I 020. I

𝑮𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒐𝒓𝒆

❝ crater ❞

SOME PART OF HER HAD HOPED THE TAXI COULD TAKE THEM ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP. No such luck.

The cab made lurching, grinding sounds as it climbed the mountain road, and halfway up they found the ranger's station closed, a chain blocking the way.

"Far as I can go," the cabbie said. "You sure about this? Gonna be a long walk back, and my car's acting funny. I can't wait for you."

"We're sure." Leo was the first one out. The wheels were sinking into the road like it was made of quicksand. Not fast—just enough to make the driver think he had a transmission problem or a bad axle—but Leo knew different.

The road was hard packed dirt. No reason at all it should have been soft, but Leo's shoes were starting to sink. Gaea was messing with them.

Ariadne stepped out quickly. While her friends got out, Leo paid the cabbie. He was generous—heck, why not?

"Keep the change," he said. "And get out of here. Quick."

The driver didn't argue. Soon all they could see was his dust trail.

The view from the mountain was pretty amazing. The whole inland valley around Mount Diablo was a patchwork of towns—grids of tree lined streets and nice middle class suburbs, shops, and schools. All these normal people living normal lives—it was a bit sad how she had never known that.

"That's Concord," Jason said, pointing to the north. "Walnut Creek below us. To the south, Danville, past those hills. And that way..."

He pointed west, where a ridge of golden hills held back a layer of fog, like the rim of a bowl. "That's the Berkeley Hills. The East Bay. Past that, San Francisco."

"Jason?" Piper touched his arm. "You remember something? You've been here?"

"Yes...no." He gave her an anguished look. "It just seems important."

"That's Titan land." Coach Hedge nodded toward the west. "Bad place, Jason. Trust me, this is as close to 'Frisco as we want to get."

Ariadne gazed out toward the foggy basin with an uneasy look upon her pretty face. She hadn't been in near San Fransisco in over two years. Those weren't happy memories.

Leo tried to move his foot, but his heels were now completely embedded in the dirt.

"Hey, guys," he said. "Let's keep moving."

The others noticed the problem.

"Gaea is stronger here," Ariadne muttered.

Hedge grumbled to himself. He popped his hooves free from his shoes, then handed the shoes to Leo. "Keep those for me, Valdez. They're nice."

Leo snorted. "Yes, sir, Coach. Would you like them polished?"

"That's varsity thinking, Valdez." Hedge nodded approvingly. "But first, we'd better hike up this mountain while we still can."

"How do we know where the giant is?" Piper asked.

Jason pointed toward the peak. Drifting across the summit was a plume of smoke. Something was burning.

"Smoke equals fire," Jason said. "We'd better hurry."

Ariadne had been training since she was six, so she was in great shape. Her friends seemed to think they were as well, but climbing a mountain when the earth was trying to swallow your feet was like jogging on a flypaper treadmill.

She was the only one that didn't seem winded. Anytime the ground grabbed at her feet, pulling her down, she took another step and urged it not to sink, and it didn't. Somehow, the earth was listening to her.

In no time, Leo had rolled up the sleeves on his collarless shirt, even though the wind was cold and sharp. He slipped his hands into his tool belt and started summoning supplies—gears, a tiny wrench, some strips of bronze. As he walked, he built, just fiddling with pieces.

By the time they neared the crest of the mountain, Ariadne was the only one who wasn't soaked in sweat.

She was the first one to clinch behind a rock wall. Ariadne gestured for the others to do the same. Leo crawled next to Jason. Piper had to pull Coach Hedge down.

"I don't want to get my outfit dirty!" Hedge complained.

Ariadne gave him an annoyed look. "There's a thing called dry cleaning."

Reluctantly, the satyr knelt.

Just over the ridge where they were hiding, in the shadow of the mountain's final crest, was a forested depression about the size of a football field, where the giant Enceladus had set up camp.

Trees had been cut down to make a towering purple bonfire. The outer rim of the clearing was littered with extra logs and construction equipment—an earthmover; a big crane with rotating blades at the end like an electric shaver, and a long metal column with an axe blade, like a sideways guillotine.

Enceladus was thirty feet tall—easily as tall as the treetops. He seemed intent on the weird purple bonfire, circling it and changing under his breath. From the waist up, the giant appeared humanoid, his muscular chest clad in bronze armor, decorated with flame designs. His arms were completely ripped. Each of his biceps were bigger than an average person, lol a half finished clay figure, but his eyes glowed white, and his hair was matted in shaggy dreadlocks down to his shoulders, braided with bones.

From the waist down, he was even more terrifying. His legs were scaly green, with claws instead of feet—like the forelegs of a dragon. In his hand, Enceladus held a spear the size of a flagpole. Every so often he dipped its tip in the fire, turning the metal molten red.

"Okay," Coach Hedge whispered. "Here's the plan—"

Leo elbowed him. "You're not charging him alone!"

"Aw, c'mon."

Piper choked back on a sob. "Look."

Just visible on the other side of the bonfire was a man tied to a post. His head slumped like he was unconscious, so Ariadne couldn't make out his face, but Piper didn't seem to have any doubts.

"Dad," she said.

Tristan McLean was half dead and about to be eaten. The only people who could stop it—four fashionably dressed teenaged demigods and a megalomaniac goat.

"There's five of us," Hedge whispered urgently. "And only one of him."

"Did you miss the fact that he's thirty feet tall?" Leo asked.

"Okay," Hedge said. "So you, me, Jason, and Phoenix distract him. Piper sneaks around and frees her dad."

They all looked at Jason and Ariadne

"What?" Jason asked. "I'm not the leader."

"Yes," Piper said. "You are."

Jason shook his head. "I'm not doing this without Ariadne. She should be the one leading us."

They'd never really talked about it, but no on disagreed. Coming this far had been a team effort, but when it came to a life-and-death decision, they all knew Ariadne and Jason were the ones to ask. Even if he had no memory, Jason had a kind of balance to him. Ariadne had this aura of power and leadership surrounding her. No one could doubt that her battles had been won because she had fought and lead people to multiple victories.

Piper and Leo and Jason trusted her with their lives.

"I hate to say it," Jason sighed, "but Coach Hedge is right. A distraction is Piper's best chance."

Ariadne nodded.

It was close to noon—the giant's deadline—and the ground was still trying to pull them down. Leo's knees had already sunk two inches into the dirt.

"Let's boogie," Leo said. "Before income to my senses."

The plan went wrong almost immediately. Not that this was new for her, but still, it would've been nice for a small chance of luck.

Piper scrambled along the ridge, trying to keep her head down, while Ariadne, Leo, Jason, and Coach Hedge walked straight into the clearing.

She summoned the most attention, as the fire kept flickering with her eyes.

Jason summoned his golden lance. He brandished it over his head and yelled, "Giant!" Which sounded pretty good.

Enceladus stopped chanting at the flames. He turned toward them and grinned, revealing fangs like a saber-toothed tiger's.

"Well," the giant rumbled. "What a nice surprise."

Leo didn't like the sound of that. His hand closed on his windup gadget. He stepped sideways, edging his way toward the bulldozer.

Coach Hedge shouted, "Let the movie star go, you big ugly cupcake! Or I'm gonna plant my hood right up your—"

"Coach," Ariadne said. "Shut up."

Enceladus roared with laughter. "I've forgotten how funny satyrs are. When we rule the world, I think I'll keep your kind around. You can entertain me while I eat all the other mortals."

"Is that a compliment?" Hedge frowned at Leo. "I don't think that was a compliment."

Enceladus opened his mouth wide, and his teeth began to glow.

"Scatter!" Leo yelled.

Jason and Hedge dove to the light while she did the right as the giant blew fire—a furnace blast so hot even Festus would've been jealous. Leo dodged behind the bulldozer, wound up his homemade device, and dropped it into the driver's seat. The he ran to the right, heading for the tree harvester.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jason rise and charge the giant. Coach Hedge ripped off his canary yellow jacket, which was now on fire, and bleated angrily. "I liked that outfit!" Then he raised his club and charged, too.

Before they could get very far, Enceladus slammed his spear against the ground. The entire mountain shook.

The shockwave sent Leo sprawling. Jason staggered to his feet on the other side of the clearing. Coach Hedge was knocked out cold. He'd fallen forward and hit his head on a log. His furry hindquarters were sticking straight up, with his canary yellow pants around his knees.

The giant bellowed, "I see you, Piper McLean!" He turned and blew fire at a line of bushes. Piper ran into the clearing like a flushed quail, the underbrush burning behind her.

Enceladus laughed. "I'm happy you've arrived. And you brought me my prizes!"

Ariadne's guy twisted. This was the moment Piper had warned them about. They'd played right into Enceladus's hands.

The giant laughed even louder. "That's right, son of Hephaestus. I didn't expect you all to stay alive this long, but it doesn't matter. By bringing up here, Piper McLean has sealed the deal. If she betrays you, I'm as good as my word. She can take her father and go. What do I care about a movie star?"

Ariadne could see Piper's dad more clearly how. He wore a ragged dress shirt and torn slacks. His bare feet were cakes with mud. He wasn't completely unconscious, because he lifted his head and groaned. He had a nasty cut down the side of his face, and he looked thin and sickly.

"Dad!" Piper yelled.

Mr. McLean blinked, trying to focus. "Pipes...? Where..."

Piper drew her dagger and faced Enceladus. "Let him go!"

"Of course, dear," the giant rumbled. "Swear your loyalty to me, and we have no problem. Only these others must die."

Piper looked back and forth between Leo and her dad.

"He'll kill you," Leo warned. "Don't trust him!"

"Oh, come now," Enceladus bellowed. "You know I was born to fight Athena herself? Mother Gaea made each of us giants with a specific purpose, designed to fight and destroy a particular god. I was Athena's nemesis—the anti-Athena, you might say. Compared to some of my brethren—I am small! But I am clever. And I keep my bargain with you, Piper McLean. It's part of my plan!"

Jason was on his feet now, lance ready; but before he could act, Enceladus roared—a call so loudly it echoed down the valley and was probably heard all the way to San Fransisco.

At the edge of the woods, a dozen ogre like creatures rose up. They'd risen straight out of the earth.

The ogres shuffled forward. They were small compared to Enceladus, about seven feet tall. Each one of them had six arms—one pair in the regular spot, then an extra pair sprouting out the top of their shoulders, and another set shooting from the sides of their rib cages. They wore only ragged leather loincloths.

Leo stepped toward Piper. "What—what are those?"

Ariadne's blade reflected the purple light of the bonfire. "Gegenees."

"In English?" Leo asked.

"The Earthborn," she said. "Six armed giants who fought Jason—the first Jason."

"Very good, my dear!" Enceladus sounded delighted. "They used to live on a miserable place in Greece called Bear Mountain. Mount Diablo is much nicer! They are lesser children of Mother Earth, but they serve their purpose. They're good with construction equipment—"

"Vroom, vroom!" one of the Earthborn bellowed, and the others took up the chant, each moving his six hands as though driving a car, as if it were some kind of weird religious ritual. "Vroom, vroom!"

"Yes, thank you, boys," Enceladus said. "They also have a score to settle with heroes. Especially anyone named Jason."

"Yay-son!" the Earthborn screamed. They all picked up clumps of earth, which solidified in their hands, turning to nasty painted stones. "Where Yay-son? Kill Yay-son!"

Enceladus smiled. "You see, Piper, you have a choice. Save your father, or ah, try to save your friends and face certain death."

Piper stepped forward. Her eyes blazed with such rage, even the Earthborn backed away. She radiated power and beauty, but it had nothing to do with her clothes or her makeup.

"You will not take the people I love," she said. "None of them."

Her words rippled across the clearing with such force, the Earthborn muttered, "Okay. Okay, sorry," and began to retreat.

"Stand your ground, fools!" Enceladus bellowed. He snarled at Piper. "This is why we wanted you alive, my dear. You could have been so useful to us. But as you wish. Earthborn! I will show you Jason."

But the giant didn't point to Jason. He pointed to the other side of the bonfire, where Tristan McLean hung helpless and half conscious.

"There is Jason," Enceladus said with pleasure. "Tear him apart!"

One look from Jason, and all four of them knew the game plan.

Jason charged Enceladus, while Piper rushed to her father, and Leo dashed for the tree harvested, which stood between Mr. McLean and the Earthborn.

The Earthborn were fast, but Leo ran like a storm spirits. He leaped toward the harvester from five feet away and slammed into the driver's seat. His hands flew across the controls, and the machine responded with unnatural speed—coming to life as if it know how important this was.

"Ha!" Leo screamed, and swung the crane arm through the bonfire, toppling burning logs onto the Earthborn and spraying sparks everywhere. Two giants went down under a fiery avalanche and melted back into the earth—hopefully to stay for a while.

The other four ogres stumbled across the burning logs and hot coals while Leo brought the harvester around. He smashed a button, and on the end of the crane arm the wicked rotating blades began to whir.

Ariadne was battling a half dozen of the Earthborn. They were surrounding her on all sides, but a duck of her wrist, they were thrown away. Lunacy slashed and stabbed furiously.

Piper was at the stake, cutting her father free. On the other side of the clearing, Jason fought the giant, somehow managing to dodge his massive spear and blasts of fire breath. Ariadne was meant to sneak up and take him down. Jason was just the bait. Coach Hedge was still heroically passed out with his goat tail sticking up in the air.

The whole side of the mountain would soon be ablaze. The fire wouldn't bother Leo, but if the others got trapped up there—

Ariadne ducked a clump rocks aimed at her head. Apparently the Earthborn were not all that intelligent. She was tired of them. They were an annoyance she could not escape.

She rolled her eyes at the creatures which ran toward her. Lunacy swiped quickly, cutting limbs off left and right, destroying the Earthborn and leaving clay in their wake.

Just as Piper cut her father free and caught him in her arms, the giants launched their second volley of stones. The dozer swiveled in the mud, skidding to intercept, and most of the rocks slammed into its shovel. The force was so great it pushed the dozer back. Two rocks ricocheted and struck their throwers. Two more Earthborn melted into clay. Unfortunately, one rock hit the dozer's engine, sending up a cloud of oily smoke, and the dozer groaned to a stop.

Piper dragged her father below the ridge. The last Earthborn charged after her.

Leo ran forward, straight through the flames, and grabbed something—anything—from his tool belt.

"Hey, stupid!" he yelled, and threw a screwdriver at the Earthborn.

It didn't kill the ogre, but it sure got his attention. The screwdriver sank hilt deep into the Earthborn's forehead like he was made of Play-Doh.

The Earthborn yelped in pain and skittered to a halt. He pulled out the screwdriver, turned and glared at Leo.

"You die!" the Earthborn roared. "Friends of Yay-son dies!"

The ogre scooped up handfuls of dirt, which immediately hardened into rock cannonballs.

He burst into flames, yelled, "Hephaestus!" and charged at the ogre barehanded.

He never got there.

A blur of black and purple flashed behind the ogre. A vine swatted it into the air, a golden flash hacking it to large pieces.

Six arms dropped to the ground, boulders rolling out of their useless hands. The Earthborn looked down, very surprised. He mumbled, "Arms go bye-bye."

Then he melted into the ground.

Ariadne stood there, raising an eyebrow at the flaming boy. Lunacy covered with slay. Piper's dad sat at the ridge with her, dazed and wounded, but still alive.

Her expression was of boredom. He understood that. She had fought Titans and the entirety of a monster army, what would Earthborn do to scare her?

She looked over. Jason was still fighting the giant Enceladus—and it wasn't going well.

Vines swarmed at her feet, ready to tear the giant apart. She was tired of having to fight to find her missing boyfriend. If only Hera hadn't been petty and taken him all because Ariadne didn't thank her two years ago.

Jason rolled away from the giant's first spear thrust and jabbed Enceladus in the ankle. Jason's javelin managed to pierce the thick dragon hide, and golden ichor—the blood of immortals—trickled down the giant's clawed foot.

Enceladus bellowed in pain and blasted him with fire. Jason scrambled away, rolling behind the giant, and struck again behind his knee.

Ariadne was the only one who could change the tide of the battle. Enceladus's spear missed him by a millimeter. Jason kept dodging, but the ground stuck to his feet. Gaea was getting stronger, and the giant was getting faster. Enceladus might be slow, but he wasn't dumb. He began anticipating Jason's moves, and Jason's attacks were only annoying him, making him more enraged.

"I'm not some minor monster," Enceladus bellowed. "I am a giant, born to destroy gods! Your little gold toothpick can't kill me, boy."

Jason didn't waste any time replying. He was already tired. The ground clung to his feet, making him feel like he weighed an extra hundred pounds. The air was full of smoke that burned his lungs. Fire roared around him, stoked by the winds, and the temperature was approaching the heat of an oven.

Jason raised his javelin to block the giant's next strike—a big mistake. He managed to deflect the spear, but it grazed his shoulder, and his arm went numb.

He backed up, almost tripping over a burning log.

The giant raised his spear for a final strike to Jason's chest, but he was knocked onto his side before he could move.

Enceladus groaned in pain while he stumbled to his feet, using his spear as support. He aimed fire at something moving too quickly for Jason to see. The heat burned the blonde's face, so much, that he had to stutter back away before he inhaled anymore smoke.

Ichor covered the giant's entire arm. A large slash mark had pierced his skin, while he swung his spear around in a wild fashion.

There was a laugh, and his spear knocked against a blade that glistened in the firelight.

Ariadne held a smirk on her face, as if this was just another day in her life. Her sword held its ground while the earth attempted to swallow her feet whole. But she wasn't sinking, as if her own powers were combating that of Gaea's.

Vines hung at her feet, stabbing and twisting around the giant's larger ones. He hated his fangs in a warrior grimace.

"The ferocious Ariadne Phoenix," he taunted, attempting to knock her off her feet. "Yes, we know about you, Daughter of the Vines. You are the one who scared Kronos the most when he tried to take Olympus last summer. The one who almost single-handedly broke through Olympus."

"Actually," she said, "I prefer to be known for being the girl who is going to rip you and your brethren to shreds."

Enceladus breathed fire.

The blast missed her, but the heat blistered her back and neck. She rolled onto the ground, her clothes smoldering. Ash and smoke were becoming blinding, choking her as she tried to breathe.

Ariadne flipped away before the giant's spear cleaved the ground between her feet.

Something struck her.

Hestia has warned her years before of what would happen if she broke her sword. She imagined, that if a goddess was warning her, it was something that could destroy a giant on its own.

She gulped down the sorrow building in her throat. Losing Lunacy was terrible. It was her first sword, and, it was a way for her to stay connected to Percy after all this time. But she had to.

Enceladus let her approach, grinning with anticipation. She walked slowly, taking confident strides while memorizing the way her sword felt in her hand, the handle, the vines dancing along the blade, as if they knew it was their last run together.

Just another thing the gods and their enemies were taking from her.

At the last second, Ariadne faked a strike and rolled between the giant's legs. She turned around quickly. Before Enceladus could sweep his spear toward the side, she stabbed Lunacy at an awkward angle, and the blade hit his weapon.

And with a snap like a shotgun blast, the gold weapon shattered.

The explosion was hotter than the giant's breath, blinding Ariadne with golden light. The force knocked her off her feet and she lost all the breath settling in her lungs.

When she regained her focus, she was sitting at the rim of a crater. Enceladus stood on the other side, staggering and confused. The sword's destruction had released so much energy—more than normal—it had blasted a perfect cone shaped pit sixty feet deep, fusing the dirt and rock into a slick glass substance. Ariadne wondered how she'd survived, but her clothes were steaming. Enceladus was still very much alive.

Her friends stood behind a few tree lines while watching in shock.

Ariadne stood on her legs shakily, wobbling slightly. Enceladus blinked at the destruction, then laughed. "Impressive! Unfortunately, that was your last trick, demigod."

Enceladus leaped the crater in a single bound, planting his feet before Ariadne. The giant raised his spear, its tip a few feet before her chest.

"And now," Enceladus said, "my first sacrifice to Gaea!"

Leo yelled across the scarred earth, "What is it with this guy? Die, already!"

"My fate is preordained," Enceladus said. "Giants cannot be killed by gods or heroes."

"Only both," she whispered. The giant's smile faltered, and Ariadne saw fear begin to crawl into his eyes. "Gods and demigods must work together."

"Anyone have a god handy?" Leo asked.

Ariadne's heart fluttered. She looked at the giant below them, struggling to get out of the pit, and she knew what she needed to do.

"Leo," Ariadne said, "find someway to get in the air with Piper and Jason and Hedge. Now."

Leo was able to construct something quickly. He latched rope onto the four and huddled them onto a tree far off from the damage.

She was done with this. It was tiring, it was pointless, and she was done with being a pawn for people.

"You cannot possibly defeat me on your own, Daughter of the Vines," Enceladus growled. "No one holds that power."

It angered her at the thought. Ariadne was always alone half the time. Her whole life she had been abandoned, lied to, and out in constant danger, so why shouldn't she rely on anyone else? Especially a god, of all things.

Lunacy's hilt was a few inches from her hand. Part of the blade was still intact, broken and mangled, but just enough to be deadly. It gleamed slightly.

Her hand gripped it tightly. Adrenaline pumped through her, she felt like she could tear the world apart.

"I don't need them," Ariadne said strongly. "I've never needed them. The gods need me, not the other way around. And you, Enceladus, will wish that you hadn't threatened me or my friends."

Enceladus seemed confused as to what was about to happen.

Ariadne leaped into the crater. In a few seconds, she had what remained of Lunacy in his skin, ichor pouring out like a golden waterfall, fire making her look savage and ancient. He yelled in pain while thrashing on the ground.

Groaning escaped the earth. Enceladus thought it was his Mother coming to the rescue, but the hope vanished just as quickly when thousands of vines sprung from the ground, splitting the crater open. The vines had split the mountain itself. The earth rumbled and tore apart, and Enceladus's legs were sliding into the chasm. He clawed helplessly while Ariadne slid off of him, Lunacy's handle fizzling into small glints of gold which disappeared.

Enceladus managed to hold on to the edge, his hands trembling. He fixed Ariadne with a look of pure fear and hatred. "No matter how much power you wield, girl, you've won nothing. My brothers are rising, and they are ten times as strong as I. We will destroy the gods at their roots! You will die, and Olympus will die with you!"

The giant lost his grip and almost fell into the crevice.

Ariadne grabbed a fistful of his matted hair. She brought his face close to her own, and her eyes were dangerous, radiating enough power to tear him to pieces. Enceladus couldn't believe it. This demigod was able to take him down without a god, as if she held the power of both in her veins.

"You tell Gaea, that when she messes with my friends and family, she faces my wrath. I hope you let your mother know that when she tries to rise, I will not hesitate to make her pay for what she had done, and she will wish she had never woken up from her sleep."

The earth shook, and he was gone. Vines swallowed the crevice, patching the ground back together.

"Grab hold!" Leo yelled.

Ariadne was at the edge of the chasm when she grabbed the rope, and Leo and Piper and Jason pulled her up.

They stood together, the other three the only ones exhausted and terrified, as the chasm closed like an angry mouth. The ground stopped pulling at their feet.

For now, Gaea heeded Ariadne's warning.

The mountainside was on fire. Smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the air. Jason spotted a helicopter—maybe firefighters or reporters—coming toward them.

All around them was carnage. The Earthborn had melted into piles of clay, leaving behind only their rock missiles and some nasty bits of loincloth, but Ariadne figured they would reform soon enough. Construction equipment lay in ruins. The ground was scarred and blackened.

Coach Hedge started to move from where Leo had set him on the ground. He sat up with a groan and rubbed his head. His canary yellow pants were now the color of Dijon mustard mixed with mud.

He blinked and looked around at the battle scene. "Did I do this?"

Before Jason could reply, Hedge picked up his club and got shakily to his feet. "Yeah, you wanted some hoof? I have you some hoof, cupcakes! Who's the goat, huh?"

He did a little dance, kicking rocks and making what were probably rude satyr gestures at the piles of clay.

Leo cracked a smile, and Jason couldn't help it—he started to laugh. It sounds a little hysterical.

Then a man stood up from the base of a tree across the clearing. Tristan McLean staggered forward. His eyes were hollow, shell shocked, like someone who'd just walked through a nuclear wasteland.

"Piper?" he called. His voice cracked. "Pipes, what—what is—"

He couldn't complete his thought. Piper ran over to him and hugged him tightly, but he almost didn't seem to know her.

Mr. McLean had too many memories, too much trauma his mind couldn't handle. He was coming apart.

"We need to get him out of here," Jason said.

"Yeah, but his?" Leo said. "He's in no shape to walk."

Jason glanced up at the helicopter, which was now circling directly overhead. "Can you make us a bullhorn or something?" he asked Leo. "Piper had some talking to do."

Ariadne focused on the crater that Lunacy had made. Where she had destroyed a giant on her, proving to herself that she didn't need the gods, but that they needed her so desperately.

Lunacy was gone. Her finger felt bare without it. Somehow, it was like she had lost a part of herself.

Gods and giants had witnessed the defeat, and horror filled them in different ways. But one thing was sure—Gaea was going to face Ariadne's wrath.

authors note:

A little something something

Gonna go work on a Levi Ackerman book because he's just everything

Hope you guys enjoyed it. Also, all the songs you all commented last chapter are now in my playlists because they were masterpieces.

Q: What do you believe Ariadne's power limit is?
A: As the author, I cannot disclose any spoilers I just wanna hear your opinions!!!!

Hope you all enjoyed this!

Comment your favorite part and what you hope will happen next!

Love you guys and thank you for reading!