The Afterlife (HoO Fanfiction)

Frank

We were lead through a destructed mount Olympus. It was built on the model of an actual Ancient Greek city. Ossian, at least I thought that was the guy's name, lead us to the edge of the city, where a theatre was. It was all stone, rows and rows of stones steps made a semi-circle in front of a gigantic stage. To me, it looked more like a stone football stadium cut in half than a Greek theatre.

There was a heavy silence in the place, even if the rows of seats were packed. Ossian lead us to the stage and gestured for us to sit on wooden benches at one edge of the platform.

"Please, make yourself at home," Ossian whispered to us. "Slip your weapons under your seats, we won't be needing them."

Then, Ossian cleared his throat and started shaking his arms and jogging lightly on the spot, as if to get rid of built-up tension and as if to warm up.

"Okay, wish me luck. Actually, no. Don't. That's a bad omen."

"Gods, goddesses, spirits, deities of all kinds, demigods, mortals, et cetera. I am so glad to greet you here, on Mount Olympus, the place where all mythologies started. Okay, I see you, Gilgamesh, I know you are like 4000 years old, but I mean modern mythology. The mythology that is still influencing us to this day. I don't mean to offend anyone, you'll all be dead soon, anyway, so it won't sting for too long right?"

"He's a mad man," whispered Hazel in my ear, her hand squeezing on her sword.

"I see a few familiar faces in the crowd!" Ossian exclaimed. "Jesus, hi, how are you doing? Paryaqaqa, always looking so young! Seth, Ashiakle, Vulcain, Persephone, Vishnu, it's so good to see you! Oh and Thor, you really do look better than in those movies! I would like for you to meet the genius that organized this little reunion. Please, give a hand to Ananke!"

I could hear a fly. No one moved or even breathed. Some divinities were children, animals, or plants, and still, nothing could make them move or make a noise. Then, the air seemed to freeze. A tall, beautiful woman stepped on the stage. She was dressed in a cascading fabric and wings were flowing in her back and grazing the pavement. On one hand, she had a long staff, even taller than she was. She made appear a stone throne out of thin air, right in the middle of the stage. She sat, her heavy wings folded in her back, her staff authoritatively planted in the ground beside her.

"Friends," she said. Her voice was soft but deep, deafening but calming. One was compelled to listen to her voice as if every word was a fundamental truth. "You are gathered here because it is the end. Over the course of the last few months, my dedicated teams worked tirelessly to round you up here. Your powers were used so I could invest energy into willing mortals for them to help me. I have slain the Ophiotaurus and sacrificed its entrails in a fire. As an old prophecy predicted it, I now have the power to destroy the gods."

"Bessie, no," I heard Percy desperately whisper.

"I just need one last push, and my plan will be complete. This is where you come in." Ananke looked at us, gathered on the wooden benches. "Ossian, please, let us start."

"Thank you, my lady. Let me start by introducing my own life journey. I was born into a doomsday cult. For years, I grew up in a community preparing for the end of the world. Every two years, around the summer solstice, we waited for our death. The week coming up to the summer solstice was a week of sacrifices of all kinds, prayers, and physical suffering. After a few years of waiting for the apocalypse, I decided that this was too much for me. I left the cult. But I had been so used to have my life regulated in every aspect by the leader, that after a year, I was homeless and I had no friends. Therefore I started frequenting different religious communities, without finding what I was looking for. How could a god, any god, allow this much suffering for its followers and for others? I was restless. I hit rock bottom. This is when Lady Ananke found me. She understood my struggles and I decided to help her put an end to the era of gods."

Ossian took a minute to himself, reflecting on his past, his head bowed. Then, he glanced at Ananke and continued.

"Don't get me wrong, religion can allow many people to find a meaning to their life and, even after today, all will still adore gods and goddesses. But they won't be able to interact with the world anymore. They will become legends and leave humans alone..."

Ossian smiled and turned to us on the wooden benches.

"Frank Zhang, son of Mars, please step forward." Seeing that I was hesitating, Ossian sighed. "Look, let's get this over it. I have a lot to do. Step forward. I won't be asking again. And if Mars could stand up, please. "

So I did. Hazel's fingers tried to catch my hand, but I was already in the middle of the stage, between Ossian and Ananke. Standing in front of many full pantheons, I felt a bit intimidated. Among the sea of people, I saw Mars, my father, looking at me. I tried not to think about it too much so I focussed all my attention on Ossian.

"Frank, the gods have wronged you. All your life, you've been escaping death. You have lost people you love. Your mortal family, your mother. For all your life, you have fought against the worst evils. And what was your reward? Have you gotten any thanks from the gods?"

"Well, I..." I trailed off. The fact was that Ossian was making a point.

"Oh, I'm sorry, they did thank you. By making a cruel joke. Frank, your life is tied to a stick! A big, strong man like you, afraid of a little stick to catch on fire? I'm so sorry, but this is nothing but a disservice. Not only do you have to fight off monsters, but also you have to protect yourself from fire. You are twice as vulnerable as any other demigod. This is only a cruel joke."

"But..."

"And did you ask for any of this?"

"Well, I mean... You don't get to chose your parents."

"Answer the question, smart boy. Did you ask for the life you are living?"

"No. No, I didn't."

"And what did this bring to you?"

"Well, friends. Life experiences. A wife."

"You could have made friends without the gods. You could have experienced a job, a career, without the gods. You could have married without the gods. And you could have had better chances to grow old and enjoy all of them for longer, instead of constantly worrying about them."

I was taken aback. Ossian was right. I did want to grow old with Hazel. I hadn't worried to much about my piece of wood lately, but how that Ossian talked about it, I had learned to live with a constant fear rather than try to figure a way out of this curse. I suddenly started hating the gods. Any god, really, but especially my father, who did the bare minimum for me. So many times he ignored me, he let my friends get hurt and die, and he forced a curse on me.

"I see that you are thinking about what I said," Ossian noticed. "There is only one thing left for you to say. Do you renounce the gods?"

I looked at my father, who was still standing in the middle of the crowd. He looked at me with pleading eyes. But I didn't waver. What was I to him? One son among thousands, a disposable pawn.

"How do I know that this is not yet another trick? You are a liar," I said. The truth was that I was trying to convince myself that I was right. It was too much for me to accept that, for my whole life, I had fought for the wrong side and that I had been a tool.

Still, I raised my sword and lunged towards Ossian.