𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐝𝐞𝐧 | 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 |

90 | 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞

[play when prompted]

"Nice! This is the last one, so get ready. Playing Memory 10, Sequence 1." The scenery changes one last time, the last recollection of memories from my era finishing with a golden bow.

Juno and I take some stairs into a cave after aimlessly walking thousands of miles, the Greek lands disappearing from view long ago. Due to the heat, I lost recollection of time, but I don't doubt we've been walking for days, perhaps a week no more.

*play audio*

The sun continues to angrily throw more of its storms—or flares, like Juno calls them—the time growing shorter as the time stamps between shockwaves lasts barely a minute.

We descend the cave and soon after, gold markings similar to ours start to appear on the walls and roof. A big and beautiful root in the middle of the place stands surrounded by more, a few branches from the bigger one standing out more than the rest.

"Where are we?." She walks closer and places the sack on her shoulder down, the woman not letting me have a look inside.

"This is the Temple of Tellerìa, one of the homes of the Yggdrasil roots. Remember Italy? It's a small, secluded part of the land, perfect to conduct everything in here." She places her hand on the bigger root and this one comes to life, glowing a beautiful shade of gold.

"This is where you'll remain until the time is right." I raise a brow, her tone being too chirpy for my liking.

"And when will that be? I am not exactly in a hurry to die, but that does not mean I will wait thousands of years to do so, Juno." She comes behind me and clasps her petite hands on my shoulders, bringing me closer to the glowing branch.

"I'm afraid I don't have the answer for that, Goddess. But I'll show you who the disciple will be." I whip my head to her at her words.

"I thought the Nexus did not let you see anything?." She ignores me and a figure starts to appear from thin air, moreover from golden particles the branch lets loose.

A man—no older than possibly twenty five—, with black hair and brown eyes appears before me, expression serious while his eyebrows are slightly quirked up. His peaceful reflection rapidly helps my body relax, having an idea of who I'll be looking for.

"His name will be Desmond. It's all the Nexus revealed for the first and last time in history. This man—alongside you—will be the key to salvation for his time, and redemption for you." I bring my hand closer to the image of his face, this one disappearing when my hand goes through the particles.

"But be weary, for a cross will stand in his way and prevent him from learning. This one will not be worthy of our knowledge, yet will try to obtain it. An early death by an Apple is predicted, but it won't be either of you yet." I turn to her and look her in the eyes.

"So someone with wrongful intentions will try to obtain our power.. where is this Apple then?." She goes to the sack and takes out the artifact, this one shining brightly.

"Don't worry, Goddess. I'll see that the Apple gets to where it needs to, the disciple will find it in due time. You however, need to be ready for the things to come in the future." She places the Apple in a small bag by her hip and takes the sack again, grabbing it by the closed end and turning it over, the contents spilling out with a loud clang.

I crouch and take a piece in my hand, turning it over to see it's a piece of armor, a bracer in fact. I slosh everything around and come to find the rest, taking it in my hands, a breath escaping me.

The armor Minerva made for me. And Ares' sword.

"She took this back with Hades' help after you left. She told me to give it to you as a farewell." I place the bracer in its place, going for the other and slowly putting on all the protective gear, taking the holstered sword and unsheathing it, the shine and power emanating from it making me smile.

"It's time, Goddess. There's not much time left and I need to leave this artifact in its home." I rise and bask in the added weight, nodding once I feel comfortable.

She motions to the root, where two branches of the three come closer to the ground, the golden color leaving me fascinated. I sheathe the sword again and hand it over to a small brach, this one enveloping the weapon and rising a few feet in the air, a golden shimmer appearing around it.

I turn my back and the bigger branch comes close, slowly enveloping my torso in a comfortable and secure hug, raising me alongside my sword. I look down at Juno as the golden shimmer envelopes me as well like a shield, a sudden tiredness overtaking me quickly.

"Sleep, Deimos. Your time will come." I watch as she turns and takes the sack in hands, leaving the temple behind her.

I can't fight the amount of heaviness in my eyelids and give in quickly, falling in a comfortable sleep that could maybe last a lifetime.

How long will this take? Will there be gods somehow in the new world? She said they were saving their essence and they would be reincarnated.. but who? Will it be Aphrodite? Zeus? Loki? Týr? Hades?.

Loki...

My thoughts start to shut down alongside my eyes, but it's not enough for me to not see how a shockwave consumes the entrance of the cave, almost reaching my position. It's only a matter of time now, I only hope Juno has enough to leave the artifact in a safe place.

Desmond and I are counting on her.