Chapter 7: The Price of Wisdom
The 100th floor of the Ares Tech Tower was a mess. Glass was everywhere, sparkling like diamonds on the floor. The air smelled like smoke and something electric. I stood there, my chest heaving, looking at the woman who had just crashed through the window.
She was wearing a silver suit that looked like it was made of liquid metal. Her hair was short and dark, and she held two daggers that glowed with a soft, pulsing blue light.
She didn't look like a warrior from a movie; she looked like a scientist who had decided to start fighting back.
"Sophia?" I gasped, wipe a smudge of soot from my face. "You're a... Debt-Collector too?"
"Focus, Ethan!" Sophia snapped, not looking back at me. Her eyes were fixed on Ares, who was slowly standing up from the rubble. "We don't have time for introductions. Ares is about to go into 'Full War' mode. If we don't stop him now, this building becomes a crater."
Ares let out a low, guttural growl. The orange fire on his giant sword grew so bright that it started to melt the marble floor beneath his feet. "Two rats in my house now? Fine. I'll burn you both together."
I felt a wave of heat hit my face. My 'Eye of Truth' was screaming at me. I could see the 'Life-Lines' of the room turning bright red.
Everything was a danger zone. Ares wasn't just a CEO anymore; he was a monster of pure energy. I looked at the broken phone in my hand. The battery was at 15%. I was running out of time.
[NOTIFICATION: ALLY DETECTED.]
[SYNCING WITH DEBT-COLLECTOR OF WISDOM...]
[NEW COMBINATION MOVE UNLOCKED: THE BLINDING TRUTH.]
"Ethan, listen to me!" Sophia shouted over the roar of the fire. "Ares is powered by anger. The more you fight him with hate, the stronger he gets. You have to use the 'Weight' again, but this time, I'll provide the focus."
"I'm ready!" I yelled back.
I closed my eyes and reached deep into my memories. I thought about the days when I had to choose between paying the electricity bill or buying bread. I thought about the cold silence of the hospital room when the machines stopped. I took all that "Weight"—the heavy, tired feeling of being poor—and I pushed it out.
But this time, I felt Sophia's power joining mine. It wasn't heavy; it was sharp. It was like a cold wind cutting through the fire.
Ares screamed, his giant sword shaking. "What is this?! Why can't I move my arms?!"
"It's the weight of the people you stepped on, Ares!" I shouted.
I jumped forward. Sophia moved like a blur of silver, her daggers cutting through the air. She wasn't trying to kill him; she was cutting the glowing orange lines that connected Ares to his power source. Every time she struck, a piece of his armor vanished.
I reached Ares and swung my blue whip. It coiled around his neck, the sapphire light clashing with the orange flames. I could feel the heat burning my palms, but I didn't let go. I pressed the broken phone against his chest.
[COLLECTION RE-STARTED: 20%... 45%... 70%...]
"You... you little cockroach!" Ares hissed, his silver eyes flaring. He dropped his sword and grabbed me by the throat with his massive hand. He lifted me off the ground, his grip tightening until I couldn't breathe. "You think you can take my glory? I am War! I am the history of man!"
I couldn't speak. My vision was turning black. The phone was slipping from my fingers.
CLANG!
Sophia's dagger hit Ares's wrist. He let out a shout of pain and dropped me. I hit the floor hard, gasping for air. Sophia was right there, pulling me up.
"Finish it, Ethan!" she urged. "Now!"
I grabbed the phone and slammed it against the center of Ares's chest, right where his heart would be. I didn't just tap 'Collect.' I poured my own soul into the command.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[COLLECTION COMPLETE: 2,000 YEARS OF WAR-LUCK RECOVERED.]
A giant explosion of orange and blue light threw us all back. The windows of the entire floor shattered outward. For a second, I thought the building was collapsing. But then, everything went quiet.
The fire was gone. The heat vanished.
Ares was lying on the floor. He wasn't a giant warrior anymore. He was just a middle-aged man in a torn suit, looking exhausted and broken. His silver eyes were now a dull, normal gray.
[MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: THE GOD OF WAR HAS BEEN BANKRUPTED.]
[REWARD: 500,000 CREDITS.]
[TOTAL BALANCE: $800,000.]
[NEW FEATURE: THE AGENCY HUB (PORTAL ACCESS).]
I sat on the floor, my hands shaking. $800,000. I was almost a millionaire. But I didn't feel rich. I felt like I had just survived a car crash.
Sophia walked over to me, her silver suit fading back into a normal leather jacket and jeans. She looked at me with a small, sad smile. "You did well, Ethan. Most people die in their first week. You just took down the God of War."
"Why did you help me?" I asked, looking at her. "Who are you really?"
"I was a student, just like you," Sophia said, looking out at the New York skyline. "My father was a librarian who found a book he shouldn't have. He owed a 'Debt of Knowledge' to the Goddess of Wisdom, and when he died, I had to take over. I've been hunting these Gods for two years alone."
"Two years?" I gasped. "And you're still alive?"
"Barely," she said. She pulled out her own phone—it was silver and looked much newer than mine. "But now that you're here, things are changing. The Agency is sending more 'Collectors.' We're starting a revolution, Ethan."
Suddenly, the floor started to vibrate. A blue portal, looking like a swirling whirlpool of stars, opened in the middle of the room.
"We have to go," Sophia said, grabbing my arm. "Ares's security team is coming up the stairs, and they have 'God-Killer' bullets. We can't stay here."
"Wait!" I said. I looked at Ares, who was crawling toward a broken piece of glass.
I walked over to him. I didn't feel angry anymore. I just felt pity. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a single hundred-dollar bill. I dropped it on the floor next to him.
"Here," I said. "For a cab. Welcome to the real world, Ares. It's a lot harder when you have to pay for things."
I turned around and followed Sophia into the blue portal.
The feeling of traveling through the portal was like being pulled through a straw. For a second, I was everywhere and nowhere at once. Then, with a soft thud, I landed on a hard wooden floor.
I looked around. We weren't in New York anymore. We were in a giant library that seemed to go on forever. The shelves were miles high, and there were floating lamps everywhere.
"Welcome to the Agency Hub," Sophia said, stretching her arms. "This is where we prepare. Because Ares was just the beginning. The God of Death is next, and he doesn't care about money. He only collects souls."
I looked at my broken phone. It was charging now, the blue light glowing stronger than ever. I had $800,000, a new ally, and a portal to a magical library. But I also knew that the 'Great Reset' was still coming. 29 days left.
"Teach me," I said to Sophia, my voice firm. "Teach me everything. I don't want to just survive. I want to win."
Sophia smiled, and for the first time, I felt like I wasn't just a scavenger anymore. I was a student of the Heavens.
"Grab a book, Ethan," she said. "We have a lot of work to do."