Ch 2: Welcome to Olympus!
Olympus
Travelling through the portal felt like passing through air; it was as simple as taking a step and then suddenly appearing in a whole other world. That one step, though, meant everything to the twins. The change was palpable in their two companions as well—it appeared as if a heavy weight was lifted off Junho and Minjun’s shoulders as they visibly relaxed and finally smiled.
Walking forward, Suzy and Wooyoung couldn’t help the matching sharp intakes of breath from bubbling up their throats. The cliff they were standing on gave a breathtaking view of the island laid out before them. The land, they assumed, was divided into several sections, and in the middle of it all was a modern city filled with tall skyscrapers and other landmarks. It was utterly beautiful, and it was then that they knew they made the right decision in following Junho and Minjun. It felt right to be there. For the first time in their lives, they finally felt at home.
“Welcome to Olympus!” Junho exclaimed, raising his hands up, his eyes crinkling up in a smile. They stood there for a while taking in the view, before Junho playfully ran towards the woods standing to their right. “Last one to the gates is an ugly, old fart!”
They went laughing through the woods. Unlike the forest they just left, this one was teeming with life. A couple of animals appeared out of the trees and bounded up to Minjun in a welcoming manner, and he petted them in return and even talked to some of them. After a few moments, Woo started to flit around with him, touching the plants and flowers here and there.
“Not friendly with the animals, I see,” Suzy teased Junho, who had already stopped running around but was still visibly buzzing with excitement.
“Meh, fishes are more my thing.”
“I figured as much.”
Unlike Wooyoung, Suzy hung back, afraid to touch her surroundings. She was thankful that although Junho and Minjun seemed to notice, they still didn’t ask her questions.
Finally arriving at the open gates of the city, Suzy and Wooyoung hesitated once more. They were still astonished, the situation too large to fully wrap their minds around, though they knew they would have to get used to it. It was who they were now.
For the second time that day, the twins took a big step in acceptance of their fate.
xxxxxxx
Like a maze leader, Junho guided the group through a labyrinth of thin alleys and streets bustling with people so gorgeous every single one of them could be a top model for a fashion magazine. Despite their beauty, though, they were still outshined by the four gods walking in the middle of the street. The people glanced at Suzy and Wooyoung in wonder while they slightly bowed in respect to Junho and Minjun.
“You’ve probably noticed how the island is divided into different districts. This is the central district. Although it is technically Athena’s, it is considered a neutral zone since the other gods conduct business here too. There are restaurants, various shops, a theater, a bowling alley, and other establishments for entertainment and other purposes. We also have the Arena and the Academy here. I guess it’s kind of like a modern city, like Seoul?” Minjun informed them while pointing at several buildings.
Suzy and Wooyoung craned their necks and looked around, awed at the modern architecture around them. It does look like Seoul—only grander and with lesser cars.
“We’ll give you a proper tour later,” Junho smiled, excited.
They continued walking until they stopped in front of a low building made of glass and steel. Despite it being small and nondescript, it somehow looks more intimidating than the much taller buildings around it, especially when they heard it being referred to as the Arena.
“I won’t be going in with you as I have other matters to attend to. Don’t worry, Minjun will be with you. I will see you later, my cousins,” Junho stated, waving before seemingly evaporating into thin air.
“Well, come on in.” Minjun led them into the building. Inside, it looked like a typical gym with expensive equipment. Shirtless men were milling about and working out, and they all turned their heads at the newcomers.
The twins tensed at the expressions of these guys; while some of them seemed friendly enough or simply looked at them questioningly, there were others who they can sense are reeking of hostility.
“Don’t mind them,” Minjun whispered. “They can’t touch you; they’re beneath you.”
Still wary of their surroundings, Wooyoung and Suzy wordlessly followed him.
xxxxxxx
“Again!” Nichkhun shouted across the ring. His smug face was starting to irritate Taecyeon, fueling his swelling rage—a reaction the former wants to get out of him.
“You are one sadistic son of a ,” Taecyeon spat at him as they continued to spar, but Khun merely laughed. Their arms were already burning from the intense session though the feeling was satisfying as they landed hits on each other with rhythmic punches and kicking patterns.
And then suddenly, Khun lost his focus, and Taec found his opening and hit him in the solar plexus.
“The happened to you, man?” Taec laughed as Khun stumbled to the mat. It wasn’t every day that his best friend gets knocked down without a fight. Nichkhun just tipped his chin to something behind him, and he turned his head towards the distraction with a scowl on his face. Minjun, Apollo’s heir, was leading a girl and a boy towards an upstairs office where the “big guys” sometimes meet up.
Taecyeon instantly knew that while those two are gods (half-blooded at the very least), they didn’t belong in the Arena. Both the boy and girl looked like they’d be content in a quiet room than in a testosterone-filled gym where eyes follow them with preying observance.
They’re both attractive, but what captured Taec’s full attention was the thin yet curvy girl. She was wearing an all-black ensemble of skin-tight jeans, a tiny shirt that leaves a sliver of her pale stomach showing, and a pair of boyish leather motorcycle boots that added to her allure. Taec’s eyes roamed up from her body to her face and he swore his heart stopped beating for a second.
As she turned her head to nod at whatever Minjun was saying, Taecyeon was hypnotized by her perfect profile. Although, he couldn’t get a good glimpse of her eyes from his perspective and was immediately jealous of anybody who can see them.
By this time he was already catching his breath. She was the first girl—no, scratch that, was the first person who has affected him like that, and it made him so confused that he unconsciously shifted his weight to approach her. However, he was held back by Nichkhun, who grabbed him before he can even take one step.
“Who are they? Who is she?” Taec demanded, his eyes still following the pale but beautiful girl.
Nichkhun’s grip on his shoulder tightened to keep him in place. “They’re the last of us heirs…it’s finally their time.” Nichkhun didn’t have to say any more. They all knew what the “time” is. It’s when their true powers and lives begin—a stressful time not only for the children but their parents as well, and typically fueled jealousy among siblings.
Taecyeon turned his back to the hallway Minjun and the twins disappeared to and resumed his training with Khun, pushing all his energy and frustration into every punch and kick. The gym has always been his outlet, a necessity to hash out the turmoil inside him, grounding him through all the demands of his Olympian father. But try as he might, he couldn’t get her out of his mind, causing Khun to win the round.
They were on their way to the showers when Taec decided he couldn’t handle this itch to see the girl again anymore and rushed to the office before anyone could stop him. The door was slightly open, giving him a clear view of her profile as she and her brother listened to the growing shouting match in front of them with indifference.
“They’re children of Ha—“
“So? That’s of no consequence, Hermes!”
“And one of them is a female!”
“You’re so ist, Apollo,” Athena scoffed.
It appeared that the women are fighting on the same side as Aphrodite implored, “I believe we’ve had this discussion before over my own daughter. Why can’t we settle it that way, too?”
“Because they could cause chaos!” Taec heard his father argue loudly, startling him with his booming voice. “That is a more pressing matter, and you’re all here arguing over petty things. If their supposed powers are true, they could put the whole of Olympus in a mess, or worse, annihilate us all!”
An involuntary shiver ran down Taecyeon’s spine as he listened to the argument inside the room. At first, he thought the primary disagreement was them being twins. Twins, especially fraternal ones, have been exceedingly rare even way back, and could cause uproar if they don’t get along. In fact, the only known Olympian twins are Apollo and Artemis, and it was a good thing that they are clearly devoted to each other.
But no, this wasn’t about that. With Zeus’ last statement, he realized that the commotion revolved around their abilities. What gifts does this petite pair have that can put that amount of fear in even almighty Zeus himself?
“What good would it do us to wreak havoc here?” the platinum blonde-haired boy spoke up. He seemed to finally have enough of the gods arguing without including him and his sister in the matter. Nobody had an answer to his rhetoric question and an intense silence filled the room. He looked at his equally annoyed sister and took her hand as a gesture of support.
“Why don’t we give them a chance?” Hera, the mother of gods, said pleadingly while Demeter nodded with the same expression on her face.
Zeus thought deeply for a moment before speaking from his chair at the head of the table. “Fine. Enroll them in the Academy,” he said with a wave of his hand. Excitement shot through Taecyeon, until Zeus opened his mouth again. “Set them up for the Arena, too.”
“I shall personally supervise their progress,” Athena said, the corners of turning up in a slight yet comforting smile.
xxxxxxx
“I wonder what got their in a twist…” Nichkhun mused as Taecyeon paced in the locker room. The former followed the hotheaded god to the conference room to drag him back to the lockers before anyone sees them, but not before eavesdropping a bit into the conversation himself. He too was confused at what they heard.
Taec, on the other hand, was frustrated for more reasons than one, his excess energy messing with the lighting of the room. While females fighting in the Arena weren’t totally unheard of, he thought the newcomers to be too fragile to be there. The Arena was originally built to train young males and eventually grew to be the Olympian version of ring fighting, although more intense. A fight could virtually never end for them as they can heal at a rapid rate. And Taecyeon currently holds the crown as the reigning champion of the ring, proving his superior strength and agility.
He didn’t want the raven-haired girl or her brother to be subjected to that brutality. No, they seemed too pure to be fighting there.
No one noticed Minjun casually leaning by the doorway, and the two suddenly whipped their heads at the sound of his voice. “Don’t worry, they’re just testing them.”
“I know all of us are required to enroll at the Academy, but what we don’t get is why they will also be fighting at the Arena. Even though Fei is Ares’ daughter, they didn’t test her like that; hell even Junho got away with it!” Nichkhun answered, obviously worried about the twins too.
As expected, Minjun’s face lit up like the sun at the mere mention of Fei’s name—it was no secret among them that he was sweet on the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. “That’s true…”
“Well, they did say something about their abilities. The most powerful Olympian gods seemed really afraid of the two kids it was almost funny. Do you know anything about that, Minjun? You and Junho were the ones to fetch them from the mortal world.”
“I’m afraid not, Taec. When we were tasked with that, they didn’t tell us anything about them other than what they looked like and where we would find them. But I think you are right; it probably has to do with their abilities.”
Sensing that they would go nowhere with mere speculations, everyone calmed down a bit and started to clean up. However, Taec’s thoughts never strayed away from the girl; her image was engrained into his mind. He never saw her eyes, and there was an intense need he couldn’t get over until he sees her again.
A/N: Hello again! I know this chapter was quite short, but I promise you the following ones will be longer. Anyway, this was more of an introduction and something to set the story. Just bear with me for now~
Let me know about your thoughts, comments and suggestions below. Constructive criticism are very much welcome, too!
♥, S.
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