Ascension

Ch 15

As the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the park, Eve and Ruth continued their training with Athena. They were beginning to find a rhythm, each movement becoming more natural and fluid. Suddenly, the peaceful atmosphere was shattered by the sound of rustling leaves and heavy footsteps. Orpheus staggered into the clearing, clutching his side, blood seeping through his fingers. His face was pale, and he was clearly in pain.

"Orpheus!" Eve cried, rushing to his side.
Athena's eyes widened in concern as she quickly assessed his injuries. "What happened to you?" she demanded. Orpheus grimaced, his voice weak but urgent. "Apollo... he attacked me. Destroyed the bar... almost killed me." Hades appeared, his expression darkening as he took in the sight of the injured demigod. "Apollo did this?" he asked, fury simmering in his voice. Orpheus nodded, wincing. "He came out of nowhere, accusing me of betrayal. I tried to reason with him, but he was relentless. He reduced the bar to rubble and would have killed me if I hadn't escaped."
Athena's face hardened with resolve. "This is an escalation. Zeus's allies are becoming more aggressive." Hades moved to Orpheus, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get you healed. You're safe now." He turned to Eve and Ruth, who were watching with concern. "This is why your training is so crucial. The attacks are becoming more frequent and more violent. You must be ready for anything."
Eve nodded, her determination renewed.
"He did this because my wife enjoyed the bar and Orpheus served her. Zeus is trying to destroy everything." Hades grunts as he shimmered into darkness. Athena tried to stop him but she was too late.

  Zeus had sent Apollo and Artemis to capture and kill Hades, but Hades had other plans. His heart, a cavern of torment and fury, was set on revenge. The memory of his wife's death, her pleas for mercy ignored by Zeus, haunted him every moment. She had been everything to him, and her loss had ignited an unquenchable fire within his soul.

Apollo was an Olympian god who was associated with prophecy and oracles, music, singing, and poetry, archery, healing, plague and disease, and youth protection. He was portrayed as an attractive, beardless boy with long hair and accessories including a wreath and branch of laurel, bow and quiver of arrows, raven, and lyre.The most renowned Apollon mythology include:-- He was born on the island of Delos. The slaying of Python, the serpent who guarded Delphoi's oracular sanctuary.The killing of the gigantic Tityos, who attempted to kidnap the god's mother Leto. The Niobides were destroyed after their mother insulted Leto with her boasting. His music competition against the satyr Marsyas, who lost and was flayed alive.
Artemis was the Olympian goddess of hunting, wildness, and wild animals. She was also a goddess of childbirth, protecting the girl child until marriage, while her twin brother Apollon protected the boy kid. The two gods were also bringers of unexpected death and disease, with Artemis targeting women and girls and Apollon targeting men and boys. Artemis was commonly represented in ancient art as a girl or young maiden holding a hunting bow and quiver of arrows.Artemis' mother, Leto, was pursued by the jealous goddess Hera during her pregnancy until seeking shelter on the floating island of Delos. There she gave birth to Artemis, who served as a midwife for her mother with the birth of her younger twin brother Apollon.Kallisto (Callisto) was the goddess' handmaiden, whom Zeus enticed by taking on her form. When Artemis discovered the girl's pregnancy, she changed her into a bear and banished her to the wilderness.
Apollo and Artemis descended into the Underworld, the air growing colder and the shadows deeper. They moved with caution, aware of the lurking dangers. As they neared Hades' dark palace, the weight of their task pressed heavily upon them. This was not just a mission; it was a confrontation with one of the most powerful beings in existence.Hades sensed their approach long before they arrived. He sat on his obsidian throne, eyes burning with anticipation. When Apollo and Artemis entered his chamber, the tension was palpable.
"Hades," Apollo began, "Zeus commands your presence in Olympus to answer for your crimes."
Hades' laughter filled the room, a sound devoid of joy. "Crimes? Zeus dares speak of crimes after what he did to my wife? I will not go willingly, and if you attempt to force me, you will face the consequences." Apollo and Artemis exchanged a glance before launching their attack. Apollo's arrows of light and Artemis' swift strikes filled the room with a dazzling display of power. But Hades, fueled by his rage and grief, met their assault with terrifying strength. The Underworld itself seemed to respond to his fury, shadows twisting and contorting to aid their master.
The battle raged on, a clash of divine forces shaking the very foundations of the Underworld. Despite their combined strength, Apollo and Artemis struggled against Hades' relentless onslaught. His rage made him nearly unstoppable, each strike more powerful than the last.
"You think you can defeat me?" Hades roared. "You are mere children playing at war!"
Apollo spoke first, his voice a steady beacon of reason. "Hades, surrender. There need not be bloodshed."
Hades' laughter echoed through the hall, dark and menacing. "Blood has already been spilled. And more will flow before this day ends."
With a swift motion, Apollo knocked an arrow of pure sunlight and let it fly. The arrow blazed through the darkness, aimed straight at Hades' heart. But Hades raised his hand, and a wall of shadows erupted from the ground, absorbing the arrow's radiant energy.
Artemis wasted no time, moving with the grace and speed of a huntress. Her arrows, forged from moonlight, streaked towards Hades in rapid succession. Each arrow was a silver streak in the gloom, but Hades' mastery over shadows deflected them with ease.
The ground beneath their feet trembled as Hades retaliated. Dark tendrils of energy erupted from the floor, aiming to ensnare the twins. Apollo and Artemis leaped apart, their movements perfectly synchronized. Apollo summoned a shield of light, deflecting the dark tendrils, while Artemis continued her relentless barrage, seeking a weakness in Hades' defenses.
"Is this all you have?" Hades taunted, his voice a rumble of thunder. "You cannot defeat me with mere light and arrows."
With a roar, Hades unleashed a wave of dark energy, powerful enough to shatter the ground and send jagged rocks flying. Apollo raised his hand, creating a barrier of light to protect himself and his sister, but the force of the impact sent them both sprawling.
Artemis was the first to recover, her eyes blazing with determination. She notched a special arrow, one infused with the power of the hunt, and took aim at Hades. This arrow was no ordinary projectileâ€"it was designed to pierce the defenses of even the most formidable foes.
The arrow flew straight and true, but Hades was ready. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a vortex of shadows that swallowed the arrow whole. "You are persistent, I'll give you that," he said, a sinister smile playing on his lips. "But persistence is not enough."
Apollo stood, his eyes narrowing. "Together, Artemis!" he called. The twins nodded to each other, their bond unspoken but unbreakable.
Drawing upon their combined powers, Apollo and Artemis launched a coordinated attack. Apollo's arrows of light blazed like miniature suns, each one a concentrated beam of searing energy. Artemis, her form a blur of motion, fired arrows of silver light with deadly precision.
Hades, sensing the true threat, called upon the full extent of his powers. The chamber darkened as shadows converged around him, forming a barrier of impenetrable darkness. The clash of light and dark was blinding, the forces meeting with such intensity that the ground shook and the air crackled with raw energy.
In the midst of this maelstrom, Hades' fury grew. He channeled his rage and grief into a single, devastating attack. The shadows around him coalesced into a massive, swirling vortex of dark energy. With a roar, he unleashed it upon the twins.
Apollo and Artemis, caught in the full brunt of the assault, fought valiantly but were overwhelmed. Apollo's shield of light shattered, and he was thrown against the wall, his form crumpling to the ground. Artemis, relentless and fierce, continued to fight, but the sheer power of Hades' attack was too much. She too was struck down, her body falling beside her brother's.
Hades stood over their fallen forms, his breath heavy and his heart a storm of conflicting emotions. The chamber was silent, the only sound the echo of his ragged breathing.
"You fought well," he muttered, a trace of respect in his voice. "But it was never enough."In a final, desperate move, Apollo and Artemis launched a coordinated attack, hoping to overwhelm Hades. But his fury had reached its peak. With a roar that echoed through the Underworld, Hades summoned a torrent of dark energy, obliterating their defenses.
Apollo fell first, his radiant form dimming as he crumpled to the ground. Artemis, her resolve unbroken, fought to the end, but Hades' power was too great. She joined her brother in death, their lifeless forms a testament to the god of the Underworld's unrelenting rage.
Hades stood over the bodies of Apollo and Artemis, his breath heavy and his heart a storm of conflicting emotions.