I'm not at the house. I'm not with anyone. I'm in the Lost Realm. Home.
Wait... something isn't right. I slowly sit up and look around. Everything... everything is burning.
"Libra..."
Who's calling me? His voice sounds nice... comforting...
It's not supposed to be on fire. Fire, burning... all of that is for the Cursed Realm. So why... why is my home burning?
I look around and see a crowd. All tall. All tanned skin. All raven hair. Identical. But I can still pick out one from the rest. "Lady Seventh!" She barks. "You! Come here, now! Witness your failings!"
I don't know what she's talking about, but I follow the crowd anyway. I know if I stayed any longer, my home would burn worse. She was so commanding, and at the epicenter of the crowd with... Aquarius?
No... he is the King. But why is he on the ground? And why is he curled up?
"Libra..."
"This is no one's fault but your own, Lady Seventh." The important woman scolded. I couldn't stop staring at my friend. "You failed to protect him. And without our King, we are nothing. Nothing!"
"Libra...?"
Who's calling me? Why can't I stop crying? Why won't Aquarius move? Why won't my home stop burning?
I drop to my knees. I can't stand. I can't think. Everything is burning.
"Shame! Shame on the Seventh for neglecting her King!"
"She should be punished, cast into the Cursed Realm, and fed to incubi!"
"Libra...!"
"Punish! Punish!"
"Shame! Shame!"
"Libra!"
***
"STOP!" Libra shot up from the bed she was laying in. It was dark, and she was heaving with heavy sobs. She shook, even as a warm body engulfed her. Where am I?
"Libra?!" Leo's voice was almost as shaky as she felt. His cat eyes were like beacons, trained on her. The covers were down and Libra was finally steady enough to hear his thumping tail. Her surroundings were taken in second. The light was on and there was a precise musky scent in the air. Leo's room. I'm in Leo's room. "Libra... what the fuck happened? You were crying in your sleep and I panicked-"
Slowly, she put a finger to his lips, being careful of his fangs. "Leo..." She said, savoring his name. "Thank you. I'm... I'm okay..."
Leo narrowed his eyes, and his tail curled in the air. He sniffed once and pulled her closer. "Don't lie to me, angel." He told her with a lowered voice, so low it was almost a growl. "Please."
She got closer, intentionally twisting her hips in his lap. He squirmed, but his frown didn't ease. "Can't we just forget about it?" She whispered to him, getting dangerously close to his neck.
He grunted, and almost leaned into her touch before he quickly grabbed her hands. "No... not this time." Leo shook his head, chiding her gently. "We can't have sex every time something goes wrong. It doesn't solve anything. Now angel, can't you tell me why you woke up in a fit at one in the morning?"
Shame! Punishment! Her dream flashed before her eyes, making Libra gasp and cover her ears. Her wings flared and dozens of white feathers fell onto Leo's bed. A calm hand went through her hair, easing her shakes. "I had a dream."
"A bad dream?"
Libra nodded once, gripping her boyfriend tighter. He wasn't wearing a shirt, so all she had to hold were his strong, chocolatey arms. "Yeah. I... I was in a strange place, and it was on fire! And..." She paused, her nerves riling up again.
"Scared of fire? I must be shit outta luck then," Leo teased. "Fire has been kinda my specialty these past few weeks."
Libra couldn't help but giggle. "Leo!" She playfully shoved him, but her somber smile soon returned. "It wasn't that... Aquarius was there, and... he was dead! Dead... dead on the ground! and there were so many people yelling at me that it was my fault... it was all so much and I couldn't breathe-"
"Libra." Leo's voice was firm, solid. She didn't realize that his hands had moved to cup her cheeks. His sharpened hands poked her skin, but she didn't mind. "Your dream wasn't real. It wasn't. If anything, you proved that you could keep him and everyone else safe with those badass chains you made! Don't listen to those nasty voices, okay angel? They don't know shit."
Out of curiosity (and a mild urge to deflect), Libra asked him, "Do you have nasty voices, Leo?"
Leo shook his head, his tail falling to the bed. "No, I have something much worse." He stated calmly. Before Libra could even process what he said, his voice dropped into its almost natural growl. "And if that fucker ever comes back, we'll deal with him ourselves."
Libra could only stare. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that Leo meant those words. His lips curled back into a snarl, his tail frizzed up, his slitted pupils shrunk further. If anyone sane had seen him right then, they would have run for the hills. He was a monster, or at least, there was something cursed inside of him.
She felt the smile before she realized she was doing it. A hug followed, and after hearing his gasp, she laughed into his chest. His clawed hands and sharp teeth were shields, not weapons. At least, they were to Libra.
Naturally, they pulled each other into a kiss, holding and gripping as they shared a mutual sense of protection. Libra wrapped her arms around his neck, and Leo protectively held her waist.
Leo broke first, tilting his head back to breathe. He smiled, telling her, "Go... you're worried about Aqua. You should see him, check if he's okay."
Libra gasped. "You're okay with that?"
He scoffed, scooping her up and showering her with kisses. His fangs pressed into her cheeks, pushing laughs out like water. "Duh, Libra!" He told her. "He's our friend. I'd go too... but it's late, and I can talk to him tomorrow. You clearly can't wait. He... he really needs it, Libra." Now, his tone grew somber with drooping ears. "He watched his dad die. Die. He can't be doing too hot right now, no matter what Hecate told him. Go, cheer him up, angel."
Libra nodded, giving him one last kiss and leaving the door with newfound pride.
In nothing but her nightgown, she tiptoed down the gentlemen's hall. Aries was peacefully snoring. Light giggles could be heard from behind Taurus's closed door. Scorpio's door was open, and Libra made the mistake of catching his glance. His smile unnerved her and pushed her to keep going.
She took her time in the living room, letting her thoughts gather and settle. Libra went straight to Leo after the day's events, distracting herself with his kiss, his touch, his grip. Leo was so warm, so comforting, and Libra was so tired...
Taking a deep breath, she smiled and let her hands glow, forming her chains. My Sacred Weapon... Libra let the chains wrap and swirl around her, lighting up the entire living room. Merely looking at them invigorated her, fueled her to protect her King-
She gasped, and the chains disappeared. Suddenly cold, she rubbed her arms and continued walking. Libra sucked her teeth. "What is wrong with me?" She mumbled to herself. "After I got my title, everything started to fall apart..."
Libra rolled her tongue in her mouth. What was wrong with her? Her obsession with Aquarius was certainly not healthy on several levels, and Libra was well aware of this. She loved Leo. She loved Gemini. But to Aquarius... she was eternally tethered. Libra blinked away tears. There was no more time to think about it, for she was at Hecate's door.
It was open, and Hecate was focusing away on her hand motions over her bed. Her mouth moved, but Libra couldn't hear anything. Virgo was standing on the other side, watching her mother with studying eyes. At the same time, the goddesses noticed Libra, and Hecate said with a wave, "Libra! What a surprise. What brings you here?"
Libra took a moment to answer. Her eyes were on Phil, who lay lifelessly in Hecate's bed. His face was bony and bloodless. "I..." She stammered. "I wanted to know if Aquarius was okay."
"Well, he's right there," Hecate answered with no annoyance to be found. She pointed to a corner of the room, and Libra craned her head. "Ask him yourself. But, don't get too close. His Weapon is still active, and I don't need you getting hit with it."
And there he was. Aqua had his spot in the corner of their teacher's room. His bare toes were curled and his arms rested around his pulled-up knees. All Libra could see was her friend, clearly distressed as he stared off into his father's corpse. However, there wasn't a weapon in sight. Being mindful of her steps, Libra snapped twice and said, "Hey, Aqua. It's gonna be okay." In turn, he only looked at her, and Libra could swear the faintest smile curled on his lips.
"Libra-" Hecate called, her hands still moving. "Oh, right. You aren't psychic... you can't see it. Any closer, and you would be subjected to worlds and worlds of mental torture." Her voice was so light, Libra almost thought she was joking. "I wouldn't like another Sign to be out of commission."
"Mom..." Virgo spoke up, after an exchanged glance with Libra. "You're kidding... right?"
"By Gaia, of course not." Hecate smiled down at her hands. "His Weapon in pure psychic energy, crafted from the hatred of Cronus himself. Very few timelines have had the grace of the Weapon in its full intensity, due to the Eleventh not being psychic. Now, that isn't an issue."
"How do you know about that... about everything?"
"I was trained to learn and concentrate from a very young age," Hecate explained. Without missing a beat, she grabbed a powder from a shelf and sprinkled it across the blankets. "All of Tartarus was terrified of me turning into the next Cronus, so my parents decided to send me off to Lady Nyx. She had a psychic child, so everyone had hope that she and her husband wouldn't twist me up. She was hard, the cranky old woman, but she took me in as her own. Showed me that I have control over my mind..." She chuckled to herself, and, despite the situation, Libra smiled for her. This - helping others with her talents - was clearly her forte.
Virgo was enthralled with her mother as well, telling her with bright eyes, "All of it paid off, mom."
"Think so? I hope it did... even though I don't feel like it's enough. It's never enough... Gah, that's probably Lady Nyx talking again. Forgive me, I'm getting melodramatic."
"It's okay, Hecate," Libra said. "We all get like that sometimes. It's normal."
"Really? I never knew. I guess I can learn a thing or two from this Cycle. " She hummed, setting a small branch at the center of Phil's body. "There. Preparations are done."
"For... what, exactly?"
"For Philander's regeneration!" Hecate explained excitedly as if she were presenting a science project. "Because of the curse Zeus cast on him, Phil can only die by extreme means, meaning he has to die the way a god does: through soul erasure. Anything outside of that, and he'll regenerate. A normal would this severe would have him 'dead' for another few Mortal months... but tonight, I'm going to speed up the process... again."
"You've done this before?" Virgo asked.
"Several times over," Hecare answered, crossing her arms. "The Immortal One has a habit of making bets that are too risky, and I always have to clean up his mess, especially after I was kicked out of Olympus. Most of the time it's a stab wound or poisoning, and I can get it done in five Mortal minutes!"
She sounded happier than anything, but Libra was still tempted to ask, "Does he take advantage of you?" Even though no one was really paying him attention, Aquarius loudly groaned. Libra shivered at his open disdain for the question. Her King was upset. She made him upset. Shame! Punishment!
Hecate smiled at the Signs. It was a warm, nostalgic smile, one that sent Libra waves of assurance. "No, not at all," She said with genuine care. "I wouldn't spend all this time with him if I didn't like him. He's my friend, and he has been for a long time... Sure, he's tiring and stubborn and arrogant and crazy, but... he's also more than that. And I believe the more is worth it. Now, let's wake him up, yes? Virgo, take my hand."
"Yes Ma'am!" Virgo pipped, clasping her hand into her mother's. Their eyes closed and Libra watched with wonder as a unique pentagram grew over the blankets. It was divided in an intricate way, Libra failed to recognize and memorize the pattern. It glowed, shining and teeming with controlled power.
When the goddesses opened their eyes, the pentagram faded. One second passed... then two... then-
Phil's eye's fluttered open as the color quickly returned to his cheeks. He gasped and shot up, inhaling and exhaling like clockwork. The blankets fell and his bare chest was exposed. Libra gasped. A fist-sized scar was right where his heart was supposed to be. It was like a wrinkly patch. Libra had to look away.
"Thanks, Hecate," Phil said, patting over his chest. "How many times is that?"
"149," Hecate said, glaring at him.
Phil blinked at her. "Do I still have to-"
"Yes, you do. We had an arrangement, Philander. I'm not Mythic, I won't let you back out of this."
"Come on, it's a stupid deal. Why do I have to be your assistant for an entire timeline?! I have better things to do!"
"Such as?"
"None of your business! Come on, Hecate, hold out for a friend."
"Typical Philander, going back on promises-"
"Now, that isn't fair-"
"Dad." Aquarius was standing now, his eyes wide and demanding. He only said a word, but that alone was enough to end his father's banter. His eyes bore into his father, and though everyone else was clearly unnerved, Phil's expression remained neutral. "Explain."
"Well, son... I'm immortal."
"No shit."
"Philander..." Hecate seethed. "Tell him."
"Fine! Fine..." After a sigh, Phil rubbed his face. "You know, Hecate... Maybe I didn't want Aqua to know about all of the crazy Divine bullshit that happened in my life? Unlike you, I am not attached to the hip with magic. Is that so wrong?"
Libra felt it before she saw it. Aqua's distress. Her King's sadness. She turned, and for the first time in her Mortal life, she saw tears in his eyes. "Why?" He whimpered, like a hurt puppy. Libra gravitated toward her King, but Virgo held her in place. "Why didn't you want to tell me anything? Not even about my mom-"
Phil raised a hand. "You aren't learning jack shit about your mother." Another second, and his son's tears probably set in, making him sigh again. "I- Look. I liked pretending I was a little normal again. No more running, no more stealing, no more looking. For the first time since... a long time, I was happy. Sure, we were poor, and it was hard to make ends meet... but I had you, and I knew as a Mortal child... you'd be safe. Safe from shit like what happened today." Libra's attention was held thin with the constant back and forth, but she didn't miss Phil's silent, wavering tears. "But playing house is over. And you are so damn persistent... just like me. I- I'm sorry for withholding, alright? The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. I just... I never had a kid before, and I don't want to lose you..."
"Dad?" Aqua asked. Silent as the wind, Hecate maneuvered out the way, and, in the same motion, Aquarius tackled his father into a hug. Of course, the oldest Sign immediately broke into tears at his father's touch. Phil gently held him, whispering inaudible sweets to his son. "I..." Aqua tried to say.
"No, don't even try it." Phil sat Aqua back, wiping his eyes. "I told you, you are absolutely harmless compared to that mass murderer. It's not your fault, I didn't raise you to be that way on purpose... don't feel bad that he's a trained soldier."
"But Ophi!" Aqua exclaimed. Hecate's nose turned up, but her eyes were trained on a certain spot above Aquarius. "She told me... she told me I could trust him. She's not a liar. I know that."
"She's not. But I know that he has a warped perception of... a lot of things. She's Cursed, and that's something you need to expect out of her the next time you run into her, which hopefully will be with me or Hecate..."
"Oh..."
"Don't be disappointed. Now you know what to expect from his end. I should have told you before, but I thought we had more time. Fuck, whatever, the damage is done, all that matters is that everyone is okay."
Virgo spoke up. "What else do you know about Hercules? We should be prepared... if he comes back."
"It's unlikely... especially if Hecate's plan really worked. But, it can't hurt to know about him, and the reason he exists." Phil rubbed his chin. "I do feel bad for the kid. You can always tell he never actually wants to hurt anyone. Hell, he only did what he did to me because he knew I'd pull something dirty."
"The Cursed blade..." Hecate mumbled.
"Bingo! Like that. Yeah, I was going to make sure he had a shitty afterlife... maybe a bit of an overreaction, but still. He knows his enemies. He knows how to kill. It's probably the only thing he knows how to do, come to think of it..."
"He said..." Libra said, rubbing her arms as a sort of reenactment. "He said that all of those black marks on his arms and chest... they were Realm Crossers. What... that doesn't mean-"
"It does." Phil finished somberly. "The Realm Crossers are nearly extinct because of him." Libra gasped, and both she and Virgo looked at Aquarius, who looked as if he stopped breathing. "He started when he was around six maybe? That's probably when Zeus made Ares train him to take them all out. Herc's been at it since. It's horrible, but it's not like he's Zeus's first. He's had them before, just in different timelines."
No one was able to speak afterward. Even after Hercules had nearly ended her life, Libra couldn't help but feel sorry for the man. And, from the looks of everyone else, she knew they felt the same way.
"Dad..." Aqua was the first to start up again. "How did you become immortal?"
"I knew that was coming..." Phil groaned. "Okay. You should know. I was a part of an experiment the gods wanted to try. It had been in the works since before the war, but Zeus wanted to put it into motion. He stole the blueprints from Prometheus and used a realm splicer to pick the most optimal human."
"What's a realm splicer?"
"So many questions, damn. It's a device that Prometheus crafted, but Phee brought it to life. It lets beings travel through Realms without being a Realm Crosser. Anyway, Zeus liked me and took me back to Olympus. I had nothing to lose, so why not, right?" Libra noticed that his tone was getting bitter, and his eyes were sharp with disgust. "With Spirit magic, and Hecate's help, my soul was altered and I had immortality. And trust me... they tested it. Hecate made them stop... at her own expense."
"I wasn't going to just let them torture you." Hecate seethed with steel.
"I know. Ever since then, I was a pet. A new toy. It was... lavish and demeaning at the same time. When Phee gave me a splicer, it was the most liberating thing he's ever done. So I dipped. Traveled all over the Realms-"
"Met mom." Aquarius interrupted.
Phil almost looked disgusted. "Yeah. Met her."
"What-"
"Don't, Aqua."
"Don't I have a right to know about her?"
"Fine! Since you want to know so bad... She abandoned you. Left you in the dead of nowhere for sixteen fucking years."
Aqua looked as if he were a kicked puppy. Libra shivered, swallowing her urge to strangle Phil with her chains. "Wh... What?"
"I hoped you'd drop it, but nope. And no, she never came back. I hadn't seen her since the Cycle first started, and I have absolutely no plans to find out where she is."
Aqua leaned over a little, obscuring his eyes with his hair. Unfortunately, his sobs couldn't be contained, and his tears were forming puddles onto the blankets. Aggressively wiping his eyes, his hard, bloodshot glare toward his father made Libra and Virgo step forward a little. "You're lying!" He sobbed out. "You have to be... there's no way she'd do that... Hecate!" He turned to the older goddess, his features contorted with desperation. "Tell me he's lying. He has to be!"
"I..." She started, then sighed, walking closer to hold his hands. "I wish I knew if that was the truth. I know next to nothing about who your mother is, or how you supposedly went missing. Virgo and I helped to look, but you were nowhere to be found, at least, not in the Mythical Realm. Philander told me you were in a Realm beyond Realms..."
Libra gasped and snapped her fingers. "The Lost Realm!" She exclaimed. When everyone gave her questioning looks, she blushed and stepped back. "That's where... uh, where I was born... I think."
Hecate hummed. "That would explain the strange magic you use." She started to pace, tapping her chin. "I'll have to look at it more, would that be okay?"
"S-sure!"
"Excellent! We can go over it in the upcoming days during training. Now, it's late. I think Phil has shared enough. Go on you three, off to bed. Thank you for helping Virgo."
"Sure thing, mom," Virgo said. She rubbed Aqua's back and smiled at Libra. Together, the three Signs left the adults to themselves.
It was awkward, or, at least Libra thought so. Aqua's frustration and hurt could be felt for miles and neither Libra nor Virgo mentioned it. No one spoke, but everyone was walking past the girl's hall, even Virgo. Why is she coming this way?
"Virgo," Aqua spoke, his voice gravelly from tears. "Where are you going?"
"Me?" Virgo stammered. Even in the dark, and even with her creamy brown skin, Libra could tell she was blushing. "Oh... I, um... I was just walking, not really thinking, sorry. Good night!" In the opposite direction, she dashed off back to her room.
Libra couldn't help it, she laughed, and to her surprise, Aquarius did too. "She'll never admit who it is." She told him.
"I could take a guess," He tried to chime, but shrugged. "But... I'm not in the mood."
Her reaction was automatic. "Are you gonna be okay? I'm sure all that stuff was heavy for you..."
"I'm alright," Aquarius said, with a tone akin to a mad man. Libra swallowed as he grabbed a fistful of his hair. "My dad was lying about her. He had to be. There's no way in fucking hell she'd do that... she couldn't."
"Aqua-"
"Trust me, Libra," Now, he looked at her, with his purple eye ablaze with only one feasible emotion: chaos. Libra forced herself to not back away. "Can you do that? Trust me and believe me?"
"Of course." My King, anything for you.
"That's all I ask." He blinked and smiled, leaving her to dash up the steps two at a time. Libra hugged her arms and followed, refusing to focus on the way he looked at her. There was no remorse, no comfort, only loss. As she walked down the gentlemen's hall, her soul screamed at her to go back to him, to serve him.
Libra forced the voices back, back into her mind as she entered her boyfriend's room. Leo was laying down again, softly purring in the sheets. Smiling, Libra climbed in beside him, and he naturally shifted to engulf her. Groggily, he mumbled, "He feel better?" When she didn't answer, she softly kissed her hair and rubbed her thigh. "'s okay, baby... you tried. He'll be fine... in the morning..."
His purrs returned, soothing Libra better than anything she could think of. As her conscious faded into sleep, her voices dimmed, replaced with the happy laughs and yips of Leo de la Cruz.
•••
A lot has been revealed this chapter! This is one of my favorite ones yet! Tell me your favorite part!
Plenty of chapters are in the works, my output is at an all-time high! Until next time!
Stay Starry! 💫