The Nameless Heir
Chapter 74: A New Guest

Chapter 74: A New Guest

Hermes’s body went limp.

Kael stared down at him.

"All right, mailman. Brace yourself—we’ve got a delivery to make."

He tightened the chains around him.

"Time to drop you off at Daddy’s doorstep."

Kael let out a soft smile—more bitter than amused—and stared into the distance.

His eyes locked onto the golden lightning as it tore through the dark clouds with a violent, thunderous boom.

He could feel it.

Zeus was watching.

He let out a dry, tired breath.

"Well, Hermes... looks like your daddy’s pissed."

"No matter what—don’t let go of the chain."

Kael let the words hang, then glanced down at Hermes—half amused.

"Wow... just gonna ignore me, huh?" he muttered, raising an eyebrow.

He glanced at Hermes’s limp body, then smirked—sharp, full of amusement. Like he expected him to get up... but knew he wouldn’t.

"Here I thought we had a moment."

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth—slow, amused.

"No worries. I’ll just assume that means you’re enjoying the ride."

He gave the chains a slight shake.

"If not, feel free to scream into the wind. I hear it helps."

He couldn’t deny it. Mocking the gods... was starting to feel good.

The shadows beneath Kael twitched. Then they started to shift, their surface rippling like water.

He planted his feet, the ground cracking beneath him—then launched upward.

The shadows surged beneath him—then launched him upward, like a slingshot pulled tight and let loose.

He soared through the sky, like a spear thrown by a god—his shadowy coat snapping behind him in the wind.

The force of his flight parted the clouds around him.

Lightning cracked beside them.

Zeus was trying to shoot him down.

Kael didn’t flinch.

He twisted mid-air, slipping through arcs of divine light with practiced ease. One strike missed his shoulder by inches—close enough to scorch the air.

Hermes still dangled in chains behind him, swaying in the wind.

Kael had to stay sharp—not just for himself, but to keep Hermes from getting struck out of the sky.

"He’s really trying to kill his own son... even if it means frying me in the process," Kael muttered with a scoff.

"Yeah. Father of the year, for sure."

So he flew higher—faster—letting the storm scream behind him, heading straight for the academy.

Kael rose into view above the courtyard.

The air seemed to freeze... and every head tilted toward the sky.

The sun burned high above—sharp, merciless.

Kael watched over them from above as the sun glared down over everything. He could see them squinting—students shielding their eyes, trying to make out what they were seeing. But he already knew what they saw.

Kael could feel it—the shift in their breathing. The way the courtyard grew tense. Their hearts were beating faster—tight, uneven—like their bodies sensed something their minds hadn’t caught up to yet.

Then they saw it.

A figure.

Dark. Motionless. Hanging just beneath the sun like it had been nailed there.

Chains hung off him—long, heavy, dragging the limp body behind him through the air.

Hermes, the god of swiftness... now limp.

His body was wrapped in chains—tight, unyielding—coiled around him like a prison made of steel.

His arms were pinned. His head slumped forward. He swayed in the wind like something broken... and no longer divine.

No wind. No sound.

Only silence, stretched thin under the weight of what was coming.

Then Kael heard it. A whisper—soft, unsure.

It was his name.

Kael.

And the moment it was spoken...

The air shifted.

The shadows crept forward—hesitant at first, then quicker—like they knew their master had arrived.

All of them drawn upward, pulled toward Kael in the sky.

The clouds above began to tremble—soft at first, then violent. And somewhere deep in the sky... lightning cracked.

Gasps broke the silence—short, sharp, almost involuntary.

Some of them stepped back without thinking—like their bodies knew what was coming before their minds did.

They didn’t just see a god in chains. They saw a declaration of war.

And they all knew because of Kael, they would all feel the wrath of Zeus.

Fear settled over the academy.

Kael dropped Hermes’s body in the middle of the courtyard with a dull thud.

Chains rattled as the god hit the ground.

Then he stood still—waiting.

Because someone was coming.

And he knew Chiron could feel it.

The air had shifted—thicker, heavier. Like something ancient had turned its gaze on them.

A faint smirk formed at the corner of his mouth—almost excitement—and he tilted his head. His eyes locked onto Chiron’s—steady, his tone low and knowing.

"You feel it too, don’t you?"

"Guess Olympus decided to send someone down," he said, voice low. "How thoughtful."

A pause. Then, without looking at Chiron—

"Let’s make him feel welcome."

Chiron didn’t answer. His gaze stayed fixed on Hermes, still limp and bound in chains.

Then it shifted upward—toward the sky, where thunder crawled through the clouds like something alive.

His voice came—quiet, tight.

"What have you done... child?"

Kael didn’t flinch.

He walked forward—cloak dragging behind him, shadows curling at his heels like they were restless.

Each step echoed in the silence.

At the far end of the courtyard, just beyond the gates... the stone cracked open—quiet, slow—like the ground itself was holding its breath.

From the shadow, a throne began to rise.

Not fast. Not loud.

Just... deliberate.

It wasn’t something he built—it was something remembered.

Passed down by his father like a blueprint, like a kingdom etched into blood, waiting to rise again.

"Line up," Kael ordered. "Show some respect."

He leaned back on the throne, lazy and sharp.

"After all... a god is coming."

They looked at him—unsure, silent. Then their eyes shifted to Chiron, searching for anything. Permission. Denial. Something.

He didn’t speak. Just gave a slow nod, barely more than a breath.

It was enough.

One by one, the students began to move. Not quickly. Not all at once. Like their legs didn’t belong to them.

They gathered along the gate, falling into two crooked lines—nervous, unsure.

Like they were bracing for something their instincts felt... but their minds hadn’t caught up to yet.

Kael sat back in his throne. One arm draped over the side, his body tilted like the seat had grown around him.

His cheek rested against his fist—not in boredom, but something worse.

Comfort. Like he belonged there.

Calm. Unbothered.

He wasn’t worried.

He was just waiting.

Chiron didn’t speak right away. His mouth opened... then closed.

Just a flicker of doubt in his eyes—quick, but it was not unnoticeable.

Not at Kael... but at whatever was coming.

And then he turned and moved.

ROAR.

A roar split the clouds—deep and distant, but heavy enough to shake the sky.

Kael raised his gaze, just as the clouds began to ripple... not like wind, but like the sea before a storm.

Every head snapped upward.

A massive lion soared above the academy.

Its mane crackled with heat, flames curling off its body like breath from a furnace.

Each wingbeat thundered. Its claws sliced through the wind—sharp, deliberate.

Kael didn’t flinch.

He just sat there, eyes narrowing—slow, steady—as he watched the beast carve across the sky.

And on its back stood a man.

He launched himself off the lion mid-air, the full weight of his body crashing down like a meteor—locked onto Kael.

He was massive. Shoulders like boulders, muscles straining beneath a battered set of bronze Greek armor.

In one hand, he held a club—too thick to be called a weapon. It looked more like a tree trunk than a weapon.

That hair—bright, wild, burning orange—flared behind him like a fire the sky itself couldn’t put out.

Kael squinted up at it, unimpressed.

Of course. Loud, proud, and begging for attention—just like the rest of them.

"Welcome to our academy... Hero Hercules," Kael said, the title laced with dry amusement.

He didn’t rise.

Just sat there—comfortable, calm—while Hermes knelt in chains beside the throne, like an obedient pet, but lifeless.