Ch. 86: The Laughter Of A Goddess
I walked into the small kitchen situated at a corner of the workshop, the scent of tal and burnt machinery lingering in the air. As I grabbed a bowl, I couldn't help but wonder how I ended up as the only person in this group capable of cooking a decent al. Talos? A workaholic who consud more junk food than anything remotely edible. Hers? Underage and hopeless in the kitchen.
And Hephaestus? Well, he was more likely to drink his calories than eat them.
I reached for a crate of eggs sitting in the corner, their surface slightly dusty. "I wonder if these are still good," I muttered, cracking one open into the bowl with great difficulty using only one hand. I didn't really care about breakfast, though. My mind was elsewhere— on the temporal rift generator. Today was the final test run, and the tension was eating at like a curse I couldn't shake.
The room felt oddly still, the silence broken only by the quiet sizzle of eggs in the pan. Then I noticed Talos standing at the far end of the counter, her crystal eyes trained on with unnerving intensity. She was wearing a simple nightgown, the soft fabric hanging loosely around her fra— not that I paid much attention to that. But her presence was unmistakable.
"Now the god of the underworld is playing chef," she said, her voice cutting through the air with a touch of mockery. "I don't care if you're an otherworlder, but this feels... belittling."
I didn't respond. It wasn't the first ti she'd caught cooking, and it probably wouldn't be the last. I turned my focus back to the eggs, whisking them quietly.
"I don't know why you're so determined to follow ," I said after a mont. "But our alliance ends here. You're not coming."
Her crystal eyes remained on , studying my face as if searching for so hidden truth. "Why are you pushing away?" She asked softly. "I don't particularly like you, but I'm intrigued by the story you're weaving. I have a feeling it's going to lead to so juicy mysteries."
Her obsession with mysteries had always been... well, annoying. But this wasn't about so riddle or puzzle.
"I can't have you getting hurt," I replied, my voice rougher than I intended. "Not when I don't even know what I'm walking into."
She sighed, her frustration evident as she walked over to . Without asking, she took the bowl from my hands and began whisking the eggs with a deftness that surprised . "You're one hand short," she said, a slight flicker on her lips. "Let help."
I didn't protest. There was sothing different about her today— sothing I could not quite put my finger on. Maybe I had just gotten used to her presence, or maybe it was sothing deeper, but I felt... calr around her.
"I'm not used to relying on others," I admitted quietly.
"You are also not used to apologizing or being grateful," she shot back, her tone teasing but with a hint of sincerity. "Not that I care, by the way."
I smirked. "Right, that too."
The eggs sizzled in the pan, filling the room with a comforting warmth. But the weight of our conversation hung in the air, heavy and thick. She handed the bowl again, her eyes softening as she spoke.
"You might have been chosen for sothing bigger," she said, her voice quieter now. "But that doesn't an you have to do it alone. I thought we were allies and rember it was your idea not mine to form an alliance. Don't make regret joining you."
Her words struck sothing deep within , stirring emotions I had long buried. I wasn't used to this— this connection. It felt foreign, unsettling. I had spent so much ti pushing people away, convinced it was the only way to keep them safe. But now, standing here with Talos, I felt sothing shift.
I wasn't sure if it was the weight of the task ahead or just the fact that she, of all people, was offering her help.
"I've always worked alone," I said, my voice low. "It's safer that way. For everyone, besides the allaince was always going to be temporary."
She frowned, her expression hardening. "You think isolation is the answer? What kind of story is that? The kind where the hero dies alone, probably."
Her words were sharp, but there was sothing else there— sothing that made pause. I did not want to admit it, but she was right. I had been so focused on doing everything by myself that I had not stopped to consider what that isolation was costing .
"Haa, I hate it when I'm wrong," I muttered under my breath.
Suddenly, Talos was right in front of , her face just inches away from mine. Her eyes glimred with sothing different today— sothing more than just cold, calculated logic. For the first ti, there was a spark of life in her gaze, like she was seeing the world through new eyes.
"Soooo? Does this an I can co?" she asked, her voice almost playful.
I groaned, rubbing the back of my neck. "Fine. I might need your big stupid brain."
There goes my pride....!
Her eyes lit up, and before I could even process what was happening, she let out a joyous laugh and tackled to the ground. "YES! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
The impact was sudden, and I found myself lying on the cold kitchen floor with Talos straddling my chest, her laughter filling the air. Her face was flushed with excitent, her eyes brimming with an energy I had never seen before. She was... laughing? No, not just laughing— she was alive in a way I hadn't thought possible.
Tears of joy rolled down her cheeks, sparkling like droplets of crystal and hitting my face. I stared up at her, dumbfounded. "What in the gods' na just happened?" I muttered. "Tears?"
Her laughter slowed, but the smile remained on her face, radiant and warm. It was surreal. Talos, the emotionless automaton cursed by knowledge, was not only laughing but crying tears of joy. How was this possible?
"Hey, Talos…" I began, still trying to make sense of what was happening. "Would you mind getting off ?"
But she didn't move. Her eyes locked onto mine, glowing with a warmth I had never seen before. And then, without warning, she began to glow. A soft, golden light surrounded her, filling the room with an otherworldly warmth. My heart raced as I felt the air shift around us. This was not just so curse at play.
This was sothing else— sothing powerful.
"Talos…" I whispered, my voice tinged with awe. "What's happening to you?"
Before I could finish my sentence, she leaned down and kissed .
Her lips were soft and warm, a stark contrast to the cold, calculating nature I had grown accustod to. It wasn't a kiss of passion— it was a kiss of connection, sothing deeper than re physical attraction. In that mont, I felt everything. Her pain, her loneliness, her fear— and, for the first ti, her joy.
It was overwhelming, like a flood of emotions pouring into , filling every corner of my being.
For a brief, dizzying mont, I wasn't Hades, god of the underworld. I was her, feeling the world as she did— trapped between logic and emotion, between knowledge and ignorance. It was intoxicating and terrifying all at once.
To think this was who not.... What she really was deep down. The chaotic web of uncertainty.
When she finally pulled away, her breath was shallow, her cheeks flushed. Her eyes t mine, wide with confusion and sothing else— embarrassnt I guessed.
The gold light slowly fizzled out like a candle out of wax.
"I don't know why I did that," she whispered, her voice trembling. "But I feel... strange inside. Is this... embarrassnt?"
Before I could respond, a voice thundered through the room like a bolt of lightning.
"HOW DARE YOU DEFLOWER MY DAUGHTER LIKE THIS?!"
I froze, my heart dropping into my stomach. Hephaestus stood in the doorway, his massive fra casting a shadow that seed to fill the entire room. His face was a mask of rage, his eyes blazing with fury.
Like what the hell is with his timing? Not like I was enjoying the kiss or anything— maybe just a teensy bit.
I tried to sit up, but Talos was still on top of , her face burning with embarrassnt.
"YOU DARE LIE TO , HADES?!" Hephaestus roared, his voice shaking the walls. "YOU WENT BEHIND MY BACK TO DO SUCH A GRAVE THING?"
Must be weird seeing his daughter on top of an innocent victim like , of course I would kabel myself innocent of this cri.
Talos, her voice small and uncertain, whispered, "Dad, it's not... like that."
Hephaestus stepped forward, his anger palpable. "THEN EXPLAIN. NOW."
Talos' eyes softened, and for the first ti, I saw sothing that truly scared — uncertainty. Sothing bigger than both of us was at play, and whatever had just awakened inside her was only the beginning.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:- OCTOBER 5TH IS MY BIRTHDAY, PLANNING A MASS RELEASE.
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