I opened my eyes to find myself in a dark room. A splitting headache gripped my entire skull; I see regeneration doesn't cure this kind of pain.
I glanced around and saw Kiss-shot asleep in an armchair next to the bed where I slept.
Ignoring the headache, I slowly got up to avoid waking Kiss-shot and went outside to find it was daytime.
I walked a short distance before realizing I was in the Temple of Hestia.
"I see you're alive," she said, speaking of the devil. I turned to face the goddess, whom I had been thinking about just moments before.
"I wish I hadn't been in trouble, so I wouldn't have this awful headache," I said, to which she just smiled at my bad mood.
...
"I see," I said, having heard what had happened shortly after the battle.
"Yes, plus those who complained about the eye, but since they were the losers, they couldn't do much," Hestia told me. "And what do you plan to do with it?"
"No idea; I took it mostly for fun. I don't have much of a plan, but I'll see what I do," I explained.
"Hmm, well, that's not the important thing; what we need to consider is something else," the goddess said, becoming very serious, which was unusual for her. "Now, with all this, my younger brother has his eye on you; if he didn't consider you a threat before, well, now you are."
I didn't say anything to that, since I only had to remember the legends and myths of Zeus to know how they behaved in certain situations.
"Being capable of killing a god—that's not something just anyone can do; this deed will be etched in the annals of the Greek pantheon," Hestia said. "And then there's that prophecy that little brother didn't seem to care much about, but knowing him, it's probably all he thinks about."
"I'll be careful," I tried to reassure her.
"That stupid man, as soon as he has the chance to exile or destroy you, he will, all for the sake of his kingdom and his sovereignty." I said, trying not to mention Zeus's name so as not to attract his attention and so he wouldn't overhear our conversation.
...
After relaxing with Kiss-shot and getting rid of that headache at Hestia's temple, I was able to leave and return to Anakosmos to rejoin Libra and the others.
Manipulating the Devil Fruit's powers required more from me than I had anticipated, especially the massive explosion. I had to contain the blast with darkness and destroy as much of the energy it released as possible, because if I absorbed it, it would have taken longer, and the explosion might not have been contained as effectively, with the final result being worse.
The next day, I went to Medusa to spend the day with her and calm her down. I also spent time with those two crazy goddesses; luckily, they controlled themselves this time because of the situation and didn't ask me to do much.
Hestia also told me that the other gods wouldn't ask me for anything for about 20 days. You could say I'm on vacation, but there was one god I wanted to see.
Once I was free, I quickly went to where those arrogant women who only know how to hunt were. He said this just to annoy her; after eight years together, we just don't get along anymore.
"Hey, girls, what a beautiful day, isn't it?" I said to the huntresses.
"It was beautiful until you showed up," one said.
"You've ruined the day," another commented.
"Hurry up with what you have to do, you useless man," another whispered.
They love me; they just don't know it.
I quickly went to the huntress who puts up with me the most, because, as much as we're used to insults, I'm not a masochist, and being there isn't very pleasant.
"Calisto, how are you? Where's Artemis?" I asked her.
"Over there," she said, pointing to one side of the woods without looking at me while she was making an arrow.
"That arrow's bad," I told her.
"I know, I'm innovating; if you're not going to contribute, go do what you wanted." She challenged me, gesturing with her hand without taking her eyes off the "arrow."
I knew that half of these women had had bad experiences with men, and the other half were influenced by the first half to hate men.
I didn't have time to fix so many women's problems, so I ignored them and went to where Artemis was.
Since it was daytime, she was resting in the forest, preparing to hunt at night.
In a secluded spot, I saw the moon goddess in the same place where I had met her before the fight with Horus.
"Look who's here, me, very much alive. You see, you didn't have to worry. I'm fine, so you don't have to be so bitter," I said to the goddess, but she only stared at the campfire.
I moved closer to put my face in her sight, only for her to look away.
"Hmm, what's wrong with her? Could it be that she's jealous I didn't come to see her as soon as my fight was over?" I asked, trying to tease her.
"Who do you think you are to—" she started, looking at me, but didn't finish her sentence. She just clicked her tongue and looked away, pouting. "I was never worried about you."
Oh, she's being tsundere.
I sat down next to her; she shifted away from me.
"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner; I know you were worried, and according to Hestia, you were the most nervous, even more so than Ares," I said.
"That's a lie," she tried to argue.
I just smiled at her and touched her hand. She didn't pull her hand away but left it there, not looking at me.
"I'm fine, so don't worry," I said.
"If it weren't for that demon you have as a companion, I would have died," she said, finally looking me in the face, clearly annoyed. "There's also that suicide attempt you made; if it hadn't gone well, I would have died, and there would have been nothing left to mourn." Now she spoke, grabbing the collar of my shirt.
"But I had everything..." I tried to explain, but she interrupted me.
"What would have become of Libra, of Hestia, of...?" she began but then fell silent, only to look at the ground.
"Of you," I finished her sentence.
But she shook her head.
I knew her feelings, but she was a virgin goddess, just like Athena, but only with sorrow, and how badly I treated her terrifies me of going through something like that.
I sighed inwardly and decided to apologize profusely to Athena for what I was about to do.
I took Artemis by the shoulders and kissed her. Her eyes widened, and she tried to pull away, but her movements were weak. In a few seconds, she gave in and returned the kiss.
After a few seconds, we separated, and she hugged me, burying her face in my chest, trying not to look at me. I hugged her back, and we stayed there, oblivious to everything around us.
As much as it bothered me, this was different from the situation with Athena. The goddess of wisdom had succumbed to madness before her confession; Artemis was still fine, conscious, and free of malevolent, distorted thoughts.
I'll leave it to future Dante to figure out how to tell Kiss-shot and Medusa about it.
Libra's POV
From a bush next to Callisto, I watched my father and mother, Arti, kiss; it was so romantic. I knew about Artemis's feelings, and I always told her; perhaps because of my intervention, she became more aware of what she felt, which helped her accept it.
I glanced at Callisto, who was biting her lip at the sight, only to walk back to her camp.
"This is bad," the huntress said. "She's a virgin goddess; she can't have a partner. This is going to end very badly."
"Calm down, woman, everything will be alright," I told Callisto.
She just looked at me and shook her head as she walked away.
I followed her, mostly to leave the couple alone.
...
*Some years later*
(Note: It should be noted that nothing interesting happened during these years of research, hence the time jump.)
"Breathe slowly and calmly," Artemis said beside me. Using the bow my father gave me, I shot an arrow using the power he bestowed upon me; I hit the bullseye. "Your perception and vision are otherworldly," the goddess flattered me.
"Well?" I asked.
"But you still have a way to go," she said, which annoyed me.
"But you said..." I tried to say, but she interrupted me.
"I know what I said, but being able to do that doesn't make you strong; you still have a long way to go to become a splendid huntress," Artemis argued.
I just stared at her in disbelief; I was already 30 years old, and I'd been a huntress for 12 of those years. I don't know what more this virgin goddess wants; maybe she wants me to be a huntress forever?
I simply left where I was.
"Hey, I'm talking to you," the goddess said, but I ignored her.
A short time later, I returned home, only to find my father sitting on a throne, fast asleep with his mouth open. Beside him was Nova, the traitorous bird, and next to him was Cerberus's son, a pup of the same species, a three-headed hellhound. It's still a mystery how that dog had offspring.
"Dad, wake up," I said, throwing a rock at his head.
"Where?" he said, pointing a gun in all directions.
It's worth noting that I already know my father and Kiss-shot's mother aren't from this world, not to mention that no woman in this pantheon is my biological mother. That's why it didn't surprise me when he showed me a gun.
This is because he has a bad relationship with Hephaestus; he can't ask anything of me, so if he wants something, he has no other option but to build it himself, and he has shown me many objects that he has obtained and/or built.
An example is the weapon he's holding, called Ebony, which I've seen him secretly practice with using magic and something I call projection—something I also know how to use, since with that kind of magic or sorcery, as he calls it, I don't know the difference, as there isn't one these days. While he projects bullets to have infinite shots and not have to reload, I project arrows and envelop them with magic and Haki, making them incredibly powerful.
"Ah, it's you, Libra. Sorry, I haven't been able to sleep well these past few days," he said, wiping his eyes.
"I can't imagine why," I said humorlessly, putting a hand on my hip and gesturing with my hands.
"It's not as bad as you think. You know your mother, Kiss-Shot, has always wanted children, right?" he told me, and I nodded in agreement. "Well, Dite has been mocking her for having had my children while she hasn't, which angered her, so she's been looking for ways to have a child, and most of them involve me, since if she has one, I must be the father."
"And has anything worked?" I asked curiously.
"Nothing so far, but before she left me alone with her experiments, she took a piece of my arm and other parts and left," he said with a shiver. "But tell me what brings you here, since it's been about two years since you last visited."
"I want to ask for your help in convincing Artemis to let me leave the Huntresses so I can live my life of adventure in peace." I told him why I came to see him.
He opened his mouth but then closed it and fell silent immediately, making the place quiet.
"I figured as much," he remarked, turning me around.
"Nothing so far, but before he could leave me alone with his experiments, he removed a piece of my arm and other parts and left." "Wait," I heard my father try to stop me, which he managed to do. I turned to look at him and saw that he was serious.
"There's a situation in Hades that I've been asked to fix, but I'm also dealing with Kiss-shot and a job Zeus gave me, and the Olympian god's job takes priority. If you can do my other job, maybe I can convince Artemis to let you go, not to mention I can take it as a challenge and let her know she's ready for more dangerous things."
I was left thinking, My father might seem inept and a bum, especially with the way he dresses, but so far he's never let me down or lied to me, so maybe, just maybe, this could work.
...
I hadn't expected the complicated situation to be in Tartarus. Thanatos stood beside me, and Nyx beside me.
"This is the entrance to Tartarus," the god of death announced. "Hades asked Dante to come and see the situation down there, but if they sent you, it means things aren't so bad, or he has a lot of faith in you."
"Let's hope it's both," Nyx said, looking down, since Tartarus is a hole that leads to the deepest part of the underworld.
"So, what should I do?" I asked them both.
"Jump in. Good luck," Thanatos said before leaving.
"I wish you victory," Nyx announced.
And they both left, leaving me at the edge of Tartarus's entrance.
I paced around, wondering whether to go in or not. I didn't feel safe; I had been able to face various beasts on Earth, but here were the most dangerous beings of the Greek pantheon.
Grandfather Hades had given me something that would allow me to teleport to his office, but I still lacked confidence.
After thinking it over and remembering that I regretted not doing this, I decided to just make it clear to Artemis that I wasn't ready.
That ignited my determination and gave me the courage to jump.
After gaining some distance, I ran toward the gigantic hole and closed my eyes. With a leap, I fell into the jaws of Tartarus.
...
When I opened my eyes, I started hearing noises, mostly a sound like metal bars being struck together.
"I see you're waking up, brat," I heard a very deep voice say.
When I looked, I saw a cave covered with giant bars; if I looked up, I couldn't see the sky. Inside the prison was a machine, which could speak and think, if that's what I think.
"I see you're conscious. How about you come closer and let it eat you?" I heard another voice say. I looked away only to see a similar situation, only this time the machine was different; it had arms but no legs.
"Who are you?" I asked, a little scared.
"My name is Prometheus, and the one in front of me who wants to eat you is Menoetius," said the first machine titan. "Beyond him is Iapetus, on the other side is Hyperion, that one over there is Koios, next to him is Crius, and the one in the back is Kronos."
"How's it going?" said Iapetus. A gigantic, circular machine.
"That's strange; you're Greek, but not entirely," said the titan of time, looking me over closely.
"Well, sort of. I came here because I heard the Hecatonchires were making a lot of noise and a racket," I explained, trying to get to the heart of the matter.
"Obviously, we're going to be making noise and a racket. What else can we do? We're bored. I'm already tired of talking to these losers," said the one I recognized as Koios.
"He's right," I heard someone else say.
"We're bored," I heard another complaint.
I listened to their complaints, and after thinking for a while, an idea came to me.
"If I take away their boredom, they'll stop making a racket, at least for a while," I said.
"It will depend on what you do, brat," Kronos said.
...
"So, Luke was fighting Darth Vader in the lower section of the Death Star," he said as all the Titans listened intently. "With a precise movement, Darth Vader severed Luke's arm, causing him to nearly fall."
I let the room fall into a state of suspense.
"And what happened next?" Menoetius asked.
"Luke was left without a hand and on the verge of falling into the abyss; Darth Vader tried to pull Luke to safety, but he refused, since Darth Vader had killed his father. But at that moment, the villain revealed something important to him. "I recounted," silencing the entire room.
"What did he say?" Prometheus asked.
"Darth Vader told him, 'No, I am your father,'" I told the Titans.
"It can't be," Koios said in disbelief.
"I can't believe it," Iapetus whispered in shock.
"I should have known," Kronos announced seriously.
I can't believe the stories my father told me as a child are relevant now.
...
I had given them two cards each—well, not literally.
"Give me another one," said Kronos, only for a 10 to appear.
"That makes 24. You lost, Kronos," I said.
"Ha, loser," said Prometheus, looking at his cards, which were a king and an ace.
"When I get out of here, I'm going to destroy you," Kronos threatened Prometheus.
"Sure, I'll be waiting for you," he said mockingly.
...
"The letter starts with 'b,'" I told the Titans.
After a few seconds, one spoke.
"Stop," said Koios.
"How unfair! How could it end so quickly?" I started hearing complaints like that, but I ignored them.
"Okay, tell me what you have," the Titan said.
"Ship," said Koios.
"Barco isn't the name of a city," Crius retorted.
"When I have another son, I'll name him Barco," Koios said confidently.
"Well, let's leave that aside. What do you say for the city option?" I asked.
"Barco," Koios replied, leaving the room in silence.
"Don't tell me all your options are Barco, are you?" Hyperion asked.
Koios remained silent.
...
After using the object Grandpa gave me, I appeared in his office. Standing before me was Hades, displaying his imposing aura and sovereignty.
"Hello, Grandpa, I'm back," I said, striking a magical girl pose.
He stopped what he was doing and didn't know what to say at first.
"Were you able to fix the problem down there in Tartarus?" he asked simply.
"Obviously, it was a piece of cake; I taught them some games they could play locked up together; that way they'll be quiet, at least for a while," I explained the situation to Grandpa.
Hades didn't know what to say to that; he just shook his head and went back to his paperwork.
"You can go then. I'll let Dante know about this, and if you want, he can go see Persephone, who's here; she likes being with you," he told me.
"Understood, I'll stay here a while to spend time with Grandma and play a bit with Cerberus," and with that, I left her office, feeling satisfied to have completed such a high-level mission so easily; maybe I should do more of these things.
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Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing well; things aren't great where I live.
The region where I live is burning everywhere, and the wildfires just keep coming; new outbreaks keep appearing in the region, and I'm even a little panicked that one might start here or that the fire might spread to where I am.
Here's an image of the fire situation in my country; it might be a little outdated, since the fire is moving slowly, but it'll give you an idea.
I also wanted to ask if I should make an Instagram account so you can message me there if you have any questions that aren't helpful in the comments or if you want to upload the fic to other platforms, which I haven't done myself because of laziness and stuff; plus, I'll show you the situation with the fires while I'm at it. It's just an idea; I might not do it.
Anyway, that's all. Have a good rest of the day.