"I'm home, family," I said to my father's house. I had been staying at my grandparents Hades and Persephone's house for about five days with Zagreus, Melinoe, and the youngest of them all, Macaria.
It had been seven days since I'd last been there; I spoke with my father. I don't think much has changed during this time.
I walked into the living room only to see my father with a smaller version of him; only this one had red eyes. My mother, Kiss-shot, has golden eyes like her hair, but this smaller version has red eyes.
"Oh, you're here. Meet your new sister, Helena," he said, lifting the smaller version of Kiss-shot up.
We both stared at each other, unsure what to say.
...
He did it. After years of wanting a child, he finally did. With the help of Hestia, Hecate, and a little of Aphrodite, he managed to create a daughter in a way similar to how the gods do.
Kiss-shot, by giving a piece of her being and taking a small part of Dante's soul—enough to avoid harming him and allow him to heal gradually—was able to create an artificial spirit with the concept of the heir of the night.
Helena is the result; she is almost a clone of Kiss-shot, only she has Dante's essence and pieces of him, hence her striking resemblance to Kiss-shot.
My father was left relatively ill by what they did, but, as I said, with his abilities and Hecate's help, he can mend his soul.
But Kiss-shot was the one who fared the worst, which is why she isn't here; right now she's being treated by the aforementioned goddesses. Aphrodite is here more out of obligation, since she was the one who influenced him to do this.
"She's a perfect vampire; with her soul still attached, I know she'll be alright. She's already recovering, but slowly, so she'll be out of commission for a while. I'll most likely bring Medusa to help me take care of Helena, since the removal of my soul and concept affected me somewhat," she told me, her eyes dark and her voice weary, while playing with Helena.
I saw my new sister; at first glance, she looked about four or five years old; she didn't look like someone who had just been born yesterday.
"Hi," she said, looking at me intently.
"Hi," I replied with a gesture. I don't have a great relationship with my other siblings, since they're all children of Aphrodite, so they don't spend much time here, not to mention that I spent twelve years with the Huntresses, so I was even more separated from them.
There are Eros, Harmonia, Anteros, and Priapus, and knowing the future and with Kiss-shot's temporary absence, perhaps there will be more.
My father took Helena and placed her in my arms.
"Take care of her. I need to rest for a while; I'm not feeling well," my father instructed me. He's usually able to go five days and five nights without feeling tired, but now, with his soul afflicted, it's not the same. It must be the inconsistency between body and soul. Until his soul returns to its former state, he won't be able to go back to how it was.
And with that, he went to his room, leaving me alone with my new sister.
"Are you the older sister, Libra?" she asked me in her high-pitched voice. How cute.
"That's right, I'm the beautiful and magnificent older sister Libra," I said eloquently, which made her mouth drop open in astonishment.
This little girl was a blank canvas.
"Have you met Nova and Ceverus yet?" I asked her, to which she gave me a confused look. With that, we went out to the yard. "Nova is a treacherous firebird, and this Shadow is a young, three-headed puppy; I wanted to call him Flufi, but they wouldn't let me."
And that's how the four of us played until the end of the day, until my father woke up.
...
"Ha, maybe that was the best option; I would have tried to fight them and then tell them about blockbuster movies and board games," my father commented while holding Helena as she slept.
"So, am I free from being a Huntress?" I asked that interested me.
"If you're ready, you just have to let her know you've fulfilled your duty, and as she said, she'll set you free, but there's a catch," he mentioned, looking at me with his hand on his chin.
"What is it?" I asked again.
"The Huntress's blessing of Artemis prevents you from aging; that's why you still look 18." I had forgotten that; I didn't want to see myself with wrinkles, so I panicked a little. "But don't worry, I have something for that; I could give you the fountain of youth, but I wouldn't want to take away your chance to meet someone and grow old with someone, so I'll give you this."
With that, I raised both hands, and metal bracelets appeared, five on each arm.
"With this weapon, you can maintain your youth as long as you have it; it has a strange name, like Ten Rings, maybe Giant's Rings; if you like, you can change the name; I don't mind," he said, taking off the bracelets and giving them to me.
"Thank you very much," I said, looking at the weapons; hence the name change, since they aren't rings, no matter what they're called.
"If you can do 'pew pew' with these," Dante said, making punching motions with his arms, something I didn't understand. "I'd also like to give you something that I haven't used since I got it, and knowing that you're into archery, it might be more useful to you than it was to me."
...
I inhaled and exhaled the air of the place.
"Fresh air," I said, exaggerating, since the air up there is somehow more nourishing.
I adjusted my eye patch and walked into the city.
"Now you're probably wondering why I have an eye patch. The more observant among you will already know where it comes from, but I still have to explain it to myself." I said to no one in particular.
"Who are you talking to?" asked Daria, since I had gone to her office to say hello.
"Since my father had that god's eye, and it was more of a relic and an ornament to him, he transplanted it to me. I accepted it, since the more things I had, the better; but since it's a very complicated eye to use, it uses a lot of magical, even divine, energy, and I have a patch that suppresses all of that," I explained.
"If you're done with your nonsense, you can leave; I'm busy." She ordered me to get back to work.
"Don't be like that; I need supplies, but I don't have any money to buy anything," I begged at his feet, hoping he'd take pity on me.
"You know, your father taught me something essential when I was a girl: if you want something, you have to work for it," he said, throwing me a broom and a wooden shovel he had stored away.
"Wait, don't tell me what?" he asked, shocked.
"Get to work, or you won't eat today," he announced with a malevolent smile.
I think I would have stayed as a hunter of Artemis.
...
As I dragged the giant boar I'd hunted to sell, I thought about everything that had happened on Crisa Island.
I went from cleaning offices and temples to working on building houses and structures, and now I'm hunting and selling animals and beasts.
It was foolish of me not to start with the latter, but I let myself be manipulated just because Daria wanted me to. Believe me.
I arrived at the butcher shop and left the boar with the butcher.
"Here's today's delivery," I said, placing the animal in front of them.
"Oh, thank you very much. Here's the money, 700 drachmas." He said, handing me a leather pouch full of silver coins.
I smiled at the sight of the money. With what I've already saved, I have enough to live on in the forest for quite some time.
I gathered the tools and maps of the area, paid someone to take me to a specific island near a populated island with cities, and set off.
My plan is to practice and grow stronger on a deserted island. As far as I understand, I'm in the Aegean Sea; the island of Crisa is also there.
I could train on Crisa, but I don't want the other gods bothering me, so I'll go a little farther away.
I also want to train this magic eye as peacefully as possible. With everything ready and packed, I departed.
I don't know how long this special training will take, but with these bracelets on my arms, I shouldn't have to worry about the passage of time.
...
*5 years later*
I stared intently at my target; using the Eye of Horus, I could see the pig's entire body in detail, and with incredible zoom vision, I used my power to place a target where its brain should be and released the arrow.
The arrow instantly pierced the pig's head, shattering it into thousands of pieces. The headless pig began to run uncontrollably; I'll have to wait a while for it to stop.
I'm not worried about some animal or monster stealing my prey, because with Observation Haki, which I've dedicated myself to training, I can sense everything that happens on the island; nothing escapes me. I can even see what's happening beyond the island, like some sea creatures in the ocean. I have to say that great-uncle Poseidon is crazy for letting that thing roam free in the sea.
I walked slowly toward the dead pig. I took some time to reflect on everything I've done these past six years—or maybe it's four; I have no idea; I'm not excellent with time; perhaps it's five years, or maybe I was gone for 100 years and didn't even realize it; it doesn't matter anyway; everything up there should still be alive even if 10,000 years pass.
Thanks to a notebook my father gave me, I was able to see these abilities he also possessed and passed on to me: the use of Haki. What is Haki? I have no idea; it's not defined here, only how to use and train it.
First, I trained Observation Haki, which was the easiest, and the easiest way to train it, along with Armament Haki, is to constantly be on the verge of death in a fight. For some reason, the use and mastery of Haki increase exponentially by doing that.
I had no choice but to fight all the creatures and monsters with my fists; being an archer, I never learned how to fight hand-to-hand. My father tried to teach me, but I refused. Now I don't know if that was a good or bad thing.
I don't know how to fight, but that brings me closer to a near-death experience.
There was also the solo survival practice. The tools I bought only lasted me a year. I was about to go buy more, but I didn't want to leave the island, so I had to recreate them with the island's resources. They were worse than the ones I bought, but over time my skill at crafting survival tools improved a lot.
I also learned to make metal tools; I wasn't perfect, but I could manage. I achieved this by watching my father do the same; it was trial and error. The tools were bad, but they were better than those made of wood or stone.
I reached the pig and tied it up. I butchered it and stood by a river to wash off the animal's blood.
While I was washing the pig's meat, I looked at my face and hair. I looked awful.
During this time, I didn't focus on my appearance; I came here to train, not to look good. I can't even remember the last time I showered; I probably still smell like soap and flowers.
I didn't like how my hair looked either; it was awful, long, and dirty.
I started meditating and realized I no longer needed to be on the island. I had already accomplished everything I wanted, except for one thing: Conqueror's Haki. I was never able to use it; the book my father gave me says that this ability isn't a mandatory inheritance—you might have it, you might not. But I feel I don't need it now; I can use magic and the power of the bow to compensate.
So, in a way, I'm ready to return to civilization. I ate all the pork and prepared to leave.
There was just one thing I realized I was missing.
"How do I leave this island?" I wondered.
...
After a week of work, I finally managed to build a functional boat that doesn't sink seconds after hitting the water. This is my fifth attempt for those who say the third time's the charm.
I also got a haircut; it was really long; now it reaches my shoulders; that's what I managed to salvage after neglecting it for years.
"Goodbye, shitty island, never again," I said as I climbed into the boat and rowed away.
Right now I'm going to an island, a city called Ilion. I could go to Crisa, but right now I don't want to go home. I am keen to explore this whole place, even see other places in other pantheons.
I see a very promising future.
*10 minutes later*
The storm was making the waves very violent; the dark clouds made the whole place look bad. If it weren't for the Eye of Horus and Haki, I wouldn't know what was happening around me, since the huge waves obscured everything.
I couldn't really pay much attention to that anyway, since my focus was on keeping that damn boat from capsizing and throwing me into the water.
"Uncle Poseidon, I know you're there; show yourself and stop making fun of me," I said, without mentioning the "grandpa" part, which he doesn't like much, since it makes him feel old.
"Hahaha, little Libra, it's been so long," I heard his voice, confirming my suspicion that this guy was there to bother me.
I saw a metallic watercraft emerge from the water; this was Poseidon's mechanical god form.
"Stop making fun of me and fix this," I asked him.
"Sadly, I didn't do this; Okenaos did, not me," he explained.
"But I imagine you asked him to, didn't you?" I retorted.
"As assertive as ever," she replied. "He told me he sensed you in a boat at sea, so I asked him to make your trip a little crazy so he couldn't change the circumstances of the place."
"But why?" I asked, puzzled.
"Since your father became a father again, he hasn't had much time for certain things, and between us, this bothers my crazy brother a bit, since Dante's job is to run errands for us and provide entertainment," she told me.
"How are he and Kiss-shot? I wanted to know how they were both doing."
"Dante is already recovered, but with the baby and his duties taking care of Anakosmo, he doesn't have much time. Kiss-shot isn't fully recovered yet, but he's doing well; "According to your father, in three or four more years he'll be back to normal." He told me what was happening.
This puts my mind at ease, since when I left, they were both in a bad way, especially Kiss-shot.
"So, how come you can't do so many things with my father, and you come to me instead?" I tried to understand his point of view.
"Exactly. Tell me, what if we do this? A challenge: live a year at sea, without ever touching land," he explained his challenge.
"And what do I get out of it?" I asked.
"How about being able to use the power of the seawater?" "I bless you, just as Hecate and Artemis did. I do too," his bait told me.
I stood there thinking for a while; it was a blessing from a god; it was something strange, not an everyday occurrence.
"Okay," I said as I stabilized the boat.
"Perfect, I'll be watching what you do," he said before sinking back into the water.
I already regretted it. If he was watching me, it meant that if he was bored, he was going to send some tsunami or sea monster after me.
At that moment, I saw a giant wave crashing down and coming straight for me.
"Damn it all," I said as I saw my doom in sight.
*Day 1*
The storm was decisive, but I ended up with my boat destroyed and several of my belongings lost; the good thing is that I was able to recover half of them.
Now I'm on a makeshift plank that I gathered with others to make it bigger.
My destination is unknown; my compass is the ocean currents.
I don't think I'll have any more bad luck; it's all Poseidon's fault.
*Day 5*
Using a bow and a string, I'm able to catch any fish, and these will be all my meals, along with some sea creatures for variety. Three have appeared over the past few days; all have been weak, but that could change at any moment; I have to be vigilant.
*Day 8*
A giant sea serpent appeared; it almost destroyed all the planks I had floating around me, but I managed to kill the beast before it could.
With the death of that snake, sharks and other smaller sea creatures began to appear, because this snake is as long as 10 blue whales and twice as long as one.
The advantage: I've never eaten shark.
*Day 10*
I was drying up; I had run out of water and couldn't drink the seawater, so I could only ask Poseidon for help.
After asking for help for about an hour, he finally arrived.
He mocked me for having nothing to drink, but after remembering that he had sent me to this situation, since I intended to return to land and not spend a year at sea, he stopped.
In the end, he gave me a blessing: the ability to absorb water through my body. That way, I can filter what I want and avoid eating bacteria or other things that are in the sea.
It's strange not being able to hydrate that way, but it's better than nothing. I did feel like a fish, though.
*Day 22*
With no sign of civilization, there should be ships or boats around, but there's nothing; perhaps the currents are very treacherous.
Shortly after, I encountered several mermaids, whom I subdued. They explained that the current moving my supply boat caused me to drift in circles in a place where no other vessel usually passes.
Basically, it was Okeanos' or Poseidon's fault, so there was nothing I could do.
Nothing, except this.
I threatened the women with a gruesome death and that I would eat them; with that, they pushed me away from the current, saving me from being trapped there forever.
*Day 29*
I was captured by pirates; they were slave traders, but these people didn't belong in this region, like having blue eyes or orange hair; they were very different from the common Greeks I know.
Not to mention the language, which I don't know; I don't understand what they're saying.
The good thing is that I destroyed all the pirates. This is because they had tried to take advantage of me. I waited for them to let their guard down, and with the magic bracelets of immortality—I'm still looking for a better name for them—I killed almost all of them.
The survivors torture them for information; then they tie them up and throw them into the sea.
*Day 30*
It was a bad idea to kill all the pirates; nobody here knows how to use a ship, nobody.
Unlike me, I can survive almost entirely on photosynthesis, but the others can't. And if things continue like this, they'll all die of dehydration.
*Day 36*
After 6 days of trial and error, a guy managed to get the ship working; the problem is that we don't know where we are. I didn't take Artemis's instructions into account; I was asleep. Now I regret it.
*Day 42*
We finally arrived at a city; some of us almost died, but we all made it to shore alive.
Since I can't go ashore, I stay on the ship; from there I ask for food and other things. I just told them I was cursed or something like that.
Since I saved them all, the former slaves are the ones who have brought me things, like clothes or regular food.
*Day 46*
I think Poseidon doesn't like me just sitting on the dock resting and doing nothing, so he sent a tsunami to the fishing town. The place was almost destroyed.
Many people survived, but they were left destitute.
Faced with this situation, I managed to gather a group of people to help me travel from place to place, as well as a merchant ship, to bring supplies and food to the town.
And so we set sail again.
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Hey everyone, sorry for not posting a chapter yesterday. I was exhausted. We went shopping at home, and they carried me around with bags, and when I got back, they wouldn't leave me alone. When I finally had some spare time, I didn't feel like writing anything. I tried, got to 800 words, and then I couldn't write anymore.
I also want to explain the idea of Libra and Helena. I won't be doing much with Helena, since I've integrated her into the story as a catalyst for something that will happen later; she won't do anything in Greek mythology.
As for Libra, she's a substitute for a specific Servant; I imagine you should already have a guess as to which one. This is because Dante will definitely be summoned in Lostbelt 5, and that Servant appears there, but since I altered his legend, I need someone to replace him.
I'll also write a little about her so this part of the story isn't too short. Since she'll be a Servant who appears in the future, I imagine she'll need an appearance, and I've decided she should resemble Akame from Akame ga Kill, just to give you an idea.
Finally, I should mention that Dante doesn't do much, or almost anything, of interest these days, hence the use of Libra instead of a time skip and the fact that her adventures aren't relegated to the background.
That's all. Have a productive day.