SO CLOSE YET SO DREADFULLY FAR AWAY

At long last, after three more days of traveling, we've reached the island of Colchis, where the fleece was. Vittoria verified that with the compass she got from Circe and a map. So far, things were looking good for us. Now, it was up to Vittoria and me to get the fleece in time. We had four days to save Mei, and I saw no reason how we could fail to get the thing after so long.

I waited outside of Mei's door. Vittoria was checking on her condition and giving a speech. Basically, Mei would be saved no matter what, and they will be happily reunited. After that, she came out of the room. "Mei's still alive, thank goodness. Ready to save her?"

"Yeah, I smirked. "Let's go snatch ourselves a sweet new fleece."

As we set foot on the island, some questions floated in my head. "Vittoria, how exactly do we get the fleece? How do we find it? Can we just run away after getting it with impunity?"

Vittoria faintly smiled. "Yiannis, has anything ever been that easy?"

"Well, no. We've never run away without some threat looming over us. But this could have been different."

"Sadly, it isn't. More importantly, procuring the fleece is no easy feat. You need to complete three trials, all of which are insanely difficult. They're also overseen by one of the gods, Janus, the god of gates. He can disqualify you for about any reason. For example, if Zeus ordered him to not administer the trials to anyone but Julien, then only Julien can get the fleece."

"What you're saying then is that someone on our side has dealt with that. I'm guessing Father 'persuaded' Janus to let others take his little exam; otherwise, there would be no point coming here."

"Bingo. Lord Kronos has successfully convinced the minor gods to join them, giving promises of an increased status to major gods if they become loyal to him. As such, Janus will allow us to take his exam. Of course, there's another reason: Janus has been a close colleague to your father for some time. After Kronos was expelled from heaven, Janus took care of him and shielded him from the gods. In return, Kronos heightened his strength and thus started a lukewarm friendship. But don't use your powers in front of him. I have no clue as to whether Janus knows of your heritage. And, as I'm sure you know, the gods are looking from high above, so there's another reason. Although, I suppose you can use your time-controlling powers as long as you wear that mask. It's too much to ask you to just use magic to defend yourself and not actually fight with your own scythe. No offense, but you still have a lot to learn when it comes to magic."

"I'm aware, Vittoria. Well, everyone does think the son of Kronos is Brian. Except for a few, most would assume that I'm Brian if I wear the mask you gave me."

"Yes, some will question why Brian is hiding his face after exposing himself prior. They may deduce that Brian was just a sham and that someone else was, in fact, the son of Kronos. But all we have to do is present a solid reason why you're wearing the mask. My siblings are versed in magic, and they will latch on to the mask's properties. After that becomes public, people won't be skeptical. A free power boost is something anyone would want. However, not all will be convinced, but that's about the best we could do unless you have any other ideas."

"No, that will do. It's impossible to change everyone's opinion, after all. Making the suspicious ones a fringe group will isolate them, and that comes with perks. People will think they're overthinking things. As such, the majority won't buy them, and everyone will have to be on board with the idea that this guy here with the mask on is Brian."

"Yep. Nobody at DGH won't be going after us out of suspicion. Well, not you anyway, unless you recklessly use the powers you got from Hades. I, on the other hand, am very close to getting caught."

"About that...you won't be coming back to DGH, would you?"

"Not unless I want to die like the other spies. I think you know that from here on out, you'll be in charge of what remains of my network once you get back to DGH. You'll also be receiving some helping hands. You already know one of them, and you'll meet the others at DGH."

"Alright. Thanks, Vittoria. Now, about our upcoming exam..."

"You'll learn about it later."

Janus happily greeted us. "Hallo! Welcome! Are you two masked mortals here to take my exam?" I nodded, and he burst into joy. "Yahoo! It's been ages since Jason came here. Finally, I get two new test-takers! Things are going to be so interesting! Well, then there's no time to waste. Naturally, before you clock in, you need to know what the hell you're doing! So many people come here confidently and then die due to their own ignorance. It's not entertaining. But, you two have already provoked my interest! I expect great things from the two of you. Hopefully, you can die in the second trial, at the very least."

Well...Janus was an interesting person himself, to say the least. I think he also qualifies as sadistic. I mean, what else can you be if you find it enjoyable to watch people suffer in agony?

Then, there was his appearance. Janus was indeed the immortal Two-Face, but much weirder. Janus had two distinct faces in one head, which was very unsettling. I found it hard to look at him without feeling bothered, so I stared at the ground when I talked to him.

His two faces often barked, mocked, and shouted at each other. It was as if Janus had two different personalities within him. While the face on the right offered encouragement, the one on the left was sardonic, mocking both Vittoria and me and reminding us how impossible it was to actually get the fleece. "Unless you're a god, I suggest you go back to wherever you came from. Two frail objects such as yourselves will just die, and not in a very entertaining way. Most demigods die on the first trial just so you know."

Lastly, there was his presentation. Janus snapped his fingers, and a chalkboard materialized next to him. It hovered in the air as he took a pen and wrote on it. Whatever Janus drew sprang up from the board and became a miniature, lifelike toy. For example, take the dragon he drew. A toy-sized version that roared and spat fire popped into existence.

But I can ponder on all that later. For now, I need to pass Janus's exam. It was permissible for both Vittoria and me to participate, although we could solo it. It was up to us to decide how we completed any of the three trials, as long as we followed the rules.

For the first trial, we had to plow the fields with the Colchis bulls. These bulls were five times my size, had radiating gold skin and breathed fire. Once I finished that, I would have to plant seeds. These seeds were the teeth of the dragon I would have to defeat in the third trial. Once planted, fully grown men clad in battle armor and carrying weapons would sprout. These undead warriors were known as the spartoi, and they could not be killed. Thankfully, as the son of Hades, I could control the dead, so that solved that. Finally, I had to defeat the dragon I mentioned earlier, which would be the hardest of the three. Even Hercules and the Argonauts had avoided fighting this foe, meaning it was monstrously strong. I hoped Vittoria and I would be enough to do the deed.

Oh, one little fun fact. If I fail a trial or if Janus decides to disqualify me, the ground beneath my feet will open up and swallow me whole, and I will land in Tartarus. The same goes for Vittoria. Nothing like the threat of eternal torture to get you all motivated, huh?

The two of us decided to do all the trials together. It improved our chances, and we'd prefer to go to Tartarus together than alone.

Janus sat on a chair and pulled a book from his pocket, asking us if we were ready. Vittoria and I nodded, and Janus pointed behind us. There was at least an acre of farmland, with untilled soil waiting to be cultivated. West was a medium-sized barn, and I wondered what kind of animals/monsters were inside. Northeast was the Colchis Bulls, snorting fire from their nostrils. On their necks was a collar that bound them to a towering vehicle. Attached to it was a rusty plow that made the bulls ants in comparison.

Janus's happy face wished us luck. "I hope you enjoy the experience! I promise it's one that you'll never forget!"

The other face interjected. "Are you crazy? Those bulls could squash you! This isn't some picnic! And it only gets harder from here!"

I sighed. It was difficult conversing with Janus, that's for sure.

Janus gave us a thumbs up with his right hand while his left hand slapped the left side of his forehead. The god stood up, and this time both his faces spoke. "Is this the gate you wish to open?"

"The gate?" I quizzically asked. "What's that's supposed to mean?"

"Yes," Vittoria responded to Janus. "We are firmly rooted in this path, and we will not stray from it. I will get my hands on the fleece."

"I see," the god nodded. His demeanor had changed. His faces were no longer childish and quarrelsome; they had become sedate. He was taking things seriously - like an actual adult. Well, his two faces were, anyway. I don't know how his brain works, and I don't want to know. My sanity will evaporate if I do.

Janus's two faces each gave a wide smile. "It's not what you think, Yiannis." Janus must have seen a shocked expression on my face because he laughed. "From a prior experience, you have recognized that gods can read the minds of others. But we have our limits; only select gods can probe deep into your subconscious. The rest of us have difficulty even reading what's on the surface. Then, there's your aura, which can reveal plenty of things, such as your lineage. I can feel a part of the Titan Lord's power within you, even with the mask on. I suppose I've been exposed to his aura for too long a time. But I have to say, I'm astonished. I barely managed to trace the semblance. Usually, I would have picked up on it right away. Who on Earth designed your mask?"

I directed my arms towards Vittoria. "The prodigious woman beside me was responsible." Janus rubbed his chin, and then he nodded. "Ah, fancy meeting you here, Vittoria. I should have known it was you. You've blown me away with your invention. I doubt the gods can track you as long as you have those on."

Vittoria bowed. "Thank you for your kind words, Lord Janus."

"Tell me, dear. Are you still going to trod forward towards the fleece? It led to certain death for many. I may have cared for you well, but you and your friend will take the test in the same conditions as many others had, despite that."

"Yes. I am simply following Lord Kronos's order. And I need it to save Mei's life."

"Is that so? That does explain your determination. Well, I can only wish you the best of luck." His happy face contorted into a boyish grin. "Yes! You will certainly not regret the experience! Enjoy!" His other face disagreed. "You're going to die, you fool! Turn back now!" Vittoria simply giggled and shook her head. She seemed to be amused by Janus's about-faces. Based on what the god said, Janus was another of Vittoria's foster parents. How many did she have? Well, I would find out later.

After that, the two of us stood before the bulls, blades drawn. Since Janus was aware of who I was, I could whip out the scythe. I wanted the gods to notice me, too. They would know what the son of Kronos looks like and that it wasn't me(it so was). They would be fixated on me, and I know Zeus would do anything to kill me. He would be too distracted to figure out my identity and just focus on finding and killing me. The other gods would follow suit, except Athena. The wisdom goddess would be a boulder that I would need to outwit. If Aphrodite or any of the emotion goddesses came into contact with me, they might be able to read my thoughts and realize who I am and what I'm up to. I needed to avoid them as well. Athena would be the biggest debacle. But, since Zeus is her king, she has to obey him. Given her position, she would be the one chosen to sniff me out. It would chain her, but Athena could also use it as an opportunity to find clues and to observe me. But there was nothing to be done about it. Whether she found out I was the son of Kronos or not, we would eventually meet when the war was truly underway. Right now, I had to persuade the bulls to move the giant plow. With dialogue not possible, the only way to do that was to beat them up. And thus, Vittoria and I attempted to physically abuse the bulls.

The bulls shot fireballs at us, which we dodged. I used a flame spell to redirect them back at the bulls. Then, I pulled out my scythe and hacked at the bull's legs after stopping time. I tried to restrain myself - if I was too harsh, the bulls would not be able to move the vehicle, and I would not be able to plow the field. I used a frost spell to shoot a bunch of ice shards at the bulls. It was like getting hit by broken glass. The ice embedded itself into the bull's bodies. After Vittoria thought we gave them enough misery, the two of us hopped on top of the vehicle. I let time flow again, and the bulls roared in pain. They apparently had no qualms about giving us a ride anymore. They're such intelligent animals.

The bulls slowly trudged across the field. The blades on the plow were doing a decent job of flipping the soil and creating holes for seeds, but we still had to go around the entire field twice for it to be satisfactory. We placed the vehicle back where it originally was and waved goodbye to the bulls, who whistled at seeing us go away from them. I suppose they didn't like us very much, not that I could blame them.

Janus inspected the field and congratulated us for completing the first of his trials. The dragon's teeth we needed to plant were in the barn, and they were huge. Each tooth was more massive than my head, indicating that the dragon was unfathomably enormous. If I remember correctly, the megalodon was a shark over sixty feet on average, but it had much smaller teeth. The biggest was about the size of my palm, which was terrifying. The dragon could be as gigantic as one-hundred twenty feet.

The second trial would prove less challenging than the first(there was a trick for dealing with spartoi, and it was an easy one). You see, spartoi were like Ares, except they actually had little intelligence. All they could do was attack and kill, and that included themselves. Jason threw a rock at one of the spartoi such that it thought one of its own had struck it and struck them. Pretty soon, they were all swinging their swords at each other, and that was that. But, as the son of Hades and deemed "decent" in necromancy by Vittoria, there was another option. I could just simply control the spartoi. After all, they were undead warriors. Well, I couldn't use the powers I got from Hades and had to rely on magic. Vittoria would give assistance, which drastically improved my chances. I'm glad I have a prodigy on my side.

Vittoria and I planted seeds the traditional way: with a damm shovel. As a son of Hades, I could open rifts in the Earth, but they'd go all the way to the Underworld, which was too far down for growing "plants." Earth magic was an option, but Vittoria said those involved highly complex spells that even she struggled with, so there went that. There were a total of fifty seeds to plant, and we worked hard until nightfall. Hopefully, despite how tired we were, we still would be able to muster enough anima to make the spartoi our minions. If that and the rock thing failed, we would become new members of the spartoi's army.

Vittoria gripped on the sword I made for her, and I held firm to my scythe. The teeth had all been sown, and after applying a dose of water, they began to sprout. First, a sword came out of the soil. A hand groped the land, pushing upwards to escape from the depths of the Earth. It was like a scene in a horror movie with zombies. Well, that's because it was, except real. The spartoi were undead soldiers - so I would soon be facing fifty zombies. If only I could culminate some sunflowers and then get an army of peashooters and melon-pults to fight them with...

Welp, time to try out necromancy. I chanted alongside Vittoria. "O, psychés ton nekrón, se diatázo na me ypiretíseis!" I placed my hand on top of hers, nesting our spells together. A black circle enclosed the spartoi, and a blinding light was unleashed.

After it faded, along with the circle, the spartoi knelt to Vittoria and me, their foreheads touching the ground. The spell was successful, and I lay down, content with what happened.

But I wasn't smiling, for the biggest hurdle was yet to come. The dragon that my brain cannot stop depicting as a leviathan of sorts will be tough to kill. Even worse, I had little information on it. The Argonauts didn't fight it; they just had Orpheus sing it a lullaby. It required sleep just like any other creature, but that wasn't much help. Vittoria did have a hypnosis spell up her sleeve that she didn't teach me yet, but it had limits. You see, magic was dispersed in layers, and they could be thick or thin depending on the spell used. Thicker layers merely signified more anima was consumed, or the magic was more powerful - or a giant waste of anima. It was easy to absorb and use those tiny particles, but to do it efficiently in a spell was another thing. However, hypnosis spells had to be cast in small layers and controlled in such a precise manner that Vittoria would not be able to move while casting. All her concentration would be on the spell, and she'd end up easy prey for the dragon. I've already gone over how strong the dragon could be. Not many beasts in the world were so powerful that even the Argonauts, the best collection of heroes, would avoid them. The chances of Vittoria and I beating it in combat were low and likely near zero if I was on my own.

As such, with the limited information, I couldn't come up with anything substantial. If Vittoria had any insights on the third trial, then I'd just have to believe she could provide something noteworthy. Some details which could lead to a potential path to the fleece Mei needs.

For now, we needed our sleep. Janus said that after the second trial, we would get some time to rest. We could also choose to surrender now and not get flung to Tartarus. Naturally, we did not give up; instead, we went straight to our beds and napped comfortably. I may die tomorrow, but I'll do so with at least eight hours of sleep and in total fear!