Ocean Song was oblivious to what was happening back in the Western World.
Beyond seeing the light show, which he just assumed was Hercules fixing the island, he didn't know about anything else going on.
Ironically, the sequence of events he set off led to Poseidon being able to push forward their own plans.
Giving a reason like 'I don't want my son to end up like Hercules' and giving him a reward that may have been questionable before was now understandable in the god's eyes.
Not only that, but no one had time to care about what Poseidon was doing under the sea when they had a ticking time bomb running around and ignoring the authority of the gods.
Yes, Ocean Song had no idea what chaos was happening back home as he sailed onwards.
His worries were more miniscule.
Such, why did it only take him a day to sail all the way across the ocean when it realistically should have taken him weeks?
On one hand, it could be summarized that the metaphysical world works differently. That the Pillars of Hercules act as a gate regardless of distance.
On the other hand, Ocean Song was a cultivator, and as such, he gets proper time skips when he travels.
Unfortunately, he had no idea where he was actually going.
He was sure he was in the Mediterranean Sea.
His instincts as a son of Poseidon told him this.
The ancient waters called out to him, like they were welcoming him home.
This was where his father was 'born,' and it was also his birthright.
Strangely, he could see a mountain towering in the distance, beyond the mists. The Olympus of old, yet it was still the same Olympus that stood over the Empire State Building.
However, it appeared more as a mirage, a faint image of what once existed, or rather, what had been moved away.
He clasped his hands together. "Father, please guide me."
He was on a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean.
While his father didn't give him a response, the wind picked up, and it carried his ship onwards.
Ocean Song stood on the bow of his ship as the winds took him.
He wasn't alone on these waters; as large as they were, he occasionally saw human vessels pass by.
A few sailboats, a few fishing boats, and a handful of container ships.
Despite the ancient legacy of this place, it had kept up with the times.
To the humans living in the surrounding lands, it was as normal as could be.
Funnily, it took him longer to reach land than it did for him to apparently sail across the ocean to Europe from the United States.
Once he got closer to the landmass he was approaching, he felt a connection as well.
There was no 'dock'; he simply pulled up to the side of a cliff that overlooked the sea and dropped the anchor of his boat before flying upwards on his sword.
It was easy enough to reach the top, not being too tall. And that's when he saw what called to him.
It was an ancient temple, weathered and barely standing. A tourist site, a place that archeologists had examined and archived.
There weren't any people around; it wasn't very important to the humans in this era, but it still stood despite the age.
The large stone pillars remained upright even as the majority of the iconic stones had long disappeared.
However, if one peered past the mists, they could see the truth.
It was simply hidden.
A Temple of Poseidon still stood.
Sure, it was still somewhat run-down, not having been touched for a very long time, but it was a far cry from the naked columns and few stones that lay around the foundation.
"Thanks, Dad." Ocean Song muttered as he stepped past the ropes that stopped tourists from damaging the historical site, and he walked into the temple proper.
It was dusty at first glance, but Ocean Song ignored it and approached the statue of his father.
Ocean Song held out his hand and summoned a gale to sweep through the temple. All the cobwebs and accumulated dust were swept up and dispersed back outside, giving the place a newfound gleam that it hadn't seen in centuries.
To his surprise, he did find something after doing a quick clean.
Someone left an offering in front of the statue but didn't touch anything else—a simple drachma and nothing else.
Ocean Song picked it up, examining it for anything of note, but it was just the same as any drachma that one could pick up anywhere.
He furrowed his brow, looking up at the statue. "Did you want me to find this?"
Did his father remember something about his mother and lead him here?
He also knew his father wouldn't reach out over to this area. Whatever was happening in this part of the world, it sounded like it frightened his father.
Why else would Zeus and the other gods forbid their children from approaching the Old World?
There was no use sitting here.
Instead, he decided to investigate the surroundings. Perhaps he could ask some of the humans around? Maybe his mother stopped by a shop or something; maybe they would remember her based on certain…physical characteristics?
Something caught his eye as he was pondering that.
A single pine tree stood tall not far away. A path that connected it with the Temple, and the path that continued down the cliff towards civilization.
Ocean Song approached it and bowed politely. "Greetings, Elder. This one respectfully requests a meeting, if you would be so inclined."
A gentle wind blew from the water, and the tree swayed back and forth as the leaves rustled. But after a few moments, it shook a bit more violently as if yawning, and a figure began to step out of the trunk.
It was a tree nymph, or a dryad, as they were called.
As if waking up from a long nap, the woman stretched and yawned again before looking at Ocean Song.
"A child of Poseidon?" She looked at him curiously. "I haven't seen one of you in a long time."
"Greetings, caretaker of the temple." Ocean Song was nothing if not polite, especially when he wanted something. "I am Ocean Song, child of Poseidon. I have ventured here in search of my mother. I wonder if I may ask you some questions?"
Oak trees were the trees associated with Poseidon.
Combined with her presence here, it wasn't a leap to make when calling her the 'Caretaker' of the temple.
If anything, it elevated her status above a 'mere' Dryad.
She just smiled casually. "I don't know if I can help you with anything. I'm usually sleeping since no one comes around these days. If you're asking if I've seen anyone, well… I think I've seen a few people around the temple." She tapped her chin.
"It should have been within the last few months, Caretaker." Ocean Song clarified.
"Months?" She tilted her head. "Uwww…um, well, I don't know when the last time I went to sleep was until now, so…" She playfully knocked her head with her fist. "I don't really keep track of time."
Ocean Song let out a sigh.
He supposed it made sense.
What use would a dryad who sleeps within an oak tree that will last thousands of years have for caring about the passage of time?
But there was still no harm in asking. "She should be a sea nymph, recently given birth."
"A Sea Nymph?" The Dryad repeated, looking deep in thought. "Anything else? I think I remember a bunch of Sea Nymphs coming by to pay respects over time; I just don't remember when."
Again, Ocean Song let out a long-suffering sigh. "She… as I've been told, has a very large behind."
The Dryad blinked, and to his surprise, she didn't laugh, but instead, it looked like she had a flash of enlightenment. "Oh, I remember one like that!"
Ocean Song resisted the urge to find something to hit his head against.
"I remember her passing by! She prayed to Poseidon for a blessing, then headed inwards! I thought it was weird because sea nymphs usually like to stay by the water." The Dryad explained. "If I had to guess, I think she was going towards Athens?"
"I see…" Ocean Song furrowed his brow. "I thank you for your help, Caretaker." He bowed again.
"It was nothing." She waved her hand. "I'm going back to sleep; see you later." She said her goodbyes as she went back inside her tree.
Onwards.
[Line Break]
Ocean Song could move much quicker now that he felt comfortable flying.
Athens wasn't too far away; he arrived at the large city in only a few minutes.
Though, once he got close enough, he noticed something wrong. From high up above, he could see some of the city devastated. Like, someone had torn apart a chunk of the city in a fight.
It confused him.
Wasn't this Athens? A significant city not only for Athena but for the Greek gods in general?
Was someone really so bold as to cause wanton destruction here and not fear the anger of the gods?
Or…did they just simply not care anymore?
The destruction didn't look new, like it had been here for days.
He made sure the mists covered him as he flew around a bit more to get a better look. He could already see the humans starting to clean things up, rubble being moved away, and buildings being torn down.
It was definitely recent, just not in the past couple days at least.
Still, it left Ocean Song confused.
He flew around a bit more to check on the state of the city in general. The Parthenon was still standing, unmolested. The mists hid its true nature as a still-functioning and fully built temple to Athena.
And the other iconic Greek sites in the city remained standing as well.
Something did catch his eye, and Ocean Song shot to the ground to inspect.
It looked at a statue of Athena, completely fine, yet there was a trail of destruction leading to it, then it was as if the destruction paused, looked at the statue, and then turned in a different direction as it continued at a different angle.
Completely leaving the statue alone.
Ocean Song clicked his tongue because he figured that whatever caused the destruction avoided any wrath simply by leaving the important places alone.
The gods wouldn't care if a bunch of mortals got killed or their homes destroyed as long as their temples and statues and whatever else were left alone.
Still, it was painting a picture, one that Ocean Song still couldn't fully see.
Though, Ocean Song perked up once he saw something familiar. "Fellow Daoist!" He called out, noticing a satyr sitting not far away, looking rather depressed.
The Satyr seemingly noticed him too and got startled, trying to run away, but Ocean Song was too quick.
"Please don't eat me!" The satyr immediately cried out, getting on its knees in a begging position.
"...okay." Ocean Song blinked. "I was just wanting to ask you about what happened here."
"...you're not going to eat me?" He peeked up.
"No?" Ocean Song shook his head. "I just want information.
"Oh." The satyr recovered quickly. "Alright, yeah. Sure."
"...So, what happened?" Ocean Song carried on.
The satyr cleared his throat. "Uh, monster fight. What else?"
Ocean Song resisted the urge to sigh. "More details, fellow Daoist."
"Fellow what?"
"Just tell me what happened in detail!"
"Uh…the Empusa that ruled over the city got in a city with the Calydonian Boar." He said it as if it were the most common thing in the world.
"...more details."
"I—I don't really know more than that?"
"What do you mean the Empusa that ruled over the city?" Ocean Song asked him. "Aren't Empusa under the employ of Hecate?"
The satyr's eyes widened. "Don't say a god's name so easily!" He hissed, looking around. "Are you new around here or something!?"
"Yes?"
The satyr groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Look, you probably came from the west, right?" He asked, earning a nod from Ocean Song. "Alright, alright. It may be different out West, but do not say the gods' names here, even if you're a monster. They'll ignore you in the west, but here? It's worse. It's like you're on a megaphone shouting their name rather than it being drowned out in a crowd. And they don't like being called over here."
"I appreciate the warning, Fellow Daoist." Ocean Song thanked him for the genuine advice. "But what's this about an Empusa ruling the city? Is this city not…owned by the namesake?"
"Wow, you really aren't from here, are you? No, the gods abandoned the cities here; it's…complicated."
"Why did the Calydonian Boar fight this Empusa then?"
"Why else? To claim the city well…" He scratched his head. "Considering he won and left…maybe not?"
Ocean Song furrowed his brow, still confused. "Why would he want the city?"
"Why wouldn't he? Since the gods abandoned the cities and places here, they're open real estate. If someone strong enough claims it, well, they're mystical spots for a reason. The Empusa that lived here—ruled here for hundreds of years; it was strong because this city became its territory."
"I see." Ocean Song rubbed his chin. "So they are claiming spots of power to enhance themselves."
The satyr shrugged. "More or less."
"And you live here?" Ocean Song asked him.
"I mean, I did." He gestured to the wreckage. "My apartment kind of got stomped into the ground, along with about 80% of the community here."
"Community?"
"All of us that stayed in the city. The Empusa didn't really bother us as long as we paid tribute and didn't cause trouble. It was actually a nice deal; a lot of people who were tired of the West came over here to settle down."
Ocean Song was surprised by that.
He didn't think that monsters or non-humans would…coexist? Or live peacefully in the old world, as it were.
"Where's the boar now?"
"I heard it was heading west, erm…not west, if you get what I mean. I heard rumors that it's going towards Rome, that it's been fighting and killing all the big names in the surrounding countries."
"Rome must be a prize if what you say about these spots of power is true." Ocean Song could understand that much. "
"More than that…" The satyr leaned in. "There had been rumors and legends for years that if you can turn Rome into your territory, it's a short hop to godhood. But no one knows if it's true or not."
Godhood?
Ocean Song found the idea curious.
The idea wasn't that far-fetched.
Rome as a concept weighed heavily in the world and in people's minds in general.
If someone or something could…usurp it, attach themselves to the concept of Rome, and claim it, how would that be any different than a god's domain?
However, he pushed those thoughts away.
"Fellow Daoist, you said that a lot of the inhabitants here were…victims of the fight?" Ocean Song's mind wandered towards a rather unfortunate conclusion. "...would you perhaps elaborate on that?"
"I mean…" He scratched his neck. "There's not much to say; I was out of the city at the time and came back to things getting wrecked. Everyone generally lived in the area here; we sort of grouped up for protection. Just because it was the Empusa's territory, that didn't mean nothing nasty ever snuck in. Safety in numbers, you know? It had been peaceful for a while, though, until…" He gestured around.
Ocean Song looked at the wanton destruction again.
It looked like something had just picked a point, then went in a straight line and tore through everything in its path.
"Do you perhaps know about a water nymph that may have come this way in the past few weeks?"
"A water nymph?" He raised an eyebrow. "You're going to need to be more specific, man. There were a few dozen of them living in the area. We're right next to the water." He gestured out towards the sea.
"...a water nymph with a rather large behind." Ocean Song clarified.
The satyr stared at him. "...that's a really weird follow-up."
Ocean Song let out a sigh. "Yes or no?"
The satyr shrugged. "Sorry, I can't remember any water nymph like that."
"Very well. Thank you for your assistance."
"Right, well, I'm going to go see what I can salvage before the humans pick through everything." The satyr seemed to leave in a hurry, but Ocean Song barely paid him attention.
Instead, Ocean Song walked down the gorge carved through the city where the fighting happened.
A somber thought was at the forefront of his mind.
He had no one to ask, no one to look to for help.
He had no more leads either.
Could he call Hecate and ask her about the Empusa? It wouldn't be strange if one of her subordinates decided to run away, so it would probably be a dead end too.
And if what the satyr said was true, it probably didn't know enough to care about who was in its territory.
But above that, it was unlikely for Hecate to answer his call.
The way his father spoke, they steered far away from the Old World.
He didn't know if it was dangerous or if there were specific rules, and he didn't want to put Hecate in that position.
He sat down on a piece of rubble that hadn't been cleaned up yet.
Was he really out of options?
With so much death, it would be lucky if anyone knew anything.
He suddenly had a moment of enlightenment.
He slapped his bag and produced the feather given to him by the God of Death, Thanatos, when he was in the Underworld.
If there was one god that had no problems coming here, it had to be Thanatos, right? How else were the dead supposed to find their resting places if Death wasn't able to approach the Old World?
He felt very proud of himself.
"Great God of Death, I beseech your aid. I –" The words died in his throat because the air around him became chilly, and it felt like the sunlight dimmed in the area.
Ocean Song turned around to see the God of Death standing there.
Despite the eerie atmosphere, the God of Death felt nothing but gentle.
It was ironic.
He stood in front of Death, yet he didn't feel an ounce of fear at its presence.
Thanatos looked at him curiously, as if to ask what he needed.
Ocean Song swallowed. "Great God, I apologize for calling you so suddenly, but I have a selfish request. I…perhaps you are aware since you are the God of Death. Just as you carry the souls of the dead, you should know their identities. I was wondering…. I seek the location of my mother; could you tell me if she…" He gestured to the destruction.
Though he didn't word it well, he knew that the God of Death understood what he was requesting.
He wanted to know if his mother was dead or not.
It shouldn't go against any taboos to just know if she died recently; at least that was his thinking.
The God of Death stood there unmoving for several breaths before raising its hand.
And it gently placed it on Ocean Song's shoulder as if to console him.
The meaning was clear; no words needed to be spoken.
"Oh."
The God of Death gave him a gentle smile and disappeared back to whence he came.
Ocean Song stood there silently.
A few tears streamed down his face.
He didn't know why he was crying.
He never met his mother, and by all rights, he should hate the woman too. She abandoned him on an island, most likely because he was a monster.
He only searched for her to find his own closure, knowing what the probable reason was.
Yet….
For some reason, he found himself mourning.
Maybe not the person in question, but the possibility.
The mourning of what could have been, or the idea of a mother rather than the woman herself.
"Aren't Cultivators supposed to find out that their absent mothers are alive and rescue them, revealing that they were abandoned out of necessity?" He muttered to himself.
The hard truth of the matter is Ocean Song was hoping that maybe…his mother would be happy to see him. That maybe he had a mother waiting for him despite all the evidence against the notion.
He knew it was unlikely, but now, he would never find out. The chance had been taken from him.
His head turned towards the direction of destruction that the boar left in its path.
Rome is close to the Vatican, but it doesn't count, right?
Truthfully, Ocean Song didn't care at the moment.
He had a monster to kill.
[Line Break]
A/N
Ocean Song: Rome doesn't count; it's not the Vatican!
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