For reaching 100 Power Stones, here is the extra chapter. The first volume is finished on my Patreon, if you want to take a peek to see how it ended and support me, here it is: patreon.com/Adam_Kadmon
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A few moments later, a young woman of her age entered. She carried an incomparable ethereal appearance like a descending goddess – like a fairy under the moonlight. With golden hair and blue eyes, she was undoubtedly perfect.
Zöe entered next, but left as soon as she received a signal from her to leave the two alone.
Then, Artemis turned her gaze toward the Goddess of Love, and a somewhat incredulous gleam crossed her face. I understand why her lieutenant made that strange expression earlier, with Aphrodite in front of her. She noticed a few details, the first being that she had assumed a younger form and the second, dark circles under her eyes? Also, she seemed ill in some way.
Aphrodite gave a gentle nod in greeting as she sat down, devoid of her usual enthusiasm or her evident provocation when referring to her.
She looked into her eyes and spoke calmly.
"Artemis. We need to talk."
Her words snapped Artemis out of her stupor.
What had happened to the Goddess for her to act so strangely?
Thinking back, she hadn't even come to the meeting that had happened a few days ago, the one her father had postponed during the summer solstice, which wasn't unusual. It was common to see a god missing from meetings due to personal matters. Aphrodite, for instance, would be too involved in her disgusting fun with mortals and would sometimes skip the meeting.
No one thought it odd that she had missed the meeting.
But back to the strangeness of the Goddess in front of her, she raised one eyebrow and asked.
"About?"
Aphrodite took a deep breath and spoke in a serious tone.
"About the boy who changed our lives."
"What do you mean?" Artemis felt a bad feeling in her chest and furrowed her brow as she asked.
"Look, Artemis. I am the Goddess of Love, remember? You can't pretend you don't feel anything about him in front of me." Aphrodite let out a sigh and spoke with a hint of pain, "I want to talk about Ikki Phoenix."
Artemis tried to keep her expression cold and unreadable but failed slightly when she asked, "What about him?"
She completely ignored her statement about sentimentality.
"Seriously, Artemis?" Aphrodite raised an irritated eyebrow and spoke, "It's very childish of you to deny this now. I can feel what's happening between you two."
Artemis shuddered slightly before letting out a sigh and looking at the Goddess as she spoke, "I'm just denying the fact. I shouldn't feel this way, but what do you want to talk about him?"
If she kept denying it, the conversation would never go anywhere. And it was, in fact, somewhat childish of her not to have admitted it from the beginning, considering that the Goddess of Love would know everything about this matter. But it wasn't easy when the idea of being in love with someone was hard to swallow.
Moreover, in her experience, no man was worth it. Part of her kept saying this all the time to help her cope with her decision to dismiss those ordinary feelings. What happened before, those two days she spent with him, was a mistake. Just that...
But the part of her that wanted to be with him couldn't control her jealousy.
"I noticed you two are quite close, huh?"
Now it was Aphrodite's turn to shudder, remembering what happened a month and a few days ago.
Because of her domain over love that encompassed the entire planet, she had noticed the growing feelings of the Goddess in front of her. She had planned to tell Ikki or drop a hint or two about it, but gods were forbidden from being directly involved with demigods.
Now, all she could do was give a little push since she didn't have the power to influence the Virgin Goddess in front of her.
Virgin Goddesses were immune to her control over love. That is, she couldn't make any of them fall in love, and she had tried several times, but nothing worked.
She looked at Artemis and let out a sigh while speaking with a somewhat serious voice.
"Before anything else, I want to give you a piece of advice, Artemis. You can be a Virgin Goddess or hate the male population in general, something I'm against since you rejected love. But if you don't accept these feelings and experience them with him, that will be your regret."
Hearing the words of the Goddess of Love, part of Artemis felt irritation, and another part was a mix of emotions. She did what she could to maintain a cold expression and gritted her teeth as she said, "This has nothing to do with you, Aphrodite."
The Goddess of Love looked deeply at her.
"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you..."
Artemis felt bad in a way that was hard to explain. It seemed like the Goddess in front of her cared about Ikki, and this made her have numerous thoughts about the relationship between them. So much so that she couldn't help but ask with a frown.
"Why does it seem like you care, Aphrodite? You always say drama is the best thing, shouldn't you just be watching an event like this from afar and having fun?"
"Back then, I would've done something like that." Aphrodite sighed and recalled, "But that's the part I said about Ikki changing our lives with the little time we've known him."
"He made me realize that I was wrong about many things. And I'm involved because I don't want to see you heartbroken..."
Artemis frowned and an incredulous gleam passed through her eyes.
Was this really the same Goddess of Love she knew?
She didn't have a good relationship with Aphrodite, but that didn't mean she didn't know her very well. Spend centuries with someone, being a very observant person, and you'll know almost everything about them. Given that, the woman in front of her was acting strangely.
Aphrodite noticed that she didn't seem to believe in her change. She sighed and explained.
"During the mission, I talked to Ikki, and we ended up becoming good friends, at least from my perspective. He's an amazing guy, calm, kind, and very mature for his age. But not to the point of losing his innocence, he has much to learn about life..."
"But that's not the point. The core of it is that even I don't fully understand what happened, but when he talked about my distorted view of love, I started to reflect and saw that he was right..."
"Since then, I've been changing to become a proper Goddess of Love. I haven't slept with anyone, and I haven't interfered in the relationships of mortals to create more drama. I've just been observing the unfolding of passion and love like I should have always done."
Her words shocked the Moon Goddess even more and made her question whether she was dreaming. Looking into the clear blue eyes that showed no signs of deceit and only pure sincerity, her heart beat faster in her chest.
Ikki Phoenix, what the hell is this boy? Why did he have such a drastic effect on Aphrodite? He changed her with just one conversation?! Holy shit! He did something that, in all the millennia, everyone who tried to do failed.
"If you don't believe me, I swear by the River Styx." Said the Goddess of Love while looking at her with determination. Her words snapped Artemis out of her stupor.
Artemis narrowed her eyes toward the Goddess, and despite the fact that she had shown herself to be different, it was still hard for her to believe in the Goddess's change. She then spoke calmly.
"Do it."
"Wow... where's the trust?" Aphrodite pouted, though she had spoken of swearing by the sacred river, she had hoped for a bit more trust, right? She had opened her heart after all. She sighed and swore, "I, Aphrodite, swear by the River Styx that I'm telling nothing but the truth."
Lightning exploded in the sky, signaling that the oath had been made. Seeing that nothing happened to the Goddess of Love, Artemis finally believed in the Goddess's change. And this made her feel even more incredulous.
"Well, I hope you stay like this, I guess." After calming down, it was all she could say.
Aphrodite nodded gently.
"Yes, but now you understand why I care, right? He's my friend, and I don't want to see him hurt."
"Yes, I understand your reasons." Artemis interpreted the Goddess's words differently. Aphrodite said she didn't want to see him hurt, didn't that mean...? No, it was unlikely. She must just be worried about him, which made everything more complicated.
After thinking for a bit, she spoke in the most pragmatic tone.
"But you know I shouldn't have these feelings. I can't and I don't want to, plus, I've already buried them in my heart..."
"Are you sure?" Aphrodite raised her delicate eyebrow and asked, "If that's the case, then imagine him with another woman. Getting married and having children... being happy with another woman..."
Unconsciously, Artemis imagined it, and her heart felt trampled, crushed, and spat on. Imagining him kissing someone else, being kind and romantic with someone else, sleeping with someone else, having children, and being an excellent father. It was so overwhelming that, without realizing it, the corner of her eyes became moist.
But that's what she wanted, right? The boy still saw her as a friend. Besides, even if she wished she were the woman she imagined, it wouldn't work out.
First, she was a Goddess and he was a mere mortal, lives expected to end differently where she could only think of one outcome; him dying and her being left alone in the world.
Moreover, her pride as a Goddess didn't allow her to get involved with a mortal, and he was part of her side that feared everything would end like it did with Orion, fighting the part of her that wanted a life with Ikki. Yes, the essential part was that it would end like it did with that disgusting man! And by the way, she had sworn to never be with any man.
She quickly swallowed the ball of emotions in her throat and shook her head to clear all thoughts. After a moment, while looking down at the table, she spoke in a monotone voice.
"If that's all you have to say, please leave. I have to tend to my duties as a Goddess."
Of course, her inner turmoil and subsequent forceful suppression didn't escape the eyes of the Goddess of Love. She smiled slightly, understanding a bit more about Artemis.
She was very familiar with those wounded girls who no longer trusted men and saw them as nothing but a source of suffering. And that's why they were afraid to get involved with them again, but this case was more extreme.
Well, it doesn't change the fact that she knew where this was going. Confused girls hurt amazing boys.
From what she could see, there would only be one outcome to all of this, Ikki would end up hurt by the Goddess in front of her, more than he already was, because he knew it was a love destined for failure. In her confused state, Artemis might say something cruel, and that would destroy him and traumatize him forever.
It could even be a trigger for him to change forever! Which was bad or good depending on how he would change.
"Actually, no. I think we've strayed a bit from the subject." Aphrodite said after thinking about the best way to approach the matter with the resentful and wounded Goddess in front of her.
"So, where do you want to go with this...?"
Asked Artemis, raising her eyes and looking at the Goddess of Love.
Aphrodite smiled slightly and said.
"I just want to give you some advice."
...
..
.
Outside, Zöe was standing by the entrance with her arms crossed. Her expression was indifferent, and her eyes scanned every corner of the camp for anything strange.
Despite the caution, she couldn't help but think about how the Goddess of Love seemed strange, and this conversation seemed much more important than she initially thought.
By this point, the sun had set, and night had begun. The stars were visible in the night sky as the Moon Goddess's chariot began its journey to become the star of the night.
The lieutenant of the hunters was pulled out of her thoughts and perimeter analysis when the tent opened, and a familiar woman emerged from it.
Aphrodite looked at her and spoke in a gentle manner.
"Thank you for the good work, Zöe. It would have been bad if anyone had interrupted my conversation with your Milady."
This left Zöe surprised, she had already noticed the Goddess was a little different. But what kind of change was this? Only on good days would she say a word or two when seeing her since she was annoyed by the Goddess having rejected "love" according to her words.
This was the first time something like this happened. What's next, her Milady falls in love with a man?
That was impossible, right?
Well, it was just her comparing how unlikely it was for the Goddess in front of her to say kind words.
While she was surprised by this, the Goddess of Love had already disappeared completely.
She quickly entered the tent by reflex and saw her Milady silently staring at the table in front of her.
"Afro-... Oh, it's you, Zöe." Artemis thought the Goddess of Love had returned to say something else, but when she raised her gaze and saw her faithful lieutenant, she smiled slightly.
"Are you okay, Milady?" she asked with concern.
"Of course." Artemis affirmed calmly, and after a moment of silence, she looked into Zöe's eyes, a little lost, and asked, "Zöe, do you remember the case of Orion? If I had stayed with him and stopped being a Virgin Goddess back then, would you have stopped respecting me?"
The question surprised the lieutenant of the hunters. She looked into the bright eyes of her Goddess, who seemed lost, and answered sincerely.
"You know I hated that disgusting man, right? I knew he was no good, but seeing you happy, I couldn't do anything about it. Your happiness matters more than anything to me, Milady... If I stopped respecting you for following your happiness, I wouldn't deserve to follow you..."
"But I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't be upset. You know better than anyone that no man is worth it. Look at how many of our sisters have suffered at their hands..."
Zöe had to admit that she had gotten too carried away with her opinion on this. She quickly apologized.
"Forgive me, Milady. I think I went too far with that opinion."
"It's fine, Zöe." Artemis raised her hand and sighed as she said, "You're right..."
"Don't take this question seriously. It was just a random thought..."
Looking at the smile where lethargy could not be hidden, Zöe felt a tightness in her chest. It didn't seem like just that, but she didn't comment on it and just remained silent.
"Tell everyone to prepare to leave as soon as dawn breaks."
The words of the Moon Goddess pulled her lieutenant out of her thoughts.
"Alright, Milady." Zöe nodded, accepting her Goddess' orders, and a glow enveloped her before her regular hunter attire replaced the pajamas she had been wearing.
She then vanished with a silver gleam, heading to drive her chariot as usual.
As a good lieutenant, Zöe relayed the orders to her sisters while her mind raced toward a fact that was worrying her. There was something going on with her Goddess, and it even involved the Goddess of Love, but she couldn't do anything.
Nothing but wait for everything to be alright.
But contrary to her prayers, the fate that tied the red thread between her Goddess and the mortal was just beginning to unfold...
Now how this would end, that was something no one could imagine.