Disclaimer: Not mine

Thanks for the reviews on ffnet, does no one at archive have anything to say? Still need ideas for Harry's permanent pairing.

Chapter 2

It was warm…comforting…. light…. almost like…. Harry blinked, forcing himself to focus as he found himself in a land of warm, light mist…but this time King's Cross Station was missing. After what felt like an eternity the mist began to clear to reveal tall marble columns that reminded him of a temple he had seen near Athens early in the war. But why would he be seeing a Greek Temple? He'd…. he'd walked into a portal to some sort of hell and this was nothing like he had excepted.

Gentle, feminie laughter sounded and Harry turned to find a woman approaching through the remaining mist. She was beautiful with long black hair and green eyes, pale skin but also tall, he'd guess near to 6 feet. She was dressed all in white in what he was pretty sure was called a Peplos, if he was remembering his history right. Although as she moved he noticed silver stitching along the edges that reminded him of runes. "Welcome Harry Potter."

"Who are you? Where are we?"

"We are in-between. I am Hecate, Goddess of Magic, Crossroads and Necromancy. Daughter of Titans." With a wave of her hand two elegant chairs with a curved backrest and legs appeared. She sat on one and waited until Harry had cautiously seated himself as well.

"I didn't know the gods really exist, everyone said they were just really powerful magic users."

"In your world, they were." She answered with a small smile and Harry blinked.

"My world?"

"Indeed. The moment you stepped into the portal you left your world. Had I not managed to intercept you mid-way you would be where you had expected to end up."

"Not that I'm not grateful to not be in hell or something but why? There is no way you did this without wanting something in return. I'm betting this took a good amount of power."

"It did, although being a Goddess of crossroads and entrance ways made it easier than it could have been. Plus, I had the permission of those in charge of your world and that also helped. And you are correct, I am in need of your assistance. However, if you decline my request there will be no consequences, you will simple pass on as if you had died normally. Although I believe you know your death would not be easy." She glanced down at where the ring sat on his finger.

"What do you need me for?"

"You are not well versed on Greek mythology, are you?"

"Not particularly."

"Then I shall explain. The primal Source is the essence of the universe. It is not another god or immortal. It is unknown what created the Source. The balance or flow of the Source is very delicate and, should it be disrupted, it could destroy the universe. That is why a god's powers flow back into the Source after death. All gods' powers come from the Source but only Source gods can manipulate it. Source gods are capable of tapping into and manipulating the power of the primal Source. The first six gods born from the primal Source are called primary gods. Three were of the Light, called the Kalosum, and three were of the Dark, called Mavromino. Noir and Azura live in Azmodea, but the whereabouts of the other four are a closely held secret. Some believe that the missing primary gods hide in plain sight as other gods. Are you following?"

"Yes ma'am." She was far more interesting than Binns had ever been.

"In the beginning, the world was made of beauty and of magick. Before there were humans, there were gods and those who served them. At war with each other, they fought until a new breed was born out of their senseless violence. Chthonians, these new creatures came from the earth that flowed red with the blood of the gods. The Chthonians rose up and divided the world between the gods—they split the world between themselves. To maintain the peace, the soldiers of the gods were ordered to be put down. None were to survive. Chthonian law took precedent and together, they were able to bring peace to the world once more and to protect the new life form of mankind. But the Chthonians were not without corruption. Nor were they infallible. It wasn't long before they bickered too. Chthonians are considered mortal gods who are bestowed with the power to kill gods and sending their power back to the primal Source without disrupting the balance of the universe. Chthonians respond and draw their power from the primary Source. Their powers rival or even surpass gods. While an average Chthonians powers are unknown, their unrestricted powers can easily incapacitate even a small group of gods."

"Okay so really scary guys." Harry swallowed, this made Tom sound like a harmless puppy.

"Then there are the Sephirii. Guardians and consorts of the first order of gods, the Sephirii were soldiers who enforced the original laws of the universe. During the Primus Bellum, the Mavromino turned against the Source and tried to end all creation, so the Sephirii were unleashed to kill him. In turn, the Mavromino created the Malachai to bring down the Sephirii. Most of the Sephirii flew into traps, but enough survived to declare war on the Malachai and would have destroyed them if not for the betrayal of their leader Jared. When the Primus Bellum finally ended in a truce, all the Sephirii and Malachai were supposed to be executed, but Jared's life was spared so he could suffer an eternity of slavery and torture as punishment for his crime. Because the universe requires balance, the survival of Jared allowed a Malachai to escape as well. Due to their nature as guardians of the gods, they cannot harm any Source-borns, such as gods, unless they have declared intention to upset the order of the Source, such as Malachai."

Harry winced at that, he understood betrayal very well. And he was getting really worried what this favour may be.

"Now we come to events of what you would call 9548 B.C."

"That's almost 12 000 years ago! I didn't think much was happening back then."

"Not in your world, and many humans in this world believe as you do. This was the time of Atlantis and the Atlantean gods. Although we were also there. In fact, there has been some relationships across Pantheons. In fact, Archon, the King of the Atlantean Pantheon, and Themis, the Greek Goddess of Justice, are the parents of the Moirae or as you may have heard them called, the Fates."

"Okay…"

"They were the favoured children of Archon until his wife Apollymi became pregnant with a son, Apostolos. Out of fear of being replaced, they cursed their half-brother. They came to their father, holding hands, and, afraid that their new half-brother Apostolos would deprive them of their father's affections, spoke that Apostolos would be the death of the Atlantean pantheon. No sooner had the prophecy been uttered than almost every other Atlantean god demanded the death of the unborn baby."

"And I thought I had issues with fate." Harry whispered and she smiled sadly.

"Unwilling to sacrifice her baby, Apollymi fled to her birth home of Kalosis, the Atlantean hell realm, where she knew the others wouldn't follow, with her niece Basi and her Charonte demons. Apollymi cut Apostolos out of her stomach, extracted his godhood, and had Basi place him in the womb of a pregnant queen, merging Apostolos' life force with that of the human queen's child, ensuring Apostolos' safety."

Harry felt horrible for Apollymi. She reminded him of his own mother, who had refused to stand aside and was killed protecting him.

"The queen chosen was Queen Aara of Didymos. She gave birth to Apostolos and another son as twins. However, when his human mother saw his eyes, which were of a swirling mercurial colour, an oracle came forward, declaring that Apostolos would be the death of them all: "None will be safe from his wrath." She then informed them of the twins' connected life forces. King Xerxes accused Aara of being unfaithful. When both his mother and father refused to acknowledge him, the oracle named him "Acheron" for the river of the underworld representing sorrow. 'Then he shall be named Acheron, for the river of woe. Like the river of the Underworld, his journey will be long, dark, and enduring. He will be able to give life and to take it. He will travel through life alone and abandoned, ever seeking kindness and ever finding cruelty. May the gods have mercy on you, little one. No one else ever will.'" She quoted the long-ago oracle."

"How could anyone treat a baby like that?"

"Legitimacy was very important to ancient rulers." She reminded him. "I will not speak of his childhood as that is not vital to this and he deserves to keep his privacy."

"Of course, I know what that's like."

"When he was grown Acheron met Artemis in her Temple. Eventually his sister, Ryssa came to Apollo's attention and became his mistress. Many years before this Apollo had created his own race of beings, wanting to prove to Zeus that humans could be improved. So, he created children with a nymph and they possessed improved senses, acute hearing, strength, beauty, psychic ability, and superior intellect. Zeus confined them to Atlantis to keep humanity safe. The Apollite Queen was jealous of Ryssa and her son and sent Apollites to kill them. That same night Artemis drugged Acheron and so he could do nothing but listen as his sister and nephew were slaughtered. the very next day Artemis watched as Apollo gutted Acheron because of his anger for his mistress and son's brutal murder." She whispered and Harry hissed in anger. "With his death Apollymi was free and she laid waste to all before her in her agony at her son's death. The Fates told Artemis to bring Acheron back from the dead to prevent the wrath of Apollymi from destroying them all. Among them, only Artemis had the power to bring him back because she had his blood in her. She tricked him into drinking her blood, thus resurrecting him."

"Those…." Harry took a deep breath. "No offence but I'd really like to gut Apollo and Artemis." He spat and she laughed.

"You are not the only one. The attack on Ryssa was made to look like wild animals but it did not fool Apollo obviously. Apollo planned to kill all the Apollites, but he stopped their complete destruction upon his sister Artemis' urging. Since the Apollites were created of his own flesh and blood, he too would be slain. His god powers would then be unleashed on the world, which would destroy it. Rather than killing them, Apollo cursed his people threefold: Because they made it appear that an animal had killed his mistress and son, they would have to feed off each other's blood in order to live, thus were given fangs and the eyes of a predator; They could never again walk in his daylight realm; and on their twenty-seventh birthday, the age his Ryssa died, they would all disintegrate slowly and painfully over a twenty-four-hour period until they were dust."

"He's a monster! How could he do that to his own children? They're still cursed, aren't they?"

"Yes. And it had led to a very large problem. There is a way for them to survive past 27. In order to extend their life cycle and avoid an unbearably torturous death that culminates in their bodies slowly turning to dust, they choose to siphon human souls. However, a human soul starts to die as soon as it is eaten by the Daimon, causing them to replenish every few weeks. Once the human soul dies it is forever gone."

Harry swore in several languages. "So, in his anger Apollo screwed the whole world."

"Almost. At first, only Acheron hunted the Daimons as they were no threat to him. But then Artemis decided he needed help. Whenever someone is wronged and dying from an act of betrayal or brutal treachery, their soul makes a scream that echoes through the mountains of Olympus. When Artemis hears that sound, she goes to the one who made it and makes a pact. For a single Act of Vengeance against the ones who wronged the dying party, they will swear their fealty to her service and will spend the rest of eternity hunting down and slaying the Daimon menace. Because each Dark-Hunter is so different, they have different powers, these psychic abilities and physical powers hinge on what they were in their lives. The only thing the Dark-Hunters have in common is that they all have fangs, and almost all of them have black eyes. They also have a bow-and-arrow mark on the spot where Artemis took their souls."

"How horrible. She comes when they are at their weakest and uses them."

"Indeed." She went on to explain Were-Hunters, Dream-Hunters and the rest and he listened, taking it all in.

"Where do I fit in?"

"I wish for you to join this world Harry Potter, Master of Death. It will be a time very different to your own but I will ensure you have what you need. The future the Fates have woven is very grim for many and so I wish to throw in a…wild card of sort."

"Me."

"You. Your powers will be unlike others, although it may also change to adapt to the new world. You are the Master of Death and that cannot be changed. And you will be my son, a child of Sorcery and Death. I will give you no orders although I shall offer guidance when asked. I may be a member of the Olympian Pantheon now, but I am also a Titan, daughter of Destruction and Night." She reached out to gently touch his cheek and Harry closed his eyes, it felt much like he had always imagined his Mother's touch would. "Will you help save another world Harry Potter?"

"Yes." He whispered and she smiled.

TBC….