Chapter 35 - The Pain Of Truth And The Weight Of Love

Did not take too long.

After returning to the temple with a warp spell, Poston summoned the paladins, holy knights, clerics and the worst organization attached to the temple, the Divine Swords that were scattered throughout the realm.

In comparison, the king was slow to summon his troops, and when he did, few attended.

With the high-ranking members of the temple under Poston's control, the lie spread quickly and the people were poisoned against the royal family and Serien.

***

A week had passed since Anemus confessed to Athena and still hadn't received an answer.

However, Anemus did not move away from Athena, it was Athena who did.

Every time they ended up alone in one place, Athena made some excuse to leave first.

To run away.

Athena didn't know what to make of Anemus' confession. She remembered Luana's vows of love as a hateful ghost and the word "love" just seemed like a horror story to her.

She knew that Anemus and Luana had nothing to do with, she knew the worlds were different, but that hurt that had permeated her soul for millennia in that empty space was still there, burning painfully.

"How long do you intend to keep this up?" Gion asked as sit beside Athena on the castle's new terrace.

Athena stared out into the desert nothingness with a bitter expression that contorted her beautiful face.

"Gion..."

"??"

"I hate love." Athena said with a cold look. "But..."

The moment Athena said this, Gion's eyes opened wide and his face fell into pure sadness until he heard the "but".

"But...?"

"I've been dead for so long and spent so much time being eaten away by a hatred of someone that I don't even know if it's still alive..."

Athena spoke in a way that was beginning to sound strange to Gion.

The story she told was that when she was Hades, she did a spell to reincarnate and then something went wrong and he ended up in another world, in that world he lived like Arthur and when he died he reincarnated in the body he had prepared and become Athena.

But now Athena spoke as if she had only lived one life and she spoke in a way that referred to herself as a man, unlike what she had been doing since they met at the oasis.

"Athena, who really are you?" Gion looked at Athena with a suspicious look.

Athena smiled lonely.

"I do not know."

***

Mount Urken was an arid and hostile place on the northeast edge of the Sigma Desert.

Even from natural hazards like basilisks, giant lions and shadow wolves, this place was also home to a clan of mercenaries called the 'War Vultures'.

"Den, are you sure about this?"

"We have no choice, Vitia. If we go back within Veta's range, we will die. Especially now that we no longer have the Horx."

"Horx..."

Den Tamurian Elsna Sixth, the imperial prince of the Elsna empire died at the hands of rebels who tried to assassinate the emperor.

This was the new truth that the marshal, saint Veta, told the emperor and the empire when he failed to kill the prince and let him escape.

Den, an eleven-year-old boy, fled along with his most faithful subordinates to save his own life. In the beginning they were more than twenty people and over the course of a year they all died in different situations, until only Vitia and Horx were left.

"Horx's death was my fault. We shouldn't have gone near that woman." Den said with a bitter expression.

"One day I'll get revenge on that thing!" Vitua swore.

The two people stopped in front of a rusty colored stone wall. On this wall, a large black door carved with vultures devouring a soldier's corpse.

***

Anemus carried a silver tray with a tea set to serve Athena and Gion, but stopped when she heard Gion's question.

"Athena, who really are you?"

Anemus' pupils dilated and his heart sped up as his hearing became even more attentive to Athena's calm, pained voice.

"I don't know. I just accepted things as they are and have been living that way for the past two months." Athena smiled unknowingly as she said this.

"What do you mean by that?" Anemus manifested her presence with a troubled expression and a trembling voice.

The nymph began to wonder if everything they had lived so far, if all that was a lie.

But even afraid of the answer, she had to know the truth.

Anemus put the tray on the table and returned to face Athena who was looking at Anemus with a strange mixture of fear, shame, affection and respect for Anemus.

"Anemus..."

"I'll let you guys talk." Gion said as he got up. "For now, just listen to what she has to say." Gion advised Anemus and disappeared inside the door.

"Anemus, I…" Athena turned her face away, pursing her trembling lips.

"You lied to me?"

"Huh? N-no... Mmm... in parts."

Athena took a deep breath and motioned for the nymph to take the chair across the table, but Anemus didn't move.

"Please?" Athena begged.

"Are you going to tell me everything?"

"I don't know if you'll believe..."

...

....

.....

"...And that's it. I don't know what, who or why I was called into this world and I don't know who I really should be."

After hearing the whole story from Arthur and not Hades or Athena, Anemus' face was pale.

"Th-so, is this world a game?"

"No, I don't think so. I think it's a world and the game is the same but different. I can't explain it... The game can be a copy of this world."

"And everything I lived with hades was something you decided?"

"..."

Athena had no words to answer Anemus' questions as she seemed to be choking on something impossible to swallow.

"I…I need time to digest all this."

"Anemus..."

"Athena... No. Arthur? Sorry. Please, leave me alone."

After that Athena told everything to Gion and Lunnia. Both were shocked, impressed and intrigued.

Gion asked about the entity to whom the voice belonged and about dark space and came up with various theories about such things until Athena agreed with her hypotheses.

Lunnia wanted to know more about the history, religion, culture and politics of Athena's old world and the questions just piled up on both sides.

The days passed and now it was Anemus who avoided Athena.

Athena can only thank Anemus for not having said anything to Fotiá. But even so, Anemus didn't look at Athena.

***

One night, weeks after having had that conversation with Anemus, Athena prepared to leave.

"Take care of them until I get back." Athena told Lunnia. "Thank you for remaining my friend even after what I said." The two women embraced.

"Are you sure about that?" Gion asked.

"I have." Athena said in a sadly determined smile. "I'll get to know who I am now and come back."

"Try to go to the temple of all the gods in Ethers. There you will be able to talk to Death."

"Thanks." Athena said and then took a red stone from the [Dimensional Bag]. "When Fotiá is ready, give it to her."

"Athena, are you sure you don't want to take Kima or Achilles?" Lunnia asked.

"I have." Athena looked up at the starry sky, deciding her fate. "I'll be going. See you later."

***

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In a castle in the middle of a desert that was once a freshwater sea. Where also once existed a submerged realm known as 'Sigma', three girls were preparing for a journey.

A beautiful and imposing knight in black armor and blue hair, beside a brave and faithful white pegasus.

A beautiful girl riding a white grimera. Her long reddish-black hair was arranged in a long braid and she wore under a red overcoat, brown pants, black boots and a white cotton shirt.

And finally, a beautiful and elegant girl with long greenish-blond hair that blew in the wind. She wore a dark blue tunic embroidered in gold and silver, and from her back, three pairs of wings of greenish-yellow feathers spread.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait a little longer?"

"I've waited for three years..." The girl smiled sadly. "Whether out of fear or.... Anyway, thanks for everything Gion."