On an empty barren land that stretched for several kilometers in every direction, two massive armies stood still on the field, waiting in silence. On either side, the numbers were in the hundreds of thousands.
The sun hadn't risen yet, and the air was thick with silence. Spears pointed forward. Flags fluttered in a cold breeze. Everyone knew—when the sun came up, the war would begin with a burst of synchronized energy blasts into the sky from either side.
But far from the battlefield, at a camp where over a hundred thousand soldiers were just starting to wake, a King was already dressed in his armor.
Inside his tent, Arceus tightened the straps across his chest. Gold and bronze shimmered under the torchlight. He adjusted his cloak, fastened the last clasp. His face was calm, but his eyes burned with resolve, pain, or maybe both.
He turned to leave the tent, but someone stood at the entrance.
It was his wife, the Queen.
She didn't move. Her hands were folded in front of her, lips pressed tight. She wasn't crying. Not yet.
"You can still stop this," she said. Her voice was low. "Please. You don't have to go."
Arceus froze for a moment, then took a breath. "This is already decided," he said.
"You're not just going to war with my brothers," she said. "You're standing against your own father, you are also defying Lord Zeus' orders. Is it really worth taking such risks? It's not your fight, our fight. No matter what happens, our kingdom won't be affected. Think again, Your Majesty."
He looked at her for a long moment, then reached for his gauntlets. "I've done enough thinking, dear. This isn't a family feud or a war for the throne anymore. This war is between good and evil. It is between right and wrong. And my father taught me to choose good, every single time."
She stepped closer, touching his chest and then his cheek. "But, you don't have to choose sides. You can stay neutral. We can leave the outcome of the war to fate."
She looked at him like she wanted to scream, but instead, she just whispered, "Please. Your child needs you."
He gave her a sad smile. "And I'm going out there so that my child grows in a world full of laughter and peace, Dear."
He moved past her gently, whispering. "I'm sorry."
She stood there, eyes closed, and a single tear slid down her cheek.
As he left the tent, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Mother. I'm sorry, Father. I tried my best, but I couldn't stop him."
Then she prayed softly, voice shaking, "Goddess Hera, I have fulfilled my marriage vows since the day we married. All I ask you is to please protect my marriage. Please protect my husband from any divine interventions... even if he's defying Lord Zeus, your husband."
Outside, King Arceus climbed into a golden chariot, drawn by seven powerful horses. The war horses stirred as the golden chariot rolled forward. Seven beasts, shining and restless, snorted as the King had reins in his fists.
He held the reins, but didn't move right away.
He spoke to the wind, to the gods, or maybe just to himself.
"Would it have changed anything if I had been born as a legitimate son, just like the Heralds? Would it have changed anything if my mother had second thoughts about abandoning me because of her fear of society?
He looked out over the hills.
"Would I have stopped the cruelties my brothers went through? If I stayed beside my in-laws as their ally and stopped their schemes against my brothers? If I hadn't stayed away from their lives and instead been with them?"
He paused, staring at the horizon, where the sky had begun to pale. The sun was about to rise.
"Maybe it would've been easier if I'd been born somewhere else. Far away from this drama. As someone else. Then I wouldn't have been forced to make this choice."
He tightened his grip on the reins.
"On one side—my righteous half-brothers. Children of the same woman who threw me away. On the other side, my evil in-laws, who always tried to stay on my good side. The ones I fought beside for years, and gave them half of Aachion. The ones my father stands with, the ones Lord Zeus and his entire Pantheon stand with."
His face hardened in determination.
"But today, none of that matters. Those who sinned must fall. And those who stand by them in the name of oath... they must face the consequences, too."
He then raised his eyes to the waking sun.
"Maybe I'll regret this someday. But today, I'm not turning back."
"I'm Arceus—son of Princess Eurydice and the god Apollo, foster child of Helios, and disciple of Hercules."
He snapped the reins.
"And I'll not back down."