"Ah… why does my head hurt?" I muttered as I slowly regained consciousness.
I could feel myself being dragged across the ground by two people. I assumed they were men because of how firm their grips were. Their hands dug into my arms, but I stayed limp. If they thought I was still unconscious, I might learn something.
"I think he's waking up," one of them said.
"Don't fret," the other replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Mistress said he's very weak right now."
"You're right," the first man said with relief. "Besides, he'll wake up in his cell. In fact... here we are."
A heavy door creaked open.
The next thing I knew, they threw me inside.
That hurt.
I waited until I heard the cell door slam shut and the lock click into place. Their footsteps faded into the distance before I finally opened my eyes.
The first thing I noticed was how... beautiful the prison was.
The floor was polished porcelain, almost reflective. Roses wrapped themselves around the iron bars as though they had been planted there on purpose. Even the air carried a sweet fragrance.
What kind of prison smells like flowers?
"Fuck... who would've thought I'd end up in a situation like this?"
Then reality hit me.
Where the hell are my brothers?
A wave of panic rose in my chest, but I forced it back down.
"I've gotta get out of here."
I stretched out my hand.
My mallet appeared instantly.
But something felt wrong.
It was heavier.
Not physically...
It felt as though part of it was missing.
"What the hell...?"
Ignoring the feeling, I gripped the handle with both hands and swung with everything I had.
CLANG!
The impact echoed throughout the prison.
The bars didn't bend.
Didn't crack.
Didn't even vibrate much.
Instead, the sound disturbed every prisoner around me.
"Can't you just accept your fate?" an aggressive-looking centaur growled.
"Some of us are trying to sleep!" a mortal girl shouted.
Soon the entire prison erupted with complaints.
I scratched the back of my neck.
"Yeah... sorry."
Then everything went silent.
Massive golden gates at the end of the prison slowly opened.
Rose petals drifted through the corridor.
The prisoners immediately lowered their heads.
Attendants in elegant robes entered first, carrying golden staffs.
Then she appeared.
Aphrodite.
She walked with effortless grace, her golden gown flowing behind her like sunlight. Every movement looked impossible to imitate.
I hated admitting it...
She had a presence.
Her eyes swept across the prison before stopping on me.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she smiled.
"So," she said softly.
"You're Caelum."
The way she said my name made it sound like she'd known me for years.
I tightened my grip on my mallet.
"And you're the one who kidnapped me."
Gasps echoed throughout the prison.
Aphrodite simply smiled wider.
"Straight to the point. I can see why your brothers rely on you."
The mention of Aelion and Nyxar made my blood boil.
"Where are they?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"Oh? Concerned?"
"Answer me."
Her smile never faded.
"Easy, anomaly. Answers are privileges, not rights."
Before she could continue, I slammed my mallet against the bars again.
CLANG!
She flinched.
A grin spread across my face.
"Take that."
The smile disappeared from hers.
In an instant she was standing in front of my cell.
She grabbed the front of my shirt through the bars and yanked me forward.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Listen carefully, you arrogant little mortal."
Her eyes no longer looked warm.
"They will never find you."
"You will never see your brothers again."
"And every day you spend here... you'll become weaker."
"Do I make myself clear?"
I stared back at her.
Then spat directly in her face.
Silence.
The attendants froze.
The prisoners stared.
Aphrodite slowly wiped her cheek.
"You'll regret that."
She turned sharply and stormed out of the prison.
Most of the guards followed her.
Only two remained.
I leaned against the bars and sighed.
"Well..."
"Didn't think I'd piss off a goddess today."
The prison doors opened again.
This time, a boy walked in.
Golden-brown skin.
Short dreadlocks.
Dark hazel eyes.
He couldn't have been much older than me.
One of the guards frowned.
"Pothos? What are you doing here?"
The boy smiled.
Without saying a word, he pulled a small pouch from his pocket and blew its contents into the guards' faces.
They coughed.
Stumbled backwards.
Within seconds, both collapsed.
Pothos calmly searched one of them until he found a ring of keys.
Then he looked at me.
"So..."
"You're one of the triplets that's got Olympus panicking."
He grinned.
"I expected you to be taller."
Before I could respond, the prisoners began shouting.
"Don't let him out!"
"You'll doom us all!"
Pothos sighed.
"You guys really don't know when to keep quiet."
He looked at the prison with an apologetic smile.
"Trigger warning."
He drew a small knife and sliced across his palm.
Blood dripped onto the marble floor.
Then he flicked his hand.
Scarlet droplets scattered throughout the prison.
Wherever they landed, crimson anemones bloomed almost instantly.
A strange fragrance filled the air.
One by one, the prisoners fell silent.
Some collapsed to their knees.
Others covered their faces.
Many simply cried.
The flowers had forced them to relive the deepest tragedies they'd ever experienced.
Only I remained unaffected.
Pothos closed his hand.
The wound vanished without leaving a scar.
He unlocked my cell.
"We need to move," he said.
"They'll sense my magic soon."
Before I could say anything, we heard the sound of armored footsteps echoing through the corridor.
Pothos didn't hesitate.
He grabbed my wrist.
"Run."
We bolted out of the prison just as a squad of guards burst through the doors behind us.
"They're escaping!"
I glanced over my shoulder. There were too many.
Then I looked back at Pothos. He wasn't even looking behind him. He just kept running, almost like he'd expected this.
"They're catching up!" I shouted. "What are we going to do?"
"Wait for it," he replied calmly.
"Wait for wha—"
"Calantha! Asterion! Now!"
The hallway suddenly darkened.
Not because the lights had gone out.
The darkness itself spread across the floor like liquid, swallowing the marble beneath it.
From within the shadows, two figures emerged.
The first was a young man wearing a pitch-black cloak. One of his eyes glowed gold while the other was a vivid green.
Beside him stood a girl dressed in a midnight-blue gown. Her eyes were completely black, as though they held the night sky itself.
Without saying a word, the cloaked man thrust out his hand.
Dozens of black chains erupted from the darkness.
They shot through the corridor, wrapping around the guards before they could react.
The guards struggled.
The chains tightened.
A strange grey mist began leaving their bodies, flowing into the chains themselves.
The young man glanced back at us.
"I'll keep them busy."
His voice was calm.
"Go!"
The girl stepped forward.
Darkness rushed around me and Pothos before I could even blink.
It felt less like teleporting ...and more like falling through an endless shadow.
A heartbeat later, we burst out of another patch of darkness.
Fresh air hit my face.
We were outside.
Far outside.
Towering rose-covered walls stretched behind us.
I didn't even have time to process it.
My breathing became uneven.
My chest tightened.
The world suddenly felt too loud.
"Hey..."
Pothos crouched beside me.
"You good?"
I tried answering.
Nothing came out.
A grey portal ripped open nearby.
The cloaked boy stepped through first, followed by another unfamiliar guy.
The moment I looked at them...
Pain exploded inside my head.
Images flashed before my eyes.
Aelion.
Collapsed.
His sword lying beside him.
Then Nyxar.
Unconscious.
His scythe resting only inches from his hand.
"No..."
The visions became faster.
Sharper.
Hotter.
My entire body felt like it was burning from the inside out.
I screamed.
The ground beneath me blurred.
Voices became distant.
The last thing I saw was Pothos rushing toward me.
Then...
Everything went black.
...
Darkness.
Silence.
Then...
Light.
I slowly opened my eyes.
White.
Nothing but white stretched endlessly around me. No walls. No sky. No floor that I could make sense of. Just the same endless realm we'd first entered when we met those mysterious voices.
"...Not this place again."
I looked around cautiously.
"Hello?"
My own voice echoed into the emptiness.
No answer.
I sighed.
"Great. Guess I'm hallucinating now."
I started walking, though I wasn't even sure if I was moving.
Then, far ahead...
Two figures.
My heart skipped.
"...Aelion?"
The taller figure turned around.
"Caelum?"
"No way..."
I broke into a run.
Another figure stepped beside him.
Nyxar.
The moment I reached them, I pulled both of them into a hug without thinking.
"You idiots..." I muttered, trying to laugh. "You're actually okay."
Neither of them hugged me back.
Instead, they looked... confused.
Then I noticed it.
Their bodies weren't completely there.
Small pieces of them flickered like reflections on disturbed water.
"...You're seeing this too, right?" Nyxar asked quietly.
I slowly nodded.
"So this isn't real..."
"It is," Aelion replied. "Just... not physically."
Silence settled between us.
Finally, Nyxar spoke.
"Where are you?"
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"Aphrodite's domain."
Their expressions immediately darkened.
"Aphrodite?" Aelion frowned. "What does she want with you?"
"I don't know. She kidnapped us in her old lady form after she knocked us out. I woke up in this prison, and..." I looked around the empty realm before continuing. "A guy named Pothos rescued me."
Nyxar blinked.
"Pothos?"
"Apparently he's Aphrodite's son."
Both of them looked surprised.
"...Didn't know she had one," Aelion admitted.
"My thoughts exactly."
I looked between them.
"What about you two?"
Aelion folded his arms.
"I'm in Thanatos' domain."
I frowned.
"The god of death?"
"Yeah."
"That's... unsettling."
"You don't have to tell me."
We both looked at Nyxar.
He let out a small sigh.
"Poseidon's domain."
That caught me off guard.
"...Seriously?"
He nodded.
"I haven't seen Poseidon himself yet, but... I can hear the ocean constantly. It's like the whole place is alive."
For a moment, none of us spoke.
We were together... Yet impossibly far apart.
Then the White Realm trembled.
A faint crack spread beneath our feet.
"...Did this place always do that?" I asked.
"No," Nyxar answered immediately.
Another crack appeared.
Then another.
The endless white around us rippled like broken glass.
Aelion looked around uneasily.
"Our connection's becoming unstable."
"Or someone's interfering," Nyxar added.
The cracks widened.
I suddenly grabbed both of their shoulders.
"Listen."
"If we get separated again..."
They looked at me.
"...Don't give up."
"We'll find each other."
Aelion smiled.
"When have we ever given up?"
Nyxar chuckled.
"Besides... you're the one who always gets into trouble."
"Oh, shut up."
For a brief moment...
It felt normal.
Like we were back home arguing over nothing.
Then the realm shook violently.
A deafening crack echoed across the endless white.
Pieces of the realm began breaking away into darkness.
"I don't think we're supposed to stay here!" Aelion shouted.
Before I could answer...
Three familiar objects appeared between us.
A golden spindle.
A golden ruler.
A pair of golden scissors.
They floated silently for only a second.
Then all three shattered into countless particles of light.
The three of us froze.
"...That's never happened before," Nyxar whispered.
The White Realm collapsed.
Everything dissolved into blinding light.
The last thing I heard was my brothers calling my name.
"CAELUM!"
Then...
I woke up.
"Oh good. You're awake," Pothos said with a relieved smile.
I blinked a few times before sitting up.
That's when I realized I wasn't alone.
The room was filled with people, including the two who had helped us escape, and of course the portal guy.
The guy in the black cloak leaned against the wall with his arms folded.
"I know," he said. "There's a lot of us."
"You think?" I replied, looking around the room.
There had to be at least seven of them.
Some looked curious.
Others looked like they were trying to figure me out.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up.
"Well..." I said, dusting myself off. "Since I'm apparently stuck with you guys now...I guess we should all get to know each other."
The room fell quiet for a moment.
Then several of them exchanged amused glances.
Pothos grinned.
"Oh, trust me,you're going to like this family a lot more than Olympus."