Chapter 44 - I am in rome
Ethan and the group stopped well outside the heart of Rome-far enough that no legion patrol would glimpse a flying ship turning into a swimming ship. The vessel dipped down, mechanical wings folding inward as its hull shifted for river travel.
Boots hit the ground. Dust lifted.
Abyss and Clarita stood at the forefront, assessing the ancient landscape.
"So," Clarita crossed her arms, "same plan? You do the hard part?"
Abyss sighed. "As usual."
"Perfect," she muttered.
The others nodded immediately-a unanimous vote for Abyss doing dangerous work. Jack opened his mouth to protest, but then stopped halfway.
"Eh," Jack shrugged, "a vacation where I don't accidentally sign deals with demons sounds nice."
Leyla, however, sprinted forward as if she was escaping a prison sentence.
"I'm coming with you three!"
Abyss blinked at her. "Ugh-no. Girl, you are not built for-"
Leyla cut him off with a dramatic gasp.
"Please! I come from an acting background! I KNOW how to help."
Clarita facepalmed.
Abyss groaned. "Fine. But if you scream for help, I'm leaving you with the gladiators."
They disembarked, entering the outskirts of Rome-stone arches, towering columns, the heavy scent of incense drifting across the streets. Clarita examined the carved walls with... unimpressed disgust.
"Too many designs. Everything is just-extra."
Leyla shoved her shoulder. "Suck it up! It's Rome! Aesthetic!"
She then immediately betrayed her own lecture.
Her eyes widened. "OH. MY. GOD."
She pointed at a stand displaying an exquisite hand-stitched dress.
"A-A ROMANIAN DRESS! I always wanted one! I saw it on TV-"
Abyss clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Don't say foreign words. We're in a different plane-the ancient one."
Leyla pouted, swatting his hand away. "I still want it..."
Clarita raised a brow. "We don't have Romanian currency."
Abyss reached into his cloak.
"I do. I've been to Rome before."
He pulled out ancient Roman coins, shiny and heavy.
He held up a dress toward Clarita.
"You want one too? We need to blend in."
Clarita shook her head. She would stay hidden in the shadows-literally.
---
Scene Shift
Jack, Leo, and Ethan had... other plans.
They wandered too far and ended up near a training yard where young Roman warriors sparred. Without thinking too hard about consequences-
"Military exam," Leo whispered.
"Military exam," Jack confirmed.
Ethan sighed. "We are idiots."
Then he stepped forward with them.
They joined the test without using any demigod abilities-pure human effort. Leo tripped on his own sandal. Jack accidentally knocked out a trainee with a shield he wasn't supposed to touch. Ethan did surprisingly well, but still got yelled at in Latin.
Eventually they escaped before getting drafted.
Wandering further, they entered a small village under the Greek-claimed region of early Rome. Two locals chatted loudly in the marketplace:
"Demigods ain't real," one scoffed.
"Just illusions made by the empire to control worship," the other agreed.
Jack froze mid-bite of a stolen pastry.
Leo whispered, "No way-conspiracy theorists existed even back then?"
Ethan rubbed his temples. "I hate this timeline."
They listened as the locals continued:
"I heard the emperor's founded place-Camp Jupiter, they call it."
"Rumors," the other muttered. "No one's seen the director. It's propaganda."
A nearby guard stomped over, slamming his spear on the ground.
"You dismissive peasants! Speaking above your status! Camp Jupiter is REAL. And its director holds authority higher than your entire village!"
The tone-arrogant, hostile-pulled a reaction instantly.
Jack stepped forward.
Leo followed.
Ethan sighed and walked with them.
None of them liked arrogant guards.
And the guard didn't know he was about to pick a fight with three demigods who were very tired of Roman attitude
Back to abyss ŪwŪ
Abyss and Leyla walked side-by-side through the Roman bazaar, blending perfectly among the bustling crowds. Colorful cloths hung from stalls, vendors shouted over each other, incense smoke curled through the sunlight.
And in the middle of it all-
Leyla twirled in her new dress, ribbons fluttering.
"How is my dress~?" she sang, tilting her head, eyes sparkling.
"Is it cute, brother?"
Abyss forced a laugh so exaggerated it almost cracked reality.
"Amazing on you, sister. You look very... spettacolare."
Leyla winked-their signal.
Abyss exhaled, and a tight circle of blackened wind formed beneath him-
a visual plague-like gale, dark enough to draw eyes but harmless.
He collapsed dramatically, hitting the stones.
Leyla instantly dropped to her knees, cradling his head like an actress with ten years of training and zero subtlety.
"No! Brother! Someone-ANYONE! Please bring the chief high priest! I think he's been CURSED!"
Her voice broke just perfectly-
enough to make half the bazaar spin around.
A crowd swarmed. Gasps. Murmurs. Fear.
The priest arrived pushing through bodies, robes dragging across the dust. He took one look at Abyss's "darkened veins" - the cracks Abyss allowed to show - and recoiled.
"By the lord Jupiter... this is the work of Pluto..."
He raised his hands dramatically.
"By the thunder of the sky, I COMMAND IT OUT!"
Right on cue-
Clarita, hidden in the nearest shadow, whispered the final part of Axel's old divine chant:
"Pride of a king... strike like a god...
With that, I thunder command."
Lightning cracked out of the shadows, arcing downward.
The thunderbolt hit Abyss directly.
The crowd screamed-
then fell silent as smoke curled from his body.
Abyss jolted, eyes wide, gasping as if revived by a miracle.
"Oh-my Jupiter... I'm alive!"
People erupted into relieved cheers.
He sat up shakily, voice trembling with fabricated awe.
"Hear me! I received a VISION from Jupiter himself!"
Every mouth in the bazaar snapped shut.
Abyss stood, stare burning with holy fear that wasn't holy at all.
"He spoke of betrayal. Of shadows in Rome."
He pointed toward the Forum.
"Among the great generals of the empire... is a TRAITOR serving Pluto!"
A collective gasp swept through the people like a wind shockwave.
Mothers grasped their children.
Warriors clutched their weapons.
Even the priest looked rattled.
Abyss lowered his voice, whisper-loud and divine:
"Jupiter commands that the traitor be exposed."
Their plan...
was working flawlessly.
Back to the three trio
The three boys slumped onto a bench after dealing with the guard, sharing a tired but victorious fist bump.
Jack stretched his arms wide. "That's the Romanian spirit, baby!"
Ethan and Leo both turned to him with identical side-eye.
Leo blinked. "I'm from Canada."
Ethan frowned at him. "You look nothing like a Canadian."
Leo groaned. "I don't follow stereotypes."
Ethan shrugged. "I'm from the U.S. - L.A., Los Angeles."
Jack snorted. "For some reason, Leo actually looks more like he's from L.A."
"I am not!" Leo snapped, his voice cracking in frustration.
Ethan and Jack immediately high-fived.
"Yep. We got the roid-rage out," Ethan joked.
Leo stiffened. "I'm not on ro-"
All three of their stomachs growled at the exact same time.
A woman from a nearby bakery peeked out the door, smiling. "Hey boys, want some leftovers?"
They shot up like hungry wolves and rushed over.
As they filled their arms with pastries, the baker laughed. "You boys were brave, standing up to that guard."
They all froze for a second, cheeks turning red - except Leo, who recovered fastest and smirked.
"Going through the motions," he said, tossing a croissant in his mouth like it was nothing.
Jack and Ethan groaned in unison, but they kept eating anyway.
If you was fooled chapter ended nope Pov change to Kronos
The ocean stretched calm-or was it? Kronos stood at the edge of the abyssal waters, a void of swirling darkness where madness churned just beneath the surface.
"Atlantos," he intoned, his voice like the echo of a collapsing tide. "Show yourself, now."
A ripple tore across the water, black as ink. From it, a figure emerged, walking as if the ocean itself had become solid beneath his feet. The air shimmered around him, a faint glow tracing the lines of his form, like light refracting through deep water.
"Her eyes," Atantos spoke, voice both soft and inexorable, "are the ocean... and I, I who drowned the little omens in her tears... or small pearls."
The sea seemed to respond to his words-the waves bending, curling, and coiling around him like serpents of liquid shadow. Faint currents of turquoise and silver traced patterns in the air, impossible yet hypnotic, hinting at the two primordial forces he commanded.
Kronos' lips curved into a slow, almost amused smile. "Here we go again."
The wind carried the taste of salt, of fate, of something ancient and unstoppable, and for a heartbeat, even time itself seemed to hold its breath.
Atlantos stood there, quiet, almost statuesque, a harbinger of oceans both alive and vengeful, waiting. And the world shivered, knowing the storm had only just begun.