Percy Jackson : The Odyssey of a Primordial.

Chapter 12: Hades



To say Hades was surprised by Gaea's task was an understatement-the Earth Mother elaborated on the details, revealing to them the existence of a family of Primordials living in the darkness of creation. And he was tasked with meeting them as her representative and presenting her message to them.

Zeus boldly asked what was on all of their minds.

"It's a call for help." Gaea surprisingly revealed. "We're going to lose the war if nothing changes," she paused and gazing at all of them. "And you have already marvellously proved your incompetence and ineptness to be able to do that, so it is about time I take the matter into my own hands."

Gaea was always like that. She was too brutally honest, sharply pointing out the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may seem to others. It was something that made many both like and hate her not that she ever gave a damn about their opinions, though.

Hades didn't let his mind be clouded by hubris, unlike his brothers, who were practically gritting their teeth at her vicarious words. Instead, he simply expressed his doubts, which had been nagging him for a long time. Gaea had all the power to end the war in their favour, yet she only helped them in desperate times, stepping in to grant advice at cornerstone moments and assisting them in their training, never personally interfering in their war since the first battle with their father. Even now, despite their dire situation, she has opted to ask for help rather than involving herself more in the war.

Gaea answered sombrely. "There is a cause and effect to every action; it is even more so when you are a Primordial. I cannot rashly interfere in the war, as it is ultimately yours to fight and win. Even the coming help will only be indirect, as mine is." she paused. "But, trust me, I am already helping you more than anything your divine minds could ever fathom."

All shifted in their seats uncomfortably.

The Earth Mother then took out a scroll and a rose. "Here," she passed it to Hades. "There is no one more suitable than you to bear this duty, Hades, since your powers align with them the most." She pointed at the white rose. "This contains my primal essence. It will lead you to the Mansion of Night, unperturbed and uninterrupted," her tone turned dignified. "And if things went south, don't hesitate to crush it, and I will immediately descend."

Pressing his doubts and questions, Hades accepted the scroll solemnly under the eyes of his siblings. He surprisingly saw recognition in all of them, which caused a rock of strangeness to settle in his heart.

But still, there was a striking problem Hades was facing: he was as tired as twilight, and Gaea seemed to notice that in his eyes, so she snapped her fingers, rejuvenating him in a fraction of a second.

"Leave, Hades," Gaea urged cryptically. "Every minute matters from now on. The scales of destiny are already shifting unfavourably to us."

Hades didn't really understand her last words, but he didn't press on it instead he nodded heavily and stood up from his seat. He turned and looked at his mother and siblings. They nodded in encouragement, though Zeus and Hera looked slightly reluctant.

Then he began his journey towards the deepest depths of the world-Tartarus.

Hades teleported to the underworld through shadow travel. He had always felt a sense of connection with the realm of the dead. It was strange, to put it mildly; it almost felt like it was his... home, like he belonged here, not on the surface with his siblings.

He felt very conflicted at this revelation. There was part of him that wanted this, but there was another part that felt utterly repulsed by that thought.

Hades knew very well that if he dug more deeply into his connection with the underworld, he would end up becoming a chthonic god. And the fate of chthonic gods was more often than not the fate of outcasts. They would always be hated, feared, and despised by the world.

Hades depressingly recalled that he was already being treated that way by all except his family and a few others.

Was he fated to be an outcast? And suppose he did choose to become a chthonic god-will his family still accept him? Or will they abandon him?

The questions filled his heart, haunting him as he stepped into the dark lands of the underworld.

Immediately, surprise filled his heart. The underworld had changed. It had lost its gloomy and suffocating feeling and been replaced by a tranquil and serene aura.

The soothing aura swept him. It took away his worries, concerns, and questions with it, bringing momentary peace to his troubled heart.

The realm of the dead was also no longer filled with millions of wailing souls wandering aimlessly into their oblivion; rather, the dead were slowly floating peacefully in queues toward a bone-white arch that seemed to open to a more vast and wider realm.

Hades didn't dare attempt to pry into it, despite his immense curiosity, as his well-honed instincts immediately screamed danger at the thought of probing. Nevertheless, he felt immense affinity with the domain that lay behind the arch. It was almost comparable to the connection he felt toward darkness and shadows.

He took in all of the serene underworld, and for a fleeting moment, he felt it really could be his home.

Hades took a deep breath, pushing those thoughts aside, and retrieved his helm, wearing it. He turned himself invisible, entering a state of concealment.

As his mind wandered with thoughts and guesses, he resumed his journey to the depths of the realm. He followed the river lethe until it met with the other four rivers of the underworld, and they together fell into a dark and bottomless pit.

It was the entrance to Tartarus. It would be a lie to say he was not nervous. At last, he was going to enter the pit of evil itself. And the dreadful fact that the pit was nothing but a part of the body of the Primordial of Abyss didn't help his emotions at all.

Looking over the edge of the abyss, Hades grabbed the stem of the white rose tightly. The words of Gaea resounded in his mind, and for a nonce, he chose to place his trust in her, and he willingly jumped into the pit of eternal damnation.

Tartarus was not as horrifying as he always imagined it would be. It was indeed agonising and terrifying, but it certainly didn't live up to the harrowing stories told by his mother to scare them at night. Or it could be that Tartarus was going easy on him since he was, after all, the representative of his sister.

Hades himself was leaning toward the latter conclusion, as he always had the unnerving feeling of being watched and monitored despite wearing his helm.

He tried his best to ignore it and focus on his duty. The rose in his hand began to shed blinding light, morphing into a long white trail that stretched into the endless burning terrains of

Tartarus, showing him the way to...

The Mansion of Night.

As he tread deeper, Hades was certain that Tartarus was going easy on him since his journey into the pit of monsters and nightmares up until now had been completely uninterrupted and undisturbed. Even the air was becoming less agonising to breathe, giving his burning lungs a well-needed break.

And there was something he couldn't really understand: why the Primordial of Night would choose the body of Tartarus as her residence when there are millions of other places in the cosmos that are better.

Could it be that the Abyss and Night are...?

Hades put a stop to his dangerous thoughts and increased his pace along the white trail, and soon he was there, frozen in his tracks. He should have expected it; the mansion of the night wasn't obviously just a mansion.

A magnificent sight unfolded in front of him, momentarily taking away his breath. Hundreds of hundreds of massive, round towers dominated the night sky, weaving together to form a gargantuan city of mansions, which were all connected by towering walls and winding

bridges.

A great gate with a giant black door rose above him. And fields of luminescent flowers and trees stretched out from the city of mansions into infinity, covered in endless and silent

darkness.

As he peered at the dark realm, Hades finally managed to grasp the truths with apprehension

- he was no longer in Tartarus, and his helm completely stopped working.

The darkness suddenly began to thicken around him, sending his senses on alert. But he

merely stared at the darkness calmly, as he felt no danger from it.

A woman walked out of the darkness. She wore a sparkly gown that mirrored the brilliance of

the night. Her skin gave off a bright but ethereal glow, almost like a star.

"Please follow me," the starry woman said briefly. "The excellencies await your arrival."

"Lead the way." Hades nodded and watched the woman re-enter the swirling darkness.

He turned behind and looked at infinite luminescent fields, taking a deep breath, and then he followed her into the swirling darkness with firm steps.

A magnificent throne room stood under the ethereality of the night, illuminated by the brilliant light of stars gushing through the stained glass of the long windows. Above it all, a magnificent dark dome sprang up, filled with images of swirling galaxies and swaying nebulas.

A high platform rose at the end of the room, wounded up by two swirling staircases. On top of

it were six primal thrones, hosting some of the most powerful beings in creation who had just convened for the eventful meeting.

Erebus and Nyx sat on the two black thrones in the middle, which were flanked by four thrones on both sides. Hypnos and Thanatos were present on their silver and pale white thrones to the left. Hemera and Aeither were on their white and tawny thrones to the right.

The Primordial of Sleep reclined in his magnificent silver throne, making himself

comfortable.

"Mother, can you finally tell what this is all about?" Hemera asked, breaking the fleeting

silence.

Everybody turned to look at Nyx, who answered ethereally. "We are going to meet with the

representative of Gaia," she paused. "I owe her a favour, and she probably wanted to use it on

her war."

"What favour, mother?" Hypnos immediately asked the question that was on all of his

siblings' minds.

Nyx went silent. Erebus gently squeezed her hand. Then she revealed it to them. "Long before any of you were born, in a time when creation was in its early stages, Ananke did something that made me absolutely abhor her, and in the end, I went to confront Destiny herself..." Hypnos keenly noticed his mother abruptly retrieving her hand from the hold of his father, who, despite encouraging her, seemed slightly uneasy with her words.

Did his father...? A far-fetched guess formed in his mind. He immediately denied it. It couldn't be possible. He had seen how his father always looked at his mother. That was true love, right there.

He discreetly glanced at his siblings. They all had the same abash realisation in their eyes.

Ah, Hypnos...He really, really shouldn't have given into rebelliousness and pressed on with

this.

"...Gaea was the only one who fully supported me throughout the ordeal." Nyx continued, her voice as serene as ever. "I owe her much for that."

Erebus shifted uncomfortably on his throne. "That's the end of the story." Nyx finished abruptly.

Hypnos reclined on his throne. He didn't dare press on with this anymore. Even though his

mother seemed serene as always, the trembling of the night sky outside told him a completely different story.

He also felt the warning glares from his siblings. He glared back with clear meaning in his

eyes.

A heavy silence enveloped the throne room. Finally, Aeither broke it, letting the moment pass much to the relief of everyone, especially their father. "Mother," he brought up the major issue of uncertainty. "Surely, Gaea isn't going to use this favour to make you join the war of

lower beings?"

"No," Nyx shook her head. Then she suddenly looked ahead at the door. "Her representative

is here. Let's hear it from himself."

On cue, the colossal door opened, and a god walked in followed by a star spirit-the servants

of his mother-who bowed to Nyx and quickly left, closing the door on her way.

Hypnos peered at the god who was walking towards them with nervousness. Thankfully, it was Hades, not Zeus. He could only imagine how that meeting would

disastrously end.

Noticing something, Hypnos stared at his brother. Thanatos finally turned away from Hades and nodded in recognition to him.

And so the ruler of the underworld had been decided.

Hypnos felt it was justified since there was really no one more suitable than Hades to rule the

Greek Underworld.

"Your excellencies." Hades bowed slightly. "I am Hades, the Son of Rhea," he said. "I come

bearing the message of Earth Mother."

"What are you god of?" Erebus asked, leaning forward on his throne.

Hades revealed mutely. "I am the God of Fear and Silence."

"Well," Erebus suddenly declared, surprising everyone. "You shall also be the God of

Darkness."

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