The palace had grown quiet since Baron's humiliation.
The marble still gleamed, but the air was heavier. Every echo in the hall carried the sound of failure.
Alexander walked alone through the corridor leading to the throne. The walls were covered in gold reliefs of conquests, gods, and chained cities. The scent of incense and burned myrrh clung to his robes.
Two guards opened the massive bronze doors. The throne room was vast, too large for the few men inside it.
Nero sat upon the dais, draped in black silk, eyes fixed on the dying fire of the braziers before him. Beside him stood the twins, Cassius and Gaius, silent as ever. Their pale faces were tilted toward Alexander, twin reflections of mockery.
Baron knelt below the dais, his body still wrapped in white bandages. His eyes never left the ground.
Alexander stepped forward until he stood before them all. "You called for me."
Nero didn't look up. "I did."
The silence stretched. The fire crackled.
Finally, the emperor spoke. "Egypt stirs again. The Pharaoh moves his armies. Our spies saw their banners return from the western ruins."
Cassius tilted his head. "Magnolia lives."
Gaius smiled faintly. "And he brings his father."
Nero's eyes flicked toward Alexander. "The godling and the man you once called brother. Both still breathe."
Alexander's jaw tightened. "Then we finish what we started."
Nero rose from his throne. "No. We do not finish. We begin again."
He stepped down from the dais, his robe sweeping across the marble. "The war of kings is over. This is a war of gods now."
Alexander's eyes narrowed. "You think Ra will move?"
Nero's lips curved slightly. "Ra weakens. But something else stirs in his place."
He turned to Baron. "Tell him."
Baron's voice was hoarse, strained. "Delilah is gone. Ahn moves without her."
Cassius' grin sharpened. "The jester plays his own game now."
Baron nodded. "He's heading south. Toward Bubastis."
Alexander frowned. "The city of Bastet?"
Nero stopped walking, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword. "Not for Bastet. For what sleeps beneath her shadow."
Alexander studied him carefully. "You know what it is."
"I know enough," Nero said quietly. "The lioness. The destroyer Ra himself feared. Sekhmet."
The name hit the room like thunder. Even the twins fell silent.
Alexander's hand curled at his side. "If she wakes, she'll burn both empires."
Nero smiled, cold, deliberate. "Then we make sure she burns Egypt first."
Cassius stepped closer, his tone playful. "You plan to control her?
Nero looked past him, eyes fixed on the high window where the night sky bled into red. "Control? No. I plan to direct."
He turned to Alexander. "You, my general, will go to Bubastis. Find the girl. If she carries the lioness, bring her here alive. If not, bring me the body."
Alexander didn't move. "And if she's awake already?"
Nero's voice dropped lower. "Then you kneel. You don't fight gods, Alexander. You bend them until they forget they can stand."
The hall went silent again.
Baron lifted his head slightly. "And Magnolia?"
Nero looked down at him with something close to amusement. "He's already served his purpose. His existence will draw Ra's eye away from what matters."
Alexander's jaw tightened. "You'd use him as bait."
"I'd use anyone," Nero said calmly. "That's why I sit where I do."
Cassius chuckled. "How poetic. The lioness wakes, the Pharaoh marches, and the gods play chess while mortals bleed."
Nero's gaze cut toward the twin, sharp enough to kill. "Then let them bleed faster."
He turned away, ascending the dais again. "Prepare the legions. Calix and Valerie will join you. Their contracts will ensure the girl's containment if she resists."
Alexander inclined his head, his voice measured. "As you command."
As he turned to leave, Nero spoke one final time, softly, like a whisper that burned.
"Tell me something, Alexander."
Alexander paused. "Yes, my emperor?"
"Do you ever regret killing your brother?"
The room froze. Even the fire stopped crackling.
Alexander didn't look back. "Every night."
Nero smiled faintly. "Good. That means you're still human. Stay that way until I say otherwise."
He waved a hand dismissively. "Go. Bring me the lioness."
Alexander bowed once and walked out.
As the doors shut behind him, Gaius whispered to Cassius, his grin crooked. "The emperor plays with gods now."
Cassius laughed softly. "And gods don't like being played with."
Nero sat in silence, eyes fixed on the flames. "Then let them learn."
The fire flared crimson, shadows twisting across the walls.
And far below the palace, deep in the catacombs where mortal eyes never wandered, a second voice echoed from the dark, the same whisper that had once belonged to Apophis.
"Chaos spreads. And now, destruction walks."
The marble halls of Athena's sanctuary were silent, lit by rows of flickering lamps.
Swords, scrolls, and relics of a thousand wars lined the walls. At the center of the hall, beneath the carved statue of the goddess, stood Chloe.
Her golden hair caught the torchlight, gleaming faintly as she traced the edge of a map stretched across a bronze table. Her sharp violet eyes lifted as the heavy doors opened.
Alexander entered, his crimson uniform still dusted with sand. His right eye glowed faintly like molten glass, his left calm, human. The faint smell of smoke followed him wherever he went.
"Alexander," she said without turning fully. "You shouldn't be here."
He stopped at the base of the steps. "You've been hearing the rumors."
She straightened. "The lioness. The Nile. The Pharaoh's movement south. I hear everything worth hearing."
He stepped closer. "Then you know what Nero's planning."
Her gaze hardened. "He plans to use her."
Alexander nodded once. "He sent me to capture her. Bubastis. The vessel's a child. Ahn has already moved."
Chloe exhaled, quiet and heavy. "So the war begins again."
"War never ended," he said.
She turned to him now, crossing her arms. "And you'll obey him? March into Egypt chasing myths?"
His jaw tightened. "I'll march because Nero commands it. And because if Sekhmet wakes without control, she'll burn everything, us, them, even the gods."
Her eyes softened slightly. "You still think you can control the divine?"
He smiled faintly. "I don't control. I strike first."
The light from the torches reflected off the golden markings under his uniform. The faint outline of glowing red letters pulsed under his chestplate, Mars Strider.
"Aries pushes me forward," Alexander said, voice low. "I don't have time for fear."
Before she could respond, the sound of boots echoed down the corridor.
Cyclone entered, slouched as always, eyes half-lidded but alert. His blue hair was still damp from the evening rain.
"Caravans are ready," he said. "Two detachments. Cavalry by nightfall."
Alexander nodded. "Good."
Chloe's sharp voice cut through the air. "Cyclone. You're going with him?"
He shrugged, smirking. "Someone has to make sure the ram doesn't run through every wall between here and Egypt."
Alexander shot him a look, half-annoyed, half-amused. "And someone has to keep the messenger from stealing half the gold on the way."
Chloe stepped between them, her gaze unwavering. "You two are weapons. Nothing more in Nero's eyes. If you fall, he'll replace you before the blood dries."
Alexander met her stare. "Then I'll make sure the blood isn't mine."
"Still arrogant," she muttered. "Still predictable."
He leaned slightly closer, his molten eye burning under the torchlight. "Predictability wins wars, Chloe. You taught me that."
She held his gaze for a long moment, then looked away. "Athena never wins with brute force. She wins by patience."
Alexander adjusted his crimson cloak. "Patience doesn't stop gods. Fire does."
Cyclone stretched his arms, yawning. "If the lecture's over, can we move before Nero decides to send the twins instead?"
Chloe's eyes flicked to him. "You mock too easily, Cyclone."
He smiled lazily. "Hermes doesn't like silence."
She turned back to Alexander, stepping close enough that her voice was nearly a whisper. "You'll walk into the lioness's shadow. If she's awake, you won't win."
Alexander's voice was calm, but the faint tremor in his aura said otherwise. "Then I'll make sure I die standing."
Her eyes lingered on him, reading the weight behind his words. "You've changed."
"I've accepted what Aries made me."
He turned to leave, the red glow beneath his armor pulsing brighter with each step.
Cyclone followed, his usual smirk fading as he glanced back at Chloe. "We'll send word if we find her."
Chloe's tone was soft, but her words sharp. "You won't need to. The world will know when she wakes."
The doors closed behind them, leaving the sanctuary silent again.
Chloe stared at the flickering torches, her fingers tracing the hilt of her blade. "Athena," she whispered. "If wisdom ever mattered… it's now."
Outside, Alexander and Cyclone mounted their steeds. The horizon burned red as the first embers of dawn touched the sky.
Alexander's molten eye caught the light, glowing like the heart of a dying star.
"Bubastis," he said quietly. "Let's see if the lioness still remembers how to roar."
And as they rode east, the wind carried the sound of thunder behind them, not from the sky, but from Alexander's heartbeat, burning with the fury of Aries himself.
Dawn hit the delta like a blade.
Alexander rode hard. Cyclone shadowed him.
They entered Bubastis from the south. The city smelled of incense and warm bread. Cats slipped between market stalls like living shadows.
They split to scout. Alexander moved slow, eyes like coals. Cyclone kept low, watching rooftops and alleys.
They found signs at once. Footprints cut toward the temple. A broken gate latch. Scrape marks on the alley stones, fresh. Someone moved through here in a hurry.
A child's toy lay half-buried in dust, its paint flaked away. Blood streaked a wall, faded but not old.
"That ran through here," Alexander said. His right eye flared orange for a breath. "Someone dragged a child."
Cyclone checked the rooftops. "Tracks lead to the temple's service gate. Not the sanctuary. They're hiding her in the back rooms."
They stopped at the temple's outer courtyard. Priests closed doors, but eyes watched them from narrow slits. A hush fell when Alexander passed. The guards bowed and did not ask questions. Nero's men had already worked the city.
Alexander crouched. He read the city like a map. "Ahn moved fast."
Cyclone tapped his ear. "No sign of Delilah. But the veil's been breached. The air is wrong."
He did not say the girl's name. He did not need to. Alexander tightened his grip on the reins. "We take the girl. We bring her to Nero. Contain her."
Cyclone nodded. "If she resists, we bind first, ask questions later."
They moved toward the service gate. The drums of the city beat like a warning.
Back in the palace, Nero sat with the twins and Baron under the red braziers.
He did not stand. He barely breathed. He let the others do the moving.
"You will use the boy," he said to Cassius and Gaius. Short words. Clear orders. "Make his path visible. Let him chase light while we take the burning thing."
Cassius smiled. "Bait him."
Gaius added, "And if he refuses?"
Nero's smile sharpened. "Then he dies on his pride."
Baron watched from the shadows. His scars twitched. He did not speak. Nero turned to him. "You will be seen. You will fail again and better. They will remember your face as the signal. The boy will come."
Baron's jaw moved. He did not promise. He only flexed.
Nero tapped the sanctum's crystal. Maps bloomed. A false trail bloomed in red, leading Alexander toward the temple's front. The true path lay hidden. The twins would cut the real route. Calix and Valerie prepared the traps Nero had paid for. The artificers made cages that could hold a goddess, or a child.
"And Chloe?" Cassius asked.
Nero's voice dropped. "She is useful. She will shield him, or betray him. Either will bring him back to the knife."
He pressed his palm to a sealed token. It burned faintly blue. "Send her a sign. Make her think she acts for Athena. Make her think the choice saves lives. She will guide him toward the open gate."
Gaius laughed soft. "We string him like prey."
Nero rose at last. The braziers flared. "Do not fail. When Alexander falls, the empire will set its net. Sekhmet will be captured. The order will take her growl and teach it to obey."
They left the council with quick nods. Baron stayed a moment, fingers brushing the bandages at his chest. He mouthed one word under his breath. "Sun."
The Message to Chloe
A rider arrived at Athena's sanctuary by dusk. No soldier. No herald. Just a seal pressed in obsidian wax. The sigil bore Nero's private glyph. Not a command. A whisper.
Chloe broke the seal. She read three lines, short and cold.
Bring him to the front gate at first light.
Ensure he comes with blood between his teeth.
Do not fail, or the city burns.
Her hand trembled. Athena's halls felt thin. She folded the paper once. Twice.
Cyclone came to the courtyard while she still stood there. He leaned on the sill and watched her. "Did Nero send for counsel?" he asked, casual as wind.
Chloe did not answer him directly. She kept the note tucked like a blade in her palm. She thought of Alexander. She thought of the brother he buried. She thought of Nero's smile.
She told no one. She mounted at dusk anyway. She rode to the outer wall, under the moon, and listened to the city breathe. The note burned at the base of her thumb.
Athena's wisdom felt like a cold coin in her mouth. Nero asked her to act against a general she respected. Nero asked her to betray a man who once stood with her.
She made one choice in the dark. She would not take the path Nero wished. Not yet.
She would meet Alexander at first light. She would tell him Nero's words. She would choose.
But Nero's plan had more hands than hers. The twins were already moving. The palace's cages sat ready. The legions waited hungry. Nero only needed one misstep.
At dawn, two forces would cross in Bubastis. One would be visible. One would be hidden.
And in the middle stood Alexander.
Chloe moved like a blade through the sanctuary. She did not announce herself. She did not need to.
She found the children at dawn. Valentina, Kibo, Abraham sat by the training mats. They were awake, steady, waiting. Chloe's face was unreadable.
"We leave for Egypt," she said. "Now."
Valentina nodded. Kibo tightened his grip on a practice spear. Abraham rose without a word.
Chloe turned to the outer hall. Torches guttered. The pact answered her call. Men and women in bronze leathers filed out. Each wore Athena's knot on their breastplate. Each carried shield and spear. They were quiet and practiced. They moved as a single thing.
"Bring no pride," Chloe told the children. "Bring skill. Bring answers."
They readied mounts. Cyclone and Alexander were nowhere to be seen. The city still slept. Chloe's force left through a side gate. No trumpets. No banners. Only dust.
At the palace, Nero held court as if nothing had shifted. He did not notice the missing pieces. He never did until the play stopped fitting his hands.
Baron sat under a low arch. Bandages wrapped his chest. He watched Nero speak and watch. The emperor's words were thin. The firelight made them thinner.
Baron rose. He did not bow.
He moved through servants and guards like a shadow. He knew where the doors that did not lock were. He had paid for those doors with his skin long ago.
Outside the palace, night clung to the streets. Baron ran without sound. He kept to the alleys where the moon could not watch. He ran to the docks. He ran to Chloe's mark.
He arrived as her force readied. He did not ask permission. He stood in their line and raised his head.
Chloe watched him for a long breath. Then she nodded once.
"You're bleeding," she said.
"I am always bleeding," he replied.
Baron's eyes found the children. They reminded him of a memory he could not forget. Valentina's laugh. Abraham's stare. The small boy who once clung to Magnolia. Faces that had lodged in his chest like unfinished fights.
"They were with him," Baron said softly. "Valentina and Abraham. They were with Magnolia." His hand tightened on his sword. "They occupied his mind. They held him. I remember."
Chloe did not ask for more. She set the march. The pact closed around the children like a shield.
They left Bubastis by dawn. No one in Nero's court called the alarm until the last horse had vanished over the horizon.
Baron rode at the rear. He kept his gaze forward. He kept his hands empty of promises, full of intent.
They were gone.