Lord Shadow

Chapter 1847: Back Channel



Poseidon look at the being beside him

His older brother, Hades

Hades like always has that aura of darkness around him and this silent dignity, solemn power that sets him apart from any of the other Olympians.

He is the most mysterious and the most powerful of all the Olympians. He rarely goes to the Council but when he does, just by sitting there, his presence is commanding and menacing.

As he is the big brother, there is this authority around him that even make Poseidon scared sometimes.

Zeus is the arrogant one. And each time Hades deal with Zeus, hades does not even need to use power to subdue his youngest brother.

Just play off his paranoia and arrogance. But Hades never had coveted the throne of Olympus. No one knows why

Maybe he is grateful that Zeus saved them from their father. Maybe, it is because he never cares for the power of Olympus

No one really knows.

Right now, he is tall and lean instead of muscly. His skin is pale, almost ashen, but despite this pallor, his complexion carries a faint, ethereal glow.

Hades face is striking, with sharp, angular features. His cheekbones are high, his nose aquiline, and his jawline defined, giving him an aristocratic appearance.

His lips are thin, often set in a sombre line, though they can curl into a wry, knowing smirk when he chooses.

His eyes are perhaps his most haunting feature, just like Poseidon

His eyes is deep, dark, and filled with an unyielding gaze that seems to peer into the soul. His hair is jet black, long, and sleek, falling to his shoulders in smooth waves.

Occasionally, it seems to ripple, as if stirred by an invisible wind from the underworld.

A closely trimmed beard frames his face. Hades rarely speaks. Not many beings could speak with him in the Underworld. Other than Persephone.

But when he does speak, his voice is low and smooth, resembling the sound of a distant rumble of thunder.

his tone is measured and calm, but it can grow icy and sharp as the edge of a scythe when angered.

Right now, he dresses in flowing robes of black and deep grey, the fabrics appearing to absorb light rather than reflect it.

Subtle embroidery of pomegranates, skeletal motifs, and infernal flames decorates his attire.

A cloak of shadow-like material often drapes over his shoulders, moving with a life of its

own.

On his head, he wear a simple black crown wrought from obsidian

Around his hands and wrists, he wears rings and cuffs adorned with black diamonds and garnets, gems said to be forged in the fires of his realm.

Which also very magical

Hades has many faces.

Sometimes, he appears in front of you as a child.

Sometimes, he appears as a young man.

Sometimes, an old crone.

Today, he sports a younger version of himself.

But unlike Poseidon, he is not wearing any battle armour.

Poseidon has always respected this older brother of his. Because at least, he is braver than Zeus. Or maybe he knows things Zeus doesn't.

But Poseidon knows not to underestimate Zeus. After all, he had underestimated Zeus many times before and each time he came back defeated.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Poseidon also has learned from his mistake in the past. He once wanted to team up with Hades to take Olympus from Zeus.

But Hades did not agree with it.

And each time that he tries, Hades would reject him. Poseidon thought that if there is anyone with a grudge against Zeus and someone who has enough power to defy Zeus, it would be

Hades

But after repeated failures, then he finally understood. That the God of the Underworld has never been interested in Olympus.

At that time Zeus manipulated the ballot box.

But was it really Zeus that manipulated the ballot box?

For the ones that were not there at the time, they did not know what words Hades had said to Zeus before he began putting his hand into the ballot box.

Poseidon believe that Hades might have manipulate Zeus into manipulating the ballot box.

Maybe, he said something like the ruler of the sky would be the ruler of Olympus and this would determine the fate of the Olympians.

Or maybe he had said that the dominion of the sky would be the most powerful of the goads. He maybe appeal to Zeus selfishness and Zeus desire to stand above others

Maybe form the very beginning Hades, had known something about the domain of death, about the domain of the Unseen

After all, when Hades was in Chronos stomach, he seems to have understood something.

And after the ballot of domains was completed, Hades rarely goes out of the Underworld. Every time he did go out it is to participate in big and grand events of the world. He might not care about the realm of the sky.

But that is because his realm is different.

His realm is more powerful than Olympus itself. Even Zeus the High King of Olympus one day would die. And when he dies......Hades would be there to reap him

That is what Hades said to him. And from some of the conversation that Hades let slip, Poseidon knows that Hades sometimes knows more than what he let on.

He looks at his elder brother and ask

"Hades, this doesn't seem to be a coincidence, does it?"

Hades is also looking at what is happening in Olympus right now.

And he is frowning.

And he sighed

The pillars of the Underworld shakes a bit when Aphrodite died.

Her soul came here and is now being processed.

Even as Olympus grows weaker, The Underworld is getting stronger.

He is not only getting the souls of beings that Olympians protects, he is also getting souls of

Erthen and Qarthan and even beings of the Eternal Horizon.

Olympus might be weakening but the Underworld is getting stronger.

Though, Hades did not seen happy at all.

There should be a balance between the dead and the living. the dead will always surpassed the

living that is without question.

But when everything dies, then that is not really something that Hades wanted to see either

Just thinking about the work, he has to do to organize all of these lost souls is already making him dread to return to his work desk

Too many dead beings at the same time is more work for him. Death is streamlined these days. There is a channel, and roads.

He still like the old-fashioned way of Charon guiding them to him. But sometimes, when things go like this, he would use other methods.

The channel to enter the Undersold is congested

"I really should have expanded the channel like Charon and Hypnos suggested to me" he

sighed

Charon especially wanted a vacation and he thinks it is better to change a bit the method of

admission.

Maybe allow him more power and autonomy so that he could create more of his clones

bestowed with the authority of the Underworld.

Hades did not think it was a priority at the beginning

Because he already knew what is about to happen.

And in the other timeline, even until the End arrives, the Underworld had never experienced a

surge of souls coming into the Underworld

Relying on this foresight, Hades is quite chill about everything. Hence, why some of the other

Olympians that did not know or strong enough to survive the changing of timeline would feel

like had changed a bit

What Hades means by not surviving the timeline, it means that these beings did not retain the memories of the other timeline.

In other words, they behaved almost exactly like the last time.

Even Zeus, act like last time.

But the difference between Zeus and the other Olympians that did not remember, was that

Zeus repressed his own memories about the End

Maybe because he knows something he should not. Or maybe because he didn't want to get involved in the cause and effect of the Destroyer.

Or maybe....and this is just Hades speculation...that Zeus is afraid of what he will do with that

information.

Zeus has many not so virtuous trait. He is rebellious but it is this rebellious heart that makes him brave and enterprising.

It is this rebellious heart that makes him brave enough to stand up against their father and

defeat him

Zeus also knows this part of himself. Maybe......just maybe.....he fears that if he has the memories of that other timeline, he would do things that he would regret.

And so, to avoid of being in a dilemma, he suppressed his memories. Hades had been thinking

about this matter since a long time ago.

The thing he is thinking about is whether Zeus erased or suppress the memories. And Hades is quite sure now that Zeus only supressed the memories and not erase it

And this gave Hades a clue. It seems the youngest rebellious heart is not completely defeated.

The fact that Zeus did not erase the memories but suppress it, tells a lot

At least it tells a lot for Hades. It means, Zeus left himself a back channel so that he could

remember when he needs to remember it.

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