Darkness. That was the word that matched the most with the Underworld. A dark and dreary place, one which Athena couldn't see herself staying forever inside of. Hades truly was strange for preferring this to anything else.
Athena sighed to herself. She didn't imagine that she'd be visiting the Underworld twice in short succession. The first visit was to confirm the death of the Hero, Perseus. This second was to ask Hades and Persephone about any offspring.
With the recent prophecy from the Oracle of Delphi, the Olympians had become quite worried. The power of those words didn't go unnoticed, and the words themselves were worrying.
It was a real prophecy, one strong enough to shake the gods. "Change the gods". Athena wondered if that truly meant what the Olympians assumed it meant.
Well, right now it didn't matter. They were looking into possible offspring of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Air, sea, and death? It was obvious that the prophecy meant the children of the three powerful brothers.
And Athena was tasked with Hades. After thinking over it, Athena figured the best way to go around it would be to simply speak to Hades himself.
And thus, she stood in front of a dark castle in this dreary realm. She pushed the doors open, walking into the main hall of the castle. She walked through, passing the stands of armor, until she finally reached the large doors at the end of the hall.
She knocked upon the doors.
"You may enter." A deep voice spoke.
Athena opened the doors to a throne room. Two dark thrones stood at the end of a short staircase. A red carpet led from her feet tall the way to the end of the thrones. A glistening chandelier of crystals hung from above, the one shining thing in this depressing place so far.
"Athena." Hades, The Unseen One himself, spoke. He sat upon the larger throne. "What brings you here? Again?"
Hades, the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. God of the Underworld, ruler of death, and a few other things. Due to not having residence in Olympus he wasn't considered an Olympian, however he was quite important as the king of the Underworld.
Hades was decently built, but very pale and deathly looking. Under his eyes were dark bags, as black as his scruffy hair. His red eyes pierced through anyone they looked, filled with a sense of loneliness.
The throne next to him was empty. Persephone, his loving wife, wouldn't be here until the coming winter.
"Have you heard of the prophecy?" Athena asked. "From the Oracle of Delphi?"
"The Oracle of Delphi...giving the gods a prophecy?" Hades questioned.
"Not quite." Athena replied. "She received a prophecy from someone...or something, else. It is quite strange, because it still holds the divine power one of our prophecies would."
"Hm." Hades lightly hummed. "Then tell me about this so-called prophecy."
Athena nodded, speaking the words of the prophecy. Hades could feel the power in the words. That was undeniable.
And with them, he understood why Athena had come to talk to him. But they must had been misinterpreting it, or else the prophecy was somehow a fraud. A fake.
"And so you came down here to learn about any of my children." Hades leaned his head on one of his hands, letting out a tired sigh.
"Yes." Athena nodded. "Whether or not these children mean us harm, the prophecy speaks ominous words. We must know who it speaks of."
"Unfortunately, this has little to do with me." Hades replied. "So I cannot provide any help."
"What do you mean?" Athena narrowed her eyes at Hades.
YOU ARE READING
The Son Of Snakes
FantasyA monster. Cursed by the gods and feared by all. Medusa, the famed gorgon which turned those to stone with one look, had lost all hope in her life when she stumbled across that crying baby. She was ready to put the abandoned child out of its misery...
