"He deserved more than that. More than a chapter, more than entire epics, he deserved to live, the Fields of Asphodel will never deserve someone as devoted and good as him. He lived for justice, he died for justice, but I would throw that justice at...
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╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
The elevator ride was less than epic.
Six-hundred floors in a metal box with a claustrophobic and hyperactive demigod and a song about piña coladas isn't exactly my idea of fun.
We didn't talk about my little crisis, nor about my brother or the war. We only discussed what we would say to the gods. Perhaps that made him gain my favor. Felt as if he was to be trusted. Maybe not as an ally, but... a friend?
When the elevator dinged, we headed to the throne room. Olympus was in massive renovations. Cyclops carried around glowing bricks and light posts as high as telephone towers and as broad as bridges, and giants held huge buckets of magic plaster or whatever, healing the damages that we had inflicted.
The stone steps before the thrones made my heart skip some beats, and the inside of it made my insides clutch on me. The thrones were no longer destroyed, and the crack my brother had fallen through had been repaired, but still it reeked of burnt stone and death and glew like dying embers.
Hades sat on the three-legged stool that had turned into a makeshift throne, and I assumed he tried to look regal and elegant, but he truly looked happy and excited. With a respectful smile, I lowered my head toward him. He smiled back, happy to be addressed.
At the center of the room, Percy kneeled to all the gods, and only rose when each and everyone of them allowed it. It used to be like that with the Titans, for the first time you met them. I did not bother with the courtesy, and in return I felt the divinely irritated glares stabbing into my skin. Except for Hades. He was happy.
The thrones were predisposed so that everyone would know who was the boss. Zeus' throne sat taller than anyone else, in the central position. His hands rested authoritarian on the arms of the seat, and his chin was lifted high. His clothing even looked lavish but commanding.
Although the other gods looked a bit pale in comparison, they were still about three times larger than the average person, making us raise our heads to talk to them.
"Hm... Yes. Let's start." Zeus cleared his throat. "Today, we will discuss the aftermaths of the Second Great Titanomachy. Percy Jackson, a hero who has aided the gods to defeat Kronos, has come to–"
Artemis sweetly interrupted. She didn't look the same as she did the last time I'd seen her... covered in chains, struggling under the weight of the sky. But not only that. She looked older here, wearing her silver robes elegantly, crossed leg and majestic poise. Her straight hair floated down to her waist, and she glanced at everyone carefully, as if she tiptoed.
