All Chapters of Eighteen Times She Chose the Mortal: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

My wife, Cassia, is Olympus's new, unrivaled goddess of war.Today is a milestone. Her one-thousandth victory in the arena. A feast in her honor.It’s also the seventeenth time she’s promised me we’d finally complete our Soul-Binding.But right now? She’s shielding him. Lycus. The mortal servant she claims saved her at the foot of Mount Olympus.“Give the healing nectar to Lycus. The raw power of Olympus is crushing him.”I froze beside her seat, my knuckles white as I gripped the back of her chair.Three hours ago, in the arena, I took a blast of fatal poison for her. A venomous spray from a beast of Tartarus.My divine power is almost gone. Black, toxic blood is crawling up my throat.I need that nectar to live.But Cassia didn’t even look at me.She snatched the golden flask. Without a second thought, she poured it into the mortal’s mouth.“Lady Cassia…” Lycus murmured, leaning against her. He glanced at me, all wide-eyed innocence. “Lord Aresion is hurt, too. It’s such a waste to g

Chapter 2

I went to the temple. I placed the insignia—the badge of the second-in-command of the War Council—on the High Priest’s table.The High Priest looked up.His face changed when he saw me. When he saw the black, venomous veins on my neck.“Aresion? What is this? The Tartarean beast’s poison… it’s not gone? Didn’t Cassia give you the healing nectar?!”“High Priest, I’m here to submit a request.”My voice was flat. I pushed a scroll across the table to him.“I wish to leave the War Council. And dissolve my command under Cassia.”“What?” The High Priest stared, his eyes wide with disbelief. Then his gaze locked onto the poison on my neck. His voice trembled. “Without the nectar, and without completing the Soul-Binding today… the Tartarean venom will rot your divine essence! To live, your only chance now is to drink from the Waters of Lethe!”“But those waters… while they wash away the poison, they also wash away every memory from your soul! Every emotional bond!” The High Priest shot to his

Chapter 3

The next morning, I was packing my bag.The door opened. Cassia walked in, looking tired.Instantly, the sharp, pungent smell of mortal herbs assaulted me.It was Lycus’s scent.My hands stilled.Cassia’s senses are incredibly sharp.Before, if I had even a hint of monster’s blood or sweat on me, she’d wrinkle her nose and order me to the divine springs to bathe.She always said she couldn’t stand any mixed scents.But now, she stood there, cloaked in the smell of mortal herbs, completely at ease.In that moment, I finally understood. She didn't hate mixed scents.She just hated mine.“Lycus couldn’t absorb the divine power in the nectar last night. He came down with a high fever.”Cassia walked to the table, offering an explanation. There wasn’t a trace of guilt in her voice.“I had to stay in the guest room to soothe him. I couldn't get away, so I didn’t come back.”She didn’t ask if my poison was cured.She didn’t even notice the official scroll on the table.Her gaze fell on the ba

Chapter 4

Eleven o’clock at night.The door to the chambers opened. A rare sight. Cassia was back.The moment she stepped inside, her eyes shot to the wall above the fireplace.Seeing the empty space where the portrait used to be, she stopped. Panic flickered in her eyes.“Where’s our portrait?” she blurted out, her voice tight.“It fell this morning when you left. It shattered.” I sat on the divine couch, polishing my longsword. I didn’t even look up. “I cleaned it up. Burned it in the fireplace.”“It fell?” She let out a long breath, the tension leaving her body. “Well, if it shattered, it shattered. It was an old thing from eight years ago anyway. I brought you a gift.”She walked over and pulled an enchanted dagger from her bag, holding it out to me.“Aresion. Happy third anniversary.”She smiled, a little guiltily. “I know I’ve wronged you these past few years. I picked this dagger out especially for you today. For your protection.”I stopped polishing my sword and looked at the dagger.Spe

Chapter 5

The communication stone trembled in my palm.I didn’t listen to whatever excuse she was sending. My fingers clenched.A sharp crack echoed in the wind.The stone that connected our minds turned to dust, scattering into the churning waters of the Styx.The ferry docked.The mists of the Isle of Oblivion wrapped around me like cold hands.I stepped off the boat. I walked toward the heart of the island without hesitation.The Waters of Lethe were crystal clear, glowing with a faint silver light.The black veins on my neck were spreading wildly, bringing a tearing pain.The Tartarean poison was about to consume my divine essence.I knelt by the spring. I cupped the cold water in my hands and drank.An icy chill shot through me.Black, poisonous blood evaporated from my skin.And along with it, torn from the depths of my soul, was the golden thread that had once bound me to Cassia.Eight years of memories. Her tears for me in the snow. Her back, turned to me again and again. All of it shatt

Chapter 6

Cassia’s POVI stumbled through the doors of our chambers.Empty.The scent of cedarwood that had always calmed me was gone.There was only a cold, dead silence.I tore through the inner chamber, ripping open his wardrobe, his desk, even looking under the bed.Nothing. There was nothing.Except for that cold, formal document on the table, he had left nothing behind.The High Priest’s words twisted around my throat like a viper.He took a fatal poison for me. His divine power was fading.And I poured the only cure into a mortal with a scratched finger. Right in front of him.What have I done?I scrambled like a madwoman to the fireplace.Just yesterday, I thought his calmness was just him sulking.I shoved my hands into the hot ashes, digging frantically.Through the searing pain, I pulled out a charred fragment of the enchanted portrait.Only half of it remained. The edges were burned black.It was him, eight years ago. Covered in blood, but shielding my wounded body with his own.I ha

Chapter 7

Aresion’s POVBang! Bang! Bang!A desperate cry and the sound of pounding ripped through the cold rain of the Isle.“Aresion! Open the door! Please, just let me see you!”I paused my work grinding starlight herbs and frowned slightly.The Isle of Oblivion is a forbidden land. There are never any visitors.I wiped the juice from my hands, walked to the door, and lifted the heavy bolt.The moment I opened it, a woman, soaked to the bone, fell at my feet.She was a wreck.The once shining armor of a war goddess was torn and scorched, marked by the backlash of divine power.Blood, shocking and dark, poured from her lips with every gasp.The terrible power of a Styx curse was raging through her, the force of it audibly cracking her bones. It was the price for breaking the most sacred of blood oaths.But she seemed to feel none of it. None of the soul-crushing pain.She clawed at the doorframe, lifting her pale, bloodless face to me.The moment she saw me, the despair in her eyes ignited int

Chapter 8

Cassia’s POV“Lady Cassia! Where on earth have you been?!”The moment I dragged my broken body back into the War Council's halls, Lycus ran up to me.He was wearing one of Aresion’s old silk robes.He didn’t notice the scorch marks on my armor. He didn’t see the blood on my lips.He just held up his finger—the one with the scratch.“My hand hurt all night. You said you would stay with me, but you left me all alone.” He pouted, demanding to be coddled. “Don’t you care about me anymore?”Looking at his pathetic, posturing face, looking at the clothes he wore—Aresion’s clothes—a wave of pure disgust twisted my stomach.For this broken finger.For this useless, pathetic creature.I had been so blind. I let him suck Aresion’s dignity and life away, bit by bit, until I personally forced my dying, bleeding partner to the Isle of Oblivion.“It hurts, does it?” I stared at him, my voice dead.Lycus paused. He thought I was about to coddle him. A smug smile spread across his face.“It hurts a lo

Chapter 9

Aresion’s POV“Look! It’s Lord Aresion!”“Gods above. His power… it’s immense!”I walked down the steps of light, descending from the sky.Pure starlight power formed a visible silver storm that swept across the entire mountain.Every god and guard in the grand square was forced to bow their heads, unable to breathe under the overwhelming pressure.Only the High Priest and my old friend, Damon, remained standing, and only barely.The casual familiarity in their eyes was gone. Replaced by awe and shock.“Welcome back, my Lord.” The High Priest bowed his head low, his voice trembling.I gave a slight nod, retracting my aura. I calmly surveyed my surroundings.This square. I had stood here countless times, a humble shadow, watching her chariot fly away, waiting for a scrap of her attention.Now, all of Olympus was looking up at me.“Aresion. What in the hell happened to you these last three years?” Damon walked up, his voice filled with disbelief.He glanced around, then lowered his voice

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