Authors Note: Alright third chapter, let's go! More notes at the bottom though.
Chapter 3: Delivery for the Olympians! (Please don't return it, we went through literal Hell)
In the throne room of Mt. Olympus, Hades and Hestia were watching through the Hearth , which was showcasing a kingdom being built on the land that was now dubbed as Argos.
"They are going all out with establishing their kingdoms, hmm." Hades said, as he witnessed a statue of Ares being centered on a pedestal in a temple. "I also heard that some gods were thinking of being patrons to these cities. Are you going to try out as well, sister?"
Hestia merely smiled. "You do know I never play favorites Hades. As long as a household has a hearth within it, and if the town square has the public heart to welcome those in need, they will have my protection. It may not be much, but it will be enough for them to live a healthy and happy life."
The lord of the dead merely nodded. "Still, it would be nice to have your own city. A special temple dedicated to you, festivals in your name, heck they might even rename the city after you." Hades said dreamily. "I think I'll take a shot in this."
Hestia smiled. "I wish you good fortune then brother. Now when did the Fates say they were going to meet us?"
"Around now only, it is around seven in the evening I believe." Hades replied, glancing outside at the setting sun.
A few moments later, the same grey flash which appeared a few days ago, was seen once again in the Olympian throne room. At its place the Fates appeared, with a mysterious looking box that was pulsing with a purple light, and not looking like as if they went through the depths of Tartarus. Atropos raised an eyebrow at the empty thrones.
"Why is it that you Olympians are never in time." She said, shaking her head. She then glanced at the two eldest children of Kronos by gender, who were now approaching them.
"Hestia if you don't mind, can you summon the rest please." Atropos asked.
"Of course Lady…s Fates." Hestia replied, already summoning a fireball.
"Oh, oh, wait, can I summon them? I hardly get to since I'm hardly invited to these meetings." asked Hades with a giddy smile.
Hestia smirked. "Of course, but hurry, they don't like to be kept waiting." She said nodding towards the Fates who were staring at them with poker faces.
"Yeah of course, just a minute." Hades said, as he drew a pitch black spike and threw it at the roof. In a few moments time, six flashes were seen appearing at their respective thrones.
"That summon was different." Zeus mused, who immediately connected it to his brother, who was showing off a wry smile. "Anyway, I see that the expedition was a success, seeing that you have brought what I'm assuming you were supposed to" Zeus said, addressing the Fates while gesturing towards the box .
"That is correct, milord. We examined it and concluded that there is a highly precise locking mechanism that holds its contents in place. I'm sure one of you all would like to try your hand in opening it." Clotho answered, who then smirked inwardly when she saw a certain wisdom goddesses eyes light up.
"May I?" Athena asked. Lachesis took the box and handed it to her. Athena immediately got to work on it.
"Hmm, these geometric patterns rise up momentarily, but they are quite sporadic. There must be an indent somewhere which on contact might trigger the mechanism to open." Athena murmured. "As for the material, it is reminiscent of Stygian iron, but much more durable." Hades raised an eyebrow at the last sentence.
"That is correct young Goddess, the material is made from one of the main properties of Stygian iron, however there are other materials which are factored into its composition. It is even potentially stronger than Celestial Bronze. We have dubbed it as Nexus Platinum."
The Olympians eyes widened on hearing this. A metal that could be much powerful than what they have currently access to? This did not bode well for them.
"We must make sure to properly safeguard this specimen then, we could even take it to the Elder Cyclops to see if they could- wait! I found the indent! No. it disappeared, I can't- wait I see it, there!" Athena cried and she immediately pushed down on it. A hissing noise was then heard as a purple colored vapor emerged from the box. Suddenly, the box started shaking and spasming.
"Put it down at the center Athena!" Zeus ordered. "Everyone, raise shields!"
Athena quickly scrambled to put the box on the center, while the rest of the occupants in the throne room quickly raised shields. However, instead of some kind of explosion that most people were expecting, the box instead expanded to at least three feet of length and two feet of breadth. It rose to a height of around two feet as well. Everyone watched with bated breath and apprehension to see if something might come out, but nothing did. Hestia, who was brave enough to see what the box contained, approached it with a fireball ready for protection. Ignoring her family's cries of warning, she glanced inside and gave a light gasp.
Ares getting impatient approached the box, took one look at it and immediately groaned. "It's not a weapon, it's a runt! At least it's a human looking runt though."
The other gods lowered their shields and also approached the box to see the contents of it. Inside was an infant boy, swaddled with a white cloth and had a tuft of jet-black hair that looked a dark blue in color under the sunlight. He was sleeping soundly which was something since everyone in the room was creating a ruckus.
"So it was a cradle." Lachesis sighed. "How the baby went through Tartarus and all that to be found sleeping though is beyond me."
"Well, he did react to Echidna when she picked up the box. But was it the box or the baby that disintegrated her?"
"Wait a minute, are you trying to imply that this runt actually killed THE Echidna?!" Ares said shocked while Zeus turned pale on hearing this. "Heh, not bad kid, not bad."
"Aww, he looks so adorable!" said Hera as she gingerly picked up the sleeping child. "And he kind of looks like a mini Poseidon." Hera said, her maternal side showing up.
"Yeah… he kind of does. But why though?"
Athena sighed. "It's just some facial structures, we all more or less look similar since we all closely related in a sense. Also, us Olympians do have some similarities. But if that's the case then that means this child is an Olympian right?
"But wait, I thought Olympians are only those Gods and Goddesses who are a part of the Olympian council?" Demeter asked.
"Not exactly, whoever fights under the name of Olympus are more or less Olympians. While we may come under the major category, the others may come under the minor category." Atropos answered.
"Look, he's opening his eyes." whispered Hestia, who had already taken the baby from a pouting Hera. The occupants in the throne room were then greeted by a pair of eyes with the irises the color of obsidian and a ring of blue around the pupils.
"They look just beautiful." Demeter said, awed.
"Yeah, yeah, who cares I want to see him fight! When will he grow up." said Ares, the latter question directed at the Fates.
"Why does everything revolve around fighting with you, you pig-head." Athena muttered.
"Hey! Who are you calling pig-head" he cried.
"Your animal symbol is literally a pig."
"It's a boar, and you call yourself the wisdom goddess, owl-head!"
"What did you call me!"
"ENOUGH!" shouted Atropos, who was already massaging her head. "Siblings, I swear…" and immediately groaned when she heard a collective "Hey!".
"Okay, to answer your question Ares, it will take quite a while. At least a year and maybe a few more months for good measure. And before you ask why Athena," she said while raising her hand, effectively shutting up the wisdom goddess. "It's because its more or less his wish. While you young Gods may have reached maturity in like a months time, that's because your domains or unseen events made it happen. Plus, it's a good thing to take your time to grow up properly. It makes your powers develop much more smoothly instead of it spiking to uneven levels when you are suddenly an adult instead of a toddler just one week ago."
"As for his lineage…" Clotho continued turning to Zeus, who the Fates sensed, wanted the following question to be answered, replied. "He is a son of Nyx, primordial goddess of night. We can sense it within him. As for his father, he may either be non-existent or unknown. Its not farfetched that he could be born without a father, and he definitely doesn't have any scent or traits of Erebus, the husband of Nyx."
On hearing this, each and every Olympians simultaneously became pale as well as their eyes bulged. "A God with the same power as us major Olympians and a direct child of a Primordial?! Is that even possible?" Zeus asked as he slumped back at his throne while Hera tried to soothe her Husband. "And he is supposedly going to decide our fate?!"
Lachesis shrugged. "More or less. And yes, a primordial can give birth to a standard Olympian level immortal. Energy and power levels of course differ."
Zeus could only nod numbly. Hestia sighed as she once again looked at the child in her arms, who was once again sleeping peacefully and of course made her decision.
"Well, we have obviously agreed on keeping him, but I wouldn't mind raising him. Of course, some of you all can chip in as well."
"Huh, you want to raise a child?" Demeter asked, confused. "Are you perhaps, rethinking your oath?"
Hestia sighed. "Obviously not sister. I'm not interested in…that kind of love. But that doesn't mean I don't have parental love to give around and this seems like the perfect opportunity. And like I said before, you'll can chip in as well. I just want to more or less have a…bigger part in his life."
"Well then, if that's settled, I will just take this." Atropos said, picking up the empty box/cradle. "Let us see if the Elder Cyclops can work around this, unless someone else may show up and can utilize the metal properly." she said, giving a mysterious glance at a confused Hera. "Oh of course, how can I forget it. The Arai who gave us the cradle called him Lykófos. That is his name. but of course, you can give him another name alongside it." And with that she and the other two fates vanished.
"Lykófos. Twilight. I think another name will be nice. How about…Perseus? Hestia asked?
Ares grinned. "Destroyer eh? I like your style aunt."
"Or Avenger" said Athena. "And once again you think of something along those lines."
"Lykófos Perseus. Twilight Avenger…or Destroyer. I actually quite like that name." Poseidon said grinning.
By this time, Zeus had already collected himself and got up from his throne. "Well, now that was something. Now, who is ready for a party to celebrate the arrival of young Perseus!" he said with a smile, wanting to accept the newest addition to their family. Cheers of affirmation were heard as the Olympians prepared for one heck of a party.
Welp, that was the third chapter you guys. And what's my excuse for posting another chapter three days later you're wondering? Cause its Easter! So Happy Easter you guys, just wishing in general. Oh, and my writing schedule is finally finalized. So yeah the days which I'm going to post a new chapter are…*drumroll* Wednesday and Saturday! As for timings, if you'll have more or less kept track of when I post, it will be around that time only. And I hope I haven't made some characters a bit ooc and I hope you don't mind Hestia somewhat raising Perseus. I know its kind of a cliché but I can't really imagine anyone else. And speaking of Perseus, he has arrived! Way more on him in the next chapter, and I will also talk about something else in the next chapters end authors notes cause this is already so long :P. Bye!...\/