Villain: The Play of Destiny

"How's your mother doing?"

Nana, who was enjoying her ice cream as she held Keith's hand and walked down the pavement, narrowed her eyes at his sudden question.

"I haven't talked to her in a while." She informed him.

"I see." He did not pry into the matter and gently squeezed her hand, returning his eyes to the street.

His mother had put a lot of effort into making this city a Tourist Hub, and though it had still not reached its target, the streets were already filled with people.

However, most of them were here this week to witness the launch of Ezra One, the Ship that was going to be launched on Monday, three days from now.

Nana stayed silent as she proceeded to finish her ice cream, and only after she was done eating, did she speak again.

"I don't miss her." She told him. "I am not a good daughter, am I?"

"No. You are not," He replied right away, and she was a little stunned before she burst out into giggles.

"You don't feel bad about not missing her, so I don't need to keep your heart." He pointed it out, and she pouted at his words.

"Well, she got what she wanted, and she's happy. The last we talked, she invited me to the birthday of her newborn son. I skipped it."

"You don't consider him your brother?"

"No." She shook her head. "He isn't my brother, and I guess she is not my mother either now." She smiled as she looked at him, and her hazel eyes suddenly started spinning and shining as they changed to a reddish-brown shade.

Everything happened in a blink of an eye before her eyes returned to their usual state, and Keith chuckled at her action.

"Yes, she is no longer your mother." He nodded. "Have you explored your Powers yet?"

"A little bit." She nodded. "But I have not tried them on anyone. Neither has Ayesha tried hers."

Keith smiled as he listened to her explain how she and Ayesha felt for the first few days, and how their sharpened senses scared them a little at the beginning. Now, it all felt normal to them, but back then, they were very worried about it.

The two girls had become great friends now, and they got along with each other very well. Perhaps, it was because Keith had forced them into the same bed. There really was no shred of shame or embarrassment left within them in each other's presence.

"Keith." She called out to him when she finished speaking, and he turned to look at her.

"Yes?"

"Was Mnemosyne a strong Goddess?" She curiously asked.

"Interesting question." He smiled at her, and her cheeks burned in a light blush.

"We heard your conversation."

"I am aware."

Nana giggled and then told him how the girls had gathered and searched up everything they could find on Moneta, but there was nothing of substance in the Mythologies.

"She was quite strong. And her Legacy is very powerful."

"How does she compare against Juno and Jupiter?"

"Well, before I answer your question, I should tell you about the Hierarchy within each Pantheon." He smiled as he squeezed her hand. "In each Pantheon, there are different sets of Gods. There are the Primordials, the oldest and the strongest, who formed the Order, and it was from their Divinities that the Gods who later joined the Pantheons received their blessings and initial Divinities."

"Erebus, Nyx, Aether, Hemera, and Tartarus." Nana nodded her head in understanding.

"Yes."

"The Titans came next?" She curiously asked.

"The Mythologies write them as Titans, but they have strayed far from the truth. However, yes, those names in your mind are amongst the second set of Gods, but there are more than twelve of them." He smiled.

"So, they were not Titans?"

"Not all of them. They belonged to different races."

"Oh."

"After the Primordials, come the Immemorial Gods. Mnemosyne and Hecate are Immemorial Gods." He told her. "After the Immemorials, come the Ancient Gods, and Zeus, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon belong to this set. In my Patheon, the Ancients are also referred to as the Olympians."

"So, they are weaker compared to the Immemorials?"

"Generally, yes." He nodded to her. "However, one should know that a God can grow stronger with time, and amongst the Olympians, there were three who were particularly very talented and powerful thanks to their races."

"Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades."

"Yes." Keith smiled. "Athena was close too, and she too managed to stand in the same group as a few Immemorials, whereas, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon even managed to surpass some of the Immemorial Gods. As for the rest of the Immemorials, most of them were way out of their league and way more talented than them."

"Was Mnemosyne amongst them?"

"She was not amongst the top Immemorial Gods, where Hecate belonged, but she was still a very strong Immemorial Goddess. Yes, she was more powerful than Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon."

"But her Divinities..."

"The Power of Memory, Speech, Muses, and Time are not simple." He chuckled. "They are deadly. And let's just say that the Power of Memory allowed Mnemosyne to pry into the secrets that even Athena with all her Knowledge could never understand."

"Oh..." She lost herself in some thoughts and then turned to look at him. "You trust Avriel?"

"Yes." He nodded to her and smiled as he looked into her troubled eyes. "She always belonged to me, Nana. There is a reason why she feels so comfortable around me and is not troubled by the idea of belonging to me."

"How?"

"It's something to do with the Divine Laws." He smiled but did not go into details.

"I trust you."

"I know." He chuckled and squeezed her hand again.

"So, did you learn about the history of your Patheon when you awakened?"

"Yes." He nodded. "I still don't know everything. However, I do know all the general things about the Chaos Greek Pantheon."

Keith could have used the System to gain all the required knowledge, but the System had stated a very high price for it. Therefore, all he could do now was search for the rest of the God Stones in Erebus' Legacy.

"Are Olympians the weakest?"

He smiled at her curious question and then chuckled.

"No. There's another set of Gods, who are called the New Gods, and they are considered the weakest."

"Anyone I know about from the Mythologies?"

"Selene, Hercules."

"Do they have Legacies too?"

"No. They are still alive." He shook his head.

Nana surprisedly looked at him but then lost herself to her thoughts again.

"Keith."

"Yes?"

"How did Erebus die?"

"Who said that he died?" He smiled, and Nana halted in her steps, looking at him in shock.

"He lives?"

"Well, not in the sense we consider living. But he is gone now, and won't return." He told her.

Even he did not know exactly what happened back then. But from the things he learned from his God Stone, Erebus had left together with Nyx. Neither of them had died.

"Not all Gods died. Most did, but some just disappeared." He thoughtfully looked at the sky.

"And the Runic Monarch? How Powerful was he?"

"You are asking a little too many questions today, aren't you?" He chuckled, and Nana sheepishly lowered her head.

"Sorry."

"It's okay." He smiled. "Well, since you have chosen to follow Amelia, I think I should answer this for you so that your heart can rest at peace."

Nana blushed even more when she heard his words. Her thoughts were bare before him, and she felt a little embarrassed now.

"Runic Monarch was considered as strong as Uranus and Kronos. And both of them were considered the Strongest of the Immemorial Gods of Chaos Greek Pantheon."

"What?" She was amazed and a little apprehensive at the same time.

"Yes."

"Amelia is special, Nana. And by her side, you will only grow more powerful."

"I can't stay by your side?" She pouted.

"I trust you enough to take care of Amy." He lightly said. "Besides, you will always belong to me." He smiled at her.

"Yes!" She giggled and then started skipping like a little girl, only to stop when they crossed the street and neared the Bio-Center where the eggs of a dinosaur had recently hatched, and people from all around the world were coming to see them.

There were not many people outside the Bio Center at the closing hour, only a few youngsters, who were wearing the badges of Students who were there on Educational Trips.

Keith suddenly halted in his steps when they neared the Center, and he turned to look to the top of the adjacent tower, which was a Fun Land with very interesting future techs.

"Aerion!" A girl screamed from the top of the tower, waving her hand enthusiastically at someone who was standing under the building. "I am a bird!" She announced.

Nana frowned when she saw the drunk schoolgirl leaning on the glass rail, and as she had expected, the next second, the girl who was trying to reach down, tripped over and started falling before the guards could grab her.

She quickly glanced at Keith but found him looking at the boy who was standing under the building, not paying any attention to the girl. And seeing that he was not going to save her, she did not step forward either.

However, in the last couple of seconds, he suddenly disappeared from his place and appeared next to the young boy, and then he just caught the girl who was about to hit the pavement, negating the gravity and the forces acting on her body so that she would not be harmed.

Strangely enough, no one on the street was looking in their direction anymore, but Nana was a little amazed that the boy next to Keith was looking right at him.

She wondered if Keith had not influenced his mind, and she felt more sure of it when she heard him speak to the boy.

"Is she your friend, Aerion?" He asked, and the boy, who was almost as ridiculously handsome as Keith when he was sixteen, frowned as he nodded his head.

"She's my girlfriend." The boy replied.

"Does she have a habit of drinking during the day?" He smiled as he looked at the fainted girl in his arms.

"She does not drink."

"Yes, and it is not alcohol." He nodded as he handed the girl over to the boy. "A moment's hesitation could become a lifelong regret. Be careful next time." He advised.

"How?" The boy looked at him in surprise that he could see through him, and understood that he could have saved the girl on his own.

"We will meet again someday." Keith patted his shoulder as he walked past him, not answering him.

"What are you?" Aerion asked, looking around the people who were still not looking their way.

Keith did not answer him and grabbed Nana's hand as he started walking away from the place.

As soon as he turned around the street, the people finally looked towards Aerion, all seemingly very confused, and the boy wisely ran away from the place, carrying the girl in his arms.

"Who was he?" Nana asked, curiously looking at him.

"Someone who will become a very powerful God in the future." He replied and ignored the dismay on Nana's face. "System, what is Aerion Prince doing in Netheria?"

[There does not seem to be any significant change in Aerion Prince's Plan of Destiny. His presence in Netheria is likely a result of the changes you have brought to the world that were not accounted for in the Plan that you read. As for his Invincible Halo, there are still a hundred years before it will wear off.]

"Has his System awakened?"

[No, Host.]

Keith sighed in his heart and then cleared his mind.

Aerion Prince was the last Child of Destiny who was meant to rise on Gaia. He was special, extremely special. The most special of them all. And in a lot of ways, he was just like him...