Chapter 2

Three years had passed since Felix arrived at the forest and fallen in love with Serenity, and they were without a doubt the greatest years of his life. Every day consisted of lounging in the shade of the trees, swimming in deep sections of the creek, taking long strolls through the woods while basking in the sun, and exercising to stay fit. Every night consisted of dancing in the moonlight or sleeping in their small tree chamber, pressed tightly together under the warmth of their blanket. Their diet was entirely made up of the addictively sweet fruit that hung from the branches of every tree. They supplied all the nutrients that they both required and neither ever grew tired of them. Felix would gorge himself on them until he could barely breathe, and then curse the fact that he could not eat any more.

It was a very simple life, one without any exertion of obstacles. Every moment was filled with unending happiness and relaxation. It was in all sense a perfect life, and with the help of Serenity's healing powers, it was a perfect life that would never end.

The sun was shining brightly as Felix and Serenity walked along the shallow creek, picking up pretty stones. In a life where there are no obstacles or hardships, the two lovers sought playful challenges in abstract art, taking small pieces of nature and rearranging them to create works to represent nature as a whole. Felix's old clothes had been replaced with a new outfit of the same silky hay-woven fabric as Serenity's and their bed sheets. Serenity's hair was adorned with flowers and she was carrying a basket of braided vines.

"Oh, this one is perfect," she said sweetly as she picked up a piece of mica, perfect for the collage she was working on.

Just as Felix was about to speak, the sound of a twig snapping reached his ears. His whole body became rigid as three years of relaxation were pushed aside by his military training. This was not uncommon, as Felix had not lowered his guard since arriving and often felt the desire to make sure there weren't any outsiders wandering nearby.

"Serenity, scan the area, I think we aren't alone," he said softly, trying to be nonchalant.

Serenity looked at him with worry on her face. "There can't be anyone here. Everyone and everything beneath the sunlight and moonlight is under my watch. No one could have possibly entered this forest without me noticing. It was probably just a squirrel you heard."

"Please, just give one thorough search."

Serenity closed her eyes, focusing her mind on her Outsight to examine the forest for any intruders. She finally gave a sigh and looked at him. "There is nothing, we are the only ones here."

While Felix's mind was put at ease, his muscles did not relax.

"Sorry, I just always worry about us. After all, this is just a small forest out in the wilderness, not a sacred garden on Mt. Olympus."

"Well you can be at peace, as this forest is our private utopia."

Just as the words passed her soft lips, an arrow shot past Felix's face, grazing his cheek. With blood running down his neck, he grabbed Serenity's wrist and they ducked down behind the bushes along the creek.

"What is going on, I thought you said you didn't see anyone?"

"I didn't and I still don't, something must be blocking my sight," she replied with her voice filled with fear.

Behind them, Felix could hear over almost half a dozen sets of feet hitting the ground, coming towards them. This wasn't just a stray hunter or explorer, this was a group with the intention of search and capture or search and destroy. Whoever it was, Felix would die before letting them harm Serenity.

"Come on, and stay close."

The two hunted lovers sprinted along the side of creek with arrows flying past them. With every step, Felix could feel his body returning to its original strength. Even after three years of relaxation, exercise had helped keep his muscles from forgetting the strain of battle and his reflexes had not dulled to the demands of fighting. The Felix that been living in peace was stepping aside, and the Felix that was originally a Trojan war hero was returning to fight.

Up ahead of them, a soldier stepped out of the brush with a sword in his hand. From the plate designs of his bronze armor and the shape of his helm, Felix instantly recognized him as soldier from Mycenae. It wasn't too long ago that he would slaughter over a hundred of them in each battle. Felix charged ahead of Serenity and the soldier lashed out with his sword, trying to deliver a one-hit kill. The Trojan warrior dodged the clumsy stab, knocked the enemy's arm aside, and tackled him, pinning him. Before his foe could try and slash him with his sword or grab a stone from the creek, Felix snapped his neck by slamming him in the jaw with his palm. It was his first kill in three years.

Felix stood up and retrieved the sword of his victim. While the shape and weight of the short double-edged blade were different from his old Trojan sword, his body recognized the form and function upon contact. Serenity stared at Felix with wide eyes as he slashed the air, familiarizing himself with the art of swordplay.

"When we run, stay close. When I fight, stay back," he instructed with a very calm but determined voice.

Serenity nodded and grasped his hand. They then turned and ran into the woods, keeping their senses open to the presence of enemy soldiers.

"I can't see them at all with my Outsight. Somehow they are blocking my vision completely."

"Then how about we find our why..." Felix cursed through gritted teeth.

He then released Serenity's hand as he spotted four soldiers up ahead, standing in a large clearing. Following his instructions, Serenity slowed down and Felix increased his speed, jumping into the clearing and surprising the soldiers. Without the slightest hesitation, he slashed the throat of the first, sending a fountain of blood from the laceration. Felix then turned and blocked a slash from another soldier, responding in kind by sidestepping behind him and lopping off his head. He quickly stepped back, dodging the arrow from the third soldier.

Before the Mycenaean could draw another one, Felix darted over and shattered his bow with a wide slash, then drove the tip of the sword straight through his chest, managing to pierce both sides of his armor with his full strength. He looked back at the forth soldier as he pulled out a horn to the signal the rest of the troops in the area. Just as his foe began the call, the Felix knocked the horn out of his hand and then stabbed upwards, piercing his skull.

Felix suddenly let loose a howl of pain as an arrow shot through the air and stabbed his shoulder, piercing the muscle and flesh with ease. He had been struck with countless arrows when he was a soldier, so this was nothing but a further adrenaline rush of nostalgia. Serenity stifled a scream at the sight of his injury and the blood streaming from it. Gritting his teeth, Felix ripped out the arrow and turned to see the approaching crowd of Mycenaean soldiers. There were over two-dozen of them, all armed and ready.

"For Serenity, for my family, and for the city of Troy, I will kill all of you!"

The first soldier jumped out into the clearing and tried to stab Felix with his spear, but the Trojan ducked to the side and stepped forward, stabbing him through the gut and making him cough up blood. He then grabbed the soldier's spear as he fell to the ground and used it to stab the next that entered his range of killing. Running him through, Felix stabbed him in the chest and slammed him into a tree, lodging the blade in the trunk and pinning the man there.

The third soldier charged with a large battleaxe, swinging low from the side to strike Felix's knees and cripple him. Sending all his strength to his legs, Felix jumped over the attack and stabbed wielder between the shoulder and the neck, killing him in a single blow. As the man fell to the ground, an arrow launched by the fourth soldier struck his palm, bursting out of the back of his hand. Ignoring his agony and the blood streaming from his fingers, Felix charged towards him before he could reload and swung his hand, stabbing him in the eye with the tip of the arrow. With the soldier screaming in pain, he ripped his hand off the shaft and then slammed the arrow, forcing it all the way into the man's skull and ripping away his life.

Felix turned and raised his sword above his head, bringing it down on a soldier with a shield and a spear. The opponent blocked the attack with his shield, but before he could respond with a spear thrust, Felix swung his hand in front of his eyes, spraying the soldier's face with blood and blinding him. He staggered back, trying to wipe the blood from his face, and with that quick opportunity, Felix slashed his throat and ripped off his shield. Pulling back his arm, Felix threw it and sent it flying like a giant discuss before striking an oncoming soldier in the head. Even with his helmet on, the blow shattered his skull and killed him.

The sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth all charged towards him, armed only with swords. Snarling and roaring like an animal, Felix carved them all down without mercy. He pierced the armor of the sixth with a stab as if it was made of thick leather and then cleaved off the arm of the seventh and grabbed his sword while he bled to death. Using the two swords, he blocked the coordinated attacks of the eight and ninth, kicked the eighth to knock him back, and then beheaded the ninth with a twin-scissor slash. With the eighth still on the ground, Felix raised his swords above his head and stabbed down into his chest, tearing through his lungs and soaking the ground with blood.

Soldier after soldier charged towards him with the intent of murder, but with a sword in each hand and the drive to protect Serenity in his heart, Felix slaughtered them all without hesitation or opposition. As he tore through the armor of his nineteenth victim and slashed him from shoulder to hip, he lurched forward in pain and looked down. An arrow had pierced his chest, driving through his body and passing just under his heart.

"Felix!" Serenity screamed.

Refusing to let the injury slow him down, Felix slashed the throat of his twentieth enemy, giving his neck a wide, bloody smile. A second arrow was launched, striking him in the gut. He staggered back with blood pouring from his mouth and struggled to catch his breath, knowing that he was so close to victory, he just had to charge through the pain. Felix looked up and spotted the soldier that had launched the arrows. His allies were running past him, taking advantage of Felix's injury.

With what little strength he had, Felix stabbed the first that came close, managing to pierce his heart, but lacking the power to send it driving through the back of his armor. A third arrow was launched, stabbing him through his right lung. Barely able to stand on his feet, he could not stop the rest of the soldiers from delivering their attacks. With swords and spears, they stabbed him through the torso, attacking from all angles. With every organ torn to shreds, he shouted in frustration and vomited blood.

Releasing one final roar, he swung his sword and beheaded the soldier right in front of him, then turned and stabbed the soldier to his side. Before he could deliver his final kill, the soldier behind him ripped his weapons free and stepped back, sending Felix crashing to the ground like a shattered tower. His mind falling into darkness and his body refusing to respond, Felix was unable to help Serenity as the soldiers grabbed her, tying her up and dragging the sobbing nymph away.

For the second time in his life, he had failed to protect what was important to him. No matter what he did and how hard he fought, he could not keep those that he loved safe. And this time, the strength to run was not in him. As his blood soaked the ground and his eyelids slowly sank, a bright flash filled his senses.

Felix took a deep shuddering breath, realizing that he was alive. Had that really happened, or had it only been a nightmare? He looked at his chest and felt an invisible punch to the gut as he saw the amount of blood that soaked his shirt. His wounds had disappeared but the blood was still wet. It had really happened, and that meant...

"Serenity!" Felix called out as he bolted to his feet and stepped forward.

He was standing in the bloody clearing, surrounded by the slain Mycenaean soldiers. Without a moment's hesitation, he rushed over one of the bodies and retrieved the soldier's sword and shield.

"Wait, noble Trojan, right now a conversation can do you far more good than those weapons."

Felix turned around, facing a man with clothes of silk and blond hair, standing beside a chariot of solid gold that was hitched up to four horses made entirely of condensed fire. Felix's eyes had to be deceiving him, for there was no way the man that had saved his life could be who he thought he was.

"Is it possible ... are you really Helios?"

"Well I am certainly not that brat Apollo. I am indeed Helios, the titan of the sun and moon. I am also the father of Serenity, as you well know."

Felix turned away from him and began stripping the dead bodies of their armor.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"The warmth has not completely left these bodies, the rest of those soldiers can't be more than a few miles away. Even if they're on horses, I still might be able to chase them down and rescue Serenity."

"While you are right about the time, you are wrong about the distance. She has already reached the city of Mycenae by unholy means."

Felix turned to him with his teeth barred. "Then take me there. I don't care how she got to the city so fast, but I know your chariot can get me there with divine speed."

It was not a request.

"Not yet, I must bring you to Mt. Olympus. The gods have a matter to discuss with you that is of the upmost importance. They need your help."

The answer left the warrior so furious that it took all his will to keep from shaking. "Hear me now, titan. The only reason why I have shown you this much respect is because you are the father of Serenity, but you have a lot of nerve telling me that the gods want my help. The very thought that they have the right to ask me for help is worthy of execution."

Helios gave a deep sigh. "I understand your hatred, and it's true that the gods don't deserve your help. However, you cannot save Serenity the way you are. You are not nearly strong enough. Felix, listen to me, just as the gods need your help, you need theirs."

Sword in hand, Felix stormed over to him. "Do you know who needed the gods' help? My sisters, when they were raped in front of me! Do you know who needed help from the mighty gods? My brother, when he was stabbed more times than I could count! I don't need the gods' help, I need them to stay out of my way or else I'll carve them all down just like I did these poor fools around us! Now, take me to Mycenae or tell the gods that they would do well not to underestimate a mere mortal."

When Helios did not answer, Felix wordlessly turned away and retrieved the shield he had taken from one of the dead soldiers.

"Is she not worth it?" Helios called out before Felix could leave the clearing.

The human stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to the titan.

"Is your love for my daughter not great enough for you to put aside your anger and swallow your pride? Surely these three years have rehabilitated you enough to show some compassion, if not forgiveness. Listen to me Felix; you and the gods share the same goal and the same enemy. I'm not asking you to work with the them for their sake. I'm only asking you to hear them out for Serenity's."

The sky was filled with golden clouds, moving faster across the blue abyss than a stampeding horse fleeing from hungry wolves. Felix was flying through the sky with Helios on his golden chariot, several miles above the safety of solid ground. He was tapping his fingers impatiently against the side of the chariot and he repeatedly shifted his grip on the hilt of the Mycenaean sword he had stolen. Even while flying above the clouds, his mind was focused solely on rescuing Serenity as soon as possible.

"You mask your emotions well," Felix finally said, breaking the silence.

"I cannot afford to be angry and irrational at this time. I must keep my mind clear for the sake of my daughter," Helios responded with his voice trembling.

"Then you truly did love her and her mother?"

Helios tried to crack a smile, but it became little more than an awkward shift of unsure facial expressions. "You could say that."

He then looked ahead and gained a real smile. "Welcome Felix, to Mt. Olympus!"

Felix looked ahead and his jaw sank so low that it was almost ripped from his skull. With the sun shining on the sea of clouds and giving them a golden shade, a colossal temple of diamond and marble was built into the summit of the tallest mountain in the known world, Mt. Olympus. The temple was decorated with statues of the gods and goddesses and surrounded by courtyards containing entire geographical areas. Fields, forests, and even lakes were all being held in creases of the colossal mountain, held up so high that no one on the ground could ever see them

The courtyards were filled with the mystical creatures of legend, all living peacefully in their gardens. Winged horses flew between gargantuan pillars, the Ceryneian Hind grazed in a sunlit field, the Laelaps was lying in the shade of a tree while chewing on a bone, several hundred phoenixes were all perched in a small forest, with each tree charred from the death and rebirth of the birds, and the Teumessian Fox could see seen wandering among the cliffs.

Helios and Felix passed through a towering gate of solid glass and the golden chariot came to a halt on the marble floor. "Come with me. Zeus and the others need to speak with you."

In utter astonishment at what he had seen, it took Felix a moment to shake himself awake and follow the titan. Helios led him down a labyrinth of marble pillars to a large set of doors, both made of sterling silver. Helios opened the doors without touching them and brought him through. They both entered a circular room with every surface made of a precious mineral, jewel, or metal. The walls were lined with thrones, and sitting in each was a god or goddess, not to mention the remaining titans. Without having ever seen them before, the mere human could instantly identify deities like Athena, Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, and all others. Felix tried to maintain his composure and keep his temper in check in the presence of the gods. He would have normally spat on the ground in insult, but his mind was too fixated on Serenity.

"Felix, last of the Trojans, welcome to Mt. Olympus," Zeus said with a booming voice.

He had white hair, a long beard, and a wreath around his head. He was so large that even the tallest warrior would have to stand on the back of a horse to match his height, and he was built with enough muscles to overpower an entire herd of oxen.

"Don't mock me, Olympian. I fear you no more than I fear the hundreds of men I have slain. Helios said that you could help me rescue Serenity and he said you need my help, now give me what I need or else I leave you on your own," Felix barked with unspeakable defiance.

The gods and titans stirred at the insulting tone, but continued on.

"We have brought you here because we all share a common enemy and a common purpose. We need your help, Felix," Poseidon said as he spun his trident in his hand. Like Zeus, he had a long white beard and was heavily built, but his clothes were instead made of woven seaweed and on his head was a crown of coral.

"What do you need my help with?"

"You know of Agamemnon, correct?" Zeus asked.

Felix's heart was instantly filled with rage and his effort to stay calm immediately become useless. "Yes, the king of Mycenae. He controlled the war with Troy after Helen left the king of Sparta and fell in love with Paris, all because of your pathetic argument at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus. Like you, it is because of him that my family is dead."

"The war was never over his brother losing his wife or for political reasons. He was after an artifact within Troy, and the war was just a ruse to get it. He was so desperate to achieve his goals, he even murdered his own daughter and sacrificed her so that the winds would blow in his favor on the way," Zeus explained.

"What artifact?"

"The Palladium, the wooden statue of Pallas Athena that should have won Troy the war. It was enchanted to protect a city from enemies and ensure victory. It was why Troy lasted as long as it did."

At the sound of her name, Felix turned and glared at the goddess Athena, trying to unleash all of his anger through his eyes. She looked to be a woman in her late twenties, wearing a pearl-white dress with a bow across her lap that was made of a single unbroken piece of bone. Regardless of Felix's anger, she was quite beautiful, but she did not give off the tender radiance of Serenity.

"Why was he after it? Did he want it to strengthen his own city? After all, it's not like the model of the statue was on our side," Felix asked without turning away from Athena.

"No," Athena muttered, returning the glare. "He wanted what was inside of the statue. You and your fellow Trojans originally believed that it was I that created the statue and sent it down from the heavens, but that is not truly what happened."

"Only recently did we find out what the Palladium truly was and who created it," Poseidon interrupted. "It was a vessel to hold and protect a dangerous artifact. The powers imbued in the statue protect whatever city is its home, in order for the city to protect the statue and what it held, so that the artifact within could not be taken and used. The one who created the statue was Pandora, and the artifact is her cursed box. It is the darkest and most powerful object in the world and Agamemnon somehow found out about it, even when we did not know the secret of the statue."

"But what does that have to do with Serenity?"

"Pandora's Box is pure malevolent evil and I curse the day that I made it. Over the years, the vessel has aged and become more tempered. The darkness within it has grown more powerful than I would have imagined. Even without being opened, it has the power to affect the world around it with its deathly influence. However, at the cost of this increase in strength, you could say it is being crushed under the weight of its own power. The box could originally be opened by a mere human with the innocence of curiosity, light being used to set free darkness. Now that the box has become more powerful, it requires sacrifice to be opened, something more pure than a curious human."

"So it needs a nymph..."

Helios turned to him. "Not just any nymph, but the most powerful nymph alive. Of all the nymphs in the world, Serenity is the most pure and mystical. Even after being intimate with you, she is still far more pure than even a virgin human. You have seen the healing abilities that she possesses and the way that all life reacts to her. It took me almost an hour to heal your injuries, when it would have taken her less than a minute. I loved her mother with all of my heart, and she was born from that love and my power. For three years, he's been hunting down nymphs and sacrificing them to the box, trying to get it to open. Only by rumor of the fruits in Serenity's orchard from a traveler that passed by the edges of your forest did he ever learn of her exceptional powers. He wants to open the box in the hope that he can wield its power and rule over all in existence."

"If that box is opened again, the world as you know it will end. Not even we can stop it if its evil is set loose," Zeus said with his voice full of dread.

"Even if you can't stop the box, can't you at least stop it from being opened? Can't you go down to the human world and stop Agamemnon yourselves?"

"No, for Pandora's Box isn't the only artifact he got as a spoil of war. He also stole the Apple of Discord, the apple that started the argument that led to the war itself. With the dark energy radiating from the box, Agamemnon was able to change the nature of the apple. Originally, it only affected goddesses and made them argue, now it is so powerful that it repels all gods and can even drain them of their powers. If we were to enter Mycenae, we would be weaker than regular humans. We need you to stop him."

"Had it been a regular apple, that argument would probably have never even happened," Aphrodite defended. "But because it was one of Eris' golden Apples of Discord, it affected us like an energizing drug."

"Why me?" Felix couldn't help but ask.

"Because in the Trojan War, you were one of the finest warriors alive. You were in league with Hector, Paris, and even Achilles. It is in sieges like the Trojan War that legends are made, and you are the last legend still alive. You are one of the finest fighters in the world, and what separates you from all others is the fact that now, you truly have something to fight for. You can fight with vengeance in your mind and my daughter in your heart," Helios said, frustrated that he could not save her himself.

"So let me make sure I understand this: you want me, the last member of a society that you allowed and even helped to destroy, to clean up your mess because you are too weak to do it yourselves?"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF HIS ARROGANCE!" a snarling voice boomed, shaking the hall with its volume.

Felix looked back as one of the gods leapt from his throne with a crimson double-edged sword. The god was as tall and muscular as Zeus, but wore nothing more than a loincloth and a golden helm. He was Ares, the god of war. He landed on his feet, shaking the floor so violently that Felix almost fell off his.

"IF HE IS GOING TO DISRESPECT US SO, THEN I WILL KILL HIM AND HANDLE THIS MYSELF!" he thundered, charging towards Felix with his sword raised.

Without a glimmer of fear in his eyes, Felix raised the Mycenaean sword he had taken and used it to block the god's attack. The man-made sword which would have snapped under normal circumstances, held strong against all odds. Ares gazed in astonishment as he looked down at the confident Trojan, trying to overpower him.

Cracking a smile, Zeus began to chuckle. "That is why we need you: your will is stronger than anyone else', even strong enough for you to physically defy a god. Felix, we are only explaining to you why our enemy is the same so that we can help each other. We do not wish to insult you."

"Before this barbarian attacked me, I didn't say I wouldn't accept the challenge. I will do it without hesitation. But there are still answers I seek; how is it that Serenity was not able to see the soldiers of Mycenae, how is it that you didn't know of Agamemnon's plans until now, and why is Serenity the most powerful nymph?"

"First, because Agamemnon is a wretched thief," A course voice swore.

Felix looked to the back of the room and saw a man step out of a shadow as dark as night. His skin was deathly pale and he was wearing dark clothes that looked like rotting animal skins.

"Hades..." Felix muttered in fear.

"On his way home from Troy, he managed to sneak into my realm while I was busy dealing with all of the dead from the end of the war. While I was distracted, he stole my helmet of invisibility. Using the box that my brother so foolishly created and forgot about, he changed its nature as well. Now the helmet's power can affect those that aren't even wearing it, and not even we can see them from our realms. At the cost of this change, gods and regular humans when face-to-face can see those that are under its affects.

Agamemnon knew we would be watching him after the war so he had the nerve to personally steal from me!"

"You will be facing the entire city of Mycenae on your own, but you will not be unarmed," Zeus beamed.

On cue, Poseidon slammed his trident down on the floor. Ten feet away from where Felix was standing, the marble tiles opened and three pedestals rose up, each topped with an artifact. On the first was a golden leaf-bladed long sword with a wide guard formed by two sterling silver carvings of horse heads, the symbol of Troy. On the second was round shield with a surface of goatskin and edges lined with golden tassels. On the third was a cape of lion skin.

"It is only fitting that you should use that sword. It is the Sword of Troy, and we have retrieved it and enchanted for your sole use. It carries with it the will of every Trojan who has ever lived and channels their strength into only the most worthy Trojan, only you. It is the legacy of your people, carried on in your desire to fight and save this world. It grants you unstoppable strength and the weapon itself never breaks and never dulls. With it in your hand, you will have enough strength to crush diamonds into powder as if they are clods of soil.

The shield is the Aegis; it is layered with the hide of a goat from my foster-mother and I used it in my battle against the titans. Like the sword, it will never break or sustain damage, so it will be your ultimate defense against the powers of Pandora's Box.