Chapter 51: The Return of the king
The divine plane trembled.
It was not a sound. Not a quake.
But a shift in reality itself.
A power so vast, so absolute, that even the gods felt it before they saw it.
The three had returned.
And Olympus would never be the same.
The Sky Splits Open
Lightning tore through the heavens, golden and unyielding. Zeus' storm raged, vaster than it had ever been.
The seas roared, waves rising so high they nearly touched the divine firmament. Poseidon's power churned, deeper and darker than before.
And then—
The air froze.
Not with cold.
But with certainty.
The moment Hades stepped onto the divine plane, reality itself bent to accommodate him.
He did not walk.
He arrived.
And all who stood in Olympus felt the End watching them.
The Gods Gather to Witness
They had not been summoned.
They had not been ordered.
And yet, every god had come.
From the golden halls of Olympus to the edges of forgotten realms, they gathered.
Not to welcome the three.
But to see what they had become.
Hera stood beside Zeus' throne, her presence now divine law itself.
Athena, first to kneel before Zeus, waited in silence, calculating.
The Angel Legion filled the skies, Michael standing at its front, his wings burning with celestial might.
But not all bowed.
Ares stood, arms crossed, his grip tightening around his blade.
Apollo watched, his wounds healed but his pride shattered.
Hephaestus, ever silent, observed the scene with unreadable eyes.
And somewhere, in the shadows of Olympus, a rebellion whispered.
The Three Brothers Take Their Thrones
Zeus moved first.
His throne, once the seat of Olympus, expanded.
Not in size—but in presence.
The sky was his.
His storms, his law, his dominion.
Poseidon stepped forward next.
The seas of the divine plane rose to greet him, the tides bending to his will.
His throne was no longer just a place of water.
It was the abyss itself.
And then—
Hades.
He did not sit.
He did not need to.
The Underworld had already acknowledged his rule.
But this was not the Underworld.
This was Olympus.
And Olympus had yet to kneel.
The Final Warning
Hades' voice was not loud.
But it did not need to be.
"Those who seek to oppose us—"
"Speak now."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Not out of obedience.
Out of calculation.
Because the gods who had once ruled as kings were now looking upon something beyond gods.
And they had to choose.
Would they bow?
Or would they be erased?
Foreshadowing: The First Strike Approaches
The three had returned.
The world had changed.
And soon, the first battle of the new era would begin.
Because there were still those who would not kneel.