HIS GOD COMPLEX | under construction!

23 | είκοσι τρία

23 | είκοσι τρία

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ARES WAS NOT even breaking a sweat as we, all three of us treaded through the island forest. Every so often, I spotted a snake headed in our direction and I would effectively scream loudly enough for Ares to scare it off. He was still carrying me bridal style in his arms as we continued to walk, and I couldn't help but glance at his strong muscles flexing under his t-shirt now and again.

"Again with the drool, Ariel." He would smirk at me when he noticed. "Careful, or I might start to think that you are falling in love with me." He grinned down at me.

Maybe I am falling in love with you.

My cheeks heated up again, and I tried to cover it up. The smile that graced his features was honestly one of the best things I had ever seen in my life. "Are you... are you blushing? Have I, the God of War and of handsomeness and chivalry actually won the heart of  the Ariel Ripley?" He jested, dimples showing when he smiled at me.

How had I not noticed his dimples before? For the god of war, he was strikingly beautiful when he was happy.

"Oh, please. In your dreams." I retorted, obviously in denial. He tsked me three times. "Denial is the first step towards acceptance, my dear."

Our conversation was cut off when Apollo came to an abrupt stop. His eyes were watching the compass so intently that I was scared something was wrong. "It's supposed to he here." His eyes had been darting around confusedly, only to be met with thick trees and the hissing of snakes I had just recently learned to tune out.

"The Omphalos? Its supposed to be here?" My eyes were darting around the area, keeping a close watch on the grass from where I had been sitting.

"Yes. No – you know after I defeated Python? How I built my temple? The Oracle of Delphi?" Now that he mentioned it, I did remember studying the Oracle and the center stone.

Apollo was also looking around, hoping maybe he had missed the giant temple in which we would find the stone and get the hell out of there.

It was in the blink of an eye when it came, but it was hard to miss, the scales of a giant ten foot snake had been slithering closer to us, and I shrieked in fear almost falling out of Ares arms.

"P-python!" I yelled, feeling goosebumps cover my body at the sight of the giant green snake, tongue sticking out of its mouth venomously as its snake eyes firmly planted on us. It was a Rattlesnake. A huge Rattlesnake.

Only then did the two gods see it as well, and behind it, slowly as if being crafted by the gods themselves at that very moment, the beautiful and ancient tower which was only just a little bit taller than the snake appeared behind it as it hissed harder, preparing to attack us and stop us from reaching our goal.

The temple was beige in colour, though it was fading and i could imagine how much damage the rain had caused. There were large steps, all wide, resembling the Chichen Itza.

It was a long shot, but if I squinted hard enough I could see, at the very top of the beautifully and anciently constructed temple was a black stone, mystically hovering over the very top of the building.