"Lena." Adam promoted as his hand came to rest upon the top of her head.
"Yes." With Lena's response Adam's ring glowed with serene blue light— flowing across the room in streams.
Eris's eyelids trembled as slowly. . . smoky pitch black markings appeared atop her skin and started writhing like a furious vipers nest.
The marks extended like tendrils began to violently lash at the air.
"Lena. . ." Adam said worrieddly as one of the tendril missed him by a hair's breadth.
"Just a little longer, my lord".
Contrary the Lena's words the tendrils only became more voilent, lashing furiously in every direction. One of the tendrils slashed through an ornate golden bench like a hot knife through butter. And yet, by some extraordinary miracle not a single tendril had touched him, even though he was standing right infront of Eris.
Such dogshit luck! But Adam didn't know how much longer it would continue though.
"Lena!"
"It is done!" Lena announced.
The lashing tendrils suddenly froze in mid air. The paleness of Eris's skin vanished and was replaced by a glittering snow white that brimmed with immense mystical allure.
The curse mark itself become a murky grey from its original jet black, then a faint silver, and then a thin illusory white before finally disappearing completely.
But that was only the beginning . . .Eris's entire body was suddenly set ablaze by voilent and primal energies that immediately slammed into Adam and sent him crashing against the wall of the chamber.
His eyes widened as he sensed the dreadful aura emanating from Eris.
'Terrifying. . Far too terrifying.
Dark enrgies continued to unfurl from her, causing the very air around them to spark intensely. But just when it seemed like she would lose control and annihilate everything within a thousand leagues, she suddenly restrained herself.
She exhaled lightly and the chamber shook. The power she had expelled returned to her at an outstanding pace, returning the chamber to silence once more.
Only then did Adam sigh with relief.
"I'm sorry.. ." Eris apologized as she regained control of herself. "Chaos does not like to be restrained."
"Well it'd better learn! Attacking me after I just did you a great favour. Humph ...." Adam murmured several uncouth sentences under his breath as he brushed himself off.
Eris still felt like she was in a dream. Her life had become so bleak that she had almost lost her will to live. She thought it would continue that way until the day she drew her last breath. She had never dared to hope for this. . .
"Thank you." Eris said simply. Just two words, but Adam could feel the raw emotion in them.
Adam stared deeply at hair: seeing her long silky black hair cascading across her sultry curves all the one down to her feet, Adam inwardly cursed Zeus for locking her away for all this time.
"Its quite alright.
I am in a situation similar to you. Maybe that's the reason why I was ill- content to see you waste away. Saving you has also lifted my spirits." Adam responded while smiling faintly.
"And besides, from the moment I saw you, I was astounded by your beauty. It may be a little selfish, but I thought it was a pity that such a beautiful face did not have a smile imprinted on it."
[My lord is very suited for this scummy behavior] Lena did not hesitate to leave a jarring statement in his mind.
Adam faintly ground his teeth but let let nothing transpire on his face.
His words stunned her. A faint haze clouded her eyes as she stared at him. She forced her voice to sound cold but the couldn't help the tiny bit of emotion that slipped through.
"What do you really want from me"
Adam thought of a million things to say, million words to express sincerity and a devout love, but at the end of the day he decided to speak simply and honestly.
"I want you in body, mind, and spirt. I want you to crave me from this moment and until the end of time."
The directness of his words took her by storm. She had never expected him to be so bold, especially now that her power had returned and her aura pressed down on him.
"Are you not afraid of me? Do you not feel the difference between our strengths and statuses. I could end you with the faintest breath from my lips, and yet you want me?
Are you suicidal?"
Everything she had was right. Someone as weak as Adam had no right to pursue a goddess of her caliber. If not for Adam's uniqueness, he wouldn't even be able to look her in the eyes.
But Adam didn't care.
Eris was to his liking, and so he wanted her!
Besides this fact, nothing else was important!
"Yes everything you've said is true, there is indeed an immeasurable chasm between us, but and so what!?"
"I want you"
"And you are not averse to me."
"I can see it in your eyes."
Every time Adam's spoke he drew a little closer, and then finally— before Eris could stop him— his lips pressed against hers.
Eris's eyes widened in surprise. She had been able tell from their first meeting that Adam was bold and uninhibited, but she didn't expect it to be to this extent.
What a scoundrel. . .
Emboldened by her lack of resistance Adam pinned her onto the bed with his body, his fingers naughty tugging at the lace of her gown.
She still didn't resist him!
Engrossed in the kiss, they had both failed to notice that the dark pearl Eris had places on the bench was beginning to act strangely.
The pearl glowed with darkness, wantonly devouring the dim light of the chamber. It started to vibrate vigorously as cracks spread across it's surface until finally, it shattered with a faint 'ping' sound.
Eris was the first to notice the danger, but by then it was already too late.
A dark storm broke out of the pearl, raging outward as it coalesced into the dark shadowy form a roaring beat. Eris immediately pushed Adam behind her, then with her newly recovered power, she sent a cyclone of dark voilet energies crashing into the shadow creature.
The dark energy resisted the dark beast for the briefest moment then . . . The darkness of the creature's form began rapidly devouring the energy Eris had released.
"What the-"
Before Eris could finish the creature's head lunged forward and but down hard on the two of them.
For a terrifying moment, the darkness completely enveloped them. Adam winced, expecting some sort of pain, but it never arrived.
When he reopened his eyes, he found that he could see again. But the world around him was no longer Eris's chamber, or even Mount Olympus for that matter.
It was dark world with almost no light. Adam could faintly see the outline of palace in the distance but it was impossible to make out any details.
"Lena, what just happened? Why didn't you warn me?"
A slightly furious Adam asked Lena.
"A great power was hidden in that pearl. It likely remained dormant because of the wards Zeus places within Eris's chamber. But after her power awoke and ate away at the wards, the power within the orb was freed.
This very power seems to have displaced you in space and brought you here. The power's nature is quite strange, evading even my sensors until it was too late.
Whatever the case, nothing can be done about it now. I can only remind my lord to be careful. I sense several malicious auras approaching. . . "
Lena's words immediately caused Adam's gaze to snap towards the horizon. And truly, a dozen masked figures materialized from shadows and surrounded both he and Eris.
In just a few moments their assailants had cut off all their paths of retreat.
In the dim light of the realm, the assassins features were not at all discernable. The only clues to their identities were the outlines of their figures which told Adam that they were all male.
"Power level?" Adam asked.
"It could be a strange interference from this dark realm clouding my senses. . . but based on my energy readings each one seems to be as strong as a major god!?"
Adam was alarmed and even Eris, though calm, faintly furrowed her brows.
She could tell just like Lena, that the assassins surrounding them were extraordinarily powerful.
Such a formidable squad was enough to decimate most gods.
And they way they appeared immediately she and Adam had been transported here. . .
"Could it be . . ."
The assassin in the center stepped forward and his gaze suddenly bore down on Adam.
"You. .boy . . Scram immediately before I change my mind. "
His words immediately affirmed Eris's thoughts — she was indeed the target.
And there was one person who wanted her dead the most. The one who regretted her birth and saw her as a stain on her reputation: Her own mother Nyx.
She wanted so desperately to believe otherwise. But this place that they had been transported to was definitely Nyx's realm, and they had after all been brought here by the pearl— the only keepsake her mother had left for her.