"In the past, I was the Earth Mother who birthed all creation! In the past, I was the mistress of the dark underworld! In the past, I was the queen of wisdom, privy to heaven's secrets!"
"I, Athena, swear to return to my primordial form!"
Clutching the Gorgon Stone, Athena wove a chant like a hymn, a prayer, a paean of divine Words of Power.
As her incantation unfolded, her form shifted—from a delicate, pitiable child to a dignified, graceful lady.
The Gorgon Stone, emblem of her former identity, melded into her body.
The goddess of the dark underworld, the primal Earth Mother, the serpent and immortal deity, was returning.
Lucius stood with hands behind his back, his demeanor relaxed.
In truth, he was silently gauging the extent of Athena's rising power.
"By Athena's true name, I command: let the night descend, banish the sun's grace, extinguish Prometheus's fire. Stars and black winds, recreate the ancient night!"
The goddess stood proud, issuing her decree.
Her spell banished all light, summoning darkness.
The midday sky turned to night, endless stars glimmering faintly.
The sun's rays were veiled, the moon absent, only starlight offering feeble illumination.
Humanity's millennia of progress had conquered the night with civilization's glow.
But now, as the ancient underworld goddess returned, darkness reclaimed the world.
Not just this small island—the distant coast, the mainland, the entire world plunged into night.
A darkness no human light could dispel.
"What do you think? This is my primordial form restored!" Athena declared, smiling with unconcealed pride.
Her petite frame matured into an eighteen-year-old maiden. Her short hair flowed like a silver cascade, shimmering in the night.
Her childish attire transformed into an ancient Greek white gown.
A floral crown adorned her head, her shoulders round, collarbone delicate, her form accentuated by the robe—yet utterly uninspiring.
She clenched her fist, feeling the surging curse power ready to erupt, her smile widening.
"My kin! My rival who brought me the shame of defeat!" Athena summoned a black scythe into her hand.
"The disgrace of that day shall be cleansed!"
Before her words settled, she charged, scythe in hand.
Her earlier rage-fueled killing intent had shifted to indignation at her loss.
As the ancient Earth Mother, goddess of victory and wisdom, she would reclaim her triumph with intellect and might!
With fervent battle spirit, she swung the death-laden scythe toward Lucius's neck.
The scythe embodied her "death" Aspect.
Even a glancing blow would curse its target with death.
Lucius flipped his palm, divine light flaring as the ornate Mars's Sword appeared, tracing an elegant arc to meet her scythe from the side.
He avoided clashing directly, knowing the sword's fragility against Athena.
A divine blade, yet so useless.
Lucius grumbled inwardly.
It broke against Athena, couldn't block the Spear and Cross—yet I'm still a divine sword!
Clang—screech—
The collision of divine artifacts produced a grating metallic clash.
Lacking other physical weapons, Lucius relied on Mars's Sword.
He wasn't keen on pitting his body against another's blade.
Deflecting her scythe from a weak angle, he parried again.
Athena's combat experience far outstripped his.
Continuing this way would only put him in peril.
Yet, instead of exploiting her superior skill to find his flaws, Athena stubbornly targeted Mars's Sword again.
Clang. A crisp sound rang out as a noticeable notch appeared on the blade.
As Lucius moved to stow the battered sword, Athena's face twisted with gleeful malice.
Her scythe aimed for the notch, striking hard.
Crack. The sword snapped in two.
Staring at the halved blade, Lucius's expression darkened, his gaze turning venomous.
"Die, my kin!" Athena laughed gleefully, aiming her scythe at his waist.
But before it reached, Lucius vanished.
Process Skipping made him nearly invincible in close combat.
Reappearing behind her, he thrust the broken blade into her chest.
Sensing the shard pierce through, Athena froze.
Blood and black runes surged from the wound, crawling up the blade toward the hilt.
Though unfamiliar, Lucius knew it wasn't benign. He released the sword instantly.
Yet the cursed runes reached his fingers, draining the warmth—the life—from his flesh.
"Hmph." Unfazed, Lucius hummed, channeling mana to his hand.
A reaction like boiling oil meeting water, a hundred times fiercer, erupted as opposing forces clashed, emitting welding-like heat.
Seizing the moment, a thick, weighty tome appeared in his hand.
Gripping the Book of Enoch, he raised it high and smashed it onto Athena's head!
Thud!
***
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