Parthenos, 80,000 light-years from Earth

Deep beneath the surface, right above the planet’s mantle, there’s an impractically large well.

No mortal ever sets foot here: maintenance is the duty of robots, whose memory is periodically deleted to avoid any chance of divulging the secrets hidden here.

Three goddesses are slowly descending the well: Nike and Athena, both looking professionally detached, and a far more curious Vesta.

<What is this place?> Vesta asks, creating a ball of fire to illuminate the place.

<My personal library.> Athena answers.

<What do you need a library for? I though you already memorized every book you ever read.>

<I did. But even the memory of the goddess of wisdom can be faulty at times. If there is one thing that I have learned over the eons, is that it pays to plan for every eventuality.>

<I guess. I just never thought you’d go for something this… elaborate.> Vesta comments, as the trio lands at the bottom of the well to face an enormous security door.

<This is Neutral Matter.> Vesta recognizes it.

<Indeed. The entire library is protected by three feet of Neutral Matter; it would literally survive the destruction of the planet, or indeed of this entire star system.> Athena comments, not even trying to hide her pride. She touches the door with the palm of her hand.

<AUTHORIZATION CODE REQUIRED.> the door responds, ominously glowing red.

<▌ ₪►║▲╣₪‡ ►╣╤╪▲╣Ͻ►> Athena says; the strange glow disappears, and the door unlocks and opens on its own.

<I don’t recognize that language.> Vesta tells her niece.

<Nobody does.> Nike highlights.

On the other side of the door there’s a collection of books and scrolls that makes the Library of Alexandria look like a high school locker. Athena floats directly towards its center, while Vesta takes the time to examine the place.

<I didn’t expect this to be a physical library. I thought you preferred digital media.> she says, almost touching a scroll before Nike physically restrains her.

<These are not for you.> the goddess of victory reminds her.

<It’s much easier to limit the access to a physical book than to a series of files. Not to mention that some of these volumes have… sentimental value for me.> Athena admits, approaching the golden altar that has a central position in the library.

It holds a massive book, kept closed by chains of Neutral Matter and a special lock that Athena can only open with a procedure that lasts several minutes.

<This looks old. Even older than my father.> Vesta recognizes.

<Much older. This is the Grimoire Of Drylon Weapons: according to Gilgamesh, it was written over four billion years ago.> Athena reveals, slowly opening the book.

Unlike the books of Earth, it’s not made of paper: each sheet is a flexible little screen, something made clear when the pages that Athena is flipping are showing a glowing red X.

In fact, a great deal of pages are crossed in the same way. Vesta lurks forward to see the book a little better, something that Athena finds rather amusing.

<The Grimoire lists every known Drylon device, complete with a description of its powers. It also shows several details of its history. I try to keep it as updated as possible.> Athena explains, finally reaching a page that is not crossed. It’s written in a rather old-fashioned Ancient Olympian, and it’s accompanied by the picture of something that resembles a baseball made of rock.

Athena reads out loud:

<“Weapon #6,041. Designation: The Heart of the Universe. Estimated age: 9 billion years. Known uses: matter and energy manipulation on a galactic scale. Last known location: Earth”. Obviously, I converted the date to the present time and added the location.>

<How… how many weapons are there?> Vesta asks, worried about the potential answer.

<The original list included ten thousand weapons, but the vast majority have been destroyed or damaged beyond repair: less than a hundred are known to still exist in a functional state.>

<What’s up with those? “Power rank 3” and “Threat rank 5”?> Vesta wonders, pointing at the tiny text below the picture.

<Each weapon is given a rank to determine how powerful and dangerous it is. As you can imagine, the Heart of the Universe is among the most desired Drylon artifacts.>

<Noriko would kill to get her hands on this book!>

<I’m sure she would. I don’t have to explain why I will never let that happen.> Athena replies, quickly jumping to one of the very last pages. Accompanied to the picture of a metal bar twisted into the shape of the symbol for infinity, there’s a text that Vesta reads:

<“Weapon #9,997. Designation: The Nexus. Estimated age: 7 billion years. Known uses: information absorption and manipulation, infinite data storage, enhancement of organic host. Last known location: Earth. Power rank 8,171. Threat rank 2”. Does that mean that…>

<Yes, the Nexus is catalogued as the second most dangerous Drylon weapon, even if it’s not very powerful. Now, considering the powers demonstrated by Skorpios, we can determine what Drylon weapon she is using.> Athena explains, jumping back to one of the very first pages.

She touches the paper, when proceeds to type several instructions in it as if this was a very fancy tablet. When she’s done, the book flips its own pages until it’s showing the desired result.

<Here it is. “Weapon #1,277. Designation: The Manifold. Estimated age: 6.2 billion years. Known uses: manipulation of physical space, pocket dimension generator. Last known location: Atlantis. Power rank 293. Threat rank 7”.>

<Atlantis? Poseidon’s throne world? I don’t suppose we could ask for his help.>

<I’m afraid not, aunt Vesta. Your brother Poseidon has a rather hostile relationship with the Olympian Galaxy; if he finds out that Ulysses stole the Manifold from under his nose, he could destroy the entire Mortal Republic in retaliation.>

<But there has to be a way to find it!> Vesta complains, pausing a moment to reflect.

<You’re coming up with a plan that you’re reluctant to implement.> Athena recognized.

<You said Eris… I mean “Lilith”… is now in charge of our galaxy’s foreign policy, right? If the Manifold originated in Poseidon’s galaxy, it’s under her jurisdiction. Isn’t smuggling Drylon technology still a crime?>

<Vesta, Lilith has nothing to gain from helping us.>

<Maybe. But Ulysses isn’t under the jurisdiction of any other god, so if we tell Poseidon about it…>

<She will be held responsible. Aunt Vesta, you want to force Lilith into doing something good?>

<She’s not going to like it.> Vesta answers, with an approving smile.

Argos, 100 light-years from Earth

Kari Zel and Quantum teleport to the planet’s surface, where they witness a horrible scenario.

The Mortal Senate has been destroyed, replaced by a series of craters. Something crashed on the planet so hard that it generated a series of earthquakes, in addition to triggering fires that spread through the ruins.

<This is a real disaster… even Selene didn’t cause this much damage!> Kari says.

<We’ll catch the bastards who did this. Look at how many craters there are: if they only wanted to destroy the Senate, a single one would’ve been enough. It’s like they wanted to have as many civilian casualties as possible.> Quantum notes, while looking around. Kari can’t see anything but rubble; she brought him here because he can see far beyond the visible spectrum.

<Found anything?> she asks.

<Particle trails. It’s like being inside a particle accelerator around here… someone threw something at the planet really, REALLY fast.>

<How do you know how the inside of a particle accelerator look like?>

<Noriko wanted an opinion about one of hers. They’re kind of fun, in a rollercoaster kind of way.>

<Well look at you, mister nuclear physicist! I though you didn’t care for science.>

<You learn all kinds of cool stuff if you keep turning into lasers. For example: Noriko’s Genius Gun transfers pure kinetic energy into the atmosphere, turning the air itself as a projectile. It ionizes the air with a very distinct pattern, and I see that around here.>

<You mean someone shot a really big Genius Gun at the planet?>

<I mean we’re dealing with someone who can generate a s#it ton of kinetic energy at once; they probably accelerated some ships in orbit to crash them into the planet.>

<We could scan the rest of the planet to find a similar pattern, maybe it’ll lead us somewhere.>

<It’s too subtle even for the Ragnarok’s sensors. It’ll be faster if I scout the planet on my own.>

<Go ahead. I’m going to have a chat with the latest President; we can’t rule out the possibility that she’s a part of all this.>

<I’ll contact you when I’m done. Good luck.> Quantum tells her, vanishing in a flash of light.

<Yeah. I’m definitely going to need it.> Kari comments to herself.

Kandinsky Crater, Mercury’s north pole

120 million miles from Earth

Torn and another Kari duplicate are facing the cell holding a powerless Hermes; neither of them is particularly fond of the god, especially of his tendency to only give vague clues.

<Alright Hermes, here’s the deal. You’re going to tell us everything you know about Ulysses and his plans. And don’t even try to turn this into a bargain for your freedom, okay?> Kari tells him.

<Very well. The Zenith is a group of the most trusted lieutenants of Ulysses; he has assembled multiple teams with that name, the last time about two hundred years ago. They are typically given Drylon devices by Ulysses himself, but not always. Their goal is the same of all other Ulysses organizations, like the Mortal Liberation Front: overthrow divine rule. The Zenith simply tends to work on a much, much bigger scale.>

Kari and Torn exchange looks: they didn’t expect Hermes to be this direct.

<What do you know about its current members?> she asks.

<Not a thing. But I do know that Ulysses tried to establish a new Zenith to operate in the Olympian Galaxy, about fifty years ago. He offered a position to the Scribe and the Winter King, but they both declined. I thought he was trying to gain control of the Guild, even supplying the Drylon weapon used by one of its members, an Egyptian woman. I believe her codename was Scarab.>

<Null must have disrupted his plans when she destroyed the Guild.> Torn deduces.

<This doesn’t help us. How do we find Ulysses?> Kari presses.

<I would not know. But if I were you, I would ask the last surviving member of the previous incarnation of the Zenith. Ulysses wanted to recruit her again, but he never managed to get past my security measures… I took great pride in keeping my favorite daughter safe.>

<Wait a minute. You mean that Tyche has been working with Ulysses!?> Kari exclaims.

<And she’s currently on Earth. How intriguingly convenient, isn’t it?>

The St. Regis Washington, D.C

Just two blocks from the White House, this luxurious hotel has hosted a great deal of VIPs over the years, so it’s not that strange to see several Secret Service agents guarding the door to the Presidential Suite. Inside, floating a few inches above the king-size bed, is a teenage girl in a bathrobe. There’s a flaming halo above her head, and she’s flipping through the channels on TV.

<Ugh, this is sooo boring. Is this what mortals do for fun around here?> she wonders.

The answer comes in the form of a sword emerging from the pentagram that has just appeared on the nearest wall. The sword comes uncomfortably close to the goddess, who carefully pinches the blade with thumb and index finger to slowly push it away.

<Thanks for the offer, but I’m not particularly fond of being stabbed.>

<What the Hades are you doing on Earth, Tyche?> Kari asks, leaving the portal with Torn.

<I’m a guest of your President. Is something wrong?>

<Don’t play dumb with me, Tyche. Half the Galaxy goes crazy and you conveniently show up on the only planet that isn’t affected?>

<What can I say, I’m a lucky girl. Whatever your deal is, I’m out of the game for now; I’m not interested in any of my family’s wars.> Tyche shrugs, only to face another half dozen swords.

<Then consider yourself drafted.> Torn says.