Chapter 545 Free Reign
Not even twenty four hours ago, the goddess Sif was enduring another, droll day.
Her husband was busy somewhere bellyaching about Odin's early resurrection and the stealing of the entire biblical heaven, and about their daughter's near death by a newly evolved Niddhoggr.
Abaddon and his forces seemed to grow more and more powerful everyday, while the gods were still relying on the reformation of the first blade to save them.
However, Sif had her own personal thoughts about the matter, though she never cared to voice them.
After all, she didn't quite think anyone would have been interested in hearing her speak, so she elected not to say anything at all.
The divine pantheons were filled with men who preferred women be seen, used, and not heard.
Unless one was a primordial, or a direct child of one, your words carried next to no weight.
And even then, there were some cases where it didn't fully matter to a particularly influential god.
Like the case of Zeus and Nemesis for example...
No, Sif was far more content to sit silently and let the men think with their lower minds and become blind to delusions of grandeur.
But there was something she was painfully aware of.
Who was to say that the enemy was keeping the three fragments in his possession close at hand?
The weapons were supposedly indestructible, but what if the dragon found away to do away with one of them, or even hid it in a location that they could never find.
And even if they did manage to remake the sword, she was unsure if something like that could just be wielded by any ordinary god.
Attempting to do so might kill them, or it could do something even worse, however impossible that seemed.
'Why am I even thinking about this..? I no longer care for the games that these other deities play in.'
Sif stood up from the wooden table in her home and walked towards the cracking hearth a few feet away.
She waived her hand to place another log on the fire, when she suddenly began to get lightheaded, and her vision darkened.
An unknown amount of time later, she woke up on a cold floor, with a feminine foot on her face.
There was a gag in her mouth and her arms were tied behind her back; leaving her in quite the vulnerable position.
Looking up through the corner of her eye, she found various very tall women standing above her.
Each of them had brightly colored skin of different colors, and their slit pupils were encircled by ominous black sclera.
They were all menacing creatures, but the one standing above her was the worst of the worst.
She had a natural dominating aura and presence that made Sif want to curl up into a ball and cry for a sweet mercy that would likely never come.
Once she saw that Sif was awake and cognizant, the bronze skinned woman with her foot on her face smiled cruelly, and revealed the pointed fangs of a serpent.
"Awe, you are already trembling? Fear has set into your bones and we haven't even done anything to you ye-"
*Bonk!*
"OW! Why!?"
Eris swiftly chopped Lailah on the head and sent her doubling over while clutching her temple.
"Don't be mean to her, Lailah. It is not polite."
"W-What?! She is not our friend, sister!"
"Indeed she is not, but at least for right now she isn't our enemy either. Remember why we brought her here.
We should treat her hospitably to ensure that we have paved the way for the best meeting possible."
"...But I don't like her."
"Then... Why did you take me?"
Eris smiled at her mischievously as she shook her head.
"Sorry, but you'll need to wait a bit before we can tell you that. We still need certain conditions to be met after all. We hope you understand."
"W-Wha..?"
Eris looked over her shoulder. "Hey, Zheng?"
"Yes, Empress?"
"Can you do us a favor and get our blonde friend here some accommodations for the next seven days or so?"
"Of course, ma'am. Which level of the prisons will she-"
"N-No, No, No! She isn't a prisoner, so let her stay somewhere comfortable. Take her to the greek temple and ask Demeter to keep an eye on her."
"...As you say, Empress."
Sif had a problem with several aspects of what she had just heard.
"E-Excuse me! First you kidnap me from my home, then free me in the next breath, and now you tell me to wait for answers while placing me into the care of a traitorous Demeter?!"
"If it makes you feel better, saying that you will be in her care is really just a formality. Her only job will really be making sure that you don't hurt yourself."
Sif felt her entire face get red.
"Am I... truly so weak in your eyes? This mockery never seems to end..!"
Eris sighed as she rubbed her temples.
This little meeting was beginning to get exhausting.
Before she could say anything else, there was a thunk sound and Eris finally looked up.
At some point, Zheng had knocked out Sif with ease and hoisted her over his shoulder like a trash bag.
"Empress looked like she was having a hard time so I thought I would save you a fair bit of trouble."
Eris sighed in relief and smiled gratefully.
"Thank you, Zheng. Please inform your entire unit that we send our thanks and we'll be putting special commendations on each of their records."
Beneath his mask, Zheng beamed with the utmost pride and bowed as deeply as he could with Sif still on his shoulder.
When he was gone and sank into the floor, Nyx finally put away her phone and folded her arms.
"Was that wise, friends? Letting her run about your homeland with so few restraints?"
"We discussed it beforehand and we don't see the harm in it." Seras shrugged.
"She can't do any real damage here since she can't kill anyone and has no way to communicate with other deities." Valerie continued.
"Besides, keeping her locked up and restricted will only breed resentment and forego the opportunity for Thea to have a first meeting on good terms." Erica finished.
Nyx nodded thoughtfully as she realized that their plan did make a bit of sense.
But there was something she was curious about.
"Speaking of your daughter... when exactly are you going to be telling her that her birth mother is here?"
Bekka's ears dropped, imperceptibly. "When her father returns back to normal... it might be a bit selfish but Abaddon would want to be there for something this big."
"I see... this must have been quite the difficult decision for you to come to"
Suddenly the doors to the room were thrown open and little Nubia came rushing in with a stressed look on her face.
"M-Mothers, you have to help brother Straga! Something is wrong!"