It was not arrogance that made Hephaestus state such a thing. The cyclops were skilled, no question, but they were also arrogant and stuck in their ways. They would spurn him, but the god of fire remembered how often they would be spying on his own forge, taking all knowledge they could gleam from it. There was even one who stole a creation of his and successfully passed it off as his own. The thought of it still pissed him off slightly. He had surpassed the cyclops ages ago, but he never had the time and focus to transcend them entirely. At the moment he was their better, but they existed in the same realm. He didn't want that. He wanted to be an absolute existence in comparison. Call it petty vengeance, but the taste of it was a sweet one. He just needed time. Time he could have with this. If he could have a year, no, maybe three years to fully flex and understand his power…than he would eclipse the cyclops so thoroughly it wouldn't even be a joke.
"…You are a craftsman God," whispered Leto in surprise, "but there hasn't been one like you…ever?"
Hephaestus nodded. There were certainly minor gods and probably titans that shared a similar domain, but Hephaestus was the first and only God to truly embody the idea of forging weapons and armor for war in the Greek Pantheon at this current era. There were other minor gods that represented things like iron and specific tools but…Hephaestus cringed internally at that memory. The whole cabal of them were just flat out weird. No one really wanted to associate with them because they didn't really do anything. They worked only with iron. That was it. They didn't even bother with creating bronze and celestial weapons. They just worked iron, repeatedly.
"Are you ignoring me?" growled Leto.
He locked eyes with her, letting his thoughts run wild was perhaps not a good idea here.
"No miss. My thoughts tend to be erratic as of late, I mean no disrespect."
Hephaestus polite way of talking was two folds. The first, he couldn't find himself to be sarcastic like Emiya was. He was shaped by the man, but he was ultimately his own person. The second, it was an advantage. Every god, no matter how weak or strong, had an immense amount of pride. To even think of being polite and deferring to another God was sickening to them. It was a good thing that Hephaestus had no sense of pride to worry about then, did he? It was the right call too, for Leto preened at her perceived victory. Hephaestus could tell immediately. Leto was powerful, strong, and ultimately too weak to overtake him if the worst came to worst. She didn't seem to register this difference, focused entirely on the amount of energy that differed between them. She had a lot more power than Hephaestus at first glance, but in truth his abilities were more focused and potent than her own.
She was not born for battle nor had a taste for it. By any measure Hephaestus shouldn't be either, only in his twenties. To Gods, that was barely better than being a teenager. Hell, that was a state he'd never leave for another couple of centuries. But within him was the neigh countless eras of battle experience that EMIYA had experienced, sorted and visualized by an intellect empowered by divinity. He wasn't afraid if worst came to worse…still…if she wasn't pregnant that meant Apollo and Artemis have been born. They were here, being raised by their mother. Shit. He hoped he would be here early enough in her pregnancy to at least have a few years before needing to leave. Leto would not remain long here if her children were already born. They would grow quickly and Leto's reason to remain in this protective dimension would be gone.
Things have changed…he needed to adapt. He needed something more to bring because there was no way she would-
"Very well. So long as you remain constrained to a location by oath, I'll allow you to remain. Keep in mind, that I will be informing the gods of you the moment my time here has expired."
…or not? Was she a fool? Leto, seemingly knowing his thoughts, laughed. Her eyes took on an…almost pitiful expression.
"You know nothing of how Gods work. Most would at least shield their core…but you are wide open. There's not a malicious aspect to you…but there is suffering and pain."
…what? He must have looked like a fool, staring at his chest, trying to analyze what this crackpot was stating.
"Ther's also the fact that if you wanted to force my hand, you would have threatened me with the titans already."
…that… that was actually a good point.
"You seek Asylum to learn about yourself…because the person who was supposed to be there for you failed to uphold their responsibilities. Do not take my kindness for granted youngling, and do not show your face to me or my family. Go to your mountain and stay there."
Was it pity? Curiosity? Or maybe something more…Hephaestus didn't know. But he was more than willing to abide by these terms. He needed security and space away from others to truly understand the nature of what he had become and the power that comes with it. The Reality Marble had had access to…there was no telling the consequences of using it. Oh yes, he could use it. He knew as sure as he could see and smell that he could use this reality marble. The words…they were instinctive. They were different than Emiya's, for he was a different animal than that guardian. But his existence and use of the reality marble was not such a strange coincidence. Like the Shirou Emiya that attained the Archer Class card, the use of reality marble was made possible. Perhaps he was just as distorted as when he was EMIYA. He was a God after all, his perspective, no matter how similar, went against the common sense of the world.
Yet there was no Alaya, no omniscient consciousness of the planet. Gaia was a concept, but not in the same way that she was in EMIYA's original reality. There was also the idea that using any fragment of EMIYA's skills would tear him asunder. He needed to know.
So yes…he'll take this otherwise shady and unusual deal. He didn't care what she wanted; he didn't care what she was thinking. All that mattered was that mountain, that freedom in the distance. Finally, he could put hammer to steel…finally he could learn and grow. His fingers were twitching, excited at the prospect. Leto disappeared from his view, and the godling abomination was left alone. Making his way to the mountain was a cinch. He twisted space as the centaurs do, quickly standing in front of the mountain that he had seen in Leto's mirror dimension. With a fist he struck the rocky exterior, smashing his way deeper and deeper into the rock before him. He could melt it, but he'd rather leave all stone and mineral deposits untouched by divine power and raw heat. He needed base materials after all.
-Leto's Perspective-
When she had given that godling her word, she was not concerned. The viewing of one's core was considered the greatest act of trust one God could give another. It was to see them as they were. It was not their thoughts or their feelings that were in the open. No, it was more than that. It was the core of who they were. One's immediate thoughts and feelings were inconsequential when someone could peer into the very nature of who you were as an individual. Malicious or kind. Strong in character, or weak in vice. So deep was this view that most titans, primordials, and older God like entities never showed it to another. No…usually the view was reserved for the mother and father. It was through this that a God's domains would be discovered. Eventually they would be taught to mask this from sight. To view such a thing without permission…it would not be wrong to call it a violation.
The godling she had met…by Chaos she had never seen a core so…twisted and whole before. He had mortal fragments welded within him and yet he was still unmistakably divine. A God, but mortal. Living but ageless. Physical and yet spiritual. He was…unusual. How he managed to mimic Hera's own signature was beyond her. Hera had only one child, and that was Ares. An aggressive boy, but an honorable one. He was the one that had escorted her to this place, fighting and slaying every titan and creature that came in her way. Granted he was brutally violent when he did so, but that was to be expected of a God that embodied the more physical aspects of war. She had heard rumors that Zeus was sneaking off to see Metis again and that Metis was pregnant with child. Leto couldn't help but sigh and shake her head. The fates must have been off their rocker when they informed Rhea of the "optimal choice" for her son's kingdom. Rhea was a kind titan…but she was still a Titan. Her son and daughter's wishes were irrelevant to her, and she married them by force. It was a wonder that Zeus and Hera even bothered creating a child between them when the two were forced into it so heavily. Mortals struggled to understand this and created such elaborate stories…still…the men of these human centered societies struggled to understand that Hera was just as powerful as Zeus. Always in a submissive position, always weak. Honestly, it was a wonder why Hera didn't just obliterate every human male she came across.
She was a stronger Goddess than her, no doubt. If it was up to her, she'd keep cursing the idiots until none were left…though Zeus would likely stop her before she got very far. She smiled a bit, remembering his striking blue eyes. They were alight with a vigor not many could match. As formless entities the concept of beauty tended to become a moot point. But lately…humans just seemed to be such a better form to embody. They could converse and walk amongst humans as much as they wished. They could hold conversations that animals rarely could. Taking the form of men allowed them the pleasures of humankind, without any of the consequences.
"Mother, are you well?"
She turned, smiling at the childish form her daughter took. Apollo and Artemis, her sun and moon. They were in their first year of existence. They were already progressing well past the toddler stage of Gods. Soon they would grow, stronger and faster. Her little huntress was a wild thing. Her auburn hair did little to hide the savage gleam in her eyes. She was like a hawk, staring at her. To humans it might be unnerving, but it made Leto's heart swell that her daughter was always looking at her with such attention.
"I am well little bird. Why do you ask?"
Artemis scowled.
"You were talking to someone. Who is it?"
Leto blinked, before turning and locking eyes with an innocent looking Patridge. They were a ground dwelling species that her daughter had found within this space. While it was a pocket dimension, Hera had seen fit to bring various species within it, something to explore and interact with she had said, for the children. Zeus added to the ecosystem as well, bringing many birds and other aerial creatures. Her son was partial to crows, adoring their black feathers and ability to mimic human speech. They would be well adjusted by the time they got out…though her daughter was not a trustful character. Good.
"Someone has managed to find their way here, daughter. You are to let him be. If you find him anywhere outside of that mountain, you inform me immediately. Do you understand?"
Leto would not have let a single individual in. But the truth was that the god had somehow managed to bypass everything and simply enter. If he left and informed the titans, there would be nothing she could do without leaving the dimension to call for Zeus. Her lover was strong, impossibly so. No Titan of the current era could ever hope to match his power….but eight of them? Twenty? Titans were not like the minor gods….they were strong. No…she didn't want maybes. No matter how much Zeus had decreed he was the strongest, she wouldn't let her children's lives be dictated by the possibility his strength wasn't enough. Was it sensical, a being like her cared little for that.
"…I don't…I understand mother," whispered her daughter.
Apollo was staring into space again, his eyes flickering with yet another prophecy he could not utter, too weak to vocalize it in a solid form. Gods were not, by nature, physical as humans were. But the act of invoking a form was a fantastic way to train and utilize their power. Her poor boy twitched a bit, but then had a large grin, his fingers moving across imaginary instruments. She didn't have the heart to tell him that his musical talents would go to waste. She knew not of what his fingers were trying to do, only that his core made it seem that it had something to do with his aspect of "music". Apollo was a good child. She was not concerned with him heading out to that stranger. Artemis on the other hand was territorial, like an animal. Even now she began to grow aggressive…she would fight him if given the chance. The concept of the hunt and wild was strong in her daughter…it would give her strength, but only if she could control and harness it. Than it happened. Leta felt it for only a moment…but a torrent of Olympic levels of power crushed into her, before it was sealed away into the mountain. Her children lacked the consciousness yet to sense such a thing, but Leto stared into the distance, a new concern washing over her.
Hera was a woman bound by her station and aspects. Gods had autonomy, but not free will. She could not have had another child without Zeus, the very nature of her current existence and domain of marriage making it impossible for her to enact such desires, even though she held them. She was more partial to the likes of Hades than Zeus after all. Yet, that power was unmistakable. Every core had a hint of their parent's power, a signature. Much like a D.N.A test could state one's parentage, the release of energy like that was the same. Leto swallowed as she realized that the godling she just let in did not mimic Hera's power at all. There was no trick.
That being…he was somehow Hera's child.
"Mother are you alright?" stressed Artemis.
Apollo merely walked up to her, smiling. His hands glowed an ethereal gold as a wash of energy soothed Leto's core. She smiled serenely at her son's actions.
"Such a sweet boy," she whispered, caressing his hair. Unlike his sister, Apollo's hair was a lustrous gold, much like the sun he embodied. His eyes shone orange with the light of the sun, and his simples and skin would have many swooning over him. Artemis was vigilant, quiet, and intense. Her features, while beautiful in their own impossible way, were not as open as her brother. She would attract her own friends, but Leto could tell…Apollo would be the more social of the two. Though…Artemis seemed to struggle with that. She smacked her brother behind the head.
"Speak like normal, idiot!"
They began to bicker, Apollo speaking in notes and light, while her daughter reverted to screeching and calls, like the animals she so adored and hunted. She understood every "word" of their conversation, though to human ears it would likely be gibberish. Leto stared upwards, wondering where the peace went. Even divine children were a handful.
-Hephaestus's P.O.V, Four Years Later-
Hephaestus inspected yet another blade, one formed from the metals found in this mountain. Unlike normal metals, found within the human realm, this mirror dimension held a treasure trove of divine minerals. Or…rather it was. Hephaestus had almost run the entire mountain dry of resources, hollowing it out in a short four years. Ordinarily he wouldn't do such a thing, the damage to the surrounding ecosystems far too great. But here? In a fake dimension that was going to be obliterated anyway. Might as well. Besides, this informed Hephaestus that it was possible to farm even the rarest materials, so long as he could create a corresponding dimension. Using his reality marble was easy, creating a straight up fresh alternate dimension that mirrored reality was not. Funny how that worked. He had not once stepped foot out of this room, his promise to Leto kept. Though, that did little to stop the Titaness herself from coming to him as he found out. She had been…educational. Teaching him the various laws and common sense that a Godling like him would have learned normally. Thetis was still resoundingly silent, leaving Hephaestus to assume that his foster mother only cared for him the way she did to make use of his future abilities.
It must have been the reason that Hephaestus welcomed Leto so often over the years…as much as he hated the idea, he must have been using her as a substitute. She was warm, caring, but strict. He never overstepped, a fact she seemed to appreciate as time went on. It was close to the time that he was preparing to leave. He began to unravel the runes that he practiced with and used to enforce his space. Countless hours spent honing his craft left Hephaestus an avenue of development. Every sword he studied from within him became a part of his skill as a craftsman. It was funny in a way, an entire selection of realities worth of knowledge learned in a short four years. Even as a God Hephaestus was still only about halfway through his reality marble's collection of Noble Phantasms. The weapons appeared to work as intended, though the effects were enforced by his divinity and thus were unknowable. Some worked as intended, others functioned differently. As such weapons were the focus of his experiments over the years.
With that said, weapons were not the only things present in his space. While the forge in the center of this massive circle was the show piece, the various walls and tunnels had loads of tools and other items that caught his interest. His isolation, sans Leto's visits, allowed him ample time to diverge his interests across many platforms. One day he was a blacksmith, shaping metal. Another day he was a carpenter, shaping wood. Other days he was trying to reinvent absurd and random things, like the crossbow or the piano. His interests flourished as he kept shifting time and time again. With each shift of his focus, a new avenue of inspiration became available to him.
It was intoxicating and liberating. These last few years have been a balm to his troubled soul.
His day had started like any other. He awoke from a state of dreaming. When his eyes closed, he spent the night analyzing as many noble phantasms as he could. He learned even in his sleep, a trait he learned through Leto was far from normal for a God. Sleep was not a requirement, though for Hephaestus it was. He got agitated without it. After a year he had assured himself that he was free of any outside influence, such as Alaya or some outer chuthulu god.
….what? It could happen.
In the second year he initiated his Reality Marble after…enclosing himself. He followed the principals of magecraft and imposed them on the staves that Leto had taught him, a favor that he requested in return for a armlet that warned of danger. Unfortunately, it was keyed to his divine signature as well, informing him if she was in danger. An unfortunate side effect, one that he had been working on removing as best he could. As for his augmented protection staves, he had been able to use them without repercussions along with the noble phantasms and his reality marble.
His third year he practiced and honed both his skills in magic and body. He found that, while small, he could in theory improve his physicality with physical exercise. He had pushed himself to start a new project that he was still working on even now. He only had one last finishing touch. It was his goal for the morning. Even trapped inside the mountain he could still feel the sun rising. His usual attire was a simple cloth wrapped around his waist, not unlike the mantle that Emiya wore. His upper body was left exposed, a significant amount of bulk added over the years.
If Archer Emiya was a lithe and muscular individual, then Hephaestus was a more built man, less a swimmer and more a linebacker. Due to the accidents in the forge and the limited amount of cloth that he could attain at this point, it was the best outfit he could manage comfortably. His mantle/waist chiton flowed from his waist and settled just under his knees, and he didn't have to manage it so often. While his reality marble was aflutter with metallic materials he was limited in cloth. Most would just disperse whenever he worked the forge, the cloth he had on hand coming from divine sources could withstand it. There was one in his reality marble…but…the shroud of Martin was too difficult to pass off and EMIYA's armor, while impressive, was basically paper in comparison to divine equivalents. The energy of the Abrahamic faith was too unique and would come with questions he would not answer. So, he went without. For now. He felt attached to that shroud…he would wear it in the future when he could.
For now, he was focused on a different project, one centered on his legs. There was nothing wrong, inherently. Braces and crutches would allow him to live a rather…sustainable life. But that was a concept that was only doable in a safe and developed world. This current era was neither. He needed full range of motion and the ability to fight if he wanted to survive this era. He was not like other gods. The mortal fragments within him granted him the aspects of mortality that allowed him to be slain. The way his flesh melded and shuddered under his own weight…he could barely crawl and shuffle along where he needed to. There was…also the memories. The memories of EMIYA that made him live lifetimes of being able to fight his own battles under his own strength. He gained something he never had…only to lose it once he "awoke" from the merging. His project involved the prosthetic limb known as Airgetlam, the silver arm of the celtic god Neuda.
-WARNING: SELF HARM IS DEPICTED HERE. THIS IS NO WAY REFLECTS ON THE OPINIONS OF THE AUTHOR. SKIP AHEAD TO WARNING ENDING TO SKIP PAST THIS SCENE. THE AUTHOR APOLOGIZES FOR ANY PERCIEVED INSULT OR TRAUMA THAT IS INVOKED WITH THE IMAGERY DEPICTED-
His plan was simple…though completely inhuman. To Hephaestus…he treated himself like a machine. His legs were useless. No amount of divine healing will fix them. He had severed the legs once before, to see what would happen. To his analysis, they healed completely and utterly, perfect in replicating what was once there. Altering the bones and muscles during the process was strangely impossible, even as a God. One of the animals he trapped at the base of the mountain was subjected to…rather horrific experiments he would admit. He severed the animals soul from its body, allowing the soul to leave the still living flesh, but it was still not something the God was proud of overall, no matter how brain dead the creature. He could alter and adjust the flesh of living things as a "craftsman" God, but it was a lengthy and atrociously slow process. It required his full focus and any living thing struggling would escape it.
His body healed in accordance with his core. As such, no amount of his will would alter the grounds of his core as a divine being. To alter the very make up of the soul was impossible for any God. Creating one was not necessarily impossible, but altering it's shape and purpose…that was a cardinal rule no being in existence could alter. No…his legs would remain as they were. So, he would replace them.
Before Hephaestus, at a table placed within the bottom floor of this hollowed out mountain, was two sets of black metallic prosthetics. They were legs, perfectly attuned to his body's parameters and designed entirely with the Airgetlam model he had within his reality marble. He used the history and creation process to mimic the same process. It took him two years to properly forge a set of them. It was black adamantine, a variant of the godly metal that was Hephaestus' design, capable of withstanding impossible temperatures once cooled and set into form. All it took was a flesh sacrifice to bind the prosthetics to him and connect to his core. Neuda was trapped in a physical form whenever he wished to use both of his arms, but Hephaestus cared little for that restriction. He was incapable of attaining a spiritual existence like the other Gods, so such a "sacrifice" wasn't really one to begin with. He stripped himself of his clothes and raised his hand. A blade formed a distance from behind him…Harpe.
It began to spin on his command at a rapid pace, before launching with enough speed and force to sever both legs at once. It was a testament both to EMIYA's mental fortitude and Hephaestus painful existence that the act of severing his legs from his body was…manageable. The twin set of cybernetic replacements glowed gold beneath the metal, the upper part of the limbs opening and revealing several hair thin strands of gold shooting out to his severed limbs. It connected to every nerve, opening the legs compartments. Hephaestus held himself aloft by upper body strength, gripping the edge of his worktable. Once complete, the metal screeched as it slammed into place, seamlessly melding flesh and metal. Hephaestus could feel every bit with these legs that he could feel previously, weapons for his continued survival in this age of the Gods. Was it sad, how little he seemed to care about destroying his own flesh? How little he seemed to care about "fixing" himself, as if what was there was inconsequential? As if he mattered so little, that what he had just done was…something small. Like removing a band-aid. Was it wrong for him to alter his body, deny the form he had been born with? Was he even denying it in the first place? He was an impossible birth, an abomination by many accounts. What was one more sin beside his existence? His smile…what it reflected was anyone's guess.
-WARNING ENDED-
The two limbs were perfect. Functioning exactly as Hephaestus needed them to. For the first time in his life, he was able to stand tall on his own two feet. Though, the aesthetic purpose of his augmentation was not the goal. His full range of motion was what he was after, and the limbs delivered on that front. Perhaps it was due to the nature of the experiment drawing her attention, but he felt Leto "knocking" on his protection stave again. This was a standard procedure. Hephaestus lacked the ability to sense divine energy from a distance, a short coming of the mortal fragments within. As a sign of respect, Leto would break his runes, one by one at a slow pace. He prepared for her arrival, clothing himself in full and covering his upper body with a magic equivalent. Unfortunately, it would not last long as the divine energies he emitted broke it down. He walked to the entrance, a stone-like expression forming on his face. He had a feeling for what this was about.
As the last of his runes fell, Leto came before him. With her were her children. Artemis was striking. Her form was lithe and compact, yet still retaining a curvaceous shape. Her breasts were seemingly bound in a way not too dissimilar to a sports bra. She wore a chiton that was flowed freely to her knees. Her hair was wild, left alone in a savage bed head like fashion. Her eyes were drilling into him, her silvery orbs eyeing him up like prey. She was muscular, showing more definition than her brother, though she was smaller in musculature. Like her twin, she wore nothing on her feet.
Apollo was more concerned with what was around him on the other hand. Hephaestus rose an eyebrow, watching the man walk towards his instruments, only to be grabbed by his mother. Figured, he doubts that Apollo had ever seen such things before, but his nature as a God of music ensured that he knew exactly how to play them. Give him a week and he'll have mastered them. Unlike Artemis, whose hair was long and wild, Apollo's was blonde and curly. It framed his face like a cherub and his form was a tad bulkier than his sister's but still thin and beautiful. His toga was bound by a golden brooch but flowed right down to his feet, with a sash of cloth wrapped around his arms. He looked at him with an easy-going smile, studying him. He stared at his legs and, as he figured, and…a sense of disgust washed over him. It was different than what he saw the humans have though. This was not a revulsion, as he was accustomed to. No…the man seemed horrified. It mattered not, Hephaestus wasn't in the business of wasting time…and neither was Leto. She was as striking as ever. Her blonde hair flowed freely behind her back. While it was cared for more delicately than her daughter's, her hair was still curly and full. Her blue eyes and tanned skin had become a common sight for Hephaestus. She wore a deep purple chiton, while her daughter wore silver and her son gold. Hephaestus remained in a charcoal black ensemble himself.
"Lady Leto," bowed Hephaestus, "to what assistance can I offer?"
Leto's smile told him exactly how much she liked having her ego inflated, but the respect he showed her was genuine. She had given her space to a total stranger and had informed him of more about being a God then either Thetis or the Cyclops have done. If nothing else, that earned his respect.
"I believe you had a promise for me, hmm? Our time in this space is up…as I think you are aware."
Hephaestus nodded. Leto's eyes locked to his legs…but he appreciated the fact that she said nothing. He towered over the two slightly, being a head taller than the three now that he stood unslanted. He was wider and bulkier than either twin, but Hephaestus didn't doubt their lethality. Even so close he could sense that they were incredibly powerful, a sign of great strength at their age. He could see why Leto wanted to remain hidden with her twins. Their very presence would help solidify Zeus' power base a thousand times over, tipping the balance even further against the minor gods and the titans, who boiled beneath the surface. Still, he wanted Leto's firm approval before he started.
"They are ready?"
Artemis scowled a bit, probably disliking the idea of being judge by this man she had never met. Apollo was more confusing than anything. His gift for prophecy was more likely causing him to be more scatter brained than he wanted. He had a fix for that as well. A freebie, for Leto's sake. He gave both the twins a look over. Both took the form of adult humans now, something they seemed comfortable doing. A common practice amongst the gods as of late. Made it easier to move inconspicuously if they wanted…though they never did. Still, even a human form made by thought still carried echoes of what would suit them best.
"I'll make several items for them. The first will be their symbols. I take it they wish for it to be a bow?"
Artemis raised an eyebrow. He turned to her.
"I will also gift you a hunting spear, a means to hunt without using your divine symbol."
Artemis would likely appreciate a means to hunt non-divine animals without…exploding her twiceHe turned to Apollo.
"An instrument for you is yours to pick off the rack over there. They'll need to be tuned before you play it though. Choose well, I'm only letting you take one."
As it would turn out, The God of Fire was a bit more possessive of his creations than he once thought. Apollo simply dispersed in a bright light, not even bothering to walk over to the instrucments. He became a stream of sunlight, washing over each instrument and washing himself with the sound. It was a beautiful cacophony of noise, one that sharpened into an orchestra as the god finally got to flex their musical talents beyond his voice. He turned to Leto.
"I'll need pieces of their divine power. Blood, hair, pure energy. Whatever you're comfortable with giving."
What form of power they wished to give didn't matter. It is the nature of a thing, not its form. Artemis scowled. Perhaps he had been too deferential to their mother, it seems he disrespected her.
"Do you think me a fool? You know exactly what can be done with something like that!"
Hephaestus shrugged, uncaring. He moved towards the wood section of his workshop. Along this wall were large holes, sealed with stone. He shifted the stone, reaching in. He pretended to grab pieces of wood, but he was in fact summoning them from within his Reality Marble. Usually, one would find an ancient one-of-a-kind tree to harvest for a divine weapon like a bow or a spear. The cyclops would guard these trees Jealously and…slay the nymph within them. but…well Hephaestus called bullshit and decided to test what he could do to hasten the process without pissing off powerful nature spirits. Imagine his surprise that creating divine wood was easier than expected. At least for him anyways. His reality marble, changed by his nature as a god, allowed him to create and transfer anything from his reality marble and into reality as true genuine articles and vice versa. It went beyond just completed products, like swords, that he could analyze but evolved to entail whatever substance he inferred as a "material". He was basically a walking 3D printer and transmuter. He could take normal wood and insert it into his reality marble. Through that he could deconstruct its base materials and readjust them to exactly what he needed from the materials his reality marble could produce.
Everything his reality marble needed to create and store his noble phantasms was present within that world. If a weapon used divine wood, then his reality marble could recreate it perfectly. As such, turning wood into divine wood was made possible with this process, in fact he could create any proxy material he wanted, so long as a baseline material was fed into his being. A handy trick for someone like him and would make obscured materials easier to experiment with. It was a lengthy process though. The wood he was using now took almost the entire four years to properly "ferment". They were absurdly lucky that he had been gifted a piece of divine wood by a grateful forest nymph along his travels.
"You are lucky," muttered Hephaestus, showing the material to them, "I had found a dying tree filled with divine power. I'll use this for the bows and Artemis' spear."
Artemis scowled but her ire grew as Apollo just tossed him a ball of his energy. She lunged forward and tried to prevent him from using it, but Hephaestus raised his hand and allowed some of the wood to devour the power. Artemis blinked.
"…the wood? Is that not a waste?"
Hephaestus shrugged.
"Why do you care?"
She bristled, hating the way her mother smirked at her. She turned back to Hephaestus, narrowing her eyes.
"You will show me respect!"
Hephaestus shrugged.
"Earn it. Do you want your bow or not?"
Begrudgingly, she gave a fragment of her hair. It dispersed into a silver light, melding with the wood. He had what he needed.
"Come back in six hours."
Leto blinked.
"Hours?"
Before Hephaestus could say anything, Apollo appeared.
"He means the duration of time it takes for the sun to travel the sky!"
Hephaestus smirked as Artemis beaned her brother on the head with a stick. The sun god even pretended it hurt.
"We know that idiot! We mean why does it take hours! The cyclops can do it within a few minutes!"
The divine process was…short. Complicated, but short. It reflected how divinity works. The idea that it was a representation, rather than a process. It wasn't too dissimilar to the Einzbern's alchemy in that it brute forced the outcome. The divine variation was played by very different rules obviously, but the results were similar enough.
Most gods that centered around artisans rarely bothered with the process. Their use of divinity would shorthand the menial tasks as much as they could, to quickly create whatever they desired. But Hephaestus was different. He knew that every action he took was a ritual, a process that could empower what he was creating even further. Time, effort, skill, and many more aspects all came together to create something of value. The cyclops have forgotten this truth, intent on simply shoving more magic into something and hoping for the best. He still respected them, after all they were a non-divine species that could create divine weapons. A rarity amongst pantheons. He shooed them out, ignoring the strange glint that Leto had as he removed the toga from his body.
His methods would always be a little…too mundane, for other God's tastes. Precisely because of that attitude Hephaestus' works would always be of a higher quality. Yet, funny enough, to mortals five hours was an impossible amount of time, truly something only a God could pull off. Funny how perspective worked in that regard. The creation of the items was not difficult. Their primary function, aside from the obvious, was the need to completely allow the flow of divine power. Hephaestus method allowed him to create that which the Cyclops and even amateur divine artisans could not. Shaping, treating, and adjusting the spellcraft within the wood was as simple as breathing for him. He scowled as he finished the bows. He wanted more for them, but he had to make do with what he had. He knew he was an utter perfectionist and that, if given the time, would hone them for years. That was not a feasible time frame now. EMIYA cared nothing for the aesthetic quality of his creations, but he was an artist at heart…and that was his focus. He wanted them perfect, to be something that Apollo and Artemis would genuinely cherish, regardless of their feelings for him. If need be, he would recreate a more perfected upgrade for later.
When Apollo and Artemis returned with their mother, they expected the god to be up to something. It was in their nature after all. Instead, they found him wrapping the last bits of Apollo's bow. A golden bow that was wrapped with a blue satin cloth for the grip. Artemis' was a cool silver intertwined with the natural color of the wood. Both were beautiful…and both were created using the concept of a compound bow. The wheels of the bows threw them off, as the mechanical parts within were not something they would see in this current era. With a swipe of his hand, the mechanical parts were covered by the aesthetic of them both. Apollo's motif was covered with the singing motif of the muses, while Artemis' was no nonsense, only having the barest hint of additions to the bow. Instead, it was beautiful in its simplicity and natural aesthetic, drawing from nature to create something of value.
"Here," said Hephaestus, tossing the bow to them both. Immediately the two could feel the difference. Divine weapons were crucial to Gods like them, allowing to draw even more power than just their hands would allow them. They were not just weapons, but focuses, tools made to help focus their power even further. If before they could only access a handful of their power…now…now? Apollo shuddered as he felt the full weight of his existance completely under his control, funneled into his symbol of power. 100% of his abilities were now able to be focused and used at his leisure as often or as little as he pleased. The Cyclops, as a comparison…their creations could only handle 10%. That was considered phenomenal in this age, and he outstripped them completely.
Hephaestus future goal was to create weapons that would empower the user even further, though he kept such a thing to himself. Leto's eyes were wide and bowed slightly, making Hephaestus raise an eyebrow.
"Thank you, master craftsman, my children will use these well."
Leto glared at Apollo, and the god bowed, though not too deeply. Artemis was different. Her eyes were now focused and sharp, she pulled the bow with her full strength, the muscles on her back bulging at the incredible weight she was pulling back with. An arrow formed, created by her own power. It was silver in color. She let the arrow go and it flew with the scream of a hawk. The arrow pulsated as it punched through countless layers of rock, tearing through the mountain and sky beyond with relentless abandon. She turned to Hephaestus…and what had to be the most wild and savage grin Hephaestus had even seen stretched on her face. She had sharp canines, like a wild animal, and her eyes danced with a light he wasn't expecting. She was happy. She seemed to give him some respect as he didn't buckle at the howling aura she now had.
"Thank you," she said simply, "it will be different hunting without restraint."
She bowed, deeper than her brother. Leto looked up, smiling as the dimension began to break down. Hephaestus sighed, wondering where to go next. He stared at Leto and he knew…she was going straight to Mount Olympus. His secret was out. He didn't blame her though. Her loyalty to Zeus was far more than a paltry loyalty to someone like him. She never lied about it, never tried to work around it. They both knew what would happen on this day. The dimension shattered apart completely and the collection of divine beings found themselves in reality. Leto smiled at him and nodded, her gratitude obvious.
Her smile became more tender when Hephaestus returned the gesture, nodding to her in return.
"Be safe," he said.
The trio glowed…but Hephaestus remained behind. In the brief second that their travel took to initiate, a being shot out from the waterfall like a ravenous beast, it's maw wide in a desperate attempt to swallow three gods at once…only to be launched by a weapon slamming into its hide. The creature slammed into the farm shore, curling it's long body to coil again.
"I was wondering what was lurking in the shadows. So, you remained even here."
It was an impossibly large serpent. Silver in color with crimson red eyes. An albino, in human terms. It hissed at him…but not in rage. Oh no, this was not the first time that Hephaestus met this creature. After all, it had hid in the dimension with Leto for years, siphoning off bits and pieces of divine energy in an effort to hunt her and her children.
Its plan shifted when a new, seemingly weaker god, showed up. Easier prey that turned out to not be so easy. Hephaestus smiled. He remembered how the creature had an uncanny ability to slide between dimensions, completely bypassing any divine defenses. It was how to escaped him in the first place and was the reason that Hephaestus hastened the development of his prosthetics.
"So fate can be over turned. Interesting, for the mighty Python to die at my hand instead of his…"
The serpent wanted to strike, believing that the weapons could not harm it. Only that was not true. As a divine monster, the creature known as Python was powerful. But the blade Hephaestus summoned was unlike any blade the Greeks ever wielded. It was not a blade that housed immense power. It was not a bludgeon that would simply crush the foe with superior divinity.
"Come, Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi!"
This was a blade whose sole existence was geared towards slaying serpents of all kinds. In this reality, names held incredible power. If a God's name was called, then their attention would be called. If the name of a weapon was called, then it was possible to summon the power of that weapon forth. Perhaps it would be a little cringy for those unused to it, but Archer's reality was filled with people using such a method, Hephaestus would not shy from it. Especially when it was so effective.
The creature lunged at him and was bisected in a single strike. While powerful, it was young. It had nowhere near the same amount of divinity as the legendary Orochi. The god of fire tested his grip, and stared at the steaming corpse of the Python, the flesh trying to meld together. In one variant of the myth Python was responsible for…defiling Leto. EMIYA felt little, his twisted nature not allowing for a normal register of emotions. Hephaestus was molded by him…but he was his mother's son. He held grudges…deep and terrible. He approached the snake, uncaring of the sins it never committed in this reality. It had signed its death warrant…and he would extract his pound of flesh and then some.
Literally.
He always wondered what kind of materials he could enhance using monsters after all. Animals' suffering was always horrendous, but a monster like this? The god of craftsman had little hesitance with creatures like this. Hephaestus drew a skinning knife and got to work. It took some time, but eventually the creature turned into a yellow mist, the corporal form unable to sustain itself. Thankfully, his theory proved correct. So long as the creature didn't die immediately, it was possible to dismantle it for material. Left behind in the golden mist was a…
"….what on earth?"
There was a cloak…a charcoal black cloak? How did that work? Why!? Hephaestus felt the spark of wanting to know ignite frantically. But it was quelled quickly, considering his circumstance. He tossed the cloak into his reality marble, not wanting to wear such a thing at the moment. His reality marble would deconstruct it, and he'll learn more about it over time. A…warmth spread. The idea that Leto would live unencumbered was…nice. They likely would not meet again, there was no reason to. Their social spheres are too different. He turned to the direction of Olympus…and smiled. This wasn't like Thetis or the cyclops. Leto was as open and honest as he would have ever wanted. If this was the end of their acquaintance, then so be it. He would remember her well and take her lessons to heart.
He turned to the morning sun and…just began to walk, for the hell of it. Who knows where he was heading, but he would enjoy his last few hours of free time before Olympus was aware of his existence.