THE FALL OF THE GODS

THIS IS MY FIRST EVER FIC SO I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!

Prologue

Zeus strode into Olympus' throne room, inside resided all of the Olympians, including Hades, and not Apollo. His son was still in punishment after the war with Gaia. He was banned from the Olympian council for 500 years, and was forbidden to set foot inside of the Palace. Sometimes he considered whether he was too harsh on him, as he knew that banishment from the council, however long, was a great shame for him. But he couldn't reflect on such matters now, not with the grievous looks on the remaining Olympian's faces.

"What is it?" He demanded. "Why have you called this meeting, Athena?"

The wisdom goddess stood from her throne. "My lord Zeus, I have grave news for you." She hesitated, as if she couldn't speak. She almost looked grief-stricken.

Poseidon broke the silence and said, "Hestia is dead."

Zeus was bewildered. "What do you mean, brother?"

"She's dead." It was Hermes who spoke. "We found her a few hours ago by the hearth. Her body was as cold as ice, and so was the hearth."

Zeus only then noticed that the fire that usually blazed in the hearth was gone, replaced with black, dead wood.

Shock was replaced in him with anger, "Why did you not inform me of this immediately?!"

"We couldn't be sure if she was dead," spoke Athena, "we tried anything and everything in our power, nectar, Apollo's healing abilities – but nothing worked. She is dead." Athena's breath had become shaken. "We had to be sure."

Zeus was speechless. A dead Olympian in his council – he wouldn't stand for it.

Hades stood, and spoke in his usual, dark tone – "That isn't all, brother. I fear of something else."

"What could that possibly be?"

"It is Tartarus. There has been… a disturbance."

"What do you mean?"

"I visited the entrance to Tartarus and instead of the pit; I found nothing, only an empty cavern. I tried to search for the other entrances to it but I found none. It's almost as if it has been shut."

The Thunder God was dumbstruck. "That's impossible. Unless…. No, it's foolish."

"What is it, brother?" Poseidon asked.

It couldn't be true, but there was no other explanation.

"In the past, when Kronos was in power, and you were still inside of him," He remembered Aphrodite "most of you – Tartarus was a separate realm, cut off from the underworld. The dark creatures that lurk there had more power than anything in the world; they could've destroyed everything, if I didn't ensure that Tartarus was under control of the Gods. We took their power, and left them in the state that they are, constantly regenerating until they get to the surface."

Zeus gazed upon his fellow Olympians around him. "The monsters have sealed Tartarus so that only the can enter and leave. I know of only one being that could've granted them the power to do that, but I expected that it would've taken much longer than it has…."

"Who, what is it?" Athena asked.

Before Zeus could answer, the throne room exploded.

TO BE CONTINUED