The Twelve Olympians (3)

In the days once called the Age of Myth, gods and heroes had walked the world in the flesh. For the gods of Greek and Roman myth, the offer of a seat as a Constellation arrived only as that age was coming to its end.

Countless heroes had lived out their spans. Monsters of every kind had slipped away into the deep dark, and across the continent the temples saw fewer and fewer citizens at their doors. Only then did the gods understand that their era—the Age of Myth—was drawing to a close. The world they had ruled no longer had any place left for them to stand.

They were certain of it: this was an emergency that would never come twice. Under the name of Zeus, every god gathered upon Mount Olympus, and there they convened a divine council, pressing their heads together in search of some way to halt the end of the Age of Myth.

The council meant nothing. Even if they pooled the power of every god assembled on the mountain, they could not dam the current of an age. Civilization was advancing among the citizens, perceptions were changing, and a new era was being raised—and not even gods had any means to stand against that. They might punish those who no longer believed, they might bare the full dignity of godhood, and still they could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not stop it. The Age of Myth was already setting, and all that awaited them was to vanish with the dusk.

When everyone gathered on Mount Olympus finally grasped that truth, a single translucent window rose without warning before them.

That brief line was only the beginning. The window's message ran on, and to put what followed simply, it said this: for all the gods of this place, who had nothing left ahead of them but to disappear with the dying age, a new seat was being offered—the seat of a Constellation. Become one, and though they would lose the faith they had gathered until now, their power as gods and an eternity yet to come would be guaranteed. If they wished it, they were to ascend and come to the world made for Constellations, the Constellation Realm. It was an invitation.

At first, many of them suspected a lie, or a trap. But if they refused, the only future left to the gods gathered on Mount Olympus was eternal annihilation. Trust the invitation in spite of their doubts, or refuse it and be wiped from existence forever. Even a three-year-old could have said which of the two was the wiser choice.

And so every god assembled on the mountain answered, and ascended to the seat of a Constellation. In that same moment, cracks began to split the space before them, as if impatient for them to step through.

KRRRACK—!!!

An entrance to the Constellation Realm. They knew at a glance that the rifts opening before their eyes led there, and the gods who had become Constellations set their feet toward them. The first to cross were only twelve: the Twelve Olympians, the chief gods of the mountain.

Shaaaa— The alien sensation that had seized their bodies as they passed through the rift washed away like melting snow. Of all who had crossed, the first to come back to himself was the man who had stood at the very front: Zeus.

"So this is the Constellation Realm."

Golden hair streaming, he took in the view. The other gods, slower to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠recover their senses, did the same.

"Hah... It truly is a beautiful place."

And the landscape he surveyed was beautiful enough to drag a gasp from the throat unbidden. Forests and mountains of impossible green, the distant murmur of a valley, a sky of fierce blue with clouds piled bright upon it. Ordinary, one might have called it, had it been merely ordinary—but a landscape this perfect, as if some hand had made it so, was another matter entirely. Flawless vistas layered one upon another could only draw cries of wonder.

"It is just as you say, Brother."

"I don't believe I have ever seen a place so beautiful, Father."

Poseidon, standing behind Zeus, and Athena at his side both nodded along with his words. Their awe at the scenery, however, lasted only a moment. The admiring gaze Zeus had been casting over the land had no choice but to stop—because two women stood directly ahead, looking back at them.

"Are you the ones who called us here?"

One was a girl with white hair and light-violet eyes. The other was a woman whose golden hair was richer even than Zeus's own, her eyes a deep crimson. Their faces were nothing alike, and yet they shared a single trait: both were beautiful past anything he had imagined.

Remarkably beautiful.

He had looked upon countless beauties in his time, and still, by his eye, these two were far too lovely to be dismissed with the mere word. They would not have suffered in comparison with Aphrodite, goddess of beauty herself. The grain of that beauty was different—and yet, in some lights, they seemed lovelier even than she.

As if to prove the thought was not his alone, the other gods, who had been holding their tongues ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠while they read the air, were stealing the same glances, flicking their eyes between the two women and Aphrodite. Aphrodite's face tightened, openly displeased. She was just drawing breath to speak in anger when the golden-haired woman opened her mouth first.

"Yes, that's right. Allow me to introduce us first. I am Eve, aide of this Constellation Realm. And this is Lady Arche, master of the Constellation Realm."

"I see. I am Zeus—master of Olympus, and king of the gods."

Even as he returned the introduction, he could not quite hide his surprise. He had assumed, naturally, that the young-looking girl would be the subordinate. That girl was the master of this place?

There was no time to dwell on it. Zeus and the gods of Olympus had no choice but to listen to what Eve said next.

"Having answered so unfamiliar an invitation to come here, I imagine you must be rather bewildered... I would like to explain, and ease that bewilderment. Would that be all right with everyone?"

"Hm. On the contrary, I would ask you to explain. What a Constellation is, what sort of place the Constellation Realm may be, and why you invited us. All of it."

"Yes. Then I'll keep it brief."

Eve nodded, and under every watching eye she spoke in a calm voice.

"First, the seat you have ascended—the Constellation. A Constellation is a place that those who possess an epic of their own may reach: those who, through glorious deeds or villainous atrocities, have come to hold a tale that is theirs alone. Put differently, you might say it is a seat only those on the order of gods or heroes can attain."

"Hoh. Indeed. Then all of us who received the invitation possess epics worthy of it."

"Yes, that's right. You've left records enough to be handed down even to later ages."

Zeus could not keep his shoulders from rising. Those words were as good as an admission that their stories had left footprints of that magnitude. It was only natural, of course—but hearing it from someone else's mouth was another matter entirely. He was nodding to himself when Eve went on.

"And the Constellation Realm is a world that only such Constellations may enter. Different from the world where you lived... hmm. This touches on the concept of dimensions, so it's complicated to explain. In short, you may think of this place as a kind of second world, open only to those who have become Constellations."

"A second world... That, too, is rather difficult to grasp."

"To put it more simply, a world in which to spend your retirement. A world where you no longer need to do the work you've always done."

"Kahahaha! Now that is an amusing explanation. Easy to follow, too."

A world for one's retirement. No more of the duties they had always carried. No more oracles sent down to the temples. No more citizens to watch over. At that, Zeus burst out laughing. Nor had their power as gods vanished simply because the obligations had. The power remained intact; only the duties that had hounded them without end were gone. There was no reason not to be pleased.

"Ooh. To think I no longer have to suffer voices begging me for an oracle. It's like a dream."

"And I don't have to tend the earth anymore, either... The rest came on so suddenly, it really does feel like a dream."

"Is this not all because we looked after our faithful as great gods, through all the long years? Hahaha!"

Apollo and Artemis, so often called upon to deliver oracles, rejoiced that they would no longer be hounded by the voices of citizens. Demeter laughed—glad she need not keep tending the earth she had cared for day after day, and yet a little hollow at the suddenness of it—while the other gods, each in their own fashion, let their pleasure show in a quiet murmur.

Zeus was looking around at them, tasting a small satisfaction, when Eve spoke again and drew every eye to herself.

"However."

She wore a smile that felt somehow cold. Once the murmuring had stilled and all of them were watching, she gave a small shrug.

"It's only that you no longer have to do the work you've been doing. I never said you were free to rest at ease, you know?"

"What do you mean by that? Are you saying there is work we must do?"

"Yes, just as you say. A moment ago you asked me to tell you why we invited you, didn't you?"

"I have already heard the explanation for that, and I understand it. What I wish to know is not why you invited us, but why only we have come here."

Zeus shook his head and put a sharper question to her. He already knew they had received the invitation because they were qualified to be Constellations. What he wanted now was why, of all the gods invited, only they had arrived in this place. Hundreds of gods gathered on Olympus had received invitations, and every one of them had stepped into the rifts at the same moment. So why were only the twelve standing here—Zeus among them—the ones who had come?

At that, Eve clapped her hands, as if to say he had asked exactly the right thing.

"A perfect question! I was just about to get to that."

"Then tell us quickly, won't you? I am curious about the reason."

"Yes. Then I'll say it plainly. The reason I had only you twelve come here first is that you are to become Guide helpers, and assist us with our work."

"...Helpers?"

The word caught him so far off guard that he echoed it before he could stop himself. Eve ignored the echo with perfect ease and went glibly on.

"Quite a number of Constellations will be entering the Constellation Realm from here on. With only Lady Arche and myself, it would be difficult to receive them all, so we need Guide helpers for the work. You seemed ideally suited to it, which is why we invited you ahead of everyone else."

"Hah. Not a welcome thing to hear."

Zeus answered with a creased brow. He had not, of course, imagined they would live in pure comfort within the Constellation Realm. He was not naive enough to believe that whoever had saved them from eternal annihilation had done so free of charge. Even so, he could not help showing his displeasure at being told they meant to use him and his as helpers.

"You dare intend to use this Zeus however you please?"

He was willing enough to offer a measure of aid, seeing as they had been saved. Only a fitting measure. He had no intention of granting every demand put to him, and so he spoke while drawing up a portion of his presence. The other gods raised theirs in turn. It was a pressure that would have stolen the breath from ordinary folk, and from all but the greatest of heroes, had they been standing there to feel it.

Eve was not cowed in the slightest. Still smiling, she simply opened her mouth.

"Hmm. This is a problem. Now that you've come to the Constellation Realm, you really must abide by the Laws of the Constellation Realm."

"Laws? You mean to force laws upon us?"

"If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you keep them, I won't have to. If you don't, then I'll have no choice but to force them."

"Hah. Let us hear what these Laws of the Constellation Realm of yours even are."

He had expected an oppressive presence to make them tuck their tails of their own accord. Faced instead with her stepping forward so brazenly, Zeus let out a hollow laugh. At his words, Eve answered with her chin still held high.

The first article of a law too absurd to credit. Naturally, it did not take long after those words for a fight to break out.

Five seconds.

"You insolent bitch!!!"

Five seconds was all the enraged Ares needed to thrust his spear.