( Hours earlier. )
[ Abyss Tower 8th Floor. ]
" You're giving this, to me? " Battle Maiden asks as Athena gives her the Zodiac Item.
" It's for you, dear... "
" This is the only way for me to ensure your survival. " Athena says as she immediately turns back.
" Wait...! " Battle Maiden says as she calls her before she ends the communication.
" Goddess.... " she says as she calls Athena who is on verge of leaving after telling the whole thing about their situation, about the gods' announcement on branding those who enter this Abyss Tower as Demon Worshippers.
" Yes, dear... " Athena says while only showing her back as she needs to leave before the other gods noticed her helping the Battle Maiden.
As the Battle Maiden calls her, she can only go silent for a bit. In those silence, she can only put her hands on her chest, as she slowly releases what she's going to say to the goddess at the moment.
" Thank you, for everything... " Battle Maiden says as she gives the goddess her gratitude, even after hearing the whole truth that should've made her angry to her.
" You're saying thanks, to me? " Athena asks which Battle Maiden only nods. Seeing that, the goddess looks at her for the last time and decides to end the communication between them immediately.
" Before I leave, there's something I need to do with you... " Athena says as she then uses her power to influence Battle Maiden's Gift Core inside her body.
" [ Order 99 Released, Releasing the Divine Boundaries. ] "
" [ Order 12 Released, Shutting Down the Mortals' memory wipe. ] " Athena says as she lifts some things from Battle Maiden's Tier 5 Gift Core.
" Goddess... " Battle Maiden says as she felt power being unleashed from her body all of the sudden and also she immediately received something in her head, some kind of a wave flow of information just pours itself into her mind.
Memories, unknown memories from an unknown time, rushing towards Battle Maiden's memories in an instant, filling her mind with memories of her previous Timelines, including the memory of another person that somehow has the same thing as her.
" Goddess... what is this? " she asks.
" Your memories, from your previous lives... "
" You might not believe it immediately but you will understand that those memories belong to your previous lives that I've kept since before both of us met during the previous Abyss Tower. "
" Even before you're very existence even existed in this time, actually... " Athena says while Battle Maiden feels another memory rushing in her mind, but this one feels different, she doesn't feel that the memories belong to her but to another, as from the memory, she could hear a woman calling her grandfather, so many times as she can see an old man holding her and running in the desert.
" Wha... these memories...? "
" I don't know, which one it is either but I can immediately tell that it seems these memories don't feel like belong to me. "
" Especially that old man, that... these new memories keep calling grandfather... "
" Why does his face, look like... " Battle Maiden faints while Athena just backs her and explained to her that the other 'memories' belongs to another person, a person she used to train at other time before she even pick Battle Maiden as her Avatar.
" Those memories, come from a person I used to train so much with, a mortal. "
" A Divinely brave woman mortal, so valiant and so enlightening. "
" She who we Divine should follow back then but be betrayed since she knows too much... "
" Oh right, you might not know this, my maiden but... "
" The other person's memories that I gave you showed you of an old man, didn't they? a grandfather? " Athena asks which Battle Maiden humbly replied with a yes.
" Yes goddess, who is that, why... "
" Why he felt so familiar...? "
" Does he have something with these previous life memories of mine? what's going on Goddess? "
" What revelation that you unravel to me? "
Hearing her questions, Athena could only see her watch since she had to leave so soon before the others noticed her interference in this Raid, the Raid meant to execute the Battle Maiden since the gods feared her so much.
"( Dammit, time is always running short, I actually want to tell her from the beginning, but... )"
"( If I only had seconds left before they notice me, I can't waste my time telling her everything and building up the reason I gave her memories from the Previous Timelines, even if I didn't get the time to explain it to her first about it. )"
"( Grrhh..., I need to... wait... )"
"( This presence, this Divine Energy... )" Athena senses something as she senses a powerful Divine Energy below her.
"( This is the 8th Floor of the Tower, judging from its source, the power must be from the floors below. )"
"( This energy, it can't be... )" Athena says as she felt a shocking energy coming from below.
"( My heart is racing, this Divine Energy must be hers. )"
"( Thank goodness, so this is where your soul goes. )" Athena says as she knows whose energy it belongs to as she can sense it fighting a Deviant Energy which makes her sure that this energy belongs to a goddess that already died just now, Aphrodite.
"( I see then, guess I'll have no choice but to meet her and left my Avatar here. )"
"( I hope that she would be kind to guide my Avatar where I could not. )" Athena thinks as she sees the Battle Maiden still processing all of it in her mind she then decides to let her take her time and decides to leave her.
" Take your time, my avatar. "
" Remember all of it that I gave you... " she says as she prepares to leave.
" God... dess... "
" Just survive... "
" Use everything that I gave you... " Athena leaves, shutting down the [Divine Communication Subspace] she used to communicate with the Battle Maiden, using her Gift Core as the main tool.
...
(Back to the Present.)
" My goddess told you to look over me? " Battle Maiden asks to Aphrodite's Spirit as she interfered with her conversation with Ragna Twelve.
" Of course, Divine Hero... "
" Since your goddess can't help you since she is still bound to the Divine Laws. "
" She had no choice but to ask me, the one who already broke the laws and was unseen by the other gods to guide you in this Raid as her substitute. "
" I see, so that's what happened, huh? " Battle Maiden asks as she then thinks for a bit.
" I see, so it seems I have the only choice to ally with you then, even if it's against my neutrality for serving only justice. " Battle Maiden says to Aphrodite which Ragna Twelve hears and scratches his head.
" Oh by the love of the Creator... "
" You two talked too many...! " Ragna Twelve says as he then decides to ask the Battle Maiden if she wants to help him or not on helping Ragna who is currently on the verge of being constantly destroyed from within.
Hearing that, the Battle Maiden then agrees as it seems she had no choice but to follow the goddess and Ragna Twelve as Libra so tells her its very decision, which is to follow the two spiritual forms.