The Atrium of House Athena’s forward command spire was getting tense. Soldiers stood at attention along the walls, eyes fixed straight ahead with not a single one dared move.
"Where is the traitor?!" Olivia shouted. Her voice echoed off the high ceilings.
The lightning scars on her chest still aching from Ethan’s punch.
"Three days, Barry! Three days and your security teams have nothing?!"
Chief Barry stood firm and steady, glaring back at her. "we’ve searched every corner of the sector like you ordered. If the ghost boy doesn’t want to be foun—"
"Then your men are useless!" Olivia stepped forward fast. The tip of her spear stopped inches from Barry’s throat.
Karisa moved in from the side as she placed a hand on her sister’s wrist while Marcus stayed one step behind Karisa, arms crossed, face looking down.
"Sis," Karisa said. Her tone was calm but firm, the same one she used when she knew she was on the edge of going to another frenzy. "Enough of this. You’re pushing everyone too hard. The one you are searching for will show himself eventually. Criminals like him always do."
Olivia’s wild eyes met Karisa’s, calming down a bit seeing as she lowered her spear slowly. The wild aura around her dimming down.
Marcus shifted his weight and just like that, Olivia’s gaze snapped to him. Her eyes narrowed for a second, calculating.
But Karisa’s hand stayed on her wrist, and let her thoughts go. She only let out a sharp breath and waved her hand at Barry.
"Leave us." She ordered.
Barry didn’t bow. He turned and headed for the winding stairs and Marcus fell in beside him.
The moment the doors closed and they were alone, Olivia’s shoulders dropped. The cold Huntress disappeared. She looked almost tired.
"Only you," she whispered. She reached out and brushed a strand of red hair from Karisa’s face,
"Everything else is rotten, Karisa. The Empire. The gods. Even our parents. They all turned on us. But not you. Never you. "
Karisa stiffened. "Sis, stop. I don’t want to talk about family right now. "
"But we are family," Olivia said. Her voice grew intense. "Blood of Athena. The only real blood left.
I would burn this whole province to keep you safe. I would kill every false ally, every weak soldier who even looks at you the wrong way. Just give the order."
The air felt heavy as olivia made it heavy, Karisa gently pulled her sister’s hand away.
"I said I don’t want to talk about it. We both are not children anymore, we are officers, keepers of law. The fist of the empire. "
Olivia’s jaw tightened. For a moment, it looked like she might push harder. Then she stepped back. "Fine. For now."
***
Down in the reinforced basement training chamber, hidden behind three layers of false walls and Chief Barry’s personal override codes, Ethan stood ready inside.
Wearing the New mage gear which covered his body, sleek black-and-gold plates that fit like a second skin.
Runes on the gauntlets and pauldrons pulsed with his heartbeat.
[System Notification:
New Skill Unlocked: Stormweaver’s Wrath (Rare → Epic)]
Ethan grinned. He raised his palm and thrust it forward.
BOOM!
A thick lance of white lightning shot across the room. It tore through three reinforced training dummies, melting them into slag, then slammed into the far wall. The explosion sent sparks and chunks of rubble flying.
"Fuck yes," Ethan said. He laughed once, hard with his Power burning through his arms and chest. "This is it. This will do."
Marcus and Barry stepped into the chamber right as the dust started to settle while Barry let out a low whistle.
"Kid’s a walking apocalypse now," the chief said.
Marcus smirked, but the shadows under his eyes stayed. "Told you the gear would work if you adjust it with your stats. You ready to put a hole through that crazy bitch upstairs?"
Ethan flexed his hands, his new lightning dancing across his knuckles. "More than ready. We hit the ceremony tonight. One good strike and House Athena—"
DING!
A blood-red System window slammed into his vision. It was bigger and more urgent than anything before.
[Main Quest Updated: Blood of the Storm]
Objective: Save Olivia & Karisa. Protect the remaining bloodline of House Athena.
Reward: 500 EXP.]
[Failure: Permanent loss of Divine Bloodline. Karisa will die. The rebellion collapses within 30 days.
Time Limit: 72 hours.]
Ethan froze with the lightning in his hands died out.
"What?"
He read it again. Then a third time. Save Olivia? The same woman who had been hunting him for days? The one Barry called an incestuous warmonger? The one who wanted him dead?
Barry noticed the change. "Kid? You alright?"
He remembered and saw Karisa’s haunted look when she mentioned her sister.
The ceremony was coming. Everything was supposed to burn. And now the System wanted him to protect them?
"Ha, I don’t know chief..."
A bitter laugh came out of his throat. What should he do now, deny their order? Deny karisa’s plan. Whatever it was, he had to do something.
He turned to Marcus and Barry. "New problem."
Barry raised an eyebrow. "Bigger than the crazy sister duo upstairs?"
"Yeah." Ethan pointed at the fading red window only he could see. "We need change of plans... Now."
Marcus stared. "You’re joking."
"Does it look like I’m joking?"
Barry rubbed his bald head. "What made you think that?" He asked.
"Lets call it gut instinct. Or lets say, the gods whsipered some of their wisdom on me."
The chief looked at his blue eyes. "You are really serious...ha, that changes things."
The three of them stood in the damaged training chamber. Smoke still rose from the melted dummies. Ethan paced a few steps, lightning flickering weakly around his wrists.
"I need more info here," Ethan said. "Marcus, you’ve been inside longer. What’s the ceremony actually for? Not the public story. The real one."
Marcus glanced at Barry, then back. "It’s a power transfer. Olivia plans to bind more divine blood from some old relic.
She thinks it’ll make her unstoppable. But the ritual is dangerous. If it goes wrong, it could drain everyone nearby. Including Karisa."
"Great," Ethan muttered. "So I have to crash a ritual that might kill them huh."
"We need a new plan," Ethan said. "Fast. I can’t just charge in anymore. If I kill Olivia and Karisa gets caught in it, its game over. Permanently."
Barry nodded slowly. "My teams can create distractions. False reports of your location on the east side. Pull some guards away from the spire."
Marcus added, "I can get you closer to the ceremony hall. There’s a service tunnel that leads under the main platform. But once you’re in, it’s on you."
Ethan looked at his hands. The runes on the gauntlets still pulsed. "I’ll handle the ritual. Disrupt it without killing them. Or... stabilize it if it starts going bad."
The words felt strange coming out. A week ago he was ready to burn everything. Now he had to play protector for the woman who tried to impale him.
"Seventy-two hours," Ethan repeated. "That’s three days to figure out how to save the people I was supposed to destroy."
Barry clapped him on the shoulder. "i have questions, a lot of questions, but I will trust you for now. Just, don’t get soft."
"I’m not getting soft, chief, never was." Ethan said. Lightning crackled across his shoulders for a moment.
"Don’t worry, I have an idea."