The greatest planet of the 2nd Heaven was the Higher World which once housed the great God King Zeus – Planet Olympus. Olympus was a gloriously beautiful planet. And Mount Olympus was just as beautiful as it was several thousands of years ago. Yet there was a feeling of gloom that surrounded the gigantic mountain that stretched past the confines of the sky and nearly touched the space outside. The ferocity of the great Mount Olympus could still be felt from several planets away. Yet there was something that felt off about it. Its strong presence was now greatly overshadowed by an enormous amount of bloodlust that was as chilling as it was surprising. Yet when one was enriched with the knowledge that Zeus was Lord no more, and that it was his immature son – the God of War, Ares – who now reigned, the deathly energy and hopelessness that filled the formerly gloriously imposing mountain made sense.
Upon Mount Olympus was a huge palace that was made with the grandest of materials and the most precious of stones. Several rare plants surrounded the grand palace, and many ornaments of gold filled its squares. The place was overall very beautiful. Yet one sore sight did spoil the ambience of elegance and grace that had possessed this sacred land for so long. And this had to do with the many bodies that were hung on long spears, scattered all over the front lawn. The spears had their blunt ends embedded into the ground, and the spearheads had been made to bore holes in the bodies they held. Blood constantly seeped out of the men and women lifted into the air by this cruel method, travelling down the long spears before staining the formerly green grass below. Once in a while, a cold breeze would blow past, and the speared bodies would shake slightly, reeling from the effect of the freezing wind that was common to Mount Olympus. For these men and women were still alive!
Though they had been tortured so, each and every one of these people were Ascenders, and it would take more than this to kill them. The field of red that held the spears had become a place of dread for every person within this palace. For everyone subject to this terror had offended the new God King in one way or another. Initially, the first few tortured were women who had refused Ares's thirst for them. And though he did have his way with them, he didn't forget their resistance. Now the field of blood was home to every other person who had offended Ares – man or woman; god or goddess. Some had merely spoken out of turn. Others had openly opposed the great Ares. And even scarier of all was that there were some who had only been unfortunate to be around when Ares was having a fit and dared to defend themselves from his wrath.
The quiet field was suddenly filled with the sound of footsteps. Soon, three men appeared, having climbed up the mountain using the long staircase that led below. These three men were great in stature, and each and every one of them possessed the aura of a powerful Ascender. For each and every one of them was a True Ascender. There was no falsehood in their power! The large fur cloaks they wore fluttered gently in the wind as they moved, and their large leather boots left deep prints on the floor of the field. Each and every one of them was blessed with good looks, and not even the bloodstained axes on their backs could hide their beauty. The strangest thing about the trio wasn't their great size or their dirty axes, but the fact that wherever they stepped, the blood from that spot was drawn out into their bodies! They moved steadily – all three – not at all bothered by the disturbing sight that shrouded them.
Yet when they had almost made their way out of the blood field, right before they reached the palace entrance, their steps were halted. All three stopped before a spear that was much longer than the others, and gazed upon the unmoving figure that was pierced through in the chest with gazes of slight sorrow.
"Why don't you plead with the God King? A man of your talents surely will be of great use to him, Hermes. I'm sure if you do he will return your wings to you and reinstate you in your position" The man in the middle spoke with a small sigh. His words were sincere, and there was no falsehood or pretense in them.
The man who had been speared through offered no reply. His long hair covered his face, hiding his general features, yet the slight shifting of his hair showed that he was still breathing. He was topless, displaying his bloodstained torso with greatly atrophied muscles. Attached to his spine were two small stumps that had already healed. These stumps were the remnants of his wings. For this man was indeed Hermes, the Messenger God famed for his blinding speed and lighting fast strikes!
"He wouldn't give you a reply. Let's just leave" the man on the right frowned and said. They had tried to persuade Hermes to rethink his rebellion several times, but to no avail. Now he only saw this as a lost cause and frankly, he was tired of always having to try to convince Hermes to change his mind whenever they came to Mount Olympus.
"Are you really okay with this?" the one on the left spoke this time. Clearly, he felt what the one in the middle felt concerning Hermes. To both it was heart wrenching to see their friend subject to such torment.
"Are you really the ones that ought to be asking me this question?" Hermes finally spoke. His voice was husky and his tone dry from disuse. But it was clear enough that the three below did hear him.
"What are you implying Hermes?" the man in the middle asked with a slight frown. The brows of the other two were also furrowed in displeasure.
"You know what I mean, Perseus" Hermes stated. Yes, the handsome man in the middle was indeed Perseus, Hermes's half-brother and Zeus son!
"Your heart isn't filled with war and strife. Following Ares must be torture for you. Why then do you do his bidding, brother?" Hermes finally lifted his sunken head to reveal half of his face. His face was as pale as ice sheets, and his eyes dull without any light. There were dead skin tissues all over his face, and his lips were hardened with the dried blood that coated them. He looked like a man with one foot in the grave. Any who would have seen him would have been shocked to find this was his current appearance. For what kind of God looked like this!
"Well, unlike you Perseus has seen the light. There is no point in standing strong for a dead man. You have to accept that Zeus is never coming back." The man on the right stated coldly. His eyes were filled with nothing but arrogance. For he didn't like the way Hermes spoke to them.
"Is that so? You believe that our father is dead, Deus?" Hermes asked as he cast his eye downwards towards the figure of the half-god called Deus.
"I do. If not, why hasn't he appeared?" Deus asked with a defiant expression on his face. Perseus sighed seeing this. Deus was the youngest. Although he was several millions of years old, he was the youngest son of Zeus for a long time – till Ray was born. His rampant nature had been suppressed by the presence of Zeus. And since his suppressor was no more, Deus had been unleashed. The thing was, Deus actually had a good heart. He was just a child so angry with his father – yet unable to unleash this anger on the one who birthed it – that he took it out on others.
"I do not know why our father remains hidden," Hermes shook his head weakly. For even this small action took most of his strength. However, the light in his eyes swiftly burned with a red light that startled the three below. They squinted their eyes slightly as Hermes re-established his connection to his godhead for a brief period, filling him with a little bit of strength. Yet the connection could only be brief, for his godhead was still sealed.
"But if you believe that our father is dead, then you are a fool!" Hermes's powerful voice bore into the hearts of the three below. Although weak, Hermes was still an Olympian God. That brief connection with his godhead had filled him with power that was greater than what the three below could summon. Well, with the exception of the greatly talented Perseus. For amongst the three, the only one strong enough to defeat Hermes in a battle was Perseus. In fact, Perseus was strong enough to resist even Heracles! And that was why Ares could live so comfortably. For he had tasked Perseus with keeping Heracles at bay.
"You!" Deus's eyes were red with rage once Hermes's aura receded like a withered leaf. He was filled with such shame upon realizing that he was scared by a man who basically had half a foot in the grave. His fists were balled up in fury as a green light overshadowed him and his aura was pushed to its peak. The bodies of the people hanging on the spears shook greatly as the powerful strength of a Mid-Level True Ascender filled this space.
"Stay your hand Deus. Don't do something stupid." Perseus held on to Deus and said whilst shaking his head.
"He insulted me brother!" Deus screamed in rage.
"And you will be insulting God King Ares by killing someone he chose to spare," Perseus stated plainly, and Deus's aura deflated swiftly. He shivered slightly thinking about what Ares would have done to him if he had killed Hermes. It certainly wouldn't have been pretty.
"Let us go," the last guy said, before proceeding to leave. Perseus took one last look at the silent Hermes before patting Deus on the back and leaving as well. As for Deus, he gritted his teeth angrily before deciding to leave. But that wasn't before saying, "When God King Ares decides to kill you, I will offer to do it myself, brother."