Misery's Smile Chapter 10

By Art and Rinne

Hey fellas =) How're you all doing? I certainly hope you're doing fantastic, that's for sure, because I myself am feeling fantastic =D We welcome you to the 10th chapter of Misery's Smile! So sit back, eat a bag of Cheese Fries, and I hope you enjoy my writing! J

Artemis froze. What else was she going to do? She thought she had been rid of him – but here he was. Truthfully, she was deathly afraid. She did not know why, but her heart seemed to chill as Perseus made eye contact with her. His yellow eyes were cold, and unflinching. The usual twinkle of cheerfulness and kindness that Artemis used to see was now gone, replaced by a chilling glare. However, she straightened herself as she reminded herself about the Orion incident, and returned the glare. However, the guilt seemed to deepen as she did so.

Zeus felt humiliated by the youngling. After all, how dare he waltz into Olympus, and act as if he was King? Needless to say, the Lord of the Skies was livid. He was about to shout, before a simple, but powerful glare of Perseus silenced him. Zeus had to suppress a shiver – he felt like he was witnessing Nyx. It appeared, that the young son of Akhlys had somehow inherited her dark charisma. His pride would never allow it, but Zeus couldn't help but be fixated on Perseus' entrancing yellow eyes.

Perseus took the Olympians' silence as permission to talk. He saw Apollo's small wink at him, but a warning look from Perseus quickly sent a message to the god. It wouldn't be pleasant if Zeus had somehow noticed the small gesture.

"Let's get straight to the point. Your children – the demigods – are not cut out to fight monsters. Chiron and I have agreed on this," Perseus said, as the some of the gods stood in anger.

"Are you calling our children weak, Godling?! They have won more wars than you can ever imagine!" A scarred god sneered mockingly.

"Silence," Perseus whispered dangerously, as the whole room darkened.

Mist began to gather, as the throne room became extremely cold.

"And, what is your proposal, Perseus?" Hestia asked slowly, as Zeus spluttered.

"Hestia, why would you-"

"Wait, Brother. Demigods are nearly extinct from the constant attack of monsters. Surely if he has discussed with Chiron, he should know the problem. Before assuming, Brother, we must listen first," Hestia said gently, as Perseus gave her a curt nod.

"There are a few reasons this are happening, of course. Firstly, you allow yourself to be bound by the Fates. Secondly, your children simply do not live long enough to actually train to fight these monsters that they are clearly ill-prepared for. Thirdly, it is because of your neglect," Perseus said in a dark tone, as some gods lowered their heads.

"Thus, I suggest a haven – a safe training camp for the demigods, if you will – To at least allay this matter of extinction," Perseus finished, as Zeus snorted.

"And who is going to train them? Chiron is already tutoring one of my sons," Zeus said, in a challenging tone.

"I will train them," Perseus said blankly, as the room fell into an uproar.

Perseus did not know who to listen to. All he knew was that he was offering his services, and this group of immortals were clearly against it. However, he did catch a small triumphant look on Apollo's face, and a few comprehensive looks from Poseidon, Hestia and Athena. Though, it wasn't long before Zeus gave his thoughts.

"Do you think we are fools? I know the scheme behind this. You want revenge for what I did two hundred years ago, so you want to build an army out of our children. You are a coward! If you want to challenge us, why don't you do it yourself?!" Zeus shouted, drawing an exasperated sigh from Poseidon.

"I wonder if you have forgotten, Zeus. I am a Primordial lord. I do not need an army for the likes of you," Perseus said, before his yellow eyes blazed.

The room was freezing cold and almost pitch-black at this time, before Perseus spoke again.

"And Zeus, I would not suggest even mentioning that incident in front of me again. I might drag you down into Tartarus should your tongue – slip," Perseus warned, his tone full of menace.

Zeus looked subdued, but continued his defiance, as he flared his power. Perseus noticed this, as he quickly overwhelmed the King of Olympus with a powerful blast of darkness. Then, Hestia stood and said, "Enough!"

"We will talk about this like dignified Olympians and not like scorned nobles. Perseus, continue," Hestia said, as her eyes blazed.

Zeus looked reluctant, but he nodded. He waved a hand to Perseus, who was already running his hand through his black hair in exasperation. This meeting was going to be longer than he thought.

"As I said, before I was so rudely interrupted, I am trying to propose for you gods to actually try to protect your own children. You must have a safe haven for them, or they will be extinct. Well, all except that child of Zeus that Chiron is tutoring, of course. And maybe Poseidon's children when they go into sea. Then again, sea monsters will tear them apart and consume them," Perseus shrugged, his voice deadly serious.

The room was silent, as Perseus noticed Athena still looking down.

"And Athena, stop thinking so deeply. I haven't forgiven you, but I have no reason to kill you either. Your children will not benefit if I do so," Perseus nodded, as Athena's shoulders seemed to relax.

"How did you…" Hermes asked.

After all, Athena's defenses of her mind, was arguably the most powerful of the gods.

"I guessed. Now, do you Olympians have an answer?" Perseus' yellow eyes peering especially at the Gods who seemed deep in thought.

The Gods were caught off-guard. Hestia couldn't help but be surprised at the Primordial's intentions to actually help them, albeit in an extremely indirect way. She never had children, but as the Goddess of Home and Hearth, she couldn't help but feel the demigods' desperation as they looked for a safe place. Apollo was impressed at how Perseus handled himself – the Primordial had barely used his status and strength to make the Olympians listen.

"How do we know that the demigods will be safe with you?" Poseidon asked carefully, as Perseus sighed.

"I bear no ill-will to them. And I cannot guarantee their safety. I thought all of you gods knew that," Perseus glared.

"I take your silence as permission, then. After all, it would be extremely detrimental to Olympus if they lost their best soldiers. Perhaps, it is time to see them as children, before they become disillusioned. If you continue neglecting them and looking at them as soldiers, I can see a betrayal happening," Perseus finished, before flashing away, leaving behind a cold, dreary mist.

"WAIT! STOP! I DID NOT GIVE YOU CONSENT" Zeus shouted, as other gods gave him a warning look.

"Wait, you agree with him? Are you going to betray me?!" Zeus ranted, as Hephaestus stood up, surprising everybody in the room.

"Surely you remembered the losses in the Giant War, Father. Those young demigods, untrained and ill-equipped for fighting, did not survive. They bravely sacrificed themselves to slay the Giants, a feat that your arrogant spawn took credit for," Hephaestus whispered dangerously.

"I do not want to bow down to this son of Akhlys as much as you do, Father, but I feel that this is necessary. The demigods are almost extinct, and our power dwindles slowly. We must act. If anymore enemies come to destroy us, we might not be as lucky as we were with Typhon," Athena said, as Zeus rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Lord Zeus, if I may… The demigods are ill-prepared. And, please spare a thought for your children, Father. You have many sons, and all but one are less than adequately trained. And with their powerful scent, and your habit of making enemies, more powerful monsters will hunt. What do you think happens then, Zeus? I doubt a fledgling can stand against a full length hellhound," Hermes said, as Zeus heaved a long sigh.

"Just make sure they are monitored," Zeus finally said.

The Elder Olympians simply sighed at his stubbornness.

Perseus sighed. The meeting had taken longer than usual to finish. However, he couldn't help but wonder at the look Artemis gave him. It was guilt, hatred, but curiosity. Suddenly, he noticed Apollo's chariot, and couldn't help but groan as the god jumped beside him.

"Hey, don't look so glum. It wasn't so bad, you're doing something good!" Apollo said cheerily, as Perseus raised an eyebrow.

"Have you been drinking again, Apollo?" Perseus grunted, as Apollo laughed.

"Ah! I've been pretty sober recently – do you want to join me today? After all, this does warrant a celebration, eh?" Apollo said, before dragging along Perseus, and flashing him to an Olympian bar.

Naturally, Perseus was uncomfortable by this. He never liked drinking, as he couldn't hold his liquor. Not even mortal liquor. Although he was pretty much immune to the other effects, it didn't mean that he couldn't get drunk. Zoe had always laughed at him for that.

"So, how do you feel about, well, us?" Apollo asked, as he sipped his wine.

Perseus snorted, "Arrogant bastards, the lot of you. Especially the King."

Apollo laughed, as he spoke, "I'm not even going to deny that."

Then, the door opened, and Perseus turned. The primordial couldn't help but gawk as he saw the person that went through the door. She was without a doubt, the most beautiful thing that Perseus had ever seen. Her beautiful flaming hair seemed to light up the surroundings as she waved it, and she had the most adorable brown eyes he had ever seen. Her womanly curves were shamelessly shown by the tight chiton she was wearing.

However, something was wrong. Perseus could clearly see a layer of magic over her figure, as he narrowed his eyes. The woman seemed to notice, as she winked.

"I'm Aphrodite."

"Please remove the magic around your form, Aphrodite. It is unbecoming for the goddess of beauty to imitate another," Perseus said drily, as Aphrodite became wide-eyed.

"You know?" Aphrodite asked, shocked.

"Any immortal could see it," Perseus snorted, as he sighed at a giggling Apollo, who was already drunk out of his wits.

Aphrodite remained in shock.

"W-Why would you want me in my true form?" Aphrodite asked shakily, as Perseus answered.

"You are a dignified goddess of beauty, no?" Perseus said blankly.

Aphrodite nodded reluctantly, as she hugged herself a little. Perseus sighed at her insecurity and senseless fear. He had seen her true form with his power, and knew that she was still absolutely stunning.

"Not yet, then, I guess. So, what are you here for, Aphrodite?" Perseus raised an eyebrow, as he quietly put Apollo to sleep.

"Umm… You have a b-broken heart…"

"And what business is it of yours, Aphrodite?" Perseus asked dismissively, as Aphrodite scoffed.

"I am the goddess of love, that's why! I would hate to see a strong bond being snapped!" Aphrodite snapped at Perseus, who simply glared.

"And how exactly would you go around doing that? Do not mind me for being extremely doubtful of you, Aphrodite. As far as I know, you make a living cheating on your husband to sleep with that worthless war god. And the fact that you have sever the love lives millions of couples for your own amusement and mindless lust," Perseus said ruthlessly, as he recounted what Leto had taught him about the gods.

"I-I DID NOT!" Aphrodite screamed, surprising Perseus.

Thank Chaos the bar was empty.

"I-I… I d-do not do it for those reasons!" Aphrodite said, as she became even shakier.

Perseus stood up, as he saw the tears leaving her eyes, "Why do you do those things, then?"

"I-I… I want to l-love, just like you," Aphrodite managed to choke out, as she sobbed and flashed away from the bar.

Perseus wanted to ask her to wait, as he felt his consciousness catch up to him. His guilt grew as he recounted his words. He truly did not mean that outburst, at least not intentionally. Aphrodite mentioning his 'broken heart' seemed to set off something in him. He bit his lip as regret gnawed in his heart. He needed to apologize for Aphrodite.

All of a sudden, he heard a voice.

'Perseus, where are you? Perseus! Where are you, I need you now, please!'

He could never forget that voice – the voice that constantly annoyed him to no end, even when it was comforting him. He wondered if she was praying.

'Zoe? What has happened?'

'I-I need your help. Please meet me, um, somewhere.'

Perseus heavily sighed at her extremely specific description. After all, he probably knew where somewhere was. However, putting aside his sarcastic thoughts, Perseus immediately flashed down into Greece. It wasn't long before he had the shock of his life – being pulled into a chariot suddenly by a familiar face.

"What in Tartarus…" Perseus growled, as he drew his sword.

As he readied to strike, he couldn't help but breathe in exasperation as he saw the familiar face of Zoe, who looked relatively panicked.

"Don't do that again, Zoe," Perseus sighed.

"Perseus, I need your help," Zoe said, as Perseus raised an eyebrow.

"The hunters are poisoned. I-I was the only one who wasn't affected. I tried to find everyone, Perseus, even Aesculapius, but even he couldn't find the cure. You need to help, Perseus, or they are going to die," Zoe begged, as Perseus clenched his fist.

He wanted to leave the Hunters to rot, but he never could do it to Zoe. If he left them to die, Zoe would be without a family. He wasn't sure he could handle it if Zoe turned against him because of his mistakes.

Perseus made the decision.

'Sorry Chiron. Looks like I'm going to be a little late.'

"Grab onto me, Zoe. We are going," Perseus said, as he prepared his senses to look for Artemis' aura, something he swore never to do ever since then.

Flashing away, he completely shocked the goddess, who was still tending to her hunters. She was going to ask Perseus what exactly he was doing here, only to stop at his cold look. Zoe apologetically smiled at Artemis, who wondered what they were to each other.

Perseus smelled the air and observed the mist – not to mention the power layering it. There was no doubt of the culprit.

"Akhlys," Perseus whispered, as Artemis and Zoe gasped.

"Why would she do this?" Zoe asked, wondering why a powerful Primordial would resort to such acts.

"Revenge…" Perseus whispered.

As Perseus observed the whimpering, and unconscious hunters, he knew that he didn't have much time left. The hunters would die if he dallied. Akhlys was cruel indeed – she used one of the most painful of her poisons on the hunters.

"Zoe, bring me an empty pithos, now," Perseus said grimly, as Zoe quickly followed.

Perseus quickly walked past Artemis, as he folded the sleeves of his black robe. As he went into the middle of the camp and closed his eyes, Artemis could only wonder what he was up to. She was surprised when he opened his blazing yellow eyes, and flared a controlled blast of power. The effects were shown, when the mist dissipated, and the sweet smell disappeared, leaving the usual forest smell.

Then, as Zoe came back with a pithos, he quickly went into their respective tents, and extracted what seemed like light yellow smoke out of the mouths of each hunter.

"Why are you helping..?" Artemis asked quietly, but was duly ignored, as Perseus continued his task.

Then, Perseus quickly sealed the poison into the pithos, before he wiped some sweat off his brow and finally turned to Zoe.

"The Hunters will be fine in a week. That was extremely powerful poison. Some did not make it," Perseus said flatly, as Zoe bit her lip.

Perseus felt pity for her – she had already lost some of her new family. Perseus sighed, as he fingered his old knife in his hunting pouch.

"Heracles never did return you Anaklusmos, didn't he?" Perseus asked, as Zoe looked down.

Drawing his old silver hunting knife, he handed it to Zoe.

"This was the first weapon I ever hunted with. Be safe and good hunting, Zoe," Perseus winked, as Zoe embraced him.

Artemis could only watch in shock as it all happened, as she clenched both her fists. It wasn't long before Perseus noticed, and gave her an icy look. The sheer coldness in the dull yellow eyes completely left Artemis frozen on the spot. However, she knew, without Perseus, her Hunters would have died.

"Um, tha-"

"Save your breath, Huntress. I would only do this for a dear friend. You should thank Zoe, not I. I would not have bothered otherwise," Perseus sneered coldly, before he gave a small crooked smile to Zoe and left.

It was then, all hell broke loose, as Artemis started to glow. Perseus tilted his head ever so slightly, as he regarded Artemis' reaction.

"You seem angered," Perseus said flatly, as Artemis' silver eyes blazed.

"Zoe… Leave us," Artemis whispered.

Zoe duly turned to leave, before she was stopped by the strong hand of Perseus, whose cold eyes were focused on the huntress.

"There is no need, Zoe. You will stay here," Perseus said with a strong voice.

Zoe, like always, was horribly puzzled by Perseus' actions. However, she knew one thing. Something happened between him and Artemis, and it was bad. The both of them were staring at each other so coldly that Zoe herself started to feel uncomfortable. She was tempted to ask what happened to warrant such hostility, but knew that it was an extremely bad idea. The two immortals, especially Perseus, looked ready to kill.

"You are one to talk about doing it for a 'dear friend', Perseus!" Artemis shouted angrily.

"And your point is?" Perseus' eyes became trained at the huntress, as he wondered exactly why she was still bitter.

"You are just another man – just another deceitful man! You should keep away from him, Zoe, lest he deceives you and harms you next!" Artemis screamed angrily, having enough of Perseus' coldness and indifference.

A horrible pit of guilt formed in Artemis, but she refused to give in to it. Zoe narrowed her dark eyes in anger as she eyed the huntress but was relaxed by a cold hand on her shoulder. She laughed at the irony of being relaxed, when she saw a seething Perseus. The Primordial's face was darkened beneath his hood, revealing only a pair of glowing, and cold yellow eyes.

Then, the sky darkened, and dark clouds began to hover over the camp site, as Perseus started to emit dark energy. His hood was blown back – revealing a face contorted into a menacing snarl. Violent wind started to blow, as Artemis defiantly stood across. He had his hand reaching for his sword, and this was when Zoe knew, she needed to stop this.

The Hesperide was close to shaking in fear, but shoved her fear aside as she grabbed onto Perseus' hand, and shook her head. Perseus gave her a frightening hard look, as she continued holding onto his arm. After a period of tension, Perseus finally sighed in resignation, as the conditions slowly returned to normal.

Artemis herself, did not know how she felt. When Zoe had managed to calm Perseus down, the huntress couldn't help but remember that she did the same in the past. In a way, she felt aggrieved. Her anger, and silent despair grew as she saw her subordinate manage to make Perseus give in. It was a little more than she could take, as she prepared to ask Perseus to leave.

"I know what you are going to say, and do, Artemis. I would suggest you do not let your emotions get in the way of your mind shields… As for you, Zoe," Perseus said shakily, as his deep voice lowered into a sad whisper.

"Take care of Artemis…"

With that, Perseus flashed away.

At that time, Zoe knew that Artemis was the one that Perseus had spoken about. Artemis' silver eyes dulled further as she looked at her handmaiden, and ask her exactly what Perseus had told her. This time though, Zoe knew the exact answer to that question.

"He told me about a betrayal," Zoe answered curtly, as she studied her Lady.

She saw a tear on Artemis' face, but it was quickly wiped off. Instantly, Artemis' expression grew cold and hard, before she turned to Zoe.

"Care for the hunters for now, Zoe. We move out when everyone recovers. I need… I need some time alone," Artemis said, before she quickly flashed away.

"So, it is done?" Chiron asked with barely concealed mirth, as Perseus nodded with acknowledgement.

"The gods have given their consent," Perseus said with a blank voice, as Chiron's tail started to flick wildly.

"So, when do we begin?" Chiron asked excitedly, as Perseus raised an eyebrow.

"Now, preferably. Before we start training them, I have some matters to take care of. Family matters... And others of the sort. Just keep the children alive for one more night," Perseus said grimly, as Chiron nodded.

"I fully understand, Perseus. I will notify you when I am finished," Chiron said, as he fingered his bow.

Perseus sighed, as this was going to be extremely tiring. He drew deep into his power, as he flashed into the Mansion of Night. Akhlys was standing there, as if waiting for him, while Lykos and Nyx seemed to sigh in unison.

The shade and the Lady of Night seemed to be disinterested at the argument that was about to happen. It was obvious that Perseus had inherited his stubbornness from Akhlys, and it was simply not worth it to butt in.

"Mother, why would you do such a thing? The Hunters did not do anything wrong," Perseus whispered.

"You would have done the same thing, if you weren't so infatuated with that daughter of Zeus," Akhlys growled.

Nyx sighed and had a small tendril of darkness ready, in case of an absolute fall out which was likely to happen.

"I would not, Mother. Even I know that it is an injustice to do such a thing," Perseus rebutted with a raised voice.

"You seem to be talking a lot about injustice for someone who has aligned with the deceitful Olympians!" Akhlys sneered.

"Nonsense. And for the record, I do not have the desire to be aligning, or being controlled with anyone. Not even you, Mother," Perseus snarled.

Needless to say, Akhlys' anger was beginning to grow as her power started to crack the pillars in the mansion, which caused a sigh from her sister. However, Perseus was not about to back down, as he flared his own power.

This was the last straw, as Lykos acted and used the flat of his blade to smack Perseus' head, while Nyx used her powers to overwhelm both auras.

"I would prefer not to have the both of you destroy my house," Nyx hissed, her eyes blazing with a kind of white flame.

Akhlys seemed to calm down, before she studied her son. His powers had matured exponentially, with Tartarus' training. He had nearly matched her aura. She wondered if he would surpass him, but concluded that it was impossible. She used only a percentage of power to bear him.

It wouldn't matter, though. The Lady of Misery heaved a long sigh, before she finally spoke, her own yellow eyes fixed in a cold sneer.

"Very well then. Do what you want, Perseus. If you are hurt, you have only yourself to blame," Akhlys said in a dark tone, before she left the room.

Lykos and Nyx remained silent, but looked at Perseus in acknowledgement, which was all Perseus needed. Perseus flashed away, and Nyx finally grumbled.

"I swear, these two… My house…"

Perseus wondered where he wanted to go, and remembered that he had to apologize to Aphrodite. Apologies were usually something he could never bother with, but it was slightly different with the Love goddess. His conscience would never let it go.

He hesitated as he stood in front of the gates of the Love Goddess' palace. He wondered what to say to her, as he knocked. His nervousness seemed to skyrocket as it opened.

It was Aphrodite herself, except that she was now sporting mousy brown, wavy hair, and was a little shorter. She was relatively tanned, and her face was more angled. Her womanly curves seemed to remain the same, but she smiled nervously at Perseus, before she asked.

"W-What do you want?"

"I wanted… I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I-It was unbecoming of me," Perseus said, as Aphrodite laughed.

"There is no harm done, Perseus. Would you like to come in?" Aphrodite asked.

Perseus debated to himself whether he should do so. Then again, it wasn't like he was in a hurry. Chiron had not notified him yet about the camp, and the fact that he was extremely tired. After all, Primordial or not, flashing into Tartarus and out took a lot of energy, due to the sheer amount of spells layering the pit. Not to mention the amount of time he spent trying to save the hunters.

Perseus finally relented, "Alright."

Aphrodite's palace was nothing he expected – it was relatively simple, with paintings depicting acts of love, and a silver arrow exhibited above the hearth. There were pendants too, and a painting of her alone. All in all, it looked very lonely.

It made Perseus understand exactly why Aphrodite went around courting so many men, and cheated on her husband excessively. It was the wrong way to do it, yes, but Perseus could understand.

To be in the domain of love, yet not feeling any. Lust, yes, but not love.

"Admiring my palace, Perseus?" Aphrodite smiled, as she sat on the chair by the hearth.

"Are you alone in here? Where's Hephaestus?" Perseus asked, wanting a confirmation.

"I believe he finds better company with his weapons and armor," Aphrodite said bitterly.

"I understand now," Perseus said, as Aphrodite gave him a sad look.

"How about we talk about something else, Aphrodite? You're the one who invited me in after all," Perseus asked, changing the subject, earning an excited look from the love goddess.

As Perseus sipped on his tea, he couldn't help but listen to Aphrodite's excited talks about mundane things in general. Perseus tried her best to listen to her, and couldn't help but be drawn into her infectious personality. Though her bubbly nature tended to annoy him numerous times, he couldn't deny that Aphrodite was really good company.

She was in a word – misunderstood. She was jealous and selfish, yes, but she was also kind and lonely. It was a shame that her husband, and the others had not seen that in her. However, she was also the kind to let loose, and Perseus ended up having to comfort her as she revealed all her insecurities to him. Not to mention the conversation became a little boring.

When she finally finished sniffing, she suddenly smiled at her new friend.

"You're the first one who lasted my ramblings… I'm sorry about that," Aphrodite laughed, as Perseus suddenly woke up.

"Umm, what did you just say?" Perseus asked, as Aphrodite laughed even more.

Though, Aphrodite noticed throughout the conversation, that Perseus kept having a faraway look. Looking into her domain, she could still see his thread of love still snapped, and wondered why it was so. However, it was clear that Perseus was not ready to share his grievances, and for the first time of her life, she tried to hold her tongue. She did not want to lose her only friend that she had, after all.

"Eh, Aphrodite? You look like you are going to explode. Come on, just ask," Perseus raised an eyebrow

"I can't," Aphrodite bit her lip, as Perseus started to laugh.

"I know what you're going to ask, Aphrodite. Chaos, you Olympians are horrible at keeping secrets," Perseus said, before his face changed to a sad smile.

"I still can't tell you now, I'm afraid…"

"Perseus?" Aphrodite called.

"What?"

"Would you like to have a massage?" The love goddess suddenly offered, taking Perseus by surprise.

Perseus raised his eyebrows, as he looked at Aphrodite's innocent expression.

"Swear on the Styx that it will be nothing intimate, and the fact that no clothes are coming off," Perseus glared with his yellow eyes.

He liked Aphrodite – but that didn't mean he wasn't wary of her sultry personality.

Aphrodite merely grumbled, "I swear on the Styx..."

'I would never want to ruin such a brilliant love story anyway…'

(Somewhere in Greece...)

A dark figure ruffled, as he felt a familiar flare of power echo across the world. If he had a face, it would have broken into a smirk. It was finally time.

"So, Akhlys' child has come back… And this time, unmarked by his mother." His guttural, ancient voice muttered, this time with triumph.

"What are you going to do about it, Father? After all, for the last millennia, all you've talked about is vengeance on Akhlys."

"Patience, my son. Akhlys is one of the mighty First-born, and alongside Gaea, Tartarus, Ananke and Nyx in terms of power. We must observe caution in this… However, with her son in this world at last, this is indeed, excellent opportunity…"

Alright I'm done! I hope you liked this chapter, and since it's chapter 10, this is quite a special occasion. We all thank you for all your support. It wasnt so long ago when i said i'd kill for 60 reviews in one chapter... Thank god that didnt happen, eh(I didnt kill anyone)? We had 66 for chapter 9... *Forehead kisses to all you magnificent fellas and ladies! As usual, I hope you enjoyed, and until next time...

Rinne's A/N AKA Announcement

The Legend of the Maelstrom Book 1: The Slayer Awakening will be continued after Misery's Smile is up to the PJO storyline and more information will be revealed in the upcoming weeks

Back to Me, Art!

Alright, alright. I had a qn in the reviews i would answer... Firstly, i dont have a writing schedule. It all depends on my muse, and the fact that i do not like to be rushed. Besides, I would never release a chapter unless it is of satisfactory quality IMO. If you have another question, feel free to PM/review me, and i will try my best to answer them =)

Since this is Chp 10... I would love to ask you guys, how would you nitpick at my story? What do you like, and hate about it? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Hope you enjoyed... And...

REVIEW!