Athena could not help but feel a sense of frustration and disappointment; it was as if the very fabric of the metaverse was working against her. It appeared as though her meeting with Kyn in the contemporary world had been in vain, despite the fact that she had diligently tracked him down and planned the meeting after the post-apocalyptic chaos.
She had invested all her effort, patience, and thought into making this meeting happen, hoping to leave an indelible impression on Kyn, but it apparently had not yielded the results she desired. She had anticipated that he would keep her in his memory, but the reality of the situation left her with a tremendous sense of yearning and a touch of regret. Athena was forced to acknowledge that despite her best efforts, Kyn's memory appeared to be obscured by the haze of the past. It was, after all, a difficult realisation for her to come to terms with.
"Hmph! This is so not fair," she muttered, then thought to herself, 'If that un-full woman can have him, so can I.' She huffed, willing herself not to give up.
When Kyn looked at the tall and beautiful woman in front of him as they stood within the sacred halls of Athena's garden, he could not help but feel a glimmer of recognition. She reminded him of Isabella. The memory of the stolen kiss from earlier remained, and it had left an imprint on him that time could not erase. He had been emotionally torn as a result of it. In spite of his current connection with Gaia, he discovered that he was in the midst of a moment of temptation.
'He seems lost in thought, hehehe.' with a smirk on her face she thought, her eyes never living his, 'If at first you don't succeed, try and try again.'
It was as though Athena, with her imperial bearing and overwhelming appeal, was aware of the gravitational pull that their common past exerted. She then snuck up on Kyn again and surprised him with another passionate kiss that lingered for a while. She had a sly glint in her eye.
That particular moment tested Kyn's reputation as a gentleman and his values. He felt split between the strong connection he had with Gaia and the magnetic draw of Athena's presence, which was heavenly. The kiss had set off a complicated web of feelings within him, and he soon found himself in a circumstance in which his loyalties were being put to the test in a significant way.
"Don't you remember me? Your partner kept on calling you an uptight 'Marimo'," she recounted
Kyn was now stunned for a brief moment when Athena asked him the question. It felt like a sudden jolt had hit him. Her words had just shattered his memories wide open, and he felt a rush of emotions and confusion wash over him. He struggled to understand the connection between Athena and his old life as a detective, especially with his partner.
In the midst of his emotional turmoil, a surge of PTSD memories flooded his mind. The traumatic experience of losing his partner while on the job had left him with deep wounds, and it appeared to him in the form of vivid flashbacks. When Kyn saw his partner's face again, the face of the person he had pledged to seek vengeance against, his face contorted in anguish and hatred.
In his distress, Kyn abruptly grabbed Athena and pinned her to the wall. He demanded explanations, his tone tinged with the sense of urgency and annoyance that he felt, "Why do you know of him?"
After being taken aback by Kyn's unexpected hostility, Athena was even more taken aback by the severity of his response. Her heart was racing with a mixture of terror and curiosity as she saw the display, and while being momentarily caught off guard by it, she found the display to be weirdly wild and fascinating. She had not prepared herself for this kind of response, and it brought a whole new level of complication to their interaction.
Her arms now pinned to the wall, making her melons pop up, making them even more appealing, didn't much help Kyn's case. Her V-tapper now exposed to his full view only added to his want, but then again, his partner's killers. Up until now he was doing what the system, Unity, wanted him to do. She was the first connection he had regarding him.
"Who should I call you, Athena or Isabella?"
Kyn's gaze bore into Athena's captivating blue eyes as he struggled to reconcile his past with the present. The revelation that the model he had once protected was the same woman he had pinned to the wall now left him in shock. The allure of her eyes had drawn him in before, but he had kept his distance then, focused on his duty. Now he realised it – her free spirit, those were the same eyes, and the want he saw then still existed.
Seeing the recognition in his eyes, her ethereal voice sounded like a reminder as she muttered , "It's been a while, Kyn."
The past and present seemed to blur as he realised the connection between Athena and the star they had protected. The mystery deepened, and Kyn's desire to learn more about his ex-partner and the circumstances surrounding their protection of Athena grew stronger. In his mind, he realised that if you did not sign up to be a hunter, you were technically free of this life. How did he and his partner get mixed up with the gods?
He released his grip on Athena, his mind consumed by the newfound knowledge. "Tell me everything you know," he demanded, his voice full of curiosity and frustration.
"There is pretty much nothing to talk about," Athena replied. "You and your partner were in charge of taking care of my avatar."
"I don't get you?" Kyn replied.
"The 'me' you protected was me, but a new me... you understand what it implies?" She asked, looking back at him.
A new message appeared on his link: "A new mission is now available, with a reward of a 5% permanent increase in Chaos affinity." The Pantheon affiliation contract states that the goddess Athena desires a betrothal to the House of Aldrich.