Olympus
The thing about creators loving their creation, a parent loving their child, is that it is a one sided relationship. As always, the child can never fully understand the care, the protectiveness, the leadership, or the sacrifice. They would never understand it all.
"That’s just natural, Father. What could we do? What can you do, Father?" The question rang loud from the lips of Hermes, the fastest thing alive.
The council meeting was quiet, as no one had ever questioned their father, the king of kings, Zeus.
A real life copy of the entire Earth sat in the middle of the table. All the gods, no, not all, only the relevant ones, sat on the twelve seats available, covered by the shade of stars and galaxies.
Only their glowing eyes were visible. But even among all these powerful beings, two of the seats were empty, the ones that should have been occupied by Zeus’s two brothers.
"Indeed, Father, this is madness. We should destroy the world and start anew. This world has become too independent, too modern," Athena began, but she was cut off by someone older.
"That is not the case..." Hera spoke, simply cutting her off. Her words carried more weight than anyone else’s, and maybe they did, because Athena stayed silent. "My children, our children, are not flawed. They are just... young." She continued,
"Yes, they are destroying nature, carving up the hills and mountains, and turning greedier than ever, so much so that they now expect sin from each other."
"Then you already kno," Hermes spoke, but Hera side eyed him again, shutting him up mid sentence.
"BUT!" Hera said, now looking at Zeus with her beautiful, sweet eyes, "only my husband and I know how much care and love we poured into the creation of humankind. How we nurtured them to this level. So all we can do is give them more time."
There was silence. Only silence. All the other gods gritted their teeth and squeezed their fists. They knew why Hera was so supportive of these sinful humans. But they stayed quiet. What could they do when Zeus, their father and king, was looking at them with disappointment? With that, the meeting was adjourned.
All of them walked away, even Hera herself, who kissed her husband on the cheek. She whispered words that no god or human could understand. Zeus nodded, and soon after, she left.
Only three individuals remained as the shade of galaxies slowly left their figures. One was Hermes. His golden hair became visible, and his eyes, which had been glowing white, now shone softer, revealing his golden irises.
The light shone on his golden suit and pants. Next to him, Athena also became visible, with red hair and golden eyes that held such beauty Hermes couldn’t help but let his gaze linger on her slim waist. She wore her usual crimson one piece.
"Father, we need to speak."
The one still seated, still enveloped in his galaxy like shade, turned his neck toward his two children.
"Speak then," Zeus muttered.
"You already know, Father. The Earth is now a cesspool of madness and corruption, all because of her, Hera."
"You are correct," Zeus replied, ever so nonchalantly.
Listening to that nonchalant tone, Athena couldn’t bear it. Her veins bulged on her forehead, ready to pop at any second.
"Yooo..." she spoke, her eyes glowing red from overloading divinity. "I give up! You talk some sense into him!" She yelled to her side at Hermes. With the click of her high heels, she walked away as well, leaving only the two of them.
Zeus sighed as he finally stood up and walked to the corner of the room, which stood at the height of Olympus. From the top, they could see the land of the gods and the clouds covering the mortal world. But he could see what was happening, and he knew all too well that his son and daughter were right.
The world was too corrupt.
Hermes, with the blink of an eye, appeared at his father’s side. "What did she say? Hera?"
"You mean your mother?" Zeus said. His white glowing eyes remained fixed on the clouds of the mortal world.
"Yeah... her."
"She said the eastern region has also submitted to Greek rule and Rome has now conquered half of their lands."
"The Roman Empire, once a small nation, now..." Hermes replied.
"Now reigning over the whole world, in Hera’s name, in Ares’s name... in my name," Zeus said.
"At this rate..."
There was silence. Both of them understood what was to come.
Hermes saw his father’s glowing eyes. Past all that divinity, he saw it, a hint of sadness. It surprised even him. "Father, there is still time. You can change it. Use your lightning of destruction, the lightning that will reset the whole world. Only you can sto"
"Stop." Zeus interrupted. "I need some time alone."
Hermes gritted his teeth but stopped, his slight rage calming down. He placed his hand on his father’s shoulder, understanding him in his own way.
"As you wish, my king." Hermes spoke and vanished with his speed.
And then there was only Zeus. Contemplating beyond the eyes of the gods and beyond their minds, he started thinking like a... human.
"Should I?" he asked himself. But he huffed, his mind slowing down, pushing aside all the politics of Olympus and all the divinity, truly thinking like a human.
"This is the last option," he said. He waved his hand, and the same lightning appeared, the lightning Hermes had spoken of. The so called reset button. But as Zeus breathed onto the lightning, he changed its nature.
"100x. That should be enough," he said, looking beyond the clouds, searching for somebody, somebody who could handle what he was about to grant, a responsibility, a duty, a heavy fate.
"There you are..." he said. "My last son." He beckoned and threw the lightning at the clouds.
"It’s in your hands now..."
***
In the mortal world, the sky was now covered with dark smoke, even blocking half the rays of the sun. The middle of the day looked like the brink of nighttime. The half dead forest breathed with whatever pure oxygen remained.
Within those pale, heavy trees, footsteps ran from its branches. Every step echoed with panic. Sweat beads rained from his forehead, dread of death in his eyes as he jumped and weaved through the branches and bushes.
"No, no, no... it is not my time to die. Not yet." He beckoned, stepping on a small stone and jumping high, higher than any normal human should.
Rooooaarrr!
The beast was right behind him, still chasing. The blood from his shoulder gave the monster his trail. "Why..." he asked.
"Why did you betray me, Marcus...?"
His military uniform was torn apart, the sigil of the Roman Empire smudged away with his own blood. He huffed and puffed, thinking of just giving up. Maybe if he did, the pain would vanish.
"No, this isn’t over yet..." he beckoned, but his plea didn’t last. A gunshot rang from behind, hitting him right at the back of his knees.
"Oohhhh!" Ethan screamed in pain, falling to the ground and hitting a stone on his forehead.
Thunder!
The sky crackled as rain started to pour hard, smothering the forest with something more to survive. Ethan tried to stand up, but the muddy ground would not let his bleeding foot find purchase. He slipped back down as the steps of the beast came closer and closer.
"Haha..." he smiled, not with fondness but with pain. From the heavy rain, the beast’s figure came closer and closer.
An experimented beast, joining the genes of a bear and a reindeer. A weapon of the Roman Empire. The collar on its thick neck beeped, and the one controlling it walked right behind the beast.
"Ethan... Ethan, Ethan." The man beckoned. His military uniform was the same as Ethan’s but cleaner, with one freshly added high rank. "You never give up, do you?"
Ethan smiled even more, backing away a bit and sliding through the mud. He refused to show the sadness from the betrayal or any form of weakness.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
"You’ve done it," Ethan said, clapping his muddy and bloody hands. "You win, Marcus. You can finally get rid of me."
Marcus didn’t like it, that smug look on Ethan’s face, that fake smile that always remained. He hadn’t liked it before, and he didn’t like it now. He hated it.
"No, no, Ethan, my dear old friend. It isn’t me who was trying to get you," he said, taking out a paper from his chest pocket. The rain made it wet, but Ethan could still see it and read the command stamped from headquarters itself.
"No..." he said, seeing the golden mark on the red paper, the crown surrounded by the double headed eagle. That was enough proof to understand it wasn’t just Marcus’s jealousy. Something more was after him, and he didn’t know why.
"See, I don’t know who you pissed off this time, but this..." he said, flicking the wet paper, "this is your end, my friend."
With those words, he backed away and clicked a button on his handheld remote. The beast came forward, following the irritation from its neck.
Roar!
It roared at Ethan, coming closer. Its reindeer head and high built bear body, with gnawing teeth, made it look like a nightmare. Its claws extended from its wet paws.
Marcus smiled, seeing the despair in Ethan’s eyes, but there was also a bit of guilt. A part of him was relieved to see his longtime rival going down. But another part was saying something else.
No, the empire doesn’t need a heart. Rome is order. I will bring order.
He thought as he clicked the button, and the beast attacked the already bleeding Ethan.
Farewell, my dear friend.
Thunder!!!
But the sky sparked, and that lightning bolt landed right before Marcus, right on Ethan. A spark so bright, so powerful, it beamed like a second sun, cleaving the beast in half and pushing Marcus away from where he stood.
Meanwhile, Ethan took it head on. The lightning coursed through his body and veins. His whole body heated up with pain and a bit of euphoria, as if the lightning was adjusting within him.
[Host found, linking with the blood of Zeus]
[Compatibility: 100% (extremely rare)]
[1%...2%...10%...50%...99%]
Ethan’s eyes bloomed white, the same as his father’s. His body absorbed the lightning, every single bit of it.
[100% complete]
[Congratulations, you have been granted the 100x reward system]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
[You have leveled up]
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