All of us gathered around the campfire, slightly curled up in our sleeping bags given how cold it was. Bianca and Zoe sat close to one another, as did Thalia, Penny, and Uta. I was sitting by my lonesome, but I was able to regulate my Fire Mastery to keep my body a bit warmer than usual, so I wasn't having as many problems.
A nearby sign told us that we were in Arizona, though I could only see the sign clearly since- as the Son of Night- my eyes were more easily adjusted to the Dark. My Dark Signer powers also aided in that.
High above us, countless starts glittered in the night sky. Millions of them, clearly visible with no city lights and minimal pollution causing problems.
"I've never seen the Milky Way before," Bianca breathed out. "It's beautiful."
"This is nothing," Zoe shook her head. "Back in the old days, there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution."
"You talk like you're not human," Penny noted.
"Because she's not, obviously," I rolled my eyes.
Zoe cast a glare at me. "You know not what you talk about, boy?"
"You wanna bet on that?" I asked her. "I got 5 Drachmas say I know exactly what you are. Dreams are a very powerful entity, probably among the strongest in the world. And they can reveal many things."
She scowled but said nothing as she swallowed. "You have proven your point, boy."
"What do you mean by Dreams being powerful?" Thalia asked. "No offence to him at all, but isn't Morpheus a minor god?"
I just snorted and shook my head. "Not all Minor Gods are Minor because they are weak," I told Thalia. "They are minor because they would wield too much influence if they were a major God. In truth, Morpheus is very possibly in the top five strongest Gods."
Everyone was now looking at me in surprise at my statement.
"What dost thou mean?" Zoe asked, a flash of curiosity in her eyes.
"You don't understand just how powerful dreams are," I told them. "Dreams are the very foundation of humanity. For where do desires come from, if not from dreams? Dreams are infinite, for there will always be a single being in this world- human or no- who dreams. And all of those dreams give Morpheus power. What are you without your dreams?"
There was a resounding silence at my words as they processed them.
I didn't believe I was wrong in my words either. If other worlds existed, that meant that beings like Great Red- a Dragon born from the Infinity of Dreams- also existed... Which meant that Gods of Dreams- such as Morpheus- must be far stronger than they let on. After all, how much power would it truly take to make all of New York fall asleep?
"Those Lions," Thalia spoke. "You knew them, and don't try and lie about it Zoe."
"... I did," she nodded. "... I did not think they would have survived until the modern day... They were my old hunting companion, and the man she was forced to marry. Atalanta, and Hippomenes."
Eyes widened all around, except for my own.
"The Argonauts?" Uta asked, shock on her face. "How are they still alive, even after all these years? It's been several millennia!"
"Those who eat the golden apples become immortal," I told them. "And Atalanta ate three of them during her race against Hippomenes... It's entirely possible that when they were turned into lions, that immortality was shared between them. Though I imagine drastically weakened by the curse, it likely became an immortality similar to the Hunters of Artemis. So long as they do not fall in battle, they will persist."
"That would make sense," Zoe nodded. "The two were cursed to wander for eternity, so they were likely bound in some fashion..." She looked at me. "But then, I wonder... What was it Atalanta desired from you?"
"Not from me," I told her. "From one of my Spirits. And I don't know either, Tez is being tight lipped about it."
"You have a spirit called Tez?" Penny asked incredulously. "No offence, but what kind of name is Tez?"
"Tell her I will devour her soul," Tez spoke in a bored voice, flipping to another page of his book.
"Tez says, and I quote, 'Fuck you, what kind of name is Penny? You're named after a fucking coin, who are you to talk about names?' End quote."
"I did not remotely say that, but that is also something I would say," Tez chuckled. "Fine, I'll take the blame on that one."
Penny blushed- in anger or embarrassment, I couldn't tell- but she just huffed. "You should teach him better language," she mumbled.
"He's a spirit of darkness, foul language is kind of in their motif," I told her.
"Speaking of, that reminds me..." Zoe looked at me with suspicion. "How did thou kill those Skeletons?"
"I was wondering about that too," Bianca nodded. "They just like... Combusted into black flames."
Everyone's eyes were on me again, clearly wondering about the answer to my question.
"Dunno," I told them. "Must be my godly parent... Not sure who it could be though, given my primary ability is to control Shadows. And I can't be a child of the big guy downstairs, because otherwise I wouldn't have survived so long out in the wild without monsters attacking me. And I only had problems before Uta and me came to camp... I don't know, maybe it's Thanatos or something?"
"Thanatos..." Zoe murmured and nodded. "Yes, that would certainly explain things... Being the son of Lord Thanatos would give you a connection to Death, allowing you to kill what could not be killed..."
Thalia cleared her throat. "Anyway, now that we've cleared that up, we should discuss plans once we get out of the junkyard... We'll have to go West, obviously. If we can find a road, we might be able to hitchhike to Las Vegas. That should be the nearest-"
"No!" Bianca exclaimed and shook her head rapidly. "Not there!" She looked very freaked out at the idea, turning pale.
Zoe frowned. "But why?"
"I..." She took a shaky breath. "I think Nicole and I stayed there for a while during the time we were travelling. And then..." She shook her head. "I can't remember."
Penny's eyes flashed and she swallowed, looking nervous as well now.
"Bianca..." She said slowly. "By... By any chance, did you happen to stay at a hotel called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"
Bianca looked at Penny in surprise. "How did you know that-?"
Before Bianca could finish her question, however, a blazing light hit us from down the road. I merely sighed, knowing full well who it was, and I slowly stood up. "Welp... Looks like we're not sleeping yet then," I told them, turning my gaze over.
The others rolled out of the way, but I didn't move as a white Limousine stopped mere inches from my face. The back door opened and out stepped a gorgeous woman with fiery red hair and matching eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses, pressing a sword against Penny's throat. She wore a very flattering crimson red dress that accentuated her curves, with a black shawl wrapped around her arms.
"Hello there, bitch," she smirked. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"
"... Ares," Penny growled lowly.
I felt my eyes widen in surprise as the others prepared their weapons... Ares was a chick? I'd been in the world for six months, but during that time I'd had minimal contact with the Ares Cabin. And, funnily enough, Ares hadn't been covered in the lessons I'd been taking yet. Given Kronos was on the rise, the lessons had been prioritising various monsters and their weaknesses along with various Titans.
Still, I couldn't help but admire her appearance. Because damn, Ares was one hell of a beautiful woman.
"That will be enough of that," Ares snapped her fingers, causing everyone's weapons to drop to the ground. She lowered her sword from Penny's throat and stabbed it into the ground. "This is a friendly meeting. Of course, I'd love to take the head of Seaweed's kid for a trophy... But the lady is very interested in seeing how things play out for her. Plus, I never behead my enemies in front of a lady."
"What lady?" Thalia asked, weary.
Ares eyes snapped to her, eyeing her up and down with an appraising look. "Well, well... I heard you were back..." She glanced at Penny who scowled but backed up. "You're not hanging up with very good company, little sister."
"I'll judge that for myself, thanks... " Thalia scowled. "So, who's in the car?"
Ares just chuckled. "Oh, she's got no interest in meeting with you, don't worry..." She tapped her chin. "Though she did say something about an 'amusing twist' regarding you... But no, she's not here for you..." She pointed a finger at me. "No, the lady's here to see him. The 'Anomaly' as she likes to call him."
"Anomaly?" Zoe questioned in confusion.
"You don't need to know," Ares chuckled in amusement. "Why don't you and the rest go and have some tacos? Should only take a few minutes... Provided the lady doesn't decide to take him for a spin."
"We will not leave him alone with thee, Lady Ares," Zoe said firmly.
"Did you think just because I phrased it as a question, it wasn't a command?" Ares asked. She snapped her fingers, and the lights in the taco place blazed to life. The sign flipped from CLOSED to OPEN. "Go and eat."
"Just go," I told them. "I'll be fine." And I would be fine, so long as I didn't piss off Aphrodite.
"You heard him," she smirked, eyeing me up slowly. A shudder ran through my spine. "He's a big strong man; he's got things under control I'm sure~"
The girls didn't like the sound of that, but they didn't really have much choice. Thalia squeezed my shoulder and gave me a look that said, 'good luck,' before the others reluctantly headed to the taco restaurant.
"Get inside," she told me, stepping aside. "And mind your manners. She's not quite as forgiving as I am."
"Before I go on, just a single question," I looked at her. "How many gods did the scholars get incorrect?"
Ares just laughed in amusement. "More than you think, less than you expect."
I slowly made my way past Ares and into the Limo... And there, I finally got my first look at the Goddess of Love.
Even knowing she would be incredibly beautiful; I couldn't find the words to describe how beautiful she was... When I saw her, I could see countless of small but beautiful details within her. Some I recognised, others I didn't. But she was, without question, absolutely stunning. It was as though I were staring at a perfect blend of my favourite characters from across multiple series- but given flesh.
Her hair was as white as snow and looked just as soft. The style was striking, falling past her shoulders and down her back... It only took a second to realise the hairstyle I was looking at was Byleth's. Her eyes were also exquisite, the same electric blue as Thalia's. Her overall body shape was very close to C.C's, but her face was closer to a mix between Akiza and Erina. Her breasts, however, were large- likely the same size as or even bigger than Alexis's.
Countless other details I saw reminded me of Lala, Uta, Pandora, Silent, and countless other girls... The way she smiled even reminded me of my girlfriend from my previous life.
"Hello there... Yuno, wasn't it?" She smiled happily. "I am Aphrodite."
I cleared my throat, needing to channel my Dark Signer energy through my body in order to clear my mind as I slipped into the seat across from her. "A pleasure, My Lady."
She giggled. "Oh, it could be your pleasure, cutie," she winked at me. "So then, Mister Anomaly... Let's see if I can figure you out~"