Shattered

Poseidon

With one last burst from his trident, the former god of the seas and king of the ruined city of Atlantis, propelled his broken body into the last remaining sanctuary his domain had to offer; an undersea cave so deep and remote that no mortal, beast, or god could ever find it without knowing about it before hand.

Or so he hoped...

The creature was still out there, he could feel its massive form on the currents and feel the hatred and fear that composed its titanic form like a sudden change in the water's temperature. With luck though, it would grow bored and move on to other prey, giving him the few minutes of rest every iota of his being screamed for.

"Damnit," Poseidon moaned, collapsing onto a throne of bioluminescent coral, the only source of light besides the bronze glow of his symbol of power. "Damnit all, Zeus!" he screamed, slamming the butt of his trident against the cave floor, causing the surrounding seafloor to quake. He knew that he should reign in his anger if he wished for the creature, the destroyer of the seas and all he held dear, to leave, but everything that had happened was all his brother's fault!

The cave walls shook and the small creatures cowered in fear as the beast let out a spine-chilling cry that had signaled the end of Atlantis, his wife, and all the other gods, nymphs, and creatures of the deep that called the ocean home. If only he had acted when the creature had first been spotted, devouring a ship in Boston harbor whole, they might have stood a chance. Even though it had already devoured the World Serpent, he could have rallied the forces of Atlantis and the sister cities of the other pantheons to strike down the beast.

But with access to-and-from Olympus cut off, he had to step up his involvement to ensure that the cycle of Olympus continued. Without Ares and Athena to stir up resentment among the mortals, he had to work with the demigods they had installed as leaders of the mortal nations to initiate the chain of events that would start the next war. Without the dimwitted Apollo to inspire rebellion in youth via media and the arts, he had to... well, with the political and economic state of the world as it is, he didn't have to do much. To tell Arges to continue with their plan to eradicate the Nation once and for all and begin preparations for the next move. Thankfully, Artemis had still been around to purge the demigods to prevent them from starting a fuss, she even had unknowing assistance this time in the form of some strange mortals.

Then there was his eldest brother, the ray of sunshine that was Hades. Somehow that idiot along with Demeter and Persephone had avoided being locked away in their respective realms, forcing him to play the fool and 'help' them uncover the culprits behind the sudden deviation from the carefully choreographed cycle. Oh, how he had been tempted to confide in the trio the truth of the cycle to gain their assistance, but sadly those three had been flagged as potential troublemakers since Zeus made his deal with the Fates so many epochs ago. Gods like them actually cared about the mortals, as if they were to be respected almost as equals and not as the source of power they were. To make matters worse, Hades would have been offended by how Olympus had been secretly using his domain and subjects to keep the Tapestry of Fate ever growing.

The sea god groaned in pain as he shifted in his hidden throne, placing one hand on his side and ignoring the golden ichor that danced forth from his wound. "Hades," he snarled through clenched teeth, making all the sea creatures around him flee the area.

Perhaps if he and Zeus hadn't rigged the drawing of lots against their eldest brother they wouldn't have needed to keep their actions hidden away from most of Olympus, but they had been young and the idea of being stuck in the Underworld was nauseating at best. How were they supposed to know that one day they would be on the verge of fading away? No, they had lived in the moment and it almost cost them everything.