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OLYMPUS -
The marble pillars of Olympus trembled with the soft rumble of shifting stormclouds an omen that Zeus's mood was far from calm.
At the center of the throne room, the King of the Gods stood with his back turned, staring into the roiling sky beyond the balcony as if trying to see the nightmare again. Hera, Poseidon, and Athena waited behind him, their expressions tight.
A single lightning bolt cracked through the heavens.
Only then did Zeus finally speak.
"I saw our end."
His voice was low, ragged around the edges nothing like the thunderous certainty he usually wielded.
"In the dream… no, in the vision," he corrected himself grimly, "I saw Olympus burning. Gods falling. Our temples collapsing to ash."
His hand tightened around the golden rail until it warped beneath his grip.
Hera took a step forward, jewels shimmering like muted stars against her skin.
"Husband… tell them the little you shared with me. "
He turned toward them, and even Athena the one who never flinched felt a cold shiver slip down her spine at the look in her father's eyes.
"I saw a figure," he said. "A being wreathed in darkness, walking among our corpses. Death itself answered to him."
His jaw worked. "He took us one by one, without fear, or mercy."
Poseidon's brows drew together, sea-green eyes narrowing.
"And you believed this being to be the mortal? The one called Arthur?"
Zeus's shoulders tensed with remembered shame.
"I acted on fear."
He inhaled sharply. "I sought to imprison him… to contain what I did not understand. Similar to a mistake I did long ago.."
Hera touched his arm gently, her voice soft but firm.
"You did what a king must. If Olympus is threatened if our children, our legacy, our dominion.. are at stake, then any precaution is justified."
Zeus didn't answer immediately.
His gaze flicked toward the far corner of the chamber the place where Teleute, the personification of Death, had appeared as effortlessly as stepping through a doorway.
"But Teleute herself came for him," Zeus said, voice hollow. "She stood beside that mortal… I fear that's a bad omen as well."
Athena exhaled slowly.
"That, Father, is what troubles me most. Teleute bows to no one. If she shields him, then the question remains.."
"What is he?" Poseidon finished.
Thunder murmured in agreement.
"And what do we do now?" Athena asked.
Her voice carried the cool calm of strategy, but her fingers tightened around her spear.
"Capturing him has proven impossible. Teleute's intervention made it clear, Arthur is beyond our reach."
Zeus rubbed a hand across his beard, a rare crack of uncertainty passing over him.
"I thought to seek Hades," he muttered. "But he refuses to leave his realm."
Poseidon snorted, folding his arms.
"Of course he refuses. He wants no part in this prophecy. And he dislikes being told what to do.. especially by you."
Zeus huffed out a humorless laugh.
"Hades… the god of the underworld who does not fear death."
A small shrug. "Seems fair."
For a moment, even Hera's lips twitched.
But the levity died quickly, smothered by the shadow of the nightmare still clinging to the room.
"What about Diana?" Hera asked.
Zeus blinked, turning his gaze toward her.
"What about her?"
"She is strong," Hera said, stepping closer, tone thoughtful. "Stronger than most. Stronger than many gods. She is loyal, untainted by Olympus's… political rivalries. She could be useful to us. She could.."
Zeus cut her off with a raised hand, lightning crackling faintly across his knuckles.
"No."
Hera froze mid-sentence.
There was something in Zeus's tone, not anger, but something weary and absolute.
The queen understood instantly.
Zeus continued, eyes sharpening with an emotion Hera hadn't seen in him for a long time.
"Diana has spent her life believing in justice, mercy, compassion."
He looked away. "She questioned me the moment she sensed my intentions toward Arthur. She sees right and wrong in a very mortal way; she cannot be influenced. She would turn against Olympus if she believed we were in the wrong."
Athena inclined her head slowly.
"She already doubts us."
"Exactly," Zeus said. "She will not be used as a tool. Not for this."
Hera's jaw tightened, but she did not protest further.
A thick silence settled before Poseidon finally spoke.
"Then what remains? If this being of death comes for us, and if we cannot touch the mortal you fear to be the one, what do we do, brother?"
Zeus stepped forward again, staring into the horizon,
"We prepare for battle," he said.
"For the first time in thousands of years… we prepare for war we may not win."
The storm outside darkened.
"Forgive me father," Athena murmured, "But I pray this time your vision is wrong."
Zeus's voice was barely more than a whisper.
"It never is.. No matter, I've sent Hermes to keep an eye on the mortal," he said, pacing before the thrones. "To track his movements, report any leads, anything unusual he might do."
Poseidon leaned back, tapping a finger on his trident. "Good. The boy is unpredictable. Think Diana will interfere?"
Zeus stopped pacing. His expression tightened.
"I hope not," he muttered. "But I ordered Hermes to keep away from her and from her friends. If she discovers his assignment, she will… complicate things."
Hera exhaled softly, understanding. Diana's loyalty was no longer guaranteed.
****
EARTH - UNKNOWN DESERT
Hermes stood alone in the vast emptiness, wings on his sandals twitching as he scanned the landscape. His brows were knitted in rare confusion.
"Strange…" he murmured to himself. "I felt a divine resonance here. Not faint, not distant… but unmistakably Olympian."
He sprinted in a flash sand exploding beneath him until he reached a massive crater gouged out of the earth as if by a falling star.
He stopped at the edge and stared.
"What in the name of Zeus…?"
His blue eyes widened. The crater wasn't just large it was violent. The sand inside was charred black, fused into glass, radiating. Something divine had struck this place.
Hermes blurred from point to point in the crater touching the glass, examining burnt stone, inhaling the metallic scent of power.
"I was tasked to watch the mortal Arthur," he muttered, fingers brushing ash, "but this… this cannot be ignored."
He straightened suddenly, wings fluttering in alarm.
"Someone was here."
He turned to flash back toward Olympus
But then he froze.
A shadow cut across the sun.
High above, against the blinding sky, hovered a blackened figure. Charred skin, eyes burning with a cold, merciless hate. He hung in the air without effort, watching Hermes like a predator.
Hermes squinted up, smirk curling.
"Well, now," he muttered. "What's that charred thing?"
He cupped his hands and shouted, voice echoing across the desert
"HEY! Who are you!"
The man didn't move.
Then a low, rasping voice drifted down.
"You don't know me… do you?"
Hermes laughed lightly, cocky as ever.
"A rude one, eh? I ask who you are and you respond with a ques—"
He didn't finish.
The world blurred
A shadow streaked
Hermes barely twisted aside at god-speed
A fist of black flame carved through where his head had been, detonating sand into a geyser of molten glass.
Hermes skidded back, eyes wide.
"Woah—WOAH! Aggressive much?"
The charred figure appeared again, instantaneous, silent throwing another earth-shattering blow. Hermes dodged, and dodged again, sparks trailing behind his sandals. Each strike shook the desert.
"What is the matter with you, fool!?" Hermes snapped, irritation rising. "I didn't even.."
The figure vanished, reappeared directly in front of him
and smashed a fist into Hermes's chest.
Hermes flew.
He hit the sand with enough force to dig a trench, skidding, coughing blood.
A dark aura rolled off the attacker thick and suffocating, the smell of burnt flesh and hatred permeated the air.
The figure descended, steps crushing the scorched sand underfoot.
"Of course you don't know me," he said, voice filled with venom so old it sounded fossilized. "Why would you? Our father never bothered to give me a name."
Hermes choked, lifting his head just enough to see those burning eyes.
"So…" the figure hissed, standing over him like a living executioner. "You may call me… the Firstborn."
Hermes's blood-smeared lips parted, horror dilating his pupils.
"So… it's you…" he whispered.
The Firstborn smiled a terrible smile, cracked and broken.
"Your kingdom forgot me," he said softly.
"And now… I will return the courtesy."
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Solo leveling in Westeros.
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to 3 More Chapters OR 7 More Chapters if you want