A week had passed since they defeated Kazguul, and they spent their free time hunting demons in the Azrael Towers while they waited for Rozan to come back. As Mykel promised, he let Rozan stay in Leowa World for a week to learn magic from Shelly, and Rozan used every second of it to understand about magic.
Loki just delivered very good news to Mykel, and it was about the result of the war between the Constellations against the Death Arcana faction. Thanatos had officially stepped down from his throne and left the throne in the Heptagon empty. It was easier than he thought, and he believed Nyx was the one who ordered him to step down.
âBring me to Niflheim,â Mykel said as he stared at his [Judgement] skill.
Mykel teleported to Niflheim and was immediately welcomed by the loud cheering of thousands of Constellations. He looked around and everyone was having a feast with Hel as the center of attention because she brought a total victory.
Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena werenât feeling like having a feast at the moment because of what happened. They looked at Mykel and was signaling him to come to them because they wanted to talk privately.
âHera said that you would deal with Ra, what are you planning to do? Because Ra has been waiting for us to give him what he wants after helping us,â Athena asked with a worried expression.
âBefore that, I want to have a talk with Ares first,â Mykel said as he sat on Helâs chair. âCan you bring him here?â Mykel asked Hera.
Hera nodded, and then she walked toward Hel to ask her to summon Ares to Niflheim. Hel nodded with understanding and then invited Ares to Niflheim. It didnât take long, and Ares appeared in front of Hera. He looked a bit confused, but followed her to the table.
Loki looked at the situation and was interested in what Mykel was about to do with Ares. He dragged Thor with him even though Thor was enjoying his wine with Dionysus.
âAres, thereâs something that I want to ask you,â Mykel said as he stood up and rested his hands on the table. âYou must have heard it from Zeus about the reason why he didnât bring Hades back with him. What do you think about Hadesâ words?â
âI have no thoughts about it because I canât say heâs wrong about the reason why he does this,â Ares answered with hesitation.
Ares was a greedy for power kind of God. It wasnât really a surprise to hear that answer from him. Mykel already knew the answer before even he asked, but not the others.
âNone of us think what Hades is doing is wrong,â Mykel said, and it made everyone a bit surprised and confused. âHades is right about this current situation, and all of you canât deny it either because youâre all now living in excitement and thrill in this moment,â Mykel continued as he sat down.
âWhat are you trying to say, Mykel?â Athena asked with her eyebrows furrowed.
âLetâs say that Iâm just a chess piece in a chessboard. Iâm just a weak pawn whoâs ready to die or be sacrificed, and I can become a stronger chest piece the longer I live,â Mykel explained as he looked at them. âWhen I reach the other side, I can be anything but one chess piece, and thatâs the king,â Mykel continued with his arms crossed.
âThe reason why is because the king in the chessboard is you and everyone in the Constellations,â Mykel grabbed a pack of cigarettes in his pocket while everyone looked at him with a puzzled look.
âYes, all of you arenât the one whoâs playing the chest, youâre part of the game while the ones who play the game are Nyx and Lucifer,â Mykel explained as he put his cigarette in his mouth.
âLucifer is the black piece and Nyx is the white piece. They both play the game and pretend as if itâs a fierce battle but then Nyx purposefully let Lucifer eat her chess pieces on the board,â Mykel puffed the smoke and stared at the table with his eyebrow raised.
âAfter Nyx loses almost all her chess piece, they donât end the game. Do you know what they do next? They go to another chessboard and play a new game and will do the same thing,â Mykel stared at Loki and knew that Loki understood what he meant.
âThe chessboards are the worlds that are currently occupied by Lucifer,â Hera said, and stared blankly at the table. âWe are nothing but a chess piece,â Hera scoffed in disbelief.
âYes, the game is already rigged from the beginning,â Mykel responded as he nodded his head. âYou think you have power and stand equally with those two, but the truth is youâre just being played by them,â
Ares who was fine with the current situation, immediately changed his mind and started to get pissed.
Mykel smirked as he looked at Ares. âNow Iâm asking you again, Ares. Are you really fine with this? Because no matter what you do, youâre just a chess piece like any of us here. Zeus canât see it and I believe Hades has no idea about this as well, heâs being fooled by Nyx,â
âWhat are you planning to do after you told us about this?â Ares asked with his arms crossed and hands clenched.
âIâm going to make the game fair for everyone where we are just a spectator and cheer them from the sides while letting the chest pieces move on their own,â Mykel answered. âTheir fate depends on their own actions,â Mykel continued with a smile on his face.
Everyone looked at Mykel with surprised expressions.
âWithout the demons, we are just going to live in emptiness. What do we gain after the demons are gone?â Mykel asked with his arms open. âThereâs no good without evil, thereâs no happiness without sadness,â
âYouâre saying that we are giving the humans freedom, but whatâs in it for us if we are not even needed?â Ares asked and was skeptical of Mykelâs plan.
âFreedom without guidelines and boundaries will turn into chaos. With our guidances, thereâs a price they have to pay, and itâs boundaries. If they donât want that, the demons will take that opportunity to conquer them, and when that happens, we come and offer our hands. We will keep this running for as long as we want,â Mykel answered.
âI like that idea,â Aphrodite said, and looked at everyone.
âI canât stop smiling and Iâm totally liking the idea,â Loki chuckled with his right fingers covering his mouth.
Hera and Athena had nothing to say, while the rest couldnât argue with Mykelâs plan.
âNow Iâm going to ask you, Ares,â Mykel stood up and walked towards him. âYou have seen it, the demon princesses that are with me. Would you follow Zeus and stay being a chess piece or choose Hera and become a part in this big plan of mine with everyone thatâs present in this hall?â Mykel asked and stared at Ares with a serious expression.
âI treat everyone in here equally and I can provide you something that no other Gods can,â Mykel as he burned the cigarette. âThe choice is yours, and Iâm not going to offer you this again the moment you leave this place,â
Ares hesitated, he looked at Hera and Aphrodite while he thought about an answer.
âZeus will know and you shouldnât underestimate him,â Ares said.
âWhatâs the problem? Youâre scared of Zeus? What if I told you that I can easily take his bolt of lightning and makes it yours?â Mykel replied with his eyebrows raised.
âEven if you can, Hermes can take it back from you easily. You donât know what Hermes is capable of,â Ares shook his head.
âThat little guy? I will deal with him,â Loki said with a big smile on his face. âI heard heâs a cunning and sly God, I want to see if he lives up to his titles,â Loki continued as he giggled mischievous.
âYou heard him, now give me an answer,â Mykel said as he leaned on the table.
Ares sighed and closed his eyes, but Thor suddenly grabbed his shoulder and it startled him. He looked at Thor nodded his head and stared at him.
âI will protect you from him,â Hera said with a serious expression. âI donât want you to be like him, Ares,â
Ares nodded his head with understanding.
âAlright, I want to take part in your plan,â Ares said.
âGo and have a drink, you look like you need one,â Mykel replied with a smile on his face.
Thor wrapped his arm around Aresâ neck and brought him to Dionysus to have a drink with him. Loki followed them from behind because he wanted to know more about Hermes.
Mykel sighed and then looked at Hera and Athena. âLetâs meet with Ra, heâs waiting for us,â