Looking around her, Gaia could see that she was in the middle of what seemed to be a sea of stars.
Constellations filled her surroundings as Gaia massaged her eyes.
"Asteria, Iām pretty sure you know what Iām here for." Gaia sighed as a woman appeared in front of her.
"Mn, itās about that white haired girl isnāt it?" Asteria smiled. Right now she was wearing a semi transparent dress with jewels representing stars attached to the skirt.
"If you know then Iāll skip the formality. Weāre going to need your help if we want her to reach space within the time she has." Gaia said seriously as Asteria thought about it before turning around.
"Nope."
Hearing this, Gaia narrowed her eyes.
"What do you mean by no." She asked.
"Iām curious to see this future that might happen. The stars shifted around for a bit which meant the future changed. I want to see what youāre trying so hard to hide." Asteria smiled.
"Didnāt you give Shiro your blessingās? Iām sure you donāt want to see her journey end." Gaia asked with a frown.
"Oh but her journey doesnāt end here. It keeps going. I want to see it no matter the outcome, even if it might be bad." Asteria chuckled as Gaiaās body matured to a.d.u.l.t form.
"I recall that you owe me a favour or two right?" Gaia asked as her aura started to surge.
"Maybe I do, maybe I donāt. But regardless, you look quite hostile for someone who wants a favour." Asteria chuckled.
"Well only the outcome matters. Even if the process is bad. If there is no goddess of stars, I wonder what will happen to the barriers that involve stars?" Gaia asked as her killing intent surged forth.
"Iāll give you two choices. Either help us and repay this favour, or you can die and weāll get the job done regardless."
"Scary." Asteria smiled.
"Whatās your answer."
"Ooo thatās quite the variety of choices huh? Iām tempted to choose the second opti-"
Before Asteria could even finish her sentence, she was instantly petrified and crushed to ash.
Appearing in front of where she had stood, a tier 8 magic circle appeared around Gaiaās arm as she tore the void in half, revealing a golden orb.
Before Gaia could do anything, a ray of light shot towards her forcing her to back off.
Glancing behind her, Gaia could see a pale faced Asteria.
"Yeesh fine Iāll help. No need to get this serious." She forced a smile as Gaia narrowed her eyes.
"Test my limits one more time. I dare you." Gaia warned as she opened a portal.
However, before she left, she turned Asteria to ash on more time.
Watching Gaia leave, Asteria sat down and leaned back.
Placing her hand over her heart, she calmed her emotions.
"Even if sheās the weakest of the primordial, she is still a primordial in the end." She muttered.
###
Feeling a sharp pain in her chest, Gaia gritted her teeth and glared at the system.
"Yeah yeah, I know. I wonāt do it again." She rolled her eyes.
Healing herself, she teleported back to the ātea partyā.
"How was it? Did Asteria agree?" Chronos asked curiously as Gaia nodded.
"Mn, it took a bit of convincing though." Gaia replied as she glanced over at the empty bed.
"Whereās Nyx?" She asked.
"Sheās gone to talk to Hemera."
Hearing this, Gaia frowned.
"Are you sure thatās a good idea?"
"Who knows, but since Nyx has chosen to do this, Iāll trust her." Tartarus chuckled while crossing his legs.
"Hm.... How is Shiro doing?" Gaia asked.
"Sheās managed to break through a few barriers. Honestly, sheās quite efficient in her work." Chronos smiled as Gaia nodded her head.
Taking a sip of the tea, Gaia smiled softly while watching the screens.
###
Walking into her daughterās domain, Nyx sighed since it was quite bright. Despite being a lesser known goddess, her powers were not weak since she is the daughter of a primordial.
"Hemera, I know youāre there." Nyx called out with a sigh.
"You actually remembered me mother, Iām so happy." A voice rang out as Nyx winced slightly before turning around.
Many may think that Hemera is happy go lucky but Nyx knew that Hemera was like everyone else. She just hides her negative emotions under a mask.
"Hemera.... How have you been?" Nyx asked with a forced smile.
"Mn? Iāve been good mother. What about you? You seem to be more interested in this girl called Shiro rather than your own daughter, she must be a very interesting person then. You even went as far as to manifest yourself so many times to talk to her. Makes me wonder why I didnāt get the same treatment." Hemera smiled as she started to walk around Nyx.
"Iām... Sorry. Hemera, thereās no excuse for me neglecting you bu-"
"Oh wow, you must be quite desperate to apologise to me of all people. I even remember you saying that you hated me and my divinity." Hemera raised an eyebrow as Nyx frowned.
". . .Thereās no excuse for what I did. I donāt want to set it aside but time is short." Nyx clenched her fists as she wanted Hemeraās help.
"Mn just give me an order like you did before. I canāt disobey mother after all." Hemera smiled āhappilyā.
"No. itās not an order. If you donāt want to help you can say no." Nyx shook her head as Hemera stopped smiling.
"In that case then is there even a need for you to ask me? Because you know Iāll say no." Hemera frowned as she disappeared.
Seeing this, Nyx sighed and opened a portal.
Glancing back at the domain, she closed her eyes and walked through.
Watching Nyx leave, Hemera reappeared, gritting her teeth in annoyance.
Stomping the ground a few times, she huffed with tears appearing.
"I just wanted you to stay with me for a bit...." Hemera muttered while hugging her knees.
āIf I help this girl would mother stay with me more.ā She thought to herself while looking at a screen, showing Shiro working hard on her blueprint.
###
"Any luck?" Chronos asked as he watched Nyx appear at the table and sit down on her bed.
"No." Nyx replied simply as Gaia could tell that Nyx was feeling a bit down.
Without saying anything, Gaia sat next to Nyx and hugged her.
"Say Gaia, how do I be a better mom?" Nyx asked with a sigh.
"Hmm... Honestly, Hemera just wants your attention in my opinion. Iāve seen her a few times and she doesnāt seem like a bad kid. Sheās not naĆÆve like others think. I think she just wants you to stay with her more since youāre always doing something else. Now that the new age arrived, youāve been keeping an eye on what Shiro has been doing. I think itās ok to leave Shiroās observation to us and stay with Hemera often. Even if you donāt do anything, staying next to her is better than what youāre doing now." Gaia replied after thinking for a moment.
"Iāll organise things for a while. You might as well stay with Hemera for a bit." Gaia smiled.
Hearing this, Nyx furrowed her brows since things were a bit tensed right now.
"But-"
"Do you trust us?" Gaia asked as Nyx paused before nodding.
"Then go do your job as her mum and leave the rest to us."
Hesitating for a moment, Nyx bit her lip before nodding.
"If anything goes wrong you must contact me ok?"
"Donāt worry. Now go, Hemera is waiting for you." Gaia nodded.
Watching Nyx stand up and open a portal, Gaia gave her an encouraging smile.
After Nyx left, Gaia put on a serious face before walking over to the table.
"Alright, Iāll be needing you two oldies to do something rather than just watch. You two are going to help me convince some of the gods in the pantheon to help." Gaia said as Tartarus looked up at Gaia with a raised eyebrow.
Thinking about it for a moment, he nodded.
"Sure, but weāll have to find those that can actually help at this point in time. I know Hades wouldnāt mind but his powers wouldnāt assist her at all right now. Plus, if it did, I would have given her my assistance." Tartarus shrugged.
"Thatās fine, Iāve already got a list of gods. Just come with me." Gaia nodded.
Opening a portal, she gestured for the two to enter.
Looking at each other, Chronos and Tartarus chuckled before entering.
###
Meanwhile, Shiro had just finished another blueprint for the rocket. It has been an hour and a half since sheās been making rockets and there was a good chance that this one will be able to break through all of the barriers.
Launching the rocket, she watched as it pierced through the barriers with ease. Biting her nail, she watched the statues nervously but this nervousness soon dissipated as she smiled.
The rocket was able to break past the final barrier and reach outer space.