Maci's interactions with Chal during this very time period are detailed moreso within Chal's section here on Maci's page, but suffice to say she was already handling herself poorly on a daily basis, while meanwhile Neo was beginning to happily train under the weapon-master god [[Enyalios]] to learn how to properly wield her scythe. Maci shut down completely. Though she'd known the Fated role Neo was destined to fulfill since before she was born, now the mere sight of her own daughter proudly wielding a duplicate of the very weapon that had caused Maci so much harm brought back anger, distress, and anxiety that she'd thought she'd already dealt with long ago. In truth, Maci had always been in denial of the fact that she had ''never'' actually dealt with ''any'' of the aftermath from Thanatos' hold on her, breezing past the trauma she'd endured to "deal with later," with that "later" being a time she never intended to reach.

Reeling from this tidal wave, grappling already with the concurrent situation going on with Chal's presence, Maci's relationship with Neo suddenly became laced with a tension that had not been there before, and this tension persisted over the course of the following year. The logical sliver of Maci's brain was no match for the overwhelming cascade of triggered anxiety that consumed her, and against any better judgments Maci found herself shut down and hollow, a bitter ghost of herself. Her deep-rooted anger was directed at Chal from a distance - but where Neo was concerned, Maci withdrew from her, hesitant about confronting the reality of her daughter's realm and terrified of lashing out at her. Neo had never been particularly clingy and was now occupying her time with Enya's weapon training, so she happened to remain oblivious of her mom's sudden distance for about six months until she began to pick up on what was going on behind the scenes, barely hidden from Neo's eyes. The way Maci cowered whenever Neo tried to share the details of how she'd spent her day was unmistakable - the cold numbness that had replaced Maci's normally warm personality was blatant. In an attempt to make her scythe less terrifying, Neo requested that Tory stylize it, bedazzling its handle in rainbow gems to separate it from Thanatos' black-handled scythe of legacy. When the project was complete, Maci would barely look at it. Some months later, with Maci still withdrawing deeper into herself, Neo commissioned Loki to turn the scythe's blade bright purple, another attempt to lessen the comparison. Getting Maci to see the transformation was like pulling teeth - and it did not restore her to her former neatly compartmentalized but functioning self.

During this time, intervention upon intervention was had. Patiently as Maci disintegrated, Tory held fast by her side, but insisted again and again to her stubborn and petulantly deaf ears that there was no way out but through. Burying the trauma of her past with Thanatos had never ''really'' worked and had now been forced to the surface, too great and overwhelming to return from whence it came. Maci ''had'' to deal with this.

For as long as possible, she refused.