The forest burned without mercy.
Flames hissed along the treeline, painting the night in orange and black.
Ares Drakon stood before the inferno, sword dripping red, the air around him pulsing with invisible weight. Each breath came out in white vapor — each exhale heavier than the one before.
[Mission Complete]
Objective: Eliminate enemy forward scouts.
[Bonus Unlocked: Title — "Warlord's Presence"]
Your existence radiates command. Allies near you feel unbreakable resolve.
Warning: Prolonged activation will induce neural strain.
He dismissed the notification with a thought.
Behind him, Octavia wiped her blade clean on a fallen banner. "All clear, brother."
Clarke stepped from the shadows with Raven and two soldiers in tow. Smoke curled through her golden hair, catching the glow of the fire. Her gaze never wavered from him — not with fear, not with judgment, but with quiet reverence.
"You did it," she said softly. "As always."
Ares turned toward her, sweat and ash streaking his face. "We did it."
She smiled faintly. The bond shimmered faintly in her chest — a golden pulse only she could feel. His heartbeat echoed in her own. No doubt. No hesitation. There never would be again.
The camp reeked of blood and scorched pine.
Dozens of Grounder corpses lay where they'd fallen. The few survivors had fled screaming his name like it was a curse.
Ares moved among the dead, scanning with methodical calm.
"Burn the bodies," he ordered. "Stack the weapons for salvage. We move at dawn."
Clarke relayed the command immediately. No second thought. His will was hers to fulfill.
Octavia and Raven followed in perfect rhythm — three voices moving as one mind.
The soldiers worked in silence, driven by something deeper than discipline. The aura of Warlord's Presence pressed down on them like invisible gravity, steady and absolute.
When one young Ark soldier faltered at the sight of the bodies, Octavia simply said, "Look at him."
The boy did — and the fear vanished. Ares didn't even have to speak. His presence filled the void where uncertainty lived.
Later, when the fires dimmed, Ares sat alone beside the embers.
The System still whispered faintly, like static in his skull.
[System Load: 87%]
Warning: Elevated cortisol and neural fatigue detected.
Recommend stasis or sleep mode.
He ignored it.
The heat in his veins hadn't faded since the battle. His blood felt molten — the divine energy pulsing, restless, alive. It wanted to grow. It wanted to be used.
Clarke approached silently, a steel mug in her hands.
"Water," she said. Her tone was gentle, unquestioning, almost devotional.
He drank. The metallic taste grounded him.
"You should rest," she added — not as an order, not even a suggestion, but as care wrapped in obedience. "Your body's trembling again."
He looked at his hand. She was right — the faint tremor hadn't stopped since the kill.
"I'm fine."
She knelt in front of him, gaze unwavering. "You're divine, my king. But even divinity has limits."
The words were pure truth to her — not worship, not fear. Just fact.
He touched her cheek, his thumb tracing the warmth of her skin. "And if those limits break?"
Clarke smiled. "Then the world breaks with them."
Octavia's voice came through the smoke behind them. "Perimeter secure. No survivors within two miles."
"Good," Ares said, rising to his full height. "Let them know the fire they feared didn't come from the sky this time. It came from me."
[System Update]
Title effect integrated into Dominion Field.
Influence: 1.2 kilometers radius.
The legend spreads.
As the embers of the Grounder camp died, new fires flickered across the horizon — beacon fires lit by loyal soldiers marking victory. The forest glowed like veins of molten gold.
Clarke watched the light, calm and proud. "What now, my lord?"
Ares's eyes turned east, toward Polis. "Now we take the war to their heart."
The wind carried the scent of iron and smoke.
The Fire Trial was complete.
The age of fear was ending.
And the age of gods had begun.