บท 58: Chapter 58 – Family!
Hello there!
Here's the chapter of the week!
Enjoy it, peasants!
*Any images in this chapter do not belong to me! It belongs to their respective artists/creators!
If you don't like the design images, feel free to choose and adopt the design you like!
Without further ado, enjoy the chapter!
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- Location: Olympus.
Pov. Third-person.
"You… seem restless. Something wrong brother?" asked Baldr.
At this moment, both Asgardian princes were leaving the Olympus arena, having both dressed in clothes, the two were now heading to the hall, where they would get the winners' prizes.
However, as they walked, Baldr, being quite sensitive to negative emotions, noticed that Thor was a little uncomfortable about something.
Thor answered Baldr's question with a frown on his face.
"Yeah... It's nothing, let's get the prizes" said Thor.
Since the end of the first divine Olympics, Thor was having an uneasy feeling from the moment he was in the arena.
The reason for Thor's discomfort was that at the end of the Olympics, Thor briefly used the Viljestyrke – Archer, and felt and 'saw' every entity in the arena, so Thor would have a brief idea of who witnessed the Asgardian victory, and what was witnessed his and Baldr's power.
Thor, however, was surprised when he sensed someone with a god power similar to himself. This divine energy signature, while small and weakened, was identified by the use of the Viljestyrke – Archer.
Thor recognized the entity, after all, it was not the first time he saw it. Although it was the first time he identified his weakened divine power, after all, Thor thought that this entity was born from the will of a goddess and the emergence of affinity to the realm of 'birth'.
But after the Viljestyrke – Archer, Thor knew it was far more complex than that...
For that reason, Thor just wanted to take Cronus' sickle and just go towards the source of divine power similar to his own.
"Hey! Wait!" shouted a voice from behind.
Both Asgardians looked towards the voice and saw someone who left them a little surprised by its presence.
In the end...
The man looked a lot like Thor.
It was Hephaestus.
"Brother, who is - ?!..." said Baldr, looking to Thor for answers.
However, Baldr was surprised when he saw that Thor was not showing any emotion.
"… Baldr, can you go meet our mother?" asked Thor, looking at Hephaestus.
Baldr was silent as he switched his gaze between Thor and Hephaestus, but just a few seconds later, Baldr looked seriously at Thor and waved, and then the young god of light of Asgard soon left in search of his mother.
The entire time, both Thor and Hephaestus just stared at each other.
Neither of them dared to say anything, which resulted in Hephaestus looking at Thor in curiosity, while Thor showed no visible expression even though Thor's mind was working and processing the recent discoveries...
It was at that moment that someone else chose to show up.
"Hephaestus! There you are! Why did you leave so fast?! Nor did you say goodbye to me or Aphrodite!" asked someone.
That someone was Hera, who had followed her son after the Olympics.
Hera, however, froze briefly when she looked at Thor, and quickly changed her demeanor from a mother to a diplomat.
"Greetings Prince Thor, I see you've met my son Hephaestus," said Hera, waving briefly at Thor.
Although Hera was confused about Thor's similarities to Hephaestus, the goddess couldn't be as straightforward with the questions due to the simple fact that Thor's show of strength left most, if not all, of the denizens of Olympus in a state of wariness. .
Thor, however, only briefly waved at Hera but soon returned to face Hephaestus.
"... I heard you were a good blacksmith... Mind if you show your talent?" asked Thor.
Hephaestus just thought for a few seconds, before nodding briefly.
"... I don't mind, but as long as you don't get in my way... Come on, I'll guide you to my forge" said Hephaestus, starting to walk in a certain direction, towards the forge.
Thor then followed the young blacksmith god.
Meanwhile, Hera, confused about Hephaestus' behavior of inviting anyone other than her to his forge, soon followed the pair.
A short time later, in the main forge of Olympus, Hera and Thor just watched Hephaestus work on an armor. However, the silence didn't last long, as Hera was a little uneasy at being so close to Thor, although the Norse god hadn't looked at Hera once since he entered the forge.
"...Is this the armor Zeus asked you to make Hephaestus?" asked Hera, in curiosity.
Hephaestus replied to his mother, though he didn't look away from the armor while he was working.
"Yes mother, the king asked for a specific set with enchanted armor and shield," said Hephaestus.
"So this armor is for Zeus?" asked Hera.
Hephaestus, however, denied it.
"No mother, although Zeus asked me to forge it, it was the Moirae who asked Zeus for the armor and shield," said Hephaestus.
Hera was briefly confused, as the Moirae are strange and reclusive entities, being mainly due to them being the agents of fate in the Greek world.
It was then that at that moment, Thor chose to speak when he saw that Hephaestus was ending, only enchantment was lacking.
"…How do you put the enchantments ?" asked Thor, curious.
Hephaestus looked briefly at Thor and then picked up a specific hammer and hit the armor and shield twice each, with each hit resulting in gold-colored sparks.
"Done," said Hephaestus.
This should surprise any god who didn't know Hephaestus, after all, Hephaestus always surprised anyone with the simplicity of incantations. However, it was Hephaestus who was surprised when he saw that Thor showed no expression.
"... You just... hit it twice with the hammer," said Thor.
Hephaestus froze.
The reason for this was because Hephaestus had heard it before but from someone else...
But still, Hephaestus remained calm and didn't show a visible reaction, and then continued with the dialogue.
"Indeed," said Hephaestus.
Thor then quickly responded.
"I know enchantments for objects and you haven't put anything I know in the armor or shield," said Thor.
"…Do I look like a mage? Let me tell you that I am the god of the forge, not the god of magic," said Hephaestus.
It was possible to see for a brief moment a look of sadness and apprehension on Hephaestus' face as he said that as if he had been waiting for Thor's next words.
"… Don't fuck with me," said Thor, with a brief smile.
Those words made Hephaestus drop the hammer, as this dialogue was said only once when he was growing up...
A dialogue between him and someone he considered the closest thing to a father figure.
"…Aeolia?" asked Hephaestus uncertainly.
This made Hera freeze and turn away from Thor with a look of shock.
Thor, however, just remained standing where he was, albeit still with a small smile on his face.
"...in a way...yes," said Thor.
This answer somewhat confused both Hera and Hephaestus.
"I don't understand... Are you really Aeolia, or not?" asked Hera.
Thor looked at the goddess.
"Aeolia was part of me. Simply put, I think you are all familiar with the 'avatar' of the Hindus, well... Aeolia was my own project, however, there were still some errors in that body, a good example is that when I was Aeolia, I didn't remember it was an Asgardian god," said Thor.
That was a complete lie.
But it was the simplest and unsuspecting solution to explain Thor's relationship with Aeolia.
Through the 'avatar'.
'Avatars' are basically incarnations of powerful deities so that they can interact with weaker beings peacefully without causing any problems, this is due to the fact that the god's divine power is extremely reduced.
With Thor's show of strength during the Olympics being at a higher level than Aeolia's show of strength it would be ideal for Thor to have him say that Aeolia was just an 'avatar' created by him.
And as the 'first avatar', any mistakes would be attributed to the flaw in the body created with Thor's divine power.
"An 'avatar'... I thought only Hindus had such a desire to incarnate with a different and weaker body than the original," said Hera, whispering to herself.
But Hera's thoughts were interrupted when she noticed that her son, Hephaestus, soon approached Thor and...
hugged him.
"...I thought you died in the awakening of Typhon," said Hephaestus, his voice muffled by his coat.
For Hephaestus, it didn't matter if he was an adult god, after all after a long time he had found someone who helped him and guided him from a young age to do what he liked most...
Be the best blacksmith.
Thor seeing Hephaestus' actions didn't miss the small smile, but as soon as he felt the area of the coat where Hephaestus' face was starting to get wet he just hugged Hephaestus with one arm, while looking briefly at Hera and extending the other arm. free, inviting the goddess to join in the embrace to comfort Hephaestus.
Hera, sensing Hephaestus' feelings soon approached quickly and began hugging Hephaestus, with Thor soon encircling Hera with his arm.
And so the three stayed for some time.
Thor patiently waited for Hephaestus to stop crying, no matter how long it lasted, as did Hera, who looked at Hephaestus with love and at Thor with uncertainty.
When Hephaestus calmed down, he soon asked to withdraw from the forge quickly, Thor, knowing the roller coaster of feelings that Hephaestus went through in just a short time, accepted the request and was soon supported by Hera.
But before Hephaestus left the forge...
"Hey! Boy!" said Thor.
Hephaestus soon looked at Thor, when he caught his attention.
"Although I know that at this moment you need space... I'll be here when you need me," said Thor, with a smile.
Thor said this to ensure that whenever Hephaestus wanted to talk he would be willing to listen, Hephaestus gave one last smile before leaving the forge.
It was then that at this very moment, only Thor and Hera were present at the forge.
"...There's something you're not saying, right?" asked Hera, frowning at Thor.
Thor looked at Hera and softened his gaze.
"Somehow, or by chance, my 'avatar' emitted some divine power that soon resonated with your power at some point, which coincidentally was already shaping for the birth of Hephaestus," said Thor.
Hera soon froze at the answer.
"So does that mean…that in a way you are the father?" asked Hera.
Thor soon realized that Hera's tone was wary, as the goddess Hera, although she is the goddess associated with marriage, was not married, in fact, Hera was technically considered a virgin.
"Technically...yes," said Thor.
The forge's silence was instantaneous right after Thor's response, with Hera looking away and backing away a little.
"Your 'avatar'... It was a great example to Hephaestus, for although I am his mother, our domains were nothing alike; in fact, I'll admit I was at some point worried about raising Hephaestus, I was worried at times if I'm a good mother," Hera said.
Thor remained silent, for he knew that Hera was currently undergoing an ordeal in her vision.
"I never wanted any of this, but… I can't deprive Hephaestus of his father figure, so… Can we work together? For the sake of Hephaestus?" asked Hera, fearful of the answer.
Thor waited only a few seconds while looking at an apprehensive goddess and the spot where Hephaestus had left until he made up his mind.
"...I don't need to think too much when it comes to family... He's my son, so count on me for anything," said Thor, extending a hand to Hera.
Hera looked at Thor's giant hand and then gave a sincere smile as she shook Thor's hand.
At that moment, a sort of agreement was made.
Thor's 'avatar' would be information known to few, and Thor would discreetly interact with Hephaestus and Hera at times during his stay, with the excuse that Thor was interested in Hephaestus' forging techniques, as Thor was also considered a god of blacksmiths.
Nonetheless...
There was a small variable.
At the forge doors, having just witnessed the interaction between Hephaestus, Hera, and Thor, was someone who initially came to speak with Hera, but who witnessed an interesting revelation about the three gods.
"...Finally... So it was always you~" said the voice.
The voice was distinctly female, and right now she was looking at Thor in surprise and most of all...
Desire.
"My husband"
The voice turned out to be Aphrodite, who had witnessed everything from Aeolia's revelation of being Thor's 'avatar' to Hera's silent contract.
The goddess of love, daughter of Uranus, and consequently one of the most powerful goddesses on Olympus...
Had just found her target.
- Location: Future Russia/ Future Primorsky territory.
Pov. Third-person.
"What in Lucifer's name is she?! And why is she after us?!" shouted someone in a panic.
At this moment, a pair of devils were flying at high speed through the dense forest of the human world, fleeing from the 'thing' they found on the edge of Shinto territory, and as soon as they saw them began a hunt that seemed to be endless.
"Concentrate on getting as far out of this territory as possible! When we're far enough away, we'll teleport back to the underworld and we'll be safe!" said the other devil.
"Lucifer won't be pleased to hear that we've failed to bring one of the four Fiends back!" said the first devil in apprehension, already expecting Lucifer's possible punishment.
"Well, we at least found it! And we know now that not everyone is sealed as we were told!" said the second devil.
It was then that a sound was heard throughout the forest.
When both devils looked towards the source of the sound...
*BAM*
A kind of meteor hit the first devil at high speed, full-on, pushing the devil to the forest floor and making a crater.
The other devil was forced back by the shock wave, beyond the cloud of dust that covered much of the forest.
When the dust cloud dissipated it was possible to see the center of the crater, now with the body of the first devil hitting, in the center of the crater, and the 'meteor' revealing to be in fact, someone.
The figure turned out to be a tall, red-horned woman of the Oni race.
But the horns were the only thing that reminded the Onis, as the woman's long hair is white and held back with orange spikes in a ponytail, the shade of the strands changes to aquamarine and then blue as the hair descends to her back.
Wearing red hakama pants and hakama sandals and a large purple and white nio-daisuki behind her back. Her top robe was a white sleeveless blouse with diamond-shaped designs on both sides and a blue wave pattern on the bottom.
The woman, identified as Oni, wore a confident smile... as she stepped on the inert body of the first devil.
The woman then pointed the weapon, which turned out to be a staff made of metal studded with metal spikes, at the second devil who was still floating in the sky, and who was looking at her with a fear never seen before.
"Bat! Get ready for a reckoning!" said the woman.
The devil only stayed for a few seconds before starting to fly away while screaming desperately.
"I've never seen you before! I never did anything to you! Leave me alone!" shouted the devil.
But then something happened...
The air seemed to be sucked in, pulling the devil against his will. When the devil looked back, being the origin of the strange phenomenon, he was in shock when he realized that the Oni from before was pulling air with her mouth, as if she was 'eating' the concept that was the wind.
The devil still tried to get away from her, but unfortunately for him, it was no use.
When the devil got close enough the Oni swung the Kanabō, which was the peculiar staff made of metal, and hit the devil squarely, breaking his ribs in the process, resulting in a punctured lung and heart, causing the second devil's immediate death.
When silence in the forest settled, the Oni just watched what she had done and gave a satisfied nod.
"It's getting a lot easier..." murmured the Oni.
Although she appeared to be 'alone'… Technically that wasn't the case.
[I already warned you about how too much confidence turns into arrogance, Yamato] said a voice.
The interesting thing was that the voice as soon as the voice spoke, the eyes of the young Oni, identified as Yamato, seemed to shine in response as if reacting to the voice.
The reason for this was that the voice came from inside the young Oni's mind.
"You should relax more Taotie, you taught me well, it's just that... I miss a challenge because thanks to your teachings I feel like I'm strong enough to fulfill my ambition" said Yamato, with a dark tone in her voice.
Taotie was silent for only a few seconds, but then answered.
[... I see you are still determined to fulfill that goal of killing them all] said Taotie.
Yamato only showed a scowl of hatred.
"They deserve. After all, they do what they want as long as they don't have anyone to stand up against them, well... Now they have me" said Yamato.
[Yamato... Don't put all your hate on an entire race, I've been talking about this since we merged a long time ago] Taotie said, with a warning tone.
"I'm sorry Taotie... I can't do that, no when one of them had fun killing my family... If it wasn't for my brother's sacrifice, I would have died too" said Yamato.
[...I just hope you know what you're doing] Taotie said.
Yamato then broke into a smile.
"Be more confident you old monkey, I'll be in the Top 10 of the strongest existences faster than you think, and when I do, I'll finally be able to go to the underworld..." said Yamato.
The young Oni then began to leave the forest, but not before burning the bodies and repairing the destroyed forest environment with magic.
"If they can have fun killing... I'll do the same with them," said Yamato.
Although Taotie didn't show or speak, he was concerned about the young Oni from many centuries ago who helped him escape, not only had her appearance changed, but her personality had also changed drastically.
Taotie just hoped that the young Oni, who became the first user of his spirit, would be okay.
Because, against all odds, the most powerful of the four Fiends ended up caring too much about his user...
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Well, that's all folks!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, peasants!
Although it was a much smaller chapter than the two previous chapters, this was due to the fact that this weekend is the elections in my country, and I, as a citizen, have a duty to exercise one of my rights as a Brazilian citizen:
Vote.
... This also means I had to travel due to voting in another city as I was not able to transfer to my polling place.
Anyway, remember to leave a comment, thank you all for continuing to follow this fanfic.
I promise the next chapter will have more words than this one!
Bye!
And for the Brazilians who will vote/ E, para os brasileiros que irão votar:
(PT): Embora alguns de nós tenhamos divergências sobre os candidatos, peço a todos que respeitem a escolha de cada um. Lembrem-se que somos brasileiros antes de tudo, antes de ideologia, antes de divergência política, etc; então respeitem as decisões e escolhas de cada um.
*Nota: eu digo isso, pois o período político costuma ser conturbado e, infelizmente, vez ou outra acontece uma tragédia...
Então isso é tudo que peço:
Respeito ao próximo!
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