Ch. 001: Faced With a Choice

A blinding light hit my face, not warm like the sun, but searing, almost like it was burning right through me. But why would I be in the sun? I hadn't stepped outside my office in seven years. I had no need to.

Why would I? Everything I ever needed was right here.

Some might call me a scholar, others an enthusiast. Me? I called myself a curious man. My office— my sanctuary— was nestled in the museum where I spent every waking hour. Surrounded by the stories that had gripped me since childhood, my obsession was simple: mythology.

Greek mythology.

I'm not sure when I stopped caring about time— maybe around the age of eighty. I used to dabble in lectures at the university, back in my forties and fifties, but that felt like a lifetime ago. Eventually, I found my calling in this quiet little room, alone with ancient stories and artifacts. I hadn't seen my daughter in… decades? She must be thirty by now, maybe even married. Funny, how life moves on while you're buried in the past.

All that's behind me now, though. You see, I've died.

How did it happen again?

Ah, yes. The book.

There was this strange, weathered tome— SECRETS OF OLYMPUS. I'd never seen it before, and trust me, I've seen everything. It caught my eye the moment I noticed it on the shelf, like it wasn't meant to be there. It whispered to me, begged me to open it. It was filled with stories about the gods of Olympus, but something about it felt... darker. Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps.

That's how I ended up tumbling down a long flight of stairs and snapping my neck like a dry twig.

Narrating my own death is oddly tiresome. As my life slipped away, my gaze never left that cursed black book. Even then, even in my final breath, I wanted just one more page, one more story...

---

I've been dead for what feels like an eternity. Time's hard to measure in death. But one thing I knew: I was waiting. For what? Who knows.

Wasn't I supposed to move on by now?

Then, without warning, a loud hum vibrated through the air— if you can call it air. It pierced through me, shaking the core of my spirit. A sound so loud, I wanted to cover my ears, but, well… I didn't have ears anymore. Then came the trumpets.

Was I going to heaven? **Me?** I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. I wasn't exactly a saint, but I wasn't evil either. Still, something felt off.

If this was heaven, why was everything so dark? I was never a religious person but I believed there should be light here.

Suddenly, a booming voice filled the void, so loud it felt like it was vibrating through my bones— if I had bones left.

**"CONGRATULATIONS, YOUNG SCHOLAR, ON ACHIEVING A GREAT FEAT!"**

Young? **YOUNG?!** Now that was an insult. I was old enough to have forgotten my daughter's name. But it was better to keep my mouth shut, lest I say something that would send me straight to hell. I had a feeling that keeping quiet was in my best interest.

**"YOU HAVE ACHIEVED A FEAT NO MORTAL HAS EVER HAD IN HISTORY! THE MASTERY OF OLYMPUS' KNOWLEDGE!"**

**"YOU SHOULD FEEL HONORED TO BE RECOGNIZED BY THE UNIVERSE!"**

Recognized by the universe? Don't make me laugh. Olympus is hardly endless— it's just gods squabbling in the sky. I've read everything, studied everything. What more could there be?

**"YOU WILL NOW RECEIVE THE HONOR OF BEING REBORN IN OLYMPUS AS YOUR GREAT REWARD!"**

Reborn? The word echoed in my mind, twisting into something dark. Rebirth, this wasn't a gift— it was a trap. What type of reward would demand you dying in the first place?

**"YOU HAVE TEN SECONDS TO CHOOSE THE FORM IN WHICH TO BE REBORN!"**

**"WHETHER GOD OR MAN, TITAN OR BEAST, CYCLOPS OR DEMON. CHOOSE!"**

**"THIS IS THE GREAT HONOR THAT HAS BEEN BESTOWED UPON YOU!"**

Ten seconds. My thoughts scrambled as I tried to make sense of it. If this was all in my head, some fevered dream in death, what harm would it do to indulge? But what if it wasn't? What if this was **REAL**? What if I could live in Olympus, the very world I had spent my life obsessing over?

Five seconds left…

If I were to choose, wouldn't it make sense to become one of the gods themselves? A god could live apart from the drama, observe without consequence. But which god? Olympus had so many tales, and each one was mired in conflict, betrayal, and tragedy. No, I needed someone powerful, yet uninvolved. Someone who watched from the shadows. A figure whose presence loomed over the stories, but rarely stepped into the light.

Two seconds.

There was only one.

One second!

**"I CHOOSE TO BE REBORN AS HADES!"**

The moment the words left my mouth, the blinding light returned, more intense than before.

**"YOUR PURSUIT FOR KNOWLEDGE LED TO YOUR DEMISE!"** the voice thundered. **"NOW TTHE UNIVERSE HAS BLESSED YOU. THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS AND INACTIONS IN THIS NEW LIFE WILL BE YOURS TO BEAR!"**

**"ENJOY YOUR NEW LIFE!"**

Despite the gravity of the situation, I would have smiled if I still had lips. My rebirth was far from a gift— it was a curse wrapped in gold. Olympus was a bloodstained battlefield, a place where gods waged wars and mortals were mere pawns. And I was no different.

Yet, the thrill of living within the stories I had only ever read about—it was overwhelming. Even if the voice's warning echoed in my mind, I didn't care.

This is the story of my second life, the story of a man who became Hades in Olympus.

If the history books survive, that's what they'll say.

Of course, nothing ever goes smoothly in Olympus.