Origins: Demeter's Agony

"Persephone? PERSEPHONE?!"

Demeter's loud cry of her daughter's name was heard all over the place. Sayo, Tobias and Rexis' heads turned towards the direction from where her screams were coming from, and they know they must find the goddess ASAP before the situation gets worse. They started to go look for her now.

Tobias, who wasn't very familiar with the myth and what will happen next, asked for their guidance on what to do. "Who was the mother that Julius was talking about? I'm sure something bad will happen if we don't do something about it, right? What is it? What can we do to prevent it?

Rexis replied to his question. "The Goddess, Demeter, is Persephone's mother. The man who abducted Persephone is actually Hades, the Lord of the Underworld. When the goddess finds out that her daughter is taken into that Realm of the Dead, she'll loose some screws in her head and destroy everything because of her anger. That's why we must find her before that happens, and make her calm down."

"The Goddess of Grain.....I get it, I get it now."

Then, Rexis abruptly stopped on his tracks and muttered, "No way, you've gotta be kidding me." He stared a bit towards to right, where a figure of someone in black along with the bat-like ugly women who tried to kill them earlier stepped into a shadow similar to what Hades conjured from just a moment ago. He decided to go after them, much to Sayo and Tobias' confusion.

"Rex, where are you going?"

"See those things?" He pointed to the direction of the mysterious four who followed them here. Their eyes widened in shock at their appearance in this era as well. "I think they're going in the Underworld too, to get Julius. I don't know what their business with him is all about, but I'm not sensing their friendly good vibes. So I guess I'll have to go after them. You guys take care of Demeter okay? I know you can do it. I promise I'll be back with that loser. Bye!" Then he sprinted in that direction before the two could even begin to contradict his logic.

"But how will you even be of –"

"PERSEPHONE?!! ANSWER ME, PERSEPHONE!!!" Demeter continued her calls for her daughter.

Sayo debated on whether to follow Rexis, or to follow her own logic. The latter won, so she just hoped that her two friends can meet with them once they are done with their business with Persephone.

"Come on, Tobias, let's go."

'Don't you dare make me wait long, Julius, Rexis…." She thought.

It turns out, following Demeter wasn't an easy task, after all. The woes from the Goddess' voice is very imminent, but her physical presence can hardly be felt. They can only hear her, but they can't see her. If it wasn't for her cries of Persephone's name, they can't really track her location.

This happened for several days. Sayo is very thankful for having Tobias around since it's because of him that they're still alive for his skills in survival like finding edible food and water for their consumption. She is sure that the Goddess is just nearby – the dying area around her is proof enough for that. She's not familiar with the happenings in the myth after Persephone was abducted, so she has no idea where Demeter will wander and where they currently are. However, she knows that sooner or later, they can finally be face to face with her to tell her that someone out there is trying to save her daughter and she must not worry for she'll come back to her in one piece. Oh, if they can only see her and give her this assurance….

But most of all, she thought about her friends who went in the Underworld, wondering if they are already back to the surface of the Earth, and whether or not Tobias and her can see them soon. 'It's been eight days already…'

--

Demeter wandered throughout the Nyssian Plains and the nearby villages in her search for her Persephone's whereabouts, but she could not find her anywhere. She is devastated, and is beginning to lose her control over her powers. The area surrounding her started to die – the plants began to wither, and the crops were beginning to rot. The land became dry as the desert, a drought happened, and no single grain of corn, barley, wheat or oat grew from the farmlands. The people prayed for the Goddess of Agriculture's mercy, but she would hear none of them.

For nine days, Demeter wandered aimlessly – her thoughts only filled with images of her dear Persephone calling out to her when she was in danger. She did not return to Olympus, and she refused to eat her ambrosia or pour sweet nectar onto her lips. Like the world around her, she was slowly withering too, wasting away, sinking into madness, pining over the mysterious disappearance of her daughter.

Finally, the Goddess of Magic, Hecate, managed to enter into her thoughts and communicated a message to her.

"Demeter, do you copy? Hello, hello? Is my connection clear? Over? This is Hecate, speaking. Oh my poor Goddess, I haven't seen the entire thing that happened when Persephone went missing in the meadows, but from what I've heard, she was taken by someone who is divine, to a place where even my Searching Magic can't even see. If you want to know where she was taken, look for the Sun –the All-Seeing Sun, and he might be able to tell you everything that happened. Over."

Demeter didn't answer, but at least now she's got a lead on where to find her daughter. She walked to the highest point of where she currently is, and spoke to the Sun, hoping that the impossible – which is him answering her question, will happen.

"Helios, Titan of the Sun, tell me, what happened at the Nyssian Plains from nine days ago, where my Persephone suddenly disappeared from me."

No response. She wasn't really expecting a reply, since she knows that Helios, along with the other Titans, were cast in the depths of Tartarus after the War. However, after a few minutes, she heard someone from behind her reply to her inquiry.

"My Goddess, your daughter caught the eyes of the Lord of the Underworld, that's where she currently is."

Demeter turned around, only to meet the gaze of a young blonde man who was wearing something very peculiar. He is nothing like the Titan of the Sun, but she could not shake the familiar divine warmth of Helios that's obviously coming from the stranger before her. The young man spoke again.

"Yes, I am Helios, the Omnipresent Sun. I am telling you the truth, for I saw everything. Hades took away your daughter and brought her to his Realm. He plans to make her his Queen, and nothing can be done about it."

"Don't believe him, Lady Demeter! He's lying! He's obviously not Helios!" Tobias' voice rang, which made both Demeter and the guy turn towards them. The boy threw a huge chunk of rock aimed at the man's head, but he easily parried it with a spear which he drew from nowhere within a blink of an eye.

Tobias only acted as a decoy for Sayo to stealthily make her approach towards the anonymous man who was getting the Goddess's attention. She tried to attack from a lower point but the guy saw her from below, and dodged her blade as she sliced it through the air beneath him. He hopped to the other side to face her.

Sayo concluded that the man was an impostor of the God called Helios. Furthermore, she noted that this guy must be working together with the other one who went after Julius in the Underworld. 'He's dressed in modern clothing! But how the heck does he have that golden spear?! Who are these guys from our time?'

"Who are you?!" Sayo demanded from him.

The guy only smirked, as if mocking her question. "Who am I? I am the Mythos of Helios, the Titan of the Sun. I believe you are acquainted with the Son of Time, right? Where is he?"

'Mythos? The hell is that?' She thought. "Fat chance, blondie. Stop feigning ignorance over this matter. I know you know that Julius is in the Underworld to save Persephone. One of your shenanigans went after them!"

Again, the guy flashed his irritating smile, and turned once more to the goddess. "Did you hear that, Demeter? Persephone is in the Underworld. I am not lying to you."

'Crap!' Sayo internally cursed. 'I got too careless!'

"My Persephone…." Tears were brimming from the Goddess's eyes upon hearing the terrible news from the guy who claimed to be Helios.

Suddenly, she threw a seed to the ground, and brilliant burst of light then emanated from Demeter. Tobias screamed in warning, "Close your eyes!" Those who heard it did, and the Goddess disappeared, along with that radiant light. The last thing they heard her utter was this:

"Take me to Olympus! I need to talk to Zeus!" Her voice was seething with so much grief and anger.

Now with Demeter gone, the guy's face turned grim as he faced Sayo and Tobias. "Let's skip the introductions and get serious, shall we?" He assumed a fighting stance with his weapon, egging them to attack first.

"Step aside, Tobias, let me handle this maggot." With that statement, Sayo flicked the chlamys she was wearing aside, and remembered Hephaestus' instructions to will the thing to turn into an armor whenever she needs it. The very same thing happened, and she was now fully armed and ready for combat.

She is so done with this stupid impostor Sun-God wannabe.

For a second, a look of mild surprise was painted in the young man's face, but it quickly morphed into a look of amusement for the challenge that was displayed before him.

"Who would've thought there's someone like you lurking in here. Well, lady, aren't you interesting?"

She gritted her teeth at his mocking reply. "Sayo Sasaki. Remember my name, blondie. Today, I'll crush you."

He snickered. "Pardon my indolence. Call me Adam. I could say the same thing, to you, Miss Sasaki."