Inferno Ascended

The navigation to the capital took place under the whispers of sailors about an earthquake near the Pharysian capital. They redoubled their attention to what they had to do, and the journey proceeded without incident.

The couple of Valosian siblings landed in the harbor in mid-afternoon, encountering the famed Hylan, the grandest of cities in Stygia.

"So this is what Hylan is…! Glax exclaimed, overwhelmed by so much information and visions from the capital. 

Realizing they were going to get lost easily in such a big place, Glax hired a guide to take them to a decent inn.

The guide had explained a few things to them when he realized it was the first time they had come to the capital of the Empire. He summarized the most famous neighborhoods and important locations. He also said that, as it was the time of the Titaniads Festival, a biannual event, the city was more crowded than usual.

"Have you come to see the Games?"

"Ah yes. And for doing business too. Will the Emperor appear at the Games?"

"Boy… That's a good question. Our Emperor has been… Secluded, but as a direct descendant of the gods, the emperors have always participated at least in the closing of the festival, by crowning the Champions of the Gods."

"You guys like champions a lot, don't you?"

The guide looked at Glax awkwardly, but asked with a professional smile, "Who doesn't, boss? Though it's a nice title for an award, if I may say so, not so good…" He gave the cue to ask more if they wanted to, and Glax did so.

"What do you mean?"

"If the champion receives the blessings of the gods, he will Ascend to join the army of the gods."

"What if he doesn't receive this blessing?"

"I don't know if that ever happened. But the brief moment of glory here in Stygia seems to be enough to draw many warriors to the festival. Ah, but the festival is not just that. There's also poetry, theater, and dance. There is entertainment for all tastes."

"And can anyone try to be the champion?"

"Here he comes again!" Lais pinched him, but he ignored his sister, paying attention to the guide's response.

"Ah yes. The tryouts were held last year. Every temple in the country can send a candidate."

"Can all temples?"

"Erm…yes? I think so. But I also think that not many do. Only the best will actually participate in the big events at the Imperial Gyms. I see the boss likes sports. In the main square you will find a huge table of events."

Glax didn't pursue the matter further, but he reasoned that this might be an option to see the emperor, though it wasn't entirely guaranteed. He just had to find out the Emperor's official schedule. And Glax also had to find out if Achmeron was really being dominated by necromancers as they said.

Lais slept through the afternoon, while Glax only took a brief nap. His worries swirled in his mind like a whirlwind. He remembered last night's conversation with Hermes, and how the god had charged him for not yet knowing how to use his powers fully.

"Hmp. If I only had a manual…" he mumbled, but soon felt guilty. It was childish to want a manual. He took the two watches and kept comparing them, detail by detail. When he wore the watch that Master Arsaces was with, he ended up in Stygia. Glax didn't know if his experience was a reflection of his thoughts or the object's connection. But when Parin moved the hands he disconnected and came back. Maybe this clock had something to do with the trip to the port?

Was this another one of the powers he had? Ability to travel ignoring the time it would take? One thing was certain, he was gradually forcing the spells on the clocks to loosen. Every time he managed to use his time manipulation gifts he mastered them even better. One thing was certain, its power was much better than mastering electricity like Zeus!

As soon as he managed to unlock the full potential of his power, of course.

It would be very good if the emperor told him at once what each of the clocks did. 

Glax didn't think much about himself or his powers, but what he was told made perfect sense: once he knew exactly who he was and what he could do, maybe his plans and projects would take on another dimension.

He didn't know exactly how, and he still didn't know exactly how he would go about testing his theories.

Later, at the boardinghouse, Glax called Lais to go to the central square. It was early evening, but Hylon had a thriving nightlife, and it was festival time.

Lais grabbed the mirror to get ready to go out, and let out a scream. 

Glax glanced over his shoulder and saw that his sister had thrown the mirror onto the bed in horror. 

Worried, the valosian went to see what had happened and noticed that her face was different. As an illustrator, he quickly identified that her features had changed considerably. She looked more mature, with fuller eyebrows, fuller lips.

"What was this?"

"I don't know, it just happened? It was the cursed mirror!"

"It didn't even get that bad. Let me see the mirror."

Glax picked up the mirror, and looked in it for the first time. The mirror didn't quite reflect the part of his face covered with the mask, which made him take off the mask. 

Glax wasn't used to looking at himself in mirrors, and had to agree with Mors that he was more tanned on one side than the other.

Then the mirror began to move subtly. Glax's eyes turned silver suddenly.

"Oops, what is this?!" It didn't take him any time to deduce that this had happened because he thought of Mors. And as he thought of Mors again, his face took on the shapes of Death's face.

"Dude!"

"What are you doing, Glax?! Your face has changed too!"

"But my change was more radical. I thought of someone and my face took on the appearance of that person. In your case, you've probably changed into what you want to look like."

"But is this definitive?" His sister Übermodel asked, clearly with mixed feelings about it.

"No." Glax tried changing his face. And it worked. Even his hair changed when he thought about it a bit. "That's a very useful tool. I could take on any disguise."

"That'll be fine if you don't want them to find out who you are. After all, you're famous now, brother. But give me the mirror here and I want to fix a little something."

The brothers quarreled a bit over the mirror, but Glax warned. "I'm going to change my appearance to walk without arousing suspicion. I don't want to be misunderstood or stab in the back for looking like an imperial heir... And I hope the goddess just remembers half of my face."

"But that face scares me."

"Of course it can. I'd rather this face really makes people uneasy and scared. Cybele wouldn't be looking for that face, either. Plus, I could buy on credit in several places and never pay... It would be interesting for the real owner of this face ."

"Does this face have an owner?"

"Yeah, but he's never seen around, usually. If you're ready, let's go."

Earlier in the evening, they went out to go to the big square. Glax was wearing his new Mors face, which was a deadly joke. And he liked the pun about it. But Lais was quite annoyed and kept muttering beside him that this look was just as exotic as the one before.

"But you haven't given up looking five years older and quite retouched, sis, so don't judge me. Besides, I don't even know how long the effect of this thing will last. I brought my mask… Hope you brought yours, too," he teased. She got angry and mumbled,

"Oh, how funny he is…"

They saw the imposing facade of the imperial palace and also the avenue of temples. Truly impressive and evocative!

As it was still early evening, commerce was in full swing. The usual product offerings popped up on all sides. Artisans, common merchants, contractors, and artists were trying to lure customers with tempting offers.

Lais was leaning toward a few activities and products, and Glax for the total opposite. He left her trying on a tunic in a shop and went to look at the tournament table on a scoreboard displayed in the square.

A few men were discussing name statistics that didn't make much sense to Glax. He was thinking of a question to introduce him to the conversation, when a boy of about 12, in ragged clothes, came to his side. Glax hoped he wouldn't have to beat a child for trying to steal from him, but he waited.

"Hey boss. These fights are not so cool. There's nothing new about it."

"Hm."

"You have a face like someone who likes strong emotions…"

"Hm." The boy was canvassing the customer, and Glax decided to make it easy to find out what kind of offers Mors' face would bring him. "And what do you have for me?"

"Exotic fights"

"How exotic?"

"Revenant fights…" The boy spoke in a low voice. "Are the best."