The soft morning light invaded Artemis' Chalet, slowly illuminating the interior.
It had been decades since he had slept, Ikki blinked a few times before truly awakening. He moved slightly as he sat up in bed, looking to the side and noticing that Artemis was not there. In her place, a carefully prepared breakfast: fresh fruit, bread, honey, and a glass of juice.
Beside the tray, a small note rested elegantly folded.
Curious, Ikki picked up the note and opened it, reading the words written in graceful handwriting.
"Last night was wonderful. I confess I wanted to stay with you longer. Don't forget, you are mine, Ikki Phoenix. Unfortunately, I have divine duties to attend to, but we will see each other again. And, by the way, keep the women away... or I will take care of that myself. With affection, Artemis."
Ikki arched an eyebrow, an amused smile appearing on his lips. He could almost hear her voice whispering those words, with that authoritative tone. He sighed, leaning back on the bed as he looked at the note once more.
He had decided to leave the past behind, he had resolved to be with Artemis despite everything. Partly due to his feelings, but he couldn't help but think about how the Fates must be feeling? He had basically destroyed the entire emotional trap they had set for him, in fact, he had taken advantage of it to be with a goddess...
Still wrapped in the sheets, Ikki took a piece of bread and brought it to his mouth, biting slowly as he stared at the ceiling, reflecting on everything. A relationship with the goddess of the hunt would be anything but ordinary... but, honestly, he didn't want it to be. Although they hadn't talked about it and had just enjoyed themselves and made love until close to dawn, had they established a relationship...?
It was confusing, but he didn't care.
When he put aside all thoughts about it, something strange caught his attention. His body felt freer, a sense of lightness enveloped him. He closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated on where the sensation originated, trying to understand what was happening. That's when he noticed something that surprised him: a kind of 'Seal' broke within his body. The moment he opened his eyes, the fragments became a smooth flow of information that entered his mind.
His [Heavenly Forbidden Body] had one of its 'Seals' removed due to having slept with Artemis. It wasn't clear why doing this met the condition to break one of the seals, the feeling of freedom he felt was a consequence of that. But he wasn't focused on that, he was focused on the information he 'received' with the removal of the seal, information flowed endlessly into his mind.
The ability called [Emperor's Will], which had been renamed to [Monarch's Dominion], along with the [Nirvana Hands], had disappeared even from his [Conceptual Void] which had absorbed their aspect for him to understand the concepts behind them.
The disappearance was due to the fact that they were natural abilities of his body that had become superpowers of their own, one to subdue and the other to stimulate pleasure nerves in addition to restoring dead flesh, something he didn't know. Basically, these two superpowers were a 'help' to break the first seal, which implied that it was to subdue and sleep with a woman.
In the information that entered his mind, apparently his body possessed the innate effect of causing extreme pleasure for any woman he slept with, and this explained why Artemis didn't feel pain for more than a second during penetration, being her first time and all, he was grateful for this effect that made things more pleasurable for her. It is worth noting that it was the effect before the breaking of the 'seal', and now it was much stronger, the "careful" label was placed in his mind.
Well, being more specific, the breaking of the first 'Seal' didn't make the abilities disappear completely. Now he possesses the ability to bring out a person's deepest desire or darkest fantasy with a glance or by asking them, it was a way of subduing the minds of living beings to make them respond to it, coming from the same effect of his old ability that served to 'Subdue', he also had a complete set to stimulate someone's body for healing or countless effects, a reflection of his old ability that served to 'Stimulate'.
The difference was that these two abilities were natural to his body and not an external power.
Of course, besides these two natural abilities, he also gained the natural ability to alter his appearance to whatever he desired. While this was interesting, he was more interested in the innate ability he unlocked by breaking his 'Seal', the [Forge] ability which gave him the ability to put one of his abilities to evolve without limitations in the direction he desired, the only requirement is that it needs enough energy. Furthermore, it also gave him the ability to fuse different abilities with a certain degree of similarity.
Besides the powers he gained from breaking the seal, he had also gained an understanding of two new concepts, [Seal] and [Sex], the 'Seal' reached 8% and 'Sex' reached 10%, bringing him even closer to forming his own Divinity.
After absorbing all the information, Ikki put his hand on his chin as he reflected on his situation. Although he no longer had access to his [Source] because it was inside the [Conceptual Void] for him to understand, he could still use it as fuel for his [Forge] according to the information he had in his mind. He still didn't quite understand how the sealing nature of his 'forming divinity' worked, but it was as if he couldn't materialize the energies of his [Source] or all the concepts he was understanding in the external world, but strangely he could use them within his body.
Still processing all the new abilities that had emerged within him, he decided to test one of them to better understand its workings. Curiosity drove him, and he felt that now was the ideal time to explore his newly discovered [Forge]. He knew this ability had the potential to transform his abilities without limitations, but he needed to understand how it actually worked.
With a thought, he directed his [Presence Manipulation] into the [Forge].
Concentrating, he imagined [Presence Manipulation] as a ball of light in his mind, shining brightly. Without hesitation, he swallowed it with his consciousness, allowing the power to merge with the [Forge]. Something immediately happened: the light seemed to disintegrate as it flowed into his essence, intensifying the power he felt in his body, which began to heat up like an actual forge.
Meanwhile, the [Forge] sucked up almost all the energy from his 'Source' and spat out a new ability that surprised him. While maintaining his ability to manipulate presences, which was expanded in new ways of using it, such as the ability to make anyone unknown to the level that all things or people who come into contact with him are unable to recognize him by inserting an unknown presence into the entity, or the ability to cause phenomena based on presence at catastrophic levels, this ability gave him a much broader control over the senses of any entity.
He could alter the perception of time, space, and even the emotions of others. This could cause confusion, illusion, or even manipulate the flow of time so that it seemed to speed up or slow down to his liking. For example, making an enemy perceive that they are in a battle for years, when in reality only seconds have passed, or manipulating a person's senses so that they cannot distinguish the real from the illusory.
He decided to call it [Subtle Immersion] because it was basically impossible to detect its use.
The interesting thing about the [Forge] is that it made [Subtle Immersion] become something natural to his existence, as if it were something innate, making the control so refined that he didn't have to focus on hiding his appearance, he could do it with a mere thought.
Ikki smiled to himself, satisfied, as he realized that his experiment with the [Forge] had been successful. The feeling of having mastered such a powerful ability brought him indescribable satisfaction. He finished eating what was left of breakfast as he reflected on the change he felt in his body.
There were many possibilities. If such an ability as the [Forge] had awakened by breaking one of the seals, what about the others? Would he have more abilities, perhaps, about 'life' to revive his mother? What did he have to do to break the other seals?
Getting out of bed, he stretched, feeling the softness of the sheets sliding over his skin, still completely naked. As he did so, he noticed something curious.
His body looked different...
He brought a full-length mirror from Aphrodite's Chalet using his control over the wind to teleport the object in front of him and looked at his reflection and was surprised to see that, indeed, something was different. His muscles looked even more toned, if before they seemed a perfect masterpiece, now it was literally the concept of 'Perfect Body' taking shape. He also noticed that he was slightly taller, now he was easily 6'2".
And, he had become even more handsome, something that previously seemed impossible. His face, which was already breathtaking, was now even more perfectly sculpted, his features more defined, his eyes more penetrating. It was as if every detail of his appearance had been enhanced, elevated to a level he could never have imagined reaching.
Before, he was already someone who made others question their sexuality, made women sigh for him and dream of a life by his side, but now... he seemed to be on a new level. Fortunately, he could now alter people's perception of this as easily as breathing, or even change his appearance through his body's natural ability.
Sighing, he waved his hand in the air in a simple gesture, and in an instant, the mirror vanished, returning to Aphrodite's Chalet from whence it had been "borrowed."
With that settled, he glanced around Artemis' Chalet, looking for his clothes. But he remembered that Artemis had destroyed them with a subtle use of divine power, except for his shirt, which had somehow survived intact.
He picked up the garment, observing it for a moment before dropping it on the bed, letting out a low chuckle. "It seems not even my clothes escape..."
Without many options, he decided it would be faster to teleport elsewhere and find something suitable to wear. With one last look at the silent chalet, Ikki let the wind envelop him and, in a blink of an eye, he vanished.
The air around Zeus' Chalet crackled as Ikki appeared in the middle, his body materializing from the wind. He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his black hair.
Before anything else, he decided to clean himself. He subtly manipulated his dominion over lightning, making golden sparks dance around his body. In an instant, an intense heat ran through his skin, burning away any dirt or impurity without causing any harm. When the electrical energy dissipated, he felt renewed, as if he had just stepped out of a divine bath.
Ikki walked to a closet where he kept some extra clothes. He pulled out a pair of black tailored trousers and put them on calmly, feeling the comfortable fabric fit perfectly to his body. Finally, he took a white, long-sleeved, button-down dress shirt and put it on, leaving some of the top buttons open, revealing a glimpse of his chest and the pendant he had earned in his first year at Camp Half-Blood resting against his skin.
His movements were methodical, but his mind was already on his next action. With the energy he had spent on evolving his current [Subtle Immersion] ability finally restored, Ikki smiled slightly. It was time to move on to the next one.
Remembering his technique, [Death Scripture], Ikki realized how obsolete it had become, neglected by the lack of real challenges. He had never managed to use this ability in a meaningful way, especially not in his mother's death, where upon trying, he learned it would only create a zombie – something he would never want. He had left this technique within the Void of his soul, despite that, he felt he could strangely pull it out from there to throw into his forge.
He threw it into the [Forge] without hesitation as he felt his energy being sucked away to evolve such an ability. Immediately he felt his body heat up, he could perceive the transition as his energy began to dissipate in the evolution of the ability. While the process was happening, the feeling of exhaustion took over his body, but he was far from feeling discomfort. He noticed that the energy that had been sucked away was all his reserves this time.
When the evolution process finished, his mind was filled with information as the small diamond on his forehead reflected a soft golden glow.
Surprise shone in his eyes as he learned about the ability that came from his technique. He had gained a "body that does not know death" on a conceptual level, with infinite longevity and unable to age upon reaching his physical peak, along with many other benefits.
In basic terms, his current body was immune to all kinds of drugs, toxins, poison, he didn't need oxygen to survive, he could live in the vacuum of space or at the lowest level of the ocean, temperatures didn't affect him in any degree, he already had some of these basic attributes before, but this time it was elevated to a new level. Simply, his body requires a level of attack of the highest degree to be injured – when injured, his body regenerates automatically and instantaneously, giving him complete immunity to what injured him, if he is killed, he returns in the same instant and becomes immune to what killed him. He could revive even from being reduced to atoms or completely disintegrated, even erased from reality, and could revive up to eighteen times a day.
He could also imbue the 'concept of death' into his attacks. And remove the shadows of the dead to create an army of undead through the shadows, maintaining the strength of when these existences were alive, he could control them at will.
And that was just him keeping the abilities of the [Death Scripture] which were enhanced to a certain degree, reviving the dead, resurrection, post-death adaptation and immortality of the four secret arts. The difference was that they became innate abilities of his and had their weaknesses eliminated while being enhanced.
He decided to call this former technique and current innate ability or body status [God's Right Hand].
Why? Well, he felt it was a very good name.
One thing he realized through this was that the techniques and abilities he put into the [Forge] that he pulled out of the [Conceptual Void] within himself, became free. He supposed it was due to being something innate to his body, and also, the evolution of his abilities allowed him to have a new understanding of the concepts that governed them.
While waiting for his energy used in the [Forge] to recover, Ikki left Zeus' Chalet and headed towards and walked through Camp Half-Blood with a specific destination in mind.
He found Nico and Bianca in the arena to train them both. He had promised to help them train, and he wasn't one to go back on his word.
Upon arriving, he found the siblings already prepared.
Just as he had done with Percy, he accelerated their training through his powers. Trapping them both in a much more realistic and expansive illusory world due to his newly acquired [Subtle Immersion], one hour in the real world was equivalent to a year in the illusory world, and he made them both go through all kinds of environments and situations. Thanks to this, the two learned to use their powers inherited from Hades efficiently and also gained valuable combat experience.
When they woke up half lost from everything, he helped them recover faster, altering their perception of recovery time to pass faster, for them it was half an hour or more, but in reality, it only took a second. He then trained them through combat, correcting mistakes and teaching various moves. At some point, several campers joined in, including Percy who came to train with the sword, he helped and trained them leisurely as well.
The training lasted for hours.
Meanwhile, the energy he spent to use in the [Forge] was recovered and he evolved more of his abilities after trying to continue evolving [God's Right Hand] and failing due to lack of energy, he managed to merge his old ability to make illusions into [Subtle Immersion], which made the ability much more terrifying. Despite attempts to evolve [God's Right Hand] not working. After a few attempts, he managed to merge his ability from [Artificial Divinity] with [God's Right Hand] just making it a natural part of his body, and not an external power he invented.
As he quickly recovered his energy, he evolved a few more abilities during those hours.
The next ability he chose to evolve was the [Nine Yang Suns] technique that he had also stopped using, it evolved into an innate ability of his body that transformed his heart into a sun. Allowing him to create, shape and manipulate all aspects of a sun for countless uses, he called it [Crown of the Sun] although there was no crown during the use of this ability.
Next were his fencing skills which had their own technique as a core, it evolved into an innate ability as well as his fencing entered another level. He called it [Law of the Invincible Sword] which simply granted him the conceptual power to transform any object into an invincible sword.
Anything he touches can transform into a stronger sword that can cut anything and everything, rivaling even the legendary Excalibur. His authority is not limited to a sword-like object, even the ground or a meteorite can be transformed into the strongest blade.
He also evolved his perception through magic or other abilities, merging them all into one core to be able to evolve. Gaining the innate ability he called [Divine Sense] which grants unparalleled sensory and cognitive capacity, allowing him to feel and perceive absolutely everything within a vast radius, encompassing not only physical senses, but also the perception of energies and even abstract states. With this ability, he can detect any form of matter, energy and power, regardless of its state or location. He also has flawless 360° vision, being able to "see" everything around him simultaneously. This vision is not limited by physical obstacles, allowing him to perceive what is behind him, in the air, or even underground, as if he had a comprehensive and complete perception of space.
His [Divine Sense] could encompass an entire continent if he wanted.
He also evolved all his magic and techniques by merging them into just a single evolved innate ability he called [Archmage] which granted him innate mystical arts or powerful spells. Some of these include conjuration, astral projection, hypnosis, enchantments, runes, transmutation, animancy, summoning, teleportation, elemental magic and so on.
This helped him understand the rest of the concept of [Magic] gaining yet another new [Authority] – a name he decided to give to materialized concepts or Laws.
When the whole process of evolving his abilities stagnated due to lack of energy, it was already lunchtime and the training ended.
While having lunch with Percy and Grover, Ikki kept thinking about his future plans, for now, he would stay at camp. But hearing Percy say that he would go home in a few days, made him think about going on a new journey as well.
Ikki walked through the forest, his mind immersed in thoughts about his new powers and the training he had conducted earlier, he was also thinking about what to do next.
The sound of branches snapping under his feet and the rustling of leaves in the wind were the only sounds that accompanied him as he crossed the familiar terrain. The reason he was walking in the forest was that when he was about to go to the camp library, he noticed Silena strangely ran into the forest after leaving Aphrodite's cabin and decided to investigate.
Silena was being strange with him and it was one of the things that worried him, he wanted to know what had happened to her, since she was his best friend here at Camp Half-Blood.
After a few minutes of walking, he spotted her. Silena was there, with a distant and uncomfortable look, fiddling with something in her hand.
He approached silently, observing her carefully. Noticing immediately that she was using the 'Mist' to hide the presence of the object on her wrist.
He frowned. Why was she hiding something under the Mist? Why did she feel the need for that?
At first, he didn't want to invade her space or judge her, but a sense of mistrust took over him. He then decided to reveal himself and be direct in asking what was going on.
"Silena. What are you doing here?" He called and asked, his voice calm, but full of curiosity.
She turned quickly, her eyes wide, surprised and something else Ikki couldn't immediately identify. Fear? He observed her more closely, and the doubt intensified.
"Ikki..." She replied, the surprise still in her voice, but something else was there. A certain insecurity, a contained fear.
Before he could ask more questions, Silena, visibly nervous, tried to hide the object she was holding, a bracelet.
He approached, not hesitating to question her:
"What's going on, Silena? Why are you hiding that under the Mist?"
Startled, she looked away, trying to hide what she was feeling. Her eyes, laden with guilt, quickly fixed on something else.
She saw it in his eyes. He had perceived the Mist hiding the object. There was no escape.
A tremor ran through her body. She wanted to keep lying, wanted to pretend that everything was fine, that nothing had changed, that she hadn't made unforgivable mistakes. But she was tired.
So tired.
Tired of hiding. Tired of lying. Tired of seeing Ikki's eyes, always full of trust, now looking at her with suspicion.
Tears streamed down her face as she let out a shaky sigh. Her chest hurt. Her heart was pounding so fast it felt like it was going to explode. She swallowed hard and, with trembling fingers, began to slide the bracelet off her wrist.
She hesitated for a second.
If I do this, there's no going back. He'll never look at me the same way again.
The thought was like a knife piercing her heart. She wanted to run. She wanted to say it was nothing. But Ikki wouldn't accept that. Not anymore.
She closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of the tears on her skin, and then, in a slow movement, opened her fingers.
The bracelet fell into her hand and, before Ikki's eyes, expanded, transforming into an amulet. The transformation was quick, and what had seemed like a simple accessory now revealed an amulet with an inscription, something that immediately made Ikki widen his eyes in surprise. He looked at the symbol on the piece, a scythe. He already knew what that meant.
"No..." He murmured, the disbelief evident in his voice. The scythe... She was marked. The connection to Kronos was evident. He looked at her, shocked, a feeling of betrayal taking over his thoughts.
Silena was his best friend and she was working with Kronos and Luke who were part of those responsible for killing his mother. How could he not feel betrayed by this?
"Silena, you... You're working for him?"
She didn't answer immediately, her body trembling as she looked at Ikki with teary eyes.
"I... I didn't want to, Ikki," she whispered, the words coming out between sobs. "Kronos promised me that if I helped him, I could save lives, prevent others from dying like my friends. He... He threatened me. If I didn't help him, he would do something to you, like he did to your mother..."
Ikki stared at her, narrowing his eyes, even a year ago his strength was enough to face Kronos. Why did Silena believe that? The worst part was that she had gotten involved with the enemy, which meant the entire camp was at risk because of her choices.
"How could you? You betrayed all of us, Silena. How...?"
Silena looked at him, crying openly now, her face contorted with pain.
"I didn't want to! I just... I was scared, Ikki. I didn't know what else to do. He said the only way to prevent more deaths was to follow his instructions. I didn't want to betray anyone. I didn't want to do this, Ikki. I...."
"I know that I betrayed the camp and it's unforgivable..."
Her voice broke.
"I know, Ikki."
She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs.
"I just... I just didn't want to lose you."
She looked up, desperate.
"I know I can't ask you to forgive me. But I need you to know that I never wanted to hurt you."
Silena moved without thinking, taking a step forward, her trembling hand reaching out to touch him.
"Ikki... please..."
Her voice came out broken, choked with tears. Her heart was beating so fast she felt like it was going to explode.
Ikki didn't pull away immediately. He just stood there, looking at her with an expression that killed her inside. There was no hatred, there was no anger. Just calm and indifference.
Silena would touch his arm in the next second. But before she could, Ikki raised his hand, gently holding her wrist.
Such a gentle touch... but at the same time, so definitive.
Silena held her breath.
"Don't do that," he said softly.
The pain hidden in his words was the final blow.
She felt the tears streaming even faster, a sob escaping from her throat.
"I... I love you." She confessed desperately. "I didn't want to lose you... please..."
Ikki's eyes were indecipherable, even with her saying she loved him. A sigh escaped his lips as he spoke, "I forgive you."
Silena's heart stopped for a second.
She blinked, looking at him, hope shining in her eyes.
"So... so does that mean..."
"But I will never be able to trust you again." Ikki's final words cut like a sharp blade.
Silena's world collapsed.
Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground, strengthless, breathless.
"No... please..."
She clutched the earth, her breathing rapid and unsteady. Despair tightened its grip on her chest like merciless claws.
Ikki took a step back, and she knew he was leaving.
"Ikki!" She pleaded.
But he just looked at her one last time.
"Goodbye, Silena... Don't worry, I won't say anything to the rest of the camp. This is your job alone..."
And then he turned, walking out of the forest, without looking back.
Silena stayed there, alone.
Alone amidst the emptiness of her own betrayal, crying desperately as the only man she loved disappeared into the darknes