"How does this chariot wor-


    Just as Alex spoke those words, he felt his center of gravity shifting.


    The chariot was already high in altitude and flying at the speed of a racing car.


    "You didn''t tell me this would be so fast!?" Alex eximed as he readjusted his posture and adapted to their velocity.


    "What did you expect from the replica of a chariot used by Helios, dummy?" Hermes gently caressed the chariot as if it was a sacred heirloom.


    "How did you even get this, anyway?" Alex curiously asked.


    "Imissioned it hundreds of years ago from Hephaestus, but with the whole deal of him sheltering himself, I only received it very recently..." Hermes sighed like he had the weight of the world on his back like As.


    "On the flip side, I am now as poor as a hardworking mortal farmer..." Hermes smiled brightly and gave a thumbs up.


    ...


    Alex stared at him and judged his poor financial decisions internally.


    "To be fair, this chariot is fast and can fly, does it need any energy to run?" Alex inquired.


    "It gets all of its energy from the Sun, which means, we''ll only be able to travel during the day and will have to find ces to stay for the night!"


    "Isn''t that a detail you should have spared before the trip? What about the money issue? I donated all of my funds to my church...." Alex informed him.


    "I don''t know, you can set up a blessing center where you perform blessings for money?" Hermes'' eyes shed like a businessman upon finding a lucrative business opportunity.


    ''I will never let capitalism corrupt my pure powers...'' This was Alex''s bottom line.


    Following that, they just observed the rapidly movingndscape beneath them.


    The browning of the leaves from the seasonal change was even more apparent this high up, as the green and rocky mountains turned the color of firewood.


    They passed through arge section of the sea but soon enough, they were back overnd.


    The sky, however, was clear of any clouds and the sun shone freely.


    "Where are we, now?" Alex was interested in how Hermes and the other gods named the world outside of Greece.


    Hermes looked at the scenery and stated, "This should be...Anatolia."


    ''Anatolia? That''s exactly the way we call Asia Minor..'' Alex pondered.


    Anatolia was arge penins bordering the Mediterranean, Aegean, and the ck Sea.


    Back on Earth, for political and social reasons, it was hard tobel it as fully ''European'' or ''Asian'' and everyone had their own different opinion and approach on it.


    ''We really did care too much about pointless things back on Earth...'' Alexmented and shrugged at this random memory.


    Suddenly, Hermes changed the direction of the chariot and said, "Change of ns, Alexei-boy, we''ll stop somewhere in Anatolia before resuming our journey."


    He then piloted the chariot and reduced the altitude until trees could be distinctly seen.


    "This should be close..." Hermes looked in the direction of a nearby mountain.


    Then, he found a small clearing and carefullynded the chariot, before retrieving it back into the mini-model and putting it in one of his pockets.


    Hermes turned to Alex and informed him, "I just remembered someone very special lives in the mountains of Anatolia."


    Alex was confused at the turn of events but nodded nheless.


    Hermes had a bittersweet smile on his face and a nostalgic expression. He then walked in the direction of the mountain he pinpointed earlier and Alex followed suit.


    They swiftly flew over the rocky mountains and halted at the peak.


    Over on the other side, an expansive teau covered an incredible area. Farnd of various colors decorated the setting and a single house dotted the teau.


    Smoke from the chimney rose up from the house, and the entire ordeal yed like an idyllic painting.


    After observing that for a long minute, Hermes resumed his flight and Alex followed him. They were traversing in the direction of the small cottage and considering their speed, they soon covered the entire distance and halted in front of the house.


    The house was constructed of polished wood and seemed to be a living space fit for two people or so.


    ''Who could Hermes even know in such a secluded countryside?'' Alex was perplexed.


    Hermes knocked at the wooden door and in response, they caught the sound of footsteps approaching.


    *Creak*


    The door opened and the person in front of them was a young man.


    The young man had a handsome appearance, long dark hair that reached the lower end of his shoulders, and light blue eyes.


    He had a carefree demeanor to him and in his hands, he held a basket full of freshly-washed vegetables.


    The young man looked puzzlingly at Hermes and thetter held that same expression.


    They stared at each other in awkward silence until Hermes said, "I''m pretty sure I know you from somewhere...."


    ''Speaking of which, he does a have a familiar face.'' Alex felt like he has seen the young man somewhere before, but he couldn''t quite discern his identity.


    "Huios, who''s at the door?" An aged female voice spoke.


    ''Huios'' was the Koine Greek term for ''son'', but the woman used it as a first name.


    Hermes seemed to recognize the voice, and when the woman in question was visible, she seemed stunned by thetter''s presence.


    The woman had a youthful appearance and a stout body.


    She somewhat reminded him of Persephone, as she had green eyes and a simr demeanor. However, the woman radiated an aura offort and motherly affection.


    "Hermes, is that you?!" The woman seemed amazed and a smile that stretched from ear to ear now coated her face.


    "Yes, Great Mother." Hermes looked at the woman with admiration.


    ''Great Mother?'' Alex was confused.


    "It''s been more than a century..e in!" The woman invited them in.


    The insides of the cottage were even more rustic than the outside, and unexpectedly, a lion cub wasying on the ground, and resting peacefully.


    The four of them sat around a table and the woman eximed, "I can''t believe I get to see you again, I feel like this is the past again."


    "And who''s the other guest?" She turned around to Alex.


    Alex formally introduced himself, "Hello, I''m Alex, god of humanity."


    "God Of Humanity? What a beautiful title. I''m Cybele, and you''re very wee here!" The woman introduced herself as ''Cybele''.


    Alex thanked her and fell into thought.


    The name ''Cybele'' wasn''t absent from Athena''s study. She was briefly mentioned as a mother and nature goddess that didn''t belong to the pantheon but often interacted with them in the past.


    She was simr to Demeter and Rhea.


    After that, Cybele spoke to Hermes, "I see you''re doing great. How is the rest of Olympus going along? Is Rhea doing good? What about Pan?"


    Hermes rubbed his head and said, "Truthfully, I wouldn''t be able to tell you, Great Mother. I haven''t been to Mount Othrys or Arcadia ever since.."


    He continued, "Times have changed, and everyone is just not as close as we were in the past."


    "Not all is bad, however, as we have Alex now." Hermes turned to Alex.


    Alex rubbed his head in embarrassment.


    Cybele sighed and spoke, "I imagined that would happen after...that."


    "How about you, Great Mother? How have you been doing all this time?"