Morning, early spring, things have been going well for Chrysaor Yates. The local Mafia boss that was breathing down his neck suddenly eased up out of nowhere, his relationship with his brother was going from estranged to something more functioning. Things always seemed to simply work themselves out for Chrysaor, any time things started to get difficult all his problems seemed to either solve themselves or be solved by others. He washed his face in the sink after waking up and made a clicking sound while making finger guns at the mirror. “The universe loves me, and why wouldn't it? I'm a handsome and charming fella.”

  After a morning routine and a fresh set of clothes, Chrysaor was off to tackle his day. Doing an easy day job that let him get away with doing very little as all he had to do was watch a machine and occasionally hit a few buttons or swap out items. After work he'd often play video games or watch TV, he used to do little side hustle with getting his hands on and dealing drugs but that was what got him into the heat with the local Mafia boss. Though since the guy was no longer hounding him anymore, there wasn't any real reason to stop.

  Chrysaor did a stretch before sending a few texts. “I have a leading position at my job that's easy and pays well, but I can always use a little extra cash.” he spoke to himself out loud while setting up deals. Yes, even repairing his fractured relationship with his younger brother that had been strained for years went smoothly and without much effort on Chrysaor’s part. The moment he started trying it was like the universe itself polished rough spots along his path for him. This was how things had always been for him, from the moment he was born.

  After relaxing after work for a bit Chrysaor would eat and slowly finish out his day. Since he had the next day off after his morning routine Chrysaor went for a walk. It was a nice day, only a bit of a chill requiring only a light hoodie. At some point he reached a peaceful dead area of town as it was getting dark and seeing as he also had the next day off Chrysaor considered walking to a bar and having a few drinks. After a short internal debate he walked to the nearest bar.

  The bar was small and was well populated but not exactly crowded. Perfect for some social drinking. A few drinks in and he spotted someone that caught his fancy. She looked familiar with her dark clothes, dark hair, and dark makeup. But Chrysaor was a few drinks in so he couldn't place her. He walked over and started making moves, flirting with and complimenting her. She said something about a breakup but Chrysaor had no issues being a one night stand rebound guy. With some smooth talking and a few drinks bought for the lady he talked his way into going to her place.

  He was surprised to see the cab had taken them to a nice house in New Rhodes. He didn't just bag himself a goth hottie, but a New Rhodian nepo-baby. “(This one might be a keeper.)” He thought to himself as he was led up some stairs inside the building. He woke up in her bed the next morning with no clothes on and a smile on his face. He looked at the door and considered whether to leave as she slept or make her his next regular.

  He decided to stay, going back to sleep. When he woke up again the bed was empty. His head shot around before he got dressed to find his latest conquest. When he found her she was at the back door talking to someone. She turned around as she just finished and jumped slightly when she saw him. She whispered to him. “You're still here? I expected you to sneak out in the middle of the night.” Chrysaor shrugged. “I decided I liked you and thought maybe we could get a coffee sometime and get to know one another.” June pinched the bridge of her nose. “I prefer tea, but sure. Now go before my little sisters see you.” She quickly wrote down her number and handed it to Chrysaor.

  Chrysaor did a light bow before making his exit. He quickly caught a cab and went back home where he showered and changed before sitting down on the couch. He spent the rest of the day chilling with games and shows until it got dark. Shortly after he turned off his TV however he paused when hearing a voice. “Hello. Hello? Is this thing on?” The voice, although definitely male, had a feminine way of speaking.

  Chrysaor looked around the empty room swearing the voice came from inside the house and he hadn't turned on the TV yet. Then a man with curly short pink hair and a similarly pink and curly mustache styled like something you'd find on a young Tom Selic or an eighties adult entertainment actor appeared right in front of him, hovering and somewhat translucent like a ghost. The pink haired gentleman was dressed in grey sweatpants and a bright pink shin tight athletic tank top reminding Chrysaor of a fruity individual who once did exercise videos while wearing colorful exercise clothes.

  Chrysaor jumped back into the couch causing it to shake. “What the f-” The figure interrupted him by speaking in an over exaggerated manner. “Hello there newperson. I am-” This time Chrysaor interrupted. “A ghost from the eighties in grey sweatpants!” The figure looked at themselves and shrugged. “I guess this is sexy to women and gey men. Definitely a lot more cozy than what I usually wear.” The figure swayed back and forth while looking down. “Oh now I see the appeal of these loose fitting cozy pants. Hehe. It covers everything but does nothing at the same time. Humans really are fantastic.”

  The figure then looked up to the still frightened Chrysaor. “Oh, right. Right tight. I forgot about introductions and ended up sidetracked.” They clear their throat. “Is that what I really sound like as a man? It's been a while since the last time I chose a guy. Anyway, I'm not some ghost of a departed human. Those aren't really a thing in most cases. I'm a goddess. Error, god. Or at least I was. You may know me as Aphrodite but in this male form you call me by my Roman name Venus. I don't bother trying to make it masculine by altering it like Poseidon did with his female form. Because regardless of gender I'm still a fabulous queen.”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Chrysaor blinked a few times. “You're… the goddess of love from Greek myth?” Venus put his hands on his hips and nodded. “Yass. You see, back in the good old days we didn't really need worshippers but as the faith and devotion increased it became like a drug, an addiction. When that was suddenly gone…” Chrysaor finished. “You suffered a sort of withdrawal. I've been there.” Venus nodded. “It was so bad we thought we were going to die, fade from existence. Can you imagine after eons of being immortal suddenly being faced with mortality? Scary stuff boo.”

  Chrysaor nodded and started relaxing. Not interrupting Venus. “Anyway, good ol’ Hephaestus, sweet crippled child, my ever faithful husband. He had an idea. Modify or create new signature weapons to hold our divine souls, then that weapon would bind to a single mortal soul that would act as a life support. If the mortal was compatible enough we could ascend back to godhood by mixing with that mortal and effectively being reborn as a new god with no dependency. Our humanoid form changes to match the gender of the human we pair with for comparability reasons.”

  Chrysaor sat in silence for a moment before responding. “So uhh… your weapon is now bound to my soul?” Venus nodded. “I can show myself to you and only you because of the connection to my weapon and my power. If ever you need to defend yourself from others like you all you need do is call my weapon forth.” Chrysaor tilted his head slightly. “Others like me? So you're telling me there's other gods out there as weapons bound to mortals. I guess it makes sense since Hephaestus wouldn't have left out any of the Olympians.”

  Chrysaor paused for a moment and put his hand on his chin. “What about the gods of other mythologies?” Venus put up a finger. “They kinda copied our method. The Norse, Egyptian, and Shinto gods all did.” Chrysaor shifted on the couch. “Okay, but I don't even know what your weapon is. I'm not a mythology nerd like my brother.” Venus jumped a little. “Ah, right, I didn't have one until Hephaestus built me one. It's a sort of harpoon gun. So you just call forth the harpoon-gun of the love god and boom. Instant weapon manifestation.”

  Chrysaor put out his hand and stood up. “Okay then.” He cleared his throat. “Come forth, harpoon-gun of the Love God, Venus!” Water gathered, forming a large weapon Chrysaor had to grab with two hands. It had multiple barrels like a chaingun but was loaded with harpoon's and could likely fire far more rapidly than a normal harpoon gun. “Okay, that's really bad ass for the weapon of a god of love.” Venus did a little excited motion with his clenched hands and let out a squee. “I know! Hephaestus may not have been much to look at, but on Olympus was he good with his hands. Although it was rare, whenever I shared a bed with him he used to do this thing-”

  Venus started doing a lewd hand gesture but Chrysaor interrupted him. “I don't need to know about that.” Venus put his hands down. “Right. Righty tighty.” There was an awkward pause for a moment before Chrysaor talked again. “So… why me?” Venus took an exaggerated pose of frustration. “Why does everyone ask that? Look, finding someone compatible is about more than looks, honey. It's about personality. Finding someone who can match my real vibe is tricky because everyone assumes I'm this soft and dainty little thing.”

  Venus put his fists to his chin and took a cutesy pose while batting his eyelashes. “Owo, look at me I'm Aphrodite, goddess of love. I'm all about roses and romance and messy one night stands and drama. I enjoy watching the fights but I could never get into the thick of it. I could break a nail.” Venus then suddenly switched to a serious stance. “Baby, there's been more deaths from love than war. Many wars started over love. There's a reason I regularly cheated on my husband with Ares and it wasn't because he's built like a biker daddy. I mean that was definitely a huge part of it.”

  Chrysaor chuckled. “I think I understand. You want someone who can charm the pants off people but also someone who can and will throw hands and get down in the mud. You want someone who can show the world that love isn't the opposite of war, it is war.” Venus nodded. “Back in the old days we were stuck in a cycle, repeating the same old mistakes and same old stories over and over in new ways. This is a chance to change the narrative, to write a new story. This is a chance, to #$&$ shit up.”

  Chrysaor lets out a loud laugh. “I'm not sure if this is real or I drank the wrong tea, but I like you. I feel we'll get along just fine.” Chrysaor put away the weapon causing it to become water that faded away before trying to shake Venus’ hand. Venus looked at the hand and sighed. “Unfortunately I'm incorporeal and can only experience the world vicariously. Err, by proxy. Through you.” Chrysaor nodded. “I'm going to sleep and if you're still there tomorrow I'll find a nice private spot in the woods where I can give you a test drive.”

  Venus swayed back and forth with his hand on his cheek and his eyes closed, speaking in his exaggerated and effeminate manner. “Oh my~ We just met and you're already coming on so strongly~” Chrysaor sputters out a short laugh. “You have no chill man, you need to calm down.” Venus giggled as he swayed. “Sorry, I can't help myself.” Chrysaor does a stretch and heads to his bedroom before stripping nude and hopping in. Venus commenting on his body. “Yeah~ You've definitely been blessed by the gods.” He bites his lip. “It's a shame I can manifest as my true self and take you for a spin.”

  Chrysaor chuckled. “Goodnight Venus.” He closed his eyes and rolled over as Venus made an exaggerated pout before vanishing. The next day Chrysaor did a stretch and took a shower before getting dressed. “Man, I must have been tripping balls last night.” Venus then manifested to his side. “It's common for people to think that. Come on sexy, let's go to the woods so you can give the weapon a whirl.”

  Chrysaor jumped when Venus appeared. “Could you not scare me like that? Sure, since this isn't some drug induced thing I'll go give the weapon a test drive.X Chrysaor took a drive and parked in the parking lot of an old abandoned church next to a set of trees that went for miles outside of town and went in. He was surprised to find the area had several destroyed trees and scars in the land. “Either a Greek storm hit this spot or I'm not the only one that's used it.”

  Venus chuckled. “Well we do have a habit of being drawn to the same areas as others like us. So it's definitely possible.” Chrysaor summoned the harpoon-gun and fired a few shots with new harpoons manifesting and automatically reloading as he fired, allowing him to continue without stopping. “Can I also use water magic through the weapon?” Venus nodded. “Even when it's not out you can use some water magic, but it's stronger when channeled through the weapon. Though mine isn't exactly a caster type so it might be a bit difficult to use it for anything other than enhancing your attacks or the occasional close range deterrent.”

  Chrysaor nodded. “Do I have other magics? Like since ice is frozen water can I-?” Venue interrupted him. “No, I'm just a water type. Water and ice is Poseidon’s thing oddly enough. You'd think water and earth but whatever. Anyway since I'm the goddess of love you can use charm abilities but those have limitations.” Chrysaor nodded. “I'm already a charmer on my own so it's basically just a bonus. One I'm not sure I'll even need.”

  Venus nodded. “If you say so. Anyway, I'll just be over here watching as you get nice and sweaty.” Chrysaor sighed. “You talking like that would be better if you were your normal female self.” Venus chuckled. “I'd bet.” Chrysaor let out a short grumbling growl before getting back to getting used to his new abilities. Spending several hours training on his own.