Return To Olympus

The golden ripple of the gate shimmered once, then split open like a calm sea parting for gods.

Zeus stepped through first, the folds of his dark cloak brushing against the marble floor. Behind him, Hera followed with silent poise, her red robe trailing like fire in the wind. The air around them shimmered slightly with the aftershock of divine passage, then settled as the gate sealed shut behind them.

Olympus exhaled.

The palace halls lit with a soft pulse, as if the mountain itself felt them return.

"Welcome back!" called a voice from the upper balcony.

Hephaestus—still young, not yet a god, only a smith's apprentice under Hecatoncheires guidance—leaned from the railing with wide eyes before catching himself and stepping back. Others followed. Minor gods, attendants, dryads cloaked in gold-veined robes. They gathered in clusters across the upper halls and courtyards, peeking from behind columns and staircases.