The dawn came softly, its light trembling against the waves like a dying candle.
Ana stood at the cliff's edge, the hem of her cloak fluttering in the cold wind. Behind her, the ruins of the night's battle still smoked — ash where hunters had fallen, and blood where Eryx had fought.
He hadn't returned since the fight ended.
She told herself not to worry, but the silence of the morning pressed on her heart like a weight.
The air shimmered faintly, and a whisper — a woman's voice — brushed her ear.
> "You have wandered too far, my daughter."
Ana froze.
The wind turned cold, almost metallic. Out of the sunlight's edge appeared a tall figure draped in white and gold — her eyes gray as thunderclouds.
"Athena…" Ana whispered, falling to her knees instinctively.
But the goddess's face was unreadable. "Do you think I do not see what you are becoming?" Athena's voice was calm, but it carried the sharpness of a blade. "You were sent to live among mortals to understand them — not to fall into darkness."
Ana rose to her feet, trembling. "You gave me a heart, Mother. You cannot punish me for using it."
Athena's gaze darkened. "You love him."
Ana said nothing. Silence was confession enough.
"You love the son of the Gorgon," Athena continued. "Do you know what that means? His blood was born of curse and vengeance. His existence defies Olympus."
"Then perhaps Olympus deserves to be defied," Ana whispered fiercely.
For the first time, Athena's composure cracked. "Do not forget who you are speaking to."
The wind howled around them, carrying the echo of divine wrath. Ana met her mother's gaze — goddess to goddess, daughter to deity — and did not look away.
"If love makes me weaker, then let me fall," she said. "But if it makes me human, then that is the strength you asked me to find."
Athena's expression softened, but only slightly. "You are walking the edge of shadow, child. Be careful which side you fall to."
And just like that — the goddess vanished, leaving only the scent of olive and lightning behind.
---
The Return
Hours passed before Eryx returned. His clothes were torn, blood crusted on his jaw, and his eyes darker than usual.
"You're hurt," Ana said, running toward him.
He shook his head. "Not my blood."
Still, she touched his arm gently. The gesture made him falter — centuries of guarded emotion cracking in that single human act.
"There are more hunters," he said quietly. "And they are not alone anymore. The gods are moving too."
Ana stiffened. "Athena came."
Eryx's eyes flickered crimson. "Then they know."
"Yes."
He stepped back, jaw tightening. "You shouldn't be near me now. The gods will see you as corrupted."
She laughed — a soft, bitter sound. "Corrupted? I am their experiment, Eryx. A goddess trapped in flesh. Maybe they finally see the truth — that their games have consequences."
He turned away, pacing toward the cliff's edge. "You don't understand what you're risking."
"Then make me understand," she challenged.
His silence was heavy. Then he spoke, voice low. "If the gods come for me, I will fight. But if they come for you, I will burn Olympus to the ground."
Ana's breath caught. "You would fight them?"
"I already have," he said, eyes distant. "When they cursed my mother. When they turned her into the monster you've all been taught to hate."
"Medusa…" Ana whispered.
He nodded. "They called her a monster, but she was a woman who loved wrongly — a priestess punished for the god's sins. And I… I am her legacy."
He looked at Ana then, the pain in his gaze almost too much to bear. "Tell me, Ana. When they see you with me, do you think they'll show mercy this time?"
---
The Oath
Night came again, painting the sea black. Eryx stood by the fire, the light reflecting off his pale skin. Ana watched him quietly, realizing that for all his darkness, he carried a strange purity — the kind born from surviving pain too long.
He turned suddenly. "When I was young, I swore never to love. I thought it was weakness. But now I realize it's the only thing stronger than death."
Ana stepped closer, her voice barely above a whisper. "Then swear again — not to the gods, but to me."
He hesitated. "An oath to a goddess?"
"To Ana," she said softly. "Not Athena's daughter. Just Ana."
He moved closer, until his breath mingled with hers. "Then listen well, Ana of light and shadow."
He took her hand, his thumb brushing over her pulse. "I swear to stand between you and all who wish you harm. I swear by my mother's blood and by the night that keeps me alive."
The air around them thickened, energy rippling from their joined hands. Ana felt something ancient awaken — a bond deeper than divine blessing.
She whispered, "Then I swear to you, Eryx of the cursed blood, that no god, no fate, no curse will make me turn away."
For a moment, the moon itself seemed to hold still.
Their eyes met — and the world blurred. The glow from her skin flared, his shadow enveloped her, and together they created something new: light that burned, darkness that breathed.
---
The Ambush
But peace, as always, was short-lived.
A sharp crack echoed through the forest behind them. Then another — the sound of blades slicing through air.
Eryx spun, pulling Ana behind him. "They've found us."
From the trees emerged not hunters this time, but shades — spirits bound by the gods to track divine blood. Their forms were smoke and bone, their eyes hollow flames.
Ana could feel the energy pulling at her soul, trying to drag the goddess within her back to Olympus.
Eryx drew his dagger, forged from obsidian and moonlight. "Stay behind me."
"No," she said, her voice fierce. "I won't hide."
Before he could stop her, Ana raised her hand. The silver veins in her skin glowed again, brighter than before. The shades shrieked, their forms twisting in agony as divine energy cut through them like a storm.
Eryx's eyes widened. "Ana — you'll burn yourself out!"
"I can control it," she said, even as her body trembled.
But the power was too wild, too ancient. The silver light erupted in a blast that shook the ground, sending both of them sprawling.
When the dust settled, the shades were gone — but so was Ana's strength.
Eryx caught her before she fell, her head resting against his chest. "You can't keep doing this," he whispered, panic lacing his voice. "You're mortal now — that power will destroy you."
Her voice was faint. "Maybe… but it saved you."
He looked down at her, every wall he'd built over centuries crumbling. "And if saving me kills you, what am I then? A curse given flesh."
Her lips curved in a weak smile. "You're more than that."
---
The Vision
That night, as Ana slept, visions came to her — not dreams, but divine echoes.
She saw Athena standing before a council of gods, her voice cold:
> "She has chosen darkness. The mortal shell corrupts her divinity."
And another voice — Hades, rich and calm — replied:
> "Or perhaps the darkness chose her. Either way, she is no longer yours."
Then she saw Medusa, shrouded in shadow, whispering from beyond the veil:
> "My son walks the same path I did. But this time, the gods will bleed."
Ana woke with a gasp, her heart pounding.
Eryx was beside her, eyes wide. "You were speaking names in your sleep. Gods' names."
"They're watching," she said, her voice trembling. "And they're afraid."
---
The Awakening
By the next night, Ana's strength began to return — but something inside her had changed. The silver in her veins no longer shimmered faintly; it pulsed steadily, in rhythm with her heartbeat.
Eryx watched her carefully. "You're changing."
"I know," she said quietly. "The curse — or maybe the bond — is rewriting me."
He stepped closer, touching her cheek. "You're becoming something neither god nor mortal."
"Then what am I?"
He looked at her with a mix of awe and fear. "Mine."
She smiled faintly, though her heart trembled. "You don't own me, Eryx."
"No," he said softly. "But you own me."
And in that moment, both of them knew — the prophecy was already in motion. Their love was not salvation. It was the spark of a war older than Olympus itself.
---
The Prophecy Unfolds
As they prepared to leave the cliffs, the night wind whispered strange words — ancient, rhythmic, divine:
> "When the blood of gods meets the heart of darkness,
The sky will tremble, and Olympus will fall."
Ana froze. "Did you hear that?"
Eryx nodded slowly. "The gods won't let that prophecy come true."
"Then we'll have to make sure it does," she said.
He turned toward her, half in disbelief, half in admiration. "You're talking about defying Olympus itself."
"I'm talking about ending their tyranny."
He gave a small, haunted smile. "Then perhaps the monster and the goddess were always meant to burn the heavens together."
They stood beneath the blood-red moon, their hands entwined, knowing that every choice from this moment forward would change the fate of gods and monsters alike.
Above them, lightning cracked across the sky — not in anger, but in warning.
And somewhere far away, on Olympus, Athena's voice echoed through the halls of eternity: