When the heavens open

The next day, Theos was already standing in front of Kael for another day of training. But his appearance told a different story: he looked as if he had already trained before even arriving there, so exhausted he seemed.
“Good morning,” Kael said, raising an eyebrow. “You look terrible today… Anyway, same routine as yesterday. Let’s get to work.”
Theos began the training, but his body still carried the weight of the previous day, already feeling at its limit.
As the days passed, however, his body began to adapt. And each time Kael noticed Theos could withstand a certain type of exercise, he increased the load, the intensity, and the amount. Little by little, the boy’s frail body began to transform. He was stronger, faster, and more resilient.
From one hundred push-ups at the beginning, Theos could now do a thousand.From thirty laps around the village, he now ran five hundred.From barely managing two sit-ups, he now reached three hundred.
Even Kael himself could hardly believe the speed of such evolution in so little time. Rain or shine, the training went on relentlessly.
Over a year passed, and the pace only grew. Theos, now fourteen, was already training in combat with wooden swords alongside Kael. His reflexes had sharpened, and his physical strength was far beyond what it once had been.
“You’re doing very well, Theos,” Kael said, with a rare smile. “You’ve improved a lot since you first started training. Your senses are sharp… but we can still go further.” He pulled a cloth from his pocket.
“You’re going to blindfold me again?” Theos asked.
“I am. A warrior must rely on all his senses, not just his sight. You depend too much on it, and that holds back the others. When vision is taken away, the remaining senses grow sharper. Relax. Focus. Trust them.”
Kael began walking in circles, then suddenly lunged. Theos managed to defend against a few strikes, but Kael soon increased his speed. The boy could no longer keep up and fell to the ground.
“We’ll stop here for today,” Kael said, crossing his arms. “You’ve impressed me, Theos. I didn’t think you’d last through this training… but not only did you endure it, you evolved far too quickly. You’re stronger now. No longer that skinny boy.”
“Thanks… it’s because I had a good teacher,” Theos replied with a smile.
“Don’t thank me yet. You still need to improve your senses.”
The two sat down, talking calmly. Suddenly, a golden light appeared in the sky. Kael immediately noticed and stood on alert. The light descended forcefully, striking the ground in front of them. A cloud of dust rose, and as it began to settle, the silhouette of a woman took shape.
Kael’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“It’s been a long time, Kael…” the woman said.
“A… Athena?!”