- Yvere, Dimitri, Heinrich -
"Do you think he dreams?" Yvere asked.
Dimitri sighed. "If I can be honest with you, I don't care in the fucking slightest."
The sound of heavy footsteps walking towards the room with Poseidon in it made Yvere and Dimitri turn their heads.
"Zeus?" Yvere inferred.
"Maybe," Dimitri assumed. "Go to Lucifer, I'll keep an eye on the shadow."
"Don't call him that," Heinrich corrected Dimitri. "Shadows are a-"
"Yeah yeah, I know," Dimitri huffed. "Just go."
- Underworld -
Hades eventually managed to contact Zeus with details of what happened. Poseidon's betrayal, Chronos' final death, and the overall state of the Underworld. Zeus refused an offer for help in Olympus, claiming that he was more than enough.
As everyone waited for either Zeus to arrive or Death to wake up, Lucifer went over his plans for Poseidon. While Lucifer had initially been apathetic to Poseidon's potential fate, he had started thinking of ways to use the water god.
The more Lucifer thought about it, the more committed he became to trying to stop Zeus' execution of Poseidon. He spent the time he had trying to convince his team and Hades about his decision. While there were no wholehearted agreements, there was at least a begrudging acceptance.
Persephone was still out in the Underworld, double and triple-checking every corner for more threats. She was furious with Poseidon. She had pictured herself stomping into the palace, impaling Poseidon on a root, and then shouting at Lucifer.
Persephone's thoughts seemed at odds with her actions. She had checked everywhere she reasonably could and yet she was still looking. She knew the moment she walked into the palace and saw Poseidon, that everything that had happened would be real.
'I actually liked you...' Persephone sighed. 'Of all the fucked up members of this family, why you?'
"That's the plan if he doesn't just shoot you," Lucifer said to Poseidon.
"WHERE IS HE?!" Zeus bellowed.
"I appreciated the kindness," Poseidon thanked Lucifer.
Zeus stomped into the room, dried blood caking most of his torso and hair. His eyes locked onto Poseidon. Before he could make another move, Lucifer got in between the two.
"I want to make a deal with you."
Zeus backhanded Lucifer and started moving forward. He had expected the hit would knock Lucifer out of his way, but he was wrong.
"We would-"
Lucifer was interrupted by Zeus grabbing his neck and slamming him against the wall next to Poseidon.
Zeus spoke through his teeth. "Not the Rider, not my father, NOT EVEN YOUR FATHER is going to stop me from removing this traitor."
Lucifer choked out words. "Let me...use...him."
"Use?" Zeus tightened his grip. "He's," he tightened his grip further, "not," his fingers dug into Lucifer's neck, "your family."
Lucifer grasped his hands around Zeus's wrist. He clenched with as much strength as he could muster. To his surprise, he was able to get Zeus to release him.
Zeus couldn't believe the strength coming from Lucifer. He felt disgusted that he had been overpowered. His severe anger towards Poseidon was now pointed at Lucifer. His arms sparked with electricity. Before he could move, he felt a prick on his back.
"You dar-"
"Two things," Peter said, pushing the tip of the sword a little deeper. "One, this blade killed your father, so I know it can kill you."
Zeus shouted, "IF YOU-"
"TWO!" Peter shouted over Zeus. "Yer magic isn't faster than me runnin' this blade through yer spine and heart."
Zeus, livid beyond reason, wanted to prove Peter wrong. He envisioned himself swinging around and blasting a hole through Peter's head. Unfortunately for him, the slight shift of his back proved to him that Peter wasn't bluffing.
The sword's tip was just deep enough that there would be no way for Zeus to move without alerting Peter first. On top of that, the blade was steady; Peter's hands were still.
"Peter," Lucifer ordered.
"Savin' the traitor is one thing, Luce," Peter responded. "But lettin' the supreme lord here threaten ya? No no, I'm not havin' that."
Lucifer spoke to Zeus, "Let this be a sign that fighting here isn't worth it."
Zeus, now slightly calmer, spoke to Hades, "Are you really letting that human put a sword in my back?"
"You need to calm down," Hades admitted. "How about you clean the blood off first and we revisit this discussion after?"
Peter went to speak but a glare from Lucifer told him otherwise.
"Fine..." Zeus said. "Now, could someone get the lesser's blade out of my back?"
Peter pulled the blade far enough back so that it was no longer inside Zeus. "Not a lesser, so ya know."
Zeus moved his hand to feel the hole in his back. "Killing a god doesn't make you one."
Zeus walked out of the room and noticed Yvere waiting outside. "I don't think Lucifer deserves a woman such as yourself at his side."
Yvere put her hands behind her back and smiled. "I appreciate the compliment, Lord Zeus."
Zeus smiled and left to find the nearest bath. His footsteps were noticeably less angry now. Amidst all the rage he felt, there was a tiny spark of happiness that Hades was still alive, and Chronos wasn't.
Yvere waited until Zeus turned a corner to move her hands from behind her back. She healed the finger she had broken. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down as best she could.
'I hate the smell of minotaur blood,' Yvere thought before walking into the room with the others.
Hades looked at Peter with concern. "That was an incredible bluff."
Peter chuckled as he plopped back down in his chair. "Yeah..."
"Wait, were you seriously-" Hades was interrupted by Lucifer.
"We'll try that again once Zeus gets back here."
"Where is he?!" Persephone shouted.
"Your turn," Lucifer said to Hades.
Elijah had been sleeping in a guest room when all the commotion was happening. He had thought about getting up to help but ultimately reconsidered.
Elijah yawned, "Peter can probably handle it."
- Dimitri and Heinrich -
Dimitri coughed awkwardly, "Uh...isn't what you're writing technically forbidden."
"Not technically, it is," Heinrich affirmed. "Highly so, which is why I was against it at first."
Dimitri looked down at the full page of notes. "I'm guessing the fact that you and the others almost got killed gave you a change of heart?"
Heinrich stopped writing and closed his eyes. "I never wanted to be a part of Lucifer's obsession with the inconsistencies in this world. This world terrifies me enough without worrying about the cosmic implications of it."
Heinrich opened his eyes and scanned through the notes he made. "I owe Lucifer, which is why I humored the idea of this note-taking by reading up on Greek mythology. I wish I hadn't..."
"Are things really that different?" Dimitri asked.
Heinrich turned to the back of the notebook. He presented a picture titled "Lucifer" to Dimitri. The picture had multiple annotations, most of which seemed to describe some kind of physical difference. One annotation was on Lucifer's head, reading "No horns."
"Lucifer, right?" Heinrich said. "Or at least, what humans would think when they hear the name. The sheer differences between what humans think, and what the reality is...it made me understand Lucifer's obsession, unfortunately."
Heinrich turned the notebook's pages back to his notes on Greek mythology and started writing again. "What really worries me, more than anything else, is the fact that more and more modern humans seem to be learning of the different mythologies."
Dimitri scratched his face. "I guess the spreading of information has greatly improved over the years. Is that really such a problem though?"
Heinrich's eyes seemed to go glassy as he spoke, "Yes...because one of the things that started Ragnarok was the conflict between what humans believe the gods to be, and what the gods actually are."
"Lower...your voice..." Death mumbled as he left his hunter form.