Greece (8): Explanations.

Here's the chapter; I just finished editing it a few minutes ago. Losing sleep last night took its toll, I woke up later today, but at least I have the week off...

As always, if anyone wants to read 3/7 chapters ahead of my two stories, that's possible on my (P)(A)(T). If not, I still appreciate you reading my stories!

The next chapter will be out on the 6th.

With that said, have a good night and enjoy the read!

(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori

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POV: Medusa.

My muscles ached, and my head throbbed, hurting even more than my muscles.

The former was due to how they were being used. As sealed as I was, my body was resilient and strong, much more so than any human man or woman, yet I could still grow tired.

Doing the exercises Hunter commanded wasn't overly exhausting, even though those exercises utilized muscles I didn't even know existed in my body, but having my muscles stretched, only to retract when Hunter unleashed what I can only call pure insanity upon my body, indeed was.

Every time Hunter threw waves upon waves of his aura over me, my muscles that weren't fully engaged in completing the exercises would tense to the maximum, my body primed for the carnage his aura promised, only for all of it to vanish moments later.

Each time this happened, I grew more and more tired, not just physically, but mentally, I was drained, and not even noon had passed, with the Helios sun shining just below the middle of the sky.

The worst part was the headache; Hunter's aura not only made my thoughts turn to madness, death, and blood, often I simply didn't attack him because I couldn't move, but it also caused intense pains, and not just one type of pain.

If it was nearly impossible to get used to the aura Hunter was projecting, the randomness with which he shaped it made that task hundreds of times more difficult.

At first, his aura was like a blow, a punch, something quick and solid, coming and going at the same speed, this continued for a few times, only until I began to get used to it, then the pattern changed.

If initially it was like a punch, that punch became a stab, something thin and sharp, seeming to pierce every inch of my head and thoughts.

And it went on, and on, and on.

Not only did the patterns change, but the intensity of the aura did too, becoming weaker, with random spikes of insanity, stronger, but quicker to vanish.

The worst variation was when the aura was entirely weak, like a buzz, but one that never faded, never seemed to cease or disappear. It was like being back days ago, when my curse tormented me every second, be it day or night.

Luckily, or perhaps planned by Hunter, probably the latter, but for me the former, this weak and constant variation of the aura was the last he used, only using it once, for a few minutes, which for me felt like hours.

"Good job, you endured well." Not hearing a 'Get up' was a huge relief; I almost fell asleep right there on the ground. "Your training with me is over, take a break, an hour, the next part is with Chiron."

If I had almost fallen asleep, Hunter reminding me that I still had training with Chiron almost made me faint… But I was in too much pain for that.

"Here, have a drink." While I was contemplating life, with my face planted in the sparse grass, covered in sand, Hunter's voice grew nearer.

The amount of effort required just to lift my head was less than I expected but more than I would have liked.

It took me a few moments for my tired and sore head to realize he had what seemed to be a transparent bottle in hand, containing water.

I only realized how thirsty I was when my body moved on its own to grab the bottle from Hunter's hands; I must have emptied its contents in a few seconds, if it took that long.

I realized it was a terrible idea to move so fast when my muscles protested, but the relief I felt each time the cold water went down my throat made the pain worth it.

"T-Thank you." I replied, slightly breathless, after handing back the bottle, which I noticed was made of glass, to Hunter.

"You're welcome." Hunter replied. "Rest a few minutes before you go eat; even with your physiology, you'll find your body won't like keeping the food inside it." That… Was good advice; I'd hate to eat, only to vomit everything the next moment.

I dragged my body to the shade of the nearest tree, a few meters away, stumbling and staggering there step by step, my body still sore, as it would be for some time, but my headache starting to fade, now that I wasn't bombarded every second with the thirst for blood and insanity that Hunter emitted.

I collapsed onto the ground as soon as I reached the tree, not caring about the hard texture of the bark; it was better than the stones my sisters and I used to sleep on before Hunter transformed the island, the earth and grass were even inviting to touch.

Even the morning dew on the grass was something that relaxed my body heated by the enormous amount of exercises and the sun.

It hadn't rained, not last night, or this morning, so I suppose the moisture on the grass was due to the sea breeze, even though the wind was calm, much calmer than I was used to in recent weeks.

It was as if Hunter's presence calmed the sea, or rather, tamed it like a trainer tames a horse…

I realized how ironic my sentence was shortly after saying it, after all, the Lord of the Seas used horses as his own symbol.

I wonder if the God of the Seas was a friend of Hunter's, hence the sea seemed to follow his orders and whims, or if Hunter had somehow usurped the authority of the god over the waters, or simply was stronger than him in some way.

A part of me hoped it would be the second option; the Lord of Earthquakes, even though he hadn't done anything to me, was still too insistent in his courting, and his glances sometimes gave me shivers.

He also seemed to make promises he couldn't keep, as shortly after I was cursed, he had come to me, saying he would gift me in a few days, but even after so long, he still hadn't shown up.

In a way, it was foolish of me to believe in the gods, who only brought harm to me and my sisters.

I took some time for myself, just resting with my eyes closed, while my tired body leaned against the trunk behind me.

It was fortunate that Miss Doll had given me a dress this morning that had a special property, a small enchantment that prevented it from sticking to my body, becoming transparent because of sweat, and showing more than it should.

In her words: "The Good Hunter would never look at a lady without her permission. Chiron, even though I've known him for only a few days, seems to be a well-mannered and educated person, so I imagine he wouldn't either. But still, every lady deserves her privacy."

I also found out that it was she who had changed my clothes after the test Hunter had put me through because battle, that was not.

It was discordant how Hunter, Miss Doll, and even, albeit to a lesser extent, Chiron, behaved compared to all the other people I had come to know in my life.

"Hunter..." My voice was tired, but I knew if I kept my eyes closed for too long, I would end up falling asleep, and that was something I wanted to avoid. "Can I ask a question?"

"I believe you already did, but yes, you can ask a second question." Hunter replied, short as always, but polite. "Don't worry about asking for permission, just ask next time; I won't be offended by your curiosity, if it's something I don't want to answer, I'll just say so." He explained.

I could almost hear a single drop of humor in his voice, but it was so small that I probably hallucinated it, it wasn't that difficult, given the situation my head was in.

Well, if that's the case, I won't hold back.

"Earlier, when I asked if you could predict the future, you said it was something similar, what did you mean by that?" I asked, opening my eyes and looking at Hunter. I noticed that Chiron was paying attention to our conversation.

I had heard of prophets blessed by the God of Prophecies himself; their predictions, whenever I happened to hear them for one reason or another, were enigmatic and confusing, open to interpretations.

The way Hunter spoke, it was as if he was certain of what would happen, even the date and time it would happen.

"In a simple way, usually when something, be it a god or another being, predicts the future, they are just seeing possible future outcomes that are more likely to happen..." Just?... Was that simple? "Not looking ahead in time, but rather seeing parallel lines that are more advanced than this one."

I... I won't lie and say I understood what he had said, not all of it, but the part about seeing possible futures was something I could understand a little. It was basically like a game of dice? Where "predicting the future" was seeing which number was more likely to come up?...

"That... would eventually fail, wouldn't it?" Chiron asked the question that was on my mind, speaking for the first time in this conversation. "I don't recall seeing prophecies failing, at most, being distorted to some degree."

Hunter nodded and continued speaking.

"When a specific future is seen by a god, it is more anchored, to put it simply, in reality than others, especially if it involves a prophecy," he explained with a calm voice, devoid of emotions.

"The more power and importance the being that foresaw the future has, divine or not, the more likely that possible future becomes, or even a certainty." So prophecies happened because they were prophesied by a god, not because they were prophecies?...

Did the Fates do the same then? Look at possible futures and focus on the ones they liked the most, weaving destiny?

"You said you did something similar, not the same?" I asked, my fatigue forgotten in favor of my curiosity.

Hunter didn't take long to respond, as if he had already thought of the answer a long time ago.

"I could, in a way, but that would entail some problems, albeit simple ones, that I would prefer to avoid." He lifted his face, gazing away into the sea. "So the method I prefer to use is more laborious but preferable for me."

I didn't need to ask what method it was before Hunter continued his explanation while both Chiron and I paid attention to his words.

"As for the method I use, imagine a play..." He paused, as if waiting for us to do so, before continuing. "For this play to happen, the actors rehearse their lines and movements several times, essentially, recreating the play before the performance." I nodded in agreement reflexively, which was foolish of me, since my head throbbed with the movement.

"What I do is create this staging before the play, a simulation of the play, so to speak, and its possible outcomes. It's more laborious, but it avoids some problems." The way he said it was simple, it seemed to be something simple, so much so that it took me a few seconds to remember that we weren't talking about a play.

"You simulate a world?!" I only realized it wasn't me who spoke alarmed when I heard the voice and noticed it was masculine.

"Not exactly, there are some more caveats to it, like Gaia's and Alaya's interference spheres, but basically? Yes." Hunter nodded confirming Chiron's question.

I won't claim I was more educated than Chiron, who was considered the greatest teacher in all of Greece, but I knew that what Hunter was asserting was more than surprising, something I couldn't even imagine.

My reaction to the explanation was basically surprise, widening of eyes, and a certain admiration for Hunter, who seemed to become more mysterious as I learned about him.

As for Chiron, I could see his movements slowly cease, until his body began to lean to the side and collide with the ground, raising some grass and sand.

"He fainted?" I asked, seeing the centaur's rolled-up eyes. Does that mean I won't have to train anymore today?...

"Yes, but don't worry, he'll wake up in time for your training," Hunter said.

...Damn...

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As for the chapter, I kept it lighter, calmer, since many people said they prefer the interaction between characters rather than the fights, not everyone, but a good portion.

Well, Doll pulled the two younger gorgon sisters aside to educate them, Medusa struggled a bit in training (much less than Hunter did when he trained himself), and Chiron took a quick nap towards the end of the chapter. Funny, isn't it?

Oh, and there's a reason why Hunter creates a simulated timeline to "predict" the future, instead of just doing it like everyone else. Any theories as to why? Hint: It has something to do with Gaia and Alaya's interference sphere surrounding the solar system.

As always, good night everyone, and happy reading!