Athena was tending to her winged horse atop the mountain, watching from her place as her children and the children of her siblings prepared breakfast. She observed them calmly, but while watching, she suddenly felt a familiar spiritual energy attempting to enter her mind. She did not resist it; instead, she allowed it to enter easily, immediately recognizing Odin's energy mixed within it.
Moments later, Athena frowned deeply, a clear look of concern forming on her face. The information Odin had sent was extremely dangerous, and everything contained in that message was not something that could be ignored. She paused briefly to think, then gestured from afar for her eldest daughter to come closer.
The girl noticed her mother's signal and walked toward her, saying,
"Do you need something, Mother?"
Athena looked at her daughter for a few moments, then gestured toward the winged horse, signaling it to leave for a while and play with the other children. Once the winged horse moved away, Athena turned her gaze back to her daughter, feeling a sense of pride well up inside her. Her daughter was the only one among her children who could rival Hades' eldest daughter, even if only slightly.
Athena spoke to her daughter in a motherly tone, blending joy with the weight of what she was about to say:
"Your grandfather… will name you himself, my dear daughter."
The girl stared at her mother in shock, freezing for a moment at the news, then quickly replied in disbelief:
"Will he really do that, Mother? Will Grandfather truly name me himself?"
Athena nodded calmly and said,
"Yes, my daughter. You and some of your uncles' and aunts' children will be named by your grandfather, because of your potential to become rulers in the future, my little one."
The girl looked at her mother with overwhelming happiness and said,
"Then… did Grandfather acknowledge my potential, Mother?"
Athena gazed at her daughter with mixed emotions, fully understanding what she was feeling. Athena herself had felt that same overwhelming joy in the past whenever her father recognized her strength and looked at her with approval. She had cherished that look more than anything else—and she still did.
She felt that her daughter's ability to awaken her potential was proof of her own success as a mother, for she was the one who had given birth to her and raised her. Thus, she felt that the praise was not directed solely at her daughter, but at herself as well.
So she said sincerely,
"Yes, my little one. Your grandfather has seen your potential."
Her expression then changed, and she frowned slightly before adding seriously,
"But you must know, my daughter, that you are the only one among my children who possesses this potential. Your siblings do not have it, while my brothers and sisters have many sons and daughters who do. I do not want you to neglect your training by relying solely on your potential. You must understand that you are not alone in your grandfather's eyes, my daughter."
The girl felt the weight of her mother's words, and a trace of anxiety crept into her heart. She realized that the children of her mother's siblings might compete with her—and might even steal away the recognition she longed for from her grandfather, Asgard.
She then spoke in a firm, dangerous tone, her eyes shining with determination:
"Do not worry, Mother. I will not neglect my training, and I will not allow anyone to take my grandfather's praise away from me."
Athena looked at her daughter, filled with happiness at her words, and felt satisfied. She then said warmly, her voice tinged with joy:
"Good, my little one. Now go and supervise the other children. Check whether they have prepared breakfast and see if they need any help."
The girl nodded and began to walk away, but suddenly stopped, turned back to her mother, and asked hesitantly, with clear curiosity:
"Does Hades' eldest daughter possess that potential as well, Mother?"
Athena looked at her daughter and nodded calmly.
"Yes, my little one. She does possess that potential."
The girl clenched her fists tightly, a primal sense of rivalry igniting within her. She swore silently that she would not allow that girl to claim her grandfather's praise or attention instead of her.
Athena watched her daughter and saw in her eyes a mix of enthusiasm, resolve, and challenge. When she realized that her daughter had not wavered upon learning of Hades' daughter's potential, she smiled faintly and thought to herself:
"That is my daughter… she does not give up easily."
Athena then began to think deeply, realizing that the matter was not about how many of her siblings' children possessed potential, but about the strength of the energy that resonated with their souls. She summoned within herself the power of war that resided in her body—that immense and dangerous energy she had always felt the weight and might of.
With that power, she did not fear confronting her siblings head-on. Deep within, she felt capable of surpassing all of them… except Odin.
She hesitated slightly when thinking of him. The gift her father had left for Odin when he became Asgard had granted him the ability to wield the power of the sky freely, without expending noticeable effort. Athena imagined a possible confrontation between them: Odin flying in the sky, raining endless lightning upon her, while she soared with the power of war to face him head-on.
Though she could fly and confront him, she was not confident in her ability to defeat Odin—especially while he stood on his own land, surrounded by inexhaustible energy drawn from her father's gift.
Athena snapped out of her thoughts about her own power and that of her siblings, her mind shifting to another, more complex matter: the giant child.
She silently wondered how Odin would adopt that child, how he would raise him, and what massive impact that decision would have on all of them—and on Asgard itself. That adoption could be the spark that would forge a future alliance between them and the race of giants.
Athena was not among those who believed that the giants' defeat by the dragons in the past meant they were weak. On the contrary, she was certain that the giants possessed power equal to that of the dragons—perhaps even greater. As for the reason behind their past defeat, she did not know it precisely, but she was certain it was not due to weakness.
She knew that an alliance with the giants in the future would grant them a powerful ally against the hardships awaiting them when they revealed themselves to the outside world and emerged as a new race standing above all others.
Even unawakened giant children, she expected, would grow up to be at least nine times stronger than an ordinary human, two heads taller, with terrifying regenerative abilities, senses surpassing those of elves, and intelligence exceeding that of most other races.
Athena knew with certainty that when their race finally appeared before the world, it would be an extremely difficult time for all of them. And for that reason, having a powerful ally like the giants would be a decisive advantage in facing the inevitable storm to come.