It was an odd thing that no one ever talked about, really.
What kind of god bleeds like a mortal? They are higher than those puny little things, obviously.
So, the lack of information was probably why Achilles panicked that first time. No god should bleed, let alone bleed red. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Zagreus was a bit off, he always flinched too much when anyone tried to touch him—whether it be a pat on the back or a simple high five—and he never made direct eye contact with anyone, though that was only something Achilles had picked up on because of their time together.
He'd assumed it was just because he was shy, but the more he got to know Zag, he wasn't too sure that was the case.
It all started when Hades had ordered him to train his son. He insisted that he needed to be properly trained or taught how to defend himself, and who was Achilles to decline?
Zagreus was a bright young kid, he learned quickly and was respectful, though he'd heard horror stories from Hades, so Achilles really expected a smaller version of Tartarus when he first started teaching Zagreus.
It wasn't until months later that everything went wrong.
Zagreus was an avid fighter, and sometimes Achilles felt like he was fighting an actual warrior, not some small kid with daddy issues, so it wasn't really his fault for getting distracted and actually fighting him.
Zagreus had stumbled slightly, and Achilles wasn't thinking when he drove the spear point through his chest, impaling him and sticking the end of the spear into the ground, slowly forming a pool of blood.
Why was it red?
Everything hurt, then there was nothing at all.
Achilles had always been good at making him feel weightless and invincible, like he could take on the whole world.
Then why did Zagreus' chest feel so heavy? Why was his head swimming with the soft whispers of vitriol and poison?
Why was he covered in red?
Why was Achilles yelling?
Why was
every
Thing
So
Slow
?
>>>>>>
When Zagreus blinked again, his bones felt stiff and hard as led, and he felt sticky and gross.
Hypnos, who was always hovering around the pool of Styx, saw him first, reaching a hand out to him and helping him back onto land.
Then Hades saw him, and Achilles came running out, covered in blood, calling for Hades before he stopped when he saw Zagreus again, covered in the Styx water.
He didn't know why everyone was so freaked out, and he was scared, and he didn't understand what he did.
What did he do wrong?
Why was everyone panicking?
Why was he always the odd one out?
YOU ARE READING
The First Time Zagreus Died
FanfictionI Don't really know what this was, I saw a prompt wondering how Zagreus' first death was, and, well, I started writing. It's short, I know, I wrote it in an hour, and I REALLY wish I could have added some Thanzag for our souls, but that would mean m...
