Chapter 2

I went to the temple. I placed the insignia—the badge of the second-in-command of the War Council—on the High Priest’s table.

The High Priest looked up.

His face changed when he saw me. When he saw the black, venomous veins on my neck.

“Aresion? What is this? The Tartarean beast’s poison… it’s not gone? Didn’t Cassia give you the healing nectar?!”

“High Priest, I’m here to submit a request.”

My voice was flat. I pushed a scroll across the table to him.

“I wish to leave the War Council. And dissolve my command under Cassia.”

“What?” The High Priest stared, his eyes wide with disbelief. Then his gaze locked onto the poison on my neck. His voice trembled. “Without the nectar, and without completing the Soul-Binding today… the Tartarean venom will rot your divine essence! To live, your only chance now is to drink from the Waters of Lethe!”

“But those waters… while they wash away the poison, they also wash away every memory from your soul! Every emotional bond!” The High Priest shot to his feet, his eyes filled with anguish. “You’ll forget everything from the last eight years! Including your love for Cassia! How can you do this? You two are the golden couple of Olympus!”

A dull ache stabbed through my heart. Then, only bitterness remained.

Once, I also thought that our eight years of love were more important than my life.

“That was before, High Priest.” I gave a hollow smile.

She has a new man by her side now.

With her power as the goddess of war, she doesn't need me anymore.

If this love has become a fatal poison… then let it be washed away. Washed away with the Tartarean venom, on that forgotten island.

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” I looked down, my voice exhausted to the core. “I’ve already signed it. Please, affix your seal.”

He saw the dead stillness in my eyes. The High Priest opened his mouth, then closed it with a long sigh.

The golden seal of divine authority came down.

Night.

I dragged my aching body back to the chambers I shared with Cassia.

The air was thick with her favorite scent, cedarwood. But the room was empty.

Suddenly, the Iris-pool on the table flared to life.

A forced mind-link.

I fed a wisp of power into it. An image appeared on the water’s surface.

In the frame, Lycus was lounging on my side of the bed.

He was wearing Cassia’s favorite silk robe.

In the background, I could hear Cassia’s voice. Incredibly gentle.

“Is the water warm enough? You’re so fragile, you mustn't catch a chill.”

“It’s perfect. Thank you, my goddess.”

Lycus’s voice was sickly sweet. He shifted the magical reflection, flashing me a triumphant smirk.

“Lord Aresion. So sorry to bother you this late.”

He deliberately pulled open his robe, showing off the glowing mark of solace on his collarbone. A unique blessing from the goddess of war.

“Lady Cassia has been with me all afternoon. She said she’s taking me to see a play in the mortal realm tomorrow. To lift my spirits.”

He paused, his eyes full of malicious pity.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to spend the night alone in your chambers. Shall I ask Lady Cassia to send some painkillers for you?”

Before, my heart would have been torn to shreds.

I would have screamed. Demanded to know why she let a mortal humiliate me like this.

But now… watching this ridiculous scene… I didn’t even have the energy to argue.

My heart felt like it had been scooped out. Empty. Numb. Cold.

“No need. Have fun.”

I cut the connection.

The vision shattered, dissolving into a still puddle of water.

The chambers were silent again. Dead silent.

I knew Cassia wouldn't be back tonight.

But I didn’t care anymore. The venom throbbed in my neck, a reminder of my fading life.

I walked to the shrine in the corner and found the route map to the Isle of Oblivion.

The Isle of Oblivion. The forbidden land of the gods.

Five years ago, Cassia suffered her most brutal defeat there.

She was gravely wounded. She watched her handmaiden die in her arms.

From that day on, the Isle of Oblivion became her absolute taboo. Anyone who mentioned it would face her wrath.

And now, I was going there.

To drink from the spring that could cure the Tartarean venom. The spring that could also erase all love and heartbreak.

If I’m going to make a clean break, I’ll do it in a place she would never dare to set foot. I will wash away this poison and eight years of humiliation. All of it.

I bit my fingertip, using my divine blood to summon a messenger from the Underworld.

“Book me a spot on the ferry across the Styx. Two days from now. I’m going to the Isle of Oblivion.” I handed him a golden drachma for Charon.

The messenger bowed and vanished in a puff of black smoke.

I turned back. I packed my last few belongings and left a single scroll on the table—my formal resignation from the War Council.

Looking around the empty chambers, I whispered to no one.

“Cassia. After I go to the Isle, I don’t think we’ll ever see each other again.”