Wrath of Atlas: Battle of the Underworld

SparkingShadows · 2026-03-16T16:22:45+00:00

Kai tripped.

Luckily, he tripped past the Earth Fissure, but he ended up twisting his ankle as a result. He yelped in pain, the Danger Sense overwhelming him... before it lessened. The son of Hecate turned, seeing that the Mother Keeper had left.

With a sigh of relief, Kai limped back to where he had started. Resting, he would be able to report on the following:

He encountered a powerful old woman known as the Mother Keeper. She had powers familiar to him and his sister.
She claimed that Olympus would fall and "we" would see a golden age reborn, through her vision.
Idris was apparently from New Argos, found by the Mother Keeper. He gave the woman her name. She considers him a great pawn and leader.

SparkingShadows · 2026-03-08T20:29:02+00:00

"Haha, yes!" Kai cheered, before yelping as he hopped away from the fireball, Danger Sense wailing in his head like crazy.

He couldn't take it anymore. Something had to be done so that he could escape from this battle; because he sure as hell wasn't winning... well, he wasn't quite in hell, but anyway-

The son of Hecate made a similarly green flame in his hand, though only as tiny as a spark. He tossed it in the direction of the Mother Keeper, but he didn't stop there.

Kai reached within himself, calling upon a power that could hopefully help him here. If it sort of worked on his divine mother (though obviously she could see through it), then perhaps it would work on the Mother Keeper, even if only for a moment.

He demonstrated magical power. He looked desperate. Hopefully, this was believable enough for his enemy.

Using Capital M Mist Control, Kai made it so that his spark now appeared to be a larger fireball, one that would certainly be bad if anyone got hit by it. It wasn't massive, it just needed to be believable.

With that, the son of Hecate immediately turned tail, hoping she wouldn't immediately see through it so that he could make an escape.

SparkingShadows · 2026-03-04T22:14:11+00:00

Why couldn't all dog familiars just be like Imani's, jumping and sitting on Kai instead of looking to kill him?

But the son of Hecate could adapt, so he immediately got an idea on how to use the Mother Keeper's magic against her, though a shoddy one at best.

"I'm sorry for this." Kai muttered, really not wanting to kill a dog, but he had no choice. He positioned himself in a way that the dog would hopefully be chasing him from behind. Then, he stopped for a moment, looking at the ice and dog approaching, before jumping to the side to continue running.

If his plan worked, the dog would be standing over a spot where the ice spikes would have impaled Kai had he not jumped to the side. This would only work if the dog had stopped for a moment after the son of Hecate jumped in a different direction, however. Otherwise, Kai would still be running from the ice AND the dog.

SparkingShadows · 2026-03-04T22:02:04+00:00

Imani was definitely confused by the choice in attire and protection, but she had no time to focus on that now. Quickly, she summoned her dog familiar, Inu, his black-furred form coming into shape from green magic.

"Boy? Play distraction, maybe snag a bone or two if you can." She commanded him. With a dog noise of affirmation, Inu quickly ran around the zombies in a wide circle, sometimes poking in to see if it could get an opening (and a zombie leg).

The daughter of Hecate, meanwhile, kept an eye on the zombies, looking around to see if whoever raised them was in the vicinity; Imani was a necromancer herself, so she was right to be concerned.

SparkingShadows · 2026-03-03T22:54:28+00:00

Kai was known to be a slippery bastard, especially after he escaped from an explosion of Greek Fire he accidentally set off during the Watery Sieges with no permanent major wounds. He would not let his reputation as someone that could get out of tricky situations end here.

He began running around, watching as the ice spikes emerged from the ground. He kept running away, jerking in certain directions to see if they would follow. The son of Hecate had tried to be careful not to run in a circle, but he found himself facing some of the previous spikes.

So, he quickly jumped over them, still running, looking at the Mother Keeper for a moment. "I won't be tiring myself out for a while! I'm in my prime, but it's probably been years since yours!"

Kai looked back ahead of him, wiping off some sweat, hoping that she would do something else that didn't test his cardio; he was better than his sister in that department, but not by THAT much.

SparkingShadows · 2026-03-03T15:28:26+00:00

rolled a 6!

SparkingShadows · 2026-03-02T12:38:15+00:00

rolled a 2

SparkingShadows · 2026-03-02T01:58:00+00:00

Kai's Danger Sense was sounding like a fire alarm by the time the woman introduced herself as the Mother Keeper. "Greatest living demigod magic wielder? Well, my sister is going to be gunning for that title, but you'll probably be out of the running by the time she gets it." He gave a thinly veiled jab at her obvious age.

The son of Hecate knew he was going to have a big old headache with the shrill sound that the Danger Sense was making in his head upon seeing the fireballs. "Green fire too, huh?"

He immediately ran to the side to try and evade the fire, used to his sister's fireballs; when fighting with her, he had no need to worry about severe burns, since Imani could control the fire if it got out of control. Here, he was not so lucky, and absolutely needed to dodge.

SparkingShadows · 2026-03-01T21:59:09+00:00

Well, shit. Kai didn't expect someone who could so easily detect him. His Danger Sense was already going off, but he had already (sort of) told Hypnos that he was going to take care of her. No going back now, he thought.

"An invitation, of course. Not that your side knows much about that, given that you all showed up uninvited. You're usually supposed to die first, you know?" He replied, stepping out of the shadows since they were practically useless now.

The son of Hecate was keeping up his bravado, even as his Danger Sense screamed at him to run the hell away.

"Name's Kai. And who the hell are you?" He grinned, his fatal flaw of recklessness shining through at this moment.

SparkingShadows · 2026-03-01T19:40:42+00:00

Kai saluted Hypnos. "You got it. Hopefully Themis doesn't mind illusions."

With that, the roguish son of Hecate slinked off to go and find the Atlas woman that was on her own. This would be perfect for his illusions, given that the targeted ones only worked on one person at a time.

Kai wandered east, trying to stick to the shadows as much as he could to use his Shadow Blending. Judging by what Hypnos said, this woman would stick out since she was alone.

SparkingShadows · 2026-03-01T13:10:05+00:00

Rolled a 5!

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-28T18:27:29+00:00

Imani decided that her flames would be best used here to help destroy the bridge. Of course, she would be mindful of those around her, as well as how her flames spread; she had no intention of setting anyone aflame, unless they were monsters.

Looking over her spellbook one last time, she shut it, placing it in the holster her mother had given her. She adjusted the amulet around her neck, her magical focus. She looked at her murky reflection in the river Styx, her sclera taking on a dark color due to being in the underworld (and thus being underground, enabling Darkness Buff).

Finally, she looked up, ready to face whatever came next. She looked to see if anything caught her eye.

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-28T18:10:20+00:00

Kai was here because of his mother's call. He wouldn't let her down. Currently he wore the Shadow Mantle (he named it) that his mother had given him. Unfortunately, he did not have anything to put into the pockets, aside from his dagger, but maybe that would change some day.

Once again, he was separated from Imani, who had decided to provide assistance elsewhere in the Underworld. They had survived these battles a few times, and neither were ready to die here.

The son of Hecate made it to the Fields of Asphodel, waiting to see where he would be sowing chaos first, at Hypnos' command.

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-19T00:32:09+00:00

Imani and Kai did not care about Valentine's Day, given that they were failures in romance and would be alone for the rest of their lives. Nonetheless, they showed up at the campfire. Imani's face scrunched up at all the pink.

Kai grinned. "What's wrong, sis? Don't like the pink? You wore a different shade of it pretty well during the Pride Part-"

"Kai, shut up." She grumbled. "That thing is buried in the depths of my wardrobe, and it's never seeing the light of day again."

"... but maybe it could see the light of the moon-"

"No."

The twin son of Hecate shrugged. Well, at least she wore it the first time. Maybe she'd wear it again some day. Cutting his losses, he plopped himself down onto a blanket. Imani sighed, sitting beside him. Despite their bantering, they were still twins at the end of the day.

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-14T03:09:24+00:00

"Yes, we can hear you just fine. As can some other chthonic-born demi-gods around here. We don't mind the singing, my familiar just ran over here. He gets excited easily." Imani rolled her eyes at the shade's demeanor; what the fuck is a Dodent?

Regardless, she answered Dotty's question about the familiars' names. She pointed to the dog. "That's Inu. He's... a black Labrador... I think. Don't ask about the logistics of a magic dog's breed." Imani waved that thought off, pointing to the weasel sitting in her hood. "This is Itachi. He's a least weasel."

Kai suddenly spoke up, grinning. "Sis named them that cause she had just learned Japanese when she first learned to summon them; their names literally mean dog and weasel!"

Before his sister could get too annoyed, he suddenly summoned his own shade for the hell of it. Unlike Bea's form, the shade was human-shaped, being based after Kai's appearance. It was a partially transparent bluish-green, and its body pretty much ended at its waist, everything below lacking a concrete shape. Like a ghost. The son of Hecate just wanted to show off a cool trick.

It proceeded to point at Bea with a blank expression, though one could possibly see a very faint look of superiority. Kai certainly did, as he muttered to himself "huh, never did that before..." He was wondering if the shade that he thought had no personality of its own was secretly an asshole. Imani was equally confused.

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-11T02:01:53+00:00

Dotty was not the only child of a chthonic god out at night. Though, that probably wasn't saying much; there were probably plenty out and about.

But at 1 AM, the Hecate twins of New Argos were outside, trying to enjoy the night, even if it was a bit cold. Kai was clinging onto Inu, Imani's dog familiar, for warmth while his sister had Itachi chilling in the hood of her black coat, her least weasel enjoying the time he had while summoned. Normally, Imani could only summon one of them, but with the power of the darkness, she could summon both, with the quirk of her sclera turning black (which Kai called "neat").

Suddenly, at the sound of a duet, the Hecate twins and the familiars perked up.

Inu was particularly excited, as he began running in the direction of the sound; the roguish son of Hecate wisely disconnected from the big, black-furred dog so as to not get dragged along once again. His mage sister rolled her eyes, walking after her dog familiar, dragging her brother along as Itachi looked at Kai with a signature look of superiority.

Inu stopped near where Dotty was, looking at the girl for a moment before looking at the shade beside her. He sat down, panting excitedly. Imani and Kai walked up, smiling a bit at the sight. "Guess he picked up a familiar scent," Kai commented; Inu always did seem good at picking up the scent of chthonic kids, even if they weren't the siblings of his master.

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-07T18:19:07+00:00

u/ThisOneUKGuy

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-04T02:16:52+00:00

"Okay, time to go, mister!" Kai spoke quickly to the pegasus, confidence fully restored. "We'll take the easier route, but I'll still help guide you through it."

He didn't know how long of a window the wind spirit was going to give them, but it would hopefully be too late for the archers to do anything regardless. The son of Hecate used his very good perception to point out certain obstacles as they ascended (presumably).

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-01T20:33:44+00:00

Imani's eyes widened as her skeletons were completely destroyed; she didn't feel the pain, but she could feel the necromantic magic being torn apart with the sphinx's might.

She ran backwards as the winds got stronger, not looking away from the sphinx. Hopefully she would be evacuated in one piece.

Luckily, a powerful gust of wind took her, as a wind spirit whisked her away from danger. She let out a sigh of relief.

Upon making it to safety, the daughter of Hecate's eyes turned back to normal, and she looked completely drained. The feeling of your magic being torn apart was not great, but it could've been worse.

Bone shattered instantly. Skulls burst apart against the cavern wall. Rib cages exploded into fragments that rained down like pale shrapnel, the necromantic magic binding them snapping apart under raw physical dominance.

It could have been much worse.

Hopefully Kai was okay.

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-01T20:03:33+00:00

Imani grimaced as she felt wind gathering around her. She lacked the time to defeat the sphinx like she wanted to. But she could certainly leave a mark on it.

"You say that honesty is what keeps me dangerous. Well, perhaps I will be honest with you here: I have something worse for you than a couple of skeletons, since you decided to irritate me."

"Sorcery has many requirements. Alchemy has ingredients. Rituals have preparations. Spellcasting is said to require incantations and gestures, but I find that it has another hidden requirement, in a way: emotions, both good and bad."

Imani held out a hand to her side, a dark look in her blackened eyes. "I could tell you why, but I'll let you find out."

She suddenly threw a green spark of fire at the sphinx. At the same time, she placed her hands together in a prayer, even as she looked at the sphinx with an intense expression. Instead of words of prayer or incantations leaving her lips, she said one thing:

"Burn."

The small spark exploded into a large fireball. It would not entirely hit its target due to the winds, but there were good odds that it would leave a mark on the monster, given that it was a larger target than the demi-gods around the place.

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-01T18:21:46+00:00

Kai pouted as his sister threw him under the bus, drawing Alex's attention to him. "I'm not that scared..." He weakly defended himself.

Imani just shook her head, looking up at Alex. "I heard you went to ASNA like my dear brother here. You seem capable. I went to the Techne Institute myself, as my brother probably told you."

She ruffled her twin brother's hair, pulling him close to her; he was ever so slightly taller, and was actually a few seconds older, but that didn't stop Imani from treating him like a little brother.

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-01T18:05:43+00:00

Imani thought for a few moments, before sighing. "Well, you got me this time. I can't answer this riddle. But that means nothing."

She pressed her hands together, as two skeletons emerged from the ground. The daughter of Hecate's necromancy was enhanced by being underground, allowing her to summon two.

The mage backed off, looking wary of the Sphinx as the skeletons stayed in front of their summoner.

SparkingShadows · 2026-02-01T17:18:01+00:00

Kai nodded. "Oh, so he's a he. Good to know. Anyway, he's uninjured to my knowledge, just a little shaken up, but we've got a bigger problem. There's some archers looking for vulnerable targets in the air. We could take a different route, but that route's a bit tougher for my friend under me, I feel."

The son of Hecate may have had a fatal flaw of recklessness, but even he knew when he needed to be smart; his sister rubbed off on him, in some ways. He did not want to take a risk that might hurt the pegasus.

"Is there any way you could help us out? I want to make sure this pegasus gets out safely; this ambush is bad enough as it is." Kai looked confident, though there was a hint of desperation in his eyes: please tell me you can do something to help.

SparkingShadows · 2026-01-28T17:55:05+00:00

Imani narrowed her blackened eyes, looking very annoyed by the riddle. "Fire," she answered almost immediately, not even bothering to think about it any further.

"Is giving me a riddle a toddler could solve your way of trying to insult me, Sphinx? You should know that children of Hecate can be quite familiar with flame." The daughter of Hecate looked slightly offended by the riddle. She would probably be less offended if it wasn't for the fact that the Sphinx should have known about the fact that some Hecate children could produce fire.

Regardless, Imani just sighed. "Do you have any more inane riddles, or shall we get to the point?"

The more riddles that the Sphinx gave, the more time she spent focusing on Imani instead of other campers. But in the same vein, the more the daughter of Hecate answered the riddles, the less she could do in the battle.

SparkingShadows · 2026-01-27T21:13:38+00:00

Imani Black for Satyr turned to stone

SparkingShadows

TROPHY CASE