Chapter 04

Love was the most savage monster of all.

- Rick Riordan, The House of Hades

During the past few weeks, Ahra's parents, the king and queen, had grown disturbed by their daughter's increasing lack of courtiers. The king fearing for the worst, suspected that they had somehow incurred the wrath of the gods. As the days had passed and there was still no progress on Ahra's predicament, he decided to consult the oracle of Apollo.

The king went to the temple of Apollo early in the morning. He trudged along the empty road towards the temple. Every step required an effort from him. He dreaded what the oracle might say. The oracle's prophecies were often vague but it always came true. He would not know what to do if he would come back to his wife and daughters only bearing a sad news. But on the other hand his daughter's sudden absence of suitors was deeply unsettling.

Both he and his wife were getting old, they only wanted to leave this earth with the knowledge that all their daughters were happily married to someone who could provide for their daughters' every needs and who truly loved her with all their heart. Now both his eldest and middle had gone and lived with their own families. Ahra was now at the right age to marry someone however it was slowly becoming a tedious job as no one seemed to want to marry Ahra anymore.

As he continued walking, he realized he had already arrived at his destination. Apollo's temple loomed before him but he found it hard to take a step inside. Was this the right thing to do?

With great uncertainty he took a step forward and entered the premises. He knelt in front of the altar and prayed first. When he was finished, he looked up and started to say what he really wanted to ask.

"O great oracle of Apollo, please help me," the king started to say.

The king suddenly noticed it started to get cold. Dust and dirt were slowly swirling around him. His hair and robes were tousled by the wind despite being inside a closed temple. Every hair on his body stood on ends as he waited for something - anything - to happen.

"M-my daughter... Ahra, s-she..." the king stammered. "Will... Will Ahra ever get married?"

The wind started to get stronger that a small tornado began to form around him. Suddenly a deep voice began to speak out of nowhere. The king looked around the temple but there was no one there but him. There was no definite direction to where the voice was coming from. It seemed like it came from all around him.

"You are to expect no human son-in-law but rather a dragon-like creature who harasses the world with fire and iron, and is feared even by Zeus himself and the inhabitants of the Underworld."

Just as how swiftly the wind and cold came, it also disappeared just as quickly. And soon there was nothing but the calm and quiet like it was before the clamor. The king knelt frozen on the spot and unable to properly comprehend what he just heard. It was too difficult to stomach.

"Wait!!" the king shouted as he started to recover. "What do you mean by that?!"

But his question was only met with silence. The king felt even more depressed. The oracle's words kept replaying in his head.

...no human son-in-law... a dragon-like creature... feared even by Zeus himself and the inhabitants of the Underworld...

What kind of horror are they facing?