When Death Comes to Visit |ONC 2021

Nyx

I readjusted my wings for the millionth time as I sat on the peak of one of the many mountains in the Alps. I left Dionysus not that long ago to his party after our little chat, he seemed to have the attention span of a toddler once all business was set aside. He'd abruptly stood from his chair and declared free alcohol for all who wanted to see what a real party was like. I took that as my cue to leave, I'd seen enough of Dionysus's parties in the past to know that the bar would be left destroyed come morning. I already had too much on my plate to have that added chaos on my mind. 

It was the first time in a long time since I was able to truly be alone, no humans no gods and no nimble creatures lurking in the dark, just me. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the crisp air letting its icy shards settle within. This was much nicer than the sulfuric underworld I admitted to myself, peace and quiet. No dead souls or furies or monsters seeking out my undivided attention. This punishment that Zeus saw fit was no longer torture for me, it was a vacation, a long overextended one at that.  

"Always some sort of problem," I grumbled into the frigid night, puffs of white flowed from my mouth as I spoke, "Always wanting more." 

"That's because there's always someone holding you back. All of it should be at our fingertips." 

I spun around to face the source of the purring voice, a womanly shaped figure was standing no less than ten feet away from me. Dark wisps of smoke trickled around her, her eyes glowed purple through the black veil she wore and a thorned crown sat upon her head.  Black wings that resembled mine unfurled sending a wave of flowery perfumed wind my way. 

"Mother," I said in greeting hiding my surprise as much as I could. I didn't see her very often, far less than any of the other gods. It wasn't out of spite or maliciousness, we just weren't close, it wasn't in her to coddle her children.  "What are you doing here?" 

My mother Nyx, the goddess of the night or to be more accurate, Titan of the night, lived in the depths of Tartarus. She rarely graced the world with her presence so seeing her now could only mean she was up to something. 

"A war is coming my son," she said in her smooth liquid voice, "I came to warn you, my brothers and sisters are tired of imprisonment. They speak to the living now, whispering thoughts that turn into action." 

The tendril wisps expanded, gently touching my wing as she spoke. "The biggest war is coming since Zeus overthrew Cronus. Change is coming and the scales are about to shift."

"Great, another pointless war between family," I said feathering my wings out, subtly shaking her wisps away, "I'm happy where I am so what do you need from me?" 

"You need to let Hades have his army," She cooed, "I know you're trying to get back home and set the balance of the dead right but you must simply do nothing. That is what I ask of you." 

I mulled over what I would say next, I knew if I refused I would become her enemy and if I accepted, I will become an enemy of Olympus. I knew if the Titans were in power the gods would be thrown into Tartarus we would be left to rot or until we could find our strength again. If there was any left.

And should I side with my mother, what then? 

"What's in it for me, to step aside from all of this?" I dared to ask. 

Nyx shifted forward, her movements like silk as she glided towards me in the deep snow. The smell of Tartarus clung to her underneath all that flowery perfume, it was the smell of mould and damp and charred flesh all blended into one. 

"My son," she purred, a clawed finger tracing my face as she followed it, sure to make her movements slow. 

In those words I knew a threat lay beneath, no god dared to question her, not even the strong and mighty Zeus. He'd quivered at the sound of her name, at the mere thought of crossing her. When he'd defeated Cronus, Nyx had watched and praised him even. She let him end the Titans and lock them up in Tartarus, all except her. Nyx was there at the beginning of the world and she would be there at the end. Maybe this was the end. 

"You should know by now that mother knows best." her eyes glowed bright violet as she stared into mine, "Hades is a means to an end, he will get what he wants and you shall get what you want. Order, routine, nothing has to change for you."

She whirled away again, turning to the edge of the mountain, "It is time for change whether you or those fools in Olympus want it. Just stay on the right side of things." 

Nyx stepped off the edge, her body dropping down like a heavyweight stone, I didn't bother to look. Less than three seconds later she soared up in a swooping arch, the undercurrent of her wings blew strong a gust of turbulence teetering me off balance. 

"You have one day to give me an answer," her voice whispered in my ear as I watched her disappear into the clouds. 

One day is all I had, and Giorgio had one day to get me back into the underworld to stop the balance from shifting into the Titans favour. I don't know how many times I'd thought this in one day but I surely hoped that Giorgio was competent enough to get this right. The stakes had just risen now that I knew the Titans were involved. 

I stood still, staring out at the horizon until the sun began to rise, I watched as the first tips of light reached towards the sky. The rays glowed radiantly, reminding me of a gods aura, their true self. I need time, time to clear my head and make my decision, the decision that could alter the world as we know it. 

So I did what I thought would help me, I snapped my fingers pulling my outfit from the world between worlds. I changed into it pulling on my ski goggles and boots then hiding my wings away from the world as the ski jacket perfectly nestled around me.  I prowled the edge of the mountain until I found the perfect slope, I placed my feet into the straps of the snowboard that I threw down and clipped them in. 

As I tipped the board forward I made a wager with myself; by the time I reached the bottom of the mountain a decision will have to be made. 

The snow beneath my feet flattened, giving way to me as I gained speed down the steep slope. The sensation closely resembled flying but adrenaline pumped through my veins in a way it never had before as my feet remained firmly on the ground. The sun reflected brightly against the pure white snow but the goggles I wore were perfect for bouncing off those damn rays as I weaved down the mountain. Elation bubbled within me, in that moment I forgot about the burden I was carrying. It was just me and the wind and the snow beneath my feet.  When I neared the end of the slope, I bent my knees and balanced my weight in the middle of the snowboard readying to stop. As the ground flattened out and my speed slowed I forced myself to a stop just shy of a group of teenagers; all scrolling through their phones. 

"Apparently there's no cure for the virus," One of them says head bowed over their phone, the helmet on his head masked his voice a little but his words rang out, "The Coronavirus outbreak happened in China, and it's set to spread globally, thousands are already dead. They don't know the cause of it yet." 

My mind raced through all the possibilities and I hoped and prayed that this was not what I thought it would be. 

"Which province did it come from?" I demanded. 

Startled the boy looked up at me for a second before looking back at his phone, "Uh, it says it started in Wuhan." 

"Shit," the word slipped through my mouth without warning. 

My blood boiled and bubbled until I began to emit steam in the ski clothes I was wearing.  My anger so great I could feel the pressure of it reaching its peak, threatening to burst out of me.   My presence was fast-tracking the human's demise in every town I stayed in, taking on the form of a virus. I was a god of non-violent deaths who could not control my essence on earth, I must've been oozing out the virus. This was not the first accidental mass killing I had induced on the humans, no, the Spanish influenza a hundred or so years ago was one of the worst cases I caused. Hades was to blame for setting things in motion, this was not the natural order of things and I needed to get out of here to prevent further damage. 

I snapped my fingers, unclipping the buckles of my snowboard and prying my feet from its clasp. For the first time in a long time, I was about to pick a side.