They were lucky to make it out of the situation alive. The only injuries that had been sustained were some cuts from the glass when Aries and Pandora jumped through the window. Easy fixes, all they had to do was bandage them up and they'd heal relatively quickly. Maybe leave a few small scars, but it was nothing too major.

Sitting around the outdoor table seton Aries backyard, the four all skimmed through the grimoire, getting an idea of what was inside.

"Man there's something for everything in this..." Icarus said.

"It's old as fuck, literal centuries of knowledge" Aries replied, flipping the page.

So far they'd gone through sections on all known mythic species, every documented realm, potions and spells for protection and healing as well as damage and harm. All of it was interesting but not what they were looking for, they needed any and all information on the chaos jewellery.

"It'll probably be somewhere in with all the information on the gods" Zagreus pointed out.

"Probably, it'd be helpful if there was an index that wasn't so old the pages were disintegrating" Aries replied, still flipping through the pages.

"How many gods are there? Are any of the humans right on their worship?" Pandora asked.

"Lots. And well... they're not wrong exactly, more like off the mark"

"Explain?"

Aries finally found the section on all the known gods, and began skimming the titles looking for the section on Khaos while explaining to the human borns.

"A lot of mortals, especially humans have this idea that gods are perfect beings, they they can do no wrong and what they say is final. But that couldn't be further from the truth gods are on their own plane of existence with their own views on morality what we see as good or bad isn't the same way they view it. You should never try and use a gods name to push your own agenda, that's a one way ticket to being cursed" Aries explained.

"Basically they don't really care about us huh?" Icarus asked.

"Yep. We're merely something to watch, entertainment. If you reach out for help with good intentions, they might help. Maybe not, depends on how they feel that day. As long as the universe is balanced, they don't care for us. We're just something to watch with a bucket of popcorn"

Aries always found it strange how some humans dedicated their whole lives to certain gods, under the impression that by doing so you can guarantee a good afterlife or life of fulfilment. When in reality, everyone is equal in the eyes of death. When Thanatos comes to collect your soul and bring it to the underworld, he nor any other god cares what you've done in life. You simply get picked up, your spirit is weighed and if you're deemed dangerous even after death, you'll be thrown into the side of the underworld where you're prevented from harming anyone. And if you lived a normal or noble life, you're just thrown into the other side where you go about your day for the rest of eternity. The gods don't care where you end up, they follow the rules of the universe to maintain its balance and move on.

In the case of a Devine boon, it only ever happens to mortals that have done a favour for a god. So it's extremely rare, as the gods tend to not mess with mortals anymore. It's a tit for tat system, you do a favour for them and they'll do a favour for you. That once it's done, that's it. You'll both move on with life.

The fact the four are carrying out this favour for khaos by using the chaos gems to restore balance to the universe, means they'll likely get a boon of some kind as a thank you once it's all over. What exactly it will be none of them knew yet. But once they received it, both the four and khaos would simply move on with life.

So while worshiping a god wasn't exactly wrong, as they do sometimes help out in small ways when they feel like it, it's not really that important. There's a reason why the temples in Izroulia are more historic artefacts than bustling places of worship. They're there for when you need a small favour, and are willing to take the chance and see if someone will respond to you.

"Oh here! Finally" Aries said, stopping at the page titled primordial chaos.

The first few pages of the section were the story of the universes creation, who Khaos was and what their realm is like. The information they were looking for was a few pages in.

"There it is, see what I mean by it's rare these are handed out?" Aries said, pointing out the paragraph explaining that the chaos jewellery has only been documented in the mortal plane 5 total times.

"Geez, we're lucky then" Pandora replied.

"5 times in literally billions of years? We're gonna be talked about in legends after this..." Zagreus muttered.

The first documented time, someone from another realm used the necklace of creation to fix a tear between two realms.

The second, a set of twins used the truth and illusion gems to unravel a centuries old secret kept by the leaders of their realm that was slowly dying.

The third, not much was known about it. But the ring is destruction was used to tear down a deadly fungus that was rapidly spreading from realm to realm, threatening to kill all the inhabitants.

The fourth, a realm called Pharonuim which was akin to Ancient Egypts mythology documented a Pharaoh had revived the creation and destruction gems together to fight off an invading realm that was hostile to any realm it came across.

The fifth, the battle of Troy. Everyone knew of that story. Even the humans. What the humans didn't know though, was the illusion gem was used by a mythic to keep the humans from finding out about the existence of magic. As more than a few gods got close to bowing their cover with the involvement in that battle.

And now, the sixth time they've been lent out. All four of them were given to a group of Merfolk to take back their realm from a ruthless dictator and being Merfolk back home. How that story ended wasn't known yet as it was still unfolding.

"Says here that the power is ripped straight from primordial chaos and put into the gem so the wearer can harness it. It takes intense willpower to control, as mortals aren't fit for such raw energy. You focus on the intent of the action and cast your hand out to expel the energy. If you're even a little bit distracted it can go wrong" Aries explained.

"Oh so it's kind of like the whole manifestation thing? Set the intention super specifically or it'll go sideways?" Icarus asked.

"Sounds like it. Looks like it requires a ton of focus as well"

Zagreus looked around the yard for something to test the power on, picking up a brick and setting it on the table.

"Who's going first?" He asked.

Everyone was silent, admittedly nervous to try such an intense form of power. And of course everyone looked at Aries.

"Why me? I have one of the more dangerous powers. I should go last in case I destroy the whole damn table" they said.

"Good point... Icarus you go" Zagreus replied.

"What? Why me?" She said.

"You have creation, the worst you can do is make too many bricks"

Zagreus was right, Icarus had the power with the most benefit and least risk. She looked down at the brick, trying to focus on it as hard as she should.

"Duplicate the brick, only once" Aries instructed.

Taking hold of the necklace to keep her mind on it, she stared the brick down. Picturing a simple second brick on top of the first one. That was all, just one. Everyone stayed silent to let her focus. She cast her hand out, sending the energy from the gem to the brick. In a small flash of light that caused everyone to squint for a moment, another brick appeared.

Then another... and another...

"That... is 4 bricks Icarus" Pandora said.

"I tried. I'd like to see you do better" she replied.

For a first try it wasn't that bad. 2 too many bricks, but there were indeed more bricks.

"Pandora you try next, make the bricks turn invisible" Aries said.

Having the power of illusion she would be able to cast the bricks into transparency if she could get it right. They'd still be there, just unable to be seen. An illusion.

"Oh gods... ok I'll try" she muttered.

Again it fell silent, letting her focus on the 4 bricks piled on top of each other. She blocked everything else in her field of vision out, keeping only the bricks in her mind. She cast her hand out and after a moment of intense focus, they started fading one by one.

"Oh shit-" Zagreus muttered, rather impressed.

First the top brick, then the one underneath that, the one underneath that and finally the bottom brick.

And then the table.

"Oops..." Pandora replied.

"Well... they're definitely invisible..." Aries said, knocking on the table to ensure it was still there.

The illusion didn't last long, everything faded back into existence after a moment.

"I mean they disappeared... not for long and I took the table as well but still" Pandora shrugged.

"Not bad for a first try, Zag you go" Icarus replied.

Earrings of truth, a very broad power to have. He wasn't exactly sure where to start.

"Uhh... what should I do?" He asked.

"Let's try something simple first. How about... try and hear what I'm thinking" Aries asked.

"Ok, got it"

Zagreus turned to face the siren and they made eye contact. He set his mind on the goal, hear what Aries was thinking. It sounded distant, and crackly like an old radio. But there was definitely something there, bits and pieces of Aries voice.

"Uhh... something about me? There's a yo sound" he said.

"You're onto it, keep going" Aries replied, a slight grin on their face.

Now Zagreus was suspicious, that cheeky grin meant Aries was probably poking fun at him in their head. It just made him more curious about what they were saying.

"You're... you're someth- are you just calling me gay? Zagreus glared at them.

Aries snickered.

"Yeah"

He sighed, snickering himself.

"We been knew. So is everyone here... expect for Icarus"

"Hey someone has to be the token cishet" Icarus laughed.

Zagreus gave the siren a joking whack on the arm for that stunt.

"Oi! You got the message though didn't you?" They replied.

"It was super distant and kind of crackly but I think I can master it if I keep doing it" Zagreus replied.

Finally, it was Aries turn and fiery be told everyone was a little nervous. Destruction is a powerful thing, one wrong move and the whole bay could crumble.

"Ok... I don't want to accidentally destroy my table so I'm moving the bricks..." Aries muttered.

Taking the four bricks and putting them on the grass, the group gathered around them and stood a considerable distance away.

Aries looked down at them, making sure to keep the bricks and the bricks ONLY in their mind. They did not need the whole house in shambles. Clenching their hand with the ring on it, they blurred their vision to focus on the bricks and nothing else. Slowly and hesitantly they cast out their hand and pointed it at the bricks.

For a moment nothing happened, but then the bricks began to crack. One by one they cracked even more until BOOM! All four exploded into dust, the bang making everyone jump in shock. Once the dust cleared, it revealed the extent of the damage.

"Oh for fuck- Damnit" Aries sighed, looking down at the pile of dust and now hole in the back yard.

"Well... that was... something..." Pandora muttered.

"I mean... you could turn it into a pond?" Zagreus shrugged.

A pond sized hole with brick dust in it, well done Aries.

"I mean, could be worse..." they muttered.

"You did destroy the bricks though" Icarus said.

While none of them were very good at the powers yet, they did manage to make them work as they should. They did their jobs, just not very well. Although with enough practice and focus, that was something they'd be able to do. They had to be thorough, and practice every day if they wanted to master the powers enough before it was time to rebel.

But hey, a start was a start.