The portal deposited them in Freyja's safe house garden, moonlight painting the English countryside silver.
Maxime collapsed immediately.
Not from physical exhaustion—his body was stronger than ever at Level 19. But the emotional onslaught was overwhelming. Every living thing within fifty meters was a beacon of feeling. The flowers in the garden radiated simple contentment. Night insects pulsed with basic hunger. And inside the cottage—
Nyx exploded through the door, worry blazing so bright it was nearly blinding to his new senses.
"MAXIME!"
She reached him in three strides, pulling him into a crushing embrace. Through the Link and his new Empathic Reading, he felt everything—her fear that he wouldn't return, her rage at being left behind, her overwhelming relief that he was safe.
It was too much.
"Nyx, I—I can feel—everything is—"
"Focus on me." Her hands cupped his face, forcing eye contact. "Just me. Block out everything else."
But he didn't know how. The emotions kept flooding in. Chang'e's curious concern from inside the cottage. Xochiquetzal's ready-for-violence alertness. Freyja's exhausted relief mixed with unprocessed grief about Aphrodite.
"Maxime, breathe!" Nyx's voice cut through the chaos. "The fragment is new. You need to learn control. Focus on our Link. Anchor yourself."
He grasped for their connection like a drowning man reaching for shore. The Link pulsed—familiar, stable, real—and slowly the other emotions receded to background noise.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
The world stopped spinning.
"Better?" Nyx's thumbs stroked his cheeks gently.
"Yeah. Sorry. It was just... so much."
"I know." She helped him stand, supporting his weight. "The Emotional Resonance fragment is powerful but volatile. It'll take time to master."
Chang'e appeared at the door, her pipa in hand.
"I can help with that. Emotional discipline is part of moon cultivation."
Xochiquetzal was right behind her, weapons still drawn.
"Are we expecting pursuit? Did Aphrodite—"
"She let us go," Freyja said, her voice flat. "Freely. No tricks. No pursuit."
Everyone stared.
"She just... gave up the fragment?" Xochiquetzal lowered her swords slowly. "The Aphrodite? Goddess of eternal obsession and romantic delusion?"
"Maxime talked to her." Freyja's smile was small and sad. "Really talked to her. Said things Eros never did. She... broke. Just a little. Enough to let go."
She headed inside without elaborating.
Nyx guided Maxime into the cottage, settling him on the sofa near the fire. The warmth helped—physical sensation grounding him against the emotional chaos.
"Tell me everything," Nyx said, sitting beside him. "Start from the beginning."
So he did. The boat journey, the statue-lined path, the mirror maze, Aphrodite's perfect devastating beauty. The confrontation. The speech about haunting her own life.
When he finished, Nyx was quiet for a long moment.
"You gave her therapy," she said finally.
"I gave her honesty."
"Same thing, apparently." Nyx shook her head, something like wonder in her expression. "Three thousand years. Dozens of gods have tried to get that fragment. Seduction, theft, violence, trade. All failed. And you just... talked to her."
"Is that bad?"
"It's incredible." She kissed him softly. "And very, very you."
Through the Link, he felt her pride. Her love. Her absolute certainty that she'd chosen correctly.
Chang'e settled into a nearby chair, plucking soft notes on her pipa.
"Your new abilities. Can you feel what we're feeling right now?"
Maxime concentrated, and yes—there. Chang'e's curiosity, tinged with scholarly interest. Xochiquetzal's protective alertness, ready to fight at a moment's notice. Freyja upstairs, grief and relief warring in equal measure.
And Nyx, a symphony of complex emotions—love and worry and pride and fear all tangled together.
"Yeah. I can feel all of you."
"Can you influence our emotions?" Xochiquetzal asked, hand resting on her sword hilt. "The fragment description mentioned manipulation."
[EMOTIONAL INFLUENCE (RANK B)]
[DESCRIPTION: Subtly guide others' emotions. Cannot force, but can suggest emotional directions. Cost: 30 Mana per attempt.]
"It says 'guide,' not 'control.' I could suggest emotional directions but not force anything."
"Demonstrate," Xochiquetzal challenged. "Try to make me feel... calm. Peaceful. I'll tell you if it works."
Maxime hesitated, but Nyx nodded encouragement through the Link.
He focused on Xochiquetzal's emotional signature—currently a mix of alertness and challenge and underlying battle-readiness. Then he pushed, gently, toward calm.
[MANA: 590/620]
The effect was subtle. Xochiquetzal's tension didn't vanish, but it softened. Her shoulders relaxed fractionally. Her grip on her sword loosened.
"Huh." She blinked. "That's... weird. I feel like I should stay alert, but part of me wants to just... sit down. Relax."
She shook her head, and the effect dispersed.
"Could resist if I wanted to. But if I wasn't paying attention, I might not even notice the push."
"That's the danger," Nyx said quietly. "Emotional manipulation that feels natural. That's how Eros turned allies into enemies and strangers into obsessive followers."
Maxime felt cold despite the fire's warmth.
"I won't use it like that."
"I know you won't." Nyx's hand found his. "But you need to be careful. The fragments change you. Each one makes you more like him. More powerful, but also more..."
"Dangerous," Freyja finished, descending the stairs. She'd changed into sleeping clothes but looked wide awake. "Eros at four fragments was charismatic enough to start and end wars with a smile. At eight fragments..."
She didn't finish, but the implication hung heavy.
"How many days until the Council's army?" Maxime asked.
"Eleven," Chang'e answered. "Time is running faster than we'd like."
Eleven days. Four fragments collected. Four remaining.
Maxime pulled up his status mentally.
[MAXIME / EROS PRIMORDIAL — LEVEL 19]
[DIVINITY: 56%]
[FRAGMENTS: 4/8]
- Passion Incarnate
- Divine Radiance
- Emotional Resonance
- (One from Nyx at the start - unnamed)
[ATTRIBUTES:]
Force: 68
Agility: 65
Endurance: 74
Mana: 620
Charisma: 108
[SKILLS:]
Frappe Imprégnée (Rank E)
Esquive Instinctive (Rank F)
Présence Dominante (Rank D)
Chaînes du Désir (Rank C)
Aura de Fascination (Rank B - Passive)
Regard Captivant (Rank C)
Divine Radiance (Rank A)
Empathic Reading (Rank A - Passive)
Emotional Influence (Rank B)
He was getting stronger. Significantly stronger. But Level 19 versus an army of fifty gods, all Level 30+?
Still suicide.
"We need the remaining fragments," he said. "Fast. Where are they?"
Freyja pulled out a map—the same hand-drawn one from before, but with new notations.
"Based on what I know and what Aphrodite confirmed before we left..."
She pointed to locations.
"Fragment Five: Held by Ishtar, Mesopotamian Goddess of War and Sexuality. Level 40. Location: Babylon. Or what's left of it in the divine realms."
"Fragment Six: Held by Hel, Norse Goddess of Death. Level 37. Location: Helheim. Odin's territory, obviously problematic."
"Fragment Seven: Unknown holder, but probably in the Hindu pantheon. Kali or Parvati, most likely. Location: India. Level unknown but assume 35+."
"Fragment Eight: Also unknown. Possibly in the Egyptian pantheon with Ra or possibly Japanese with Amaterasu. Level unknown."
She sat back.
"Four fragments. Eleven days. Even if we could reach one every three days—which we can't—we'd barely make it."
"Then we prioritize," Xochiquetzal said. "Which fragment gives the most power? Which location is safest?"
"There's no safe location," Nyx said flatly. "Ishtar is violently unpredictable. Hel is in Odin's backyard and probably still pissed about the Freyja extraction. The Hindu pantheon is insular and hostile to outsiders. And Egypt..."
She glanced at Freyja.
"Sekhmet is Egyptian. She could facilitate an introduction. But that means accepting her offer. Going to Zeus."
Silence fell over the room.
Maxime felt everyone's emotions—uncertainty, fear, calculation. They were all thinking the same thing.
Maybe diplomacy was the only option.
"What if we split up?" Chang'e suggested. "Half the group pursues fragments. Half pursues diplomacy with the Council."
"Absolutely not," Nyx said immediately. "Maxime stays with me. Non-negotiable."
"I wasn't suggesting splitting Maxime from you," Chang'e replied calmly. "I meant Freyja and Xochiquetzal could approach Sekhmet. Explore the diplomatic option. While we—you, me, and Maxime—continue fragment collection."
Freyja considered this.
"It's not a terrible idea. Xochiquetzal and I could meet with Sekhmet. Feel out Zeus's conditions. Worst case, we learn what he's planning. Best case, we broker a truce."
"And if Zeus just kills you?" Nyx asked.
"Then you'll know diplomacy failed." Freyja's smile was grim. "And you can plan accordingly."
Maxime felt the truth in her emotions—she was genuinely willing to risk it. Not out of loyalty to him specifically, but out of exhausted pragmatism. Three thousand years in a cage had taught her that sometimes the only move was a gamble.
"I don't like it," he said.
"Neither do I," Freyja agreed. "But we're running out of options. And time."
She stood, moving to the window. Dawn was breaking—pink and gold across the English countryside.
"We have until noon to decide. After that, we move. One way or another."
She headed upstairs, leaving them in tense silence.
Xochiquetzal followed, muttering about scouting the perimeter.
Chang'e remained, her pipa quiet in her lap.
"For what it's worth," she said softly, "I think splitting our efforts is wise. The Council expects a unified approach. Divided tactics might catch them off-guard."
"Or get us all killed," Nyx muttered.
"That too."
She excused herself, leaving Maxime and Nyx alone.
Through the Link, Maxime felt Nyx's turmoil. She wanted to protect him, to keep him close. But she also understood the strategic necessity of divided forces.
"What do you think?" he asked quietly.
"I think we're fucked either way." She leaned against him, head on his shoulder. "But if we're choosing how to be fucked, I'd rather go down fighting than begging Zeus for mercy."
"So fragments over diplomacy?"
"Fragments first. Diplomacy if we survive."
Maxime nodded. That felt right.
He pulled up the map mentally, studying the locations.
Babylon. Helheim. India. Egypt.
Four fragments. Eleven days. Gods who ranged from unpredictable to actively hostile.
"Which one first?" he asked.
Nyx was quiet, thinking.
"Not Hel. Odin's still hunting us. Helheim would be suicide."
"Not Egypt if we're sending Freyja to Sekhmet—it'd tip our hand."
"That leaves Babylon or India."
"Ishtar or Kali."
Maxime closed his eyes, reaching out with his new Empathic Reading. He couldn't sense gods from this distance, but he could feel... something. Directional tugs. Fragments calling to each other, maybe.
One pull was stronger. More insistent.
India.
"Kali," he said. "Or whoever holds the fragment there. I can feel it. Faintly."
Nyx's expression was serious.
"The Hindu pantheon is dangerous. They're organized, disciplined, and they don't interfere with other pantheons because they don't need to. Their power is absolute in their domain."
"Do we have contacts there?"
"None. We'd be going in blind."
Maxime felt her apprehension through the Link. This was the riskiest option—unknown gods, unknown terrain, unknown politics.
But the fragment was there. He was sure of it.
"We go to India," he said. "We find whoever holds Fragment Seven. We get it and get out."
"And if we can't?"
"Then we adapt. Like we always do."
Nyx studied his face, then smiled—small but genuine.
"You're getting better at this. The decisiveness. The leadership."
"Is that good or bad?"
"Both." She kissed him softly. "You're becoming Eros. But you're still Maxime. Somehow."
Through the Link, he felt her fear—that eventually Maxime would be erased, replaced entirely by the god.
He sent back certainty, love, determination.
I won't disappear. I promise.
She held him tighter.
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
"Then I'll just have to keep it."
They sat like that as the sun rose, two beings connected by choice and fragment and love, planning impossible missions and preparing for likely death.
And upstairs, Freyja wrote another letter.
This one to Sekhmet.
Accepting her offer.
Requesting an audience with Zeus.
Gambling that the King of Gods could be reasoned with.
The decision was made.
Noon came, and they split.
Freyja and Xochiquetzal departed via shadow portal—heading to Egypt first, then Olympus if Sekhmet agreed.
Maxime, Nyx, and Chang'e departed east.
Toward India.
Toward unknown gods and an uncertain fragment.
Toward Level 40 dangers with Level 19 power.
As they traveled, Maxime felt the fragment's pull growing stronger.
And somewhere, in a temple drenched in blood and darkness, a goddess noticed.
Kali smiled.
And began to prepare.