"Tell me one thing."

Facing the goddess, I stop for a moment.

"Can you even send me back to my old life? Not the one you think is mine, but the one I had in the future."

"This is where you belong, but I'll send you back if that's what you want." Athena smiles in a way that can't mean anything good.

I spread my arms, signaling I'm ready, but she giggles.

"Well, it will take some time."

"So giving me that choice was a mere illusion." Letting my arms drop, I start pacing back and forth.

"The goddess Athena is the last person I'd expect to deceive me."

"There is no deception." The goddess pouts, acting all childish again

" I'll send you back to the future, but it's not easy to whip up a Chronos Kyrexis."

"A what?" Chronos refers to the time in Greek, and Kyrexis is the ruler or controller. So that's her name for the Tachyon Lance?

"Chronos Kyrexis. The machine Hephaestus built for you on my behalf." Athena repeats it, adding. "But he hasn't built it yet in this timeline, and it will take a while."

A 'while' can mean anything to a goddess. They don't treat time on the Olympos like mortals.

Nothing proves it better than the chronological inconsistencies in their legends.

"How long?" I furrow my brows at her. "In human years, please."

"It depends. Last time it took him three years, but that's because the planets aligned." She counts on her fingers. "If he started now, it would be six. Or thirteen. No more than sixty-six."

"Are you kidding? That's a huge bracket."

"As I said, the Chronos Kyrexis is a complex machine. Even reusing parts of the original, it took your people twenty years to rebuild it. And it couldn't even travel in time."

"You mean the Tachyon Lance? It did send us back here." So she used a time machine and the army somehow got their hands on it. And in a true American fashion, they weaponized it.

"After you broke it, it did. And I had a hand in that too." She raises her arm, and the owl lands on it on cue. Where did that bird even come from? I thought it was gone long ago.

But then she told me the truth. She took me into the future for whatever reason. When? Why? There are too many blanks to fill, but she keeps talking.

"This magical Tachyon your people chase after doesn't exist." She says, petting the bird with her left while holding her shield. It must be heavier than the Swiss cheese I'm wearing.

It used to be a Level III Hard Armor, but now it's a useless piece of junk, weighing me down.

I'll need to get rid of it and grab new clothes somewhere. Ones that match the era.

"Chronos is an elusive substance." She continues, walking along with me again. "Some events will generate it or flood in when the stars align. Or you have to wait for generations."

"When did you convince your brother to make it the last time?" If she slips up, I can figure out why she had him make it too. She's smarter than this though, shaking her head with a smile.

"No, dear Odysseus. As I said, I'll tell you everything once you take your place."

"So I was right and you're not giving me a real choice." The truth is, I'm arguing with a deity, so I don't know what I expected. "What event could speed up the process? Give me a hint."

"Well, if you took your rightful place, that's one." She winks but remains tight-lipped.

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It's not good. I'm twenty-four. If history follows the same path as the legends, I should duel for Penelope's hands within a year. What does she mean by taking my place anyway?

Do I have to live through the same life as it unfolds in the myth? Can I change the future? Am I allowed to do so? Even if they don't cut my arm off, the Trojan Wars will break out soon.

The ancient myths don't bother with chronology or accurate dating. I give it four to five years. Six if I'm lucky. Her best estimate to make that machine was also six years.

Does that include the Chronos I can generate by taking Odysseus' place? What am I even talking about? This whole magical bullshit makes no sense.

Damn it. There is no way out of this. Running away won't do me any favors either. Oedipus tried, only to fulfill the very prophecy he wanted to avoid. It's a typical Greek trope.

"I can guarantee if you use everything you learned until now, you won't have to repeat the same life." Athena breaks the silence, sounding much more serious now.

And moments like these are why it feels like she reads my mind. A chill runs down my spine.

"Repeat the same life?" The phrasing sounds an alarm inside my head. "So it all happened already? All my failures and the defeat at Troy?"

"Why do you think I sent you into the future?" She raises an eyebrow, but realizing she said too much, covers her mouth and looks away. Her silence tells me even more.

"You didn't do it to save me." I'm not asking, it's a simple claim. "Something happens due to my failures that will affect you, and your only chance to fix it is to help me."

My brain goes into overdrive. I want to remember all those hours I spent learning about Greek mythology. It got easier when information on the internet became more accessible.

What I would give for a quick search on Wikipedia. A glance at her face tells me she enjoys this, tormenting me, and making me grasp at straws. What came after the Trojan Wars?

"The Dorian Invasion." I blurt it out. According to one source, it happens right after the devastating defeat in Troy. The descendants of Heracles conquer Greece, and sack Athens.

From another source, they dated it three hundred years later. While the outcome was still a huge conquest, those sources never mentioned Athens.

Was that a glimpse into two alternate timelines, or the usual archeological inaccuracies? If it's the first, the connection is clear. Pallas Athene, the guardian deity of Athens.

"You want me to prevent the sacking of your city." I look into her grey eyes, but she avoids my gaze this time. "What is the point of divergence? The Trojan Wars?"

"You are sharp, Odysseus. But you had twenty years to learn and prepare. I can't tell you more about the future than what you discovered yourself." What kind of bullshit rule is that?

She sent me into the future to bring me back and change the past. And now she refuses to talk about it? Well, it's easy to put two plus two together.

She needs me to win the Siege of Troy. And her Chronos Whatshisnameis won't be ready before the war anyway. While the illusion of choice is mine, there is only one way out.

"I'll accept to play the role of your Odysseus, in exchange for your guidance, and the time machine. Once we reach the point of divergence, you'll send me home."