The pale light of the sun rose once more, heralding a new day in hell.
The soft glow seeped through the tattered canopy above, nudging Ares from the fragile grasp of sleep. His eyes cracked open, squinting against the dim light, before he closed them again with a tired sigh. Yet, despite his best efforts to suppress it, a slow, defiant grin tugged at his lips.
'This... this is heaven' he thought, utterly content, warmth pressing in on him from all sides like a cocoon against the world's cruelty.
To his right, Nephis lay curled against him, her face buried deep into his chest. Her breaths were slow, even... so deep in slumber that one might think she'd swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills before bed. For once, the usual sharpness that defined her was nowhere to be found, only a fragile, peaceful girl remained.
On his left, Cassie clung to his arm like a sleepy little koala, her soft grip never faltering even in her dreams. Her head rested against his bicep, golden hair spilled messily over his skin like threads of light.
And then there was Sunny, the tiniest of the bunch, yet somehow the most chaotic, nestled between him and Cassie. She hugged his thigh in her sleep with stubborn determination... and, much to his silent horror, left a small trail of drool where her cheek pressed against him.
Ares let out a breathless chuckle. 'Heaven, indeed...'
Yesterday had been chaos. A storm of blood, pain, and desperation. A battle that had left them battered in body and soul. After saving Nephis, Ares had gathered the unconscious forms of Cassie and Sunny, dragging them close to keep watch through the night. Just to make sure they were safe. That's all.
But as the hours passed, something strange happened. One by one, they drifted closer to him in their sleep, drawn by the unspoken need for warmth, for safety... for something human in a world that had long forgotten what that meant.
His gaze dropped to Nephis again. Her face, usually stoic and unreadable, was soft now, vulnerable, even. She clung to him as though letting go might shatter her into pieces. And in that moment, something sharp twisted deep inside his chest.
They were just kids.
Sixteen. Maybe a year more, maybe a year less. Barely old enough to dream, yet here they were — abandoned by the world, living under the thumb of its cruel, indifferent hand. Children who had traded their dreams for survival... for vengeance... for the simple, miserable act of existing another day.
Nephis never spoke about it. She carried her burdens in silence, locked away behind those cold, gray eyes. But Ares knew, no he felt it. He felt the weight she bore in her every action, the pain no child should ever have to endure.
The thought made his throat tighten. 'What a damned, broken world... ' And yet, against all odds, here they were. Together. Warmth, comfort, the quiet thrum of heartbeats mingling in the cold morning air. Moments like this, rare and fleeting, made everything else worth it.
A gentle breeze flowed through their little shelter, brushing against his skin like a ghost, as if even the wind itself wanted to pretend yesterday's horrors were just a bad dream.
Then , tug.
Ares blinked as he felt his body pulled slightly toward Nephis. She muttered something incomprehensible and burrowed her face deeper into his chest, arms tightening around him like she never wanted to let go.
His grin returned, a little softer this time. 'Wow... she really does have a cute side, huh.'
Unable to resist the temptation to tease her, Ares leaned in, his lips so close to her ear they nearly touched. His breath, warm and deliberate, ghosted against her skin.
The effect was immediate. Nephis shuddered, her slender frame under a blanket of seaweed trembling against him as her eyes fluttered open, half-lidded and dazed. The pale morning light kissed Ares's face then, sharpening every dangerous line, every crimson flicker in his gaze, until he looked less like a person and more like a creature of the dawn itself.
Her gray eyes locked onto his, wide and startled, as though caught between fight and flight. For a long, tense heartbeat, neither of them moved.
Then, without a word, Nephis simply shut her eyes again and pressed herself closer, as if retreating back into the safe darkness of sleep would erase what just happened.
Ares blinked, dumbfounded. 'Did she just... ignore me?'
Nephis. That relentless, disciplined maniac. Choosing sleep over her usual rise-and-train routine?
His lips twitched. This day really is full of surprises.
"Are you hurt?" he asked quietly, his voice softer now, stripped of its usual bravado. The concern in his tone was raw and unfiltered, no teasing, no walls. Just him, worried that maybe, just maybe, she'd gotten hurt worse than he thought... that the forced possession had left some lingering scar.
Nephis stiffened at his words, her breath hitching. Then, with a small, almost desperate sound, she hid her face deeper into his chest.
She couldn't meet his eyes. Not like this. Not when he was looking at her with that much care.
"...No... I'm fine…" Her voice was muffled and meek, barely more than a whisper, so unlike the strong, commanding Nephis the world knew.
Before Ares could say anything else, she spoke again. Her face turned up just slightly, gray eyes peeking out from behind messy strands of silver hair to meet his.
"…And… thank you…"
The words were soft, sweet, but they hit him like a blow. His heart stuttered painfully in his chest, breath caught somewhere between his lungs and his throat.
Damn... since when was she this cute?!
His lips curled into a gentler smile as he reached up, fingers threading through her hair in a slow, affectionate motion. He ruffled it lightly, feeling her relax just a little more against him.
"No worries. We're… comrades, after all." His voice faltered at the end, searching for the right word but finding nothing better. Comrades. Safe. Simple. Distant.
"…Yes…" Nephis echoed softly, but something in her tone dipped — like the word left a bitter taste on her tongue. Gloom flickered in her eyes, as if she wanted to say something more but swallowed it back down.
Before the fragile silence could stretch further, another voice pierced through the morning haze.
"...Ugh... Damnation…"
Slowly sitting up with a grimace and a hand pressed to her temple was Sunny, ever the firebrand, even while clearly nursing a nasty headache.
She blinked blearily, struggling to get her bearings. Then her hand shifted and landed squarely on Ares's leg. She followed the trail upward, from his drool marked thigh to his torso, and finally saw the scene laid bare before her.
Ares and Nephis, tangled together, crimson and silver hair mingling like threads of fate. Cassie on the other side, clinging to Ares like a lifeline, still deep in innocent sleep.
It was a scene that would've looked like a masterpiece painting... if it wasn't so utterly infuriating.
Sunny's eyes twitched. Her face darkened, somewhere between scandalized and murderously offended.
"The hell are you guys doing?!" she snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at the group like she'd just stumbled upon some vile conspiracy.
Ares didn't even flinch. Instead, he smirked, pure shamelessness radiating from every pore.
"What? Wanna join?" he shot back, voice laced with unholy glee, his grin practically screaming 'yes, yes, bask in my greatness.'
Sunny choked. Her face turning beet red in an instant, color rising like a volcano ready to blow. Her mouth opened and closed, struggling against some invisible battle inside her mind, using everything to hold something back.
And then, against her will, the truth slipped free.
"...Yes..."
Her voice cracked, barely audible, but damning all the same. She lowered her head in defeat, cheeks burning, her pride crumbling like a sandcastle under the tide.
Because at the end of the day... she was a pervert too.
################
I'm back baby, the exams were crazy hard but we managed, waiting for results to come out, anyway imma see if I could do a chap every two days. The lore that I just made will be explained the next two to three chaps, multiversal travel is near.
Hope yall have a good day/night