CHAPTER LX:The First Of Us

Kori opened a large book that she had next to her. The cover was a void, an actual void, dotted with hot fires. The book she was holding was The Book of The Universe, all of the secrets of the known universe at the readers fingertips.

"I don't want to assume your name, mainly because I can rip open holes in the universe, but I'm still gonna do it!" Kori shouted excitedly.

"Please don't! I like the universe the way it is!" I yelled.

"Oh calm down, are you a Molly Flynn?" Kori asked looking at me.

"No, that's the nineteenth. I'm the twentieth Daughter of Hades." I answered.

Kori seemed shocked by that answer. "Hey! You ruined my fun! There's at least fifty names here!" Kori yelled slamming the book shut.

Kori seemed like a small child. Whatever happened to her, it happened to her long before now. On another note, it was nice to know that the gods would last that long. Especially my father, I would think he would hate to see Kori now.

"Kori Vlahos!" A males voice boomed through the temple.

"This is the fun part, Mary. And don't try to call for help, Hades can't see you." Kori said mockingly.

"Kori! Where are you?!" Hades yelled walking in. His voice and footsteps shaking the temple.

When Hades had walked in I noticed that he looked way different in his mortal form. He wore a obsidian black toga with a silver sash. His hair was long and grey, along with a beard that was grey and a foot long instead of black and close shaved. Hades also carried an oak staff with two prongs at the end covered in gold and hellfire.

"Right here Patér!" Kori yelled back happily waving.

"What are you doing?" Hades asked, his eyes filling with anger.

"Helping you! The Olympians see you as a joke Patér! Zeus, Poseidon, Demeter, Artemis, Apollo, and the rest of the council! Even Hestia who isn't even apart of the council anymore!" Kori yelled at Hades, still not moving from the ritual circle.

"Kori, I never needed that recognition. I'm still an Olympian, I'm still a major god, I'm still apart of the council, and I still control the underworld. I AM HADES!" Hades yelled at Kori as his eyes burned like two hot coals in his eye sockets.

"But you can be more! Why can't you understand that?! You say you're an Olympian, but I can make you king of them! You say you're a major god, I can make you a force of nature! You may be Hades, but I can make you the living embodiment of The Underworld!" Kori yelled, her red eyes glowed.

"What have you done to your self, my daughter?" Hades asked looking at her eyes.

Kori's mood shifted as she stood up. "Now you notice, I've been like this for years. Khaos has been there when you haven't, and I intend to be there for her now." She hissed.

Hades went to hug Kori as he began his plea "Kori…don't do this. You don't know-"

"What? The consequences?" Kori cut Hades off. "You mean death? I'm not afraid of dying patér. Ever since the gods had my matérs throat slit, I've never been afraid of dying." Kori placed her hand on the symbol of Khaos.

Hades went to stop Kori, but he was sent back with a wave of blood red energy. Kori immediately coughed up blood and fell to her knees. Black streaks of an oil like substance came from her eyes. Kori went to cover her mouth but a hand stopped her, a blood red mist was behind her. Khaos' true form was holding Kori's wrist, and I could feel the overwhelming madness coming over me. I expected Kori to be even a little scared, maybe realize what she had done wrong, but she just smiled.

The mist slowly seeped into Kori's body like blood soaking a white shirt. Kori's black hair formed blood red streaks, and her eyes turn pitch black except her irises which remained red. Kori soon started screaming in pain, but she laughed as well. It was horrifying, whenever there wasn't a scream there was manic laughter. Kori's body was burning from the inside and coming out of her mouth in the form of blood. The blood filled the circles, and I slowly realized what Khaos had convinced Kori to do. This was a ritual to get a god or a divinity a mortal form, it was a horrifying ritual but every god had done it at one point or another. The victim had to be willing, and Kori was more than willing.

Kori coughed up the last bit of blood, and the last bit of the oil like sludge came out. Kori fell and laid still on the floor.

"Sweetheart?" Hades asked sadly walking towards Kori.

"She's gone young man, it's just me." A voice called out, Kori's body stood up and looked at it's hand. "Do you ever get used to these flesh prisons? It feels so weird, the veins aren't used to ichor. The muscles aren't tuned to my energy either. The poor half-god really should've trained for this." Khaos' voice said.

I had realized why Kori and Khaos looked the same now. Khaos had taken my first half-sister for a mortal form. Khaos continued looking over her new body, and flashed a bloody smile.

"We sent you to Tartarus with the other Titans because you requested it. Now….I will send you to the deepest abyss. You will never see the light of day or the others again." Hades said in a broken and defeated voice.

Hades hit his staff against the ground and his eyes and hair glowed bright red with hellfire. He stabbed Khaos in the chest making her cough up ichor. Khaos grabbed Hades' staff as plants grew on the ground.

"Dad…don't…" Khaos said looking at Hades, before breaking into a fit of laughter and vanishing through the ground.

I could see despair in Hades' eyes, Hades left the room sniffling, his footprints left burn marks on the temple floor. I went over to the bloody ritual circle where my first half-sister had died. Blood had filled each of the circles perfectly and the black liquid filled Khaos' symbol. This was Khaos' requirement for a successful ritual to get a mortal from I believe, I'm not exactly sure. Every god had different requirements and rituals, but I think Khaos' ritual had to be one of the bloodiest rituals.

I woke up to the cold darkness of Andromeda's room. Penny was snoring peacefully next to me, and I was left alone with my thoughts. My half-sister, Kori Vlahos, had died a horrific death at the hands of Khaos. On top of it Khaos had made fun of my father in the worst possible way before being sent to the deepest pit of Tartarus. I wondered if my father looked at me and saw Kori in me, and I wondered how much it haunted him when he almost lost me. I truly did wonder if Khaos had a point about my father's power and position, Hades had so much power yet he was pushed off to the side of history. I slowly ran my fingers through Penny's hair as she kept snoring. As I did I had one thought in particular came to mind, what had convinced Kori Vlahos to go through with the ritual?