light of the setting sun reflected off it in a perfect shiny arc. The base of the altar did not look like it had been placed on top of the ground but rather like it was growing out of it—as if this was the singular protrusion of an immense marble column that traveled deep into the bowels of the mountain.

The orb, on the other hand, was as dark as the starless nights of Tartarus. Its matte surface reflected only a bare minimum of the light that hit it, a few orange streaks of the sunset here and there, dancing endlessly.

Dancing? If the light is dancing then it can’t be the reflection of the sun.

I looked closer, only to realize that the swirling light was an endless kaleidoscope of colorful mana. There was an infinite procession of strict geometric patterns followed by chaotic shapes, interchanging with such great harmony that it begged the question of why no artist had tried to capture something similar so far.

“Ready.”

I barely heard Aphrodite’s words as I took a step forward and touched the orb.

* * *

You are attempting to interact with the Power of Olympus.

Do you want to lay claim to this place of power?

Yes No

* * *

I mentally selected “Yes” and instantly felt the ground disappear beneath my feet. I didn’t even have enough time to look at Aphrodite and Artemis as I fell into the void, the light turning more and more to darkness around me with every passing second until eventually I could see absolutely nothing.

The air around me was becoming hotter too, and I didn’t know whether this was a sign that I was traveling toward the mountain’s core or if it was yet another thing that my mind was making up. It certainly felt real. So real that I started worrying about the inevitable landing.

It was a huge fall, and whether I landed on a pile of jagged rocks, a soft bed of grass, or a pool of lava, the damage would be equally brutal. Landing in lava would be slightly more brutal, but I couldn’t say that I’d appreciate any of them. It wouldn’t be enough to kill a god, but I still carried with me the survival instincts I’d needed when I was a mortal.

Eventually, I saw a small blip of light that grew closer as I fell toward it. The little luminous dot grew to be enough to completely encompass me and soon I made out what it was—a hole to some kind of extra-dimensional place where it was still daytime.

I crossed through the gateway and landed on a white cloud. Hard.

I didn’t feel any pain or damage to my body, but when I lifted my face from the fluffy ground, I noticed a few smaller clouds had risen from the one I fell onto, as if in protest for disturbing them. I looked around me.

I was standing on a large battlefield, with hundreds of soldiers on each side and large plains of green grass between them. One of the armies was wearing dark-blue uniforms and holding a banner I didn’t recognize with a crow on it, while the others were wearing all-white clothes and armor, and holding a banner with a lightning bolt stitched onto it.

Even though I’d never seen that banner before, I instinctively knew that it was connected to me and I felt the need to support those people against the ones wearing dark blue. Focusing my sight on them, I realized that I was able to zoom in on wherever I wanted and see each of the fighters up close.

There were men and women of all races and ages. And they all looked determined to fight. But the oddest part about it was that they were all frozen in time. It was as if a painter had created a scene from just before a gigantic massacre and somehow made it possible for me to walk through their creation.

I could see the conviction in their eyes. I could smell the sweat and anticipation of the battle. I could almost hear the sound of swords clanging against each other and the thud of bodies hitting the ground. Those sounds that were almost certainly going to come once the world unfroze.

I zoomed out of the army that felt closely connected to me and looked at their opponents. They were all hardened people, their skin light and their teeth bared. The women held shields while the men were either equipped with short axes or swords. Their eyes, however, looked like they were their most dangerous weapon.

Crystal blue balls shined menacingly between the black, smoked skin around them. The sharp contrast of colors, the ashen black of charcoal and the shining blue, promised violence. The feathers of the crow standing proud on their banner had been created in the same unnerving color scheme.

* * *

You have 2 minutes to place your troops.

If you want to commence battle before the end of this time, call for battle.

* * *

What the hell is this?

Why am I supposed to place the troops? And who are these people?