The tension in the throne room was suffocating.
Hades stood unmoved, his dark robes flowing like the void itself. His gaze remained steady, unreadable, locked onto Zeus. Around them, the Olympians watched—some in curiosity, others in silent challenge.
Zeus leaned forward on his throne. "You stand apart from us, brother. You rule your kingdom alone, answering to no one. Tell me, do you not consider yourself one of us?"
Hades remained silent for a moment. Then, he spoke.
"I consider myself what I am." His voice was calm, absolute. "The Lord of the Underworld. The judge of the dead. I do not need Olympus. I do not need its politics, nor its power plays."
Ares scoffed, stepping forward. His war-forged presence burned with heat and raw aggression. "You don't need Olympus?" He sneered. "You sit in the dirt, ruling over corpses, while the rest of us shape the world. And you believe yourself our equal?"
Hades slowly turned his head to face him.
"Equal?" he repeated, voice smooth as obsidian. "No, Ares. Not equal."
The room grew colder.
Ares' smirk faltered. For the first time, he seemed to realize the air had shifted. The torches in the room dimmed, their flames flickering, as if struggling to exist in the presence of something greater.
Then, Hades raised a single hand.
No gesture, no incantation—just a simple shift of his fingers.
And suddenly, Ares dropped to his knees.
The god of war's breath hitched. His hands trembled as he pressed them against the marble floor. His immortal body, a being that had never known weakness, was frozen beneath an unseen force.
Hades hadn't touched him. Hadn't spoken a curse. Hadn't done anything except will it.
Ares could not move.
The other gods tensed. Hera's eyes widened slightly. Athena took an instinctive step forward, her hand near her spear. Even Poseidon's fingers clenched around his trident.
Zeus stood quickly, his presence crackling with warning. "That is enough."
Hades' gaze didn't waver. His hand remained where it was—still holding Ares in submission.
He could have held him there forever.
Could have crushed him.
Instead, he released him.
Ares gasped as the force vanished. He rose, rage burning in his eyes, but he did not lunge. The lesson had been learned.
Hades turned back to Zeus. Unshaken. Unchallenged.
"I do not answer to Olympus," Hades said simply. "Not now. Not ever."
Then, without another word, he turned and vanished into the shadows.
The Olympians remained frozen, the echo of his power still thick in the air.
Hades had made his position clear.
He was not their equal.
He was beyond them!!