After ordering her huntresses to set up tents and traps around the new location they decided to camp, Artemis decided to go hunting. She walked through the forest, keeping an arrow nocked in her bow. Her steps were silent as she miraculously avoided every branch and leaf that could alert her prey to her location.
Her eyes scanned the trees. Claw marks were deeply etched into each trunk. The large footprints reminded Artemis of a lion. But lions weren't in this region, which she found somewhat strange.
Artemis stepped carefully as she continued.
There was a flash of light behind her. She turned to see her brother, Hermes, standing there. He was tapping his foot impatiently.
"Yes?" Artemis asked.
"Emergency meeting in five minutes," Hermes said, before walking away, leaving her alone again.
Artemis sighed. Of course, they would call a meeting when she was so close to her goal. She slung her bow over her shoulder and dashed to Olympus.
She reappeared in the house of the Gods, in the middle of the street. The nymphs gaped as she passed by. Artemis ignored them as she walked to the throne room at the center. She began to climb the steps to the enormous hall.
She grew taller with every step she took.
She reached the doors of the throne room and pushed them open.
She was the second one there, with Ares already present. She ignored her violent brother as she sat in her throne.
She rested the bow on her lap.
It was quiet in the room. That was strange. Usually, Ares spoke loudly and boasted of his skills in battle, although that was in older times and not in the modernization of human civilization, there was still a certain respect from "man" for her abilities. But the fact that he wasn't speaking loudly indicated that something was going on. She looked at him and noticed that he seemed to be deep in thought?
Since when did the muscle-head think?
A flash of light revealed that Athena was now in the room. Her eyes swept across the chamber, taking in every detail. Artemis could swear she heard the gears turning in her sister's brain. Athena sat down.
Slowly, the gods shimmered into the room. One by one, the thrones were filled until only two remained. Zeus, her father, and her twin brother, Apollo. A lightning bolt signaled the entrance of the former, however, there was no sign of the latter.
Zeus noticed and turned to the messenger god. "Hermes, where is Apollo?"
Hermes shrugged as his hand tapped the armrest of his chair and explained, "He was drinking at a bar and flirting with a... Certain lady..."
He joked at the end.
"Must have gotten lost on the way. I didn't think he was that drunk."
His sentence was punctuated by a golden flash in the middle of the throne room. There was Apollo, half-dazed, a cup of wine spilled all over him. Laughter erupted from almost all the gods in the room.
Artemis rolled her eyes before covering her mouth with her hand as she joined in the laughter.
Zeus grumbled under his breath before gesturing to Dionysus.
Dionysus stood and walked over to Apollo. He crouched down and placed a hand on Apollo's forehead. He gave the Sun God a light whack on the head and stood up. Apollo's eyes opened. He sat up and rubbed his head.
Dionysus offered his hand. Apollo took it.
They sat down.
"Now that everyone is here, and sober..." Zeus began, casting a glance at Apollo, who looked away, before continuing, "...We need to talk."
"About what?" Athena asked.
At that moment, everyone felt their father, Zeus, was acting strangely. He seemed somewhat concerned and somewhat proud, dissipating the entire atmosphere he had over the theft of his master bolt.
"I know some of you were watching, but I'll summarize the fact. Hercules has just been killed..."
Silence fell in the room.
Each god, including Artemis, was somewhat "shaken" by the news. Except for those who had witnessed the battle, but the look of shock in their eyes meant that this news had affected them significantly.
Does that mean a mortal had the power to kill a God? How was that possible!?
"How did that happen?" Athena asked with narrowed eyes. She had a history with her half-brother, so she wanted to know at least the details about his death; besides, this "mortal" was a likely enemy, and knowing information about him would be crucial for constructing some strategy if needed.
"My other son ended up taking Hercules' life..." Zeus began, raising his voice, which sounded like thunder at the end, "He was challenged to a fight and both agreed to it to the death, so that was his fate. What bothers me is that Hercules truly tried to prevent the mission given by the oracle to retrieve my master bolt... One of us intervened and sent him out of the Old Lands for that mission!"
All the gods were already aware of Zeus's newest son—Ikki Phoenix; they had been in a meeting the day he was claimed when Poseidon claimed his son, Zeus did the same in his absolute rage, which surprised everyone. That day was as close as they had come to fighting since the master bolt was stolen; the meeting ended when Hera, the Queen of the Gods, wanted to have a private "conversation" with her husband! And since no God wanted to meddle in the couple's life, they quickly left them alone.
A few distant stars went supernova that day due to Hera's fury; at some points in America, some lucky ones had the privilege of watching through a telescope.
Anyway, after several days, his newest brother did this?
Zeus began to explain the details and controlled lightning to make two figures fight in the middle of the room; he simulated the fight this way without leaving any detail out.
The gods who had watched, Hermes being one of them who happened to pass by the location, could confirm that the fight had been exactly as Zeus simulated through his control of lightning.
Of course, Poseidon, who was in a state of near war with him, grumbled and called him a show-off.
Artemis was amazed and even somewhat frightened by her half-brother's intelligence when hearing her father's details; she felt he was not inferior to Athena in strategies, although she hid her feelings very well. But when she saw him pounding Hercules like a punching bag, she showed a frightened face like most of the gods.
Although she knew Zoe would be thrilled with this news, she would love to watch the beating of her tormentor.
"The reason for this meeting is simple; I want to know who sent Hercules after my son!" Zeus said in a firm tone.
The gods were taken aback; they thought it was to determine Ikki Phoenix's punishment, but it seemed that the King of the Gods was protecting his son. Which was shocking to say the least; the only ones who had this privilege were Athena and Artemis, the two daughters he loved most.
And now this demigod!
"It was me..." admitted his malicious stepmother in a cold voice; she continued, "And you know very well why, another one of your spawn! Even with the fate of Olympus at stake, you can't hold your pants up!"
Somehow, none of those present were surprised, just Zeus who looked at his wife in disbelief, feeling she had gone too far this time, his child... He felt guilty for what!?
"Hera, how could you do such a thing!"
"How can you betray me once again! That's what!"
Zeus, being as stubborn as he was, obviously did not accept this and began to argue with his wife; the two were practically shouting at each other while the other gods simply focused on doing what attracted them most.
The focus quickly shifted when Poseidon also entered the argument when Hera mentioned that she had sent Hercules to kill all the demigods who were on the mission if the boy hadn't agreed to duel with him; the God of the sea became furious since his son was also on the mission.
Then, the father and the uncle began to argue about the stolen master bolt, and they only left after several exhausting hours.
Artemis left the throne room and let out a sigh; it was then that she heard the prayers of her huntresses and saw all the destruction, consumed by vengeance, she went after the culprits and ended up on the verge of death before being saved by the boy.
...
..
.
Artemis felt like she was floating on clouds; her body that had been aching to the point of a soldier who had endured unimaginable tortures crying and begging to stop was healed and without any pain. Although her eyelids felt heavy, she slowly opened her eyes to find an unfamiliar ceiling.
"I see the sleeping beauty has awakened..."
A voice that sounded like immortal wine that people would never tire of drinking entered her ears.
Looking toward the voice by reflex, she saw the boy who had saved her standing with his arms crossed against the wall. The moment she saw him... Her heart raced faster than a deer in front of headlights; he was too beautiful!
And those eyes that stared at her, they were extremely lovely and enchanting, their shine dazzled the Moon, the Sun, and the most beautiful stars. Within his pupils, there seemed to be an astral galaxy, tiny, imperceptible sparkles of various colors glittered like tiny crystal particles, giving a dreamy hue that no one could understand.
As soon as she looked into those blue eyes, like an impeccable agate, she became lost, as if swallowed by a sea of pure and sincere feelings.
Just by looking into those extremely charming eyes, which possessed a calmness and serenity beyond what words could describe and a depth deeper than any ocean or abyss, she felt completely safe and at peace; her chest filled with positive feelings. The boy's eyes in front of her conveyed infinite kindness and seemed pure and immaculate, as if they would remain that way forever.
Before she could get lost down an irreversible path, she quickly bit her tongue to calm the fire that spread through her body, and she focused on what mattered... Her body seemed intact and recovered; it seemed he hadn't done anything strange to her, just healed her...
"If you're worried that I did something to you, don't worry... I'm not interested in little girls..." Ikki said calmly and nonchalantly.
His words made Artemis feel as if an imaginary arrow had hit her heart. Little girl!? Her!? The goddess of the hunt was called little girl by a boy of twelve or thirteen?! What would others think upon hearing such absurdity!? But just as the bubbling hatred and anger rose to her heart, it disappeared when she saw the boy smiling with amusement.
That smile made the world lose its colors with its beauty; the moon and the stars, all the most beautiful landscapes, simply paled in front of that smile.
In one word, it was perfect.
In two words, it was indescribably perfect.
Damn! What was happening to her? Why couldn't she stop thinking about how perfect he was and couldn't even hate him?
She took a deep breath to calm her inner turmoil and looked at the boy with a complicated expression.
"You know, I expected at least a thank you. I just saved your life, didn't I?.." Ikki uncrossed his arms, which had been crossed until now, and said: "But you've been silent so far, analyzing me with that complicated look of yours. Are you going to tell me you've never had to thank someone for something?"
The boy's words snapped Artemis out of her stupor. She raised an eyebrow; it wasn't that she had never thanked anyone, she had never thanked a "boy," and it was exceptionally difficult for her. In fact, she didn't know how to handle this.
Part of her felt grateful amidst a barrage of good emotions she had never felt toward the boy.
Another part just wanted to punish him for his disrespect and for touching her without permission, but he did it to save her... And due to his unparalleled appearance, it was hard for that side to prevail over the other.
"I'm sorry for my lack of manners; I'm still absorbing this entire situation..." Artemis sighed and spoke in a pragmatic tone: "But I thank you for saving me, kid."
Ikki simply smiled in satisfaction, something that left the girl stunned and made the blood rush to her cheeks, turning them red instead of golden, as they should be due to the ichor flowing through her veins.
In response to her gratitude, he bowed like a gentleman and said playfully: "No problem, my dear lady; it was an honor to be your savior..."
His gestures amused Artemis and made her wounded ego feel a little better. She could almost feel herself smiling, but she maintained her calm face and the dignity of the goddess of the hunt.
"You know, I found something very strange... You seem powerful enough to kill all those monsters with ease, but you didn't; what is your reason? After all, what is your true identity?"
Ikki asked calmly, looking into the girl's silver eyes, which were more beautiful than any mortal jewel in his opinion.
"You're right; I could have easily killed those monsters if I hadn't been careless..." At this point, Artemis clenched her fists; flashes of various memories of her slain maidens passed through her mind, a sigh escaped her lips, and she said: "As for who I am... I am Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt and one of the twelve Olympian Goddesses..."
Ikki was somewhat surprised by her identity, and a pang of pain passed through his heart as he recalled the stories about her; even he did not understand the reason for this... But he ignored it for now, and looking at her, he murmured.
"I understand; that explains a lot..."
The girl sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him, listening to his murmur with her enhanced senses.
"Are you not surprised by my age?" Artemis asked with an arched eyebrow. She also expected some kind of reverence, but she wasn't bothered by the lack of it since she wasn't as needy for it as the Gods were.
"Not really; I see you as a kind of gigantic energy taking form. It's not strange that you gods can take the form you desire..." Ikki said calmly without much regard.
Artemis nodded, not caring much about how he spoke about what the gods were, and explained. "Yes. I could appear as a grown woman, as radiant fire, or anything else I wanted, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Huntresses and all the young maidens for whom I am a patron, before they stray."
"Stray? You mean getting involved with men and having sex, losing their purity?"
Ikki said, making a very inappropriate gesture with his hands casually.
"Yes, but I wouldn't use those words." Artemis nodded her head and frowned while saying this.
"Well, I was just trying to be as casual as possible about it." Ikki shrugged and said: "But anyway, I guess I should introduce myself formally, right?..."
But just as he was about to do so, the Goddess before his eyes shook her head negatively and stood up while saying.
"There's no need; Olympus is in an uproar because of you. All the gods know who you are; they even call you the King of Heroes."
"Oh, can you tell me more details about that?"