Chapter Text
The thud of a heel echoed in the halls of the palace. The man walked with stride. His amber eyes, blonde hair–angrily red at it's tips and the red tattoos marked his status. He was draped in robes of fine gold in deep burgundy–woven by the goldweaver. The deep red chlamys with golden leaf patterns adorned his body—showing part of his muscles, built from vigorous training over the years. Behind him, lingered a demonic presence—unwanted, undesired,yet, no one could lock him out. The white haired man with blue eyes, walked three steps behind Mydei, his face having the same smirk he always wore.
Mydei sighed, tired of the tenacious incubus, trailing behind him wherever he walked. "Phainon," his voice firm and sick of him."Must you follow me, everywhere?" The demon snickered. "Why? Are you exhausted by my company, King Mydeimos?" Mydei's eyes twitched, ever so slightly. This action caused Phainon to cackle. "I'm not. I'm merely pondering about what inconvenience are you planning to beget?" Phainon's face went dark—not because the question had been offending, but because his mind raced with countless mischievous retorts he had. "Oh, my dear–you wound me, must you always disregard me as such? I'm just following the steps of our king, you need not be so harsh." Any respond he desired to convey,died in his throat, he resumed his walk to the garden–feigning defeat from Phainon's relentless mischiefs, giving a silent victory to the adherent incubus.
-
"Aglaea," Mydei calls–with an underlying sense of respect. "Ah! Mydeimos, you're here early." The golden maiden stood in between the Garden Of Athens, the leaves of the trees falling around made her appearance look divine. "It's finally been a millennium," she says, taking a deep breath, her voice unfaltered with a hint of sweetness. "The Gods have made preparations for your familiar, are you inclined to meet them?" Mydeimos sighed. The day he had been nagged for a thousands of years had finally come. "Yes, I'm willing to see the golden thread." The other four Gods—Ares, the God of war, Tribbios—the Goddess of fate, Hephaestus—the God of fire and Cerydra—the Goddess with authority of law and justice, alongside the council members stood there to witness the event unfold. Aglaea hummed in agreement to Mydei's affirmation, she stared into void, summoning her golden thread of fate.
The revelation of the thread had caused chaos. The figure who stood as Mydei's familiar had been not an angel, not a human but a demon from the hell. An incubus. The Gods and council members gasped, their astonishment evident on their face. "What is this? A languid joke?" Someone shouted. Everyone had been distorted. Out of three familiar chosen, an incubus had been the one to pass the rites of fate. He had been the one chosen to form a bond with the God. To stand with Mydeimos as his equal.
-
"Hey," the white haired man called."Come on, Mydeimos, another meeting with the council?" Phainon whined. They had just reached Athens when a messenger had come to inform Mydei about an outburst on Earth, a civil disagreement between a few communities. "You're allowed to accompany me on your will. If you're unwilling you can stay in sanctum, Phainon." His tone was dictating, declaring and obscene. "Join you in court? For what? To be kicked out halfway through?" He rolled his eyes,"No, thank you. I'll stay in the sanctum, maybe wander—" It caused Mydei to glare at him,"You're not wandering off anywhere. You cause enough inconveniences in a day, one day off of them would make me less tedious." Phainon stares at him blankly, he then chuckled, "Of course, your highness. I'd hesitate to make any promises at the moment, but I'll try my best to abide by your wishes." Mydei could feel himself getting a headache. He signaled two guards to go with Phainon, causing the incubus to whine, "If you don't wish to adhere to my simple request, you leave me with no choices, if I ever so hear any attempts of your escape from the sanctum or commotions being caused by you, I will throw you into the lake of oceanus and make sure you're cleansed ten times before you enter my abode. Do you understand, Phainon?"
For the first time Phainon had no retorts to pull off on Mydei. His mischievous smirk replaced by a look of defeat and denial. 'You're not really gonna do that, are you?' He thought giving him a smug look. In exchange, he received a look back, 'You better be convinced, I'm gonna do that.' Mydei walks off as Phainon is left flabbergasted, his mouth wide open. 'That fucking— bastard.' "Just so y'know, you're a cruel fu—" remembering halfway through his sentence, he was in the celestalis,"—person!" He stomped his feet on the ground before walking to the other grounds of the realm.
'Brat.' Mydei thought, chuckling to himself. After all the obscuring loses of giving in to his will, he scored a point by making his smart mouth shut up. He could hear the retreating footsteps in the hallway. Once, he was sure they had left for the palace, he made his way to the court. The human realm was dishelved and he needed to be in the council meeting to resolve the matter. He walked in his usual stride, the Court of Thesseleo was bustling with people, they needed a lead, for which he reached on time. "Oh, well." A voice comes from behind, a conceited tone he held at all times,"looks like the King has arrived, let's not waste time,shall we?" Ares says, taking a seat in the council room.
-
Phainon was exasperated. He exited the Garden Of Athens, retiring himself to the tiring hallways he had seen countless times. The same white pillars, the same portraits, the same shudder and denial of his presence, he had seen it all. The guards lingered behind him, trying to avoid any conflict or perhaps hoping not to interact with a lowly demon–especially an incubus. He had been slandered enough for it. He saw all the disgust in the eyes of the Gods and humans—only a few ever cared to treat him like he's someone—regarding him roaming in the castle, sanctum, garden and the vigils. They thought for a lower life-form, he had been placed with too much power. Sometimes he pondered, did the God of Heavens, who says he's his familiar even care about him? Perhaps not. He stopped mid-way on his tour of the same halls.The guards stalling on their steps. His heart ached at the thought. 'Stop sulking, Phainon. Remember, you just have to show you're worthy of being here.' He says to himself, smirking at his plan.
"Ugh, can I really not go outta this place?" He asks, "We apologise, but we're ordered by Lord Mydeimos to not let you out of the sanctum." The guard mentions in his firm tone. Phainon rolls his eyes. 'Damn you, Mydei.' "Soo—o, according to "Lord Mydeimos" when can I leave this sanctum?" He asked in a playful tone. The guards look at each other,"When the Lord is back, you're free to go out of the sanctum under his supervision." Phainon tsked' at the statement. At the moment, an idea struck in his mind. He smirked at it, the guards were uneased due to it. He didn't have to let the guards know he's going out of the sanctum. He could trick the naive guards. "Well, well–" He says,"How about a walk to the Court of Thesseleo?"
"You denied to show your presence in the council meeting a while ago, are you sure about going there right no—" before the guard could say anything, he was cut off by Phainon. "I know what I had said. No need to remind me, just tell, are you gonna accompany me there or not?" The guard sealed his mouth. Who was he to question the God's familiar's choices? He nodded and then they walked towards the ongoing council meeting. Their journey being silent–in an eerie conduct.
His shoe's echoed in the hallway. The the Court was a bit further than what they had walked past a few hours ago. Phainon noticed the closing distance and the ticking clock. Even with a meeting going on, the hallways had been filled with people—some who were mourners, some who were in sick health, some in line to report a robbery. The human world was chaos, which was the circumstance he needed to escape, to vaporize in the crowd, he wholly needed a leverage. Using a sly magic trick, he once used in hell, he brought a bunch of people thrashing down each other. Creating a suffocating crowd, loads of people appeared out of thin air—his quintessentially crafted illusion. He looked back to see the guards buried and lost in the crowd. Using this leverage, he swiftly ran across the hallway. If he's right, beneath the Court of Thesseleo shall be the entrance to Hyperborea—a civilization of angels and different life forms, providing residence to a God—which Phainon totally chose to ignore—as well.
The guards did their best to dissipate the crowd and catch up to Phainon. But by the time the crowd seemed to fade, Phainon had vanished from their line of view. They panicked, one of the guards spoke,"We need to find him,stay stationed here, if i fail to locate him we must inform the Lord!" The other guard replies is affirmation, "Alright, go on, I'll wait for the message." A few minutes pass by, once the other guard had left, the one stationed at the Court smirked to himself. He walked towards an altar, hidden from the view of the crowd, he saw the guard in restraint—muffling through his bindings. Phainon chuckled to himself, "How facile it is to trick you guards?" He cackled, adjusting into his disguise. He could visit Hyperborea later—he wasn't going to get thrown into oceanus and be cleansed once again, hence, he would just bother Mydeimos for the time being. He made sure that the guard had been unconscious, then moved forward to the Garden of Athens. A big grin over his face, it was time to cause chaos for a disappearance where he hadn't disappeared?
-
The room was filled with noises of disagreement and disappointment.
This had been acutely why council meetings were exhausting. Mydeimos never liked them, especially the ones strictly requiring his presence. The members disagreed with each other, they fought with each other—a bunch of old crooks deciding punishment and executive decisions. Majority of which were the scandals of the human realm. Despite the best of their efforts, the chaos never settled down.It was as if the fire was given wood time to time, creating a wildfire burning the entire forest. Mydei sighed, listening to the pleas of the guilty side. They begged for mercy, trying to justify their actions. They claimed how all they had done was good for humanity and how the other side was the evil one. The other side proclaimed the injustice done to them by the uppercaste people. Caste, an entitle for people being honored by their work. The priest having the highest honor. His perception of it had been negative, yet the human world went on with it. The motive of the majority to rule over minority.
The room was in chaos, the arguments never–ending. In between the noise of the room, a sharp voice resonated, snapping everyone—including Mydeimos—out of their daze. "Silence!" The Goddess of Law and justice had spoken. Cerydra's constant composure of tranquility, gone. The room fell silent, the God of war—Ares sniggered, "The Goddess of Justice has spoken." He mumbled under his breath. Cerydra pointed to a human, "You,speak up." Her hands pointed to a child,"the allegations that are against the priests," she paused for a breath of air attempting to sound calm,"are they true?" The child looked at her. One of the priests spoke up,"Goddess Cerydra, but he's a child! He has no mere insight of the cirum—" Before he could speak up, he was cut off,"Who gave you the permission to speak?" Her voice stern,"I am asking the child and you have no right to interrupt which victim I interrogate, tell child, are the allegations that they forbid you from using the water of the lake after the drought, true?" The child nodded. "Yes, after the drough—" He said sobbing,"They denied us to enter and use the water of the lake."
"You're of no status to drink from the holy lake granted to us!" Another priest shouted.
"And why must that be?"
"Becaus—"
"Because you're selfish mutts, the holy lake's water is granted by Goddess Hysilens as a gift to all of the humanity. It isn't for one to use! I declare the priests guilty. Does anyone wish to stand against the decision!?"
No retorts, no answer, no justification. There was pure serene silence.
"Very well. I ask for Lord Mydeimos to grant the guilty their punishment, I have nothing more to say." She sat back down on her seat. Her trainquil composure back, once again.
Mydeimos stood up to speak. It was his chance to speak, to punish the guilty and provide justice to those who were wronged.
The meeting was over. Mydei took a deep breath, he stood outside of the Court, staring into oblivion. It had been a few hours he was in the room. He couldn't feel any less demotivated, hence, he decided to take in everything in the surrounding once again. He looked at the trees, their leaves fell down in a clear mud of water. He was exhausted. Sometimes his duties felt tiring, but he couldn't take a break—or maybe he could. He wasn't sure, he always doubted his skills to lead the people, yet, he feared how it could fall down if he wasn't there. He walked past the hall way, the noise of the people fading into the background. Suddenly, a guard jolted towards him. He was baffled, the guard had been sweating, it looked as if he had run a mile to reach him. "Lord Mydeimos —" He said huffing,"yo-our consor–t, he–e ran aw–way!" Mydei's eyes grew big in disbelief. "What?" His voice thick with concern."How?" The guard spoke,"A few hours ago, he demanded to come to the Court of Thesseleo, hence, we accompanied him,bu—ut when we reached the hallway near the Court, a crowd filled the halls—" He took a long breath,"—and by the time, the crowd had settled down, he had disappeared!" Mydei took another long breath,'Phainon!' He pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Why, Phainon why? Must you always cause trouble?' He grew exasperated, he wasn't going to let the incubus off the hook,this time."I apologise my lord for being unable to keep an eye on him as you asked us to."
"No need to, he's a trouble-maker, I do not expect you to be held guilty for his disappearance." The guard took a sigh of relief. Mydei straightened his back. It was time to look for the trouble-maker.Before he moved, his gaze flickered,out of two, only one guard stood infront of him.This sparked confusion in his mind."Where's the other guard?" The guard panicked at the question."I do not know, my lord. We separated from each other to look for him, but i never saw him again." His voice low and intimidated. Mydei face-palmed himself, the situation with Phainon became tacky each time he was left unsupervised. "Did you check the other grounds of the sanctum?"
"No, my lord. I only checked the nearby area till the gates of Hyperborea." Mydeimos took a deep breath, trying to hold his exasperation. "Alright,your work here is done, you're dismissed." The guard bowed and left. "I'm going to kill you this time,Phainon." He said, muttering under his breath, agitated.
-
Disaster struck everyday—even more, if the incubus was let off of his manacles,that being the God of Heaven's eyes, surveillancing his each movement. Hence,after Phainon's successful fleeing from Mydei's shackles, he wandered around the sanctum—in places he wasn't supposed to be, or just, wasn't warmly invited to. The Nimbus Sanctum was a place filled with lavish sceneries, such as the pink trees, the fog around the lake's water and the yellow lighting of fireflies. The water was shining gold and blue, bright even in the darkness of the sky. Phainon bent near the shore, taking water into his hand. He watched as it pour down from his fingers. A tiny shimmer of gold was spread across his hands. He sighed,"This is no fun." He rolled his eyes sighing. He made his way through the stingy bushes, scrunching his nose at the fragrance of lavender thick in the air. "These people are too fancy, too used to luxury." He says passing through the long line of small bushes.
It took him a few minutes, but he reached the deck of Gondola's near the entrance of the sanctum. He huffed, brimming with pride of having reached this far without being caught. He took pride in his skills to sneak away, deeming himself the best at it—but of course, he couldn't match the skill of the Goddess of Trickery. He ought to learn more about her dexterity of efficiency in creating blunders and getting away with it.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard a sly hubbub. Quiet enough not to be big, but loud enough to be slyly heard. Phainon turned back, something about the frequency of the noise had not clicked right within him. It stirred a feeling of disarray in his chest. He knew he shouldn't bother himself with further investigation of the commotion knowing if caught by the Gods, he'd be the one blamed.'No Phainon, No. You shan't follow the fuss' Despite of his gut feeling, he did. The frequencies coming were unusual, something that was somehow both lighter and heavier than the ones of humans or any angelic life form. He scoffed at the hypocrisy of the frequencies, it felt like it had been meaning to drag a prey towards it. Phainon stopped in his steps. A prey, what if the noise had been nothing less but a leverage to drag someone in?
The semblance of the frequencies grew. 'Think Phainon, think. This frequency is known to you, you can recognize it!' He patted his head, where exactly had he heard of this before? He moved in small circles in the same spot, he could hear the noises creeping closer, yet never turning their attention to the standing demon, as if his presence hadn't been sensed by them by far. "Ugh, let me just get a small peak and leave." He murmurs to himself, unable to get rid of his growing curiosity. He walked down the path, a clear muddy road filled with broken branches fallen from the trees.
He walked down the aisle, displeased, disapprovingly. But the more he came close, the less he wanted to turn back.
A chill ran down his spine as he crossed over a bunch of broken branches. Something—or someone passed by him, they came too close than they were meant to, yet, they dissipated before they could be caught by anyone's sight. Phainon could feel himself freezing there, as he moved his head back to view the area he was met with the same empty surroundings as earlier. A dark and muddy path where he could hear birds chirping and an inhumane and unrecognizable frequency. He took a long breath and accidentally stepped on a mud he had carefully avoided from the start of this expedition. He sighed as the mud splattered across his attires.'What a day to listen to Mydei ramble scoldings on my face.'
He walked forward, not paying much heed to the shivers he could feel. He creeper in closer, finally getting a glance at the cause of the nonsense he had followed so long. It was a purplish shadow like cloak talking to someone, something shining in blue. He could hear their murmurs, he decided to lay low and go in closer to hear their conversation. Just as he had crouched down enough and started to crawl slowly towards them, he stepped on a fallen branch, creating a louch creak noise. He froze, the shadows turning towards him. "Slow down." Phainon's face was filled with dread, he couldn't just be hearing things now, this place had a demonic presence, higher than any he had faced earlier.
He needed to run.
Phainon picked himself, preparing to make a run, but his foot was caught in the mud, pulling him in like quick sand. He fell down on his face, mud covering his cheeks and neck with clayey soil. He grunted in disgust but he had to leave. He dug his nails to the ground, picking himself up, he wiped the mud on his face by the back of his left hand. His clothes felt heavy, his weight felt too much due to his soiled attire and mud filled boots.
His head throbbed, a musky scent entering his nostrils. The voices had taken a toll on him. He could feel something creeping up his arms, restraining their movements, inspite of that he was helpless. His body had gone into a temporary paralysis due to the tight restraints. A creeping branch, number of purple-blue cloak shadows creeping closer. It was chaos. "Okay, this shit isn't funny!" He exclaimed in anger, attempting to move his arms, yet they didn't falter an inch.
This was traumatic, it reminded him of things he didn't wish to ponder further anymore."Oh for God's sake! Fucking leave me!" The hypocrisy in his sentence had been real. He hated and spat on the Gods, insulting so many behind their backs, yet, in trouble he called upon them. "Fuck it, who the hell are you—" before he could say anything, a pointed gun was brought infront of him. How had such atrocious items trespassed into the sanctum? And that too the sanctum owned by Gods. He sealed his lips shut, the person infront pressed a trigger and boom.
A splash of mud had been thrown to Phainon's body. It entered into his ears, eyes and mouth. A soily and bitter taste sat on his tongue, he spat the mud from his mouth. "What the fuck!?" He proceeded to shout out a few demonic profanities, suffering from shock and surprise of the actions. A ghostly voice said from the behind, "Must be punished." Phainon could feel his body go cold. What punishment had the ghost been talking about?
Phainon's nerves go cold—which always are cold, but they became a little too cold in inconvenient circumstances—as the people approach to him closer. His body was splattered in goey mud, it was as scary as disgusting. The creepers vines tightened around his chest. Phainon knew, he was done for good. Just as he was about to bid his final farewells to the world, a voice cut through the crowd.
"Stop at once," It was detrimental, exasperated, leading. It was Mydei, he couldn't see the figure himself, but he was sure of who it had been.
"Your highness, but why? This demon has shattered our peace!"
Shattered their peace? Phainon couldn't help but chuckle at the statement. He had just been a curious wanderer trying to explore and dust off the dirt from the weird frequency he felt. He had been the victim! Not the ghastly spirits!
"And I take full responsibility of him, but the person you're holding captive is my familiar."
There were gasps of realisation bursting through the people. His presence had finally been recognized.
"We apologise your lord—, we hadn't a clue of who he had been."
"Yes, please forgive us lord Mydeimos, we were just trying to protect our home!"
A burst of pleas fell out of the mouths of the tribe, begging for mercy.
"I forgive you, it's not your mistake. I assure you, you wouldn't be held punishable for this." Mydei said.
The sound of relief had been undeterred. "I request that you return my bride."
"Yes, milord. We shall untie him at once!"
After what felt like an eternity, Phainon had been untied and returned to Mydei. Mydei gripped his bicep and dragged him out of the place. Phainon yelped. "Hey! Let me atleast get this dirt off of me!"
"You want this dirt off of you?" He asked, vexatious. "Yea, let me get this disgusting mutt off m—" Before he could form a coherent sentence, he was thrown into water. Phainon drowned for a sec, before resurfacing on the water surface,"What the fuc—" He said coughing. "Is that how you treat a royal divine bride!?"
"Apparently, your non-sense made me do so." His voice filled with anger and exasperation.
"Hah—" He coughed again,"I just took a tour—"
"You left when I specifically asked you not to!"
"So, I was supposed to rot under surveillance! It was getting monotonous!"
"I only asked you to stay for a few hours, I promised to take you out later!"
Mydei's eyes grew with anger. Phainon gulped.
"You disappointed me today, Phainon. All in these hundreds of years I asked you to was to not cause any inconvenience for a single day. As i see that you do not uphold the wishes of any man, i believe you can stay like a pile of gutter for longer." He said, leaving Phainon behind.
"Hey!" Phainon shouted. "You can't just leave me alone here!" Phainon started to swim in panic. He had to catch up with the God before he left.
He sprinted with all his might, piles of mud, bushes or broken branches didn't matter. He had to catch up with him. "Hey!" He slammed his hand on the God's back, catching his breath. "What?" An undeterred voice.
"I know I fucked up, but you just give up like that?"
"I'm not dealing with your bullshit, right now."
Phainon whined.
"Nice language, good way to set up an example for the others."
Mydei glared at him, but the tension was starting to drift.
"You were irresponsible."
"I know! I take responsibility for my stupidity, but come on!"
Mydei rolled his eyes, exhausted by Phainon's relentless bullshit.
"I'm tolerating you, y'know if the other God's were to be involved how big of a hassle it would have turned out to be?"
"I know, I know, I'm sorry for causing you 'inconvenience'." Phainon said, air quoting a few words. Mydei snapped. He took his hand pulled the incubus's ear hard.
"Ouch—! What are you doing!!" He yelped as Mydei twisted it to the sides. "This is for all the troubles I had to go through to find you, today!"
Phainon held Mydei's hand, trying to pull it away, but it only made his grip stronger and worse.
"Okay—OK! I'm sorry—I'll not do it, AH—"
Mydei smirked to himself. For once in hundreds of years, he was able to knock out his bratty attitude. It had been as if he was correcting a child who never listens. Happy with his accomplishment and the apology, he let's go of the incubus's ears.
"AH! Finally," phainon says in relief caressing his ear. "You treat me such way, I'm disappointed."
Mydei glares, even with muddy clothes, a red ear and multiple wounds, the incubus still had stamina left to brat out. Mydei sighed, atleast for a split second he had the luxury to watch the brat mend to his ways and mutter an apology.
"Ugh," phainon says, running his hands through his damp hair and clothes."My clothes are disgusting right now." A groan escaping from his tongue.
"You deserved it." Mydei says in a snarky tone.
"Ya ya, whatever." Phainon mewls out. "Let's get outta here! I can't walk in these damp clothes anymore!"
"Hmph." Mydei huffs out. "Brat." He mutters under his breath.
Phainon rolls his eyes at the statement. "Fine, let's go, but this time—" Mydei says, fishing out somethings from a small bag. Phainon's eyes linger on the object. His eyes go wide as he watches the God take out a cuff from his bag. "—I'm not taking any chances of you wandering off."
Phainon jolts back in denial. He's not a criminal who needs to be restrained! "You can't do that!"
"Oh, I absolutely can." Mydei pulls Phainon's hand snapping one cuff on his wrist. Phainon tried his best to pull away, but fate had other plans. The God held the other side of the cuff pulling him to the front, causing the incubus to trip on his steps.
"This is a violation of my fundamental rights to move freely!"
"You lost your rights the moment you stepped out from the Garden, tricking the guards!"
"Oh come on! Does anyone not get a little fun here?!" He says, exasperated. Mydei didn't reply. He stayed quiet, dragging Phainon across the shore like a scolded child. "Oh, you can't give me the silent treatment now!" He screams out.
No reply again.
"Take me out of these cuffs, dammit!"
Silence.
It started to gnaw at his patience. "Say something!"
No reply. It started to feel as if a statue had been dragging him back to the chariot.
"Oh please, I really won't run again! Remove these restraints!"
His words felt like being directed to a stone wall. He used his other hand to hit the God's back, knocking at his spine as if reminding him that he wasn't towing a sack of potatoes.
"Oh come on—"
"Stay quiet!" Mydei shouts at him. Phainon stops and stares at him wide-eyed, looking at him like a puppy getting scolded. His eyes getting big and watery. "Stop your silly drama, alright? I'm gonna remove these once we reach the palace."
A groan escaped his mouth. Mydei takes a deep breath. He knew he couldn't stop the incubus from trailing off. He yanked him forward, knowing it was the time to pull off one of the only things to shut him up. "See, if you behave well and stay in these cuffs for a little longer, I'll take you to ■■■■■■■"
Phainon looked at him curiously, a big grin over his face."Oh my, really? This isn't a joke? Is it your majesty?"
"No, you have my word." Phainon's posture grew in excitement like a little child. "Such a delirious offer! Who am I to deny it? We have a deal, your highness!" Mydei could finally take a breath of relief. The brat had gone quiet. He shrieked in thrill and delight, giving the God a few seconds of rest from his nonsense.
It had been a different issue, later on, as to why the God's familiar had returned muddy and wet. But for the time being, everything else had been resolved. Except for the Goddess of Romance—Aglaea's relentless critiques as to how Mydei and Phainon needed to get their public etiquette right. It bored both the God and Incubus, but they had no excuse to be able to run away from her lectures.