Hours ticked by in planning and discussion, Aegis sharing with precision the infancies of the city's layout, the security systems. His knowledge was breathtaking, unlocking passageways that even the resistance had not found, areas they might use to scout or lay ambush. Each discovery made their quest seem a little closer, a little less insurmountable.
He had gotten back to reality now. Reality made him sense more sharply and more strongly than ever. They were no longer lone wolves but a force, bound together under one enemy.
As they were standing up, Orion turned to Aegis, staring at him with something new and respectful there. "Guess you're not just another pile of bolts after all. Don't prove me wrong".
He shrugged, a small, wry tilt to his head. "Thanks, Orion. I'll do better than that."
The reluctance left Orion's face as he grinned, and for the briefest of instants, Zypher saw a frisson of brotherhood between them. They would now be bound by a shared purpose-to defend Neo-ilka-though for different reasons.
As they walked out of the room, before them lay the neon skyline of the city, beautiful but ominous. Each one of them had reasons to fight, parts of their story; together they would build something greater, a force so strong it could shake the foundations of corporations and challenge the gods themselves.
Zypher looked at the city that had always slept so soundly, and with one more sigh, he worked on latching onto a determination that could motivate him, too.
"Let's give Neo-ilka something to believe in again," he stated, his voice firm with resolution.
And with new allies by his side, Zypher knew they would stop at nothing to reclaim the heart of the city.
The town was shrouded in mist; mighty corporate skyscrapers of Neo-ilka seemed like steel specters against the grey as Zypher guided his team into the core of District Six. Olympus Plaza would be a vast wasteland of glass pillars and forgotten glory. Crumbling statues of the gods stood amidst glass towers, relics of an era when the gods would command respect and reverence. Now they were symbols of rejection and scorn. Graffiti plastered their walls, and around them littered broken, poisonous tech parts—rotting pieces of a mythic heritage that had rotted beneath corporate rule.
Tonight, though, Olympus Plaza was quiet as if the city itself held its breath. Zypher could feel the weight of history here, mingling with the chill in the air as they moved deeper into the plaza's ruins.
"Feels like a ghost town," Kiera murmured, her hand automatically reaching for the hilt of her blade. Her sharp eyes searched the stillness around them warily, seeking any sign of movement.
Orion grunted in assent. "The gods haven't walked in this place since a thousand years passed. It was the sacred ground. Now it's a playground for the desperate and the damned.".
But the mechanical gaze of Aegis seemed unmoved as he swept each statue and shadow. "I have studied the history of Olympus up and down," he said in an odd reverence. "I never met my creator, but Dr. Callahan taught me that this place was once where people found hope.".
Zypher nodded his head, feeling the weight in his chest. "This is why we are here. They put their stamp, whether they know it or not. There are. whispers, rumors that they still come here. Ghosts of Olympus, appearing when the city's silence has grown too deep. I need to find them, whatever remains of them.
Orion's eyebrow arched. "You're chasing myths, kid. Gods don't just hang about in deserted plazas waiting for a chat."
Zypher spun back around to him, his eyes stark. "And yet, if they're still watching, if they care even a little, this is where we'll find the truth. We need answers, Orion. We can't take on gods or corporations without knowing who, or what, we're up against.".
They kept walking, the heavy silence engulfing them. Every step sent pressure from behind with the weight of Olympus bearing down on him, its existence out of reach yet palpable as if some eyeful observer was sitting in the shadows. It felt as if the gods tested them, waiting for something he could not pinpoint.
Then, he spied a flicker-a faint bluish glow, pulsing through the mist like a wisp of flame as it wove between the statues. The hairs on the back of Zypher's neck stood up as he realized the glow was moving, swirling through the mist as if beckoning them to go deeper into the heart of Olympus.
Kiera drew her blade, her voice a tight whisper. "What is that?"
"A holographic projection, perhaps?" Aegis ventured, his voice uncertain. "Or something. more."
Zypher took a deep breath, soothed the racing adrenaline inside his system. "Let's follow it. Carefully."
The team is moving in silent formation, with strange glow leading them toward a big statue of Zeus. There, the god's form seems to be cast over them-this is the time when Olympus itself has held sway over mortals, yet even here the god's eyes seem vacuous, the stone figure worn and distorted with age and neglect.
It was close enough now for the illumination to congeal into a figure. It had the shape of a hooded ghost wrapped in drapes, hiding its face with that hood, and hovered near the ground at the base of the statue. Its form pulsed as it seemed to fight to hold on to the world in this one.
Zypher stepped forward, speaking without pause. "Are you… a god?"
The figure turned, and though its face hid in the shadows, Zypher could feel an ancient gaze settling over him. When it spoke, its voice was deep, echoing in the air with a weight that seemed to seep into their bones.
"I am the echo of Olympus," the figure intoned, its whisper vibrating through power. "The memories of gods who once ruled these lands, now bound to shadows."
Orion stepped back, too, a careful move as he bowed his head in a mixture of awe and suspicion. "So you're not one of the real gods; that's. a ghost," he said, his inflection trying not to be too skeptical.
"Ghost or god, I am what remains of Olympus," it returned, the misty atmosphere around it tinged with a melancholy almost equal to its other misty attributes. "Once we strolled among you. Now we are shadows abandoned by mortals and divinity alike.".
A kind of sad anger seemed to boil up in Zypher. "Well, then why did you leave? Abandon the people who believe in you? This city's falling apart, and you're nothing but relics and memories."