Darkness didn't simply surround me — it absorbed me.
A heavy, suffocating void, like being submerged beneath the ocean of Olympus itself. Every nerve in my body screamed, not from pain… but from rewriting. My mortal flesh was being burned, crushed, and reforged by something far beyond human understanding.
Sparks — no, constellations — flickered in the shadows, each one a fragment of ancient divine memory.
Whispers echoed.
Not words.
Not language.
Concepts.
War.
Glory.
Hubris.
Heroism.
Defiance.
They wove together inside my mind until my thoughts felt too small, my heart too fragile to contain them.
Then—
A voice thundered like the sky's birth:
"Fall… and Rise."
A second voice — cold, cunning, almost amused:
"Take fire that was forbidden."
A third voice — furious and grieving:
"You have slain heirs of Olympus. Accept the curse of kingship."
My eyes shot open.
The darkness fell away as though peeled back by a titan's hand. I found myself floating above a seabed of shattered myth — a white void streaked with golden lightning. Every breath I took vibrated with power. My heartbeat shook the space around me like a drum calling soldiers to battle.
And before me, forming from smoke, stood the four heroes I had killed.
Achilles — silver-green eyes burning with battle hunger, his armor cracked but regal.
Theseus — youthful, brash, resting the golden axe on his shoulder like a cocky older brother.
Bellerophon — mounted upon an ethereal Pegasus, wings spread majestically.
Heracles — towering, bronze-skinned, every muscle etched like a monument.
Yet none of them held weapons.
Not now.
They bowed their heads.
Achilles spoke first, his voice echoing like a thousand clashing spears:
"You reflected our legends with Athena's aegis."
He touched his chest, where a fatal wound still glowed.
"To face four heroes alone… Mortal, you have achieved a deed worthy of epics."
Theseus grinned widely.
"Honestly? I like you. You've got guts, and stupidity — real hero material!"
Heracles stepped forward, heavy and somber.
"Strength is not just force. You bore our attacks and returned them. You survived what should have shattered men and gods alike."
Bellerophon raised his spear, pointing at me.
"Thus, by slaying us, you inherit our Authorities. The power of legends you broke shall now serve you."
The void trembled as golden chains of myth linked the four heroes to me.
ACHILLES — Authority of Invincible Momentum.
Speed that transcends mortal limits, and the ability to match the pace of any opponent.
THESEUS — Authority of the Slayer.
Instinct for battle, the ability to read the path to victory through chaos itself.
HERACLES — Authority of Twelvefold Might.
Strength that grows the longer the battle continues, unyielding stamina, unbreakable will.
BELLEROPHON — Authority of the Sky King.
Command of mythical beasts, mastery of aerial combat, and Pegasus as a divine steed.
Each authority slammed into my chest like meteor impacts.
My lungs seized.
My bones sang.
My blood ignited.
A flame — ancient and cunning — rose from the tablet in my pocket and joined them.
Prometheus' Fire — Authority of Rebellion.
Fire that defies gods, adapts, evolves, and refuses all shackles.
All the powers merged… violently.
I screamed as golden energy erupted from my body, tearing through the void.
Achilles smirked proudly.
Heracles nodded once, like a father acknowledging a son.
Theseus gave a thumbs up.
Bellerophon saluted.
Then together, their voices became one:
"Rise… God Slayer.
Rise… Campione."
Light swallowed me.
---
My eyes snapped open.
This time, I was on solid earth — but barely.
The marble beneath me had cracked and folded like melted wax. I lay at the bottom of a deep crater, the ancient temple around me shattered into rubble.
Lightning — golden and divine — crawled across my skin like living tattoos.
My breath misted the air.
The sky above churned unnaturally, storm clouds spiraling around a single point directly above me.
Satellizer El Bridget stood near the edge of the crater, her legs shaking violently. The pressure of my awakening forced her to kneel, even though she wasn't kneeling on purpose.
Her knees were bleeding from the strain.
Her glasses hung crookedly.
Her face was pale, lips trembling.
Yet despite it all, she forced a whisper:
"…I-Issei…? Are you… still you…?"
The fact she could speak at all shocked me. Most humans would've passed out instantly.
I pushed myself up.
The marble beneath my hands crumbled.
Not because I hit it hard — but because my strength had changed so drastically that even gentle pressure was lethal to stone.
I stood.
The crater widened from the mere act of rising.
Satellizer gasped, awe mixing with fear.
And then I felt it.
A flare of dark red energy.
Chaotic. Divine.
Hostile.
My instincts — Theseus' battle sense — screamed danger.
I turned sharply.
And my heart nearly burst.
"ISSEI!!!"
Isami — my sister — sprinted through the ruins.
Sweat drenched her face.
Her breathing was ragged.
She clutched her side where blood oozed through torn clothes.
Behind her, three figures materialized out of crimson distortions — each radiating divine malice.
Long hair like liquid gold.
Eyes that burned with ancient pride.
Weapons that hummed with the authority of Olympus.
Not Perseus — he was absent.
These were other gods.
Ares, the God of War.
Eurytus, the God of Archery.
And Chrysaor — the golden warrior, brother of Pegasus.
Three heretic gods.
Three natural disasters.
All of them hunting… my sister.
The temple shook as they landed.
Ares grinned savagely.
"So this is the mortal whelp who dared slaughter my champions."
Eurytus aimed an arrow at Isami's head with clinical focus.
"Finish the girl quickly. Our business is with the God Slayer."
Chrysaor's golden blade shimmered as he pointed it at me.
"Rise, Campione. Your killing spree has consequences."
Isami stumbled toward me, terror in her eyes.
She looked at me — my glowing gold eyes, the lightning flickering around my skin — and she froze.
Not from fear of me.
But from the overwhelming pressure suffocating her lungs.
She couldn't breathe.
She was breaking under the weight of my existence.
I stepped forward and released a gentle pulse of my new Authority. Pegasus' divine wind swirled around Isami, lifting the pressure from her shoulders and allowing her to breathe again.
She collapsed into my arms.
Her voice cracked:
"Onii… what… what are you…?"
I didn't answer.
I didn't need to.
The gods already knew.
Ares slammed his spear into the earth, cracking it.
"Campione."
Eurytus aimed his bow.
"God Slayer."
Chrysaor raised his blade.
"Enemy of Olympus."
I gently lowered Isami behind me.
Then I stepped forward, cracking my knuckles as golden fire spiraled across my arm.
My shadow stretched across the broken temple ruins as my Authorities awakened, their voices merging with my own heartbeat.
Achilles' speed.
Heracles' strength.
Theseus' instinct.
Bellerophon's dominion.
Prometheus' flame.
All roared in unison.
The gods braced.
The air quaked.
I smirked.
"Three gods… and you made my sister cry."
The sky split open as lightning erupted from my body.
"Congratulations."
I raised my fist.
"You've pissed off a Campione.""