Percy Jackson: The Firstborn

Chapter 120: Chapter 120: A Titan, A Goddess, and an Invitation

While the devils planned and did their own thing in the Underworld, far from those discussions, Damon and Rhea were on a remote island in the Aegean Sea, Delos. A small land, but certainly one full of history. This was where Leto had found refuge from the wrath of Zeus and Hera, and more specifically, the place where Apollo and Artemis were born.

The sea around them gently struck the white rocks of the island, though it could barely be called an island. In the distance, some ancient buildings rose, nothing out of this world, with small paths that looked worn down, but at the same time carefully maintained through time. Clearly, the inhabitants of this place had great appreciation for its tranquility and deep gratitude toward Mother Nature.

Rhea walked beside him with a nostalgic expression, just like Damon. The place reminded them of ancient Greece, before civilization fell and was separated by the Romans, and long before civilization moved west, more specifically, to the United States. It certainly brought back memories of better times, even if those times had been plagued by constant battles against the Titans.

Leaving those thoughts behind, as Damon moved deeper into the island, he instantly noticed the large number of nymphs and inhabitants living among nature and the temples. They all stopped their chores the moment they felt his presence, looking at them with surprise, especially at Damon.

The redhead was not surprised when he arrived on the island. Almost instantly, he entered Sage Mode. This place was certainly one of the few places deeply connected to nature.

Because of that, when Damon entered Sage Mode and allowed his natural energy to mix with the environment, the reaction was instant. The nymphs opened their eyes in surprise. To them, seeing Damon do something so pure was like watching Pan come back to life, much to their great pleasure.

One of the nymphs quickly approached first, followed by others who tried to look formal, though the nervousness on their faces was obvious. When she stopped in front of Damon, she gave a somewhat clumsy bow, her cheeks completely flushed.

”Excuse me, sir,” the nymph asked, trying to keep her voice steady, though the devotion in her gaze toward Damon betrayed her. ”Can we help you with something?”

Damon calmly fixed his gaze on the girl, making her blush even more under his penetrating eyes. ”I’m looking for Leto,” the redhead said, not beating around the bush.

Upon hearing that name, the nymphs exchanged curious and cautious looks. Rhea cleared her throat, and that simple action made several of them tense. After all, it was not every day that you saw the mother of the gods standing before you, even less when she was accompanied by the new king of Olympus.

”We came to speak with her,” Rhea explained softly. ”We are not here to cause trouble.”

The lead nymph swallowed and quickly nodded. ”Of course, Lady Rhea. Lady Leto is in the inner sanctuary. I can guide you.”

”There’s no need to be so nervous,” Damon said, noticing how the other five nymphs barely dared to look at him directly. ”I’m not here to cause havoc. I’m not Zeus.”

The comment seemed to ease the atmosphere, making the nymphs give the redhead clearly embarrassed looks.

”It’s just that your presence is... unusual, sir,” the nymph admitted. ”It’s very comforting,” she added nervously.

Damon let out a low laugh. ”I’m someone very special to Mother Nature in many ways,” Damon replied with a smile. Rhea, who was walking beside him, blushed slightly because she knew about the relationship between the two and instantly understood the double meaning behind his words.

The nymph began guiding them down the main path. As they advanced, Rhea observed the statues with an unreadable expression.

”I always thought it was unfair that some mothers were punished for the mistakes of others,” she murmured.

Damon turned his head slightly toward her, wrapping an arm around her waist as they walked. ”Don’t think about that, Mother. It’s in the past.”

”I know. It’s just hard not to think about it when your daughter and son are involved in this,” Rhea replied bitterly, thinking of Zeus and Hera. Damon slowly nodded, comforting her with his silence and presence. He did not want to dig too deeply into the subject.

The sanctuary soon appeared in front of them, surrounded by vegetation. Before the nymph could announce their arrival, Leto stepped out from inside. The Titaness froze the moment she saw Rhea. At the same time, a warm smile appeared on the mother of the gods’ face at the sight of her old friend.

”Rhea... how long has it been?” Leto said, quickly approaching.

Rhea let go of Damon to receive her, hugging her with familiarity and affection. ”Too long, Leto. You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

”Likewise, dear friend,” Leto replied warmly, before her gaze moved toward Damon, her eyes widening. Her eyes scanned his face for an instant. ”Oh, by Gaia... Damon, it really is you,” the Titaness said, throwing herself from Rhea’s arms toward Damon, making several nymphs sweat awkwardly at the sight.

Damon received her with some surprise, though he returned the hug without issue as old memories flooded Leto’s mind.

”Haha, I’m glad you haven’t forgotten me, Leto.”

”Never,” the Titaness replied, feeling her cheeks flush as she remembered those days when she spent too much time beside Metis, watching the god in front of her while he bathed. To hide it, she simply pressed her face against Damon’s chest with a smile.

Damon, for his part, began giving soft pats to the reddish-brown-haired woman’s head, noticing how her voluptuous body pressed against his despite being completely hidden beneath her robes..... Leto had always been very conservative.

”I didn’t expect to see you here so soon,” the Titaness said, finally separating from the redhead while giving him a warm smile. ”I heard about your return, but I thought it would take you longer to come.”

The two would have continued talking if not for the sound of a small cough. When they turned their heads, they saw Rhea with her arms crossed, looking at them both with a raised eyebrow.

”Damon, we came here for something, didn’t we?” Rhea said, rolling her eyes at how attached she was acting toward her son.

Leto’s expression became a little nervous. She knew Rhea too well, perhaps better than most. The Titaness slowly separated from Damon, though not without some resistance, and looked between them with curiosity. ”Eh... what do you need from me? If I can help, I will.”

Damon let out a small laugh before getting straight to the point. ”I want Artemis and her Hunters to help at Camp Half-Blood. They’ll be useful training the demigods. Artemis will do it whether she wants to or not, but she’s stubborn, and I don’t want her turning this into an unnecessary fight.”

Leto understood instantly. ”You want me to be with her.”

”That’s right,” Damon admitted. ”As her mother, your presence would be good for her. I’m sure she won’t complain as much if she can spend time with you while helping at the camp. Besides, it makes things easier for me if I don’t have to keep an eye on every problem while you’re nearby.”

Leto lowered her gaze for a moment, thoughtful, before suddenly raising it again with bright determination in her eyes. ”Then I’ll go. If you are asking me, Damon, I have no reason to refuse. I have always wanted to spend more time with my daughter, and I’m sure I can help her control some of that anger she carries toward men.” The Titaness pointed at herself with a finger, clearly proud. ”Leave it to me.”

”Hahaha, thank you for accepting,” Damon said with a smile, a little surprised she had agreed so quickly.

Though, thinking about it, it did not surprise him too much. Leto had always been curious, and living confined on Delos for so long must have felt like silent torture for someone like her. Damon decided that, later, he would find a way to compensate her for it.

And so, Leto left Delos together with Rhea and Damon, heading toward Camp Half-Blood.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When they arrived at the camp, Rhea took it upon herself to guide Leto around the place, showing her the cabins, the dining pavilion, the training arena, and the areas where the campers usually gathered. Damon decided to give them some space to catch up, knowing they had been friends for what felt like forever. Besides, Damon had no intention of turning her arrival at the camp into a ceremony.

As he walked through the camp, he noticed that the Hunters were already settling into Artemis’s cabin. Some were organizing their bows, while others inspected the beds with obvious distrust. At least Artemis had not caused another tantrum. That was good. Damon had thought he might have to go look for her personally after the meeting, but apparently the goddess had decided to obey, even if reluctantly.

Letting out a sigh, his attention was drawn to a new building near the center of the camp. It was a structure of pale marble and dark wood, with simple columns at the front and owl symbols carved above the entrance. ”Yes, this is definitely Athena’s work,” Damon murmured to himself with a smile before entering.

The interior smelled of books, parchment, and fresh ink. Several shelves were already filled with books, scrolls, and carefully organized notebooks. There was a large table in the center with maps spread across it, drawings of monsters, devils, yokai, fallen angels, angels, and different pantheons. Damon raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused by how quickly Athena had started working.

She was at the back, with her back to the entrance, organizing several books. Her dark hair fell down her back, and some ink stains covered her fingers while a pile of documents floated around her, moving from one shelf to another under her control.

Damon watched her for a moment, admiring the skill with which she worked. The truth was that Athena was beautiful, though in a way very different from Aphrodite’s striking beauty. There was something attractive about seeing her so sure of herself... If he had to compare her to someone, he would say she had an appeal similar to Hera’s: elegant, exotic, and difficult to ignore. And just like Hera, her attitude made it clear that she was the type of beauty impossible for most to conquer.

Looking at the goddess carefully, Damon approached without making a sound, hiding his presence enough not to interrupt her until he was behind her. ”I see you’ve done very good work in such a short time.”

Athena tensed instantly, turning with a speed that would have left most people no time to react. A small dagger appeared in her hand by reflex before her gray eyes recognized the redhead. Upon seeing him, she let out a sigh of relief, though she frowned slightly. ”Not many people can approach me without me noticing,” she said, slowly lowering the dagger.

Damon smiled. ”That’s right, not many people. But I’m not like most people. You know that well.”

Athena let out a snort, though she did not deny it. She simply shook her head and put the dagger back in its place. ”What can I say, Lord Damon? I’m very diligent.”

”I can see that,” Damon replied, looking at the shelves. ”I didn’t expect to find the library standing so soon. Impressive.”

”There’s still plenty left before it’s finished,” Athena said, regaining her composure while trying not to take too much pride in his words. ”I have many more things planned to include here. Besides, it’s for the demigods. You don’t have to praise me for something I do all the time.”

Damon raised an eyebrow at her attempt to downplay her own work. It was an elegant way of saying it was nothing, but only because she was the one doing it. If it had been someone else, it probably would have been a different story. The redhead decided to play along.

”Just because you’re the goddess of wisdom doesn’t mean I shouldn’t praise you when you do something well,” Damon said, looking at her with amusement. ”Even the smartest make mistakes. That’s why I’m genuinely satisfied. Without a doubt, very good work, Athena.”

Athena briefly froze as her fingers tightened slightly around the spine of the book she was holding. Damon noticed it as the goddess looked away toward one of the shelves, pretending to search for something with her gaze, though the faint color that appeared on her cheeks betrayed her.

”Nonsense, you’re too generous with your praise,” she said, trying to sound indifferent.

”Maybe,” Damon replied. ”Though I like to think I only give it to those who truly deserve it.”

The color in Athena’s cheeks grew a little more intense, though she quickly lifted her chin, regaining that proud expression she liked to wear so much. ”Then I suppose I will have to accept the praise, since it is clearly based on a correct observation,” she said, trying to hide her nervousness.

Damon burst into laughter at the goddess’s complete lack of humility. Athena, for her part, simply lifted a book and used it to partially cover her face.

Damon decided to leave her alone and approached one of the maps spread across the table. As he observed the goddess’s notes on ancient civilizations, he remembered a question that had been circling his mind for some time.

”Since I’m here,” Damon said, ”there’s something I want to ask you.” Athena looked up from behind the book. ”About what?”

”Rome.”

Athena’s expression hardened instantly.

”I’m curious about them,” Damon said. ”In fact, I’m surprised by how absurd the situation was. A counterpart created by the fall of ancient Greece. I don’t know if something like that has ever happened in any other pantheon.”

Athena carefully placed the book on the table. ”You’re not the first to think that. Certainly, Rome was a strange situation even for us. The fact that they took our identity and bent it under their way of seeing the world, leaving us forgotten... It was a hard blow,” the goddess admitted, her expression turning bitter.

”We were ourselves, but at the same time we weren’t.” Athena let out a sigh. ”But in the end, they had their own shortcomings despite wanting to be better than us. And the fact that the biblical faction started doing its own thing, causing Christianity to spread rapidly, made the empire fall quickly alongside the Roman pantheon.”

Damon crossed his arms, listening attentively.

”For a moment, I thought it would also be the end of us, but fortunately, our civilization began moving west, and over the centuries, those aspects returned to us, fusing back into one. That is how we ended up where we are now, in the United States, and not in Greece.”

”But today I understand that what happened back then was a consequence of our own inefficiency. If we had fulfilled our responsibilities properly, perhaps instead of being the Roman Empire, maybe it would have been the Greek Empire, and our history probably would have been very different and better.”

Damon slowly nodded. ”Yes, it was a missed opportunity, honestly. If I had been here, maybe it would have been different. That said, I’m glad you can see your mistakes. Situations like that can be dangerous. You were lucky the Romans were tied to you. If it had been different, the Greek pantheon could have ceased to exist.”

”I know,” Athena said in a low voice. A shiver ran down her back at the thought, because as uncomfortable as it was to admit, Damon was right.

The silence that followed was comfortable. Athena was surprised by how much she had enjoyed talking with Damon. He was a good listener who didn’t interrupt her much, like most people, truly a breath of fresh air. Though the moment did not last long.

A current of wind passed through the library, and Hermes appeared near the entrance with a letter in his hand. ”Sorry to interrupt,” he said, more serious than usual. ”A message arrived for you.”

Damon raised an eyebrow. ”From who?”

”Serafall Leviathan,” Hermes replied. ”She is requesting a meeting with you in Kuoh, Japan.”

Athena frowned. ”A Maou.” Damon’s face lit with amusement; he already knew this was going to be interesting.

”Let’s see what the devils want.”

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Having Leto, protector of children, protect children, get it lol 😂😂😂😂

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P@treon: Brotato up to Chapter 132