Regrets and mistakes carried the weight of an unceasing burden known as penance. To pay back what was done. To make it right. Or simply to soothe the turmoil of one's own actions by taking the steps to restore what was lost or destroyed.
"Hephy, you're making that face again?"
"…"
"Oowwowowi!" Hestia screamed incoherently as Hephaestus harshly pulled her cheeks.
"That's not how you talk to someone you owe a favour." Hephaestus smiled with veins popping over her temples.
"L-Let go, you'll sag them. Sag them! I-I already paid you back!" Hestia insisted, pushing Hephaestus's hands away and huffing.
"Is that so?" Hephaestus said.
Hestia did not like the look on Hephaestus's good eye. It was the expression of a sibling who had more dirt to pull over the wool.
Pursing her lips, Hestia hastily thought back to anything else she could have done or still owed. As generous as Hephaestus had been to Hestia, this was the first time Hephaestus had ever come to her to insist on returning favours and it was scary.
Suddenly paling, Hestia realized that there was a whole list of favours Hephaestus had done for her from the moment Hestia had first descended to the lower world. She was a newbie, and had no clue about what she was doing, or the reputation to easily garner Familia members to establish her own influence. Hephy had been the one to kindly show her the ropes, but given the current flip on Hephy's passive stance, Hestia did not think it would bode well for her.
It was better to admit wrong before Hephy pulled out bigger guns and bigger favours- the monetary ones. She was already living in an abandoned church. If debtors came after her, she'd sink further passed ruined, and Caster was using the space. Everyone was using the space.
It was her home in which her nephews and Bell had come to her to take refuge.
Hestia could not jeopardize it when they got back to Orario.
"I-I was wrong!" Hestia offered her cheeks back to Hephy while crying. "Pull on them as much as you want! Just…be…gentle?"
Hephaestus's brow twitched as Hestia's crying drew unwarranted attention from the people marching around them.
Specifically, those of the auxiliary party moving in support of the main subjugation team ahead. The auxiliary consisted of Hephaestus, Thetis, Iris, and various other Familia focused on production and transport skills. Of course, there were also others like Hestia in this group.
By others, they were explicitly Gods concerned about their Familia. Some like Hestia came out of worry for Bell who was tagging along with the expedition, but others were there to witness the subjugation first hand or have a part in its success.
Bragging rights. That much was evident, but Hephaestus had no interest.
"Stop. Just stop," Hephaestus pinched the bridge of her nose. She'd forgotten how frustrating it could be to deal with Hestia.
Mixed feelings crossing her face, Hephaestus shook her head and walked away, Hestia staring at Hephaestus with concern.
Hestia had known Hephaestus long enough to perceive that something was wrong or eating away at her. The fact, Hephy didn't even bother offloading her troublesome lack of love life to Hestia was telling.
"Hephy…" Hestia called out, only for her voice to mellow by the end when she noticed Hephaestus too lost in her thoughts to hear.
Family hurting.
It was something that pained Hestia more than any other relatives in her neighborhood at Olympus in the Upper World.
Suddenly, Hestia mustered her courage. The decision was between a nephew's privacy and a sister's sadness, then she decided to balance it out.
Small truths that Shirou shouldn't care much about, or affect him directly.
It was harmless.
"Uhm oh, you asked about more information on Shirou?!" Hestia shouted, watching as Hephaestus froze at the words. "I can't tell you everything, but he says he can't remember beyond a certain point in his childhood. All I saw was fire. A cursed fire. Anything else personal you'll have to ask yourself. It's not for me to say even if its for a favour. I-I won't spy on family!"
That was Hestia's bottom line, but while Hestia was balling her hands and trying to take a tough stance even with the threat of monetary debt looming over her head, Hephaestus was anything but calm.
Muttering a quick thanks, Hephaestus fled from Hestia.
Hephaestus did not head in the direction of where her Familia was marching with the subjugation group, but allowed herself to drift further behind the entire convoy. There were too many questions they had about her current decisions, and the answer wasn't something she was quite ready to give. Especially to Welf who was still indignant that she'd stepped in to stop their forging competition when Welf had created his best work yet.
However, internal Familia politics wasn't what preoccupied Hephaestus's mind. Her Familia would have enough to worry about beyond their Goddess brooding.
Word of the subjugation had spread beyond Orario, and that idiot Ares had the gall to send a task force to join the subjugation. They weren't turned away because help was help on a Grand Quest, and even Ares wouldn't interfere in that, but the idiot included Crozzo family members in the task force.
Neither Welf or the Crozzo family members would take kindly to seeing each other, so Hephaestus had the Familia shielding Welf from contact.
Shoulders drooping, Hephaestus looked up to the sky for solace.
The sound of wind breaking overhead was directly correlated to the winged Valkyrie guiding the subjugation force forward. The Valkyrie was not something Hephaestus was unaware of. They must have existed in the Norse neighborhood, but neither Loki or Freya were acting quite right upon interacting with the Valkyrie.
Scoffing, Hephaestus pursed her lips and focused on her own concerns.
Project Pandora.
Loneliness does weird things to the heart and mind. Taking inspiration from Zeus had been her biggest mistake at that time.
Hephaestus was an inventor, an artist. If she couldn't have what others had, then why not just create it?
-"If you're still mopping about your love life, why not make it?"
"I don't need a fake lover you philanderer!"
-"Why does it have to be a lover? Why not a son? Be the first to create to break the rules. Humans are fascinating, aren't they? Look at Prometheus in the upper world who was said to create man from mud in our neighborhood. You think you wouldn't be able to do better than that mad man?"
"…"
Hephaestus let out a sigh.
What she had created was someone in her image, but whose flaw made him more weapon than man. She'd passed down everything in hopes of making someone whose characteristics and interests were in line with hers, but in the end, what was left of her vane hopes was the poison of her own corruption that bled into her creation.
It failed; all remnants eaten away in cursed fire.
"Ah, am I interrupting?"
A voice drew Hephaestus out of her stupor. She looked up and sucked in air, her breath hitching in her throat.
"I really am interrupting something, aren't I?" Shirou scratched the back of his head, grumbling about how Hestia had managed to pull one up over him. He never thought of her as a Goddess with a penchant for pranks.
"Sorry," Shirou apologized, a part of him still shell-shocked that Hephaestus was a woman in this world. "You must have been thinking about forging your next master piece. I'll head back."
It was what Shirou assumed from the experience of several renowned blacksmiths in his Tracing.
The answer was anything but correct.
"N-No, wait." Hephaestus violently shook her head and tried to reach out to Shirou, but she realized she was getting ahead of herself. She cleared her throat. "Walk with me."
Shirou had no reason to refuse, but the sense of awkwardness started from there.
Hephaestus had no idea what to say or what to do. Her words were more of a spur of the moment decision rather than something she'd truly thought out. In the end, that didn't change that she wanted to spend more time with Shirou.
Running away from a problem wasn't something Hephaestus did, let alone not owning up to her mistakes.
The silence was pressuring, causing Hephaestus to fidget, a hand running through her hair as she tried to socialize. However, it wasn't as if she was well versed in the art of speaking. She spent most of her time in front of a forge, and nothing else.
Related topics, c'mon. Dammit, what would Hestia-
Stressing, Hephaestus finally realized something that she could latch onto. She'd seen it in the hands of that Bell Cranel boy who was the first to join Hestia's Familia.
"That dagger Hestia's Familia member is using," Hephaestus began with a fluster due to a lack of anything else to say. "You made it?"
Hephaestus had no proof to speak of for her claim, but given that Hestia was bragging about it recently, and that the only blacksmiths Hestia knew were herself and Shirou, then the answer of who made it was obvious.
Still, the technique…it was definitely hers.
Hephaestus grumbled inwardly.
There was no way. There was just no way it was another item that she somehow forgot making. After all, it was the timing. And Hestia said that she wasn't the one to make it.
Therefore, the answer could only, 'A,' be from someone who could forge identically to her, and 'B,' be acquainted enough with Hestia to grant her a favour without monetary reward. Hestia had a penchant to be broke after all.
"Yes," Shirou freely admitted, verifying Hephaestus's suspicion. He had nothing to hide in this regard. Albeit, Hephaestus's expression began to flicker at his admittance.
Sucking in a breath, Hephaestus could feel her stomach churning like mechanical butterflies scratching along the linings.
She had apprentices. Blacksmith's that she taught, but displayed in the dagger was the ability to imbue divinity that she'd not taught to anyone. It was something that could only be passed down, not learned.
And so, with a dry mouth, and façade of composure, Hephaestus asked her next question.
"What skill do you possess to create those weapons and armours from thin air?"
It was like an Authority Hephaestus herself could call upon in the upper world. A means to access her armoury of self forged items.
An Authority, a godly Authority.
Hephaestus stared hard at Shirou with her lips constantly pursed.
Magic was the work of Falna, and the only way for one to use magic without a Falna was to be related with a God in some manner. Specifically, the dagger Shirou made required Hephaestus's divine energy, and Shirou was no member of Hephaestus' Familia.
In a sense, what Shirou was doing was similar to Hephaestus in the upper world, as he was also pulling from an armoury.
The only difference was the type of armoury.
Whereas Hephaestus pulled original items from her armoury, everything in Shirou's was a fake or a forged copy.
But Hephaestus could not possibly know the intricacies behind the details regarding Shirou's abilities. The best she could do was infer using her own common sense.
"You're curious?" Shirou still asked. He had an idea in mind.
Take it with a grain of salt, but he'd always been curious if a Fake could truly outrival the original.
"Want to compare the better weaponsmith first?" He spoke.
Who better to make the call than a God of Blacksmiths?
Hephaestus's lips twitched upward with a craftsman's pride, but she forced her mouth flat. "By all means," she smiled coyly and momentarily put aside her inner turmoil.
Nothing stokes a craftsman's inner fire than competition or comparison with a fellow creator.
Rummaging through her belongings, Hephaestus pulled out an intricate sword grafted with gold metal and engraved with the motif of a howling wolf.
Shirou stared at the weapon Hephaestus pulled out and hummed in thought.
Hephaestus waited for Shirou to pull out his equivalent, but was inwardly testing and observing Shirou's every action.
Her thoughts were still mixed, but at the very least she'd start with baby steps. Acting like Thetis did with Achilles frankly unnerved Hephaestus. There was affection, and then there was Thetis level affection.
Baby steps, Hephaestus reminded herself again. She wasn't even a hundred percent sure yet.
"Alright, I'm ready," Shirou nodded while lifting his hand to Hephaestus.
It was an empty hand, but Hephaestus wasn't too perturbed. She'd seen Shirou pull weapons out of thin air, so any minute now, she was sure Shirou would be presenting her with something.
A sword, a spear, a dagger, it didn't matter. Few if any other blacksmith Gods could compare with Hephaestus's works.
"I am the Bone of my Sword."
Unmistakable power welled in those words, resonating even with the core of Hephaestus as a God of Blacksmiths: The feel and presence of an unapparelled creation.
She shivered, biting down on her lips.
What Hephaestus didn't expect was a replica of the very weapon she presented to compare to appear in Shirou's hand.
"…" For once in a long while, Hephaestus was lost for words while trying to grade the work and craftsmanship of a weapon.
"You didn't steal that, did you?" She asked dryly, tongue wetting her lips from how long she'd held her mouth open.
Shirou shrugged, but eagerly awaited the result of Hephaestus's assessment.
'R-Ridiculous.'
Hephaestus scrutinized over every detail of the identical weapons in front of her, but was still coming up blank. It was to the point that she'd start sweating if she didn't already know which one was hers, and which one Shirou created out of thin air.
As a God of Blacksmithing, Hephaestus could read a weapon's history and experience. How long a person used it for, for what purpose it was used for, or even how well it was maintained, all of it was made known through her eyes.
And what her eyes were telling her was that she could discern no difference.
Even the history and craftsmanship she could read from the weapon were the same. Further scrutiny finally revealed the flaw in terms of durability.
If her original dagger had a hardness of '10,' then the copy had something closer to '7' or '8.'
"How?" The word left Hephaestus's mouth as she and Shirou made eye contact.
The same flicker of light that gleamed over their pupils shone while they directed their view on the weapons.
"I can read the history and experience of any weapon I lay my eyes on."
"That's the same as me…" Hephaestus knit her brows.
"And I have a skill that lets me recreate objects based on how familiar I am with them." Shirou said. He didn't go into much detail, but the crux of the matter was conveyed.
Hephaestus could understand. If Shirou had the same ability to perceive weapons with his eyes as she did, then if his skill allowed him to recreate objects based on his familiarity then-
"All those weapons you create into the air, are weapons you either created or have once seen?"
Shirou nodded, letting Hephaestus come to her own conclusion about how his Tracing worked. He didn't specify that he could re-enact a user's skill, only that he could perfectly recreate weapons.
Hephaestus stopped walking, planting her feet firmly into the ground.
Naturally, Shirou stopped too and gave the Goddess a questioning stare. They were already on the fringe of the auxiliary party's march, and stopping now would make them get left behind.
"Is there something wrong?" Shirou asked.
For better for worst, Hephaestus came to a decision both out of personal motivations and public interest.
"Join my Familia."
Shirou would have a lot to think about. He opened his mouth, but Hephaestus raised a hand, wary of the attention her proposition warranted her.
She leaned in closer to Shirou and whispered.
"When you have time, there's a matter we must speak about. Preferably in a more secure and private location."
Based on the travel path, the subjugation force would still take another two weeks before reaching the One-Eyed Black Dragon.
There was time.
In the end, Shirou ended up agreeing out of necessity.
Hephaestus would not take no for an answer, reminding Shirou heavily of Taiga when she was being protective of him.
By the tracks left on the ground, and the sight of smoke wafting up from a base camp on the next ridge, it was clear that a certain group was close to reaching the subjugation party.
This group consisted entirely of lithe women, and they weren't a hostile force in that they had been invited to participate in the glory of a successful subjugation.
They were a group of Amazon warriors of the Amazonian kingdom led personally by one of its Queens. Low would Amazonia be if they shirked back out of fear from joining the subjugation of the black dragon.
How an invitation was sent with the direct name of a specific Amazonian Queen was unheard of, but Amazonia would not back down from some witchcraft or sorcery.
"Shall we approach, my Queen?" An Amazon in a tight tube-top and loose kilt made of stretched leather asked openly.
The Queen that the Amazonian was referring to was none other than a strikingly beautiful woman with silver hair and a model body enhancing feminine curves and charm. The synergy of her toned muscles and fair complexion created an athletic sprinter's build with revealing abdominal muscles and honed twitch-like reflexes.
With a sharp gaze and angular cheek bones, the Queen hid her face behind a gaudy helmet with a blue plume overtop.
"Forward. We were invited, and we will show them our dignity." The Queen said, her voice that of a warrior's that had traversed through countless battlefields.
Her name was Penthesilea, one of few Amazon Queens in Amazonia. The fact she'd decided to personal lead the force was testament to the degree of the honour to be gained in completing a Grand Quest.
Penthesilea came not as a Queen or a woman, but as a warrior ready to fight.
"Alert them of our presence," Penthesilea said.
Nodding, the Amazons around Penthesilea took a burning torch and set fire to an explosive device that travelled up into the air and shattered into a spray of powder.
Aiming a flaming arrow, the powder caught fire and created a spectacle that could be seen for miles.
The distant subjugation party would have seen it. If not, then they definitely heard it.
In less than a few minutes, a mist door suddenly formed.
Out of precaution, Penthesilea ordered her unit to raise their guards up. Tied around Penthesilea's legs were clubs, axes, and short sword, but she preferred the ball and chain in one hand, and a shield in the other.
The mist door opened, and a friendly Goddess with vibrant blue hair stepped though. She had a gaze that quickly seemed to recognize Penthesilea out of every other Amazonian.
Funny, because Penthesilea could not recall every meeting a blue haired Goddess in her life. Rather…
The Goddess seemed overly excited for reasons beyond Penthesilea's understanding.
"This way, this way~!" The Goddess got directly into Penthesilea's personal space, causing her to flush in embarrassment, but the Goddess wasn't even attacking her.
The Goddess was pushing Penthesilea on the back in the direction of the Gate.
"Once you go through, you'll be directly with the subjugation party." The Goddess explained.
Gathering her composure, Penthesilea reluctantly realized she was dealing with an ally of the Grand Quest and restrained herself and the other Amazonians from doing harm.
"What should I call thee?" Penthesilea asked.
"Mother in- ahem, Thetis." Thetis nearly let her true intentions slip, but covered it up with a cough. "This way, come come, there's much to do!"
Penthesilea furrowed her brows.
"You should lose that helmet as well. You'll give the wrong idea to 'allies.' Hear that? 'Allies.' This time you're not enemies. Hehehe," Thetis had a distant look on her face.
"I will decline," Penthesilea felt a shiver go down her back, and refused Thetis's suggestion. "I am a warrior before anything else."
"You wouldn't get mad if anyone called you beautiful, would you?" Thetis probed.
Penthesilea clenched her jaw, unable to relate with Thetis's thought process. However, she didn't lose her patience. Fool was she to try to get into the brain and thoughts of the Gods.
"Just lead the way," Penthesilea said.
Without further delays, Penthesilea and her unit crossed through the mist gate.
It was like magic, bridging the distance between groups like it didn't exist. However, far from what Penthesilea was expecting, there was an almost leisurely air in the subjugation group.
Did they truly have such confidence in victory?
Where was the solemness of subjugation?
Moreover, Thetis was only further unnerving the Amazon Queen.
It was like Penthesilea could see flowers surrounding Thetis's face. And what was with the knowing smile Thetis kept giving her? It was annoying beyond words.
Wait?
Was this not some elaborate provocation scheme? To provoke a show and reduce the reputation of the Amazon kingdom by showing as belligerent of an appearance as the puppet kingdom ruled by Ares?
Well, Penthesilea was not falling for it.
Speaking of puppet Kingdoms, the representatives of the Ares Familia were nearby. She'd have to work with them? Ugh.
"Peleus, over here!" Thetis called out, drawling Penthesilea's attention to a man carrying a shield and spear.
From the man's corded muscles and stalwart demeanor, one thing was clear to the Amazon Queen.
Finally, a fellow Warrior. He would be much more pleasant company than Thetis was acting beyond Penthesilea's comfort margins.
"Thetis," Peleus greeted upon walking over. "And this is?"
"It's her, Peleus, her." Thetis whispered despite Penthesilea's trained ears picking up everything.
The awkwardness and stunned surprise could not be hidden from Peleus's face, but all this served to do was cause Penthesilea another migraine.
The warrior she thought she could speak properly to, turned into a bumbling man who didn't seem to know how to face her.
"If you'll excuse me. I wish to find the party's leaders." Penthesilea said in excuse before ditching Thetis and Peleus as fast as she could.
Thetis and Peleus tried to follow, but a discreet nod had other Amazonians blacking their path.
In the meantime, she decided to observe the composition of the subjugation force. What she saw was giving her little confidence for the odds of victory in this endeavor. A majority of them gave off the energy of children or untrained initiates, while those that were stronger at least carried serious faces.
"Oof, sorry!"
Penthesilea glanced down to see that Bell Cranel had crashed into her on his way back from training with Archer.
The Amazon Queen hardly felt a thing through her toned muscles. Shaking her head, she huffed and didn't bother accepting Bell's apology for something that didn't even hurt her.
The quality of the subjugation force wasn't enough. Was the new approach after the Zeus and Hera Familia's failure, quantity?
Penthesilea would have been further disappointed if it hadn't been for her legs suddenly running cold when a bare-chested man in a kilt passed her by, following and watching after Bell as a favour to his good aunt.
T-That was…
Penthesilea's eyes widened and her heart began to beat rapidly. She had never felt such, such, presence. That man was a true warrior. The kind, only the best of the Amazons would be able to capture and breed with to produce a stronger generation of Amazon Queens.
Then there was-
"Oi, you lost? You look a little wobbly."
Wobbly? Dare he?! There was even a hint of mirth in that tone.
She was being made fun of!
Penthesilea turned towards the direction of the voice, weapons raised, and mouth set into a hiss.
-Green hair?
Led by the Valkyrie, the subjugation force was soon arriving towards a place called Kuru. There were few if any obstacles that served to hinder the group with Archer and Rider in the lead. Coupled with Thetis and Iris providing logistics, and the journey was swift.
It was at the latter end of the journey with only a few days left before combat was to be expected with the One-Eyed Black Dragon that they ran into a different kind of issue.
When asked why they were heading towards Kuru, the Valkyrie had an almost annoyed expression on her monotone face.
The Valkyrie had said that they had lost contact with a comrade and were making a detour to check.
As much as the admittance brought grumbles, those from the Indian pantheons that were staying in Orario were in better moods. Kuru was a place that held great reverence for the Indian pantheon in the Upper World.
The last Ganesh had heard, Surya and Indra had made a base there.
Of course, among the voices of descent there were some with voices of influence.
Archer in particular possessed both wisdom and strength.
He was made aware of who exactly Ortlinde was sidetracking in order to make contact with.
"Does it really require everyone going?" Archer brought up to Shirou in confidence. "Lancer is a capable man. If something has his attention, then there would be reason for it. If he was truly in great peril, he would have responded in the link."
"We could send Rider," Shirou hummed in thought. "With Rider's speed, he'd be there and back in less time than anyone else. Speaking of which, where is Rider? He should be here with us right now."
Even Archer gave an uncharacteristically perplexed look. It wasn't like Rider to miss out on important things even with his frivolous sense of adventure and fun, but low and behold, he was not present.
Shirou also had enough on his mind with whatever Hephaestus wished to speak with him about. He'd tried to press her for a time to do it, but the Goddess herself seemed to grow a pair of cold feet and kept delaying it.
Sighing, there was little else left to do but brainstorm with Archer.
Shirou actually agreed with what Archer said.
Karna was capable. Not only that, he was noble and a hero of charity. Few if anything should be able to hamper him, and even if it did, he wasn't the sort not to make contact about a potential danger to everyone.
This narrowed the degree of severity to something closer to a personal venture rather than an emergency.
Splitting a small group off to check Kuru was the wiser choice while the main force met up with Saber, Berserker, and Assassin's main bodies.
The question now was who to send?
Archer was overkill.
Rider was absent.
Caster would have flat out refused if he was around.
Ortlinde needed to guide the main force.
Shirou couldn't go because he fully suspected Hephaestus and her Familia would follow him, losing a core component of the auxiliary team.
That left some of the teams that had joined the subjugation force over the course of the journey, but that came with its own troubles.
The people sent to help from the kingdom ruled by Ares was rumoured to be both untrustworthy and had questionable ability.
Whereas the group led by the Amazon Queen Penthesilea would flat out refuse a reconnaissance or messenger mission when a grand battle was surely looming over the horizon.
"Hahaha, no problems at all friends!"
The answer to Shirou and Archer's dilemma came in the form of a God wearing an elephant's mask with a superb pair of ivory tusks.
It was the Indian God, Ganesh who ended up seeking Shirou and Archer out, and overheard their dilemma.
Ganesh was willing to volunteer and look for the group's missing comrade in Kuru.
It's been a while since Ganesh had seen old friends anyway, and news of the subjugation shouldn't have reached this far out given the state of the land. He had to let Surya and Indra know of the good news, and the recent revelations made in Orario regarding Demi-Gods.
It would only be wise for the people of this land have suffered enough under the Dragon's influence.
Shirou and Archer glanced at each other, and eventually agreed to Ganesh's request.
If Ganesh and his Familia could find Karna, then Karna could lead them back to rejoin with the group.
There was little concern for Ganesh and his Familia's safety, for once they reached Karna and explained the situation, there would be no better protector.
"Splendid," Ganesh clapped his hands before calling to his Familia. "Friends, let us make haste to our brothers and sisters in Kuru!"
The subjugation force split in two. One large, one small.
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