Sunday, July 9th, 2045
Valley of Tombs, Palmyra, Syria
There was a solemn silence all around the Valley. A silence that permeated deep into your soul and warned you to prepare yourself for the inevitable storm.
And a storm was indeed brewing.
Under the brightening sky, where the first streaks of sunlight had peered through the clouds, two crystal thrones were placed adjacent to each other with a crystalline table between them. And on that table was a board of chess, a battlefield for the two occupants of the thrones.
It was a very captivating and strange sight, and the Mortal Gods in the valley, who had come here under an invitation from the Lord of Darkness, stood a very respectful distance away, atop the vantage points, not bothering him as he sat there in the middle of the Valley of Tombs with his wife.
Rebecca was deeply frowning as she found herself at a stalemate with Keith. She was rather alarmed by the rate of his progress, but it had been years since they last had a game of chess, and she wondered if he had been working on it secretly.
She was not wrong about it, but Keith had only been working on his chess for the last year since he had returned home. He was just an unfair existence even to the likes of her.
And Keith was impressed too at how much she had improved.
However, he was not surprised as he understood her potential and talent better than she could understand herself.
The two of them lifted their eyes from the board at the same time and smiled when their eyes met.
"You won't let me win?" She playfully asked.
"Why don't you let your husband win?" He asked back and chuckled when he watched her pout.
Seeing them so carefreely chatting with each other weighed heavily on the hearts of the people who were watching them, especially on the hearts of those who had never met them before.
It looked as if the Inheritor of Erebus did not think much of the enemy whom he had challenged, much less considered him a threat. But all of them had doubts if this pride and confidence were founded on truth or not.
After all, Keith was only 23 Years Old.
Could he really go up against a Mortal God who had lived for centuries?
It was the same question they were asking themselves when they had learned about the war between Hades and Nergal.
"Do you think Azdaar will come?" Ian curiously asked the blonde man standing next to him, who, unlike the rest of them, was not paying attention to Keith and Rebecca.
He was staring at the fading stars in the sky, which to normal eyes, were not so visible.
"He will." Caspian nodded. "He's a prideful man."
The proactive declaration Keith had sent to Azdaar had come out as a shock to the Underworld.
No one was expecting Erebus to suddenly jump into the war between Hades and Nergal, but from what they had gathered, it seemed like the Lord of Darkness wanted to settle some personal accounts with the Inheritor of the Babylonian God of War and Destruction.
Of course, some had their own ideas about this scenario, but they were all gathering up here.
Caspian suddenly narrowed his eyes and then turned to look around.
Volos followed his gaze and soon saw another Inheritor arrive at the scene, and unlike most, he was different, and yet the same as them.
"Good morning, Caspian."
"Abuzar." The Inheritor of Poseidon lightly smiled at the man who had arrived at the location at a speed that could baffle even Hermes. "Nergal?"
"He's coming." The True Inheritor of the Babylonian God of Light and Life informed him, which was heard by everyone around them, and then his eyes looked towards the centre of the Valley where Keith and Rebecca were engaged in their game of chess. "That's a rare element." He was intrigued as he looked at the crystalline thrones and commented, and only Volos and Caspian understood what he truly meant by it.
"Did Nergal ask for any assurances?" The Inheritors of Poseidon changed the subject and inquired.
"Not really. He was quite pleased that he was getting a chance to set things straight between them." He smiled. "However, I did assure him that neither Hades nor you would be allowed to interfere in this fight."
"I see." Caspian nodded his head.
"Did you sense the Ascension on the night of the 1st?" Abuzar curiously asked.
"I sensed Hades' signature near that location. It was the night he eliminated the Hubo Clan."
"So it was Oros."
They both nodded to each other, guessing the identity of the man who had left this world.
A few other Inheritors approached them to greet Abuzar, Caspian, and Volos, having mustered up enough courage, since these three were amongst the oldest known Mortal Gods in this world, and they were considered the most powerful as well.
Away from the gathering of the other Mortal Gods, stood Hermes and Aphrodite, and with them were the few mortals who did not belong there, and their presence had caught a lot of attention as well.
Minami was quietly standing together with Yingying and Iseul, and behind them were Julian and Naomi, both of whom were extremely nervous at the presence of all these Mortal Gods in this Valley, and they were even more restless when they felt the eyes on them.
However, they were excited too. Since they had been allowed by Keith to witness a fight between two Mortal Gods, a fight that they otherwise might have never been able to witness, why would they not be excited about it?
This was an opportunity for then to peek into what held for them after their Ascensions in the future.
"Is Hades going to come?" Naomi curiously asked after she looked around the valley with her binoculars.
"Lord Hades is probably not coming," Hermes informed them, much to their surprise.
"He's going to use this opportunity to strike Nergal's forces?" Julian frowned but watched the tall man with pin-straight long black hair shake his head.
"No. He has been asked to be mindful of his actions."
"Oh..." The two siblings nodded their heads.
They did not understand what was really happening behind the scenes, and they were curious why Hades might not come here today, after all, it was an opportunity for him to see through the weaknesses of his enemy. But they kept their questions in their hearts and waited for the arrival of Nergal just like everyone else was doing in this accursed Valley.
It was a place that made people uncomfortable for reasons they could not comprehend.
Suddenly, the Mortal Gods started looking towards the East, where the sun was rising from, and the husband and wife, who were sitting at the centre of the Valley, sensed the reason too.
"You are conceding." Keith smiled when he watched his wife make a move that he knew she understood what entailed.
"You asked me to let my husband win." She sweetly smiled. "But it comes at a price, dear Hubby."
"And what is that?"
"I will tell you about it tonight." She winked at him and then stood up.
Their eyes met again, and they both nodded to each other, having conveyed what they wanted to say through their silent exchange.
Rebecca slowly walked towards Hermes and Aphrodite's location, and Keith sank back in his throne, crossing his legs, supporting his head on his right hand as he looked towards the east with a light smile on his lips.
The now vacant crystalline throne, the table, and the chess board, along with all the pieces, disintegrated into specks of light before disappearing completely, a phenomenon which was even more mesmerising than the sight of their creation.
There, from the East, came a large black Loin, running in the air, a few metres about the ground, and at a speed that made some smile and others apprehensive.
"Erebus!" The Inheritor of Nergal shouted his name as he came to a stop.
There was an unmistakable excitement in his voice, and an eagerness to bathe in his enemy's blood.
His Aura Soul, which was a majestic black lion, grimly stared at Keith together with him.
"Have a rest and catch your breath." Keith lightly said and kept looking at Nergal with an amused smile.
"I will rest after ending your existence." He grinned but narrowed his eyes when he watched Keith dismissively shake his head.
"Rest." He advised again.
"End this nonsense and stand up!" Azdaar angrily said, and then an overwhelming pressure washed over the valley as he utilised his God's Presence.
Keith sighed at his action and then slowly stood up, unbothered by the pressure that was weighing on him.
As soon as he was up on his feet, the throne behind him disintegrated into specks of light, and then his Aura Burst out of his body, taking the form of his Soul Beast.
Though the wolf was smaller in size compared to the Black Lion, it looked just as Majestic, perhaps even more, and then the Mortal Gods witnessed something that baffled them.
Caspian narrowed his eyes as he watched the body of the Amethyst wolf being armoured by crystalline scales.
Only he understood how difficult it was to fuse your element with your Aura Soul and doing such a thing required absolute harmony with the element you possessed, which was not something a normal Human-Auror could achieve.
The two Aura Beasts suddenly lunged at each other on their own accord, and both Keith and Nergal watched them clash with no haste.
Sparks of Amethyst and Black Auras flew as the two Aura Souls tried to overpower each other, and in just a few moments, Nergal's expression turned grim.
"How's this possible?" He whispered as he watched the two Aura Souls fighting on even grounds, but Keith only smiled at him, not giving him the answers he sought.
"Shall we?" He politely asked, but without waiting for Azdaar to respond, he rushed at him, creating an Aura Sword in his right hand.
