I. Erebus
As usual, you ask Melinoë to hit you. Recently, the both of you have developed a tacit routine in which Melinoë gets to beat the hell out of you, in exchange for one of your tangible rewards. She is standing by a cocoon, seemingly weary and irritated, as if you're the one who didn't know better. Good. She tends to make mistakes when she is blinded by her temper. You want emotion to get the better of her. You want to see her fail.
She charges Xinth and surges forward. She blasts you again and again. A surge of annoyance washes over you as you hear her groan.
Time's up. It takes a while for the smoke to clear. You fall on one knee in front of her. Blood trickles down your chin. You spit a tooth out, wetting the stone beside your right foot with your bloody saliva.
That's it? says Melinoë. A filthy tooth coming from you?
You grunt and toss a Soul Tonic to her. She picks it up and rushes to the door to Ares' boon without giving you a second thought.
II. Oceanus
You fall to the slippery tiles. Lukewarm water immediately drenches your feet: a feeling you can never be accustomed to.
Melinoë and her scrawny ass is already here. Ungh, you say, baring your teeth. She averts her gaze when realizing that a front tooth of yours is missing. Her dampened hair curls. You feel like messing her up to make it even worse.
Foes appear. You lash out at one of the Hippos. Melinoë dashes among your enemies effortlessly and steals your kill whenever she has a chance. Everything is shown in slow motion as she channels. Your eyes meet across a school of Pinheads. You think her expression softens, but you cannot be so sure.
You're such an asshole, you grumble, handing over your coins. She covers her hand on your coin pouch; she, however, does not take it away. Her spectral fingers tap on your wrist, on the rope bracelet she gifted you some nights ago. She looks like she is expecting more. Hecate must have spoiled her.
Steam has burnt you during the fight, causing your face to aflame. She places a hand on your wounded cheek and whispers Take care, Nem before heading off. Your face tingles—Melinoë’s touch does not soothe you; her touch only hurts you more.
III. Fields of Mourning
You find Melinoë darting toward Demeter's boon from above. You land heavily by her side. She narrows her eyes at you. Are you stalking me?
Don't flatter yourself, you scoff. Thanks to the laurel crown and shit dress, her figure is easy to be perceived in the fields. It's not like you give a damn, and Melinoë doesn't need to know about that either.
You offer to trade a Daedalus Hammer for her Apollo boon, which she declines.
Your loss, you say. You soar into the sky and hover over Melinoë to observe. You are looking forward to her making a fool of herself. A group of Lycaons encircles her. She is swiped from behind, but she regains her composure in no time.
She is being competent and effective, swinging her fists over and over without hesitation, and none of her rockets misses. Fine, Melinoë can win this round. Melinoë can because you let her.
She does shed tears after her house pet is defeated and runs away from her. For a moment, she sits alone on the waste land; blood continues to ooze from the slash on her bare back.
IV. Tartarus
You wait for Melinoë at the entrance to Tartarus. She does not acknowledge your presence when she arrives. She walks past you to drink from the fountain, taking her time washing her dirty little face and selecting a different keepsake. Frinos keeps hopping around you as though he is happy to see you.
You clench your jaw to stifle a yawn. At last, Melinoë turns around to glare at you. You pretend not to notice the red rings around her eyes.
You've been following me all night, she starts impatiently. What do you want?
Can't get through, you say. You can open the gate.
Nemesis… She rubs her eyes and exhales. Say please then, she demands, dewy-eyed.
You huff, scraping Stygius against the floor. Melinoë does not grimace at the noise nor the sparks. It is no point to fuck with her anymore—to get on her nerves in order to push her is one thing, to toy with her feeling while she is clearly upset is another. Yes, you want to see Melinoë break, but not like this.
And hence you tell her Please as you reach for her hand and brush your thumb against her bruised knuckles. You tell her Please as you tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.
You allow Melinoë to briefly lean on your chest. She smells of gunpowder and burnt hair, and everything you have dreamt of.
+I. The Crossroads
You have prevailed; yet you simply could not go further. Your family is still imprisoned. Time stops for no one.
You lie with Melinoë in her ritual space, surrounded by the tiny shades who are giving you the peace sign. You wave a hand to drive them away.
Frinos is nodding off on his favorite rock with a smile on his face; he deserves a moment of tranquility after all this nonsense.
Melinoë rolls over and asks softly, How are you feeling, Nem?
Feel like shit, you reply, too exhausted to be poetic.
I'm glad you finally understand what I've been through night after night, she sighs, nudging herself closer to you. Now, take me to bed before I change my mind.