Chapter 18: Athena and Her Twin Sibling (4)
A month had passed since the council's conclusion.
Despite Rhea, Hestia, and Demeter taking turns caring for Metis, her condition deteriorated further.
After Poseidon, Hestia, Hera, Demeter, and Rhea publicly declared their stance to Zeus and Olympus, Zeus and Hades' attacks grew more brazen.
Hades, true to his underworld nature, sent all manner of malevolent gods to kill Metis and her children.
Having passed her divine essence to Athena, Metis was already weakened, and her state worsened.
Her once-lustrous red hair turned dull and brittle, her skin grew rough, and her hollow eyes gave her the appearance of a madwoman.
She trembled with anxiety whenever her children were out of sight, screaming their names in a frenzy.
"Athena! Metel! Athena!! Metel!! Athena!!! Metel!!!"
"Mother, we're right here,"
Athena, now grown to the size of a ten-year-old girl, said soothingly, carrying her younger sibling on her back.
But the problem was that, unlike before, Metis was starting to show aggression toward her children.
She was manageable when the goddesses were present, but they couldn't watch her constantly.
Crack!
"Ow, that hurts, Mother!" Athena cried.
"Where are you going?! Zeus and Hades are out there, waiting to get you! You have to stay by my side—I'll protect you, I'll make sure you survive, so stay close, don't ever leave me, understand? Understand? Understand?!"
Metis rambled, her words tumbling out in a frantic rush.
Athena, watching her mother's worsening condition, became convinced that things couldn't continue like this.
Though still unable to fully wield the divine power inherited from her mother, Athena could glimpse fragments of the future.
Among those visions was one where she and her sibling died at Metis' hands.
***
As a powerful god born of Zeus and Metis, Athena had mastered her mother's magic at a young age.
She had also secretly overheard the sea gods, nymphs, and prophecies about her sibling, unbeknownst to Metis.
'Mother's like this because of the prophecy about my sibling. I have to find a way to resolve this…'
In Athena's judgment, the fortunate thing was that her sibling's growth was slower than hers.
While she had reached the size of a ten-year-old, her sibling was still only about three.
Inside Poseidon's palace, when Metis fell asleep from exhaustion, Athena devised a plan and cautiously scouted outside.
Her reconnaissance revealed no gods except the blue-haired deity lounging on a mat.
'That blue-haired god out there must be Poseidon—my father Zeus' brother, my second uncle.'
What puzzled Athena was why he was lingering outside, ignoring the splendid buildings nearby.
'Why is he out there like that? Is it a god's hobby?'
Regardless, though he seemed a bit odd, Athena trusted him.
The goddesses caring for her increasingly unstable mother had told her to seek the blue-haired "beggar" outside if anything went wrong.
While Metis only trusted the visiting goddesses, Athena believed Poseidon was reliable.
Convinced that today was the perfect opportunity, Athena noted the absence of the usual chaos—Zeus' Astraea clashing with Poseidon's trident in petty skirmishes or sinister gods like Geras (god of old age and plundering) and Oizys (goddess of misery and anxiety) sent by Hades to infiltrate.
Today, Poseidon's presence outside alleviated those concerns.
"My plan is perfect," Athena declared with confidence.
She refined her strategy and donned exploration gear: yellow shorts, a matching vest, a round adventurer's hat, and a side bag.
"Alright!"
Wearing the children's explorer outfit from Poseidon's palace, Athena set out with a determined expression.
***
Meanwhile, Poseidon had adapted to life on a mat outside his palace.
"This isn't so bad once you get used to it," he mused.
Eating food brought by Amphitrite, he lay back, gazing at the sky and wiggling his toes.
"Zeus seems pretty rattled up there," he observed.
He could see Hera and Zeus arguing above.
Their clashes weren't as intense as his own encounters with Hera—likely just a measured exchange of blows.
"That jerk, that insolent punk," Poseidon muttered.
On another front, Demeter and Hestia were likely handling Hades' forces, while Amphitrite, Eurynome, and the sea gods held off the rest of Olympus and Hades' minions.
"Embarrassing for so-called chief gods to be after kids. They ought to have their bits chopped off," Poseidon grumbled, sighing.
For now, only skirmishes were occurring, but he sensed they were precursors to something bigger.
Truthfully, Poseidon had little personal interest in Metis or her children.
He'd never been greedy for the position of one of the three chief gods to begin with.
It didn't really matter to Poseidon which way things went.
That was the kind of vibe he gave off.
Still, there was the promise to Metis, the wishes of his sisters (except Hera), and the fact that his powerful sea goddess wives—Amphitrite and Eurynome—while outwardly cold, clearly wanted to help Metis deep down.
"Honestly… Amphitrite and Eurynome were all 'kill them' at the meeting, but when I backed Oceanus' opinion, they secretly seemed pleased. What's up with that?"
Well, Poseidon was confident he could handle any outcome, so he'd gone along with their wishes…
"So, what do you think about women's hearts, little one? Honestly, if I hadn't made this choice, I'd probably be sleeping on the couch, right? You think so too, don't you?"
"I'm not a little one! I have a name—Athena, Uncle!"
***
A small child in explorer's gear tugged at Poseidon's clothes.
"Why is Lord Poseidon living like a beggar out here?"
"Where'd you learn to talk like that?"
"I heard a dark god say it."
Poseidon sensed a familiar aura from the bold little girl who ignored his questions and said whatever she wanted.
Her audacity reminded him of one of his sisters.
"You seem less like Metis' daughter and more like some cranky old lady's kid,"
He teased, scooping up Athena, who was staring at him with owl-like, sparkling eyes.
"Alright, why'd you come out here? Shouldn't a kid like you still be nursing?"
Athena frowned instinctively at his words.
"I don't nurse anymore!"
"What, you mad because I said you're still a baby?"
"No!"
"You're totally mad."
"I'm not!"
Poseidon glanced at the sky, noticing that Athena, who had been gripping his clothes tightly, seemed to relax slightly.
Though less tense, her body still trembled—likely an instinctive reaction.
'Ugh… what are we doing, scaring kids like this…'
As Poseidon observed, while Athena's tension had eased, her trembling body wasn't fully under her control.
She could feel the energy and sounds of Hera battling Zeus in the sky, as well as Hestia and Demeter clashing with Hades' forces.
Her small frame and chubby cheeks quivered with fear.
Poseidon, without thinking, let out a chuckle and infused her with a calming blue aura.
Gradually, her trembling subsided.
"Huh?"
Unconsciously, Poseidon balanced his aura against the chaotic energies from the battles outside, rummaging through his mat to pull something out.
"Alright, how about some tea while we talk? This is rare stuff I swiped from Demeter's temple."
"But…"
"Don't worry about your mom. I've got her sound asleep. Eurynome and Amphitrite are inside the palace, protecting your little sibling."
"…"
"What, a chief god can just do that kind of thing?"
"Not exactly, but your mom's pretty out of it right now."
Athena bowed her head at Poseidon's words.
Witnessing the power of one of the three chief gods firsthand, she could imagine what would've happened if Poseidon had turned against them.
Sensing her thoughts, Poseidon gave a small laugh and patted her head.
"Don't worry, kiddo. You're too young to act all grown-up."
"Huh?"
"I'm not letting you, your mom, or that kid Metel die. If I betrayed you, those goddesses visiting your mom—plus my wives—would probably beat me to death. They're watching me like hawks, pretending they're not, to see if I'll change my mind."
With Poseidon's words, a sudden BOOM! erupted from above the palace as thunder roared.
Hera and Zeus' battle, sensing Athena's emergence from the palace, sent shockwaves even to their location.
SCREECH!
From another direction came a sound like metal scraping.
Athena, startled, instinctively shut her eyes and buried her face in Poseidon's chest.
For a goddess with heightened senses like hers, the scene was terrifying.
Poseidon gently rubbed her back to calm her.
"Haha, reminds me of Charybdis. It's okay, it's okay. Your uncle's got you."
After a while, Athena, eyes closed and ears covered in Poseidon's embrace, felt her fear begin to fade.
In the palace with her mother and sibling, she had been consumed by dread all day.
'Could this be what a father's embrace feels like?'
For the first time since her birth, Athena, always instinctively terrified, found a safe haven.
The comfort allowed her to shut off the energy she'd been pouring into survival-driven foresight.
With that, the divine wisdom inherited from Metis began to awaken.
'Oh! My plan was only half-complete. Now I see—the path our family needs to take.'
Poseidon was slightly surprised to see Athena's owl-like eyes gleam as she tapped into her divine power.
It was a glimpse of the same brilliance Metis occasionally showed in battle.
Soon, Athena's glowing eyes dimmed as she reined in her divinity and spoke.
"If this situation doesn't have to escalate to war, what would you do?"
"What?"
"I mean it. If there's a way to end this easily, even if it means Father takes a loss, would you accept it?"
Poseidon met her owl-like gaze and asked,
"Uh… why am I 'Father' all of a sudden…?"