I decided to visit Mount Olympus. It had been two decades since I last set foot there, and I was curious to see how my siblings had settled into their new roles.
I attempted to teleport directly into the throne room, as I had always done before, but instead of the familiar pull of divine travel, I was met with a solid, immovable force blocking my path. I frowned, trying again. Nothing. My irritation flared.
Zeus.
Fine. If I wasn't welcome by the front door, I would take another way in.
I teleported to the base of the mountain and took to the skies, my wings slicing through the cold air as I ascended. But as I neared the summit, I felt it—a barrier. A powerful one. I reached out to touch it, feeling resistance crackle beneath my fingers. My patience, already thin, snapped. With a flex of my power, I shattered the barrier like fragile glass, its fragments dissolving into nothingness.
Almost instantly, the sky roared in protest.
Lightning streaked toward me. I twisted midair, barely dodging as a bolt singed past my wingtip. Another followed, and another. My frustration burned hotter with each strike.
"Really, Zeus?" I muttered, swerving as another bolt came dangerously close. "You're going to smite me for visiting?"
A particularly large bolt came hurtling toward me, forcing me to dive to avoid getting fried. My patience was gone. "Damn you, Zeus!" I snarled, pushing forward with sheer force of will, breaking through the storm and landing in the heart of Olympus.
I took a moment to take in the completed city. It was magnificent, I'd give them that. The towering white pillars, the golden halls gleaming in the sun—it was a realm fit for gods. But I had no time for sightseeing. I headed for the throne room, already sensing my siblings gathered there.
The doors groaned as I pushed them open.
Inside, my siblings lounged upon their thrones, looking bored out of their minds. At the center, Zeus sat lazily on his grand throne, chin resting on his fist. The moment he saw me, his expression darkened.
"Oh, it's you," he grumbled. "What do you want?"
I stared at him, stunned by his sheer arrogance. "I wanted to see how things were going," I said evenly, though my patience was running razor-thin. "But I'd rather ask why I couldn't teleport into the throne room."
Zeus shrugged, feigning ignorance, but before he could lie, Demeter spoke up.
"Zeus blocked your divine signature," she said, her tone edged with mild disapproval. "You can't enter Olympus unless he allows it."
I turned back to Zeus, my irritation sharpening into something colder. "You barred me from Olympus?"
Zeus groaned as if this conversation was beneath him. "You were gone for twenty years, Hades. You didn't answer my summons. So, I decided that unless I call for you, you have no business here."
I folded my arms. "I'm not your dog, Zeus."
"You vanished," Zeus snapped, "and when I finally sent word, you ignored it."
"I was busy doing my job," I said, my voice dropping to something quieter, something far more dangerous. "I was ensuring that the cycle of life and death ran smoothly while you sat on your throne and played king."
A muscle in Zeus' jaw twitched. "You act as if your work is harder than ruling the cosmos."
I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You wouldn't last a week in my domain."
Zeus' grip on his thunderbolt tightened. "Careful, brother."
"Or what?" I took a step forward, forcing him to look me in the eye. "Will you strike me down with your little bolt? Go ahead, see what happens."
The throne room was silent. My other siblings remained quiet, eyes flicking between us, unwilling—or perhaps too afraid—to intervene.
Then I felt this strange nagging voice in my head, I was a little confused as it was as I started getting this feeling that I should fear Zeus and worship where he walked, felt like.... mind control.
I clenched my jaw, pushing the feeling out with sheer willpower. And when I did, I caught it—Zeus winced, only for a fraction of a second, before masking his expression.
My blood ran cold. I didn't know for certain that he actually had such ability so I needed to be careful.
I let the silence stretch between us before my gaze shifted. That's when I noticed it—my throne was missing.
I inhaled slowly, letting the weight of that realization settle. Then, without a word, I turned and walked toward the doors.
Before stepping through, I paused. Without looking back, I said, "Watch your back, Zeus."
<--------------------->
I returned to the Underworld in a storm of rage, my mind a whirlwind of thoughts. I needed answers. Needed to confirm what I already suspected.
Zeus had tried to do something to me.
I strode through the halls of my castle, my steps heavy as I headed toward Hecate's chamber, I found her seated on her bed, reading some of her scrolls, the candlelight flickering around her.
She didn't look up. "What happened now?"
I exhaled, rubbing my temples. "I need your help."
Now she looked up, an arched brow lifting as she rolled up her scroll. "Are you actually admitting that? This must be serious."
I sat down on her bed, leaning forward. "Do you have any magic that can check if someone has tampered with my mind?"
That made her pause. She set the scroll aside and studied me carefully. "I do," she admitted, though her voice carried an edge of confusion. "Why?"
"Just do it," I said.
She frowned but didn't question me further. She stood, rolling her shoulders as she muttered something under her breath, the words too old for mortal tongues to grasp. Raising her hands, she pressed her fingers to either side of my head.
I felt a pull—a strange, humming sensation deep in my skull, as if something unseen were sifting through my thoughts. Hecate's brows knitted together in concentration. Then, she frowned deeper.
"That's… odd," she murmured, pulling back.
"What?"
She stepped away, walking to an old wooden chest in the corner of her room. Throwing it open, she rummaged through its contents, pulling out various ingredients—crushed herbs, vials of dark liquid, a shard of obsidian.
"Lie down," she instructed, already working on something I didn't understand.
I sighed but did as she asked, resting back on her bed as she dipped her fingers into one of the vials and began drawing runes on my forehead. The cool liquid tingled against my skin.
"I'm going to need a moment," she said, closing her eyes and focusing. The air in the room grew thick and I swore that I saw mist gather in the room.
Minutes passed in silence. Then she exhaled sharply, stepping back. "Your brain has been messed with."
My eyes snapped open. "What?"
She nodded grimly. "The electrical signals in your brain—it's been altered, manipulated. Not permanently, but enough to try and manipulate you."
I inhaled sharply. "That bastard."
Hecate sighed, wiping her hands on a cloth before she cleaned the runes off my forehead. "It is kinda obvious that he'd try something like this."
I sat up, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. "Can you fix it?"
She crossed her arms. "No need to fix it, you just have to force him out whenever he tries to enter your mind."
Before I could respond, there was a knock at the door. We both turned as a familiar voice called from the other side. "Lord Hades, are you in there?"
"Yes," I answered.
The door creaked open, and Oizys stepped inside, her face carefully blank. "You have a visitor."
I exchanged a glance with Hecate before standing. "Who?"
She hesitated. "Prometheus."
I nodded, already moving toward the door. But as I stepped past her, I paused. "Thank you, Hecate."
She waved me off as she grabbed her scrolls again and got back to reading them.
I headed to the throne room, finding Prometheus standing near one of the massive pillars, his sharp eyes scanning the architecture with an expression of curiosity.
"You actually came," I said, crossing my arms.
Prometheus turned to me with a smirk. "Figured it was about time we had a proper conversation. Besides, I've got something that might interest you."
I raised a brow. "Oh? Then we'd better take this to my lab."
His expression flickered with intrigue. "You have a lab?"
Laughing, I gestured for him to follow. "Of course I do. You think I just sit around on my throne all day?"
I led him through the winding halls of the Underworld until we reached the laboratory—a vast chamber lined with workbenches, shelves stacked with ancient texts, and an array of tools that I had collected over the years. The scent of parchment, minerals, and something faintly metallic lingered in the air.
Prometheus let out a low whistle. "Now this is impressive. I wish I had something like this back in the day."
I smirked. "Well, you're here now. So, what is it you bought?"
He grinned and extended his hand. A slab of clay materialized in midair before dropping onto one of the tables with a solid thud. The thing was massive—easily the size of a small chariot. At first glance, it looked like ordinary clay, but there was something in its texture, in the way it seemed to hum with latent energy, that told me otherwise.
"This," he said, resting a hand on the slab, "is Primordial Clay. From it, I shaped the first of mankind."
My gaze sharpened. "This is what you used to create humans?"
Prometheus nodded, his grin widening. "Indeed. It's not just any clay—it carries the essence of the cosmos itself. And before you ask, no, this isn't all that's left. As long as you have a piece and know how to properly mix it with regular clay, you can create more."
I ran my fingers over the surface of the slab, feeling the raw potential thrumming beneath my touch. My mind raced with possibilities.
"So, what should we create?" Prometheus asked, leaning against the table. "I assume you didn't drag me all the way down here just to admire my craftsmanship."
I chuckled. "Fair enough."
We tossed ideas back and forth—statues imbued with life, divine sentinels to watch over mortals, creatures to roam the Underworld. But none of them felt quite right.
Then, an idea struck me like a thunderbolt.
"Dragons."
I grabbed a sheet of papyrus and began sketching. "Yes. Dragons, unlike anything this world has seen—giant lizards that soar through the sky with their massive wings." My quill moved swiftly, scratching across the surface as I brought my vision to life. There was only one dragon design that always looked perfect: the Wyvern build. I sketched four distinct dragon—prototypes, the forefathers of their species.
The first was the apex predator of the skies, modeled after the tyrannosaurus rex. Its body was restructured, replacing useless, tiny arms with massive, powerful wings. Next came the sea dragon, its form more sleek, reminiscent of this hybrid of a shark and an alligator snapping turtle. It bore bioluminescent markings along its body, a large spiked shell protected its body and its front wings were quite large and had this clawed design to them. For the ground dragon, I took inspiration from star-nosed moles—heavy, armored creatures with hardened scales and clawed wings designed for burrowing.
The final design was the most fearsome and my favorite. Modeled after a cobra, these dragons had hood-like frills that flared when threatened or preparing to strike. Instead of exhaling fire, they expelled superheated gas that ignited on contact with air. Their obsidian scales shimmered with veins of molten glow, and their powerful tails acted as deadly whips, capable of shattering bone with a single strike.
I leaned back, satisfied. "These will be the first design models, what do you think?"
Prometheus peered over my shoulder, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "This… this is brilliant. I wish you were alive when I made the humans."
I grinned. "Thanks. Do we have enough material?"
Prometheus chuckled. "With Primordial Clay? We only need a small piece to create the image of a new species. If we were to create a specific creature or person we would need a slab, about the size of a large stone."
He reached forward, tearing off a small chunk. I watched as he slowly molded it, his fingers working with practiced ease. As he worked I watched as he crafted the body of the earth dragon, when he was done he set the little guy on one of the tables as he stepped back. "I did some modifications on it, to give more strength and power behind those claws so it can burrow through the earth."
"So how do we get that little guy alive?"
Prometheus smirked as he picked it up. "Watch closely."
He held the clay form between his hands and closed his eyes. A soft glow spread from his palms, a faint golden energy seeping into the figure as he leaned over it and breathed on it. The clay shifted, its texture changing as the clay hardened and became more defined, I watched in amazement as the little creature came to life. Then, before my eyes, it twitched. A moment later, the little guy let out a tiny screech and took flight, its wings beating against the air before it spun like a drill and dug into the floor of the lab.
I stared, fascinated at the whole. "So what are we going to call the little guy?"
Prometheus grinned. "I believe Terravore – The Earth Carnivore Dragon has a nice ring to it."
"Yeah.. you suck at naming." I laughed. "Should we be worried about the Terravore?"
"No it's fine, deep down it knows who created him." Prometheus said as he dusted off his hands. "Now, come on. We still have three more to make."
He grabbed another lump of clay, rolling it between his palms. His next creation was the sea dragon, or the Leviathan as we decided to dub it. After working the structure of the dragon out, it was decided to scrap the turtle part as he finished up the model as he brought it to life as he summoned a fishbowl and placed it inside as it swam around watching us work.
Next to him was a container that held the Terravore who looked grumpy that we had brought him back and practically paralysed him as he wouldn't stop breaking his cage and digging out.
Meanwhile, I focused on my own work. I took quite the different approach, Prometheus had his way and I believe that I had my own way to program a new life. First I grabbed a slab of clay and imagined the form of the T-rex as I made its tail longer, gave it a slimmer stomach and a larger chest to fit a keel. Finally I replaced the arms with larger wings as I placed it on the table and moved on to the next one.
I liked the concept of the cobra/wyvern at first but it didn't seem right, instead my mind drifted to Ophis, my Pythagora serpent. So far she was the only one of her entire species that even existed and her species was something that I cared about as I had made her one of my sacred animals.
Instead of a wyvern, I sculpted a male Pythagora. To set it apart, I gave it a cobra's hood as I worked the pythons design. When I was done I placed him next to the other as I closed my eyes and focused as I raised a hand over the two and let my divinity flow down into them as I breathed out as I saw the spark of a soul be created.
Moving the two to be next to the others I started molding them as I came upon over a million genetic codes that would allow them to practically mate with anything and their offsprings would become new breeds of dragons that suited the specific genes that belonged to their forefathers.
As we looked at them we decided on what to call them.
First we had Gaigor, the Earth Dragon, the Terravore. Then Charythos the Sea Dragon, Leviathan. Then the Flame Dragon, Ignites the Pythagora Dragon. And lastly the Rex Dragon or Tyranthor Dragon, Zephrix. Though Prometheus likes to call it the Sky Splitter.
Prometheus grinned. "Now this… this is creation."
"Now what do we do? Do we just let them free into the world?" I asked as I cleaned our workspace.
"Basically, they shall grow and adapt as needed." Prometheus explained. "I must go. There are things I must tend to, leave it to me as I shall find some proper places to release them into the world."
I inclined my head. "Thank you for this."
Before he left, he placed his hand upon the remaining slab of Primordial Clay and grinned. "Consider it a gift." Then, with a parting nod, he was gone.
I exhaled, shaking my head, amused. "Crafty Titan."
I turned to the large slab, before getting to work breaking it down into small bricks to store for later use. I hoped the time would come that I would come down here again to create something again.