𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐝𝐞𝐧 | 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 |

62 | 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

July 23, 2016

I sigh as I run my hand quickly through my hair, rinsing it as best as possible from the excess of water, a loose pluck sticking to my wet forehead. I grab clean boxers from the top of the closed toiled lid and quickly put them on, willing to stay dignified for as long as possible.

A red pair of sweats follow and take the liberty to stay shirtless, Deimos having seen me as such on prior occasions. A quick spray of soft cologne touches my skin as I apply deodorant and run the towel on my hair, drying it lazily and hanging it once I'm done.

I exit the bathroom with the dirty clothes in my hand, tossing them in the hamper inside the barely occupied closet in my room. Deimos is sprawled on the bed, the TV turned on on a random channel while her mind is lost in another headspace.

I close the closet door, making the goddess blink as she is brought back to reality, a blank look on her face as she turn to me, giving quickly a halfhearted smile that barely touches her eyes.

"Everything all right, love? You've been drifting off lately." I say while getting in bed beside her, kissing her cheek and hugging her from behind, her hand falling on my arm.

"Yes. Yeah, I'm only thinking.." I hum as I take a mental note of her first answer. As monotone and empty as the beginning.

"May I know of what?." I run my fingers delicately over her stomach, occasionally bumping the black scar.

She remains silent for a moment, a debate going wild in her head. I hug her tighter to push her gently to speak, not exactly fond of how she's been behaving the last few months.

"Of Juno. I.. remembered when.. Minerva revealed that she had lied.. and she tried to coerce me to touch the orb? Do you remember what she said?." I ponder in my memory at her request, not exactly expecting her to be thinking about the traitor.

"She said 'the father'.. she referred to Zeus as that, but he was never called as such. In my mind it didn't make sense but who was I to question something when the outside world was already being destroyed." She says before I'm able to answer, drawing my attention.

"And then there was that woman.. the doctor that would check me over. She—the first time, she also mentioned 'the father'. She spoke as if she personally knew this person." Cogs are visibly turning in her head, trying to assemble the information.

"Well, the Templars have always revered a deity of theirs, The Father of Understanding, they call it. But so far we know that they refer like that to their Grandmasters, not sure why though. How is it connected to Juno, well I can't say." She shakes her head, not believing my words.

"No, there's something there. Before John—Aita? Whoever it was, was killed, it was told that he was heard talking about Juno, and that he.. turned insane because something happened in the server room that made him loose himself. But he also called himself an instrument.." I tap my fingers on her skin, wondering where is she going with this random conversation.

"And back then, Juno was a scientist she used people that came to her as volunteers, and called them just like her project. Instruments of the First Will. They were all subjected to various methods of survival when the Apples stopped working. From sending them to the burning Sun, to even trying.. reincarnation." I perk up at this, not exactly expecting her to speak up of such matters.

I run my hand on her arm, willing her to stay calm while she finishes, a distracted look on her face.

"I remember one time visiting her while she was briefing one of the subjects.. his answer was simply, 'yes, Father'." Her eyes dart to me, a look of panic on other eyes. I scoot as close as I can, shushing and calming her as best as possible.

"That means that she.." She grabs my hand and squeezes, playing with my fingers in the process, her eyes lost again.

"She used me as an Instrument, just like Desmond. We did her First Will without knowing. She used me to get to him, she used him to infiltrate the new world. And now she's using the Templars for who knows what purposes. Shaun, we did a mistake in not listening to Minerva.. we should've let everything burn." My chest grows cold at her words while I take the panicking goddess in my arms, embracing her fragile form.

Now it all makes sense, why the Templars are seemingly arriving and stealing Pieces of Eden without going through the extensive effort we go through. While we take days even weeks to put a whole location together, they simply do it in a matter of hours with Juno's help.

Of course she would, she's the Father of Understanding, and she understands that without her Instruments, her Second Will—whichever it is—can't be accomplished.

I just hope we grow ready for whatever is to come.