The Gods knelt bound in chains from head to toe, at the bottom of Tartarus, they could not move even if they wanted to, they were tore up so bad they should have been dead if the Giants and Titans had not wanted to see them suffer, they would be dead. Some cried and others were numb as demi-god after demi-god was brought forth and killed, then thrown into the massive hole that Gaia had created, if you looked into this crater as it appeared to be, you would see only black. The demi-gods along with countless other people and living things were slaughtered and thrown down into the bottomless crater as part of Gaia's sick ritual to raise a weapon of pure destruction she could unleash upon the Earth, to enjoy as it massacred all living things. With the death of the hunters of Artemis they were all but ready to begin. Gaia created a physical form to better spectate and manage her ritual, and with a wave of her hand she created intricate, interconnecting lines with strange symbols that crisscrossed the top of the bottomless abyss she had created that met in the middle. Then Gaia asked "Where is the catalyst for the center?" Hyperion answered with a question "Do you mean that thing Hephaestus created, I thought it was an ingredient so I threw it in." Gaia calmly walked to him, gripped him and threw him into the abyss much to the surprise of everyone, then she shouted at him as he fell, "You can come back up when you have what I need!"
Gaia just stood there waiting four days for her child to come back out. She allowed her other children to leave after 2 days but told them to remain ready. Finally on the fourth day Hyperion appeared from the bottomless abyss holding the creation Hephaestus, which appeared to be a young man no more than 22, it looked to be about six foot five, wearing a red long sleeve buttonless coat that stretched almost to his army looking boots, it had a white t-shirt and black denim jeans, its hair was waist length and as red as blood. Gaia promptly told Hyperion to place the catalyst at the center then fetch his brothers and bring them back to Tartarus as one by one they arrived within half an hour Hyperion had gathered them all. Gaia then turned and said to the gods "Prepare to be powerless as I unleash an unthinking force of destruction upon humankind, fueled by the blood of countless living things, obedient only to me!"
As she said this she walked over to the bound gods and grabbed Hephaestus and dragged him toward the circle when they reached it Gaia broke the bonds that held his hands and forced him to place his hands upon the edge of the ring that formed the enormous circle. Then she said "Project your will upon the circle." Realizing what this circle was he used what power he could muster and added a few things of his own. In a moment of either utter stupidity or insane courage Hephaestus said "If I am to die today, so shall you, Tartarus, and every monster down here!" Then did as he was told, thus began a process that would forever change the world. The circle then began to glow brightly but within a moment it became dark and small back tentacle hands reached out toward Hephaestus, screaming all the while he disappeared, leaving only his bonds behind, while a massive eye appeared in the center of the circle, everyone present was in disbelief, but Gaia looked worried for what Hephaestus had said. Then the same thing began to happen to Gaia, and the Earth began to shake, Gaia screaming all the way.
As the reaction kicked off it was if a small sun was shining in all directions, the energy beamed up from the circle all that was above the circle was taken into it. This beacon so to speak consumed all that passed within it, its power was so great that even the mist was taken in, and soon the world was made bare for all to see, extending beyond the atmosphere, by the time the light show began to died down the Earth no longer shook, you could see the sky, they could see it was raining. Tartarus was exposed to the sky, as were many of its other levels, as was the Underworld. Most souls simply flooded toward the beacon, leaving it all but barren. In Elysium many simply felt they must go and thus many left and ran for the beacon, as they were free to leave. Asphodel Meadows was completely wiped clean not a soul was left as the barrier that held them in seemed to decintergrate every soul flooded to the beacon. As the flames of the Fields of Punishment went out, the tortures stopped, and all the tortoured souls were made whole but the flames did not return, all in punishment ran for the light, it had freed them they thought no they felt they had to go. Even the souls in line for judgement were not immune, but one soul out of countless others felt like his destiny was waiting for him in that light that his very purpose in life was to reach that light, for what reason he knew not, all that was certain was he heard something beaconing to him and thus he flew. The countless souls that wondered the earth were pulled toward this light feeling that absolute peace was there, to know rest, to know the end of their struggles. It was like this beacon was a door to paradise, and one need only enter to know lasting peace.
(With Hephaestus)
Hephaestus was suddenly in a seemingly endless white room, in-front of him was the figure of a man but he was all white with a black outline. He only said one thing to Hephaestus before the door behind him opened and dragged him in, "You have a lot to sacrifice don't you." Hephaestus' head was then filled with knowledge as his body was broken down. By the time it was over and he was returned to Tartarus he was simply no longer the same, he saw he had been cut and when he looked what he saw shocked him to his core. He was bleeding human blood, he had been made mortal.
(Back in Tartarus)
Hephaestus could not help but smile at his handy work, it had cost him greatly, but it had cost Gaia and Tartarus more, he could not help but admire his work as he looked around with a smile. The fleshy walls of Tartarus began to be pulled toward the circle. Hephaestus and the other gods lowered their heads from looking toward the sky in time to see what was likely the last thing they would see. Hephaestus' creation sat up and stood in the air around it, clouds and pieces of rock began to orbit; it looked around taking in all that was around it. The walls of Tartarus were now but rock, they could all feel a powerful presence coming from the product of Gaia's work. It stood and looked toward Hephaestus, and began to walk toward him, with every step the ground shook a little. When he was less than 1 foot from Hephaestus, he turned, raised his clentched fists above his head, and brought them down upon the circle; the earth shook with the force of his blow, the circle crumbled, reduced to rubble quickly falling into nothing, "Now none shall ever commit this atrocity again so long as I may help it!" Then turning back to a shaken Hephaestus he reached down and picked up Hephaestus like he was nothing. Then to Hephaestus' surprise and that of everyone else he spoke. "You look terrible, you could use a good healing." Hephaestus and the others were dumbfounded, "How do you plan on doing that?" Hephaestus asked in his dumbfounded state."Watch" was all he said, then in a flash of red light Hephaestus was healed and felt like his old self again, but better, he then realized had he been healed of the injuries that he had lived with all his life. "I think I will go by the name Krios, new body, new name." He said after a minute of pondering. Krosis then began walking toward Zeus and Hera, still bound in chains. "You two disgust me; you are the incest King and Queen!" Even in chains the shocked king and queen of the Olympians quickly began to hurl insults and claims of their great power at Krios, Big Mistake. While the others remained silent,Krios then picked them both up by their throats and stated "You who have medaled with the threads of destiny for far too long I strip your power and lay claim to all that is yours, for I am Krios he who can consume anything, Giver and Taker of Titles!" Zeus and Hera began to scream as their power was swiftly drained from them. Light began to pour from their every pore, and when the deed was done Krios dropped them, Zeus lay there sobbing, and Hera lay there feeling numb. He then turned to Hestia and said "You who gave up her rightful place to keep the peace, I offer you Hera's place and her power, will you take your place once more?" "This offer is so generous, I will graciously accept this I never liked her anyway." Krios walked over to Hestia and placed his hands upon her shoulders, "Hestia I give you the power and title befitting a true Olympian god, you now posses the power of Hera, may you use it more wisely than she did." As the power flowed from Krios to Hestia light pore from her every pore and she felt like she had in days of old once more. Krios then turned to Hephaestus, and then to the rest of the Olympians, "As king when I leave this place I want you to return Hephaestus to his former glory, AM I CLEAR!?" "Yes sir." They all said fearing for their lives, he then snapped his fingers then the shackles and chains that bound the Olympians fell to pieces. Hades backed away in horror at the sight he beheld and the feeling he had, for since he could see souls even those of his fellow gods, when he beheld Krosis he saw what he would have considered impossible if it was not before his eyes, he looked in horror at all the souls within him, to him Krosis was a burning infero that made everyone else there look like candles. Then Krios did something that some would have called stupid, he gave Tartarus a second chance. Krios thought not to himself but to Tartarus, although it was difficult to find even his booming voice among the endless sea of voices, "Would you like to be out of me?" "Is this a trick of some kind?" "No I simply feel you could be more useful to me out in the world than in me." "What is the catch?" "If this come back to bite me in the ass, you go back, and i am your boss, AM I CLEAR!" he mentally screamed in a voice so loud and threatening all was silent within him for 10 seconds. "I accept." With that he pressed his palm to the ground and as he raised it he made a vessel for Tartarus. When he was done a man about 6'4 and buff as hell stood before them buck nude. Tartarus looked down at Krios then around to see a few blushing, others crossing their arms and some simply turning away. Tartarus then snapped his fingers and was dressed like a warlord prepared for battle in black and red armor. "You could have given me clothes." He said with annoyance, "I knew you could make your own, it would have been a waste of energy." "What will become of Gaia?" "I have not though of anything yet, and until I do she will be held within me." Tartarus walked a little ways away, grew a beard, and began stroking it while he thought. Seeing this Krios decided to leave him be, and turned to ask a simple question, "Is Atlas the only person still in a prison?" he asked, his voice demanding respect and an answer. Artimes gave it to him, "Yes, all the others are either dead or in hiding." "Yes I made a tally of all of the ones who I knew of, I was informed of them and there are not that many left out wandering the world." "If I may ask where did you get this information?" "During my creation undoubtedly you saw the flesh of Tartarus scorching by you as I was being made, every monster that had yet to fully reform was taken into me, and I hear them, I hear every voice of every soul used to make me, even Gaia, she is pretty pissed, i have even robbed her of her memory." "That sounds like it would drive anyone mad." "It's difficult I admit, I must talk to them one by one, ten by ten, hundred by hundred, till I have spoken to each and every one of them, till I learn every name, every story, everything they have, and then I will use my power to bring them back one day." "That is a lofty ambition, you know that right mortal." "I am your king, and I am not mortal, this body was made not born, and I have the time." "No man has ever gotten as far as you have and been fueled by a desire of power." "I seek not power or glory, merely friends and people to share my life with, I intend to use my life to help others, and I know who too help now!" as their conversation ended he clapped his hand and the air began to move like the wind of a huricane. "Come forth my steed!" and the wind seemed to solidify into the form of a horse, until it was a beautiful, towering, gold and black Pegasus, saddle and all. Krios mounted the creature and then he spoke to his fine steed, "Your name shall be Arthur, now to the prison of Atlas." That was all this Pegasus needed to hear, within a second he was off the ground, and in less than a minute it flew from the hole created by his birth, in ten more minutes they were at the base of the mountain that was Atlas' prison. It was high noon but his steed flew right threw the barrier and landed less than twenty feet from a serpent with many heads, it looked to be guarding a tree. As it readied itself to attack him he merely stated, "If you attack me I will level this mountain." As he said this what appeared to be a small star in appeared in his hand, the monster backed in fear and he absorbed the sun, he then dismounted his steed and lead him to the tree, plucking an apple and gave it to his winded horse, who greedily devoured it. He left his horse to graze and before he departed stared at the serpent and said, "If he's dead when I get back you and this tree will be gone, GOT IT!?" the creature nodded all its heads, it was rather comical seeing all those heads bumping into one another trying to nod, and he walked up the mountain. He was stopped by a few women who said, "Who are you?" "What are you doing here?" he response being, "I am Krios, king of Earth, the Olympians, the giants, and the titans. I demand you move aside, my business is not with you." "Then who is it with?" "Atlas I have come to free him, and in case you were thinking about sicking you pet on me, I already made him scared of me." They all looked aw struck some went to check if his claim was true, while the others merely stepped aside for the king. As he came to the top of the mountain he could hear the shouts of Atlas, to which he replied as he pointed toward the sky, "I lay claim to all that was Ouranos' in days long gone!" As he said this he willed the sky to lift from Atlas and so it did. Atlas collapsed, as if all his time under the sky had finally killed him, but yet he drew breath, Krosis then called his steed, "Arthur." And fast as lightning his horse was there still with half a golden apple in its mouth, savering every bite. Krios loaded Atlas onto Arthur's back and they walked back down the mountain, as they reached the women who had gathered after seeing them coming back down. As he came to a stop they were stupefied at the sight of Atlas on the back of his horse. Krios dismounted and asked them, "Who among you has the biggest bed?" A blond woman stepped forth and stated I do, and with that they walked to her home and put Atlas in her bed, then waited for him to wake up.
Atlas awoke feeling sore and then realized he was no longer under the sky. He looked around for a moment until his eyes came to rest upon a boy sleeping in a chair, very rudely he shouted, "Wake Up!" Krios being rudely awakened was surprisingly calm. "Oh good your awake, how are you feeling?" "What fresh hell is this; those gods truly exceed even Kronos in cruelty." "I take offence to that, being as I am king of Olympus, Earth, the Sky, and of you." Atlas hearing those last few words tore the sheets off himself and stood long before he was able, his body paid for that. "Ahhhhhh!" he wailed as his body couldn't cooperate without serious pain, as such he began to black out, but before he hit the ground Krios caught him and in a moment healed Atlas, in but a moment he was back up and shocked to say the least. "How did you do that?" "Your mother attempted to great a unthinking force of destruction to wipe all the pieces from the board to speak, she used Hephaestus to activate the process with what little power he could muster, he altered her means of creating me with some of his own personal touches, then he was hurled through a special door called the portal of truth, and when he returned he was mortal. What he had done though caused both Gaia and Tartarus, to be consumed by the reaction as well, along with the countless people they originally wanted to use for it, and now I have claimed a few titles, kicked Zeus off his high horse, and in case you forgot became King!" "Who took my place under the sky?" "No one, I claimed your fathers authority and raised the sky, no one will have to carry that burden anymore." "Why did you save me?" "I feel that you have endured enough, you have lost too much time, and your few children could use a real father, and for that they need you." "Do you have anything to eat?" Krios stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled, in a moment his horses head popped through the window with a bag in its mouth, "I see you got the girls to pick apples for you." He said as he took the bag, then to his mild shock Arthur spoke, "You better give me one of those apples or I won't be very happy!" "Well you can speak, here you go." He said somewhat shocked, as he pulled two apples from the bag and tossed one to Arthur. He opened his mouth to catch it and the apple was gone and then rubbed his head. "Here you go." He said as he handed the other apple to Atlas, "What happened to the rest of the gods, Gaia came to me and told me of here plans, what became of them?" "I made Hephaestus as new , tasked the others to give him his godhood back, I stripped Zeus and Hera of their, power, godhood, titles, and domains, gave Hera's stuff to Hestia, made Arthur over there, and then I came here." He said as he pointed toward Arthur still looking in the window. "B... but why here, why me, are you my enemy?" "I have been informed of many things in the short time since my birth I guess you could call it, I was informed by a few demigods within me, of whom you were and how long your punishment has been, I feel you have suffered enough." "Thank you." Krios instead of replying stood and motioned for Atlas to follow. They walked out of the home and then Krios spoke, "I have been informed that you have children." "I only have one." "I think her torture is about up as well, but a girl needs a father, if you can be a proper father to her I will let you roam where you will." Atlas was at a loss for words, "Will you agree to these terms?" "And if I don't?" A small crowd of women was now gathering, "Then you shall take her place, while I will give her a home, friends, and family." "Is there anything else?" "You must swear off vengeance on the Gods or their children, from now until the end of time." After a long moment of thought Atlas was ready to answer but was cut off, "Of course I will always be watching." He stated as a matter of fact. After this he thought even longer for about half a minute this time, "I will accept the terms of your agreement, I feel after so much time lost, why spend any more time on hate." "A wise decision!" he exclaimed as a small pillar of rock jutted from the mountain this pillar became a mirror image of Krios. There was a collective gasp at this development. Then it spoke, "I can make multiple incarnations of myself, since I do not believe it to be a very good idea to try and leave this world, I will send a copy in my stead." With this the "clone" so to speak vanished, and was gone, "Your daughter will be arriving in short time, while we wait would any of you lovely ladies like to ride Arthur?"