Rebirth: The God of the Underworld

"What do we do?" Zeus whispered after a long ten minutes, though his voice was loud enough to basically notify everyone where we were at, he was not good at doing silent and deadly…. Wait no that sounded wrong, he wasn't good at not being noticed.

I lowered my voice. "Alright, here is the plan. I'll distract her while the rest of you will free the Cyclopes. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads so I motioned for them to go ahead. I waited for them to slink into the shadows before stepping out into the open. Kampe's blood-red eyes immediately locked onto me, narrowing in suspicion as she sniffed the air. 

"You smell like my Lord," she said slowly, her voice carrying a mix of curiosity and distrust. "And yet, you seem weaker."

I gave her a small, mocking bow. "I am Hades, son of Kronos."

Kampe's frown deepened, and she tilted her head. "My master has no son," she hissed, sniffing the air again. Her scorpion tail twitched as she scrutinized me. "You don't smell like a Titan."

"That's because I'm not," I said, my tone calm but sharp. "I am a god, and I'm planning to dethrone my father."

Her eyes blazed with fury, and she raised her cleaver high. "If that is so, then we are enemies!"

The cleaver came down with terrifying speed, but I melted into the shadows before it could reach me, reappearing a few feet away. "Oh dear," I said, feigning innocence. "Did I move too fast for you?"

Kampe growled, her tail snapping forward like a whip as she lunged at me again. But once more, I vanished into the shadows, reappearing elsewhere. "You know," I continued, my voice echoing around the cavern, "for a creature of your reputation, I expected a little more finesse."

"Hold still, you wretched little god!" Kampe snarled, her frustration boiling over as she swung wildly, her attacks missing by mere inches every time.

"As you wish," I said with a smirk, halting in one spot. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she charged forward, cleaver poised for a killing blow. Just as it came down, I flicked my fingers. The shadows around me erupted into swarms of butterflies, their dark forms fluttering around her in a chaotic dance.

Kampe froze, momentarily disoriented. Her cleaver sliced through the air uselessly as she swatted at the butterflies. "What is this nonsense?" she shrieked, her voice tinged with rage and disbelief.

"What are you doing?" Demeter's voice rang out, sharp and exasperated. I glanced over to where she and the others were working to free the second Cyclops.

"Distracting her," I replied, dodging another of Kampe's furious swings with ease.

"With butterflies?" Demeter demanded.

I shrugged. "Seemed poetic." My nonchalance only fueled Kampe's fury, and she roared as she swiped at me again. I danced out of reach, letting the butterflies swarm around her, their delicate wings brushing against her scales as she snarled in frustration.

"Stay still!" Kampe bellowed, her voice echoing through the cavern as I melted into the shadows once more, reappearing behind her with a sly grin. "Oh, Kampe, you're making this too much fun."

"Stay still!" Kampe bellowed, her voice echoing through the cavern as I melted into the shadows once more, reappearing behind her with a sly grin. "Oh, Kampe, you're making this too much fun."

Feeling inspired, I began to recite, my tone mockingly lyrical. "Kampe of the dark and dread, trapped by butterflies in her head. Wings that flutter, shadows that tease, her rage a storm, but I dance with ease."

Her growl was almost a roar now, her frustration palpable. In a fit of rage, she hurled her cleaver at me. I raised a wall of shadows, and the cleaver vanished into it without a sound. I blinked in surprise, intrigued. Reaching into the shadows, I felt its cold steel and pulled it out, realizing with a thrill that I could store objects within the darkness itself.

Kampe's tail lashed out, but I dodged, spinning the cleaver in my hand. It was heavy, far heavier than I expected, but I adjusted quickly. With a powerful swing, I slashed through one of her arms, severing it cleanly. Kampe screamed, clutching the stump as black ichor gushed out.

She charged at me, desperation replacing her fury. I toyed with her, stepping just out of reach each time, her movements growing more erratic. Her attacks became slower, weaker, her breaths ragged. Fear now filled her eyes as she began to beg.

"Please, young lord," she whimpered, her voice trembling. "Spare me. I swear I will leave you alone."

I yawned, twirling the cleaver lazily. "You're boring me," I said, shrugging. "Fine. Beat it."

Kampe didn't need to be told twice. She turned, her wings beating frantically as she tried to flee. But the shadows around her rose like a living tide, spear-like tendrils piercing her body. She screamed once, a sound of pure terror, before the darkness consumed her completely. When it receded, she was gone, as if she had never existed.

 I turned to where my siblings were unchaining the cyclopes and they were gone, confused. I tried to sense how far away they were and to my irritation it seemed that they were leaving Tatarus already. 

Before I could dwell too much on it, a gruff voice called out from behind me, startling me from my thoughts. "Young lord! Are you alright?"

I turned, my brow furrowing, to see one of the Cyclopes running toward me. I couldn't help but frown seeing his ribs. his singular brown eye gleaming with concern and awe as he approached. 

"Yeah, I am, thank you." I said. "May I ask who you are?"

The Cyclops straightened, puffing out his chest with a mixture of pride and relief. "Brontes, at your service. One of the Elder Cyclopes. And let me just say, young lord, it's a relief to see you're unharmed."

I raised an eyebrow but couldn't help but laugh. "My name is Hades, it is quite nice to meet you. Can you tell me why you came back?"

Brontes shifted on his feet, looking sheepish. "When Lord Zeus and the others unchained us, we wanted to come help you but Zeus said to leave you as you would be fine. I went with them at first but felt guilty and so I told them I would return for you."

"I see, thank you." I patted him on his shoulder. "Now, do you perhaps know where I can find the Hecatoncheires. I made a promise to also save them."

"Oh yeah, they are chained right there." Brontes responded as he pointed to the only two left chained to the mountain. I blinked in confusion as they looked nothing like I had thought.

They were hulking, towering at around 20 feet tall, their eyes locked onto me as I approached, a mix of weariness and faint hope flickering in their eyes.

But something was wrong.

"Wait a moment," I said, stopping just as I reached them. My eyes scanned them, confusion knotting my brow. "I thought there were three of you."

Brontes sighed heavily behind me, his shoulders sagging. "There were," he said, his voice thick with grief. "Gyges... he didn't make it."

I turned sharply to face him. "What do you mean?"

Brontes hesitated for a moment before continuing. "The fumes of Tartarus are harsh, even for beings like us. Gyges was already weakened from the injuries he sustained when he fought Kampe for our freedom. He held on as long as he could, but... eventually, he succumbed to the poisoned air and his wounds." His voice dropped to a near whisper. "Kampe didn't stop there. And she... she ate him, it didn't matter if we closed our eyes not to watch, we still heard everything.

"I see, I am sorry for your loss. Makes me glad that I killed Kampe."

"Wait, you killed Kampe?" One of the Hecatoncheries asked surprised. "How?"

"Yeah, split her in half with my shadows." I said as I got to work removing their chains. "What are these chains made of?"

"Adamantine. It is a metal that Father Ouranus crafted from his divinity and some raw metal's in the earth." Brontes responded as he helped me. "He calls it the divine metal of the gods."

"I see, so I guess we better take it with us." I said as I started dragging the long chains and setting them into a pile. I believe it was about several thousand meters of chain that I shoved into my shadows. "Great when we get out of here we should melt these down for later use."

"Oh great thinking. There is a lot that my brothers and I can forge with these metals." Brontes responded with this mad glint in his eyes as he eyed the chain as it vanished into the shadow. "Uh, what are you doing exactly?"

"I am storing the metal into the shadows so we don't have to drag it back with us." I responded. 

The two remaining Hecatoncheires watched me closely, their expressions grim but unreadable. I forced myself to take a calming breath and refocused my attention on them.

"Not to be rude, but I have to ask. Why do you look like this?" I gestured toward their current forms. "I thought you were supposed to be giants—fifty, maybe eighty feet tall—with a hundred hands and fifty heads."

Now that I actually got a look at them, the Hecatoncheires were 20ft tall, and the complete opposites of each other. While one had white skin, black tattoo-like markings all over his body, four arms and white eyes and black sclera. The other had black skin, with white markings all over his body, four arms and black eyes and white sclera.

One of the Hecatoncheires stepped closer, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder. "This is our natural form, young lord. The tales of us as towering giants are true, but only partially. Transforming to that size, with all those limbs and heads, takes an immense amount of energy." He spread his arms slightly, as if to emphasize his current shape. "In Tartarus, where strength is sapped from you at every turn, makes these smaller forms more practical."

Gods now I couldn't wait to see what they looked like going full on, Hecatoncheir mode. 

Brontes nodded in agreement. "They've been conserving their energy. Tartarus isn't kind to anyone, no matter how strong."

"Alright, so what are your names?" I asked as I finished up what I needed to do.

The Hecatoncheires exchanged a glance as they looked back at me. 

The white one stepped forward. "My name is Briareus," he said, before he motioned to his brother. "And this is my brother, Cottereus."

I inclined my head in greeting. "I am Hades, son of Rhea," I replied, meeting their gazes with steady resolve. "It's an honor to meet you both. And now, let's get out of this cursed place."

Brontes, standing nearby, furrowed his brow. "How exactly are we getting out of Tartarus, young lord?"

I paused, considering for a moment. A slow grin spread across my face as an idea formed. "Stand back," I said, stepping away from the group.

Channeling my divine essence, I allowed the transformation to take hold. Shadows swirled around me, dark feathers bursting forth from my skin as my body elongated and shifted as I grew larger, my six wings unfurled from my back. A tail grew and extended into a long, elegant plume of dark feathers. 

This was my first try doing this infront of someone, I had practiced alone when my family was asleep so I was pretty excited. After learning how to reveal my divine form, I wondered if I could create myself a new one. 

I took the concept of Balerion from "A Song of Ice and Fire" and gave it a raven makeover, my signature six wings and bam, I created my very own Divine Beast Form. 

"Alright, Get on." I spoke, my voice coming out a lot deeper than I thought it would.

The three of them stared at me, their jaws slightly slack as they took in my new form. Briareus was the first to react, giving an approving nod. "Impressive," he rumbled, his hands gripping onto my feathery body.

Cottereus climbed on next, his massive form surprisingly nimble as he settled behind Briareus. "Never thought I'd be riding a god," he muttered with a hint of dry humor.

Brontes smirked as he clambered on, gripping one of my wings for balance. "I second that, brother!"

I gave a soft chuckle, the sound rumbling from deep in my chest. "Hold on tight. This is going to be a very bumpy ride. "

With a powerful beat of my six wings, I launched us into the air. The cavern walls blurred past as I soared upward, the oppressive darkness of Tartarus giving way to a sense of open space. My long, feathered tail trailed behind, slicing through the heavy, sulfurous air as I navigated back toward the exit.

The Hecatoncheires and Brontes clung to me, screaming for their lives.