Dylan King and His New Roommate Called Goddess Athena [1st Book]

Spin Off: The Birth of Athena - Chapter 4

Metis' POV.

Metis' eyes fluttered open. After quite some time, she became aware that she was in a place that was all white. There was nothing there, including the bed she was supposedly lying on. Am I dreaming?

Metis attempted to get up. Even though her pregnancy was still in the third month, it was always challenging for her to get up; especially this time, she must get up from the floor. While rubbing her belly, she looked around, trying to get an understanding on where she actually was.

"Zeus?" Metis called as she walked forward. "Zeus?" she repeated.

As she kept walking forward, she suddenly bumped the surface in front of her. Bewildered, she raised her right-arm and rubbed the surface; she then learned that the surface was curvy.

"Zeus?" she called again as she turned around. Raising her right-arm, she slowly walked to the opposite side. After several steps, her fingers touched a surface; it was also curvy. Where am I actually?

All of sudden, something bumped the top of whatever Metis was in, causing it to shake as if there was an earthquake. She was shocked by it; unfortunately, while she had not yet recovered, more things bumped into the top of this place. Afraid of falling to the ground, she knelt down, shut her eyes and covered her ears.

"Zeus! Help me!" Metis shouted. "Dear husband, where are you?!"

There was no reply. Metis kept her eyes tightly shut; she hoped everything was just a nightmare, and she would soon wake up and return to her bedroom, with Zeus lying adjacent to her.

Before long, everything went quiet. Metis removed her hands and raised her head, staring at the ceiling. At any time she would be ready to cover her ears again if there were more things that would create another tremor in this place. Nonetheless, after quite some time, the quiet state remained still. She held her belly and carefully got up.

Metis' breathing rhythm became faster than usual, and her chest also kept thumping. She raised her right-arm and tiptoed, attempting to touch the ceiling. As expected, the distance between the ceiling and the floor was not that far. No wonder the bump sounds were loud and clear.

Metis began to wonder whether she was not dreaming, and the place she was currently in was some sort of a prison. If the assumption was true, then the only one who did it must be none other from her own race, who sided with Cronus during Titanomachy. While Zeus had killed Cronus, imprisoned the other leaders and forced the remaining enemies to swear loyalty to him, everyone could not discount the possibility that some of Cronus' loyalists were still out there, waiting for a perfect moment to exact their king's vengeance. She kept pondering on this possibility, to the point she ended up believing it all.

Time passed without Metis knowing whether it was morning or afternoon or night outside the prison. The objects bumping the upper surface became even more frequent, and eventually Metis got used to it. While sitting on the floor, she kept rubbing her belly and said, "Don't worry, my child. Your father will definitely come to save us."

More time passed and Metis started to feel hungry and thirsty. She did not really care if Zeus was too late to save her. The very thing that burdened her mind was the child in her womb. If she did not get proper nutrition, then the child's growth might encounter a problem; even worse, she might even die. She could not pray to Gaea – her grandmother – to guide Zeus to the prison, as Zeus had killed Cronus, the son whom Gaea favored for killing her husband Uranus. The one and only hope she had now was Zeus would utilize all of his resources in the kingdom, as the current situation was undeniably a race against time.

Metis. Can you hear me?

A soft voice was suddenly heard. Metis held the wall with her right-hand and carefully stood up.

Metis. Please say something so that I know you're alive.

After hearing the second sentence, Metis began to wonder whether the voice belonged to Hestia, the goddess of hearth and the eldest sister of Zeus.

"Hestia, is that you?" Metis asked as she stared at the ceiling, even though she was not sure that the voice originated there.

You're right, Metis. I'm Hestia. I'm so glad that you are still alive.

"Where are you, Hestia?" Metis asked. "Have you and Zeus found my prison?"

Hestia did not reply. There was a pause, making Metis call her name again.

"Hestia?"

O, Metis. It's extremely difficult for me to tell you this.

"Difficult?" Metis responded, tilting her head. "What do you mean by difficult, Hestia?"

You are indeed inside a prison, Metis. But the prison is unlike Tartarus or anywhere else on Earth.

Metis took a brief pause before replying. "Where... is this prison then?"

The prison is inside Zeus' stomach.