Different Route

'Crossroad. Which path should I take?'

The book he was flipping at the moment was more or less a guidebook for Adonis to save himself. But he didn't trust the goddess who gave it to him even a bit.

While he didn't trust Hekate either, he could at least testify to her claims. Adonis already knew what lay in the north and he knew that what Heckate said was true indeed.

Adonis's pupils shook. He could trust that bitchy goddess and plunge himself into the unknown with the slight possibility of saving himself or he could go north and live the last days of his life in the companion of some non-human species before he is killed by the Gods.

It was a tough decision to make.

'But from the very beginning, my priorities were always the same.' Adonis thought.

Adonis turned towards Miya. Noticing his unnatural gaze, Miya had question marks on her face unaware of what Adonis was thinking.

From the very beginning, Adonis's goal was to save Miya, not himself. He didn't care if he lived or died but she must be safe.

He knew that Miya tagging along with him was what was endangering her life. At first, Adonis was cool about it since Miya had nowhere else to go, but now he was having second thoughts.

'If I can find Miya a home in the north. Then maybe...'

If Adonis could help Miya make friends and have people to rely on in the wilderness of the north, then Adonis could leave her there with peace of mind. After that, whether he lives or dies won't matter much anymore.

He could embark on his quest to kill all the gods or die all alone. He didn't want Miya to go through the hell that was lying in wait for him.

"Miya…," Adonis whispered.

But there was a knot in his heart that he could not untie. The Gods were not even after Miya. She was suffering for no reason. But once Adonis leaves Miya in the north, will she forget about him? The thought alone was enough to rip him apart. He and Miya had been together for ages.

Adonis sighed.

There was no other choice.

He has to forget about her and walk towards his death.

It was for her own safety.

Adonis clasped his fist. He had made his decision.

"Miya, we are going to the north."

Miya raised his brows. There was a different question that popped into her brain.

"You believe her words?" Miya asked, referring to Hekate.

But alas! Miya had asked the wrong question. Whether Adonis believed her words or not was of least importance.

What Heckate told them was indeed true for sure. Adonis himself could testify that.

Rather the question should be, whether Heckate had kept their plans to migrate to the north. She could very much tell the other Gods about it, to aid them in their pursuit. Her jurisdiction forced her to help Adonis and Miya but it didn't forbid her from revealing their location.

But little did Maya know of any of this.

'I think the Gods know of it by now.' Adonis thought.

Adonis had a hunch of the dangers but he did have a plan to negate it. If the Gods knew of his travel route, wouldn't changing the route be sufficient? The destination would remain the same.

The gods had their jurisdictions to manage.

They didn't think of Adonis as much of a threat.

As such they could only send their followers after him.

"So I just have to take a route that his followers can never take," Adonis whispered.

Adonis hadn't noticed it today. But the threat looming over Miya's life had caused him to transform into a more cool-thinking human than a hot-blooded demiGod.

***

"Adonis, are you sure, we should be going this way?" Miya looked worried, "Isn't this the same land that houses the phantom?"

Miya frantically looked left and right in fright. Large trees with canopies covered them on either side with a thin road of dead grass in between them for them to walk on. She felt that the phantom would pounce on them any minute.

"Pfft," Adonis laughed as he sighed, "Don't worry. I have taken this route many times and the phantom rarely traverses on this one. And by the way, if at all anything happens, I will be there to save you."

Just a day ago, Miya was stronger than Adonis before he too reached 17% Primordial Blood Concentration. But that didn't mean that she was the self-dependent warrior that caused a ruckus on the battlefield. Rather she was a spoiled girl that was overly reliant on Adonis even though he was weaker than her.

Adonis smirked, amused by her distraught expression. But his blissful face soon turned serious.

'I know your worries Miya, I really do. But we have no other choice.'

Adonis knew that it was risky but there was no other way. This was the only route that they could take. On all other routes, Zeus's dogs would have been on guard. His frantic followers would not stop at anything before killing Adonis.

'I would rather face a phantom rather than them in this state.'

Adonis was aware that both he and Miya were in a weakened state. They couldn't hope to fight their pursuers as they were. What's more? Most humans feared the phantom and therefore never entered the forest making it their perfect route to pass through.

"Are you okay?" Adonis asked as he watched Miya gasping for breath with every step.

"Yeah," she replied in a meek tone.

"You don't look like you are okay. Let's do one thing. Let's take a break here. Those followers won't be chasing us into the forest anyway."

***

Author:

Creation is hard for authors. Cheer me up with your power stones.

Let me know your thoughts about the chapter in the comments sections.