Sitting far above the arena, on a private balcony, Jove watched the games with some interest. He was aware that this was an opportunity for Scotus and his family to strike, but he simply couldn’t delay the games; the people weren’t aware of the intrigues at play in the shadows and demanded entertainment.

  He was pleasantly surprised by Seika’s progress these past few weeks. Despite being outmatched by having to fight in Naumachia against Neptune and Triton of all people, she pulled through, using her newfound abilities and weapons to overcome the lords of the sea.

  Miori, too, had evolved. She used to be much more hotheaded, rushing into combat to kill evildoers, often ending in a gory spectacle for all potential witnesses. And here, fighting against Mars on chariots, she embraced the graceful rhythm of combat instead.

  So far, so good. He was a little worried, however, as Seika and Pallas were to meet in single combat, armed with nothing but ordinary spears and round shields. He knew that most of Seika’s combat prowess came from her use of magic, and if she were to engage in melee, it was with Minerva’s guidance, who was still in a deep slumber.

  His worries were alleviated as he saw Pallas guiding Seika around, turning their supposed duel into a show match.

  As he leaned back into his throne to relax, he felt something fall into his lap, catching it instinctively. He turned his head in confusion, seeing Discordia standing next to him.

  “A delivery of one of your dearest items, High King.”

  His fingers brushed against tanned hide and his mind instantly pieced together which item Discordia was referring to. He jumped into action immediately, trying to put the Aegis away before anyone would see it, but he was too late; a scream reached his ears, and he saw Pallas, impaled by Seika’s spear, with cracks running over her body.

  “Get Bellona and Nerio to escort Minerva out of there!” he spoke quietly to Juno, who nodded and hurried away. Jove channeled lightning in his hand, while he narrowed his eyes and glared at Discordia, who chuckled.

  “What, High King? Are you going to assault me, now? I have already whispered your plan to distract Pallas with the Aegis into Fama’s attentive ear. Everyone will know that you did this out of pride for your daughter. Go on, make yourself look even more guilty! Let the crowd tear your daughter to shreds!” Discordia laughed in his face as Mercury announced Minerva’s disqualification and the abortion of the games. Jove watched Discordia leave with gritted teeth as she simply walked away.

  He looked out towards the arena, watching Seika being escorted out, clutching Pallas’ thankfully still active crystal.

  I guess I’ll have to do damage control for the next few days... and I have an awkward talk with my brother ahead of me.

  ***

  A few days later…

  ***

  Nerio stared deep into her cup of wine; she was escorting Mars today, as he attended a meeting between Juno, Neptune and Triton in Neptune’s mansion. A meeting in preparation for a meeting, or so she was told.

  The past few days, she had simply guarded her mistress inside her temple hall, as anger over Minerva’s deeds soon turned into anger aimed towards all of Jove’s children, and while the High King was busy calming the masses, his two daughters were essentially put under curfew.

  A heated debate caused Nerio an endless headache, as the highest nobles of the city tried to pin the blame on a culprit.

  “Brother, please. We were all tricked by the children of the night. The same way your dalliance with Medusa was declared a rape.”

  “Don’t you dare speak of her, sister! I know how you look upon my affair with her, just like I know how you look at any of our brother’s lovers.”

  Nerio could see Juno’s face flinch as the Queen tried her hardest to keep her composure. She wished she could be anywhere but in this room right now. Her sole source of comfort was Mars, who put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head before he leaned a little closer.

  “This will take a while, my love. Maybe some furniture will break in the process, but Pallas didn’t die, so they should find an amicable solution, soon. Or he will at least agree to meet with Jove in person to discuss this. Enjoy some of the wine until that happens. I know that I will.”

  Nerio nodded and held her cup out which a servant girl refilled quickly. She was a small and timid human, but still did her best to work even in this charged atmosphere, and Nerio couldn’t help but admire her a little. One by one all cups in the room were filled and everyone, as if suddenly reaching an understanding of how parched their throats were, moved to down the contents. The debate kept going as if nothing happened afterwards.

  The voices of the debating attendees became an unintelligible blur in Nerio’s mind as her attention slipped further and further. She felt like she could fall asleep at any moment.

  That wine had an odd taste…

  Jove stood in front of his mansion, dabbing away some beads of sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief as he watched Neptune approach. Of course, the man looked furious. His granddaughter, the darling of all the people of Capitolium, had been impaled for everyone to see and gravely wounded; enough that she wouldn’t return to humanoid form for at least a decade without committing the taboo of latching onto a human host. Juno walked by Neptune’s side, willing to play the mediator. She had no motherly ties to Minerva, so she would be able to be the voice of reason. In fact, the more common assumption would be that she would be fervently opposing Minerva, seeing how that girl was yet another child born from Jove’s relationships outside of his marriage, even if this one preceded Juno’s bond to him.

  “Welcome, brother. I wish we could meet under better circumstances,” Jove greeted him, and was met with a tired look.

  “Spare me the pleasantries at the gate; lead me inside so that we may talk.”

  Jove nodded and stepped to the side, gesturing for him to enter. As he walked past, so did Juno, who gave him a worried look and gently touched his arm; he simply gave her a tired smile in response.

  They walked past the wall paintings depicting the many hands through which power slipped in this place, starting with Terra and Caelus, continuing with Saturn overthrowing Caelus, and, finally, Jove himself standing victorious over his own father before it was followed by a depiction of Jove struggling against the monster Typhon, right before his coronation. The memory made him cringe a little as he remembered; his own grandmother Terra, who sent him against his father, tried to enact vengeance against him for not being more merciful towards his father’s titan allies instead of imprisoning them. She was utterly unreasonable in his mind. His legs and wrists still hurt from time to time in the place where Typhon cut him with a cursed blade.

  Further ahead, some human painters were busy with a previously empty wall, lost in absolute focus while they depicted a new scene: Minerva’s birth from Jove’s head. The scene was obviously dramatized, with Minerva not emerging as a crystal, but as a person out of a literal crack in Jove’s head, left there by Vulcan’s hammer. It was amusing to him, so he gave the go-ahead for this new piece.

  The group finally arrived at their destination, and they pushed open a large door to enter a meeting room, with a long table and some elaborately carved chairs. Jove immediately sat down at the far end, while Neptune took his place to his left. Juno kept standing behind Jove, waving for a servant, who was immediately sent away to fetch some wine.

  “Tell me how I can make it right, brother. I fully understand why you’re angry. Luckily, we avoided the worst-case scenario of Pallas truly dying,” he opened, and Neptune just stared daggers into him before he spoke.

  “You’re the one to blame, brother. I heard the stories. Your precious daughter, the wisdom sprung from your forehead, was on the backfoot and losing, and you wouldn’t have it. You pulled out your Aegis, knowing full well how much Pallas liked to look at it, and what a stunning effect it has on those who see it.”

  “Let me stop you right there, brother,” Jove said, raising a hand. The servant came back, and Juno took the amphora off him. She stepped between the two men arguing, pouring them wine before pushing the cups their way. Juno smiled at Jove and ran a finger over his arm, causing him to stop in his tracks and raise a brow before looking directly in her eyes.

  “Now’s not the time, my love. Later,” he simply said, then, after she nodded, he took his cup of wine and took a sip.

  That was odd.

  “Where was I? Right, the Aegis. This story is one of the reasons I wanted to have this discussion in my mansion. I didn’t pull it out. Discordia snuck up behind me and pulled it into Pallas’ field of vision, then she caused a scene, accusing me of stunning her with it.”

  “Discordia? What would she gain from this?” Neptune looked at him with skepticism.

  “They seem to be targeting my daughter specifically due to one of their prophecies. Her and her siblings have been causing quite a few issues, recently, like the rumor that you… assaulted Medusa?”

  “Baseless rumors! Because of which my dearest Medusa died!” Neptune spat, and Jove narrowed his eyes.

  Why would he repeat the lie they created for the public to me?

  “But enough of that! The other issue is that Minerva’s spear was poisoned! It was covered in mistletoe to ensure that Pallas would be wounded or even killed! How do you explain that?” Neptune now demanded, standing up and slamming his hands on the table.

  “How strange…” Jove mused and got out of his chair.

  “No one is supposed to know the name of that plant, except for those who…” his vision grew blurry and darkened at the edges. “…what… what was I about to say?”

  “You appear… fatigued, brother. Why not rest a moment?” he heard Neptune speak, but not with the voice of Neptune himself. This was a crueler voice, mocking Jove for his carelessness. He quickly turned around towards Juno as he puzzled together what just happened, but she wouldn’t look him in the eyes.

  “Juno, did you…?”

  “Ah! The notorious cheater doesn’t even know his beloved wife enough to realize that it’s not her, but my little darling Philotes. Or maybe Apate’s treacherous illusions are more potent than I could have ever imagined!” Scotus spoke behind him; Juno’s appearance flickered and glitched, and finally, she stood in front of him as Amicitia. Her pink-glowing hair swayed in a nonexistent breeze as she looked at Jove, with tears streaming down her face.

  “I’m sorry, cousin… really, I’m so, so sorry!”

  Scotus continued his mockery despite his niece’s discomfort.

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  “What you drank was some of Hypnos’ special poison. I had my doubts whether it would work on you, the king of gods, but here we are!”

  Jove collapsed on the ground and dragged himself towards the door, gritting his teeth.

  “You did well, my darling niece. Go now, you have a task elsewhere. Nemesis will take your place to play the role of the wife who was cuckolded one too many times and seeks revenge.”

  Jove rolled on his back, looking directly at Scotus, who approached him and went down on one knee to have a better look at him.

  “I can’t have you interfere, my dear nephew Zeus, while my family finally rids us of the stain of your daughters.”

  Jove strained and his mind screamed at his body to get up and stop whatever Scotus had planned, but his limbs didn’t obey him. Soon he drifted into a dreamless sleep.

  Seika had enough. After days of hiding inside her mansion, she finally went outside with a purpose in mind: she would face Fama today and get her to stop her rumors, not just for her own good, but all those who were slandered in the process. She would get her to stop lying about Neptune raping Medusa, she would get her to stop lying about Arachne being transformed for being arrogant and she would stop the rumor that Jove intentionally distracted Pallas to get her killed.

  For that she’d need to be alone with the goddess of rumors, which was easier said than done. As she approached the marketplace, she saw her surrounded by a crowd of people, all whispering the newest rumors to each other, while she gleefully participated. Her golden wings literally fluttered with joy whenever she listened to a new rumor and spread it to the next person.

  “Seika, please. Don’t act rashly!” Pallas pleaded from the little bag Seika had fastened to the golden chain keeping her dress around her waist, but Seika didn’t heed her words. She saw red, and only a direct confrontation with the source of the rumors would calm her down.

  “Fama!” Seika called out, and all heads turned her way; her anger must have been carrying on her face, the way the rumormongers immediately dispersed. They didn’t leave, however. They merely retreated into the side alleys and their homes, still eyeing the goddesses curiously.

  “Don’t challenge her here, you’re only going to make it worse!” Pallas spoke to her with some urgency and Seika grimaced.

  “What is it, Princess Minerva? Have a rumor to share? I’m all ears!” Fama announced with her gentle voice, stepping closer with a rather carefree spring in her step.

  “I want you to stop all the slanderous rumors about me and my family!” she demanded, and could see Fama stop in her tracks. She even took a little step back.

  “Ah… Minerva, what are you saying? You know that I only relay what’s being told to me. I mean no harm.”

  Seika came closer with fast steps and Fama walked backwards, her eyes widening.

  “And yet you’re hurting a lot of people with those rumors! You’re an accomplice in whatever Scotus and his kin are planning!”

  Fama looked at Seika in surprise and with no little confusion.

  “Scotus? His kin? My dear Seika, this past month I’ve only talked to the good citizens of Capitolium.”

  “Please, Seika! Just walk away from her! If you assaulted her, she would spin new tales about it.”

  Seika gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Part of her wanted to simply summon her cane sword and stab this woman through the heart, but ultimately, she calmed herself down enough to muster the strength to turn her back on Fama.

  “Just keep in mind what kind of effect your rumors have on the city,” she said and walked away. After the first few steps, she let her eyes wander, now noticing that the entire marketplace was eerily empty. Her steps came to a full halt.

  Wait, did she just call me…?

  “Seika!” she heard Miori shout from behind her, and turned around.

  Fama’s face had taken on a cruel expression, and her raised hand with a dagger was currently held by the wrist by Miori, who strained to keep her back.

  Seika didn’t hesitate, summoning her cane sword to her side and attacking the fake Fama, but as she took her first few steps towards the struggle, she was hit in the flank by what looked like a tail, and sent flying into one of the nearby market stalls. She sat up with a groan to orient herself again, with bits of wooden debris falling off her, and her blurry vision focused on the person who attacked her. She was a woman with the lower body of a snake, with a scorpion stinger at the very end of it.

  Miori punched the fake Fama, making her stumble aside, just in time for her to summon her halberd and block a sword strike from the strange snake woman. She was put on the defensive, however, as the assailant swiped at her with her tail, and then attempted to stab her with her stinger.

  Seika saw the rage in Miori’s face as she fought this strange snake woman, and concluded that this was ‘Fraus’, who she encountered during one of her outings.

  She got back on her feet and joined the melee, just in time, as the fake Fama attempted to use Miori’s turned back to stab her. She interrupted the attack with a swing of her cane sword, forcing the assailant to step back or be disemboweled, following up with a headbutt. The fake Fama grimaced and her appearance glitched like a corrupted video after that hit. Her appearance shifted, and changed, until a woman with cracked, grey skin, black wings and billowing green hair stood in front of Seika.

  “Who are you?! What do you want?” Seika shouted as she pressed the attack. The woman discarded her dagger and drew a sword herself, parrying Seika’s amateurish swings with ease before she struck her across the face with her pommel and sent Seika to the ground with a dull pain radiating from her cheekbone.

  “I am Discordia! I’ve been hard at work to keep the development of your powers in check, host of Minerva.”

  “Oh? Didn’t Scotus say you would destroy me without even lifting a finger? What are you doing here, then?” Seika spat Discordia’s way, and the creature grinned.

  “Plans change over time. You should have been weak enough to be rendered helpless, so that the good people of Capitolium could tear you to shreds themselves, after what you did to their favorite, Pallas. But something still feeds you.”

  Seika grimaced and shot lightning towards the woman who had identified herself as Discordia, who simply caught it with her blade, while her hands appeared to be protected by a magic barrier.

  “Oh, feisty! But it’s no use to meet me with your… middling magic powers. I am so much older than you can possibly imagine, and so much more powerful. The rulers of Capitolium come to me and my family whenever they need dirty deeds done, and it’s only by happenstance that we’re on… opposing sides this time.”

  Discordia underlined her words as she lifted her free hand and created a green orb of energy in it. Seika’s eyes widened as the winged woman simply tossed the sphere her way, and she erected a barrier, but the orb smashed through it without so much as slowing down, then exploded as it touched her. She was catapulted back and hit the nearest wall, falling to the ground and struggling to get back up.

  “And everyone witnessing the cowardly way in which you have slain Pallas has done a number on your power, no matter whatever else may feed you! No, on the power of your entire family!” Discordia shouted, accompanied by a cackle.

  Miori in the meantime had trouble as well. Fraus came at her with a spear she freshly summoned to her side, which Miori avoided to the best of her abilities. Miori did have proper training thanks to Bellona’s insistence to sync up their movements, but even so, Fraus appeared faster and stronger than Miori’s strange, fused form. Still, Miori kept attacking, utilizing her own weapon’s length to keep her assailant at bay. She had to sidestep the scorpion stinger at the end of Fraus’ tail before catching another stab aimed at her heart and deflecting it to the side.

  Discordia stepped towards Seika, who got back on her feet and prepared another spell. Icicles appeared around her, pointing at the winged Deogemma, before she let loose. Discordia let out a hiss as she simply stepped aside to dodge the projectiles, but was caught off guard as they exploded, showering her in sharp fragments that cut her skin. She let out an offended scream and closed the distance towards Seika, who deterred her from getting closer by erecting a barrier of rocky spikes.

  Discordia looked at the other dueling pair, and Seika followed her eyes. Miori appeared to be tranquil and focused, despite her situation. She identified the stinger on Fraus’ tail as the most dangerous weapon of hers and avoided its attacks with graceful steps, while counterattacking, forcing Fraus on the defensive. Discordia clicked her tongue in response.

  “Despite everything… you’re still stubborn and pull tricks out of your sleeves. This will come to an end, now! Fraus! Scatter them!”

  The snake-tailed woman withdrew from Miori and joined up with Discordia. They reached into their robes’ pockets and pulled out a fistful of rings and similar jewelry. They scattered them in a wide arc, and the way the items shivered, Seika could already deduce what was going to happen.

  She ran to Miori’s side and sliced one of the rings that was about to hit her, grabbing her hand and pulling her close. They stood side by side as both Fraus and Discordia let out a loud cackle. The remaining rings all burst apart, and black shadow creatures emerged, every single one on the level of a Queen. Seika felt a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead, looking at the manticores, lamias, centaurs, hydras and chimeras surrounding the pair.

  Jove… where the hell are you?

  Jove grunted and slowly opened his eyes. He squinted into the light in front of him, which turned out to be the sun. He sat on his throne, in the secondary, open throne room, which was built on the highest floor of his mansion, and higher than any other building in Capitolium. Here he had an unobstructed view of the city and the mountain range past its borders, visible through the column of giant pillars holding up the city’s heavy roof. He used to lord over the people from here, directing his lesser Deogemma and devising laws, but these days this throne room was mostly empty, as his city achieved a peaceful equilibrium. Until today, that was.

  He tried to stand up but found himself unable to; a glance downward confirmed that he was tied to his throne with a strange, golden rope, with hundreds of knots forming an intertwining pattern. He tried to lift a hand, to reach his medallion, his ‘insurance’ which he wore safely around his neck under his robe, but to no avail. Next he tried to simply slip out of his bonds by turning back into his true gemstone shape, but found himself unable to; not only did this rope bind him to his throne, it bound him to his projected body as well.

  “Up and about, nephew?” he heard Scotus’ voice behind him.

  “I feel rather restricted concerning the ability to be ‘up and about’, uncle,” he replied dryly, then he added in a commanding tone “Release me! Familial hierarchy or not, I am your High King, too!”

  He was only met with a scoff by Scotus, who stood next to him, eyeing him up and down.

  “No. You would only get in the way. I know you hate it, but for us all to be whole again, I need at least one of your daughters to die,” Scotus spoke with the calmness of a diplomat, despite his cruel intentions. Jove despised it.

  “If you so much as touch them, I will end you! You know that, which is why you haven’t attacked them yourself all these years!”

  “Oh?” Scotus chuckled and stepped in front of him, looking him in the eyes.

  “You are aware that your life is in my hands right now, yes?”

  “Then why haven’t you killed me yet?” Jove growled at him.

  “Because it would be in poor taste. You are the High King, no matter what our disputes are, and the Erinyes would haunt me until the day our world ends, and even though they wouldn’t be a match for me directly, they would be a very annoying thorn in my side. I could beat you into submission, however. Reduce you to a crystal, just like you did to Metis, before you swallowed her. Maybe I’ll swallow you, as well…?”

  “I’d make sure to give you even worse headaches than Metis ever gave me,” Jove responded through clenched teeth. His eyes darted around, and he saw someone in the guise of Juno nearby. Scotus followed his eyes.

  “Nemesis makes for a pretty imitation of your wife, doesn’t she? She would have gone out to participate in the slaying of your daughters, but she was severely wounded by your pet spider,” Scotus recounted with a bored-sounding voice, looking at the fake Juno.

  “Where is she? The real Juno…” Jove asked with a strained voice.

  “Asleep in a cave, together with most of the people who would get in our way, like your brothers, some of your sons… your daughters’ attendants… all of them guarded by Morpheus so they don’t rise prematurely,” Scotus replied and turned around to look directly into Jove’s eyes.

  “You know, Zeus… you disgust me. Your wife, Hera, is the personification of marriage. You two should be a grand symbol of a loving relationship, but you… philander,” Scotus hissed, sucking the air noisily through his teeth right after.

  “That’s rich coming from you! I know that you go out and violate magically gifted human girls with your shades. I hear you prefer them young,” Jove spat his way, and he could see rage boiling behind Scotus’ calm fa?ade, while the fake Juno showed a genuinely shocked reaction at his words.

  “Bah! Is a dog owner personally responsible for every bitch his roaming pet mounts? They act independently away from my body, with only a few base commands,” Scotus retorted, and Jove grinned.

  Time to drive those barbs deeper.

  “I dare say your ‘dogs’ are truer to your innate nature than you’d like to admit… Erebus.”

  Jove only just got those words out before Scotus slapped him across the face with enough force that he tasted iron.

  ”Silence! I will not have you use my sacred primordial name to speak mockery! I am Erebus, the first being to grace existence after my mother created everything! Your very days and bright skies were fathered by my sister Nyx and I! We had the first sexual intercourse in this vast multiverse! I have no need of any other women! You will not dare to speak to me like that, nephew!” he shouted, and his beady black eyes even looked like they were bulging.

  Jove spat out some blood and looked back into his uncle’s eyes, showing him a bloodied grin.

  “Fine, then. What other names? If not Erebus, then what? Scotus? Whichever other stupid names you assume to sow chaos wherever you go? It doesn’t matter which one I pick, for your deeds are just that pathetic, no matter what.

  “True, you fathered the very day and the light blue sky, but they are your only children with your beloved, after which she popped more than a dozen more children out without your help… and your true children loathe you both. Dies in particular avoids her mother, doesn’t she?”

  If Scotus had blood vessels in his eyeballs, they surely would be popping right now. He approached Jove and swiftly punched him in the stomach, making him gasp for air and reel to regain his composure.

  “One more word out of that mouth of yours, and you will regret it bitterly!”

  “Come at me, then! Show me the only reason your beloved’s children follow you! I saw it in Amicitia’s eyes when she begged me for forgiveness: she doesn’t respect you, she fears you! I’m sure if you ever orchestrate that rejoining with your beloved mother, she will loathe you, too!”

  Jove grinned weakly and braced himself for the coming punches, and they came. They came with thunder and fury, hitting his face, his stomach, his chest. Various of his bones cracked and broke, and amidst them, so did the medallion he wore.

  I won.