The King of the Titans rose from his throne, his crescent-bladed scythe materializing in his grasp. In the blink of an eye, he brought it up to meet Zeus's attack, the clash of their power sending out a shockwave that flattened warriors and shattered the earth.
Cronos was a force of nature—stronger, faster, and infinitely more cunning than the other Titans, he was truly the final boss of a souls game. He wielded time itself like a weapon, bending moments and stretching eternity, making every step unpredictable. With the grace of a seasoned warrior, he turned Zeus's lightning aside, sending bolts of divine energy arcing uselessly into the sky.
I lunged forward, my longsword gleaming. I struck fast, the blade carving through the air toward his exposed flank. But Cronos twisted the flow of time itself. My blade met only empty space where his body had been just a heartbeat before.
"Too slow, Hades," he mocked, his voice smooth as polished steel.
His scythe came down in a vicious arc, aimed straight for my head. I barely had time to shift, my body twisting into the form of a massive black serpent, my scales absorbing the force of the blow. I lunged at him, fangs bared, but he was already moving, his mastery over agriculture warping the battlefield itself. Vines as thick as a man's torso erupted from the ground, thorns glistening with poison, wrapping around my shifting form.
Zeus roared in frustration, summoning a maelstrom of lightning, hurling bolt after bolt at our father. The sky trembled under his fury, but Cronos manipulated the land to rise, absorbing the attack, the soil itself bending to his will. He turned, faster than I thought possible, and drove his fist into Zeus's chest with earth-shattering force.
Zeus staggered, coughing up blood, but he wasn't done. He charged again, his movements fueled by rage, and for a moment, I thought we had the advantage. But then, in a single, flawless motion, Cronos feigned weakness, drawing Zeus in. And before I could warn him—
Cronos struck.
He dodged Zeus's thunderbolt with ease, sidestepped his wild swing, and in the next moment, slammed the butt of his scythe into Zeus's gut. My brother gasped as the air was driven from his lungs. Cronos spun, the crescent blade cutting a cruel arc through the storm-filled air, carving through Zeus's chestplate and sending him hurtling across the battlefield.
"Zeus!" I shouted, but it was too late.
Cronos was already on him.
He rained down blow after blow, his scythe tearing through flesh, sending Zeus sprawling. My brother barely managed to block, his once boundless energy waning under the sheer force of our father's onslaught. Then, with one final, devastating strike, Cronos sent Zeus crashing into the mountains, where he lay motionless.
And just like that, it was only me and father.
Cronos turned his golden eyes on me, the amusement from before now replaced with something colder, more focused. "Now, shall we end this, Hades? Or will you, too, fall like your foolish brother?"
I did not answer. Instead, I lunged at him, our battle resuming in a blur of steel, darkness, and raw power.
He wielded time, I wielded destruction. He bent the earth, and I shattered it. I struck again and again, my sword carving through the air with lethal precision, shadows coiling around my strikes. But he was relentless, always anticipating, always one step ahead.
For every strike I made, he countered. For every advantage I gained, he twisted time to steal it from me.
But even gods could falter. Even kings could fall.
I waited, biding my time, letting him think he had me on the defensive. And then, when the moment came—when he took that one, fatal misstep—I struck.
Summoning every ounce of my power, I commanded the riches of the earth to rise—molten gold and obsidian chains shooting from the ground, wrapping around his limbs, holding him in place. He struggled, but I tightened my grip, dragging him down, forcing him to his knees.
He spat at me, hatred burning in his golden eyes. "You wretched little worm! You were always the weakest, the most pathetic of my children! You are nothing!"
I stepped closer, my breath steady, my grip ironclad. "And yet, I am the one who will end you."
Before he could spew another curse, I reached forward and ripped his golden eye from its socket. Cronos let out a deafening scream, ichor dripping from the wound as he writhed against his bonds. The golden eye gleamed in my palm, still pulsing with power. Without hesitation, I pressed it into my own empty socket, my divinity surging to heal the wound, binding the eye to me. My vision sharpened instantly, clearer than it had ever been before.
Cronos panted, his face twisted in agony, but even now, his lips curled into a sneer. "You think this changes anything, Hades? Time will always find a way."
"Then let time try."
With one final, decisive motion, I raised my sword high. And as Cronos snarled in defiance, I brought the blade down, cleaving through flesh and bone.
His head fell to the ground.
The battlefield went silent.
Cronos, King of the Titans, was no more.
<---------------->
The throneroom of Olympus was a grand hall of marble and gold, still smelling of fresh-cut stone and divine energy. Brontes and his brothers had been working tirelessly to construct our new home, the mountain fortress that would stand as a testament to our victory. It was still incomplete, scaffolding and tools scattered about, but the thrones were finished, each one carved from beautiful stone and engraved to represent each of us.
My siblings and I sat in silence, waiting. For who? Poseidon, of course. I was getting worried, though it seemed that there was nothing to worry about. The great doors burst open, and he strode in, belting out some sea shanty at the top of his lungs. His voice echoed off the unfinished walls, full of mirth despite the toll the war had taken on us all.
"Rolling waves and drowning graves, a sailor's fate is so merry! Hoist the sail and drink the ale, 'til the sea claims thee, weary!"
I raised an eyebrow, but it wasn't his singing that caught my attention—it was his arm. Or rather, the lack of it. Below the elbow, his left forearm was gone, a clean cut that had already scarred over with divine resilience. I did notice that his right arm was covered in these familiar Hawaiian tribal tattoos.
"You lost your arm," I commented, voice level.
Poseidon stopped, looked at the stump, and shrugged. "War."
I huffed a quiet laugh. "Fitting answer."
His sharp green eyes landed on me, and he smirked. "And your goldeneye, brother?"
"War." I met his gaze, as I tilted my head. "And those scales and wave tattoos on your right arm?"
Poseidon laughed as he sat on his throne. "Embarrassing but I actually got lost coming back here and ended up at this island filled with these mortals, they kept calling me Kanaloa, don't know what that was about, but a guy there gave me these sick markings!"
Zeus let out a huff of impatience, leaning forward on his throne. "Enough reminiscing. We have business to discuss."
"Indeed," I said, sitting up. "How did it go with Oceanus?"
Poseidon grinned, a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes. "Stormed his castle, caught him off guard. The old sea Titan never saw it coming. Completely wasted him. He barely had time to call for his sea beasts before I split his throne in half." He stretched, wincing slightly as he did. "Though of course I didn't leave in one piece. Happy to say that the seas are mine now."
Zeus leaned back in his throne, tapping his fingers against the armrest. "Good. Now, onto the punishments."
He turned his gaze toward me, expectant. With a wave of my hand, the shadows swirled and twisted, and from their depths, the captured Titans were dropped onto the floor before us. They were all wrapped in Adamantine chains as they knelt in defeat, some glaring, others resigned.
I could see the defiance in some of their eyes, the broken pride in others. Cronos, their leader, knelt at the front, his golden eyes narrowed but silent. He knew better than to speak now.
"Titans," I began, my voice carrying across the hall like the toll of a funeral bell. "The war is over. We have won and shall take over as rulers." I let the weight of my words settle over them. "You are all here to face your punishment."
Cronos's lips curled into a sneer. "Why should we answer you?" he spat. "The upstarts who dared to challenge us, the rightful rulers of the cosmos? You call this justice?"
I turned my gaze to him, letting my shadows swirl at my feet. The temperature in the room dropped as my power filled the space. "This is not a debate, Cronos. This is a trial, and we are your judges."
My voice hardened, and I raised my hand. The chains binding the Titans glowed with a dark, eerie light, tightening and burning hotter causing some to scream in pain. "Do not mistake this mercy for weakness. If I wished, I could throw you back into my shadow and leave you there to rot for eternity. Instead, I am offering you punishment. Justice."
Zeus stood, his presence commanding. "Those who fought against us will be imprisoned in Tartarus. As for those who remained neutral, they will be imprisoned in their homes never to leave."
This idiot will imprison so many innocent Titans just to be seen as some almighty ruler, in the end it will cause us more problems. I originally planned to let him dish out the punishments, but I can't just sit and watch this happen.
I sighed, rubbing my temples. "A flawed plan. Those who fought should be punished, yes, but those who remained neutral should be given a choice—to continue their lives in peace under our rule, so long as they do not betray us. To imprison them regardless is foolish. It fosters resentment."
Zeus scowled, but murmurs of agreement rose from the others. He exhaled sharply. "Fine. And the directional Titans—Hyperion, Koios, Krios, and Iapetus? They were Cronos' strongest allies. They belong in Tartarus."
I shook my head. "No. They will be petrified into marble pillars and placed at the four corners of the world, forever holding up the sky. They will never move, never escape, never act against us again."
The room was silent for a moment, then murmurs of approval echoed once more. Zeus clenched his jaw but nodded. Seeing that we were all in agreement, the room filled with the sound of stone grinding against stone as their flesh began to harden, their screams of protest cut short as their bodies were petrified. In moments, they were towering pillars of white marble that stretched into the heavens. I asked Brontes to go with Briarieus and Cottereus to take the pillars to the four corners of the world.
"And Atlas, for his obsession for his strength, he will bear the weight of the sky." Zeus continued, his tone sharp.
"No," I countered. "Not the sky, since we already have the four pillars being set up. What about we change it to the entire world? He shall be imprisoned in Tartarus and forced to hold up the entire world for eternity."
Poseidon let out a low whistle. "Harsh. I like it."
Zeus scowled but said nothing.
Then came the final judgment—Cronos.
Zeus leaned forward, his eyes gleaming. "We cut him into a million pieces and scatter them in Tartarus."
I folded my arms. "Cutting you to pieces would be wasted mercy. Instead I got something way better."
Zeus glared. "Then what do you propose?"
I turned my gaze to Cronos, still kneeling in chains, his single golden eyes burning with quiet hatred. "Strip him of his immortality. Curse him to live in a constant cycle of rebirth. He will be born, live, and die, over and over again. His birth will begin the year, and his death will mark its end. He will become 'Father Time,' bound to the very domain that he adores so much."
A low chuckle escaped Cronos' lips. "Poetic. Twisted." He looked up at me, his golden eye gleaming with loathing. "You truly are my son, just as cruel as your father."
"Perhaps," I admitted. "But this is what you deserve."
Cronos spat at my feet. "Tyrant."
After Cronos was taken away we all relaxed, finally done with that mess. Though of course it never lasts long.
That is the moment when the Fates appeared, their presence made even the mightiest of us pause. Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos glided into the room, their forms hazy, almost indistinct, as if they were more concept than being. They moved in unison, their voices overlapping in a harmony that was both beautiful and chilling.
"Gods of Olympus," they began, their voices echoing through the room. "You have triumphed in the war against the Titans. For that, you have secured the balance of the cosmos and ensured the survival of this world."
"We are here to formalize your domains," they continued. "To define the aspects of existence over which you shall hold dominion for eternity."
The Fates turned their gaze to Zeus, who straightened in his throne, his lightning bolt now held firmly in his hand.
"Zeus," they intoned, "you are the god of the Sky, of Lightning and Storms. You shall rule the heavens."
"Poseidon, you are the god of the Sea and Natural Disasters."
"Demeter, the goddess of the Earth and Nature. The harvest and the growth of all living things are your charge."
"Hestia," they said, their voices softer now, "you are the goddess of the Hearth and Family."
"Hera," they said, their tone sharpening slightly, "you are the goddess of Royalty, Marriage, Blessings, and Curses."
Finally, the Fates turned to me. I could feel their gaze, their presence pressing down like an enormous weight.
"Hades," they said, their voices low and resonant. "You are the god of the Underworld, Riches, Death, the Dead, and Souls. You are the god of Destruction and Darkness."
The room fell silent.
I saw their faces. Shock. Confusion. Even fear. Zeus leaned forward in his throne, his brow furrowing. "Why does he have so much?" he asked, his voice sharp. "How can one god hold so many domains?"
The Fates smiled, a knowing and slightly amused expression. "The domains of a god are not chosen by whim, Zeus. They are decided by Chaos herself, the creator of all things. She saw fit to grant Hades these domains, for he has proven himself worthy of them."
Ha! That was all lies, I can't believe they didn't want to just tell him that gods can earn new domains.
Zeus frowned but said nothing further, leaning back in his seat with a dissatisfied huff.
The Fates continued. "There is one final matter to address: the crowning of the new King of Olympus."
Zeus's frown immediately vanished, replaced by a smug grin. He rose from his throne, already moving to step forward.
"The new King of Olympus is Ha-"
"Zeus."