Ares woke up with many soft things lying on his back. Ah, I died and went to heaven. He opened his eyes and everything was still black. He was momentarily confused as he could have sworn his eyes had healed until, eventually, he connected the dots and noticed a blindfold on his face.


    Ares felt a little dumb for that one.


    The tigers had also just happened to wake up and jumped off him before stretching their backs and wandering off to go find Allie and play. This reminded Ares that he had promised them good food the next time he came back, and he had yet to deliver! Plus, everyone was here now, so he could cook for everyone and pay them back for healing him again. Even if technically his bloodline was what healed him, they had jumped after him back at the cliff and looked after him when he couldn''t move. Also, why not? Ares enjoyed cooking anyway. The more the merrier! He set off to work in the background inside the primordial blade and sat up with his back against a tree.


    “He’s awake,” Enyo called out to the others as she had been the first to notice Ares'' movements… Again.


    “Enyo? I’m guessing that’s you. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” Ares instinctually couldn’t resist the urge to playfully tease Enyo.


    “Hmph, you won’t get on my nerves that easily,” she replied defiantly.


    Ares just smiled back. “I wasn’t trying to. Speaking of nerves, has anyone seen mine? ‘Cos I sure haven’t.”


    “Ha, really funny,” Bellona snorted. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”


    “Sure, but honestly, even I have no idea what the hell happened to me, other than knowing that it hurt like a motherfucker. Thought I was gonna die, and twice at that.”


    “Can you even die? Hasn’t that already happened to you before?” Charity subtly raised the main topic.


    “Huh? Oh, right, Aejaz probably mentioned that? Good point, but I really don’t know how it all works. Who knows if I can come back again, right? Don’t wanna risk it on something I know nothing about.”


    “Ugh, you’re really an irredeemable idiot.” Enyo sighed. “He’s telling the truth.”


    “What? Of course I am. Why would I lie about that of all things?”


    “Do you know anything about the name ‘revenant’?” Gladius asked.


    “Revenant? Yeah…”


    Everyone inhaled sharply.


    “I know that it’s a word to describe people who have come back from the dead, which, now that you mention it, probably includes me, huh?”


    Gladius smacked his forehead, “Not the definition damnit, the race. The race.”


    “There’s a revenant race? Interesting. I don’t remember seeing them in any of the books I’ve read. What do they look like? What kinda monsters are they?”


    “The more you talk, the more I want to hit you,” Enyo spoke through gritted teeth.


    “I feel like I’m missing something here.” Ares tilted his head in confusion.


    “What do you know about your bloodline?” Enyo asked.


    “Only that it saved my life inside that creepy-ass mansion. Seriously, that thing is a fucking death-trap if I’ve ever seen one. Even I felt scared. Not pleasant.”


    “Why did you even go in there in the first place? If you knew how dangerous it was, you shouldn’t have even considered it,” Bellona questioned.


    “Well, obviously I had no clue it was dangerous. I mean, I guess there was a sign… Remind me not to ever doubt signs again.”


    “Wait, are you saying you didn’t know the stories about the mansion?”


    “What stories? Am I a fool? Should I have looked this forest up beforehand?”


    “Even transition realm cultivators have died inside that mansion.”


    “Oh, believe me, I know. Hundreds of ‘em. All rotting and dangling from the ceiling. I got lots of good stuff from their spatial rings though. Hooray for not being dirt-poor anymore. May those generous souls rest in peace.”


    “Well, aren’t you lucky? But what I’m asking is, if you didn’t know about the mansion beforehand, why were you so determined to go there? You said you had some place to go when we talked in the cave. How could you have known about the mansion’s existence, without knowing about the mansion’s existence prior to going there?”


    “Hm? Oh, that was the voice in my head. Quite an unruly voice too, wouldn’t shut up.”


    “What on earth is wrong with you!?” Enyo could have sworn she was going insane.


    Ares sighed. “Look, it’s probably for the best if I just explain everything that happened from the start, right?”


    “You think?”


    Ares recounted his grim tale in great, vivid, detail but unintentionally left out one particular thing that he hadn’t felt was all too important.


    “Wow, you seem to have a knack for getting put through the ringer, huh?” Bellona said in jest.


    “I’m not into it, I swear.” Ares raised his hands in front of him and shook them.


    Bellona snickered.


    “Oh! Good news!”


    “What now!?” Enyo asked while feeling like she was about to explode if there was anything more to add on to this already ludicrous story.


    “Food’s ready!” Ares waved his hand and a long, pre-prepared table, with many bowls atop it, appeared out of thin air, complete with cutlery, napkins, etc…


    Aejaz poked his head out from around a tree as he felt something stirring deep within his soul, calling out to him to let him know that Ares had just cooked something. He licked his lips then went to go find Allie to let her know Ares had brought out some lunch.


    Meanwhile, the Legion clan were stupefied at this grand display that had come out of seemingly nowhere. “Uhhh, how did you do that?” Bellona was the first to regain her senses and ask.


    “Meh, secret,” Ares shrugged off the question.


    “No offence, but I prefer my food not to materialise out of thin air,” Gladius said.


    “To each their own, but you should really try it, even~Enyo~likes~it,” Ares'' voice got a little higher pitched at the end as he took off his blindfold and moved over to the table.


    “Really?” Bellona blurted out.


    “It… It’s really good,” Enyo begrudgingly complimented Ares.


    Bellona struggled to hold back a massive shit-eating grin.


    “There’s fish with lemongrass as well as rabbit and mushroom stew with purple acorns and colberry smoothies. Sorry if it’s not to your liking, but I promised I’d make those cute monsters some food the next time I saw them, so I made stuff that would suit their tastes.”


    “Sounds good, but I have to ask, you do know what kind of deer those are, right?” Bellona asked.


    “Hm? Oh, yeah, but they’re really quite docile when you knock off their antlers. Much more adorable without them, for sure.” Ares put two fingers to his mouth and whistled to call the monsters.


    Allie and Aejaz returned and took the two seats that were left, followed by the deer and tigers who all sat around the table, patiently waiting for Ares to give them something to chow down on.


    Ares waved his hand again and two mountainous piles of food appeared on the floor inside two giant pots near the monsters, who, without even questioning or caring about the little magic trick they had just witnessed, dug in.


    “Seriously, how do you even do that? You don’t have a spatial ring on you…” Enyo wondered aloud.


    “Sorry, but everyone has their secrets.” Ares stuck his tongue out.


    “Do you know how he does it?” Enyo asked Aejaz.


    “Uhh… I suppose, one could argue, that knowing is a construct and, therefore, I don’t not know the answer to all questions, including, which, I suppose I should add, the question that you may or may not have just asked,” Aejaz replied confidently.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    “Uhhh,” Gladius was completely lost.


    “I have no idea what on earth he’s talking about, but apparently he’s not lying,” Enyo grumbled.


    Allie was almost cry-laughing at the way Aejaz had foiled Enyo’s bloodline.


    “I think, THINK, that means he knows?” Charity looked as though she were doing complicated mental arithmetic in her head.


    Everyone looked back at Aejaz only to find he had already started eating. “... It’s really good.”


    Purrrrrr


    “Hm? Oh, wow, you guys are really quite gluttonous, aren’t you? The deer aren’t nearly done yet, and we haven’t even started, but you cute little kitties have already finished the entire pile of fish.” Ares picked up and petted the tiger that had come over and nudged him. “Ok, I’ll give you some more, but don''t rush this time, alright? You’ll get indigestion if you don’t pace yourselves.”


    Meow


    “... Are you… Talking to it?” Enyo couldn’t help but ask, even at the cost of her own sanity.


    Both Ares and the tiger looked over at Enyo in concert with one another.


    Meow


    “Yes?”


    They even replied together at the same exact time.


    “Seriously, you are aware that this thing is a monster, right?”


    Ares and the tiger looked at one another, briefly reaffirmed their functional relationship with a quick nod, and then looked back at Enyo. “Yes? What can I say? They’re sweet little kittens. Look, they even give kisses if you ask nicely. Hey, little fella! Can you give me a kiss?” Ares held his finger to the tiger who then stuck out its tongue and licked it. “See?”


    “He’s savouring you, you fucking moron.”


    “He would never!”


    The tiger wagged its head from side to side as if to say ‘I would never!’.


    “Unbelievable.” Enyo was mentally defeated.


    “Told you he’s obsessed with cute things,” Aejaz stopped chewing on the food to speak. “I mean, you remember I told you he once used corpses as a throne? The reason he did it was because…”


    Enyo listened with keen intent to try and get more dirt on Ares, which she was currently stockpiling.


    “Kitty, attack!” Ares gently pinched the tiger by the scruff of its neck and pointed him towards Aejaz before booping it on the head like a magical Pez dispenser, causing it to shoot out a tiny fireball that lit up Aejaz’s clothes.


    “AH!” Aejaz frantically dusted off the flickering flames as Ares and the tiger looked on smugly.


    “Ha, good shot kitty, high five!” Ares’ hand connected with the tiger’s paw.


    Meow


    “Oh, right! Of course! Here’s your food.” Ares summoned another pile of fish, this one considerably larger than the first.


    “OH MY GOD!” Bellona was shouting in delight and pure bliss, “THIS IS AMAZING!” Bellona had started to feast while everyone had been distracted by Ares and the tiger.


    One by one, everyone else tried out the food and gave raving praise, but Ares cared more about a separate dilemma. Ares waited for Aejaz to finish taking a sip of his drink before flicking a low-power Echo at him, just as he was about to start talking to Allie, to get his attention. Unbeknownst to Aejaz, Ares also fired a second Echo at someone else to get their attention too.


    When Aejaz looked over, he saw Ares beckoning and nodding towards the forest like the last time he made food. DAMNIT DAMNIT DAMNIT. Aejaz was inconsolable at having lost another opportunity to have a meal with Allie, but he knew it would be unfair to Enyo as she still hadn’t taken her helmet off yet.


    “Where are you two going?” Bellona wondered aloud.


    “Ah, well, we still have a score to settle, so we’re gonna have a grudge match gladiatorial style until there’s only one of us left. I see no other way to resolve this, sadly,” Ares spoke in a plaintive, forlorn voice as if he was lamenting the idea of having to actually commit fratricide.


    Bellona just rolled her eyes.


    “In that case, can I come and watch?” Allie picked up her plate and drink and hopped off her chair to follow along. The second Echo Ares had fired off had been a subtle invitation for her to come along as well.


    “Sure, but no betting allowed, the odds are far too stacked in my favour.”


    Aejaz went to raise his hand and protest but stopped as soon as he opened his mouth when he caught a glimpse of Ares questioningly raising his eyebrows. All three walked off into the forest and Bellona couldn’t help but feel like Ares was wasting an opportunity here but, then again, she wasn’t aware of the reason he had for leaving.


    Enyo took off her helmet and something truly miraculous happened. Something so unbelievable that Bellona nearly fainted from bewilderment, Charity dropped the cutlery she was holding, and Gladius choked on his drink. For a brief moment, it felt as if time stopped and the entire world took a deep breath in response to what could only be described as a once in a lifetime event. It was simply unfathomable that this could even actually occur and, yet, there sat Enyo, with her long, white and lavender ombre hair unfurled from within her helmet’s spatial compartment, and her face that boasted a venerable and gallant type of beauty, minding her own business, eating the rabbit stew, smiling.


    ---------------------------------


    “Uh, we’re not actually going to fight… Are we?” Aejaz laughed nervously.


    “Of course we are! Now where did I put my chariot!?”


    Allie watched happily from the side as she much preferred it when these two got along.


    “... I really am sorr…” Aejaz started.


    “Oh, give it a rest already, I don’t care anymore,” Ares cut Aejaz off. “Hm? Do you hear that noise!?” Ares had a concentrated look on his face as he looked around, almost as if he were searching for something.


    “What? No?”


    “I would know that sound anywhere… It’s a call to ADVENTURE!”


    “Huh? What? Where are you dragging us off to now?” Aejaz had been thrown for a complete loop after receiving verbal whiplash from Ares unexpected 180 in tone.


    “No, no, and no again silly Aejaz! This is a one-man adventure! I guess you’ll just have to stay here with Allie! Don’t worry though, I have some more food you two can enjoy, so it’s not all bad!” Ares brought out more dishes and drinks and then promptly vanished.


    Allie had finally buckled and was laughing without pause as Aejaz just stared blankly in disbelief at how conniving Ares was.


    As Ares ran around through the forest with no clear goal in mind, he whistled merrily while thinking to himself that today had been a good day so far. Eventually, he stopped to rest on a grassy patch. As he lay on his back with one leg folded over the other, staring at the trees towering above him, he thought about what he was going to do with regards to the inevitable talk that was going to happen when he got back.


    He could figure out where this whole revenant thing was going, he wasn’t an idiot… Debatably. In fact, that was why he brought out the food in the first place, to change the topic for a while and give him some time to think about things. Ares had boiled the situation down to the worst-case scenario and preemptively assumed that was what he would have to deal with. Chances are, he was a revenant, and revenants were who Enyo’s clan were hunting down. As for why that was happening, he didn’t know. The only solace was that they didn’t seem intent on killing him, so maybe something could be worked out, but he needed to know more about the situation first. No matter what though, he already came up with a very much Ares-styled plan that only he would be insane enough to attempt. This was partly because he wouldn’t be Ares if he didn’t do something stupidly ambitious at every conceivable chance he got, but also because this was the only way he saw himself somehow working around both his family and Enyo, neither of which he was willing to forgo for the sake of the other. Ares may not care much for his ‘real’ family given that he never knew them, but he couldn’t bring himself to not care at least even a little. He still wanted to meet them at some point, so that single-handedly complicated the issue. Trying to work out a compromise was just going to be a colossal headache and not be particularly viable. He was just going to have to do things his own way.


    ---------------------------------


    Bellona kept opening her mouth to try and speak, but no words came out. It was a mix of being unable to even find the right words for this situation to begin with, as well as an unwillingness to disturb Enyo and ruin the moment.


    Charity had caught her cutlery mid-fall and was already making sure Gladius was alright.


    Bellona turned to Charity and whispered, “I’m not the only one seeing this right? That… THING on her face?”


    Charity whispered back, “We don’t know much about that mansion… Maybe she’s been possessed?”


    Gladius had recovered after taking a few deep breaths and joined in the conversation, also whispering, “Being the chivalrous man I am…” Gladius rolled his eyes as Charity scoffed in the background. “I know why she’s smiling but, damn, I really didn’t see that coming.”


    “Why?” Bellona simply had to know.


    “Because Ares left so she could take her helmet off.”


    “... Oh my god. I hadn’t even thought of that… Wait… Does that mean that idiot hasn’t ever even seen her face!?”


    “Shhhhhh,” Charity reminded Bellona to quieten down so as not to spoil the moment.


    “Is that a big deal? Enyo doesn’t usually show her face to anyone if she can avoid it. The only reason she’s fine with us is ‘cos we’ve all known her for years,” Gladius said.


    “It’s not a big deal for Enyo, it’s a big deal for Ares,” Bellona said.


    “Why though?”


    Bellona shiftily glanced at Enyo to make sure she still wasn’t paying attention. Sure enough, Enyo was still lost in her own world, a world filled to the brim with a second helping of the stew.


    “You can’t repeat this to anyone, especially not Trew, ok?”


    “Uh, sure?” Gladius had an impeccable record of keeping secrets and, ironically, everyone knew it.


    “Fine,” Charity agreed, mostly because she wanted to hear a secret. Who doesn’t love secrets?


    “The reason Ares was able to trick Enyo’s bloodline in the cave was because he didn’t actually lie…” Bellona let the information slowly sink in.


    “... Oh… Oh I see… I see VERY clearly.” Charity had a wicked grin plastered across her face.


    Gladius was a little slower on the ball, but eventually clocked on. “I get why him not having seen her face is strange now. I don’t think I could commit that hard to a decision like that without seeing the person’s face. Huh, guess there really is a half-decent, respectable person underneath that permanently obnoxious veneer. “


    “He’s not that bad, you lot are just as uptight as ever is all.” Bellona jutted out her tongue.


    “Well, he makes her happy.” Charity looked back over at Enyo who was nearing the completion of her meal. “But… He’s still a revenant… That’s gonna be a hard one to work out.”


    “Bah! Who cares? Our mum will sort that out. You know she’s the one that wears the trousers in the family when she puts her foot down. It’s no secret that mum''s the real powerhouse of our clan, even if she doesn’t get involved with anything. Even dad won’t be able to stop it if she makes the final call.”


    “Oi, careful now, she’s finishing up!” Gladius fake-coughed as Enyo put her helmet back on. “You weren’t kidding, huh Enyo? The food was really good.”


    “I’ve no idea where a scoundrel like him learned to cook so well,” Enyo replied before looking over at the nearby monsters. “Hello, uh, little kitties, could you go find Ares and bring him back now? We need to ask him some questions.”


    Meow


    One of the nearby tigers looked up at Enyo, accepted his mission, and scooted off deeper into the forest.


    “Is it weird that I’m starting to agree with Ares and think those tigers are… Cute?” Enyo asked.


    Bellona was the quickest to jump in. “Which part? The tigers, or agreeing with Ares about literally anything? If it''s about the tigers, then no, I also think they’re sweeties. If it’s about Ares, then yes, it is strange, isn’t it? Very strange. Almost makes you wonder if it’s somehow related to something you and I have already discussed.”


    “Subtle as ever,” Enyo replied sarcastically.


    “Don’t even joke about that, I’m honestly starting to wonder if I’m being too subtle.” Bellona sighed in exasperation. Was Enyo seriously not aware of the beaming smile that had been smack-dab in the middle of her face less than a minute ago? Unbelievable!


    The two lightly bickered back and forth with one another for a good ten minutes before the tiger came back from his job successfully with Ares in tow.


    “I’m guessing Aejaz told you some things, you should know what we want to talk to you about,” Gladius spoke in a serious tone.


    “Hm? Nope. I ran away from those two as soon as I could. Might as well let them have their moment. But still, I think I know, it’s not really hard to figure it out. Ha, why do you think I brought out the food when I did?”


    “Seriously?” Bellona was amazed at Ares’ foresight.


    “Mhm, but that doesn’t change the fact that I know basically nothing for definite, so I’m going to need a rundown first.”


    Charity groaned, “I’m not giving the explanation again, I can’t be bothered. Gladius, you do all of it.”


    Gladius’ eye twitched and he kissed his teeth. “Yes, your majesty.” Gladius began delivering a rundown akin to the one Aejaz and Allie had received earlier, but was interrupted by Ares almost immediately.


    “Wait, wait wait wait…”


    “If you’re going to interrupt me every five seconds, I’m going to walk over there and fight you,” Gladius threatened.


    “Did you just say ‘Dominus’?” Ares realised he forgot to mention the name above the arch when he was talking about the mansion earlier. He had thought it wasn’t a name, but instead just a title some pompous fool gave himself. Technically, he was half right.


    “I thought you knew nothing?” Bellona queried.


    “Allow me to correct the record. What I know is that the guy is an asshole, like a big-time son of a bitch.”


    “How could you possibly know that?” Enyo was confused as he couldn’t possibly know about Dominus’ history without knowing about the revenants. It didn’t add up, but he also wasn’t lying.


    “Whose mansion do you think that was?” Ares responded bitterly at the thought of having been kicked around and beaten senseless.


    “...”


    “The guy even had his own bloody name engraved on the walls, it’s like he was rubbing it in. Is he still alive? ‘Cos if he is, I’m gonna find him and smack some sense into that bastard.”


    “...”


    “Actually, now that I think about it, I remember the voice in my mind telling me to claim its legacy. He’s not inside me, is he? What the hell am I supposed to do about that? Beat myself up and call it a job well-done? This is incredibly unfair.”


    “...”


    “Uh, why are you all looking at me like that?”


    “...”


    “I’ve somehow just dug myself into a really deep hole, haven’t I?”


    “...”


    “I’ll… Uh… Take your silence as a ‘yes’.”