Chapter 329: One Last Time

16th May 2013, Sayre Manor

(Jasmine Sayre POV)

Resigned to my fate, I nodded. The cosmic entity cackled in laughter, "That's good to see, girl. Now, I want to see no rebelliousness from you. I want you to keep to your role, keep recruiting, and keep working on your fight against Entropy. Do that, and Hestia would be safe, even if you somehow manage to fail, I can promise you that."

I still glared at the cosmic entity, and she seemed to soften slightly, "Look, Morrigan, do this, and after you've dealt with Entropy, if you succeed, I will let you go. I will not force you to do anything anymore. That is a promise."

I could feel the weight of the promise. The air was electrified, and I could feel that this statement would be enforced if I accept. It didn't change anything, not really, but at least it was a guarantee that I would be free of her after this whole Entropy mess is dealt with. Still, I had no real choice in the matter, and she did pretty much just threaten me into agreeing, "I agree to your terms."

The moment I spoke these words the white world shattered, and I returned to reality. I was hugging Hestia and had just told her that I made a decision on whether or not I will accept her offer.

She looked at me, with those hopeful eyes, that I was going to betray with my answer. Well, it's better to not mince my words and lead her on, "I'm sorry, Hestia, but I just can't."

I could see the emotions going through her eyes. Her hope was shattered, turned into shock, sadness, and then heartbreak. I couldn't deal with the emotions, and so I enveloped her into another hug.

I wished I could have gone with her; I really did. The idea of letting go of this cursed world, of leaving this life behind without any responsibilities or constant wars and balances I needed to maintain. I could have gone back to Olympus, to the remnants of my first true home, and flourished there. Even if Hestia and I did not end up renewing our romantic relationship, I still would have been happy to live the rest of my days in a place where I wouldn't have to watch the people slowly grow old, wither and die inevitably, while I stayed watching, undying.

Hestia ended the hug, and I could see the tears in her eyes, "Do you love Selene that much?"

I shook my head, "This has nothing to do with Selene. I love her, perhaps more than I did anyone else, but she betrayed me deeply, and I will not forget something like that. The truth is that I have responsibilities, and while I wish more than anything that I could come with you, I just can't abandon everything just for my sake and yours."

The Goddess of the Hearth glared at me, with tears staining her cheeks, "Oh, let go of that sanctimonious dramatic speech about responsibilities. You might like to pretend to care, but I know deep down that you resent every single one of them. You hate your life, and I can see it in your eyes that you still do. So, if you would rather sacrifice your life for the sake of your own self-loathing, fighting a fucking cosmic entity, than join me and our people once more, then you're more than welcome to do so. But don't pretend that this is anything more than your decision, Morrigan."

Damn, she called me Morrigan, not Medusa. I am really starting to hate Death even more so. I hated how she threatened me into serving her once more, even when I don't even have the power as her champion anymore. It seems that even thousands of years of service wasn't enough for me to get a retirement plan of any kind.

Should I tell Hestia? It's very unlikely that we'll see each other again, after tonight. Agamotto's wards will readjust soon, and things will go back to normal, banishing her back to Olympus. The circumstances of our meeting was a one in a billion occurrence, and I don't want to leave things like this.

Yes, it's better that I tell her, "It's more complicated than that, Hestia. I want to come with you, I really do, but I'm under pressure here."

The Queen of Olympus' glare lessened slightly, "Explain."

I sighed, "What do you know about my deal with Death?"

"You would serve as her avatar in exchange for her sparing your people, the Atlanteans."

I nodded, "Yes, and so far, she has kept her side of the bargain. What you do not know is the fact that when I saved your people, when I saved Olympus, I did something forbidden and it backfired immensely. You were supposed to have died in that ritual; Death was supposed to punish you for breaking the natural laws. She didn't do any of that because of our agreement. I was lightly punished for my actions, but you were beyond her reach, technically. If you die, you still die, but by making you into beings of energy, you became the first Gods with souls, and Death hated that, especially when she couldn't kill you herself because of our agreement."

Hestia looked pale at my admission, "I guess we owe you our lives then?"

I smiled at her, confirming her theory, "Yes, in a way, you do. And Death has been on my case about it. Even now, I might have quit my position, but she hasn't formalized it. It was unofficial, and she didn't care because she wanted me to deal with Entropy. Now that I just thought about leaving with you, she told me in no uncertain terms that she would see this as a direct violation of our deal and that she would destroy the realm of Olympus, and all of its inhabitants as they are abominations in her eyes. If I said yes and came with you, you would die, everyone would die, and everything I had ever suffered as the Avatar of Death would have been for nothing."

Hestia had tears in her eyes by the time I was done explaining my conundrum, "You did all of this for us?"

"Yes," I replied, feeling a heavy weight in my heart. "You are my people, and I promised my father, Atlan, that I would do my best to protect you all. I couldn't stand by and watch you suffer and die. But now, I find myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. I want to be with you and the rest of the Olympians, but Death's threat is too great to ignore."

And how I wished that wasn't the case. I hoped that I was free of the cosmic entity, that I was free of her meddling. But even now, thousands of years after the biggest mistake of my life, she was still there. Sometimes, I wish that I wouldn't have accepted that deal, all those years ago, that I would have let Atlantis burn and die in the past. And yet, every time I have these cursed thoughts, I remember Hestia and how she was alive in Olympus as a goddess, and I accept that what I have done, what I suffered, was worth it. I could never risk something like this happening to Olympus.

Hestia looked at me pleadingly, "She could be bluffing…"

It was a desperate plea, and I knew it. Hestia simply refused to believe that I was forced to stay here, in the mortal plane, away from her.

I shook my head with a sad look on my face, "She wasn't. And even if she was, you're the Queen of Olympus now, Hestia. Are you truly willing to risk your people, your kingdom, for the chance that Death might have been bluffing?"

Hestia looked down, "So this is it, then?"

I could understand why it was difficult to let go, but this was most likely the best relationship the both of us ever had, romantic or not. Once upon a time, I truly loved that woman, enough that I would have died for her. But this didn't need to be a sad occasion, "What do you mean this is it? We still have the entire night to catch up."

Hestia looked confused until she realized what I was talking about, "perhaps you are right, Medusa. Let us forget about the past and the future, and simply focus on the present. We are together once more after so long. I did sincerely miss your companionship."

"As I did yours, Hestia."

With that done, we simply kept walking by the beach, in the middle of the night. The sand was cool and soft underfoot, while the moon's light illuminated the surroundings with a silver glow. The waves were crashing gently against the shore, and their sound mixed with the songs of the crickets. The ocean was like a sheet of glass, reflecting the bright moon, creating a mesmerizing illusion of stars on the water. The air was salty and fresh, carrying the scent of seaweed and the sea. The stars in the sky twinkled like diamonds, and the constellations were visible to the naked eye. It was a breathtaking sight, with the full moon casting an ethereal glow on everything, making everything look otherworldly and beautiful.

It was the perfect setting to just talk about us, about what happened to us in the last three thousand years. I laughed at the antics her brothers kept pulling, and I sympathized with her about Zeus' horrible reign and how she ended up taking over, at least for the sake of things being somewhat orderly.

In turn, I told her about a few of my adventures, about the pain of constantly losing people I cared about. I let out my grievances at my binding to Time and Fate which stopped me from experiencing even the illusion of free will for so long, that even when I ended up free after the loop was over, I felt lost. I told her about my anger at Rose, at her actions and her condemnation of me. I told her about how much Selene's betrayal hurt, and how it was easier to use my Celestial side to function every day, just so I don't collapse in heartbreak the moment I think of my wife.

I ranted about the fact that the cosmic entities that obviously knew about the threat that Entropy posed, just let it go for some reason. I didn't know if it was at Death's prompting or not, but the result was the same. I was forced to fight against Entropy, a being far above me in power and experience, and yet no one seemed to care. There wasn't a single cosmic entity that hadn't failed me in a way. Even Fate had misled me to believe that Cosmic Entities were unable to intervene in the universe while it's locked.

By the end of our conversation, we had sat down in the sand watching the sun was rising. Hestia gave me a warm smile, "It's time, I can feel it."

I could feel my eyes fill up with tears as I understood what she meant, "I will miss you, Hestia."

She nodded, her eyes teary as well, "and I will miss you as well. It was nice to get to know you once more, Medusa."

"And I could say the same to you."

She was putting on a brave face, but I could tell that her heart was breaking, "Medusa, before I go. Can I ask you something?"

I nodded and she continued, "Can I kiss you, one last time?"

I slowly leaned in to her face and met her lips one last time. They were salty from the tears coming down her cheeks. As the kiss ended, we both looked at each other's eyes, not wanting to forget this magical moment.

Hestia's brave face crumbled from the intensity of the emotions, "I don't want to go."

I lunged to comfort her into a hug, but slowly the woman started to slightly glow, and I could tell that Hestia was gone, leaving behind an unconscious mortal and me with a broken heart.

I looked up to the rising sun and spoke up, "Goodbye, Hestia."

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