"By Olympus," he muttered under his breath, his voice carrying a mix of frustration and disbelief. "What the hell is this farce?"
The golden chains around Eros's wrists glowed faintly, their magic resonating with the very essence of divinity. He pulled at them, testing their strength, but they didn't budge. His wrists were bound to towering marble pillars, cold and unyielding. Around him, the grand chamber of the gods stretched wide and tall, with an open sky of roiling clouds above. The faint murmurs of the gods present were drowned out by his own confusion.
He struggled to recall how he had ended up here. One moment, he had been in his chamber, indulging in his pleasures with Lyra, and the next... this.
The murmurs ceased abruptly as a commanding presence entered the room. Hera, clad in flowing robes of golden silk that shimmered like sunlight, stepped forward. Behind her walked Lyra, her beauty as radiant as ever, but her eyes carried a hint of something he couldn't place. Betrayal? Regret?
Eros's heart clenched. "Lyra?" His voice softened for a moment, almost tender, but it quickly hardened as he turned his glare toward Hera. "What is the meaning of this? Release me this instant!"
Hera ignored his demand, her lips curling into a sharp smile. She gestured for Lyra to follow her closer to the center.
Eros's gaze darted to the side, and his breath caught when he saw Aphrodite. The goddess of desire knelt on the ground. Her head was bowed, her hair cascading around her like a veil, and her wrists were bound in chains identical to his.
"Aphrodite?" he called out, his voice thick with concern. "What's going on? Speak to me!"
She didn't lift her head.
Eros's confusion gave way to anger. He turned his attention to the throne of Zeus, where the king of the gods sat with his fingers laced under his chin, his gaze cold and calculating. "Zeus!" Eros's voice boomed, echoing through the chamber. "What is this mockery? What crime am I accused of?"
Zeus didn't move. His piercing eyes met Eros's with a calm that only added fuel to the fire burning within the god of desire.
Eros snarled and struggled against the chains. "Answer me, damn you!"
Before Zeus could speak, Hera raised a hand to silence the room. "Enough," she said, her voice sharp and commanding. "I grow tired of your lies, Eros."
"Lies?" Eros scoffed. "What lies? You've yet to accuse me of anything substantial, Hera!"
Hera's eyes narrowed. She turned to Lyra and gave her a slight nudge forward.
"Lyra?" Eros's voice softened again as he looked at her. His heart ached at the sight of her, standing so close yet feeling so distant. "Help me. Whatever they've told you, it's not true. You know me."
For a brief moment, Lyra hesitated. Her fingers trembled as she reached up to touch his face, and for a fleeting second, he thought he saw the Lyra he knew, the one who had been in his arms only a while ago.
But then her expression hardened.
Eros's stomach dropped as she gripped his jaw, her fingers firm yet trembling. He couldn't look away as she spoke, her voice steady and cold.
"Lips that tell no lies,
Bound by truth, no guise.
Speak the words, bare the soul,
Let the hidden make us whole."
The magic of the incantation coursed through Eros, seeping into his very being. He felt its pull, its undeniable force compelling him to answer, no matter how much he wanted to resist.
Lyra leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper that only he could hear. "Who took the ember from the flame of vitality?"
Eros's heart pounded in his chest. His lips quivered as he fought against the spell, but it was useless. The truth clawed its way up his throat and escaped in a single, damning word.
"I did."
The chamber fell into stunned silence. The gods stared at him, their expressions ranging from shock to fury. Even Hera, who had orchestrated this moment, seemed taken aback by the admission.
Lyra released his jaw and stepped back, her face unreadable.
Eros closed his eyes, the weight of his confession settling over him like a suffocating shroud.
"You bastard," Hera hissed, her voice trembling with anger. "You dare to admit it so casually? Do you even understand what you've done?"
Eros opened his eyes and looked straight at her. "I did what I had to do," he said, his voice steady despite the chains that bound him.
Hera's lips curled into a sneer. "You've endangered the very balance of the cosmos, Eros. Your selfishness knows no bounds."
Eros turned his gaze to Aphrodite, who still knelt silently on the ground. "And you?" he demanded. "Do you have nothing to say for yourself?"
For the first time, Aphrodite lifted her head. Her eyes met his, and they were filled with a mixture of sorrow and something else—something he couldn't quite place.
Zeus remained seated on his golden throne, his expression as calm as a storm about to break. His voice resonated, low but commanding, addressing the charged atmosphere.
"So, the ember of the Flame of Vitality was indeed taken, and you admit to it, Eros."
Eros bowed his head, his gaze flickering toward Aphrodite for a fleeting moment.
Zeus's gaze narrowed. "And now, Aphrodite, you will answer. What crimes did you commit in conjunction with this theft? And more importantly—what was done with the ember? Can it be returned?"
The assembly of gods stirred, whispers spreading like wildfire.
Lyra, ever eager to expose the truth, stepped forward.
"Speak verbatim, Eros," Lyra intoned. "What did you do with the ember?"
Eros's body tensed, his lips moving against his will. "I took the ember and placed it inside a mortal, at Aphrodite's request."
The hall erupted. Gods stood from their seats, their voices rising in a noise of disbelief and anger.
"All these meetings!" bellowed Ares, his voice booming. "And these two knew the truth all along? Do they take us for fools?"
Zeus raised a hand, silencing the clamor with his sheer presence. His voice remained even. "Why, Aphrodite? Why did you seek the Flame of Vitality? You know well you can no longer wield such divine power due to the curse placed upon you. For your sins—sleeping with a mortal, birthing a child, and then lying with that child—you forfeited your godlike form. Explain yourself."
Eros opened his mouth to speak, but Aphrodite stepped up, her jaw set, her eyes blazing with defiance.
"I can speak for myself," she said, her voice sharp.
The gods watched, riveted, as she addressed them.
"The ways of the old are simply that—old," she said, her tone bitter. "Perhaps I can never atone for my sins, but my descendants do not deserve to suffer for them. Generations of my bloodline have borne the curse of my actions. I sought to lift this burden, to give them a chance at a future untainted by my past."
Hera scoffed, her laughter cutting through the room like a whip. "A fool's errand," she said with a sneer. "Your righteous cause is nothing more than folly. Did you truly believe the gods act without mercy? We are neither heartless nor blind. Every decision we make is for the greater good, no matter how it may seem to mortals or gods alike."
Aphrodite turned to Hera, her eyes flashing. "Mercy?" she hissed. "Tell me, where is the mercy in condemning innocent generations to barrenness and suffering for a sin they did not commit?"
Zeus intervened, his voice colder now. "And yet, Aphrodite, you still fail to see the larger picture. This suffering is not without purpose. It maintains the balance of existence. Do you have any idea what you have unleashed?"
He rose from his throne, his presence suffocating in its intensity. "The very reason we decreed that your offspring could not be allowed to prosper was because of the imbalance it created. Creation exists in two states: mortals and immortals. There are no in-betweens—until you made one."
Zeus's words rang through the chamber, silencing all.
"And that was not the end of it," he continued. "From your actions came demigods, and from them came lesser gods. And now..." His voice grew darker. "A contagion, a virus of divinity, has begun to seep into the mortal realm. Mortals with no divine heritage are now wielding godly powers."
The gods murmured their agreement.
Zeus's voice thundered, silencing them once more. "These mortals with godly powers pose a unique threat. They have a loophole—a potential to ascend beyond their limitations and become full-fledged gods. Such chaos cannot be allowed."
He turned his piercing gaze on Aphrodite and Eros. "Now, you will tell me the name of the mortal who bears the ember of the Flame of Vitality. Who is it that you have cursed with this burden?"
The silence that followed was deafening. All eyes turned to the pair, waiting for their answer.
And then it came, no answer.
Lyra, her luminous presence glowing faintly, began to stride toward Aphrodite. The room held its breath as she approached, her staff humming with power. The goddess of truth stopped a mere arm's length from Aphrodite, her expression unyielding.
"Aphrodite," Lyra said, her voice as steady as the tides. "You have skirted the question long enough. Who is this mortal? The one who bears the ember?"
The gods leaned forward, anticipation thick in the air. Lyra lifted her staff, the glow intensifying as she invoked her spell.
"By the authority of truth, you will answer. Who is this mortal?"
Aphrodite's defiance flickered, but only for a moment. As the spell tightened its grip on her, her body seemed to betray her will. Yet, even under the compulsion, her reaction was swifter than anyone expected.
With a sharp intake of breath, she spat the answer before the spell could fully bind her tongue.
"He goes by... Zafron."
The name echoed through the chamber, each syllable striking like a hammer.
Gasps erupted from the gods, the name reverberating in their minds. Conversations sparked immediately, voices rising in disbelief and anger.
"Zafron?" Poseidon barked, his trident slamming into the floor. "A mere mortal?"
"How dare you?" Hera seethed, her fury palpable. "You placed the ember inside a mortal without consulting the council?"
Zeus's expression darkened as the murmurs swirled around him. He raised a hand, demanding silence.
"Zafron," he repeated slowly, tasting the name. His eyes locked on Aphrodite. "Who is this mortal? What makes him so deserving—or so dangerous—that you would gamble with the Flame of Vitality itself?"
Aphrodite, her jaw tight and her eyes burning, glared at Zeus. Despite her slip, defiance still clung to her voice.
"You will understand soon enough," she said. "Zafron is more than you think."
Zeus's gaze turned cold, his voice a thunderclap. "Then we shall see,"