The Forest Nymph Ch. 02

"FELIX!" She cried out with new hope in her heart.

As her voice reached me, all of the aching tiredness that weighed me down fell away like water. My limbs stopped shaking, my wounds stopped bleeding, and my breathing became calm once again. By hearing her voice, my body was fully rejuvenated and my resolve was rekindled. With this newfound burst of strength, I ran into the Mycenaean castle, desperate to find the woman I loved.

Guided by my heart and my instincts, I found my way to the huge twin doors of the throne room. With my sword ready, I kicked the massive doors off their hinges, letting light flood into the dingy chamber. I gasped as my eyes fell on Serenity's naked body, reflecting the light off her glistening turquoise skin.

"Serenity..." I gasped as I ran over to help her.

"Felix, look out!" She screamed without even being able to look at me.

Before I could react, something tackled me from the side, throwing me through the air and sending me crashing into the wall with enough force to open cracks through the marble. Without the Nemean Lion Skin, such an impact would have shattered every bone in my body and instantly killing me. At worst, I just suffered a painful crack to the head and some bruises all over. As I got to my feet, a dark laugh echoed throughout the room.

I looked around, trying to spot my enemy, but the room was too dark to see anything. I looked up at the top of the far wall and could see the faint lines of light from the sun outside. With all of my strength, I slashed the air and sent a blade of wind whipping across the room, cutting through the curtains blocking the windows and leaving huge gashes in the pillars between them. Sunlight flooded the chamber and I nearly vomited at the sight of the human skeletons and half-eaten bodies that littered the floor.

"So, the champion finally arrives." I maniacal voice cackled.

I turned to the corner and spotted Agamemnon, standing with Pandora's Box in his hand. His dark clothes seemed to be made of a shadowy fog that shifted and swirled while maintaining their form. He looked more demonic than human and the miasma being given off by Pandora's Box was making me sick to my stomach. Not even Hades gave off an aura as foreboding this man's.

"So you're the bastard that started the war. It was your men that destroyed my city, butchered my family, and kidnapped Serenity!" I snarled. The dark king just laughed.

"Then I am to assume that you really are Felix of Troy. During the war, I had a bounty put out on your head, and even after the night of the horse, that bounty was never collected. I thought that you had fled the city or were just killed in a fire, Once I heard the reports of you slaughtering all of my soldiers, I knew that of the handful of people in the world with such skill, it was you. How fitting is this; the last Trojan vs. the king of Mycenae, fighting over a nymph and the future of this world!" He cackled. I pointed my sword at him.

"Enough! You are no longer fit to walk among the living! You have ruined the lives of countless innocent people and blasphemed the gods! I will kill you once and for all!" I roared.

"Go ahead and try!" Agamemnon laughed as he held up Pandora's Box.

A low hum filled the air and a jet of compressed black smoke shot from the box towards me. I ducked to the side and the blast sprayed the wall and floor, burning through the stone and leaving a toxic black sludge behind.

"It seems that the gods didn't know how powerful the box has made me! Even with your weapons, you are no match for its dark energy!" The king laughed as he fired another blast.

I crouched down and blocked with the Aegis Shield, sending the shadow blast spraying off like a waterfall on rock. Even through the mighty Aegis, I could feel the darkness and malevolence of the vessel seeping into my flesh. Without warning, Agamemnon completely disappeared and reappeared behind me. He delivered an inhumanly powerful kick, throwing me across the air and sending me crashing straight through one of the pillars holding up the ceiling.

Coughing up blood, I quickly got to my feet and ran to dodge another shadow blast from Agamemnon. The malicious beam tore through anything it touched and I knew that even I would die if it struck me. As I ran, I picked up a piece of rubble and threw it with all my strength at the demonic king. The block of marble was reduced to dust before it could even reach him.

"Do you really think you can kill me? With Pandora's Box in my arsenal, I have become a god! You have no chance of defeating me!" He thundered.

"The titans said the same thing, and you shall end up like them!" I replied, changing my course of action and sprinting towards him.

Agamemnon shifted the aim of his shadow blast and sent it straight towards me, but I blocked with my shield as I ran. Just before I could reach him, Agamemnon again disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. I quickly reverse my grip on my sword and thrust back, knowing where he was going to materialize. The guess was correct, and the demon king appeared behind me, just before my sword was driven through his heart.

The blade pierced his chest and skewered his heart, but he showed no reaction to it at all. He didn't gasp, stagger black, or even bleed.

"Like I said, you have no chance of defeating me." He stated dryly before pulling the Peleus sword out of his chest and stabbing me through the gut with it. I immediately vomited a mouthful of blood and Serenity released a teary scream. Agamemnon then punched me in the jaw and threw me back. I hit the ground below Serenity with blood pouring from the stab wound in my stomach.

"Pathetic." Agamemnon scoffed as he threw the Peleus Sword aside.

"Felix, the chalice beside you is filled with my tears. Use it, quick!" Serenity begged. With shaky hands, I picked up the chalice and poured the glowing fluid on my wound, instantly healing it. I slowly got to feet and spat out that last glob of blood, glaring at Agamemnon.

"Why do you bother getting on your feet? There is no way you can win." Agamemnon taunted.

"No, but I can die, and if I am going to die, then I am going to die for Serenity!" I snarled.

"No Felix, you don't have to die for me. I will do what I must so that you don't have to die for me again." Serenity whispered as her Nymph's Shade broke like a vase. She was choosing the sacrifice herself. The second her Shade broke, Pandora's Box began to rumble.

"Ha! The vessel is finally reacting and ready for a sacrifice! Once your soul is taken, the box will open and I will become the king of the gods!" Agamemnon laughed before breaking the chain holding her up with a snap of his fingers. Before I could catch her, Agamemnon appeared behind me and knocked me across the room with a powerful kick.

He then grabbed Serenity by the throat, holding her in front of the box. Serenity began to glow with a pale aura as her soul was slowly being pulled out of her body by Pandora's Box, which was glowing brightly as the lid began to slowly rise.

"I won't let you take her from me!" I roared as I got to my feet and ran over. In desperation, I got between Agamemnon and Serenity, taking her place halfway through the sacrifice. I howled in pain as Pandora's Box stopped feeding on Serenity's soul and began feeding on mine.

"The soul of the most powerful nymph, or half of her soul and half of her lover's, no matter what the sacrifice is, Pandora's Box wants to be opened!" Agamemnon laughed.

Up in the sky, jet-black storm clouds blocked out the sun and began to spin above Mycenae and every plant around the city turned grey with death. Finally, the lid flung open and we were all tossed in opposite directions. I was thrown against one wall with Serenity in my arms and Agamemnon was thrown against the over. Pandora's box hovered in the air with black and crimson flames streaming of the small vessel with a pressurized scream. The storm above Mycenae spread out, encompassing the entire planet in only a few seconds. Up on Mt. Olympus, all the gods had combined their powers to try and stop the evil tempest, but the power of the box could not be denied.

"The power of darkness is now in my control! Come to me vessel, come to your master!" Agamemnon boomed, holding out his clawed hands.

Regardless of the command, the box stayed in position, continuing to let evil stream out. Agamemnon's smile instantly disappeared as he realized that the box was no longer following his orders. Unless he got to it and reasserted his control before the lid became permanently lifted, he would become a victim to its power as well.

"Felix, I'm so sorry. I just didn't want you to die for me again. I wasn't thinking straight and I thought that everything would be ok if I just gave Agamemnon what he wanted." Serenity cried. I just held her in my arms, savoring her warm touch.

"No, it's ok. I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you." I murmured.

"At least now we can die together." Serenity whispered with her face buried in the side of my neck.

"No, I am not going to let us die. We still have a life to live together. We have to get back to the orchard; there are still so many beautiful days to enjoy, so many sweet fruits to savor, and so many times we still need to make love." I replied.

"No Felix, I am not long for this world. My Nymph's Shade has been broken, and even now, I can feel what is left of my soul being extinguished." She said with her voice getting softer and softer.

"Then I will stop Agamemnon here and now, and carry you back to our home, even if I have to run faster than the greatest horse. I am not going to let you die; I refuse to let that happen. You told me once that it was not time for me to leave this world and that I still had a life to live. You told me to not despair when my life is far from forfeited. Now I'm saying it to you; hold on so that we can live together. Just wait, and we will be home before you know it." I said before kissing her on the forehead. She closed her eyes and became silent as I slowly laid her down on the floor.

With my whole body shaking, I slowly got to my feet and began staggering forward. Agamemnon cursed when he saw me and got to his feet. Without Pandora's Box in his hand, he had none of his powers. Fighting against the waves of evil energy surging from the dark vessel, we both moved across the room towards the box, trying to maintain our balance against the pushing waves of darkness. With each step, I could feel my organs shutting down and my blood becoming more and more toxic, while Agamemnon's flesh was rotting at an accelerated rate and pealing off his body.

We both reached out, trying to grasp the box, but our hands could not penetrate the event horizon around it. From my vantage point, I could see into the inner depths of the box. The inside of the vessel was far larger than it seemed on the outside, with the interior walls resembling a cylindrical whirlpool of red and black flames. But in the bottom of the box, I see could see a bright golden light.

"You cannot stop me or the power of Pandora's Box! A simple human like you could never be strong enough to thwart me!" Agamemnon roared with all air of confidence gone.

"You are a power-hungry fool Agamemnon! For years, you've sacrificed countless innocent people for your own selfish desires! But it ends now!" I countered.

Then with all of the strength in my battered body, I broke through the event horizon and reached into Pandora's Box, grabbing the bright light in the bottom. I pulled my hand out, with the golden aura shining from between my fingers.

"Now, Pandora's Box! In the name of Troy, the gods, and my resolve to protect the woman I love, I order you to seal!" I called out as I slammed my fist down on the lid, forcing the box shut.

A great thunderclap echoed throughout the world as the evil energy pouring out of Pandora's Box was cut off mid-stream, and all of the dark influence that had entered the world of the living was drawn back into the shadowy depths. Again, Agamemnon and I were thrown in opposite directions, crashing against the far walls.

We slowly got to our feet, struggling to maintain our balance and gasping for air.

"You haven't beaten me. While the box has been shut, its powers weren't locked away. Once it is in my grip again, I will be as powerful as before, and you will be doomed." He spat. I took a deep breath before responding.

"Well you won't get it again. I've been waiting for you to let go of the box, because now I can finally use my final gift from the gods." I said coldly as I pulled out the metal spike that Hades had given me.

"What is that?" Agamemnon stammered.

"Your doom!" I shouted before I threw it, sending it flying through the air and lodging it in the wall above Agamemnon's head.

The second the spike became locked in place, it instantly exploded and transformed into a wide disk of dark energy, similar to the power streaming from Pandora's Box. The disk was fifty feet across and a chorus of screams echoed from within its depths. Two black pillars materialized beside the disk, covered in incantations, and large black skull appeared over it. Agamemnon jumped back out of fear, falling to the ground and scrambling away.

He reached out to grab Pandora's box, but before he could touch it, three long chains burst out of the portal. The first chain grabbed Pandora's Box, the second grabbed the Apple of Discord, and the third grabbed Hades' Helm of Invisibility. The three artifacts were quickly yanked into the portal and disappeared.

"What is this?!" Agamemnon shouted over the screams echoing from the portal.

"It is the Underworld and your fate. For deceiving the gods and threatening the world, you shall be forced to suffer for all eternity in the darkest depths!" I roared. At the sound of my voice, a huge skeletal hand reached out of the portal and grabbed Agamemnon, who was screaming in terror.

"This is your punishment for all of your crimes! This is where you shall pay for every life lost in the name of your schemes! Now suffer for all eternity and repent your sins in the pits of the underworld!" I bellowed.

Agamemnon gave one last scream before the huge skeletal hand pulled him into the spinning clouds of darkness. With Agamemnon and the three artifacts taken care of, the portal slammed shut and disappeared. I gave a deep sigh of relief and fell to my knees. It was all over.

I slowly moved over to Serenity and lifted her head. Her turquoise skin had turned sickly pale, her life force was incredibly weak, and she would be dead in less than a minute, but there wasn't a single twinge of fear in my heart. I held up my fist, with the light from Pandora's Box clutched tightly in my fingers.

"According to legend, when the box was first opened, all of the evils of the world streamed out. By the time Pandora closed the box, all of the darkness had been already set loose into the world, and by closing it, all she did was seal the last thing inside; Hope. Evil may have refilled that box, but there was still Hope inside.

Now I give it to you, the hope that we can live together in our forest home and be happy forever." I said as I opened my hand and pressed the Light of Hope against her chest, reviving her with its power. Instantly her skin went from sickly grey to its natural and lively turquoise and she gave a shuddering gasp. I had a warm smile on my face as she opened her beautiful eyes.

"Felix." She gasped.

"It's ok Serenity, we can go home now." I said softly. With tears of joy, the nymph wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly while crying on my shoulder.

"We can finally go home." I whispered, savoring the feeling of her warm body against mine.

"The box and the apple are lost in the river Styx. I made sure that no one knows where they are, not even me. They shall be lost until the end of time." Hades said, standing in the corner of the council chamber of Mt. Olympus.

"And what of your helm?" Athena asked.

"That bastard Agamemnon really messed it up, but I should have it back to its original form soon." He mumbled.

"And has Agamemnon been taken care of?" Poseidon asked.

"Let's just say that Cerberus is going to enjoy his new chew toy for all of eternity." Hades said with a maniacal grin.

"And how are Felix and Serenity?" Zeus asked. Hades turned to Helios, who had a warm smile on his face.

"They are safe and happy." The sun god hummed.

Down in our secret orchard, Serenity and I were curled up in the bed of our tree chamber. The blanket was over us and we had our foreheads pressed together. We were whispering how much we loved each other and how we always would.