Leon POV
The goddess who saved us was introduced to me as Nemesis, the goddess of revenge. She looked to be a woman in her mid-30s, had jet black hair and dark purple eyes, she also had this dark and gloomy aura around her, and yet...I don't feel uncomfortable around it. She had her eyes locked with mine, her eyes glinted with something amusement. There was something familiar about her...too familiar. I blinked, my mind racing as I tried to place her face, her voice. A shiver ran down my spine, and for a moment, I wasn't sure if it was from the cold or her. I knew her...at least...I think I did.
But I couldn't remember from where. The way she stood there, calm and composed, almost like she had been waiting for this moment for years. My heart thudded in my chest, and I squinted, trying to pull something, anything, from the fog in my mind.
I had met her before. I had to have it. The way her presence tugged at the edges of my memory...something about her was hauntingly familiar. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't place her. A dream? A vision? Had I seen her in passing? Or maybe I had heard her voice somewhere deep within a dream I couldn't quite recall.
Her smile widened slightly, her eyes twinkling as if she could hear my internal struggle.
"You...I..." I stammered, my head pounding as I tried to piece it together, "I know you...do I know you?"
"Oh, you do, though I'm not surprised you don't remember. It's been quite some time." she giggled, "It's been a long time since I've seen you and Lux. You've both grown so much. The last time I saw you, you were just...smaller and more whiny. But let's get moving to Duat, the gods are going to send a serious squad this time."
"Why are we bringing Apollo?"
"Hostage...and there's a person who could use him. Let's talk while flying, I'll help speed us up."
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We had been flying for what felt like an eternity, though in reality, it had only been a week. Nemesis had joined our group like she belonged there, guiding us through the skies, I tried getting answers, but she said that she would not answer until we got to a safe base since she was scared that we could be heard as we were definitely being watched. I didn't trust her fully, but there was no denying she was the reason we had covered so much ground so quickly as her magic boosted our speed several folds.
I barely had time to think about the fact that we were on our way to Duat, the Egyptian underworld. And even less time to think about why Nemesis, of all gods, was helping us. But the moment we descended into Duat, I felt it...the shift in the air. Everything was different.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The air was thick, heavier than I imagined. Shadows stretched unnaturally long beneath us, and the landscape was nothing but a barren, endless desert. Unlike any normal desert, though, this one felt alive. The sands shifted in ways that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. The horizon was a swirling vortex of black and gold, like night and day locked in an eternal battle. As we flew lower, I saw rivers of fire and serpents weaving in and out of the dunes, glowing faintly in the dark.
Nemesis didn't seem fazed by any of it. She led us through a series of paths, shortcuts that no mortal, or even immortal, would dare take. Every twist and turn brought us deeper into the heart of Duat, yet somehow, we bypassed many of the infamous trials. The Hall of Truth, where souls were judged against the feather of Ma'at, loomed in the distance, but Nemesis took us around it, ignoring the ancient process entirely.
"There you go, though now that route would be blocked." she said, "We should land soon, the Egyptians take their security more seriously than us."
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Eventually, we arrived at a place that felt...wrong. Not in the same way the rest of Duat felt wrong, but wrong in its normalcy. We landed and went to this secret entrance, and once we descended through it, we eventually arrived at what looked like a simple apartment complex. It was completely out of place in the middle of the desert, but there it was...brick walls, furniture, and a lot of things, no windows though since it's underground.
"Is this it?" I muttered, unsure what to make of it.
"My hideout. Great, isn't it?" Nemesis chuckled as she then injected Apollo with more drugs to keep him asleep, "We can stay here for a week of rest before they can track us down. The council should have patrols everywhere right about now, so we'll wait for things to calm down."
Finally, after a long silence, Lux asked the question that had been nagging at me ever since Nemesis had joined us.
"Why are you helping us?" she asked, "And how do you know who we are?"
"Well, now that we're not being watched, I can answer you. Just let me put Apollo in the cells first, it got power dampeners, he shouldn't be able to escape...and if you want, I can tell you your mother's name."
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Nemesis, calm as ever, leaned back against the worn cushions of her sofa, eyes flicking over each of us. Lux sat across from her, arms crossed, still waiting for the answer to her question. Mike, Viper, and I exchanged glances, uncertain of what was coming next.
"So...where do I start?" she pondered aloud, "S0...a few of us have grown...tired. Tired of the council, tired of their arrogance, and tired of how they run things. The council...the gods...are not as united as they'd like you to think, they've grown complacent, too comfortable in their roles as rulers. But more than that, they've become ruthless. This plan they have...forcing mortals to become heroes, subjecting them to punishment if they refuse? It's wrong. It's cruel."
"Thank you." I interjected to which Nemesis gave me a smirk as a response.
"That's why we rebelled. A few of us still care about balance and justice. We didn't agree with what the council was doing. We fought against it, and we paid the price. But we're still fighting...and that's how you 2 were born."
"What do you mean?"
"Your mother...Hera...decided to lead a risky rebellion, a rebellion that starts with the birth of you 2."