While Astra and Mors were arguing above his head, Leo couldn’t help but feel a little ignored. He began to wave his hands above his head and yelled
"Hey guys! Can you come down here and tell me where this place is and what’s going on?!"
One of the stars that was glowing in a silvery gold light immediately descended to Leo’s level. The gaseous star seemed to condense as it got closer to him until it was compacted to the size of a tennis ball.
"Well what happened is you were given instructions, then you took your sweet time arriving here and then you slept on the floor like a pancake~! I think that about covers it~!"
Perhaps because they had been separated for a while, Astra’s bratty personality had surfaced once again. It was endearing to see and it warmed his heart that nothing truly terrible had happened to her.
"You’re lucky I missed you,
" Leo grumbled, but his smile gave him away.
"Awwwwww~! You did miss me!"
Astra spun in a little starry pirouette.
"Say it again but with more feelings!"
Before Leo could get a word in edgewise, a darker violet orb floated down more slowly from above, crackling with a lazy hum. Mors’ voice followed,
"You couldn’t have woken up earlier? This annoying brat has gotten real chatty since we got here and it’s really annoying!"
"Don’t be such a sourpuss Mors~! Relax and have some fun~!"
The violet star bristled with energy but Leo knew that Mors was showcasing his own frustration and annoyance with that display. However, instead of sympathy, Leo let out a small snort, failing to completely hold back his own laughter.
This was the first time that he had ever seen Mors on the losing side of an argument. His stubbornness and unhinged behaviour usually left the other party frustrated so it was almost therapeutic seeing him end up that way because of Astra.
"So seriously though. Where is this place and why are you guys out in the open instead of you know..."
Leo tapped his head with a finger. He was trying to make sense of it all but with no clues to go on, he began looking around but beyond the strange rock he was on, the rest was just a plain...void. There was nothing out there.
"It seems you have been taking good care of the children if they are attached to you ~!"
A soft maternal voice echoed in Leo’s ears. He was immediately on guard as he brandished his claws and gauntlet, ready for a fight.
The voice was gentle but powerful, laced with something that made Leo’s skin prickle. He knew that voice. A sharp pain throbbed behind his eyes and he staggered back a step, clutching his forehead.
His mind flashed to that moment. That quiet, timeless place. The stillness after his heart had stopped.
The voice that offered him a choice. A test. Three items before him, each strange and unknowable. He had chosen one. Not because he understood it, but because something inside him refused to let go.
His fingers twitched as the memory rushed back. His eyes lifted to the woman forming before him from glimmering strands of starlight and swirling smoke. Her presence radiated an otherworldly calm, and yet there was something wild about her. A force that could either cradle or tear the world apart.
Leo stared, wide-eyed.
Astra spun in the air beside him.
"Wait. You know her?"
Mors floated lower, violet crackling dimming.
"Hold on. You’ve met Mother before?"
Leo’s gaze didn’t leave the goddess.
"You’re the one who gave me that choice. To pick an item as a test of destiny. Where if I picked right, my destiny would change. If I picked wrong...my fate sealed."
Leo’s emotions were a mess, while the trial he experienced back then had literally killed him, it also had been the catalyst for his current life, his animal features were just an unfortunate side effect.
The Goddess wore a jet black one piece dress with bandages covering her arms, legs and a black bandana covered her eyes yet she didn’t seem affected at all by her apparent blindness.
"And it seems your choice was correct~! Now you have these children to help you grow. The path you walk now is unique and is yours to tread."
"I don’t know why I didn’t remember this before but now that I do, I have got two things to say..."
The Goddess tilted her head with a soft smile and murmured
"Yeah. First thing is I am not a fan of this cryptic mystical mumbo jumbo nonsense that you guys seem to like dumping on me. Why can’t things ever be, you know Straightforward and simple!"
The woman giggled in response to his words yet offered no response. There was a reason why things were shared this way and she did not want to cause any more major problems.
"Secondly, I want to thank you for saving my life. I don’t know why you chose to give me this chance but it is because you did that I can enjoy the time that I have with my friends as I am now.."
The smile on the Goddess’s face grew wider as she cooed when she saw Leo bow his head deeply towards her as a way to express his gratitude.
"Oh my dear boy. You have such nice manners. Your mother must be very proud! Though I will tell you now that I would prefer you don’t bow to me in the future~!"
Leo scratched his head awkwardly at being told to stop bowing but he reluctantly did so.
"So Ms. Goddess Person... Why did you bring me here?"
He finally popped the question that had been on his mind from the moment he saw her.
"Well Child, I am here as an Instructor. For you specifically~! However due to your Zodiac Skills, have a flaw that cannot be fixed.
Leo felt his heart drop at hearing the word flaw. Those were words he definitely didn’t want to hear.