Love is Bitter

[A prologue to the next quest. It is important to know the background myths that happened prior to it]

1495 BC

*

While the Goddess of Love and Beauty, Aphrodite, was tending to her daily skincare regimen while livestreaming the Vision courtesy of the Olympus Eye from her royal chamber at Olympus, she heard the cry of a child from the ongoing Vision from the Mortal Realm. And the child was beautiful.

Even then, she knew already that the child has pierced her heart, and so she decided to watch over him and get to know him before she will introduce herself to him. Soon enough, the child has grown into a fine young man, and the Goddess, who watched him throughout the years, finally decided that he should be hers.

--

On a cold winter day, the man, who was named Adonis, went out to search for some firewood when he heard a voice whisper to him. "Come, there are lots of firewood here."

It was a voice of a woman, icy and cold like the season, but captivating, nevertheless. He followed the voice and soon, he found himself inside a tunnel where a reddish glow of light was shining towards the end. He walked around the narrow corridor and there, he found a woman, looking deathly pale – a cold beauty, one may tell. "Come, it must be cold outside." The woman invited him.

"Thank you." Adonis said.

"You must be hungry, why don't you take a bite of these delicious Pomegranate tarts?" The woman offered him a food he didn't recognize. "It tastes like forever."

Adonis wondered what 'forever' tastes like, and since it's rude to refuse an offer, he took one of the tarts from the strange winter picnic laid down by the unknown lady before him. Well, he was curious about what the woman was saying, so he reluctantly took a bite of the tart.

He felt his body grow cold until it became numb, and finally, he lost consciousness. The next thing he knew, he was facing two bat-looking women, drooling over him but trying hard not to get a hold of him.

"Weeekekek! He's awake! He's awake – wekek!"

"Yeeeekekek! I'll call sistah – yekek!"

Adonis was confused of what happened and where he was, but his questions were answered when another bat-woman came in and explained the situation to him.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"Reeeekekek! You're in the Realm of the Dead, but don't worry – you're not yet dead. But you must be confused, young man. I shall explain. It seemed that you've caught the eye of our Queen, and she wants you to be her personal servant. Here, take this to her. This is her daily source of nutrients. You have no choice but to follow. I shall lead the way so that you'll know where her chamber is located – rekek."

Adonis had no choice but to follow, and from that day forward, he became a servant in the Underworld. The Queen, who was the very same woman who offered him the tart, was obviously pleased every time she sees him. Adonis realized that he was tricked, and was forced into this type of relationship by none other than Persephone.

--

Back in the surface, The Goddess of Love got depressed about the recent absence of her beloved mortal. No matter how many times she switched the channels of her Vision, she couldn't find her Adonis. She sought the help of Hecate on this matter, and the Goddess of Magic answered her.

"He was taken by Persephone to her Kingdom." Hecate said.

Aphrodite was outraged. How dare that Persephone take away her beloved from her?! She sought the help of the Chief Olympian about the behavior of her undead daughter, and Zeus, who wanted to get rid of the drama and the headache caused by his love-crazed goddesses, sent an order to Persephone to return the man to the surface and lift the curse of the Pomegranate she made him eat. He reiterated the Code of Olympus to the Queen of the Underworld, about an alive person forbidden to enter the Realm of the Dead, and soon enough, Persephone yielded.

"Tch." Over time, Persephone was taught by her husband some dark magic, one of which is the lifting of curses. Although she dreaded for this to happen, she did as what her father told her. Adonis was so happy that he got finally freed from the forced slavery he endured in the Underworld.

When he got out and returned to his hometown, he came face to face with the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. The unknown woman, ran to him and enveloped him in an embrace, saying, "My dearest, I've finally found you."

"Wh – who are you?" He stuttered from his confusion.

"It is I, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, who have chastised you even before you knew about love."

Adonis realized he hit the jackpot. He instantly reciprocated the feelings of the goddess, and for a while, they were in bliss – wrapped in each other's arms, experiencing their glory days, and not letting a single moment pass by without them making each other feel an overwhelming sense of adoration.

All the time he was with Aphrodite, he sought only to please her. He was keen for the chase, and often, they will tour around Greece in her dove-drawn chariot, which she uses to glide at ease through the air.

But one sad day, Aphrodite happened not to be with Adonis, as he tracked down a mighty boar. He was unsuccessful during that hunt, for the boar overpowered him in the end, and pierced its great, sharp tusks in Adonis' body.

From Olympus, Aphrodite heard the mad cry of her lover and immediately flew to him in their usual dating spot. What she saw shattered her heart into a million pieces.

He was softly breathing his life away, the dark blood flowing down his skin of snow and his eyes growing heavy and dim. Aphrodite kissed him, but Adonis knew not that she did as he died. Cruel as his wound was, the wound in her heart was deeper. She spoke to him, although she knew he could not hear.

"I cannot follow you to where you will go, for I am the goddess of the most primordial and universal force of nature. But my dear, kiss me yet once again that last long kiss, until I draw your soul within my lips, and drink down all your love."

The cold body of her lover gave no responses, and the goddess continued to cry in pain.

From his crimson blood, sprang forth a new and unique flower that symbolizes death up until this day – the blood-red anemone.

Many poets thought that it was Persephone who sent the boar, but none of them was ever proven.

--

1485 BC

*

The Goddess of Love and Beauty grew more and more distant at the calls of love by the mortals who prayed for her in the Earth. She rarely responds to their prayers, except for extraordinary manifestations of love shown by some of them – like when she responded to the cries of Pygmalion over his work of art, who was in pain that the woman he sculpted can never return his feelings.

The goddess was moved by his devotion, and so she breathed life into that statue, and named the woman Galatea, who later on became Pygmalion's wife.

Other than that, it was always a 'no' for her. Unless she thinks that love is genuine, she wouldn't grant her blessings. This is why sometimes, love is bitter. But her mood soured some more when she turned into the Vision channel which was showing the events in Corinth.

Many men were talking about a woman, whose beauty is said to rival that of hers. Aphrodite went mad after hearing one of the men say, "That Psyche is even more beautiful than the Goddess of Beauty herself."

She searched for that woman called Psyche, and she wasn't pleased to see that many men are indeed flocking over her, some even outright worshipping her because of her loveliness.

'How could this be?!' The goddess was stressed. If it is about beauty, then surely, all men should be worshipping her, not this ingrate mortal who isn't even that pretty to her. No one can be more gorgeous than her.

From the heavens, she casted a spell to befall upon the woman called Psyche. "No one shall fall in love with you. Everyone will only be content to marvel and worship you, but never love you, and pass on to marry someone else."

In the city of Corinth, where Psyche was a princess, the curse casted by the goddess had taken effect. No one fell in love with the beautiful princess.

Then, Aphrodite called in her son, the God of Love, Eros, and gave him a task. "Use your power, and make this hussy fall madly in love with the vilest and most despicable creature in the world."

Little did she know, her plans already backfired, when Eros himself caught sight of the woman called Psyche.