Writer's Note I: I wanted to portray the Olympian reaction to Naruto's grand reveal properly. Since I love 'Reading' style stories, I decided to go with that format with a little extra at the end. Enjoy!
The Last Shinto Kami
Chapter Fifteen: Chaotic Revelations
"Why do we insist on having these blasted meetings? They are utterly pointless. I don't know about you, but I have better things to do than sit here and stare at you people." Dionysus shared his annoyance with a sigh as he melted into his seat. If he was stuck here, he might as well get comfortable for the long haul.
"That's the cost of living with a paranoid father..." Hephaestus responded gruffly to his half-brother. While he was of a like mind when it came to the grievances, he was far more soft-spoken for all the good it did the smith of the gods.
A set of stormy cerulean eyes cut toward the bearded forgemaster. The accusation caused them to narrow with overt frustration. Zeus' baritone voice crackled with teaming power, adding an extra undertone of threat to an otherwise simple question. "Did you have something to add, Hephaestus?"
Hephaestus held firm for once rather than back down from confrontation, which was characteristic of his long life. Father or not, king or not, he wasn't letting this go without sharing his thoughts. "Yeah, I do. I'm wasting my time here when I have a massive project at the forge. What a joke..."
"If you're aching for a fight, I'll happily slap you around, cripple. No need to bitch and moan about it to everyone." Ever one to join conflict whenever possible, Ares gleefully inserted himself into the simmering tension. Thinking of a battle between gods made his bloodlust sing in ways nothing could match.
"What's the point? It'd be an easy win. When was the last time you won anything, Ares?" Heph fired back at his brother with a condescending scoff. He hid his satisfaction when Ares' fiery scowl hit and bulled ahead. "Your last war with Athena? Loss. The Trojan crap? Another failure. Can you call yourself a god of war when all you do is fall flat, warhead?"
Apollo nearly doubled over in his throne as he laughed hysterically. If not for the hands holding his sides, the sun god would be pointing at his embarrassed half-sibling. "He totally burned your ass, Ares! Nice one, Heph!"
"That's enough, boys. The faster you settle down, the sooner this is all over." Hera reverted to the familiar role of arbiter since her husband and his short temper usually worsened things. That left the thankless job of wrangling the Olympians to the reigning queen of Olympus.
The frequent pulsing ache behind his forehead made Zeus grunt irritably. These meetings gave him more headaches than he thought possible, but despite what his fellow Olympians believed, they were necessary! "Can we do this once without the bickering and headaches? Just one time?"
Rapidly tapping the end of his trident across the arms of his throne, Poseidon, with his blue beard, took great amusement from the dramatic suffering of his king and brother. "What did you expect from your kids, little brother?"
"We're still far superior to the melancholic hermits you spawn, Poseidon. They can't even inspire the worthless mud at the bottom of the ocean." Athena's scathing dismissal was quick and merciless. Her pride wouldn't allow Poseidon's inadvertent slight pass without an eloquent insult of her own.
A lingering sense of comfort spread through the bickering room, dulling the arguments until they stopped entirely. This was the handiwork of the brown-haired woman tending the hearth. The eldest Olympian, Hestia, was a credit to her family's bumpy lineage. "Can we please act our ages and stop bickering like children?"
Her endearing smile made it physically impossible to argue with her, but a few of the more prideful ones grumbled about being compared to mere children. There was one person, however, who had her mind on something else entirely different. "Oh, Hestia! Please let me find you something better than that hideous brown cloak! I can make you an absolute knockout with the right tweaks!"
"Enough! We are here for a reason!" Zeus was shouting about it, but he and Poseidon glared at the giggling Aphrodite for the comment about Hestia. Neither brother wanted their cherished older sister anywhere near the men Aphrodite hung out with.
"Finally... I want to spend my free time with Persephone, not stuck in this chair." Without Hades around for her to insult, most of these meetings were bland affairs for Demeter. She'd always prefer to do something more social than talking about ultimately pointless things.
A totally uninterested Artemis let her father's mundane droning go in one ear and out the other. She decided to use her time doing something worthwhile, like checking in on her adoptive daughters through a discrete use of the Mist. As always, the divine huntress started by locating Zoe. Imagine her surprise to see her second-in-command on an unexpected hunt. Curious about Zoe's reasons, Artemis followed along through the Mist.
Many of Artemis' unanswered questions were answered when Zoe shouted one loathsome name at the cottage. The reveal of her famous half-sibling twisted Artemis' fair features into a heated scowl.
Heracles represented precisely why Artemis kept most men at a distance. He was obnoxiously prideful and overly cruel when the mood struck. And most unforgivable was how Heracles saw women as objects to satisfy his lust.
"Heracles..."
"What are you looking at?" The lunar hunter drew her father's attention because she allowed her rage to get the better of her. In one move, Zeus hijacked the window through the Mist and turned it into a full projection the whole council could watch.
Heracles hurled the emptied jug aside with a belching sigh. The muscle bound man stared through the fogginess in his eyes, looking at Zoe for a moment before recognition flared in his eyes. "Look at you! It's the little Hesperide. I'm not drunk enough for your attitude."
"How did this day get worse!?" Poseidon didn't shy away from rolling his eyes when Zeus pulled up a visual of Heracles through the Mist. He mistakenly thought it was another gloating session.
Repulsed by the former mortal's unabashed arrogance, Heracles stoked the hunter's anger. However, Zoe was disciplined enough to keep her eyes on the prize. "Where is Theodora?"
The wisest of them all had her calm expression turned into a steep frown. "You said Heracles would control himself, Zeus. This is not that. Your prized child is becoming a rabid dog." There was a hint of envy in Athena's voice. Envy because she wasn't her father's favorite child.
"Never thought I'd say it, but I agree with her. I hate this asshole." Blunt was the best anyone could hope for with Ares when he was unreasonably pissed off like this. That's what Heracles did to him.
BWAHAHA! BAHAHA! BWAHAHA!
Heracles bellowed laughter from the bottom of his belly, loud and proud. The sound was pure mockery Zoe was forced to endure for too long before the blowhard bastard finally found his words. "Your stupid hunter girl told me to control myself. You see, that's not my style, so I broke her neck like a twig and went back to partying the night away. Why? What are you going to do about it, little girl?"
Zeus' prodigal son saw how pissed off he made Zoe. He just didn't give a damn. Heracles happily bulled over the hunter's angered silence with a wicked grin on his tanned face. "Are you going to call your lady? Too bad she can't do shit about it. Father would pick me over her every time. You, her, and the other little girls can cry about it. It's what women do best."
"Your boy needs a lesson or two in respect, Zeus." Demeter said it, but every woman on the council contributed to the simmering bubble of vengeful anger drummed up by Heracles' blatant misogyny.
Hera snorted derisively, rejecting the notion Heracles could learn anything. Let alone learn proper manners. "You're spot on, sister. I tried my hand at it, but you can't teach an imbecile how to be a decent man. He inherited all of his father's worst traits."
"I can lodge an arrow in his empty head. That will do the trick; I'm sure of it!" Out of everyone who Heracles pissed off with his abrasive personality, Artemis had the most reason to fly off the handle at the sight of Heracles harassing Zoe.
Behind the cover of her lip, Zoe's teeth sunk into the inside of her mouth. The sharp jolt of pain from the self-inflicted bite offered clarity when she needed it most. Zoe retrieved the kunai from her hip and brandished the dull metal's iron bite.
Lost in the chaotic moment, no one saw how Artemis stiffened in her seat. The realization hit her hard. She knew one person in Greece who used weapons like that. Naruto... there it was... the quick pang of regret in her immortal heart.
"Hmmh? What an odd choice for a weapon? It almost looks like an everyday tool someone made into a blade..." Hephaestus had his curiosity well up anew inside his gut at the possibility of discovering something different after centuries of the same things.
Heracles took in the puny weapon with a derisive snort. Unimpressed with the hunter's choice of item, the son of Zeus continued his merciless demeaning. "What are you going to do with that, little girl? Tickle me to death? Poke out one of my eyes?"
"You can try cutting out his tongue." Dionysus shook off the after-effects of his splitting hangover just long enough to provide some morbid humor with a core that was tainted with madness.
"I'm not a pig-headed fool like thee. I know my limits, and I know someone who can defeat thee, bastard." Zoe took pleasure from the scowl she won from insulting Heracles' infamous pride. That was her solace as she threw the blade with three prongs at the Patron of Heroes.
"Heracles has a point. Your hunter needs to remember who she is talking with, Artemis. She overreaches the privilege of the station you gave her!" Zeus didn't masquerade the favoritism he had for Heracles, which was standard for the combative and impulse-driven third son of Rhea.
Artemis was ready to defend her friend. It ended up being unnecessary because Hestia intervened on her behalf. The stern admonishment she turned against Zeus had the king wincing unhappily. "This is not the time for this, brother."
The wayward projectile got halfway between Zoe and Heracles when Naruto arrived in a golden flash. He snatched the kunai out of the air without issue, but his golden eyes stayed glued to Heracles, taking measure of the physically forged hero turned god.
Apollo whistled at the unknown man's dramatic entrance. "This guy sure knows how to make an entrance!" Being a fellow blonde sure didn't hurt his standing in Apollo's eyes either.
The approval wasn't limited to Apollo. "He is easy on the eyes~! I might need to make time for a personal audience with him... if he survives Heracles." Aphrodite's sultry smile highlighted her otherworldly beauty as she locked into the stranger's handsome features. Her smoldering intensity carried her desire in a way words couldn't appropriately convey.
The first word belonged to Heracles and his vast arrogance. "This is your champion, girl? This womanly twig is the one who defeats me? I know women with more muscle and manhood than this fool."
"Believe me, that handsome man isn't lacking in what makes a man..." Aphrodite confessed with a knowing giggle, lacking any sense of shame as she covered her mouth with a dainty hand.
Sitting next to Aphrodite, Ares stared at the projection with narrowed eyes. But not narrowed in jealousy. Ares looked like he was thinking about something only his blood-painted mind could hope to know.
Letting the insult wash over him harmlessly, Naruto ignored the tasteless barb thrown at him by Heracles. This kind of behavior was a dime a dozen, not worth acknowledging. Instead, he addressed Zoe, who he felt lingering behind him a few yards back. "Zoe, what's happening here?"
"Woah! Hold on there! Back it up! How does Zoe know this guy? The same Zoe who hates everything!" The fleet-footed god of thieves showed his quick tongue by bleating out the burning question. Every set of eyes looked at Artemis, who ignored their pressing stares.
"Lord Naruto, this man murdered one of Lady Artemis' hunters. I searched for him, but I am not enough to defeat Heracles..." Her effort to ask for assistance ended when Heracles jumped in. Never one to miss a chance to gloat over his strength, Heracles sealed his fate with the senseless need to glorify himself.
Apollo carried an unusual frown at the way his sister's favorite hunter regarded the blonde. "What's this about Lord Naruto, sister?"
She handled the look her brother shot her with an immovable confidence. Standing against Apollo's question also showed the others she wouldn't be bullied into action by the pressure of her peers. "I won't say anything until this is settled."
Athena didn't need the useless questions. Her intuitive mind already made the connection between Naruto and her half-sister. 'This must be the friend Artemis was talking about. The one who changed her perspective, but besides being a man, why would she hide her connection to him?'
"You'd do well to listen to the nymph, boy. Everything she says is the truth. No one stands a chance against my unmatched might. The nymph is next. But don't worry, you'll join her in the Underworld soon enough!"
For obvious reasons, Zeus wasn't thrilled with some stranger appearing in the middle of his kingdom. However, this wasn't unsalvageable. He crossed his muscular arms and grunted through his lips. "At least Heracles will handle this. The boy's fate is sealed."
CRASH!
"You want to say that a little louder, Zeus?" Poseidon took great pleasure in his brother's peeved expression as the room saw Heracles be planted face-first into the dirt courtesy of the blonde newcomer.
Dionysus cracked a smirk at his fellow former demigod being brought down a peg. The arrogant braggart needed a dose of reality. "I bet Hades felt that all the way down in the Underworld."
This time, Zeus offered a grunt that was weighed down by agitation. "It was luck... it won't last, not against someone of Heracles' caliber."
Naruto crashed his fist into the back of Heracles' ego-bloated skull, sending the muscular man face-first into the ground at his feet. Adding insult to injury, Naruto shifted his weight and landed smoothly on Heracles' broad, muscular back.
Strange origins withstanding, Hermes couldn't help but pay Naruto some due praise at the end of his impressed whistle's soft tenor. "He sure is quick on his feet, this Naruto fellow."
Olympus' goddess of beauty sunk her teeth into her bottom lip as she admired how the handsome stranger's tight muscles flexed against his snug clothing. "And he's quite strong as well~!"
His perch wasn't permanent by any means. Naruto jumped off Heracles' back when he felt the muscle mass stirring beneath his feet. The Greek god answered with a chunk of rock the size of a cabin, which Heracles chucked at him like it was weightless.
Naruto dashed by the slow-moving bulk of soil and rock, paying it no mind. He advanced on the more muscular man and uncorked a lightning-fast barrage of punches that Heracles tanked with a laugh, proving them ineffective, much to Naruto's dismay.
Artemis kept the forlorn sadness out of her eyes, but the same couldn't be said for her heart and how it clenched in her chest. Guilt wasn't something Artemis felt often, but that didn't stop the redhead from hating everything about it. 'Even though I've been stubborn and a terrible friend, you'd still risk everything to defend my daughter. Naruto...'
The head huntress knew the painstaking lengths her friend went through to stay out of her family's crosshairs. Naruto wasn't interested in the power struggles and exhausting machinations her peers played. He just wanted to live. And all those years of freedom... his peace was threatened for her sake. '...when this is over, I'll make things right, Naruto. I promise.'
A collective gasp pulled Artemis away from her thoughts, returning her to the battle that had advanced since she last looked.
Knuckle met metal, and then,
CRAAACCK! CRACK~! CRACK! CRACK!
Heracles watched his weapon shatter. His most trusted tool rendered nothing more than a confetti of slag scraps, leaving behind an inadequate core of celestial bronze.
Then there was silence.
Hestia illustrated the moment perfectly when she placed a hand over her mouth, hiding how her mouth fell open at Naruto's display. "Oh my..."
When the surprise of seeing Heracles' god-forged weapon being brought to ruin fell to the wayside, Hera didn't giggle. She didn't chuckle. The queen tumbled into delighted laughter.
Seeing red over the destruction of his treasured weapon, Heracles hauled back and punched Naruto through the building wall, crushing his Shinto counterpart sternum-first until the building collapsed on Naruto.
There was more silence.
Ares grinned at the struggles his overdramatic asshole of a sibling had to suffer through. Any time Heracles was in the shit was a good day for the god of war. "Think the daddy's boy is gonna cry?"
"I'd put a mountain of celestial bronze on a temper tantrum." Hephaestus didn't believe anyone would be dumb enough to take that bet, but it didn't hurt to try and see if he got lucky.
"What's wrong, bastard? Is thy toy broken?" Zoe joyously jumped on Heracles in his moment of emotional distress. It was the least her tormentor deserved but the most she could deliver safely. Plus, it also bought Naruto a moment to gather his wits.
Demeter nodded her head with a measured smile. "Good for her!"
Heracles wasn't just mad. He was visibly seething over the loss of his weapon. Being mocked for it by the former Hesperide only made the sour taste in his mouth more repulsive. "Your champion took something from me, so I'll take something of equal measure from you."
Feeling a surge of protective anger heat up her breast, Artemis nearly took her bow and left Olympus on a warpath. She'd remind Heracles of his place if he didn't watch himself. Thankfully, there was someone she trusted to handle things in her stead. "Get up, Naruto... show this pig his place."
Artemis' right hand didn't hesitate. She put a silver arrow in Heracles' chest with pinpoint accuracy. The glimmering arrowhead struck true, opening an incision that bled around the arrow's entry wound. "I'd die before I let thou touch me, bastard."
"Your hunters are always infallibly accurate. You have trained them well." The two sisters shared a smile of respect that was almost rare between any two Olympians. Trust that was unequivocal and reciprocated on both sides.
Heracles dragged two fingers through the blood streak, smearing it against his skin before he watched the sanguineous liquid drip from his outstretched digits. "My blood yearns for more. The battle didn't satisfy me, but I have an idea. I break every bone in your body and listen as you scream for me. Yeah, that'll do it."
Several opinions were nearly voiced among the men and women of Olympus, but they never reached fruition because they felt a sober wave of pure power reaching them from all the way on Earth. A few gasped aloud. Some jumped out of their thrones while others tensed, but every Olympian was glued to the fight.
"What was that?" Naruto's frigid whisper intervened in the argument between the two long-time enemies. The rubble pile shuddered as the blonde and raven-haired kami dragged himself out of the debris. His skin was all cut up with lacerations that dripped his divine blood. The golden proof of Naruto's immortality stunned Heracles, who believed Naruto was nothing more than a stronger-than-normal demigod.
"What...? That's impossible!"
This was no longer about the pride he had in his favorite son. It meant more now that Zeus knew other gods were in play. What this sniveling stray god did was challenge his authority as Sky King of Greece. Naruto... that's what they called him? Zeus responded to this slight with passion and power. His divine soul lashed out in a rage that affected Olympus and Greece.
An uncontrolled storm of savage sparks resonated with his anger, shedding from Zeus' skin as his blue eyes turned into two hollow portals of endless white. The wind crashed into Olympus, screaming in every direction with enough gale force that the council room shook at its foundations.
As for Greece...?
Dark clouds gathered overhead, blotting out the light of day with their oppressive gloam.
The thunder bringer rode the adrenaline of his passion, feeding off it with every second. Soon, Zeus' menacing glare fell upon the moon maiden as his fist clenched around the thrumming power that was the Master Bolt. "You harbored an enemy of Olympus! This is treachery of the highest form, Artemis!"
Artemis showed that tempers ran in the family. Rather than be cowed, she answered fury with fury. "Naruto is not an enemy! He has-"
"Anyone who is not us is an enemy, stupid girl!" The thunder roared louder than Zeus' shout. "You will answer for this stray god! Speak before I judge you guilty of betrayal!"
It wasn't just Artemis that took the overt threat poorly. Her brother joined her, and together, the moon and sun, the twins of Leto, let their powers burst. Two separate auras of strength covered the twins, waiting to be unleashed on whoever Artemis and Apollo deemed worthy of their anger.
Before the situation escalated, Hera grabbed her husband by his wrist and pinned the arm that held the Master Bolt against his throne. At the same time, Poseidon squeezed his little brother's shoulder tight enough to make Zeus grunt. "Calm down, brother. We don't want you doing something stupid."
Zeus was unresponsive for a moment before his power dissipated, but the darkness of storm clouds remained. Following suit, the twins stood down and returned to their seats. With this disaster averted, everyone returned to the fight... but tensions were undoubtedly high.
Licking the blood from his busted lip, Naruto reached up, and without flinching, he reset his crooked nose with a cringe-inducing SNAP! "Who do you think you are, asshole? You think you can threaten my friend in front of me and get away with it?"
Still feeling hot from the confrontation with his father, Apollo happily returned to the distraction of the viewing. What the sun god saw didn't soothe his flames, but it definitely took his mind off Zeus. "Damn! That was hot. Anyone else, or is it just me?"
"Apollo!" Artemis' annoyed hiss turned her glare away from Zeus and onto her bright twin. It didn't do much good since all Apollo did was shrug off her scolding.
"What's the problem? Just because you know him doesn't mean I can't enjoy a handsome man when I see one, little sister. I like a handsome guy every now and then." Artemis pouted and then looked away from her brother with a childish huff. She was so busy complaining about her stupid, sunny-headed sibling's intentions for Naruto that she let the little sister comment slide.
"I got it!" The divine rulers of Greece stared at Ares, who broke the silence with an unexpected shout. "That's the guy! The one the Trojans called the Fire-haired Demon back during the war!" Naruto also technically killed him in single combat, but Ares wasn't sharing that little secret.
A benefit of being immortal is the memory, and none were better than Athena's. She immediately saw what her brother made her remember, and with a quick alteration to the projection, Naruto had red hair and purple eyes with the faintest change to his cheekbones.
The gasps came quick after this. The number of them made Zeus squint at his fellow Olympians. It was too many for his liking. "How many of you have met this man?"
Artemis, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus raised their hands, much to Zeus' growing ire. How could one god go unnoticed in his kingdom for so long! He blamed himself for being so lenient after the Trojan War. He thought the threats were gone... his demigod spawn gone, but that wasn't the case.
A foreign god on Greek soil? It was…
"Would you look at that?" Demeter didn't give two damns about the politics of the situation, but what she saw? That was worth the focus.
A frenzy of golden sparks twisted along Naruto's body, jumping from spot to spot without any semblance of a pattern. An invisible burst of force shattered the ground as the kami vanished within a geyser of fire. The dirt around Naruto quickly turned into a molten pool of slurry while the fire projected a blanket of golden illumination.
"Just amazing..." The gently burning cradle of flames in Hestia's heart was stoked by the sight of Naruto burning bright, bringing a warm orange glow to her brown orbs.
Hephaestus couldn't take his eyes away from the geyser of molten rage Naruto threw into the heavens like he was some earth-trapped demon. "What an incredible amount of power!"
Apollo didn't want to risk blinking and missing a moment of the action. "I can feel the heat from his flames from here. It's wild. He's a sun god!"
The brightness of Naruto's light show forced Heracles to bring his arm up to shield his eyes. When he brought said limb down, he had a brand new Naruto waiting for him.
Almost leaning out of her seat, Aphrodite was done holding back her curiosities. "Tell me more. Show me more~!" As far as she was concerned, enough with Heracles. Out with the old and in with the new, in her opinion.
While not for the same reasons as the lady of doves, Poseidon had his share of questions about the mysterious newcomer. He'd be stupid not to learn about an unknown factor like this Naruto person.
The brightness of Naruto's light show forced Heracles to bring his arm up to shield his eyes. When he brought said limb down, he had a brand new Naruto waiting for him.
"Get out of the way, musclehead. You're blocking my light." Dionysus let loose a sarcastic drawl as he emptied another jug of Olympus' finest wine.
His skin exuded this otherworldly glow that Heracles could only compare to the latent splendor of Olympus' pristine white marble. The golden jacket over Naruto's body was power manifested, shifting over a black bodysuit adorned with a line of burning magatama. The almost regal nature of Naruto's transformation had Heracles staring instead of fighting. And two golden pupils set over a pair of black voids stared back emotionlessly.
Athena found herself staring at the man wrapped in golden splendor. Authority rolled off Naruto in ways she couldn't ignore. For the first time, she agreed with Heracles. Naruto looked every bit like a king with his subtle aura of divine royalty... down to the calm stare that made him feel untouchable. "He looks so... regal."
The bell chime giggle from Aphrodite instantly told Athena she made a terrible mistake. "Oh my... Athena has finally found a man she's interested in~? I always knew this day would come!" Aphrodite giggled over Athena's hasty list of reasons why it was just a comment and nothing more.
'Power... this is power...'
"Heracles is screwed!" Hermes remarked without a touch of sympathy for his half-sibling.
Heracles didn't have time for his nervousness to catch up. His body abruptly jerked back against an invisible force as Naruto stood where he once stood with one leg raised. Heracles was still blasting away when Naruto closed the distance in a blink and drove his fist deep into Heracles' stomach. His gasping ended when the Shinto Sun lifted him by his throat and stared silently into his shocked eyes.
Demeter frowned at the cold demeanor of the new sun god. "I won't lie... the young man is quite frightening."
The son of Zeus felt his heart twitch in apprehension as he watched Naruto's golden pupils shrink. Looking into Naruto's eyes was like getting lost in the darkness of Chaos. Heracles didn't get to speak before Naruto planted him spine-first into the molten ground.
"Get up..."
Hera happily took Naruto's side, agreeing with everything the foreign sun god said. If it made Heracles suffer, it was a good thing in her biased book of opinions. "Yes, stand up and suffer more, you arrogant pest. It's no less than you deserve."
Naruto was unmoved by Heracles' struggle. The kami's arms stayed crossed against his chest as a wobbling Heracles fought to his feet. When Heracles saw Naruto waiting on him instead of fighting, his temper rebelled with a vengeance. "How dare you look down on me! My name is Heracles, son of Zeus, the strongest who has ever lived! I refuse to be humiliated by some nobody!"
"Good! You've allowed these games to go on long enough, son. It's time you put his delusions to rest. Leave nothing left!" The strong support Zeus showed his son bounced off the council room's walls, vibrating with the depths of Zeus' power.
No one else cheered.
The ascended demigod channeled every ounce of frustration and repressed anger he possessed and poured it into one punch. But his efforts were for naught as Naruto caught the punch. The glowing kami let his divine flames burn Heracles' flesh, which made the Greek Hero scream in pain. "If this is your best... I am sorely disappointed."
The bitterness of earlier remained in Artemis' heart. She took this new grudge out on the one responsible for it. Artemis didn't care what lofty roles Zeus possessed. She felt the satisfaction of living precariously through Naruto. "Looks like the great Heracles will have another failure to put on his name."
Poseidon ignored how his brother glared across the room. He was busy stroking through his bushy beard with a hum. "I wonder what Hades would say if he was here to see this?" It was too bad their brother spent so much time ruling the Underworld.
Heracles answered Naruto's detached criticism with a deranged growl. He threw a desperate elbow at Naruto's chin to free his steaming fist from Naruto's ironclad grip. "Haah!" The chiseled musculature in Heracles' arms bulged to obscene levels as he threw everything he had into a furious combination of straight punches into Naruto's chest.
Each fist landed with a concussive impact that packed so much force they sent visible tunnels of tearing pressure out through Naruto's back and into the ground with consecutive explosions of molten mud.
For a moment, Heracles had hope as Naruto stood motionless with his head aimed down. Two little words ruined that hope. "That tickled..." Naruto stiffly craned his neck back upright and was treated to Heracles looking like he'd seen a ghost. All the while, the sun mark placed on him at birth shone with the sun's intensity- which went unnoticed in the madness of battle.
Seeing the blows come in fast, Poseidon found himself flinching with each crushing impact. He wasn't afraid of the pain. Poseidon flinched because Naruto reminded him of someone else. "He's tanking Heracles' punches too well... too much like Atlas for my taste."
"Poseidon! We agreed to never mention the Titans again!" Hera rolled her eyes at her husband's hissed reminder. Yes, because ignoring the problem was the best way to solve a problem.
Elsewhere, Dionysus looked away from the projection. He found Apollo and nudged the sunny Olympian in the ribs with a laugh. "Heracles is making us look bad. How about you take a shot at the new guy? See what he's made of?"
Apollo gazed at Dionysus with a nervous chuckle. He rubbed at the back of his neck with some unease. Fight this guy? How about no!? "That's probably not smart... you know, uh... all the inter-pantheon politics?"
One divine person didn't overlook the strange symbol burning over Naruto's heart. Athena stared hard at the picture with her brow furrowed in deep thought. Unfortunately, whatever its purpose escaped her.
"Minor god, minor power..." Naruto turned a palm on his demoralized foe. His hand cradled a tiny ember, nursing it into a tongue of blistering flames that exploded in Heracles' face. Olive-tanned flesh was scorched an ugly black by the unforgiving fire as Heracles fell back, wailing in utter agony.
"Minor...?" Zeus wasn't angry. He wasn't even pissed. The lightning-touting king was seething, and it showed.
Lightning tore through the dark horizon, racing across the sky in erratic jolts of fury.
Forgotten in the climactic clash between gods, an amazed Zoe watched the beatdown play out. She understood Lord Naruto was powerful. He needed to be for all the times he accompanied Lady Artemis on her hunts. However, seeing it play out firsthand was something else. That is when the hunter's eye noticed something strange about how Heracles was moving. "He is going into his Divine Form!"
'Be careful...' Unsurprisingly, the spectacle of the fight wasn't Artemis' concern. She had more pressing problems, like worrying about the health and safety of Naruto and Zoe... her two best friends.
Dionysus rolled his eyes with a snort. "What a cheater..."
Zeus' bastard son stood with his beaten body tensed in exertion, popping veins out all over his hulking frame. His bruised limbs shook as his breathing deepened into a panting huff. Heracles gnashed his teeth as his balled hands clenched around his thumbs. "I'll crush your skull!" Heracles' rousing yell synched with his head flinging back to stare into the overcast sky.
Hestia always tried her best to see her family for their merits over their faults. That is who Hestia was by nature. But when her nephew got drunk on slaughter, even her optimism faded. Family or not, Hestia would never condone gratuitous, pointless violence.
He anticipated the familiar rush of euphoria synonymous with undiluted power pouring through his veins. Heracles expected his wounds to be mended. He expected to tower over this annoying rat but ended up with nothing. Heracles felt empty. The one eye that wasn't scorched shut offered only a blurry glimpse of the rumbling sky.
Athena was fortunate she didn't have her trusty spear in hand. Because had Athena had it in hand, she would've dropped it. "Naruto prevented Heracles from accessing his godly form?" This was one outcome Athena hadn't anticipated.
"Wait! How'd he do something like that?" Ares showed his surprise a lot less eloquently than his sister-in-war. Mouth open and two wide eyes, he definitely didn't see this coming.
Unlike the pantheon's war duo, Artemis felt no compulsion to speak. She was happy to stay in silent awe. Watching Naruto's showcase of skill and strength was beyond what she imagined her friend capable of in the best way possible.
All the while, rage poured off Zeus like the violent waves of the Aegean Sea beneath a full moon!
Harsh beats of thunder rained down from the cloud-obscured heavens.
"I was told stories of gods going divine for an advantage in battle. That's not happening. Look at your hand." Doing as instructed, Heracles looked down for clarification. Instead, his confusion went unsolved as he gazed at a red brand imposed on his skin. It was a symbol Heracles couldn't make heads or tails of. "I'm not here for a fight god against god. Fight me man to man."
Aphrodite finished her manicure by blowing away the imaginary specs of dust on her nails. It was abundantly clear to her that Heracles' heart wasn't in the fight. Zeus' flamboyant son lost his belief, and she sensed it. "Heracles has already lost." When the whole room looked at her, Aphrodite scoffed but didn't elaborate.
'I can't win...' Heracles was doubtlessly arrogant, but he was no idiot. In a straight fight, defeat was inevitable. There was still one way for him to win. 'Kill the Hesperide!' He tried bull-rushing Zoe and made it less than five steps before being sent back by a palm strike from Naruto.
The change in tactic had Artemis baring her teeth like a wolf when an outsider got too close to their territory. "Coward..."
"Coward..."
Hestia happily basked in the connection her niece shared with Naruto. A more than welcome change from Heracles' atrocities for the peaceful mistress of the hearth. "It's adorable how you and Naruto are so similar, Artemis."
The lunar archer felt the embarrassment burn on her cheeks in the form of a golden blush. Her conciliation was Naruto's efficient handling of her hated half-brother. Artemis would gladly bear a little embarrassment in this instance.
Stuck between his pride and instinctual panic, Heracles was at a loss. He racked his brain, trying to think of a way out of this catastrophic mess, but his choices were dwindling rapidly.
"No time to think!" Naruto materialized behind Heracles, his flames flickering out behind him in a trail. He grabbed the large man by the scruff and skipped Heracles across the ground until he collided with the house's rubble pile.
Ares wore a grin twisted with deranged delight. Any lingering feelings of resentment toward Naruto were vanishing the more Naruto beat the shit out of Heracles. "This ain't a fight anymore! It's an ass-kicking! Just the way I like it!"
A caking of mud stuck to Heracles' face and filled his mouth, forcing him into a coughing fit as he pulled himself from the muck. This was no fight. This was humiliation, and it hurt Heracles more than his boil-laced flesh. "Father! Lend me your aid, and I will crush this foreigner in the name of Zeus!"
Heracles hadn't finished asking before Zeus sent a portion of his strength down, enhancing his son's formidable gifts with the power of lightning. 'If it's not my hands, Heracles will be a fitting representation of my judgment.'
Artemis took to Zeus' interference poorly. His blatant meddling caused his daughter to release enough power to crack the throne she sat on and all the chiseled columns near her.
His prayer was answered by a blinding bolt of lightning from the heavens. It struck Heracles, but rather than harm him, Zeus' divine intervention wrapped his son in a lightning shroud that danced over Heracles' body. The many wounds littering his frame closed up beneath the lightning's protective embrace.
"This is what true power looks like, xénos. No more tricks; now I put you in your place!" Looking at his fist, Heracles tested the feeling by opening and closing his fist. Good as new, the Heroic God carried a face-splitting grin as he rolled his boulder shoulders to the sound of crackling lightning.
An unimpressed frown put a prominent crease across Athena's eternal expression of beauty. Though she didn't like it, Athena couldn't say she was surprised by her father's actions. "Your interference has sullied the integrity of the battle."
"Owl Pellets has the right idea. Heracles isn't a man if he can't fight his battles without Daddy's help. I can't wait to tell the others about this shit." Gossip usually fell to his girl, but Ares wouldn't pass the chance to damage the reputation of his least favorite brother.
Naruto's composure slipped into a look of disbelief, but not for Heracles. He was staring at the sky like it was a proxy for the God-King who ruled over its limitless domain. "You... you actually support this?"
Artemis' eyes shone with silver light as her glare ripped into her father like one of her infamous arrows. A growled-out spitting of venom was Artemis' agreement with Naruto. "Disgusting..."
"The young man has a pure heart and a clear mind. That is rare these days. If he was mortal, I'd bless him right now." Naruto was more than a breath of fresh air for Hestia. He represented hope for the future... a younger generation of god who held the best interests of others in mind.
Hera smiled as she stared at the young god's Mist image. "I agree, sister."
That flabbergasted disbelief quickly turned into anger as black spots formed before fading into the resplendent jacket's golden surface. "What kind of man rewards pointless bloodshed and gratuitous torture? This is what Olympus thinks is fair and just? You're a disgusting excuse for a king!"
Every fiber of his soul demanded he go and erase the blonde nuisance from the face of the planet. But if Zeus couldn't do that, destroying something else in Naruto's place was his best outlet. It's why he vaporized a life-sized marble statue with one bolt blast, turning the chiseled piece into a cloud of dust.
The raging kami's fury manifested in more than some sharp words. The black spots turned into spreading blotches until the fluttering coat went from lively gold to vindictive black. And the suit under it all changed to a golden color. Complete with the accents dotting Naruto's form going black with faint white outlines.
Zeus never took defiance well, and that still held. Before anyone could think to stop him, the storm king accidentally let his tenuous control slip, sending a screaming bolt of forked lightning down on the realm he ruled.
Lightning lashed out, striking the ground around the defiant blonde.
Zeus flexing his rage didn't intimidate Naruto, who stood unmoved in the face of Zeus' anger. The sunspawn refused to repent.
"Don't worry, father. I'll make this fool pay for disrespecting you... and I'll love every second of it."
Dionysus rolled his eyes at the hamming. "Kiss ass..." Hephaestus snorted in agreement.
'Deal with the problem in front of you, Naruto.' After calming himself, Naruto created a glowing kanji that turned into a wormhole. He reached into the reality tear and pulled out Amenonuhoko and his kopis from the Trojan War. Both weapons were immediately drenched in black flames, drawing Naruto's attention momentarily before he glared at Heracles.
Finally, something worth his attention, Heph found himself admiring the simple elegance of Naruto's spear. But it was more than an aesthetic. Heph felt the power ingrained in that simplistic longarm. 'That weapon... it's ancient. What I wouldn't give to have just a look at it.'
The tempest-charged deity blurred toward Naruto, moving faster than a man his size had any right moving. But he wasn't still quick enough that Naruto lost track of him. Naruto crossed his sword and spear in front of him, using the makeshift 'X' to block the fist aimed at his face.
Athena's hand blazed through the pages of a book she conjured up. The once-empty journal was already filled with pages of detailed diagrams and notes. What she saw captivated Athena in a way she couldn't describe perfectly. "The way he blends the mysticism of his talents with martial skill is nothing short of incredible. It's power and skill hand-in-hand. Prowess crafted into near perfection..."
Aphrodite landed in a giggling fit over Athena's crush on the handsome god. It was a dream come true for the love goddess. She finally saw the day Athena showed her interest in a man. "Your crush is showing again, Athena~! Should I start planning your wedding ceremony?"
Demeter joined in on the fun with her whimsical take. "Be careful, Athena. If you plan on pursuing him, you might end up fitting Artemis for the young man's hand."
Despite being thoroughly embarrassed, Athena held out admirably. Then her rival's laughter hit. Poseidon's obnoxious chortles ruined her composure, leaving the goddess with a gold-stained face. "Silence! Your repulsive salt breath is giving me a headache!"
As this madness happened in real time, Hestia shared her opinion in a far more understated way when she turned to Artemis. "I believe Leto would approve of you and Naruto. He's a good man."
Much like Athena, Artemis' face was permanently stuck in a blush as she stared comically hard at the moving Mist image.
It was lightning raging against fire until Heracles backed away from the test of mettle. Another breakneck rush came his way, but Naruto was ready for it. With a sweeping swing of his kopis, the burning kami unleashed a wave of black fire on Heracles.
Heracles didn't run through the pyro wall... he jumped over it and into the sky, drawing lightning down from the clouds. The raw power funneled into him, making his cloak triple in size. With all the firepower he could ever need, Heracles fell like a star on Naruto.
"Hey bro... can you use black fire?" Hermes couldn't help but ask, wondering if he could somehow get his hands on some.
Those devious aspirations were dashed when Apollo shook his head.
One upward shove from Amenonuhoko hurled a typhoon of ebony incineration at his foe. The deadly inferno forced Heracles to the side, so his landing hit next to Naruto rather than on the Shinto God's skull. Going for a snap kick directed at Naruto's neck, Heracles felt his kick be blocked by the flaming kopis.
SNAAAPP! Sadly for Naruto, the mortal-forged sword couldn't withstand the combined pressure of Naruto's flames and Heracles' strength.
Ever the forge worker, Hephaestus wasn't surprised by the sword's shattered fate. "Mortal weapon. Never would have held out."
Thinking on his feet, Naruto snatched the snapped piece of metal as it went into the air and tried jamming the broken blade into Heracles' muscular abdomen. However, a burst of static sent the magnetized piece of metal out of Naruto's hand.
Both gods spared a moment to look at the smoking metal burn slowly. Heracles broke the peace with a satisfied smirk. "A weapon for a weapon..."
"One insignificant victory, and he immediately brags about it." Truthfully, the musclebound bastard continued showing reason after reason why Hera hated him with a burning passion.
The vertical line of Shinto sigils running Amenonuhoko's shaft glowed brown against the wood as Naruto buried the butt of his polearm in the ground. "Yomi Numa! (Swamp of the Underworld!)"
"He can move the ground? I thought he was a sun god?" This newest development piqued Demeter's interest in something beginning to wane. Fighting was never her cup of tea despite being perfectly capable of it.
Athena happily put her highly educated theory out there. It wasn't possible for her to not share such thoughts. "Based on the symbols that lit up before Naruto morphed the landscape, I assume the spear is manipulating the marsh."
Heracles felt himself being sucked into a thickened brown syrup of dense mud. He struggled to pull out one leg, and in doing that, he sunk further into the marsh's ravenous bog. "What in Hades-" The line of cursing was cut short as Heracles vanished under the aptly named swamp.
Whole chunks of mud exploded outward in every direction as Heracles erupted from the wet ground. His uppercut missed Naruto's chin by the smallest of margins. Naruto quickly followed his foe into the air and folded Heracles over his spear by turning the shaft into a bat he used to club Heracles in the ribs. The kick that followed sent the airborne son of Zeus tumbling ass over feet.
Righting himself was more annoying than a challenge. "What the...?" This is when the former hero noticed his footwear was still on fire? Shrugging both shoes to be safe, Heracles also saw from the corner of his eye- the broken sword also burning beneath a blanket of black flames. That's when he made a concerted effort to take in their battlefield.
Poseidon saw what was coming when Heracles foolishly took his eyes off the prize. It's why he had a smirk curling into the top of his thick beard and mustache combination. "Bad idea..."
The momentary lapse cost him as Naruto appeared with a massive globe of blue energy spiraling in his hand. Heracles recoiled but couldn't react further as Naruto's self-contained sphere suddenly expanded as he brought the energy bomb down.
BOOOOOM!
"Ouch!" The speed over strength type, Hermes wouldn't want to take something like that point blank in the face. He grimaced at the thought.
Shooting out of the explosion of light, Heracles rocketed into the ground with a loud crash. Naruto followed after, avoiding a stray string of lightning. He crashed on Heracles with a double foot stomp, making Heracles cough out a massive splattering of golden blood.
A look at the lightning in the Mist had Hera move her gaze on her husband, who she found looking into the distance with a glaze in his eyes. It was painfully clear he was guiding the storm, which made the queen scoff.
Amenonuhoko streaked through the air and straight into Naruto's waiting grasp. He spun it around so the bladed end was pointed down and stabbed Heracles through the shoulder, pinning the groaning man to the ground.
"Imagine what we could learn if I could study that spear for even one day! A spear that's stronger than any of ours... filled with secrets and knowledge." Athena tried shielding her jealousy behind a genuine veil of curiosity. What she could create or incorporate was limitless!
Pained shouts were forced from Heracles' mouth as the lightning around him slowly dispersed. When the shock and pain of being stabbed faded, he felt his fatigue return full force. "What did you do to me!?"
Apollo joyously summarized things for Heracles. "He kicked your ass! That's what happened!"
"This spear is no ordinary weapon. It's more than capable of rendering your flimsy gift obsolete. You're done for, Heracles."
The beaten and broken Greek Hero snarled defiantly at Naruto, showing his blood-stained teeth as he thrashed futilely against the numbing sensation emanating from where the spear struck him. "When I get this spear out, you'll regret running your mouth!"
Dionysus blew a sigh out the side of his mouth. The bounce of his soft whistle carried the exasperation in his voice. "Like he's one to talk about talking too much."
"Killing isn't something I enjoy. Knowing you'll come back with enough time doesn't change that. This whole thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Give up this blind violence and swear you'll leave my friend in peace. If you do, this all ends here. Do the right thing... give up this pointless grudge." How Naruto stood over his defeated adversary, from an objective view, Naruto looked like a walking contradiction. He was a demon wreathed in black flames with a hand extended in mercy.
"What a dumb ass... kill him and be done with it. Second chances are for the stupid and the weak!" It wasn't an understatement to say Ares hated everything about mercy. His relentless thirst for bloody battles and the pain of combat were diametrically opposite of mercy. Giving the enemy a chance to come back was stupidity at its finest in Ares' militarized mind.
Hestia responded to her nephew's outburst with a frown. "There isn't anything wrong with trying to find the best in people, Ares. The ability to forgive is a strength all its own." If Hestia didn't learn to forgive, she'd never talk to anyone in this room. Her family seemed to forget, but they had made their fair share of heinous mistakes since taking control from the Titans.
The tumultuous thunder on high whispered soft assurances in the prone Greek's ears. It lent Heracles the confidence to laugh at Naruto's misguided interpretation of their situation. Or he laughed for as long as his bruised, possibly broken ribs allowed. "I don't give a damn about the Hesperide. This is about me and you, xénos. You defeated me, and I won't stop hunting you until I wipe your stain from my name. I swear, I don't care who I break or what I ruin to get what I want! This doesn't stop until you're broken at my feet!"
"Once he worms out of Hades' clutches, I'll put an arrow through his brain!" And Artemis truly meant it. Her fury was so palpable that even Apollo started shying away from the dangerous aura around the moon's divine steward.
Naruto expressed his disappointment with a muted sigh. It appeared Heracles held onto things for better or worse, just like his father before him. "One more thing..."
Zeus' eyes glowed pure white... power personified.
"You shouldn't have fucked with my father."
CRASH!
Rapturous yellow lightning tore its way out of the dark sky. Make no mistake, this was divine intervention. The blatant smiting thrown at Naruto came courtesy of Olympus' king. Heracles felt like it was happening in slow motion. He saw the flash that followed as his victory... and he laughed.
"ZEUS!" Artemis didn't pull short this time. This was no empty threat. On her feet and bow drawn, silver wisps of moonlight radiated erratically off her weapon as she pulled on the bowstring, straightening the arrow she had aimed at her father's head.
Intervention came from the golden hand of her twin. Apollo held Artemis back from doing something drastic. It was uncharacteristic seriousness that cut through her rage just long enough. "Arty! Look..."
Following his advice, Artemis' heart swelled with relief.
Then Naruto did the unthinkable. He caught the lightning without looking, leashing it around his hand and wrist. Everything seemed eerily quiet as the yellow lightning changed to deep violet in Naruto's grip.
"What the fucking fuck?" For once, no one corrected Ares' crass language because they all agreed to some extent.
"When I approached you, I came with my hand open in mercy. Now you've forced me to end this with a closed fist." When faced with the choice, Naruto didn't hesitate to act. A sudden thrust from his lightning-doused fist sent the destructive technique through Heracles' heart with a sopping squelch.
"Chidori... (One Thousand Birds...)"
Aphrodite burned the powerful image of Naruto holding lightning in his hand into her mind. What began as an appreciation for Naruto's good looks turned into a spark of lust-driven attraction. She was most certainly turned on by the show of dominance. 'Hmmh...'
He felt the life fade from his vanquished enemy. The sign of a job done, Naruto stumbled back with an exhausted sigh as the discharges of the Chidori caused the corpse to twitch in the dirt. Without the energy or will to keep it up, Naruto felt his transformation drop, revealing the streaks of sweat running down his tan skin. "I'm glad that's finally over."
"I've seen enough! I'm ending this foolishness!" With the quickness of a flash, Zeus invoked an avalanche of power, shattering the Mist portal. From nowhere, a vengeful windstorm howled across Olympus like a thrice-cursed Tartarus banshee. The other gods were thrown into their chairs, with only Poseidon holding firm with his trident anchored in the floor.
A tempest of titanic scale festered over the mountain, turning the realm of the gods pitch black apart from the haunting flashes of light that burst into life when smaller tongues of lightning escaped the canopy of black clouds.
Hera reached for her husband, hoping her calming touch might avert a disaster they could hardly afford. However, the hurricane-force winds acted as a harsh buffer between Zeus and the world around him. "Husband... please! You'll devastate Greece!"
"We will rebuild after! He killed my son! He dies!" The power Zeus portrayed hit another level. It was a surge of strength not seen or felt since the final days of their revolution against Kronos. Every din of thunder shook the mountain to its core, threatening to reduce everything to rubble.
Poseidon spat every sailor's curse he knew. Under normal circumstances, he could handle his little brother's outbursts with his superior physical strength. But when Zeus melted down like this? Poseidon's best hope was reason. Where was Hades when you needed him? "Heracles is immortal, brother! He'll come back! Killing everyone isn't justice! Just think!"
Zeus didn't care if this was his paranoia getting the best of him. He'd rebuild his kingdom and forget after this boy was scattered ash in the wind. "He dies!" He was sure he heard Athena's reasoning and Aphrodite's charmspeak, but no one would stop his judgment. Zeus' arm went up, preparing to smite Naruto while he couldn't defend himself.
Time slowed to a crawl as the fabric of reality tore open at its metaphysical seams. Out of the breech came a sickly gray arm with an eyeball embedded in the palm. The dangly limb seized Zeus by his throat and lifted the gasping god off his feet, which was impressive considering Zeus was in his three-hundred-foot god form.
As if Zeus' power was naught but a candle being snuffed out, the catastrophic storm ceased with a whimper. The power he was so proud of fled his withering body in droves. Zeus tried clawing at the arm- he couldn't breathe, and his body was going frightfully cold... numb to even the choking.
"I have entertained this insolence long enough." The gaping wound in space spread further. And out dragged a figure with all gray skin. Its chest was bare. There was no muscle tone or breasts... or any defining feature. Its face had three eye sockets without eyes positioned in a triangle on its face. Purple lips were parted in a harsh scowl as twenty gangling arms spread from its back, each hand with one lulling eye stuck in the open palms.
Where the gods of Olympus were no taller than three hundred feet, this being made them look like mere humans. And it was only half of this being's body.
"Chaos..." By uttering the name, the leash snapped, bringing about the full gravitas of the True Primordial on the council of Olympus.
Chaos tipped their head but didn't turn to find the one who spoke their name. The many arms did that for Chaos. They spread in all directions, causing a shiver of apprehension in the gods of Greece. It was the fear of a superior predator. "Olympians... you have worn thin my patience. This is what you, as rulers, do with a piece of my world?" Their frustrations came with a choking squeeze that drained Zeus further of his olive complexion.
Athena tried using her unparalleled mind to defend her king, but even the wise warrior goddess struggled to find her eloquence before a displeased Chaos. "I understand Zeus made a hasty decision, but if you grant him-"
The primordial's sharp tongue tore through Athena's weak argument like papyrus parchment. Her scorn spread to the room's corners, carrying an unsurmountable anger Chaos rarely showed. "His hateful choice was anything but hasty. I have seen your lives since the Titans fell. This child has done nothing but indulge himself and abuse the power he was given, escaping consequences through bullying and intimidation. Punishment has come."
No one rushed to Zeus' defense. Not his siblings nor his children spoke on his behalf. They understood Zeus perpetrated far more evil than good. If anything, the silence pleased Chaos. "At least you're smart enough to hold your tongue. Smarter than the fool who'd attack my son."
Hera wanted nothing more than to help her husband, but she understood their only chance was winning Chaos' mercy. Those hopes seemed like a far-flung dream when Chaos dropped the extent of their relationship with Naruto. "Your son?"
"Yes... he was an infant, one entrusted to me by his dying mother. My son in every way..." A hint of softness crept into the haunting tone of their hollow voice. It was a gentleness that clearly didn't extend to Greece's current ruling caste. "Moon child..."
With no intention of ending up like her father, Artemis bowed in respect, keeping her eyes off the almighty primordial. "Yes, Lady Chaos?"
"Go to my son. Make sure his recovery is undisturbed." Happy to get out of there, Artemis vanished without complaint. She needed to check on Naruto and Zoe. This left Chaos free to deal with less pleasing business. A nightmarish glare fell on Zeus, who barely held onto consciousness with his eye turning a milky white.
It was a mercy when Chaos threw him aside because it allowed Zeus to slowly recover, with Hera and Demeter rushing to his side, helping Zeus to his feet. "Speak... tell me your reasons and hope I don't find you wanting."
Reduced from a powerful thrum to a weak rasp, Zeus' voice was a shadow of its usual self. The rapid coughs were painful but enough to get a raspy breath out in reply. "I didn't know... if I knew-"
Chaos let their anger out in a cold cloak of void energy. The sinister outline around Chaos drew more of the color out of the world the angrier Chaos got. Producing enough power to make Zeus look small, Chaos forced the entire chamber to kneel. "That is your response? You didn't know?"
Being forced onto his knees insulted Zeus' pride, but luckily for everyone, Poseidon rushed into the back and forth. This was no time for Zeus' irrational temper to get the better of him. "Lady Chaos, I promise we will hold Zeus more accountable. You have our word."
Mortal stories hailed the charisma of the Olympians. Touted their ability to turn any soul onto their side. That supposed charm fell flat in front of Chaos. Hence the mocking half-smirk she gave Poseidon and his family. "Your oaths are worth nothing. How many vows on the Styx have your ilk broken?"
"This time, it will be different." The arrival of Hades was as subtle as the darkening of the shadows. His tall albeit lanky frame bore Chaos' presence the best thus far, but even the oldest son walked on shaky legs as sweat ran down his forehead. Zeus clearly had something to say, but a Tartarus-powered glare from Hades shut Zeus up. "We can't prove it now... but it will be different."
Something in the air changed when Chaos smiled, revealing a mouth of sharpened teeth slathered in cables of black sludge. "I will let you see another day, but you won't be held to the Styx. You shall answer to Chaos should you fail." With the pact made, Chaos burnt a ring with exploding arrows in every direction into the council room's floor.
The symbol of Chaos.
"Watch yourselves, Olympians. Because I'll be watching."
Elsewhere, Artemis arrived at the battlefield in a beam of light. "Zoe!" She called to her friend as soon as Zoe came into sight. Artemis rushed over, and the two shared an emotionally-burdened hug. "What happened to him?"
"I can't answer that, and now, Lord Naruto's body is too hot for me to touch, so I can't check what might be wrong." True to Zoe's explanation, both women saw the lines of steam rising off Naruto's prone body.
"Go back to camp and prepare a tent for Naruto. We'll be there shortly." With orders issued, Artemis put a hand on Zoe's forehead and sent the former nymph back in a pulse of celestial light.
Artemis sank to her knees beside the blonde, pulling his head into her lap with a worried frown. She felt the burning warmth coming off his body. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle. The huntress ran her hand through Naruto's messy hair and saw the sweat beading on Naruto's grimacing brow. "I need to do something, but what?"
"If I could heal like Naruto and Apollo..." She reached out and held Naruto's hand when he groaned in pain. That single sound hurried Artemis' thoughts. She couldn't heal, but there had to be something she could do for her friend. "Think, damn it!"
Desperation made for an excellent motivator. Artemis sped through countless solutions. Obscure and obvious... difficult or easy, whatever got the job done, she needed anything to save her friend from burning out like a collapsing star.
"You wish to understand how my brother and I managed our duties for so long? The answer is balance."
That was it! Balance! Balance between the moon and the sun!
Selene and Helios…
She and Apollo...
She and Naruto…
With unwavering determination, Artemis reached for her most powerful domain. The moon answered her call, sending a column of moonlight down on Artemis like a spotlight from the heavens. Red hair came down with luminary strips of silver that matched Artemis' radiant eyes. Same for her pale skin, which emanated a gentle glow that was similar to the moon reflecting off water.
The influx of power made Artemis grunt, but she held fast against the tides of celestial power. Admittedly, she wasn't the best at enhancing her body with energy, but this wasn't the time for second-guessing. Turning the hand on Naruto's forehead into the focal point, Artemis carefully covered him in a blanket of her energy.
A sound comparable to steam filled her ears. The energy cocoon around Naruto flickered rapidly between a cask of silver and gold as the two divine energies battled in Naruto's body. Initially, it appeared the growing gold glow would hit critical mass, and the heat swarming Naruto would continue. And then, the brilliant shine dulled into a serene silver.
Artemis' gentle whisper cut through the quiet. Feelings broke free in an uncharacteristic moment of poetic muse. She blamed her brother's influence.
When darkness spreads over the night,
And doubt dampens your heart's light,
The moon rises into her home up high,
To soothe your aches with a silver sky.
Her touch a remedy for troubled minds,
Her care, the tortured soul unwinds,
In silent beams, she weaves,
A peace that lingers, a pain that leaves.
Rest, my bright star... the night will fade,
And your dawn will heal what night has made.
Beneath her nurturing touch, all wounds grow few,
The moon's embrace is a cure for you.
A beautiful smile graced Artemis' features when she saw Naruto's distress soften into a content smile. Her efforts acknowledged, the goddess of the moon pressed her lips gently upon Naruto's forehead. "You're an idiot... too nice for your own good, but you're my idiot, Naruto Omikami."
END
Writer's Note II: Happy Holidays, everyone. Stay safe and healthy!