Chapter 20: Athena and Her Twin Sibling (6)
Athena checked her adventurer's outfit in the mirror one last time, adjusting it carefully within Poseidon's palace.
"Phew… I can do this."
Clenching her fist with determination, Athena stepped out through the palace's main gate with a resolute expression.
Waiting at the entrance were her mother, Metis, holding her sibling Metel in her arms.
"Be careful, my dear. It's my fault for being so powerless that you have to go to such a place…" Metis said, her voice heavy with worry.
"Don't worry, Mother. Father Poseidon even lent me Sleipnir," Athena reassured her.
"Yes… I'm sure Poseidon took good care of you. But you must be cautious—extremely cautious. That place is crawling with monsters sealed away by Lord Pontus."
"Yes, I understand."
Athena nestled deeply into Metis' embrace before turning to Poseidon.
Poseidon, looking at the poised young goddess, handed her several gifts and spoke.
"When you get there, keep saying you're my daughter. I'm the one who imprisoned their enemies, so it might help a bit."
He gave her a pouch, a leaf, a lantern, a glass bottle containing a storm, and a long rope.
"This pouch is Hera's Kibisis. Use it to hold the spring water."
"This leaf is Demeter's. It can heal any living being from near-fatal wounds, and for gods, it can even mend mental injuries."
"This lantern is Hestia's. It will ensure safety and guide your path no matter the circumstances."
"This is Amphitrite's bottle. The storm inside is fierce, so only use it when absolutely necessary."
"And this rope is Eurynome's. It's used to measure the sea's depths, unbreakable and infinitely extendable—even Demeter's adamantine sickle couldn't cut it."
Poseidon tucked each goddess' treasure into Hera's pouch, gripped Athena's shoulders, and added solemnly,
"We looked into it further, and Nereus says that only a young god whose divine essence hasn't fully manifested can go alone. So…"
"Keep this in mind: if it gets dangerous, run. The monsters there aren't something a young god can face. Understood?"
"Yes, I'll remember," Athena replied firmly.
"Good."
Finally, Poseidon lifted Athena onto Sleipnir, his steed, and handed her one last item: Talaria, the winged sandals.
As a symbol of Hermes in Greek mythology, their performance was unmatched.
"Wear these at all times. And I'll say it again—if things go wrong, run."
***
After receiving a barrage of warnings and advice, Athena bid farewell to her family.
To avoid hesitation, she gave Poseidon a tight hug, grabbed Sleipnir's reins, and galloped off.
When Athena was no longer visible, Metis, who had watched until the end, broke into tears.
Sniffle…
Poseidon, seeing her cry, chose tough love over comfort.
"Stop crying. Your daughter's so brave—how can you, her mother, be sobbing like this? We have our own work to do now."
At his words, Metis wiped her tears, nodded, and steeled herself.
"Sniff. Right. The other goddesses are handling Zeus, but Hades will come at us full force."
As soon as Metis mentioned Hades, a sinister aura descended above Poseidon's palace, as if on cue.
"Geez, that guy's no gentleman either," Poseidon muttered.
"Gentleman?" Metis asked, confused.
"It's a figure of speech. Anyway, he's here."
With that, Hades' army of the dead arrived above the palace, led prominently by the Golden Race, destroyed in the war between Poseidon and Pontus.
"Those vengeful souls are something else," Poseidon remarked.
He blew into a conch shell.
Woooo!
The sound summoned the elite warriors who had fought in the war against Pontus, rising with the waves.
"Really, the waves never stop," Amphitrite commented.
"I thought Zeus and Hades would fight each other, not us," Eurynome added.
"But it seems Zeus decided to place his faith in Athena." Amphitrite noted.
"He's a father before a king, after all. And these are his first daughter and son," Eurynome replied.
Poseidon shook his head at his wives' casual banter from the front lines.
"They talk like that, but they're fiercer than me."
Turning to Metis, he said,
"Metis, hold out no matter what. From the way Hades is acting, it looks like he's trying to shake Zeus—and maybe even me—once and for all."
As Metis nodded with resolve, a trumpet blared.
Tooooo!
***
Riding Sleipnir and consulting a map, Athena realized she had entered a strange sea.
It felt as though she had passed through a hidden gate, entering a misty ocean.
"This must be the strait sealed by Lord Pontus."
Slowing Sleipnir's pace, Athena cautiously guided the steed forward.
Clop, clop.
In a world silent except for the lapping waves, Sleipnir's hoofbeats echoed loudly.
The eerie quiet, broken only by the sound of hooves, filled Athena with an ominous sense of dread.
"Sleipnir, can't you quiet your hooves?"
At her request, Sleipnir suppressed the sound as much as possible.
Clop, clop.
But Athena didn't know that even those softened hoofbeats were enough to stir the monsters imprisoned by Pontus, their eyes slowly opening one by one…
After riding for a while, Athena spotted an island floating in the middle of the empty sea.
"There it is!"
Urging Sleipnir faster toward the island, she was suddenly startled when Sleipnir reared up, neighing loudly.
Hiiii!
"What's wrong?!"
Clinging to the reins to avoid falling, Athena calmed Sleipnir and looked ahead.
Only then did she notice an old man she hadn't sensed before.
His face was grotesque: bulging eyelids resembling glasses, a toad-like upper lip, a thin lower lip, and sharp, protruding teeth.
"Ch-child… why are you… alone in a place… like this?"
The old man's voice crackled like a poorly tuned radio, as if he hadn't spoken in ages.
He tried to smile kindly, but it only made him appear more sinister.
Athena sensed he existed in a completely separate space from her own.
She wanted to ignore him, but her wisdom screamed that she shouldn't.
"I'm… not alone. I just stepped away for a moment to get something from this island."
She spoke as calmly as possible, hiding her fear.
"Kihik… is that… so? Children… shouldn't be left… alone… kihihihi."
Muttering to himself, the old man suddenly tilted his head, narrowed his bulging eyes, and flicked a long tongue as he asked.
"Ch-children… can't lie… right?"
"Yes, of course," Athena replied.
"I… see…"
With that, the old man twisted his body, shook his head, and shuffled off somewhere, as if he'd lost interest in Athena.
She didn't move a single step until he was completely gone.
Her 'wisdom' was whispering to her: 'He's still watching you. Don't be fooled.'
Only when the old man vanished from her senses and her wisdom quieted did Athena let out a sigh of relief.
'Hoo…'
She didn't know who or what the old man was, but one thing was certain: he reeked of blood.
And around his neck were tiny fingernails, like those of children.
She knew what that implied.
"I need to get out of here fast…"
***
The Spring of the Goddess, Athena's target, was at the island's center.
Thanks to the island's small size, she found it quickly.
However, as she approached, Sleipnir grew increasingly restless, and the spring was surrounded by an eerie, dark liquid, as if it were the center of something ominous.
With no choice, Athena flew to the spring alone using Talaria.
"Thank goodness for Talaria. I almost had to swim."
Carefully, she collected the spring water and stored it in Hera's pouch.
"This place feels safe. The atmosphere's different from outside. Don't you think so, Sleipnir?"
Hiii.
"Yeah, but let's hurry and leave. I've got a bad feeling."
The island and surrounding sea were still shrouded in thick fog, and the mysterious dark water—unmentioned in Poseidon's records—added to her unease.
Her wisdom had been buzzing frantically since earlier.
***
At the spot Athena left, the old man reappeared near the spring, about 100 meters away.
Now slightly more human-like than before, he circled the area, muttering to himself.
"Strange… children… can't lie… so how… did she get here…?"
His voice, initially crackling like a bad radio, suddenly shifted to a clear, grounded tone.
"What if she's a lying child?"
"No… she… seemed innocent…"
"But adults can't come here."
"Then let's go ask her!"
The old man's muttering turned into a gleeful cackle as his mouth stretched wide, revealing sharper teeth and drooling as he bolted in Athena's direction.
Kihihihihi!
After he left, the island's center—now empty—stirred.
The black river Athena had crossed with Talaria twitched, as if deeply regretful…
Unaware of this, Athena, driven by the unease of her wisdom, urged Sleipnir to gallop faster.
Clop, clop, clop!
The hoofbeats echoed loudly in the foggy sea.
Despite her fear, Athena didn't slow down to quiet them—she gripped the reins and sped up.
Twitch.
Her wisdom was screaming the truth.
Though she didn't sense it, something was stirring in the sea, awakening.
Most prominent was something resembling human hair.
Twitch, twitch.
As if sensing Athena's awareness, it burst from the water.
Kieeeek!
It was a sea monster with a human-like face, melted as if burned, and writhing black hair—a creature Poseidon would've called a 'Nure-onna'.
Following it, the sea erupted.
Boom!
Boom!!
Boom!!!
As the fog parted, the sea teemed with writhing monsters: a shark-like creature riddled with holes, a translucent ghost whale, a giant turtle carrying a mountain, a crab with a cat's head, and more.
Their variety was staggering.
"Eek!"
Still a child, Athena recoiled at their grotesque forms and spurred Sleipnir onward.
"Faster… we need to escape!"
Fortunately, while the monsters had awakened, most—except the 'Nure-onna'—hadn't fully noticed Athena.
They were too busy vying with each other.
Sleipnir, intelligent and agile, wove through the gaps between them.
The Nure-onna attacked with its hair, but Athena dodged with near-acrobatic precision using Talaria.
After a long chase, they passed the monster horde and shook off the Nure-onna, finally pausing to catch their breath.
"Phew… that was terrifying… you okay?"
Hiii.
As Athena and Sleipnir caught their breath after escaping the monsters, a massive net suddenly enveloped her.
Gurgle.
Before she could react, she was dragged into the sea.
There, she saw an old woman whose sagging skin swayed with the water's flow, like ill-fitting clothes.
Despite her grotesque body and face, her hair was more beautiful than any goddess's, making her ugliness stand out even more.
"Hello, hello, little one. Why are you here?"
Gasp, cough.
"No need to answer. I'm not that curious. But one thing's certain—your skin is absolutely beautiful!!!"