(POV Change - Olympus)

On the 600th floor of the Empire State Building is a beautiful floating city far above the mortal world. Running through the middle of it is a long street, surrounded by the glories of Olympus, home of the gods. As the dwelling of the divine, there is a multitude of golden palaces, parks, and packed streets bustling with minor gods, nymphs, and demigods. As if to signify the importance of its inhabitants, the city is layered in a color scheme centering around gold.

In the middle of this vibrant city is an extremely large temple, deserving of its title as the pinnacle of the heavens. Inside this temple are twelve magnificent thrones, each intrinsically detailed. Yes, this is the Temple of Olympus, the meeting place of the twelve Olympians. Twelve grand thrones arranged in a circular fashion fill up the otherwise empty temple. Of the thrones, eleven are occupied. One near the center, covered in bones and pomegranates is noticeably empty.

There is a heavy tension in the air as a graying old man breathes heavily. The others silently and nervously sneak glances at the man as lightning sparkles around him. His eyes flash dangerously and he roars.

"WHERE IS THAT BLASTED HADES. HE DARES KEEP ME WAITING."

A blonde-haired man wearing a feathered cap tries to calm him down.

"Father, I believe Lord Hades is dealing with troublesome matters. I sent George and Martha to deliver a parcel to Hades the other day, and they reported that the Underworld has temporarily closed its doors for the first time since the establishment of the Parthenon."

At his words, the Olympians stir and whisper amongst themselves. One goddess, a young woman with raven-black hair and a silver bow at her side, narrows her eyes. She glances over at another blonde-haired tan god and clicks her tongue. The old man begins to shake violently and slams his fist on the throne, triggering a small thunderstorm. Currently seated on the largest throne in the Parthenon is Zeus, the king of the Gods and the God of Thunder.

To his right, a man with black hair, a neatly trimmed beard, deep tan, and sea-green eyes ponders silently. Holding his trident in one hand, he adjusts his Tommy Bahama shirt uncomfortably. Poseidon, God of the Sea.

"Brother, I'm sure Hades isn't trying to pull any tricks on you. The Underworld has never closed its doors before and he would never go this far for one of his schemes. We'll just have to wait..."

An uncomfortable silence lingers in the air as the Olympians awkwardly try to begin their meeting. They've remembered the main reason for their gathering in the first place. The Summer Solstice. One of two gatherings scheduled by the gods at the time of the year when their magic powers are at their strongest.

Zeus clears his throat and begins to speak when a loud knock interrupts him. Glaring, he roars at the intruder who nervously bows down. They introduce themselves, Dolus, a minor god under the service of Hermes.

"Forgive my intrusion but I have urgent news from the Underworld!"

Dolus looks towards Hermes with a pale face. Noticing the frantic and nervous behavior of the god, the Olympians pay closer attention as they are also curious about the reason for Hades's absence. Hermes nods and bows to Zeus. Zeus grudgingly waves his hand as he is also interested.

"During a routine delivery to one of the minor gods residing in the Underworld, one of our couriers discovered a significant power surge inside Lord Hades's castle. He stuck around long enough to witness a vast multitude of demons amassing and then dispersing just as suddenly. He left unnoticed and reported this to us immediately after."

Shocked, Hermes urges Dolus to continue. Zeus raises his eyebrows and asks him if there is any evidence backing up that report. Bowing once more, Dolus explains.

"I went myself to personally verify his words and couldn't find or sense Lord Hades anywhere. Uhm. This is hard to say...But after spying on several demons, I overheard that there was a rebellion and Lord Hades was overthrown and slain."

His words barely come out in more than a whisper but it did not matter. At the mention of the death of an Olympian, regardless of its credibility, the room explodes into chaos. As their voices grow louder and louder as they try to excitedly explain the circumstances or laugh it off as a joke, even the more mild-mannered gods amongst them can't help but drop their jaws in shock. After overcoming the initial shock, Zeus growls.

"I can't believe someone would dare to blatantly kill an Olympian. Do you know who did this?"

With a deathly aura, he stares at Dolus with such intensity he begins to literally catch on fire.

"The demons called him Lord Nakamara. Apparently, he has Kampe as one of his allies."

At the mention of the she-beast, Zeus shakes in surprise. Unconsciously he materializes a two-foot-long cylinder of metal capped with electric bolts. The cylinder shivers and crackles as a small, but powerful bolt flashes from the roof to the floor.

"Kampe...Now there's a name I haven't heard in a millennium...That would certainly explain why that foolish brother of mine was deposed of so easily..."

Ignoring the cacophony of gods trying to speak over each other, Zeus begins to radiate his divine energy. Despite being on bad terms with his brothers, Zeus feels a deep hatred for whoever has killed Hades. Sensing his state, a tall and graceful goddess with a beautiful tiara shining on her head approaches him in an attempt to placate him. Meanwhile, a huge, muscular man sneers and laughs.

"HA. If I find that bat's killer I say we dip him in the Styx. That means I can smash him to pulp as often as I want, and he'll just keep coming back for more!"

Brandishing a large sword, he flexes in a red muscle shirt and smacks his bulletproof vest. His knife-scarred cheeks only serve to increase the cruelty in his face as he lifts the dark sunglasses covering his fiery-red eyes.

"It would be more useful if you just shut it musclebrain. If there truly was a being that could slay an Olympian, much less one of the Big Three, you certainly wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

A brown-haired woman wearing elegant gray robes, Greek battle armor, and a helmet scoffs. At her side is a rectangular shield in the form of a woman's head with a mass of snakes instead of hair. Her gray eyes peer into the distance as if trying to gaze into whatever's causing the commotion in the Underworld.

Various other Olympians continue discussing and arguing about the status of Hades. Watching all this with obvious contempt is a short-statured god with curly hair and a Hawaiian shirt. Sighing, he materializes a Diet Coke and begins to sip it, grimacing and frowning.

"Haaah. These retards aren't going to be talking about anything. My guess is that gloomy bastard insulted Gaea or something and brought it on himself. Since nothing else is happening I bet if we left the perp alone, he wouldn't bother us. I'd much rather be smashing that horsebrain Chiron in Pinochle than shitting ourselves over this..." Though no one pays him any attention, Dionysus sulks and reclines lazily in his throne.

Looking at the actions of his fellow Olympians, Zeus's mood worsens. Not only is his brother missing during the Solstice, he might also be dead! Grumbling in anger, he begins to twitch as the Olympians continue to loudly bicker around him. He finally has enough and stands up, roaring.

"QUIET." The other ten Olympians instantly fall silent and respectfully sit as his aura explodes. Zeus sweeps his eyes across the room and sits back down violently. He glares at his fellow gods before rubbing his head. Such a head-splitting headache was only last felt when Athena was born! Just what on Styx is going on?

––––––––––––––––––

A.N. short chapter. back to mc pov for the next. thanks for reading!