"Remember, when you start to fade and beg to become demons, we gave you a chance." The angel turned his back on the throne room and prepared to storm out. Steel feathers appeared ruffled and the arch angel's eyes looked dead and black like a seagull's. Behind the mask of negotiations and bartering were the cold calculating eyes of a machine. They claimed they wanted Zeus's master bolt and Hera's virgin waters. Nero thought what they really wanted was an excuse to finally destroy the Olympians. Something had tied the angel's hands. There were pieces of the puzzle still missing and he couldn't put it all together yet.
He theorized that the angels wanted both demons to regain their godhood. They didn't just happen to turn a blind eye. It could be that tons of demons are trying to regain their former forms and this time the exorcists didn't make it. Nero needed to learn more about demons. A single demon regaining its form was a problem. Multiple demons regaining their godhood was a disaster. He knew precious little about Ishtar or why she immediately went after Apollo's sun chariot.
What if there were more pantheons out and about than the Olympians and the Christians? It was also possible there were multiple Christian pantheons based on each separate church. A single misunderstood verse often created another church. Did that mean there were multiple heavens? He decided to stop at that rabbit hole for now.
The silver arch angel stopped in front of him. "Lost lamb come back to god's house and seek holy communion we will let you serve and earn paradise. Give your power, riches, and life to other and devote yourself to the father again." Nero kept his arms to his side and backed away from the angel.
"Its easier for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle to enter the kingdom of god." He said and the angel smiled.
"Indeed, you can't take it with you so give from yourself to the poor and the sick. Take on their sicknesses into yourself and heal the world through the way of the son. Redeem yourself in the eyes of god and return to us." Nero spat at the angel's feet.
He knew this thing could destroy him with a thought. This machine went from joyous to the cold mechanized destruction persona it hid. Thousands of mouths opened around its body and Nero felt his health drain away from looking at it.
"You dare spurn God's Grace." Nero crossed his arms. The angel did nothing. Slowly it returned to its calmed state. The angel turned to see all twelve Olympians ready to strike at the angel. Still Nero had gambled on this test to turn his growing hypothesis into a theory.
"Are you even the only Metatron?" Nero asked. The Arch Angel glared down its nose at Nero.
"We claim this boy as a hero of Olympus. By striking at him you strike at our pantheon unprovoked." Zeus said.
"You pagans and your treaties. There aren't many of you left and there are less of you by the day. We crushed the Aztecs in their prime. What do you think we can do to you?" Metatron smirked.
"Will your counterparts agree?" Athena asked. The smirk left the angel's face.
"One day we will be whole again and then all of you false gods will be purged. We won't give you the right to become our demons or tempt the flock. We have enough sheep dogs as is." Metatron growled and vanished in a flash of light.
Those words said everything. Everything clicked and a new hypothesis bared its ugly head. In a few decades the collapse would happen. When the united states failed other countries would be dragged in. Countries would invade other countries, the middle east will recombine, and the war for Europe's soul would begin. The west would fall and with it the Olympians. The entire world would erupt in war with no United States to keep the peace. Maps would change constantly. Islam and Christianity will do battle once more and they will be forced to recombine. Doctrinal differences will be purged in favor of unity for survival. The blood of both sides will fill the streets and empower the shepherd god even more. That was just a hypothesis, he had time to make changes and the power to do so in this timeline.
It was only a hypothesis and the only way to test it was to let it happen. What was good for the one god wasn't good for humanity. Still the stagnation needed to end. Personally, he believed that the US should allow countries to go to war. We should only get involved when United States assets are in jeopardy.
That was his opinion and it wasn't a popular one.
Would Ishtar have taken Apollo's chariot if he hadn't slain her husband?" That was another question he had to deal with. His actions had consequences. With the sun chariot taken Nero couldn't gather mana in direct sunlight.
"Nero," he looked up confused until he realized where he was. All twelve Olympians stared at him with a mix of concern and apathy.
"You are a strange one mortal." Zeus grumbled. "You have a lot of balls spitting at the feet of the shepherd god's favorite tool. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were one of my son's children."
"I do have a daughter a few years younger than him." The war god muttered.
"We didn't call him here to match him with your daughter dear. Though making him a member of the family wouldn't be out of the question." Hera added.
"Sister that can wait. We have a powerful monster unaligned to any pantheon." Poseidon said.
"That isn't true, his little sister is my niece." Artemis added.
Apollo raised up from his throne a flash of anger on his face. "You better not have done anything to my daughter."
"Shut up little brother he isn't that type of monster. The scent of demigods has no sway over him." Artemis said with her arms crossed.
The god of the sun, healing, prophecy, and etc turned his froze. He looked between him and Artemis for a moment. "You like a boy."
Nero knew he had to change the subject.
"Why did Ishtar steal your chariot, what does she gain from it, and what can she do with it? Will it lead to further problems?" The entire council went silent from his outburst.
Zeus began to answer before Athena beat him to it. "A brazen as Ares and wise enough to ask about the reason behind your enemies' action. Are we sure he isn't a legacy between Ares and I?" The Goddess quipped.
"The kid seemed to enjoy a scrap. I wouldn't call him wise. He should have made sure the demoness was dead." Ares added.
"He is young and will learn from this. The question is if Olympus calls for your aide will you answer?" He reached into his toga for a pocket that wasn't there.
"Sorry, I had some business cards made with my phone number. Its 1-888-776-4737 if you have a problem call me. Though if it has nothing to do with hunting down Ishtar, I expect payment equal to the task." Nero said
Ares chuckled. "The balls on this mortal."
"I'm mortal, my time is a finite resource, so it has value. After all, I'm not a demigod so I can move between pantheons." Nero said.
"So, your saying that not only are you a preciously finite resource but your valuable too." Hades muttered. "I have some work you can do. I'll give you a call."
"Very well seeing as he is not a threat to anyone and seeks to be of use to us let us vote. All in favor of allowing him to live." Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Ares, Athena, Aphrodite, Hermes, and Dionysus voted in his favor. Artemis, Apollo, Hephaestus, and Demeter voted against him.
Nero let out a sigh. At the very least the three most prominent Gods didn't want to destroy him yet. That clued him in that Zeus didn't know what part he played in the great sky father pegging of 2002.
"Begone mortal we'll call you if we need anything." The king of the gods proclaimed. With that done he turned and walked out of the council chamber.
Not long after leaving Artemis walked up to him. Her hair was a little curlier, and her nose was a bit different, but he could tell. The feeling of Artemis was too distinct to miss with his mana sense. She felt like a pack of fierce hunting dogs ready to give chase, a sweet maiden ever curious about the world, and the eldritch moon old and powerful. These clashing feelings made up the goddess before him.
"I'll drive you home."
"I thought you were busy." Nero said.
"I am." Artemis said.
Nero waited for her to add something, but she didn't. "Cool, have you put any thought about making your chariot look like an Apache Helicopter. They are the modern-day chariots." She turned up her nose at him. "What would you say if I brought back old school chariot racing? I'm sure it would be more interesting than football." Nero asked.
She let out a sigh. "Are you sure you're not a demigod?" Nero raised an eyebrow. "You seem ready to jump from topic to topic." Artemis said.
"I'm sure there isn't a drop of divinity in my veins." She snapped the reins and the deer took off.
"I like my deer." Artemis said.
"Was that so hard?" Nero asked.
"You're annoying, has the lack of an executioner's axe given you leave of your senses?" Artemis said.
"That woman could attack at anytime to take your mes." Nero said using the Babylonian name for divine power.
"I'm not my brother. I'm always ready to shoot an upstart out of the sky. Besides, she'd look out of place if she tried the same trick on me that she used on Apollo." Artemis said.
"Now that sounds like a story." Nero said.
"She turned into a dove and he let her rest on his shoulder. She transformed and tossed him out of his own chariot and took it." Nero opened his mouth and closed it. "My brother is an idiot sometimes. He didn't suspect she could have ulterior motives for resting on his shoulder. When she transformed and lowered his pants to his ankles, he never suspected she'd toss him out." Nero palmed his face.
"Isn't he the god of prophecy?" Nero asked.
"He only uses that power when its important. In his own words life would be boring without the little surprises." Artemis quipped.
"I'm sure falling out of his chariot with his pants around his ankles was quite the surprise." Nero muttered.
They flew over his house and landed just outside the ward line. Calling it a ward line might have been a stretch in his opinion. Sure, it could protect against Greek monsters, but it relied upon his reputation. The greater his rep the more powerful the fear the wards could inflict on monsters. That's why he mutilated monsters and impaled them on spikes. Each monster he brutalized increased the fear of the monsters who might target his sister. It was his hope that the fear would overpower their hunger for demigods.
Nero turned to Artemis before leaving her chariot. "If you ever need anything, just ask." Nero said.
"What do you plan to do?" Artemis asked him.
"I'll catch up with my sister kill any monsters brave enough to get too close and go on my next adventure. Or maybe I'll take a week off and practice my skills a little." Nero muttered.
"If your sister needs any archery practice just pray to me." Artemis offered.
Nero nodded left for his home.
He slipped a secret key out of a nearby pot and opened the door. After wiping his feet on the rug and flipping on the light he froze. What he saw shocked him to the core. Amelia was in his kitchen with an Ostrich halfway down her throat. She froze mid swallow to look over his shabby appearance. Nero rolled his shoulders and went to the fridge.
After pulling a few steaks out of the fridge that have been marinating for two days straight, he turned on the stove. Amelia worked a bit faster to finish swallowing tonight's prey. He used the word prey loosely. With the steaks on he walked over to her and pulled the price tag off the bird. She gave him a thumbs up and continued devouring the bird. His steaks were plated before she had finished swallowing the bird.
"Where did you get the Ostrich?" Nero asked.
"There are farms everywhere, but no one can make any money on them." She looked pensive. "I bought a few and penned them near the pound." Nero hadn't ever raised birds successfully. The last time he tried chickens it was summer in the deep south. They didn't live long. "I'll leave their care to you."
"Well I think it could be an opportunity." Amelia said. Nero waved for her to go on. "We can buy the birds well below their market value and sell them to my kin." He imagined his beautiful land covered and ostrich shit and couldn't help but disagree.
"You can keep them for now but don't purchase too many. How will you get the feed for them anyway?" They were far away from most civilization. Getting an internet connection had been a herculean effort. The nearest store was a considerable distance away. That didn't even cover the fact that she was a therapist he hired for his sister.
He went through a pile of bills on the table. Debts were coming due and he'd need to make a payment on the first. It wasn't a great feeling being half a million dollars in debt. He needed to make some money and quickly. One letter stood out among the other.
Dear Mr. Nero
We are proud to welcome you to the Jefferson College of Wizardry. Due to your prodigious magical talent you have been accepted. Our representative will visit you soon…
Signed Dean Hopkins
Nero scanned over most of the letter a few times. He looked at the date. The representative should arrive tomorrow. He let out a sigh. Tomorrow would be interesting.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading. I hope everyone is having a great Saturday. I think I'm going to drop down to two chapters a week now. They will be longer. Leave a review and tell me what you think. I'll reveal the secret behind the black mud by at least chapter 20.