Pain was something Nico was used to. He'd experienced physical pain loads of times, as well as emotional pain, especially emotional pain. The feeling of absorbing Saltus' soul was an entirely new kind of pain.
Nico grit his teeth and hissed as the golden glow inside the dagger sank into his skin, traveling up his arm like a searing heat. Once the essence had disappeared into his chest, the pain subsided.
"Ah! Haahh-" the demigod gasped and inhaled quickly. His body spasmed against Anubis as waves of pleasure spread from his chest. The god seemed slightly surprised at his reaction, but tightened his arms around Nico nonetheless.
The demigod's head tipped forward to rest against Anubis' shoulder as he waited for the waves to pass. He couldn't keep himself from moaning while arching slightly into the god's chest.
"...Hhhhahhh..." Nico breathed out, seemingly having found his voice. "That was.. unexpected."
Anubis loosened his grip a bit, letting the demigod have some space. "Yeah, that was surprising."
Nico curled his fingers before unfurling them again, trying to test if his physical functions were any different. He noticed that the wound he'd just cut had healed, leaving no scar behind. He brought a finger up and traced the spot where his skin had been cut open not a minute before. It felt warm to the touch, like there was a small hot spot underneath the thin layer of skin.
"Do you feel any different?" Anubis asked.
Nico glanced up at him, his dark eyes meeting the god's. "I dunno. The only thing I can tell is different is that I'm not as tired as I'm used to, from the not sleeping and all." He slipped out from Anubis' grasp and stood up, jumping slightly on his feet. He stretched and felt his joints pop. He then picked up Hades' scepter and felt a shock travel up his arm. The obsidian glowed purple for a second before returning to its ebony colour, however, a buzzing feeling remained, like energy thrumming along the scepter and into Nico's palm.
Nico stared at the black stone, "That was weird..."
Anubis came to stand beside him, his hand rising to rest on the demigod's shoulder, "What happened?"
Nico glanced over at the god. Anubis looked curious, and his voice held a slightly hopeful tone.
"...It glowed and now it's filled with dark energy," he said after a moment's hesitation. He wasn't entirely sure if he should be telling Anubis everything. The god's expression looked triumphant, smug even, like this was what he'd hoped would happen.
"May I hold it?" the god asked, his eyes shining with want.
Nico instinctively started raising the scepter towards Anubis. But he hesitated. What was this feeling? Unease?
He frowned and decided to trust Anubis with holding the scepter, even though he wasn't sure that was a wise move.
The god's fingers closed around the silver metal of the scepter. Nico kept a close eye on the obsidian. He noticed the light dimming, until the purple glow subsided entirely. The demigod then focused on Anubis' facial features. The god stared intently at the black crystal, his expression disappointed.
Anubis lowered the scepter before handing it back to Nico, "I believe it only responds to the bloodline of Hades."
The demigod took the offered scepter, the purple light returning instantly. He noticed Anubis frowning, his eyes fixed on the obsidian.
"Why don't we go outside and try figuring out what this thing can do, huh? I bet it does something special, otherwise my father wouldn't want it back so badly," Nico said. He started walking towards the door, stopping briefly to make sure Anubis followed. He did.
The demigod pushed the wooden door outward, stepping out into the clear night air. The house had felt too warm, the metallic scent of ichor hanging in the air.
Anubis stood beside him, the scratching of his boots on the ground reaching Nico's ears. "It seems you got a bit angrier than you thought," he said.
The demigod glanced down and spotted the cracked ground. The grass had died in a wide circle around the house of the now dead god, Saltus. It wasn't just the plants. All the insects within the circle were now littering the ground, beetles and beautiful butterflies strewn among the withered grass.
This was absolutely not unusual for the son of Hades, he still had some trouble controlling his powers when he was angered. He'd once managed to kill every living creature in a kilometers radius in an encounter with a mind-reading monster. The foolish creature had made the mistake of taking a peek into Nico's memories, and then brought up Bianca. The demigod had not only gotten angry, but incredibly sad as well. In his rage, he'd unleashed his powers on the living creatures and vegetation in a kilometer wide circle. The monster had dropped dead, along with every other organism in the area. The earth had raised around him, cracks and fissures stretching across the ground.
"Yeah, that often happens when I lose control," Nico said nonchalantly, shrugging as he did so.
"...You're even more powerful than I thought. Perfect," Anubis muttered. Nico whipped around to stare at the god. What had the god said?
Anubis stepped closer, his hand coming up to cup Nico's left cheek. The demigod's breath hitched.
"You're perfect, Nico. You're more than I could've hoped for," Anubis said. "I want to teach you magic. Death magic, that is."
Nico raised and eyebrow, "You mean that grey stuff that encased your fingers earlier?"
Anubis now raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised. "You could see that?" Then he laughed. Actually laughed. The sound was loud and unexpectedly pleasant. Nico decided he liked the god's laugh, a lot.
"What?"
The Lord of Funerals stopped laughing and smiled at the demigod. He leaned forward and pecked Nico's nose, his lips leaving behind a pleasant warmth.
"Nothing. You're just amazing. Normally, people can't see that unless they look beyond what can be seen. You truly are amazing." Anubis chuckled. "But, yes, that is death magic."
Nico felt slightly baffled by the god's words and actions. "Okay. We can do that after I've tested the power of the scepter."
He stepped away from Anubis and focused on the scepter in his hand. He had no idea what the scepter was supposed to do. He figured the godly soul inside him made the scepter active.
Nico tried to push his own energy into the scepter. He waited, but nothing happened. It felt like there was a dam preventing the energy from flowing freely. He pushed harder and felt the dam start to give way. He then forced his powers to exceed the energy in the scepter, breaking the dam in the process.
Purple light flooded the area in front of Nico. He jolted at the sudden brightness but held on nonetheless. The light gathered in the air before them, darkening as it grew denser.
An image appeared inside the swirling light, a dark landscape with a shimmer of deep red.
"What is that?" Anubis asked, walking closer to the image.
"It's Tartarus," Nico replied. He'd recognized it immediately, having spent an unpleasant amount of time there.
The god of Death turned around, an astonished look on his face, "Tartarus? How can you be so sure?"
Nico sighed, "Because I've been there, and believe me, it's not a place you'd wanna go for holidays."
Anubis raised his hand towards the image, his fingers slipping into it. "It's a portal," he said, now mowing his entire arm inside.
"Yeah, I figured," Nico replied. He walked over to the portal and moved to the other side of it. From here he couldn't see anything other than swirling, purple light.
He now understood why Hades had wanted it back. If the scepter ended up in the wrong hands, and they learned how to use it... They could let monsters escape all the time, and let them out immediately after their essence. Nico also understood that he had to get the scepter back to his father. Hades would never let monsters escape Tartarus.
"We have to get the scepter back to my father," he said, more to himself than Anubis.
The god of Death perked up, "Why would you want to do that? Think of all the power we could have by utilizing its powers."
Nico shook his head, "Not a good idea for me to be venturing into that place again. I've made many enemies during my time, and most of them are in there." He pointed at the portal, and Anubis slowly took his arm out from inside it.
"I guess you're right. Power like this could easily be used for horrible things in the wrong hands," he said and Nico nodded.
He tried to withdraw his energy from the scepter, and the portal shrunk to the size of a pea before the light dispersed, leaving open air.
Nico sighed and fastened the scepter in his belt, the dark stone feeling cold through his shirt. He once again glanced at the small house of Saltus.
For some reason, killing the god had left no feeling of remorse at all, rather leaving satisfaction. Nico felt good about having killed Saltus. Sure, the god had stolen Hades' scepter, but he'd probably never figured out how to use it, so there wasn't really any reason for Nico to kill him. Hades had even told him that he didn't need to kill the woodland god, but the demigod had done it either way. Anubis' voice and words had sounded so reasonable, why shouldn't Nico have killed him? There probably wouldn't be any consequences following his death, he'd been such a minor god after all. No one had to know that Nico had killed him, and even if someone did find out, they didn't need to know that Nico had enjoyed watching the god dissolve into dust.
The demigod felt himself grin a bit at the thought of the golden dust covering the floor, the ichor staining his hands. He looked down at his fingers and saw the golden blood covering them. He'd have to get rid of it later.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at Anubis.
The god's expression was intense, "You still have blood on your face." Nico watched as the god licked his thumb and traced it against his cheek. He repeated the action, moving to different spots on the demigod's face each time.
"Missed a spot..." he muttered.
Nico felt his breath hitch as he felt Anubis' lips on his neck, licking along the left tendon. The demigod shuddered, gasping slightly as the god bit his skin before sucking on it. His hands flew up to grasp at Anubis' forearms.
Anubis grinned against his skin before pulling away, leaving Nico a bit breathless.
"Blood splattered suits you," he murmured, admiring the mark Nico knew must be forming on his neck. "Death magic will come naturally if you've gotten used to taking lives. If you should want to learn, that is. I can't force you, but I have a feeling you want to learn," the god traced his fingers against Nico's cheek.
The son of Hades didn't miss a beat, "I want to learn." He wasn't sure if he'd be able to deny Anubis' wishes if he'd wanted to.
The god of Death smiled, "Good." He then leaned forward and pressed his lips briefly against Nico's, the skin barely touching the other's before they were gone, along with the rest of Anubis.
Nico stood there for a few seconds, slightly stunned.
He then started walking through the forest. He needed some time alone to think.
Anubis seemed very interested in his powers, for some reason, and wanted to teach him death magic. He also insinuated that Nico was perfect, meaning he probably had planned something, and Nico had even exceeded his expectations.
The demigod had no idea what Anubis could have been planning. All he knew was that he wanted to see what the death magic would do. It seemed a tad ominous.
The god had said it would come naturally if he was used to taking lives.
Was he used to taking lives?
Now that he thought about it, he probably was, he hadn't even blinked when Hades had told him about the task including killing. Not only that but he was starting to enjoy it.
Nico wasn't gonna lie to himself, he had enjoyed killing those men. The difference now was that the previous two had done horrible things, and that had somehow given him an excuse for killing them. But Saltus... There was no excuse for that. He had downright murdered him.
And he'd liked it.
He'd liked torturing him as well, the golden blood had been so different from the crimson he was used to.
He felt a smile stretch his lips. He'd been smiling like that a lot lately, he wasn't sure he liked it.
Last edited: 30.06.2016