Perseus looked around at his surroundings. Dense forests surrounded him, and in the distance, mountains. He felt out with the growing pit of power within him; used it to show him even further. For miles, there was nothing... Then, about 13 miles out... Two beings. A demigod and a monster.
Then he heard it. A prayer was resounding in his head, and it grew so loud he wondered how he'd ever been able to ignore it. 'Lord Perseus, God of Combat, hear my prayer and answer! Lend me your strength to defeat my foe!' With a start, Perseus realized - that's why he was here! He had been attracted by the prayer! He focused on the blip in his mind - it was already easier to detect than it had been to detect Zeus' disloyalty. He flashed again.
This time, he landed right on top of the monster/demigod combo. The demigod was pinned against a tree. Riptide was in his hand before he knew it, and the monster, a hellhound, was dead instantly. Gold dust scattered as the demigod looked up at him, recognition painting his eyes.
"Lord Perseus..." He murmured. "Thank you, my Lord. Thank you."
The new god looked down at him. "How did you know my name?" The teen chuckled, recovering from his near-death experience quickly.
"All of the world knows, I'd say. Tales of Perseus, the hero of the Colosseum so great that even the gods took notice." Perseus eyes widened fractionally; had the gods spread tales about him? It made sense... How else would he gain worshipers? Perseus stuck a hand out to the boy, who gratefully took the arm up.
"So, who are you the son of?" Perseus asked. The kid raised an eyebrow.
"My parents."
The god snorted. "Funny. Hermes, I'm guessing?" The boy shrugged and nodded. "So, what are you doing out here?" At this, the demigod grinned.
"I'm trying to find someone." Perseus raised an eyebrow.
"Who?"
Another voice shouted from behind, "You!" The god whirled around and subconsciously placed his sword at the throat of the newcomer, another young man, who was shocked into silence.
"Alright," the god started, "you found me. What do you want?"
The first demigod grinned. "Well, that's simple. I want to fight you! I'm the best sword-fighter in my town, and once I beat you, I'll know I'm the best in the world."
"Beat me?" Perseus asked. "You were just having trouble against that hellhound. How do expect to beat a god if you can't beat a hellhound?" The boy went crimson, but retained his confidence.
"It caught me off guard, that's all. Besides, it doesn't have a sword, so it doesn't count," the boy explained. Perseus just shook his head and went along with it.
"Alright. Go ahead, attack me. I won't even fight back. If you hit me, I'll tell everyone that wants to hear that you beat me in a fair fight." Perseus felt a pang in his heart as he was reminded of his squabble with Alex outside of Vesuvius - He'd give anything to be able to jest like that with her just one more time. He kept an eye on the boy behind him as he flicked Riptide back to his side as the demigod retrieved his sword.
The boy grinned as he picked up his sword. "Watch out! You're able to face the best sword-fighter in the world!" His stance was off slightly, with his legs too wide and his off-arm too close to his body. He charged, but it with Perseus' enhanced perception, it might as well have been a snail's crawl. As soon as the boy got close, Perseus moved out of the way and tripped the boy, then caught him at the seam of his himation, keeping him from falling over.
"Your stance is all off," Perseus explained as he pushed the boy slightly, making him stumble forwards. "Feet too wide, arms in the wrong spots... To top it off, you're slow. Give it another five-hundred years, maybe." The boy whirled around and slashed blindly, but Perseus was already gone.
"So," Aphrodite began, "What do you think you'll be doing, now that you've gotten immortality?"
Perseus sighed, looking out from the upper balcony of Aphrodite's house on the outskirts of Rome. "I... don't know. I'm not even sure why I wanted it in the first place. I told myself it was to restore the glory of Greece, but... I've never really even been to Greece. Not that I can remember, at least. I'm Greek, and that's it. Maybe... Maybe it fell for a reason. All of that infighting... maybe there was a reason for it."
Aphrodite nodded. "Yes... Things are rarely what they appear to be. For example, all of those Olympians, they think I'm just some idiot only good for her body."
"Alright..." Perseus trailed off. "What are you trying to say? That Olympus is wrong?"
"Sometimes," Aphrodite shrugged. "Maybe I'm just trying to say live your life how you want to. You don't owe anyone anything." She sighed. "If you don't mind me asking... What do you want to do with your life?"
Perseus thought about it. 'What do I want with my life?' He thought about growing up in Rome, fighting in the Colosseum, killing Augustus, going on his quests for gods... He flashed back to the only thing he had really consciously done without having a greater reason to. "I... I want to help people." He remembered going after the Germans who had been tearing through those towns... Meeting Alex. He held back a tear.
What good was having the strength to protect those you loved if you had to sacrifice those you loved for it?
He grabbed the hairpin out of his hair and flipped it around a few times, appreciating the perfect weight. He thought back to the boy from the forest, already a week ago, and a thought popped into his head. "Thank you, Aphrodite."
"You're-" She was cut off as the other god flashed out of the room. "-welcome..."
Perseus grinned as he found himself back on Olympus, in front of Hephaestus' palace. He knocked on the door and enhanced his height to match the dimensions of the palace. He needed a new godly weapon, after all.
This is the first of three chapters in the next 24 hours! Sorry for making you guys wait so long... I had no idea where to take this story with this chapter. Rest assured, though, I finally have the slightest of an idea. Also, expect chapters to start getting a little bit longer - I've come to the realization that there's no way I'll be able to make the story work if I stick to 1k chapters.