Slumping to his left, the god of decay cradled his dislocated right arm like a newborn babe. The creature that had wounded him lifted off the beaten ground blanketing the arena in dust. Atrophos could only watch as the creature ascended with little effort. Closing his eyes, he reached out to sense for any shred of his power remaining within the monstrous dragon. A small smirk tugged at his lips as the smallest glimmer of bacterial was settled nicely in the dragons wound. Whether it survived the trip skyward…. was still to be seen.
A gentle breeze pushed the strands of hair that lay over his forehead to one side. The smell reminded him of home. Of lush fields and flowers. Blinking, he was greeted by ethereal fans that transformed into ribbons and started to spin around his body. Atrophos flinched gently as they started their task before letting them attempt to help. The ribbons tugged at his arm and with a sickening thud, his shoulder was returned to its correct placement. Relief mixed with pain as he utilised the ribbons to help him stand.
His staff lay abandoned before him. Atrophos let out a soft sigh as he looked skyward through the ruptured barrier. This battle was not finished. Not nearly. The bloodied fingertips of his right hand twitched sending his staff flying towards him. Wrapping his fingers around the cane, Atrophos started a slow shuffle towards the cracked wall. Another rib shuddering sigh was caught in his throat as he arrived at the way up the wall.
Gone were the days that he would gracefully leap from post to post as he travelled through Eden. Atrophos tapped the tip of the rust staff against the wall and waited patiently. A mixture of bone dust, dirt and crumbling mortar drifted under his feet before lifting him up the body of the wall like one of those raising apparatus that the humans used. A body flew over his head, the piercing scream of a horrid consumed coated his ears before the joyful thud of a body hitting a solid base greeted him.
Someone was having fun above it seemed. Atrophos took care clambering over the edge and into the ‘audience’ area of the arena. Six gods stood before him. Four had been introduced to him, three friends and one foe. The two others felt vaguely familiar though their placement was clouded. Finally letting out the sigh that had been resting in his ribs, Atrophos found a small flat area of the balcony area to perch on. His staff settled in between his feet as he drank in the current situation.
Two goddesses that wanted the death of Minos, Ridstus attempting to kick start the death of said god of judgement, two new gods that were trying to find a peaceful end to such a situation and Minos….proclaiming his jurisdiction once again. Atrophos rolled the staff in his fingers back and forth as he weighed his options. He could agree with the two new gods, try for peace and understanding from a god that was threatening to bring their extinction or he could agree with those that had been at the brunt of the gods torture alongside him.
Dark eyes trailed up the Lord of Judgement until Atrophos focused on the rows of teeth that lay snug between his ribs. A soft hum left his chapped lips as the head of the rust staff started to disintegrate and form a cloud of small particles of brown orange rust that spun around the tip of the staff. “From what I remember…if judgement is passed, it cannot be retracted.” He paused for a brief second before continuing, his voice only loud enough for the chosen six before him to hear. “I doubt that the Lord of Judgement will show mercy.” He spoke softly as the dust whizzed around him, ready at a moment's notice to shield him from any attack.
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