Chapter 75: Ch75 – A lie

James and Jared’s heads swiveled to face Eleanor.

“This whole ceremony,” Eleanor said, wiping the single tear that had escaped her eye. “It’s based on a lie.”

James frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“The story. Pluto kidnapping Persephone. Ceres cursing him.” Eleanor’s jaw was tight. “It didn’t happen that way.”

Jared’s expression darkened. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means exactly what I said.” Eleanor turned to face them fully. “Persephone loved Pluto. She went with him willingly.”

James took a step back, eyes wide. “For the time I’ve known you, I never took you for a follower of that… demon. A death cultist.”

“A death cultist?” Ryan’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Death worshippers,” Jared said sharply, glancing at Ryan. “People who follow Pluto. Blood magickers. They’re hunted down and executed.”

Eleanor’s expression didn’t change. “I’m no cultist, just a follower of truth.”

“So how would you know this?” James demanded. “How could you possibly kn—”

“Because on my world, the truth survived.” Eleanor’s voice was steady. “Before the Twelve corrupted it.”

James shook his head. “That doesn’t—”

“Pluto fell in love with Persephone,” Eleanor cut him off. “She fell in love with him. They married willingly. But her mother, Ceres, refused to accept it. She wanted her daughter to stay with her forever, to never leave. When Persephone chose Pluto over her, Ceres went to the other gods and lied.”

“Why would Ceres lie?” Jared said, still tense.

“Because she couldn’t admit her daughter chose to leave,” Eleanor said. “And the Twelve Gods seized the opportunity. Pluto is the god of death. He never bowed or acknowledged any of the Twelve as equals, he never needed their approval. They hated that. So when Ceres came to them with her lie, they spread it across every world through their ’myths’. They turned him into a villain and exiled him.”

James stared at her. “You’re saying the gods… all of them have been lying about Pluto for thousands of years?”

“Yes.”

Silence.

Jared exhaled slowly, glancing around at the crowd still dispersing in the distance. “Eleanor,” he said quietly. “You need to stop this. Right now.”

Eleanor frowned. “What?”

“You shouldn’t go around saying that.” Jared’s voice was low, urgent. “I get it—you’re a hero. You’ve been closer to the divine than any human on this planet. But even if you, a hero, say that where the wrong people can hear…” He hesitated. “You could get burnt alive by the Sanctum of the Twelve.”

Ryan shuddered, “Burnt… alive?”

“The Sanctum doesn’t tolerate heresy,” James said quietly, checking to see if anyone was eve’s dropping. “Especially when it comes to Pluto. They’ve executed people for much less.”

Eleanor slowly closed her eyes, taking a moment to reflect.

Jared looked at her seriously. “I’m not saying you’re… wrong. I’m saying keep it to yourself. For your own sake.”

Ryan glanced between them, the tension around Eleanor was palpable.

“Maybe we should head back,” Ryan said quietly.

James nodded slowly. “Yeah. Probably a good idea.”

They group walked back through the academy’s gates.

No one spoke.

The silence stretched on, heavy and uncomfortable. Ryan could feel it pressing down on them, James and Jared walking a few steps ahead, Eleanor beside him, too absorbed in her own thoughts to talk.

By the time they reached the academy gates, James finally broke the quiet.

“We’re going to grab something from the dining hall,” he said, not quite looking at Eleanor. “You two… probably want to rest.”

Jared nodded. “Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

They didn’t wait for a response. Just turned and headed off in the direction of the dining hall.

Ryan watched them go, then glanced at Eleanor. “That went well.”

Eleanor exhaled slowly. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Probably not,” Ryan agreed. He gestured toward the dormitories. “Come on.”

They walked in silence until they reached the courtyard outside the dorms. It was quiet here, empty. Just the faint glow of torches on the walls and the distant sounds of the festival.

Ryan couldn’t stop thinking about the names Eleanor had mentioned. Pluto. Persephone. Ceres. They sounded… familiar. Hadn’t he heard those names before, back on Earth? In some ancient history class, maybe? He couldn’t quite place it. But here, they weren’t myths or dead gods from textbooks. They were real. Real enough to have followers. Real enough to execute people in their name.

Ryan leant against the stone wall and looked at her. “So. Want to explain what that was about?”

Eleanor crossed her arms, staring out at the dark grounds. “I couldn’t just stand there and listen to them curse his name.”

“Who? Pluto?”

“Yes.” Her voice was tight. “He’s not what they say he is. He’s not evil. He’s not a kidnapper. He’s—” She stopped herself, jaw clenched.

Ryan frowned. “How do you know all this? Really?”

Eleanor hesitated.

“You said it’s because your world has the ’real story,’” Ryan continued. “But that doesn’t make sense. First off, how do you even know that your story’s the real one? And secondly, if the Twelve control all the worlds and spread their version everywhere, how would your world be any different?”

Eleanor was quiet for a moment. Then she spoke, her voice careful. “I know it’s the real one because I saw the results of it. The kindness. The compassion.” She looked at him. “And my world was different. We weren’t… populated. The Twelve had no care for us. We were nearly alone.”

Ryan frowned. “What do you mean you saw the ’kindness’ and ’compassion’?”

“Our people were dying. Starving.” Eleanor’s voice softened. “That was until he came. Pluto. When every one of the Gods had abandoned us, he helped. He saved us.” Her jaw tightened. “He isn’t like the stories they tell. The Twelve are the liars, the evil ones.”

Ryan watched her closely. She was hiding something. He could feel it… the way she wasn’t quite meeting his eyes, the way her words felt… rehearsed. But there was something else there too.

“Eleanor,” he said quietly. “What aren’t you telling me?”

She looked at him then, her expression conflicted. “It’s complicated.”

“Try me.”

Eleanor exhaled slowly. “I can’t explain everything. Not yet. Just… trust me. Pluto isn’t the villain they say he is.”

Ryan studied her. That still didn’t explain the certainty in her voice. The anger. The single tear.

“You’re not just repeating a story you heard, are you?” Ryan said.

“No.”

“Alright,” he said. “But maybe keep it quiet. Like Jared said. The Sanctum sounds… unpleasant.”

Eleanor nodded, her expression softening slightly. “I know. I just—” She stopped. “I couldn’t stay silent.”

Ryan gave her a tired smile. “I get it. But next time, maybe warn me before you start a religious argument in the middle of a festival that is celebrating one of the very gods you’re cursing.” He chuckled.

Eleanor’s lips twitched. Almost a smile. “Noted.”

They stood there for a moment longer, the silence more comfortable now.

Then Eleanor straightened. “I should go. Get some rest.”

“Yeah,” Ryan said. “You should.”

She turned and headed toward the dormitories.

“Wait.”

Eleanor slowly turned around.

“One last thing, Eleanor.”

“Yes, Ryan?” Eleanor said.

“If the Twelve Gods are all ’evil liars’… how come you worship one of them, Neptune?”

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