It always began with a gasp of cold air.

From the recesses of her mind the Gorgon was awoken and rose up, only to find herself surrounded by darkness. Even her night adjusted eyes could not penetrate it. This was no place that she could parse, nothing she could even sense. It was a place that could not be reached by her mind.

“Where am I?” She wondered as she slithered across the shapeless ground. There was no form or purpose to this place, so she made no progress no matter how far she moved. Just as she was about to start to feel a deep irritation she was suddenly greeted by a small light at the center of this nothingness.

It glowed meekly as if to hide from her, but eventually it swirled in the shape of moebius strip and expanded. This light source that seemed nearly foreign to its surroundings was swirling in a mesmerizing pattern. She could not help but to touch it with her index finger.

Fwish!

In a heartbeat everything changed as the light expanded endlessly and overtook the world of nothing. The Gorgon found herself unable to escape the light and was completely swallowed by it. From one moment to the next she found herself inside a cave with torches aplenty. Their warm glow reflected off the walls and created a flickering pattern on her skin.

This was her lair. That knowledge was coming to her as naturally as breathing. But despite being keenly aware of her location something in her mind was protesting against this reality. She clicked her tongue and pushed that stinging sensation behind her temple aside. She had to check on the intruder that she had sensed before awakening.

She passed the murals inside the walls without giving them even a glimpse and rushed up the steps and out of the door. Outside her lair she was blinded by glaring sunlight. Helios was already at the closest point of his route across the world. It was odd for her to be blinded by mere light, but she had no time to worry about that.

Her ears already picked up the familiar unmitigated volume of her sister’s voice. Stheno would make most harpies blush in jealousy, for her voice overpowered any monstrous shrieks by far. If she was already at the beach then the Gorgon could all but guess what had occurred. A sole intruder on Sarpedon was highly unlikely, for the only foolish humans to venture so far would come in packs, like the cowards they were.

She passed through the rubble of the temple entrance and leaned a hand against the sole standing pillar. Her eyes immediately spied the two women at the beach. There was Stheno with her long flowing hair loudly trying to get someone’s attention. And next to her…

Their eyes met immediately. It was like a burning hot iron had been wedged into the Gorgon’s skull when she was witnessed by those eyes. They were wrong. Wrong wrong wrong!

Her mouth twisted at the pain and rejection she felt in that one everlasting moment. This human woman before her did not belong here. Every fiber of her being screamed that she was abnormal. Those eyes… what were those eyes? She looked at them and they stared back, but she could not perceive them! It was like there was a void where the human’s eyes should have been. White, black, colors, they all were not present. Looking at the eyes was just creating visual noise in her mind.

“Ahhh Dusa, don’t look her in the eyes!” Stheno panicked and tried to step between them, but it was far too late. “Huh? Wait, she is not turning to stone?” The curious Gorgon sister touched the human woman with her index finger to make sure she was still made of flesh.

This was the reason the Gorgon was so repulsed by the human’s presence. Her very being seemed to be opposed to the monster’s curse and presence. Of course she could not petrify that which she could not look in the eye.

If something so absurd and repulsive was to stay on her island she would not be able to rest. She had to crush this thing right now.

“Come on, I am trying to be the sensible one here.” Stheno sighed as she kept blocking the way between them. “The girl’s mind is clearly hurt from getting shipwrecked and nearly drowning in the ocean. She can’t even speak, poor thing.” She raised her hands to the side in exasperation.

“That is no issue of mine. I can end that pain swiftly.” The Gorgon said with raised claws. The continuous ‘stare’ of those void eyes was unsettling her too deeply.

“Why do you always have to break my toys Dusa? This one’s not going to do anything bad. The last one was just-“ Stheno was arguing intensely, but stopped her waterfall of words when she noticed that the girl was no longer standing beside her. “You must be tired.” She said with a sympathetic smile.

The human was sitting on the ground, legs crossed and with a lowered head. She made not a sound as she simply awaited… something.

“Why is it so noisy the moment I return?” Euryale sprang from the ocean waters, carrying a large wooden chest over her shoulder like it weight naught but a feather. “Stheno, did you bring home another pet?” She groaned.

“She’s well behaved, I swear.”

“Hm.” Euryale mustered the quiet human sitting alone as water pearled down her skin. Something about her expression seemed unusual, both her sisters noticed it immediately. “No matter. I will inspect my spoils.”

“Then you are fine with it?!” Stheno beamed a smile.

“Medusa can decide that. Don’t bother me.” She stepped past them and made her way to the back end of the island.

“Well?” The Gorgon twin sister stared at her expectantly.

“Tsk. Do as you please. You will not let it come near my lair.” With that cold order she turned away. The lonely aura of that human unsettled her very soul. She just needed to get away from her.

“Splendid! We will have so much fun.” Stheno’s excitement only reached the Gorgon's ears through a deep distortion as she banged the heavy door shut.

The Gorgon could not rest. Each time she closed her eyes she opened them again. Any notion of sleep was erased by unknown forces. When she stepped outside in irritation she realized that the sun had sunken below the horizon. Somehow time had moved on during a single wink. This phenomenon should have unsettled her, but her heart was still. She could not feel any confusion or paranoia.

Instead she climbed up the temple ruins and perched herself atop the edge of the fallen in roof to survey the island. The beach was shining in pale moonlight. To her joyless surprise she picked out the nearly translucent skin of the human woman among the sand. She had not moved a hand’s width all day. Stheno had not dragged her away yet?

She scratched her arms in irritation as she noticed the void gaze upon her. Somehow the human had noticed her even from this distance. This thing was unnatural. Seeing it with shins pressed against its face and looking up challengingly made her feel a certain way. The laws of this world were strict, so she could not act. It was not time yet.

While tearing her eyes away and forcefully ignoring the woman her mind was racing. Who was this human? Why would she arrive here now of all times? The questions were endless. She did not show any interest in humans, yet she could think of nothing else. It was like her spirit was split in two and fighting itself. This nagging voice at the back of her head could not be silenced. Why was Eugenia still trying? She should have given up by now.

Eugenia. That name was unfamiliar, she should not have known of it. The splitting headache it caused made her break off part of the stone she sat atop with her bare hands. Whatever this human was, it did not matter as long as she reached the destination. Instinctively she knew that she had to last only two more days.

Her cursed eyes closed for the purpose of rest, but when they opened again she found herself showered in sunlight. The Gorgon held up her hand to the heated light circle and wondered how she had managed to sleep here the entire night. The blurry edges of the world were vibrating. The ocean was slowly contracting. Day two was halfway finished.

Hastily she looked down to the beach, expecting the scenery to have stayed the same, but there was a change. The human girl still sat in her spot, but next to her crouched her sister. Stheno was putting a stick with impaled fish next to the girl. She was expectedly not reacting.

“You will not tame her that way.” The Gorgon muttered to herself. Eugenia did not like fish, especially raw. The headaches were getting worse. She had to get away from this human.

She moved across the island, trying her best to sneak away unseen.

“It was not my intention-“

“Intentions are worth nothing. Actions speak more convincingly.” Euryale said with cold fury as she accusingly pointed at the crushed door. “You are a brute.”

“Tsk. I was not aware that you had locked yourself inside.” She crossed her arms and gave the garden a defiant glare. Of course she would not dare direct that rebellious face at her sister.

“First Stheno must make a ruckus over some human pet and now you break into my sanctuary the same way a bull runs over a peasant.” The usually calmest sister seemed at the end of her wit. “Do not tell me you came for advice as well.”

The Gorgon grimaced lightly and showed a semblance of surprise.

“Naturally it must be this way. My sisters only come to me if they need something.” Euryale leaned against one of the crooked trees and sighed. “The human?”

She squinted her eyes slightly and then nodded.

“If she is a bother simply rid yourself of her.”

“A bother? How would you come to that conclusion?” She did not reveal any emotion as she questioned her.

“You are the monster of this island. Your role does not include worrying for humans.” Euryale said matter of factly. “Then you must have qualms over upsetting Stheno. That is the only logical conclusion.”

The snake woman loosened her arms and looked up to the covered glass ceiling. She had never been to this building before. Was it not strange that something like this persisted next to a ruin of her own making? Why did the sight of an indoors garden not shock her in the slightest then? The burning stone and wood had left only dead earth. Eugenia had built something from ashes. A tribute to an old friend.

“Does her presence pain you so?” Euryale had noticed her twitching lips. She had not managed to fully hide the splitting pain.

“You mean to say I should slay her?” She asked with forced focus.

“It matters not to me. If it relieves that sense of dread you suffer, then you should do what is natural.”

“I did not mention any dread.” Her sharp eyes caught her sister for a split-second. “Could it be that you wish for…” She trailed off as she noticed Euryale’s melancholic expression.

“Medusa, you will continue this no matter what I say or do. If you despise her so much then I would prefer if you ended it immediately. That is the only advice I can give.” It was like she had changed from one moment to the next and became a defeated shell of herself.

“Despise?” How could she feel such an emotion for a mere human? Someone she had never even spoken to before? Of course she hated the world filled with gods and humans alike. Yes, this was the right way. She could feel that righteous anger well up in response and felt much better already.

But Euryale’s sad eyes doused that fire. The Gorgon could only watch as she turned away and flew off through a hole in the glass ceiling. Her sister was never one to speak in riddles or make a show of her feelings. She would just obey her nature and follow her role. Euryale was not like that. She would never surrender to a higher power. The toneless voice kept breaking the image she saw before her. It was cracked and reassembled endlessly.

She knew her sister. She knew her. She knew…

Outside the garden the Gorgon found herself unable to decide what to do. That advice was wrapped in manifold thorns. Could she unravel it without getting pricked?

The human had to die. That was the natural conclusion. In so far they agreed. There was only one day left before she would fulfill her purpose as well. Would it not be best to solve this headache by then?

She slithered out of the shade and steeled her heart. It was not like her to consider and contemplate until the ocean dried out. If she wanted someone dead she would end them. Merciless, emotionless, quick. The petrification may not have had any effect on the void like eyes, but her claws could still sever her neck.

Determined to spill blood she made for the beach. But just as she closed in on the steps someone stepped out from behind a pillar and stood behind her.

“Dusa, you aren’t going to do what I think you will, right?” Stheno had ambushed her somehow.

“…” She stopped her snake half’s movements, but did not look back.

“Has Rya put you up to this?” She asked with furrowed brows.

“It is my decision. This human does not belong here.” The Gorgon replied coldly.

“You gave me your word that I could keep her if I don’t let her get to your lair.” She insisted.

“I changed my mind.” She said with an over the shoulder glare.

“That is not like you Dusa.”

“Oh? Then what do you believe is my true self?”

Stheno looked deeply troubled for a moment and then averted her face. She was putting a hand to her own chest. “I know you are hurting, but she is no threat to you anymore. Can’t you see she is broken?” Those words were laden with meaning beyond the surface, but it was not received.

“Nothing can threaten me. I am the Gorgon of Sarpedon, the cursed beast that will lay waste and death to all intruders!” She said with an increasingly louder voice.

“Genia is not the enemy.” Stheno whispered.

The Gorgon felt a hot iron pierce her throat and she was unable to say anything intelligible. There was only fierce growling leaving her mouth.

“You can kill her if you want. It will not bring you any relief. Maybe it will not give you any grief either.” The usually chipper and smiling Gorgon sister looked deeply crestfallen now. “I never got to show her my art.”

The Gorgon brashly moved forward. Seeing her sister make such a pitiable expression was frustrating beyond words.

“Words can be mightier than a monster’s talons!” Stheno shouted her parting words.

Such poetic phrases could not be processed right now. Instinct was the only true ally to her. Eradication of threats was the solution.

The beach was not far. She pushed over a bunch of terrific statues along the way and let them crumble into pieces. Countless victims of her curse were piling up at the edges of the island. Those who nearly escaped stretched their hands towards the sea, only to lose all hope in their horrified faces. She had derived great pleasure from punishing these arrogant men who thought a spear or a sword could end her. Nothing a human could create would ever be a threat to her!

One such human was still alive in front of her. Unlike the broken statues, she still had a pulse. The low breathing from her nose was like a cutting gust of storms to her ears. Each heartbeat was an insult.

And then she looked up. Again and again this human would aim her horrible void eyes at the Gorgon as if she could drag her down with just a glance. She had made no attempt to move whatsoever, but when the Gorgon approached she would always look her way. The pale face was covered in sweat and sand. She had not even made the effort to wipe it off after being tossed into the beach on arrival.

She looked frail indeed. Perhaps more so than she should have. The fish and water next to her were untouched. Stheno’s kindness was wasted on this thing. The dirty clothes rustled as she unexpectedly pulled down the top to expose her neck.

“Are you mocking me?” She asked, suppressing the uncertainty in her voice.

“Sever it cleanly so I will not waste any time bleeding out.” She said hoarsely. Her voice had suffered from the stillness of her body.

“Suicidal.” She spat out. Those who wished to die had a special place in the underworld. It was a cruel place for eternally lost fools.

“Not at all. If you wish to kill me I will not resist.”

“And if I did not?”

“Then I will complete my mission.” The human said quietly.

She crossed her arms and tapped the tip of her tail on the hot sand. It was impossible to figure out that human’s thoughts. She looked resigned, but she did not despair. How was this possible? Give up. Give up already.

“You have purpose here?” There was not a single reason to make inquiries, yet she could not stop herself. Ending this human’s life was only a formality. She could do it any moment.

The void stared at her. It made her flinch.

“Medusa will be saved.”

“I do not need saving.” Now she returned to feeling insulted by the mere existence of this thing.

“I know.” She closed the void eyes and rested her head.

“What?” Something deep inside her was shocked by those words.

“You don’t need me. But that doesn’t mean I will give up.” Those cryptic words were the last thing she would say.

“Explain yourself.”

Silence.

“I will cut you down if you stay silent.”

No words.

“Raaah!” She thrashed her tail in fury and barely missed the girl’s head. A huge cloud of sand was spread across the beach and settled down with the sound of dry rain.

The human was not intimidated. She had not even flinched. The first assessment was correct. She really was no more than a husk. Broken as Stheno had said. Putting her out of her misery was too good for her.

“Starve to death then if that is part of your ‘mission’.” She decided to leave her to die. Killing her would have been easy. Crushed. Impaled. Burned. Smashed. Severed. Drained of blood. Over and over. But to finish off something that was already decaying on its own was dirty work, it was simply beneath her.

She knew that the human was still watching her. Each motion seemed to be absorbed by a relentless stare. Something inside her had expected to be called back. It should have been… it should have been the human’s desire to talk to her. Why did she refuse to speak up now? How could she save anyone without taking action? Why could she not just give up then?

The next day the sun was staying still. It was the last day. The last day of what? The Gorgon did not know. It seemed that she was the only one who had not received the messenger bird and was left in the dark. The sisters had disappeared for some reason and the human was still waiting in her spot. It was surprising that she still drew breath after three days without water. The bowls Stheno had provided held only stinking fish, as the water had already evaporated from the heat.

This was no natural weather. The heat was all-encompassing. The sun was so far, yet its fire seemed to heat up even the shade beyond its limits. Something was approaching. The Gorgon felt it in its veins.

She stood at the entrance of her lair and gazed across the horizon. This was the air of an approaching battle. Her senses were enhanced on Sarpedon, a heightened instinct that warned her of intruders. The void eyed woman had caused quite some noise in her head until she had gotten used to it, but there was something else now. Something more… divine in nature.

“A hero.” She said what her soul already knew. The moment she said those words she could see flames devouring the ocean. The sky turned dark with stormy clouds and smoke. The monster slayer was approaching.

The image of the golden armor in the distance seemed familiar. Dozens upon dozens of images overlapped in her mind for a moment, before it recovered. A fight that was destined. Unavoidable. Predetermined.

The monstrous blood in her body began to boil in anticipation. The snake hair hissed forebodingly. It was time to destroy the light!

As bloodlust spilled from her every pore she noticed something in between the veil of red. The human woman had risen from her cross-legged position and now stood with her back to the temple. She was facing the approaching fire. It was only natural. A disaster of this magnitude could not be ignored. The very heavens and seas were altered by the approaching force.

For the Gorgon this atmosphere was the greatest thrill. A primal facet of her soul wished to revel in it. It was not important whether the human even existed anymore. She was only an observer to this glorious battle.

Or she should have been.

The girl slowly raised her hand and touched something invisible. There was resistance in the air. Something like a barrier. She could not proceed towards the temple anymore. The world had locked her out. There was no place for her meddling anymore.

But the colossus in gold approached from the ocean, stepping across the flaming waves. He was headed right for the Gorgon. And the shortest route went straight through the beach… and the human.

The Gorgon realized the truth now. The girl had stayed in place so that the barrier would not interfere! It made no sense to her, but she knew it to be true nonetheless. How could this thing know the mechanisms of the world? It was not just unlikely, but impossible. She was an outsider. She could not know.

The hero was approaching unstoppably. His heavy boots crushed the waves he walked on, but he never sank. His long arms were dangling down as he kept walking forwards like a possessed corpse. Thunder was drumming in the clouds above. The flashes of internal lightning threw terrifying shades across the burning ocean.

And yet the human woman did not move from her spot. A miniscule ant in the path of a giant.

The Gorgon was uneasy and unable to decide what to do. It was her battle. Her nemesis was nearly here. Once he trampled the girl there would be nothing but blood and burnt flesh. Her fangs yearned to dive into his glowing neck.

But a tiny hidden space in her heart was growing with concern. The one that was beyond was losing her countenance.

It would be best to go down there and face the enemy right away. Before he reached Eugenia. She was too bloodthirsty to wait. They could not meet. It was time to kill! Unknown consequences would arise.

“I am sorry Dusa, but I can’t let you go there.” With such surprising words a huge metal cage was thrown onto the Gorgon. It was pushed so far into the hard earth that it flatly pressed the Gorgon against the dirt and held down her limbs.

“Have you lost your mind!?” She was angry beyond words and her snake hair snapped after the Gorgon sister sitting atop the cage.

Stheno had dropped it on her and now pushed it down with her feet. Her strength was truly remarkable and nonsensical for such a frail looking stature. Her face was one of determination and pity.

“We won’t just try. You won’t get to Genia today!” She declared.

“We?” She pushed herself up slowly, clearly overpowering her sister.

“I would prefer if you did not include me in your schemes. I only wish to return to the peace and quiet that you so rudely stole away from me.” Euryale stepped on the Gorgon’s hands.

“I will never forget this slight.” Her eyes were mad with cursed rage. They almost managed to stun even her divine sisters.

“Hah. Do not make promises you cannot keep.” The cold and collected Gorgon sister gave her an unamused chuckle. “This time you can just lie down and watch. Eugenia will give us proof of her determination.” She grinded her sister’s hand a bit more forcefully than necessary to relief some tension.

“When did you two get fooled by that forsaken thing?” She could hardly believe what she heard. This was wrong. The sisters could not oppose her!

“So she looks like a thing to you.” Stheno crouched on top of the cage and held her head in both hands. She watched curiously as the hero finally reached the beach. The burning ocean sizzled and screeched as he tormented the very fabric of the world.

“It may be a futile effort, but let it happen. Something will change.” That was Euryale’s only comment before she silently turned her head to the golden hero.

The Gorgon struggled against the sisters' combined force. They could not keep her down for long and were surely keenly aware of this. Their only purpose was to delay her. To fraternize with an intruder, an enemy like that-

Lightning struck paths through the air and finally stopped inside the hero’s hand. A spear of lightning, a weapon worthy of Zeus himself. The imposing figure towered above the human girl in tattered clothes. This ‘hero’ was not going to stop for her. He already stepped across the sand, leaving behind burning footprints and crackling air full of electricity.

Eugenia stood unmoving. The hero was about to step on her!

Clang.

The boot was stopped by something invisible.

‘The barrier?’ the Gorgon immediately thought, but that was behind the human. This invisible thing was floating right before her head and stopped the hero in his tracks.

The hulking divine warrior stepped back, finally taking notice of the small woman. The eternally glowing eyes without emotion or human features witnessed her… and lightning struck the girl with all its force. He had not hesitated a heartbeat to strike her down.

But she was unharmed. Indeed the lightning dispersed before her as if it had hit the walls of a castle. The currents running across the invisible protection finally revealed its shape. A shield, taller than a house.

The Gorgon’s silvery-purple eyes were wide in agony and shock. A shield of giant size, able to protect even from the wrath of Zeus’ thunder spears themselves. The final defense against the Titans and all evil and untruth. That symbolic owl engraved in its core…

Athena’s Aegis.

Athena. The goddess of wisdom and war’s personal shield. Dozens of golden tassels hung from the Aegis, making its splendor as eternal as its protection. Indeed this shield was wielded by Athena and even her father, the king of the gods. It had stopped the fangs of Typhon and resisted the wrath of the titans. It was used for judgement of all that was false.

Her shield appeared before a hero and stopped him.

“This contemptible false thing.” The Gorgon found newly unearthed hatred inside herself that even defied the laws of this world. She knew this shield and she knew its owner. From the depth of her soul she despised the goddess, so not even the laws of the world could contain her memories. This was a trinket so abhorrent to her that she had to destroy it on the spot. With a roar she pushed off the cage and her sisters and violently thrashed about.

She had allowed that thing to live. That thing which was using the Aegis. A follower of Athena? A reincarnation? A vessel? This thing was wrong and now she knew why. The presence of the silvery eyes had spread its stench on the isle and the void like eyes hid its influence.

“You conspired with that woman’s servant?! You are no sisters of mine!” She tossed Stheno around by her wings and then dodged the jets of water Euryale shot at her.

“Stay down Medusa. You do not understand anything.” The composed sister stared her down.

“I can see a betrayal when it occurs before me. Do not deny it!” She snapped her tail back and then flung Euryale through a wall. “I will destroy both of them!” She rushed toward the battle.

“Listen to us!” Stheno had flown back and tackled Medusa towards the lair entrance. They crashed into it so strongly that it collapsed on them. “Genia is not Athena’s servant! She is not-GAH!” Her throat was contracted by the Gorgon’s powerful grip.

“You are all under her control. That must be it.” She struggled to push up the rubble while also choking Stheno until she fainted. “Everything must end. Everything.” Her mind was blurry. The bloody veil had overtaken every other color in her world.

In the distance she witnessed as the hero stabbed his spear into the Aegis with even greater force. This time it was pushed back a little. It was impossible to tell how the shield was floating above the human, but clearly she could not keep it in place for much longer. Sweat of exhaustion ran down her head. Her eyes were bloodshot from the heavy focus.

“You will not… reach her… Never.” Eugenia said with gritted teeth.

The clouds rumbled in the same pitch as the shield. It was said that the Aegis roared with the force of a thousand dragons. Now the force of lightning that pushed against it was great enough to melt even those mythical creatures. It slowly was piercing through the layers. If it broke through the lightning would singe Eugenia’s face.

“Don’t break…!” She held up her hands and pushed against the shield. The cracks were mended for a moment, but immediately reemerged.

Pure defense could not stop this hero. He was an unstoppable force compelled by the laws of the world. Even this outside interference had no power to halt his advance.

The Gorgon finally managed to dig her torso out of the rubble. She threw the unconscious Stheno far away and faced Euryale who had been waiting for her. They exchanged one long look before several sharp water blades stopped in the air. The Gorgon sister was flashing her teeth as she tried to break out of the petrification.

“Stop it… Medusa… you cannot abuse… the curse…!” She pressed out unable to move her mouth.

“Then flee my sight.” She said coldly and tossed her aside. Her snake half was finally slipping out of the rubble. In an instant she was free. “Pawns of the gods, prepare yourself for my wrath.” Her words were aimed at the struggling intruders. As she slithered through the ruins to get there she noticed the sound of something rolling over the old sun-bleached stone.

Barrels.

They rolled into the basins filled with stale rainwater. Most of them were slightly cracked as she noted right before every warning went off inside her subconscious. The memory of flames and explosions engulfed her inner eye. Divine ore. A weapon used by-

The inner voice was deafened by the explosions. The Gorgon shielded her face with her arms, but the fiery explosions completely tore apart the base of the temple ruins. In a flash the barely standing construct had turned into a mountain of rubble. And at the center of the rubble was the Gorgon. Her arms regenerated from the burns, but she could hardly move under this much weight.

She had been completely blindsided by this attack. More than the unyielding rage, she felt a deep confusion. This explosive fire did not come from the burning ocean or the golden hero. He was too busy breaking open the human woman’s shield. Her sisters had no such tricks up their sleeves either. This lamentable state was completely unthinkable.

Ignoring the blood that was flowing over her face and across her eyes she focused on the gap that allowed her to see outside the destroyed temple. The blurry shapes of the hero and the retreating woman were at the edge of her vision. In this miserable state she could not even tell what they were doing. What she was trying to sense was the presence of her attacker. The dastardly smug smile of the damnable schemer.

“Do not struggle in such an unsightly manner. It will make my efforts seem crude.” Said the calm and sarcastic voice that she should never have heard before, yet was as unforgettable as a dagger to the heart.

“You...” She grinded her teeth in true disgust.

“You recognize me? My, I must have left quite the scar on your soul to deserve such an honor. Fascinating.” Typhos leaned against the rubble almost boyishly, playing with his many ornate rings. His gaze was entirely focused on his fingers, as if the Gorgon’s dagger like glares did not even register on his mind.

“False hero!” She managed to break her arm and pulled it out of its confines to then swing it out of the hole. The claws only managed to extend just short of his waist. The snakes hissed in an unending cacophony of poisonous wrath.

“I suppose that is an appropriate title, all things considered. After all in our tales a hero is defined by his success.” Typhos agreed with a sardonic shrug. “I am rather lacking in that aspect or I would not have appeared in such an unfortunate scenario.”

“Grraaah!” The Gorgon frothed at the mouth as she kept breaking her bones to force herself forward.

“Your efforts are in vain, dear monster. It will take you at least a little while before you can squeeze out of that trap. There is no telling what I might do if you actually manage so.” He lightly tapped a few more barrels that were standing in a readied position next to him. They were surrounded by explosive death.

“When did you prepare all of this?” She growled as she continued her struggles. While her beastly instincts had taken over, her mind was surprisingly clear. The utter disdain for Typhos that permeated her inner self was gushing out and taking control.

“Must we concern ourselves with the when and hows? I am not fond of explaining myself to a mere monster.” He chuckled at her expectedly monstrous reaction. “All you need to do is stay put in this little hole and watch.” He elegantly waved his hand and pointed at Eugenia’s battle.

The lightning spear had finally split the Aegis apart and left a large molten scar in the sand. Eugenia was cornered and lying on her back. She seemed too exhausted to even move.

The Gorgon felt a strange twinge when she saw the helpless girl lie before certain doom.

“It is about time.” Typhos cleared his throat and then stretched his arms to the sides dramatically. “Our counterattack begins now!”

And just as he spoke those words, the very flames that carpeted the ocean parted from the south. Breaking through fire and flames were three giant ships. Triremes, packed with sailors and warriors! All of them were headed straight for the beach where the hero was readying his killing blow.

“Row fast’r ye worthless scum!” Captain Pelagios shouted and the drums increased their beat.

“Archers! Ready your arrows! I want cover fire as we set foot on land. Do not let the enemy move ahead. Everyone else ready your spears!” The general shouted at his crew with his sword raised. Several men in armor drew their tusk carved horns and blew into them.

“Huu – huu - rah! Huu – huu - rah!” The warriors kept hitting their shields in the rhythm of the drums and shouted war cries.

The hero turned his glowing eyes towards the three arriving ships. An army had arrived to combat him! He turned away from the defenseless woman at his feet and raised his arm to block the hail of arrows that assaulted him.

“Ah, General Leander. He has a flair for the dramatic would you not agree, monster?” Typhos applauded the arriving forces with a few slow claps.

“Intruders… they cannot be here.” The Gorgon could not even fathom these events. An army of humans had bested the burning sea and now came to fight a divine hero. Nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

“It is true that by the law of this world such a thing is not possible.” He nodded. “Do you realize it now? Just how far you have pushed our dear priestess?” He rubbed his soft chin thoughtfully. “My apologies, she is not a priestess anymore, is she now?”

“What is this madness? Priestess? That woman… that thing called you here?” The Gorgon was so shocked by the events that she had stopped struggling to free herself.

“It is tiresome to talk to a puppet. Perhaps there is some hypocrisy in that, considering what I am. Yet I stand by it, to explain everything to a clueless child is not intriguing. I was always far better at learning than teaching. Albeit there are subjects that I regretfully skimmed on. If I had honed my body more I may have been able to avoid my unfortunate demise at your hand.” He did not seem to take the situation very seriously.

“If you are only here to mock me, you are of no use. I killed you… and I will kill you again!” She managed to crush some rubble and widen the hole.

“My, that was a bit too close.” He admitted as blood dripped from his cheek. The next moment explosions tore apart the ruins once again and added a sizeable amount of rubble to the pile. “I may not fear for my life, but it would be a waste to miss the spectacle.”

Down at the beach things were escalating as well. Leander instructed his troops from the back and hordes of similar looking Athenian soldiers rushed forward with war cries. They rushed the hero who emotionlessly slashed his lightning spear across the beach, decimating dozens of men in an instant.

“You disappoint me, hero of the pirate wars.” The call came from the opposite direction where another triremes had set anchor. From the ship’s side a few dozen men jumped down, holding slings and bows. They pounded the hero with rocks and arrows on the dark bearded man’s command. “Fire!”

The divine hero was now under a pincer attack from both ends of the beach. Unperturbed however, he aimed his lightning bolt… and threw it at the ship! It exploded in sizzling light and flames and the crew was burned alive by stray bolts.

“Achaeus you old fool.” Leander shook his head. “If you come through with a surprise attack you will need to make yourself less of a target. Disperse!” He ordered his men to split. They had no horses, so their movement was slow. Many died just by the charging of the hero’s next weapon from the heavens. “Eugenia, are you well?” Leander had managed to reach her side in the chaos and pulled her up by the arm.

“Y-yes… I can still move.” She said as blood ran from her nose and her body twitched uncontrollably.

“Don't collapse on us now. If you lose control the fight is lost as well.” He patted her on the back and then raised his spear. “Hit the gaps in his armor with everything you’ve got!” He rushed forward and managed to stab his spear into the golden armor’s gaps. His men tried to do the same, but were torn apart by a gauntlet clad fist and stray lightning.

Meanwhile in the ruins the Gorgon watched the humans’ futile struggle with a pained face. Her bones were crushed, but she could still move a little.

“What valiant combat. Mortals are not made to fight the divine, but that man is doing rather well for himself.” Typhos clapped his hands again.

“You will all perish for naught.”

“I have to agree with you just this once monster. This battle is meaningless.” The scholar sighed sweetly. “But until Eugenia realizes this we will keep dancing.”

“Eu- that woman. How is she doing this?” Something in her mind screamed for her to stop asking questions, but it was far too late to reign her in.

“This world is yours, monster. There is nothing anyone could do to change that fact. Yet Eugenia - she is a foreign entity. She does not belong here.”

She does not belong. Wrong. Intruder.

“If this is your world - your nightmare - then she is a dreamer who has wandered beyond her own dream.”

“Dream-?” Suddenly electricity went through her mind and red-hot pain accompanied by images seared into herself. The voice was louder now. Satyr song. Merging of dreams. Trickery. The notes of an inaudible melody.

“You have created everything here, except Eugenia. She has learned to manipulate this dream with her own will. Perhaps she does not even know how or why, indeed she may not even know who we are. Fragments of a self she cannot remember. Did she ever tell you what happened while she was trying to return to you? About the people she met? The friends that perished along the way?” He pointed at the army of people that at first seemed all to be the same, but turned out to be individuals.

“I just gotta land this shot, right? Artemis guide me…” Themistokles anxiously steadied his bow as the hero approached and burned the six archers next to him. “Strike true!”

The arrow was flung off the golden helmet.

“Eugenia, would you stop playing the hero and let me examine you already?” Bion smacked her across the head as she tried to grab a sword in her dainty hands.

“That is no way to treat a patient, foolish boy.” Agapetos pulled Bion back by the neck and then apologized to Eugenia.

“I’m fine.” She wiped the blood from her nose and glared at the hero.

“You must preserve stamina. You look dehydrated and starved.” Bion was not shaken off so easily.

“I have some fish and wine!” Therses came running like a messenger boy with nourishment in hand. “Is there something wrong with this?” He asked awkwardly as he saw Eugenia’s disgusted expression when ogling the fish.

They were rather relaxed considering that the hero was decimating troops left and right with increasingly powerful attacks. The armor was charged with divine lightning over and over, melting all spears that reached the gaps before they even made contact.

“When I first met Eugenia she was no more than a clueless maiden from a worthless village at the edge of civilization. She would not even leave the temple unless she was sent on errands. She was rather easy to exploit and convince. Just when has she started making so many delightful connections?” Typhos shook his head jovially.

“The merchant.” The Gorgon recognized the archer for some reason. Her mind was starting to fall in on itself. So many things she did not know. Eugenia had shared only little. Who were these people to her?

“Retreat and regroup!” Leander ordered his rather decimated forces. He managed to dodge a large swing of the lightning spear and rammed his own melting and burning specimen straight into the hero’s great wrist. The golden hero managed to grab the general with his other hand and put him into a deadly lock.

“If ya’d cease killin’ the man who ended my career I’d be mighty thankful!” A hoarse voice roared from the fire drenched sea and yet another ship arrived. But it was riding at speeds that were impossible. The windfall from the raging fires had created an air stream so powerful it catapulted the ship forward. Standing at the very top of the mast was none other than the former pirate captain Irvenos! His mad widened eye pierced their target… as did the ship as it rammed into the hero with full force. The impact was so strong that the hero was toppled over in bursting wood-metal shrapnel.

Leander fell into the hot sand and Irvenos fell straight on top of him from his destroyed ship. They helped each other up with pained groans. They rolled away as the wet hero released lightning bolts in all directions and electrocuted the remaining soldiers around him.

“I cover’d him good, so sum archer ace better make it work.” Irvenos coughed painfully as he pulled a large piece of sharp wood from his shoulder.

“Achaeus!” Leander gave his fellow Archon a sign. The few archers next to the burning wreck of the ship had managed to reorganize.

The dark haired seasoned warrior nodded and then instructed his men to put the divine ore on their arrow tips. Kalio laced arrows. “Aim for the armor! Shoot the wettest spots!”

The arrows mostly missed their target, but a few managed to land and caused minor explosions. The hero was shaking as the armor received dents.

“Humans are fascinating, do you not agree?” Typhos knelt next to the hole where the Gorgon was stoically watching the battle unfold. “So powerless, yet tenacious. So foolish, yet curious. I always considered us capable of using the divine as they use us. Eugenia however does not share my philosophy. She saw that shield, the Aegis, in her vision of Athena and thus it came to her aide. But if you had the power to alter a dream with just your might of will, would you not instead summon the very gods themselves?”

“You cannot command the gods.” The Gorgon said with bile.

“Not in the world that you come from.” He chuckled dryly. “I may have met Athena personally, or rather the version of me that is now dust in the wind. That pales in comparison to the assortment of deities that this little priestess of yours has encountered however. Why should she not summon the great and swift Hermes to advise her? Why not rely on the charm of Aphrodite to seduce all enemies? I cannot hope to comprehend her mind.”

The Gorgon focused her eyes on the girl being protected by so many unknown faces. She was holding on to something, perhaps the dream that she projected into this nightmare. It may have been a struggle for her to simply breathe. An unremarkable girl no doubt, but so many allies came to her side now. Former enemies, people who barely knew her and good friends alike. She made no difference between them to achieve her goal.

No gods. None of them were at her side. Was it fear of blasphemy? A former priestess dared not insult the gods she had served? She could not believe such a convenient answer.

The voice inside her was struggling as well. Foolish. Why does she have to be so foolish?

“If I had to hazard a guess, it must be connected to her mission.” He smirked.

“To save me.” The Gorgon had learned of that mission just today, but she inherently understood something. What it meant to be saved was not the same to everyone. The hero, mighty as he was, could be defeated.

How many times had they clashed? She killed, slaughtered, tore and smashed the hero to pieces. Victory after victory against an ever returning foe. Her throat was slit, her organs boiled, her head torn off, yet she still persevered. Victorious in death, victorious in a semblance of life. The divine warrior could not slay the Gorgon.

Never could she have been saved from a loss, as she had never succumbed.

The gods could not save her either. That was what she garnered from the woman’s actions. She had to avoid their aide… for the Gorgon’s sake.

Why did the human struggle so fervently against a foe she could not defeat? There was no meaning to this battle. No meaning to protect her. No meaning to be here.

Intense light covered the world in white as the damaged and injured warrior released everything it had against its surroundings. From the center of the light two winged figures had risen and motioned the very ocean to shield the last remaining allies from as much damage as possible. In the intense release of destruction Stheno and Euryale were struck down hand in hand and fell into the darkest depth of the ocean.

A crater was left in the wake of the heavenly squall of light. And at its center… lay the hero, impaled by a spear to its shapeless face, helmet torn off by dozens of explosions beforehand. Leander pushed it in as deep as possible and collapsed with a large hole in his chest. Behind him stood Achaeus who had held him up as the hole tore him open and was equally injured.

The ‘hero’ had been slain by the united efforts of mortals.

A profound silence covered the island.

With a silent breeze the humans faded away one by one. Those who had held up Eugenia smiled apologetically as they disappeared. She sank to her knees and held her head like an injured child.

“This is it then. A fine battle for poets to make inspiring songs of.” Typhos still persisted for just a bit longer. “Say monster, do you not already know how meaningless your battle is?”

“It is not over yet. I will end it myself.” The Gorgon said stubbornly and managed to move the tons upon tons of rubble with untold power.

“You have a habit of calling people foolish, but I have never seen a greater jester in my admittedly very short lifespan of today.” The young scholar put a hand on his hip and looked at the dark cloudy sky. It seemed to clear up a little.

“I told you that I would kill you.” The Gorgon had risen from her confinement and now stood behind Typhos. Her claw was already inside his ribs before he could even react.

“Well done.” He said with a bloody smirk. “I wonder, why does a monster that has never laid eyes upon me hate me so? There is someone in there who wishes revenge upon me a thousand times over. Is it not finally time for you to come out of hiding? Your game is lost. Your puppet is far too pitiful to continue its work.” He collapsed forward as he faded to dust in the wind. “Show her your beautiful eyes just this once.”

And then he was gone as well.

The Gorgon stood there with her claw extended where a body had been.

The Gorgon lowered her hand.

The Gorgon watched the last living human limping towards the temple ruins.

“Let’s talk.” Eugenia said with a weak smile.

“Yes.” Medusa replied with a heavy heart.

At the end of the crumbling nightmare uninhibited truths would be shared.