Chapter 1 - Silent Watcher
A goddess watched humanity, until one woman made her feel human.
Notes: This story is not according to the real Greek mythology
The heavens hung in a serene stillness, a deep and echoing quiet that felt almost unnerving.
Selene, the resplendent goddess of the moon, reclined gracefully upon her marble throne, her eyes glimmering with an ethereal light as she gazed down upon the world below. The moon, her celestial companion, radiated a soft, enchanting glow behind her, casting a silvery luminescence that bathed the landscape in tranquil beauty.
It was her divine duty to guide the moon across the vast expanse of the night sky, ensuring that each evening unfolded with a perfect harmony that nurtured peace in the hearts of mortals.
You'd think that an immortal being, a goddess no less, would come to relish the endless stretch of eternity, yet even those of divine status can find their spirits yearning for something more. Celestial monotony can dim the brightest of stars.
From up there, Earth looked tiny — like a snow globe full of lights and motion and messy little humans who laughed and cried, lived and died. Selene didn’t get them. They were emotional, loud, and imperfect… and that somehow made them fascinating.
“Still watching them?”
The voice floated in from behind her, warm and full of energy, far too bright for the early morning hour. Selene, without turning her gaze, replied, “You’re early, Apollo.”
The god of myriad domains—music, arts, and more—drifted closer, a radiant figure bathed in an ethereal glow. His golden hair shimmered like sunlit wheat, and his eyes sparkled with the brilliance of a thousand suns.
Everything about him exuded a sense of overwhelming vibrancy, as if he were the very embodiment of life itself. Seriously, he was the walking definition of “too much,” a dazzling spectacle that could easily outshine the dawn.
“I like catching you when you’re lost in thought,” he teased, leaning on her throne. “You look like you actually care about them.”
“I’m fulfilling my duty,” she said flatly.
“Right,” he said, smirking. “You always say that.”
He stayed beside her for a moment, both of them staring down at the glowing Earth. Then he sighed. “You know, sometimes I think the real curse of being divine is that we can’t feel what they do.”
Before Selene could reply, he was gone — sunlight already waiting for him beyond the horizon.
And just like that, it was quiet again.
She looked down. The oceans shimmered. The cities blinked with tiny, golden lights. People laughed, argued, and fell asleep. It was the same as every night.
Until her eyes landed on a certain mortal.
A young teenager sat on a rooftop by the sea, a canvas propped against her knees. The waves behind her glowed under Selene’s moonlight, and the girl was painting — not the sea, not the stars, but the moon itself.
Selene blinked. No mortal had ever caught her attention like that before.
There was something about her — the way her hair moved with the wind, the way her shoulders relaxed when she painted, like the world finally made sense for her in that moment.
Selene leaned forward, her glow dimming without her even realizing it. She just wanted to see.
The girl dipped her brush into white paint and smiled softly. It wasn’t a big smile, just the kind that made Selene’s heart twist for no reason at all.
For the first time… she forgot to move the moon, forgotten what she was doing in the first place.
