Third Person's Point of View

The patron of demigods' forehead furrowed in confusion as she was trying to remember something she forgot. Deep within her, alam niyang may alaalang tila nakalimutan niya. She's not someone who easily forget things. Pero sa pagkakataong 'yon, ramdam niyang may nakaligtaan siyang ipinakita ni Eris sa kaniya.

"What's wrong, goddess of moonlight?" Eris suddenly asked her in curiosity. Tinignan siya nito na tila nag-aalala. "Aren't you glad that the Olympians are finally banished?"

She chuckled at the thought. Probably that memory wasn't important after all. Bumalik sa kaniyang isipan ang sinapit ng mga Olympians. She absentmindedly smiled.

For everything the Olympians did to her, Heshiena believed they all deserve more than just banishing them. She endured enough.

"What are you saying?" She scoffed in disbelief. "I am beyond determined knowing their current fate. Maybe my existence is a blessing in disguise," she commented.

Eris' wicked laugh reverberated.

Heshiena was caught off guard when Eris suddenly appeared in front of her.

"It's not maybe, Heshiena. It is a blessing!" she exclaimed.

Napangiti siya dahil sa sinabi nito. Maybe her existence is truly a blessing in disguise. If the Olympians weren't bestowing her a curse, perhaps there would be no chances like this. A chance where she could avenge herself.

Pero alam niya sa sariling kayang-kaya niyang harapin ang mga Olympians. She could make them easily kneel before her. On the other hand, taking advantage of the situation isn't a bad idea. While they are vulnerable at the hands of the River Styx, might as well return the favor.

"Olympians . . ." nanggalaiti sa galit niyang banggit. "I never wished to be born!" The ground shook at the impact of her voice. She could feel everything at the very end of the world. "You chose to save your own asses rather than showing mercy to the innocence of the child. And yet I am grateful for making me formidable!"

Sa mga oras na 'yon, siya naman ang tumawa nang malakas.

Behind the shadows, Eris smiled victoriously.

Because she knew, she already succeeded in making Heshiena the underworld's formidable ally. With her presence behind their cause, victory is at the tip of her fingers.

"Time . . ." she whispers, emphasizing the word she utter, "will come for you, Heshiena." Sumilay ang nakapanindig balahibong ngiti sa labi ni Eris. Sa kaniyang ibinulong, tila ba'y may iba pa siyang pinapahiwatig.

Nahinto siya sa pakikipag-usap sa sarili nang maramdaman niya ang mga matang nakatitig mula sa kinaroonan niya.

Eris gasp in proud. Heshiena was able to spot where she is despite cloaking herself from the sight of anyone. Napailing siya sa kaniyang ulo. At napakagat ng ibabang labi sa natuklasan.

"You are indeed a weapon that the evil is trying to retrieve . . ." muli niyang bulong sa sarili.

Tinapunan niya ng tingin ang diyosa. From the way she looked at her, alam na niyang binalaan na siya nito. Eris knew to herself that she wasn't easily to intimidate. But with Heshiena's intense glares, she fazes. Chills race down her spine.

That feeling was foreign to her.

"If—" her distorted voice reverberated, without breaking her glares. Eris was caught off guard when Heshiena appeared before her in an instant. Her heart skipped a beat. It was so instant her eyes couldn't follow. Eris chuckles in between fascination and agitation. The tables have turned. "If betrayal comes into play, and eventually find out you never fulfill your promise of telling me the entire truth—"

Heshiena paused for a couple of seconds. Still her eye contact with the goddess of strife and discord remains irrefutable.

"Do not expect me to show mercy." Dumaan sa kaniyang isipan si Mavros. She gritted her teeth. Out of the corner of her eyes, Eris smiled in assurance. "I promised to drag the Olympians to ashes but will never put my friends in danger. That's my condition for choosing a side, goddess of strife. Harm them and I'm out."

Eris scoffed in fascination. In spite of her siding with the underworld, her affection for humanity remains unscathed.

"Have it your way, goddess."

She followed it with her laugh at Heshiena's noteworthy determination. Because even though she did her best, she won't be able to make her forget about her friends. For thousands of years, it was her first time to meet someone who will put her power to the test. 

But that doesn't mean she gave up.

☽ ♆ ☾

Ace managed to say his piece. He was crying non-stop and of how he regretted calling Chry a monster. Naiintindihan niya kung bakit niya nagawa ang mga bagay na 'yon.

Instead of comforting the woman he had looked up to, he added the fuel to the fire. Making her remember the memories that pulverize her into pieces.

"Hey, I know you never meant it. And I am sorry if I acted that wa—"

Hindi natapos ang gusto niya sanang sasabihin nang biglang binalutan ng sigaw at pagsabog ang paligid.

Both of them looked at each other for a couple of seconds before storming out the room.

Chry managed to steal a glance at the clock on the wall while storming down the stairs. She clicked her tongue when she realized it's already three in the morning. Wala pa silang tulog. 

Ano na naman ito?

Pagkalabas nila'y napakuyom sila sa kani-kanilang mga palad. Biglang nag-flash sa kaniyang isipan ang alaala kung kailan natuklasan nila ang tunay na pagkatao ni Heshiena. The academy is under attack. Hellhounds are destroying every cabins they saw. And the students giving their very best to protect it once more.

Chry's palms turned to fists.

"You've got to be kidding me," Nkri commented.

And she clicked her tongue in disbelief. Underworld is making everything obvious. A spark of electricity was racing back and forth at the tip of her fingers. Without her command, the Anostatos prepared themselves to attack.

The two offspring of Athena summoned their imperial gold armor, overflowing with white robes, and their respective weapons that they love to wield. Blaze was holding a sword and the replica of her mother's aegis shield. Nkri, on the other hand, is holding a sharp spear that could behead a foe with a single slash.

With a long range, the twins attacked the cyclops on sight with their sunlight inherited abilities. Yumi managed to cut the foe's left arm with her deadly sunlight rays. Zuki, on the other hand, went on the brutal side when he let his manipulated balls made out of sunlight explode on the enemy's face.

The dissolve body of the cyclops flown by the air.

Erin rendered herself invisible. A couple of seconds later, a few inches away from where they were, the arrows of love glowed in white-hot and exploded in a geyser of flames. Making some of the hellhounds blinded temporarily.

With their vulnerable state, Feugo took the advantage to attack them with his fire blast.

Kalmadong naglakad si Dash papunta sa isang estudyanteng na corner ng tatlong hellhounds. Nakapamulsa pa ang isa niyang kamay, habang ang isa pa ay hinawakan ang lupa. Plant vines that are as big as the five years old kid's wrist emerges from the ground.

He shook his head twice. And with the gesture of his fingers, the vines move on its own and strangled the monster simultaneously to death. Not long enough, their bodies dissolve into ashes.

Seilo, Dion, and Aresa was flabbergasted for a seconds, but Blei was quick to snap them out of it. Tinitigan niya sa mata ang tatlo. With her eyes filled with determination, the three immediately regain themselves and let out a heavy sigh before clenching their fists.

"I know how devastating it is to see and experience war before us, but we have to protect our home," Blei said, making them nod in agreement. "Our sanctuary!" She made a war cry, and Aresa soon followed.

So did the two.

Seilo summoned a sword and in an instant, he disappeared before her eyes, leaving a whoosh sound. Kind of similar to Seilo, Dion instantly dissipates, leaving a faint smell of grapes. Out of the corner of her eyes, Dion appeared in front of a hellhound, strangling the monster with his grape vines.

Aresa conjures a sword to daggers and fiercely advances herself to where the Chimera is.

"I won't forgive them . . ."

Napatingin si Chry sa lalaking nakatingin sa mga nangyayari. Nakakuyom ang mga kamao nito. While his eyes were glowing in pink. His jaw moved, indicating that he gritted his teeth in furious. For a moment, chills race down to her spine.

Kapansin-pansin din ang mga ugat nito sa braso.

Naglakad ito papunta sa battlefield. Nakatitig ang lalaki sa isang hellhound na sumugod sa estudyanteng babaeng tumilapon dahil sa pagsabog.

Ace made the dashing foe be suspended in the air, and brought it closer to him with a gesture of his index finger.

Nang makalapit na ito, sinuntok niya ito ng pagkalakas dahilan para tumilapon ang kalaban papunta sa mga puno. Isa-isang nagtumbahan ang mga ito. Habang si Chry naman ay naglakihan ang mga mata sa gulat.

Pero nakuha ang atensyon niya nang makarinig ng pamilyar na tawa.

Tinignan niya kung sino ang nagmamay-ari nito. At hindi siya nagkamali sa kaniyang akala.

Hearing that voice made her blood boil. The fury that she's been keeping for that bastard resurface. The thunder bellowed across the sky. And the lightning dances in rhythm.

"Mario," she furiously uttered the name of someone she hated more than herself.

But before she could advance herself to him, lightning struck the ground. Reason for her to withdraw.

Bumigat ang ihip ng hangin. Hindi niya mawari kung bakit, pero ang mga tuhod niya'y nanginginig. Chry knows that fear took over her system. Nananatiling nakatayo ang balahibo sa kaniyang mga braso. Any seconds, her tears might race down to her cheeks.

And for fuck's sake, hindi niya alam kung bak―napatingala siya sa kalangitan nang mapansin niya ang iba. They were looking at someone.

Doon na niya nalaman kung bakit.

But her forehead furrowed when she saw her emotionless. And she looked down at them without a trace of compassion. Because of that, Chry's tears finally set free.

"Heshiena . . ." she called her in a whisper.

Chry couldn't find her words in utter shock when she noticed something different about how Heshiena looked. Those vibrant colors they had been seeing with her were gone. All she was seeing at the moment was nothing but dark.

Dark that matches with her waist-length raven-black hair, and the clothing that hugged her curves. And her striking silver-grey eyes complimented her both beautiful and frightening. She wanted to call her name, but it seemed her tongue receded. Her body only recognizes nothing but fear.

What made Chry shudders when Heshiena nefariously sneered.