*Ding* *Dong* *Ding*

“Augh!” I could hear my roommates waking up. The new ones at least, the other one is already awake duo to an inner clock integrated by the absurd loud bell which rings every morning at the same time.

“I can never get used to it,” said Lisa, as she slowly heaved her body out of the bed. Lisa is one of the newer orphans who got here two weeks ago and is ten years old. Her parents died in a car accident and, because her grandparents were already dead, she was placed in an orphanage. The other two are Jessica and Tracy. As for me, I’m Aura and one of the oldest orphans in the orphanage. I have an average look for my age, at least I think so, the only exception are my amethyst colored eyes. I’m 1.46 meters high, blond-brown hair which reaches down to my shoulder blades and slightly underweighted. The Matron told me that she found me on the doorstep when I was just a new born baby, with a letter, with the word Aura written on it. Today my roommates and I are on breakfast duty, so we need to hurry since we should have been in the kitchen twenty minutes before the bell rang. Yey! Even an inner clock won’t help us, and we’ll probably be scolded later tonight.

Anyways, walking downstairs we eventually reached our destination. The kitchen was slightly out of date. With a gas stove, a refrigerator from the nineties and decoration you would only find in your old grandmothers’ home, the kitchen looked like a mix between the seventies and nineties and not like a kitchen in two-thousand and eighteen with their futuristic designs. From the kitchen, you could tell, that the orphanage is needing money and that is only one thing that shows why.

My roommates and I prepared breakfast and half way through, I could feel the hungry stares from my fellow orphans and the penetrating stare from the old hag. Ehh pardon me, I meant the matron. Decking the table another aspect shows his ugly face. More than enough food for everyone is a miracle, that not even Santa Clause could perform in the twelves years I lived in this place. Now you know why I’m slightly underweighted. And that slightly, is only thanks to a Librarian who I visit after school every day. The rips were already seeable, and many will often get sick.

After breakfast, we went to school and because I’m one of the oldest, no one of my friends in the orphanage went to the same school as I. Which lead me to my lonely wolf image with zero defenses against bullies. Probably every loner knows what I’m talking about and I don’t want to go into details.

The school is an old building with a few cracks here and there, and a few of my classmates will often make a bet about if the school breaks apart when an earthquake warning goes out. Though I think the schoolboard would close the school if it weren’t at least safe against small earthquakes. Hopefully. Closing in on the stairs reaching up to the entrance, a high-pitched voice rang out behind me.

“Oh, if it isn’t Mrs. garbage clothes. Still showing up with your second-hand clothing.” Ignoring the pity insults, I walked up the stairs. But lady luck wasn’t with me today or every day that is, and a rough hand grabbed me by my shoulder, turning me around so hard, that I lost my balance and landed on my butt. “Do you have garbage in your ears, or are they second-hand, too.” The annoying voice, belonged to Cassady Jones, the daughter of our lovely town mayor. Or as I like to call her Miss Barbie. I know not an original insult, but it fits her perfectly. Her face or what is seeable throw the thick cover of makeup, is round shaped with a green eye color and blond hair. These three, are the only things I could definitely tell are in their original form, still. Behind her where the hordes of brain-dead zombies, who I could tell, that they tried to look like Cassady as possible as they could, even the males. Everyone their own thing, I guess. By the way, the brain-dead comment is easily justified by the marks they get on their written tests.

Luckily for me, lady luck has mercy on me today, and it is only Cassady who is here with her zombies. Because, her zombies are only moving when there ordered to, which made them scarier than they already are and Cassady has a short fuse. Which means, a slightly insult back to her and she’ll forget to let the zombies work for her.

“No. I just wanted to prepare myself for the math test we have today, and I didn’t want to lower my IQ with talking to you.” While I said that, I slowly walked backwards towards the door. Cassady’s face, was turning red in under a second. With a loud shriek, which I gave a ten out of ten for monster performance, from Cassady, I opened the door and swiftly closed it behind me. One second later someone hammered her body against the door. With a slight smile on my face, I made my way towards the classroom and towards acing a test.

Hours later I left the schoolhouse and made my way towards the Library. It only takes ten minutes to reach the library and ones I was there, I called out to the Librarian. “Athena!”

“What did I tell you about screaming in the Library,” came a stern voice from behind me. With another cry, I turned around. I came face to face with Athena, looking down at me with a slightly disapproving face. How does she do this every time, coming up behind me without a trace?

“Sorry, Athena,” I apologized. Athena looked like her name implied, like a goddess. Pure skin without any blemish, a voice like an angel, but stern if she wants to. She has gold-brown hair flowing down towards her shoulders in waves. I once asked her, if she was a goddess and the answer I got, was a brilliant lough. I also wanted to ask her if she wants to adopt me, but I never had the guts to do so. Despised not my real mother, I felt safer with her than within the orphanage. Another aspect of our relationship would be our love for knowledge.

“It’s alright. Let me guess, you want to research biology again,” She was spot on with her assumption. Despite our love for knowledge, I obviously have a slight favorize of biology, as I want to be a biologist in the future. I nod, and we made our way towards the biology section.

As always, I and Athena were reading our own book and sometimes we talk with another, ether over questions on the subject, or about philosophy and sometimes, we just talk about our days. But today fate has stored something different for me. With a sound of shattering glass, and a slight sting between my eyes my world went black.

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Athena’s POV

I already knew, that today would be a tiring day. But this, even I didn’t see coming. Right in front of me, were Aphrodite, and Rem a god from the Pantheon of Light from another dimension. I probably must clarify, why another god from another Pantheon is in our dimension. The answer is relatively simple. Today, was the 3000th day, since our two pantheons had war with one another. Which means, that we are celebrating the peace between our pantheons today with nectar and ambrosia, and a surplus of boasting of skills.  

“You must see the game between me, and the guys, it will probably be the most interesting event tonight. It has something to do with really sharp arrows,” invited and hinted Rem. I groaned inwardly, they play against a bow master, archery. Aphrodite had a similar question on her face, but she and I both wanted him gone as fast as possible, so we didn’t ask. Sometimes I found myself questioning why Lux married him. Anyways, he soon left us to our own.

“So, now that he is away. How is she?” Questioned she. Aphrodite is the only one knowing the truth about the girl. The other gods only know that she is blessed by me, which is the truth, but only half of it.

“She is well, thirsting after knowledge just like me. But her priorities lay in biology.” I said remembering the times I saw a little girl wandering in the town’s park, looking at every bush, tree, insect and everything else that had something to do with nature.

“That is good to hear, but for a girl, there is more than just studies. What about her social life?” asked Aphrodite. Then she said, “I hope she isn’t a shut-in like you when you go on your science trips.” Unknowingly to her, she was spot on, but I never going to admit that in front of her.

“No, she doesn’t, and I must excuse myself,” I said, feeling a ping going off, signaling me, that Aura entered the library.

“Have fun,” said she, and waved me off.

In front of me was Aura, wearing a T-shirt and a plain skirt reaching down towards her knees all in gray. Basically, Aphrodite would have fainted when she looked at her.

“Athena!” cried the lovely person in front of me, but I can’t help but reprimand her.

“What did I tell you about screaming in the Library,” I said in a stern voice, which was followed by a scream of surprise.

“Sorry Athena,” said the girl with a pouty face, which would have melted every average woman, but not me.

“It’s alright.” I said, not wanting to further press down on her mistake. “Let me guess, you want to research biology again.” I said with a light smile, wondering if she would be a nature goddess if she would have been born one. With a nod from her, we made our way towards the biology section. There we sat down, and we talked about some subjects or philosophy and sometimes about her life. How I wish that she would talk about her life more. So, another day went by in my long life.

But the fates are cruel sometimes, showing us how short lives of mortals can be. I heard a sound of shattering glass and before I could react, Aura’s body laid on the ground with a puddle of blood rapidly spreading around her. Tring to grape her soul and with panic, I looked at the thing that killed her earthly body. A dart-arrow.  A strong feeling swelled up in my breast, as I realized who the lingering aura belonged to. The feeling I haven’t felt in a long time rapidly spread throw my body, consuming me and with a cry towards the havens a town was erased from earth. My anguish cry was heard in every winkle of earth.

As I came back to Olympia, every god and goddess was gathering in the main palace, which belonged to Zeus, the god-king of Olympia. Zeus was occupying the throne in the middle of the Olympian council next to him on his left side, was his wife Hera and to his right, was his brother Poseidon.

With a loud bang, I threw the palace doors open, entering with fast strides, the dart-arrow in my right hand and anger wrote all over my face.

“Athena why did-” I didn’t even let my father end his question, as I stopped right in front of Rem.

“Rem!” I donnered and threw him the dart-arrow right before his feet. “Why did you kill her?!” With searing feelings, I waited for his reply.

“Who?”

“Who! This arrow has your aura lingering all over it.” I said pointing at the dart-arrow.

“Well, yes I used that arrow in our game I told you about.” He said, picking it up. “Thanks, by the way for bringing it back.”  Every god was looking at us and many rolled their eyes at Rem’s obvious inability for reading the mood.

“Daughter, can you explain what is going on, and why did you send this town towards the underworld?” asked Zeus, who slightly got the gist and looked towards Rem with anger rising quickly in its levels and he wasn’t the only one. Many gods and goddesses of both pantheons slowly got the gist by the looks they were throwing at Rem.

“Father, Rem god of games and luck, killed a mortal who was blessed by me with this dart,” I stated formally while pointing at said dart.

“Is this true, Rem?” asked Lux who stand behind him, shock over her face.

“I don’t know, I missed my throw while playing dart and never got it back until now.” He said, getting a tint of charm.

Lux's face became slightly red, but still had her voice in check. “Accidently or not Rem, you know that killing a blessed mortal isn’t allowed!” said Lux with a stern and commending voice. Many sentences were thrown around between the other gods and I could only cry inside, not allowed to show weakness in front of another pantheon.

“Silence!” boomed Zeus’ voice, creating echoes in the now silenced palace. “You all know the implications what it means to kill a blessed mortal. A Soul who is blessed and got killed by a god from another dimension, cannot linger on this dimension anymore and sooner or later, or already, the soul will be cast into the void. That is the first time that something like this happened. And I hereby declare, that, if Rem doesn’t find the soul in ten years, war will be upon us.” Many gods looked at Zeus with frightened eyes, but I could see some, who already knew that this outcome was unavoidable. Something like this is a war declaration on its own and Rem is lucky that he has time to correct his mistake until the time is up.

3rd POV

Meanwhile, in a dark space like environment a lone soul is floating in place, but the soul isn’t alone. Chaos, or the all father as some call him. Is looking into himself, seeing the soul in all its glory. Many Gods don’t know, that the void is in reality the body of chaos. Chaos doesn’t mind the gods who punch a hole threw him. He doesn’t even feel them. But a soul in his body, that is a first. In all his years he never encountered a soul imprisoned in his own body and it is a mortal soul, too.

He already knew that a mortal soul will never live through such an imprisonment and with pity he prepared the soul for a journey. First, he altered the soul to an immortal soul, but not a godly soul. It was more like a demigod soul, but without the dying part through wounds and the void is timeless, so the soul wouldn’t die because of old age. Then he shoved the soul towards a destination. A destination with a low population of gods, so the soul will be accepted. Next, he made a mortal body for it based on the memory inside the soul and with astonishment he found out that the soul was only twelve years old. No cycle of reincarnation. Before he sends her on the way, now using a pronoun, because of the distinctly female shape of the body, he made the soul and body compatible with the physics of the destination.

With all preparations finished he send her on the way towards her destination, but not without a gift from her home planet.