"That is true, my lord." Lena replied. "But if you attempt this at such close range, you will not survive the explosion . . ."
"Ah well. . ."
Meanwhile, the Assassin loomed infront of the dying Adam, his face terrifyingly dark when he saw Adam's lips arc into a faint smile. An intense feeling of alarm blossomed in the Assassins heart.
And he was proven right as a faint clicking sound rang out in space and Adam dropped the remaining two grenades from both his hands. Then Adam proceeded weakly inclined his middle finger at the assassin with his last bit of strength as mocked
"Suck it, bitch!"
In a last ditch effort to save her master, Lena rapidly expelled her remaining energy into light blue shield as the grenades detonated simultaneously.
A pair of deafening explosions rang out through space, then overlapped and magnified eachother several times over engulfing both Adam and his assailant in the flare.
The explosive energies continued to expand until they reached Eris, but just as they nearly touched her she sensed the shackles of darkness restraining her fade. With relief, she realized that Adam had succeeded in freeing her, but she was unable to feel even the slightest bit of joy.
With urgency that bordered on madness, she thrust her hands forward and restrained the explosion. And fortunately, as it died down she could see Adam still intact, protected by a flickering blue aura that could collapse at any time.
She rushed over and gathered him in her arms. He was unconscious. His heart was crushed, organs damaged, but he still tenaciously clung to life. She passed her hand over his body and a rich purple aura surrounded him.
She was no healer .. .but she could at least preserve him.
And while he rested within her arms her cold eyes fell on the assassin who had harmed him so.
Like the other gods before him, his clothes had been entirely ruined by the explosion and the were several burn marks on his body. But he was still in fairly good condition due to Eris restraining the explosion before it could do too much damage.
He had survived yes . . .but as he faced Eris's murderous gaze he couldn't feel anything besides pure, overwhelming terror.
"Y-Your power . . .has . . .returned?!" He belated realised that he'd kept the drop of Nyx 's blood which was the core of the spell in a protective pouch hidden within his robes which were then annihilated by the explosion.
Eris didn't reply. She only continued to stare at him with wrathful gaze that promised a hundred thousand tortures before he would be welcomed by deaths embrace.
She lifted her palm, and his words died in his throat. His pupils constricted into dots, his body shivering with fear as he felt the realm faintly tremor due to her overwhelming fury.
Soon after, a horrible, tortured scream rang out from their location.
——————–—————––—–––––———
Meanwhile, within Nyx's royal palace, and absurdly beautiful goddess with flowing silver hair and glittering starry eyes was anxiously pacing about. She was Asteria, the goddess of the stars, and also one if Nyx's most important aids.
"Why are they talking so long? Even after I gave them a drop of masters blood. They should have returned by now. Or did something unexpected happen? No I considered every variable. But then why are they not here yet?"
But as she considered what could have possibly gone wrong with the assassination, a storm of darkness mysteriously descended into the chamber, and within this darkness the divine figure of the primordial goddess of Night appeared before her.
Seeing her master, Asteria immediately descended onto one knee.
"I welcome you. My master!."
But Nyx's gaze as it fell on Asteria was far too cold. So cold that it causes her to shiver with dread.
"Asteria! What have you done?"
On the surface, her tone was calm, but the palpable fury underneath caused Asteria break out into a cold sweat.
"Master has graced me with the authority to handle all the matters of the realm while she makes preparations for the meeting of the summer solstice on Mount Olympus In a fortnight. So it thought I would alleviate your burden . .. "
"By having my daughter killed? My daughter who I have not seen since she was an infant?"
Nyx's words caused the terror in Asteria's heart to multiply by several folds as she hurried to defend herself.
"Eris was concieved after that animal Zeus harmed you all those tense of millenia ago. As long as she exist, the others will always use her to mock you. So I thought to remove her from this world and erase that stain. That would also allow master to forget that horrible experience."
"Fool. Zeus harmed me yes, but Eris is innocent. What's more she is my own flesh and blood. The reason I left my jewel with her was so that one day she could return to me after escaping from that beast. That day, finally came and you. . . . .you almost ruined it. Just imagine that you had been successful. . .she would have been lost to me forever . . ."
Asteria immediately shuddered and hurriedly prostrated herself on the ground in a sorrowful manner.
"My master, I-"
"Shut up! Do you know why I have not yet ended you?"
"Because. . . "
"Because you were the first to support me in the war against Perses and his lot, and I remember your eons of faithful service ever since. But the next time you do something like this. . ."
Nyx didn't finish the threat, but Asteria definitely understood.
"I understand. . .my master. . . "
After serving at her masters side for eons, Asteria thought she had understood her. She was certain her master had no attachment to a child who was a product of an assault— that it would be better for her master if that child disappeared forever. Little did she know she was making a mistake that would worsen her relationship with her master.
–—————————
Meanwhile, Eris had finally finished exacting her vengeance on the assassin.
He was no longer anywhere to be found, the only traces of him that remained were tiny bits of torn entrails and broken bone fragments that had long since dispersed into the wind. Now she cradled Adam in her harms, her mind searching for a way to restore him.
She had resolved to return to Mount Olympus and beseech the other gods for help when the sky darkened abruptly and a pitch black mist descend directly into the space right in front of her.
A shape coalesced from the mist: a woman so divinely beautiful that the light of the world fled away from her in shame. Eris recognized her immediately, for she saw the woman's features every time she looked in the mirror: in her own face.
The woman was her mother Nyx.
"Did you come to finish the job?" Eris asked coldly as she looked at her mother for the very first time. Radiating a hostility that never should have been directed at one's closest kin.
Toward the mother who had never been present in her life and actually put her life in danger, Eris held no warmth or goodwill.
"I had nothing to do with the attempt on your life earlier!"
Nyx's words caused Eris's eyes to flash with anger. She smiled coldly and scoffed.
"Mother don't you yourself find your own words extremely laughable and ridiculous?" Eris retorted.
"Why have you come here?" Eris asked brusquely.
Nyx sighed. "You are right in blaming. I trusted Asteria too much and noticed what she was up to far too late.
But at the end of the day I am not truly omnipotent. Much of what transpired was not what I wished for . .."
"Hahahahaha!" Without waiting for her to finish, Eris suddenly burst into a bout of cold laughter.
"What ridiculous nonsense. .. what utter rubbish!"
Her sorrowful laughter caused Nyx's heart to swell with discomfort and pain.
And when her laughter ceased, the voice she spoke with was no longer cold and indifferent: It was broiling with rage that had accumulated for several millinia.millenia.
"You, my own mother, abandoned me on Mount Olympus a day after I was born. How could possibly justify leaving me with that monster?"
"But even so, I worshipped you as I aged. I heard tales of your greatness— of your power. And so I strove to live up to your legacy. Within a thousand years I had mastered the laws of Chaos and surpassed the gods of Olympus. It also because of this that Zeus sealed my powers away and chained me like a dog. Though sinless I was imprisoned.
You, my mother, abandoned me to the years of misery that would ensue from that moment."
"You say your proxy acted on her own to kill me. Perhaps that is true.
But if you weren't so good at playing the part of selfish, heartless parent! would she have ever gotten the guts to carry out such a filthy act?"
"And now you have the effontry to act the part of a concerned mother in front of me!? Please stop it now, for I feel so nauseated that I could just vomit."