Gods & Mortals

Klaus opened his eyes.

For a few seconds, he couldn't tell if it was reality or a dream that he was in, as his grasp on his presence felt completely off. It didn't feel normal.

He took a moment to gather himself, sitting up from his lying position, wondering why he felt like his body wasn't his.

Then, it hit him.

He was naked.

"What?" he whispered slowly, turning to the side of his bed, bewildered by why he was on the edge.

As he turned, and his eyes fell upon what, or rather who was there, memories of the previous night flooded back.

"Rose," Klaus muttered, identifying the person as Rose, who was fast asleep and also seemed to be naked under the sheet.

Everything hit him like a truck all at once, emotions ranging from confusion to surprise to rage.

"Wake the hell up!" Klaus shouted as Rose immediately awoke from her slumber in confusion.

By this point, Klaus had already stood up from the bed and put on the pants he wore the night before, searching for his shirt.

"K-Klaus?" Rose mumbled in confusion until her eyes widened, remembering what had happened the night before.

"What did you do to me?" Klaus demanded angrily as Rose sat up, using the sheets to cover her chest while looking at him.

A few seconds of silence passed as Rose knew she couldn't answer. Klaus, however, was in no mood to be patient.

"Answer me!" he continued, his voice raised to a level Rose had never heard from him before. He was angrier than she'd ever seen.

"I'm sorry," Rose said, her voice trembling. "I don't even remember everything that happened."

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't truly remember," Klaus insisted, fully aware that she was lying.

Tears welled up in Rose's eyes, and she began sobbing openly, her shame and regret evident.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry."

Klaus realized the situation had escalated too far and that further confrontation could attract unnecessary attention. He took a deep breath, trying to quell his anger, and put on his shirt before heading toward the tent's entrance.

Before leaving, he turned to Rose, who was still crying uncontrollably.

"You know, I genuinely thought you were everything I said yesterday. But I was wrong about one thing. I never should've trusted you."

With that, he walked out of his own tent, leaving behind the shattered remnants of their friendship.

As Klaus sat by the campfire, the simulated sky gradually shifted to mimic a sunrise. An alarm sounded, rousing all the demigods still asleep. An announcement followed, signaling their return to the lobby arena. Within minutes, every demigod was transported back to the arena.

As all the demigods arrived at the arena, they were met by XVII, who awaited their return.

"I hope you all enjoyed your break?" he said, and the general crowd seemed to agree that it had been quite enjoyable.

But for Klaus, everything felt like a static flatline. He didn't feel like himself at all. The events of the previous day had taken a toll on him, and it was clear that it hadn't been his day.

However, as he finally snapped back to reality, XVII proceeded to announce the commencement of the second game mode.

"As explained by Sol hours ago, the next game mode is called Breach. This is a team vs. team style game with one team identified as defenders and the other as attackers. The defending team is expected to prevent the attacking team from breaching the location and hitting the alarm located at the back of the room within ten minutes. When the timer expires, the defending team will automatically win the game, so the attacking team is expected to work on time management as well as strategy. The same general rules apply, with the lifeline and the absence of killing, fatal wounding, or torturing."

After the recap, the demigods patiently awaited XVII's next words.

"The game mode will also hold four matches, where each team will be allowed to play both on the offensive and defensive positions. And now, I will announce the first set. For the first game, the defending side will be Team Solar. And the attacking team will be Team Stellar."

Following his announcement, the two teams stepped forward, their respective team captains, Lance and X, standing in front of them.

"The second game will have Team Astra on defense and Team Lunar on offense, so both teams can decide to spectate or do as they desire until then."

Klaus heard the news but was utterly disinterested in the event at this point. His morale had taken a severe blow after his fight with Lance, and the situation with Rose had shattered his trust in those around him.

He retreated to his apartment building and entered his room, lying on his bed as he stared at the ceiling, trying to clear his head of the mounting stress. He began to question himself.

"Do I truly want to be someone who can care for the people on Earth?"

His trust in people was waning, and he couldn't help but feel inadequate compared to the other demigods.

After what felt like just a minute, Klaus heard an announcement stating that the second game was about to begin. He was surprised at how quickly time had passed and realized he had been on his bed for about twenty minutes.

Heading back to the arena, he arrived just as the two teams that had battled were returning to the arena.

From their expressions, he could tell which team had won.

"That was weak, team. We all could have done so much better than that," Lance remarked to his disheartened teammates.

Riley, with a mischievous grin, couldn't resist a taunt. "Well, maybe we would have had a better chance if Shade hadn't been eliminated so early."

Shade defended himself, pointing out Riley's aggressive play at the beginning. "What! I got eliminated trying to clean up your sloppy moves from the start."

Riley, still smiling, seemed unapologetic. "What moves?"

Link, nursing the remains of his destroyed drones, voiced his frustration. "I didn't want to say it, but I honestly don't think X should be allowed to play these games. That guy's impossible to even hit. Just look at what he did to my babies."

Klaus, listening to their banter, deduced that team Stellar had emerged victorious in the previous battle.

A few minutes later, XVII announced the start of the next battle and called the teams to gather.

As Klaus joined the gathering, he couldn't bring himself to look in Rose's direction. She gazed at him with guilt in her eyes, but he ignored her completely, blocking out her presence. They were then transported to the battleground.

Outside where team Lunar had spawned, Trent took charge, rallying the team to devise a plan. He asked for ideas from the team, but Klaus appeared disinterested, his motivation at an all-time low.

Trent, concerned by Klaus's detachment, decided to inquire about it. "Klaus, what seems to be the problem?" he asked, drawing the team's attention to Klaus.

Klaus, still without making eye contact, curtly replied, "Nothing."

Trent was worried, but he sensed that Klaus preferred solitude based on his expressions. He respected Klaus's unspoken request and redirected the team's focus.

Rose, unable to lift her head due to embarrassment, blushed deeply at the mention of Klaus's name. She didn't want to add any unnecessary stress to his situation, making their complex relationship even more complicated.

After some deliberation, Trent came up with a plan for the team to follow. They entered the building, and as soon as they did, the timer in the center of the room began counting down from the ten minutes they had been allotted.

As they entered, they were met head-on by team Astra, who guarded the alarm at the far end of the room.

"Greetings, team Lunar," Quinn greeted them with an unexpected calmness, given the fast-paced nature of the game.

Trent signaled to Mia, who nodded in understanding. She swiftly drew an arrow from the quiver strapped to her left thigh, preparing to take a shot.

Quinn smiled as Mia released the arrow, True Accuracy absent from the shot. But to everyone's surprise, the arrow disappeared. In the blink of an eye, Ace appeared beside Quinn, the arrow present in his right hand.

"You know I didn't need your help?" Quinn remarked to Ace, her smile showing a hint of amusement.

Ace grinned in response. "Yeah, but that was a grand entrance, wasn't it?"

Siren joined them from behind, ready to join the impending battle. However, there was one more presence everyone on team Lunar was awaiting.

Once they were all prepared, Ash finally made his entrance, stepping menacingly and fearlessly into the room from the rear where the alarm was located. All eyes turned to him as he stood beside the alarm.

"Now, that's a grand entrance," Quinn quipped, with Ace looking on somewhat jealously.

"Guess he's finally here," Trent acknowledged, and they knew they had to be more strategic.

Ash surveyed his opponents, closed his eyes briefly, and then reopened them after a few seconds.

"Good luck," he said, and as he finished speaking, he spread his hands wide open at his sides.

Suddenly, an intense billow of smoke rushed out from both his palms and his body slowly began to fade into the swirling mist. In a matter of seconds, the entire back room was engulfed in smoke, and Ash had vanished from sight, leaving everyone in the room disoriented.

"It looks like it's game over for you guys," Quinn commented wryly as she realized what Ash had done.

Following this dramatic moment, both teams charged toward each other, ready for battle.