[b]Redana![/b]

"Of course you must love!" said the ghost of Nero, reanimating a smile. "You have no choice. See there - I have tamed one of the greatest heroes of the Publica by giving her what she wants, even though it renders her an arm of the Empire she hates. How can you not want what you want? Even Zeus Skyfather cannot escape her own desire. Relative power is irrelevant; the only question that matters is [i]what do you want[/i]."

She raises a hand, casting an oath to the corrupted heavens. Her smile turns daemonic.

"As with this: Whomsoever shall quench this fire that entraps me, I shall embrace, I shall love and I shall call my daughter."

[b]Bella![/b]

[i]You have waited all your life for this chance.[/i]

[b]Dolce![/b]

Artemis looks at you strangely for a long moment.

Then she gives you a sword.

It's a strange thing, simple metal, beautiful in its plainness. You have seen something like it before, a toy in the hands of Gemini, a blade for cutting the heart. It doesn't fit your hands, isn't weighted for you - but eventually you might learn how to fit yourself to it. 

[b]Dyssia![/b]

"That sounds so wonderful," sighs the Lawgiver. "Do you think..."

You know the legend of Heracles and Atlas. A myth devoured entirely by the Skies during their first triumph and exalted to the titular narrative of the Atlas Cultural Sphere. The ideal of a hero so great that she carries the burden of a God, mortal flesh holding up the Sky. The Endless Azure Skies has been built on that premise, self-organizing all the matter in the galaxy to strain against the weight of Zeus. 

She can't finish the thought. Can't ask for you to take this burden, given that you both know once it is transferred she will never come back for it.

So instead you see the faint shift of stance and readiness. The faint shimmer of gravitic distortions.

"... I just need a little while," she said. "A few days."

This isn't a pleasant conversation any more. This is the beginning of a fight. She intends to force this burden upon you instead.

After all, when Heracles held the sky for Atlas, Atlas did not take it back willingly.