"Are you ready?"
Grey eyes looked up into those molten rubies, her gaze steady even as her frame trembled for various reasons. They stood together, barely a foot or so apart within Hestia's office, otherwise known as the physical manifestation of her inner world. At any other time, Athena would have been utterly fascinated by the concept and explored to her heart's content within the space but not now.
Right now, she stood naked as the day she was born, her body rigid as she looked at Hestia.
The primordial queen stood with an air of control and dominance as she looked down at the shorter goddess, her wings exposed in all their glory as steam billowed of Hestia's frame. They stood within a marble temple that had no walls, leaving them exposed to the warm breeze that swept through the seemingly endless fields that surrounded the structure. A hearth burned strong and proud behind the blonde goddess, the heat licking at her exposed backside.
"Yes, I am," Athena said in a firm voice even as her body ached from being forced to stand.
Her body was still strained and tired from her actions with Percy and even standing like this was taking a toll on her. However, she could not let herself show weakness, could not falter for this moment as she stood within that crimson gaze.
Hestia took a moment to look at her before nodding slowly and then raising her hand to her mouth. Athena watched curiously as Hestia opened her mouth to reveal prominent fangs before biting her own palm. The primordial didn't flinch as she opened a small wound and the platinum ichor pooled into her palm before she slowly held it forward. Then, with a few sparks a bright red flame burst to life in her palm as the blood floated and mixed with it to form a heart-shaped fireball of red and white.
"I'll be honest Athena, this is going to hurt," the queen said as Athena retuned her focus to Hestia's face. "Medusa and Lamia had years to assimilate and change under the influence of Nyx and then Percy's blessings before they took their oath and absorbed his essence. Both were bedridden for days as their bodies adjusted again to handle being ascended to divine status and becoming his Shadows. Even now they still show changes. I'm pretty sure you saw Artemis' memory of facing them and seeing their golden ichor?"
Athena nodded at that, the memory being quite vivid as being the first time she saw the changed former monsters and Percy.
"Well both have platinum ichor now too. As for Lupa, she was practically in a coma for a week after passing out from the pain of taking Percy's oath soon after getting his blessing. At least when Raven took her oath with her mother, she already shared the blood and similar abilities to her parents, so the change was minimal for her," Hestia continued making Athena unconsciously gulp as she gave the flame in Hestia's hand a weary glance.
"You aren't undergoing the same oath as Percy's Shadows, so the reaction shouldn't be anywhere near as severe, however, the change is still significant. The new primordial are unique to everything that came before them and anything linked to us changes too. So, a word of advice … don't fight it or you'll make it worse."
Before Athena could give any reply, Hestia pushed her hand formed and pressed the heart of flame into Athena's chest. Athena gasped at the touch of the heat as the flames phased into her skin before she felt a pinch in the core of her essence.
That pinch was all the warning she had.
"AAAAHHHHH!" she started to scream as her legs gave out and she fell forward but Hestia caught her.
Every muscle in her body started to convulse as veins along Athena's body glowed an angry red and steam started to billow of her. She felt as if her core was trying to swell and split even as it was being compressed, the literal flames of power bringing her ichor to a boil throughout her being. Another scream ripped through her throat as she threw her head back, her vision going in and out of focus as Hestia picked her up.
She could hear the sizzling and bubbling, her throat going raw and dry within moments as her body trembled in Hestia's arms. Her pained mind reached for anything to calm itself as she tried to endure the pain, reigning in her own power as it naturally tried to resist and lash back against the foreign essence. She felt a new bond unlike anything she'd ever experienced before forming.
It was strong and unyielding, an immense sense of power beyond Athena's ability to comprehend carried with it as her very being was pressured to submit yet ultimately left to her choice. Even through the pain of the flames within she understood at her core that this presence would only come if she accepts it. It would not come and break her to then take her. She needed to willingly bow her head to it and submit herself to it and everything it held. To embrace it was to embrace humility and accept that there was something above herself.
It went against everything she'd known and been as a goddess, as an Olympian.
The rigid and ever-present pride that defined her before to the point of being her fatal flaw. The pride that was as much her weapon as it had been her shield. That pride that refused to admit fault or show weakness no matter what she'd suffered.
That very same pride that had been broken and left for the empty mask that it was in this very mountain.
She grits her teeth through the pain, tears trailing down her cheeks, as she opened herself to the bond. 'I'm not that goddess anymore, I refuse to be.' Within her own mind she saw a veritable ocean of flames come and envelop her and yet, it didn't hurt more. If anything, the pain was starting to lessen as her being started to accept the embrace.
She then felt herself being set down and managed to open one eye to see Hestia's gaze on her as the goddess was laid within the hearth. Golden flames danced around and, on her body, gently lapping at her skin as the angry red veins in her skin lessoned. The pain slowly became a warm numbness as Athena felt herself relaxing within the flames.
The feel of a warm and gentle hand running through her hair makes her open one eye again to see Hestia smiling softly at her. That smile brought a gentle warmth to the blonde goddess, reminding her of the days when Hestia's smile and kindness were akin to gold within the harsh place that was Olympus.
A similar smile broke onto Athena's face.
"Sleep for now, you need it," Hestia instructed as she retracted her hand. "I'll see you tomorrow…" the queen said as she turned and started walking away.
Athena's one eye stayed upon until she lost sight of the goddess before it slowly closed, the embrace of darkness and sleep encroaching on her tired mind as she rested in a bed of fire…
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