"I can't believe he actually made it to her," Axel said, his voice tinged with a sense of wonder. "How is that even possible? He dove into the River Lethe, didn't he?"
"My sources confirmed that he did jump into the River Lethe," Aero replied, leaning against a pillar in the study. He looked puzzled by what he had witnessed through the Mortal Mirror.
"He should have no memories of his past life," the Sky God mused, stroking his chin. He had feared that Atlas's choice to leave behind his immortal life might have caused him to lose the man he had come to think of as a little brother. And yet from what he had witnessed, there was much reason to believe he hadn't; That Atlas still retained the honorable traits that made him such an admirable person.
He looked over to the Goddess, who seemed to be in deep thought. "Moon, what do you think of this situation? Humans are your domain. You have a better understanding of them than anyone else. Is it possible that Atlas was reincarnated with his memories?"
The Goddess furrowed her brows wondering how she was going to explain this phenomenon. She bit her lower lip nervously, glancing at the three male gods, who were watching her expectantly.
"It's not that he was reborn with his memories," she started hesitantly. "I've seen this happen occasionally, where a soul's will power overshadows the River Lethe's strength. Their will pushes through in the cycle of rebirth, and they go where they really want to. It honestly rarely ever happens."
Truthfully, Moon always thought that souls are extremely resilient and that Gods took too much credit in guiding someone's destiny. When they break free of the rebirth cycle and are guided by their own will, she simply calls that a "Miracle."
The War god tried to articulate this information. "So you're saying that Atlas is more powerful than the River Lethe?"
"Not exactly…" she said, taking a deep breath. "I'm saying that Atlas's love for Tuzi was strong enough to survive the River Lethe."
Aero carried a mildly amused look on his face as he nudged the Sky god. "You know him best. Was he that obsessed with the rabbit?"
"'Obsessed' is probably not the correct word," Sky responded, truly wondering if he ever knew Atlas as well as he thought he did. He sighed. "He had an attachment to Lady Tuzi. I just never questioned how deep his affection was for her."
"Love is not an emotion that can be easily measured," Moon replied with a gentle smile. "Tuzi thought highly of Atlas. I wonder if she knew how he felt about her."
Sky looked perplexed. "You don't mind this?"
"Mind what?" she asked.
"Atlas is in love with your lady. She belongs to you," he said carefully. "This does not bother you?"
She did not look bothered. In fact, she looked very calm when she answered, "As long as Tuzi is okay with it, it doesn't bother me at all. She is her own person. And if she reciprocates his feelings, then I am happy for her."
The three gods looked bewildered as they could only gape at her response in shock. The Goddess thought they looked funny with their mouths opened so wide, kind of like fishes.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, curious at their reaction to her answer.
Sky cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. "No no, nothing's wrong," he said unconvincingly. "Tuzi's very lucky to have you looking out for her best interest." He looked a bit uncomfortable.
Aero opened his mouth prepared with a smart response, but Sky preemptively elbowed him in the rib cage. "Don't… even… say… it…" Sky growled under his breath at him. The God of Air could only send daggers at his friend through the glare coming from his violet eyes.
Moon was assessing them suspiciously now. All three looked like they had something they wanted to say, but for whatever reason, were just staring at her oddly. And Axel looked like he was holding his breath. His face was practically turning blue now.
"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" she asked, peering closely at them.
"Really, everything is fine," Sky answered quickly, before his two friends could reply.
Lucky for him, it was at that very second the sound of a doorbell rang through the house, breaking up the awkward moment.
"Oh, someone's at the door! I can get that," the Goddess said out of habit. She spun around and quickly headed out of the study, her long robes fluttering behind her.
The three gods let out the breath they were holding.
"Didn't Moon tear out someone's heart for staring at Lady Tuzi for too long?" Axel asked, flabbergasted. "She did, right? I'm not going crazy here. You had to clean up that bloody mess for her."
"She absolutely did. And did she just imply that she has an open relationship with her pet?" Aero's face was incredulous. "She broke up with you because you slept with a few honeys! Centuries of drama, and you're telling me now it was over nothing?"
Sky could feel a migraine throbbing painfully against his forehead. "It– It's complicated," the Sky god sputtered out. Very complicated. "And she didn't exactly tear that guy's heart out for staring at Lady Tuzi for too long. He was behaving like a beast with other women in the Realm. It was well deserved."
Axel and Aero did not look convinced by his answers at all. These two alpha gods thought the female-kind were unpredictable creatures with no logical way of figuring out what would make them happy. They were contradictory in their behaviors and simply made no sense. Women were forever going to be a realm of mystery to them.
"Drama magnets," Aero mumbled under his breath with Axel nodding in agreement.
"What did you say?" Sky asked menacingly.
"Nothing," he grumbled in response. It was his turn to adjust his tie uncomfortably.
Loud knocking interrupted the conversation as a familiar voice swept into the room and greeted the three gods cheerfully.
"Why, hello my friends. How nice to meet you all here." Cedric sailed into the study, looking every bit as handsome as the immaculate suit he was wearing.
Following closely behind him was Eureka, the God of Innovation, who had no problem strolling in like he owned the place.
The Moon Goddess, who was trailing behind them, was trying her best to usher them back out of the room.
Axel groaned. "What the hell are you guys doing here?"