Chapter Text
Ever since his last departure from the holy city, Mydeimos had been in countless battles pushing back against the Black Tide. Any amount of respite he had was when the Castrum moved further into the fray. Further away from Okhema. His sense of time had since been consumed by the war, only marked by the occasional correspondence he kept with the Chrysos Heirs.
This time was no different. His sole focus was to slaughter any and all enemies in sight.
Exterminate the vermin.
Resist the pull of death.
Get up.
Keep fighting.
No matter how many times you fall.
“...dei!”
I’m hallucinating.
He blazed forward, blasting the red crystals into the waves ahead. Manifesting a lance, he hurled it at the Noontide Gryphon diving at him. It hit its mark before exploding into a thousand more that rained down upon the enemy.
“Hey! I’m on your team!” Though distant, that same voice shouted at him over the crashing thunder.
Maybe not.
He glanced in that direction and sure enough, there was a figure clad in white. Acknowledging his comrade, he switched to a more conserved style, directing his attention towards the left. He transitioned to aimed bursts, focusing on individuals and smaller groups as opposed to the wide sweeps before the warrior’s arrival.
When the current wave came to a close, he stormed toward the newcomer. Pulling off a gauntlet, he pinched the other’s cheek.
“Reckless Deliverer. Must you charge in at every chance that presents itself?” he hissed.
Phainon rolled his eyes and swatted his hand away. “I can’t just idle away while you risk your life. Besides, it seemed like this battle was already starting to come to a close when I got here.”
Mydei sighed. “Fine. I will trust your judgement for now, but mind your limits. Seeing that you’re here, I’m assuming that there are certain matters to discuss?”
“Yes, though it’s best to move somewhere else for this.” Absent-mindedly, he nudged the torso of an eagle with his foot. The grounds were a wreckage of mangled mechanical parts and crystal fragments, unsuitable for a briefing or discussion of any sort.
“Alright, let’s head to the Castrum.”
“Perfect. I also brought some gifts and supplies from everyone.”
They continued to chat and banter along the short trek back. Their conversation quickly devolved into a squabble as if they had never parted ways. After arriving in his throne room, they sat down and they’d unpacked some of the food to eat while delving into the reason for his visit. This was at Phainon’s insistence after he realized the demigod wasn’t keeping track of his diet. Funny how one decides to pester another about his meals when his own baseline was a mess.
Biting into his apple, Mydei asked, “What was deemed so important that you’re here instead of a letter?”
Titans, this is delicious.
The desolate, barren lands no longer bore fulfilling sustenance. Anything that remained was barely edible which made the food from Okhema even more mouthwatering.
“We’ve found suspicious patterns in behavior with the Black Tide based on your reports. Normally, when the wave size increases, so does the proportion of creatures.”
That much is true.
“In addition to that, Aglaea’s threads have picked up on some unusual activity from the Council of Elders along the borders of Okhema. While she handles that, I’m here to investigate the changes about the Black Tide. ”
“But why are you here alone? As capable as you are, it is still unwise to travel alone.” He punctuates the statement with another crisp crunch into his apple.
“The true nature of the mission needs to remain concealed and if Aglaea and my investigations are connected, the Nameless should have the least amount of involvement as possible.”
“Even with this collapsing world, politics still upholds its hinderance”.
“It is up to the citizens whether we continue pursuing the core flames or not, and it should remain that way.” Phainon responded. “We would be no better than the Council if we resorted to serving only our self interests in pursuit of the Flame-Chase.”
He then placed the bread in his mouth before pulling out a map and spreading it across the floor between them. It detailed the geography of Amphoreus, at least while more of the large city-states still existed. He planted one hand at the edge of it and the food basket at the other to keep the map from curling back on itself.
“Weef manaf—“ He seemed to have forgotten his mouth was full.
Mydei let out a huff of amusement.
Phainon shot him an irritated glare and briefly raised his index finger for a moment before grabbing a bottle of pomegranate juice from the basket. He placed it at the edge his hand was anchoring, which freed his hand to hold the slice of bread.
“As I was going to say, we’ve narrowed it down to the locations circled in red.”
He gestured with the half bitten piece at one of the red circles.
Glancing back up, he continued, “Since our current missions are connected, I’d like to request your assistance in this investigation. As I mentioned before, the official reason is that it’s an excuse to visit you.”
Mydei raised his eyebrow. “It’s barely been a month.” They had been separated for longer before, so this seemed somewhat uncharacteristic of the swordsman.
“Mydei... it’s been 5 months.” Phainon murmured.
He glances away, a wistful smile flickering briefly on his face. The realization sat heavy between them until he then coughed into his fist, “But that aside, time is of the essence—are you in or is this task now below you, your godliness?”
Another challenge.
Cheeky brat.
He smirked.
“I would have accepted regardless of that provocatory question. Now we should get going, unless you’re-” He paused. “- chickening out .”
“And I thought that this wasn’t a part of your grand expanse of vocabulary.”
“Simply because it doesn't exist in the Kremnoan language doesn’t mean I don’t know how to use it in the common tongue.”
And so the bickering continued as they prepared to set off into the night.