Chapter 44
Chapter
Forty-Four
The usual scene unfolded in the room of Concord as all the gods gathered around the table with two exceptions: the notable absence of Zeus, who had been missing for weeks, and Eros, who was in seclusion after being betrayed by his best friend.
But this time, the room didn’t seem as impressive as they had all remembered it.
All of Olympus was in a fragile state, attempting to mend itself after the significant devastation brought on by the absence of love.
Athena realized that the silence in the room was going to be uninterrupted, as each person appeared to be consumed by their own personal sadness. Her brother, Ares, darted his eyes toward her.
Artemis avoided everyone’s gaze, and the agony etched on her features revealed the depth of her remorse for harming her closest friend.
Despite her attempts to justify her actions as necessary for the greater good, she was aware of the pain she had inflicted upon Eros.
She knew he wouldn’t forgive her, but she couldn’t forgive herself either.
Hades maintained a tranquil appearance, but his gaze subtly showed his inner grief.
Unlike them, Demeter, Dionysus, and Apollo were all unusually quiet. Before, all they did was talk and jest with each other.
Across the table sat Hestia, her eyes fixed on the chair at the head of the table, the very seat where Zeus would sit when they were having meetings. A look of worry was all that was visible on her face, along with the restless thoughts that occupied her mind.
After enduring a long period without sunlight, they all seemed to be making an effort to learn how to breathe once more, as they had just seen the sun that day. As love once again filled the heart of the god entrusted with it, the beauty of their world was being progressively restored.
“We shall ascertain a means to bring the errors back to life,” Athena announced, her eyes still.
“The errors? Aren’t they dead?” Dionysus intervened, as if he had just woken up to reality.
Athena expressed her exasperation with a roll of her eyes at his question. “They have not perished, but have merely been petrified. We must ensure their return to their original bodies.”
“And then, what happens to them? Put them back on trial?” Dionysus went on, his tone laced with sarcasm.
“Enough you two,” Hestia intervened, noticing how the atmosphere in the room grew tense.
“The resolution of how to counteract Zeus’s aegis magic can be postponed, given the presence of a more significant topic for discussion.
We are all aware of the recent events. The world’s imminent destruction was the direct consequence of our failure to account for what would happen when we removed Eros from his darkness. ”
Hestia spoke with such speed and authority that she instantly captivated everyone present. All the gods watched her, including Artemis, who didn’t even bother to move her head until then.
“And that failure cost me my friendship with him,” Artemis snarled back, her voice breaking with each word as she spoke.
“You had to,” Hestia said, her voice filled with a strong desire to soothe and reassure her.
“The only way to survive was through that and you had put an end to his eternal pain. His unspoken feelings did not preclude his soul from appreciating of what you did, that is something I can assure you of. ”
Artemis, with her lips tightly shut, appeared to be recalling the days she spent following Eros, just to see him depart from his house.
She thought about the day she had seen him at Hestia’s place, and a spark of relief went through her.
She was on the verge of making him fall for someone so pure but understood he would never forgive her for her part in it.
“He will forgive you,” Hestia added, then stood, walked toward the goddess and hugged her firmly. “He needs time.”
“He will never forgive me,” she whispered as she let her head fall onto Hestia’s forearm.
Athena cleared her throat, playing with her pen. “He will. Although, in order to prevent this scenario from repeating itself, it is necessary to understand how his shadow found its way back into him.”
They showed their agreement with her statement through a nod. Ares rested his elbow on the edge of the table and pursed his lips before he spoke.
“In the realm of magic, where rules exist, there will inevitably be exceptions.”
“Indeed. Continue,” Athena said as her eyebrows knit together, thinking.
“What rules have we established to permanently separate Eros from his shadow?” The question posed by Ares caused a serious look to appear on the faces of all gods.
Demeter gently interjected a note of truth into the conversation. “The first rule was imprisoning his shadow within a cursed room and make entry impossible to anyone.”
With her lips slightly pursed and her eyes narrowing, Athena leaned across the table as she considered her response. “And to ensure that his imprisonment was permanent, we bound the seal of the door to Psyche’s death,” Athena explained.
“If the permanence was granted by Psyche’s death…” Artemis’s voice came more as a murmur, but it caught the attention of everyone.
The gods were watching her, trying to understand her thoughts and the connections she had formed. The moment their eyes met, both Athena and Artemis were completely astonished, their mouths agape.
“Is there any chance that Psyche might be alive?”