As Nico, Reyna, and Hylla made their way towards Olympus perched on top of the Empire State Building, the whole atmosphere turned mystical. It was like stepping into a totally different dimension. You could almost feel the divine energy in the air, making everything hum with a kind of magic that mortal cities could only dream of. Olympus, floating above the Empire State Building like it owned the place, and the young demigods couldn't help but soak it all in—the grandeur, the magic, everything.
Olympus wasn't just for the major gods; it was like a divine neighborhood for all sorts of mythical beings. They were living the good life—golden palaces, lush parks, and streets filled with a mix of godlings, nature spirits, and more. It was paradise on steroids. The whole place just oozed divine power, making Nico, Reyna, and Hylla look around in wide-eyed amazement. Well, Reyna and Hylla looked around in wide-eyed amazement. Nico thought it was all over the top. He much preferred the sophisticated ambiance of the Underworld.
"Here we are." Nico mumbled, lamely, as they stood in front of the closed doors of the throne chamber. "I'll speak, less you all wish to get cursed."
"You were trained in diplomacy by Albert," Reyna agreed. "You are the most suited to speak for us... Emperor Nico."
"Shut up!" Nico hissed, exhausted as Hilla snickered. "Let's just" get this over with."
Taking a deep breath, the three of them entered the throne chamber and were left in awe.
The throne chamber in Olympus was like the VIP section of a cosmic party, and the U-shaped formation of thrones stole the show. Massive thrones, fit for the gods, were arranged in this grand curve, each one radiating power and authority. As Nico, Reyna, and Hylla stepped into the chamber, the sight was downright awe-inspiring. Gods, both major and minor, were chilling on their thrones like they owned the universe. It was like stumbling into a divine version of a family reunion.
Nico's eyes couldn't help but lock onto Apollo, who was sprawled on his golden throne. The god of the sun and music was basically a walking sunshine model—tall, muscular, and bronzed like a Baywatch lifeguard. His long golden hair was tied back in a man bun, and his golden eyes sparkled like the freaking sun itself. Nico couldn't help but feel a blush creep up his cheeks as his gaze locked onto Apollo. The god's overwhelming beauty had a way of making hearts skip a beat, and even the usually composed Nico found himself momentarily lost in admiration. It was like looking at a deity carved out of perfection, and the effect was enough to make Nico feel like he was a giddy little girl.
Blushing when he realized he had been staring, Nico's shifted his gaze from Apollo to the silver throne beside him, where Diana, with an unwavering posture, sat. She was still in her adolescent form, she possessed long auburn hair tied back in a ponytail and silvery yellow eyes. Clad in silver camouflage clothing, Diana emanated an air of grace and authority that demanded respect.
The next god to capture Nico's attention was Bacchus, father of the leader of the demigods under his command. Which still had Nico groaning at the ridiculousness of what his life had become. Bacchus presented a youthful figure with a plump physique, a ruddy face, and an effeminate demeanor. Crowned with ivy and vine leaves, he held a thyrsus—a javelin adorned with iron and encircled by ivy and vine leaves. Despite his jovial appearance, Bacchus exuded an aura of power and revelry.
Mercury had chosen a middle-aged body with curly black hair, blue eyes, and elfish features. A sly grin played on Mercury's face, revealing mischievous intent. However, as Nico locked eyes with the messenger god, he noticed a steeliness behind the facade of playfulness. Despite the trickster's demeanor, Mercury possessed a depth and cunning that Nico knew better than to underestimate. After all, Nico knew that the sly ones are the ones to look out for.
As Nico's eyes continued to roam across the assembly of gods, he shifted his attention to Minerva. Unlike the traditional image of a stately goddess, Minerva appeared as a young woman dressed for an adventurous journey. Her long dark hair cascaded over her shoulders. Clad in jeans, hiking boots, and a red flannel shirt, she embodied a rugged readiness, complete with a backpack and a walking stick in lieu of the traditional shield and spear.
However, what caught Nico's attention wasn't just Minerva's unconventional attire but the heated glare she directed at Reyna and Hylla—the Daughters of Bellona. It was clear that the presence of these mortal-born warriors, from the Goddess who had assumed roles akin to that of her Greek form, didn't sit well with Minerva. The goddess's disapproving gaze bore into the two sisters, revealing a deep-seated resentment for the changes she had undergone in adopting her Roman identity. Nico winced as he witnessed the tension in the room, the gods, despite their immortality, were not immune to the politics and rivalries.
Nico's gaze shifted to Mars, the god of war. With a flat-top haircut, Mars's face bore the rugged evidence of numerous knife scars. He concealed his eyes, which glowed with flames, behind night-vision goggles. Clad in a military uniform, Mars exuded a straightforward and practical demeanor.
Vulcan, in stark contrast, presented a more imposing and deformed figure. His immense, misshapen frame featured shoulders at different heights, giving the impression of a perpetual lean. A massive head, bushy eyebrows, and a wild, smoldering brown beard added to the god's intimidating appearance. Vulcan's leg was encased in a creaking steel brace, with sparks occasionally flying from his disheveled beard.
However, Nico's attention was arrested when his eyes fell upon Venus. Memories flooded back as he recalled Helena's words about her mother taking the form of the one a person loves the most. A sharp intake of breath escaped Nico as he beheld the form Venus had assumed—a striking resemblance to his mother. The olive skin, black curly hair, and warm brown eyes transported Nico back to the familiar and comforting presence of his mamma. Nico smiled softly, he was not surprised she had taken that form. He was too young to have ever been in love and he missed his mamma, who in his eyes will always be the most beautiful woman in the world. Venus' flirtatious smile turned warm, as if she knew what Nico was thinking.
Nico's gaze lingered on Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, adorned with lustrous blonde hair and warm brown eyes. Her golden dress mirrored the hues of a wheat field, and dried grasses were delicately woven into her hair, emphasizing her connection to the fertile earth.
Turning his attention to Neptune, his tall and powerful uncle, Nico observed the distinct features that defined the god of the sea. With black hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and a deep tan, Neptune's appearance conveyed both strength and gentleness. The scarred hands, reminiscent of an old-time fisherman, told tales of his command over the vast, unpredictable oceans. Nico found himself captivated by Neptune's sea-green eyes, Nico suddenly had the strange thought of waking up to those eyes every day, which had him looking away swiftly.
What the Tartarus is going with me?! Nico hissed internally, with embarrassment.
Nico, then, shifted his attention to Juno, who retained the breathtaking beauty he remembered from their previous encounter. Standing regally at seven feet tall, Juno's stern and stately demeanor was accentuated by her attire—a blue dress paired with a goat skin cloak draped over her shoulders. In her hand, she held the same staff adorned with a white lotus flower, a symbol of her divine authority.
Finally, Nico's eyes fell upon the King of the Gods, Jupiter. Tall, imposing, and muscular, Jupiter commanded attention with his electrifying presence. Shoulder-length black hair framed a neatly trimmed gray-and-black beard, complementing his handsome yet serious countenance. Brilliant electrically-blue eyes conveyed a sense of pride and seriousness befitting the ruler of the divine pantheon. As Nico absorbed the sight of his godly relatives, he couldn't help but feel a mix of awe, reverence, and familial connection.
Nico's attention was then drawn to the corner of the chamber where Vesta, the Goddess of the Hearth, tended to her sacred flame. She was the only one without a throne. In her divine form, Vesta took on the appearance of an eight-year-old girl with mousy brown hair and fiery-red eyes. Despite the flames within her eyes, they emitted a warm and cozy glow. Her presence exuded warmth and welcome, much like the hearth in the Di Angelo Manor. Vesta donned a simple brown dress and a scarf over her head, resembling the attire of a pioneer child. Her nurturing and comforting aura added a distinct sense of homeliness to the divine gathering.
But no matter how warm and welcoming Vesta was, the one that made Nico's heart ache with longing was the dark and cold God in the throne made of marble and bones. Pluto. The one that stirred a longing ache in Nico's heart was the dark and cold god seated upon a throne crafted from marble and bones—Pluto, ruler of the Underworld. Pluto's black hair was neatly styled, and he was adorned in a dark suit with a black and platinum striped tie, paired with a tombstone gray shirt. Upon closer inspection of his suit, souls could be seen attempting to escape their eternal agony. His fiery red eyes glowed with aura, exuding a powerful aura.
On Pluto's lap sat one of the most enchanting women Nico had ever laid eyes on—Proserpina. She was an incredibly beautiful young goddess, her expression tender and serene. Proserpina's sky-blue eyes mirrored her father's, and her blond hair bore a resemblance to her mother's. She wore a dress that shimmered with colors and intricate flower patterns—roses, tulips, and honeysuckle—each motif changing and blooming as if alive. The divine couple, surrounded by an air of solemnity and otherworldly beauty.
They were captivating.
"Welcome demigods!" Zeus, no Jupiter's voice boomed, in symphony with his thunders. The two roman demigods outnumber the one graecus, which had all the Gods in their Roman form. "You've done Olympus a great service cleaning up after my son." Apollo flinched under Jupiter's intimidating glare, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. "Ask for your boon and we shall grant it."
"Before that, Apollo has a blessing to bestow upon you for your service towards the oracles, "Juno added looking at Apollo pointedly as Mars, Mercury, and Bachus snickered at their brother being in the bad side of the King and Queen of Olympus. "Apollo?"
"Yes, Your Grace," Apollo replied uncharacteristically nervously, before turning to the three demigods. "Hylla and Reyna, daughters of Bellona," Nico noticed how Minerva frowned and her glare became more heated. "For your bravery I will grant you my blessing, your immune system will be impenetrable, and your wounds will heal faster, as if you had consumed ambrosia."
"Thank you, Lord Apollo," both demigoddesses bowed, feeling quite warm as they felt the blessing wash over them.
Apollo then turned towards Nico with a serious expression, "Nico son of Hades, Champion of Proserpina, favored by Juno, for leading the charge against the previously unknown enemy of Olympus and freeing both oracles and demigods from the clutches of the Triumvirate, I shall grant you, my blessing. No longer shall you fear losing yourself to the shadows, as I will now share of the sun within you!"
Nico's eyes widened as the blessing washer over him and left him panting and feeling a sudden warmth in his core. The young boy clutched his chest, taking a deep breath and exhaling, over and over again. Once he had calmed down, he turned to the dark God in disbelief. "Son of Hades?"
The God with short, slicked, black hair, wearing a suit glitched, leaving in his way a long-haired God wearing a Greek toga. He smiled slightly, eyes warm and filled with pride. He raised his hand and a light shone upon Nico, leaving the symbol of a skull and bones over his head- claiming Nico as a child of Hades. Suddenly the beautiful Goddess on Hades' lap appeared before Nico. She had tears in her eyes as she kissed Nico's forehead and a grapefruit free appeared above Nico, beside the skull and bones.
"We thought you lost. That you had been taken from us as your mother," The Goddess, Persephone, chucked running a hand through Nicols hair. "Yet here you are saving the world. Each day, not only do you look more like Maria, but you act just like her. Such a big golden heart."
"Daughter," Jupiter warned her, only to shut up when all three of his sisters, his eldest brother, and daughter turned to him with a glare. Jupiter, trying to regain his cool, coughed and straightened up on his throne. "We shall advance, the heroes shall receive their boons."
Persephone scoffed, before giving Nico one pre last kiss on the forehead and heading back to her husband. By the time she had sat down on his lap, Proserpina and Pluto had taken back control over their forms. The two of them were smiling at Nico with pride, making the boy feel elated, chest warm.
Hylla and Reyna bumped shoulders with him, each on one side. They knew how much he had wanted to know his other two parents and they were happy for him. But now they had something more important to focus on. Their boons. They had discussed it, after seeing how minor deities were not appreciated, how Harpocrates had suffered. Albert had also informed them how the demigod children of said deities suffer in return. Olympus needed changes and Nico had planned for it.
Reyna took a step forward and bowed politely, just as Albert and Nico had taught her. "I wish for the Greek Camp, Camp Half-blood, to have a cabin for each deity, no mater or minor. No longer shall Mercury's, sorry Hermes', cabin be overflown with unclaimed campers, as their godly fear them losing their safe haven because they are not part of the Olympian 12. And for every demigod to be claimed as soon as they enter camp."
Silence reigned as every God stared at Regna's bravery shocked. Not that it stopped Hylla from taking a step forward and bowing, copying her sister's form. "My desire is for there to be a temple for every deity in New Rome. So that every God and Goddess can be worshipped as they deserve. And for every demigod child to be claimed as soon as they enter Camp Jupiter."
Pluto and Proserpina looked ready to burst out laughing, they knew that this brand of mischief had Maria di Angelo written all over it. Creating chaos while pushing for change was after all a di Angelo trait. Even Mercury looked impressed!
Standing proudly, Nico followed his friends and took a couple of steps forward, before bowing, according to etiquette. "My request is to allow Pluto/Hades and Vesta/Hestia to have a throne here, that the Olympian 12 would become the Olympian 14. For all children ren of Krones to be united to make Olympus even greater!"
If the shocked silence was loud before, it was now oppressive as every deity turned to Jupiter. Waiting.
But Jupiter's mind was elsewhere. It was with what had happened after Diana had been called during the Ceremony to Call for Divine Help.
"Your son is alive?!" Zeus boomed, glaring at his eldest brother, but flinched back when he received the most poisonous glare he had ever been in the receiving end, in return.
Many mortals might think that everyone hates Hades, but they could not be further from the truth. Zeus could always count on his big brother, as Hades had never risen against him or meddled in Olympus business. For Fate's sake, Hades had chosen to go to the Underworld, not only because he did not want to get involved with mortals, but because he did not want any of his siblings to get trapped in the Underworld when they clearly wanted something else.
So, how could Zeus hate Hades? His big brother, the one that took such great care of one of his favorite daughters and had never betrayed him. Fates! There is a reason why Zeus allowed them to marry to begin with! He was the responsible one. The one to keep the order over the chaos Zeus and Poseidon created.
However, all amicable behavior stopped the moment he had struck Maria di Angelo with his Thunder. There are a few things Zeus had ever regretted, but the pure loathing rage in his big brother's eyes when he lost his lover was one of those few times.
"Of course, I did save him," Hades glared back. "You might not care about your many demi-children, but I keep a good eye on the few I have. There's a reason why I only ever lost two of them to tragedies. The plan was to keep them hidden until one of your children triggered the prophecy, and then I would release them."
"We made an oath," Poseidon pointed out, unhelpfully, from where he was waiting silently on the sidelines. "To not have any mortal children. How did you know you would have any chance to release your children from the Lotus Hotel and Casino."
Hades turned to him with an expression of disbelief. "Are you honestly asking me that? Of course, the two of you would break the oath! If not because you would have been unable to keep it in your pants, it would be because you could not resist breaking the oath!" Hades scoffed. "No matter how many centuries pass, you will always be my little brothers and you will never stop being spoiled children. The moment someone tells you no, you just have to go and do it. Children!"
"Your son might bring the end of Olympus!" Zeus snapped, bringing them back to track.
However, he flinched when he was on the receiving end of the glare again. He might be the King of Olympus, but Hades will forever be his older brother and the fatherly figure he had never had with Kronos.
"He was already born when the prophecy came to be!" Hades snapped back. "He is not the one the prophecy was talking about! Neither is Bianca!"
"The King of the Underworld is right..."
"… the Son of Hades was meant to aid bring down the enemies of Olympus from the shadows…"
"… but he just hijacked someone else's prophecy and is now facing the Triumvirate."
The Big 3 turned to the Fates in shock. They had come with a warning, they almost never do that. Hades did not know if he should be grateful or afraid for it. "So, Nico is not part of the Great Prophecy," Hades sighed in relied.
"He is not…"
"... but we will need to make sure he does not of h highjack this prophecy as well…"
"… for that he will need to make an oath to the Rive Styx to only be get involved during the final battle."
"And your daughter will need to make swear herself to my daughter," Zeus sighed, relenting now that the Fates themselves had come with their warning. "As a Huntress of Artemis, she will stop aging and won't be able to reach sixteen. The fates had only mentioned your son, after all."
Hades stared at Zeus with a blank expression, before finally smiling. It made Zeus feel so relieved, not that he would ever admit it out loud. "Deal. Only of Bianca gets the right to leave, if she so desires, after the prophecy is completed."
"Are we all going to ignore the fact that Hades' son highjacked a prophecy?" Poseidon mumbled.
"Shut up, seaweed brain!" Hades and Zeus chorused.
"I'm just saying!" Poseidon pouted.
"Request accepted!" Jupiter relented, as he focused back into the present.
He mostly allowed such big requests because the minor deities have been bothered about it for centuries, but he could not make changes without being seen as weak. This gave him an excuse and it also served as an apology for killing his beloved eldest brother and his daughter's lover. As thunder boomed around them, a red and gold throne appeared on the other end of the row of thrones in front Pluto's throne made of marble and bones. Meanwhile, Hylla, Reyna, and Nico were smiling at each other in relief.
"As for the plans and construction workers…" Jupiter began and nodded at Nico, when this one raised his hand. "I may have an idea on what to do."
Dedalus smiled slightly, from where he was lounging with a cup of tea and his book, as Mrs. O'leary shadow traveled right in the middle of his office in the Labyrinth. "I take that your mission was a success. Is the Triumvirate over for?"
"You are looking at the new Emperor of Triumvirate Holdings," Nico replied. Instead of sounding proud, he was clearly exasperated by the whole situation. "I talked with my father."
Dedalus raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Your father? You've met him?"
"Yes, it seems that I am a Prince of the Underworld and have some pull in there," Nico answered.
Dedalus sighed and put his book down, before sitting up. "So, my time has finally come."
"You can only run from Death for so long," Nico smiled gently towards Dedalus. "But Death comes for all of us."
Dedalus chuckled at that. "Sounding more like a Prince of the Underworld by the minute"
Nice beamed proudly at that, before collecting himself and putting on his mask of Prince of the Underworld. "You've got nothing to fear. For your sins you will be in eternal service to my father, the King of the Underworld. You will forever create and build as he wishes you to. Starting with taking the many requests from the minor Gods to build how they wish their new temples and cabins to be. You will follow that work, with the expansion of the many fields in the underworld. It's starting to become quite cramp down there. You've got no idea how many people die every single day."
The relief and gratefulness in Dedalus' face was clear as he slumped back on his sofa. It was a dream come true, to finally stop running and continue doing the job he was passionate about. But there was still one issue…
"I don't think Minos will like that decision very much."
Nico snorted, shaking his head. "Well, he is not even a judge anymore. Not that even if he had still been one, he would have any right to demand anything from his king." Dedalus raised an eyebrow in surprise. "There have been quite a few changes in the Underworld. There's no longer one judging court, but many to make the process faster. They are also all in rotation, so no one can be corrupted as the original three. The fast lane to the Asphodel Fields was also taken out. That was no soul can escape the punishment they deserve. As for the Asphodel Fields, father is overseeing them to find souls that deserve a second chance."
"A second chance?" Dedalus asked, shocked by what he was hearing. He had known that Nico di Angelo was special since their first meeting, he had sent Mrs. O'leary to him for that reason. But this was still too much for such a young boy to achieve.
What male Nico di Angelo so special?
"There are many souls that did not have a good life yet still did not choose to do wrong but did not have enough good deeds to earn Elysium. Mostly because they were not given the tools and chances to do more during life." Nico answered with a thoughtful expression. "Because of that they ended up in the Asphodel Fields. I convinced father, with mother's aid, to allow these souls to earn a chance in reincarnation by a period of working for the royal family of the Underworld. The first batch will be going to Camp Half-Blood and New Rome to build the new cabins and temples." Nico shook his head and chuckled. "But that's for later. Hop on! We need to get you to the Underworld, Thanos has waited enough and he already has his hands full with the many souls waiting for reaping."
Dedalus climbed on Mrs. O'leary laughing, the future was bright and Dedalus will seize it with both hands.