Despite the absence of two of the major gods, the room had eased considerably.
In fact, if it weren't crass, they would definitely be celebrating as the God of War was currently getting spanked—maybe even literally—by the Queen of Gods. They didn't actually know what was happening to him right now, but they could feel the tremors and shockwaves from the other side of the country.
Simply, none of them were brave enough to try and peek while Hera was currently venting.
"Now that everything is settled—" Zeus waved his hand, collecting his lightning bolt, and the tree landed behind Hera's throne for safekeeping. "-- We can move on to other matters."
The King of Gods looked at the 'Cyclops' standing before him.
He was not unaware of who he was, having thrown lightning at him not that long ago. He said he would remember the monster's name, and he didn't lie.
He was somewhat conflicted.
On one hand, it was someone who dared challenge him, survived, and now stood before him without any fear.
On the other, he respected the young monster for his audacity and courage.
Among many domains, he was the God of Justice, and there would be no justice in striking down someone when he agreed to not pursue matters after what happened.
That played back to his oddly good impression of Ocean Song. Daring to accept 'punishment' so forthrightly and head-on without hesitation.
Frankly, in his mind, if more of his fellow god's children were like this, then there would be a lot fewer problems that arose because of their progeny.
And now, this same monster had solved the problem that had been plaguing Olympus and nearly started a war.
"What the hell did he do to himself?" Before Zeus could state what matters those were, Apollo interjected. "I didn't say anything with Hera around… But seriously, this is the weirdest kid I've ever seen of yours, Uncle."
He was, of course, referring to Poseidon and Ocean Song in this scenario.
Everyone there wasn't oblivious to the very strange Cyclops standing in their chamber; they just had more tact than to be so blunt about it.
"I wasn't aware we have new Lesser Gods." Demeter added. "I thought they were supposed to be introduced when they appear." It wasn't accusatory in her tone, simply confusion.
"That's usually what happens." Hermes nodded. "Is he even a god, though? It's…all weird."
"No, he's definitely not a god…I think." Apollo was confused just as much. "I mean, I gave him some healing when I did the other kids, but I had put a lot more oomph into it, like far beyond a mortal's amount."
That is to say, Ocean Song's eyes had been healed thanks to the God of Healing.
"This lowly Cyclops thanks the Great God Apollo for the healing." Ocean Song clasped his hands and bowed politely.
Once more, the sincere gratitude and politeness did win a bit of favorability with the gods present.
If not for the fact that the kids were...honestly intimidated into silence by the presence of the gods now that the adrenaline wore off, they would probably have also quickly done the same.
But for them, being in the presence of so many godly entities, it was heavy, and it made it hard to speak if they weren't directly called on.
"Aww, he's cute." Aphrodite cooed. "And his little crush is just…. So sweet, I can practically taste it seeping off him."
Even Athena was furrowing her brow at the enigma in front of her. "He clashed with Ares; that isn't something a mortal is capable of." She reasoned, despite being unsure herself.
"Yeah, but every time I look at him, trying to see his Domain or divine nature, it's just…him." Apollo pointed out.
Ocean Song just smiled silently as he listened to them argue.
"My son isn't a god." Poseidon interjected. "I would know if he was; I would have felt the Sea inside of him."
Though, even Poseidon was kind of confused, as he hadn't checked in on his strangest son in a while, and there had been significant changes.
"Silence." Zeus raised his hand, making everyone quiet themselves. "It's clear he is not a lesser god." The goodwill Zeus had towards Ocean Song in this moment shined through. "Let us begin with rewards for their completion of the quest."
Though many of them still wanted to ask questions about the strange Cyclops and the fact that he felt like a lesser god despite not being one, they held their tongues at Zeus's command.
But that isn't to say they were going to ignore it forever.
Gods didn't rush, and they didn't get anxious. If they wanted something, they could wait for long periods if needed.
To the gods, rewards were important.
More than assuaging their pride in 'rewarding' their minions for a job well done. It was the other side of the coin when it came to worship. Mortals worship the gods, and in return, when merit is achieved, the gods reward their worshippers.
It was the oldest contract in existence, written in blood and ichor.
"Athena, start with your children." Zeus gave his daughter the floor.
Athena smiled good-naturedly towards the mortals; her divine presence was…lowered to accommodate them as she stepped off her throne. "Annabeth, you've done well." She approached her daughter. "Speak, what reward do you desire?"
Annebeth was startled at being called out so suddenly. However, she wasn't easily flustered when her will hardened. "C-can I have access to any of the architecture writings or works that are kept on Olympus?"
No one immediately raised a voice of rejection. A daughter of Athena requesting knowledge was something they expected, and it was innocent enough in the kind of 'forbidden knowledge' she requested.
Obviously, things kept on Olympus were kept out of mortals' reach. But wanting to study specifically architecture, none of the gods there cared to say a word of complaint.
Athena smiled. "A good request; I will see to it that you can peruse the Architecture wing of the great library of Olympus at your leisure."
Annabeth beamed happily at being acknowledged by her mother.
"Malcolm." The goddess of wisdom turned her attention to her son. "I admit, I'm surprised to see you here as well. You haven't been in camp long, but it appears that you have gained much." She cast him an evaluating gaze mixed with confusion.
She could tell that his power was…startlingly higher than Annabeth's, despite her viewing Annabeth as the child of hers that she placed the most hope on this century.
"What do you want for your reward?" She finally asked, not wanting to dwell on it for too long in public.
Malcolm thought for a moment.
He wasn't like Annabeth, who wanted 'knowledge,' though a small part of him wanted something similar, but his mind was settled on something else.
"Can I have permission to leave camp whenever I want? And also permission to take to the skies without having to pray or make a sacrifice every time." Malcolm stated.
The latter half was towards Zeus.
He was, knowingly, protective of his domain.
Even the children of his favored sons and daughters often had a bad time if they ascended to the sky without 'permission.'
Usually, you had to make a sacrifice to Zeus so he wouldn't shoot down your plane if you were a known quantity to the gods.
Malcolm wanted to be able to take a plane ride without any worry of divine temperaments. That, and after seeing his teacher flying around, he figured it was best to get the 'permission' sorted for his own future.
As for the first part, that was a bit more ambiguous.
Technically, any demigods were allowed to leave camp whenever they wanted.
However, they weren't allowed to. The rules say that demigods are only allowed to leave when given permission by Chiron or the gods or on a quest. If you manage to sneak out, you get punished quite heavily.
If that didn't stop you from continuing to break the rules, then getting kicked out permanently wasn't something unknown.
It was a direct insult to the gods.
They 'graciously' created this safe haven for demigods, and then said demigods just run away like it's a prison, and then they get offended and revoke the 'privilege.'
Malcolm simply wanted to be able to come and go without getting in trouble.
He knew that he was still weak and needed a 'safe haven,' but he also wanted his freedom.
Athena was caught off guard by his request. It was far beyond what she expected one of her children to ask for.
"Granted." Zeus's voice boomed.
Despite all the rules involved, it was a simple enough request for Zeus to grant. He was neither offended nor cared about it in particular. The demigod asked; therefore, his pride wasn't challenged.
Athena frowned slightly but reined in his small bit of displeasure, not opting to say another word to her 'son.'
She turned her attention to Luke next.
"Luke Castellan, son of Hermes. What do you desire for a reward?"
Luke furrowed his brow because he honestly didn't know what he wanted. Though, something Malcolm said did resonate with him. "I also want permission to leave camp whenever I want." The idea of being able to leave and do…other things without question was something he hadn't considered before. "And I want the Hermes cabin expanded; it's already cramped and overflowing to the point where we don't even have enough beds."
He glanced towards Hermes, but the god's expression was somewhat neutral in return.
Hermes just nodded. "That's fine for me. Pops?"
"Granted." Zeus nodded.
Once more, it was something utterly miniscule in the King of God's eyes, so he happily granted these kinds of requests where he didn't have to do anything.
Athena's attention didn't turn to Percy or Tyson; instead, it settled on Lyra, who was hiding behind Ocean Song.
"And whose child is this?" She gestured to her. "Was she involved?"
Ocean Song put a hand on her head to calm her with all those gazes turned to her now. "This is Lyra, child of Hecate. This one was escorting her across the country to arrive safely at camp."
Athena just nodded, filing that information away, but no longer caring about the young demigod.
"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. What do you want for your reward?" She moved on to the next.
Poseidon sat up straighter; the obvious look of pride was noticed by everyone.
"Can you set my mom up somewhere nice? And make it so she doesn't have to work anymore?" Percy asked.
Perhaps the most mundane request from everyone so far.
It essentially came down to 'Can you make my mom rich?' which was extremely simple for any of the gods present.
"Zeus, if it's alright with you, I can handle this one." Poseidon spoke up.
Zeus nodded. "Very well, this request is granted."
The unspoken agreement that Poseidon would have a slight hand involved. Zeus wasn't unaware of this either, but his silence was tacit approval to allow Poseidon to spend some time with his child.
Percy smiled happily.
Next, Athena walked towards the left to where Tyson was standing. "Another child of Poseidon. Introduce yourself to the Council of Gods."
"H-hello, I'm Tyson." Tyson said awkwardly, perhaps childishly too.
The innocence in his tone wasn't lost on any of them either. No one called him out on his 'impolite' way of greeting; they could all see that he was still but a child. And he was here after helping solve the problem that loomed over their heads; they weren't going to make it hard on him.
That, and Poseidon's stern gaze on every god present, made them not want to offend the God of the Seas for something so small.
"Tyson, my son." Poseidon addressed him.
"Dad?" Tyson seemed unsure of what to do or say.
Ocean Song put a hand on Tyson's shoulder. "Junior Brother, greet our father."
"Oh!" Tyson smiled and remembered what they practiced. "I, Tyson, greet you, Honored Father." He clasped his hands and bowed towards the God of the Seas.
Poseidon, bemused, was happy all the same. "No need for that, son. Tell me, what do you want for a reward?"
"Erm…." Tyson looked around, clearly confused and not sure what to ask for.
"If I may interject on his behalf, Father?" Ocean Song stepped up again. "He's still young; an offer of such grace is something he probably has yet to understand. May I request a reward on his behalf, if it's acceptable by the Great Gods present?"
No one seemed particularly against it.
And plenty of them did want to finish up sooner rather than later.
"Speak." Zeus answered, gesturing for him to continue.
"My junior brother is a genius in the art of forging and crafting. I request that my junior brother be given lessons by the greatest master craftsman, the great god Hephaestus." He spoke politely.
"Lessons?" Hephaestus spoke up for the first time this evening. He didn't speak much unless things directly concerned him. In fact, his mind was elsewhere the entire time, thinking about back at his forge and certain things he left to attend this meeting. "A little cyclops, huh? Is that sword on your back forged by you? Let me see it."
He didn't give Tyson a chance to respond as the sword was pulled from his back by an invisible force and floated towards the God of the Forge as he inspected it.
"Not bad." He praised. "I can see some things that can be fixed, though. But that's mostly from the lack of experience. If I had to guess, he's been forging for less than a year."
"Less than a month, Great God!" Ocean Song responds.
Hephaestus raised an eyebrow, stroking his chin. "He has talent. Sure, I'll give him some private lessons."
Tyson's eyes clearly lit up.
"Then it's settled." Zeus had no qualms about that either. Another member under his umbrella capable of crafting fine works, which just benefited him either way. "Now, that just leaves you."
All eyes then turned to Ocean Song.
"Son of Poseidon." The King of God's voice held a different authority as he called upon Ocean Song. "You returned my Lightning Bolt, my brother's Helmet of Darkness, and Hera's Golden Apple Tree. Not only that, but you prevented a war over a misunderstanding and found the culprit, whom you fought on behalf of Olympus. What is it you desire?"
If the others had enough merit to be rewarded by the gods, then Ocean Song's merit was enough to be rewarded several times over.
"This lowly Cyclops requests permission to speak, Great God King."
Zeus, of course, was always happy to be praised and deferred to in such a way. "Speak openly."
"First, this one has a presumptuous request. My sect has been built, but some matters still need construction. I request at a later date that I may ask this Council to bestow their individual blessings upon my Sect when requested."
There was a silence that then overcame the room.
"You want our blessings." Zeus's words weren't loud, but they carried a heavy weight. "We do not give out blessings lightly."
In fact, most gods weren't quite enthused about being 'forced' to give out blessings as a reward. It was something more…intimate, something each god possessed that was theirs. It straddled the line of improper.
"May I give an example of what I desire, Great God? If it is improper, then please ignore this request of mine." Ocean Song noticed the tense atmosphere.
"Explain then." Zeus said with his lips threatening a frown.
"For instance, I would request the Great God Hephaestus to give his blessing to the Forge at my sect. Another example, I wish to establish a garden, and I would request the Great Goddess Demeter's blessing upon it." Ocean Song explained.
Almost immediately, the room lit up.
It was significantly less demanding than they anticipated.
A god giving a blessing was no small matter.
A god's blessing could turn a mortal into something even a demigod couldn't contend with.
Simply blessing a specific spot or room? That was worthy of a request but far below the threshold of 'inappropriate' that they had first assumed.
"Granted!" Zeus answered for everyone there. "You spoke of something else; continue."
Zeus knew that his actions demanded a bit…more.
Ocean Song cleared his throat, looking uncharacteristically bashful. "May this lowly Cyclops make a presumptuous request to build a Hecate cabin at the camp?"
Several gods raised an eyebrow at his request.
However, compared to them, one god out of the bunch was much more excited.
Aphrodite let out a squeal at the cuteness.
[Line Break]
Ocean Song flew on his sword back to the sect with Tyson next to him.
Everything had been settled.
Lyra went with Percy and the others to go back to camp.
He promised to come visit soon, but apparently, he had to 'request permission' to appear since he wasn't a demigod in the normal sense, and it had to be approved by Chiron.
But everything ended up well!
Sure, the sect was going to be missing the main proponent of the Sect Protecting Array, but…he'd think about a solution later.
It's not like the Array had been set up yet; he knew that Fellow Daoist Daedalus was still working on the preliminary sketches.
Ocean Song touched down, and everyone seemed to gather immediately.
Medusa, Daedalus, Mel, and Nessie, of course.
"Your Sect Master has returned, fellow Daoists!" Ocean Song was announced. "And I bring good news and bad news. Which do you wish to hear first?"
"Does it have anything to do with the commotion?" Medusa asked.
"Yes." Ocean Song nodded.
"Good news first." Daedalus stated. "I'm probably going to have to test this body's alcohol tolerance after I hear the bad news."
"The good news is that I defeated Ares in combat and fulfilled a quest and was rewarded by Olympus! Therefore, I petitioned to have the gods give their blessings each at our discretion."
Silence.
"There is a lot to unpack there." Medusa held her hand up. "You fought the God of War?"
"Yes."
"And you're alive."
"I won." Ocean Song pointed out.
Technically, he won.
But a win is a win.
"Right." Medusa said dryly, only believing parts of what he said. "I'll contemplate this later. And what's the bad news then if apparently fighting a god was the good news?"
"We're at war with Amazon." Ocean Song said plainly.
"....."
Medusa didn't know how to respond to that.
"The company or the society of women?" Daedalus asked.
"Yes." Ocean Song answered.
There was a moment where Daedalus had a realization of what Ocean Song meant. "Are you telling me that the actual company named Amazon is run by the Amazons?" He asked incredulously.
Ocean Song just shrugged.
"How?" Medusa questioned. "How did you incite a war with the Amazons?"
"...Their sect master wouldn't take no for an answer." Ocean Song's eyes darted from side to side. "On a completely unrelated note, I have these to pass out!" He set down the pallets of goods he had stolen and subsequently stored them in his storage pouch until now.
They all stared at the very clearly marked boxes with the Amazon logo.
Before another question could be asked, a hand seemed to reach out from the void, grip Ocean Song by the collar, and pull him back in a burst of mist.
Ocean Song blinked and found himself thrown onto the floor of his Sect Master's quarters, not far away from where he was a moment ago.
He saw who had pulled him here.
"Great Goddess!" He greeted Hecate happily.
However, she returned his greeting with a kick. "What did you do!?" She demanded, kicking him some more.
Ocean Song was on the ground, being kicked by the Goddess of Magic.
Though, admittedly, each of the kicks was about the equivalent of being hit by a pillow.
"Why is it that I get messages that apparently I now have the right to construct a cabin at the demigod's camp!?" She raised her voice. "And why is it that the Goddess of Love apparently strong-armed the other gods into agreeing?"
Ocean Song too was surprised by how aggressive Aphrodite was in getting the other gods to agree.
"Do you know what it means that I have a cabin now? It's basically a big sign that I'm proclaiming myself their equal!"
"I just thought you deserved it." Ocean Song responded.
Hecate paused in her kicking.
He looked at her with a warm smile. "You're equal in my eyes, Great Goddess."
Hecate's lips trembled slightly, and with a huff, she kicked him one last time, surprisingly, even gentler than before.
With a scowl, she grabbed his collar and pulled him up until their faces were level, and she, without hesitation, kissed him.
The kiss lasted for several moments before she unceremoniously dropped him back onto the ground.
"Thank you for bringing my daughter home safely." She said softly with a distinct note of warmth in her voice.
Ocean Song watched as she disappeared as quickly as she had appeared originally.
He stood up, brushing himself off.
He walked out to the balcony that overlooked the Sect, and he clasped his hands behind his back as his robes billowed despite no strong winds present.
"Deciding to be a cultivator was definitely the best decision I ever made. I really didn't think it would turn out this well."
[Line Break]
A/N
And thus ends the first book, or something along those lines. Canon is already pretty fucked, so it's hard to really say.
If you want to read 1 chapter ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name.