Origins: Tale of Corinna The Huntress

Julius' grin never disappeared from his face ever since he got themselves out from that cell where they were held captive by the subjects of Hades. Now that he's beginning to comprehend how to use his power to manipulate space, he's really getting more excited and cocky from his recent discovery. 'Plus, my charm is effective even here too.'

Corinna only got so irritated from his obviously cocky behavior now. Although this lad seems to be reliable as a companion in this bizarre place, she can't shake off the feeling that he's definitely not some guy you can describe as careful. Then the klutz, as if on cue, proved her doubt when he accidentally hit a rock while they were walking, sending himself forwards, and creating quite a bit of a nasty noise. "Ow."

'Grrrr' She sighed internally. She looked at her surroundings and sighed again, for it seems that no one noticed that minor disturbance. "Okay, halt." She suddenly said.

'Halt? Can't you just say 'stop?' Julius thought after hearing her instructions. He did as he was told, though.

Then, she crouched to the ground and touched its surface. After which, she placed her hand near her nose, smelling the dirt she gathered, and said, "There's a body of water nearby."

'That's good!' Julius internally celebrated after hearing her news. 'The Gods know I'm really thirsty.'

Soon, they found themselves beside a clear river. The water looked so tempting that Julius hurried over to help himself for a drink, but Corinna dragged him away from the river and spat at his face.

"Are you stupid?! Don't you remember where we currently are?!"

Ooof, yeah right. Because of his want to quench his thirst, he honestly forgot they were in the Underworld. And in the Underworld, one should never let himself be fooled by any body of water present in it. Or else, one might end up in a pitiful situation.

The Underworld is surrounded by five principal rivers, namely: Styx, The River of Hatred that Binds All Oaths, Archeron, The River of Pain, Lethe, The River of Forgetfulness, Phlegethon, The River of Fire, and Cocytus, The River of Lamentations.

Seeing the color of the water up close, it was rather blurry, like underconcentrated glass water with only half a teaspoon of milk. Since its not black nor the color of a blaze, Julius concluded that this river can't be either Styx nor Phlegethon. Which means, it can only be Lethe, Archeron or Cocytus.

He imagined the scenarios if he got to touch it, whichever river it belongs to. If it was Cocytus, he would probably be wailing right now, lamenting about the sins he committed from the Mortal World. If it was Archeron, it will be as if Bellatrix Lestrange casted a Crucio at him. And if its Lethe…..he'll forget everything.

He shivered from these dark thoughts and stepped further away from the river.

"I see you finally realized that I just saved your sorry ass there, stranger."

He frowned at that. "Hey, I have a name and it's Julius. No fair, I can remember your name but you can't recall mine?"

Now it's Corinna's turn to furrow her eyebrows. It recurred to her that its really been a long, long time since she last saw this man. So she just honestly replied as she looked at him deeply in the eyes. "You can't blame me. It's been more than a hundred years already since the last time we met. Speaking of which, how come you're here and still alive?" The glint in her eyes tells him that she was demanding for an explanation.

Damn good question that needs a damn good answer. Of course, this is another era, from a different age of mankind. A long time must have passed since his encounter with Pandora and Epimetheus. Julius debated on whether to give her an answer or not. But as he looked more closely, this is rather odd too in her case. So he just returned the inquiry at her.

"If it's already been more than a century ago, then how are you here and still alive too?"

Corinna wasn't fazed. She will never hide the fact of her being an independent Huntress. She's proud of it. So she told him the story of how she became immortal.

"I remember it well. A year after we met, I finally got to meet the Goddess of the Hunt when I went to Crete."

--

Corinna is one of the daughters of King Oenopion of Chios. There, she became friends with the handsome young man known as Orion. They were both gifted hunters, and each time they pair up for a hunt, they always had the best bounty. Her father disapproved of her unladylike interests, but Corinna couldn't care less.

Over time, she gradually grew closer to Orion, until she realized that what she felt for him was more than just platonic friendship. Unfortunately, Orion only had his eyes for her sister, Merope, and their feelings were mutual. With a heavy heart, she could only accept that what she was to Orion was only as a close friend. The King also disapproved of the relationship between Orion and her sister, and constantly thwarted their nuptials. He went overboard when he attacked Orion's eyes while he was sleeping, blinding him as a result.

Merope was horrified upon finding her lover in that state, and she told him to go seek the Oracle to find his cure. Orion went to the Oracle, and he was told that he should go to the east and let the rays of the rising sun there fall onto his eyes. He went as far as east could go, and after three years, he recovered his sight.

Eventually, Orion ended up in Crete, where Corinna also went a couple of years ago when she decided to follow the Path of being a Maiden Huntress of the Goddess of the Wild. They reunited there, for both of them heard the rumors that the Goddess is currently in Crete, hunting to provide for the less fortunate Cretans.

One fine day, while they were hunting together, they came upon a beautiful young woman who was also hunting, along with a pack of the finest wolves they've ever seen. When they looked at her closely, they realized that she had a faint glow, and given her tall and lean physique, she was no ordinary mortal. This woman could only be….."Artemis." They said and bowed in unison before her.

The Goddess replied, "Thank you for your reverence, but come, let us be companions and hunt together."

They can't believe it, they will be working closely with the one and only Artemis! They passed by the seasons together. By the day, they hunted and sported, challenging each other to foot races, archery, and storytelling. In the evenings around the fire, they bared their souls and told each other about their lives, their lost loves, their secrets. Their bonds became stronger. Orion was honest in everything, but Corinna held back on the things she shared to them. She also especially noticed that the goddess and the Orion were more comfortable with each other than with her around. She believes that there's something romantic there. 'After all this time, you still see me as a friend.' She thought.

That same night, Orion had a nightmare. Inside it, he was battling a giant scorpion that was trying to attack the sleeping forms of Artemis and Corinna. It jolted him awake, but he quickly realized that it's just a dream. Little did he know, it was a vision sent by Apollo, who got jealous of the relationship he has with his twin.

The next morning, Corinna woke up first and found that her Mistress wasn't there. Orion was still sleeping. However, they are already used to it, since the goddess always disappears at the break of dawn to go for an early hunt. While she went off to prepare their breakfast, she was surprised to see a giant scorpion near their already exhausted bonfire. She was weaponless that time, and she screamed when the scorpion's tail was about to puncture her. But Orion came to her rescue, and fought the scorpion in order to protect her.

On the other hand, Artemis, who went off on her routine, was surprised to see her twin wandering about the woods she was currently at. He looked like he was panting, apparently disturbed by something. "What brings you here, Apollo?"

"Artemis, I have bad news for you. One of your maiden followers, Opos, has been raped. And the man who violated her is currently fighting a giant scorpion near Crete. Hurry, you must deliver his punishment!"

No one escapes the vengeance of Artemis when one of her own has been ravaged. Without even pausing to verify Apollo's intel, she grabbed her quiver and sped down to the outskirts of Crete. Apollo followed her, and pointed to the speck in the distance that was actually Orion's head, putting a distance between himself and the scorpion. "There he is." He said, standing behind his sister so his face could not betray his treachery.

Artemis released her silver arrow with unerring aim, and it slew Orion, much to Corinna's horror. Her scream was heard all over Crete, and Artemis' ears picked up her familiar voice. When she turned around, Apollo wasn't there anymore. Quickly, she ran back to their base, only to find the lifeless form of Orion being embraced by Corinna. No scorpion was in sight. She soon deduced the truth – her brother committed something so unforgivable to her.

Artemis cried in remorse, telling her what happened, and Corinna understood, so she never blamed the Goddess for it. It was Apollo's devious set up. Artemis then placed Orion's body among the stars – as a tribute to their friendship, and a reminder to all mortals that he was Orion, The Great Hunter (the constellation).

Next, Corinna vowed to follow Artemis' Path, and pleaded the Goddess to grant her immortality so she can complete missions for life, so she can hunt for eternity, to instill her muscle memories from all the time she spent hunting with Orion. Still in deep sorrow, the Goddess yielded to her request, and gave her the blessings of immortality. From that point forward, she became a full-fledged Huntress of the Moon.

--

Julius was so speechless the entire time that he forgot about his thirst. Suddenly, they heard an even louder noise not far from them. Then, the familiar voice of Rexis entered his eardrums. "GYAAAAAAH!"

'Dude you're destroying the mood here, can't you have a better timing?'

But his friend's heavy panting had a sense of urgency in it. And he caught sight of his hands…..'WTF?'

His two-word sentence was quite simple.

"JULIUS, RUN!!"