The Trial

Once again, Olympus trembled.

Thunder cracked like a whip across the throne room, shaking marble and gold. The skies above had been black for days, thick with Zeus' fury transformed into clouds that refused to part, as if the king of gods himself had darkened the heavens with his wrath. At the heart of it stood two figures who would not yield, who were ready to continue to push forward in the name of love and justice. Aphrodite, returned to Olympus against her will, her silks dulled by mourning, eyes no longer soft but sharpened by weeks of pleading and defiance. And beside her, Helios. The Sun God, still limping from Zeus' last blow, yet unshaken in voice.

"God king." Helios dared again, his tone even but weary. "Kassus is no threat to Olympus. He's been trapped by Aegaeon's grip for weeks, and it's uncertain if he ever arrived Tartarus."

"Yet you, Helios," Zeus snarled, lightning sparking between his fingers. "still speak of him as if his suffering is my concern."

"We are gods." Aphrodite said, her voice like silver drawn through flame. "We are supposed to be more than vengeance."

That did it for Zeus, he was exhausted of them and their constant pressure, their insistence. How dare they defy me?, Zeus thought before he mentioned it out loud.

"You dare to defy me again, Aphrodite?" Zeus roared. "To plead for the mortal who murdered your husband and shattered Olympus' trust? I've heard enough!"

A gale of wind blasted through the hall, sending hair and robes flying as his power surged.

"Then let all gods bear witness! Since you hold your mortal above your kind, above the law, I hereby summon a trial!"

Gasps rang through the chamber as divine sigils burned into the air, summoning the full council of Olympus, gods and demigods, all of them summoned in a second, as the throne room turned into an audience room with Aphrodite standing in the very center, forced to be seen by everyone with curiosity and irritation.

"You will answer for your betrayal." Zeus declared, thunder booming behind his words. "Before every god still loyal to the Olympus."

Aphrodite's lips parted, ready to say something before Athena stepped forward first, her steps like stone meeting steel.

"If she is to stand trial, she may choose a defender, father." Athena said coolly. "And I offer myself."

Zeus' eyes narrowed. "You would stand beside the goddess of love? Defend the mortal who spilled divine blood?"

"I knew him." Athena said. "In the dust and blood of Troy, I saw who he was. This is not justice. It's punishment dressed in pride."

A beat of silence. Then Zeus turned away, ascending the steps to his throne.

"So be it." he said. "Let the trial begin right now."

The court was heavy with divine presence. Pillars of gold shimmered under a dome of storm clouds— Zeus' mood made manifest. Thunder echoed faintly above, waiting to be unleashed. Aphrodite stood in the center of the ring, alone but unbowed. Her hair was unbound, her silks torn from days of mourning. But she did not look afraid.

She looked defiant. Zeus stood above on his throne, lightning crackling in his palm.

"You defied Olympus." he boomed, his voice shaking the hall. "You disobeyed direct command, sheltered a mortal, gave him sanctuary— and worse, love."

A murmur rippled through the assembled gods.

Hera narrowed her eyes. "And endangered divine secrets. We are no longer dealing with a flirtation, Zeus. This was treason."

"She did not kill anyone." Athena interjected sharply. "She stayed among mortals, yes— but love is not a crime, specially for Aphrodite herself."

"Love becomes a crime when it weakens Olympus." Ares spat. "And when it leaves the forge of my brother soaked in blood."

Aphrodite met his gaze, before she rolled her eyes at Ares' words. "Hephaestus' death was a tragedy. But it wasn't me who struck the blow."

"No." Hera said coldly. "But you enabled the one who did."

Zeus stood. "I decree that Aphrodite be stripped of her godhood, cast into mortality as punishment for her betrayal."

"No!" Athena stepped forward. "This is unjust—"

"She has corrupted the mortal world long enough." Hera snapped, making her voice louder for the rest of the olympic council to hear. "Let her feel the suffering she romanticizes."

Aphrodite did not flinch, but her voice rang out clear. "If loving a mortal is a sin, then I will wear it proudly. I will not be ashamed of what I felt."

"She calls it felt!" Ares sneered, "but she still feels it."

"She mourns." Athena said. "Like any of us would, had it been someone we loved."

"She should not have loved him in the first place," Zeus said. "Her heart has led her astray, and it may yet lead the world to ruin."

And then— Helios stood, forcing his sunlight to glow bright enough to blind any mortal, but it only made all eyes turn to see him.

"King Zeus..." he said, voice calm, too calm and almost pleading. "Let her speak for herself. She has not hidden her love. She does not lie. She did what she thought was right."

Zeus glared. "Do you defend her out of justice... or out of something else, Sun?"

Helios faltered.

Hera's eyes narrowed. "Well?"

The hall held its breath.

"I—" Helios began, then looked at Aphrodite. She was staring at him, wide-eyed, confused.

"I defend her because..." His voice broke.

"...because I love her."

A stunned silence fell like a hammer.

Ares stepped forward, hand on sword hilt. "What did you say?"

Helios did not back down. "I love her. I have for longer than I can say. But I never acted on it. Never forced it. I simply wanted her to be free. To choose."

The silence after Helios' confession lingered like a held breath. Even the thunder stilled. Aphrodite turned slowly towards him, her expression unreadable. Her lips parted, but no words came. She did not know what hurt more— Helios' confession or the timing of it. Zeus stepped down from his throne, each step booming like judgment incarnate. His lightning dimmed, but his wrath had not cooled.

"Is Olympus a stage now?" he growled. "Is the court of gods reduced to a love triangle and sentiment between a weak titan, a goddess and a foolish mortal?"

Aphrodite snapped her gaze to him. "Is love always your enemy, King? Or only when you don't control it?"

Zeus flinched, not from fear, but from memory. Of past rebellions. Of Prometheus. Of Metis. Of the love that had once defied him and shaped the very cosmos.

"Watch your tongue." Hera warned.

But Aphrodite's voice rose. "You sit on high and pass down punishment for the same heart you once weaponized. You married me to a man you pitied, mocked me when I sought freedom, and now you condemn me for finally finding joy that wasn't forged in chains."

"Enough!" Zeus thundered.

"No!" Aphrodite said, louder. "I won't be silent anymore."

Around the hall, the gods began to shift— some uncomfortable, others intrigued. Dionysus leaned forward on his throne, smiling faintly as he took a sip of wine. Artemis said nothing, but her hand hovered near her bow, always cautious. Hermes watched with narrowed eyes, as if calculating what side would best serve the winds of power, even if he was still recovering from the God Hunter's attack.

"I have served Olympus through eras of war and peace." Aphrodite continued. "I healed wounds you caused. I mended hearts you broke. I gave mortals hope when you offered only fear. And now you punish me for choosing to feel?"

Athena stepped forward, slow and deliberate. "She speaks truth. This is not justice. This is a purge."

"A purge?" Poseidon finally spoke, his voice cold as the ocean floor. "Then what are we purging, niece?"

"Fear." Athena said. "That love, true love could make us question who we are."

"Aphrodite's love cost us a god," Hera snapped. "And gave strength to a mortal who has already slain more than most titans did."

"She gave him sanctuary." Ares added darkly. "And with it, an open path to Olympus. She says she didn't strike the blow but without her, there would be no blade to raise."

Aphrodite met his eyes, calm and sharp. "And without Hephaestus' cruelty, there would have been no reason to run."

That silenced even Ares. Zeus stepped closer now, close enough to tower over her. His face was a storm of pain and pride, torn between fury and doubt.

"You would risk Olympus for him?" he asked.

Aphrodite closed her eyes. "I already have."

Zeus turned away, hands shaking. Hera touched his arm, but he shrugged her off with disgust and anger in his fiery eyes.

"Then the gods are divided," he said bitterly. "And divided, we are weak."

"I warned you, father." Athena said. "Suppress love, and you breed rebellion."

"Then let Olympus bleed!" Zeus growled. "Let the stars shake, if they must. But I will not be ruled by a mortal's ghost and this tramp for goddess of love we have."

Far beyond the courtroom, atop the towers of Olympus, Aeolus stirred. His hands hovered over the invisible strings of the wind, sensing the air shift— not with storm, nor wrath, but with a force he hadn't felt in an age. A current, sharp and certain, split the heavens like a blade. He looked up and noticed a speck that moved through the clouds. It was too fast for a bird, too steady for lightning. It cut across the sky with purpose, growing larger with each breath. A heartbeat passed. And then another, before Aeolus could see what was happening. He quickly descended from the towers to the courtroom.

"The mortal!" Aeolus warned, his voice showing fear and confusion.

Zeus turned to look at the wind god, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Which mortal? Explain yourself, bug."

"The mortal this trial is about, damn it!" Aeolus responded, as he pointed at a dot in the sky. "The winds are changing. He is wearing Hermes' winged sandals to fly all the way here. He is holding his god-slaying sword."

Zeus froze, anger and shock slowly showing in his expression.

"He can't be alive. Aegaeon was taking him to the Tartarus. Unless..."

Within the grand courtroom, every god froze as the wind surged inward, funneling through the pillars like Olympus itself had inhaled. The sky beyond the open dome was no longer empty. A shape emerged, black against gold, wrapped in wind and ash and the impossible. A mortal, cloaked in battle scars and smoke, sword in hand, gaze fixed forward.

Kassus.

Alive.

And flying.

The silence shattered. Gasps cracked the air. Ares reached for his spear. Apollo cursed beneath his breath. Even Artemis, still as stone, flexed her fingers around her bow.

"He shouldn't be able to fly." Hera hissed.

"He shouldn't be able to breathe." Poseidon said flatly.

But he was.

Aphrodite's lips parted, then curled into a smile that had been waiting for this very moment. She stepped forward with no fear in her steps. "Told you." she said, half-laughing, half-sobbing.

Helios chuckled, wincing as he leaned on his staff. "I warned you all. Kassus doesn't die easy."Zeus stood slowly, lightning threading between his fingers.

And above them all, the god hunter descended.