Mount Olympus was magnificence, it took about 50 years to complete the home of the gods. Everything was great, everything was perfect. The mortals have been growing in numbers, and the Aidonians, my people, had excelled and were years more advanced than the other mortals. The Titans that I pardoned were living peacfully in homes in Mount Olympus with us. I could go on and on about what has been going on but my thoughts were on other matters.
My siblings were avoided me. I didn't know the real reason why and at first, I ignored it, thinking it a passing mood. But after several years it persisted. In meetings, their eyes glazed over as I spoke, as if ignoring me. When I sought them out individually, they would make up some excuse and just leave. I had tried everything, and so I called for a meeting.
They arrived as I waited at the throne, each taking their place. Zeus lounged on his throne, exuding some arrogance. Poseidon just stared into the distance, his face unreadable. Demeter and Hera whispered among themselves, but even their usual warmth toward me felt cold. And Hestia was quitetl sitting on her throne not making a sound.
I started with the reports—plans for Olympus, the state of the mortal realms—but their disinterest was so obvious. Eyes rolled, fingers tapped on their throne, sighs escaped.
Finally, I stopped.
"What is going on?" I asked.
The silence that followed was deafening. No one met my gaze.
I turned to Poseidon. "Brother, surely you'll speak to me. What's going on?"
He didn't even look at me. "Nothing worth discussing, Lord Hades." His tone was clipped, dismissive. Putting so much venom on the word Lord.
Frustration boiled within me. I turned to Zeus, whose smirk told me he'd been waiting for this.
He laughed. "Isn't it obvious, brother? They don't care about you."
The words hit harder than I expected. "What do you mean?" I asked.
Zeus leaned back, his arrogance radiating. "Take the hint. We don't see you as our king."
I looked at the others. "Is this true?"
They mumbled among themselves, avoiding my gaze.
"What is going on?" I demanded.
Zeus rose, that irritating laugh of his echoing through the chamber. "It's simple, Hades. I spoke to Mother Rhea about this little matter and she told me something interesting. Did you know that if the Pantheon deems their king unfit, we can vote to remove him?"
My chest tightened, but I held my composure. "Unfit? I've barely been king! How could your opinions shift so quickly?"
Poseidon stood then, his eyes hard. "Because of you, I lost my arm!"
I turned to the others, who now voiced their grievances one by one. Demeter spoke of my focus on mortals at the expense of divine matters. Hera muttered about my lack of vision. They all murmured the same thing in different words: Zeus deserves the throne.
I looked at Zeus. His smirk hadn't wavered. "What did you do to them?"
He feigned innocence. "Me? Nothing at all."
But I remembered.
The words echoed in my mind: Zeus is a manipulator. I had read the Files of Zeus when I was with Chaos, She had let me look at the information for the other gods as well beside Hades. I had learned that he had this ability to control the electrical impulses in the brain. He could implant thoughts, force ideas into others to make them loyal to him. How could I have let that information just slip my mind when I had the ability to control my memories?
So if you dont understand, Zeus conrolled the electrical impulses in their brain and feed them thoughts and ideas to turn on me. He manipulated and controlled my siblings to turn on me against their will.
Zeus stood then, drawing his Masterbolt. Its crackling energy illuminated his confident grin.
"I challenge you, Hades. For the throne."
I didn't move. "You stand no chance against me, Zeus."
He laughed, stepping forward. "Oh, brother, I'll have a far greater chance than you think."
It seems that he has a plan, as he had challenged me this would make it a one on one duel but knowing him he would force our siblings to help him win somehow.
Zeus's laughter grated my ears as he held his Masterbolt high. I stood, drawing my sword. I never got to name it after all this time. This would be a good time as any, What about the Necrosword?
Walking down to meet my youngest brother, the throne room shifted. The walls expanded, reshaping into a large arena. Our thrones all moved to encircling the arena.
Zeus struck first.
Lightning ripped across the arena. I raised my blade, blocking the strike with ease. I lunged forward, shadows swirling around me as my sword aimed for his chest. He deflected with his Masterbolt, the clash of our weapons sending a shockwave through the arena.
Zeus sneered, spinning to hurl another bolt as the shadows pooled at my feet before erupting into tendrils that lashed toward him. He dodged, his laughter turning into a grunt as one tendril clipped his side, leaving a jagged tear in his armor.
Zeus roared, slamming his Masterbolt into the ground. The arena trembled as lightning surged outward in waves, forcing me to leap over each one. The air burned, ozone thick in my lungs.
I raised my hand as a spike of shadow shot out from under my throne and tore through Zeus's shoulder. I heard a high pitched whistle as I flicked of my hand, a wall of shadow erupted upwards blocking my bothers trident as it clattered to the ground, harmless.
I side-stepped as the earth beneath me shifted. Roots and vines clawed at my legs, trying to ensnare me. Even the ground rose to make me loose balance, I stomped my foot destroying the plants and turning the risen floor to dust.
Hera joined in next, sending a golden blast of energy toward me. I simply dodged, the beams crashing into the arena walls. Flames erupted from Hestia's hand, I don't know what Zeus thought was going to happen if she did that. I raised my free hand, and simply absorbed the flames into my body.
Hestia's eyes widened, and Zeus looked shocked. "Impossible…"
"Dude, I can control Primordial Flames did you think a little fire would hurt me?"
Zeus snarled, charging again. He moved with desperation now, each swing of his Masterbolt wild and erratic. I parried each strike, my sword meeting his weapon in bursts of light and shadow.
"Enough of this!" Zeus roared.
He leaped back, and took out some chains that I reconized as the Chains of Uranus, these dark blue chains that almost looked to be made of the sky. They were created by Uranus to tie up anyone or anything and weaken them. The problem was when the chains target you, you cant dodge or excape them. The chains snapped through the air like serpents, coiling around me and tightening around my body snapping my limbs togeather causing me to fall to my knees.
Zeus laughed, standing over me. "You're finished, Hades. Bow to me and declare me your King and I will let you life. You will be banished from Olypus and stay in the Underworld, your throne will be removed from Olympus and you will never be allowed to return here unless I order you."
I looked up at him, calm despite the chains. "You always were too arrogant, Zeus."
His smirk faltered as I fkexed my muscles and moved against the chains. The chains groaned, cracks splintering across their surface almost like glass.
"No!" Zeus shouted in fear, stepping back as I shattered them. Just because the chains can bind anyone did not mean they could not be destroyed. Using alittle bit of pure strength, Destruction, and force push it came off fairly quickly.
I stood and stretched as I cracked my knuckles. "I am done playing games."
Zeus raised his Masterbolt, but I was faster. My blade struck true, shattering the bolt into fragments. His eyes widened in panic as I advanced, each strike of my sword forcing him back.
He tried to defend himself, but my onslaught was relentless. A punch sent him sprawling. Another shattered his breastplate. With every blow, his desperation turned to fear.
Finally, I grabbed him by the collar, lifting him from the ground. His face was bloodied, his arrogance gone.
"This ends now," I growled, slamming him into the arena floor with enough force to leave a crater. Zeus lay beneath me, his once-pristine golden armor shattered, his face bloodied and bruised. The crater beneath him deepened with every blow of my fists. His golden blood stained my hands, splattered across the broken marble of the arena.
He gasped, his arrogance gone, replaced by pain and fear. Yet, something in his eyes—pride? Defiance?—still lingered, and it enraged me. I dropped my sword, letting it clatter to the ground, and continued with my fists.
"You made me do this, Zeus!" I snarled, slamming another punch into his face. "Why did you make me do this?"
He coughed, struggling to speak, but I wasn't finished. Another punch. More golden blood.
"You're fighting for what? To prove you're the king? To satisfy your arrogance?" I spat, grabbing his collar and lifting him slightly before slamming him back down. "Look at you! You're no king—you're a fool who thinks power alone makes him worthy!"
I leaned in close, my voice low and venomous. "You're weak. Not in strength, but in mind. You lack the wisdom, the patience, the intelligence to rule. All you have is your ego, your pride, and your lust for control. Do you think that's what makes a king?"
Zeus groaned, his hand feebly reaching for me. I caught it, gripping it tight.
"Even if you had won," I hissed, "what then? You would be the worst thing to ever happen to this world. Your arrogance, your inability to lead, would bring ruin to everything. You are a mistake, Zeus. Olympus doesn't need you. The mortals don't need you. I don't need you."
I threw his hand aside, standing and looking down at him, disgusted.
"I don't care if you live or die," I said coldly, my voice echoing through the silent arena. "You mean nothing to me. But hear me now: if you ever stand against me again, I will make you regret it. I will make you wish you had never been born."
He didn't respond, his breaths shallow, his broken form barely clinging to consciousness.
I stood there for a moment, fists still clenched, golden blood dripping from my knuckles. Then I turned and walked away, leaving Zeus crumpled in the crater of his own failure. My brothers and sisters stood back watching in horror. But I didn't care, what was I to do, I thought I could lead in peace but it turns out nobody will submit unless I beat the shit out of them first.