In an instant, frost raced across the ground, sealing trees and boulders in thick sheets of glistening ice.
Hercules came to a halt as his feet were frozen in ice. As the ice slowly froze Hercules' entire body, Lycandros spoke. "Master, before training under you, my mother took me to several gods to train me, in an attempt to look for a perfect master. One of them was also Goddess Chione."
Hercules' entire body, almost to the neck, was now frozen in ice. He seemed like he was struggling to move. And far away, Princess Vesna, who was spectating the battle, had her facial expression changed. She gritted her teeth, "I refuse to believe that Hercules is not a match for Lycandros. Was he trying to lose on purpose?"
Meanwhile, Lycandros closed the gap and stopped before Hercules. "Master, you have seen my conviction now. Do you still that I made a sin?"
Hercules ground his teeth, his divine aura erupting out of his body. "Don't you dare look down on your master, you brat. You haven't even been born when I fought against the Lernaean Hydra."
The ice cracked and splintered, freeing him. Lycandros instantly leaped back to create the distance.
*Oraaa*
Hercules, wrapped in a divine aura, looked at him with his gleaming golden eyes.
"Come forth, Titanbreaker."
As he raised his hand, a club appeared in his hand, looking like a thick and heavy wooden club made from a tree bark with primitive craftsmanship as if its maker wasn't in any mood to make it. However, the raw power it exudes trembled Lycandros' soul.
"Since the master is dead serious, I will have to give my response with proper respect." Lycandros let his grip on his bow. As it fell to the ground, he mumbled. "Come forth, O mighty Khrysokera (Silver Horn). Please come to my aid."
A sleek and elegant bow, crafted from pure, shimmering silver, with a smooth and polished surface that glows faintly, reflecting moonlight, appeared in his hand. It is his mother, Artemis' divine bow, which she passed down to him on the day he left her and came down to the mortal realm.
Gripping its handle tightly, Lycandros aimed at his master, as the bow was absorbing the natural energy from its surroundings.
The rocks losing their firmness and turning into powder, the leaves withered, and the streams of the river began to dry as all of that energy began to concentrate between Lycandros' fingertips.
It's Lycandros' strongest technique: The Strike of Gaia.
At the same time, Hercules raised the club, his divine energy enveloping the weapon, intending to release his strongest technique: Mountain Shatter Strike, the one that is just a simple club swing and nothing else, but when it does, it would shatter even a bunch of mountains into rubble. A technique that even defeated Ares.
The nature responded to the tension their battle has brought.
Clouds spiraled over the valley, blocking the sunlight.
The air stirred violently around.
The Princess, who was the nearest to their battlefield, started feeling suffocation. She almost collapsed to the ground, but her eyes still locked on the two figures in the valley, about to unleash their strongest attacks at one another with the intention to kill.
*Oraaaa*
Lycandros let out a powerful roar, dragging the string as far as he could, releasing the Arrow.
"Aaaah!"
Hercules also swung down the club, releasing a concentrated shockwave toward the arrow.
Just as both attacks collide, a powerful pair of lightning strikes tore through the dark sky, striking between the two warriors.
Both attacks were crushed to nothing under the fierce attack of lightning strikes that didn't have any thunder that followed them.
Soon, a blinding pillar of light descended through the clouds. A figure, one that looked like an old man, appeared, cloaked in lightning and storm.
"Zeus?" Hercules' eyes widened.
"Enough!" the King of Olympus thundered, his voice rattling every bone, every stone.
Lycandros and Hercules instantly dropped to one knee, heads bowed to greet the King of Olympian Gods.
"Do you seek to destroy Athens, the jewel you were meant to protect?" Zeus roared. His gaze burned into them, heavier than mountains.
Neither answered and had their head bowed like children who were getting scolded by their father.
"You," he pointed at Hercules, "Is seeking justice so important that you forget yourself in the process? You are consumed by your pride so much that you almost killed your own disciple."
"And you," his gaze turned to Lycandros, "my foolish grandson… why did you take oaths without realizing the consequences they bring? Your oath forced you to stay loyal to the throne. The throne forced you to abduct a princess. And to give justice to the princess, you must break your oath. And when your master puts forth two choices, why haven't you thought of a third choice to earn Princess Vesna's forgiveness and just go ahead to choose a fight? Have you become so arrogant as to think that you can defeat your master, now?"
Lycandros hung his head to look at the ground, feeling ashamed.
The winds slowly calmed as Zeus lowered his hand, letting out a sigh. "Anyway, this battle is over."
"No, it can't be, Lord Zeus." A voice defied him as soon as he declared the end. Princess Vesna was seen rushing from far, bearing the pain of those blunt stones on the way that hurt her foot as she climbed down to the valley.
Reaching them, she raised her head to look at the King of Gods. "Lord Hercules has promised me justice. We can't end the battle in this way."
Hercules took a deep breath before stepping forward again, his expression torn.
"I am bound by my word, Father," Hercules said quietly, looking at Zeus. "I promised her justice. I cannot take it back."
The Baltica princess, standing barefoot on the cracked earth, her face streaked with soot and tears, would not sit down. She stood her ground with the stubbornness of a mountain. "And I will not leave!" she cried. "I was promised justice! Justice is not charity, Lord Zeus! It is not something you grant and take away at your leisure! Either Lycandros must marry me or die. That's how I will get my justice."
The sky above rumbled again as Zeus frowned, though no rain fell.
He turned to Lycandros, his voice steady as stone. "As I have told you earlier, every oath you swear comes with consequences. However, you made the oath in my name. If you break your vow today, it will not just be your defeat. It will be mine too. I cannot let you shame my daughter (Artemis)."
Zeus then looked at the Baltica princess, and his voice softened, though it carried the weight of divine judgment. "Princess Vesna, you, too, will have your justice. Or else, Hercules will be shamed. But I cannot foster a boon upon you for the negative feeling of vengeance. It is against nature. In this case, there is only one way."
He raised his hand, and a brilliant light spun into being into some kind of wheel. "I'll grant you a boon, Princess," Zeus declared. "In your next life, when the time comes, you will become the cause of Lycandros' death."
The princess stood frozen. Her fingers clenched into fists. "I don't want to wait across lives!" she shouted, bitter tears shining in her eyes.
Her gaze snapped to Lycandros, burning hotter than the sun. "You destroyed my life to safeguard the dignity of Athens' throne," she said, her hoarse voice cracking further. "Then hear this—"
She stepped forward, her arms raised high to the heavens.
"As long as you live, that throne will never let you sleep in peace. All of Achaion will burn in flames because of you and your precious princes. All your efforts, all your sacrifices, will end in ruin, one day. The great kingdom you built will crumble into ash before your eyes. You will live to see every piece of it fall... but death will not come for you. Not until you have watched it all be swallowed by fire and betrayal! That's when I come to you and give you death."
A dark, wild energy swirled around her.
"I curse you!" she cried. "I curse you, Lycandros! And I call upon all the good deeds I have done in this life to fuel my words, accepting imprisonment in Tartarus Prison."
Without hesitation, the Baltica princess summoned a fire from within herself. A pure, brilliant flame erupted from her.
The fire consumed her even as she laughed through the pain as if she had won.
In front of those three pairs of eyes, she was reduced to ashes, leaving only a charred mark upon the soil and a cold, terrible silence.
The winds blew gently now, carrying away the last of her ashes into the endless sky.
Lycandros stood still, his face unreadable.
Hercules stared at the ashes dispersing away in pity.
Zeus turned away without another word, leaving the mortals and demigods to their fates.
Three Years later;
At the Kingdom of Frankoria;
*Uwaaa* Uwaaa*
The sharp cries of a newborn pierced through the King's chamber, bouncing off the marble walls. King Dorian cradled the infant in his arms, his eyes glinting with an intense gaze. The Prince was standing on the side, waiting for his father to give the baby girl a name.
Raising the baby high, the King laughed aloud, as if he were declaring a win. "My wish has been fulfilled, son. I never expected Lord Zeus would grace us so quickly. Lycandros has insulted me and our entire kingdom." Gazing at the girl, he continued with a bright, lit face. "This girl will carry the fire of vengeance. There is nothing more beautiful than revenge in this world. The birth of this girl brought all the beauty of the world to me. And so, she will be named, Vesna." He then turned his head and looked at the astrologer. "Royal Astrologer Ptolemy, what do the stars say about my granddaughter's fate?"
The astrologer, drap[ed in robes heavy with symbols of cosmos, bowed his head in submission. "Your Majesty, the Princess was born at 12:07 PM today. According to her natal chart, she will surely be successful in carrying out all the duties of her life. But only after a great struggle. Her path is filled with nothing but thorns."
The King's lips curved into a smile upon hearing those words. Lowering Vesna, he placed her into the arms of the Prince, who instinctively clutched his daughter closer as if he were worried that he would drop her.
But the King's voice then dropped, low and firm. "Struggle is the best teacher, Royal Astrologer. We will poison this girl's heart with nothing but hatred for Lycandros." Looking at his son, he added, his gaze as sharp as a sword's edge. "Son, don't be so affectionate to her. Remember that this girl isn't a pawn whom we use to establish alliances with other kingdoms through marriage. This is a weapon we will develop for Lycandros' doom and nothing else. Raise her like a sword to cut down our enemies."
The Prince's jaw tightened. He wanted to say something to his father, but couldn't speak aloud. He could only nod in the end.