Ad Asterius- Part 2 (Patreon)

Asterius embraces the power of the titans to save Theseus- and there's a lot of potent power to go around. Enjoy!

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The Muses had little words and fewer songs of monsters, the children of Echidna. The Titans were from before the Gods of Olympus, and all their ilk belonged to a world that no longer existed, one that belonged to Zeus and his favorites, the race of Man. Asterius, the minotaur of Crete, aimed to change that now. Perhaps it would not reach any mortal ears in the land of the living, but the muses would see what he did here, in the depths of Tartarus. He was here on a  quest of redemption; to save the man that had killed him, and become his boon companion in death. To do all he could, to come out of Tartarus and back to the golden fields of Elysium, he had sworn himself to the Titans— and his prayers had been answered.

The minotaur that marched into the red halls of Tartarus was more of a beast than had ever been seen in Elysium or the Labyrinth. He had been granted great strength, his body swelling with power and might to face against the terrible monsters of the lowest depths of the Underworld, and he had already bested the wraith remains of the Lenean Hydra— but he knew this would be the first of many monsters on his path.

Asterius thumbed the medallion he had been given by Ariadne, stamped with the sigil of the Titans— he had once hoped that he would find himself counted amongst the Minoans and Cretans he had been born to, but Minos would never accept him as anything more than a chained beast. The Hellenes viewed him as a monster, for his deeds in life. But the Titans… if they had already given him such a gift, perhaps they saw in Asterius the hero he always hoped he could be.

Perhaps he would need to call on their aid again.

Down here in Tartarus, the truly vicious souls resided, that had broken every law set by the gods with glee; the cannibalistic Lycaon, the murderous Ixion, and some familiar faces, like Sisyphus and Tantalus.

After so many centuries of rolling a boulder up a hill, Sisyphus had himself become quite brawny and broad, though the effects of his eternal punishment seemed to have had an effect on his mental facutlies.

"Sisyphus!" Asterius called out, hailing him as he leaned against his boulder. "Have you seen Theseus? He was spirited away to Tartarus, and I've come to take him back to the Elysian Fields."

Sisyphus shrugged his broad shoulders and shook his head. "I can't say that I have— but goodness, what are they feeding you topside? You look huge, Asterius!"

The bull-headed beast grinned tightly, quietly tensing his bulging arms, puffing up his broad chest. "Well— I can't say, but I'm glad of it now. I feel the monsters of Tartarus will be less likely to cross me, don't you?"

"Oh, no doubt." There was a glint in Sisyphus' eye. "Wait a moment— We should ask Bouldy!" 

Asterius clenched his jaw as Sisyphus turned to the boulder. He had carved a face into it, and seemed to think it could talk. "Oh! That's odd." Sisyphus frowned. "He has seen Theseus down here— with you! They were heading closer towards the headwaters of the Phlegethon."

"What? That's impossible, I've not been here since Theseus brought me to the Elysian Fields."

Sisyphus shrugged his broad shoulders. "Well, I suppose it's possible there might be something wrong with Bouldy's eyes… but I know he doesn't lie."

Asterius shook his head— Sisyphus was friendly and tried to be helpful— but the same really couldn't be said for Bouldy. "Well— Thank you. I'll continue on my way."

"Best of luck!" Sisyphus waved, and then turned back to his work. "Alright, Bouldy, up the hill we go…"

The minotaur moved deeper into the hellish caverns of Tartarus— the titan strength that had been blessed upon his body, fueling him and growing him larger and brawnier, seemed to only grow— with every step, Asterius felt a little larger. The fiends and monsters that lurked closer and closer to the center of Tartarus eyed him like wolves in the woods, stalking his every move— but when one dared to get close, the minotaur beat them back. He wrestled with great red beasts and spirits of ash and fire, his awesome strength growing the closer he drew towards the Phlegethon.

He couldn't help but admire the effect it had on him; Asterius had always been large, but this titanic strength felt like the a threshold only the gods had crossed. Every part of his mountainous frame, still burgeoning and growing stronger still, was packed tight with dense, beefy muscle; his chest looked like it could damn a river by virtue of its width and solid bulk, his arms swelled to massive, shield-wide swells, with anvils for triceps and thickly vambraced forearms under glossy, dark brown fur. His head and horns formed the peak of a vast mountain range of shoulder muscle, and his huge, burly back swelled out in magnificent form, vast plates of the earth grinding against one another with his movements.

The lower he sank into Tartarus, growing close to the fiery waters of Phlegethon, the more his hooves stomped and echoed throughout the caverns of the Underworld, his meaty legs like earth-shaking pillars. Whatever strange, unearthly monsters drew forth from the dark and quiet places of the earth, he could chase them back into their holes with nothing more than a look, a flex of his engorged muscles, or a simple strike with his fist, cracking through stone like a battering ram.

Then, at last, he came upon it— the headwaters of the Phlegethon. The hellish spring from which the River of Fire flowed was a great ring of molten rock; brimstone and sulphur hung heavy in the air, smoke stung at his eyes, and he saw a vast ring of stone— figures moved through the haze of the Phlegethon, a very large one indeed. On a vast stone circle, stamped with the arcane symbol of the Titans, a huge, shadowy black beast was hunched over Theseus.

Asterius' heart leapt in his massive chest as he saw his companion— mighty Theseus had been tied down to the  stone circle with heavy chains of adamantium, and the hunched over figure held a dagger aloft in its great hand…

"NO!" Asterius roared through the haze, charging forward. "Don't you touch him!"

The figure jerked its head up, and Asterius froze— it was himself. A reflection of the minotaur; shrouded in inky black darkness, but he could not deny his own face staring back at him.

"What…" the minotaur rumbled. "What is this?"

Theseus raised his head, and gasped. "Asterius? By the Gods! Asterius! I knew this beast was an imposter!"

The shadow of Asterius snorted, glaring back at the minotaur with baleful eyes. Letting out a bestial roar, it charged for him. Asterius reached out and caught him; it was like two mountains crashing into another, the sudden shift in weight and power making the great stone circle tremble.

"What are you?!" Asterius demanded, gritting his teeth as he glared back at the beast. His swollen muscles surged, chest engulfing the small amount of space between them until it clashed with the shadow minotaur's, reaching his chin. His shoulders trembled, arms tensed and bulging as the vast wells of strength he had to command were galvanized into action.

"You see what everyone else sees," the shadow sneered. "You are a monster, and thus, I am a monster— and no matter how big you get, they will sing no songs for monsters."

"Raugh!" Asterius growled as he threw the other minotaur back, his great canyon of a chest heaving as he panted— they were perfectly matched. "You are a specter— a shadow, nothing more!"

The shadow minotaur charged for Asterius, landing a blow on him that staggered him greatly— he almost fell out of the Titan's stone circle, but a small hum of shimmering magic caught his eye as he steadied himself, even as he tasted blood in his mouth.

"Shades can't deal damage like I can," the dark minotaur snarled. "You should thank me— I am your revenge. With a single Elysian's soul, I can break the seal here, and free the Titans— all those that have been wronged by Olympus, like us."

Asterius narrowed his eyes. "None of the Gods have ever taken revenge on me. I have never given them reason."

"We exist for the petty whims of the Gods! It was Poseidon that orchestrated your birth, as a punishment on Minos!" The shadow held out his hand. "You know you can draw on the strength of the Titans— we stand on their circle, perfectly matched, even as we grow stronger. But there is stronger," he grunted, flexing a mighty arm so huge and glutted with brawn, it eclipsed all light around it, like a void swallowing a bit of the sun. "And there is stronger still. Free them, and the Titans will not be cheap with their thanks."

Asterius paused, looking at Theseus. "But to do so, Theseus' soul would be consumed. He would be obliterated."

"Your killer would be obliterated. Do not shed tears for this pampered Prince— this champion that has put you in his shadow, paraded you as a symbol of his magnanimity. The only one to show you kindness— and he only ever did so to keep you as a trophy."

Asterius clenched his jaw as he locked eyes with Theseus. The minotaur snarled in anger, turning back to his shade. "Revenge is a very human trait. Something they inherited from the Gods— and as you yourself have said." Asterius stomped, a small crack in the stone showing. "I'm no human."

He let out a war cry as he charged the other minotaur, and once again, Tartarus trembled as the two living mountains clashed, locking horns, tearing with tooth and claw— their huge bodies, girded with so much muscle it grew dense and hard as bronze armor, would not let either find purchase or advantage. They were evenly matched. 

"What's the plan, then?" The shade taunted. "We battle here for all eternity, locked in endless combat? I will never stop trying to sacrifice Theseus, and free the Titans!"

"For someone— hngh— so engrossed in the past, do you know the twelve labors of Heracles?" Asterius asked, hissing through gritted teeth.

"What?" the shade shot back. "Speak plain!"

"Pity; if you were a student of history, this might not work. Maybe I am a monster— but I'm one who learns from heroes. Do you know how Heracles beat the giant Anteaus?" The shade did not answer, still pushing against Asterius with all his might— but then, his frown wavered with shock as Asterius lunged lower, his mammoth arms wrapped around his waist. "He removed him from his source of power— Something like this."

"No!" 

It took a great strain and effort from Asterius to heft the dark minotaur up— as his equal in strength and size, it felt like he was moving an entire continent. His mammoth flanks flared out in beautiful form, his immense arms tensed as hard as adamant— with a great heave, his thick swells of muscle in tremors as he did, he threw the shade out of the ring— and he soon began to diminish.

The minotaur lumbered over to Theseus, casting the prince entirely in his shadow. Theseus gave him a brief smile. "...My hero."

Asterius stopped, glancing down at him, leaning past his own chest. "You're not afraid I'd break the seal?"

Theseus shook his head. "I have never doubted your nobility, my friend."

Asterius' smile broadened. He grabbed the chains of adamantium, and with the briefest flicker of his titanic arms, broke the links. He picked Theseus, cradling in his huge arm. The warrior prince might have felt a little flustered, with the way Asterius so effortlessly manhandled him. Even with his heroic build, he was like a single stone resting against a mountain.

"Shall, uh— Shall we go home?" Theseus asked.

Asterius grinned— he quite liked Theseus flustered. "We shall." He lumbered off the stone circle, and grabbed the weakened shade by the horn. "But first… I think I need to visit my father."

The long journey back up through the levels of the Underworld, Theseus and Asterius had time to speak of their bond, their afterlife in the Elysian Fields— by virtue of his mammoth strength, Asterius made clear, he expected to be introduced as more than just Theseus' shieldbearer. Theseus agreed, wholeheartedly.

When they came again to the great hall where the Judges of Souls sat, the spirits of the dead and the judges all sat in stunned silence, gaping up at Asterius gigantic form as he thundered in. Minos, seated on his throne, leaned back, eyes wide at the sheer size of the minotaur.

"...I see you found Theseus."

"I did." Asterius glared down at Minos. "This shade attempted to free the Titans. I know of few with such talent for these things; Hecate, perhaps, but she would never free the Titans." Minos glanced quickly at the Shade, dragged in by the horn. "...And where do you think such a creature came from?"

"I don't know— he hasn't spoken since I defeated him." Asterius stood to his full height, stepping back to see Minos properly past his own vast swells of brawn. "But rest assured, I will remain vigilant. If I am a monster, then I shall be as Cerberus— a guard, an obstacle to all those that would… seek to unbalance things." He bowed his head curtly. "Father."

Minos stayed seated in stunned silence as Asterius stomped out of the Hall of Souls, staring after him. Theseus looked up at Asterius, leaning back past his chest. "You believe Minos set this Shade upon me?"

He snorted. "He has not let go of what was. I think… if I was seen as anything else but a monster, he couldn't bear it." He glanced down to Theseus, jostling him slightly with a small flex of his bicep. "And he's always hated you. You being consigned to oblivion, me painted as a villain and monster— it's everything he could want."

"I suppose so…" Theseus muttered. "Still. Asterius." He stood, reaching across the vast gulf of the bull's muscle, reaching for his cheek. Asterius leaned in, and they both pressed their foreheads together. "Thank you. My friend— for everything."

Asterius rumbled, pressing himself close to Theseus, smiling softly. "Let's go home. And perhaps… we can speak more of our bond. Have you ever heard of the Sacred Band of Thebes? Did Heracles ever tell you about Iolas? Achilles and Patroclus, perhaps? Just… some food for thought."