AN: Took me a long time to write up this chapter, mostly because of a certain scene in here. I won't spoil it, but it took me a while, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Read, follow, favorite, review/comment to show your support and motivate me to put out more chapters!
Responding to reviews
In response to "jujp": You are welcome, I will be sure to keep this story going until the end! I want to be able to finish a good story, unlike the many fanfictions that are abandoned.
In response to "wolvesheart": Yes, the prison escape scene was loosely based on Kung Fu Panda 1 to be exact, I loved the escape scene and decided to take some inspiration from it.
In response to "Guest" (who has faithfully reviewed since the beginning): Thank you! I'm glad to have intrigued you with this story for so long!
In response to "Mitkon2001": Very true, Perseus is kind of a dense brick. Though, as you pointed out, the coincidence of mountains being his domain is pretty interesting.
In response to "HellRaiderS": Thank you! I want to keep this story alive until the end so that another masterpiece is completed, and I am thinking about writing another prequel to this story. It would not be about the Trojan War with Achilles as his student, as I believe that storyline is far too overdone. It would most likely be on the Elean Wars, which happened between Sparta and Elea some time ago. Elea is the city state of Perseus in this fanfiction, and it works out perfectly due to the rivalry between Perseus and Ares that I have created. The Elean Wars also do not have much historically accurate information on them, so that is why I took Elea as Perseus' city state.
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Hestia makes her move
Ascension of the Fallen: Chapter 14
He stretched, reaching for the last piece of his essence that he so desperately needed.
It was so tantalizingly close, just a few more meters…
Within a few hours, it was simply a couple of centimeters away…
With a loud snap, the piece connected.
He awoke.
The primordial woke from his slumber, causing a forceful pulse of power to spread across the sky, like a blue halo that spread to the edges of heaven.
Dark clouds hinting of storms unnaturally roamed over the southeast part of the African continent.
A boom of lightning struck the ground, shattering the Earth so forcefully that one would think a meteor had landed in that same very spot.
Lightning continued to rain down on the area as he descended to the ground, floating several feet off of it.
He had long, white hair, and a calculating, cold expression on his face. In his right hand, he wielded a great broadsword with rippling waves of lightning, one that seemed to be capable of leveling mountains with ease.
He flung out his left arm, blowing lightning straight through a mountain with ease as the mountain crumbled.
Far in the distance, the screaming and subsequent death of a small mountain god could be heard.
The high god smiled cruelly, flexing his muscles.
Ouranos was back.
Line break
The goddess of the hearth was currently tending to the hearth of the gods, which was blazing at a mere two feet, far from the twenty feet that existed in the olden days with Perseus as king.
She dejectedly poked her stick in the fire as arguments erupted simultaneously from all the gods present on the Olympian council, trying to save themselves from their imminent demise.
Some argued to beg for forgiveness, while other more, ahem, stubborn gods, instantly refused.
Arguments soon turned into petty little arguments, as per the usual.
The love goddess chewed her bottom lip nervously, while Zeus' fingers turned pale white as he gripped the arms of his throne tightly, clearly agitated and confused on what to do.
Hera was screaming vile curses at her man whore of a husband once again, most likely something about sleeping with more mortal women. The god really just couldn't keep it in his pants. At times, Hestia felt bad for the goddess of marriage, but quickly turned on her once she remembered Hera's betrayal to Perseus. The goddess of grain and harvest took deep breaths, hyperventilating in fear and nervousness and shaking on her throne.
Athena, Hermes, and Apollo were engaged in furious whispering about the former king of Olympus, most likely regretting their betrayal. Artemis was still imprisoned under Atlas' burden; none of the gods wanted to venture near Orthys, for none dared to face the mighty titan of strength. Hestia could hear them debating ideas on how to convince Perseus to let them join his side.
Hestia paid no heed to most arguments, although the goddess of the hearth noticed that the forge god was strangely silent about the entire situation, tinkering with another mechanical device. The hearth goddess wouldn't be surprised if the silver-tongued god of darkness had somehow managed to convince Hephaestus to his side.
The sea god's throne was completely reduced to atoms and there stood an unnatural gap in the line of thrones. The absence of Poseidon on the Olympian council was felt by every member of the Council. As Hades was exiled to the Underworld and not allowed on Olympus, Poseidon was the only other god that could keep Zeus in check. Now that Poseidon was gone, the lightning god had full reign of the Council, and no one was there to keep his idiocy in check.
As the goddess of the home, she would rather have her eldest brother not wage war on the council; after all, they were still her family, but justice was justice, and as such, it demanded to be dealt.
She felt sick to the stomach about the betrayals; the Fall had plummeted all of Olympus and the mortal world into the Dark Ages, something that had been near impossible to recover from. Only with the help of the new forge god Hephaestus, who accelerated mortal technology development to bring the mortal world out of the Dark Ages, was the mortal world able to tediously climb out of the Dark Ages, since Olympus was not able to do so.
She sighed, promptly flashing away from the council to clear her thoughts. She needed some fresh air, outside of the dangerous tension that was present in the throne room.
The goddess of the hearth decided to take a stroll on the sidewalks of Olympus. She walked past numerous shops, waving to the shopkeepers, who were unaware of the current arguments and insults being thrown around in the throne room. The naiads, the tree nymphs, all blissfully unaware of what was going on.
The rest of Olympus was a ghost town, as the minor gods had deserted to the former king of Olympus. Hestia couldn't blame them. She would do so in a heartbeat, given the chance. She only needed to find him.
She continued walking to the edge of the magical floating Olympus, wanting to get a clearer mind.
There was a figure at the edge of Olympus.
It was someone who was tall, with broad, masculine shoulders and a powerful aura that reeked of dominance and confidence.
Hestia sped up her walk, unknowingly turning it into a jog as her heart leaped with joy, praying that it was him.
He turned around, and she gasped, her homely brown eyes meeting dark black eyes.
Inky pools of black mesmerized her, and made him unreadable, and Hestia was unsure of how he felt; after all, she hadn't helped him when he had been betrayed.
He was exactly how she had remembered him before his Fall. Perhaps even a bit more handsome.
His perfect, sleek black, windswept hair, his piercing dark eyes that fit him so perfectly. His high cheekbones and his chiseled jawline caused shadows to dance across his sun-kissed skin. His shapely, aristocratic nose led to his luscious lips with a distinct bow.
The former king broke the stand off first, taking several long strides forward.
"Hestia," the god of time grinned, graciously taking her small hand in his and taking a knee to kiss her hand.
The goddess blushed cutely at the unanticipated move, her cheeks coloring as the former king of Olympus rose to his full height.
He towered over her shorter frame as the two children of Kronos embraced happily.
"You're a terrible flirt."
"Only around certain people, Hestia."
The way he said her name made shivers roll down her spine as she wanted him to say it over and over again.
"You shouldn't be here, Perseus," Hestia half-whispered into the god's ear, "you're being reckless."
Perseus smiled comfortingly, leaning in to brush a strand of her wavy, chestnut hair behind her ear. The goddess blushed again like a mortal schoolgirl.
How could Perseus make her feel this way?
"Don't worry about me, Tia. Don't I always have a plan?"
The hearth goddess gave him a pointed look, and the god of time grinned cheekily at her.
"Just- don't get hurt. I couldn't stand it if you suffered because of me, again," Hestia trembled softly.
The former king was more than concerned, and Perseus touched her chin, tilting her head upwards at him.
"Tia… it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have done anything, and you would have suffered the same fate."
"No, I- I could've" she sniffled, tears leaking out of her caramel brown eyes, "I could have done something.
Sobbing for the suffering she had caused him, the hearth goddess collapsed into her brother's chest, while Perseus led them towards a bench.
Hestia finally pulled herself together, only sniffling after several minutes.
"S-sorry for the shirt."
Perseus shrugged nonchalantly, as if he didn't care. "It's fine. I can always get a new one."
Perseus grinned. "After all, I am a celebrity among the mortals for my handsomeness."
He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, causing Hestia to let out a laugh at his unspoken idea.
"Perseus, I have something to tell you," Hestia confessed shakily.
"You can tell me anything, Tia."
"Perseus, I-"
What would he think of her? What if he didn't return her feelings? What would happen?
The virgin goddess steeled her nerves. "I-"
Perseus cut her off, smoothly pressing his index finger to her lips, silencing her. "I know."
Her heart fluttered out of her chest, beating so fast that she couldn't get a decent breath in.
Hestia looked up at him, her beautiful, caramel brown eyes questioning as she searched for any sign of love or returned feelings in his inky pools of deep black.
She sighed, about to turn away.
Without warning, the god of time swooped in, meeting his lips with hers.
Warmth blossomed in Hestia's chest, sparks igniting as their lips brushed together for the first time. She inhaled his dizzying, sandalwood scent, butterflies dancing in her stomach as his lean, muscular arms wrapped around her.
He kissed her, softly at first, and then with a crescendo of intensity that made her cling tightly to the god, as if he was the only stable thing in a dizzy, swaying world. His insistent mouth parted her lips, sending powerful frissons along her nerves that she had never felt before as their tongues intertwined. Within moments, she knew that she was kissing back with equal fervor.
Hestia felt like her entire soul and body would explode with joy, levitating off the ground and shooting off into the distant stars.
They finally disengaged from each other, and Hestia looked up into Perseus' dark eyes, which were full of love, but also fear and guilt.
"Perseus, what bothers you?"
The former king merely smiled sadly. "I have to say this: I've felt for others."
Hestia was beyond shocked and tried to respond. "W-what are you saying?"
"Before my Fall, Aphrodite came to me. I dismissed her, wanting nothing to do with the sultry goddess. But not before she blurted out that I need to have multiple mates to reach true fulfillment."
Jealousy quickly arose in Hestia's heart, burning like a vengeful fire, but she crushed it, chastising herself. Perseus was the only person who deserved such attention. "Several mates… is rather unheard of. I can only say that you are deserving of all of them, whoever you choose. Nevertheless, I want to be with you."
Hestia looked up to see Perseus, who was smiling with pure joy for the first time since his ascension to the surface world.
He suddenly turned serious. "Come with me to my place. I cannot risk you being on Olympus."
"I'll be fine, Perseus."
He shook his head adamantly, wanting her to go with him, but Hestia wouldn't budge.
"Tia, what if the weasel Zeus and those other gods catch you? What can I do to save you other than hand myself over?"
"Don't worry about me. My home is here, the hearth. I am the second eldest, I am sure that I can hold my own," The hearth goddess reassured him with a soft smile, calming the god down slightly.
The former king sighed, his inky black eyes pleading with her. "Please…it's for your safety."
"I'll be alright," she smiled, leaning into another kiss as their lips met again.
Perseus nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
The god of time vanished from the vicinity, not noticing something was amiss.
Hestia sighed and walked back through the forest towards the throne room, taking her time to ease her mind.
Hestia stiffened slightly as the hearth goddess heard a rustle in the bush behind her. She expanded her senses, searching for the cause of the noise but she couldn't detect anything.
She whirled around, walking slowly around the bush to check it out.
A large shadow rose on the ground in front of her.
Hestia jerked around, eyes widening astronomically as she took several steps backwards in fear.
"Look what we have here."
AN: How did you guys like the Ouranos awakening scene? I feel like there are more and more characters being added to my story that will eventually blow up in a complete mess in my face, but then again, I want more characters to add some shock value…
PM me on fanfiction or wattpad, or even discord to see if you have any advice on how to give readers more shock value but without adding more and more complex characters. I feel like every character that I add needs to be described and what powers they have, etc. This makes them less interesting in my opinion. I'm super torn on this, and I need you guys to help me.
How did you like the kiss scene? I hope it wasn't too dramatic or over-the-top. I tried hard on this chapter, and it took me a long time to write that scene specifically, so I hope I haven't overdone it.
Til next time
-thann3