Chapter Text
Long, long ago, when the world was young, gods still walked its surface and they fought for their lives against the vicious Titans.
"I will give you one chance, Father!" Zeus bellowed. "Cease this bloodshed or you will force our hand!"
Kronos strode toward Zeus while the other gods clashed with his Titan siblings in bloody chaos. "First my children rebel against me, and then my youngest demands my surrender? This treachery ends now!" He lifted one mighty hand but he was slow.
Zeus raised his voice to call out, "Hera, my love! Is it-"
"Here, my darling!" Hera darted across the battlefield and tossed Zeus their last hope, forged in secret for one purpose.
The Titankiller.
Zeus hefted the blood red spear, tossed it through the air like one of his thunderbolts, and it pierced Kronos' chest. "That is all you have to wield against me?" Kronos laughed. "A twig? You cannot-" He froze as the effects of the spear took over.
"A little more than a twig, you monster." Hera said.
Kronos staggered as blood made of pure magic and elemental power poured from the wound in great gouts. "You can't kill-" He fell to his knees and the earth buckled beneath his weight.
Zeus walked over to Kronos as the battle slowed around them. "We can. May oblivion show you more kindness than you showed us." On his knees, Kronos was still taller than a hillside. But he was low enough for Zeus to meet his gaze as he plucked the spear from his chest. It took only one slash for Kronos' massive head to roll to the ground at Zeus' feet. "What say the rest of you Titans?" Zeus roared. "Will you lay down your arms and let us live in peace? Or will you join our father?"
Towering beings the size of mountains paused in their conflict with their brethren. The world seemed to hold its breath. "We kneel!" One by one, the Titans knelt.
The rest of the gods flocked to Zeus' side as he raised the spear high, his voice ringing out like a crack of thunder. "Then let there be peace! Let no god ever fear for their life again so long as I reign!"
And so there was peace. And then, thousands of years later and many kilometers away…
On a blisteringly hot summer night in Seoul, Jungkook wiped sweat from his brow as he pled with the plant on the shop counter in front of you. "Come on, we need you! Don't die on me now!" But its leaves remained brown and lifeless. He picked up his favorite misting bottle and gave the plant a spritz. "Are you thirsty? Because I am not reenacting Little Shop of Horrors but you can have all the water you want. Just have a little sip and keep doing your plant thing until Noona comes to pick you up-"
There was no wind in the shop but one withered leaf suddenly trembled. Color shot through its wan surface and then it was in full bloom once more. Jungkook stepped back blinking at the now lively plant.
The bell above the door chimed and Jungkook's dad walked in while sipping a soda. "Still here? I thought you'd be done with inventory by now."
Jungkook stared at the plant for a bit longer. "I was just getting Son Yuna's plant ready for pick up tomorrow. It was looking rough but…"
"Rough?" His dad snorted. "It was practically dead an hour ago! Good think you've always had that magic touch, kiddo."
"I sure didn't get it from you." Jungkook said with a laugh.
His dad was quiet for a moment before responding. "No, that one is all your mom."
Jungkook bit his lip as he turned to his dad. "Are you ever gonna tell me more about her?"
His dad sighed. "There's only so much I can tell. I'm sorry." That's exactly what he said every time. "I know it sucks that she didn't stick around but she gave me you. And not a day goes by when I'm not grateful for that." He squeezed Jungkook's shoulder.
Jungkook gave him a tiny smile. "No complaints about that part."
"I don't know if Son Yuna's gonna make it tomorrow." His dad changed the subject. "Her baby's due any day now and she doesn't want to leave the-"
"I thought she was due two weeks ago." Jungkook said in confusion.
"Me too." His dad shrugged. "That baby must be stubborn. The point is, our friend will have to wait to see its new home."
Jungkook nodded. "I'll put it in the back and close up then. Goodnight, Appa."
As Jungkook carried the potted plant through the shop, he couldn't stop picturing what he saw. Maybe the plant hadn't been as bas Jungkook thought. Or maybe he just really needed some caffeine. He nestled the plant's pot onto a shelf just as the door chimed again.
"Ah, I am just in time."
Jungkook turned to see a strange woman standing in the shop. Despite the summer heat, her face was hooded by a thick cloak that draped around her hunched form. "Actually, you're way past closing time." Jungkook informed her. "Our hours are posted right on the-"
"I am aware." She stated. "But I need your help now."
Her voice was melodic, like honey dripping into Jungkook's ears. He felt a sudden almost physical need to help her. To be closer. "I'll help you if you make it quick." Jungkook offered, his body feeling light and floaty as he took one step toward her.
With his second step, the woman's smile widened. "Oh, it will be very quick. All I need…" She tossed her hood back and Jungkook finally saw the feathers sprouting from her skin, the sharp teeth framing a hungry maw. "Is a tasty, tasty snack." She lunged for Jungkook but he leaped aside just as one of her arms, a wing ending in gleaming claws, crashed into a vase where he once stood.
"This isn't happening!" He exclaimed in a panic. "This is not happening!" The woman surged after Jungkook with impossible speed, snarling. Jungkook dodged around another one of the shop's tables. "Oh god, it is happening!"
"My, my, what a treat!" A second birdlike creature slunk in from the back of the shop. "We have not smelled new blood like yours in so long!"
Another one joined the first two as Jungkook bumped up against one of the shop tables. "I know, sisters. I cannot wait to see how it tastes."
As they stalked toward Jungkook, he ducked behind the table, said a silent apology to all the plants on its surface, and flipped it over. Pots shattered as he blocked off two of the creatures. They snarled and Jungkook took the chance to look around for an exit.
"Going somewhere?" The first monster smiled a hungry smile as her talons reached for him.
Glass shattered as the front door to the shop burst open, a man glowing as if he were the sun itself stepping inside. "Let. Him. Go." The man raised a hand and a shaft of sunlight blasted from his palm, striking the creature in the chest. She flew backward into a row of shelves.
"And now I’m hallucinating sun guys." Jungkook muttered to himself. "At least they're helpful sun guys."
As the other two creatures surged toward the newcomer, screeching and dodging more blasts of light, he called out to Jungkook over his shoulder, "Sorry to break it to you but you aren't hallucinating. Our friends here are very real."
"And very hungry!" With a flap of wings, the first one dragged herself out of the wrecked shelves and limped toward Jungkook.
Jungkook was out of space to run. "Either way, not a fan. Got any more of those laser beams?"
The man blasted one of the creatures right in the face with sunlight and it collapsed in a sizzling heap. But the other was right upon him. "Not enough. If we're going to get out of this, you need to wake up."
The words rippled through Jungkook. Suddenly he smelled the mulch of the shop more sharply, saw the color in every leaf brighten as they turned to him. He reached out to block the monster's path but it wasn't his arms that moved. A vine erupted from a nearby planter to cut her off. "Holy shit."
"That's it!" The sun man beamed. "Embrace what you feel! Fight!"
The dying monster was somehow still writing as the sun man battled the other one with bursts of light. But the first one was advancing on Jungkook. Jungkook gritted his teeth and tried to extend his will through the plant matter. The vine lanced upward, wrapping around the monster's entire body like a vise and pinning her wings to her side. Jungkook flicked his wrist and the vines twisted, toppling her to the floor.
The second monster hurtled out of the shop. The sun man flung one last beam of light after her but she vanished into the night sky. "What the hell was all of that?" Jungkook asked, breathing heavily.
Sighing, the man turned to Jungkook and the light around him faded away. "A very unideal introduction. I'm sorry about your shop."
"Forget my shop! Who the fuck are you?" Jungkook asked. "What the fuck were those things? What the fuck is going on?"
The man smiled. "The first one's easy. I'm Taehyung. Or you might know me better as Apollo. But I prefer Taehyung."
Jungkook's eyes widened. "Apollo? Like…the Greek god?" Taehyung nodded. "And you're being serious?"
Taehyung let out a laugh as warm as dawn's first rays of sunlight and ignored Jungkook. "To answer your second question, those were sirens. Ancient creatures who can lure prey in with their voices. And to answer your third, they were here for you. Or rather because of whose blood runs in your veins." He tilted his head at Jungkook's still confused expression. "You never met your mother, did you?"
"No, she left when I was just a baby." Jungkook said. "But how the fuck do you know that?"
"Because I had a vision tonight that told me three things." Taehyung said. "That a man named Jungkook was in grave danger, that he could save my family, and that he is the son of Demeter. Goddess of agriculture."
Jungkook blinked. "I have a million questions."
"I'm afraid I don't have nearly as many answers." Taehyung said. "But I swear I speak the truth. Your mother was a goddess and that makes you a demigod. That is why those vines moved at your command." He studied Jungkook for a moment. "I have never seen a vision of you before today but somehow those sirens knew to come here seeking your blood. The question is, did they just smell a meal or did someone send them?" He turned to the siren wrapped in vines but she let out a wet gurgling laugh. Her lips parted to reveal a bloody stump where she had bitten off her own tongue. "Wonderful. No answers out of her then."
"So what do we do with her?" Jungkook asked. "We can't just leave her here for my dad or some customer to stumble on."
"We could set her free." Taehyung said. "Though I fear she may only come after you again. Or we could put a more final end to things."
Jungkook's eyes widened. "Wait, you just told me magic and gods are real and now you're suggesting killing this bird person in my shop?"
"Not gladly." Taehyung said. "But it may be the safest option. Since it is your life she threatened, though, I leave her fate in your hands."
Jungkook swallowed thickly as he studied the siren. "We should spare her." He decided. "I don't need her blood on my hands." The vines instantly responded to his will, unwrapping from the siren's body. The siren clambered to her feet, gave Jungkook and Taehyung one last glare, then flapped out the front of the shop.
Taehyung turned to Jungkook. "I admire your mercy. But just in case she decides to spend it unwisely…"
"Yeah, I don't want to be around if she comes back." Jungkook agreed.
"I'm afraid your life as you knew it is over, Jungkook." Taehyung said. "But I can help you with what comes next if you'll let me."
Jungkook took a deep breath. "Well, I don't have much choice, do I?"
"There is always a choice." Taehyung said. "You can stay here. Deny who you are. Try to forget what you've seen tonight. But if you do so, I cannot guarantee your safety."
Through the broken front door, Jungkook heard the distant screech of more sirens drawing closer. "Fine. I just-" He glanced around the broken remnants of his shop one last time. The shop that had been his life for the past five years. "What am I going to tell my dad?"
"For now, anything that will make him steer clear of this place." Taehyung said.