Many colored eyes watch as lines snake vertically and horizontally for domination. With a gasp, Takashi claims three squares in the corner and makes another line.

"Knowing how you are, how can you say you a justful god?"

"Skip."

"How many people did you hurt besides Medusa and Arachne?"

"Skip," Athena responds with venom behind her words.

"Was there a time you made a mistake with your judgment?"

"N-"

Her lips close as the Kerie's sword lifts up. She squeezes her eyes shut while her arrogant heart curses the mortal for this predicament.

"Yes. Are you satisfied now?"

He shakes his head. "You had the choice to right them and chose not to. I'm disappointed that you call yourself a justful god."

Another verbal projectile that pierces her armor. She saves her sharp questions when it's her turn. 

I will not lose to another mortal. Just wait, anomaly. The Oracle favors me!

A wicked smile of her father rests on her face. Three questions have been won.

"How did you know the truth of Medusa?"

"Skip," while he forces his eyes to not react. He knows answering with the knowledge of Greek Mythology wouldn't be sufficient since Perseus told him.

Even without her helmet, the goddess reasons that something's amiss. His questions to her about the former priestess sounded like it was in the present tense.

"Is she still alive?"

His heart rattles. "Skip."

Echo grasps her grandmother's hand to keep her twisting stomach from taking her to the ground.

Athena's lips open--

"Takashi, will I ever find love?!"

Both participants quickly jerk their heads to a standing Hephaestus. Demeter's wheat-colored eyes widen accompanied from the others' gasps.

Athena bites her lip as she remembers the rule. "Any question from either side counts as well."

Her bright aura flares up from her brother's betrayal. But the Kerie's obsidian aura threatens her to try anything.

Takashi fights back against the confusion inside of him. Part of him wants to thank the fire god for the temporary refuge, but he still loathes what he did to Harmonia's trauma. The burning chains and forcing Ares to sacrifice himself in the prior timeline. Yet, his orange irises reflect a familiar feeling that he doesn't want to admit.

Maybe...He exhales while squeezing his eyes shut. His milk chocolate eyes shoot open from Aphrodite's aura giving him a proper answer.

"You will find love, but you must let go of Aphrodite first. Despite all of your actions, you're not irredeemable. Find your happiness without her."

The words settle between Hephaestus' ears. Every syllable trying to uproot the negativity inside his head. The thought of Eidothea's comforting relief intermingles with the mortal's words.

He sits back down to process his thoughts.

Athena's sky-blue eyes curse his existence. Once this game is over, you're next.

She draws another line to conclude her turn...

Squares populate the 9 x 11 grid. Volleys of verbal projectiles exchange to each other.

Athena points her spear at him. "Why do you defy the inevitability of fate? What if you are never meant to return to whence you came?"

"I know fate is an important thing on Gaia. But I cannot sit by and just watch. As a father, I need to show my daughter that nothing is set in stone. If that makes me a fool, so be it. For the second question, I'm not accepting that outcome."

Athena's eyes widen in confused fury. "Why not?"

"Everything that Nyx, Kronos, and everyone who have ever helped me with can't be for nothing. I know I am close to holding my bronze goddess and our beautiful daughter."

Medea and Orpheus silently cheer with their tears. 

Athena's heart rattles from the current score after Takashi gains four squares.

Takashi: 45 Athena: 45

Nine more squares left to secure the victory of one side. Hippolyta grips the ends of her belt to keep herself steady.

"What is your goal if you win?"

"To rule by my father's side over all of Gaia and the Earth that you mentioned. So many followers without any pushback."

Demeter's colorful aura foams around her body as a threat to her life.

"And if you come against me, Demeter, I will enjoy the torture I will put him through."

Echo grips her grandmother's hand to steady her. The seasonal wisps of aura vanish but leave her stare of fury behind.

Line opposes line until one square is complete.

"Time jumper is how my father explains you. How did it feel when you saw the deaths of my siblings?"

The low blow of a question ignites the auras of the women behind Takashi.

His milk chocolate eyes waver from the thought of Heracles turned into a nightmare of a tree. Perseus turned to ash from Zeus' lightning. All the pain and burden from trying again and again and again to set things right....but the god-king's actions had always set him back.

He thinks of his bronze goddess to settle those thoughts. "I felt helpless. That nothing I did mattered. Why would they risk it all for a stranger? Everything Artemis suffered and she still helped me. Ares and the others fought for me so I could head back home," before gripping his knees.

"And yet they no longer live because of you," Athena lobbies a verbal arrow at his heart.

Hephaestus' sword arm trembles from the heartless accusation while Demeter's eyes curse her niece.

Takashi draws a square. "You may ask me another question."

Athena wickedly smiles from him not taking advantage. "Why do you deserve to head back home after your failures?"

He exhales. ""Because I-no- we will make things right by bringing our family back. And I will not make my family wait anymore for me."

"Your family? You share no relations with any of us," the goddess of justice scoffs.

"Anyone who helps me is part of my family. From Odysseus to everyone up to this point. Blood doesn't determine your bonds."

A confident smile leaves the mouth of Demeter and the others.

Athena's spear creaks from the absurdity of this mortal. With a swing of her weapon, she takes two squares with the end of her tip tracing a line outside the board.

She pulls back her weapon. "My oracle will come true. You have no chance at winning. How would you like your torture?"

"Hmmm. That won't happen because only my bronze goddess can punish me," he responds.

Athena laughs with venom in her noise. "You mortals are all the same. Thinking you can just outwit us deities. Why continue to do so?"

"I guess it's in our DNA to rebel," he laughs.

"And that will be your downfall."

Takashi claims two more squares. Athena and him finally fill up the board. 99 squares in total.

Athena: 50 Takashi: 49

The goddess throws her head back in laughter from her secured victory until she hears a sound. Her owl squawking at her for something she missed.

Her sky-blue eyes shake as Takashi's index finger is outside the board. The line she had inadvertently made is right over the score card with the pre-drawn line right underneath it.

Dash, dash.

Athena: 50 Takashi: 51

A faint red bracelet forms around the right wrist of the goddess to conclude Takashi's decisive victory over her.

Sighs of relief are followed by cheers from the divine women, Medea, and Orpheus. Including Scylla who's proud of her new friend.

Athena tries to draw out her weapon, but the Kerie puts her blade against her neck.

"Mina's oracle was for me," Taki asserts while standing up. "You lost to another mortal."

His words sting her heart more than a hornet's nest. Everything inside of her wants to kill him and every witness here.

"As my servant, you will uphold the following commands: You will not harm anyone I consider family nor allow harm to happen to any of us. You will free and heal Medea and Orpheus. You are forbidden from informing your father or anyone close to him of our plans. You will remove your magic over the Trojans, and you will notify King Aeolus to prepare refuge for them.

"And there will be no loopholes, except decided by fate, to excuse your actions from this deal."

The red bracelet solidifies his commands by tightening around Athena's wrist as a painful reminder. The Kerie's blade leaves her throat. With the flap of her wings, she returns to her role as a deity of death.

Athena stumbles standing up from the victory that slipped her grasp. From her right hand, her aura shoots off into the sky to disperse the invisible shielding of the Trojans. The iron around Orpheus and Medea's wrists disappear with their injuries fading away.

Medea rushes over and pushes Taki by the shoulders before embracing him.

Heavy, proud tears crawl down her face. "You did it."

"Are you okay?"

She pushes back. "I am now."

"Promise me that you will be with Medus from now on."

The witch of Colchis looks at the divine women who give her assurance that he's in good hands.

She sighs. "I can't stop you from doing reckless things. Just get home."

He holds her right hand. "I will bring back Aegeus. It's happened before."

A gasp leaves her lips before turning into a smile.

"Athena, send her to Medus safely," he directs with clear intentions.

The goddess taps her spear to the ground. An orb of light teleports her inside the throne room of her parents. Her son is startled before he almost tackles her with a hug.

She brushes a hand through his thick brown hair.

"It's been so long. Are you okay?"

"I am, my child. And I saw a wonderful thing."

His eyes look up at her.

"I saw our Takashi best a god."

His eyes widen in disbelief. "That's incredible!"

And based on how he acted, he would be a far better god of justice than Athena will ever be. Be safe, good friend.

---

The musical demigod's mind recovers glimpses of the previous timelines while looking at the foreigner.

"Nice to meet you again, friend," he stretches his hand out.

The two shake hands before another deep embrace.

"I, Orpheus of Thrace, will lend you my lyre."

Hephaestus kneels from the sidelines. "And my staff and I will aid you."

The others turn in his direction.

"My actions are horrid, but I need to see if what you said is true. Aphrodite, I'm sorry. When you're back, you and I will go our separate ways."

The salmon pink aura inside Takashi resonates with his words. Not an ounce of deception.

"Okay," he reluctantly acknowledges.

The god of forges stands up while putting his broadsword behind him.

Demeter and the others rush Takashi for a deep embrace. The pressure in his back cracks out.

"You worried us!"

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Hippolyta taps his cheek. "That's a lie."

He laughs from the insinuation. "Okay, you got me there," before turning to Demeter. "I'm sorry. I want to save the Trojans first before we talk with Persep-"

"I understand as long as you will be with me when that happens," her once brittle voice has now solidified thanks to him and the others. A step in the right direction.

"I will. And I like your voice now."

A cheerful smile graces her face. "We will also go with you for support just in case."

"Alright. Now, let's talk strategy."

From memory, he draws out the camp with forced confirmations by Athena where everyone and everything is. She holds back a smile that she knows something they didn't bother to ask about.

After discussing the plan, her light teleports them to undo her damage.