Thousands of years ago,
In a small swamp between the Rivers of Death.
Here, a family’s brothers surrounded their youngest sibling.
“El-leh-ri go-llleh-ri~ They say Nike was adopted!”
“Whaaaa~ look at those wings. They look like a country chicken’s! Puahaha!”
“Since she’s the only blonde, how about Golden Chicken? Kihihit!”
Young Nike, hugging her knees with both arms, bowed her head deeply.
The brothers circled her, teasing her endlessly.
They also grab handfuls of mud and throw them at her grotesque wings, tormenting her continuously.
It was too much and too cruel to be called mere mischief.
“I’m mother’s daughter too! Huht… Hwaaaang~”
Young Nike tried to fight back, not wanting to show her face wet with tears, burying it in her knees.
But even as she responded, the sadness of being teased overwhelmed her, and she eventually burst into tears again.
“Uwwat! This kid’s crying again! Puahaha.”
“Hey, crybaby. We’ll be back to tease you in 30 minutes. Can you stop crying by then?”
“30 minutes is too early. Let’s make it 35.”
“That’s good. Kihihit!”
Nike’s brothers were young and innocent, and because they were innocent, they were cruel.
These young gods could not accept and rejected Nike, who was different from them in appearance. Without knowing satisfaction, they left the swamp planning how to torment Nike next.
Of course, with her white wings thoroughly covered in mud.
“Hweeennng. Why do they tease me… snif, snif.”
She wished to get along well, so why do the kids hate her and tease her?
With that thought, her tears overflowed, soaking the cuffs of her sleeves.
The frustration that this relationship would never change made her chest feel heavy.
Rooorrllll!
Did the sky feel Nike’s sadness?
The clear sky darkened with storm clouds; the ominous thunder followed, and soon it began to pour rain.
“Rain…”
Nike looked up at the sky with eyes that had lost their light.
Then, the rough raindrops gently wiped away Nike’s sorrowful tears.
The foolish Nike felt lucky; she thought she could avoid her mother’s scolding for crying again since she was caught in the rain.
– Meow~
At the sound of an animal, she looked around and found a black cat that appeared to have an injured leg, flailing in the rainwater puddle.
If the water pools any deeper, the cat will be in real trouble, she thought, and picked it up, moving it under a nearby tree.
“It must be those guys’ doing.”
A wounded cat suddenly showing up at the swamp.
The kids who were teasing her must have kicked the irritating cat on their way back.
– Mew~
With an unexpected cold breeze, the cat meowed again.
It was trembling from the cold and kept trying to crawl into Nike’s arms.
Of course, it was natural for it to feel the cold while soaked in rainwater.
“Ahhh~ I don’t know, if you get teased for being dirty, it’s not good?”
Nike spread her mud-covered wings to cover the cat and keep it warm.
Immediately feeling the warmth, the cat curled up into a ball and fell into a peaceful sleep.
“…When will this rain stop?”
While muttering quietly to herself, looking at the cracked sky, something unfamiliar entered her line of sight.
It was a goddess riding a chariot pulled by cows and horses, crossing the sky.
The goddess also noticed Nike sitting under the tree after circling the sky once and landed beside her.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Athena.”
“A, Athena-sama?!”
Nike jumped up, but Athena raised a hand to stop her and nodded toward the kitten snuggled in her wings.
Moved by Athena’s small consideration, Nike thought to herself that she must be a truly impressive woman and sat back down.
“Why are you in the middle of this swamp between the Rivers of Death, little one? This is a dangerous place.”
“I, it’s in front of my mother’s house.”
“Mother? …I see. You are Lady Styx’s daughter, then? What’s your name?”
“Ah! I apologize for not introducing myself sooner! I’m Nike.”
Had she been staring too intently at Athena, who was so splendid and beautiful?
Nike forgot to introduce herself, blushed with embarrassment, and bowed her head repeatedly.
“Nike. What a truly wonderful name. It feels good to let it roll around in my mouth.”
“T, thank you, Athena-sama. You are the first person to compliment my name.”
“Compliments are rare… hmm. Nike, are you by any chance experiencing bullying?”
“Sniff! Uh… How could you…”
“Um… My youngest sister used to be bullied, and just now she was saying the exact same thing as you. Why so many firsts, I wonder…”
Athena’s younger sister…?
If she is Zeus-sama’s child too…
Then being bullied, that goddess must be quite a mess, Nike thought.
But with an amazing sister like Athena, the younger sister must surely be happy.
“I feel like getting bullied might be my fault.”
“What do you mean, ‘might’?”
“My mother’s other children have already awakened their powers, but I haven’t awakened anything. All I have are my wings, and all they’re good for is flying…”
Styx has four children.
Zelos of jealousy.
Kratos of power.
Bia of violence.
And Nike.
The other three siblings have already awakened dark and cold powers befitting their association with death.
Their personalities are aggressive and fiery, so they cannot ignore Nike who is different from them.
Perhaps they instinctively try to stain Nike’s light with darkness.
Such instincts were unknown to Nike, who thought she was bullied because she looked different from them.
“They all have powers as cold and dark as mother’s. Their hair is black like mom’s, but I am the only one with blonde hair and wings.”
“Wings, hmm? …Let me see them.”
“Ah, please don’t touch them!”
When Athena reached out to touch her wings, Nike panicked and extended her hands to push her away.
However, Athena stepped back only to advance two paces closer to Nike.
“Why?”
“The wings, the mud—they’re dirty.”
“To someone with a warm heart like yours, who even cares for small animals, what is dirty?”
“But still… They’re covered in mud, after all. They’ll surely dirty your clean hands, Athena-sama.”
“And yet, it’s exactly because of that I see these mud-covered wings as Wings of Victory.”
Despite Nike’s resistance, Athena wouldn’t give up.
She firmly grabbed the wing Nike had turned away and, like hugging a stuffed bear, softly pressed it to her face and rubbed it gently.
Though droplets of mud fell, making her armor dirtier, Athena didn’t care. She spread her arms and showed her entire muddy self to Nike.
Look, now I’m just like you, her actions seemed to say.
Even though Nike was young, she understood the meaning.
On the contrary, it was the first time Nike had seen such amicable behavior, and she started to feel even more embarrassed, twisting her body.
“Nike, do you know what a victorious army looks like after war?”
“Uh… Aren’t they glamorous and impressive?”
Athena shook her head.
On the contrary, she pointed to herself, dirtied by mud.
“Their weapons are broken, their armor tattered. Their faces are filled with the pain of wounds and exhaustion. The army’s flags are half-soaked in blood and torn.”
“Ah… That’s why you compared my wings to Wings of Victory, then.”
“What do you think? Would you like to train with me? Nike, with you by my side, I feel victory will always be on our side.”
Nike was overjoyed at Athena’s offer, someone any goddess would admire to walk alongside.
Moreover, there was now hope to escape the bullying from the difficult siblings.
However, there was one concern in Nike’s mind.
“Um, I need my mother’s permission… but I’m not sure if she’ll approve. She’s so scary and cold…”
“Heehe. Nike, even hedgehogs love their own children. They always watch over them warmly. If you think she’s cold, there must have been a reason for Lady Styx.”
“But she always takes her three other children’s side! They always come first.”
Nike’s voice carried a tinge of resentment for her mother, who did not take her side.
Her resentment was justified.
In reality, Styx always scolded and criticized only Nike.
She forgave and accepted everything the other three children ever did with a warm smile.
It was as if Nike was the adopted child and the other three were her true children.
Because of this, Nike could never erase the thought that she was always the abandoned last place,
And she could not strongly defy her siblings’ teasing.
“Nike. Remember this: precious things cannot be ranked.”
“Is that so?”
“Indeed. Precious things are all the same. Now, let’s go.”
“Ah! What about the injured cat?”
“Heehe. That cat might wish to guard this River of Styx.”
Athena smiled while looking at the black cat rather than Nike.
In response, the black cat looked up to confirm the rain had stopped and leaped out of Nike’s arms.
Then, as if mocking them for earlier pretending to be sick,
It proudly walked away on all four perfectly healthy legs, exiting the swamp.
Athena watched the dignified departure of the cat and gave a formal military salute.
“Now let’s go, Nike of the Wings of Victory.”
“Yes, Athena-sama!”
“Calling me ‘sama’ sounds too stiff. Call me ‘onee-sama’ (older sister).”
“Yes! Onee-sama!!”
The two goddesses, facing each other and smiling widely, ascended toward the sun peeking out from the cloud gaps.
=================================================
=================================================
Clap! Clap! Clap!
“Truly, a delightful comedy.”
A red-haired man sitting on the ceiling of the hall clapped dryly, mocking us.
His long red hair reached his waist.
In contrast to Artemis’s clean wildness, this male god exuded a rough street-fighter kind of wildness—
It was undoubtedly Ares we’d seen earlier at the city gate.
At Ares’ appearance, Athena stepped forward to protect us.
“Ares, what brings you here? Weren’t you supposed to capture father upon mother’s orders?”
“Ah, yeah, sure. But then I thought, there’s something to take care of here as well. I’ll go back after this. So don’t get so tense, Athena.”
“Ares, I am your elder sister. Refrain from casual familiarity.”
“Why? Even if it’s a small town, I am still the ruler here. I can call whomever I want as I wish.”
“If you insist on playing lord, then go ahead and try calling my name as you did again.”
Bang!
Athena slammed her spear on the stage as if warning him not to push her limits. To Athena, who valued decorum, such an unpermitted impertinence was nothing short of insulting.
Though Ares smirked slightly, as if ready for Athena’s imminent advance, he shrugged his shoulders and slightly stepped back.
It was less out of fear of Athena and more out of a sense that he had another errand here.
“I didn’t come to fight, sister.”
“Then what brings you here?”
“I’ve come for Nike’s response to my recruitment offer.”
Ares’s shocking announcement made both Athena and Artemis look at Nike in surprise.
Nike, who had kneeled with her wings hanging limply, looking defeated, slowly stood up at the gazes of the two maiden goddesses.
Her natural movement was as if she had been waiting for this.
It appears the rumor was true—Nike had been assigned to Ares’s army during the battle in the Mountain of Gods and was offered recruitment.
“Well, Nike? Looks like I have perfect timing.”
Ares still sat cross-legged on the ceiling and asked her.
As if responding, Nike moved slowly to the front of the stage and looked up at the ceiling.
Damn.
It’s exactly as Ares said.
Nike is still emotionally drained from her recent intense battle.
She might even feel humiliated after just getting slapped by a human like me.
“Nike, come to me. I’ll make you my second-in-command. And my attention will solely be focused on you.”
Caught!
While Nike was in an unsettled mental state after the unresolved fight, Ares dangled the very carrot she most desired.
…She could really be swayed by Ares.
Anxiety started to creep in. I moved closer to her side and discreetly observed Nike.
But her expression remained hidden due to the disheveled bangs covering her face.
“Nike…”
Even Athena called out to her with a worried voice.
However, Nike ignored Athena’s call and continued to gaze only at where Ares sat on the ceiling.
Just then, the wind blew from the front.
Nike caught the wind in full and brushed her fluttering hair behind her ear. She finally opened her mouth after a long pause.
“…I, Nike, decline Ares-sama’s offer…”
