All roads lead to rome chapter - 41
The ship groaned as Leo nudged it through the last cloud bank, metal wings humming with fresh upgrades. Jay stood at the helm humming proudly.
"Alright, alright-everyone's in one piece," Leo said as he guided the ship to level flight. "Ethan, Clarita, Enlight-roll call complete."
The group gathered near the center table, relieved but still carrying the exhaustion of the last wave.
But one question hung in the air.
"Where's the others...?" Enlight asked.
"Where's Arthur? And Abyss?"
Leyla leaned back in her chair, wearing a lazy smirk that set everyone on alert.
"Abby's on the way."
The table went silent.
Ethan blinked.
Clarita's jaw dropped.
Even Leo paused mid-adjustment on the ship's controls.
"When," Enlight asked slowly, "did you two get that close?"
Leyla opened her mouth, flipping her hair dramatically.
"Of course, as siblings, it's only natural to accept our differen-"
A shadow rose behind her.
A tall, cold silhouette that covered her in darkness.
"Half siblings," Abyss said, towering behind her like a storm that had learned to walk.
Everyone jumped.
Leyla grumbled, "You just love ruining my dramatic entrances..."
Abyss ignored her and walked to the table.
"And Arthur?" he continued. "How do I explain this without blowing your minds? He basically... rules Heaven now."
The group stared.
Jay shrugged. "Honestly? Tracks. Always knew that guy wasn't normal."
Enlight nodded. "Yeah, man had 'annoying destiny' written on his forehead."
But Ethan threw his hands up.
"HEAVEN. Actually. Exists?"
Abyss nodded.
Ethan leaned back into his chair like his spine detached.
"Cool. Great. Sure. Just... casual cosmic hierarchy stuff."
Abyss took a breath, then tapped the map at the center of the table.
"Anyway. We have bigger things to deal with. Focus."
The map unfurled-Gaea's waves marked with black ink. Seventeen of them.
"Monsters have gotten weird," Clarita said. "Some are too easy, some way too hard-like they're uneven."
"Uneven is one word," Abyss muttered. "They keep killing themselves when I get close. My theory? They're spies, not soldiers-"
Leyla cut in instantly.
"Or, hear me out, they're terrified of you. Ever consider that? Nope? Shocking."
Abyss rolled his eyes.
"Mother told me mortals fear gods. So no. I don't assume fear."
Leo snorted. "Bro, even Apollo would cross the street if he saw you coming."
But Enlight raised an eyebrow.
"...wait. You said your mother told you? Like-mother, mother?"
"Aphrodite," Abyss replied casually. "Yes. My biological mother."
A wave of disbelief hit the table.
"Hold on," Jay whispered. "You're telling me someone like you-is single?"
Abyss glared. "Drop it."
"Sorry, sorry-continue, King of Darkness and Bad Decisions."
The conversation turned back to the map.
"We head next to Italy," Leo said. "Specifically August-Augusta? Something Roman-sounding."
At the mention of Rome, Abyss paused.
Something old and warm stirred in him.
A memory without a clear shape.
"I've been there before..." he murmured. "Feels like home."
Then he frowned.
"...Where's Axel?"
Instantly, the room froze.
Faces fell.
Clarita looked away.
Enlight leaned forward, but couldn't speak.
Even Leyla went pale.
Abyss felt his pulse shift-winds tightening around him like claws.
"Where. Is. Axel?"
His voice came out low, layered with storm.
Clarita's lips trembled.
"Abyss... we tried to tell you earlier but-"
"Say it," he snapped.
Ethan swallowed hard.
"He was... assassinated. By a Romanian general."
Silence.
No one breathed.
Abyss's eyes darkened, pupils shrinking to slits of storm.
"...Then it's decided."
He pointed to Rome on the map.
"We go to Augusta. Now."
The group didn't argue.
No one dared.
Abyss stood and left for the deck-his assigned space since the ship had no room large enough for him anyway.
He stepped into the open air, facing the night sky alone.
Minutes later, quiet footsteps approached-soft, hesitant.
"Abyss?" Leyla asked gently.
And of course somewhere eles stuff is happening
The palace of Harmonia shimmered like a polished gem, its walls pulsing with soft divine resonance. Inside the royal library, two goddesses sat cross-legged on a mountain of golden scrolls, crystal tablets, and one very pink leather-covered book titled:
"Potential Daughters-in-Law - A List by Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty."
Harmonia rubbed her temples. "Mother... this book is thick enough to qualify as a weapon."
Aphrodite flipped a page without shame.
"How else am I supposed to find Abyss a proper wife? You think perfection just walks around on the street?"
Harmonia lifted a brow.
"We literally live among gods."
"And half of them are disasters!" Aphrodite snapped.
She flipped to a page with Eris's glamour shot.
Harmonia said gently, "They share the same energy. She could match him."
Aphrodite's eyebrow twitched so violently it could've summoned a storm.
"Absolutely not. Imagine family dinners. Every argument becomes a global crisis. Chaos is NOT entering my house."
She firmly crossed out Eris's name with a heart-shaped quill.
Harmonia sighed, then suggested carefully,
"...Artemis?"
Aphrodite groaned so loudly birds fell out of nearby trees.
"That girl treats love like it's a contagious disease! She sees a man and runs faster than Hermes. Abyss needs someone who can hold his hand without summoning wolves."
"She's loyal," Harmonia said. "She's strong. She's-"
"She's allergic to romance," Aphrodite cut in. "I am not solving that."
Harmonia was about to suggest another name when the air shifted.
The room filled with a scent too rare to mistake:
heavenly sweetness, like pink starlight melting through silk.
Soft steps.
A gentle giggle.
"Hi~"
Aphrodite's face lit up.
Harmonia blinked.
Because standing in the doorway was-
Elysium - Harbinger of Love
Her presence hit the room like soft light spreading across a lake. Everything felt warmer, calmer, more... right.
Aphrodite beamed.
"Elysium! My favorite partner in crime."
Harmonia whispered, "You two know each other?"
"Besties," Aphrodite said proudly, pulling Elysium into a seat. "We upgrade each other's domains, gossip about the mortals, judge bad romances-"
"-and steal Zeus's private wine," Elysium added with a wink.
Harmonia nearly choked.
Elysium smoothed her shimmering hair and leaned in.
"So~, what are we choosing today?"
Aphrodite held up the bride book.
"My son needs a wife."
Elysium froze. Just for a heartbeat.
Then her smile grew very, very soft.
"Oh? A wife? How interesting..."
Harmonia squinted.
Because Elysium was suddenly glowing.
Not in a general divine way.
No - a very specific "I hope she chooses me" glow.
Aphrodite didn't notice.
She was too busy flipping pages.
"Help me choose! You know beauty better than anyone besides me."
Elysium waved a hand, pretending not to smile too hard.
"Well... mother of the bride should always consider someone with class... grace... a deep understanding of Abyss's loneliness... maybe someone who already feels connected to him... perhaps someone whose domain naturally complements his..."
Aphrodite blinked at her.
"...You talking about yourself?"
Elysium's blush was so fast it could've started a forest fire.
"W-what? No! Definitely not. Nope. Never. Anyway-moving on!"
She cleared her throat and raised her hand.
"I will use my domain. True love cannot hide from me."
The Conceptual Domain of Love
Elysium's eyes went white.
The world cracked open.
Layers of pure concept unfolded around her - each path representing potential partners for Abyss.
She walked through luminous corridors.
Some names glowed briefly.
Some flickered and died.
Some burned with false destiny before fading away.
She searched for her own thread-
hoping, praying...
She found nothing.
Her steps slowed.
Her expression dimmed.
"...Maybe farther," she whispered.
Then she saw it.
A corner of the conceptual plane cloaked in dark silver, pulsing like a heartbeat hidden behind stormclouds.
Something-someone-there.
Destiny shivered through her.
She rushed toward it, heart pounding, whispering:
"Please be me... please-"
When she reached the source-
Her smile died.
Because it wasn't her.
Not even close.
it was a goddess
Something... unspeakably dangerous to name not because the goddess holding the name dangerous nope the opposite because Elysium think these two dangerous because they are not good match in her eyes!!!
Elysium backed away, breath unsteady.
She knew she had no right to reveal this.
Destiny demanded silence.
The conceptual domain collapsed.
Back in the palace
Aphrodite leaned forward eagerly.
"Well? Who is it? How pretty is she? What's her personality? Is her fashion sense acceptable?"
Elysium gave a tiny, brittle smile.
"...I found someone."
"And?"
"My lips are sealed."
Harmonia frowned.
"Elysium-you're usually so open."
"Not this time."
She stood, the air around her shimmering.
"I hope you find the answer you want, Aphrodite.
But the truth... is dangerous."
Aphrodite blinked. "Dangerous? For my son?"
"For me." Elysium said
And with a flutter of pink-gold light, Elysium vanished-
heartbroken, hopeful, and sad because she wasn't the one
Though somewhere eles at the deck of the ship
The deck of the ship was quiet.
Midnight draped the world in silver; the ocean stretched endlessly beneath the moon, black and cold like a sleeping beast. Lanterns swayed softly with the waves, their light barely reaching the tall figure sitting alone at the edge of the ship.
Abyss.
Bare-chested, despite the freezing wind biting at the air. His breath misted faintly, but his posture remained still - the kind of stillness that belonged to statues or ancient things that forgot how to move his hobby is to see how long he can stay in the cold since these stuff usually surprise people.
Leyla approached quietly.
She hesitated a moment before stepping closer. She knew her brother wasn't really asleep. Abyss never truly slept - he... rested. Eyes closed, mind awake, senses sharper than storms.
But what she saw made her stop mid-step.
Under the moonlight, the skin across his back and shoulders gleamed like cracked obsidian.
Dark fissures.
Running across his ribs.
Down his spine.
Crawling toward his heart like roots of living night.
Veins of darkness, glowing faintly as if something inside him pulsed - something ancient, dangerous, and barely contained.
Leyla swallowed.
"Abyss...?" her voice trembled without meaning to.
His eyes opened immediately - sharp silver, like a blade catching the moon.
He didn't move. Didn't turn. Just watched her from the corner of his eye, waiting.
Leyla stepped forward slowly, the cold wind tugging at her Greek dress, her hair whipping behind her.
When she stood close enough, she reached out a hand - and then froze just inches from his skin. The cracks pulsed once, faintly, reacting to her presence.
"...What are those?" she whispered.
Abyss didn't answer.
The wind went dead still.