The scythe of Olympus
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Looking out over the vast sea in front of me like I have been doing for the last fifteen minutes I decide to just stop thinking about why I am here on this beach and not in my bed.
Feeling the soft sand beneath my feet I take a moment to think about how glad I am about the fact that I was too tired to take off my clothes before I went to bed yesterday. Even if this is the weirdest situation I have ever found myself in, at least I am not naked, even if that is the only positive thing in this situation.
Throwing the stone I smashed against my leg a few minutes ago to check if this was a dream into the sea. Hearing and seeing the stone sink into the water just reinforces the idea that this is not a dream.
When I first woke up in this place I thought it was a dream but the fact that I can feel everything including the small sting still remaining from the rock and the water drops going down my face from the water I had splashed into it trying to wake up from what I thought was a dream just makes it more likely that this is really happening.
Choosing to treat my current situation as reality from this point forward will probably be the best course of action, even if this is a dream I won't lose anything from threatening it as reality and if I do the opposite I stand to lose a lot.
Taking the time to finally take in more of my surroundings I start to notice more alarming details. The fact that the white rock cliffs and forest I see behind me don't look like anything even remotely close to where I live is probably the biggest. But the temperature is quite high and not seeing even a single sign of human life doesn't help me relax either.
Deciding just standing around is not going to help me anymore and will in fact just creep me out more, I start walking across the beach in the direction of the sun which while not rising has not reached its highest point yet.
If I follow the direction of the sun and stay on the beach I should be able to make my way back here if I need to. Even if all the things I learned from the internet tell me otherwise I can't stay on this hot beach without food or more importantly water.
Feeling the blazing sun on my exposed skin isn't helping the situation either. While I can handle a bit of sun, if I stay in this sun it would not be good for me. In the best case scenario, I just get a sunburn and look like a crab for a while, and in the worst case scenario, I drop dead from a heatstroke. Even if the heatstroke is not likely to occur with the sea right next to me to cool me down.
As I keep walking I take further note of the lack of human life. I haven't seen as much as a piece of trash on the beach or in the sea. Am I that far from civilization or did people suddenly start caring about the environment?
I hope I can find something that can give me an idea of where I am. Everywhere I look is just the same beach, cliffs, and forests. Even if I wanted to enter the forests on top of the cliffs I would need to get extremely lucky to successfully climb to the top and not fall. The last thing I need right now is to get wounded or just die from the fall.
Why couldn't I have been even more tired when I came home? At least then I would have probably forgotten to plug my phone into the charger and I would have it with me. I should stop thinking like this. Thinking about what ifs won't do me any good.
I have been walking for what feels like forever but is probably only about an hour. In that time I have found nothing but more off the same beach, cliff, and forest. The more I keep walking the more I long for a bit of shade. I haven't found even the slightest bit of it in the time I have been walking.
If it continues like this I will need to take off my clothes and jump into the water to cool off and not get a heatstroke. The fact that it has probably been a few hours since I had something to drink isn't helping either. Even if the sea wasn't salt water I still wouldn't have drunk from it. I don't want to get sick right now in this weird place on what is probably, hopefully, earth.
And if it couldn't get any worse it still keeps getting hotter. Now that the sun is almost at its apex it's making me afraid of what will happen when it eventually goes down and I'm stuck on a beach in the pitch black. The only benefit to that is that it will cool down and the chance of a heat stroke and other heat and sun related nightmares will go down.
Even worse than that is the chance that the temperature will take a dive to near freezing and I get sick or just die.
I should probably stop thinking about all the ways I can die out here. It will just ruin my mood even further and doesn't help me with anything. Anyway, I'm glad I'm used to not eating until dinner otherwise this would be even worse.
The only thing I can do at this point is to push on and keep walking on this godforsaken beach.
It's been a few hours since I started on my endless journey to reach civilization. I can feel myself becoming more dramatic by the moment. But I think I earned just a little bit of drama and entertainment to keep myself busy while I keep walking. I still haven't found anything of note while on my journey.
As I pass by a protruding part of the cliffs that has blocked my sight for a while now I see something other than beach, cliff, and forest. About a kilometer in front of me is a small stream that flows into the sea.
Hopefully, it is freshwater, I have been incredibly thirsty for a while now. And the saltwater that entered my mouth when I jumped into the sea to cool down didn't help either. Thankfully I didn't need to worry about drying my clothes in this heat.
Continuing to walk like I have been towards the small stream I avoid getting my hopes up too much. Getting them too high will just result in disappointment.
As I walk up to the stream I feel my thirst getting worse due to the sound of the water flowing. Resisting the urge to drink as much as I can, I look up to the place where the stream flows down the cliffs.
Noticing that the stream has eroded the cliff over time to the point it would be possible to walk up it to reach the top of the cliffs if one were to be careful.
Deciding that the only thing I have to lose is a bit of time, I begin the careful climb up to the top of the cliffs.
As I'm climbing the path the stream made for me I feel the water flowing over my feet and cooling me down somewhat. I carefully climb the stream taking care to avoid sharp rocks and other things that could cut my feet and make walking a nightmare.
After a few minutes, I finally reach the top of the cliffs and look around. All around me are the trees I constantly saw when I was walking on the beach. They are not dense enough to make me unable to see thankfully.
Now that I can see them from close up I notice that they look like the trees that grow in the Mediterranean. Considering all I've seen up until now combined with the heat probably means I'm in that region.
Now having an idea of the area I'm in even if that area is huge I return my attention to the stream. Deciding to follow it to see where it leads.
As I walk next to the stream I feel the ground beneath my feet. It feels weird not walking on the sand after so long. Continuing to walk next to it I start thinking of what I should do if I see a dangerous animal or another threat. With nothing on me except for my clothes I decide that running back to the beach or climbing a tree depending on the threat is probably the best idea.
After walking for a while I notice the trees getting less dense allowing me to see farther into the forest. Thankfully the only animals I have seen until now are squirrels, bugs and a rabbit. I'm kind of getting hungry but even if I were able to catch a squirrel or a rabbit, which I wouldn't be able to do without getting extremely lucky, and even if i did I wouldn't have anything to start a fire to cook it or even have the knowledge to properly prepare it to avoid getting sick. The less said about the idea of eating the bugs the better it is.
Even weirder than that is the fact that every animal I even see runs away. It wouldn't be weird if I got close to them but they run away the moment they see me or sometimes they are already running before that.
Finding a tree with fruit that I recognize is probably the best I could hope for. I'm not stupid enough to start eating random berries. If I'm going to die it's not going to be because of a couple of berries.
Still walking next to the stream I begin to think about what it could lead to. Hoping it leads to a small lake instead of just rocks. If this stream leads to just rocks im going to get so fucking mad.
A few minutes later I notice a sort of barrier made of trees and bushes that blocks my view. If I want to continue following the stream I'm going to have to go through it unfortunately.
Pushing through the bushes and hoping I'm not going to be attacked by a bear or something.
Finally pushing through the last of the bushes I see what the stream leads to. It is even better than I could have ever hoped for. Seeing a lake surrounded by fruit trees and berry bushes spaced out to allow a perfect view of the area. It's as if the area is designed to be a perfect garden or lake. Just being here makes me feel more relaxed but the voice in the back of my head screaming it's a trap is getting louder by the moment.
In addition to that I keep having the feeling I'm being watched.
After a few seconds of just staring at the area, I decide to slowly and carefully make my way towards the water and check the area farther from there. While walking towards it I notice that the entire area is surrounded by the bushes I just passed through to get here. At Least that will make it easier to notice something approaching me.
Looking up towards the fruit trees I see several different kinds, Just from a quick look I can count over a dozen different kinds.
Looking up at the fruits I notice that all of them are somehow ripe at the same time. It should be nearly impossible for every fruit and berry in this garden to be perfectly ripe at the same time.
In addition to that I notice that not even one of the fruits or berries has even the slightest bit of damage from either the elements or animals.
The more I explore this place I have found myself in, the more mystical this place becomes. It's as if this place was not made to ever be found by humanity. Every time I think I have found a sign of humans it's just nature making it seem like humans have touched it, but when I look closer I can see that it's never been touched by humans.
Finally reaching the edge of the lake I look into the water. It's purer than I ever thought possible.
Suddenly realizing why I got so relaxed out of nowhere, the temperature suddenly went down to a far more tolerable temperature. Add to that the small breeze that suddenly appeared the moment I entered this place. It's far more comfortable than before.
And in addition to that the smell of the place is also strangely comforting.
Choosing not to drink from the lake even if it looks safe I turn towards the fruit trees. I'm kind of getting hungry and the fruit would also contain water.
Walking up to a tree that contains what I'm pretty sure are apples, I jump up and grab one.
The benefits of being tall are helping me again like they always have.
Inspecting the apple hoping to find even the slightest imperfection to quell my paranoia, continuing to turn it in my hand and looking at every small part of it and still not finding a single imperfection in the apple. It's getting creepy at this point.
Deciding to be cautious of the apple even if I'm almost sure it's just a normal apple that's just perfect in every way I smell it to make sure.
The smell of the apple is far more potent than that of a normal one.
Choosing to use the old trick of breaking the apple in half I snap it in half and still don't see a single imperfection, It even split down the middle perfectly.
Seeing no difference between this apple and a normal apple even on the inside I still decide to be cautious. Taking one of the pieces of the apple and rubbing it against my arm. Sitting down against the tree and hoping I don't get the Isaac Newton treatment. Waiting for a few minutes to see if something happens to my arm, and thankfully nothing happens even after waiting for this long.
Now with that part done, I take a small bite of the apple, making sure to not swallow the small part of the apple and to just keep it in my mouth to check if something happens.
The moment I taste the apple I realize it is the best thing I have ever eaten in my life. The taste reminds me of a normal apple but far better and more intense.
Again waiting a few minutes to see if nothing happens I'm honestly not surprised that nothing happens, again.
Deciding just to swallow the small piece that has been in my mouth for the last several minutes. Hoping for the best I swallow it and hope for the best.
In what has become like a habit at this point I again wait for a few minutes for something to happen. And again nothing happens, I know I should probably wait for longer this time but the small bite has made me hungry, it probably doesn't help that the apple was really tasty.
Finally deciding to just start eating the apple I eagerly take a big bite of it. The taste still remains the best I have ever had even on a second bite.
Feeling myself relax even more as I continue to eat the apple with my back to the tree while still overlooking the lake I eat the rest of the apple.
When I finally finish my apple and put the core of it next to me I suddenly sense something behind me and hear footsteps in the grass a few moments later. How did I know that someone was going to appear there? I don't have the time for it now, forcing myself to focus on the person instead of the weird sixth sense.
Leaning to the left and looking behind me and the tree between the person and me I see a beautiful woman with long black hair done up in ponytails, an extremely gorgeous figure with large breasts and an amazing ass, and what looks to be clothes straight from a documentary about ancient Greece.
Looking into her gorgeous blue eyes and trying not to freak out about how she suddenly appeared and is dressed I start thinking of what to say or even if I should say something. But before I fall into that rabbit hole she thankfully starts the conversation.
"Hello there"
Resisting the urge to respond with general Kenobi I instead decide to take this seriously.
"Hello, Is there anything I could help you with?"
"There is something you could help me with, but before that may I know your name?"
Deciding to be truthful and upfront about my name because she is the first human I have seen today. In addition to that, the voice that kept having paranoid thoughts and what I now realize was also the sixth sense gives off a feeling of familiarity with her.
"My name is Virgil Helden, may I know yours?"
Seeing her relax a little bit after hearing my name is hopefully a good sign.
"You may, my name is Hestia, goddess of the hearth."
What! Hold the fuck up, she is telling me she is a fucking goddess. The worst part is that everything is telling me she is telling me the truth. From the weird teleportation to this place, this perfect lake with its fruits, and the weird voice slash sixth sense I've had since I woke up is even agreeing with it.
"You may be wondering why I appeared in front of you. That is also the thing you could help me with. Why is it that you carry the aura of my father?"
What. This is just getting more insane by the second. First I meet a goddess and secondly, she says I carry the aura of none other than fucking Kronos. At this point, I don't think this day can get any weirder.
Deciding that being truthful about my lack of knowledge and being respectful to the goddess who could probably kill me in a fraction of a second is the best course of action.
"I don't know what you are talking about lady Hestia."
I think that was the right thing to say because after I said it I could see a small smile come to her face. Also taking this time to finally stand up from my position next to the tree. Noticing how small she actually is now that I'm not looking up at her.
"In that case would you give me your hand so I can confirm something?"
Taking that as an invitation I take a step closer to her and give her my hand for whatever she needs it for.
As she takes my hand I feel a kind of energy going into me. It doesn't feel hostile, it even feels welcoming to me, like she is reassuring me that it's going to be okay.
After a few moments, I feel the energy going back to her as she lets go of my hand. The feeling of warmth the energy gave me still remains with me even after it's gone.
"So that is what he did with my father."
Hoping to get more answers I start thinking of things to ask her that would not offend her.
"Could you tell me what you found out, lady Hestia?"
"Ah, the reason you have the aura of my father is because you have a sacred gear in which he is sealed. Before today I had no idea of what the god of the bible did with him after my brother handed kronos to him to make sure he would never rise again."
Hold the fuck up. Sacred gear, Kronos, god of the bible, am I in fucking highschool dxd. Of everything that could have happened to me, I was transported to the weird anime where tits give people more power.
Assuming that my assumptions are correct on one hand I'm scared of what is going to happen to me in this new world but on the other hand, this is what I have always dreamt of, a second chance, a life that is not just a monotonous drag of doing the same thing over and over again for a soulless company for the rest of my life and then dying after having accomplished nothing.
Before I can get lost in my thoughts and start to go down a spiral of both good and bad thoughts I feel Hestia grabbing my hand again and sending that calming energy into me again. Now that I think about it, she already has a calm and friendly aura around her.
"You don't have to be afraid. I won't judge you for something you can't do anything about."
She really is the best person that I could have met here. If it were someone else I would have probably freaked out and done something stupid.
"Thank you, lady Hestia."
"You don't have to keep calling me lady young man."
I guess most of the things I read about her back home were true, she truly is the nicest of the gods. While I have not met any other gods I don't think they will be as nice to me as Hestia is being. especially Hades if dxd canon is something to go by.
"Hestia, if I could ask, if I have the aura of Kronos, why did you come alone? I don't mean to disrespect you but why would you take such a risk?"
"The reason for that is that I didn't come alone. Artemis, Pan both of you can come out now.
Wait, There were other gods here the whole time? Now that I think about it it's not that surprising. No sane person would come to something of the scale of Kronos potentially coming back alone.
"And even if I were to come alone, the other Olympians are watching and are ready to intervene at any moment. This is why I approached you like I did, if something were to happen I would have enough reinforcements to take down Kronos even if he was in his prime."
Wait, the Olympians are watching, enough reinforcements to take down Kronos? I'm glad I chose to talk and be respectful, if I didn't this could have gone even worse than I thought.
Hearing footsteps to the left of me I turn my head and see two people walking towards Hestia and me. One is a tall beautiful woman with long silver hair and silver eyes that looks to be in her early twenties. That looks at me with intrigue in her eyes. Which I assume to be Artemis.
The other is probably Pan because I don't think Artemis would have goat legs. He looks like a man in his early forties dressed in shaggy furs with a mischievous expression and has a glorious beard.
Before I can stop myself I open my mouth.
"Nice beard."
Fuck, why did I just say that? Why couldn't I have been more respectful to a fucking god?
Thankfully instead of getting angry or something I see him starting to smile.
"Thank you, Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the few stubbles on your face." I hear him say with a joking tone.
"I know, but unfortunately, this is the farthest I have ever gotten in getting a beard."
"We can't all be graced with such a good beard as mine, as much as I wish it for my fellow men."
"Ahem," I hear what I assume to be Artemis say.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt."
"It is an honor to meet you, lady Artemis. My name is Virgil Helden." I hope I haven't messed up introducing myself to her.
If I go off what I know she could either be one of the better gods to interact with or one of the worst.
"If we are doing introductions let me do mine. I am Pan god of the wilds, and before you ask, my domains unfortunately do not cover beards."
"It is an honor to meet you, lord Pan."
"No introducing yourself to me?"
Oh fuck I should handle this immediately.
"I apologize for my mistake lord Pan." I manage to say before I hear Hestia's cute giggle.
"He is just joking Virgil, he isn't offended." She says to me.
Thank fuck, I was terrified for a second there.
"But now that we have deduced that you aren't an immediate threat I should probably inform the nymphs that live here that they aren't in any danger and can return to this place after you leave." He says in a more serious tone.
So I scared off the nymphs that live here, I kind of feel bad about that. I should probably apologize for that and the apple before that comes back to bite me in the ass.
"Lord Pan, could you give my apologies to the nymphs for accidentally chasing them out of their home and eating one of their apples," I say to him sincerely.
"I will give them your apologies Virgil, and don't feel too bad about it you couldn't have known about it." He says to me in a friendly tone.
Watching him walk away I turn towards Hestia and Artemis who are talking to each other in a language I don't understand.
Standing here and waiting for both of them to finish their conversation I take the time to calm down and think about my situation. I have been teleported into an anime with a sacred gear that contains one of the strongest beings in Greek myth that rules over time itself. This could either be the best thing that has happened to me or the worst, but I have a feeling I will find out which one it is sooner rather than later.
Snapping out of my thoughts as I hear them finish their conversation, I watch both of them turn to me, Hestia with a small smile on her face and Artemis with a more neutral expression but still with a small smile on her face.
As I start to think about why they are smiling I hear Hestia begin talking.
"Virgil, when you first appeared on this island we immediately sensed you, and with most of us instantly recognizing Kronos's aura a meeting of the Olympian gods was called. In this meeting, we discussed what would happen to you but we couldn't come to an answer that was agreeable for most of us. So after a few hours passed and still not having found an answer I offered to make contact with you to discern if you were a threat to us. Seeing as we are currently talking like this I guess you already know the conclusion I came to."
So they wanted to see if I was a threat to them, which makes sense. One of their biggest enemies suddenly reappears even if it is not in a form they are used to. I would have done the same thing.
"So what happens now, Hestia?" I can't help but ask.
"We should start to slowly make our way towards Olympus. I would have teleported us to the council but I think it would be for the best if I allowed you to calm down from everything and allow you to ask a few questions."
"Thank you, Hestia" I can't help but say.
Hestia has been nothing but helpful and nice to me even though I possess the sacred gear which contains the men that swallowed her alive. She truly is the nicest goddess.
Watching as Artemis walks a small distance away from Hestia and me and teleports away. So that is what magic looks like. I must have a dumbstruck expression on my face as Hestia giggles at me.
"Artemis went to Olympus to report and to explain why we will come a bit later than expected. So, what do you want to know?" She explains to me and asks me.
"Will I be able to use magic?" I can't help but ask.
"You will, almost every living being is able to use magic but you will probably have an affinity towards the magic of our pantheon due to your sacred gear."
Nice so I will be able to use magic. If I ignore the sunburn, the walking, and the constant scares this is the best day of my life.
Deciding to ask about the most important things first I start to ask Hestia what I want to know.
"What will happen when I am in front of the council?" This is probably the most important thing currently.
"When we reach the council chambers you will be called to the middle of the room to be questioned and evaluated. After that, the council will decide what to do with you."
"So my fate will be decided by the council?"
"Yes, but you don't have to be scared. Most of us have adapted to the times and learned from our mistakes. So you don't have to be afraid of my brother's famous paranoia. Back when the stories of which you know us were written most of us were still quite young. Even if we are gods we are not incapable of learning from our mistakes and realizing our faults. It has been thousands of years since the stories you read took place after all."
That is actually really reassuring to hear. I thought I would have to deal with paranoid Zeus and a pantion of other gods that don't give a single shit about mortals.
I physically feel the stress leaving my body now that I know I at least won't be getting executed instantly.
"It's really reassuring to hear that, thank you Hestia."
"You don't have to thank me, I'm just answering your questions as I told you I would."
"Is there anything I should know about the council?" I can't help but ask.
If it is the council I'm thinking of there should be twelve members, but the question is who is the twelfth member. There are three gods that take that place in different versions of the Olympian gods, Hestia, Hades, and Dionysus. I really hope it is Hestia.
My hopes are confirmed as Hestia starts talking.
"The council is made up of twelve gods including myself. It is led by my brother Zeus and contains the twelve most important gods on Olympus. The council doesn't come together often, only when there are major decisions to be made or when a threat to Olympus is discovered. Most of the time the decisions for Olympus are made by Zeus and the other gods do their own thing."
So the council only came together because of the presence of Kronos. It makes sense that they wouldn't need an entire council for most decisions.
I suddenly see a cup of water appearing in Hestia's hand and see her hold it out to me.
"Have a drink, Virgil, you walked under the hot sun for a few hours without anything to drink so this is the least I could do to make this situation more comfortable for you."
Gratefully accepting the cup and quickly drinking it. The cold water does wonders for my nerves and my mood as I down the entire cup in one go.
"Thank you, Hestia, truly thank you."
"I would offer you something to eat but I think if we were to wait any longer to go to Olympus, some of the members would get quite angry that we were wasting their time." I hear her say in an exasperated voice.
"So are you ready to come to Olympus with me?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
So, I finally decided to get off my ass and start writing like I have wanted to for a long time. Here it is, my first story. It's mostly inspired by crossedge's fics considering he is the author who really got me into fanfiction. I would appreciate any review that isn't just cursing me out.
See you guys next time.