Bringing back some REALLY old Original Characters (OCs) back to my Smite continuity! They're so old in fact, I'm confident that absolutely nobody reading will know what old now-deleted story of mine they're originally from. But hey!
I hope you find them entertaining, nonetheless.
DISCLAIMER:
The power of the Gods depicted in this story is not completely identical to what is seen in-game. Though they share a resemblance, the strength, abilities, and power-levels of most featured Smite characters have been scaled-up and dramatized for your viewing pleasure.
Thank you.
Chapter 7 – To Be Ascendant
The words on the TV screen were in a large, bold font. Several translated languages lined the bottom of the screen.
PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL. WITNESS THE NEW BATTLEGROUND. TICKETS ON-SALE NOW.
The TV sat in a living room occupied by three young women. One of them sat dead-center in front of the television on the center of the couch, which had accommodations for footrests kicked up. She was laid back, leaning sideways slightly on a pile of cushions, one of her hands grasping her phone, idly scrolling on her socials.
Her ruby-red eyes darted up to the TV briefly, wondering why the background noise of her murder mystery documentary had gone silent until she saw the disclaimer at the beginning of the incoming advertisement.
"Ooh, another ad for the Arena…" she said out loud, her voice amusingly flat. The woman sat up a tiny bit and moved her jet-black bangs out of her eyes.
The second woman, who sat to the right of the black-haired one, was busy with a book. The cover read: "Mockingjay." Her eyes were a deep dark-blue, like a sapphire, and her hair was a warm brown, tied back in a loose low pony-tail.
"Been seeing so many of them," she sighed. "Maybe it's time we finally go see some of our old friends in action?"
"Good heavens, no!" a third voice said aloud.
Both women turned their heads to a blonde woman with bright green eyes, who was sitting at the furthest end of the couch, ever so carefully and meticulously painting her toenails a warm shade of forest-green that complemented her pale skin tone.
"Have you all just forgotten what we agreed upon all those years ago?" she snapped at the two.
Right as she did, the advertisement began to play. Fast-paced battle music began to blare through the television's surround-sound system as the screen displayed a fist up in the air, adorned by spiked battle armor.
Bellona.
The camera followed her fist in motion, reeling back, before launching forward in a punch. Bellona's fist clashed with another, belonging to someone else who wore golden armor. A shockwave blasted out, revealing Bellona and Athena, locked in a clash.
Both deities shot back and summoned their weapons, before re-engaging in a flurry of rapid attacks.
The two other women traded looks with each other before looking back at the blonde.
"Sorry, yeah… we must have forgotten. I mean, it's not like we've based our entire lives around that entire agreement, or anything," the red-eyed woman growled, looking back to the TV.
Bellona and Athena were still locked in their cinematic clash, their weapons sparking, sending out waves of energy, light, and air as they collided over and over, both Goddesses moving rapidly.
"Your sarcasm is as amusing as always, Astrid," the blonde retorted.
"I dunno'… it's just—been such a long time…" the blue-eyed woman spoke up, saving her place in her book with her thumb.
"Literally thousands of years, yeah," the one known as Astrid said sternly.
"Myra, is this still because of your little run-in with Nemesis a few years back?" the blonde asked.
Myra nodded her head, blankly staring at the advertisement that was still ongoing in the background. It had made a jump-cut to reveal a title card, into more cinematics of the upcoming deities that would participate in the new battleground.
"It was… I dunno. Surreal, I guess. J-Just to… see her face again, from that close…" Myra mumbled, curling up a little in her position, her arms wrapping around her knees, hands down near her ankles. One of them still held her book.
The blonde woman let out a sigh. Her name was Virgil. Typically, she served as the logical one of the three women. Astrid was the verbal, headstrong one. And finally, Myra was the soft-spoken and compassionate one. A colorful bunch, but on the surface at the very least, they were simple women with simple lives.
Because it needed to be that way, at least according to Virgil.
"It's been a long time, Virgil. Things have changed, they've changed a lot. Ever since the world's come together and the Gods have come to learn what peace is, I don't know why we still hide so much," Astrid huffed out.
"I would really like to avoid having this conversation again…" the blonde exhaled, rubbing her temples at the sensation of an oncoming headache, which happened every time this topic was discussed.
The TV depicted Zeus, powering up a lightning bolt in his hand. He brought it close to his face, his power sparking brightly as the view zoomed out to bring other deities into frame. Ymir with his massive ice club, Neith pulling her bow back, Loki balancing a knife on his fingertip, and Odin just… standing there, with his spear. Menacingly.
"You can't. It's been over two thousand years since the shitshow that made us this way. They've forgotten about us, Nemesis didn't even recognize Myra," Astrid argued.
Virgil's brows furrowed as she turned over to look at Astrid. "Because Myra no longer wears… clothing from Ancient Egypt and walks around with a bow and arrow. Instead, she's the plainest of Plain Janes in all the pantheons!"
"Hey…" murmured Myra.
"That's not a bad thing, darling," Virgil replied, glancing at the bookworm before facing Astrid again. "It's for the better they don't remember. They live forever, the time that they knew us for… is just a speck for them, a blink. But the issue is that we stand out. They'd remember if we make one wrong move."
Astrid stared at the television blankly. None of what Virgil was saying stuck with her. The ad was still on. The music in the background thundered as images of future combatants flashed onto the screen.
Shrouded in darkness and shadows, the outlines of Thanatos, Morrigan, Ares, Hades, Jing Wei, Sol…
Chaac's axe swung through the air, purple lightning sparking from the weapon as the skies above thundered with rage, the sky darkening. Rain bombarded the area as he rushed forward. Then another flash happened… more teasers of what was to come.
Susano, Amaterasu, Nu Wa, Baron Samedi, Yemoja, Hercules… barely visible.
Anhur was shown lancing spears through the air, leaping toward the camera, spinning his weapon, and slamming it into the earth, causing rocks to erupt upward from the sheer force of the impact.
Astrid then shook her head. "Going to see the battles at the Arena is not a wrong move. What, you think they'd just recognize us off the bat?"
"No, but they'd sense us," Virgil replied quickly, squinting as she carefully painted her pinkie toe. That one was always the hardest and required the most focus.
"We've been practicing how to suppress our energies for the past two millennia… there's no harm in going to see them again, even from afar—"
But Virgil cut off Myra's protest, saying, "It's not about sensing energy. Beings like us… Gods, or those who are Godlike, we can detect each other. If not explicitly through Godly energy, it's like a sixth sense. You get a feeling—like something doesn't feel right. You sense it, each other."
"But we won't be up close with them! We'll be far away, in the spectator stands!" Myra whined.
Virgil shook her head, exhaling as she successfully finished her pedicure. "There's no telling how close or far we have to be for them to sense us. We may be ascendant, but a majority of them are actual deities. Their abilities are surely far greater than any of ours. And that includes their senses."
Myra and Astrid both watched the TV screen, which showed Anubis powering up, his eyes glowing brightly close to the camera as he opened his arms, his energy flaring out in a brilliant, cyan-colored glow.
The third flash occurred, and more Gods hidden in the shadows could briefly be seen. Danzaburou, Ra, Sobek, Nemesis, Khepri, Izanami… interrupted by a quick shot of The Colosseum Arena, followed by a fourth and final flash…
Two new figures. Never seen before. Eyes glowing, one lavender, the other scarlet red.
"Who the hell…" muttered Astrid, squinting at the screen. But before she could try and see who they were, the flash had passed, and the advertisement moved on to a montage of the Gods demonstrating their powers.
Myra let out a frustrated breath, squeezing her knees. "W-What's so wrong about them recognizing us anyway?"
"Everything. Ascended mortals are a thing of the past, Myra. You remember what that oracle told us!" Virgil reminded her, her hands idly fanning her freshly painted toes. "The world, the universe… awards fated mortals with powers and abilities that rival the Gods, why? Because in times of need, the divine cannot always do what must be done."
Myra had heard all of this before. But she couldn't do anything else but nod along.
"Our powers, they are both a blessing and a curse. It was destiny that we were given them! But it was because the universe, or mother nature, or some other greater force—knew that something terrible was on its way that the Gods would fail to handle alone. And in our case, it was that cursed civil war that practically destroyed the world as we knew it," Virgil rambled on, though her words spoke the truth and held weight to them.
Astrid shut her eyes, wincing out of frustration. "So what? Because we had a part to play in saving the world, we can't ever see them again?"
"There's no telling what kind of things we could get roped into reconnecting with them! Look at what happened to Mulan, and… and the Arthurians! I know you two, you are both not the kind of people who would want to be looked upon like a God," Virgil said sternly.
"But some of them were our friends, Virgil… I don't think they'd tell the world about us and force that kind of lifestyle on us if they were to find out we were still around…" said Myra, shrugging her shoulders up. She set her book down next to her and looked at the TV as the music kicked up.
Virgil and Astrid looked too, the crescendo in the music catching their attention.
Bellona was shown rapidly barraging Chaac with attacks, mangling his body and posture, before ripping into his body with a definitive attack that allowed the Roman war Goddess to deliver one final attack that sent him launching out of frame.
Then it cut to Loki and Cernunnos trading close-range blows rapidly, before Cernunnos sent the trickster launching backward with a powerful bucking kick of his hoof and sending a Bramble Blast hurdling after him. Loki vanished out of its path, an explosion of green light, thorns, and tree roots erupting outward.
Bellona once again came into the frame, walking away from a defeated Chaac in the background. She looked determined, her eyes focused, brows slanted, jaw tight. She suddenly spread her feet into a stance, clenching her fists and releasing a yell of power, a fiery aura of ash and embers swirling up around her as she summoned her weapons.
She shot forward, clashing with Athena's shield. Virgil, Myra, and Astrid all watched as the two Goddesses yet again fell into a rapid, violent brawl, their attacks causing shockwaves, the camera following them closely, the playback complete with dramatic attacks and cinematic dodges.
Athena then light-sped charged into Bellona's guard, shattering it and sending her flying backward, her weapons falling from her hands. But this wouldn't be a proper advertisement for the Battleground if the fan-favorite poster girl didn't prevail.
So, Bellona recovered swiftly, kicking up dust as she skidded to a stop, before powering up a second time with an even mightier yell. This time, her eyes glowed with a radiant fiery red, an aura of raw energy surrounding her. Athena beckoned her forth. The two charged at each other one last time…
And right before their fists collided, the advertisement ended with a final title card.
TICKETS ON-SALE NOW.
Astrid was the first to look away and straight at Virgil instead.
"If anything, the other ascended mortals should be the first ones we try and speak to. They'd be able to relate to our situation," she said.
Virgil rubbed her eyes, her oncoming headache getting worse. "You two truly miss them that much, don't you…?"
"Do you not? The kind of bonds you build with somebody during times like those? Times of need, times of desperation, times of war? Those are where the real ties that bind are formed, lifelong connections! And… because shit ended the way it did, we missed out on all of it…" Astrid sighed, sounding awfully distraught.
Myra then added, "I know why we agreed to do it way back then. To live this way. It was for a good reason, to protect not just ourselves, but others we knew. Not getting involved in any more… wars between the divine, or any of their insane adventures, trials, and battles. Our world used to be so much more… untamed. But it's so different now, Virgil! We've waited long enough, haven't we…?"
Virgil's hands came up to rub at her tired green eyes. She couldn't believe her ears. Slowly, she turned her head over to look at her two roommates, her gaze darting between them both.
"You two sisters always have a way of getting through to me. It's unfair."
Myra smiled warmly. "It was fine for a long while, trust me! It's just that… ever since they've started to regain so much popularity, and the Arena was created not too long ago—"
"Not too long ago," Astrid repeated, scoffing. "Myra, the Arena was formed in 1896. The same year the Greeks decided to bring back the Olympic games."
"O-Oh…" Myra stammered, giggling nervously at her sister's remark. "Sorry. I-I guess… the immortal lifespan gets to everyone, eventually. Doesn't even feel like that long ago…"
"The interviews that Mulan has done have personally helped me a lot. I mean, you go from being ordinary one day to finding out you're gonna live basically forever unless something kills you. That was a pretty big shocker when I first found out down in the underworld," Astrid recalled, remembering her time in the afterlife following the unfortunate events that led to her first demise.
"Yes… I suppose having someone to relate to truly does provide some respite. I simply wish Charon had been more compassionate while he delivered the news," Virgil added, finally allowing herself to lean back and sink into the couch, staring at the ceiling.
A sudden dreadful expression came over Myra's face, making her turn away from both Astrid and Virgil, her blue eyes growing shinier and bigger.
"I wish you guys didn't talk about what happened so easily…" she quietly murmured.
Astrid turned her head over, her face softening. "Myra…" she sighed. She traded a look with Virgil, who simply shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her own hands, idly picking at her nails. Then she looked back toward her younger sister and scooched a little closer to her. "We're sorry. Just figure y'know—it's been a long, long while since all that happened! And besides, we've talked about it before, haven't we? The underworld was a completely different adventure!"
"Astrid and I certainly wish you could've been there to help us. Escaping those depths was no simple task!" Virgil joked. But then cleared her throat, acknowledging some of the hidden meaning in her words. "B-But… that would've required you to have died. And we are glad you didn't."
"I-I know we've talked about it before… a-and it's great that you guys were able to share what happened with me, but…" Myra quickly replied, turning her head over slightly and side-eyeing her roommates. "But that doesn't mean I enjoy talking or thinking about it. Even after all this time, it… still hurts, to remember how it felt… l-losing you guys…"
Astrid and Virgil both watched as tears welled in Myra's eyes.
"And thinking I was never gonna' see you again…" she whimpered, her voice starting to shake.
Virgil closed her eyes and sighed while Astrid finally decided to close the distance between herself and her little sister, scooching close to her and wrapping an arm around her to pull her close. She side-hugged her, making sure to tuck her head close to her own neck.
"Hey… we're here now, aren't we? And we have been, for a really long fuggin' time, Myra! And trust us, we aren't going anywhere, either. Like you said, the world's different now, I'd dare say it's better. At least we aren't out there fighting things to the death anymore, right?" she asked, looking down at her more emotional sibling.
Myra sniffled softly into her hands, wiping her eyes dry and pressing her face up against her sister's collar. Her arms wrapped around her in a tight, close hug. "You're the only reason I can even tolerate living this long…"
Astrid felt herself flush. But the warmth that flooded over her made her feel strong and reassured. Comfortingly fuzzy. She let out a few small giggles, squeezing her sister close and petting her head, smoothening out her dark brown hair. "Don't get all sentimental on me, c'mon…"
"I mean it…" Myra whispered, looking up at Astrid and sniffling again, a few small tears slowly dribbling down from her eyes. They made Astrid's smile fade away, her eyes softening. "Without you, I… I don't think I would've wanted to live a life like this. You and Virgil are all I have. But you're my sister."
"M-Myra," Astrid stammered, quickly glancing over to Virgil, who was smirking at them.
"The only one I have, and will ever have!" she added, squeezing her again and shoving her face into her neck. Her voice sounded muffled as she mumbled out, "I love you…"
Astrid let out a scoff, before starting to chuckle again, her hand rubbing her sister's back up and down to comfort her. "Where's all this coming from? You totally derailed the conversation…"
"I feel like I don't say it enough. Being alive for so long makes you feel so empty sometimes," said Myra, lifting her head up and staring up at Astrid. "But when I feel those moments… where my heart actually feels something, and I feel happy… I wanna show it. And that's what I'm doing right now, and you can't do anything about it."
After saying that, Myra plopped her head down on Astrid's shoulder and went still, enjoying the warmth. Astrid had no choice but to sit there with her arm around her sister and sigh. Then she turned over to Virgil, who had watched the entire scene with that same smug look on her face.
"You two are so adorable, sometimes…"
"Fuck off, Virgil. You're not off the hook. C'mon, it's been over twenty years into the new millennium, you wanna know what I think? That's already twenty-four years longer than we should've waited for. It's already been ridiculously long, I… I gotta agree with what Myra said. Ever since the Gods have all re-surfaced and come together, it's been hard to ignore them."
Virgil's smirk vanished as she listened to Astrid's words. Her eyes closed again, and another heavy exhale came out of her nose.
"That last all-out war they had… the one we were in? It really put 'em in their place. Even the ones that decided not to pick a side, who didn't fight… agreed to concede, and go into hiding so that everybody could be given time to get their shit together. The only times there were even signs of any of them around was when… the Arthurians showed up, or—the Voodoo deities decided to cause mayhem. And even then, those were real isolated incidents. They really did vanish up until the end of the 19th century," Astrid continued.
"It was a really long time… and even you know that the world went really, really dark without them around, Virgil…" Myra brought up, her voice soft.
"I remember…" the blonde nodded. "After all, an entire… period of history is named after it."
"It was easier then. To live on and be disconnected from them. At first, it seemed like the only right thing to do, even if it… felt so wrong. But they took us for dead, so it was different. But then after they disappeared, we didn't have a choice. We couldn't go back on our decision. From there it was just us against the world. But now, it doesn't have to be," said Astrid.
Virgil opened her eyes and took in a gulp of air. "So! We are truly now considering… re-connecting with our old divine friends…?"
Myra and Astrid traded looks, before looking back to Virgil. Astrid said, "I mean… yeah. Been wanting to since they first resurfaced—but our fear and… I dunno, I guess trepidation has kept us from it. But now, I think we're ready to just… get it over with."
Myra nodded in agreement. "And like I said before… if they remember us, they won't just toss us into things like they had to with Mulan, or the Arthurians."
"But how do we know, is my worry, girls," Virgil insisted, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Ascendants are so rare, and because the world's not in mortal peril every century or so anymore, no new ones have surged up again! The universe doesn't need empowered mortals to clean up after the messes of the Gods—and that makes us special!"
"And how's that a bad thing?" Astrid shot back.
"It's not, not under ordinary circumstances. But during a time of peace? Look at us, we don't look a day over our mid-twenties, and that could cause a panic! That not one, not two—but three Ascendants have resurged? The world will enter a state of emergency, thinking some new massive threat is on the way, and the power of the Gods will once again fall under threat! That is a big deal, girls…"
"But—they could explain that we're not new Ascendants! We've been around since Before the Calm! That way there wouldn't be anything to worry about!" Myra suggested, sounding awfully optimistic.
But then Virgil shook her head anyway. "As if people would just take their word for it."
"Why wouldn't they…? They're Gods," Astrid argued.
"Yes, but wouldn't a God want to try and keep the peace among their followers? And not cause a massive panic?"
"So the people would get fuckin' scared anyway is what you're saying," Astrid huffed.
"Yes," replied Virgil. "And besides. Even if they could convince the world that our very existence isn't a terrifying omen of an impending catastrophe, they'd want to make use of us."
"No, I don't—no… t-they wouldn't be like that," insisted Myra, shaking her head and frowning. "If we tell them we don't want to be combatants in the Arena and make our identities public, they won't do it."
"And how can you be so sure? The Arena is the single-most biggest thing on the entire planet, it makes the most money, it's the most popular event, everyone in the world knows about it, we learn about it in school, it's part of history, it's—part of what it means to exist as a human! Do you seriously think they won't try to find ways to capitalize on us?"
"For what?"
"For anything! More attention, more money, more fighters! The Arena may never get old regardless but don't pretend as if new faces aren't always welcomed. Better that, than a stagnant, never-changing roster. It's basic economics and capitalism," Virgil declared, leaning back and folding her arms under her chest.
Myra and Astrid stared at her.
"We shouldn't… do it. There are too many risks, and there's no telling what could happen, and what it could do to our lives."
Myra curled up against her sister, leaning against her more. The pressure in the room was a lot higher than it had been earlier. This ended up feeling more like some kind of argument rather than a conversation, and she didn't enjoy it.
Astrid, meanwhile, looked upset. Angrily… upset.
"Myra's right. They're better than that, they wouldn't do that to us," she said, her voice quieter yet firmer than it was before. It almost rumbled, packed with more intent behind it. "Bellona… was a good friend to me, an old rival. Ares, a mentor… same with Athena."
"N-Neith…" Myra whispered, her mouth hidden behind her knees, which were pulled up close to her face. She hugged them and crossed her legs over one another as if she were trying to shrink herself to appear as small as she possibly could. "Seeing her so much every day, on the TV, on my phone, on billboards and magazines and posters… and not being able to speak with her…"
Virgil could feel a slight feeling of annoyance building in her chest, but only because Myra's words had a way of getting through to her more than Astrid's. And that bothered her. She gritted her teeth inside her mouth, making her jaw stiffen up on the outside.
"Nemesis might not have recognized me, but… I know that Neith would. She came to me, when it all started," Myra spoke up, her voice getting a little louder as she looked between Astrid and Virgil, who both turned their heads over to look at her. "The last war. After that big fight, they had at Mount Olympus. She told me all about it. When she needed refuge… she came to me. For food, for water… new clothing, I remember the cloak I gave her. And she wore it up until the very end."
Astrid slowly nodded along, looking over to Virgil, who looked more conflicted than she ever had. It seemed… sinister, almost, how she was hoping that she'd break to her sister's ever so heart-warming words of reminiscence. Because she knew they were working. But it wasn't as if it was something Myra was doing on purpose.
Speaking from the heart just had that sort of effect on people, was all.
"But so many of them were kind, even after everything. Jing Wei, Freya, Amaterasu," she went on, saying each of their names with a unique kind of pain in her voice.
"Some of them, I bet wouldn't be super happy to see me," Astrid then spoke up.
Myra looked up at Astrid and frowned. "Da Ji…?"
"Chaac, too."
"You were quite the legend back then, Astrid," Virgil said aloud.
"I was in way over my head. Filled with… ego and bloodlust," Astrid grumbled, putting on a harsh scowl. "It wasn't good."
"Training under Ares will do that to you, I suppose…" Virgil sighed out.
Myra reached over and grabbed onto one of her sister's hands, squeezing it. "I'm sure they've… long forgotten that…"
"I haven't forgotten how I died, Myra. That monster, Scylla…" she recalled, her voice starting to get more troubled and shakier with anger. "I remember my killer. I'm sure they remember theirs, too."
"As do I…" Virgil chipped in, looking down at her fingernails and nodding. "But it was fitting, somehow. It took death himself, to finally put a stop to Virgil O'Khasis!"
Myra and Astrid both stared at her with dull stares. Myra looked troubled, while Astrid looked scathing.
So, Virgil rolled her eyes. "Okay. Sorry. But it's true. Thanatos was… a worthy executioner."
Myra felt her chest tighten again. She pressed her cheek against Astrid's shoulder and hugged her arm more tightly, the hand that held onto her hand squeezing and squeezing, their fingers interlocked.
Virgil slowly nodded her head. "It's very clear they do remember. I am certain Vulcan remembers the little squabble we had. And the fact I lasered his face into a puddle."
Myra then thought about her own battles with the Gods. And could only remember one particular instance where she was partly responsible for one's demise.
"I… wonder if Anubis ever thinks about what I did."
"Wasn't it Bellona who delivered the killing blow on him?" Astrid asked as she turned her head over.
"Yes. But I was the one who shattered his Stargazer armor to give her a weak spot to target. When I first unleashed enough power to damage a deity."
"But you were never the one personally responsible for killing a God."
Myra shook her head.
"For the better. It means you have no potential enemies. That is a major reason why we hid when we were in the underworld, and after escaping it. Because we knew some deities would want revenge. The embarrassment of dying to a mortal to them is… unfathomable. Disgraceful. Even now, I am unsure if their resentment would've disappeared," Virgil said sternly.
"Even I'll admit that seeing some of them again would be… awkward, or tense…" grumbled Astrid.
Virgil nodded her head, eyes closed. "Yes. Which again, is just… one of many reasons why you and I agreed to make this little pact of secrecy. And Myra, it is good that you agreed to do it with us," she said, opening her eyes and looking over at her.
She only shrugged. "I… I did it for you guys, knowing it'd keep you safe. When the Gods began to resurge, I was… confused and scared, wondering if it would just lead to yet another war. A repeat, proving that even they can't learn their lessons. But… then they disappeared. And I wondered… if the good half of the Gods came back too. That's why when you both found me… I was looking for Neith."
"Good fortune, to have stopped you before you could locate her," Virgil said lamentably. "It's one thing for a God to escape the afterlife and come back to the realm of the living. I'd dare say it's almost normal for them to do that. But for a mortal to do so?" she said, before shaking her head and chuckling to herself at the hysteria of the question. "It's ridiculous. Unheard of. Taboo. Yet another reason why—"
"Okay! We get it!" Astrid interrupted with a shout. "There were good reasons to stay hidden back then, Virgil! But the point we're trying to make is that it's been… such an agonizingly long time since then. And things have changed so, so much."
Myra slowly set her eyes on Virgil, inevitably locking eyes with her, blue versus green. "I think… we should finally try. We only want to see the Gods we were once friends with. It's not like Astrid's going to walk up to Da Ji and ask to be friends! Why can't I say hello to Neith… after over two thousand years."
Virgil took in a breath. She fell into silence as she thought, leaning back on the couch and staring up at the ceiling. She could feel the stares of both Astrid and Myra on her as she contemplated. Then she shut her eyes, the world falling black.
And she remembered Freya. A beloved friend she had made, who made a great sacrifice for the greater good in a time of true desperation. If she hadn't done such a thing… Virgil knew she would have perished much earlier than she was supposed to. And maybe… she wouldn't have been there to lend her strength to the ones who would go on to finish what was started.
Victory was achieved in the mortal realm. And in the afterlife, though battles continued… everyone knew who the victor was. And that was the reason that chaos conceded. From the distant shadows, Astrid and Virgil witnessed it all, as well as many, many other fallen souls.
Finally, Virgil opened up her eyes, staring at the TV. It was back to playing that murder mystery documentary that Astrid had been watching. Releasing a slow, even breath through her slightly parted lips… she looked over to her companions.
"Then… if you both truly feel so passionate about this… and are ever so pent-up to once again reveal yourselves to our divine counterparts… how do you plan to go about it?" she asked.
Astrid and Myra traded looks, both not expecting to get this far. But this was a good sign. Virgil was folding, considering. This was more than she had ever done in the past. It truly was the 21st century, the 2nd millennium!
"Maybe we just… send an email?" Myra asked.
Even Astrid knew that was stupid. "An email? Seriously? The Gods don't just have their own personal email addresses available online, we wouldn't be able to reach out to them directly. They have inquiry and business emails, run by an entire team of people who control what kinda' shit reaches them and what doesn't. Dozens of people would see it before they do, and it'd get lost and forgotten about since it's not actually important. Kinda' like fanmail," she explained, sounding disappointed in her own sister for such an uninspired suggestion.
"Well—I don't know!"
"You don't know… fantastic. How did you both even plan to do this if I ever agreed to it?!" Virgil asked, baffled.
"Hey—Myra's got bad ideas, not me!" Astrid shot out.
"I—I do not! I just thought we'd wanna' be—I dunno! Cordial?!" Myra blurted out, shrugging her shoulders up.
"Cordial," laughed Astrid.
"Ugh…" Virgil groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose and lightly shaking her head.
"Okay—I thought it'd be better than me just saying like—'let's just go find them!' Is it not? I mean tracking them down, seriously…? Sure, that's what I would've done like way back in the day, especially back when we were searching for signs of them during the Dark Ages, but… we're not really all about that anymore… so I thought it'd be silly to bring it back up again!"
"It… kinda' is, but at the same time, it just sort of makes sense for some reason, that we'd have to find them ourselves. Getting an audience with them in private is fucking hard. Basically impossible. Sure, we could go to fan meets or… concerts or shows or something, but that's all public, and there'd be hundreds of others there with us. Not really an ideal environment to reveal ourselves in," Astrid said, folding her arms up below her bust and narrowing her eyes down at her lap as she thought.
"And besides… hunting them down would be dangerous I presume. We'd basically have to sneak our way around to get to them, past so much security near the Battle Arenas and all, and their private sectors. It just… it's too much," Virgil exhaled.
"What if we just got their attention somehow? Go out and… I dunno, cause trouble or something…" suggested Astrid.
"That's… even worse, Astrid. What do you propose, we put on some costumes and go terrorize the city? Breakout supervillains! As if we wouldn't just be shot down by human authorities," Virgil snapped harshly.
"Hey, I can catch bullets. So…" countered Astrid. "And I'm pretty sure we're bullet-proof because of our powers anyway."
"Only if we strain our bodies to raise our power high enough to resist it," Virgil said.
"Remember that time you accidentally fell out of bed, and you fractured your elbow, Astrid? That's because your energy was low from being asleep," Myra brought up, immediately embarrassing Astrid while making Virgil laugh.
"S-Shut up about that! It was… ugh. A one-time thing, it wouldn't ever happen again, I just got unlucky and landed all weird…" she stammered.
"Anyway!" Virgil blurted out loudly to get everyone's attention back on-track. "So tracking them down, hunting them, and… trying to otherwise contact them as ordinary people clearly isn't going to work. What's another way we could get their attention, alone, isolated. With… nobody else around?"
Myra and Astrid thought about it more. For a few long minutes, the room went silent. Until Myra began to sigh loudly, her hands coming up to hold her head.
"Maybe… this is a little harder than I thought it'd be. C-Couldn't we just go to one of the matches and… just kind of show our faces there…?"
"They wouldn't recognize us from afar like that. On the surface, we're just ordinary people," Astrid said as she shook her head.
"But what if we raise our energy, like Virgil said? They'd be able to detect us, wouldn't they…?"
"There would be other energy signatures nearby, from tons of other Gods, not just the ones in the match itself, but others that are attending for appearances and all. They might not even notice ours, since the Gods are still stronger than us no matter what," Virgil explained, staring at Myra to show her that despite her best efforts, she didn't think this was a solution.
"But… y-you said the senses of the Gods are way sharper than ours…" Myra whined.
"They are. I'm not saying they wouldn't be able to pick up on our signatures, I'm saying they'd most likely just overlook them. They'd feel them, yes, but might just assume that it's just the signature of some other deity that's further away, especially while they're in the mix and focused on all the chaos and noise of whatever event we choose to go to," Virgil insisted.
"O-Okay, but… everyone has a unique energy, every God, every Ascendant! They wouldn't recognize ours!"
Virgil shook her head yet again. "Do you really think Neith, for example, can instantly recognize the energy of every single one of her fellow deities? Maybe the ones she spends more time around, like Bellona's, or the energies of her own children, like Ra and such, but say someone she barely interacts with! Like… I don't know… Bake Kujira! She wouldn't be able to recognize his energy either, not right away, not without looking at him."
It made sense to Astrid, and she showed it by slowly nodding along. Meanwhile, Myra just began to look more and more dejected.
"It'd be the same kind of situation for us. The Gods don't all recognize one another's energies like that, so… again, ours would just be brushed off. 'Oh, it's some other God that's nearby, I dunno' who! But they're around!' is most likely what they'd think if they were to pick up on it."
"Ugh…" Myra groaned, digging her face into her hands. She rubbed it softly, her fingers gently nudging into her eyes to rub them too. "But wait a second—didn't you want us to stay away from events because you were afraid they might detect us?!"
Virgil shrugged. "I just didn't want to risk it, even if I knew it wasn't likely."
"I—" Myra stammered, before groaning. "Ugh!"
And Virgil only frowned and looked away, embarrassed. "And besides! If they did detect us, it wouldn't just be them who would pick up on our presence. Others would too, not just the deities that were our friends. And that could cause a completely different kind of panic and confusion."
Myra let out a defeated exhale and shook her head to herself.
"But… what if we actually power up. That'd get their attention for sure," Astrid brought up, making both Myra and Virgil look at her.
"Oh yes, that'd be an amazing idea. Reveal to an entire stadium worth of people that hello! We are Ascendants! Look at our STUNNING ENERGY!" Virgil shouted at the ceiling, raising her hands up over her head and doing jazz-hands.
Astrid rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying! It'd get their attention…!"
"And the attention of everybody else around too! As I just said! Are you even listening…?" Virgil scoffed, glaring at Astrid, who snarled right at her.
Myra thought for a few moments, before slowly looking up at the television in realization. She turned her head over, sitting up a little. "W-Wait… maybe Astrid has a point."
Virgil looked over. "What…? How?"
"Powering up would get their attention, it's… really the only thing that would…"
"But… d-do you not see the stupidity in doing things that way…?" Virgil asked, her face strewn with confusion, brows furrowed and her mouth hanging open.
"No, it doesn't have to be in public! It can be… somewhere else, somewhere with no one else around. No other people there to see us do it! Think about it, nobody else can sense energy but other Ascendants, and Gods. If we raise our energy high enough somewhere, they're gonna be able to sense it!" Myra exclaimed, squeezing her fists together in excitement.
Astrid thought about it before her eyes slowly started to widen. "S-She has a point…"
But Virgil remained skeptical. "Myra, the world is a big place. To try and… power up to have our energy be sensed from afar, that'd be extremely difficult! Only the strongest Gods are powerful enough to be sensed across the planet, what makes you think that we could do something like that?"
"Hey, maybe it's not impossible! Don't you remember when we talked to Charon…? He told us that he knew the Gods were at war again because he could feel the battles! The energy can be felt and sensed even in different realms of reality," Astrid added on, now leaning forward too and perching her arm up on her knee.
"Yes, but he mentioned he could only ever feel those battles when two powerful deities were engaging. Not any small, ordinary fight, but a true battle. He mentioned being able to feel Zeus and Hades, for example. Or… Skadi and Sol. Thanatos and Jing Wei, fights like those," said Virgil, shrugging her shoulders up. "How can we match up to that?"
"My point is that their senses are sharp, they go beyond what we're thinking of, Virgil. We don't need our power to be felt across realms or dimensions, not even across the entire planet! Just the continent, which I know we can manage if we all power up together," Astrid then said.
"Yes, yes!" cheered Myra. "If all three of us do it, push ourselves as far as we can, I know we'll be able to create a big enough energy signature! The Arena's on tour around the world like it always is, and it's starting off here in North Vinland. All the Gods participating in the new Battleground are here, right now! That includes some of our old friends! Neith, Bellona, Amaterasu, Athena, Jing Wei, Susano! They'd be able to sense us…!"
Virgil let out an annoyed and exasperated sigh, her shoulders drooping. She looked between them both, her eyes narrowing. "Okay. Detectable across the continent is… something I'm fairly sure we can do. But that's not the biggest issue I was concerned about."
"And what is," Astrid challenged.
Virgil turned to look at her and held back her desire to scowl. Instead, she slowly released an exhale through her nose and spoke clearly, but sternly.
"How do we know… who's going to show up, when we make ourselves known? This strategy you're both suggesting means… we'd be making ourselves known, to all the Gods of the Arena. Not just our friends. Like a beacon, telling them all that someone new is choosing to reveal themselves. And they would have no way to know, whether or not we're a friend or foe."
Astrid and Myra traded looks, knowing Virgil was right. For about a minute, the living room went silent. In the background, the television played audio of the murder mystery that Astrid had been trying to watch. But no one paid attention to it.
"Virgil's right… it might be too dangerous to do this…" Myra finally said, breaking the silence.
Astrid looked over to her. "Myra. You're the one that wanted this the most, I feel. But… even for me, I dunno'…" she mumbled, looking down at her hands and squeezing them into tight fists. "I feel… just—so trapped. Having to hide away like this. It feels like I could be doing a lot more out there than I am right now. It sucks, living this way."
"I understand how you both feel. Believe me, I do. But there are dangers to doing this, is all I'm saying. I never said that we couldn't try to move forward with this anyway," Virgil cut in. "Myra, I know you miss Neith. And Astrid, I can only assume you must miss Bellona. I myself miss the company of Freya. We had good friends. Friends we made during a trying time of need, where togetherness and unity among the divine and mere mortals were a key part of preserving the world as we know it. It was a turning point. One that we never got to partake in. And… I know, girls. That reality… hurts."
The sisters nodded their heads in agreement.
"Then… I figure," Virgil exhaled, before standing up from the couch and giving the siblings that sat before her a singular nod. "That maybe… you're both right."
Their eyes widened.
"Virgil—"
"Really…?!"
And Virgil nodded her head again. "Yes. It's been long enough. And I've plagued you both with my worries and anxieties for far too long, as well. Barring you both from doing what you wish, from seeing those you cared about, just because of my own fears. It's… selfish. And… I know I've apologized for it before, but now feels the most appropriate time to truly say it to you both."
The blonde put a hand over her heart and bowed her head down. "I am sorry, Myra, Astrid. For having been so insistent on staying hidden and living this way for as long as I did. Neither of you should've put up with it for as long as you did. And for that, I… I'm unable to form words that express the way I feel…"
"We trusted you, Virgil," Astrid said, leaning forward and setting her elbow down on her knees. "That's why we put up with it for so long. 'Cuz we know you're the one that… usually knows best."
Virgil let out a weak chuckle. "To hear you say that, Astrid, is… tantalizing. I may pinch myself, just to make sure I'm not dreaming…"
Astrid let out a scoff. "Shut up… why're you talkin' like that? This isn't 500 BC or whatever."
Myra giggled along with her sister's quips, before clearing her throat and standing up from the couch as well, approaching Virgil silently. She stood before her for a few short moments, staring her right in the eyes. Virgil stood slightly taller than her, but only by about an inch. So they met mostly eye-to-eye.
Then, suddenly, Myra hugged her. Virgil went stiff for a moment, her hands coming up awkwardly and trying to decide what to do.
"We know why you did it, Virgie…" Myra said, still holding onto the blonde. Virgil winced. "You were just… worried about us. You had good reasons, really good reasons, and totally valid fears," she went on, breaking away from the hug but still holding onto Virgil by her shoulders. Myra's voice then got softer. "Another reason, that Astrid doesn't have the guts to say," she remarked, briefly looking over her shoulder to smirk at her sister.
Who looked away, rolling her eyes.
Myra turned back and said, "About why we put up with all this for so long, is because we didn't want to fight you on it, not literally, at least. Sure, we… pushed you around a few times, and had our arguments, but… by the end of it, we always listened to you."
"That's… what I don't get. Why? Aside from… the fact that it would've been hopelessly reckless, I… sort of expect that kind of thing, from you both," Virgil said.
"Because. We didn't wanna do it without you. Leaving you behind? Doing whatever we wanted, taking a decision that big, and not having you with us? No," she said, shaking her head, and dropping her hands from Virgil's shoulders. "Not a chance. If we were ever going to do this… put ourselves back out there?"
Astrid abruptly cut Myra off, having gotten up off the couch and placed a firm hand on Virgil's shoulder, standing next to her sister and the blonde. "We were gonna' do it together. All three of us."
Virgil's green eyes darted between the two sisters for a few seconds before she burst out laughing. "Y-You two… totally rehearsed that, didn't you?!"
Myra and Astrid both began to laugh too.
"Dude—c'mon, we fuckin' mean it!" Astrid remarked, snatching her hand away from Virgil.
"M-Maybe we did…" Myra giggled behind her hand.
Virgil couldn't help it. She let out a sigh that sounded… more relaxed, sure of itself, somehow. She placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head at the two sisters.
"You two and your little stunts. The Mélas bloodline continues to impress me, even all these centuries later."
"So… what comes next?" Myra asked, stepping over to Astrid and sliding her hand into hers, interlacing their fingers. Astrid stayed silent this time around, feeling that her sister was nervous.
Folding her arms and looking up at the ceiling, Virgil quickly devised a plan.
"Well… what else is there to do, but to just… do it? With the release of the new Battle Arena, the Gods will all be here in North Vinland for the upcoming holiday season. It's a special occasion for them, so I'm sure they'll be throwing their private festivities with each other. A gathering, like the one that happened a few weeks back," she explained.
"You don't think some'll go back to their homelands?" Astrid asked.
"Some may. But not the ones who are obligated to stay on the continent because of the tour. I don't believe the Gods throw many events with one another. Outside of the Arena, many still prefer to keep to their own pantheons. However, this year may be different, like I said."
"So… we'll get a chance to get the attention of a ton of them…" Myra brought up, squeezing Astrid's hand more tightly.
Virgil nodded. "That's right… there's never been a better time than right now."
"Then… when do you think would be best?"
"The end of the holidays. As… poetic, as it might sound to do it on Christmas, that just… doesn't feel right. However, at the turn of the clock for the new year…"
Myra and Astrid nodded along. "Right at the peak. They'll all be up and at it," Astrid grinned.
"And will have to pick up on our little show," Virgil nodded.
"Then… i-it's settled, right…?" Myra asked, looking between her sister and the blonde, which both nodded.
"Start preparing, then! Think about… what you wanna say, how we're going to approach this… and of course, what we'll have to do, should things go… south."
"W-Why would they?" whimpered Myra.
"There's no telling what could happen if some God that doesn't recognize us finds us first. We have to be ready for anything," Astrid said.
"Your sister's right. So, it may be time to brush the dust off your bow, and refresh your abilities as an archer," added Virgil. "And you, Astrid, as a warrior."
Virgil slowly raised her hand, her eyes looking down at her palm. Astrid and Myra both watched as well, as the blonde's hand began to radiate a dim green glow, that was slowly getting brighter and brighter. At its apex, Virgil's green eyes glowed neon, and with a flash of light…
Myra flinched, covering her eyes with her other hand, while Astrid looked away, wincing.
The green light subsided, and left floating above Virgil's palm, was a gemstone. But not just any gemstone, an emerald. The mightiest emerald known to Planet Earth.
The Stone of Gaia.
Virgil smiled as she looked upon it, letting it stop hovering so that it could neatly fall into her palm. She looked down at it, admiring the way it gleamed and showed off her own reflection. Her eyes then darted back up to the siblings.
"And I'll do my part, too. After all… beauty is power."