Ascension of the Fallen

Perseus' plans

Perseus' plans

Ascension of the Fallen: Chapter 3

Perseus sighed deeply as he sat on a rocky cliff overlooking the sea, his legs dangling rather dangerously. His spies, which were mostly discontent minor gods he had built relationships with, reported that Poseidon and Hestia seemed to be in an eternally bad mood. The god of darkness, time, and mountains desperately wanted to inform Hestia and Poseidon of his return, but he knew Poseidon wore his heart on a sleeve; his mood would instantly change to happy, making that lightning god suspicious. Even though Hestia was usually ignored on Olympus after she gave up her throne for the insufferable wine god, she conversed with Poseidon much of the time. Perseus loved his sister, but she wouldn't be able to keep his return a secret and not leak the news to the god of the seas.

His friends also reported that Apollo and Hermes frequently went out to drink, having children with various mortals and feeling terrible. Artemis was secluded even more so than before, and Athena practically lived in her library. Perseus had wrinkled his nose at this information and scoffed. The former king of Olympus couldn't bring himself to have sympathy for his nephews and nieces; they deserved what they got. Although Perseus did see a potential ally in that poor god Hephaestus. Aphrodite was reportedly cheating on him all the time, so that made him miserable. Perseus just about expected that. No one seemed to like the forge god all that much, so that made him a prime possibility for an ally. His mother didn't seem to care for him whatsoever, and most of the Olympians ignored the forge god, save when they wanted something from him. The Olympians were a pretty pathetic lot in Perseus' objective subjective objective opinion. The main problem was now the titans.

Perseus stood up from his lone ledge near the sea and flashed away to the border between Alaska and Canada. The god stilled his breath and watched the brutal Alaskan blizzard, ignoring the slight pounding in his heart as he came to terms about what he was about to do. He summoned a beautiful sword, made of an alloy of imperial gold, celestial bronze, and mortal steel. This sword could cut any creature, mythological or mortal. The god summoned a coat to warm himself, as well as proper lightweight armor and more knives; one would never know when you needed them. A shield was not essential; Perseus thought it would only weigh him down, and as a mortal, he would need to carry lightweight things. An enchanted bag of food was summoned by the god, and with that the god of time stepped through the border, into the land beyond the gods.

Instantly, the former god felt his powers dip drastically. He took a knee to stabilize himself. He could no longer feel the strands of time he often pulled on, nor could he feel the shadows in the forests behind him. After standing up again, his mortal knees wobbled from the power of the blizzard; the blizzard was brutal to a mortal. The former god could not hear anything through the blizzard, not even himself muttering. Perseus cursed himself for being so weak. The god-turned-mortal turned his beloved blade upside down and used his sword like an old man's staff, wading through the blizzard and into the distance.

Time skip

Several days later, the new mortal arrived at a lone castle, built of stone and ice. Sculptures of ice stood around the castle, and the gates were at least fifty feet tall. Perseus moved to open the gates, but an imposing figure appeared in front of him. At least six feet tall, the figure somehow stared down at the taller former god. Perseus shivered. Whoever was in front of him had such a suffocating aura that it would make any lesser god bend to their knees. Perseus was not any lesser god however, and in a testament of will, the god-turned-mortal stood to face the figure, his eyes roaming over said figure. The figure's eyes could not be seen through the hood, and the armor he wore was a shiny black. The former god narrowed his eyes, opening his mouth to speak, but the figure moved lightning fast, simply punching Perseus in the chest with a crushing force.