(Arigathankyou to @DaneAndKnight for the cover uwu)

Excerpt of Chapter 1: The Oracle (Part 1)

It was supposed to be a normal Thursday night for Amelia to spend in peace. She planned to sleep a little earlier than usual—a well-earned rest after surviving a semester filled with piles of schoolwork—but Athena had to drag her all the way to downtown New York to look for someone who called himself the Oracle. From what she gathered, the man had connections in the malicious underworld of illegal trade.

Amelia was too sleepy to ask why in the world Athena wanted to meet a person like him. But she was also too sleepy to stop her roommate from forcing her to tag along.

"Why are we looking for this guy, anyway?" Amelia asked as they drove to the city. "And where did you even know about him?"

The blonde gave her a side glance before looking back at the road. "I've been looking around Rhea's personal emails for the last couple of months, and she had been contacting him quite a lot of times before she got, you know. . ."

Amelia winced at the mention of Rhea's name. The lady brought up some nasty memories that happened not so long ago. But the battle that occurred wasn't the thing that made her shiver. It was the threat of a more powerful and ancient enemy that was yet to come.

"If this is about Rhea, then why did you bring me with you?" A yawn escaped Amelia's lips. "I'm an eye's blink away from dozing off. Plus, shouldn't you have brought Zeus and Poseidon instead? This probably concerns them more than it does to me."

"Don't be stupid," Athena said, rolling her eyes. "This also concerns you. After what happened in England, it concerns all of us now."

"Are you sure about that?" Amelia flashed her a doubtful look. "Because this sounds like it has something to do with family matters."

Athena's grip on the steering wheel hardened. "It's not," she said, her voice tight. "Look, I didn't tell my brothers about this yet. Zeus won't understand the importance of the situation and Poseidon is too busy with managing Olympian High. Not to mention how. . . emotionally unstable he is even until now."

"And you're not?" Amelia retorted. "You don't have to act like what Rhea did to you didn't affect you, you know."

You don't have to pretend to look normal in front of me, too, Amelia thought.

Athena, along with her brothers, was brainwashed by Rhea using Sagasitas and forced her to fight her and the Rogues. Amelia managed to get into Athena's mind and snap her out of Rhea's control, but she saw her fears in the process. She knew that facing them head-on wasn't easy for Athena. She couldn't imagine facing her own fears and still come out sane from the experience.

"I. . ." Athena sighed. "I just want to know what the Oracle has to say about Rhea. Maybe he knows something that we don't, like the reason why she manipulated us. And maybe. . . maybe he knows why Rhea took me."

"Athena. . ." Her voice trailed off. She racked her mind for anything that might comfort her friend but decided against it. She didn't want to say that might hit close to home. And she definitely didn't want her to get frustrated.

With that, they continued to ride in silence. Athena had her attention on the road while the passenger leaned on the window, a wave of sleepiness washing over her. As they passed by bright high-rises and lampposts, their lights blurred into mere streaks. The kaleidoscopic sight was beautiful but dizzying at the same time, and it made Amelia's eyes droop until they blinked close.

"Wake up!"

A quick shake from her shoulder broke Amelia from her light nap. Rubbing away the drowsiness from her eyes, she gazed at Athena who just took the car key out of the ignition lock. Athena gave her a side glance before opening the door.

"Oh, good. You're finally up," Athena said. "I was thinking about locking you in the car while I go out by myself."

"W-we're already here?" Amelia asked, her brows knitting together. "But I just closed my eyes and— it was so fast."

"Time flies fast when you snooze," she said. "Come on, let's get going."

Turning to the door, Amelia unlocked it and went out. Large metal cargo containers stood around them, their painted hues weathered away. Not far from where Athena parked the car loomed an old warehouse. Amelia couldn't make out much of it, but the building had enough wear and tear on its exterior walls to tell her that the place was abandoned.

Amelia squinted at the view. "This is where we're gonna meet the Oracle? Because I think this place looks kinda fishy."

"Well, we're not exactly meeting him." Athena pressed a button on the key she was holding, resulting in the car's headlights to flash for a moment. "I've tracked where Rhea received most of her emails with the Oracle, and they all came from here."

"So we're going to barge in? And then what?" Amelia gawked at her. "What if the place was guarded? W-What if we get caught?"

Flicking her wrists, Athena produced two identical daggers onto her hands. "Then thank god I came prepared." She began walking towards the warehouse.

"Wait a sec!" Amelia shuffled quickly to catch up with her. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you were bringing weapons? I could've at least brought my staff!"

"You won't need it, don't worry." Athena smiled. "If we ever get caught, I think you can protect the two of us just fine."

Enjoyed that part? Well, you don't have to wait for it any longer!

With new friends, foes and, of course, new Artifacts to find, the sequel with its first several chapters is now published on my profile!

Don't forget to vote and share to spread the word!

Thanks for the support!

- Akeila