"We know The Order." The words hung in the air, but Ares did not have the luxury of time to contemplate them.
He turned his attention to Nythren and Raezel, his face twisted into a mean, mocking look, "Well, well," Ares began, his tone thick with sarcasm. "Seems like you two aren't the most powerful beings after all. What a shock."
The words stung, more than Ares had anticipated. Nythren and Raezel stood frozen for a moment, their usual confident demeanors slipping into a momentary shame. They exchanged uneasy glances, their pride slowly crumbling in the face of the truth.
Ares took full advantage of their discomfort, his voice now dripping with ridicule. "Oh, I get it now. You thought Nyx and Medusa were the peak of power, didn't you? That they were untouchable?" He let out a short laugh, turning back to the kneeling figures of Medusa and Nyx. "Look at this. Medusa and Nyx, two of the most feared beings in the universe, on their knees. And what does that say about you two?"
His mocking tone echoed, but it was not just for Nythren and Raezel. Ares, for the first time, found himself in a position where he could mock these two who had always seemed so untouchable, so above everyone else.
Raezel and Nythren did not respond. They stood in silent understanding, their eyes darkening with the weight of the truth. They had indeed been humbled, something neither of them had ever experienced till now.
For Ares, this moment was a rare one. His usual arrogance had found its equal in this situation, where the other mighty beings were forced to confront the reality that there was something greater than them. Something that even they dared not oppose.
"I suppose you're both just like the rest of us now," Ares sneered, eyes gleaming with the satisfaction of a victor. "You too kneel before these forces. Isn't that something?"
The words, although spoken with cruelty, were laced with the final triumph of the god of war. Nythren and Raezel were not invincible. They were not gods themselves, after all.
Medusa and Nyx, however, remained silent and unmoving, their expressions unreadable. They were not offended, nor were they angry. They simply accepted their position, knowing well that in the presence of "The Order," even the mightiest had to bow.
Ares turned to the three primordial entities, his posture shifting from mocking to curious as he finally acknowledged the true source of power. His gaze turned toward Reality, Fate, and Time. The true rulers of the cosmos, the ones who stood above all.
"So, what now?" Ares asked, his voice filled with a strange mixture of awe and defiance.
"What happens next," Time said slowly, his voice calm and deliberate, "is that all things must align. The balance must be maintained."
The weight of Time's words sank in, and Ares finally understood that this moment was not simply a matter of pride. It was something far more significant. Even the gods, the powerful beings who ruled realm's, had limits. And these three entities, these forces of the universe, were beyond everyone.
Ares exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders as if shaking off the weight of the moment. But the smirk that usually followed never came.
Because something had shifted.
He turned his gaze toward Nythren and Raezel, eyes narrowing. "So, what's the grand lesson here, huh? The big revelation? That we're all just pawns in someone else's game?" He scoffed, shaking his head. "Well, if that's the case, I guess I'm the pawn who still knows how to have a little fun."
His lips curled into something almost confident—almost—but there was an unease lurking beneath it. He gestured toward Nythren and Raezel with exaggerated flair.
"Not every day you get to see legends like you two—" he drawled.
Then, with mock amusement, he tilted his head.
"—reduced to dust, eh?"
Silence.
The air thickened.
The Order, still lingering like a whisper in the air, spoke without speaking. Their message was for Medusa and Nyx alone.
And when the two women nodded in understanding, something shifted.
Ares felt it first. A subtle, crawling sensation at the base of his spine. A warning.
Without a word, Medusa and Nyx rose. Their movements were slow, deliberate. Unhurried.
But their eyes?
Their eyes held something ancient. Something inevitable.
Nyx was the first to speak. Her voice was softer than a whisper—and yet colder than the void itself.
"Ares, you seem to forget your place... and where your jokes belong."
A flicker of something dangerous passed through Medusa's gaze. Her smirk widened, sharp enough to draw blood.
They stepped forward.
The space between them and Ares shrank with agonizing slowness.
The air changed. Thick. Suffocating. A force that pressed against the bones rather than the skin.
Ares hesitated. For the first time in centuries, his body reacted before his mind. His weight shifted—backward.
Away.
Instinct.
Still, he forced out a chuckle. "What's this? You two are really about to throw down? A little upset because the joke was on you and your children?"
He shrugged, feigning indifference, but his usual bravado wavered.
No one spoke.
Then—
Laughter.
Soft. Low. Amused.
But not from Ares.
Raezel straightened, his golden eyes calm. Knowing.
Beside him, Nythren cracked his neck. His smirk **returned—**but this time, it was not playful.
"You should've known better than to make jokes, Ares," Nythren said, his voice almost pitying.
"You're not the only one with tricks up your sleeve."
Ares tensed.
Raezel met his gaze. Steady. Unshaken.
"Everything has its balance," he said, voice even. "Power is fleeting. But wisdom… wisdom endures."
A beat of silence.
Ares exhaled, shaking his head with a dry, short laugh. "Fine, fine... I get it. You all have your little tricks. But don't think I'll be forgetting this any time soon."
His gaze swept across the room, lingering on Medusa, Nyx, Raezel, and Nythren. The mockery in his tone still remained—but beneath it, there was something else.
Something close to respect.
"I'll be watching."
The tension in the air did not fully fade. But it shifted.
Nyx, Ares, and Medusa prepared to return to their places, settling back into their roles.
This had not been a battle of swords or power.
It had been a shift in control.
And Ares?
He had lost.
But Velmor had won.
Raezel took a slow breath, his gaze no longer uncertain.
"There's no need for games," he said, softly. "I'll stay here... in Velmor."
A pause.
Then—a step forward.
Nihaga.
The serpent who had remained in the shadows—watching, waiting. He moved with purpose.
He bowed his head to Medusa.
And when he spoke, there was no hesitation. Only devotion.
"I shall guard and care for Raezel. My duty is to protect him, as always."
The hall was silent.
And just like that—the future of Velmor was sealed.