The Glory of Gore

SIX

SIX

THE DARKNESS FELL AWAY LIKE A VEIL. When she glanced down, Carina realized that rather than a veil, it was a blindfold. The black cloth lay on the stone floor beneath her, her knees pressed against the jagged rock. 

She sucked in a gasp of air, the sound cutting through the room loudly. The sound echoed, and Carina found herself beginning to panic. Desperate to know where she was, her eyes darted around as she surveyed her surroundings.

To her right was a girl on her knees as well, blindfold on the ground in front of her. The girl had a heart shaped face, fiery red hair caressing her features. Down the line were more people around her age - various boys and girls. Carina wasn't able to get a good look at her though. She glanced up, noticing the domed ceiling around the room. 

She felt as if referring to it as a room was idiotic, seeing that this was like a throne room. As if she were in a castle, and she were a servant. There were large, stone pillars that were lined down the entire room, and in front of her was an alter. An alter with twelve chairs, one in the middle that was just a bit larger than the rest. 

There was someone seated in each one, all of them dressed in intricate silks and robes. Their faces were like marble, sculpted to perfection. Their cheekbones were sharp enough to cut, their eyes swirling like storms. They were beautiful in a chilling way - flawless. There was nothing unappealing about them to the eye. It terrified her.

Carina's neck snapped back, glancing behind her. Her line of vision was cut off by a towering man behind her. A man that she was all too familiar with - Erebus. Slowly, she found the corner of her lip quirk up, realizing that he was telling the truth.

That the darkness that she was engulfed in was real, that the magic it held existed. And more importantly, he was a god - and she had a shot at immortality. Carina was destined for greatness, and now she knew that that greatness was immortality. She would be a god among mortals.

"Champions," a booming voice sounded, and Carina's gaze found itself set on the man in the center throne. The larger one to show that he held more power than those around him. He wasn't what she had expected a god to look like. Then again, neither was Erebus. When she thought of gods, she thought of the sculptures and paintings that depicted them. The long beards, the wise look. In fact, they were always portrayed as old, but from what she could tell, they looked anything but. She watched as the man stood, his golden hair seeming to glow even without the rays of sunlight reaching it. "Welcome," he began, pausing for effect, "to Mount Olympus." 

Slowly, he began to walk forward. He was silent for a moment, his eyes gazing at the group before him. The champions that would fight for not only their immortality, but a spot as one of the twelve - soon to be thirteen - higher gods of Olympus for their mentor. Whether it be Eris or Ananke, someone would be seated on a new throne atop of the altar. 

"You've been brought here today - and for the rest of your mortal lives - to fight for your chance at immortality," he explained, his eyes pausing on each and every one of them. Carina felt a surge of power throughout her body when his eyes met hers. They were as blue as the sky, and when she thought about it, that was where she was. She was higher than the clouds. "You've each been personally sought out by a god, choosing you to be their champion. For if you win, they gain a seat with the Twelve.

"Each of you had been put through a mental scenario to test your strength, and to allow you to tap into the power of the gods. You and your mentor will share a power source, a mental bond being created between the two of you. A bond so powerful that not even the gods can break it. Each of you are now stronger than you've ever been," he explain, and Carina was in awe of the sheer power that his voice carried. "Some of you may already know of me. Zeus - God of the Sky and King of the Gods."