Thebes, 50,000 years ago
Today is the best day in Harmonia’s life. Her mother Aphrodite was the one to insist making her wedding such a spectacle, since she’s the first of her daughters to fully commit herself to marriage… and although Harmonia herself would’ve preferred a more private and peaceful ceremony, her entire family was invited.
Not only is everyone behaving in a civilized marriage, but her husband managed to impress the entire pantheon. King Cadmus is chatting amicably with Zeus and Hermes, while Harmonia looks at him from afar with loving eyes.
<Well, miracles do occur after all. I haven’t seen my father make a pass to anyone the entire day.> the goddess Athena confides, sitting next to Harmonia.
It’s the first time she’s ever seen her aunt dressed with a simple peplos: it’s not often that she gets to meet the goddess of war without her armor.
<I’m happy grandfather Zeus likes him. After that whole incident with my father…>
<Don’t worry about Ares, Harmonia, his bark is worse than his bite. Cadmus has established a great kingdom, the greatest mortal empire this galaxy has ever known. He has accomplished more in his short life than any mortal without a Nexus.>
<What’s a Nexus?>
<Nothing that should concern you. Listen, Harmonia, I wanted to tell you… should you have any problem with your husband’s kingdom, please come to see me first. I might not know much about marriage, but I know more about mortals than anyone else in our pantheon.>
<Hestia said the same thing. She was the first one to support me marrying a mortal.>
<How very… Hestia of her.>
<There is one thing you might help me with, Athena. I asked Zeus if he could grant Cadmus eternal life, but he refuses to accept my request.>
<Of course he did. I advised him against such a decision.>
<You did what!?>
<Harmonia, did you seriously expect Zeus to take into consideration the ramifications of such a decision? Of course not: my father is a creature of pure instinct. He would base his ruling solely on whether it would make his family happy: he needs someone to show him the bigger picture.>
<But Athena, I don’t understand. Cadmus is loyal to Olympus! If he can be a vassal to Zeus, why should he suffer the fate of a limited life?>
<Whether a mortal can be a vassal remains an open question. But like I said, Harmonia, Cadmus is a king with tremendous power. Granting him immortality would be to elevate him to the position of a god. What would that teach to his kind? That mortals and gods are equals? That is the path to chaos. If you could see past your love, Harmonia, you would understand how wrong that is.>
<You’re right, I don’t see it. But once Cadmus shows what a great king he is, I’m sure Zeus will reconsider.>
<Oh, Harmonia. It’s in times like this that I cherish having been born adult… I cannot fathom being so childishly naïve.> Athena comments, suppressing a chuckle.
As soon as she stands up to leave, something breaks the sky: with the sound of thunder and a golden lightning storm, the memory is altered drastically.
<Think you could hide from me by reliving your past?> the thunder asks.
The reality around Harmonia changes. Everything touched by the golden light leaked from the sky is transformed into a different scene.
<No, please, anywhere but here! Any time but today!> Harmonia pleads, already dreading what is forming around her… an endless battlefield littered with corpses.
<You don’t get to choose. You sealed your fate the moment you attacked my planet.>
Harmonia could never forget the day she’s being forced to live again. The stench rising from the dead bodies. The violent thunderstorm pouring rain into the ground, mixing water with blood and soil and putrefaction.
It was a battle for the ages. Songs about it would endure for centuries, if a single soul managed to survive the massacre. Harmonia wanders for hours and hours, with new horrors and devastation at every corner. Masses of bodies scattered everywhere among the ruins. Men, women, children, pets.
She can’t recall the name of the planet. Everyone who knew it is dead. And the last piece of decency in Harmonia dies as well as she finally finds what she was looking for.
She has to dive deep beneath a mass grave, but as she floats back to the surface she carries in her arms the body of her husband. Or what remains of it: radiation poisoning is a terrible way to go.
<Planetary thermonuclear war.>
The voice comes from the only other person alive on the planet. But Noriko Null is not really here: her mind is just projected into this memory.
<There was a rebellion. Some general took power… he wanted to rule the entire sector. He thought Cadmus was too old to still be king. He was only ninety-five years old.> Harmonia answers, cuddling in her arms the decaying corpse.
<I told him to let it go. We already ruled hundreds of planets, we didn’t need this one. But he couldn’t appear weak in front of the gods. He had to squash the rebellion, otherwise his entire kingdom would be ruled by Ares directly.>
<So he ordered a nuclear strike? Then why was he on the surface?>
<He came down to negotiate… because I begged him to find a peaceful solution. But things escalated and…> Harmonia hesitates, fighting back the tears.
<They had a failsafe. Before Cadmus took over, Ares had ruled the sector with an iron fist… Cadmus showed them what peaceful life was like. The thought of enduring Ares again was too much. They chose to irradiate their own planet rather than to be subjugated.>
<Planetary suicide. They irradiated the entire world to escape Ares. No wonder you snapped.>
<That’s when I realized mortals couldn’t be left alone. Mortals will always choose violence and death unless they are whipped into doing what’s right. Even you, Null… I offered your planet peace, but you’re resorting to violence. You are no better than the rest of your kind.>
<On that we can agree. But you’re too blinded by grief to see what we can be. Here, let me show you.> Noriko says; as she approaches Harmonia, the nightmare vanishes.
The two of them are now alone in an empty white void, and Noriko looks at her in the eye.
<This is what I see. Witness humanity.>
A stream of information unlike Harmonia has ever experienced is blasted straight into her soul.
It’s probably the most eclectic montage of moments of mortal life. Her mind is still connected to the hundreds of worlds that she has turned into planets of mindless zombies: Noriko is now forcing her to experience the memories of her slaves.
There are angry thoughts against her, to be sure. There’s the enormity of suffering of people who have been denied any form of independent thought. But she can glimpse into the lives of billions and billions of families, each one with years and years of big and small events.
And the pain of losing it all because of a single goddess. For the first time in her immortal life, Harmonia understands what it means to be at the mercy of an uncaring god.
<What have I done?> she asks herself.
The minds of her slaves are freed in rapid succession, soon before Harmonia is painfully brought back to reality.
Null Tower, New York City, Earth
From Tyche’s point of view, it’s been a couple of seconds since Null blasted Harmonia with a golden infinity symbol made of lightning.
The sky rumbles as electricity flows from Null and back into the sky, as the young mortal falls into the hands of her lover Kylon, her legs suddenly too weak to support her.
More shockingly, Harmonia has fallen to her knees and seems to be in a state of shock. Tyche expected her to be completely disintegrated, as she has seen the targets of the Final Abyss do… but whatever Null did to her seems to be far different.
<Gods forgive me. I didn’t know. I didn’t know.> Harmonia whispers to herself, tears running down her cheeks. Just right before her body starts dissolving into black ash.
The wind scatters the remains of Harmonia into nothingness, her very existence having been annihilated from within.
Tyche watches her fellow goddess evaporate into nothingness, vanquished by the petite mortal who slowly turns her head towards the daughter of Hermes. It can only mean one thing: she’s next.
The goddess of destiny and luck realizes she’s out of both, and swiftly retreats by flying towards space moving faster than she’s ever done.
<Should… should someone go after her?> Kylon asks Noriko, helping her to stand up; even a grey-skinned Lar can notice she’s unhealthily pale.
<Already accounted for. She’s not going anywhere. Gimme a minute, okay? This was… a lot.>
<I’ll say! What the Hades did you do, Noriko!?>
<I used the Cosmic Background Network to go inside her mind and disconnected her from her subjects. Then I redirected the flow of information: instead of Harmonia forcing her “peaceful thoughts” inside them, she got to witness their lives. I exposed her to the pain she caused and she just couldn’t take it… the strain pulled her apart.>
<You ripped apart the soul of a god.> he understands.
<Yep.> she acknowledges nonchalantly; as she tries to make the first step for going back inside, she stumbles and has to lean against Kylon to avoid falling.
<Do you mind taking me inside? I think I’m gonna…> she says before fainting.
Kylon takes her into her arms, still amazed at what this small human is capable of doing.
The Talaria, in orbit above the planet
Tyche rushes inside the spaceship, her heartbeat pounding inside her head. She tries to force herself into a vision, but she’s too terrified to do anything.
She quickly formulates a plan. She’ll take the ship as far away as possible, perhaps to Poseidon’s galaxy. Then she’ll identify the most remote planet and hide in the deepest cave and hide there for… how long do mortals live on this planet? She’s too scared to remember.
She doesn’t even notice that the ship’s crew are too shocked from having been freed from Harmonia’s control to react to her return. Tyche just barges into the bridge, ready to shout the command to leave orbit… but the first thing she sees is that someone else sits on the captain’s chair.
<Hello dear. Thanks for taking care of the ship.> Hermes tells her.
<Father! We have to flee, immediately… regroup with Dionysus! We don’t have much time before the Slayer of Gods…>
<She is not the one you should be worried about.> someone else says from behind her back.
It’s a woman’s voice that Tyche doesn’t recognize. Not until she’s grabbed and pushed against the wall, with enough strength to make the entire ship move a few inches.
<Enyo!? What are you… you can talk!?>
<Null cured me. She is my master now.>
<Father, help me!!!> Tyche pleads.
<I truly am sorry, dear. I’ve already helped you as much as I can.> Hermes replies, with genuine sadness in his voice. Not that Tyche can dwell on that detail, when Enyo’s grip on her shoulder tightens enough to risk breaking her bones.
<I should rip you apart limb by limb. But Hermes has interceded in your behalf: he has earned for you a quick and painless death. Be thankful for that… it’s more than my parents ever did for me.>
As surprising as it is to hear Enyo formulate complex sentences, Tyche focuses on one detail.
<Am I sentenced to death?> she asks.
<Yes. But not right now.> Enyo answers, punching her in the face. Even if she pulls her punch enough to avoid killing her, it’s still enough to break her nose and knock her out.
<Did you have to? The entire point was to prevent her from suffering.> Hermes says.
<She’ll live until Null says she doesn’t. Now let’s move, Null wants her on Myridia as soon as possible.> Enyo answers, carrying Tyche’s limp body on her shoulder.
<Aren’t you afraid that Dionysus will retaliate if you keep beating up his wife?>
<Null’s oracles, the Vanguard, are taking care of him. And should they fail… you have seen what Null has done to Harmonia.> Enyo notes, turning towards the viewscreen to admire Earth.
<On her planet, she is invincible.>
<You know something, Enyo? You might be onto something.> Hermes comments, stroking his chin as he inputs a new destination for the ship.
Discussion ¬