Reiner: Ah, she's back!
Me: Hey, guys! Long time no see!
Reiner: Where the heck have you been anyway?
Me: Well, actually I just recovered from my sickness.
Reiner: So, you can get sick, too?!
Me: Hey! That's rude, jackass! I'm a human being, too! Of course I can get sick!
Reiner: So, uh, do you mind to tell me who the new guy is? He's been staring at us from the beginning.
Me: Oh yeah! He's my new Beta Reader! Say hi to Omni-Creator Kami of Anime! And you can say anything you want in here!
Reiner: Hi dude! Hopefully you can make this place better. it's boring to see that other dude over there. Another men can lightened up the place!
Me : Hey! That's rude! I'm not boring! It's you who can't handle my 'high quality' personality!
Omni: Hey, guys! I'm Omni-Creator Kami of Anime, though you can just call me Omni for short, since my name is a mouthful, and don't worry Reiner, I've got your back, but be a little nicer to Hanaichi-chan, given her 'high-quality' personality.
Reiner : *eye rolls*
Me : Ugh! So I will let you read the entire chapter in peace, okay?
And I don't own PJO and HOO!
Additional Author note : I already changed Reiner birthday and age at chapter 18. His birthday is 5th December 1992, and I already explained that he will be one year older than Percy. If you want to know why he's at the same class at Percy, it because he's born in December. And from the place where I came from, people who born at December started school either 1 year early ( in this case at 5 for the first grade) or 1 year late (in this case at 7 for the first grader). Reiner case is the latter one, so yeah he will reach 16 years old 8 month earlier than Percy, since Percy birth date is at 18 August 1993. And the event happen in this chapter right after Reiner 15th birthday.
Chapter 19
Mr. D's words hang heavily in my mind, the fact that Kronos will hunt me down more intently after I had gotten the Nemean Lion pelt. I bit my fingernails and started to think about actually bathing in the River Styx with the pelt itself. I will be completely invincible, or invulnerable anyway, but…there must be a downside at that, I'll be getting tired more easily, and if I used my power too much or tire myself too much, I could potentially die. So, basically I had to balance it, and learn to use my power more efficiently without draining my energy too much. I quickly shook my head, the gods might try to kill me instantly if they learned that I did that, even though Dionysius talked about it in the first place, and even if I wanted to do that, how do I get to the Underworld in the first place? My shadow travelling technique is a little bit shitty and last time I used it I ended up sleeping for three days straight! Asking Hades for advice? Nah, last time I spoke to him it didn't end well, and the way he kept claiming my soul was scary as fuck. I heard there were other ways to enter the underworld, but I completely forgot about those, aside from killing yourself and through the DOA studio. I heard there are several entrances to the Underworld scattered throughout the country, but I didn't know the exact location of them and how to open them. Asking Chiron about it will probably end up with him locking me up in the camp. Apollo? Nah, he couldn't enter the underworld without Hades noticing and that could cause a war. Hermes? Uh, I basically didn't know him very well and I have never talked to or met him. Or maybe I could stuff myself into a large box and addressed it to the underworld?
"God damnit!" I yelled and punched the ground in frustration "Just how the fuck can I go in the underworld?!"
"Aw, I loved your frustrated expression, it's so adorable!" a feminine voice squealed right next to me.
I turned around to face the owner of said voice, and the Goddess of Love basically squished my face with both of her hands. My face turned bright red at the intimate gesture and the fact that she didn't know what personal space is! Aphrodite finally let my face go as she beamed at me, and I just realized she took the form of a 15 years old girl. She basically turned into a girl of my dreams, and I only could stare at her with a large blush on my face. She twirled her perfect curly light brown hair and her amber eyes studied my dumbfounded expression. She giggled as she scooted closer to me, only to pinch my cheek hard, I flinched and fortunately that pain brought me back into my senses.
"Good morning, Lady Aphrodite" I said politely.
"Aw, don't be so formal around me dearie." she said and giggled.
"So, uh. Why are you here?" I asked and tilted my head slightly.
The Goddess of Love suddenly wrapped herself around my arm and rested her head on my shoulder. I froze at her bold action and only glanced in her direction.
"I'm bored, and Ares didn't want to go on a date with me," she puckered her perfect pink lips and she glanced at me. "Would you go on a date with me Reiner?" she asked me cutely.
I didn't know if my face could become even redder, she basically leaned way too close and her breath was ghosting on my face, her perfume assaulted my nose and I started to get a little dizzy. Uh, is it me or is it getting a little bit hot in here?
"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea," I managed to say those words.
Aphrodite sent me a knowing smile. "Ah, let me put it this way. Go to a date with me, and I can help you with your own problem."
I flinched slightly at her words, of course she had to know about that problem, my mind quickly ran through a lot of possibilities at this point. A date with her should be easy enough, right? I mean, I'm still a minor, and she did promise me she wouldn't do anything funny to me until I reached 18 years old. I glanced at her again and wondered, why in the world did Aphrodite want me? She could choose a lot of men better than me.
"Why me?" that question escaped my mouth before I even realized it.
Aphrodite let go of my arm as she tilted her head to the side, "Why you?"
"I mean," I trailed off a bit, then took a deep breath. "There's lot of men in the world, grown up men who will be willing to do anything for you. Why me? I'm just a little boy."
Aphrodite laughed slightly as she forced me to face her, her eyes changed color again this time into green. She ran her finger onto my jawline teasingly as she put one of her hand into my shoulder.
"Oh, I see more than that Reiner Lockheart" Aphrodite said in serious tone "I see a lot of things inside those beautiful eyes of yours. You are much different than the rest of the men I have ever met, the way you carry yourself around people, and the fact that even your own father can't see your future and there are no prophecies tied around you."
"You are a mystery," she added. "Half of the Gods are actually afraid of you, what will you become, what will you do," and now her finger moved into my hair. "Would you believe me if I said, that this is your second chance in the World of the Living?"
I froze at her words, did…did she know? Did she know that this is somehow my second chance in life?
"I can help you with that problem, darling," Aphrodite cooed at me then she laughed softly. "Of course I want something back from you."
"How did you know?" I asked in a quiet voice.
"I have my own informant, silly." Aphrodite said and patted me on my head "After all, Love know no bounds."
Of course, I said mentally. There's must be some mortals or heroes that still loved her until their last breath and were willing to give this information to her.
"Let's just say our status right now is like friends with benefits," Aphrodite said cheerily. "I can give you some important information and help you with things, and in exchange you do something for me"
I'm hesitating. Honestly, I felt a bit odd about the whole thing, because I believed something will happen and that can change the whole plot if I agree to Aphrodite's terms. But then again, in order to protect my friends from Kronos I had to do something extreme, and that means breaking the plot and changing the story line. I stared at my lap for a few moments and took a deep breath as I looked over at Aphrodite.
"Okay," I said determinedly. "I agree to your terms."
And after that…Aphrodite literally tackled me into the snowy ground while squealing in happiness, and I hoped I didn't make matters worse.
When she said a date, at first I thought she meant was an expensive dinner at some expensive restaurant. But, it turned out to be a simple picnic at Central Park. I stared at my shoes as I felt various cold and sharp glares directed at me from the men that I passed by, not that I could truly blame them. I mean, I would be jealous as fuck if someone ordinary got a very, VERY sexy and beautiful woman clinging onto his side. Aphrodite practically clung onto my left arm, as she leaned her head onto my shoulder. Heck, she didn't even bother to take her 15 year old girl form, she took on an 18 year old girl form. Aphrodite didn't even care that she basically made every man in this park want to murder me out of jealousy. She pulled me towards a quieter area and pushed me down onto a bench, while she put a rather big basket on the bench and she sat…on my lap.
"Wh-what are you doing?!" I stuttered at her.
"I'm cold," she whined as she took my arm, and wrapped it around her. "You are supposed to cuddle me you know."
I only blinked when she did the same thing with my other arm, my cheeks became redder as she practically leaned back on me. I had trouble breathing at first because I practically inhaled all her perfume, and the fact that she purposely tilted her head to the side and rested her head against the side of my neck. This is so awkward, this is pure torture for my still-growing body. I mean, excuse me lady, do you know that I almost and maybe already hit puberty, and doing this to me is like pure torture? And I couldn't help but feel a bit hot despite the fact that we are in the middle of winter, fuck I could feel a bit of sweat run down my neck and through my back at this point.
"Um, Lady Aphrodite," I said in a quiet tone. "Could you, um, get off me?" I chuckled nervously. "I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable right now."
Aphrodite finally stood up and sat right next to the basket, I exhaled slowly and watched my own breath. Aphrodite opened the basket and took out a medium size box and she opened it, inside there I saw a lot of mini sandwiches, and it looks delicious. Aphrodite took one and brought it towards my mouth, she grazed the sandwich onto my lips and laughed softly as she watched my face turn bright red.
"Open your mouth, darling." she said lovingly.
I slowly opened my mouth and she practically shoved the sandwiches into my mouth, I chewed it slowly as I felt dozens of death stares behind my back. Oh god, those people might be killing me in their own imagination, like burning me, feeding me to the shark, etc. Before I could swallow, Aphrodite suddenly grabbed my scarf and pulled me closer to her, only to peck me on my check, a couple of inches closer to my lips were. I choked, and coughed violently while pounding my own chest, Aphrodite gave me a cup of something, I didn't bother to see what was inside the cup and quickly downed it, a warm and sweet liquid filled my mouth and finally pushed the sandwich down into my stomach.
"Don't do that, while I'm eating," I said while pouting a bit.
"Oh, so can I do that while you're not eating?" she asked, while batting her eyelashes at me.
"Wha-no, I mean, uh, Wh-Yes. I mean No," I stuttered and unconsciously traced my finger on the spot where she kissed me.
Honestly, my heart almost felt like it would burst out of my chest when she did that, but I couldn't put my hopes up, I mean she's literally a Goddess and I'm only a 14 year old teenager. I literally have no chance with her, so yeah, no. But, if she kept doing this, I'm afraid my stupid mind and heart will interpret this in the other way, and I didn't want that to happen. No. Just let me love a normal girl please, I mean not a goddess.
"Aren't you adorable?" she squealed again and practically clung onto my arm again. "I can't wait to see you turn 18."
"Uh, what am I supposed to do with my mom?" I asked out of nowhere.
"Huh?" Aphrodite looking up at me.
"I mean, in order to bathe in River Styx I have to earn my mom's blessing," I explained. "How? My mom wouldn't allow me to do that."
"That's why you need me silly." she giggled again.
"You mean, you will use charmspeak so my mom will give me her blessing?" I asked in a surprised tone.
"Why so surprised?" Aphrodite asked.
"Uh…" I trailed a bit, unsure how to speak without insulting the goddess herself. "I appreciate your help with that, but I wanted to convince her myself" I glanced at her "I don't want to sadden her further if she suddenly learned it after I bathe in the River Styx. I wanted her to know what I'm going to do, after all I'm doing this for her sake too. If I'm invincible then I can protect her from Luke and his army better"
"Pfft, you sound like that peacock," Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Whatever darling, I guess you can do that and if that doesn't work I can convince your mother that I will be there during the whole process and get your pretty ass out from the underworld"
"Why are you helping me?" I asked her again.
"Honestly," she said and traced her finger on my jaw, again. "You have a cute face and such a waste if you die too soon."
I laughed at her response, of course, what should I expect from her?
"Also, a few of us on the council felt that we really need you in order to get rid of Kronos, including me. So, I'm just helping to accelerate the process. After all, it's 1 more years before you hit 16." Aphrodite answered in a soft tone. "I just hope you can end the war without casualties, especially from my children."
Right, the Great Prophecy and the second Titan War. One of her daughters will die, her favorite one, Silena. Maybe I can prevent that from happening, maybe I can save her boyfriend from dying on the Princess Andromeda, or make sure that Silena will never be a spy for Luke's army and protect Beckendorf from Kronos. I blinked as I saw the snow began to fall from the sky onto the ground, I raised my hand and watched as the snow landed on my hand and melted slightly because of my body heat.
"I guess, you have to go back now," Aphrodite said as she packed the box. "I'll accompany you to the camp back."
I stood up slowly as I watched her "Nah, I can walk there alone."
Aphrodite grabbed my hand "It's easier this way."
Without saying a word, she teleported me back into the camp, near the border. I stumbled slightly and rested my hand into the Pine Tree. The dragon that protected the Golden Fleece opened its eyes and stared at me, before letting out a sigh before it closed its eyes again.
"Gods, I hate teleportation," I mumbled as I shook my head.
"Then, I will help you to get into the Underworld" Aphrodite said seriously. "Tomorrow, I'll pick you up from here at 9 a.m. We'll talk to your mom first, and we'll go into the Underworld next."
"How?" I tilted my head
Aphrodite let out a squeal as she pinched my cheek. "Aw, you are so cute when you do that!"
I held in the urge to roll my eye.
"It's a secret," she said and winked at me before flashed her way out.
"Rei-Reiner," my Mom's eyes went wide when she saw me standing in front of the door.
I sent her a small smile as I shuffled nervously. "Uh, hey Mom. I-I want to talk with you, about something."
"La-Lady Aphrodite," my Mom stuttered when she saw Aphrodite standing not too far behind me. The Goddess of Love only nodded her head slightly at my Mom.
"Come in," my Mom moved away from the doorway, as I took a step forward.
I inhaled slowly as I took the scent of the apartment, the faint smell of chocolate, cookies and homemade cooking. I missed this feeling, and I missed home.
"So?" My Mom looked at me as she took a seat on the couch, her eyes focusing on me. "What is this about Reiner?"
I gulped nervously "I-I uh, want your blessing"
My Mom blinked slowly as she looked at me, then her eyes widened and turned her head quickly towards Aphrodite who was busy painting her nails. "You want to marry her?!" she suddenly shrieked.
Aphrodite stopped painting her nails as she looked at my Mom with a funny look. "I would love to, but your son is still a minor. But, I would totally marry your son." and she winked at my Mom then continued to polish her nail innocently, unaware that she freaked the hell out of my mom.
"Reiner!" she scolded me. "Did you slept with…Lady Aphrodite?!"
My eyes went wide and I blushed heavily "What?! No?! Gods, mom! I would never do that, well, maybe someday, but no!"
My Mom stormed towards me and began to pull my ear "I think you said something that you shouldn't have young man."
"Okay, okay" I whined at her "I'm just joking! Stop pulling my ear! I'm not 12"
My Mom finally let my ear go, as she went back to her previous position. I whined loudly to the Goddess of Love, who didn't give a single fuck about what just happened in front of her, just because of her pretty mouth! I cleared my throat as I tried to form the sentences in my mind, my Mom kept staring at me while she fiddled with her finger, nervously waiting for me to say something.
"I need your blessing for me to bathe in the River Styx," I said and made sure that I didn't stutter or say it too fast.
Silence, pure silence. Nobody moved or said anything, and nobody wanted to break the uncomfortable silence. Finally my Mom opened her mouth and said,
"No."
Her voice was firm and I saw that her eyes hardened for a few moments.
"I won't allow it," she said it again.
"But, why?" I asked.
My Mom shook her head. "What are you thinking?!" she yelled at me. "Why do you want to do that?!"
"Because…" I paused for a moment and looked my Mom in her eyes "I wanted to fight Kronos! And this is the only way to do it, I can't fight him in this state, he would kill me instantly! I need the Curse of Achilles to stay alive during the fight!"
My Mom bit her lower lip. "No, I won't allow you to do it."
"Why?" I asked.
My mom looked at me with a serious look, but I caught the sadness in her eyes. "Because, I don't want to lose you! They've already taken you away from me! And now they want you to kill The King of the Titans!"
"Mom, please." I pleaded at her. "This is the only way for me to win against him. I-" I blinked as I trailed my eyes towards my lap. "I promised you, didn't I? I promised you that I will come back to you, alive."
I heard a soft sob come from my Mom, I lifted my head quickly and saw a single tear escape my Mom's eyes. She hurriedly wiped her tears as she clenched her free hand.
"Why does it have to be you?" she muttered softly but loud enough so I can hear it. "Why do you have to suffer again? And for what? For humanity? For the world?" she laughed coldly. "Honestly, I don't care about that. I only care about you, you are my son. If I had to destroy the world just to make sure you were safe, I would do it."
"Mom," I said as I moved in front of her, I crouched in front of her and grabbed her hands softly.
"But, I can't," she said and more tears came from her eyes. "I can't destroy the world that my son is trying so hard to protect! I can't destroy the world when my own son risks his own life to protect it!"
"Mom, I-" I looked her with a determined look. "I'm a hero. And I can't go back now, not when I said that I will protect everyone from Kronos." I wiped her tears softly. "But, remember this. I will always come back to you. After all, I'm your son."
"But, why does it have to be you?" she asked me "From all the demigods that have ever existed, why does it have to be you? You've already done enough Reiner! You've already sacrifice enough! Just stop it! Please, stop doing things that can kill you just because you want to save your friends!"
"Mom, I'm the only one who can fight Kronos. The prophecy doesn't apply to me, and Kronos couldn't predict my action because of it! I want to do this mom, because I want to protect everyone that is important to me. I want to create a safe world for you and my friends to live in, I want to make sure that you are safe. That's why I'm doing this, it's for you mom." I explained again, and hoping this time my Mom understood my reasons.
My Mom bit her bottom lip, and she started to get lost in her own thought, her eyes casted into her lap as she took a deep breath and finally looked at me again. A small smile formed on her lips as she nodded.
My Mom held my hand and squeezed it gently. "I-I give you my blessing. Just promise me that you will come back to me."
I smiled widely at her and hugged her tightly. "Thank you Mom. I-I really appreciate it."
Then, she looked at the Goddess of Love who watched the scene in front of her with glassy eyes.
"Aw, this is so beautiful!" she squealed "A Mother's love is the best after all! Anyway, don't worry Mrs. Lockheart, I'll make sure to keep your son in line and comes back safe, without a missing limb."
"Thank you," my Mom said earnestly. "Thank you, Lady Aphrodite"
"But…" she narrowed her eyes a bit as she continued in a more serious tone. "No touching or funny business until he becomes 18 years old."
"MOM! THAT'S INNAPROPRIATE!"
I didn't know what the fuck is going on as Aphrodite dressed me up in a suit and a tie. She even tidied up my usually messy hair. I touched the collar of my shirt and pulling it slightly, so I can create a little breathing room for my neck. When that didn't help, I quickly unbuttoned the top button of my white shirt and loosed up my tie a bit, and I didn't bother to button up my black blazer. I mean, I'm just going to take a bathe in the River Styx, so why the formal clothes.
"Oh, my. You looked gorgeous." Aphrodite appeared in some kind of pinkish dress that hugged her body perfectly.
I tried my best to keep my eyes on her face and not to trail into her body or the dress. Which is very, very hard, since the dress really showed her curves perfectly and the way she walked towards me, it's just too much for me and my 14 year old teenage hormones. She will be the death of me someday, I'm sure of it. Fuck, even my heart just wanted to leap out from my chest and head straight to her.
"You looked…" I'm not even sure if I spoke properly. "….stunning" I settled with that word, yeah, because I didn't know what kind of words that I can use to describe her right now.
Maybe some of you will think that I'm too weak and way too easygoing. But, imagine if you are in my shoes. The Goddess of Love herself, a very VERY beautiful woman, is willingly getting close to you, went out on a date with you, and liked you, what will you do huh?! I'm a man! Yes, I wanted her as bad as the men from the rest of the world wanted her! You can't blame me! I'm a man after all! And yes, if I saw an available beautiful young woman I will go for her!
"Let's go," she said as she wrapped her left arm around my right arm. "I don't want to make Persephone wait."
"Wait, who?!" I asked her in a bewildered tone.
"Duh, Persephone. Hades' wife," Aphrodite rolled her eyes, "She asked me to come and join her little party."
"You mean, there will be other gods there?" I asked her more concerned.
"Nah, just a few minor goddesses," Aphrodite said and began to tidy my hair more "Relax, they won't kill you. As long as you stay close to me, you will be all right."
Then before I could say anything else, she teleported me right in front of the DOA studio. I almost threw up at that point, seeing that she teleported me without saying anything to me or warned me about it. She practically dragged me into the studio, passed a baffled Charon and went straight into the elevator, she didn't even care about the longing looks from the spirits around her.
"Charon" Aphrodite snapped her finger impatiently "Don't just stand there with your mouth hang open, we have business with the Queen of the Underworld herself."
Charon nodded slowly, as he started to escort us to the elevator, shoved some spirit away from our way and sometimes gave me a confused and jealous glances. When we arrived at the River Styx and I could only could stare at it, a lot of things started to run through my mind. Does is hurt to take a bath there? From the book, I read that it was a very painful experience, it was like your skin melted from your body and the water began to drag your consciousness away from your mind, and it can kill you instantly if you are not strong enough. And I had to think of something that will tie me into this world in order to survive. But, that's the normal way and I'm about to do it in abnormal way. I glanced at Aphrodite, especially her purse which contains the Nemean Lion's pelt, don't ask me how it fit inside her purse. I didn't know how it felt when you did it with Nemean Lion's pelt wrapped around you, did I had to think a part of my body as a lifeline for me? The fact that no one had ever done this, or they didn't bother to write about it, it made me even more nervous. How does it feel when the Nemean Lion pelt started to melt into your own skin?
"We're here," Aphrodite voice brought me back into reality.
I blinked and looked around, we already arrived at Hades' Palace front gate, how the hell we got here so fast? Didn't we have to walk past through Cerberus, the Fields of Punishment, and the Entrance of Tartarus to get here? Then I felt slight tug on my hand, I looked down and found that Aphrodite's hand already held my own hand. She basically dragged me all the way here, and surprisingly I didn't trip over something.
"You seemed deep on thought," Aphrodite said and pushed the gate opened. "So, I had to drag you here or we will take the whole day for this. And we don't have time for that."
The Goddess of Love continued to drag me into the palace, easily walked past a couple of hellhound and tons of skeletons that guard the palace. Aphrodite dragged me into the throne room which was empty, Hades' throne is oddly empty. But the throne on the right is occupied and a very beautiful woman with flower crown on her wavy black hair, sat there elegantly. Her golden eyes lightened up a bit when she saw Aphrodite, she rose from her throne and walked towards us, her black dress hugged her body perfectly, it's not as open as Aphrodite dress, but it made Persephone even more beautiful and elegant.
"Lady Aphrodite," Persephone said in a polite tone "So you came."
Aphrodite sent the Queen of Underworld a polite smile, "Yes, of course. After all we already spoke about it and you agreed to help us."
Persephone's eyes landed at me and my body went rigid all of the sudden.
"So, this is the one," she spoke in quiet tone as she examined me from head to toe. "He looks promising."
Aphrodite smirked a little. "Trust me, this little guy cause quite a stir on Olympus. As you have already known, your husband also claimed him as his own son."
Persephone frowned a little at that. "I believe so. But, this child didn't resemble him at all, aside from his black hair"
I swallowed hard, I knew the fact that Persephone hated the fact that Hades cheated on her, and had Bianca and Nico with another woman. But Persephone never laid a hand on those kids, since Hades had apologized towards her and promised to never do it again. And now here I am, appeared out of nowhere and Hades suddenly claimed me, without any clarification towards the other Gods that he only owns my soul, not my body. And I made that sound wrong.
"So, you are the one who want to take a bath in the River Styx?"
I blinked and looked at Persephone, her rather sudden question broke my train of thought. But, then again my brain was always never focused on one thing when I was nervous or in danger.
"Yes," I answered briefly.
"Brave one aren't you?" Persephone smiled at me. "But, then again brave and reckless are almost the same thing"
I only smiled a little at her words, Persephone then took a quick glanced at her husband throne.
"I already sent him away for something, but he will be quick," Persephone said "So, I suggest you go now. Before he comes back and notices you"
Aphrodite nodded while tugged my arm, "Thank you, and I guess we're even now."
Persephone rolled her eyes "Yes, yes. Now hurry, I will teleport you there."
Before I could protest that I hate teleportation, Persephone already teleported us into the shore of the River Styx. I could only hold back the urge to throw up while Aphrodite was busy fixing her hair and dress. Then she pulled out the Nemean Lion's skin from her purse and tossed the thing at me, I quickly removed my blazer and my shirt, after that I wrapped the damn thing around my shoulder. I walked into the river and took one last glance at Aphrodite who urged me to make it quick. I took a deep breath and jumped straight into the river.
I almost gasped when the cold water rushed towards me, but decided against it. At first, I felt nothing, then the pain came, and my mind began to turn fuzzy. I held back a scream that wanted to escape my lips, the pain was unbearable. It felt like someone was pouring a cauldron of molten gold all over your skin and someone injected it inside your body. My whole body burned, I struggled to stay conscious, which is a hard thing to do, my mind begging me to shut down and take a break for a moment. But, I knew if I agreed to it, then this River will dissolve my soul. I remembering my own promise to my Mom, my desire to protect everyone dear to me, to kill Kronos and end all this madness. My hand unconsciously gripped my skin that began absorbing the Nemean Lion's pelt slowly. The pain, oh god, please end it! A part of me berated myself for my own rashness and stupidity, and another part of me told myself to endure this pain, because it will worth it. I bit my lips hard and suddenly my memories from my previous life flooded my mind.
It came back from the day when I proposed my girlfriend Clara, with my poor guitar skills and even poorer singing skills. She only laughed at me while wiping her eyes from tears, it's from happiness and my poor attempt to serenade her. She quickly said yes, and she basically flung herself at me, hugging me tightly and called me her dork. That day was basically the most perfect day of my life, with her on my arm and we had a bright future ahead of us. That day, Clara gave me her life, her virginity to me, because she trusted me that I will never leave her or cheat on her.
'I'm sorry,' I said mentally. 'I broke my promise, I did left you behind.'
I didn't know if I could cry in this river or not, but regret started to fill my heart. I felt my consciousness start to fade away, I felt the River starting to dissolve my soul. I almost gave up when another voice popped up into my mind.
'We're best friends!' Percy's voice came in and the picture when we're still 5 years old.
'Why are you always doing everything alone? I'm here for you Reiner! I will never leave you! After all, we are family right?' again I saw Percy speaking to me, this memory happened a few days ago.
'Hey, pretty boy!' Thalia's face popped into my mind. 'Don't you dare die, before I can beat and humiliate you in our spar!'
'Don't make me break your nose again Reiner!' Clarisse said and grinned at me. 'By the way, you up to spar with me?'
Then my Mother appeared on my mind. 'You will always come back to me right, my son.'
Suddenly I felt a tug from my back, and the next thing I knew, I was spluttering some water on the River Styx shore. I panted hard and tried to get my focus back, and then slowly I pushed myself up and looked at my hand. It's still there and not gone, I looked around and found out that I'm still in the Underworld.
"You did it!" Aphrodite squealed and tackled me into a hug.
I quickly stumbled back and blinked slowly, my brain still tried to process the events that happened to me. I just took a bath in the River Styx, and somehow I survived it. The Nemean Lion's pelt already gone, it meant that my skin absorbed it completely. And Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love hugged me, while I'm half naked. Before I could react at the last thought, the woman in question quickly pulled herself and put a fake thin smile on her lips.
"What the hell are you doing in my dominion, Aphrodite?!"
I quickly spun around and found Hades, stood not too far from us, looking angry and brooding as usual. His beautiful wife stood right next to him, she looked intrigued by the events that unfolded in front of her.
"I guess you didn't get the memo from our last meeting," Aphrodite spoke casually.
"Tch, they didn't bother to tell me about anything that happened up there," Hades grumbled bitterly.
"That's why I'm here to explain something, well, a lot of things," Aphrodite stared at her fingernail. "And I prefer to explain it at your palace"
Hades' eye twitched. "I should blast you off to your rightful place, you-"
"Husband, my dear," Persephone spoke in a calm voice, effectively calming Hades' sour mood. "We should hear them. Beside I also need a few clarifications about that hero over there which you claim to be your son."
"Fine." he huffed and snapped his fingers, instantly transporting us back into his own 'humble abode'.
He quickly took a seat on his own throne while he lazily waved his own finger to make, two chairs made of gold appeared behind me and Aphrodite. I quickly took a seat and Hades' eyes still bore onto me, more like scanned me from head to toe.
"Maybe you can start with why suddenly Reiner emerged from the River Styx?" Hades asked in amused tone.
"He just took a dip there with the Nemean Lion's pelt," Aphrodite answered easily. "I was curious about the part that state that you can received full invulnerability with that."
"And why are you suddenly curious about that?" Hades leaned back on his throne, eyes never leaving me.
"We are fully aware that Kronos has already stirred in his sleep" Aphrodite said in a serious tone "But, some of the Gods won't believe that. And we need something to prevent that from happening."
Hades' eyes lightened up a bit. "Ah, so you are aware of that?"
Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "I'm not an idiot Hades. I might not be as bright as Athena, but I'm aware of something dark and dangerous starting to approach us."
"Go on," Hades said.
"After the last meeting, after Reiner achieved the Nemean Lion's pelt, Zeus started to freak out, he's afraid that Reiner here will turn the tables and decide to betray the Gods and join Kronos' side," Aphrodite glanced at the ceiling. "As you know, Athena called Reiner an unknown element, since his future is unknown. He's a dangerous weapon against Kronos, since he's too unpredictable and there are no prophecies that bound him."
Hades arched his eyebrows. "I see. So, you decided to dip him into the River Styx with the Nemean Lion's pelt to prepare him for the battle with Kronos?"
Aphrodite nodded. "Yes. Some of us already spoke of it behind Zeus' back since he will freak out so badly if he learn about this."
"Why did this happen behind my back?" Hades asked again.
"Like you said before, you weren't there at the meeting." Aphrodite said. "And I don't know if you even agree with it and we don't have much time since Reiner is already 15 years old. And you already know about the Great Prophecy, it's one more years for him."
Hades closed his eyes briefly before he chuckled and opened his eyes again. "Hah, you should have told me about this. I would say yes in a heartbeat, anything to make sure my father stays asleep forever."
"Are you planning to tell Zeus about it?" Hades asked again, this time amusement on his tone.
Aphrodite gave Hades a knowing smirked "Oh, we will. And you know what? I'll invite you this time, to our next Winter Solstice annual meeting"
After all of that shit, Aphrodite sent me back into the camp and left immediately. I rubbed my face quickly and stared at my hand. Still couldn't believe that I'm now invulnerable, nothing could hurt me physically. But, I believed that there had to be some kind of side effect right? There's no way I will be invincible and I didn't have to pay the price for it. A tap on my shoulder scared the shit out of me as I whipped around and came face to face with Thalia.
"Hey, Chiron wanted us to…" she blinked as she stared at me with puzzled looks. "Is it me or are you…glowing? And you seem different."
I scratched my cheek slowly "I will explain that later. So, what is it?"
Thalia raised her eyebrow, clearly she didn't like my answer. "Chiron wanted to speak with us. It's important."
I only nodded as I tagged along with Thalia and we headed towards the Big House. We arrived at the porch and we found Chiron standing there, in his Centaur form, but I didn't see Mr. D anywhere.
"Chiron," Thalia called him. "Reiner is here."
Chiron turned and his eyes instantly landed on me, his expression looked puzzled as he stared at me. Then he shook his head slightly as he motioned us to get even closer.
"I have a job for you," Chiron stated. "Percy already on his way and I already told him about it."
"What is it?" Thalia asked.
"Grover found two demigods," Chiron said and smiled at us. "They're at a school called Westover Hall."
I instantly froze at his words, because before Aphrodite teleported me back here, Hades made me promise that I have to take care of his children and will protect them from any harm. And I didn't know that it would happened now, more likely tomorrow. I just can't believe that we moved into the next book this soon.
Then again, I should have known about it, something will definitely change, because I already broke the plot and I didn't give a damn about it. This is my choice, and The Fates already said that I can pave my own destiny and nothing can bind me in here. So, yeah guess what? I will save Bianca and Zoe from their death!
Me: And we are done!
Reiner: Whoa, he really fixed the whole grammar thing, he's way better than you!
Omni: *chuckling sheepishly* Aw shucks, Reiner. I'm not THAT good, Hanaichi-chan is the real artist and genius here.
Me: Reiner~. Are you forgetting that fact that English is not my main language?! Do you want to get erased or sent to another world! Because I have the power to do that shit! Do you want to test my patience boy?! I can turn you into a girl if I want to!
Reiner: That's power abuse. And you can't send me anywhere!
Me: *ready to write* wanna try Pretty Boy?
Reiner: Help me Omni !
Me : Oh, don't you even think of that! You don't know me when I'm angry! And believe me it's not pretty.
Omni : *throws a bar of chocolate at me*
Me : Oh, chocolate! *eat the chocolate*
Reiner : woman and chocolate *sigh*
Omni: *chuckling* I know, Reiner. And like I said, I got your back.
Me : yeah, so it's been a long day and conversation.
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