The wind howled around me as I stood at the base of Mount Olympus, my gaze locked onto the gleaming city above the clouds. The golden spires and marble halls of my so-called home shimmered under the midday sun, an illusion of grandeur masking the rot beneath. I exhaled slowly, rolling my shoulders as I flexed my wings, the midnight-black feathers rustling in anticipation. It was time.
With a single powerful beat, I launched into the air, the force of my ascent kicking up a whirlwind of dust and loose rock beneath me. The winds screamed past my ears as I shot up the mountainside, refusing to slow my pace. The barrier encasing Olympus shimmered in my path, newly reinforced, no doubt to keep out those deemed unworthy. Pathetic.
I didn't hesitate. Summoning a surge of divine power, I curled my wings in, letting momentum carry me forward before I released it all at once. The impact shattered the barrier like glass, the energy rippling outward in jagged fractures before dissipating into nothing. I didn't stop to admire my handiwork. Instead, I shot through the opening and made straight for the throne room.
I didn't bother with pleasantries. The massive golden doors loomed before me, intricate carvings of storms and lightning bolts mocking me with their ostentatious display. With a flick of my wrist, the doors exploded inward, slamming against the marble walls with a deafening crash. The sound echoed through the chamber, silencing the ongoing conversation.
Every head turned toward me.
Zeus sat upon his golden throne, his grip on his scepter tightening as the air in Olympus crackled with his fury. His storm-gray eyes locked onto me, seething, his face twisted with barely contained rage. Lightning flickered across his skin, the throne room itself trembling under the weight of his anger.
I had not been summoned.
And yet, here I stood.
"Hades," Zeus snarled, rising from his seat. The very air seemed to shift as his voice rumbled through the hall like distant thunder. "I told you—you are banished from Olympus unless I command your presence." His eyes flickered to the shattered remnants of the barrier that had once protected this sacred realm. His power surged, a low growl of thunder vibrating through the marble beneath our feet. "And yet, you dared to destroy the gates and force your way in?"
Seated beside him, our siblings watched in tense silence. Poseidon leaned forward, his expression unreadable. Hera sat rigid, her nails digging into the armrest of her throne. Hestia's hands rested in her lap, but her usually warm gaze was heavy with concern. Demeter looked between Zeus and me, tension marrying her face.
I met Zeus's glare with indifference, stepping forward without hesitation. My boots echoed in the stunned silence, and for the first time in a long time, I felt Olympus bend around me, acknowledging my presence, as if the very halls remembered the ruler I could have been.
"I don't answer to you, Zeus," I said simply.
Lightning snapped from his fingertips, arcing wildly before vanishing into the air. "You don't belong here!" he thundered. "You are a specter, a ghost of the past. The moment you accepted the Underworld, you forfeited Olympus! You are nothing here."
I tilted my head. "And yet, here I stand."
Zeus's jaw clenched, his nostrils flaring as his hand gripped his Masterbolt. He was on the edge of striking me down where I stood, but something in my posture made him hesitate. Perhaps it was the way I did not falter before his wrath. Perhaps it was the cold certainty in my voice.
"I did not come here to ask for your permission," I continued. "I came to take what should have been mine."
Poseidon let out a sharp exhale, a mix between a scoff and a laugh. "What madness is this?"
I ignored him. My eyes never left Zeus. "I challenge you for the throne of Olympus."
The chamber fell into dead silence.
For a moment, Zeus only stared at me, his expression unreadable.
Then he laughed.
A cruel, barking sound, like the howling winds of a storm about to break.
"You?" he sneered, shaking his head in mock disbelief. "You think you can take my throne? You have spent so long buried in the Underworld, Hades, that your mind has rotted along with the corpses you rule." His smirk grew, vicious and mocking. "You are no king. You are a warden. A jailer of the dead. That is all you will ever be."
His words were meant to provoke. To wound. To make me doubt.
But I had spent millennia in darkness. Zeus's insults meant nothing to me.
I lifted my blade.
Without a word, I turned it toward my palm and sliced deep.
Golden ichor welled up and dripped onto the pristine marble, staining Olympus with my defiance.
The air shifted. The weight of the Ancient Laws pressed down upon the throne room, as if the very cosmos had turned its gaze upon us.
"I bleed in defiance of your rule," I declared, my voice calm but absolute. "By the Ancient Laws, I invoke the right of combat. I challenge you, Zeus, for the throne of Olympus."
A crack of thunder split the air. The room darkened for a heartbeat, shadows stretching unnaturally.
Zeus's laughter died.
His expression twisted into something uglier—pure, unfiltered rage.
"You dare?" His voice boomed, shaking the very foundations of Olympus. "You dare invoke the Laws against me?"
"The Laws are above even you, brother," I said smoothly. "They bind all of us, no matter how much you wish otherwise."
I turned slightly, my gaze sweeping toward the divine beings who would ensure this battle was just.
"I name Ananke, Primordial of Fate and Destiny, and Themis, Titaness of Judgment and Justice, as arbiters of this duel."
Poseidon swore under his breath. Hera's grip tightened on her scepter.
Zeus's hands trembled around his Masterbolt, his fury barely contained. "It doesn't matter who oversees this. I will annihilate you."
The moment he spoke, the world shifted.
Reality twisted, bending to the will of the Laws. The throne room blurred, space folding in on itself, and in an instant, Olympus vanished.
We stood in the grand coliseum, the sacred arena where divine combat would be decided. The marble beneath our feet pulsed with power, ancient and unyielding. The sky above churned in anticipation, a swirling vortex of light and shadow.
And we were not alone.
In the stands, our siblings watched with wary eyes. Hestia, troubled. Demeter, uncertain. Hera, tense and unreadable. Poseidon, his expression unreadable but his grip tight on his trident.
Yet beyond them, lurking in the shadows, I saw them.
Erebus. Nyx. Tartarus.
Disguised, yet unmistakable. They watched, waiting. Silent witnesses to the battle that would decide Olympus's fate.
And there—
A woman. Familiar. A presence that sent a ripple through my very being. But there was no time to dwell on her now.
A pulse of divine energy tore through the coliseum.
Two figures appeared before us.
The first, Themis, stood tall and regal, her golden scales gleaming as her blindfolded eyes remained fixed in a state of eternal judgment. Impartial. Absolute.
The second—Ananke.
Time itself seemed to bend around her presence. Her form was wrapped in an ever-shifting tapestry of fate, golden threads of destiny weaving and unraveling in an endless dance. Her hair, like flowing starlight, cascaded in waves of pure energy. And her eyes—pale, luminous voids—held the weight of eternity itself.
Her gaze settled upon us, and I felt the universe itself press upon my soul.
"This challenge has been invoked," she intoned, her voice echoing with the whispers of past, present, and future all at once. "The duel shall be honored. Fate shall bear witness, and justice shall be served."
Zeus's body crackled with lightning, his teeth bared in a snarl. Furious.
"Then let's end this."
Zeus struck first.
A deafening crack split the air as a bolt of lightning shot toward me, illuminating the arena in blinding white. I barely had time to react before it crashed against a dome of shadows I conjured in an instant, the impact sending sparks flying in all directions. The ground beneath me trembled from the sheer force.
I smirked. "You'll have to do better than that, little brother."
Zeus sneered and vanished in a burst of wind. A split second later, he reappeared behind me, Masterbolt in hand, crackling with divine power. I twisted, raising my sword just in time to block his downward strike. The collision of our weapons sent out a shockwave, the arena groaning under the strain of our power.
I pressed forward, my shadows coiling around my legs like living tendrils, anchoring me as I swung my blade. Zeus parried, then retaliated with a sudden gust of wind that sent me skidding back across the marble floor. I dug my heels in, the darkness at my feet solidifying to halt my movement.
Zeus didn't give me a moment's respite. He raised his hand to the sky, summoning a vortex of storm clouds above. Thunder rumbled ominously before a barrage of lightning bolts rained down upon me like a divine execution. I reacted swiftly, shadows erupting around me, forming a spiraling barrier that absorbed the blasts.
Then I struck.
My darkness shot forward, forming into jagged spears that surged toward him. Zeus twisted mid-air, avoiding the first wave, but one spear nicked his shoulder, tearing through his golden armor. He hissed in pain, electricity crackling around his wound as he landed heavily.
I capitalized on the opening, using my shadows to launch myself forward. My blade sang through the air, aiming for his chest, but he roared and sent out a concussive burst of wind, knocking me off course. I flipped midair, landing gracefully, my tendrils of darkness retracting to my side.
Zeus gritted his teeth, wiping golden ichor from his lip. "You're more annoying than I expected."
I chuckled darkly. "And you're just as predictable."
Fury twisted his features, and he raised his Masterbolt once more. This time, he didn't throw it. He slammed it into the ground.
The arena erupted.
Lightning surged out in jagged, uncontrolled waves, splitting the marble beneath us and turning it into molten slag. Winds howled, whipping around us like a hurricane. I felt the static charge in the air, my hair rising as the sheer divine energy threatened to tear through me.
I narrowed my eyes. This was getting dangerous.
My shadows rose around me, forming thick, swirling armor over my body, absorbing as much of the excess energy as they could. Then I willed the darkness to extend, stretching across the arena floor like a living void, swallowing Zeus's lightning before it could reach me. His eyes widened in alarm as he saw his power disappearing into my domain.
I surged forward again, but this time, Zeus was ready. With a snarl, he conjured dozens of crackling chains of lightning, snapping them toward me like whips. I dodged the first few strikes, but one coiled around my wrist, searing my skin. I gritted my teeth against the pain and willed a shadow spike to rise from the ground beneath him.
It struck true, piercing through his calf. Zeus let out a strangled yell, the chains faltering for a split second. It was all I needed.
I summoned a massive hand of darkness, clawed and monstrous, and it slammed into him, sending him crashing into the ground. He gasped as the breath was knocked from his lungs, but he wasn't finished yet. Before I could press the advantage, he lifted his hand, and the skies obeyed.
A colossal lightning bolt, bigger than any I had ever seen him summon, crackled into existence above us. The air grew stiflingly hot as the sheer energy radiated through the arena. I had to act fast.
I raised both hands, summoning every ounce of my domain. Shadows rose like a tidal wave, thick and impenetrable, spiraling around me. Then, I shaped them, condensing them into a single, solid spear of pure void.
Zeus unleashed his bolt.
I hurled my spear.
The two forces collided in an explosion of light and darkness, shaking the heavens themselves. The arena cracked apart, the sky split open, and for a brief moment, all sound ceased. The world seemed to hold its breath.
Then the blast faded, and we both stood, panting, across from each other.
Zeus looked furious. Desperate. He reached into his robes and pulled out something that made my blood run cold.
The Chains of Uranus.
Dark blue, shimmering with the power of the sky itself. Created by the Primordial of the Heavens to bind even the strongest of beings. The problem was, once they targeted someone, they couldn't be dodged.
The chains snapped toward me, moving like living serpents. I barely had time to curse before they coiled around me, locking my arms and legs together. Pain lanced through me as they tightened, restricting my divine power. I fell to my knees, bound and unable to move.
Zeus laughed, standing over me. "You're finished, Hades. Did you really think that you were going to win? I am the King of Olympus and you are just the pathetic god of the Underworld."
I looked up at him, unbothered despite my restraints. "You always were too arrogant, Zeus."
His smirk faltered. The chains groaned, cracks splintering across their surface like shattered glass.
"No!" Zeus shouted in fear, stepping back as I flexed my will against them. With a final, forceful surge of power, I shattered them.
Zeus barely had time to react before I was upon him.
My sword met his Masterbolt once more, but this time, I was relentless. Blow after blow rained down, each strike forcing him further back. I could see the panic in his eyes, the dawning realization that he was losing.
He tried to summon another lightning storm, but my shadows swallowed the clouds. He attempted to summon winds to lift him away, but I dragged him back down with tendrils of darkness. He lashed out wildly, but his movements were sluggish now, his energy spent.
Finally, I caught him by the throat and slammed him into the ground with enough force to create a crater. Zeus lay beneath me, his once-pristine golden armor shattered, his face bloodied and bruised. I punched him again, golden ichor splattering across the marble.
"Why did you make me do this, Zeus?" I growled, my voice filled with something I couldn't name—rage, disappointment, exhaustion.
He coughed, struggling to respond. I grabbed his collar, lifting him slightly before slamming him back down. "You think power alone makes a king? Look at you! You're no king—you're a fool playing god!"
I stood, staring down at him in disgust. "Even if you had won, Olympus would have crumbled under your rule. Your arrogance would have destroyed everything."
Zeus groaned, barely conscious now. I turned away, letting the shadows dissipate around me. "This ends now. Olympus needs a ruler, not a tyrant."
As I walked away, I could feel the weight of my siblings' gazes on me. I didn't care. I had won. And the world would be better for it.
I stood over Zeus, watching as he lay motionless in a pool of his own ichor. His once-golden armor was shattered beyond repair, his face unrecognizable beneath bruises and blood. The mighty King of Olympus, the so-called Lord of the Skies, was nothing more than a broken heap at my feet.
The silence in the arena was suffocating. Not a single god dared to move. Even the wind, once howling with Zeus' storm, had died into nothingness.
A slow, deliberate clap echoed through the stillness.
Ananke, the Primordial of Fate and Necessity, stepped forward. Her tall form was draped in silver robes that shimmered like the threads of destiny themselves. Her piercing white eyes, devoid of emotion, bore into me as if measuring the weight of this moment across all timelines. Beside her, Themis stood with her golden scales, her expression unreadable.
Ananke's voice rang out, neither cold nor warm—simply inevitable. "It has been decided. By ancient law and the divine right of conquest, I present your new King! Hades, the god of the Underworld, Riches, Souls, Death and the Dead. God of the Abyss, Monsters, Demons, Darkness and Destruction! The King of the Underworld and ruler of the Realm of Monsters. I give you the new king of Olympus!"