Chapter 179 - Guidance

Tapping her footsteps slowly towards the sparkling object, she took a sharp glance around her breathing heavily. Inside the thick dark woods, she was completely alone and helpless. Nervously clenching her fist, she continued walking towards it holding a dreadful heart. The more she was marching closer, the more she found the glowing was going more intense with illuminant white light scattering around from it.

"What am I going to do if it's some kind of evil creature? What if it pounces on me hard? No...No Eva! You can't afford to complain! I...I have no other clue in these damp dark woods! To find Zeus...I am left with no other option...Even if it costs my life this time, I won't back off!" She was mumbling alone to herself, strolling fretfully across the grassy path continuing to reach the thing.

All of a sudden, after reaching the close proximity of that sparkling thing, her feet stopped. Her eyes swirled in awe, wider. It was a rabbit! A small, white rabbit that had a glowing illuminance around itself. The white radiance was the only source of mild, soothing light in that thick darkness shrouding the woods. 

The rabbit was softly licking its toes while Eva was staring at it intensely. It didn't try to run away from her, rather than kept its calm, sitting still. 

"Wh-Why is this rabbit glowing in the dark? Is...Is this some kind of evil beast? It...It doesn't look like a normal rabbit though..." Gulping her saliva, she minutely observed it for a few seconds before taking a step closer to it.

Immediately, the little animal straightened its posture and started running deeper into the forest through the narrow path beside which it was sitting still. Watching him galloping into the dark, Eva aimlessly started rushing behind it into the wild.

"Wait! Please don't run so fast! I don't want to lose you in this woods!" She screamed out aloud while chasing after it with all her might. 

Unexpectedly, the rabbit stopped galloping forward! It paused and fondly turned its neck back, gaping at Eva with its tiny sparkly eyes. It seemed that it stopped running after apprehending her loud plea. 

Huffing hard after an intense moment of running, she was spellbound to watch that little rabbit obediently stopping after her command. She gasped hard while halting her chase and mumbled while panting, "you...can you...understand what I am conversing to you? I know it sounds rubbish...but...you are my only hope here!!"

The rabbit sat still momentarily looking back at her startled face. After a moment of pause, it slowly nodded its head vertically responding to her. 

"Woah...Woahhh!!! Did...Did you just respond to me? Wow...it means...I am not dreaming! I...I don't know...what special kind of rabbit you are! I have never seen such an animal like you... But, you are indeed trying to help me here, don't you?" Her voice sounded a bit jubilant as if amidst the thick darkness she had unexpectedly discovered a tiny ray of hope. 

Hearing her remark, the glow around its small body intensified brightly. It started to rush again deeper inside but this time, its speed was comparatively slower since Eva was finding it quite hard to catch up to it.

"I can't lose its sight here! I have no other choice rather than trusting this mysterious animal...Darn it...

Right now, Zeus's life matters to me...more than my own!" Wondering on her own while wiping the sweat droplets concentrated on her forehead, she took a deep sigh in following after it again, clenching her white gown up in her arms.

...

After an intensive racing period of around half an hour into several narrow lanes within the dark deeper woods, finally, the rabbit halted its motion reaching the threshold of a wide grassy path leading deep inside. Eva was gasping heavily after all the fervent chasing but didn't lose her sight from it. She indeed desperately followed it till the end and as soon as it stopped, she rested her feet too, fanning herself. 

"Wh...Why...Why are you stopping here suddenly? Wh...What's...wrong..." Her voice sounded husky as if she was struggling to breathe hard after that ardent rushing. Her frail body was trembling in angst and grasping the trunk of a giant tree, she was trying to seek support to maintain her stature. 

The bright flash of white illuminance around it dimmed a little and softly, the animal raised its right paw pointing towards the wide giant path heading forward. Numb and startled, she carefully looked at it for a few seconds trying to process the indication the animal was trying to give her. 

"Ar...Are you telling me to proceed through this path?" Frowning her eyebrows, she asked in a low sonorous voice.

Again it nodded its head answering back to her agreeing to her remark. Swirling her gaze wider, she gulped her saliva tentatively gawking at it. 

"You...You are not trying to fool me, right? Look...I don't know what's happening with me but...I have been betrayed way too many times! I...I trusted and ran after you even though you are just a small animal! So...you are not trying to betray me, right? I know you can understand me...Please...Please don't deceive me... I...I just want to...find...my Zeus...hic...Please..." Her voice trailed off. Unable to suppress her emotional turbulence, she started sobbing bitterly clenching her fist on the trunk and lowering her grimace down. 

The rabbit stayed still for a few seconds watching her grieving out helplessly. Slowly, it retreated a few steps closer towards her feet and continued looking at her raising its head up. Softly, it stretched one of his paws and tapped her feet once. It seemed as if the small animal was trying to provide her the moral support while she was on the verge of breaking down.

Perceiving its soft touch, Eva slowly glanced at it while it was sitting still beside her feet. A small sad smirk appeared on her glum face. She knelt down on the ground for a minute and tried to touch it softly with her quivering fingertips.

"I...I am trusting you with all my might, okay? I...hope you aren't betraying me.... I...I hope I will find him there...I don't know who you are...but thank you for helping me till now, little one."

Whispering while rubbing its small head, she stood upon the ground and took a deep breath in. With a firm determined grimace, she started to rush hurriedly into the thick forest leaving the animal behind peeping at her. 

But something miraculous was yet to happen! As soon as Eva disappeared deeper into the woods, a bright flash of white light surrounded the small rabbit from all around. Immediately, the tiny animal transformed into a tall, beautiful, elegant goddess wearing a white silk shimmering gown. She had wavy lustrous long black hair curling down her shoulder. On the top of her head, she was wearing a diamond embroidered tiara with a sparkling crescent moon emblem carved on the middle. Her bright white skin was glowing in the dark and she had a small smile on her face while looking at the way where Eva just rushing inside.

She was the sacred Moon Goddess of the wolves, Selene, who was disguised all this time as the petite animal.

"My duty was to only guide you to the path where you can find your destiny, my child... For the rest of the path, you have to walk on your own.

Even, deities are helpless when it comes to the strength of pure love.

The journey won't be easier for both of you...but...as long as you are determined to fight for the sake of each other, we can't intervene between your fate." She whispered softly before a flash of light made her disappear amidst the dark. 

.........

Covered with blood and those painful burnt scars carved all over his body, Zeus was lying down on the ground breathing intensely. The deep scar incised near his abdomen was profused with blood. Dark blackish-red venomous blood was spilling down from the corner of his mouth, also down his nostrils. His face was scorched with those deadly scars deforming it completely. His body was burning severely with fever and a painful shriveled sensation. His long white canines were emerged out of his mouth and his pupils were transformed into wolfish red eyes.

He was trying hard to endure the pain on his own but slowly, his whole body was becoming numb due to excessive bleeding. His veins were congested with the lethal blood which was killing him from inside.

"I...I don't think...I can hold it...any longer... Aargh... it's...so painful... I...wish...just for...one last time... if...I could see...Eva... Just...Just before closing my...eyes..." Mumbling under intense breath, a small sad smirk carved on his chapped blood-smeared lips as he stared up at the skyline with a blank gaze in his eyes.

.

"ZEEUSSS!!"

A sharp, shrilling familiar voice rang in his ears which flinched him for a second. Holding the sad smirk, he continued murmuring, "maybe...I am hallucinating Eva's voice... Maybe... it's really...the end..."

"ZEEUSSSS!!!" 

This time the voice grew much sharper and intense. He could sense the voice was coming closer to him and it was definitely not his hallucination! Gasping hard, he slowly tried to turn his gaze towards the direction of the call. In his blurry weak vision, he noticed a tiny figure indeed rushing towards him from afar!