Author's note: For obvious reasons, I am obliged to stop responding to readers' Reviews. I offer my deepest apologies to the polite readers who from time to time intervened on this thread... as for the others... This Fanfiction is just Fanfiction, nothing more.
You are completely free to read this story or not, to love or hate it. All I'm asking you is to be polite and respectful... but obviously, that's way too much to ask.
White Goddess VS Purple Goddess
Japan, Tokyo
The living room of the Tohsaka Residence was a large, welcoming room with upholstered chairs, as well as a long table with a vase filled with fresh flowers and covered with a tablecloth. Partly lying on cream-colored satin Récamier, leaning on a cylindrical pillow Ereshkigal was watching television... or rather she was rapidly switching channels.
Half of the television programs were about the recent earthquake in the Tokyo area and the new volcano that had appeared near Lake Chūzenji. The History Compilation Committee had done an impressive job to hide the confrontation against Sun Wukong. In fact, the earthquake and the extinction of all light (Athena's Death Authority) had fortunately preceded the appearance of the volcano (the result of her Kur Kigal Irkalla) and was explained as a first magmatic rise that had driven a large plume of volcanic dust into the atmosphere. These vapors had hidden the sunlight and caused a sudden cooling... hence the winter storm the next day.
Many climate experts and volcanologists (hypnotized) intervened on all the TV channels to explain the events as a sequence of perfectly natural phenomena. The result was somewhat far-fetched... but relatively credible.
Unfortunately, even if the Committee had managed to hide the supernatural origin of the disaster, it did not change the outcome. The damage was immense... several hundred dead; thousands injured; tens of thousands of people lost their homes or jobs or both at the same time as well as billions of dollars in material damage...
Ereshkigal shrugged her shoulders. In general, she was indifferent to what living humans could undergo... She was the goddess of death. An incarnation of Entropy in its most primitive form. Lonely, unable to communicate with the dead she was responsible for... small helpless flames burning in their metal cages... the Queen of Khur had yet spent thousands of years trying to improve their aftermath life... not that the gods of Mesopotamia have given her sufficient means to achieve that goal. It was the strange ambivalence so characteristic of the Queen of the Netherworld. The ancient Sumerians described Kur as the 'Sojourn of Dust and Ashes' but also praised Ereshkigal for being the mother of all children who died at an early age.
Indifferent to the sufferings of the living, Ereshkigal saw mortal shadows as the subjects of her kingdom and treated them with fairness and kindness, unlike Nergal - her rival and another afterlife god- who behaved much more like a jailer than a king.
The goddess of death turned off the television and got up.
Dressed in a pleated blue skirt, black tights, and a red cardigan, she looked like an ordinary Japanese teenager... at least if one forgot her blond hair and red eyes. Her only jewels were eight-shaped gold earrings.
In a few steps, she joined Hakuno.
Sitting in a chair too big for her, the Sovereign of the Moon was dressed in brown. With her big caramel-colored eyes and hair of the same color, the Japanese Teen Girl looked like a squirrel...
In fact, as she was reading a book taken from the library, Hakuno Kishinami had the same focused and serious expression as a squirrel peeling a nut... And she was just as adorable.
Ere had to fight an almost irresistible impulse, to take Hakuno in her arms and stay curled up against her. Hakuno was so dangerously cuuuute! Ereshkigal was so eager to sit on the floor, put Hakuno's head on her lap, and spend the next few hours brushing her hair.
No... no... no... this was not a proper way to conduct oneself for a great and noble goddess, was it? Then... The last time she hugged the doll-like girl, the Queen of Kur almost choked her.
A little red colored the cheeks of Ereshkigal as she played nervously with the bottom of her skirt. Why did she always make blunders that spoiled all the efforts she made to conduct herself with the class expected for a goddess of her rank?
Forgetting her recent worries, Ereshkigal felt overwhelmed with immense tenderness... no matter what the rest of the world... the Campiones... the Heretics Gods... Sefar or Velber... Ere would defend Hakuno. It was not a wish or a promise; it was a certainty in her heart. It did not matter what trials the future had in store for her, the gods or demons that would have to confront her... The Queen of Kur would protect Hakuno. There were very few people she considered friends. Since her birth, the goddess had known only the darkness of the Netherworld, an eternity of such absolute solitude that no mortal could imagine her seclusion... But by taking as avatar 'Rin Tohsaka' (Extraverse version), Ereshkigal had inherited a new feeling... an emotion... a warmth that filled her soul and repelled this loneliness.
Defeated in the Moon Cell Grail War, Rin Tohsaka had escaped deletion thanks to Hakuno. But in the end, Hakuno - the computer program capable of more love than humans that she was supposed to imitate- sacrificed herself to save humanity to which she did not belong. She had put an end to this series of senseless massacres called the 'Moon Cell Grail War'. Powerless, Rin Tohsaka could only watch the disappearance of Hakuno Kishinami ... unable to save the one who had saved her.
Having become the avatar of Ereshkigal, she had sought a way to change what had happened. Thanks to Ishtar's help, Ere managed to prevent this senseless death and offered a new Hakuno life.
The wonder Rin had felt in meeting Hakuno had been transmitted to Ere. The goddess felt a deep, irrational attachment to Hakuno.
That's why she had no right to lose. This second life of Hakuno was her redemption for all the souls held in Kur that she could not help, it was also her chance to deserve a place in the sunlight.
A shock upstairs shook the whole house.
Ereshkigal turned her head by reflex, while Hakuno lifted her nose from the thick book she was reading.
A cry of rage followed. They recognized the voice of Ishtar: "How can you be so stubborn? I have already told you that I have not brought you back to life so that you may be my slave! Listen to me!"
Shirou's voice was heard: "Oh if you order it, O mighty Ishtar, I would HAVE to listen to you..."
There was a strangled cry and then another shock... For two days Ishtar had been slamming the doors, throwing the vases against the walls, and chasing Shirou who was running from her... For two days they had been fighting almost continuously.
Shirou had discovered that the body created by the goddess Ishtar made him her slave unable to disobey her order and had reacted with anger that Ishtar was unable to defuse.
It must be said that the Mistress of Heaven was a horrible daddy's girl, unable to acknowledge her wrongs or apologize. Instead of trying to explain herself, she was screaming, getting angry, and acting like it was all Shirou's fault!
"Why?"
Surprised by the question, not understanding its meaning, Ereshkigal looked at Hakuno.
"Sorry?"
"Why doesn't Ishtar explain her actions?" Hakuno stopped and heard the noise Ishtar was making at Shirou's door while asking him to open it. She nodded and then said, "And why isn't Shirou listening?"
Ere took a few moments to reflect, looking at the plaster moldings of the ceiling and the crystal chandelier.
"Ishtar... she's the kind of woman that makes a world-ending class blunder once a year... You know, I saw through her eyes, I listened through her ears... and then she's my sister... Plus..." Ere touched her chest and smiled softly. "I too am 'Rin Tohsaka' even though she is another 'Rin'. I am she. I know, of course."
Hakuno Kishinami made a Head Tilt.
"World-Ending class blunder?"
"The curse of the Tohsaka." replied Ere.
But Hakuno merely frowned and shook her head.
"What blunder?"
"Oh... you want to know what Ishtar did as a World-Ending class blunder?"
Ere thought for a moment and sighed.
"You know Ishtar often says she loves humans... but at the same time, as soon as she doesn't have the obligation to walk, she floats above the ground and flies around. Have you ever asked her why she likes flying so much?"
"Lazy woman?"
Ereshkidal remained one moment speechless and then began to laugh, so loud and so long that she ended up holding her belly and crying. When she finally caught her breath, the goddess had a triumphant smile.
"I wish Ishtar had been here to hear you, she would have been terribly offended. The truth is less prosaic... in fact; Ishtar likes to fly because it makes clear her position as a greater being, well above mortals. She says she loves humans... but Ishtar loves them where they belong." Seeing that Hakuno did not understand what she meant, the Queen of Kur added "... prostrated at her feet, in adoration before the eternal glory of the Mistress of Heaven."
Ere's smile disappeared as she listened to the echoes of the dispute that was resuming upstairs
"It's so typical of Ishtar's arrogance... similarly, she says she loves Shirou. And it's true. But she gives you two a body made to serve her... serving as a slave serves his master... Of course, she didn't know any other way to bring you back to life. But, in her arrogance, Ishtar found this situation quite 'normal' and 'natural'. Mortals are slaves of the gods, aren't they? And as it was so 'normal' that she didn't explain her action to both of you. Because a goddess does not have to justify her actions to mere mortals, isn't that right? And a goddess does not apologize for behaving like a slave master with a slave... But Shirou took offense..."
Ereshkigal paused and frowned before rubbing thoughtfully her chin.
The Sumerian goddess shook her head, speaking for herself, slowly, quietly...
"No, it's not that simple... Shirou is not someone who is offended by what he is told, is he? It's not Shirou-like, is it?" She glanced at Hakuno who nodded in response. "It's not even that he feels betrayed... Shirou is not like that. The more I think about it, the more I think he's not really angry after Ishtar... he's actually angry for a long time... angry at the injustice of the world... since he was a kid, since Fuyuki's fire... and his separation from the girl he loved only made him even angrier... a helpless fury... Because the real target of his rage is All the Injustice of the World! And it is far beyond his reach."
Ere nodded vigorously, thinking that she had just explained precisely the origin and extent of Shirou's anger. No wonder this boy is capable of manifesting a Reality Marble... a feat impossible for normal humans! Because only beings with a completely distorted vision of the world could manifest their inner world outside of themselves. The Queen of the Sojourn of Ash and Dust turned to Hakuno, one hand on her belly, and raised a finger like a teacher lecturing.
"That's right... he's not really mad at Ishtar, it's just that she identified herself as an opportunity target while Shirou was brimming with helpless rage."
Hakuno had listened to her friend's long explanation and nodded.
"Reconcile them?"
The Queen of the Netherworld smiles a bit sadly.
"In fact, it's very simple... in theory... you see, Shirou knows that Ishtar did not invent the method that served to bring you two back to life. He also knows that she did not really want to enslave both of you. As for Ishtar, she knows she was wrong not to explain everything to you two from the beginning..."
Hakuno blinked, hesitant, not really knowing how to ask her question. Ere smiled.
"You wonder why they keep arguing when they both know they're at fault?"
Hakuno nodded vigorously, and Ere looked at her with complex emotions, a mixture of annoyance, anger, and above all resignation.
"Listen, this is humanity's number one problem... and human gods' number one problem since we have the same mentality. We REFUSE to admit that we are wrong. Shirou is too angry to listen to the little voice telling him that he is unfair. As for Ishtar, she will not apologize. Because the mighty Goddess of Venus refuses to 'humiliate' herself in front of a mere mortal... "
The goddess of the Sumerian underworld shook her head and raised her arms to heaven.
"No matter the subject, everyone has an opinion. Suppose you learn something new. Of course, you will want to explain it to others, whether it is to show your knowledge, for pride, or to help them. But, most often, they will refuse to believe you and keep their opinion... because it is their opinion. Whatever you can prove you're right, the amount of evidence you gave... they won't believe you. The more you try to convince them, the more fiercely they will defend their opinions. The truth is that once someone has formed an opinion, it is almost impossible to change this opinion... a human will refuse to change his mind because he will feel humiliated to admit his wrongs... You see 'being wrong' is like 'being guilty'. Besides, in almost all languages the word 'wrong' is synonymous with 'crime' or 'injury'... a wound of pride, of course."
Hakuno nodded and answered in the tone of someone who made a quote:
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
"Who said that," asked Ereshkigal, a bit surprised she answers with such a long sentence.
"~Friedrich Nietzsche!"
"Oh?"
But Hakuno stopped for a moment and lifted up the book she was holding, some writing of the Greek philosopher Plato.
"Socrates (1) also said: 'Dialogue does not begin when one starts to speak, but when one starts to listen, otherwise everyone is locked in his own monologue.' As Carl Gustav Jung, he said: 'Man would learn a lot from his mistakes if he didn't spend so much time denying them.'
Ereshkigal looked at the library next to her friend's seat. They were only books of philosophy.
"And you read all those books?"
"No, not yet, I'm at the letter P".
One had to hope that the Jounan Academy (closed due to the eruption and earthquakes) would reopen quickly because Hakuno would soon have learned by heart the entire library.
Ere shudders with terror... imagining that she was stuck in the house between the couple Ishtar/ Shirou constantly arguing and her cute squirrel transformed into an automatic philosophical sentence delivery machine.
The hell!
A literal Hellish picture.
Above all, don't give Nergal bad ideas! Because, by comparison, Arali's molten lava baths where the damned were struggling could be called 'a relaxing kind of balneotherapy'...
Near Buenos Aire, Argentina, South America
At night, under the sole moonlight, the prairie landscape looked ghostly. Yet it was not a mysterious landscape. The Gauchos (the local equivalent of the cowboys of the Old West) kept cows whose meat was exported to Europe.
The wind was playing with Altera's hair. Silent, the female version of Attila the Hun was watching the 'negotiations' between Athena and Guinevere.
Alongside his leader, Gilgamesh smiled ironically and leaned toward her.
"So, Altera, what party are you going to support?"
Not a muscle moved in the face of the Queen of the Huns.
"I'm not taking a side, that's not the job Velber asked me to do."
Altera's 'faithful right-hand' could not help but laugh at this answer.
"You want to remain neutral, yet you've obviously already taken sides."
Behind the duo, Iskandar crossed arms as thick as tree trunks on his bronze breastplate.
"I confess that Guinevere seems nicer to me..."
Jeanne nodded.
"We can be sure that Athena turned against us if she defeated the King of the End."
But Altera did not answer, continuing to watch the conversation between the goddess and the Divine Ancestor... conversation? The Queen of Night remained perfectly calm, inexpressive even, but the Witch of Brittany was furious. She obviously refused to cooperate.
Athena nodded slowly.
"So you refuse my offer."
It was not a question, but the Queen of the Divine Ancestor answered in a defiant tone.
"I refuse to betray my king!"
Athena looked at Guinevere with a little astonishment and her voice was a little softer.
"I thought you understood that the King of the End had neither desired nor accepted your allegiance... and that in searching for his grave you have only hindered him."
Though nearly a century old, Guinevere looked like an adorable 12-year-old girl. And her behavior - at that moment- did not allow suspecting her true age. Hopping on the spot, fists tight, she seemed to make a huge whim, refusing to accept reality.
"It doesn't change anything for me. It doesn't matter if my king has accepted my allegiance, I serve him. And I refuse to betray him."
"Even if you never get anything in return for your loyalty?"
"Even then," said Guinevere.
Athena looked at the Witch of Brittany without showing any emotion... hard to know if the Goddess pitied the poor girl to love without being loved in return or if she just thought Guinevere was stupid.
"I see."
She turned to an empty space, a little behind the Queen of the Divine Ancestor.
"Does Lady Guinevere speak for you also, Sir Lancelot?"
There was a shimmering tremor in the air, and a figure appeared, emerging from nothingness. A woman with a beautiful and serene face, framed by two braids of golden blond hair came out from under her helmet adorned with swan wings. Her armor was immaculate, white, and brilliant.
The purple and tempestuous eyes of Arthur's best knight turned to Athena.
"Oh? So you knew I was there? From the beginning no doubt..." She bowed in elegant reverence, one hand on her heart. "Mighty Queen of Night, deign that this humble knight pays homage to your legendary wisdom, no one can escape your sharp gaze."
Athena replied with a simple nod.
"Will you help me wake King Arthur?"
"To kill him? I'm a knight of the Round!" she replied angrily.
"So you refuse."
"Goddess, a knight has only one personal property, his honor. I would never betray the oath that unites me to my king."
"I see," repeated Athena. "In this case, the negotiations have failed and we have nothing more to say to each other."
"You are mistaken, noble goddess Athena" intervened Guinevere, grasping the bottom of her dress to make a curtsy. She turned to Lancelot. "Sir Knight?"
"Yes, My Queen."
Lancelot made the gesture of seizing something and was suddenly armed with a lance and a round shield as immaculate as her armor. The queen of the Amazons spoke again.
"Not only does my queen refuse to help you awaken King Arthur, but she also respectfully requests that you give up your project."
"What if I persist?"
Lancelot raised her spear.
"Then this humble knight will be obliged to act according to her oaths."
"I see."
Athena was neither surprised nor angry. All she felt was a little sadness for their faithfulness and dedication... wasted in the service of a being that did not deserve such devotion. Because of course, the goddess of wisdom foresaw the course of negotiations. This conclusion was not only the most likely but also the one that suited her best.
Of course, Lancelot's presence would have facilitated King Arthur's awakening. But the Queen of Night preferred to face now the best knight of the Round Table, defeat her, and absorb her power... On the one hand, with the strength of Perseus, Sun Wukong and Lancelot, the Greek goddess would have no trouble undoing the seals of the tomb where the King Who Manifest at the End of the World slept.
However, without absorbing Lancelot's power, her chances of winning against King Arthur were very low.
Athena had a predator smile. Her scythe appeared in her hand.
"Well, En Garde!"
The last reason for this struggle was simply that, despite all her wisdom, Athena was a Heretic God... the manifestation of night and death... violence and destruction...
Standing on the hill, Altera, Jeanne, Gilgamesh, and Iskandar watched the clash below.
A fight between two Heretics Gods was a conflict between their authorities.
Beneath the feet of the tiny silver-haired goddess, the ground shook... and huge stone snakes emerged from the earth, crawling towards Lancelot.
The knight put one knee to the ground, before planting her lance.
"Noble knights, once again, for Camelot's sake, I appeal to the strength of your arms!"
And men in medieval armor appeared around Lancelot. Brandishing their swords, they rushed to the stone serpents.
The fight was brief, the knights easily triumphing over the Divine Beasts. But as they advanced towards Athena, the ground trembled again as strips of darkness rolled up along the legs of the goddess.
A moment later, the moon and stars disappeared, devoured by a dark purplish cloud. Surrounded by a particularly sinister white and purple aura, the Queen of Night was nothing more than a shadow without thickness where only the eyes - purple abysses of fire- could still be seen.
Athena spread her arms and an opening appeared, a purple and black vortex from which came white owls...
These birds flew over the knights and they fell... dead in an instant.
Returning to her usual appearance, Athena leaped forward and Lancelot did the same.
There was a supersonic shock when the two goddesses met, and the whole plain vibrated as the sound of metal hitting the metal made the air shake.
Motionless in a crater that had just dug under their feet, Lancelot and Athena held each other in check, their weapons crossed.
The two goddesses moved so fast that Iskandar had trouble following their movements. Whenever their weapons crossed, explosions and shock waves of great violence resulted.
Repelled by a blow from Athena's Scythe, which she had hardly blocked, Lancelot held out her lance towards the sky. Lightning struck her several times. Strengthened by this energy transfusion, the queen of the Amazons went forward again.
The goddess of wisdom parried two attacks, recoiled, and reattached and Lancelot staggered... avoiding the fall only by jumping backward. But Athena did not leave her a second to rest or regain her balance, already the attacks and counter-attacks continue to be repeated as the weapons loaded with energies collided in luminous explosions, creating lightning arcs several meters apart.
Iskandar stroked his chin thoughtfully before nodding his head.
"Lancelot is losing."
Altera replied with an affirmative nod.
Jeanne d'Arc flinched and turned to the red haired colossus.
"Are you sure, King of Conquerors?"
"Of course, the winner is not yet decided and I have seen enough battles to know that turnaround is commonplace on all battlefields. But I say that Athena has the advantage. Look attentively, Jeanne... Not only is the Queen of Night stronger physically, but she is also faster... Without this Skill that allows her to predict the movements of her opponent, Lancelot would have already been seriously injured. And in spite of that, she is touched much more frequently than her opponent."
"But Lancelot has not yet used her most powerful Divine Authority," remarked Gilgamesh.
"Right, Goldy, right."
With a shield bash, Lancelot repelled Athena. The goddess of wisdom uttered a cry of suffering and took her nose in her hands, blood poured through her fingers. The female knight wanted to finish off her enemy. But instead of going through the chest of the girl in school uniform and knit cap, the spear only dispersed a flight of silver-feathered owls. The nocturnal birds gathered ten meters away and then amalgamated before taking humanoid shape again.
Nevertheless, the queen of the Amazons had managed to achieve her main goal, to keep Athena away. With one thought, she materialized her mount, a magnificent white horse, harnessed like a medieval steed. She got into the saddle, and the horse galloped towards the sky, before coming to rest just above the stormy clouds that flashed with pale lightning.
As the Knight of the Round raised her spear, lightning struck her... again... again... The goddess of war and her mount were now surrounded by an electric aura.
The horse galloped away as Lancelot lowered her spear. As she accelerated, an increasingly bright light emanated from the spearhead, transforming their charge into a comet rushing towards the ground... rushing towards Athena!
The Queen of Night showed no emotion. His scythe disappeared from his hands, replaced by a rectangular shield engraved with an embossed image of a woman's face whose hair was demons with the appearance of vipers. The outer surface of the shield was covered with a tangle of scaly bodies.
Gilgamesh had an encyclopedic knowledge of weapons and legendary objects. He smiled and nodded, identifying this mythological shield.
"Aegis!"
Being Greek, Iskandar immediately understood what he was talking about.
"Oh? The shield of Athena! It has the reputation of being indestructible."
"And Lancelot's spear can pierce anything," said the Maid of Orleans.
Gilgamesh seemed happy.
"Oh? Maybe we shall finally have the answer to a most important philosophical question, which prevails between the relentless force and the irreducible barrage?"
Iskandar raised a hand to protect his eyes from the dazzling comet falling faster and faster to the ground. The whole landscape was lit up as in daylight miles around; the wind lifted clouds of dust and blew the cape of the King of the Conquerors.
"I've always liked philosophy. I had Aristotle as a teacher, after all. But I would rather look for the answer to this important question from a distant place" he yelled to be heard among the roaring gusts.
Gilgamesh snapped his fingers and a translucent shield appeared before them. Immediately the wind became calmer, and even the dazzling light became more bearable.
"Is that better?"
"Ah... thank you, Goldy... much better! The idea of being burned to the ground bothered me a little and I couldn't fully admire the show."
The shock was of an indescribable level of absolute violence, an explosion that dug in an instant a crater deep enough and wide enough to bury a residential building. But as Altera looked at the result, she realized that the first shock had not ended the confrontation.
Lancelot still galloped always... without advancing. Her spear was stopped by the shield of Athena. At the meeting point, lightning flashes struck the ground all around.
The two goddesses were haloed with light: white, blue, and gold for Lancelot; white and venomous violet for Athena.
Then the goddess who presided over war, death, agriculture, and wisdom slowly lowered her shield... looking towards Lancelot... and their eyes crossed...
Lancelot howled, realizing that she had made a fatal mistake... but it was already too late. A violet light emanated from Athena's eye sockets, an effect of her most feared Divine Authority: Snake's Evil Eyes.
The petrification did its work, first transforming the horse into stone, before going up to Lancelot's hips.
Athena took three steps back, nodding her head... The queen of the Amazons was still moving faintly, whining with pain. She wasn't dead yet, but it wasn't important. The goddess of Night changed shape, becoming a gigantic snake entirely black... a simple silhouette that gave the impression of being painted on glass. The shape was shrouded in a sinister purple aura.
Under her serpent appearance, Athena opened her mouth disproportionately.
The fight ended with the sound of a jaw that closed as Lancelot was swallowed in a single bite!
Somewhere else,
It was a magnificent Hindu-style palace, as big as a city.
Its stupa-shaped towers, engraved with colossal and hieratical faces were covered with exuberantly carved friezes and suffered from an overabundance of decorations. It was the kind of place that should have attracted real rivers of tourists, and be famous all over the world. Yet the streets were empty... completely empty. In fact, no human had walked these streets for over fourteen centuries.
This palace was once called Saketa.
You could walk the continents and never find this huge palace. Climb the highest mountains, or turn over every grain of sand in the ocean, you wouldn't find Saketa.
In a large dome-shaped building, surrounded by the bare-breasted apsaras sculpted in the walls and under the vaults in lace of stones, there was a tomb.
This tomb certainly seemed strange... it didn't seem to fit in that environment at all.
This was the tomb of a king...
A simple rectangular tomb, a recumbent engraved in the lid of the stone coffin, the tomb of a... European medieval knight in chainmail, his hands clasped on the pommel of a beautiful sword placed on his chest. The face alone was visible because the rest of the head was covered by a chainmail hood. But it was certainly the tomb of a king because the knight was crowned.
When Lancelot was defeated by Athena, there was an earthquake that swept through the immense palace, the result of a ripple of anger that resounded from inside the coffin.
On the latter, there was no name.
Just two lines could be read in Latin:
Rex Quondam
Rexque Futurus
"The king has ruled, he will rule."
Author's note: The fight between Athena and Lancelot is rather short... Please, do not immediately conclude that Lancelot is weak. Quite the opposite, in fact. But Athena has already absorbed the power of Metis, Perseus, and Sun Wukong. She became an astonishingly powerful Heretic God... and even more, after absorbing Lancelot. Will that be enough power to kill King Arthur? We'll find out soon enough.
(1) In case you don't know, Socrates never wrote. Everything we know about this philosopher comes from the writings of his students, Plato and Xenophon.