Olymp.
A mysterious legendary place where gods meet, feast and rule over mankind. A place where mortals could never hope to lay their eyes on.
Golden palace on top of the highest mountain in Greece filled with magic, different creatures, nectar and ambrosia. Built after Zeus and his siblings defeated Titans and their leader Kronos in the event known as Titanomachy.
And yet I managed to reach that place at the end of my life.
As a reward for the deeds I did while I was still alive I was supposed to spend eternity among gods, having fun and enjoying the gifts forbidden to all others.
So I did.
Until the Civil War erupted within Olympus and started the second coming of Titanomachy.
The war started two years after I became a god. Hera had enough of her life with Zeus who cheated on her everytime he could and her schemes this time have reached another level.
She allied herself with other gods and titans who supported her through the years, destroyed Tartarus, freed Kronos and all of his underlings locked deep inside.
After their ranks were full Hera unleashed an all out war against her former husband and everyone who has taken his side.
Thunder and lightning clashed with darkness one more time and the world turned straight into the apocalypse.
Humans, seen as lesser beings by both Kronos and Hera, were considered a plague and they were to be eradicated along with Olympus. Many human heroes have joined our side while monsters and various creatures were mostly taken in by Hera. In the end they had both power and numbers. And they made sure to use every method available to strike at us.
Entire cities and islands have been reduced to ashes, drowned or buried underneath mountains.
I have joined my father's side too and fought against Hera's leviathans and fiends. She hated me from the moment I was in my mother's belly and she tried to bend fate itself to doom me while I was still demihuman but she never managed to get rid of me. So it was only natural that I was first on her hitlist right after Zeus in the all out war.
We have fought with everything we had but in the end we have lost.
Olymp was destroyed.
Zeus has been executed and everyone else from our party has been defeated and killed in the most horrific way imaginable.
I have managed to evade Hera and fought against gods from her team for another three years after our side has been crushed and the last humans have been killed.
But even I was not able to escape the queen of gods and new leader of her faction forever.
***
Tartarus.
Once mighty and most powerful prison in the entire world where Zeus imprisoned his father and other titans after Titanomachy.
Now it was just a shadow of its former self. Dark and void place full of cracks and debris.
This was it.
The end of the last warrior for humanity and member of team Zeus.
They finally managed to hunt me down.
I was kneeling among the ruins of Tartarus, bleeding from multiple wounds and trying to catch my breath. Before me stood tall the two beings I hated the most. My stepmother Hera and the new emperor of gods Kronos.
"Disgusting monster of a bastard. Making so much trouble for us since you were born. If only you have perished alongside your father. The world would have been a much better place without you spoiling everything," said Hera angrily.
I managed to put on a smirk through the pain knowing it would make her even more upset: "Hera, you have brought this 'much better world' to the edge of destruction. Tell me who is the real monster here."
"Stop with this utter nonsense. The history is being written by victors. You will disappear, the Legend of Heracles will be gone along with the heroic stories of your hero friends. You will all be known just as a bunch of treacherous killers."
Hera came slowly closer, put her hand under my chin and made me look her in the eyes.
"You should have picked your side better."
She gave me her most kind smile followed by the most wicked one she could muster.
"But even then I have always hated you the most from all the other bastards. I would have never accepted the reality where you would be alive."
I moved my head to the side and freed myself from her grasp.
"Heh, you wish…"
I knew that I wouldn't live to see tomorrow and that my body was on the brink of collapsing. But I couldn't let them have it their way.
I raised my arms far above my head, hands clenched into fists.
Hera immediately jumped backwards thinking I was aiming for her and Kronos unsheathed his long sword.
Damn morons.
I clenched my muscles and hit the ground with all my strength.
The whole place began to shake as if an earthquake was coming.
Again.
And again and again.
The pain throbbing in my body was unbearable.
However if I was going to die today I wanted to take these two with me. No matter how mighty a faction is when its head is cut off it will never be as strong as before.
Hera completely lost her composure of a calm noble woman and her true colors started showing when she started screaming: "What? Have you lost your fucking little mind you had?"
Bam bam bam.
Even though it hurt as hell I smiled as wide as I could.
"You little shithead…"
"Hera, you know where we are. Both of you know that better than anyone else."
Thud thud thud.
"We are in the depths of Tartarus. All though it is past its former glory this place still contains such ridiculous amounts of power that even you two won't be able to withstand it."
Kronos, knowing very well what was about to happen even before I started talking, approached me fast, sword still in his hand.
"And alongside us, your dreams of a new world order will also disappear," I shouted and moments later Kronos threw his sword, stabbing me in the chest, impaling me to the black rock behind me and taking all my breath away.
My vision became blurry and details of the view before me were slowly fading into nothingness.
But I could still feel it.
It was enough.
The final strike against the surface of Tartarus awoke the remaining power and magic left in this mysterious structure and the pure physical strength of my impacts started a chain reaction deep below us.
Newly accumulated energy needed more space so it began leaking up through the cracks at a rapid speed.
"It seems like you were too late, you fucking scum."
Blood streams were slowly dripping down from my mouth.
"This is the end. No more of your tyranny and war against the universe. Our story is ending here."
Hera pierced me with her hateful gaze while Kronos unleashed his darkness in a desperate attempt to stop Tartarus from exploding. First titan's magic was on another level but even he was no match compared to this primordial energy.
Queen also tried to stop it with her own magic but this effort was also futile and in the next instant both Hera and Kronos have been swallowed by the white explosion.
I managed to pull the sword out of my body but the black blade was instantly followed by a stream of blood. I laid back while leaning against my new tombstone and watched the scenario unfolding before my eyes.
Ironically, it was kind of beautiful.
Maybe it was because they were finally gone or maybe I was getting closer to death's door.
Father, I did it. I am sorry that I was not able to get them sooner. Iason, Chiron, everyone…I guess I will be meeting you all again even though the Underworld itself has been destroyed some time ago…
I closed my eyes and waited for the next step.
Yet it wasn't coming.
Instead of the abyss of death pure white light filled my vision and both Tartarus and explosions disappeared.
My body became extremely light and the pain was gone. It felt like I turned into a bird and was flying in the sky.
Time seemed to stop and I had no idea how long I was stuck like this.
Then suddenly everything changed and I saw Olymp again.
Right in front of me.
But I was unable to touch anything.
In the next instant it was gone and I could see myself from the past working on my twelve labors, then there was Argo and all my friends from the Golden Fleece expedition, the archery contest in Oeachalia, rescue of Prometheus and many other memories from my life on earth.
All of it felt so real I would swear it was all happening again.
Afterwards the speed of the scenarios switching around me increased and I was no longer able to keep track of what was going on when it suddenly stopped and I was kneeling in the shallow water that stretched as far as the eye could see until it seemed like it reached beyond infinity.
"You are finally here, my sweet boy."
I turned around and up to find the source of the voice.
When I saw it I gasped in surprise.
"Virtue."
The mysterious woman smiled gently when she heard I recognized her.
I have met her before when I was a teenager and I had to tend to the mountain castle my family owned. My stepfather sent me there as a punishment after I accidentally killed my music teacher because at that time I was still unaware of my own strength.
During my time in the mountains I met this woman and her sister Vice. They presented me with two options and asked me to make a choice. To either live an easy life full of pleasure or to live a hard life but full of glory and adventures.
I picked the latter and then they both disappeared and I have never seen them again.
Until now.
"You are a true hero, son of Zeus. You have picked the hard way out, stuck to your beliefs and never wavered. After everyone else was gone you still fought hard in order to protect humanity with everything you have got. And for that you will have one more chance. Once more try to rescue everyone and the world itself."
"What?"
"Go and save them, my boy. My hero. May the virtue be with you."
I had a million questions at that moment but when I opened my mouth I was one more time engulfed by the light and the scenery before me was gone. The brightness this time was so overwhelming that I lost consciousness and faded into darkness.
***
I woke up laying in the forest on a bed of moss next to a slowly flowing stream. I could hear birds singing from the top branches and a pleasant refreshing breeze blew through the trees.
What the hell was that?
My body felt super good and all the blood and pain was gone.
I leaned over the water surface and let out a cry of surprise.
This is me…but I am just twenty years old?
And my hair is blond??
Does that mean that everything that just happened was true and I have returned in time to my younger self but with my memories still intact?
I smiled.
This time…this time you stand no chance.
I will save everyone.