A Declaration For The Future

Back at the Singularity of Okeanos—more precisely the island where Seth resided, the said man was trying to get back to that place and apologize, to no avail. No matter how much he tried, it was useless.

Seth couldn't help but internally curse at the impossibility. It didn't help that he was feeling like shit due to overusing his body when it hadn't healed completely yet.

'Give up. It's not the time to meet again. Not until a long while, at least.' Stargazer's voice caught his attention. He didn't appear in the outside world, though.

"Was that your Clairvoyance speaking?" He asked after a sigh of resignation. As much as he didn't like it, he knew better than to push things in these kinds of situations.

'Nope, just a feeling.' Seth could mentally imagine Stargazer shrugging his shoulders at his inquiry. Well, at least the timeframe wasn't set in stone.

"Forget it. How about the other guy? He just returned the control of our body and disappeared the moment I woke up." Not only he messed up, but he also left his body aching all over after his little stunt. If this was going to be the norm from now on, the future sure looked bleak.

'Hmm...If I had to give you an answer, then I would say he went to sleep in some sort of self-imprisonment.' His words brought no small amount of surprise to the black-haired man.

"Heh. I didn't take him for the emotional type." There was a clear mocking tone in his voice, something that wasn't lost to Stargazer, who merely chuckled in amusement.

'Well, well. Give the guy a break. It's not every day that a father gets rejected by his own children, you know? Besides, he was not the only one affected, now was he?' His come-back managed to make Seth stiffen, but not in a good way.

"I would watch my tongue if I were you, Stargazer. The only reason you are alive is because of your usefulness, but speak more than necessary, and I will kill you regardless of it. Even if I embody the 'good' side, there is a certain level of bullshit I can tolerate before having my patience reduced to zero." He spat venomously.

In the Throne Room inside Seth's inner world, Stargazer felt a cold breath in his neck, making him shiver slightly. 'Well, shit. Him and his damn reptile.'

'My bad, by all means, forget what I said. Oh, and you have company.' With nothing more to say, he stopped the connection. Immediately after that, he turned around, only to see nothing in return.

His eyes then went to the big windows on the side of the Throne Room. Stargazer saw a black blur move past them and disappear as quickly. A majestic roar soon followed, causing him to raise his eyebrows in mild surprise.

'Hoh... So I am being watched now? By a recently born infant no less. I guess the awakening of Mr. Grumpy had a hand in that. I wonder what awaits us, and what number we will get. I hope we replace that ball of fur; I don't like it at all.' With a nonchalant attitude, he returned to his job of observing the distant future.

On the outside world, Seth got up from the altar, letting his legs dangle in the air and, for once, decided to listen to Stargazer and forget about what he said. The day was already bad as it was to go around with a permanent scowl on his face.

With one final push, he managed to stand on his own two feet, although with a little difficulty. Seth's only answer to this was to sigh. He hadn't felt so weak since his fights with Thor in the past. Was this what it was like to fight your counter? It sure sucked.

The Egyptian God was brought out of his musing by the sound of footsteps. The incoming figure soon revealed itself to be David with his characteristic smile on his face.

He had woken up not long ago and decided to pay a visit to their patient. As much as he wanted to wait for him to recover, he didn't know if they had much time for it. There was no doubt that Jason and his lackeys wouldn't waste a moment if it meant they could get closer to their true objective, whatever it was.

While the scene of him wearing glasses made him furrow his brows in confusion, he didn't make a comment about it. He had seen weirder things to take his new appearance as out of place.

"I am glad to see you standing. I take it you have healed enough move?" The sight of the black-haired man's wobbly legs was enough of an answer, so he quickly changed the question. "Do you need help to walk?"

Seth gave David a subtle nod, which made the King go to support the troubled man. The shepherd put Seth's arm above his shoulders and, with slow but steady steps, started walking out of the dungeon.

"No offense but, when are you going to recover completely? We are pretty much going to need everything we can get our hands on to fight, and I don't think you can do much in your current state." Although he asked lightly, there was a certain kind of urgency in his voice. No one could blame him. After all, he was the type to worry too much if things didn't go as planned.

"None taken." Seth could understand how the green-haired man felt, so he started thinking a bit to give an estimate as he himself wasn't sure about it. "I guess it will take just a few days, less than a week for sure. There is something messing with my regeneration, so I am concentrating on that first. Once that is done, I will heal in no time."

A sigh of relief escaped David's mouth; they could work with that. "That's good. For now, let's go and meet with Atalanta. She must be waiting for us to discuss things already."

Seth groaned after hearing his fellow King. He didn't have the best impression of her considering she attacked him only seconds following his awakening. There was also the fact that she was a Huntress for that unhinged woman, Artemis. Who knows what weird quirks she might have.

"I see you aren't exactly excited to meet with her after the... troubles that ensured. However, rest assured that she is calmer now. Although, it would help if you could get in a more...presentable way." The green-haired man motioned to his ragged clothes with his gaze. To say he looked like a beggar who was assaulted by thugs wasn't that far from the truth. At least they still covered...personal parts. Were it not like that, he wouldn't be helping him walk right now.

Seth looked down and indeed, it was as David said. He had to thank his quick thinking for making his clothes out of Mana instead of simply accepting the ones Cu Chulainn gave him back then. If he did, the black-haired man didn't doubt he would be naked by now.

Snapping his fingers, a small, flaming whirlwind covered his body from the waist down. Not soon after, it disappeared to reveal Seth wearing black cargo pants, and equally colored combat boots. "There. I suppose this will do."

"I thought you would opt for something more...how to say it, from your culture? And why didn't you do the same with your upper body?" David asked in slight puzzlement. He didn't expect for him to go modern style, and yes, he did know about it, perks of being summoned by the Counter Force.

The Egyptian God just rolled his eyes at his question. "While it's true that we are stagnant and incapable of growth, that doesn't mean we live in caves. I just found this attire to my liking after I accessed some files in your son's tablet. And my upper body's wounds are reopening frequently, so I prefer not to dirty my clothes with blood even if they aren't exactly made of fabric thank you very much."

"...I feel like you said something REALLY important casually..." David sweatdropped after hearing what he said. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. It was to the point that he thought he had misheard.

Seth titled his head slightly. "Oh? I thought you were able to contact Solomon in some way."

"..."

"...Oops?"

"Haaahhhhh...let's talk about that together with our plans for the future. I don't want to keep Atalanta waiting lest she starts nagging me again." What in the name of the Seven Heavens is he going to do now? At this rate, he felt he was going to have a heart attack, even if that wasn't possible due to his status as a Servant.

"...Fine." He said with resignation. Let destiny take its course as they say. As long as she was half the psychopath that Artemis was, then everything would be all right...probably.

"Look. I know Atalanta needs to get laid so she can calm her attitude a little, but she knows when it's time to set grudges aside for the sake of something more important." David said matter of factly, something that earned a weird glance coming from the other man.

"Are you sure you are religious?"

"A hundred percent."

"You know that she is just outside of here right?"

"...She heard what I said, didn't she?"

"Probably, yes."

"Don't be surprised if I throw you off and run."

"Something is telling me you are going to do just that."

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As expected, Atalanta was waiting on the dungeon's exit. She was folding her arms and tapping her foot against the ground repeatedly with an expression that told she was ready to kill on sight.

David at least had the decency to put Seth down before asking the Huntress for ten seconds to run and just then start shooting. The King was fortunate enough that she complied with her request, even if she wanted nothing more than to put an arrow up his ass so he doesn't go mouthing off unnecessary things.

When the two left to do their shenanigans, Seth got up once more and tapped the amulet on his chest. Not long after, a bright light covered the scenery before quickly dying down, revealing a Chimera in all her glory. To be more precise, it was the same one he had encountered in Asterios' labyrinth. He got attacked by that feeling when you find a puppy alone in the streets and you want to take it home because you feel bad about him staying there. So, with no other choice, he decided to bring her with him.

'I will have to evolve her, though. But that will have to wait until I take care of the 'intruders.' After that, it should be easy to do so.'

The monster instantly started to nuzzle up against him, although she was careful not to hurt him, as she saw how badly injured he was. Seth patted both her heads in return before speaking. "Can you take me to the beach? I have trouble walking and I can barely stand."

He received a nod in response, followed by the snake tail coiling around his waist and then placing him on her back. Sniffing the air a bit to detect the presence of salt, she started walking in the beach's direction.

Seth decided to relax while looking at the clear sky. However, a frown soon made its way to his face. 'Sun, Earth, and Sky...' He extended his hand upward before clenching it into a fist. '...I am coming for you.'

A chuckle soon escaped his mouth after his declaration. 'Yeah...right. I am not ready yet. I am still...incomplete. However, that means I can still go beyond my original self.'

He soon brought his arm down and, while closing his eyes with a faint smile on his face, focused on enjoying the comforting breeze that made the trees around him dance in unison.