Only into the fourth chapter and already had the first of many battles. I'm just hoping for much more feedback going forward. Anyway, the next chapters starts right now.

The faint chirping of birds could barely be heard from outside of the bedroom, where Corey was sound asleep. The rays of the Sun shined through and bathed his face in light, and it was just enough to stir him from his slumber. Corey briefly opened his eyes only to close them again, and then he quickly sat up in his bed and let loose a sudden breath of surprise. He felt like he was on the verge of a heart attack with all of the rapid exhalations leaving his lips, as though he'd only just awoken from a horrible nightmare. Corey was able to calm his nerves and steady his breathing over time, and he brushed his hand through his hair. Only then did he hear a rapid, frantic knock on his door. Soon after, Patricia entered the room seemingly in a panic.

"Corey, get dressed and come downstairs. We have to get going."

"Mom? Why? What happened?" Corey asked.

Patricia, still mildly out of sorts, replied, "Your father's in the hospital."

All the blood seemed to drain from Corey's face when he responded, "What did you say?"

St. Clare's Hospital seemed busier than usual and with good reason. The unexpected attack from the night before led to a slight influx of patients, some civilians and some cops. The Mercer family were hastily pushing through the halls where medical staff and patients were going in multiple directions. It wasn't entirely chaotic but it was getting close enough to it. Corey was trailing behind his mother and sister, still desperately to piece together the events of the night prior.

It wasn't a bad dream, that was clear enough. He was there, fighting against a horned beast that nearly killed his father. He had supernatural powers and he apparently the reincarnation of a long dead Greek God now. Corey was so busy trying to process ever that he almost collided with doctors or patients. He was at least able to gather himself and pick up the pace to stay with Patricia and Maggie until they all reached the correct room. It was labeled as Room 117, and Patricia and Maggie were the first ones to enter. Corey stalled for a brief moment before he entered the room.

There was John, sitting upright in his hospital bed with a bandage on his head. Maggie was already in his arms, hugging him like her life depended on it. Patricia stood by the bed holding back the tears while also laying her other hand on John's shoulder. Corey seemed like a statue, not able to move an inch. He could only watch as his little sister hugged their father tighter.

"I'm so happy you're okay, Dad." Maggie said, clearly trying fighting the urge to cry.

"Easy there, baby girl. The doctors said I need to ease up on getting hugs." John replied jokingly.

"We only just heard about the incident this morning, rushed here as soon as we could." Patricia said.

John released Maggie and said to his wife, "I got lucky; only came away with a mild concussion. The doctors say I can leave today."

"Dad?" Corey finally said.

The Mercer's attention was drawn to Corey, and John responded, "Hey there, big man."

Corey had to fight back tears before he rushed forward and embraced his father. "I'm sorry, Dad."

John was surprised by the embrace but accepted it all the same. "Sorry for what?"

"Yesterday, when we argued. I was out of line," Corey said as he kept fighting the urge to break down. "I shouldn't have... I shouldn't..."

John pulled his son closer and said to him, "It's okay, son. It's okay."

Corey knew his father was trying to reassure him, even going so far as to pat him on the back. A sigh of relief left Corey's lungs as he further embraced his father. Looking out of the corner of his eye, Corey noticed that his mother was holding his little sister tightly close to her waist. Maggie was clearly weeping, and Corey was doing all he could to appear strong for her. John did the same thing, even go so far as to tighten his embrace on his son. Corey accepted it, but a sense of conflict weighed down on him like an anvil on a rope. The reasons for why that was the case were reasons Corey couldn't tell his family.

John finally released his son, looked to the rest of his family and declared, "Let's go home."

Hours passed by after the Mercer family returned home. Corey sat at the study desk in his room, his head leaned back as he stared at the ceiling. He ought to have thought he was at least lucky to not have had to attend school, but the circumstances behind that stroke of luck were not exactly ideal. His father was on the verge of dying that night before at the hands, or hooves, of a mythological creature that shouldn't have even been real. Corey was the one who saved him, after somehow transforming into a mythological deity that also shouldn't have been real. Except, it was real. All of it. The worst part was Corey couldn't tell his father, or his mother or his sister. How could he when he couldn't even believe it himself?

He exhaled a frustrated breath and held his right hand in front of his eyes. The mark was still there, the supposed mark of Zeus. Corey wanted to try to wash the the mark off, still wanting to think everything that happened was a wild dream. He wasn't exactly feeling lucky in that regard. It didn't stop him from closing his eyes and wishing, practically praying to God that he'd wake up from this ordeal. Maybe he was school right now, having nodded off in one of Mr. Rodriguez's many boring lectures. Corey arched his head back further, causing a small measure of discomfort on is his neck. Then he opened his eyes, and the feeling of surprise was palpable.

"You've got to be kidding me." he said when he saw Athena perched on the windowsill.

"I have to tell you that you did well from your first time, Corey. Very impressive." Athena said, clearly referring to the night before.

Corey had to right himself in his chair to address Athena directly. "Impressive? Are you serious? My father was there last night; he could've died."

"Yet he survived. Your father survived after you fully embraced your new identity as an Incarnate, and this is only the start. With enough training, enough trial and error..."

"Stop. Just stop," Corey snapped as he jumped from the chair and confronted the white owl. "Get it through your feathery skull. I am not an Incarnate. I'm not some fantastical demigod with magic powers. I'm just a 17 year old kid from New Jersey, that's it. All this talk about gods and monsters and Pandora's Box is bullshit and I want no part of it."

An awkward and uncomfortable silence filled the room. Corey leaned back against the wall opposite the bed and he sunk to the floor. It felt good to vent, and he wouldn't admit it to Athena. Everything that happened over the passed 24 hours happened fast. He had every right to vent, and Athena knew it. That was the reason why she didn't try to argue. But at the same time, she had to try to make him understand and to do so, Athena had to first allow Corey to calm himself down. When he did, she flew into the room and perched herself on the bed.

"I understand your hesitancy. Very rarely does fate summon any individual at moments of their own choosing. There are those who rise to the occasion and those who are reluctant to reach their full potential. Considering what you were able to accomplish the previous night, your first night even, I believe that the former is true of you."

This bird just doesn't know when to quit. Corey thought to himself.

Athena continued, "You've shown that you have the potential to achieve so much as an Incarnate, to protect Pandora's Box and perhaps, even the world."

Already exasperated, Corey snapped, "Athena, that's enough. I don't want to hear anymore of this crap. I'm not an Incarnate. I'm not Zeus. Nothing you tell me will convince me differently."

Now it was Athena who thought to herself, Have I said too much?

With a sigh of fatigue, Corey said, "Just go, Athena. Leave me alone."

That was the exact moment when Athena knew she'd lost the argument, and thus she perched herself back onto the windowsill. She looked back at Corey and said to him, "Perhaps I overstepped my bounds. Perhaps I asked you for too much. Please forgive my impertinence, Corey."

Corey said nothing in reply and looked away from the windowsill, and Athena took that as indication that she needed to depart. A single second passed like clockwork and when Corey looked back toward the window, Athena was already gone. The teenager should've felt a sense of relief, maybe even satisfaction. Instead, Corey felt a pang of regret, remorse even. Suddenly, it was Corey who was beginning to think he'd overextended himself. It was clear that he was exhausted from the events of the previous night followed by the morning. But he also wondered if he was justified in refusing to listen to Athena's claims. Corey knew not what to believe anymore, and he was left to his own devices to figure it all out. It didn't seem like it was going to be anything remotely enjoyable.

It was already late into the afternoon and approaching the evening hours, and Corey hadn't left his room ever since he returned from the hospital with the rest of his family. Athena hadn't returned to bother him, which seemed the first good thing to happen to him all day long. So, why did Corey continue feeling pangs of guilt? Maybe he was experiencing déjà vu, considering that he'd argued with his father prior and now he'd done it again with a talking white owl claiming to be the Goddess of Wisdom. Corey wondered why should he have even cared about Athena. She knew nothing about him in the grand scheme of things, and she was actively claiming that he was Zeus. That should've been the single ridiculous notion on Earth to Corey. Then the Minotaur happened, and Corey somehow turned into something akin to a superhero with god-like powers.

It was all too much for Corey to process, and there he was laying in bed at that moment, trying to make sense of it all. Corey looked at the mark on his hand again, and he recalled what Athena had told about fate. Was it fate that Corey was the Incarnate of Zeus? He wasn't sure what to think anymore. Everything was happening so quickly that he couldn't fathom it. He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely heard the tapping on the other side of his bedroom door.

"Corey?" A male voice called. A moment later, John entered the room.

Corey sat up in his bed and replied, "Dad? You should be resting."

"Yeah, I should, but I wanted to check in on you." John stated, and he closed the door behind him.

Corey was somewhat surprised that his father came to see him considering he was likely still recovering. "You don't have to check on me, Dad. I'm okay."

That statement didn't stop John from taking the chair from the desk and sitting down opposite of his son. "Something on your mind, son?"

Corey was hesitant to reply, only offering a simple, "No."

Unfortunately for Corey, John wasn't buying it. "Corey, I've been around the block long enough to know when something's bothering you. C'mon, you can tell me."

Corey remained hesitant, but he relented. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry about yesterday, about our argument. It was stupid of me to say all those things."

John knew what Corey was telling him and replied, "That's all in the past, Corey. I know you didn't mean any of it."

"Dad, you almost died yesterday when that thing showed up. If that had actually happened after our argument, I would've never forgiven myself."

There was a silence between the father and son, both apparently thinking of their next words. John soon said to Corey, "You know, everyday I go out there on the streets, the first and last and only thing that matters to me is my family. Not a single day has gone by where I didn't think about what happen would to you, your mother and you sister if one day, I didn't come home. That thought alone scares me more than anything. Last night was the first time that I felt truly terrified. Yet at the same time, it felt like I had a guardian angel watching out for me."

Corey glanced at his father when he realized that John might have been talking Corey himself when he was transformed into his Incarnate form. Could he have known? "That guy that saved you; did you see his face?"

John shook his head lightly, replying, "No, but I can't shake the feeling that I knew him somehow."

It was me, Dad. Corey was thinking while knowing he couldn't say it outright.

"I may not know who it was that saved me, but if I did, I'd want to say 'Thank you'." John admitted.

That statement filled Corey with a bit of pride, even if he couldn't show it and even though his father had, at the time, held a gun on him. "Can I ask you something else, Dad?"

"Sure."

"Do you believe in fate?" Corey asked.

John was taken aback slightly at the question, finding it unusual. "Fate, huh? I'm not entirely sure if I believe in fate. Although, there are a few things that I do believe in."

"Like what?" Corey asked with a mild interest in his tone.

John stood up from the chair, seemingly feigning a move to leave the room, but he instead sat down on the bed next to Corey. With a stern but fatherly glance at his son, John said, "I don't know if I believe in fate, but I do know that believe in people, individuals. I believe in the potential for goodness in people. Above all else, I believe in my family; your mother, your sister... and you."

"Really? Even after I argued with you yesterday?" Corey said.

"Absolutely. What happened yesterday, that's in the past," John said, and he through an arm around Corey's shoulders and pulled him in closer. "Corey, you are my son, my firstborn. The day you came into this world was the happiest day of my life."

Corey chuckled and replied, "Now you're just being sappy, Dad."

"Maybe I am. But I'll never forget what I told your mother when she held you in her arms," John admitted. "I told her, 'This boy is going to change the world one day.'"

"You seriously said that?" Corey said.

"Yeah, and I believe it too. I believe that there is greatness in you, son. It's up to you bring it out and show the world exactly who is Corey Mercer." John said, his words filled with conviction and confidence.

Corey felt those words resonate throughout his entire being while John got up and went to leave the room. In that moment, Corey said, "Thanks for the advice, Dad."

John stopped at the door and turned to reply directly to Corey, "Anytime, son. Oh, and I'm willing to give you some leeway on your bike... as long as you wear a helmet. Sound fair?"

Corey nodded affirmatively and replied, "That I can do."

With a smile and a nod, John was out of the room. Corey was left to consider his father's words, and it was in those moments that clarity washed over him. Greatness. That was what John said he saw in Corey, and it provided the teenager a new perspective that he didn't realize he needed. He still couldn't tell his father the truth about what he had become, but maybe the talk they had was enough to give Corey some much needed confidence in himself. Maybe.

Unbeknownst to Corey, Athena was perched on the tree branch outside of his bedroom window. She'd been watching the exchange between the father and son, and in hindsight, she came to understand that she had been wrong. She came to understand that strongly pushing Corey to accept his role as an Incarnate wasn't going to go as smoothly as she thought. It needed to come naturally, not to be forced. Athena knew that now, so she needed to give Corey the time to accept his fate. Spreading her wings out, Athena took off from the branch and flew off into the night sky. Going forward, the next few days were likely going to be pivotal.

Author's Note: That's it for chapter 4, and proof that while Corey may essentially be a Greek God now, he's still a teenager and understands the importance of family. There's more to come for our young protagonist, so stay frosty and leave seem feedback. Chao! (Can't believe I just said that!)