The Seraphic System
Chapter: 38
Note: A bit of a slower chapter but trust me alot of action and chaos is coming in the coming chapters.
Pa/ t reon details at the bottom of the chapter if you're interested I'll keep posting regardless.
(Goddess of Love)
I stared at the Goddess sitting next to me in disbelief. What the hell was Aphrodite doing here?
There was a brief pause, as she stared back at me with her big expressive eyes.
Quickly, I regained my bearings in front of the insanely beautiful woman who was staring at me in intrigue and something else I couldn't identify.
"I didn't realise I was in the presence of a Goddess." I calmly spoke.
I briefly looked away from her and quickly assessed the situation in my mind.
She perked up at my statement.
"Oh-How did you figure me out? I was sure I was sufficiently disguised." She asked in confusion.
"I admit I was rather distracted when you first came in so I didn't notice, but now looking at you. There's the obvious presence that all Gods seem to have on you." I explained truthfully, that there was a weird presence that all Gods have and I had noticed it so it wasn't a lie.
"Oh, I see." She muttered softly.
"Is there something you need?" I questioned.
She smiled beautifully but I noticed it seemed a little off. The smile was strained and didn't fully reach her eyes.
"Oh, I was just wondering why an Angel was in town. Especially on the west coast. It's rare to see your kind. Extremely rare." She replied, leaning forward towards me.
I wasn't surprised she figured out I was an Angel. By now, I could conceal much of my presence, but it still wasn't perfect. The lingering residue of holy power probably tipped her off. At least it kept me hidden from the monsters.
Without presence concealment, I would have been like a beacon, attracting every monster's attention. It was similar to a Demigod's natural aura, but for some reason, an Angel's presence seemed even stronger.
"So you came here just for me? Seems a bit excessive for mere intrigue, especially for a goddess such as yourself" I responded with a bit of suspicion and with a tad of praise to try to see what kind of goddess she was.
An arrogant God like Ares was easier to deal with, though something told me she wasn't anywhere close to what Ares was. Despite the questionable reputation of the Greek Love Goddess.
Diverting the line of conversation that the subject would inevitably lead to.
She smiled wistfully.
"No, I was already in the city. you were just an interesting happenstance." Aphrodite replied, her tone strange.
This was such an odd situation. This was the fifth God I had met and it was randomly at a cafe for some reason.
So much for getting a brief break, I think the Fates may be punishing me for interfering in their little divine quest. At least Aphrodite had not been hostile yet, not like Ares and Hercules. Even if Hercules had seemed more forced.
I relaxed a little but prepared myself to run. She was still firmly in the realm above the Ultimate class after all.
"So you were just walking around the city and happened to sense an angel?" I questioned.
If there was a way goddess could sense me beyond my presence concealment I wanted to know about it.
"No, you are hiding yourself pretty well. I only noticed you were an angel when I entered the cafe." She admitted. Idly curling a strand of her hair.
"I see, and I guess asking for the reason why you were wandering around the city would be overstepping my authority?" I mused, I mostly wanted to see the reasoning as to why she was apparently just walking around.
My trust at the moment was pretty low considering I was just about to finish this damned quest. The appearance of a Goddess normally didn't signify anything good.
I was also a bit curious.
She paused, staring into my eyes strangely. I looked at her more closely, and I noticed a flicker of vulnerability behind those deep, mesmerising eyes.
"Why do you want to know?" She asked a bit quieter.
"I've met gods before," I began slowly. "and I've learned that they don't usually reach out to mortals or any supernatural creature less powerful than them. Unless there's something more at play."
Aphrodite's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't respond. Instead, she looked down at her smooth hands, which were now resting on the table between us. Her fingers traced invisible patterns on the surface
Perhaps I should invest in body language? It shouldn't be too hard to read with my enhanced comprehension skills. I had thought it was a human thing but it seemed even Gods expressed themselves with body language.
"I see, I don't usually talk to people like this. Not properly. They always expect something from me, something I'm not willing to give." She spoke after a few moments of silence.
I stayed silent, letting her continue at her own pace.
"You're correct, though. I wasn't just wandering the city aimlessly. I was trying to get close to the sea. It's the only place that feels like a home anymore, a place I can truly relax. The only place where I can sense him."
"Him?" I questioned.
My suspicion had died down now, the only true Goddess I had been able to trust in my opinion was Hestia. I didn't think any other Greek God would like her.
Ares had been more on the line than I was expecting. Prideful and arrogant.
Though I guess it wasn't fair to judge all Gods by the Greek standard.
This could be an elaborate scheme from Aphrodite but I doubted it, I had been abusing my empathy skill on anyone I could. Which was why I could sense her emotions were genuine.
Unless there was a way to fake them she is being genuine which is both refreshing and strange.
I am not sure why she would bother with me but I would still keep my guard up.
"My father. Pontus." She said the name like it was some forbidden word, her voice filled with a kind of longing that bordered on sorrow.
"The God?"
How many Gods did the sea have? How did that work? Were there just multiple territories in the Sea and how did that affect their domain? Did ruling bigger parts allow more access to their domain?
"He's not just a Titan or a god of the sea, He is the sea, the very essence of it. A Primordial God. But he's been asleep for so long now. Too long." She replied passionately.
Ah, wasn't he meant to be her father? I couldn't recall much but that would make sense. Was he currently sleeping then?
I was confused though, why was she being so open with me? I felt there was something more going on. Was it truly just because I reminded her of someone dear to her?
My empathy skill suggested she was being genuine with her emotions but that didn't mean she didn't have an ulterior motive.
"I don't mean to be rude and I can somewhat feel how you are feeling. But why are you telling me all this? Aren't Gods meant to be full of secrets?" I asked, excluding Hestia from the list I was thinking of.
"I'm not sure why I'm telling you this. Perhaps it's because you are from one of the truly pure races left in the world. Maybe it's that part of you I hope doesn't judge me and use my weakness against me or it might be because you remind me of someone who was very close to me." She rambled.
"It could just be because I'm lonely." She finished, her shoulders slumping a bit.
I wasn't equipped to deal with this, when I had seen a Goddess I was expecting to either be forced to run away or have some tense negotiation about whatever she wanted from me.
I suppose it couldn't hurt to comfort her, gaining a godly ally couldn't be bad. I doubted she would immediately become my ally since Gods were meant to be selfish from what I had seen.
But the effort of ingraining myself as a good acquaintance to a lonely Goddess couldn't be a bad thing. I had a bit of time too and I had been a bit annoyed at myself for doing nothing.
I doubted I would do enough in the next twenty minutes to really stick but I could try. After all, it's not like she would immediately engrain herself to me just because she was lonely.
This counts as something productive.
Now, how to go about this.
"I'm not here to judge you, Aphrodite," I replied gently. "Everyone needs someone to talk to, even gods."
I could feel the massive jolt of shock go through her from my empathy skill. She hid it well on her facial features but that strange expression crossed her face once again.
She smiled weakly a moment later.
"Thank you. It's been a long time since someone has truly listened to me, beyond trying to use me for my beauty and desire." Aphrodite replied.
"By the way, you've said twice now that I remind you of someone close to you. May I ask who that is?" I inquired curiously.
I was curious as to who she found me to be alike too.
Her smile turned genuine as her stunning eyes glazed over as if she was seeing something I couldn't.
"Adonis, he had been my closest friend," Aphrodite responded. A wistful look is present on her facial features.
"As in the God of Rebirth and Desire? I am assuming by your words that he's dead?" I questioned.
She flinched minutely but nodded solemnly.
"He's long since faded. A rare occurrence for a God and a mystery that has plagued me for millennia." She explained with sadness evident in her tone.
So she sensed my allure? Could my Allure have some connection to the Domain of Desire? Well… obviously. It made me much more desirable. Did Adonis have this aura too?
"I see, I'm sorry to hear that. I can understand that loneliness." I sympathised with her. Perhaps I was being a bit too honest but I felt it was best to meet her somewhat with the level of trust she was giving me.
"Though, if I may ask. Why do I remind you of him?"
Best I get some confirmation on that.
"You give the same feeling as him, I miss that. You've also shown yourself to be remarkably like him. Perhaps something more is going on." She mused, staring at me strangely once more.
Okay…
I had a feeling that something had just been horribly misunderstood.
"I can also sense that this isn't your true form, is it?" She said with a sly smile. Her mood seemingly uplifted a bit.
I wasn't surprised she had sensed that either since my little illusion was only meant to dull the effects of my Allure.
"Guilty." I raised my hands in mock surrender. I briefly considered if telling her about my allure was a good idea. I wouldn't go into detail but she could already sense it, so I see no harm.
"I'm currently using an illusion to cover the effects of those feelings you can sense."
She nodded with a beautiful smile. "I would love to see your true appearance one day if you permit me. I know you probably don't trust me much at the moment due to the foul myths that have been spread around about me."
Her smile dimmed significantly.
False myths? It made sense that humans would perceive things differently but why did she seem so heated about it? Was it because of all the bad myths that had been spread around her?
"No need to worry. I don't make a habit of basing my opinions on second-hand experiences." I reassured her.
Even my canon knowledge had proven wrong in many aspects, as limited as it was due to my memory of it not being very good. So, I was mostly judging things from experience.
Her beautiful smile returned in full force.
"May I ask why you're here? Not that I'm unhappy with your presence, it's rather the opposite but even the Greeks know that the Abrahamic God has long kept his angels up in heaven exclusively." She inquired, looking at me curiously.
I debated on whether telling her was a good idea or not before deciding that she would probably find out anyway. It was best to use this as a source of trust instead of letting someone else tell her.
"Just helping out some friends with a quest, which unfortunately forced me to meet up with Ares. He hasn't given me a great impression of what to expect from the Greek pantheon." I replied with a shrug.
Her face darkened significantly at the name of Ares.
"I can imagine. That bastard is the lowest of scum undeserving of his domain and godhood. No wonder you were on guard around me." Aphrodite growled.
Oh? I thought they had some secret love thing going on then again, that was just a myth. As I said I didn't trust any myths but I was curious about how that myth spread around.
"Seems we both have a common enemy. Would you feel comfortable telling me why you hate him so much?" I questioned carefully, with a soothing tone that I let my allure seep into.
She obviously noticed it by the way she calmed down and sent me a little smile for my efforts.
"Just don't judge me please, you must understand I didn't realise what he was up to till it was too late." She replied softly.
"Trust me, I'm not in any place to judge you," I responded with a chuckle.
"Well, to begin with, let's just say the bastard God of War has been obsessed with me—or rather, with my beauty. For a long time. Like many other gods, he tried to court me, but he didn't take my rejections well. It was clear he only desired me for my body and nothing more." She started, a small scowl twisted on her face.
I didn't interrupt her. Getting a read on Ares' type of personality and her vulnerability was good. Any enemy of my enemy was my friend.
"After that, he went silent. Though not before making hundreds, maybe even thousands, of attempts to impress me. It was only a few years later that I began to notice unsavoury rumours spreading among my worshippers. At first, they were minor, but over the centuries, they grew.
Eventually, when these rumours evolved into myths that started to weaken my connection to my domain, I tracked down their source. And, as you can probably guess, it turned out to be that bastard's doing. Since I wouldn't accept him, he decided to force my hand."
Aphrodite's fist was clenched, her eyes watery and I saw numerous glaring at me with hatred as she had an expression that could break the hearts of any. Some even started getting up and walking towards us.
I sent them a glare and pulsed my presence, terror overwhelming them. They found themselves unable to move and quickly backed away from us.
"He's been gradually weakening me and making sure that none ally with me. I fear that I will eventually be forced to accept him." She finished mournfully. A look of disgust on her face.
"What about Hephaestus? Isn't he your husband or something?" I inquired.
She nodded her head.
"We were originally forced into a loveless marriage. The only saving grace was Hephaestus was a kinder god than many would have been in that situation and didn't force me to do anything. We are divorced now, against the stubborn queen's wishes. I believe he's married to Algaea now. In the end, he got a happy ending." She said self-deprecatingly. A hollow chuckle escaped her throat.
I felt myself feeling for her. Which wasn't like me at all and I don't even think I could blame it on my angelic instincts. A part of me was still suspicious about this random encounter but I felt she was being truthful.
Spontaneously my hand reached out and softly grasped hers before I could stop myself, I felt her jolt in surprise but her hand came to firmly squeeze mine after a moment.
"I knew he was a dickhead but to see him stooping so low is pathetic. I know I can't really say much but I don't think you'll be having to worry about him much sooner." I added with a smirk.
She regarded me curiously.
"What do you mean? Don't go do anything stupid for me. He's a God. I know I may seem pathetic but we are strong." She replied with a small blush.
"Firstly you aren't pathetic, secondly let's just say he's involved with this big quest going on regarding the stolen bolt," I responded confidently. A shit-eating grin on my face.
Her eyes lit up.
"Don't get yourself into trouble but if you can prove this I shall be behind you. I have long grown enraged by these insulting myths of his. Like seriously saying I'm not a goddess or that I can't fight, and I am just a sex crazed cheater. That's just blatant insults. Or that I was solely born of foam made by Uranus' genitals. Who could even believe such a thing?!" She ranted.
"Thanks for the support and I am going to assume that most myths regarding you are false." I flatly replied.
"Yes! My real deeds have been covered up by these false statements. As if I was born from Zeus fucking himself!" She crossed her arms, but the small smile on her face indicated she was happy at being able to rant.
"Won't he hear you if you invoke his name?" I questioned with a smirk of amusement.
I didn't want this to be my first impression with Zeus. Catching me listening to Aphrodite's rant about her not being born from Zeus fucking himself.
"Oh, that doesn't apply to other Divine beings or any beings stronger than him. Unless we want it too, of course." She quickly replied.
That was slightly relieved and that made sense. I doubted other gods or even divine beings for that matter would enjoy being that restricted.
On another matter.
"On a completely different subject. I went to Camp Half Blood and don't you have literal children? How does that work?"
"Oh right, I mainly use the same technique as Athena. They aren't born in the natural way and therefore are weaker than normal demigods. Which makes them have less scent and allows them to go on to live relatively normal lives in the modelling career mainly." She quickly explained, an innocent smile on her face as she seemingly thought of her children.
"Why have children if you don't mind me asking?" I inquired.
I didn't see a reason for her to have children, especially in her predicament.
"Oh, it started as a way to strengthen my main domain of love. Since I haven't fallen in love I created familial bonds to try to fill that gap. It didn't work that well but still helps out. Not to say I don't care for my children." She added on the end hurriedly. A spike of nervousness in her emotion as she gazed at me worriedly.
"Huh, so the myths are working to weaken your domain." I mused.
She nodded.
"Domains aren't as important as you would believe but they give God's special abilities that could be considered trump cards in their own right. Weaking my link has cut me off from a lot of these abilities and the faith I gain is corrupted in a way due to its misguided belief." She calmly explained.
I was surprised at how open she was to giving me information about her godhood. There was a certain innocence to her that may be due to her lack of friends.
"Thank you for trusting me with this information." I sincerely replied.
She averted her eyes with a smile.
"It's no problem. You could have found out relatively easily anyway." Aphrodite responded a bit dare I say bashfully.
She stood up in the next moment.
"Thank you for letting me rant, it's been a long time." She said a soft smile on her face. "I can see you have other important matters to attend to so I won't bother you any longer. I understand if you don't wish to contact me in the future but should you wish. Merely call my name if you perhaps wish to ever speak to me again."
"Of course, I'll talk to you again. Soon even. I haven't got a lot of friends and I can feel that you are genuine." I replied easily.
She beamed at me.
"Friends? I would love that." She replied before blushing a bit. Golden specks on either of her perfect skin. "Oh- goodbye."
She hurriedly exited the building and I was left sitting alone. I shook my head in amusement and the completely bizarre situation I had found myself in. I checked the time.
I should get going. My Angels should be reaching the meet-up destination soon.
-Scene Break-
-{Flashback}-
I blocked Avael's determined strike easily. A clang of the metal rang out as her siblings watched from the side lines. She had grown tremendously during her time training.
She spun, aiming to sweep my legs out from under me with the edge of her shield. I sidestepped and parried her holy flame lance, feeling the heat radiating from its tip as it scraped against my sword.
While I didn't have a set style of fighting I had developed my own accidentally after fighting so many higher-powered beings.
I was almost completely sure it was the work of my Prodigy skill that had caused me to develop this weird chaotic form of fighting but it seemed to work so far.
"Not bad," I muttered, giving her a moment to recover.
Avael grunted in frustration, pulling back and adjusting her stance. Her wings flared out behind her as she pressed forward with her shield raised and her holy lance shimmering with golden fire as she aimed for my chest.
I sidestepped once more, knocking her lance aside and spinning her off balance.
She stumbled but quickly regained her footing, determined not to falter. Her brows furrowed in concentration with small beads of sweat lining her brow.
Avael lunged again, shield leading this time and pushing her holy lance outward in a final, desperate strike.
I countered with ease, sweeping my blade upward to deflect her attack before pushing her back with a gentle shove, the sheer difference in power was easily seen. As she was sent stumbling back.
Her lance fell from her grip as she collapsed to her knees, breathing heavily. Her wings drooped and I could see the frustration in her eyes.
"I lost again," she muttered bitterly, gripping her shield tight as if it were the only thing keeping her steady. "Why am I not strong enough? I'm never strong enough."
I wrapped her in a hug and gave her a grin.
"You're massively improving Avael. I've been alive longer than you and have had life or death situations forced on me. It's natural that experience would show itself along with the fact I am much stronger than you." I explained with a chuckle.
Avael hugged me back desperately.
"I need to get stronger for you, Father." She muttered.
I shook my head at her name calling but let it go.
I had come into the sub-dimension when I could manage some time to have small training sessions with all my Angels and Avael had shown herself to be a cut above the rest even though she had been born with the same amount of power.
Without warning, the others rushed in. One by one, her siblings joined us, glomping on both of us and surrounding me in a swarm of feathers, laughter and big smiles.
-{Flashback End}-
I blinked.
That was weird.
Spotting five familiar cloaked figures, I smiled, relieved to see them unharmed and knowing their task had been accomplished. They wouldn't have returned otherwise, despite my protests.
"Kai," Avael said with only some difficulty and a wide proud smile, stepping forward. "We have succeeded."
She extended her hand from within her cloak, revealing three pearls. A proud smirk on all of her siblings' faces, even as they glanced at everyone around us suspiciously.
It was a bit cute how overprotective they were but it was also problematic. I inspected the three pearls in my hand. I only needed one, but having two backups couldn't hurt.
'Appraisal.'
The Pearls information popped up and sure enough they were the real deal.
"Excellent job. I hope there were no complications getting them?" I inquired, storing the pearls away in my inventory for later usage.
This had been a little bit of a test along with me simply wanting to speed up the process of getting this quest done. I admit I was nervous to let them out after what had happened with my sixth angel.
Partially I knew it couldn't have been helped. I had been exhausted along with my other Angels and two Deva with their army of subordinates who had surrounded me at the time. Leaving him there had been an unfortunate necessity.
This had made me essentially stuff them in my pocket dimension, which they didn't mind of course since it had come to be their home and mainly because they didn't really care as long as I was with them.
I was glad they had shown they could be trusted with small tasks.
I was also glad I didn't have to deal with my friends at the moment. I was an introvert at heart. I had no doubt Percy would have heavily objected if he knew what I was doing.
"No, we kept ourselves hidden from human sight and only interacted with the Demigod. He was suspicious but ended up handing over the pearls after a bit of negotiation." Tamiel beside Avael happily informed.
I nodded in satisfaction.
"Good, now as much as I hate to do this you will have to stay in my sub-dimension for a little while. There's too much attention on me at the moment and your existence wouldn't help that." I gently replied.
They didn't protest, nodding in acceptance. Even as they all wore displeased frowns. I had no doubt that I was going to have to fix all of the training mannequins I had created for their accuracy training again.
I'd reward them a bit later for their efforts I decided.
A crack appeared and they entered without any argument. I started to make my way to what I knew as an entrance to Hades Domain directly.
It was time to enter the underworld and confront Hades.
-END-
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