"We did it! We actually did it!"
The serpent mother leapt up from the ground in a rush of excitement and moved toward Lorne, wanting to express the extreme joy and gratitude flooding through her at that moment.
But Thetis stepped in first, positioning herself between the two of them and intercepting the elated Echidna with a dry cough of reminder.
"Perhaps you might want to put some clothes on first?"
The cool air against her skin snapped the serpent mother back to her senses.
She quickly took the garments the sea goddess held out and pulled them over herself, covering what needed covering.
As a divine monster, the wild nature in her bones meant she felt no real shame about being unclothed.
But before this god who had given her new life, the least she could offer was basic respect and composure.
Watching Echidna shed her half-serpent form and take on a more human-like appearance as she walked toward him, Lorne's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the outrageously mountainous curves rising beneath the white linen dress.
Then, as if by accident, his eyes drifted to Thetis standing nearby, wearing an identical white linen dress, serving as a point of comparison.
It had to be said.
Women who had given birth and those who had not were simply built differently.
"Ahem!"
A cough carrying just a tinge of embarrassed annoyance cut short someone's wandering thoughts.
Thetis, who had noticed his gaze, crossed her arms and felt a faint warmth rise in her cheeks.
Lorne smiled with a trace of guilt and quickly withdrew his discourteous gaze, turning to look at Echidna and asking in a warm tone.
"How are you feeling?"
"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"
The serpent mother flexed her limbs with visible delight, her satisfaction written plainly across her face.
"Not only does my body feel completely normal, but I seem to have become younger as well."
Females are creatures born with a love of beauty, and Echidna, divine monster though she was, was no exception.
She was visibly overjoyed by her now more tender skin and her more humanlike and lovely face.
But amid all the excitement, the serpent mother noticed a small problem.
"My divine nature seems to have diminished considerably. My strength is far below what it once was."
"That was inevitable."
Lorne gave a nod and explained in a measured voice.
"After being eroded by death energy for so long, and with your soul and body separated all that time, even with my abilities, bringing you back could not possibly restore you to your previous state. Returning to your peak will likely take some time."
"I understand. Even so, I must thank you for everything you have done for me."
Echidna gave a small nod, the look she turned on Lorne filled with warmth and genuine appreciation.
"Now I truly believe you have been taking good care of my three daughters. For them to have found someone like you, that was their good fortune."
"You give me too much credit."
Lorne smiled pleasantly and extended an invitation of his own.
"Given your current condition, I would suggest coming with me back to Athens, resting properly at the Areios Pagos for a time, growing familiar with your body again, and recovering your former strength before making any further plans."
As he spoke, Lorne played the emotional card, sincerely adding,
"And the Gorgon sisters. They have surely been missing you too."
At those words, motherly feeling and longing stirred in Echidna, and she immediately nodded, accepting Lorne's proposal without hesitation.
"Boom!"
Just as the four of them were about to continue talking and work out the details of what came next, a muffled rumbling struck the stone door.
Dozens of black vine-like tendrils covered in scales punched through the stone walls, hissing as they spread toward everyone in the cavern.
Lorne's expression changed the moment he saw it. He called out an urgent warning.
"Trouble. Typhon is here."
"All the life force that gathered in this cavern during these past days must have drawn that monster's attention."
Thetis supported Lorne, who was swaying on his feet, her cherry lips pressing together and her expression turning grave.
Seeing more and more serpentine black vines surging into the cave entrance, Echidna's expression turned serious, and she immediately spoke.
"Follow me. I will get you out."
As she spoke, the veins across the serpent mother's hands stood out sharply, her fingers curling into sharp, hooked claws.
Together with Thetis, she forced back the vines at the entrance and cleared a path forward for the group.
Thetis helped Lorne onto Cerberus's back, then summoned two balls of water and hurled them directly into the faces of Sisyphus and Adonis.
The two unfortunate souls, who had been unconscious on the ground, jolted awake, wiping the wetness from their faces and looking around blankly.
"Are we out?"
"No. We are running for our lives."
Thetis answered in a low, clipped voice as she blasted an incoming tangle of black vines apart into several pieces with a spell.
Sisyphus watched the severed vines on the ground writhe and twist themselves into a swarm of hissing black snakes, and his face turned a rather unpleasant shade of green.
"These things are still here? For the love of..."
Adonis, waking a step behind, looked back at the passage behind them, which was caving in section by section, with a great mass of black snakes pressing forward in a frenzy.
Finding the narrow passage ahead already blocked by his companions and himself with nowhere to run, he had no choice but to raise his trembling hands and pour every last fragment of divine nature his soul still held into the effort, joining forces with Sisyphus, his fellow sufferer, to hold back the creatures swarming from behind.
Fortunately, only the surging mass of black snakes had given chase.
That terrifying head of Typhon seemed to be constrained by some limitation that prevented it from moving freely.
Furthermore, Echidna, as a native, was extremely familiar with the various passages and routes of the Arima Caverns.
Therefore, after several twists and turns, the group successfully shook off the swarm of black snakes.
Not wanting to take any chances, they dared not stop, pressing on through the dim and tangled underground passages toward the surface.
After traveling for an unknown amount of time in the darkness, a sliver of golden sunlight pierced through the thin mist and entered their eyes.
They were out.
A wave of exhilaration swept through everyone, and they immediately broke into a run, burst through a curtain of dense foliage, and stepped out to meet the long-missed morning light of the world of the living.
"Oww!"
The moment Adonis made contact with the intense living energy outside and the bright sunlight, a puff of blue smoke rose from his body, and he grimaced as he retreated back into the shadows.
He existed in a state of pure soul and, having spent considerable time in the underworld, had absorbed no small amount of death energy.
Therefore, even after escaping from underground, contact with the living world's atmosphere was enough to scorch him.
Seeing this, Lorne casually produced the sacred cup, inscribed the protective formula used on the island of Aiaia to shelter the souls of the dead, and gave it a small shake in Adonis's direction.
"Get in here."
The Cypriot prince raised no objection and hastily dissolved into a wisp of shadow, slipping inside the cup to take shelter.
"Right then, you all clearly have things to take care of. I will not get in the way. Off I go!"
At the same moment, Sisyphus, entirely unaffected by the sunlight, gave a loud, cheerful laugh while quietly driving the wind-god power within him to its limit and shot off into the distance with both hands raised in what appeared to be protective coverage over the back of his neck.
As the rush of wind sang past his ears and the warm sunlight landed on his skin, Sisyphus, putting considerable distance between himself and the others, felt joy overwhelming him; it very nearly brought him to tears.
Damn it, after running ahead so many times, he finally succeeded!
Back at the entrance of the Arima cavern, Lorne and Thetis exchanged a glance and lowered their arms helplessly.
Not going to lie, the old rascal had his quick moments.
Oh well. Let him go. He didn't hear anything of real importance anyway and could conveniently serve as a scapegoat along the way, drawing the attention of the underworld gods away from them.
Having decided to let Sisyphus off this once, Lorne turned back and looked helplessly at Cerberus, crouched in the shadows and sticking out its tongue, staring after them with a gaze full of reluctant longing.
As the guardian hound of Hades and a child of the dangerous Typhon, it still bore the mark of the underworld. It could not follow them.
"Go back for now. I will come and see you again before long."
Lorne gave the middle head a fond ruffle, left behind some honey cakes and wine, then stood with the serpent mother at the mouth of the Arima cavern and watched Cerberus walk back toward the depths of the underworld, looking over its shoulder with every other step.
When the dog's shape finally disappeared into the darkness, Lorne turned to look at the serpent mother beside him.
"Lady Echidna, I have some personal matters to attend to next. If you have no objection, how about having Thetis escort you to Athens? I will send word to the Gorgon sisters and have them come to meet you."
"Of course."
The serpent mother gave a small nod, raising no objection to the arrangement.
As a god who had died and been reborn, and a member of Typhon's household besides, she had her own concerns about running into one of the major Olympian gods and dying a second time.
However, Thetis, now entrusted with this task, did not move.
She gave Lorne a look that was hard to read, carrying a faint and rather knowing amusement.
Lorne smiled and, out of habit offered up a chip.
"Understood. One more favor added to the count."
"No."
But Thetis shook her head, a meaningful smile playing at her lips.
"Do for Athena what you once did for me."
"..."
Looking at the owl feather pressed into his palm and the sea goddess walking off with Echidna into the distance, Lorne stood in silence for a moment, the corner of his mouth giving a faint twitch.
Goddesses. Truly every last one of them was unbearably petty.
At the same time, on the Areios Pagos in Athens.
"Achoo!"
A white owl perched on the ridge of the temple, surveying all of Athens from above, felt an inexplicable chill creep up its back and sneezed with considerable force.
(End of Chapter)