Tenkai rumbled, and quaked with battle the moment that Erebus returned.
"Out of the frying pan, and into the fire…" Maxim chuckled as he watched the battle of gods.
"To think, we thought we were strong." Empress sighed…
Albert was attentively watching the battle, as if his eyes could see everything. This is a valuable experience, I'll never get again, right? I'm going to get this down. And I'm going to do it right!
"Maxim, Empress, and all my fellow heroes, let's fight."
"AHAHAHA! Alright, sounds fun. Let's do it!"
And so, with the protection of Hades, the heroes fought each other in a gigantic battle, tempering each other at a rather impressive pace.
"Mortals, so full of energy, even in death."
"You think that one realized a little something from that battle over there?"
"Humph! I just want to kick the bastard's ass myself. Come on, lemme at him."
Ra was incredibly eager to erase the darkness, slamming his staff keeping it upright, and then cracking his knuckles.
"No, not yet. You'd ruin the learning experience for those souls over there." Hades laughed, pointing to the mortals locked in a battle to test themselves.
"Hades, that one's name is Albert, he's improved quite a bit. He's getting closer."
"Yeah, the others aren't too far away either. But he in particular has a reason to push harder than anyone else… Two if we want to be more specific."
A short busty goddess came walking onto the scene, yawning… She heard the sounds, and then started scratching her head.
"Why'd you want to see me so far out here, brother? It's so loud! And why is Erebus getting dogpiled?"
The three grand gods started laughing.
"UGH! I swear you're always like this!!!"
"Apologies Hestia, but for us who watched it happen, a dogpile is just too funny."
"That's right, Hathor's little puppy piled on him good down there. Now it's my turn!"
Ra said, preparing to enter the fight, but stopped when he got two very intense stares.
"Don't get too big of a head now, you're a grand god, but not even you can stand against two."
Odin warned.
"Yeah yeah, I'm just excited."
"What's going on!"
"Ah, I wanted to know, have you sent a part of yourself down to the lower world yet?"
"No! Why would you ask something like that?"
Hestia crossed her arms, and slowly tapped her foot. She was staring into Hades in the way only a sister could… Super judgmentally.
"Well, there's a child down there, with your crest upon his back. I was just curious. Better to ask you first, then to commune with Chaos directly."
"Is that all- Wait, what's he look like!"
"Kind, and gentle, here…"
Hades pulled up a mirror showing Al, the Bell from the future, on it.
"He's cute, like a cuddly little rabbit."
"I had to ask since you're here in Tenkai, and he was still able to use his strength. It was rather curious. His soul is also interesting… A reincarnation of the first hero…"
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah, the Argonaut. He's already reborn in this world… I wonder how different his experiences were in the timeline he's from?"
"So, you want me to leave my temple, and just go down there now?"
"I can't hide anything from you, even with my status as a grand god."
"Ahahaha! Mothers, Lovers, and sisters… They can see right through us no matter how good we get at hiding it. Ain't that right, Ra?"
"You good and well I'm not answering that."
Hades and Odin bellowed with laughter, seeing Ra get all clammed up and embarrassed.
"You really think I'm just going to leave my temple like that? How will Eternus feel if I left them all alone!"
Hestia demanded an explanation, her twin tails lifting up, having a temper tantrum.
"Long ago there was a spirit down there in Gekai, they returned some time ago, Urus. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to look after and keep the eternal flame company."
"Humph!" Hestia crossed her arms and pouted. "No!" She turned her head to the side. "I want to stay here."
"Didn't you say you wanted to go to Gekai?"
"That was until you told me to go. I don't listen to you."
"In that case, Hestia, I want you to stay here in Tenkai, with your eternal flame."
"AH! You're unbelievable! Zeus I know you can hear me too! You're so annoying! I'm the big sister, not you!"
"Right, I'm not a woman, how could I ever be the big sister…"
"You know what I mean!!!"
"Oh, really?"
"Fine, you're so annoying! I'll go to Gekai!"
The three grand gods smirked, and chuckled a bit…
Taking a short break from their fight, Albert came over, approaching Hestia.
"Lady Hestia, if I may be so bold, allow me to ask a favor of you."
"Ugh, you want me to deliver a message? What is it, and to whom?"
"Tell Fenr- Tell Shurry that, I'll return to Gekai the day he goes to fight the one eyed black dragon. I'll return to the world."
"Humph, that's a short timeline for you to reach the point you could. Are you sure about that? You'd better not make a liar out of me…"
"If those 21 keep it up over there, I think I'll manage, even if I only just reach the minimum, I'll descend as a god of the sword."
"You should work on becoming a spirit first… Once you get there, you'll see how tall of a task you just made for yourself." Hestia sighed. "Fine, this is interesting, however, what if you fail? I know, you'll be a guard in my temple, and swear that you won't have any relations."
"That's risky… But I like it. I was always at my best when the odds were stacked against me."
"Alright, fine then. Go do whatever it is you have to do."
Albert, returned to the other heroes, and… quickly showed a new level of ability, it was as if something had shifted. Maxim had barely held back the newly empowered sword strike…
"Damn, that's impressive Albert, you're a lot better with the odds against you."
"Oh stop it, you're no push over yourself…. Enough talk, we've got a long way to go."
"Hades, why did he do that? I can communicate with Hathor at any time. You can talk to Ouranos, and Zeus. So what was the point of this?"
"To push himself to the very limits, and move that limit further…"
"Ugh! Alright, I just told my flame, and my spirits where I'm going. Just remember this is going to use up all of the favors you've earned."
Hestia said, practically grumbling as she slowly vanished… Eventually fading away from Tenkai.
"That was a lot easier than I thought it would be."
"Yeah, you're welcome, little flame."
…