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“Olympus, I accept this message."
Zagreus felt the hair on the back of his neck raise as he was bathed in the red glow of Ares’ boon, his white-clothed cousin gifting him with yet more tools to aid him in his endeavors to "escape.” Apart from those of the Underworld, Ares was the only being above the surface who knew of the true nature of Zagreus' attempts to leave. Even though he wasn't alone in knowing the truth, being the only Olympian who knew the real purpose behind his runs through the Underworld made it feel like their own little secret.
Grabbing his chosen boon, Zagreus dashed off into the next chamber, grinning roguishly as he came face-to-face with Lernie.
"No hard feelings when I beat you again, right? I promise I'll make it quick."
Lernie roared as Zagreus shot forward, swinging Varatha savagely, single-mindedly focused on his objective. Despite the urge to swing wildly, he managed to maintain his composure, watching with satisfaction as the blade rifts he left behind him with each dash tore through each of the bone hydra’s rearing heads, with each strike of his spear followed by a cast of doom. He could feel the power of Lord Ares thrumming through his veins, drunk on the surge of energy bursting through his body. Before he knew it, the last of Lernie's boney heads disintegrated, sinking back into the bubbling magma of Asphodel where he belonged once again.
Scooping up his glowing reward for the defeat of the Bone Hydra, Zagreus swiftly jumped onto the last raft out of Asphodel. As he floated through the river Phlegethon, he couldn't help but reflect upon his journey so far and his longing to finally meet the infamous Lord Ares in the divine flesh. He seemed to be one of his father's least favorite Olympian relatives, automatically making him one of Zagreus’ favorites in turn. He couldn't fathom why his father would dislike someone who was so directly responsible for sending soul after soul into his vast domain to rule over. Perhaps it was the fact that, with more souls to oversee, came the promise of even more parchment work to be buried under.
Zagreus exhaled gratefully as he grabbed himself a drink from the fountain once he reached the small chamber that connected Asphodel to Elysium, checking out the Well of Charon for any good finds before once again moving on to Elysium. As he fought his way through chamber after chamber, he found himself sensing something... different about this particular trip through the realm of fallen heroes. Unable to quite place his finger on just what it was, Zagreus continued to make his way through Elysium until he thankfully reached a fountain chamber; but before he could make a move further into the chamber, a bright light began to emanate in midair in the space in front of him, growing brighter until he was forced to shield his eyes from the blinding glare.
“So, this is what you look like, my kin,” spoke a familiar voice, causing Zagreus to whip his head up abruptly at a speed that would’ve caused whiplash for any mere mortal. “Somehow, you far surpass any and all of my expectations.”
Standing before him was none other than the invulnerable Lord Ares, dressed in his usual white tunic and golden armor, face adorned with ivory war paint spanning the space around and across his glowing crimson eyes and the bridge of his nose. The war god reached out towards the young godling, using a thumb to wipe a smear of bright rouge blood away from the corner of Zagreus’ mouth. The younger god watched in something akin to disbelief as the immortal in front of him slowly raised his own thumb to his mouth and sucked hard on the digit, cleaning it of any blood remaining on his skin. Ares smirked as he saw the look on the younger man’s face. Zagreus could feel his pulse begin to race wildly in anticipation, his veins thrumming visibly on his neck beneath the thin layers of his skin.
“A war god is never truly able to sate his bloodlust, my kin.”
Finding his voice, Zagreus finally found the wherewithal to ask, “Lord Ares, how did you get here?” He had known through their correspondence via his boons that Ares knew the true meaning behind each of his escape attempts, but what he hadn’t known was Ares’ apparent plans to come join him below the surface. All the questions he had still to ask died on his tongue as he felt his cousin place a finger on his lips, shushing him.
“My kin, did you think Hermes was the only Olympian with ways to get here? I have my secrets as well, you know; I’ll let you in on them, in due time.” Wholly unsatisfied with that answer, Zagreus opened his mouth to argue, but before he could speak, he found Ares’ sword tip mere inches from his face. “But first, cousin; first, you must prove to me that you are worthy.”
There was some part of his consciousness that was asking him just what he wanted to be worthy of, but the overwhelming part of it was screaming at Zagreus to prove that I’m worthy. This was the god who had helped him more than the other Olympians, who had bonded with him more than any of his other godly relatives; he wanted, needed, to be found worthy of him.
Jumping to his feet fast as lightning, Zagreus grabbed up Varatha and immediately raised it, pointed unerringly towards Ares’ chest. He watched as Ares smirked knowingly, his smirk widening slowly the longer he watched Zagreus pant expectantly.
“Well, my kin? I never would’ve expected you to be one to wait to make the first move.”
Feeling incensed, Zagreus leapt at Ares with a loud shout, stabbing out at him brutally, unafraid of spilling his cousin’s golden ichor in battle. Ares sidestepped deftly, letting out a low chuckle in amusement at Zagreus’ eagerness. Not giving the younger god a chance to react, Ares immediately maneuvered so that Zagreus had to dodge frantically to avoid being run through the chest from behind by Ares’ sword. Back and forth they went, dodging and thrusting, parrying and attacking, neither losing ground to the other. The sparring went on for what felt like an eternity, before, to both men’s surprise, Zagreus managed to land a blow, rendering a precise slice across the cheek of Ares with Varatha, a thin line of golden ichor slipping down Ares’ cheek and towards his chiseled chin and jawline. Zagreus grinned wildly, laurels askance and eyes filled with rekindled determination.
“Well, Lord Ares,” he began, spinning Varatha rapidly before bringing it back down to point directly toward the war god’s chest in a clear threat. “Do you concede?”
Ares narrowed his eyes at the shorter man, staring long and hard before abruptly grabbing the spear with his left hand and pushing down, catching Zagreus off guard. Before the other god could regain his composure, Ares lunged and tackled Zagreus to the ground, sword raised and tip pointed directly towards his neck, less than an inch away from piercing the skin. Ares smirked down at Zagreus.
“Well, Zagreus,” he began smugly, a mocking tone in his voice, “do you concede?” Zagreus couldn’t help but laugh, surprised by the genuine amusement in his own voice at having lost the duel.
“Depends, Lord Ares,” Zagreus began. “Am I still worthy if I concede?”
The god of war leaned in closely, so close that Zagreus could feel each of his warm breaths fan across his face gently. Ares stared into his eyes deeply, his red eyes meeting Zagreus’ mismatched pair. “Yes, my kin; you will always be worthy, in my eyes.”
Zagreus felt his breath hitch abruptly. Before he could respond to Lord Ares’ answer, he found his lips firmly covered by the god’s own. His eyes widened in surprise, before closing softly as he melted into the kiss. Zagreus dropped Varatha to the ground beside him so that he could raise his arms to wrap around the god atop of him, surrounding him in his warmth. Now that he knew that he had been found worthy, Zagreus couldn’t fight the urge to provide comfort, to provide pleasure, to please the god above him. He didn’t think to hesitate before moving one hand to tangle his fingers into Ares’ lightly-colored hair, with the other moving downwards to grip the god’s behind firmly. Zagreus felt his blood thrum with satisfaction when he felt the war god gasp in pleasure against his lips.
“Does that please you, Lord Ares?” Zagreus asked cheekily, knowing full well what effect his actions were having on the god. Zagreus yelped as he felt Ares pinch his thigh roughly in punishment before hiking his leg up to wrap around the god’s waist.
“It does indeed please me, my kin,” Ares began, “but I can think of something that would please me even more.”
Without pausing, Ares used both hands to push up Zagreus’ crimson tunic, running his tanned hands along Zagreus’ sculpted abs and chest hungrily. His hands continued their journey upward, before pushing his tunic up and over his head, leaving Zagreus bare from the waist up. Ares’ plush lips soon followed the path his hands created, his lips wrapping gently around each nipple in turn before sucking roughly, making Zagreus cry out in pleasure. Feeling encouraged, Ares soon brought teeth into the mix, biting down hard before easing off and licking over each nipple softly, as if in apology.
“Lord Ares!” Zagreus cried out, his voice sounding foreign to his own ears. He felt as if his body was aflame, like he had somehow fallen deep into the depths of the bubbling seas of magma that covered Asphodel. Ares grinned in satisfaction.
“Is this level of pleasure new for you, my kin?” Ares asked the young god, leaning back on his elbows to look down into his mismatched eyes. Zagreus looked up at him, nodding once silently, at a loss for words. Ares grinned roguishly. “Well, my kin, let me show you a world you’ve never known.”
Zagreus found himself breathless as Ares sunk down lower, lower, lower, pulling down Zagreus’ pants with him as he made his way down to Zagreus’ feet. Grabbing his left foot, he placed gentle, tender kisses along the sole, the soft touches striking surprising levels of pleasure through Zagreus. Turning to the right, Ares gave the same treatment to the right foot before moving upwards, massaging each of the young god’s lower legs thoroughly, before kneading his hands into Zagreus’ muscled thighs. Zagreus felt his mind go hazy with pleasure, losing all sense of where he was and what he had been doing before the start of this unexpected yet mind-blowing encounter. Panting and gasping, Zagreus let out a sudden shout as he felt a thick, slick finger enter him gently, but with intent. The shout quickly morphed into a long and low moan as a warm mouth simultaneously descended his member without warning. Zagreus found his fingers tangled tightly within Ares’ luscious locks, uncaring of the almost punishing grip he had on the strands. His mind, body, and soul were consumed with Ares and nothing else.
As one finger became two, and two became three, Zagreus found himself drowning in pleasure, unable to verbalize more than low moans, loud shouts, and incomprehensible attempts at Ares’ name. Nothing mattered in that moment except for Ares’ hands, Ares’ mouth, Ares’ everything. After what felt like both an eternity and the blink of an eye, Ares withdrew his fingers and pulled his mouth off Zagreus’ cock with an obscene pop. Zagreus felt himself blush in mild embarrassment at the loud and wet sound his dislodgement made.
“Are you ready for me, Zagreus?” Ares asked as he dragged his body up and over the leaner god, settling between Zagreus’ legs and hiking his muscled thighs up and around the taller god’s hips.
“Yes,” Zagreus gasped, fingers in a death grip on Ares’ shoulders. Zagreus felt his soul leave his body as Ares’ soft lips covered his once again, a warm tongue slipping between his lips and tangling with his own. The dark haired godling moaned as, at the same time, he felt Ares’ girthy member catch on his rim before slowly beginning to slide inside him. Unable to fathom how full he felt, Zagreus ripped his mouth away from the other god’s abruptly, gulping in a lungful of air desperately. He felt his mind narrow its focus onto the feeling of Ares moving inside him. Each thrust brought him to levels of ecstasy he never imagined reaching.
“Are you hanging in there, little god?” Ares panted into Zagreus’ ear, tightening his bruising grip on Zagreus’ hips.
“Yes!” Zagreus shouted, unashamed of how needy his voice sounded. All that mattered was getting more, more, more.
He must have verbalized his desires without realizing, because almost instantaneously the speed of Ares’ thrusting hips increased exponentially, leaving the both of them breathless. Zagreus found himself wondering how much longer he would last, knowing instinctively that it wouldn’t be long. As if reading his mind, Ares wrapped his hand around Zagreus’ cock, stroking in time with his thrusts. Three strokes later, Zagreus found himself shouting unrestrained as he reached his peak, feeling the bubbling pleasure overflow. Moments later, he felt Ares give one last, firm thrust and bite down roughly on Zagreus’ shoulder as he reached his own end, a pleasant warmth filling Zagreus from the inside.
Both gasping, Ares rolled himself languidly off Zagreus and onto the cool stone tiles of the chamber below them. Zagreus found himself feeling lightheaded as he came down from the high of ecstasy, boneless and sated. From beside him, Ares slung a muscled arm across Zagreus’ midsection. Warm lips found Zagreus’ neck and shoulder, laying gentle kisses that made a stark contrast to the franticness of their earlier kisses. Zagreus turned onto his side to place a soft kiss onto Ares’ lips. Pulling back, he grinned roguishly at Ares.
“So, I guess I was worthy then?” Zagreus asked cheekily. Zagreus yelped as Ares laid a firm slap on the other’s backside for his sass.
“Yes, you were, cousin,” Ares answered simply. “So much so, that I wouldn’t be opposed to a…repeat, in the future.”
Zagreus stared intently into Ares’ eyes as he processed what the war-loving god was telling him. His eyes widened comically as Ares’ meaning settled into his mind.
“Oh…well, then, I guess I’ll just have to continue to prove that I am, and will remain, worthy.”
Zagreus pulled away to straighten up and grab his discarded clothes from around him. Ares sat up beside him, watching as Zagreus began to dress himself. A satisfied look crossed his face as he took in Zagreus’ debauched form, from the bite mark on his lower neck to his horribly tousled hair. Once dressed, Zagreus turned towards the god.
“So, when will I see you again?” Zagreus asked without a hint of hesitation. Ares grinned mischievously as he answered the question.
“Well, if I told you that, it would ruin all the fun, wouldn’t it? Until next time, little godling.”
With those final parting words and a bright flash of light, Ares disappeared just as suddenly as he had appeared. Zagreus stared at the spot where Ares had just stood for an indeterminable amount of time before turning back toward the exit of the fountain chamber. He found a smile spreading slowly across his face and felt a warmth spread through him at the thought of a spontaneous repeat of his most recent encounter.
Well, if that was what he had to look forward to as he completed each grueling trek through the Underworld, then doing it again and again for the foreseeable future sounded pretty good to him.