Chapter 24: 24 Growing Heart. 

-Athena’s POV-

Inside the Darkness that embraces my consciousness, I am sleeping comfortably. A slight disturbance happened when an old, rasped voice kept calling my name over and over again. At first, it was faint, but over time, the rasped voice that seemed familiar rang in my mind, awakening my consciousness, which was still sleeping.

{Athena, help me stop the current Olympian Gods!}

{?!}

Those words were the trigger for me to come inside the sub-dimension called sanctuary, a sub-dimension created for the purpose of creating an ultimate weapon to help the person bring down Ares, my brother reigns from the Olympia throne.

At first, I was just waiting, but the place itself had a different timeline, so I had no problem waiting. Besides, the place gave everything to kill the boredom.

After waiting for, I don’t know how long, when I was reading comfortably in the front garden, the space beside me distorted before a young mortal boy appeared. Despite his young age, he was a bit on the wary side and a bit calm.

‘So, is this the one that will become a weapon for helping me? No. Us…? He is quite good at reacting, but let’s see where this goes!’.

I held back my mind and started to guide the mortal boy. His expression was filled with curiosity and a bit of surprise when he saw the building dome, the place that ‘person’ had built to train the young boy.

“This is the place you will begin the Trial”.

For the first time, he entered and then died several times; I sighed in slight disappointment. But, like that person said, this is just the beginning, and I was here to support the boy so that the mission would succeed.

I tried to talk with the crestfallen boy, giving him some encouragement and a bit of harsh criticism. A gloomy silence shrouded the mood at that time, so it didn’t pique my interest as I quenched my thirst.

However, the boy’s expression changed. He was full of competitive spirit and ready to resume the Trial that had been bestowed.

‘Good, keep continuing, for you are a piece that will eventually become a sword that would be pointed at Olympian…’. I muttered that inside my heart as I walked away to bake another snack for me to eat. ‘How dare he eat everything on the plate!’.

Years passed, and I kept helping the boy beat the Trial. Days spent talking to him somehow eased the tension in my mind. I always had sceptical thoughts about the world around me, especially toward the creature called man. I always looked down on men, knowing all my relatives were like that. Worse, the boy was mortal, and I only used them for the benefit of their prayers.

Then now, somehow, I had a change of heart.

It was fun talking to him openly, and at the same time, I found the boy who kept acting reserved around me reminded me of my sister when she was a child.

Slowly, both of us changed significantly, especially me, who could even throw a banter, and I am not insulted by his preaching, all because I can’t cook. But it was not only me that changed; he also began to change, and somehow, his demeanour turned more mature, and it tickled something inside me.

As the distance between us took a major first step, I began to think of him as a troublesome little brother whose job was to rant and complain about how hard the Trial was, but he never seemed tired enough to keep trying. ‘…Good luck with your training, Jin’.

-279 Years Living in Sanctuary

For a goddess like me, who eventually has a longer lifespan that is almost infinite, I can live in this place fine, but it was not the same with the mortal boy who kept getting distant and somehow lost the cluster of his burning spirit in his mind.

Every day, I watched him train his blade, challenge the Trial, and get killed, then resume his mana manipulation. Over and over again, I noticed his demeanour had turned darker.

I couldn’t see him in that state, so I approached Jin and invited him to relax occasionally.

“Jin, let’s take a break; I will bake some cookies for you!”.

“…Alright”.

Hearing his flat and emotionless tone. I clutched my chest, which suddenly tightened to the point of pain, ‘What was that?’.

I diminished the thought and began to prepare the cookies to deliver to the boy. From the side, watching him see the scenery with a vacant look in his eyes, my vision started to blur. ‘No, I can’t show my face like this!’

When we were near each other, it was sad to see him only stare at the empty space and not enjoy the cookies I baked or even complain about the meals.

“What should I do?”.

“Jin, are you okay?”.

“Well, nothing, I’m just feeling a bit lost of what I do…”.

I couldn’t help but to avert my gaze aside and try to hold back the tears that started accumulating. His melancholic tone was sharp, like a blade tearing my consciousness apart.

“Should I…”.

My body shuddered because I had a bad premonition that he would disappear from this place, and I suddenly grabbed the boy’s hand and yanked it to my side.

“Jin, do you know Mind Sword!”.

I am trying to give the boy a new goal so that his mind is distracted from unnecessary thoughts. However, that is becoming one of my mistakes.

Half a millennium had passed since the boy had trained in this place. I couldn’t face myself directly seeing the boy who had already lost and even seemed broken, only known to swing his wooden blade every single time.

Hidden from those vacant eyes was my reflection, crumbling down and filled with a tattered heart, shrouded in endless guilt for turning the once bright boy into a lifeless corpse who only knew how to swing his sword.

“Jin, let’s stop for now. Look, I brought you some proper meals, and one of them was your favourite: an egg omelette. You taught me that once, right?”

“Oh… Thena. …Is that so? …I couldn’t remember it”.

Hearing those heartless voices escape his mouth, something inside me cracked as the image of him preaching beside me and teaching me how to cook slowly began to crumble. ‘I must stay strong. I am here as his support, and once this is over…’.

Somehow, I didn’t dare complete those last pieces in my thoughts, imagining it had already made my heart throb in pain.

“Come on, let’s eat together”.

I grabbed his hand and dragged him into the terrace, where we sat beside each other. Jin stared at the dish that was served before him before he took the spoon and ate it in silence.

“How is it?”.

“…It was edible”.

“So… I see”.

How often have I repeated this conversation when I have time with him alone like this? Ever since he was already lost and broken like this, Jin would always respond with, ‘The food is edible’ and, ‘I eat for my needs; it does not matter about the taste’.

I pinch my thigh to hold back the tears that almost slipped from the corner of my eyes. Then, when I heard a clattering sound from the moving chair, I turned to the side and clung to Jin’s arm.

“Wait, let’s talk! It’s been a while; you, too, should rest as well”. I waited patiently to hear the answer that seemed to suck my life every time I looked into his dark emerald eyes.

“…Okay”.

“Ah?! Good, Ahaha, thank you!”.

Jin returned to his seat and started to loosen the tension around his body. I couldn’t let this golden opportunity slip. Closing my eyes, I began to rack my brain and try to find a topic.

“Yeah, I never heard of your personal life. Jin, how was your life out there?”.

‘Crap!’. It is at this time that I know that I was screwed up and lamenting what kind of Goddess was asking something so foolish.

“Life, huh…? …I don’t remember much about my life. Did I have a life in the first place?”.

“?! …I’m sorry!”. Tears start to stream down my cheeks as I hug his hand tight, as if not wanting to let go.

“…Thena, what is the matter?”.

“…I’m truly sorry”.

The torturous day kept on continuing as I watched the boy keep swinging his wooden sword and training his mana until, at a certain night, when my mind was reaching its limit, I began to act.

That night when the moon was hanging above the sky, I sneaked into Jin’s private room which only had a single bed, a chair and a wooden table stood near the window side. It was dimly lit, but thanks to the filtered light from the window, I could see Jin’s face calmly resting as I slowly walked to his side and sat beside him.

“Thena?”.

Maybe because of the rocking bed, Jin’s consciousness awoke, and he stared at me with still groggy eyes.

“I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?”.

“What is the matter?”.

“No, you don’t have to wake up!” I pushed back his body and started to focus my power on my index fingertip.

The dim room started to glow from the light on my fingertip. Jin watched silently while I softly touched his forehead and recited my truthful wish for the boy.

“Thena what…?”.

‘In the name of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, I will erase the memories you spent half-millennia in this place. I will only keep the important ones, such as your training progress, and no, that’s enough…!’.

Slowly, as the power inside my body flows toward Jin. Everything turned heavy; my limbs and mind were refusing to obey me, and my breathing started to slow down and became labour that I dropped down on top of the unconscious Jin’s chest.

“Huuf, huuf! Using such small Anima and this is how it causes, huh! I began to decline as a Goddess. Well, considering my case, this is about to happen sooner or later…”.

Lifted my gaze and found Jin sleeping soundly before me; I unconsciously tense the muscles around my hands and crawl to his forehead with a little kiss.

“Good night, Jin”. I caressed his cheeks, almost drowning in the pleasure of warmth, before I grit my teeth and leave the place.

The next day, Jin was reborn into someone new, or rather, he was regressed into the way he used to be: a teenage boy with a competitive spirit and determined to see the Trial through to the end.

“Jin, let’s spar!”.

“Thena?!”.

Seeing his brightened face and the way he blushed when I teased him it tickled my heart to keep getting his attention.

“Jin, let’s cook together!”.

“Okay, shall we?”.

“Okay, fufu, what should we make today?”.

“You are awfully cheerful today; what is the matter?”.

“Nothing… I was just happy…”.

From that day on, I kept pestering him and always tried to tease him when I had a chance. His expressive face and the feelings he put into the things he pursued drew me into his pace.

As one of the Goddesses who vows to become a virgin in life. I now regret and have to live in shame for those stupid words I said. The affectionate feeling I had for the boy just kept growing, and I couldn’t stop it anymore.

The boy probably hadn’t realized what sort of feeling that overflowed in my chest. But that’s fine; I know deep down that the leisurely life that we spent together will soon end.

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