Chapter 47: Meeting the Past
As Percy flew over the forest, he frowned slightly. After absorbing the two hundred thousand year spirit ring, he should be feeling fine. But right now, he felt anything but fine. There was a strange feeling and a tightness in his heart. It was as if he was a demigod again, able to sense something approaching or being close to someone.
Over time, a spirit master could sense these things, but now it was a little different. His spiritual power kicked in and he used it to check the forest below him, sensing two presciences of life walking in the same direction as him, but neither knew of their precedence.
Percy, deciding to descend to check, found a woman walking alongside a wolf. This, in the first place, was already something rare. Seeing a spirit beast walking alongside a human was something simply unheard of. But seeing the woman's appearance, Percy's eyes shook in disbelief as his expression filled with confusion, then betrayal, love, friendship, and then fury.
The woman had brown hair that reached just above her shoulders, slightly pointed ears, and slightly silvery gray eyes. Her skin was white but pretty and shiny. She wore a white dress that showed off a bit of her curves and white shoes that seemed to have ribbons of the same color wrapping around her legs. Beside her, there was a red-eyed white wolf of a cultivation over five thousand years old.
Percy knew that her appearance was different; she was taller, prettier, more... human. But he clearly knew who she was. She wasn't supposed to be in this place. She shouldn't feel so human.
"You... You..." Percy had difficulty speaking. And the woman had tears held back in her eyes, almost ready to fall. Even with long hair or a more mature appearance, he could immediately tell who he was.
"Percy..."
"No!... No...", Percy shook his head angrily, "Don't say my name. Don't say it."
Slowly, Percy moved his right hand as his God-Slaying Saber showed itself. His killing intent began to rise as his spirit rings showed themselves one after the other.
The wolf growled as his fur bristled in danger.
"Please... Percy, please let me speak," the woman spoke slowly.
"No!", Percy shouted angrily. "You don't have the right, Artemis."
"I won't even ask you why or how you're here. You... of all the gods... you... really are the one who caused me the most harm."
"I didn't know!", Artemis shouted, now with tears falling from her beautiful eyes. "I didn't know Percy. By the time you were in front of Zeus, it was too late. You don't know how much it hurt me to see you fall."
"I cried... I cried and screamed a lot. When I saw what they were doing to you, I couldn't do anything. Even your father, who I thought was more honorable and had more loyalty than the rest, ended up accepting the things that Zeus and Ares planned. What did you want me to do alone, Percy?!"
"You were my friend!" Percy bellowed. The different colored eyes looked at Artemis with betrayal, causing the now human to feel like she was piercing her heart with a poisonous dagger. At that moment, Percy charged forward and struck hard, unloading all his feelings of anger, frustration, betrayal and sadness.
Artemis extended her hand and blocked the blow with a blue-silver bow, but she still retreated several meters as she gritted her teeth and her arms trembled at the pure raw power behind the blow.
"You sealed my memories of you! Why?!" Percy cried out in question. He still had dreams about the times he met Artemis. The friendly, quiet moments where she would smile and bring him into the woods for a walk or just to talk.
"I was scared..." she replied as her lips trembled. "I was really scared."
"I've never felt so good, Percy. The moments where we laughed, where we smiled. When you sang badly, but we still had fun. The moments where we just walked through a forest... From the moment I saved you from that monster that found you by pure chance, every moment was one where I could smile, laugh and feel happy without holding anything back."
"But she was a goddess...", Artemis looked at the ground as her tears continued to fall. "I've spent some time being human, Percy. And I understood that gods shouldn't interfere in mortal situations and things unless it's really necessary. Humans don't need gods to move forward or improve their lives, they can do it themselves."
"But I was afraid...", she repeated and looked at Percy directly in the eyes, "I was afraid that someone would hurt you, I was afraid that my presence would increase the amount of monsters around you. I was afraid that the sun god would do something to you. I was afraid that Zeus would do something to you for being near me."
"Percy... you know? When you went to Mount Othrys and appeared in front of me to help me, I was happy, very happy. I knew you didn't remember me, but just the fact that you were in front of me to save me made me happy."
"I'm not here to ask you to stop your revenge. I didn't come to this planet to try to save you from your feelings, much less to ask for help for what is happening to you." "I'm not going to be born on earth," Artemis smiled sadly as she stood up with her back straighter.
"I just came to apologize for what I didn't do."
"I... didn't fully understand the feelings that were forming inside me. And by the time I did, it was too late."
Percy looked at her carefully before he moved forward, striking once more. Artemis blocked the blow, but her arms rose at the force and she began to choke on the killing intent and power that Percy emanated.
"You blocked the only good memories of my childhood!" he screamed. And while he loved his mother with everything she did for him, his memories of her being married to Gabe were never good. She had sacrificed her happiness and well-being for him. Percy would rather run and be in danger than have his mother go through those moments.
"I had forgotten everything!" Percy shouted as he punched once more, sending Artemis flying and crashing into a tree.
"The laughter!"
BOOOM!
The ground sank beneath Percy as the white wolf had leapt towards him. The spirit beast was scared, but he didn't want his friend to get hit anymore. But sadly, he couldn't do anything against Percy. With a swipe of the back of his hand, Percy sent the wolf crashing to the ground. Then, he flew forward with a swing of his leg and hit Artemis' bow hard.
She didn't say anything, she simply tried to withstand each blow as her arms and legs shook from the weight of each blow. Artemis didn't know if she deserved this; maybe she did, maybe she didn't. But she didn't care right now, she just knew that if she took one of those blows accurately, she could die. And she didn't want to die, she still had to help Hestia, she still had to try harder to earn Percy's forgiveness.
All these months of effort would be wasted if she died. Since she came to this planet, she was amazed by the forests and nature. And while traveling through the universe thanks to Chaos, he taught her everything necessary to survive and gain a power good enough to return to Percy. Of course, she had to achieve Percy's forgiveness first, as well as regain his trust.
In the time she has spent as a human, she discovered many things. She understood others that she could not have fully understood before. She was now human, and she understood the behavior of humans better. Her first battle in this world was almost fatal. She had completely forgotten that she was not a goddess now, she forgot that the damage she received would not heal in a short time like before. She saw crimson blood coming out of her wounds and slept for more than a week because of the blows she received from the spiritual beast she fought.
Artemis understood the why behind the fast-paced life humans lived. They didn't have time, at least not like the immortal gods. They were constantly changing day after day, dreaming of things that might be impossible; things that some managed to accomplish, but others couldn't.
Before, she always saw the most horrible and evil side of humans. She always underestimated them, always chased them away... always hurt them. She saw good men and children who always tried to bring out the best in them, but also women who simply hid their true colors with a mask of smiles.
And she also realized how horrible her life as a goddess had been.
Artemis's eyes widened as Percy took another swing, but this time he sent his bow flying up before disappearing in silver specks of light. The hand that had small scars on it held the collar of her dress before slamming her body into a tree that creaked due to the force. Artemis gasped for air for a moment before she inhaled sharply and looked up.
But, at that moment, her body froze as she saw Percy's face: his long black hair was a little disheveled, with some strands sticking to his cheeks. His unevenly colored eyes shone with sadness as tears slowly fell down.
Percy's mouth slowly opened and he spoke as Artemis froze at the sight of his tears.
"You took away beautiful memories from me... you... you did nothing to help me, even when you claimed to be my friend. I can wield my spiritual power to break your mind. One blow would be enough to break your body completely..."
"But...", Percy closed his eyes and his brow furrowed as he moved his head slightly downwards and let his tears continue to flow.
"Why can't I kill you? Why can't I give my all to break your body and make you bleed?"
"Why? Why Artemis?!"
Artemis looked at Percy as she opened her mouth, but closed it immediately. Their eyes stayed locked on each other's for a moment, listening as the whine of a wolf was heard along with the sounds of the forest.
"I was afraid...", Artemis replied, but continued immediately, "I was afraid of what others might do to you. But most of all, I was afraid of loving you."
Percy watched her as she herself began to cry. His hand, tightly gripped on the collar of Artemis's dress, slowly loosened before he took two steps back. Artemis fell a few inches and her feet touched the ground before she looked at Percy sadly.
"I'll kill your father...", Percy said confidently and with a hardened voice.
"Fine... I don't care," she replied immediately, wiping away the tears on her face.
"I'll kill your half-brother."
"He deserves it..."
"Aphrodite, Athena, Hephesto, Apollo, Dionysus, Hera, Hestia, Hades, Poseidon, Hermes... I'll kill them all," Percy said fiercely, his eyes turning blood red.
"You can't."
Percy narrowed his eyes.
"I can assume Chaos brought you here. I don't know his reasons, but I won't stop. Not even if you beg."
"I'm not going to, Percy," Artemis smiled with a bit of irony, "But you don't understand. Things on Earth have started to change."
"Hestia changed since what happened to you. She was still trying to fix things, somehow," Percy snorted and scoffed at Artemis's words.
Hestia, she would always try to fix things, was what he thought mockingly.
"But I changed, I eventually changed," Artemis continued, slightly ignoring Percy. "From the moment you were sent to Tartarus, I stopped answering to Zeus. I ignored any order he gave me, I no longer cared about being his daughter or even an Olympian. But this caused me to be stripped of my divinity and I was turned into a mortal. Even Apollo —naming the god with disgust and venom in his voice— betrayed me and caused this; Ares, on the other hand, threw me from Olympus, to fall by the Empire State Building"
"If it weren't for Athena and Hestia who helped me, I might be dead"
"Athena... she respects you for what you had achieved, and she was against Zeus' decisions. Sadly, right now, perhaps a civil war is already beginning. Zeus wants things to go back to how they were in the old days, where the gods ruled the earth. Hestia, on the other hand, knows that this will only end with the possible destruction of the planet and tries to stop this"
"Heh... Hahaha... "Hahahahaha!" Percy laughed, it started out as something light and soft, but then he raised his head and laughed with all his might.
"The gods of earth really never change. They think they can do whatever they want without repercussions. Oh, if only they knew the true purpose of the universe..."
"What do you mean?" Artemis asked bewildered.
Percy smiled while showing his teeth.
"Did you really think earth was just another planet in the universe?"
"There's no way a simple planet like the rest could support first class gods!" Percy exclaimed with a bit of joy at the nonsense the gods did and their senseless thoughts.
"Look at this planet, Artemis! It can only sustain existences below or equal to third-tier gods for a maximum of a hundred years. And all of the Olympian gods are first-class gods, with the three idiot brothers holding weapons that would allow them to fight against god-kings. If Earth was like this planet, it would have been destroyed long ago."
Artemis raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Asgard, Mesopotamia, the Egyptians, the Shinto, many gods existed in the past. Some must have realized this and somehow moved away from the planet. But some still remain on the same existential plane of the planet, causing it to be unable to grow, and properly adapt to the energies of the universe."
"The gods of Earth are obsolete existences that cannot grow, Artemis. They were born as gods, they may have enormous power, but they are destined to remain stagnant at that level for the rest of their lives. Each of them are destined to remain existences that cannot surpass their respective dimensions."
Percy narrowed his eyes for a moment as he looked up at the sky.
"And the universe hates stagnation..."
"Then... Why has no one been able to surpass the existence of a God-King?" Artemis asked. She did not know the information Percy had said, but she did know about the God-Kings and the power levels of the universe. And, amongst all of them, she hadn't heard of anyone who had surpassed that level.
"There is balance, idiot."
Artemis groaned a little at being called an idiot.
"While the universe hates stagnation, the sheer amount of energy a god above the God-King class would need would be enormous. That would no longer be a five-dimensional existence, but something higher."
"A divine realm is not on the same plane as mortals, they are universes in their own right within a multidimensional universe. And a God-King cannot be harmed or planned by beings below the fifth dimension, unless they have a matching divine tool. And if fifth-dimensional beings cannot be harmed or planned by beings below them, what do you think would happen to beings above the God-King class?"
Artemis opened her eyes in realization.
"If there are God-King class beings in a divine realm, it means that universe is fifth dimensional. Therefore, this divine realm could not support a higher level being; if that is the case, then it does not help the expansion of the universe either."
Percy laughed, but there was not a single bit of humor in it.
"Right..."
"But then how..."
"How can the earth withstand so much?" Percy asked Artemis and she nodded.
"Primordials. They are existences that are separate from the gods. They are not gods, but they are not mortals either. And among them, there is only one of each. And, coincidentally, they have all been on earth at least once."
"Primordials are a concept given a form. Generally, when they appear, they have a form that some being can give some meaning to. For earthlings or any human, they will have a more human form, perhaps depending a little on what they are, but they would have a more human appearance."
"Their constant presence on earth, especially Geae has caused the planet to stay alive, but with so many gods, the planet is in a constant loss and gain of energy. There cannot be humans capable of awakening powers or constantly growing in a form of power like on this douluo planet, but some have had the opportunity to grow, this also explains a bit of the people capable of seeing the monsters that demigods see with ease."
"In short...", Artemis frowned a little.
Percy snorted in annoyance, "Simply put, Earth would be called a divine star thanks to the constant presence of primordials, but with so many gods, the power it should gain from the universe for the spiritual awakening of humans is completely drained by the gods to maintain their existences on the mortal plane."
"The primordials don't do any harm?"
"Not necessarily; as I said before, they are existences apart from the gods and are concepts given a form. Erebus is darkness with a consciousness and form. The same goes for Nyx and the night. Of course, this doesn't mean that if they leave the planet, there will no longer be night, darkness, sky, air and everything else. The primordials, as I said before, are concepts, they are part of the universe and therefore will exist until the end of the universe."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Artemis asked, now a little bewildered. But Percy just stared at her for a long moment before he showed his wings.
"You can see it as an exchange for what you did in my childhood. You'll see what you do with the information."
"I don't need it! I want you, Percy! I don't have to doubt my feelings anymore!", she shouted a little upset and sad.
"Eh... do whatever you want...", Percy huffed and flew away.
Artemis snorted through her nose before a pair of silver wings appeared on her back and reached a surprised Percy.
"What are you doing?", he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I'm doing what I want. And, what I want now, is to be by your side; as I said before, I will gain your trust once again."
Percy just remained silent before increasing his flying speed.
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