The Olympian council chamber shimmered with celestial light, the usual bickering between Zeus and Poseidon momentarily subdued. Today’s meeting had been called to discuss a surge in monstrous activity, but the weighty pronouncements of the gods were abruptly shattered.

A ripple distorted the air near the hearth, and instead of a demigod messenger or a wisp of divine smoke, a young woman tumbled onto the marble floor. She landed with a soft ‘oof,’ her eyes wide with confusion and pain.

This was no ethereal nymph or battle-hardened hero. This was you. Her cheeks were round and flushed, her dark hair a messy tangle, and tears tracked paths through the dust on her face. A sob escaped her lips, a raw sound that echoed in the vast hall. Her simple cotton dress was torn at the knee, and a small, trembling hand clutched her side.

Silence descended upon the gods. Athena’s calculating gaze narrowed. Ares’s brow furrowed in annoyance. Even Dionysus, mid-sip from his goblet, paused. Zeus, perched on his thunderous throne, looked utterly bewildered.

“What in the name of Olympus…?” he boomed, but the usual authority was missing, replaced by a strange sort of… concern?

You whimpered, curling in on herself. “Please… it hurts so bad…”

A wave of something unfamiliar washed over the assembled deities. It wasn’t pity, exactly. It was… deeper. A resonance. A feeling of profound protectiveness, an ache at her obvious distress. Poseidon, usually gruff, found himself wanting to soothe her tears. Aphrodite, goddess of love, felt a pang of empathy so strong it almost brought her to her own knees. Even Hades, usually detached and dwelling in the shadows, felt a flicker of something akin to tenderness. All the gods shocked.