aturato

Athena's General - Chapter 339

Added 2025-04-25 02:22:00 +0000 UTC

Nathan Evenhart:

"And Sisika’s mother?" I asked.

"She never truly recovered from the loss. But she still carried half the divinity of the one she loved… and in that time of peace, she made a choice."

He looked at me, eyes sharp and steady.

"Do you know what it was?"

"...She offered her half—to have a child?" I guessed.

Siegfried nodded slowly.

"Exactly. But it came with a heavy price."

I tried to grasp the weight behind his words. He turned back to the fire, the light flickering against his face.

"Not all divine beings can bear children. Remember what I told you?"

I nodded.

"Well… Princess Mikhaila was one of those."

"Why is that?" I asked.

He fell silent for a few seconds, then answered.

"Some gods simply can’t. Just like humans. But for those who can, the price is steep. To conceive a child, a divine must sacrifice half of their soul. That half regenerates over millennia, but it leaves them weakened. And then… there are those who would need to give more than half."

His eyes met mine.

"What do you think happens to a god who gives away too much of their soul?"

"...They die?" I said quietly.

"Exactly. The princess discovered that if she attempted to carry a child using her lover’s remaining divinity… it would kill her. When her brothers found out, they forbade her from trying. The Great King—Asgard’s ruler—begged his sister not to go through with such madness. He loved her deeply. She was the last living reminder of their mother. He and their younger brother would’ve given their lives to protect her if they could."

In the fire, shapes began to form—faceless people laughing at banquets, celebrating festivals. Families. Couples. Children.

Then came the silhouette of a woman.

Alone.

She watched them from a distance, one hand resting gently on her stomach. Each time she touched it… her expression dimmed.

"Thousands of years passed," Siegfried said. "And each god dealt with loss in their own way. But the princess… she wanted that child. She was the last link to the man she loved."

He took a breath.

"Then one day, she left on one of her usual walks through Asgard. But this time… she never returned. Days passed. Worry filled the palace. Eventually, they searched her chambers—and found a farewell letter. She thanked her brothers. Said she loved them. And apologized… for being selfish."

The flames shifted, now showing her fleeing into the woods, finding a small cabin hidden among trees.

"She ran far away. Far enough that no one could follow. She was a master of the Aspect of Space—she could disappear into her own pocket dimension for ages. No one would ever find her. In that secret place, she sealed the area and began the process of gestation. Alone, she endured every symptom of pregnancy, while her soul was slowly corroded. The pain must have been unbearable. Her essence faded with each passing day… as the child inside her grew."

Siegfried’s voice lowered.

"And then… Sisika was born. A girl. Only the two of them lived in that cabin. The princess knew her time was short. She didn’t want to waste it in the palace, surrounded by healers trying—and failing—to save her. She chose to spend her final moments by her daughter’s side. For a while, it was just them. And then, one day… she vanished. Princess Mikhaila died. And her body turned to light."

As he spoke, memories of that cabin surfaced in my mind—

The way Sisika used to talk about that place.

The way she’d shown it to me.

The old stove.

The crooked tree that marked her height.

The simple wooden bed.

I finally understood why she chose that place to die.

To her… it wasn’t just a hiding place.

It was sacred.

"When the princess died," Siegfried continued, "all of Asgard felt it. The entire realm fell into mourning. But the one who suffered the most… was the Great King himself. He had survived the war. He had buried most of his family. But that day… he lost the person he loved most."

Siegfried stood from his chair, his voice quieter now.

"For the first time… he cried. Because the throne he held, and the power he commanded—none of it was enough to save his sister."

He looked toward the fire, as if watching something I couldn’t see.

"After that… the search for the princess’s child began. But around the same time, new conflicts with the demons erupted. If the princess left behind any way to find her daughter—some hidden beacon, a trace to be activated after her death—it was lost in the chaos. Sisika spent years alone in that cabin. Ironically, it was near a village. For years, Asgardian scouts searched every land for her… and never found her. And the people of that village They never imagined the quiet child in the woods was the daughter of a goddess."

He stopped speaking, let out a long breath.

"So… how did you find her?" I asked.

"We didn’t," he replied. "Not until she began to use her Aspect. Her magic grew stronger—strong enough that we could finally sense her presence in Asgard. She was brought to the palace. And the Great King himself took her in."

Siegfried's tone softened, almost reverent.

"He raised her. Became... overprotective. She was given the best education—history, combat, philosophy. Taught by the finest mentors we had. She became a formidable warrior."

Hearing all that about someone who’d been by my side since I was five... it stirred something inside me.

Sisika had lived a life I knew nothing about.

A different world.

Different people.

Friends. Teachers. A family.

I felt like I had stolen her.

Like I’d taken her away from something important.

"You… came to take her back?" I asked, heart tightening.

"No," he said gently. "If this were any other time, the Great King would’ve insisted on it. But he believes he made a mistake. He thinks he failed his sister… all over again."

He stepped closer.

"He arranged everything for Sisika. Even an engagement… so she would never feel as alone as her mother once did. But... he did things in his own way. He’s not someone who shows his feelings easily. To Sisika, he may have seemed like a strict father. But he meant well. And then… when she lost her best friend in battle, she ran. Just like her mother once did."

I was still stuck on something he'd said a moment earlier.

An… engagement?

Sisika… had been engaged?

I didn’t know how to feel.

"Sisika wandered for years," he went on. "Through distant lands… possibly even the Dark Realm itself. And then one day, she met you."

He looked me in the eye.

"And she chose to die for you."

My breath caught in my chest.

"Luckily… she had one ability from the Aspect of Life—one that let her create a second body. That body… is what you call Cylla. But make no mistake. Sisika died. And that death caused the Great King deep sorrow. We don’t know why she made that choice. Her time away is still a mystery to us. But… she still lives. In a way. Her memories are locked within that second body. My lord wanted to bring her home… but he will respect her wishes."

A wave of relief washed over me.

I’d thought he’d come to take her away.

To take Cylla away from me.

And now… I didn’t know how to feel.

Was it selfish to want her to stay?

I’d need to talk to her.

Ask her what she wanted.

"...Why are you telling me all this?" I asked. "Shouldn’t you be telling this story to Cylla?"

"Her situation is... complicated," Siegfried said, his tone grave. "The proper method would’ve been for Sisika to use the Aspect of Life to create a hatchling body. Both forms would coexist temporarily. The new body would be nurtured—gradually strengthened—until her full soul could transfer into it safely."

He looked at me.

"But she interrupted the process. She died before completing the transition."

"Why would she do that?"

"To use a forbidden technique from the Aspect of Time. One only her bloodline can access. This ability allows the user to destroy themselves… in exchange for a limitless vision of someone else's future. Out of every soul she could’ve chosen… Guess whose future she decided to see?"

He stepped closer.

"...It was me. I… I'm the reason she did that."

"Sisika took her own life to see your future. That means, Nathan Evenhart, that her reincarnation was incomplete. Her memories are sealed. What she did placed her in extreme danger. She combined an advanced use of the Aspect of Life with a forbidden temporal technique—just to see you. She opened a brief window where she could view your entire future… And sacrificed herself in the process. The only reason she survived at all… Was because she managed to anchor herself into the second body."

He paused.

"It was madness. Reckless. Even for her. But Sisika is an extraordinarily powerful deity. Almost no other divine would’ve had the mastery required to pull off something like that. Even so… she did it knowing it could fail."

A cold ache settled in my chest.

The weight of it all hit me like stone.

"That’s why I’m talking to you and not to her," Siegfried continued. "She entrusted her life to you. So we’re respecting her wishes. We also don’t want her memories to be awakened forcefully—it has to happen naturally."

He took another step forward, eyes locked on mine.

"You need to tell her everything we talked about. Not me. Not the Great King. You. Because you're the one she loves. Your souls are now bonded. Instinctively, you both feel safe near each other."

He stared into me.

"What she did for you… was an act of pure, genuine love. The most real love that has ever existed. I hope you understand the weight of that."

"I do," I said immediately.

"No. You don’t."

His voice grew sharper.

"To bind her soul to yours… she had to lower herself—to become your familiar. Since you’re a lesser being, she had to take the submissive role in that contract. In doing so, she made herself… lesser. She humiliated herself for you, Nathan. You may not understand this, but in my world… divine beings once prostrated in mud and dirt for the honor of speaking with her for five minutes. And for you… she gave up everything."

Siegfried adjusted his coat.

"Those were the words my master asked me to deliver."

I stood frozen, silent. My thoughts spiraled.

I had no idea the depth of what she’d done.

I’d been relieved that Cylla wasn’t going to be taken away… but now, all I felt was guilt.

Every night she slept beside me…

She was part of my world.

I didn’t want to lose her.

"That’s all I came to say."

He stepped closer.

His face hardened, and I felt the suffocating pressure of his divine presence as I instinctively stepped back—
Until my back hit the wall.

"Nathan Evenhart," he said, voice like steel, "She is your responsibility now. You know the cost of her binding her soul to yours. Sisika is still fragile. A shadow of the power she once held. That injury she sustained… was beyond your control. So we don’t blame you for it. But—"

He stepped even closer.

"If anything else happens to her… within the boundaries of human failure… My master will come. And he will come for you. For your family. And for anyone in the way."

His gaze bore into me, godlike and cold.

Then, just as suddenly, he softened. He stepped back.

"That was the message I came to deliver."

"I would never let anything happen to Cylla," I said. "She… she’s my beloved. I would give my life for her."

He sighed and looked me in the eyes.

"Knowing that someone with the strength of an ant is saying he’ll protect someone like her… doesn’t exactly reassure me. But I can't interfere. My master’s orders are absolute."

Siegfried began walking across the space. A door appeared from nowhere, forming as he stepped forward.

"Don’t worry about the half-demons. They won’t bother you anymore. It’s been handled… for now. You’re free to walk the streets, return to the academy. They’ve been forbidden from entering your world for the time being. Even if they tried—they wouldn’t succeed."

He turned and pointed toward the door.

"Your family is safe. I’ve been personally watching over them all this time."

I hesitated.

"Am I… supposed to go now?"

"Our conversation is over. You and your family are protected from the enemy—at least from the Heralds and Archbishops. But there are still other parts of the demonic army that might come through the remaining portals."

His gaze hardened.

"And there are traitors among your people. Be careful. I doubt any human would dare harm Sisika if they knew who she was. You’d have to be truly insane to provoke a dragon. Even gods fear an Aesir dragon."

He smirked slightly.

"Until next time, Nathan Evenhart."

And then, with no warning, he pushed me toward the door.

"Wait! What about the demons? How will I know if it’s safe or not?"

"I’ll tell you. Personally. Just like I am now."

He paused at the threshold.

"For a while, we divine beings will be keeping our distance. The demons crossed a line—and that allowed us to do the same, in ways we haven’t in ages. I have much to plan. Much to discuss. Good luck, boy. I don’t know when I’ll see you again… Humans grow fast. But I promise—it’ll be soon."

With one final shove, he pushed me through the door—

And I fell.

Hard.

Straight into my bedroom.

"Wait—!" I twisted around to speak again, but everything was gone.

No door.

No divine presence.

Just darkness.

I sat up, head spinning. My mana was still drained—my body weak and sluggish.

"I still had questions..." I muttered to myself.

The room was dim. I didn’t know how much time had passed. Whether anyone had noticed I was gone. Whether my family was looking for me.

Then—