Fate/Defiance

Chapter 5 [Fate]

By theMadLad

Icarus didn't turn back after he fled, he wasn't sure of what to think of his father, on one hand, he had killed his cousin but on the other, he had saved him.

…In the end, he decided to forgive but not forget.

The Goddess of Wisdom had somewhat saved Perdix in the end and Icarus had always assumed his father had some kind of personality disorder such as being Bipolar, causing Icarus to be conflicted about what to think.

He shook his head as he continued his mad dash, sprinting down from the Acropolis and heading back towards the center of Athens. Many people were confused as he pushed past them, running as quickly as he could.

Icarus was decisive in his actions, heading home as fast as he could. His father may have been defined by a numerous amount of negative definitions but he had done everything in his power to help him get away and Icarus wouldn't forget that.

The time that Daedalus bought him was crucial, Icarus may always try and see the best in people, but that didn't mean he was naive.

His father was the most famous inventor in Athens, regardless of Perdix's recent accomplishments, Daedalus was the best. The local nobles wouldn't simply allow someone like that to die, especially now that they had reasons to milk him for all his worth.

The first place they would likely try to take things from was his home using numerous excuses such as 'investigation' or need for 'evidence.'

… After all, who knows what the city's best inventor kept hidden behind closed doors.

Icarus was sure that those with influence in the city would definitely want to know, and would use any means to do so.

He wouldn't let them, not without a price.

As he ran, his mind wandered to other thoughts, such as recalling as much as he could from his 'original' myth. He was not very familiar with Greek Mythology but he still knew a fair bit, and while the tale of Icarus and Daedalus had many renditions.

He did remember one where they fled to Crete in order to escape from their crimes.

…Perhaps this was fate?

Icarus had mostly forced his emotions out to focus on his goal, but they had started to bleed through the closer he got to home.

He was terrified.

Seeing his father kill his cousin felt like a knife being driven in the heart, they were the only connection in this foreign world, without them he felt truly alone again.

That pain was only overwhelmed by the sheer weight of fear he felt when he witnessed Athena's actions. Watching his cousin be turned into a bird was something that changed the way he viewed the world, he finally truly understood how dangerous it was.

If a Goddess who wasn't even using a fraction of her power could do that on a whim, he dreaded to think about her using her full might. Not to mention the strength of the multiple Gods more powerful than her.

Icarus knew how small he was in comparison, and it was suffocating.

He gave off a shaky gulp as he reached his home, seeing the vague illusion of strings on every person he passed.

Arriving at his home, Icarus spotted a small golem by the doorstep. He recognized it as one of the automatons his father often made.

Icarus grabbed it as he stepped inside, rushing towards Daedalus' workshop along the way, quickly making his way through the wards and entering inside.

As he entered the familiar workshop he couldn't help but release a shuddering breath as collapsed to the floor. He felt safe here, it was something familiar in this foreign world he found himself lost in.

He was alone again, he felt familiar sadness creep up inside him before he pushed it down, knowing he couldn't stay long. It was only a matter of time before people arrived.

Icarus took a look at his hands which were shaking from the stress of today's events before inhaling a deep breath of air.

He felt his hand finally steady as he exhaled, calming himself.

Suddenly the little golem in his hands started struggling, causing him to release it from his grasp. It quickly escaped and waddled its way deeper into the workshop with Icarus following behind.

It soon arrived at the back of the workshop where a locked door was held. There was a small square hole by the door that was a perfect fit for the little golem as it squeezed inside.

Light glowed as the door's locking mechanism unlatched, causing the door to slide open. Icarus' eye twitched as he could help but murmur, "…I thought this was fantasy, not sci-fi…"

The internal humor helped calm his nerves a bit, but as soon as the words left his mouth he slapped it closed while chastising himself in his head. He absolutely could not expose his past life or knowledge, the Nasuverse was one of the most complex and mysterious settings to be in and he could not take any chances.

…Who knew who or what could be watching?

He himself was some anomaly of great proportion in this dangerous setting, he didn't dare to think what would happen if someone found out about his true nature.

Icarus absolutely could not afford to put himself at such a risk, and the best way to do so was to prevent anything from coming out in the first place. With the amount of clairvoyants possibly roaming about, he was forced to keep any monumental and noticeable changes to a minimum until he could find some sort of way to protect himself.

This was one of the reasons he didn't invent or recreate things much more controversial than just the saw. He had to prevent making too many changes to the timeline that could have devastating effects.

Caution is what would keep him alive, the waters in this world were deep, very very deep after all.

He might have been knowledgeable about the Nasuverse, but he was by no means an expert who knew about deeper concepts such as fate and destiny, or what influences the decisions of things such as the Counter Force.

Hell, he couldn't even tell if the butterfly effect was actually a thing during this time or if the fate of everything was already predetermined and any changes would be forced into a destined outcome.

His knowledge was all skewed from certain perspectives and lacked a lot of context, and that's without mentioning it being from a media format that was meant to appeal to an audience or consumer.

Just thinking about these things really made him stressed out, always holding a constant weight on his shoulder.

But, Icarus wasn't one to just wait for death with a resigned acceptance, he would rather fight it with every ounce of his being—even if he had to live the life of a paranoid wreck.

As the door finally opened, Icarus steeled his mind and reaffirmed his will. This was the moment that would determine the rest of his life—his call to action.

He only had one more trial ahead of him.

He walked inside the now open room and took a quick look. It was much smaller than the rest of the workshop, akin to a small storage closet.

A glow came from the center of the room as he spotted a glass container that held a glowing cube inside.

He filed it in his mind as some sort of power source before inspecting the rest of the room. He walked over to the side and spotted a few items hung on the wall before coming to a bookshelf leaning against the wall.

He took a book out and quickly skimmed through it. He smiled as he realized it was his father's personal notes that adorned the bookshelf.

He put the book back on the shelf before giving a quick search and grabbing the one labeled 'Bounded Field.' He tucked it under his arm before walking over to the various items displayed on the wall.

He memorized the weapons and tools on the wall before disregarding them, he didn't have the time to look at them thoroughly yet.

He opened the book as he reached the other end of the room where tiny golems linked to the glowing cube resided.

He took a few minutes to read over the notes and glean their information, with the help of the notes he realized that the golems were used to control the house's bounded fields.

"Magical Energy Reactor…" Icarus spoke as he glanced at the glowing cube at the center of the room. The notes had described the device as what generated the magical energy used to power the house's bounded fields.

Icarus gave off a sigh as he tucked the book back under his arm before speaking to himself with a weary smile, "…Really held out on me huh, Daedalus."

He turned towards the golems that controlled the place before using them as indicated on the notes. They were capable of responding to some voice commands and had different modes that would activate if their parts were arranged in a certain way.

Icarus shifted one of the golems that managed the house's 'security' into an arrangement that would activate the bounded field's highest defensive measures. According to the notes left by Daedalus, the bounded fields were not aimed toward offensive actions but mostly illusionary ones.

It would trap the people caught inside in a sort of pseudo-maze that would disorient their senses and leave them discombobulated.

Icarus thought of it as a sort of a proto-labyrinth.

After activating it, he turned to one of the other golems and shifted its arrangements, and said, "Follow." Before walking back towards the main workshop with it shortly behind.

He headed towards Daedalus' old work table as the golem stopped next to him, he gathered some of the tools lying around and set them down as he prepared.

Icarus took in a deep breath of air to try and relax his tense nerves, "This is it, make it or break it."

This was the determining moment, if he was caught he would definitely be taken to trial with Daedalus and they would likely break out before escaping to Crete like in his original myth. If he ended up there he was unsure if he could escape his fate, likely destined to die.

But, if he escaped—then a world of possibilities opened up.

He would break his own story and evade the confines of his destiny. It was still possible that fate could correct his course but there would be a chance.

…and that was all the motivation he needed.

He gripped the tools in hand as the golem next to him started to give off faint sounds. This golem was the one used for 'monitoring' and was linked to various points around the house's property that could pick up noise while also being able to talk through.

It was how Daedalus was able to call for him outside from all the way in the workshop.

The soft sound of footsteps on grass being picked up from the property caused his eyes to sharpen.

If people wanted to take from his home, his family, while also preventing his escape from destiny, then they would have to pay the price in blood.

"Sorry Daedalus, Perdix." Icarus spoke aloud as he prepared various plans in his head, "…Because today, I'm gonna leave you in my shadow."