A fall breeze passes between the mortal student and his immortal teacher.

Artemis crosses her arms. "Before we get started, Echo mentioned that you can pause and resume time. Is that correct?"

"I can also slow down and jump forward and backwards as well."

"Show me how that works," she says with intrigue.

"Alright. Slow."

The goddess and the nymph notice a bird in mid-flight, flapping as if flying through honey.

"How fascinating!" Echo proclaims.

"Rewind."

The bird starts flying in reverse along with the breeze.

"Stop. Fast forward. Play."

Everything resumes as normal.

"By saying a keyword, you can activate your power?" The Olympian Archer rightfully assumes.

"Yep, that's exactly it."

"That is so amazing - I bet those powers came in handy for you - I wish I had that kind of power - I can take back words and help others out with it - Who did you get your powers from?" The mountain nymph asks.

Fortunately, Takashi caught 80% of that. "I found out from the Oracle that I'm the son of Kronos."

Artemis' eyebrows slowly rise."Kronos? Who is he?"

The time traveler is stunned. She should know. But Ares also couldn't remember. How did the killer remove any memory of him? "He would be your grandpa since Zeus is your father."

Echo's eyes shift from him to her friend. "Would that make the two of you family? Or am I wrong about that?"

"By that logic, I'm technically your niece."

The nymph's flowers grow along with her smile. "This calls for a celebration! We should have a large feast and-"

Artemis holds her by the shoulders. "I love you, best friend. But this is not the time for that," she turns to her client. "Saying keywords activates what you want to do, but I see the drawback in it. You could be stopped mid-sentence or gagged to prevent your power from taking place."

The demigod responds with a nod while clutching his arm. A brief glimpse of aura told the mountain nymph the instances where it happened. Tears well up in her mud brown eyes.

"Ares told me," the goddess continues. "I'm sorry about that."

"That...was the first time I actually died," he clenches his fists.

The Olympian's striking face asks him to clarify. Taki explains the basics of his reset power.

"That sounds really useful though. I don't understand how-"

Artemis motions with one hand to tell Echo to wait. The goddess feels something disturbing will unfold.

"Because I mentally jumped backwards in time," the demigod pauses at the end. "I would leave my physical body behind."

The nymph rushes over and gives him a gentle embrace. She puts some space between them. "How many times did you have to do that?"

He raises three fingers. "All of them are because of Poseidon."

"That's not all," Artemis taps her bow against her knee. "What is the last consequence?"

"Echo, I'm going to come clean. I'm not from Asia Minor. I'm from a world called Earth."

"Another world? What does that mean? Artemis, is there really another world?"

"How different is it from Gaia?"

Taki explains the differences between the worlds through his cell phone and watch. The duo goddesses are left in awe of the instant paintings of his family and friends.

The archer's finger taps her left bicep with a question on her mind. She asks him what the other consequence of reset was.

Taki lets out a slow exhale before mentioning the one-day delay. "I've been gone for far too long."

"I see how much you care about those people on your phone. I also know that you miss your newborn daughter."

He leans forward. "Did you know that from Ares?"

"I'm also the goddess of childbirth. Expecting parents pray to me for their children and I also help as a midwife. That is my favorite part of my role. Anyway, it's not right that you were ripped away on her day of birth. Through this training and afterwards, I will help you get home."

"Thank you, Artemis! I welcome your help. I'm ready to learn from you."

"Have you ever shot an arrow before?"

"No, I haven't."

"Time for you to learn."

Golden wisps rise out of her. Stationary bullseye targets materialize on the ground and on the tree branches around them. She then gives him a quick tutorial on how to stand and hold his bow and arrow.

"...Now point it up towards the target and draw as far back as you can go. Line up the tip with the target and let it fly on the exhale. Keep in mind any wind that might get in your way."

He raises his bow and pulls on the string. Artemis nudges his elbow up so it won't fatigue his shooting arm. He releases the arrow, but it misses the target by a few inches.

"What happened? I thought I got it."

"I noticed a subtle twitch in your body before you fired it off," the Olympian informs. "The slightest involuntary motion can make you miss the mark and may lead to your death if you're not careful. The twitch most likely occurred because of muscle fatigue."

He lowers his bow. "What should I do?"

"Echo told me that you are doing two sessions with Iphicles in order to get stronger. As your teacher, I demand you quit so you can get this right."

"I can't do that."

Echo covers her mouth.

"What. Did. You. Say?"

Her upward narrowing, green eyes reveal another side of her. A chaotic beastly side that makes him avert his eyes.

He slowly raises his hands while backing up. "A-Artemis, I don't want to reduce my output. I came to you because you can help me better handle my aura. I see that learning archery is useful, but I don't need it."

She turns her back to him. "Fine. Then forget about learning from me."

"You can't-"

Her divine Olympian energy silences him. Multiple things whizz by his head.

Simultaneous thunks.

The demigod turns and gasps. Without looking behind her, her arrows of divine energy have hit their respective bullseyes.

She takes heavy steps towards him. "You think archery is all about shooting arrows?! It brings you closer to nature and all of its creations. Hunters and prey are brought up to equal standing since we use our skills against each other. There's nothing unfair about that. You think I would teach you something that is unrelated to divine energy? How insulting!"

"Forgive me," he bows down to the ground to show his deepest apologies. "If balance is what you are teaching me, then I can do both. I will reduce my sessions down to one a day so I can learn from you. If I miss even one session from you....then take a finger from me."

Echo's jaw drops. "You would really let that happen?"

"I am serious."

A slow exhale leaves Artemis' lips. "Okay, one gym session at night and my lesson in the morning. Forget about your finger. I want you to hold your loved ones with all fingers intact. We're going to train daily so no bellyaching. You must do what I ask of you, without question. Finally, you are responsible for your own food."

Takashi raises his head and accepts her terms. Echo sighs a breath of relief that her new friend survived.

"Since your muscles are fatigued, we can't have you shoot arrows for now. I'm going to teach you more about aura. Sit down like this."

The goddess sits on the grass with her legs crossed. He doesn't hesitate. Echo does the same to join them.

"We are going to close our eyes and calm our minds. Slow, deep breaths in, deep breaths out. This will help you better focus on sensing aura."

He closes his eyes. Each breath is measured and focused. In his calm state, he can visually sense Echo's energy that resembles a mountain covered to the tip with flowers.

"Besides power, aura can tell you a lot about a person's personality, their mood, and what they may hold dear to them," Artemis softly continues.

Taki gets another glimpse from Echo. A group of people bearing a symbol of a dog with an arrowhead on their cloaks. He also sees a hunter, but his face is obscured.

"Echo, who is that man?"

"N-nobody important!" She dismisses with a crimson face. Her growing irises and lilies betray her voice.

He drops it. "Sorry about that."

"Focus on me now," the archer instructs.

His mind envisions her rocking newborns and hunting wild animals. Her taller twin, Apollo, is playing accompanying music on his pan flute.

Something else is running. He could make out it has four feet, but it's also obscured from him. An indistinct sound is also heard that he tries to make out. It sounds like hissing?

Artemis forces him out with a mental wall. His milk chocolate eyes open with regret that he went too far. Her eyes, to his surprise, reflected the sadness she's been carrying for so long.

"I'm sorry. I guess I wasn't supposed to see that."

She squeezes her green eyes shut. "At least you have the understanding of how that works. Do you remember when Ares used his aura against yours?"

"It was like I was facing an entire army all by myself. I felt so small."

"Olympians like us can use a large amount to demoralize our opponents. For a demigod, it's best not to show it all off at one time. Best to reveal a little bit and conceal the rest. You can use the rest to provide a temporary shield to protect yourself."

That's how Stavros protected himself from some of the arrows. "It makes sense now. What do you see when it comes to my aura?"

"Your loved ones and how much you cherish them. But something blocked me from seeing your past," the mountain nymph mentions.

Artemis shudders and her pupils shake. The time traveler realizes what she uncovered.

The grip on her silver bow tightens. "That sick monster!"

With rising energy, she shoots a daunting golden arrow straight into the sky. Takashi lands on his back from the output of her power. A cloud is split in two before the projectile disappears from sight.

Echo hugs her best friend to settle her heavy breaths.

"You saw what happened to me and my sister," he reasons.

"I also saw what happened after that," her voice breaks. "How could they do that to your family?" Tears flood her face for his tragic upbringing. Taki gets up and holds her hand gently. "I'm sorry for prying into your past. That was wrong of me."

"It's mine to handle on my own. With your help, I should be able to overcome my past. Teach me more. Please."

Artemis feels a smile creeping on her face. She refuses to let him down.

"Thank you, best friend," she tells Echo.

The nymph warmly smiles before drifting away. "You would do the same thing for me."

"Let's continue. Your energy levels can rise depending on the deep emotions you feel, and you can use that to amplify your attacks. You just saw how I used my anger to fire off that previous arrow. You shouldn't rely on anger too much, otherwise you will lose control of yourself."

Taki looks down with regret. Killing Stavros was him going off the deep end.

"Anger, however, is just one outlet."

He leans his body forward, wanting to know more.

"Strong feelings of compassion, passion, courage, and love are a couple of many outlets to channel your energy into what you need."

Just like how I wanted to heal the Oracle, he pieces it together.

"Ahhh, love. How romantic! I have someone I love. He's so cute," Echo cups her blushing face.

"That's not the same," the Olympian lightly scolds. "Lust is an outlet, but don't use that."

"I-It's not lust! I'm serious about him,," she argues.

Artemis shrugs as she couldn't convince her.

The nymph changes the subject. "Your daughter must be a wonderful sight to behold. Artemis, can you see what she looks like?"

A sense of hope swells within Takashi's heart.

Golden wisps form but quickly vanish. "I'm sorry. I couldn't see her."

"That's okay. I will see her soon. I know it," his voice rises with confidence.

"Let's have you practice using your aura. Think of a strong emotion besides anger to summon it."

Taki calms his mind and thinks about one thing: the reason to return home. However, glimpses of Poseidon pop in his head. Dark emerald wisps foam around his body before he takes a deep breath to settle his anger.

"I tried. I can't-" Wack! His head rings with pain. "Ow!"

The huntress waves her bow at him. "I will not accept those words coming out of you, pupil. Try again."

A smile cracks from the tough love she's giving him. A nudge to keep him focused.

While clearing his mind, he turns his phone back on...his milk chocolate eyes soften from the photo of his friends and family having a large picnic. He sets up his phone for something before handing it to Echo.

"Tap that big button and it will record what I'm doing. This will give me a mental image to focus on."

Echo understands and hits the record button.

He feels the grass and thinks about that day. He closes his eyes and goes to tap more into that emotion.

Echo and Artemis see his aura building up around him.The emerald wisps gather as one and rise up and up.

The energy rises a few centimeters above the treetops. It gives off feelings of a strong, familial love that makes Artemis think back to bittersweet moments.

California, 11 am

Hikari and Greg receive notifications on their laptops. They both see a large spike in the energy levels similar to what they have seen on Oct 29th. However, it's not a life-or-death situation.

"What are you doing, man?"

"Please be okay, little brother. Don't do something stupid."

Back to Thebes,

"Now, pull that energy back in and form an outline with some of it," Artemis speaks in a hushed tone.

The mass of aura is slowly roped in to achieve that goal. The energy suddenly vanishes making him fall forward.

"You alright?" Echo helps him sit up.

After catching his breath, he asks what had happened.

"That is partially my fault. I should have had you summon a bit of it, but I did get to see how much you can produce," the archer explains.

Echo couldn't stop smiling. "It was a crazy amount! It wasn't at the level of Heracles, but it was impressive. I felt the love coming from it and it felt so nice."

Back to Earth

Hikari and Greg then get another notification on their respective computers. The same energy level they saw went drastically down, but it is above the baseline.

"Damn it, Taki. Be more careful."

"Little bro, stop giving me high blood pressure. I will punch you for that when you return."

Back to Gaia

Artemis readies a cup of water and hands it to him. His tongue notices a sweet taste.

"Mixed in some honey to revitalize you. Just lay on the ground for now and get some rest. You're going to need it."

He couldn't argue against his heavy eyelids. Echo helps him lay down on the grass and gives him back the phone. He presses the button to stop it. He plays it back and his eyes show some excitement. He sends it to his loved ones before turning it back off.

"I'm making progress. That's what matters," he grins.

Echo summons some flowers above his face so he can rest properly. He closes his eyes and drifts off.

"So what do you think?" She whispers to the huntress.

"I know he has to return home, but he has the potential to be a great hero of legend. He did some heroic acts already and he's not even a part of our world...Imagine him as a full-fledged warrior and the possibilities are endless."

A man on a horse travels across the barrier separating the realms of the living and the dead.

Heracles pushes back the hood of his lion skin armor as his horse trots on ground devoid of flowers. He pulls on the reins to stop his horse near the River Styx.

The well known river winds around a small black cave. Numerous familiar "winds" travel above him. The mighty hero shushes his horse with gentle pats from the invisible collection dropping around them.

"Remember, the souls cannot hurt you. You are safe here," he whispers. "I won't be too long," he ties it to a dead tree.

Thanatos and his sisters continue to drop more souls like clockwork.

A medium sized boat is paddled over to the shore by a man wearing a pitch-black cloak that hangs from his shoulders. His unkempt beard reveals the length of how long he had performed this meaningful task.

"Hello again, Charon," Heracles greets.

The ferryman looks up with a thin face. His pitch black eyes joins his smile. "Nice to see you again, Heracles!" His jovial voice breaks out. "Here for another visit?"

"I am."

"Hop aboard. I will be back for you," he tells the souls with a chipper tone before pushing off with his oar. "How's Artemis doing now? Is she any better?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't want to leave her, but Echo is with her for company."

"It's really sad. Let her know that he's resting in Elysium. She has been begging Hades to place him there and he listened."

"That's good to hear. I will let her know."

"It must hurt losing the one you love," he paddles through the murky water. "I'm fortunate to have never gone through that."

The mighty demigod responds in silence. His mind is preoccupied with the people he wanted to see. The ferryman stays quiet out of respect to him. With the boat now in reach of the shore, Heracles steps across. Charon pushes off the shore to resume his daily task.

Growling.

His sky blue eyes note a three-headed black dog with a snake-like tail running towards him. The towering 12-ft dog beast stops right before him to lick his face several times. He can't help but laugh.

"Hello, Cerberus! Have you been a good boy?" He strokes each head and they bark happily. He then raises a hand. "Sit!"

Cerberus listens without hesitation.

Heracles gets a heavily wrapped item out of his knapsack and it's three large raw steaks. Their snake-like tail wags from side to side to join their drooling mouths.

He puts a steak on each of the noses. "Stay...Stay...Now eat!"

The three heads of Cerberus throw their heads back and digest their meal within a few bites.

The mighty hero then takes out a large bone from the bag. "I want you to share," he firmly states. "No fighting or else I will take it back."

The heads nod in agreement. Heracles leaves them to it as he opens the gate of the cave. Within a few seconds, Charon drops off the souls of men, women, and children to enter their final place of judgment.

The demigod's milk chocolate skin shudders from the cold invisible souls going around him. The winding staircase opens up to a large cavern with a gray slab cutting off his pathway. A long rope with bells swings gently from the travel of souls that go past it.

He pulls the rope. Chime!

The giant slab rumbles before opening like a curtain. A circle rests before him with three pathways each labeled with the words: Asphodel Meadows, Elysium, and Tartarus. The judged souls quickly head to the appropriate places for their limbo, heaven, and hell.

The pathways are overlooked by two people that are sitting on their thrones of skulls and spring flowers.

The fair skinned woman on the right is wearing a white dress adorned with colorful irises with a crown of branches to match. Her long summer blonde hair rests behind her shoulders. Her wheat colored eyes smile upon seeing her nephew.

The pale man on her left is wearing jagged black armor from head to toe with a silver trim. His open faced helmet has the jawline of a human skull. His bident, a weapon of judgment, rests on his left hip. He pushes back strands of snowy white hair to reveal his silver eyes that look past a person's soul.

Despite his appearance, his eyes also smile upon his nephew.

Hades stands up and offers a hand to Persephone to help her up. The queen takes his arm before they jump down the steps. Their arms wrap tightly around Heracles.

"Anipsios! (Nephew) It's always good to see you!" Lord Hades' crisp voice breaks the silence. "Charon sent us a message and I heard my good boys barking up there."

"I gave him the best choice of meat, theios."

"He loves that. Will you be taking him on a walk afterwards?" Persephone asks with a voice filled with honey.

"I can't, theia. It's just a short visit. I have to be back shortly."

"Are you hungry by the way? We haven't had dinner yet and we made sure it's not from this place," the king offers.

"Not hungry at the moment."

"Understandable," he strokes his wife's arm. "Our food and drink is at your disposal."

"Uncle, I appreciate you for speaking up when it came to Artemis' loved one."

"It was a joint decision," he glances at his wife who gives him a warm smile.

"I will let Artemis know when I get back."

"How is she holding up?" The queen inquires.

"Although the Trojans were rescued, the night sky only reminds her of the loss. I wish there was more I could do. I also feel that there's more that she's not telling me."

The king of the dead places a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I wager she appreciates your presence. Allow her time to heal and she will reveal her pain."

Persephone smiles at her caring husband. She's glad about her original decision that she made: joining him in the Underworld out of her volition and love for him.

Her contagious smile spreads to him.

"I will see you later," Heracles runs down the Elysium route and is out of their sight.

"We have a break," Hades claps. "Want to go and pet Cerberus?"

"Definitely! That big puppy deserves all of the belly rubs!"

"I definitely need an extra hand to make sure one head isn't neglected."

They take each other's hand and walk up the stairs.

"Do...you think he will talk to them this time?" The question lingers on his lips.

"I hope so."

"I wish I could give him the peace he needs," he sighs. "It's unfair."

"Me too," she embraces him from behind.

Hades turns to her and caresses her cheek. "I miss you when you're not here."

"Well, you do have Minthe to keep you company. She keeps you happy while I'm away."

"And you're happy with Adonis too."

"But you are always in my mind. Let's make the most of it while I'm here," she leads him this time to the gate...

Heracles' feet stop right outside the heavenly realm. He takes off the lion skin and drops it to the stone ground before entering the sacred place.

Hemera's gift of pleasant daylight rains upon his skin. Gentle winds almost whistle from passing through the countless islands floating around the continuously increasing space. Irises, lilies, and other flowers in different shapes and colors decorate the plains, peaks, and valleys.

Men, women, and children of various ages eat, play, fish, and nap inside and outside their assigned homes. A toddler trips from failing to catch a ball, but his knees are left untouched. The concept of physical pain no longer exists for these blessed souls.

The mighty demigod whispers a name that drips with regret.

The right island rotates in front of him with a cloudy bridge to cross over. Like before, his feet warn him not to continue. His own mind agrees with that sentiment.

"I will talk to them. I will talk to them this time," he walks across the bridge. A familiar rock pillar signals the perimeter of his loved one.

The sound of children laughing makes him hide behind the pillar. He peeks with his enhanced vision.

Two young boys are playing tag with some other children. Heracles pays close attention to the spitting images of him.

"Tag, brother! You're it!"

"You won't get away from me!"

Heracles tries to push away from the pillar to join them, but the past freezes his feet in place. His hands tremble on the rock. After what he did, would they even want to be around him?

His ears perk up from the multiple footsteps from behind. "Hello, Master Chiron."

The large centaur with a chocolate coat trots closer while stroking his brown bushy beard. "I'm happy to see you again, but when will you talk with them?"

"In my own time."

"I may not be your teacher anymore, but please listen to me."

"What if they don't want to see me?"

"What was one of the things I taught you?"

He sighs. "To find the truth no matter what happens."

"It may be scary, but at least you will get your answer. I will let you be. I got an archery contest with a new arrival," he gallops away to one of the islands.

"Ophites, Therimachus, time for lunch!" An angelic voice yells out. "You can play later!"

A slender, beautiful woman with wide hips walks towards them in a purple robe representing her former nobility. Her brown autumn hair is tied up in a ponytail that stops in the middle of her back.

The demigod turns his face, feeling undeserved to witness her beauty.

Their sons run up to her with each taking a hand.

"What are we going to eat, mother?" Ophites asks.

"Whatever you want. I heard they have roasted potatoes and some cod for lunch."

"Can I eat as much as I want?" Therimachus rubs his belly.

"You sure can."

"Yes! Will she be joining us this time?"

"I hope so, sweetie. If not, I will give her some food."

"She looks sad. I hope she feels better soon."

Heracles takes a step forward out from the rock.

Her honey-brown eyes look back from feeling the familiar presence. No one is there.

"Wait right here," she tells her sons. She walks over to look behind the rock. A smile creeps on her face that her beloved will be right there...The smile disappears. The hairs from a large cat greet her instead.

Megara squeezes her eyes shut. "He wasn't in control. That wasn't my husband. Please talk to us," tears break free from her closed eyes.

"Mommy, why are you crying?" Ophites strokes her hand.

"He was here."

"Father?"

She nods.

"Does he still love us?" Therimachus asks with hands behind his head.

"He does, sweetie."

"Why doesn't he come to us then?" Ophites questions.

"He really wants to, but he's in pain."

"Did someone hurt father?"

"Not that kind of pain. Heartbreak."

The boys tilt their heads.

"Will he feel better?"

"He will and he will come down to be with us," she embraces them. "I promise you that."

Heracles, wearing the lion skin armor, runs out of Elysium with tears pounding the ground. He stops before the gate to collect himself.

Hades and Persephone stop rubbing Cerberus' belly.

"Leaving already?"

"Yes, theia. I will come back in a while."

"You can rest here. We have plenty of space."

"I have to be back with my sister."

"Understand. Be safe," Hades whistles for Charon. "Did you get to talk with them?"

Heracles' silence answers his question. The king goes to say something but stops himself. He clenches his hands numerous times until Persephone holds his right hand. He exhales from the relief of her comfort.

Charon arrives and takes the mighty hero back across the river. As soon as he's out of earshot...

"It hurts that I couldn't tell him the truth. That Artemis had lost two people, not one," Hades recants.

"It hurts me too. Artemis loved her like a sister. That poor woman deserves rest as well. I will send her a letter to let her know she's also in Elysium," she kisses her husband on the cheek before they depart down below.

As soon as Heracles makes it to his horse, he makes his way straight back to his hut. "Sorry, teacher. Next time for sure."