Chapter 632: Did you think it would be so simple?
Unknown place.
"Congratulations, you passed the first test." The Hand, the Eye, and the Mouth spoke at the same time.
"....." Persephone nodded. Honestly, she didn't expect the test to be so easy.
"The second test will start now." The three spoke.
The atmosphere of the place slowly began to change, the Souls that Persephone had recently judged began to disappear, and soon the entire area was silent again.
"As a Ruler, impartiality is necessary, and wit is necessary, do not forget this fact." The Eyes declared.
Suddenly two silhouettes started to form in front of Persephone, and the one who stood in front of her was...
Adonis, at least, the human version of him.
Demeter, her mother.
When Persephone saw the two, she started to get a bad feeling about the situation.
"Faced with any situation, the Ruler must act unbiasedly. A choice must be given." The Hand spoke and added:
"Impartiality is required; those who take sides are not worthy of being Rulers."
"Now, choose. Who lives and who dies?" The mouth spoke.
This time, the question wasn't who goes to Hell or Heaven.
A grim realization dawned on Persephone's mind as she processed the Primordial Entity's words:
"... Huh? What is the meaning of this!? This test has nothing to do with me!"
"This test is all about you." The Eyes countered.
"Judging Souls is your job as Ruler, even the Souls of those you love most." The mother spoke.
"Favoritism is forbidden; impartiality is necessary." The Hand and the Eyes declared simultaneously.
"Choose. Who lives and who dies?" The Mouth repeated.
Persephone gritted her teeth. This decision was too difficult, but when she looked at Adonis and Demeter better, she realized that they couldn't be real; after all, the Adonis she knew was in a Progenitor's Soul now, and her mother was on Mount Olympus somewhere safe.
"Are you sure they aren't real?" The Mouth spoke.
Persephone opened her eyes wide when she heard those words and looked up towards The Mouth, which contained an entire Galaxy.
"We are the Entity that judges Souls, but one of our responsibilities is to create Souls."
"'Life' creates a form, and we support it with a 'Soul,' which is why we and 'Life' work together."
"Persephone, daughter of Zeus, and daughter of Demeter. In the second test, all Souls are real."
"...." This revelation made Persephone's face look even more horrified.
"Now, choose. Who lives and who dies?" The Eyes and The Hand spoke once more, and they added something to increase Persephone's hopelessness even more:
"If a Soul is not chosen, both will die."
Persephone looked at the two Beings she loved the most, and slowly, with great difficulty, she pointed at the man:
"I choose him." She couldn't choose her mother; she never could. Even though she loved Adonis, her love for her mother was greater.
"The Ruler has chosen! Consequences will follow." The Three spoke at the same time.
"Wait-." Persephone tried to say something, but she stopped when she saw a silhouette appear behind Adonis and kill him.
"Zeus!" She screamed with rage and tried to do something but couldn't move. She just had to watch helplessly as Zeus brutally killed Adonis.
Her mind wasn't able to reason anymore, logic was thrown out the window, and only the feelings of hate and frustration remained with this vision.
As soon as Zeus finished his 'service', he looked at Demeter with a lustful glow in his eyes, and when Persephone saw this sight, a cruel realization struck the Goddess of The Underworld.
'If I had chosen my mother... I would have had to watch helplessly as he brutalized her...'
Suddenly, the three figures began to disappear, and even the flesh that was 'Adonis' also disappeared, and the next moment, two figures began to be created.
Two children, children she knew very well, two children who were her flesh and blood.
She was looking at the younger version of her two daughters.
Children who would one day become Melinoe, a Goddess of Ghosts, and Macaria, a Goddess of Death.
"N-No... P-Please... Don't make me choose between my children!" she pleaded.
But the Primordial Entities were not so kind.
"Now, choose. Who lives, and who dies?"
"I can't! I can't make such a choice! What kind of mother would I be if I chose between my children's lives!?" Persephone exploded, and it wasn't until she stopped talking that she realized what a stupid thing she'd done.
"N-N-No…!"
"The Ruler has chosen! Consequences will follow." The Three spoke again.
"No! Please, NO!"
Two silhouettes appeared behind Persephone's daughters.
Zeus and Hades. They were holding knives and torture equipment, and they both had disgusting grins on their faces.
The moment they took a step forward,
Persephone's body shuddered, fear filled her heart, and when they got close to her daughter, that fear turned to terror.
"Mother..."
"NOO!"
...
Greek Underworld.
Nyx was standing there with a serious look on her face, her flippant attitude nowhere to be seen.
She was looking at Persephone's body on her personal bed; her body was in perfect condition. The moment she put on the Helm, her whole body was restored.
"NOOO! PLEASE!! Don't kill her!"
"I can't choose!"
Screams of pain, despair, and helplessness were heard from Persephone.
Nyx wasted no time. She quickly performed a hand gesture, and the Darkness of The Night enveloped Persephone's body and held her still so that Persephone didn't harm herself or others.
"Persephone... Hold on; I know you can do it."
Nyx bit her lip. 'Perhaps, this test was too cruel for her? When Hades did this in the past, he didn't have any important people, and because of that, he passed with relative ease, but... the Power he gained in return was meager as well.'
Being a Ruler was all about impartiality.
It didn't matter if the ones before you were your lover, daughter, brother, grandson, or close friend; the Ruler needed to be impartial and coolly judge the Soul.
"NOO! Bastard!!"
"I'm sorry... Despina... My sister..."
Nyx bit her lips again harder; it was at these times that she felt disgusted with herself. The reason she suggested Persephone be the new Ruler was only for one reason.
The Goddess had the most loved ones. She had the most to lose, and in this test, whoever had the most to lose had the most to gain.
Equivalent exchange.
Suffering... For Power.
"Hecate... I'm so sorry..." Persephone's broken and pained voice was heard again.
'The Goddess of Magic, huh? Were they close?' Nyx thought.
When Nyx felt Persephone's body sprawl again, she held on even tighter with her power.
"Hang in there, Persephone... If you make it through this, you'll become an existence that even Zeus would shit himself at the sight of."
"But if you don't pass… I'll just have to find another candidate…." Again, Nyx's neutral voice and expression were nothing like she'd been demonstrating a few seconds ago, "I hope that doesn't happen. I don't have better candidates for this job."
...
Nightingale, in a secret place accessible only to the Leader of the Snow Clan.
Victor was looking at Maria, Bruna, and Roberta.
"The three of you already have my Bloodline. Technically speaking, you are already part of my Clan, but officially speaking, you are not yet."
"..." The Maids nodded.
"I will make it official now." Victor's body began to slowly be covered in darkness, courtesy of Kaguya, who was in a location not too far away.
Before everyone could blink, the darkness dissipated, and Victor was in his full armor. His hair had grown down his back. It was wild and messy and defied gravity because it was clearly floating in unlikely directions.
Victor raised his hand, and Junketsu flew into his hand.
Victor slammed Junketsu's hilt into the ground, and with the crash, Victor's heavy, power-carrying voice was heard.
"Maria."
"Bruna Francesca."
"Roberta."
Unconsciously, they all stood up straight and spoke in unison:
"Yes."
"Do you wish to be part of my Clan? Remember, this is a one-time decision, and once you join, you cannot leave."
"... Master wouldn't let us leave anyway." Maria commented softly, and soon her smile grew wider, "And Yes, I accept! I will always accept!"
Victor nodded, satisfied, and looked at Bruna.
Bruna was silent for a few seconds until she opened her mouth, "… From the moment you saved me from those Wolves, you were my God, Master. And I will follow you even if you go to Hell. My answer is YES!"
Victor nodded again. He was aware of the 'cult' Bruna was running, but it was not like it mattered. In fact, he didn't know what to make of it.
'Why are there only women in the cult?' He thought but quickly ignored these useless thoughts and looked at Roberta.
At that moment, Roberta's red eyes changed to those of a reptilian's.
And the girls who didn't know about Roberta's ability just looked at her in shock.
Roberta's long hair began to move as if it had a life of its own:
"You have a contract with us." Her voice came out as if two people were talking at once in an eerie echo.
"You have a promise with us."
"And to the one who has earned our trust, we will offer everything… As long as the promise is kept."
Victor slammed Junketsu's hilt back into the ground, and with that simple move, 'Life' began to spring up all around.
"I do not go back on my word." Victor's eyes glowed blood red.
"Poseidon and Athena will fall to my blade, and I will hand them over to you to do as you wish for all eternity."
"The promise will be fulfilled."
Medusa/Roberta's smile grew monstrous and predatory. A savage killing intent started to erupt from her body, and the woman's hair began to react to her murderous instinct, becoming even more animated.
"HaHaHaHa~" With a laugh that had the duality of a gentle voice, and a voice filled with hate, Roberta's body started to change once again. Her body became paler, and dark 'cracks' began to grow near her eyes.
"I see you haven't changed even after so many turning points, Master~," she spoke the word Master with a seductive and, at the same time, dangerous tone.
"Time may pass, and I may change and get stronger, but I know who I am, and that won't change because who I am is my Pride."
"Good, Good!" Medusa nodded several times in satisfaction.
"If you are so willing to go to such lengths for me, I must do the same. I have watched you for a long time, and you have my trust."
She stamped her foot on the floor, causing a giant green Magic Circle to appear in the room.
"I am a Heroic Spirit; my name is Medusa!"
"But I am also something else."
"I am a Gorgon; I am The Queen of The Gorgons."
Women of various colors with scale-like skin and snake hair started to come out of the ground, dressed in a very tribal fashion.
There were 10 women in all.
"Despite being a monster, I am not unreasonable. Despite having my family members hunted by the Heroes of Olympus, and even myself being hunted by the same,"
"While those hypocrites laughed at me and desecrated my body,"
"They didn't know that in my death, I achieved greatness."
"I am a Heroic Spirit, but I am also a Divine Spirit."
"And the Concept my Soul imposes upon is the Beginning of a Race."
"..." All those present opened their eyes wide when they heard that. They looked at the 10 women that literally sprouted out of nowhere and then looked at Victor as if he were a rare animal.
'Seriously, this is unfair! How is he so lucky? What the fuck is this?' Everyone thought at the same time.
'Did Tychee Bless him, and we didn't know?' Scathach thought.
Victor broke out in a cold sweat as more women, who were looking at him in a predatory manner, appeared. 'The Universe must be fucking with me.'
"That means..." Maria, who was nearby, spoke.
"Correct, I am Medusa, Queen of The Gorgons, a Divine Spirit, and a Progenitor."
'Bullshit!' Ruby, Violet, and Sasha thought simultaneously.
.....
