Age of Bronze, Year 322

  ***

  Seika and Miori followed Jove. After a thorough exchange of kisses and hugs they had to say goodbye to Ayame, who needed to return to Earth. She would visit regularly, at least she promised them that. They made their way through the streets of the mountain-sized temple building housing a city and took in all manners of strange sights around them.

  Most of the residents weren’t like Jove, they were humans, just like Seika and Miori. Markets were filled with them, with the occasional Deogemma walking among them, standing out with their glowing hair and eyes. Some heads turned, and those who recognized Jove bowed deeply before him, and then by extension before Miori and Seika. It made Seika feel a little uncomfortable, so she quickly walked past with a curt little nod.

  “I didn’t expect humans here,” Seika admitted as she looked at Jove, who kept walking, utterly unbothered.

  “They’re not the first humans here, either,” Jove spoke to her as they passed between opulent residences depicting some more Roman gods as statues in front of them. Seika vaguely recalled that one of them depicted Vulcan, with his hammer being the detail that tipped her off.

  “We Deogemma rule over this world. Humans are our citizens and attendants. There were multiple tribes of humans who arrived here one after the other, but the oldest of them have died out already. Every time a new tribe arrives, and an old one perishes, the scholars declare a new age and name it after the currently propagating tribe. Currently we are in the age of bronze. Fitting, as they are martial and powerful, yet fully respect us and obey our word as law. Many of them carry a heroic soul within them and perform a great deed within their lifetime, so we are on the brink of entering an era of heroes as well.”

  Miori looked around and inspected the humans around them, with Seika joining in. They were tall and muscular, with a fire in their eyes, even as they did mundane tasks like staffing a fruit stall in the market or carrying goods to unknown recipients in a different part of town. Others were the very definition of beauty, in all variations, with porcelain, bronze or ebony skin being represented. Some of them were guards, entirely clad in bronze armor with spears of similar make. The guards and soldiers stomped their spears on the ground and shouted “Hail, High King!” as Jove walked past, and he gave them a nonchalant wave.

  They finally arrived in front of the gates to the large palace, with statues of Jove and Juno flanking it. Seika now threw a curious glance Jove’s way, especially directed towards his androgynous face before her gaze moved back to the statue. The chiseled Jove was entirely different from the one with the wizard robe and hat, sitting on a sort of throne with a giant eagle by his side. He was muscular and bearded, while holding a scepter and a small orb with another goddess standing on top of it. Seika raised an eyebrow at their host in a quiet accusation.

  “What?” Jove showed her and Miori a grin. “Can’t a man flatter himself?”

  ***

  The interior of the mansion was magnificent as well. The walls were painted in bright colors, with curious depictions of the local history. Seika recognized some scenes, especially one showing Jove overthrowing his father, Saturn.

  “The Titanomachy happened here like in mythology?” she asked curiously.

  “The what?”

  “The overthrowing of the Titans.”

  “Oh, you mean the grand rebellion,” Jove nodded. “It was a mess. My father, the leader of the Titans, swallowed the true bodies of my siblings the moment they were born as he believed in a prophecy that he was about to be overthrown by one of us. The same should have happened to me, but mother tricked him and made him swallow a generic gemstone instead. I came back for my siblings and revenge both.”

  “And then you did the same as him anyway,” Seika observed with a raised brow. “Minerva is the proof of that.”

  Jove stopped and took a deep breath before he turned around to face Seika.

  “Things are much more complicated than they sometimes appear to your mortal eyes, young Seika. It’s true, I did the same thing to my former wife, Metis. It was because I had reasons to believe she plotted to bring forth a child that would overthrow me, and given that my own grandmother, Terra, was endlessly plotting to cast me down for imprisoning the Titans despite asking me to defeat them in the first place, I’ve opted to be careful instead. In the end the only child she would ever have was Minerva, with whom you are now bonded. Will you judge me for what I did?”

  He looked her directly in the eyes, even standing at ease as he expected her judgment. Seika blinked and looked him over, then held her forehead as a few strange, intrusive thoughts entered her mind.

  Multi-faceted… father… family…

  Seika took a deep breath after that strange occurrence and jumped a little as Jove was right in her face. He looked her face up and down, then he smiled.

  “She’s talking to you again, isn’t she?”

  Seika gulped and nodded, then she shook her head.

  “It’s like… it’s her words, but they’re my thoughts. It’s not like before.”

  “You are one, now. Until she is fully healed you will feel her presence throughout you, as if you were her.”

  He looked at Miori and smiled her way. “It will be like that for both of you.”

  Miori nodded and shuffled a little closer, grabbing Seika’s hand to gently squeeze it. Seika returned the gesture, smiling her way before they followed Jove again. He led them through a few corridors; the walls were lined with little statues, though these didn’t depict any gods from what Seika could tell.

  “Lares. The household spirits, and Mercury’s children,” Jove said as he noticed Seika’s curious glance, and she blinked his way.

  “Spirits? They’re not just statues?”

  Jove let out a little snort. “Oh, way more than that. The statues are merely a vessel. The Lares protect the home and anyone they consider belonging to the family, and they get terribly sad whenever someone in the family leaves the house permanently. A quiet wailing will fill the halls at night whenever that happens.”

  Seika furrowed her brow and looked over her shoulder. One of the statues, while she wasn’t looking, had turned its head and looked directly at her. It sent a shiver down her spine.

  They stopped in what looked like a throne room. No one was present for now, so he turned around to face the couple.

  “Oh, I just remembered… don’t let anyone know that you’re human!”

  Miori furrowed her brow and stepped forward. “Why?”

  “It’s a taboo for Deogemma to take over the body of humans in this world, since we are able to sustain our bodies on our own here. It’s why we’re doing our ‘growing up’ somewhere else. In cooperation, rather than domination.”

  Miori and Seika exchanged a short look, then a door was forcefully opened and rapid footsteps approached.

  “My child!” they heard Juno shout and she was immediately by Miori’s side, wrapping her arms around her in a hug before she withdrew a few centimeters, running her hand over Miori’s cheek and looking her in the eyes.

  “Thank the Earth Mother that she is alive… but she is so weak…!”

  Juno kept running her fingers through Miori’s hair and looking her in the eyes, quietly vocalizing her relief at her daughter’s survival. Seika looked on, feeling a little bit left out, until Jove approached, gently touched her shoulder and leaned in to speak quietly to her.

  “Don’t take it personally. She likes both you and Minerva, but our mutual children are her whole world. I’m sure you’ll understand once you have children of your own.”

  Seika’s brow furrowed, and she looked at Jove. The girl from the future who called her ‘mama’ came back to her mind. She cast a glance towards Miori before she lowered her voice conspiratorially.

  “Is it possible for us to… you know?”

  Jove raised an eyebrow and followed Seika’s glance before he chuckled.

  “Not normally. There is one magical way to make it happen, however, but it’s not easily available.”

  “Hm,” was all Seika could respond with.

  “Do you want children?” Jove prodded her, and Seika let out a little sigh.

  “I’m not sure. Supposedly I will have one, and before that I never thought about it. In our world it’s not really… biologically possible between two women like Miori and I.”

  “Think about it, then,” Jove replied, and Juno finally separated from Miori, placing a little kiss on the woman’s forehead.

  “You will be alright. Bellona will rest inside your heart and regain her strength soon,” she spoke, then she walked over to Seika. Seika could see a little bit of hesitation in Juno’s eyes, but the goddess kneeled down to give her a hug, too.

  “And Minerva, as well. I’m glad that you are alright, Seika.”

  Seika felt a little overwhelmed at first, but she returned the hug.

  “I’m sorry for being so cold towards you back then. I don’t often do well with… Jove’s many other children. But you’re a good girl. Minerva is a good girl. I can see that now.”

  Seika offered her a little smile in return, then, as they released their hug, she walked over to Miori and grabbed her hand again.

  “So, you said that we will train to get stronger while we’re here. How will that work out?”

  Jove led them deeper into the mansion, into what looked like a strategy room. A large table which depicted the surrounding lands on a map on its surface took up most of the space, with more mosaics depicting the history of this strange world covering the walls. Jove pointed at the city map.

  “Here’s what we will do: you will take residence in our city for the next few weeks, and you will pretend to be Minerva and Bellona each. You will counsel the human population, you will listen to their problems, and you will try to resolve them to the best of your abilities. The more our people believe in you, the faster my daughters’ recovery… and the more their powers can grow.”

  Seika blinked and looked at Jove.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “By that I mean, you’re just simply going to do the Magical Girl thing, but this time in the guise of a goddess,” he replied with a little wink.

  “Also, you have your own small mansions, though you might call them ‘temples’. I’m sorry, but for now, you won’t lodge together. There’s nothing saying you can’t meet up with each other to spend some time together, but those will be your places of residence, and you should spend the nights there.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Miori looked a little dejected, and Seika gave her hand a little squeeze. The gesture was enough to make her girlfriend’s lips curl back up into a smile.

  “Oh, you will also have a personal attendant in those temples, though we also call them high priests and priestesses when appropriate.”

  Seika stopped and stared ahead as an uneasy feeling took hold of her, trying to seek eye contact with Jove.

  “…what’s the name of my attendant?”

  “Hm? It’s Medusa. She received a vision as a young girl that she would be serving my daughter who was to be born that year, and that was when we met you. So, she was immediately appointed as Minerva’s high priestess, even though the Deogemma she was destined to serve was absent.”

  The uneasy feeling turned into dread, and her stomach churned. Her vision narrowed and darkened as she took deep breaths to calm herself, while both Jove and Miori looked at her with concern.

  “What’s the matter, Seika?” Miori was immediately by her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. Seika grabbed it and squeezed it before she looked towards Jove. Minerva’s saddened words echoed through her mind.

  “Why is it written that I will see my uncle rape a priestess dedicated to my worship in my temple… and I am angry with her? Why is it written that I will turn her into a monster and then aid a hero in slaying her, only to use her head on my shield?”

  “Can I have a different attendant?” she asked.

  “No,” was the simple, and stern answer from Jove.

  “Please! If she remains my attendant, something terrible might happen to her!”

  Jove shook his head.

  “No matter what awaits her, it is her destiny. Now that you have arrived, telling her that she can’t be your attendant would be akin to telling her to die. I can’t do that. It would be much crueler than letting whatever fate has in store for her play out.”

  Seika took a step back and stared at the ground, biting her lower lip. In the end, she simply nodded.

  “But!” Jove now exclaimed, “I will give you another attendant who will make sure that things are going smoothly. She’s a relative.”

  Jove turned around and opened a door to a corridor before his voice rang out in a shout.

  “Pallas!”

  ***

  It took a while for the girl who was called to enter the room. Her hair was wet and emitted a faint blue glow, marking her as at least partially Deogemma. She only wore a bathing suit, which was a string-tied Bikini that looked oddly modern for this world. Her skin was slightly pale, and her ocean blue eyes were on Jove after she entered and stretched, dripping water everywhere.

  “What is it, grand uncle? How did you know that I was here?”

  “The chances were simply very high that you would be enjoying our large bath again,” Jove replied with a chuckle.

  “True!” the girl called Pallas replied with a little laugh, then she looked at Seika and Miori with some interest.

  “Ohh! Relatives?!” she exclaimed before she hurried their way. She immediately grabbed their hands and shook them with a wide smile.

  “Hello! I’m Pallas! I’m not a full Deogemma, I’m a Nymph, but nonetheless, we’re probably related! What’s your names?”

  Seika and Miori exchanged short looks, then they looked to Jove for guidance. He gave them a short nod. “Go and tell her your real names. She’s going to be part of our little circle of conspirators.”

  “Uhm… I’m Seika. I am merged with Minerva,” Seika introduced herself truthfully, and Miori did the same.

  “I’m Miori. I’m merged with Bellona.”

  Pallas beamed them both a wide smile and nodded.

  “That’s taboo to do in our world, but I think you two had very good reasons for it!” she declared, and as Jove stepped closer, he explained their circumstances in their entirety.

  ***

  “Oh, so you almost died!” Pallas looked at them with a mix of horror and amazement. “Deogemma usually regenerate fairly easily, but you say she used some special poison to crack Bellona and Minerva’s true bodies?”

  Both of them nodded in response to Pallas’ question and she gasped.

  “That’s troublesome! Now, my regeneration is weakened because I’m not fully a Deogemma and got mostly traits from my human mother, but even I would be able to restore my body after a few years of rest. To seriously wound the core, though… that’s horrifying to think about!”

  Seika mulled the information she had over, remembering a talk she had with Madame Bille during her time in Romystedt.

  “It might be mistletoe,” she said, which got Jove’s attention.

  “Mistletoe, you say? A plant from your world?”

  Seika nodded. “A substance that can kill gods, or so a friend of mine told me. She used it to kill a half-Deogemma who ruled over her world as a cruel conqueror.”

  Jove furrowed his brow and rubbed his chin.

  “Weird. I never heard of one of us losing progeny in another world. The Furies, however, were very obsessed with going to another world to punish someone a while ago. Maybe that had something to do with it?”

  “I’m guessing that part of Madame Bille’s curse of forgetting is still active, then. The Furies did say that only those who were the children of the earth and sky directly were powerful enough to resist it and remember him.”

  Jove let out a little snort.

  “They still wear that as a badge of honor, I see. They weren’t even conceived normally: they just sprouted from our Earth Mother after grandfather’s blood dripped down on her. After she had him castrated.”

  Jove looked at the expressions his two guests wore and let out a little laugh.

  “I know, the occurrences in our world can be a bit much. You’ll get used to it. Probably. Also, don’t tell the Furies that I badmouthed them, they do scare the soul out of me sometimes.”

  He let out a little sigh, then he gestured for the blue-haired nymph. “Pallas, dear, would you show them to their abodes?”

  “For a favor!” she replied with a wide grin. “I want to see it again!”

  Jove let out a long sigh, then he nodded. He reached into his wizard robes and produced a strange cloak made from some animal’s skin, which he draped over his left arm, presenting it to Pallas. Seika didn’t know why, but at the sight of it she immediately, instinctively knew that if she were to ever challenge Jove, she would lose miserably. Its sight stunned her, she realized.

  “Haaah! Amazing! This never gets old! The way it just locks up your body in awe when you see it!” Pallas was fawning over the animal skin until Jove put it away.

  “You know that the Aegis is not a toy, young woman. One of these days your fascination with it will get you killed,” Jove spoke to her, but despite his chastising words, he smiled at her.

  “Who would have known that this gentle goat, who nursed a boy with absent parents, would become so fearsome after her passing…” he mused, but then he shook his head, waving Seika and Miori away.

  “Anyway! Off you go, you two! Have a look around the city and enjoy your time! Your training will start tomorrow; your attendants will tell you everything you need to know. Make sure that they get to their homes safe and sound, niece!”

  The pair and their nymph guide walked through the crowded streets again, past the impossibly beautiful and powerful looking humans. They made Seika feel a little small, all things considered, despite the power she was currently wielding. Many of them stopped and gave the trio a short bow to show their respect, some shouted their names, even.

  “Hail, Minerva! Welcome home!”

  “Glory to thee, Bellona!”

  Some women ran their way and stopped in front of Pallas, striking up a conversation.

  “Milady Pallas! Thank you so much for your help the other day! I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t slain the serpent! Not even five of our strongest men were a match for it!”

  “Auntie Pallas! Will you come over and play again?” this one was a child, looking up at her with sparkling eyes. Pallas laughed and periodically lifted some children up, letting them ride on her shoulders for a few meters and setting them back down again as she walked through the city.

  Only now Seika noticed that she was still in her swimsuit.

  “Uhm… Pallas!” Seika shouted her way.

  “Hm? What?” Pallas looked over her shoulder.

  “You’re… uh… shouldn’t you wear normal clothes?”

  “Why?” the casual confusion at Seika’s question disarmed her completely and she exchanged a look with Miori, who shrugged Seika’s way and let out a stifled laugh.

  “Well… never mind,” Seika finally said with a sigh, and Pallas grinned her way.

  “I’m a sea nymph. It’s expected of me to be in the water at a moment’s notice! Before uncle Jove brought me this practical swimwear from another world, the clothes I was wearing got in the way a lot and I even ended up walking around in the nude one time when I had to tear them off!”

  “They… got in the way? You were nude?!” Miori now asked with a raised brow.

  “Yes! My legs here? They turn into a fish tail when I’m in the water. Taking these bottoms off is much easier in a pinch than what I wore before!” Pallas poked out her tongue and tugged on the strings tying her swimsuit bottoms to her body in a teasing gesture, and Seika looked away with slight embarrassment.

  “A fish tail…” Miori sounded like she was in contemplation, and Pallas let out a joyous little laugh. “I’ll show you one day, when we’re anywhere near the water.”

  “I’d like to see it!” Miori agreed with a nod.

  “And here we are, already. Both of your residences.”

  Seika looked up at where they were supposed to rest, and Jove was right: Her abode more resembled a temple than a mansion. The actual house was behind open hallways, formed by the extended roof being carried by stone pillars with uniform distances between them. A statue depicting Minerva stood in front of the house, and it was the same kind of idealized image which barely resembled the real Minerva, just the way Jove’s statue was exaggerated. The same went for Bellona’s statue in front of what was supposed to be Miori’s residence, with both of them resembling the statues ancient Romans made of these goddesses more than they did the Deogemma. Miori looked at the mansions for a while before she spoke up.

  “Uhm… can we…?”

  “You want to spend the first night together, yes?” Pallas cut Miori off, and she nodded in response. Pallas winked at her and gave her a little wave as she already walked the other direction.

  “Go ahead, then. I’ll go over and tell your attendant that you’ll come over tomorrow, yes?”

  ***

  “Princess Minerva. Princess Bellona. Welcome!”

  A woman bowed deeply to the two goddesses who entered Minerva’s mansion. She wore a white, airy dress, just like Seika and Miori, with a few shimmering strings of gold as decoration. As she lifted her head again, Seika could see that she was incredibly beautiful, with what appeared to be perfectly symmetrical features. She had gentle green eyes that expectantly looked at her new mistress from under her luscious brunette hair, while her full lips appeared to always be smiling. Her beauty was overwhelming enough that Seika felt herself blushing a little, despite the presence of her girlfriend. A cursory glance at said girlfriend at least confirmed that she wasn’t alone with this feeling.

  “I am Medusa, your personal attendant. From here on out I will take care of all your needs and wants, so that you may solely focus on your duties. Be it meal preparation, scheduling times to meet with citizens wishing for an audience, heating the bath, or even joining you in your chambers.”

  “That… last one won’t be necessary,” Seika replied dryly, and Medusa gave her a curt nod. Seika could see a faint reaction in her expression, but she couldn’t tell whether it was relief or disappointment, as the woman’s poker face was as immaculate as her beauty. Seika now had a short look around the entry hall, which resembled a temple. There was what looked like an altar, right in front of another copy of her exaggerated statue. Multiple hallways were leading away from this central room, so Seika assumed that this was where she would meet most of her petitioners.

  “We only just arrived, so we’ll simply… retreat to my chambers. Where are they?” Seika asked. It was a little hard for her to mimic the lofty speech of the natives to this world, but Medusa didn’t appear to mind.

  “Follow me, your highness,” she announced and soundlessly walked ahead. Seika and Miori followed, holding hands again.

  “I am glad to see that your time in the foreign world seems to have worked out well for you, Princess Minerva,” Medusa now said, looking over her shoulder at the couple’s hands with their interlocked fingers. She showed the couple a bright smile.

  “You two make a beautiful couple. I wish you nothing but happiness.”

  Seika blushed and for a moment, she utterly forgot about the terrible fate her world’s mythology said would befall this woman. All she saw was a beauty who was fully supportive of her and her girlfriend.

  “Thank you, Medusa.”

  “We finally have some time for ourselves… today was a lot to take in all at once,” Seika remarked as the two were finally alone in her bedchambers, though those chambers weren’t exactly all that private. Her mansion must have been lying at the very edge of the large temple structure housing the entire city, as her bedroom was little more than a balcony with a roof, and again, was framed by pillars. There were thin white drapes fluttering in the wind, and the world outside was breathtakingly beautiful. They could see mountaintops outside, barely peeking out from cloud covers, with various strange islands floating in the sky around them, utterly defying gravity. A lot of them even looked inhabited as well.

  Miori stepped up behind Seika and wrapped her arms around her. The hug got tighter and tighter until it almost hurt a little, and Miori buried her face in Seika’s hair. They remained like this for a while longer, and Seika could slowly feel a warm trickle on her nape, with sniffling sounds from Miori.

  “I thought I lost you…! First that woman said she killed you, and I just got… I got angry so I wouldn’t lose the will to live. Then I saw you… with a hole in your heart. And you weren’t even yourself; you were some kind of third person made from Minerva and you! And now you’re back… you’re really back, aren’t you, Seika…?”

  Seika gently peeled one of Miori’s hands off herself and placed little kisses on the back of it.

  “I am back. You can trust me on this, Miori.”

  “Prove it…” Miori said with a little sniffle. Despite the heavy topic, there was an adorable stubbornness to the way she said it, just like the time she demanded a hug in the convenience store’s office. “Who’s your favorite Magical Girl?”

  “Am I supposed to choose between Sakura and Nanoha?!” Seika responded, turning around to face her girlfriend with a smile.

  Miori smiled through her tears, wiping them from the corner of her eyes.

  “It’s you… only my beloved Senpai would refuse to pick a favorite from those two… like she refuses to pick a favorite between her girlfriends.”

  “Ugh… are you still teasing me with the analogy my mom used?” Seika rolled her eyes and Miori laughed. After the time of heavy silence, the sobbing, the sniffling, Miori’s laughter was a sound of pure gold.

  ***

  “If we’re growing stronger, I wonder if our Magical Girl forms will get an upgrade, too… like, a new design, with new powers…” Seika mused as her and Miori were lying in bed, with Miori gently spooning Seika as they looked out at the sunset over the mountain range.

  “That’s such an otaku thing to wonder about…”

  “I mean, I’ve been the same old Magical Girl for seventeen years, can’t I dream a little?”

  “Hmm… a little bit,” Miori responded with a smile, running a finger through Seika’s glowing hair.

  “I don’t know what that would look like for either of us… and I haven’t watched nearly as many Magical Girl shows as you have to even start imagining something, Seika.”

  “I’ll imagine for both of us, then! Hmm… since you recently got that slashing ability at range, I bet you’ll be wielding a beam saber like the Precures did sometimes. And I will… maybe I’ll get some kind of armor that enhances my magical abilities! I’m using a cane sword right now, maybe I’ll get a rapier? Or maybe…”

  Miori kept running her fingers through Seika’s hair as she kept rambling on, which continued until the sun set entirely and the two lovers peacefully fell asleep under a starlit sky.