Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Athena the Villainess

When most people get betrayed by a trusted friend, they would ask why.

When Athena Keen, after so many years of stabbing others in the back, was finally the one on the receiving end of the familiar betrayal, her question was not why, but rather, why now?

If the betrayal came at the start of the apocalypse, she would hardly find it shocking. When the mutants started showing up in every corner and devouring people to satiate their endless hunger, everyone was terrified. She had seen husbands leave their wives to their death. She had seen sons and daughters ignore their parents' pleas for help as they ran to save their own lives. Betrayals back then were as common as death, loss, and despair. Everyone wanted to survive, some more than others.

If the betrayal occurred later in the apocalypse, when the various human and interdimensional factions struggled to survive threats coming from a thousand different angles, it would be understandable as well. Self preservation. Thirst for power. Bribes. There were so many different reasons to turn against the same people who have stood by your side on the field of battle. So many reasons to answer their trust with treachery.

As a matter of fact, many betrayals happened because one party thought the others were planning to betray them and decided to strike first. Their suspicions were only justified a number of times.

If anything, Athena was all too aware of the fickle nature of loyalty, for she had orchestrated countless of these betrayals that usually resulted in the death of individuals she considered threats. This was her specialty, after all.

But the apocalypse was over. Mankind had won. They have won. Athena and Tori. The Summoner and the Valkyrie. This was a war for the control of their world, and after half a century of bloody conflict and endless sacrifices, humanity has finally claimed victory.

Under their rule, Vigilance, the city that the two of them started all those years ago, and the only human faction that have withstood the decades of war, had become an empire millions strong. The mutants were purged from the surface of the Earth. The numerous invaders from other dimensions were hunted all the way back into their own worlds. If anything, it was them who had to worry about an invasion from the ever-aggressive Vigilance.

They were on the edge of greatness, yet for some reason, this was when Tori decided to strike down her most trusted and most effective ally and friend in what could be described as the perfect betrayal.

All personal stakes aside, Athena respected Tori’s execution with this whole scheme. They have known each other for most of the apocalypse, and Athena had always been the cruel and cold calculating one. The ruthless one. The one who would come up with plans that made her look like a villain, not that she cared. In an age where law and order were no more, it was better to be villainous than weak.

But Tori was always the honorable counterpart. The one people could trust with their secrets and their lives. When it was time to attack, she was always the first to charge into the enemy lines. When the time came to defend, she would be the strongest, most unbreakable shield that would hold the enemies back regardless of who they were or how many they numbered.

Now that Athena thought about it, she had often warned Tori that she had to be just a little more ruthless to do well in an era like this. She remembered Tori being quite unconvinced. It didn't matter, Athena thought at the time. She could handle doing the despicable things that had to be done. All Tori had to do was be the leader Vigilance needed. The honorable, selfless hero that the people preferred to follow over the selfish, scheming villain that was Athena.

It seemed like her concerns were pointless after all. As it turned out, Tori could play dirty as well. As someone who has dealt with trickery for decades, Athena was completely caught off guard until it was too late. Tori struck with the decisiveness expected from a warrior like her. There was no doubt. No hesitation. Just another demonstration of the skill of ending lives that Tori had honed over so many years.

None of the measures Athena put in place saved her. Her spies. Her hand-picked elite bodyguards, composed of some of the best warriors of Vigilance. Her Summoned. None of that meant much when she had a blade going through her heart.

Athena wasn’t angry. Or disappointed. This was just how the world worked. For one reason or another, she had betrayed the trust of people more times than she could count. This time, the only difference was that she was on the other end of the sword. She didn't offer any sympathy then, and she didn't expect any now.

That being said, she was a little…confused. Tori was a smart woman. Killing her now made no sense. Yes, Vigilance have taken back their own world from the intruders, but that didn't mean the fight was over. If anything, the fight had just begun. There were so many worlds out there. In the past, Vigilance could only defend against their legions. Now, it was their time to strike. Invade. Hunt. Loot. Purge. It was finally time for Vigilance to extend its influence into all the different dimensions that have reigned dominant on Earth for so many years.

Her skills should still be in demand. Even if Tori really wanted to get rid of her and become the sole ruler of the empire that was Vigilance, she could always do it later. Killing her now just feels…inefficient. Like an unacceptable waste of resources.

Then again…perhaps this was how Tori took her by surprise. She used Athena’s own overconfidence to get to her. She did the least sensible thing at the least sensible time, and it paid off.

Ultimately, none of that mattered as Athena’s life came to an end. In life, she was the second in command of Vigilance. She was the woman who everyone learned to fear. Yet in death, she was just another lifeless corpse. Another cold, dead corpse no different from that of a common civilian.

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This wasn’t her world, although it was mighty similar.

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Athena was ready to die. Honestly, dying quickly from a single stab was one of the nicest ways to die in the apocalypse. It could’ve been worse. Much, much worse. A quick and relatively painless death was far more than what she deserved.

Except her story didn't end when the Valkyrie’s blade pierced her heart. Instead of drifting into the darkness as she wished, Athena woke up in the body of a young woman. A nineteen-year-old girl by the name of Lauren. A girl with long black hair that she regularly tied into a ponytail, Lauren had a pair of loving and caring parents, a number of good friends, and a sister just two years younger than her. She was just an ordinary kid, and somehow Athena took over her body, replacing and likely killing her in the process.

It wasn’t unheard of for a soul to leave its body after death and possess a new body, thereby achieving reincarnation, but Athena never had the ability and she didn't know anyone who did. Her memories from the moment of her death to the moment she opened her eyes in Lauren's body were completely gone.

Either way, regardless of how it happened, here she was. A whole new world more or less untouched by chaos and war.

Athena spent a few days going through the memories that came along with the body. The world was almost identical to her own before the apocalypse laid waste to it. There were the same countries and histories. However, many political figures and celebrities were different, which told Athena she didn't travel back in time. This was indeed a new world.

Athena toyed with the idea of doing something to this world. She could no longer feel all the Summoned she had signed pacts with throughout the years, and the psychic prowess she had built up over the decades was completely gone. It was as if she was truly a different person now.

Thankfully, she could still feel a connection to the Sacrifice Altar, the very entity that made summoning possible for her. Acquiring the necessary high-quality sacrifices might be difficult in a normal world like this, but when there was a will, there was a way. A lack of quality could be made up by quantity to a degree.

As far as she could see, there were no gifted beings in this world. She could potentially get a lot done with just a hand of summons if she wished.

Yet for the first time in years, Athena felt like taking a break. One that would hopefully last until the end of her second life.

In her previous life, Athena has made a lot of tough decisions. She had ordered thousands of captured prisoners to be executed. She had sent countless men and women to die in wars without really giving them a choice. She had cruelly given the orders to abandon entire military units of Vigilance that simply couldn’t be saved. She had mercilessly betrayed and struck down allies when that was the safest thing to do. She had authorized enforcers to capture and torture potential spies and traitors despite knowing some of them might be innocent.

Were these decisions cruel? Yes. Were they inhumane? Of course. But as far Athena could see, these things had to be done for one reason or another.

In many cases, there was no right or wrong. There was just necessity. Athena would never try to convince anyone she was selfless, for she was not, but most of what she did resulted in her and the people who stood by her surviving and having a better life in a world where all the odds were stacked against them.

Vigilance would never have survived without her doing the dirty work, much less retake Earth and repel the invaders. She might have been a villain to many, but she was the necessary villain.

This cruelty that she had become all too familiar with was no longer necessary here. There were still problems in this world. Wars. Civil unrest. Yet nothing as bad as the apocalypse and the possible extinction of the human race. She was exhausted, and if it was up to her, she would gladly live an ordinary and even boring life here in this new world. A boring life that she never got to experience back in her own realm.

For around a month, Athena pretended like nothing happened and continued living and acting as if she was still the poor girl she replaced. The original owner of the body had graduated from high school and decided to take a gap year before attending college. Athena perfectly replicated her daily behaviors, so perfectly that even Lauren’s own parents and sister had no idea their daughter was replaced. She enjoyed life, met up with friends, and prepared for college applications. All normal things that a young woman her age should be doing.

Her peaceful life came to a stop one day. It was a Monday morning. Athena’s father was at work and her mother was in the kitchen downstairs. Her sister was at school. Athena was in her bedroom reading through a fashion magazine. Fashion wasn’t really the top of anyone’s concern back in her world, and she was glad she had another chance to take a look at it.

Just as she was wondering which type of lipsticks to spend her allowances on, her mother suddenly started screaming downstairs. It was a chilling sound that caught her off guard.

Startled, Athena ran out of her room and down the stairs. When she saw what was going on in the living room, the reincarnated summoner was speechless. Not because it was too strange, but because what was going on was way too familiar for her.

For a second, all she could do was sigh.

“Really? Not this again!”

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