"I'm going to repeat myself, did you have fun, boy? Did throwing coins and making mortals kneel down seem like fun to you? Answer me."
Athena's voice cut through the air like an invisible spear. Cold, direct, impossible to ignore.
I, meanwhile, was panicking. Inside I wanted to cut off my balls and bury myself underground.
"Once I get down from Olympus and cross paths with one of the heavyweights... fantastic," I thought, while on the outside I tried to remain as expressionless as possible. With smooth movements, I activated the system in my mind.
But even in that moment of tension, it was impossible not to notice her at all.
Athena was the living image of a goddess of battle. Tall, with an imposing posture, every line of her body marked by strength and discipline. She did not have the delicate beauty of the Hesperides, but something fiercer, more solid. Even in her armor, her curves were remarkable and firm, without excess, sculpted as if by a Renaissance artist who had carved them in marble. Her abdomen was flat and defined; her arms, strong without losing elegance. Her long, toned legs seemed made for speed and combat, and her straight back projected power even in stillness.
She was a warrior in every inch of her, an Olympic athlete turned goddess, and everything about her said: don't underestimate me.
Her gaze, sharp as the edge of a sword, remained fixed on me. And while her beauty was indisputable, there was something in her presence that weighed more heavily: authority.
And I, a newborn god in this pantheon, had just set foot in her territory as if it were my backyard.
'[Scan]' I mentally commanded, and immediately a familiar interface unfolded before my eyes:
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🔍 DIVINE SCAN – ACTIVE
👤 Target: Athena – Goddess of Wisdom, Strategy and War
📊 Class: A (Legendary Goddess)
🩸 HP: 100,000 / 100,000
🔥 Divine Energy: 14,900 / 15,000
Attribute Value
⚔️ Strength 780
💨 Speed 810
🛡️ Endurance 880
🧠 Willpower 950
🎯 Accuracy 920
🧱 Authority 620
🛐 Domains Wisdom
🚨 Status Calculating – Observing Enemy Movements
🔒 Hidden Skills 6
🛡️ Olympian Protection Active – Enhanced by Zeus
-----------------------------------------------------------
It was official. If she got really angry, she could wipe me off the map without even raising an eyebrow.
I swallowed hard and tried not to let my voice tremble before speaking.
"I beg your pardon, goddess Athena, mistress of wisdom, strategy and justice... I didn't mean to offend you. I just wanted to start carving out a place for myself among the gods of Olympus."
For a moment, I thought she wouldn't listen to me. But I noticed a slight, almost imperceptible, relaxation in her frown. It wasn't much, but it was something.
Her eyes studied me for a moment longer, as if looking for something hidden behind my words.
"Where are you from, child? I haven't seen you before. Are you one of the new gods?"
I nodded respectfully.
"Yes, direct from Euthysia, I am Akhon, my goddess."
Athena sighed softly, as if she had just confirmed something she already suspected.
"Aha. Another generation of ascended beings. As if we didn't have enough hotheads around here..."
Her tone was drier than before, but not as sharp.
"I'm going to teach you something that nobody seems to have bothered to explain to you, Akhon."
She took a couple of steps closer, with her hands behind her back like a general before giving a war lesson.
"Rule number one: you can't win followers in territory already claimed by another god. Athens already belongs to me. And even though I didn't split you in half when you started your cheap coin show, it doesn't mean I liked it."
I swallowed hard.
"Rule number two: attracting mortals is not just a question of spectacle. What you give has a price. And if you don't know what you're offering... they'll invent it for you."
"Rule number three," she said, holding up three fingers, "the most important one. If you're going to walk like a god, talk like a god and act like a god... then you'd better think like one. Because what you do, no matter how small, has consequences."
She paused.
And for a moment, she smiled. Barely.
"Mind you, I have to admit it was entertaining watching you two rolling around for coins. Creative. A bit crude, but creative."
I didn't know whether to thank her or apologize again.
She narrowed her eyes, as if deciding whether to keep scolding me or let it go. Finally, her tone softened.
"I'm going to give you a chance. Not because I like you—that remains to be seen—but because I prefer that a new god be educated before it causes a disaster and we have to sweep up the pieces afterwards."
"So pay attention, Akhon: if you want believers, look for virgin territories, unclaimed villages, areas where divine influence is weak or non-existent. Nobody cares if you build an altar in the middle of nowhere, but if you set foot in another god's backyard again... they'll cut them off."
His voice dropped slightly, with a spark of mockery.
"And not everyone is going to be as patient as me. It would be easier for some of them to simply erase you from existence with a simple wave of their hands."
The tension in the air remained, but I no longer felt like I was about to die. Although her warning made me swallow hard.
"Understood?" she finally asked.
"Yes, my goddess. Understood."
"Good. Now go back to your place. And try not to screw up next time."
And with a wave of her hand, a light began to envelop me.
Before I faded away, I heard her say, almost jokingly:
"Oh, and if you were wondering, next time, try wine. Mortals like it better than coins, even if it doesn't look like it."
Before I knew it, I was back in the garden of the Hesperides, more specifically a few steps away from Hera's tree. The peaceful atmosphere, the gentle breeze among the golden leaves... everything was the same, as if I hadn't been teleported there by one of the most powerful goddesses of Olympus for an intimidating chat.
"Well... that went as well as it could," I muttered aloud, brushing the non-existent dust from my shoulders as I tried to regain my composure.
But fate would not give me a break.
I felt movement behind the tree and just seconds later, a female voice that I knew all too well broke the silence with the force of a storm.
"Akhon! By Hera's grace, where were you?!"
'Oh great...' I thought, already feeling the storm coming over me. I turned slowly, as if delaying it could save me.
And there she was.
Erytheia. The one with hair as red as fire, eyes that could pierce you if she got angry, and the sharpest tongue of the three sisters. And of course, she was also the most overprotective... especially when someone broke the peace of the garden.
"Ery, my dear little redhead, how are you?" I tried with a disarming smile.
"Don't Ery me, my name is Erytheia for you mister. And don't dodge the question: where the hell were you? I felt your presence flee the garden. Where did you go? And why are you back as if nothing had happened?"
"I just went for a walk, Ery, no big deal." I replied in the most relaxed tone I could, raising my hands as if to say everything was under control.
His eyes narrowed. He clearly didn't like my attempt at evasion.
"A walk, he says. Of course. And the sudden emptiness in your divine aura was part of the landscape too? Because I swear it made me want to go and look for Hera thinking that you had disintegrated because you had stepped wrongly on a field of energy."
"Well... technically I didn't disintegrate," I murmured.
"So something did happen?!"
Before I could reply, another voice joined in from the back.
"Why is there shouting? Has Akhon returned?" It was Aegle, walking calmly, a basket of fruit hanging from her arm. On seeing me, she raised an eyebrow with a small amused smile. "It seems that Ery is already giving you the standard interrogation."
"Because this idiot disappeared!" exclaimed Erytheia, pointing at me. "And now he's back as if he'd gone to pick flowers."
"Maybe he did," said Aegle with a shrug. "Or maybe he did something stupidly risky and doesn't want to tell us. Which would be very much in character."
"I'm right here, huh." I protested, raising a hand.
"Yes, and you're going to start explaining right now," replied Erytheia, folding her arms.
I looked at one, then the other. I knew I wasn't going to get away without saying something to calm them down, but I couldn't talk about the system either. Or about Athena. Or about the mission. So I did what I did best: I improvised.
"Let's just say I had an... important conversation with someone you saw on the tapestries. And that now I know I have to be more careful. That's all."
Aegle looked at me for a second longer than necessary, as if she were assessing how much of it was true and how much was just idle chatter. Then she simply nodded.
"As long as you haven't gotten the garden into trouble..."
"Everything is still where it should be," I said, and luckily it was true.
Erytheia gave me one last suspicious look, but in the end she snorted and turned away.
"If you disappear again, I'm going to tie you to the tree."
"With ambrosia leaves?"
"With divine chains."
"...noted."
Aegle let out a soft laugh as she approached, with that almost musical calmness she always had, and held out a fruit from her basket, a shiny, round, perfectly ripe one. Probably ambrosia, or something just as heavenly.
"Welcome back, cult-boy," she said with an amused half-smile on her lips.
"Thank you... I guess," I replied as I took the fruit, trying not to sound either too guilty or too proud of what I had just done on Earth.
"Can you all please be quiet? I'm trying to read."
The sentence was accompanied by a long, dramatic sigh, laden with existential exasperation. A female voice, familiar but with a different tone: colder, more distant.
And there she was.
Descending with sombre elegance from one of the highest branches of Hera's tree, appeared Hesperia, the youngest of the three sisters. "The one of the evening", as she was formally known, although in my head she had always been the gothic emo of Olympus.
Her feet made hardly a sound as they touched the grass. She was wearing a dark robe, with shades between deep blue and black, which fell like a liquid shadow around her slim body. In one hand she held an old book — one of those volumes bound in dark leather, with pages marked by dried petals and pieces of ribbons as bookmarks. In the other, a glass of wine that seemed more decorative than practical.
Her eyes, a dull gray like the fog before a storm, studied us with a mixture of annoyance and resignation. Beneath her long fringe, which covered almost one eye, she had that expression that one didn't know whether it meant I'm bored or I've seen the depths of the human soul and I'm deeply disappointed.
"You're as dramatic as ever, Hesp," said Aegle, now accustomed to her sister's outbursts.
"I'm not being dramatic, I'm aware of the ephemeral fragility of everything around us," she replied in a monotone tone, without looking up from her book. "Besides, this poem is about a lover who was forgotten by his muse. I can't read about abandonment and betrayal with you making all that noise.
"Isn't that the one that ends with 'and in the echo of his name, eternity was broken'?" I asked, vaguely remembering flipping through that same text when she left it lying on the fountain.
Hesperia looked at me, surprised for a second. Then she nodded, barely.
"Yes. It's... acceptable that you remember it."
"Wow," said Aegle, feigning shock. 'You gave her a compliment. Did you hit your head when you came down from the tree?"
"Don't get excited, it wasn't that bad,' replied Hesperia, taking a sip from her glass.
I just smiled. Despite everything, it was good to be back. The garden had its own rules, its own rhythms. And even if a goddess had threatened to turn me into a warning statue, being among them made me feel... more safe.
At least until it was my turn to tell them that I already had believers. And that I had made one of the most powerful goddesses on Olympus angry.
But that... I would leave it for later.