Calm Before the Storm (823 BC)

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823 BC, Korinthos

(Medusa POV)

It's been almost two decades since Zeus tried and failed to kill me. It was quite the pathetic attempt, to be honest. He thought he could kill me the same way he killed his father, assuming that we were as strong as each other. Unfortunately for him, Kronos was barely more than a child in the eye of an Atlantean, and I was a recognized master in runes and was as skilled as some masters in other fields. It was like thinking he could kill a lion since he was successful in killing a housecat.

It was a shame that Zeus chose the hero Perseus to have the honor of slaying me; I was quite fond of his story. I did send a substantial amount of gold to his wife and son, because I was feeling bad about him getting caught in one of my schemes. They're living quite comfortably in Athens Not that it mattered now, the man was dead and Zeus was cursed.

My curse wasn't quite as debilitating as it seemed. It only bound any kind body magic from recipient which meant that while Zeus kept his magic, thus his control over air and lightning, he was physically as strong as a normal human and did not have the usual healing factor that all of his fellow Olympians possessed. However, a side effect of body magic that was usually unnoticed was that it allowed the user to channel magic easier through his body, which meant that with it gone, Zeus had a harder time casting any spell. For the first time in his life, Zeus was powerless. I hoped to do so would help him understand how similar he was to a normal man, and how his actions as a king have affected thousands of people. It was a lesson in humility he needed, which was why I conditioned the curse. If he ever becomes worthy of becoming king, the curse will lift and he shall regain his former power. Not that he seems to be getting any better, the only difference was that the so-called king of gods has been a lot less impulsive lately. At least he learnt something.

In other news, everyone bought that I had died. Even the citizens of Korinthos noticed my absence, but they had learnt to adapt without me and became self sufficient easily enough; I was never a hands-on ruler. I told my daughters just after it happened of course, but they weren't bothered, really. They were too busy with their lives and their children and I really hope they would live long and fulfilling lives. In the end, I returned back home with Hestia and continued our life together.

It was nice and for the first time in years, I was content. Korinthos was safe after I decided to put some intent wards on the city. The centaurs and Satyrs deter most travelers but they couldn't hope to handle a single Olympian. My wards, on the other hand, did have enough power to do so. After all, Zeus had ordered some of his children to invade the city and they were stopped by the wards. Following their failures, he ordered some of his Olympian children to do the same, with the same result. After a while, he just gave up on Korinthos, accepting that the wards that I supposably had powered at the cost of my life, were indestructible.

All that was left was to rest and relax with my beloved. Speaking of Hestia, she had scolded me when she realized that I cursed Zeus. She was scared that he would do something stupid since he thought he was weakened. I did reassure her that I would handle anything he would do, and that if he goes too far, I might just kill him. She wasn't happy with me in the slightest and we ended up fighting for months about it. We ended up reconciliating and just ignored the issue. It wasn't healthy but it is was it is.

With a lot of time in my hands, I was bored. Thankfully, I had already planned on building a school of magic, and I kinda went overboard. I changed my name to Hecate, this time because there was no Olympian called Hecate – I asked Hestia, and she denied knowing any Hecate – and I wanted to honor her. It really was a shame that the Greek goddess of Magic didn't exist.

I ended up creating an entire infrastructure of magical schools, every one with a different field in mind. To help govern them all, I found a very powerful sorceress that had the potential of actually battling minor gods. Her name was Circe. The school was divided into one for beginners, where the foundations of magical fields are taught, and into higher schools, one for every magical field that the students would choose. The tutelage was free, but the students had to do jobs, like farming and so on, for a couple of hours a day.

Truth be told, this little academy was starting to remind me of Atlantis. Of course, the knowledge taught didn't come from there, it was just regular magic that Greek wizards and witches perform, but it was centralized. I had created this place, not to teach people magic but to encourage research into magic. Perhaps one day, they could build a new Atlantis, a new land of magic. I knew from the future that no such nation existed but there was no harm to hope a little.

Truth be told, I sometimes forget that I am from the future. I have lived for so long in this era that I don't care about returning, even if I did, it could risk many rips in reality if I do it. I could even end up in another universe accidentally. It was a small feeling in my gut, like an instinct, telling me that traveling back to the future could entail grave consequences and many disasters. So far, as long as I have Hestia with me, I am fine taking the long way round.

I look upon the face of my beloved, she really was a wonderful woman. Suddenly, I feel someone attacking the wards on one of my temples in Egypt. I wouldn't care much but some of the artifacts that I hid there could be pretty dangerous in the wrong hands.

Turning toward Hestia, I say, "My love, something urgent just came up. I need to travel to Egypt for a few days."

She replies, "That's alright, Medusa. Be safe!"

"I will," I respond.

I then dress myself, turn invisible and teleport to my temple in Egypt.

(Zeus POV)

There was a council meeting in a few days and Zeus wasn't particularly excited about it. Ever since the bitch Medusa cursed him with her severed head, he lived in constant fear. Who the fuck curses someone with their own severed head? Who even thinks of that? That just proved that he was right in trying to kill her. If she could affect him this strongly when she was dead, he shudders on what she could do if she was still alive.

But now the bitch was dead, and he had to deal with this curse of hers. He didn't dare tell anyone about it, they would surround him like sharks and leave him for dead. They would betray him without a second's thought, even his wife and children would do so. Zeus ruled because he was powerful, and it was his power that kept him on the throne.

But now, he was weakened. He was cursed with the body of a mortal. His magic was as strong as ever, but it did exhaust his body if he channeled too much. This allowed him to hide his condition. As far as anyone is concerned, the king of gods was as powerful as ever.

But his body was driving him insane, he was always afraid. If he was attacked, he would be as good as dead. Hell, if he was caught in an accident, he would likely perish as well. This constant anxiety was slowly turning him mad and there was nothing he could ever do to reverse the effect.

To clear his head, he decided to take a walk in the middle of nowhere. There were no people around for miles and that suited him nicely. He walked with what could be hours, thinking of way of prolonging the inevitable, his family's discovery of his weakness, when he heard a noise, "Mighty Zeus, king of gods, I'm here to bargain."

Zeus was startled, he hadn't sensed the man. Nevertheless, he ignored his surprise at being recognized and spoke, "Speak up, mortal, and I shall consider it."

For the first time, Zeus took a look at the man. He was a relatively old man, with a long white beard that was hunched over. He was wearing a purple robe and was wielding a green staff carved to look like a serpent. But what was most striking were his eyes. They glowed with red. There was something fundamentally wrong with the man, he could instinctively sense it but could not put into words.

The man smiled and presented his offer, "My liege, my name is Herpo and I was the student of the mighty Typhon, the father of monsters before he perished." That gained his attention, somewhat. Hestia had spoken of Typhon, the Atlantean that wanted to kill the Olympians and was later killed by Medusa. "As Typhon's student, he told me of your true origins, that you are not true gods."

Before he could smite the man in front of him, "But that can be changed. I have found a method to turn you into true gods."

Zeus was stunned, and couldn't help but ask, "How?"

Herpo smiled at him, "Gods are beings of pure energy, of pure magic. One must be born a god. However, a being with a body cannot absorb that much magic to ascend into a being of energy, but they can house something else, souls. Souls are energy, they are life. I'm not saying that we kill hundreds of people and retrieve their souls, because we don't need to. The number of people that worship you, and pray for your blessing grants you a certain link to them. Imagine hundreds of thousands of small shards of souls empowering you, the stronger their faith, the stronger you become, which means that you, king of gods, shall be the strongest. That's the ritual I have designed. In the end, your worshippers will be fine, if a bit tired for a few months but other than that they should survive."

This sounded like it was too good to be true, a way to become a true God and survive his current situation. But he had to be careful, "you said that it was a bargain. What do you wish in return?"

"I wish to join you, of course. I have been pursuing immortality ever since Master Typhon perished. I am not an Atlantean and am just as mortal as any other man. I found a way to turn myself immortal, but in doing so, I have cursed myself. Now more than ever, I fear death. This is my last chance. I have the ability to possess other bodies and all I ask is that you allow me to take over one of your subjects. For the ritual to work, I will need to be worshiped, so please make it a popular god. Allow me to ascend with you, to escape Death, and I shall serve you faithfully until the rest of my days."

Zeus grinned inwardly, this worked out perfectly after all. He could get rid of one of his strongest oppositions and ascend into a god at the same time. Two birds, one stone.

"Herpo, I will grand you your request. You shall take over for my brother, Hades. Now let us discuss of the specifics of the ritual."