The first encounter between the silver comet and the blue moon that leaves indelible marks

Narrator POV:

The sounds of embers could be heard in a certain bonfire. Around the heat of the fire with which they cooked the meat, was the entire Artemis familia. It was made up of the agile hunters and their skilled goddess, Artemis herself.

Artemis, the virgin goddess of the moon and hunting, was sitting and having dinner as were the girls of her familia, who were chatting happily about the events of the day.

It was normal since although the gods were powerful beings with unlimited longevity, they still had to consume food and water thanks to having their powers, the Arcanum, sealed.

The beautiful goddess looked like a young woman with long, blue hair with bangs that gave way to her emerald-green eyes. A white and pale blue dress covered her body.

The Artemis Familia on the other hand was made up of 20 members, only women, since men were forbidden to join the Familia of the goddess who presided over chastity.

That is why romance was strictly forbidden for the members of that Familia. Artemis had told them that they could choose to leave the Familia if they wished to have a husband.

Although they were maidens in the age where love was craved and wished to experience romance, they certainly did not want to leave their goddess. Therefore they repressed that kind of thoughts.

"Artemis-sama" Rethusa, the serious and loyal captain, approached her in the middle of the meal. "The wyverns in this area were eliminated today. We must go and replenish soon."

The woman looked at her waiting for her orders to know how exactly they should proceed. Artemis nodded in agreement with the reddish brown-haired woman.

"Alright, tomorrow we will set out for the nearest village to obtain what is necessary."

It was routine for Artemis, her Familia was in charge of wandering around while eliminating monsters that were born outside the dungeon. In turn, the villages helped them with food.

While the monsters on the surface were much weaker than those in the dungeon, they still posed a great danger to the Falna-less mortals who inhabited the villages.

"Oh? Are we going back to that village tomorrow?" Lante, a half-elf with light blue hair, asked cheerfully. She was the one who worried Artemis the most currently.

"Yes, but we are going to replenish our supplies, not so you can talk with the young men, Lante." Artemis admonished with a strict look. The young girl was only 15 years old, it was normal to be interested in such matters at that age, but rules were rules.

Lante pouted with a stubborn and childish expression. "Come on! Who knows, maybe Artemis-sama will change her mind when she meets her fated partner and she feels-." Just as Rethusa was going to scold her for her disrespect.

Silence fell over the camp, not because of the goddess' reaction. Because it was normal for Lante to be scolded or reprimanded, that would last at least a few more years, but...

"The sky..." Artemis looked at the sky with great surprise as did the other members of her Familia who were previously enjoying the drama. Perhaps they were hoping for a miracle to happen and for the goddess to listen to the words of the young and stubborn half-elf.

Any unnecessary thoughts were forgotten by the goddess as she watched a shower of shooting stars cross the entire sky from one end of the firmament to the other.

The bright stars seemed to celebrate something as if dancing in the clear sky that served as their stage for such a spectacle that took the breath away of everyone in the world.

In the middle of that, a special shooting star emerged from the sea of ​​shooting stars; as well as the main actor emerging from among the extras. That star left a silver trail in its wake and its direction... was right towards the land of the lower world.

"I think my eyes are playing tricks on me..." Lante looked at it in bewilderment as she rubbed her eyes as if to get rid of an illusion. "Is that... coming this way?"

Sure enough, Artemis clearly saw the silver shooting star arc across the sky. The direction of its fall was towards them, no, rather the large forest beside them.

A thunderous impact was heard as the branches of the trees swayed in the wind. Artemis ran to it with her Familia, full of curiosity, only to find a large crater.

But, at the other side of the crater, a figure partially covered by smoke stood. Artemis felt her heart race a little at the mystery of the entire fantastical situation.

Then, her heart skipped a beat when she saw him. Who she thought was like a fallen star. A young man standing just on the other edge of the crater, an unnatural situation that she couldn't think of clearly in that time.

The reason wasn't just the young man's facial features that surpassed even that of most if not all of male gods. Rather, it was because of a feeling she had when she laid eyes on him, her divine intuition repeating it loud and clear.

'The person in front of you is your fated person.'

No, no, no. Artemis, you are the virgin goddess who presides over chastity, what kind of example would you set by drooling over an unknown man? Even if he was your fated partner... No, no, no.

Artemis quickly suppressed all of her body's reactions such as the temperature of her face and her heart rate. But as if to mock her for wanting to run away from the obvious.

That arrow in her possession vibrated strongly as if clamoring to go to its rightful owner. After slapping the arrow, Artemias pulled herself together before looking around.

She was already starting to feel a headache, not only because of the mixed feelings in her heart at the appearance of "the one."

But also because her Familia members were staring at him foolishly. Artemis opened her eyes in surprise when she discovered that she already felt a slight displeasure about that.

Shaking her head quickly, Artemis pulled herself together again before anyone noticed the changes in her. After reaffirming her determination, she headed towards the young man.

He had many things to explain, such as: Why he was there? Who was he and where did he come from? Above all, why did her heart turn into a mess when looking at him? With what right did he look so good?

No, no, no. She already knew the reason for that, rather she should ask other more important things, yes, that. Now she just had to take a deep breath, put on a cold face, and question him.

But when the goddess was about to face him...

"Now... that is truly beautiful." The young man admired the sight in the sky for a moment. Then, he turned his head to look at her and her Familia with a charming smile on his attractive face. "Don't you think so too?"

Okay, maybe this would be much more difficult than the goddess anticipated. But after a titanic effort in which she avoided eye contact with the young man while "waking up" her daughters.

She was able to stand before him by the campfire, where they all surrounded him, looking at him like hyenas at a very succulent piece of meat without an owner... Okay, maybe it wasn't a good idea.

Artemis had to take another deep breath to avoid shooting one of her own daughters with one of her arrows. Redirecting that sour feeling from her heart to her expression, she questioned him with a hard and cold demeanor.

"Mortal, who are you and where do you come from?" Wait, maybe she had sounded too harsh with him, would he dislike that?... No, why in the name of the gods, she was worrying about that to begin with?! Artemis, control yourself!

"My name is Mikhael Eden Ascart, a traveler who comes from afar and heads to Orario." (True) Said the now-named Mikhael with a soft, kind smile even in the face of that rude cold tone full of harshness and questioning.

Ah! That damn smile! Can you please stop smiling like that? I'm trying to maintain my dignity in front of my daughters! The inside of the goddess was a mess, unlike her unchanged face that nodded in response to the young man.

"Hey Lante, do you think by any chance he's a prince who fled from some surrounding kingdom? You know how in those stories of those impressive forbidden loves."

"Now that you mention it...he looks like one and his name sounds like one... Is this the legendary story where a charming prince runs away from home and falls in love with a commoner like me?!. Kyaaaa!, my heart is not ready for such excitement!"

"Tch, why would he fall in love with you?, you're only 15 years old, LITTLE lante. He probably prefers older sisters, like me, don't you think so too, Captain Rethusa"

"Please leave me out of your nonsense..."

The whispers of the women of the Artemis Familia reached the ears of the goddess causing a vein to stand on her forehead. And even the young man could hear their whisper if the amusement in his eyes said anything about the subject at hand.

"You don't seem like just a simple traveler, what were you doing next to that crater? Besides, being an adventurer isn't for everyone, I recommend you not overestimate yourself and just go back to your home."

"It was so impressive how the shooting star fell towards the forest that before I realized it I was already there, hahaha. Then you all arrived there shortly after that." (True)

Mikhael explained before scratching his head with an awkward smile. "As for a home... I don't possess such a thing right now... I'm heading to Orario to start a new life from scratch there, did I do wrong in that?" (True)

Artemis deflated inwardly at the answer. It seemed like she had touched a nerve judging by the clear discomfort on the kind young man's face as he answered her.

What was she doing? Harshly questioning a young man who willingly accompanied them to their camp and answered sincerely to her irrational self.

She felt like a fool, both emotionally and rationally. Closing her eyes, Artemis took a deep breath and opened them again, clearer and firmer than earlier in most of the day.

"It's fine, your future is in your hands, you can do whatever you want." Artemias stood up to leave back to his temporary tent. "Please rest here for Today, tomorrow we will accompany you to the nearest town, it is dangerous for a mortal without Falna like you to wander around here like that."

"Once in that town, you will be able to find a map that will guide you along the safest path to Orario. The same goes for all of you girls, go to sleep, right now."

Ignoring the disappointed boos, Artemis walked away as quickly and naturally as she could from the young man. Leaving him in the hands of her captain, the only one she could trust him with.

One side of her wanted to feel what was that attraction she felt for the young man and his temper that seemed to have some like force around him. The other side placated the former with cold and simple logic, she was not going to give up her beliefs, they were who she was.

The goddess of the moon could not sleep that night. She cursed at times Lante's words, which seemed like a prophecy created by the karma coming from her own actions.

It was funny, she who forbade them from experiencing romance while they were in her Familia as well as scolded them when they doubted or strayed, was now the same as they.

"..."

At dawn the other day, Artemis finally got up to drink water to refresh her throat. Or maybe she wanted to do something that would make her stop from thinking so much about the young man.

But somehow her feet took her right in front of where the young man was sitting watching the sunrise. "I could wish you a good morning, Lady Artemis, but if those dark circles under your eyes are anything to go by, it doesn't look like you're having one." (True)

The polite young man of yesterday was gone, Mikhael now made a joking comment without any scruples. Artemis sharpened her gaze when she saw him like that, waiting for her there.

"Mortal, spit it all out." Artemis took out the arrow from her waist along with a bow and pointed it at him in a clear threat. Suspicion grew in her heart. "What did you do to me yesterday and who are you?!"

Mikhael looked for a moment at the arrow that was pointed at him with an inscrutable look. "I find it really ironic that you point that specific arrow at me, Lady Artemis." (True)

Did he know? Why? How much did he know? Doubts assailed Artemis, deepening her suspicion of the young man she had seen in a good light before. "What do you know, Mortal?"

"Know? I possess a very special power, one I shouldn't have had originally." Mikhael ignored the threat as if she wasn't aiming an arrow at his vital points. "I can see the future." (Truth x2)

What? See the future? Impossible. Artemis knew there were children from the lower world with impressive skills, but being able to see the future was absurd.

Even more, he didn't have any Falna, that would mean that he had the potential comparable to an ancient hero. However, the common ability of all the gods, one that allowed them to detect mortal lies, said that he didn't lie.

"I already knew when that shooting star would fall, I also knew that your group would arrive to meet me at a certain time," Mikhael revealed with a calm expression as if what he said wasn't absurd, the worst of all: (True).

The young man had a slightly grayer expression as he continued speaking with a hand on his heart now. "I also knew how my heart would race uncontrollably upon seeing you, Lady Artemis. Just as I know that you don't want any romance."

Artemis didn't know what to say. If the young man had been going through the same thing, but he already knew that she wouldn't accept those feelings... She couldn't even put herself in his shoes.

"What exactly do you want to gain by telling me all this?... Mikhael... I am the goddess who presides over chastity... I will not enter into a romantic relationship with anyone."

"I know". Mikhael replied with a calm expression that caused some guilt in Artemis's heart. "But when you carry a certain amount of knowledge, you also carry a certain amount of responsibility equivalent to it." (True)

Mikhael turned his gaze from her to the sunrise, those sea-blue eyes seemed to contemplate the landscape. "Then you start to wonder; could I perhaps have changed that if I did something to prevent it in the first place?" (True)

Ah, she knew this. It was one of the irrationalities of the children of the lower world. Always blaming themselves for things beyond themselves. Perhaps, that was also another of their charms.

"In a few months, maybe 2 or maybe 6, I don't know exactly when, you will receive a request to investigate a ruin at the edge of the continent; the ruins of Elsos." (True)

Artemis felt a bad feeling when she heard the young man's direct and emotionless words full of truth. What could have happened in those ruins? It wouldn't be possible that...

"You went with your Familia to investigate just like other families sent by Uranus did, the result was only a total annihilation, you even died at the hands of the monster." (True)

"...What...what is it that lives in those ruins?..." Artemis asked with a pale face with a worried expression. Both for what happened to them according to the young man and for that thing.

"Antares, an ancient monster that was sealed by several great spirits, one with the ability to use the Arcanum of the gods that it manages to absorb by killing them, at least that's what the god Hermes said according to what I know." (Truth)

A monster sealed by great spirits, now things made sense. That the bastard Hermes was involved only confirmed the seriousness of the situation.

She also had a feeling about what the young man wanted once she heard about the Arcanum. One that was proven true right in the next moment with his words.

"That's why I came to ask you for something, not for you to love me or anything." (True) Mikhael focused his blue eyes on her again, as if asking her to make a promise. "I just want you to stay away from those ruins, to stay alive." (True)

"You don't need to worry about the monster, even when the monster had your divine bow; your remnant, what was left of you found Orion and the monster was defeated in the end. Just as it will be this time too, that won't change." (True)

Artemis was finally able to understand the full picture. Orion had foreseen the future where she and her Familia died, therefore he chose to avoid that by coming to warn her preemptively.

It was an absurd story, perhaps it would even be more logical to believe that the young man in front of her was delusional and that was why he believed he was telling the truth.

But the connection she felt with the young man through fate as well as the strong reaction of the arrow didn't lie.

"Even if you couldn't accept that request, at least give me 3 or 4 months, just that. In that time with my current knowledge, I can certainly become strong enough to accomplish what is necessary without sacrificing anyone." (Truth)

Looking at the sincerity in those eyes and even feeling it through the truth in his words, Artemis momentarily wondered if she was worthy of such feelings.

Although he knew that she wouldn't reciprocate those budding feelings, he still came here regardless of the response he would hear from her, just so he could ensure her safety.

However, her decision still wouldn't change even with that...

"Alright, I promise." Artemis relaxed before sitting in front of the young man. He blinked for a moment, probably not believing it would be that easy. Looking closely, he could also be quite cute when he wanted to.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she quickly thought about how she should proceed as she tried to fulfill the wish of this young man that made her heart skip a beat.

"I will write a letter about this whole matter to Uranus. I will hide your skill to peer into the future while ensuring that the information was investigated by myself." Artemis explained softly, no longer that cold and hard expression.

She couldn't keep up that front after feeling that warmth. She couldn't imagine the feelings of what her future self went through when she saw her Familia massacred. She didn't think anything else was possible, but at least doing him this favor was fine.

"I'll tell him that you are the child I found for this and that you have enough potential to complete that task, so he will provide you with some help in your growth in Orario."

Technically it wasn't a lie, if he could achieve it in the future, nothing said he couldn't achieve it now with more help this time. In turn, that would ease some of her inner guilt with him.

"Is that so? That is a relief." (True) Orion closed his eyes as he smiled softly. When he came to, Artemis opened her eyes in surprise as she noticed that she had unconsciously stretched out her hand to touch his relaxed face.

Orion also put on a surprised expression, but it didn't last a moment before changing into a mischievous smile. He went and leaned his face against her hand as if he were a cat. He was clearly playing with her by teasing her on purpose.

Artemis wasn't proud even long after how she blushed intensely before running away from the young man. Not knowing at that moment that a certain captain and a certain half-elf watched the whole spectacle from afar with shining eyes.

***

"Mikhael, you can give this letter to Uranus." Mikhael received the letter from the goddess who looked like a mother of chicks as she gave him everything prepared. "Also, as I explained, you can give this letter to a goddess called Hestia, she is trustworthy."

Honestly, going through all those risks had been worth it. Not only did he get some support from Artemis and Uranus but, he also got an "identity" that could save him from some trouble one day as a foreigner from outside of this world.

But the most important thing was undoubtedly getting Artemis to promise him that she would not go within the time limit to the ruins where Antares was trying to break its seals.

"Thank you very much, Lady Artemis." Mikhael took the letter that was practically a recommendation to join Hestia's Familia, a good success achieved unexpectedly.

"It's nothing. Mikhael, do your best in Orario and become strong enough to not shame my name in front of Uranus." Artemis said as she tucked her hair behind her ear, there were many bright eyes behind her seeing everything between them.

After a brief farewell, it was finally time for Mikhael to leave. As he did, he could feel the complicated and mixed gaze of the goddess of the moon and the hunt.

[While the great system praises your intelligence and great improvisation, wouldn't it be better to act while the iron is hot? Why go with that Hestia instead of insisting?]

"Because Hestia is Bestia..." Mikhael said with a determined expression like a warrior determined to follow his own truth even in the face of death itself.

Putting aside the jokes, he answered to the cute and confused system. "It seems that you don't understand it, system, women are complicated creatures but to a certain extent understandable."

"How do you think Artemis will feel after sending her fated partner with another goddess? Yes, Hestia is trustworthy but, how will Artemis feel when she sees the closeness of 'her Orion' with other women besides herself?"

Mikhael continued walking while mentally speaking to the system who seemed to be stunned by his way of thinking. "There are some women who are better given time to think, after that if they really want something, they will come."

[Little host, although the great system believes that you will undoubtedly survive thanks to the perfect body provided by this system, but be careful of being stabbed by the women.]

Mikhael felt a chill run down his spine as he recalled the end of the anime School Days. "My dear system, please do not say things that attract so much bad luck, it scares me a little."

[This system is not attracting anything, it only says that it will be magnificent to see how you deal with stepping on various boats. I look forward to the entertainment I will get from your love struggle.]

The system's words seemed to carry a certain scent of jealousy. Mikhael did not feel strange, he had gotten close to the mysterious being to a certain extent during that year of training.

"By the way, system... When I absorbed that thing of the 'Orion' of this world upon arriving here, thus occupying the previously empty place of the 'Orion' here. What exactly was that?"

Mikhael recalled for a moment that feeling he had when he fell into this world, as if something was trying to bind him, just before being easily torn into pieces instantly by something else coming from him.

In the midst of that, he felt as if some of those threads had been completely absorbed by him. As a result when he met Artemis it was love at first sight, he felt like he couldn't take his eyes off her.

It wasn't as if his feelings had been manipulated, just a part of 'him' found Artemis extremely attractive to the point of thinking she was his soulmate. It was a bit tedious but nothing he couldn't suppress or control.

[The system can only reveal that it is part of the host's own new nature, one that you must discover for yourself, it can only advise that it is not something harmful to you]

"I see, then I will look forward to it, what I am right now." Mikhael smiled as he recalled the two race with question marks in his status. "For now... Orario, here I come."

At that moment as he headed towards Orario according to the map that the lovely Artemis gave him, Mikhael was completely unaware of what kind of fates he had absorbed. As well as his now fated meeting with a certain silver-haired goddess.

***

(Author's note caused by a sudden clairvoyance: Freya in this fanfic is going to be quite different from both the canonical Freya and the previous version of the fanfic. So please don't hate her too soon.)