Quantum is starting to reconsider his plan. Having Lily and L.O.K.I. save the others was a good idea, but now he’s alone trying to escape from the Divine Palace without his powers.
A quick glance out of the window confirms that the electrical storm surrounding the building, a byproduct of the mental fight between Null and Viper, is still going on. And it’s still preventing him from transforming into energy.
The Palace is a big place, and the only signs are written in Modern Olympian… which he can’t read.
<C’mon, where’s the “exit” sign when you need it!?> he complains, hearing footsteps coming from the nearest staircase. He looks around, searching for a way out without finding it.
<Probably just a guard. I can take him> he tells himself, ready to get into a fistfight. His suspicion is proven right when an armed guard rushes into the room… with another five guards.
<Or not. I don’t suppose you guys want to talk?> he says, raising his hands.
<Death to the intruder!> one of the guard shouts, preparing to shoot Quantum.
Before he can pull the trigger, something emerges from the guard’s shadow and grabs his weapon, forcing him to shoot one of his comrades. The shadow then solidifies into a woman.
Bullets bounce off her chest as she efficiently snaps a guard’s neck, then holds two other guards by the head and smashes them together so hard that Quantum can hear their skulls cracking.
The woman grabs the last guard by the throat, lifts him with one hand, and turns towards Quantum.
<Don’t get used to this> she says to Quantum, while the guard struggles to remain conscious.
<Eris? What are you doing here?>
<I have a deal with Null. Follow me> she says, letting the guard fall once he’s suffocated.
<You just murdered five people in cold blood! Why should I trust you?>
<You should never trust me. But right now, following me would be in your best interest… considering there are about a hundred more guards in the floors below.>
<Why didn’t you say so? Let’s go, but there’s no way I’m turning my back on you!>
Outside of the Divine Palace
Torn slowly regains consciousness, his head pounding like never before. He slowly opens his eyes, looking at Kari Zel who is shaking him to get his attention.
<Torn! Torn! Wake up, we’re in the middle of a battle!> she tells him, pointing at the two armies that surround the Divine Palace. One is comprised by the soldiers of Amaterasu, the other is made of a thousand duplicates of Kari herself.
<What happened?> he asks.
<Viper knocked us out. Noriko is still fighting her, Max stayed behind, I have no idea where Vesta is, and why are you wasting time instead of helping me!?> she answers.
<We had civilians with us. Where are they?>
<L.O.K.I. and Lily took Syzar and Liosthenes back to the Ragnarok. Are you done? I can’t fight a whole army all by myself!!!>
<Yes, you can. I have to save Vesta> he explains calmly, sitting down in the lotus position.
<What are you talking about? Save her from what? Torn?>
<She’s lost in the darkness of her mind. She needs a light to show her the way out.>
<What the ρθcκ does that even mean!? This isn’t the time for…> she argues, pausing to dodge a stray laser beam. Torn has already closed his eyes and his body is surrounded by a bright red aura.
<I freakin’ hate Demons sometimes. You owe me one!> she complains, creating a hundred more duplicates to rush into the battle.
Nowhere
Torn has projected himself into another person’s soul before, but this is the first time he comes into contact with the soul of a god. What he sees is an enormous Greek temple, as large as a city block, which sits on an island floating in space.
He walks past the majestic olive trees that surround the temple; the plants are on fire, but somehow their flames are not even damaging the leaves. There are torches on the walls and endless rows of candles scattered on the floor; only the skeletons are more numerous.
There are hundreds of them, perhaps even thousands, scattered everywhere. Human skeletons of every size and age, ruining the stunning beauty of the place.
Torn walks the stairs towards the center of the temple, which houses a massive cauldron. The fire inside it is burning hot, with its flames rising above the temple itself. It’s surrounded by a veritable pile of skeletons, all of which belong to people who have been visibly burned to death.
There’s a woman inside the flame. Floating, crawled into a fetal position, naked.
<Vesta. This is not the moment to rest. The fight isn’t over yet> Torn tells her.
<Go away> she says with the broken voice of someone fighting back the tears.
<Null can’t stop Viper on her own. Your teammates… your friends need you back, Vesta.>
<My friends die. Everyone I know, everyone I love dies. I’m tired, so tired of crying for their loss.>
<You’re not the only one who has lost loved ones. You’re not the only one who knows pain.>
<She’s making me see all of them… all the people I could’ve saved. All the people who died because I didn’t want to get involved. I could’ve stopped every single war… prevented so much death…>
<You can prevent this war, Vesta. Viper’s ceased her attack: you’re the one choosing to remain in your nightmare. All you need to do is fight back.>
<I can’t. Amaterasu locked me into a coffin of neutral matter and threw me into a star. It should be enough to kill me… nobody else will die because I failed to save them.>
<You’re letting Viper turn your kindness against you. I’ve never met anyone who cares about other people as much as you do, Vesta. Now that the Galaxy needs you, you won’t surrender.>
<I can’t. I told you, I’m inside a prison of neutral matter. I’m not strong enough to break it.>
<Yes you are. There’s a part of you that won’t surrender: I just need to help you find it> Torn says, jumping directly into the cauldron despite its impressive height.
Even if he knows this is just a mental projection, even if he was raised on Hell, it still feels like it’s burning his flesh. He sees something in the fire… reflections of Vesta’s memories.
He sees her leading a pack of ancient humans towards a burning bush. He sees her dressed in medieval clothes serving an abundant meal to poor, famished peasants. He sees her shake hands with Noriko Null. And he notices something at the bottom of the cauldron, burning much brighter than anything else.
<Must be an important memory. Remember what makes you who you are!> he says, creating a sword as his body turns to ashes, hitting the bottom of the cauldron.
And Vesta remembers.
Rome, 753 BC
She wasn’t there when it happened. The fire was burning in the temple, living proof of the devotion to the goddess Hestia. The goddess whose fire kept homes warm and families safe. The gentle goddess who never raised her hand against her brothers and sisters, who never shared their desire for power. The goddess who couldn’t hurt a fly.
The goddess that the young girl worshipped, and whose pure white robes are now red with blood.
<She called your name, you know> Ares taunts her. She will never forget the glee in his voice.
<Praying for your help or some crap like that. She didn’t put up a fight…it was quite boring, really. Maybe she was a little too young to be violated. How can you even tell with these mortals?>
Hestia carries in her arms what used to be a twelve year old girl. Now she’s a bloodied corpse.
<You know what’s the most pathetic thing? You don’t even know her name. And you know why? Because these fu###ng fleshy things don’t f###ing matter, that’s why. So stop preaching at Zeus and the rest of the fu###ng family about treating them with respect, will ya?>
Hestia looks at her brother’s son. Her eyes are burning with the heat of a billion stars, and her voice is on fire. Like her father’s.
<Her name was Vesta.>
Today, inside the Takama star
At the bottom of the convection zone, 130,000 miles above the core, the temperature is close to 2 million degrees. The only solid object is a coffin of neutral matter, which is withstanding the unimaginable pressure. It’s kept shut by six equally indestructible mechanical locks, which aren’t breaking even if two hands are pushing from the inside with enough strength to move a continent.
All Vesta manages to do is lift the cover by the slightest of margins. Hot plasma rushes inside the coffin, but it’s not what worries Vesta: heat simply cannot hurt her.
Pressure and gravity are another thing. She’s trying to fly towards the surface, dragging the coffin with her, but the combination of the pull from the core and the pressure of the plasma above her is just too much to overcome.
<I’m not strong enough. But I’m not the goddess of strength. I am the Goddess of the Household Flame> she tells herself, feeling her heart beat faster. Her body burns like never before, matching the temperature of the plasma. And then surpassing it.
<You’re just a star. I am the Firstborn of Kronos. I am the Eternal Flame. I. AM. FIRE.>
Inside the convection zone, the plasma at the bottom is constantly heated up by the core and pushed upwards. Now there’s a single spot hotter than the others, heating a bubble of matter so much that it rapidly rises towards the surface.
Above the star’s photosphere
Amaterasu feels something is off. The sun goddess is sensing a rapid increase in temperature, matched by the star’s odd behavior: there are multiple solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which are releasing a significant amount of plasma into space.
Then she senses something even more unexpected, something flying towards her at half the speed of light. The Oni robot accompanying her readies its weapons, locking them on the incoming threat.
Before it can fire, a fist covered in flames punches through its torso, then moves upwards. Its neutral matter shell gives little resistance as the fist moves upwards, melting through it.
Amaterasu watches in awe as the woman throws away the molten remains of the Oni. It’s a goddess seemingly made of bright white plasma, surrounded by a red aura.
<Amaterasu. We have unfinished business> Vesta tells her, crossing her arms menacingly.
<That was my mother’s robot! What did you do to it!?>
<Neutral matter can withstand the core of a star, but it still has melting point: twice the temperature of an average core, or about 30 million degrees. How much heat can you withstand, Amaterasu?>
<I didn’t want to do this, but you’re being mean. Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!> Amaterasu says, materializing a sword of energy in her hands. It’s the same sword that killed Helios with a single strike, and now it’s burning with even more power.
<Pledge allegiance to me or I swear I’ll use this!>
<All that power, and yet you’re still a child. If you took the time to learn how to be a real goddess, you’d be unstoppable.>
<Shut up! I’m a real goddess!> Amaterasu replies, almost throwing a tantrum as she swings the sword to cut Vesta in half.
But Vesta catches its blade with one hand. Not only is the Kusanagi not cutting her skin, despite the tremendous amount of power that Amaterasu is channeling into it, but Vesta’s fire is burning so much that the sword becomes too hot for the younger goddess to handle.
<No, you’re not. You’re an unstable patchwork of wildly different divine energies. You’re a kid that doesn’t know any better. A kid who needs to learn a lesson.>
When Amaterasu lets the sword go, Vesta catches it and feels its power flow through her veins.
<It’s time for you to grow up, Amaterasu. THIS is what a true goddess looks like> she says, driving the sword through Amaterasu’s chest while releasing her flame at the same time.
For a moment, the star is outshined by something infinitely brighter.
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