If you want to support check out my patron at /athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
I would like to thank my beta, Akisu, for his help in this chapter.
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16th May 2013, Sayre Manor
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
"I loved the woman you used to be. But ti changes everyone. I am not the sa that I used to be, and you are not the sa woman I used to love. You might have been able to observe , all this ti, but the fact is that I do not know you, at least not enough to love you. Perhaps if I knew you better, I could have, but we only have so little ti left together. Why do you ask?"
The Goddess of the Hearth gave a sad smile, "You always were a logical one, weren't you? I asked you because I had an offer for you, one that can be affected by your answer."
I perked up, interested, "What is it?"
"I'm offering you a place at my side in Olympus. To ascend with to Olympus, where you would rule by my side as my Queen. You said it yourself, you're tired of being a pawn in this ga of destiny. So, just give it up, and co with , stop caring about them. You owe them nothing and they do not deserve you. Co with and live as my wife until run itself runs out."
I froze when I digested what Hestia just revealed. It was just inconceivable, running away, living the last few years of my life in peace before the entire multiverse is destroyed. But wasn't that what I wanted in the end, or at least what I told myself I wanted?
But how would that change anything really? A few years are nothing but a blink of an eye to soone of my age. All I would end up having is what amounts to a mont of reprieve until I burned with the rest of the Olympians when Entropy destroyed the multiverse.
Confused by the fact that Hestia wasn't even trying to save her people, I questioned, "Are you truly giving up on Olympus? Are you accepting the fact that your people will die like the rest of the multiverse and choose to make that offer for the sake of it?"
The Goddess of the Hearth snorted, "Of course not. Ascended beings that exist outside of the physical dinsion are not at risk. Entropy doesn't have access to his full abilities anymore, and all he's planning to do is to spread a fraction of his essence into all physical worlds, killing them all. Olympus will be safe and out of his reach, the sa as all the Elder Gods and Demons that still live. Why do you think that gods and demons aren't concerned about what's happening? They are not in danger really. And inevitably, after the Living Tribunal punishes Entropy, new planets will be born, new lifeforms will grow on them, and everything will return to normal. What I am offering you is a way out. Join on Olympus, outside the reach of Entropy, and live unconcerned with the fate of the multiverse."
"What of humanity? What of the countless lives that are spread out among countless universes? Do we just let them die?"
Hestia shrugged, "What about them? You washed your hands of humanity, you said that yourself many tis. What's wrong with letting them die? Everything ends. And the gap left by humanity will be filled by another species, on a new planet, with a new ecosystem."
The Goddess of the Hearth's unconcerned tone at the death of trillions showed how different Hestia had beco. When we were together, she would have gasped and cried at the thought of so many dead. She would have fought tooth and nail to stop that from happening. Her apathy to the situation told that I wasn't the only one who had lost my humanity, Hestia had as well. Gods were inhuman by nature, and ascended ones while rembering a few things from a mortal perspective, do not retain this semblance of humanity, or mortality. The Hestia before might simply be a being with the mories of the woman I once loved, but doesn't share any of the qualities that made love her in the first place.
But damn, that was really tempting. To leave the mortal world, the physical plane, and let the cosmic entities that think themselves too high and mighty to deal with a ss of their own creation, handle the Entropy thing. And why should I care if Entropy succeeds? I would be in another dinsion with Hestia and the remnants of Atlantis. I would no longer be a pawn in whatever ga the Endless are playing. I guess the balance would be disrupted, but why the fuck should I care? It wouldn't be my responsibility; it shouldn't be up to to fight Entropy. I have quit my role as Death's avatar, I am no longer a slave to Fate and Ti, and I will not be bound.
And yet, the thought of leaving left with a bad taste in my mouth. I had invested so much in the fight against Entropy. The countless plans, the armies, hell, I even sacrificed the very humanity that I treasured for so long, to fight a being with Endless power. For all of that to be for nothing, it would be disappointing. Honestly, I thought that it would feel more like running away than fighting what Death had planned for .
Because sothing made feel like this was Death's plan all along. The fact that she still has a hold on this universe and yet chose to let go without even trying to stop , or even try to convince , despite the 'cosmic scandal' that it caused, is worrying. She expected to quit, sohow, she expected the universe to lock down, sohow, and she expected that Entropy would defect as well and that I would end up opposing him. That kind of planning worried , it was terrifying, and Hestia was genuinely giving a way out, sothing that I have craved for so long. The only issue would be if the offer was too good to be true.
Hestia noticed my silence and attributed it to thinking about her offer. She wasn't wrong, not really. I was seriously thinking about accepting. It was a very attractive offer. The Goddess walking next to continued, "Look, dusa, you wouldn't even be a normal Goddess, you would be by my side, ruling Olympus as you should have in the first place. We are the remnants of Atlantis, and you are the uncrowned Queen of Atlantis."
I raised an eyebrow at the blatant attempt at manipulation to get to accept. Atlantis was always a sore point for . It was my ho, my culture, that I had done my best to honour. Olympus was what remained of this culture, bastardized as it might have been, but I could turn it into a new Atlantis, and make it the paradise it used to be. And yet, the thought didn't feel as thrilling as it would have in my youth. I guess I just accepted that Atlantis is gone, and that trying to revive it would be a mockery, a pale imitation of what it was, not a way to move on forward. I gave Hestia a blank look, showing her that I could see through her futile attempt, "Atlantis is dead, Hestia, and trying to imitate it will only lead to disappointnt. What I am more curious about is the fact that you're the Queen of Olympus now. Care to explain?"
Even if she hadn't just revealed it, I would have been able to guess it. Hestia now held an air of authority, like she expected to be obeyed without question, which ans that she held a very high position in Olympus. She was such a wallflower when we were together, choosing not to oppose her family, out of loyalty, love, and compassion.
Hestia blushed slightly, "Well, I spent centuries mourning you, watching you beco more miserable every day. Until Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades all started sending champions to your doorstep to kill you. They thought that you were just so witch that they could use as a way to challenge their champions, and well, they turned it into so kind of competition. You ended up just leaving Korinthos, our ho, and I got really angry. I decided that those three oafs shouldn't be in charge, and I challenged them for the throne. I won obviously, and I've been the Queen of Olympus ever since."
I grinned and bowed mockingly, speaking up with a monotone voice, "Your Majesty!"
Hestia glared at , "That's not funny. I already get that crap on Olympus, and I don't need it here."
I snorted, "I'm sorry, but I just can't imagine you ordering people around. You were so uncomfortable when the people of Korinthos kept bowing whenever we walked around without disguises."
Again, the Queen of Olympus blushed, "I will admit that there was a learning curve involved. You have no idea how many gods are willing to do anything for a scrap of power that they will not use to do anything. By the powers, there were so many marriage proposals, from n and won, and it was horrible. So even offered to be my concubines. It was so embarrassing."
I wiggled my eyebrows, "Co on, you can't tell that you haven't had any stress relief for so long."
Hestia looked down, "I thought about it. But I just couldn't let go of you. I loved you, truly loved you, and you loved . I couldn't just forget about it. I still watched over you, and getting married, or even taking a lover felt like a betrayal."
I couldn't help but feel guilty about her confession. She had never moved on, while I had. Selene might not have been the perfect wife, but she soothed the hurt that Hestia left when she was gone. Hestia had no one.
Seemingly reading my thoughts, Hestia made sure to reassure , "Look, I'm not admonishing you in any way. We were separated, and only I could take a look at you, you didn't have the sa luxury. I was even happy when I saw you moving on, no matter how much I wished that it was with ."
Not knowing what to say to that, I simply walked towards her and enveloped her in a hug. Hestia hugged back and we stayed like this for what felt like an eternity. I whispered in her ear, "I missed you so much, Hestia. I cannot express by words how many tis I thought about you."
Hestia looked up at , eyes warm and hopeful. She looked beautiful like this. And honestly, I think I was inclined to agree with her offer. It was a good way out, a great way out even. I would have a small share of happiness in an otherwise miserable life. I would live with the remnants of my people, and teach them so of Atlantis' traditions. I would let go of Selene and the betrayal she caused . I would get to know Hestia once more, and honestly, even if we take into account how much the both of us changed, we seed to get along just fine.
The only issue is that I would be dooming the multiverse, that I would be abandoning Wanda, Jean, and Selene to die at the hands of Entropy's madness. I would let Asgard die, once more. Thor, the boy king that had so much potential would not live to realize it, Loki, my hopeful student would never learn to control his madness. Everything I had worked for in my entire life, for thousands of years, would be gone for the fraction of a second. And yet, this regret was overshadowed by the potential freedom that would co with the offer.
I would live in peace, without dealing with cosmic entities. And wasn't that what I wished for the most? Perhaps, for the first ti in God knows how long, it's ti for to be selfish, to do sothing for . I looked Hestia in the eyes and spoke up, "Hestia. About your offer, I have an answer now."
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If you want to support check out my patron at /athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard tis.
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