[David's Pov]

Did you know that every Olympian was 10~15ft tall? That feels quite over the top if you ask me.

I mean, that was somewhat implied in the myths. The gods were known to possess equal strengths and sizes to the Titans, and Atlas could easily squash a truck into an accordion. On the other hand, the three Olympians I've met—Artemis, Ares, and Aphrodite—were not so distinct from humans, at least in appearances. And even Selene, the Titaness of the moon, wasn't gigantic.

Whatever the reason, the Olympians' giant sizes made me gulp. Each and every one of these beings possessed powers beyond my imagination, and they could blast me to smithereens within a blink of an eye if they wanted to.

It didn't help that some divinities weren't overjoyed to see me.

The woman sitting in the middle of the giant U-shaped thrones was squinting her near-black eyes. Her chocolate brown hair in a bun and her white chiton reaching her ankles, as much as her irritation bothered me, I couldn't help but marvel at her courteous and dignified beauty, which was something even Aphrodite didn't possess.

"Hera," I muttered.

"The one and only," Artemis said with a decent amount of spite.

I looked around and found that none of the three companions were upbeat toward the queen of the gods. Artemis and Zoë were making it clear that they were uncomfortable at the goddess' presence, while Erytheia was more intimidated and tried her best to hide behind our shoulders.

A dark-haired, tanned woman in green robes sat on Hera's left. Looking at her made me think of a large farm with ripened crops spreading all the way to the horizon, meaning she'd be Demeter.

Demeter was less interested in me, which was fine, but she took more interest in a small black-robed figure sitting next to the hearth burning in the center. The figure had golden chains wrapped around its body.

Were they a prisoner of some sort? I had no idea.

Next to Demeter sat a lady with grey hair and blonde hair. But her grey eyes were the thing that gave away her identity; Athena, the goddess of War and Wisdom.

I was never a massive fan of Athena, and it looked like the goddess shared the feelings. She had a slight frown on her forehead while she gazed at me, and it reminded me of how Annabeth or anyone from Cabin 6 would look at one of my cabin mates when we did something "Illogical" or "So dumb that Hellhounds would be better campers".

Yeah, Ares Cabin and Athena Cabin didn't go along well.

And speaking of Annabeth, she was sitting beside her mother's throne. She raised an eyebrow in my direction, non-verbally asking if I had done something wrong. I had no idea, so I shrugged.

In a nice change of pace, Aphrodite was more than happy to see us. She waved with a dazzling smile which made even Zoë blush a little and let go of her antipathy toward Hera for a moment.

Then, a familiar cheery voice called, "Hey, little sis, you made it!"

Apollo stepped down from his throne, thankfully shrank down in size, and tried to give Artemis a big hug. Only, the goddess profoundly side-stepping away from her brother's arms with a small sigh.

"Yes, Apollo. I made it. No thanks to you."

Apollo raised his hands, "Hey, we all had our reasons. You know our father wouldn't allow any gods to go near Othrys, right?"

Artemis glanced over at Zeus, who was sitting next to Hera.

Unlike his wife, The King of the gods looked different from what I imagined. I always pictured him as a blonde, muscular dude with an orange toga. Don't ask me why Orange was the color I went with; maybe it's because I liked the sunset more than the regular sky.

Instead, Zeus matched the persona as Thalia's Father.

They had the same jet-black hair and electric blue eyes, which crackled with energy. Zeus even eluded the same aura of "Be on my wrong side and perish" kind of stubbornness Thalia had as he stared at Apollo and Artemis.

Artemis met his gaze with her lips slightly pursed. It looked like she wanted to ask something, but whatever it was, she swallowed it and bowed down.

"My apologies for being late, my Lord." She said formally, "I would like to post a report on my delay."

Zeus nodded slowly and waved at Apollo to go back to his seat.

But before he took so much as a step, Artemis interrupted his pathway and continued, "However, before I reiterate the events that took place, I must see that this boy gets properly treated."

She pointed at me, and 11 pairs of immortal eyes snapped in my direction. Zoë grabbed my arm before I fell backward like the competent human I was. The prisoner in golden chains flinched hard as well.

"What happened to his arm?" Demeter asked with slight concern.

"Atlas ripped it off his body," Artemis answered. "I've promised the boy that he'd be properly healed in Olympus, which I am more than confident could be achieved."

She glanced at Apollo, who nodded.

"Ah, of course," The Sun god said and came closer.

Just like last time, his shining manner seemed to dim just slightly as his attention turned to me. I glanced over his shoulder and saw Ares watching intently, a red aura flickering from his skin.

Apollo took the short remainder of my right arm and inspected the wound for some time before straightening up and shaking his head.

"I can't fix it." He said.

"What?" Artemis and Zoë exclaimed at the same time.

Artemis stepped forward angrily, "What do you mean you can't fix it?" She demanded, "You're the god of medics, for Zeus's sake!"

"Correct," Apollo said, his grin still intact, "but this is no ordinary wound. It seems like he gave up his arm in an exchange of some sort."

Zoë stifled a gasp. Erytheia swallowed a whimper.

"Am I correct?" Apollo asked.

I nodded, "I gave up the arm as a sacrifice to free the Hesperides."

Some of the gods and goddesses raised their eyebrows at my statement. Even Artemis was taken aback.

Apollo clapped his hands, "And that's a binding contract. I can't regrow his arms until you sort the matter with the creditor. Even if I were to regrow it, the Fates would take it away soon enough."

"Who's the creditor?" Artemis demanded.

Hera raised her hand and cleared he throat loudly, which also refreshed the air of the throne room.

"I think that would be a nice Segway to one of our most profound issues of today's council," She declared and glimpsed at her husband to her right. "What do you say, my Lord?"

Zeus sat on his throne in silence for a few seconds, enough for the rest of the whispers to die out, before standing up and slamming his cylinder that radiated electricity unmatched by any power station could hope to produce.

"Let the council continue," His voice boomed like thunder, "Firstly, Artemis: Inform us of what you saw and experienced on Earth."

Artemis opened her mouth furiously, on the verge of spilling out complaints. But once again, she bit her lips at the last moment, took a deep calming breath, and stepped into the middle.

As Artemis recited the events that took place, I took the time to take a look at the god's side of the throne.

By now, I've realized that the thrones were lined up exactly the same as the Cabins were back at Camp Half-Blood. Or maybe it was the other way around; the Cabins replicated the position of the thrones.

That meant the giant U was lopsided, slightly longer on the right side from the perspective of Zeus and Hera. The slight unbalance was something I couldn't ignore after I realized it.

Right next to Zeus sat Poseidon, easily identified by the striking similarities he shared with Percy, who was back in the room for some reason. Poseidon was muttering something to him in a low voice, and Percy nodded every few seconds even though he didn't look happy listening.

Next to Poseidon was my father, Ares. I hoped he'd send me a sign of some sort—something minuscule as a thumbs-up would have been nicely appreciated, but his eyes were glued to the prisoner in golden chains.

What was so special about that…man? Woman? It was hard to tell. Something about them rubbed me the wrong way; I felt like we'd crossed paths before, but at the same time, they felt like someone from outer space.

Apollo was listening to Artemis's story with his smile, but his eyes lingered on me. It made me think back on our first meeting at Westover Hall. For some reason, one of his last sentences rang in my head.

"Beautiful, isn't she?"

He was referencing Artemis, which had me confused and…slightly scared. I couldn't pinpoint a reason why; it was more of a visceral thing. And his gaze now sent a similar shiver down my back.

Next to the Sun god was Hephaestus; there were no other options as his hands tinkered with metal scraps on their own even though the god was focusing more on Artemis.

He noticed me staring at him and snorted. Tiny flames flickered through his nostrils, and his eyes traveled to the sword kept in my pocket as a lighter. I wondered if he was aware of the secret the weapon held inside. Aphrodite had said that none of the Olympians would be aware, but Hephaestus was the brighter god of the bunch; I wouldn't be surprised if he'd figured out why my dad had stolen one of his works.

All I could hope was that the Nemean Lion fur skin was good enough of a sacrifice to keep him satisfied.

Hermes and Mr.D/Dionysus didn't pay attention at all. The former was texting something on his phone as the two snakes from his famous Caduceus hissed.

Dionysus was flicking on one of the many vines that formed his throne. When he saw me looking at him, he waved his hand to look away, which I did, just in time to find the rest of the gods staring at me again.

I reacted in the most professional way possible by gulping too much air at once and coughed like a cat with a hairball stuck in its throat.

Zoë buried her face in her hands.

"Sorry," I said and straightened up. "What…was going on exactly, again?"

"It is best that you pay attention to the meeting, son of Ares," Athena said, doing very little to hide her contemptuous attitude, "This meeting may well be the end of your life."

"Right," I said with a dry mouth.

"We were just moving over to our part of the story, David," Zoë said, having recovered from her short devastation. However, she didn't look at all confident as she added, "I volunteered to fill in the story, but Lord Zeus has commanded that you should be the one to tell the story."

"Right," I said again, now feeling nervously sick.

To start off, I wasn't the best speechmaker in the world. I never figured out the rules of summarizing stories, how to use proper grammar, or how not to stutter when I got nervous…and the list goes on.

I gave my best shot anyway.

I talked about the attack of the Tofu turtle and how Argus helped us defeat it at the expense of a Starbucks shop.

Artemis frowned at Hephaestus, "You sent a Tophuchĕlys after them?"

Hephaestus grunted, "I could've sent one of my automatons instead. I gave them a chance, at least."

Artemis didn't retort further. Apparently, that was a valid point.

Fingers crossed on never fighting against any of his automatons in the future.

I continued to the bear twins, Agrius and Oreius, who attacked us at the mall. Artemis didn't take the story too well. Her head fell as I mentioned how they resented the gods for running their life. Perhaps it was a detail I could skip, but I wanted to point it out as all of the gods were listening.

Artemis didn't fare any better when the story moved on to Niobe. Apollo grunted disapprovingly and said, "Ultimately, she drove herself down to Tartarus. Ironic."

"But she was driven to madness because of her punishment," I pointed out, "I don't think the problem was inherently within her. All she did was brag about her children."

Apollo's frown deepened into an expression that didn't suit him at all.

"Don't you lecture—" he started to scowl, but Zeus thumped his cylinder against the floor to interrupt.

"Continue," He said.

I skipped the meeting with Cadmus.

It was because he made an effort to take me to his cave, where the gods couldn't listen. Though some gods, namely Zeus and Athena, seemed to suspect that I was hiding something, they appeared more eager to let the story go on than interrogate the missing piece.

I also skimmed over the Calydonian Boar and the meeting with dad and Aphrodite in the desert, as they were closely tied to the sigil that Cadmus passed down to me.

And then, when I reached the part about Chimera, I made a fatal mistake.

"…and then, Reyna came in and—"

Both Artemis and Zoë stepped on either side of my foot to silence me, but they were a second too late.

Zeus raised his eyebrow, "Reyna?" He repeated.

"I, uh…" I tried to think of an excuse, but nothing came to me.

Athena slowly rose from her throne and whispered something in Zeus's ear. I vaguely noted the language being Latin instead of ancient Greek, and Zeus's form occasionally flickered, just like Artemis did when she talked to Reyna.

When Athena was done, Zeus nodded and sat back down.

"Very well, continue." He rumbled.

"Father—" Artemis started, but Zeus held up his hand and silenced her before nodding at me to continue.

Against my better judgment, I carried on. It wasn't like there were alternative options. One of the more obvious rules in Ancient Greek mythologies was not to cross paths with the Lord of the Sky.

I explained how I was outmatched against Ladon and how I cut off my arm as a sacrifice to release the Hesperides. Hera huffed indifferently but didn't interrupt me like in previous examples.

And finally, the meat of the pie.

Now, if I were wiser, I would've skimmed over or even tweaked a story little to say that I didn't do much, and Artemis had done most of the heavy lifting. Instead, I retold the fight between Atlas more thoroughly than any other point because it had many elements to go over, and I was very proud of what I'd achieved during the battle.

Unknowingly, I was treading the same pathway that brought so many mortals their downfall in ancient Greek folklore. I only realized the mistake I'd made after I was done, turned around, and saw Zoë's face had whitened into a chalkboard.

The Olympus Pantheon was silent as they digested my story. Or perhaps they were pondering if I had bloated or hidden any factors of the tale.

"You all see," Ares broke the silence, "I have quite a powerful son."

"For once, I agree with Ares," Athena said. Her grey eyes were colder than any snowstorm in the world as she stared down, "Almost too powerful, I'd say."

Ares chuckled nervously, "Right. And he also did Olympus a huge favor. Artemis could vouch for that."

"Certainly," Artemis agreed and looked around the council. "Whatever you may think, he is not someone to be put under a guillotine."

Zeus rose from his throne, "That isn't up for your decision alone, daughter. Now take your seat."

His electric eyes swirled with multiple layers of emotions that I couldn't decipher.

Artemis shut her eyes tightly. Her balled fists trembled, then she stood upright in the face of Zeus.

"I won't let someone who saved my existence be punished! We're supposed to reward heroes who've done us good, are we not? If this is Olympian Justice, then I'll have none of it!"

Zeus huffed through his nostrils, which emitted sparks of lightning similar to how Hephaestus breathed flames. For a moment, I was worried that he might try and blast Artemis, but that didn't happen.

"It isn't that simple, Artemis." Athena stepped in, "No one in the council is denying the boy had done all of a huge favor by rescuing you."

"That's debatable," Hera muttered. Athena pretended as if no one had said anything.

"However, that is only a small piece of the full picture at hand today. And I, for one, will argue that this boy is much more of a hazard than he is good for us."

Artemis frowned.

"How is that even possible?" She demanded.

Instead of giving a straight answer, Athena implied that Artemis should better take her seat on the throne.

Artemis hesitated, glancing between the surrounding gods and me, but eventually walked over to her seat.

"Now," Athena straighten up, "I'll file an indictment for David, a demigod Son of Ares, and Hecate, the goddess of magic, Mist, crossroads, etcetera.

I charge Hecate guilty of tampering with The Moirai's domain, the Fate itself. As a result, David exceeded his lifespan and is currently alive when he should have died before Midnight today.

Both are the most horrendous crimes an immortal and a mortal can commit. Therefore, I suggest punishment of the same weight as the crime they'd executed."

[Line Break]

Athena's claim was met with an immediate outburst from Ares and Artemis, who stood up from their seats. However, Zeus held them back simply by raising his hand.

The wisdom goddess bowed at Zeus before continuing.

"Last summer, right after our last Sumer Solstice meeting, the Fates notified that something unheard beforehand had happened; One of their strings had been stolen."

"Didn't Apollo mess with those once before?" Ares grunted, "I loaned one of my boars to that guy."

Apollo chuckled, albeit slightly nervously.

"Right, but Alcestis was one of the more admirable mortals we can give a gift or two. Besides, I didn't mess with the Strings themselves; I just persuaded the Fates for some mercy."

Artemis huffed, "You mean you made them drunk before swearing an oath out of them."

"Oh, goodie. We're blaming alcohol again. What a surprise," Mr. D sighed. Grapes popped into life all over his throne as he twirled with one of the leaves. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bothered inventing it if everyone's going to use it as an excuse all the time."

"We can discuss the specific subject later," Athena said before the argument spread further, "Lord Zeus had tasked me to investigate the matter, and I'd found a lead thanks to Nereus."

Ares tensed in his seat. I recalled one of my out-of-commission visions, where Ares beat Nereus on the beachside until he agreed to answer.

Athena noted my father's tension before carrying on, "The old sea god hadn't given the name, but he did confess that one of the gods has forced an answer out of him: How to hide a string of Destiny.

The answer was quite simple. You need a powerful artifact to hide in, preferably created by a powerful god, and then conceal it securely by layering the object with various magic."

"It sounds pretty standard way to hide things," Aphrodite noted, grinning smugly. "You have no idea where I put all my toys—"

Athena cleared her throat loudly, a faint hint of a blush rising on her cheeks, "That's a very inappropriate subject to bring up, Aphrodite."

"Oh please, being inappropriate is my thing." Aphrodite giggled and blew a kiss toward the male gods. It grabbed a fair amount of attention from them, except for Hephaestus, who was only mildly irritated at his ex-wife's flirting and grunted.

"I see," The forge god grumbled.

He slammed the edge of his sledgehammer. The two magic items I had flew out of my pockets and into his open palm. With a press of a button, Hephaestus called the motorcycle into existence.

"Cheap," he snorted when the bike appeared in a burst of flame.

He took it apart within mere seconds, examined all the spare parts, and reassembled the bike into a 7 feet long metal dragon. The dragon creaked and blinked its headlight eyes before swooping down next to me and playfully nipping at my shoulder.

"Uh…" My brain was still trying to catch up on how my motorcycle turned into a sentient dragon—I guess the bike was conscious as well, but…

Indifferent to my shock, Hephaestus examined the sword. His eyes twinkled as he went over the blade to the handle, muttering something under his breath in a volume only he could hear.

Then, he suddenly slammed his hammer into the blade.

Clang!

The sword shuddered but didn't break or dent under the impact.

Wow, that was much more durable than I'd thought.

"Looks like I outdid myself," Hephaestus said, "I can't break it open."

The forge god proudly grinned, only to falter when Zeus held out his hand, indicating at him to hand the sword over. He looked at the sword remorsefully before closing his fist around it.

"Perhaps there is a way to check the inside without breaking it?" He suggested.

"There is," Athena said.

With a sigh of relief, Hephaestus handed the sword to Athena, who took the weapon down to the hooded figure next to the hearth.

The goddess knelt in front of her and held up the black sword.

"Hecate, you are the only goddess who can perform magic strong enough to fool all of us. If you undo the spells you've put on the sword, I'll reduce your punishment."

The hooded figure, Hecate, didn't say or move for a long time. She stayed precisely the same in her position, gold chains digging into her sides.

When Athena didn't budge either, Hecate finally looked up. Her hood fell back, and I could see her hair. It was strikingly similar to ma's, which didn't make me feel any better.

"By what logic do you convict me, Lady Athena?" Hecate asked.

Even her voice was identical to ma. This was getting way too uncomfortable.

There was no way my mom was someone's copy…it can't be.

Unbeknownst to my concerns, Hecate looked around the thrones lined up around her and hissed, "Any gods sitting in this throne room are much more powerful than I am; isn't that why all of you are acting high and mighty where you sit?"

Athena stepped back once, surprise on her expression for a fraction of a second, before the goddess collected herself, "Hecate. That remark can't be taken lightly; watch your—"

"Lightly?!" Hecate suddenly screeched.

The goddess sprang to her feet. A deep purple fire flared up around her cloak, burning it away alongside the golden chains that were supposed to bind her.

With a bright flash, Athena was suddenly wearing full Greek battle armor with a spear and shield. She shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I initially thought was a battle cry, but then I realized she called: "Annabeth!"

Her intention was revealed seconds later. Hecate's flame danced across the marble floor of the throne room as if the texture was oil-covered wood instead of cold, hard rock. Annabeth quickly sought shelter behind her mother's throne, as Percy was also forcefully shoved behind Poseidon's throne by its owner.

As the flame roared, Hecate grew bigger and bigger, matching the Olympians' size as most stood up, drawing their signature weapons. The air trembled with the immense energy emitted, on the verge of getting ripped apart.

I was too distracted by the event before my eyes to notice the flame nearly swallowing me up before someone yanked us behind—Zoë and Erytheia included. I looked over my shoulder to find a lady with pale skin and dark hair with a flower sapped of color plucked in her hair.

I took a wild guess.

"Persephone?" I asked, and the woman nodded before turning her eyes to Hecate.

"Hecate, that's enough! Stop this at once!" The goddess shouted, but her voice seemed to be drowned out by the howling winds.

"Why isn't Lady Hestia doing anything?" Zoë asked, coughing through the immense smoke and heat that filled the air, "At this point, they'll destroy Hecate for good!"

"Humans never fail to amuse me, as much as they're annoying when they die." A man standing next to Persephone mused. He had oily hair and even paler skin than Persephone.

Even through the chaos of smoke and flames, my basic instincts warned me to stay clear of this man. Zoë seemed to share my impression as she flinched from a mere glance from the man.

"Lord Hades, I don't understand," Zoë said.

Hades nodded shortly, "Hestia is kind, sure. But she is not a saint or a pacifist. She doesn't discredit someone who's made up their mind. Besides, she doesn't delve into other's family matters. We're both too fed up with our own."

Then, the god of the Underworld turned his pitch-black eyes in my direction.

I had no idea what he was referring to.

I was not the son of Hecate by any means, nor was she related to Ares in any meaningful way. Even if I were the son of her…avatar, that doesn't mean Hecate would care for me, right?

Up on the council, Hecate raised her arms high. The sky above had turned dark, swirling with black clouds darker than any moonless night could achieve. Even Zeus, one of the gods who hadn't left his seat, looked up at the sky with a more stricken expression.

"For thousands of years, I was forced to lay dormant. Forgotten. Disrespected!" Hecate screeched, her voice loud and clear over the howling tornado around her, "My essence was born from Nyx herself, formed into shape by Perses and Asteria!"

Hecate was described as the daughter of Nyx and a Titaness born between Perses and Asteria. Later, she became a god when she chose to support Zeus in the Titanomachia. By her explanation, she had more than one parent.

Then, it suddenly clicked in my brain.

Ma wasn't Hecate's Avatar.

Nor was she an ordinary mortal who, by accident, caught the eyes of Ares.

She was…

She was…!

"As the last age of the Titans and the first age of gods, I shall bring all of you doo—"

"Ma, stop!" I shouted.

Hecate halted dead in the middle of her vehement speech. The darkness that crowded the throne room vanished, and the fire which threatened to swallow Olympus itself vaporized without any trace that it existed in the first place.

The goddess slowly shrank back into an average human and turned around.

Wearing the dark robe, stood my mom—Maria Lee, with the same curly black hair, the same faint wrinkles around her eyes, and the same light makeup to hide them.

Hecate didn't create an avatar who became my mom.

Hecate was my mom.

As I tried to grasp the fact or think about how that's possible, several gold chains lashed out and wrapped up Hecate—my mom, making her grunt and kneel on the floor.

"Hey!" I shouted.

Athena huffed, "We can't leave a goddess free after nearly setting the room ablaze. You won't be able to overpower your way out a second time, Hecate."

Hecate struggled against the chains, but they only dug deeper and deeper around her body until she finally gave up and kneeled on the ground.

"None of you'll be able to look inside the sword," She hissed, "The boy will not be prosecuted under your claims, Athena."

"That may be," Athena admitted. The goddess pointed her spear at Hecate's chest. "But you'll receive the worst punishment an immortal being can receive."

Hecate laughed aloud, "I don't fear Tartarus. All of my family…" she paused momentarily, "…All of my family was cast down after the Titanomachia. I'll choose an eternal lockdown at Tartarus than be here where you're in charge!"

Zeus grunted and gripped his cylinder. From either end, electricity erupted, making the cylinder look like a classical lightning bolt.

"Very well," The King of the gods looked around the council, "All in favor?"

"No!"

Persephone tried to run out, but Hades quickly stopped her before she could. Nonetheless, the floral goddess desperately reached out to Hecate.

"Father, please—" She tried to plead at Zeus, but he silenced the goddess with a loud rumbling thunder from his weapon.

My heart pounded at a million miles per second.

I had to do something.

I remembered my last day with ma. She hugged me tightly in her arms, crying with strings of apology for failing me—for failing at protecting me.

I can't let her fall into place like Tartarus.

I will not let that happen!

"Wait!"

Like Hades, Zoë tried to stop me. But unlike Persephone, I thrust her arm aside and ran right under Zeus's foot.

"What if I prove Hecate was innocent?" I shouted at the whole council to hear. The Olympians glanced at each other, confused.

"What are you doing, child?" Hecate hissed in a low voice, but I didn't answer. I kept my eyes on Zeus, looking over me like a human would look down upon an ant.

Slowly, he stepped back into his throne. The cylinder slipped back into the weapon holder in his armrest.

"What are you suggesting, son of Ares?" Athena demanded.

"If Hecate is innocent—if the sword doesn't hold my String of Destiny, then Hecate would be pardoned, won't she?" I asked.

Hera scoffed, "That's not how the Olympian justice system works."

Athena nodded before adding, "Nonetheless, Hecate would be punished for causing mayhem in the council room either way."

"However," Zeus said, silencing the two goddesses at once, "If Hecate were proven to be truly innocent as you say, her charges wouldn't be heavy enough to imprison her in Tartarus."

"Great!" It wasn't the best option, but it was all I could get.

Zeus nodded at Hephaestus to hand me the sword. I took the obsidian blade in my hand and went to Hecate.

"Can you undo whatever spell you have cast on it?" I asked.

Hecate shook her head with difficulty, still looking very unsure.

"Trust me," I said and gave a shot at my best confident smile, "I've grown a lot since 12."

My mom blinked, surprised. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then…my sword glowed with multiple colors simultaneously.

The metal grew exceptionally hot, and I almost dropped it with a yelp. However, the moment passed before I could.

"It is undone," Hecate said.

I presented the sword back to Hephaestus. With a perplexed look, the forge god unassembled the sword instead of breaking it and slipped out the single string inside the blade.

"There's a string inside it," Athena remarked.

"But we don't know if that's the String of Destiny," I retorted.

Athena scowled, "Every evidence points to that fact, Son of Ares."

"But do you have any certain proof that it is?" I asked back.

The Olympians all looked at Athena. The goddess of wisdom hesitated, struggling with her words, but finally admitted, "No, I don't."

"However!" Athena continued, "Unless you can't prove otherwise, it would be a logical conclusion to assume that it is. Are you suggesting that you can rebuttal my claim?"

"Yes."

I reached out for the string. Hephaestus frowned but handed me the single strand without further questions.

"We Ares doesn't play around with words. We speak through actions."

I walked up to the Hearth. The fire in it burned slowly.

I wasn't sure if it was a hallucination, but a young girl with mousy brown hair and fire-red eyes was looking up at me from behind the fire.

Suddenly, a new voice rasped, "Consider well, young mortal."

I jumped in the spot, nearly throwing myself into the fire as I whirled in my spot. Underneath Zeus's throne, the three old ladies that had haunted my dream on more occasions than one was huddled together.

Few gods and goddesses inched away from the trio of grandmothers. Even Hera looked very uncomfortable; again, Zeus was the only one unfazed.

"Fates," He rumbled, "Explain yourselves."

The Fates all bowed at Zeus. The lady with giant scissors brandished the silver tool in my direction and continued.

"When the String of Destiney is lost, we lose control over their life. They shape a new future instead of the one we've foreseen. They disrupt not their fates alone, but others in the process."

"It tangles up the yarn," the lady with the basket held up a giant tangled mess of yarn.

"But if the string is destroyed, then they are no longer protected by the Cosmos—the opposite of Chaos, structured by Lord Zeus, under his rule. They'll be fully exposed to Chaos."

"And that means…?" Artemis asked carefully.

The Fates all cackled.

"Who knows?" One said.

"We cannot tell. No one can!" Another said.

"That's the meaning of Chaos." The other said.

The Fates turned to look me in the eyes, "Be warned, mortal. Your string represents your past, present, and future. If you destroy it…no one can guarantee anything about you anymore."

"This is ridiculous," Athena said, "The fact that Fates themselves have appeared to warn him is enough to prove that it's the real String of Destiney!"

The Fates cackled again, but they didn't try to stop me.

And none of the gods or goddesses, not even Athena, was eager to try to when they didn't.

I looked down at the black string in my hand.

This was the actual string. I knew that.

If this burns…then whatever may happen won't be good for me.

From across the hearth, Zoë and Erytheia watched with surprise and concern. Even though she didn't know the truth, Zoë shook her head violently. On the other hand, Erytheia watched with bated breath, wondering what I'd do.

"…So, what you're saying is," I said, "If this is the real string and I burn it, then I'll be thrust upon the world without any protection whatsoever?"

"Correct," One of the Fates said.

"You know, mortals have a word for that on earth."

The Fates tilted their heads, their smiles faltering for the first time.

"What's that?" They asked.

"It's called Living," I threw the string into the fire, "You should all try it sometime."

The flames engulfed the string, which shriveled up until it vanished entirely.

I waited for a second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

A grin stretched over my face. I turned to face the Olympian council, all of them surprised by the outcome and spread out my arms wide.

"I'm still here."

Aphrodite squealed like a wet tire in a drift. Artemis sighed out loud and nearly slid down her throne. Ares laughed loudly, slamming his hand into his throne and nearly lurching it off to the side.

"He has the guts!" The war god shouted with glee, "What do you have to say to that, you Owl prick, huh!?"

Athena didn't say anything as she sat back on her throne. Her expression was kept neutral, which made it difficult to decipher what she was thinking, but her grey eyes flashed dangerously when our eyes met.

One thing was obvious: She didn't take it very well.

"Wait just a moment!" Hera shouted, rising from her throne. "I am not done with this mortal! He has taken away the Hesperides from my garden!"

She pointed a giant finger down at me.

I bowed to her, "By all means, Grandmother Hera—"

Some gods and goddesses—mostly the foster children of Zeus—snorted.

"—That was a fair exchange. You've put a curse on them, and I solved it with a sacrifice of my own." I waved the stump of my right arm to emphasize my point.

However, Hera wasn't going to take that for an answer.

"That may be mortal," She sneered, "But the Hesperides were my servants from the get-go. Unless I say, they're free—"

"We are not merely your servants!"

To my and everyone else's surprise, Erytheia shouted at the top of her lungs at the Queen of Olympus.

The oldest Hesperid stepped forward, "We have finally obtained freedom thanks to David, one of the bravest and kind-hearted heroes we've ever seen!"

I couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed by her claim.

"That's a bit over the top, isn't it?" I muttered at Zoë.

Zoë smiled and shook her head, "Hardly so."

Erytheia continued, "My sisters have just found what they want to do, and I will not let anyone take that from them!" She balled her hands into fists and glared up at Hera.

Hera gaped for a few mouthfuls; then her expression turned absolutely livid. Zoë and I hurried to stand before her, but Erytheia pushed us aside and faced Hera's wrath, ready to be unleashed upon herself.

Until Zeus stopped his wife, that is.

The King of the gods pushed Hera into her seat with the back of his hand. Hera glowered at her husband, but Zeus slammed his cylinder against the floor, making an ear-splitting Boom!

"There is no law or occasion where your anger is justified, Hera." Zeus said, "If I were you, I'd find a new guardian for your tree."

"Our tree," Hera snapped, but she didn't argue for her case any further.

Zeus stood up once more from his throne.

He raised his arms high with the cylinder held aloft and said, "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes…I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"


I need a rest after writing this chapter

school has started again, and I'm certainly not in full condition.

whatever questions you may have, please ask via reviews or PM.

I'll make sure to answer them in the next chapter. I've been thinking about starting review reactions.

I hope you all had a fun time reading, and I'll see you all next chapter

Ta ta~