"Orion, I have committed a crime."
Artemis gazed at the sky, her voice calm as she revealed the source of the [tragedy].
Within the ruins of Elsos lay sealed the ancient calamity—Antares.
The gates of the ruins could only be opened by Artemis herself.
"To investigate those bizarre scorpion-like monsters, my Familia and I entered the ruins... Yet the calamity had already awakened."
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Countless scorpion-like monsters, along with Antares, attacked the group.
Had Artemis not been vigilant, her Familia members would have perished on the spot.
Terror. Despair.
Before the wails and screams reached them, Artemis made her decision.
She unleashed her "Arcanum".
Even if it meant being sent back to Tenkai and separating from her Familia, the kind and just Artemis could not bear to see her children lose their lives.
In an instant, countless beams of light rained down from the sky, obliterating every scorpion-like monster.
But the calamity remained unscathed.
Antares reacted to the [Arcanum], disregarding everything around it, and swallowed Artemis whole.
"Swallowed...?"
Bell looked at Artemis and asked softly.
"To be more precise, it was absorption."
Artemis's expression was full of deep sorrow, like a sinner confessing her sins.
Imprisoned by the monster, she could not even activate the divine power meant to return her to heaven.
Artemis had become part of Antares' power.
"At the very last moment, I ordered the children to flee the ruins."
Artemis's Familia members lost their power.
Seeing their goddess being devoured, they were consumed by an abyss of despair and madness.
Artemis pleaded with them to escape and seek their own [redemption].
When they reunited, the Familia had found that spear.
It was both a symbol of longing and salvation.
Artemis realized that she had committed a terrible sin, one that would bring ruin to the entire lower world because of her.
She wept and repented.
The goddess's strong exterior shattered, leaving behind only a sobbing girl.
Artemis longed for a hero.
To redeem the sins she had committed, to save Genkai from the brink of destruction.
Her cries reached the heavens, and a vision fell from the sky.
The spear of heaven was summoned.
"This spear is the arrow that can destroy Antares, while I am but a mere remnant."
The Familia members wept and wailed.
When they found the spear, it was not a moment of joyful reunion that awaited them.
Facing her powerless Familia members, Artemis entrusted them with a mission.
She knew that this was the only way to ease their sorrow.
Artemis, spear in hand, traveled to Orario to seek a hero.
Through tears, her Familia members bid their farewells, heading to nearby cities to spread the news.
Reinforcements arrived quickly, clearing a path through the monsters of the Great Tree Sea for the hero.
But the Antares within the ruins remained untouched.
Following the god's instructions, everyone avoided it.
"With Arcanum, that monster could destroy the lower world."
Artemis gazed up at the sky, pointing toward the distant moon.
"..."
Bell followed her gaze. Beams of light formed a new moon, with a massive arrow of light poised above it.
He had sensed something earlier.
Just like Cassandra's vision.
But no matter how he asked, Hermes refused to say a word.
Now, both the bow and arrow had taken shape.
"That arrow is still in the accumulation stage. Once fired, Genkai will be destroyed."
Artemis lowered her head. "Perhaps the gods could find a way to intercept it, but Antares can still create a second arrow."
Only by defeating the source of the calamity could this world be saved.
And Antares was not something the gods could challenge.
"Just like the Power of Return failed to activate, ancient monsters are immune to Arcanum."
Artemis explained the current situation calmly, as though recounting someone else's misfortune.
[Arcanum], [Familia], [Ancient Monsters].
These three were inextricably linked. After capturing Artemis, Antares had gained both the power of [Ancient Monsters] and [Arcanum].
Neither the gods nor the adventurers with Falna could defeat it.
This was an absolute rule.
An unshakable, despairing truth.
Antares cannot die, yet it wields divine power, raining down countless divine light arrows.
Neither the gods nor the adventurers could oppose it.
Even if Orario sent every last warrior, they would be annihilated.
This is the unreasonable power that Antares commands now.
"To slay the Calamity, only this spear will suffice."
[Arrow of Orion].
This is a [Divine Weapon] capable of slaying gods.
Originally, it could only be wielded by Artemis, but now, the power resides with Bell.
Twist the laws, destroy the Calamity.
This is the redemption Artemis sought.
Bell immediately sensed the unique nature of the weapon.
"If Antares is slain, what will become of you, Artemis?"
"..."
Artemis thought she could calmly explain everything.
But when faced with this question, her heartbeat seemed to freeze for a moment.
She could not answer with lies.
She had to respond to that warmth and passion.
Reason urged her to stay composed and not succumb to sorrow.
Yet her emotions consumed her, twisting into a sorrowful, reluctant expression.
"Orion... this body of mine is nothing but remnants... Please, slay that monster and grant me [redemption]."
Artemis was imprisoned within the heart of Antares, her body and soul inseparable.
Unless the goddess was slain, the calamity could not be defeated.
"So... I beg you, Orion..."
Artemis longed for a hero.
Not to save her.
But to kill her.
"The gods—"
As Bell began to speak, Artemis seemed to anticipate his words.
She interrupted him with deep sorrow in her voice.
"Even the gods cannot help."
"If they recklessly wield divine power, my chances of salvation would be slim."
"Moreover, it would come at the cost of countless lives."
"The mortal world would be ravaged, and countless gods would be sent back to Tenkai."
"That would not be salvation for me."
Artemis's resolute exterior seemed to unravel, revealing her helplessness and fragility.
"Orion, do you know that after a god dies, they revive after a time?"
Artemis stepped forward, taking Bell's hands in hers.
"Maybe a hundred years, maybe ten thousand years."
"When that time comes, let us share a love that lasts for ten thousand years."
"Let us make up for all the lost time, turning these fleeting memories into eternity."
Artemis smiled softly.
Under the cold, clear moonlight, the goddess's smile was both ethereal and fragile.