Rebirth!

Sitting right above a land of clouds and below the crystalline blue sky was a deserted area covered in lengthy weeds. Though the sun rays tried reaching the roof of the wooden house, no light could pass through the obstacle in the way. Wherever the golden rays touched, mixed clouds of gray-blue would fight it with lightning.

Under the dirty cotton cloud laid a dilapidated house with two — rusted nails unskillfully stapled — boarded windows. Like blinking eyeballs, the rusty nails shaped like pupils as strangers get close to the location.

Living under a constant shadow, the temperature of the area always remained below five degrees Fahrenheit. Its windows uniquely decorated in blacken ink from the layered dust and dried critter corpses that filled the gaps. Without the rippling effect of light, one would never know from merely observing the outside that the dirt could easily be rinsed away with water.

Surrounding it were dried weeds in dark shadows, molding the outer walls of the place. A twist of the handle, creak from the long unused door and whisper from inside released an indescribable fear to the visitor who stood outside for a long while.

"Zeus, you're here. Give me a minute." Aphrodite's worn out voice sounded aged as her ash-like body walked out of the house for the first time.

She reached the hood of her cloak, pulled it above her head and covered her eyes. "Too bright."

From ten miles away, where sun shone brightly and trees danced cheerily, an electric shock sliced off its branches. A bird's nest filled with eggs cracked from the sudden trauma. Immediately, baby birds popped out of the eggs and chirped for their mother. Sensing danger aiming from a distance, they fluttered their wings hoping they could avoid the calamity.

A hissing tongue took the trait of a snake as it extended out of Aphrodite's index finger, slowly reaching its destination. It drooled venom like a sly snake searching for its prey and located the baby birds in one second. The lively fearful chirps came to a stop after a huge slam squashed them into a puddle of mess. As if wiping away the residues of its work, the tongue licked everything sparkling clean before sliding back to Aphrodite's finger.

"Silence. Just the way I like it." Aphrodite flapped the sleeves of her cloak outwards, wrinkling the fabric. She rotated her body and exposed a wicked smile.

"It's been nine months after a millennium since I've seen you. Come, I have something to show you." Her fungus filled nail gestured him to step into her house. Reluctantly, Zeus followed silently from behind.

"Aphrodite, you should clean up your place more. What happened to the fresh fragrance and colorful flowers that used to accessorize your home? Now, it's become such a huge mess." Zeus covered his nose as wafts of dead flowers and critter bodies entered his nostrils.

"What is the difference between having a nice place or a deserted island when my appearance is already like this?" Once she entered her comfortable zone, she nimbly untied her cloak and hung it at a random corner of the room.

Ever since the Oracle had put a spell on her that drained her youth, the engraved marks only grew longer and more tangled than before. Every day, she faced her sagged, hideous skin. Over time, she started shutting herself away from others and training the wrong paths.

Instead of meditating under the sun, she seized critters around the area and sucked out its life force for the sake of regaining power. The more she committed sins, the heavier the debt weighed on her shoulders.

"What did you want to talk about?" Zeus received a telepathic message from her the day prior to coming here. The vast difference between the past image of her home and the current one stupefied him. He hadn't expected she would choose to torture herself this way.

"Hehe. Say, Psyche's soul was passed to the Oracle more than a millennium years ago. It seems like she is going to rebirth very soon." Her voice changed to an obstinate and self-willed one as she made suggestive hints for her upcoming plans.

"Aphrodite, she's probably reincarnated or even dead now. What's important is for you to learn to let the past go and break the spell yourself." Zeus didn't comprehend the words she was saying. Rather, he thought she was speaking nonsense. Neither did he know that she's been planning revenge ever since the day she came back with an unsightly appearance.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." She swayed her finger left and right. Pointing to the center of a wooden table by the corner of her blocked window, a bracelet with a sapphire jewel laid contrastingly against the mold around it. Picking it up, Aphrodite grinned and showed it to Zeus.

"She is about to rebirth. This bracelet was made out of a lock of her hair. Before their wedding, I asked her to leave me some of her hair to make a bracelet that represented eternity of marriages. With this, I can track when her life is reaching its end and reincarnation." A confident smirk tilted on her lips as she spoke about the task she had in mind for Zeus to perform.

"What do you want me to do?" Zeus knew she couldn't exert much power, or it'll damage her soul force. Her reason to have him visit her was now clear; she needed him to wreck Psyche's second chance to live.

"Once the sky turns peach and snow showers down on earth, Psyche's arrival will come very soon. Destroy her while she's in her mother's womb. Have them die together or else the anger in my soul would never extinguish." She gritted her teeth as she made this request.

"Fine, but after this, you must put down your vengeful perspective. You must focus on healing and regain power through absorbing natural elements. Don't suck the life force out of these critters to gain power." Zeus complied to her request and watched the sky for signs of change.