I had failed. That's the thought that kept running through my head. Gaea had created me for one thing and one thing only. Eliminate Zeus and all his spawn. Unfortunately, Zeus and his brat son had completely curb stomped me.

I sat at the edge of Khaos, my three-toed feet dangling to the void. I won't deny it. I did have thoughts of ending my life by leaping into the void. My purpose was to kill Zeus. I tried usurping him. I came pretty close, too. But I had failed.

I needed to get up from the ledge. Periboia, as powerful as she had become, still needed my fatherly guidance.

I sighed. No she didn't.

They say that the Fates create everyone with at least one flaw. I was foolish to think myself and the other Gigantes were exempt from this.

After my self-reflection, I realized that my flaw was arrogance. Particularly, when it comes to mortals. They were hardy despite their very limited power. At first I despised Jason. But the more I thought about it, the more I was impressed.

My life was worthless now. Defeated by a bunch of bumbling upstart demigods and their all powerful back-up. Gaea was defeated and wouldn't rise again for thousands, maybe millions of years.

Even Tartartus was beaten down by my little brother Damasen and one of his Titan friends. Sure, Tartarus the place still functioned as normal. Same pleasant sulfur gas. Same rejuvenating factor that made it such a popular tourist destination.

But my father was gone by my runt of a brother's hands.

Right, arrogance is my fatal flaw. I need to stop discounting those I find weak. If demigods and Titans are responsible for my father's demise, then I still had work to do.

I got up from the ledge and stretched. My back made a wonderfully loud cracking sound as I twisted my torso.

"Hey, neighbor!" called a voice. I looked around. There was no one at my eye level. Then I remembered that I was fifty feet tall and much larger than most monsters. I squatted and looked the ghost of a mortal. It's not often that I see a mortal hanging around here, dead or alive. Only the worst of the worst were able to survive. Mussolini, bin Laden and Lenin all played poker with me on a regular basis. Mussolini is not very good at making poker faces, however.

There was one instance, however, where one soul actually traveled down from Elysium to commune with us. He encouraged a few monsters to renounce their old ways start anew now that Tartarus had been scattered. His name, I couldn't recall. Which I felt a little guilty about considering he was the one who had addressed me.

"Hello, mortal." I said, now kneeling. It was an odd sight, I suppose, to an outsider. But I was trying to learn how to respect those I previously thought were beneath me.

He was gangly for a mortal, about six feet tall. He spoke slowly and serenely, as if constantly on the edge of falling asleep. Perhaps he was one of Morpheus' spawns. Sorry, offspring.

"Good morning, Porphyrion. Isn't it a wonderful day?" asked the mortal.

I listened to the Fields of Punishment and all the screams of the damned. The sulfur was especially smelly today. The shattered glass that covered the ground felt therapeutic between my toes. I didn't always take the time to appreciate these things.

"Well, yes, I suppose it is." I said. "Why are you here?"

"Just checking in on my favorite king of the Gigantes." said the mortal with a pleasant smile.

"Alright, cut the act." I said forcefully. "Why are you really here?"

"I had a television show back when I was on Earth. I centered my life around making sure the downtrodden and lonely felt as special as everyone else."

I nodded thoughtfully. Perhaps this demigod was a son of Aphrodite. His slow sense of talking was assuredly some sort of charmspeak.

"You know, I've always thought that knowing that we can be loved exactly as we are gives us all the opportunity to grow into the healthiest of souls."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"I don't believe you've had the opportunity to experience that yet, have you?" asked the mortal.

I recalled the major moments of my life. Not once, in my two thousand five hundred and forty-one year life had I ever been told I was loved. I was respected by my follow Gigantes. I was feared by demigods, Titans, etc. But I was never loved.

I shook my head, trying to make myself look as indifferent as possible "No, I have not."

The mortal also shook his head with a faint smile on his face, "It's not so much what you have, but what you do with what you have."

The burning question in my brain finally couldn't be contained "Who are you?"

The mortal shrugged "Just a friendly neighbor."

I sighed and flopped down, already emotionally drained from this conversation. It was unlike any other discussion I had before now.

It was this realization that sparked my journey, I think. This mortal was the first person to address me as an equal. Not only that, he also addressed me with compassion. I even sensed bits of hope. I was tempted to call him delusional. Zeus was not kind to his enemies, and other than Typhon, Kronos and Hera, I was his greatest.

Was I really fourth place? Maybe I should try harder next time.

"I can see that you're thinking about a lot right now. And I'm not going to make you promise by the River Styx or anything, but I'd like you to consider it, okay?"

I nodded "I will."

The mortal strolled away, whistling pleasantly and waving good morning to Krios.