Styx was in the Underworld.
This wasn't new or particularly newsworthy. She lived in the Underworld; it was strange for her to be in other places.
However, she wasn't alone.
She was with the Lord of the Underworld, Hades. His wife, Persephone. And Hecate, who had a particular interest in the topic being discussed.
That is, they were observing Ocean Song.
It's not even that they were discussing Ocean Song's newfound power. Something they could see plain as day, being powerful deities.
To them, they could see he took another big step onto the path of godhood. To them, they could see that somehow, against all logic, he became his own symbol and totem. That he was essentially worshipping himself and that was somehow working to his benefit.
To the ancient deities, it was baffling.
They had never heard of this before. Belief, substance to the gods, and what rounds them out in addition to things like their symbol and domain were always something that came from the mortals of the world.
They couldn't understand how Ocean Song made himself his own symbol so he could worship himself with unquestionable belief.
If they didn't know him, they would have believed he was a genius of unprecedented pedigree.
Then again, they also recognized that they were 'born' as gods. None of them had ever been mortal or anything but a god.
It was a topic worthy of discussion and deliberation for ancient deities that ran the western world.
Yet, that somehow took a back seat.
Because the group of gods stood there and watched how Ocean Song and his friends quite literally mugged a lesser god and began stripping him of the clothes off his back.
That wasn't hyperbole.
Hades recognized Daedalus, and he watched as the genius architect and master craftsman took off Boreas's shoes, measured them to his own, and then started to take off his well-tailored suit.
Not to mention that Medusa—the actual Gorgon—was currently beating the proverbial and possibly literal shit out of Boreas with a Divine Club with a relaxed smile on her face like she was sitting at the beach.
To the gods, it was surreal.
"So, this is who you chose as your champion, Styx?" Hades asked.
"...."
"I don't mean to sound critical, but…how exactly is this supposed to invoke punishment for breaking his oath? Beyond the…obvious answer." Persephone asked.
Styx was silent for a few moments, watching Boreas continue to get beaten by her champion and his fellows.
If anything, despite the…shame she was feeling right now, she also was reluctantly pleased at what was happening.
How long has it been since someone learned the consequences of crossing her?
Maybe, just maybe…people will treat her oaths as sacred after a few more…incidents.
"It looks like his kneecaps healed; break them again." Ocean Song told Medusa.
The god cried out as Medusa did just as he told her.
"...the item I gave him, its ability to strip away a god's divinity if they have broken their oath." Styx forced out. "He simply has to will it to happen, making contact."
"Smart." Hades grunted. "Giving it the limitation of only working on Oath Breakers, my brother can't throw his usual tantrums if it becomes known."
That was an understatement.
Zeus would have flipped his lid if he found out a god made a 'weapon' that could force mortality on other godly beings.
The condition of Oath Breaking, well, how could Zeus realistically argue against that without making himself look like a fool?
Likewise, without that limitation, she probably couldn't have created such a divine object. Gods couldn't simply will something so absurd into existence; there were certain rules that had to be followed.
Styx nodded at his compliment.
"I assume that by extension…hitting someone with it invokes a temporary mortality to the affected areas, thus…." Hecate gestured to the scene happening.
Boreas hadn't been stripped of his divinity. He was just being beaten by a godly club that sort of pushed past it and invoked mortality on contact. It wasn't the complete stripping that should be invoked with the punishment, more like an unintentional, if beneficial, side effect.
The lesser god's painful cries continued to fill the room around them.
"I have a question." Persephone spoke up again.
"Yes?" Styx responded.
"...did you tell him how to use it correctly?"
Everyone turned to look at her, then back at Ocean Song, who took over for Medusa and went back to beating him.
"...."
The silence was answer enough.
"Fellow Daoist, do you now understand the immensity of Heaven and Earth!?" Ocean Song shouted, hitting him with the club.
"He's certainly…enthusiastic." Persephone forced out a compliment.
"It could be worse." Hades acknowledged.
Hecate also joins in. "Honestly, the secondhand shame pales in comparison to what Boreas is probably feeling."
Despite their words, Styx didn't feel better.
"Big Brother, can I try?" The Cyclops with them asked.
"Of course, junior brother. Make sure to use what we practiced before." He happily handed over the club.
Tyson held up the club and began to swing it. "The Heavens are merciless!"
Boreas let out a sharp cry because Tyson hit him in a very…tender area.
Hades unconsciously winced.
He didn't really think too much of the weapon Styx made beforehand. But now, he suddenly had a newfound…appreciation for what it could do.
"You had eyes, but you failed to recognize Mt. Tai!" Tyson shouted, followed by more beatings.
Styx finally got fed up and decided to intervene.
[Line Break]
Ocean Song nodded to himself.
He was proud of his junior brother; he had come a long way already.
"If you crawl through my legs, I'll spare your life!" More swings of the club followed.
Ocean Song noted that they would need to work on which lines to deliver and the proper timing, but he certainly got an 'A' for effort!
"Fellow Daoist Daedalus, how do you like your new shoes?" Ocean Song asked.
"They're a good fit." Daedalus responded, admiring them himself. He wasn't exactly dressed properly to showcase their elegance, but he was still happy.
Medusa was also admiring her new Rolex watch that may or may not have come off the god's wrist.
Ocean Song shifted through the…acquired pants of the god who was now in nothing but his underwear.
Ocean Song found his wallet and made sure to pocket it.
He never mentions it, but…they're very, very poor.
They had no money, let alone cultivation resources. So just this little bit of money was a windfall for the great Heavenly Sword Demon Waves Sect.
Just as Ocean Song was about to announce a job well done, space and time were torn open. Bewildered, Ocean Song peered through it, and before he could react, a rock hit him in the face, and he fell to the ground.
The other sect members stopped what they were doing and stared.
Ocean Song got up, ignored his bloody nose, and picked up the rock that also had a piece of paper tied to it. He pulled it off, unfolded it, and read it.
'Use the club and will the punishment onto him, you idiot!'
–Styx
"I have received a divine revelation." "Ocean Song declared, putting the rock away." "Junior Brother, the club." He held out his hand, and Tyson turned it over. Ocean Song, now understood why Boreas wasn't…staying down. In that, they had to keep beating him, or he would heal up and be a very angry god that they had to fight.
With the demeanor of an expert, his robes billowed, and he stood before the prone god and pressed the club into his chest.
"Boreas, God of the North Wind!" He roared heroically. "You have been judged a sinner! An oath sworn, an oath broken. Henceforth, you shall be punished. Strips of your godhood, stripped of your ambrosia and nectar. You are exiled from Olympus, the Realm of Gods. You shall find no warmth in the sacred Hearth until your punishment is finished!"
Despite Ocean Song being grandiose about it, the punishment took effect.
Boreas's eyes widened; his divine power was leaving his body. He felt weak, pained, and old.
He couldn't feel the North Winds; he couldn't feel the world.
His senses dulled, his body ached, and he felt the weight of gravity. The previous harsh chill now bit into his skin, prickled his senses, and brought him unease.
The god of the North Wind collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
"...did it work?" Medusa asked.
Ocean Song pretended to know the answer. "The punishment has been given!" He raised the club to the sky triumphantly.
"Bawhooooo!" A familiar and hearty bellow could be heard not far away.
Everyone looked around, and Daedalus in particular became startled and looked like he was having an episode.
"Nessie, go back and protect the sect!" Ocean Song scolded lightly to wherever the great Heavenly Demon Void Beast had been hiding.
He just shook his head and continued his previous train of thought. "Good job, everyone. Our first Sect mission was a success. I'll make sure you all get a proper bonus for your hard work."
"Wait." Medusa held up her hand. "We get paid?"
"Yes?" Ocean Song looked confused.
"In real money?" Daedalus asked as well. "Not monopoly money, not rocks you found on the side of the road. Actual legal tender that can be used?"
"Of course!" Ocean Song puffed up his chest. "What kind of foolish leader would I be not to provide compensation for your hard work? That's just asking for all my employees to despise me and think about leaving or betraying the company."
"...company?" Employees?"
"Don't mind the details." Ocean Song waved it off. "It's important to have a notable and pointed system of compensation and appreciation. It builds a foundation of loyalty and respect." He explained.
Medusa and Daedalus just stared at him, unsure of what to say. Mostly because it was intelligent, articulate, and reasonable when he just blurted it all out as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
In that moment, time and space were torn open again. But instead of a rock, it was Styx who stepped out.
They were all silent as the ancient goddess inspected Boreas, who was unconscious on the ground.
"Senior Styx, your mission is complete!" Ocean Song stated.
Styx looked at him, then back at Boreas. She noted, in particular, that his legs were broken. And as a mortal, for the next…seven years, she estimated, that would be rather debilitating.
"His punishment was…carried out, I suppose." She was forced out.
"He also has no ID or money now, Great Goddess! If he's to be mortal for a period of time, he won't be able to get a job. And since he has no ID, he'll probably get arrested from the hospital. Especially since he's most likely not in any systems. At best, they'll treat him as an illegal alien. Maybe they'll let him stay since they can't deport him anywhere. But he'll have no job history, so he'll have to work a minimum wage job and live in government-sponsored housing. At worst, he may be treated as clinically insane if he starts to shout about how he's a god and other wild claims since he's now mortal. It's entirely possible they simply place him in a mental health institution for the duration of his mortality. Either way, Great Goddess, he will have no prospects or luxuries during his stay as a mortal!" Ocean Song saluted her, having delivered his summarization.
The goddess Styx just stared at him.
She didn't pay much attention to the mortals or how they operated. His word vomit was half nonsense, half understanding. And from what she could gather, it really sounded like Boreas was going to be very uncomfortable for his punishment.
All of which she hadn't even considered.
She thought that simply being mortal for a few years was a significant punishment for a god of his stature. But now, it sounds like he might have just been annoyed for a few years and still lived in the lap of luxury in different circumstances.
She didn't say it out loud, but she learned something important from her new champion.
"I will deliver your payment later." She accepted the 'contract' he gave her; she would uphold it as the goddess's oaths.
"Goddess, may I ask for a special request as a bonus?" Ocean Song spoke up.
"...I'm listening."
[Line Break]
Chiron wasn't having a very fun time.
Camp Half-Blood was more active than ever. It would normally make him proud to see his campers so enthusiastic and attentive to their training and learning.
However, in this situation, he just had a strange feeling in his gut.
This 'quest' was to find and retrieve Hera's Golden Apple Tree.
No Oracle, no information, no witnesses, nothing to go by.
Olympus all but expects him to send the campers off into the world and wander around aimlessly until they stumble onto it.
And he couldn't exactly tell them no.
More importantly, he wasn't going to tell Hera no right now.
He heard what happened to Zeus. He didn't have the divine biology to recover from that sort of thing like the Sky God.
Even Dionysus was taking his duties… concerningly seriously.
Sure, he was still telling campers they were going to die or intentionally misnaming them. But now, he was also overseeing their training. He told Clarrisse, 'Keep running, fatty.' Maybe you'll be able to run away from a monster.
That was the closest that he'd ever come to encouragement towards the campers.
He was going to continue his depressed thought, but he noticed something strange.
The sky turned dark, and it wasn't Hera about to start yelling and throw things off Mount Olympus again.
It was a different dark, and it was as if a malevolent river appeared in the sky.
A god was descending into the camp, intentionally being flamboyant.
He recognized her immediately.
"Hail, Goddess Styx, the Great River of the Underworld, holder of oaths!" He raised his voice to make sure none of his campers had any…thoughts that weren't appropriate.
Goddess Styx was one of the deities that you didn't want the attention of. Well, technically, that was most gods. But for Goddess Styx, it wasn't a matter of power or authority. It was a matter of her quite literally waiting for you when you die.
If you pissed her off, there was a good chance you wouldn't be passing over her to enter the eternal paradise or your well-earned afterlife.
Those in the vicinity, they kneeled, as was proper. They knew enough about the gods to know when you see one appear so blatantly that you kneel down and don't ask questions.
Chiron waited; he waited for her to announce her presence, to state her reasoning for coming and appearing so blatantly.
But she utterly ignored him and everyone else.
Almost as soon as she appeared, she disappeared again.
In her place, there was now a bulletin board. He recognized it because it looked rather similar to the one they had up near the mess hall. They used it for various classes, announcements, or otherwise planned activities.
Hesitantly, Chiron approached to see what divine missive the goddess sent down to the camp. The goddess Styx was a goddess of the underworld, meaning she rarely came to the surface, much less interacted with any of them. And it wasn't like she had demigod children, so there must be something particularly important.
Chiron looked it over and blinked.
He read it again and again and was utterly confused as to what he was looking at.
Greetings, fellow Daoists. Do you have a problem with someone courting death? Does a monster not know the immensity of Heaven and Earth? Look no further! The great [Insert name here] Sect is now taking commissions! Simply write your request onto the board, and it will reflect to a mirror at [Insert name here] Sect! One of our skilled and vaunted sect members will take the commission for an agreed-upon price!'
Warning: Certain terms and conditions may apply. We at [Insert name here] Sect reserve the right to cancel or reject any commissions at our discretion. We at [Insert name here] offer full refunds in the event of a failed mission or cancellation.
Thank you for your consideration. We at [Insert Name Here] Sect value each of our customers greatly!
– Ocean Song, [Insert Name Here] Sect Leader.
Chiron wasn't the only one looking at it now.
He had been staring at it in confusion for a good few minutes at this point until his brain rebooted.
Deposit him being surrounded by his campers. Despite always holding a certain sense of propriety and duty, Chiron had one thought come to his mind that had no wall to his mouth and blurted it out right away.
"What the fuck?"
[Line Break]
A/N
The great [Insert Name here] Sect is expanding after they completed their first mission successfully!
If you want to read 1 chapter ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
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