Underworld — Border of Tartarus
At the edges of Tartarus, the constant movement of spirits trying to escape was hardly surprising, especially for someone like Melinoe. A large part of her responsibilities consisted of monitoring the effects ghosts and spirits could have on humanity, from nightmares to far more serious manifestations, intervening whenever the duties of her domain required it.
However, over the last few days, her job had become considerably more complicated. The negativity coming from Tartarus had increased, drawing more and more spirits toward the upper levels of the Underworld. The real problem was that it was no longer just spirits. Monsters and other creatures had also begun emerging in increasingly larger groups.
The ground trembled beneath Melinoe's feet before a new fissure opened some distance away. Several creatures emerged from within and began spreading across the dead wasteland of the Underworld while the short-haired goddess with mismatched eyes followed their movements from afar.
Practically speaking, she could intervene and destroy them without much difficulty. The problem was that she had already tried that before. This was not the first time a horde of that size had managed to escape, and every time she had attempted to stop them directly, even more creatures had appeared shortly afterward. At this point, Melinoe had no interest in continuing to test her luck.
A flash of purple light appeared behind her. Melinoe did not even need to turn around to know who had arrived.
Hecate emerged from the light with her usual composure, silent and difficult to read as always. Being practically Melinoe's only close friend, it was not unusual to find the two of them together, except when the Goddess of Witchcraft locked herself away in her chambers to work on some form of magic or handle one of Hades' errands.
Hecate turned her attention toward the creatures disappearing across the dead lands before speaking. "I see you have a few headaches to deal with."
Melinoe did not respond. There was little to say when both of them could see the problem right in front of them. Hecate did not seem to expect an answer either.
"We need to tell Father," Melinoe said seriously, without hesitation.
And with that, a purple light surrounded Hecate once again before the Goddess of Witchcraft disappeared. Melinoe remained at the edge of the abyss for a few moments longer, watching as another creature managed to force its way into the Underworld before disappearing as well and following her friend.
XXXXX
Olympus
Damon returned to his temple expecting to find, at most, a few servants going about their usual duties. That was why he slowed down the moment he stepped into one of the main halls and found none other than his mother and Amaterasu, accompanied by Izanami, who was sitting right beside her daughter. The presence of the Mother Goddess surprised the redhead a little more.
It was Izanami's first time visiting Olympus, and certainly the first time she had ever set foot inside Damon's temple. Judging by the calm way her eyes occasionally moved around the room, she seemed to be taking the opportunity to familiarize herself with the home Damon had built within the Greek Pantheon.
Amaterasu's presence was not entirely unexpected either. During the pantheon meeting, she had made it quite clear that she planned to visit him soon, although Damon had not expected "soon" to mean only a few days later. Finding her accompanied by both of their mothers, however, was enough to make it obvious that this was not simply a casual visit. "Well..." Damon continued approaching as he shifted his attention between the three women. "This is definitely a pleasant surprise..."
The redhead's voice carried across the room and drew the attention of all three women. Rhea reacted first, immediately fixing her eyes on her son. The Titan's eyes were moist, but the gentle smile on her face made it clear to Damon that, whatever was happening, his mother was not crying over anything bad. Izanami, far more composed, simply greeted him with a nod, although Damon could sense a certain satisfaction from her. Amaterasu was the only one who managed to worry him slightly. At first glance she seemed calm, but he knew her far too well not to realize that something was weighing on her mind.
"Ehhhh... looks like I missed something. What happened?" Damon asked as he stopped in front of them. Rhea opened her mouth almost on instinct, but before saying anything, she seemed to reconsider and turned toward Amaterasu. She clearly preferred to let her deliver the news herself. Damon raised an eyebrow when both mothers did the same, while a small smile appeared on Izanami's lips.
"It's her news, and I'm more than certain you'll like it," the Mother Goddess commented calmly.
Amaterasu cast a brief glance toward her mother, receiving only a small shrug from Izanami in response. The Goddess of the Sun slowly exhaled before rising to her feet and walking toward Damon. "Wolf..." Damon raised an eyebrow. "Now you're actually starting to worry me."
"Shut up," Amaterasu replied immediately, although a small smile betrayed her. She took another couple of steps until she stood directly in front of him. Damon honestly could not remember the last time Amaterasu had struggled to tell him something directly, and that was enough to make any desire to keep joking disappear from his mind.
Amaterasu briefly lowered her eyes toward her own stomach before meeting Damon's again. "I'm pregnant."
Damon's mind went blank as he tried to process the words he had just heard. Amaterasu did not add anything else, giving him the time he needed while behind her, Rhea fought back tears once again. At last, her eldest son was about to give her her first divine grandchild.
Izanami, on the other hand, waited in silence. She had experienced motherhood far too many times not to understand what a moment like this meant. She was genuinely happy for Amaterasu and Damon; one was her daughter, and the other had become one of the most important people in her life. Part of Izanami wanted to stand up, embrace them both, and shower them with congratulations, but she knew perfectly well that this moment belonged to the two of them first.
After several seconds, Damon lowered his eyes toward Amaterasu's stomach before looking back at her. "...Pregnant?"
"Yes."
Rhea let out a small laugh as she wiped away a tear. "That was almost exactly my reaction. Congratulations, son. Truly."
"Ah, I was pretty surprised too," Izanami added with a smile.
Amaterasu rolled her eyes at that. "Sure you were... you just stared at me for an eternity."
"I was processing it," Izanami dismissed with a hint of amusement. "What? Would you have preferred me to start screaming and jumping around everywhere?"
Amaterasu opened her mouth to respond, but found nothing she could use to defend herself and ended up closing it again. "That's what I thought," Izanami concluded.
Rhea could not help laughing at the exchange between the two Shinto goddesses, but Damon barely seemed to have followed it. His attention remained entirely on Amaterasu as reality finally began to settle in. Little by little, a huge smile spread across the redhead's face.
He raised a hand toward Amaterasu, hesitating for a brief moment before gently resting it against her stomach. There was no visible change yet, but Damon could sense a faint pulse of life within her. Knowing that his son or daughter was truly there filled the Greek god with a genuine happiness he could barely contain.
"I'm going to be a father..." Damon murmured, more to himself than to any of the three women.
Amaterasu placed one hand over his as an equally happy smile appeared on her face. "That's right, my love. We really are going to be parents."
A small laugh escaped Damon before he wrapped his other arm around Amaterasu's waist and pulled her against him. He rested his forehead against hers, keeping one hand over her stomach while the two of them enjoyed the moment without needing to say much more.
The peace, however, did not last long. A deep and familiar voice echoed inside the redhead's mind. "About damn time," Kurama commented with obvious amusement. "Seriously, man, I think you might be the only god in history who has lived this long without having a divine child."
"He had children during his mortal life," Gyūki interjected calmly, trying to be the voice of reason.
Shukaku burst out laughing. "Yeah, yeah, we know. But it's not the same, and you know exactly what he means. Thousands of years as a god and you're only now having your first one. Hahahaha! Even the Sage of Six Paths didn't take this long."
Damon closed his eyes for a moment, holding back a laugh. Thanks, guys. Really. I don't know what I'd do without your support during such an important moment.
"Probably enjoy it in peace," Kurama replied without missing the opportunity to mock him.
Shukaku and Gyūki's laughter echoed through his mind again, making Damon shake his head slightly. Amaterasu pulled back just enough to look at him with curiosity. "What is it?"
"Nothing," Damon replied, still smiling. "Kurama and the others decided this was the perfect time to congratulate me in their own way."
It only took Amaterasu a moment to understand before she let out a small laugh. "Tell them I thank them too."
"Damon, I've always liked your woman," Gyūki commented with complete calm.
"Honestly, yeah. She's definitely better than you," Shukaku added.
Damon narrowed his eyes but decided to pretend he had heard none of that, leaving the tailed beasts talking to themselves as he returned his attention to Amaterasu. "How long have you known?" the redhead asked.
"I confirmed it three days ago," the Goddess of the Sun replied. "I didn't want to say anything until I was completely sure."
Damon nodded before briefly turning his attention toward the other two women. "I suppose there's no point asking why you two found out before I did." Amaterasu discreetly gestured toward Izanami. "Mother was the first. Then I came to Olympus and spoke with Rhea while I waited for you." Izanami merely nodded, seeing nothing strange about the order of events.
Damon shook his head before turning back toward Amaterasu, this time with a more serious tone. "And you? Are you okay with all of this?" The Goddess of the Sun fell silent for a moment before placing a hand over Damon's. "It surprised me... a lot. I was happy when I confirmed it, but I was also a little nervous about how you would react."
Damon raised an eyebrow. "Did you think I'd react badly?"
"No, of course not," Amaterasu replied almost immediately. "But our lives haven't exactly been peaceful lately. Problems keep appearing between the factions, and you have an incredible talent for getting involved in situations that could destroy half a continent."
Damon opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when he realized that Rhea and Izanami seemed to completely agree with her. "That last part was unnecessary."
"But it wasn't wrong," Izanami pointed out.
Damon let out a sigh. "Two against one. That's not fair."
"Three," Rhea corrected from her seat. Damon turned toward his mother. "Betrayal." Rhea merely winked at him.
Amaterasu let out a small laugh before resting her head against Damon's chest. "I just wanted to know that you were happy." This time Damon did not need to think about it. He held her a little tighter before lowering his eyes toward her stomach. "I'm happy. Really happy, actually. I don't remember feeling this happy since I defeated my father."
Rhea finally rose from her seat. "Well, now that you know, we can start preparing a few things." Damon raised his head almost immediately. "Preparing what?" "A crib, clothes, a room here for when Amaterasu stays on Olympus..."
Damon could already feel a headache coming on. "Mother, uhhh..." Rhea continued as if she had not heard him. "We should also start thinking about names."
Damon let out a sigh. "Aren't children born from two deities supposed to be born much faster and grow up just as quickly? I don't see why we need to worry about all of that yet," he commented, trying to downplay his mother's plans.
"Oh, I don't think so, darling." Amaterasu lifted her face toward him before lightly tapping him on the chest. "I want to enjoy every moment. I want to watch our child grow year after year. I'm not going along with that nonsense where they're born and grow up in a matter of minutes just because we're both gods."
Rhea gave Damon a look that practically said I told you so. The redhead held her gaze for a moment before wisely deciding that this was not an argument he wanted to continue.