The God of Underworld

The skies had grown dark not from clouds, but from the presence of the abomination that was once Gaia.

The gods, bloodied and breathless, floated in disarray across the skies of the upper realm.

Even divine beings could feel it—that primordial fear, deep in their cores.

A cold realization that something was terribly wrong.

Erebus, usually the most unshakable of them, now panted heavily. The blessing of Nyx that cloaked him in the night's first darkness was beginning to dim.

His cuts didn't heal fast enough. His shadow blade had dulled from overuse.

And even Hestia, her once-roaring Azure Lotus Flame now reduced to flickering embers, hovered beside her, barely staying aloft.

Gaia, or rather, the thing that wore her skin, floated above them like a blight in the sky.

Her jellyfish-like body drifted on tendrils of chaos, and her thousands of eyes pulsed in unnatural rhythms.

Her presence devoured courage. The gods had faced titans, giants, underworld beasts, and even each other, but never this.

"Can we really....hold on?" Apollo began to doubt.

And just when it seemed that their will might crack—

CLANG.

Golden chains, glowing with celestial inscriptions, shot out from the heavens like spears of judgment.

They wrapped tightly around Gaia's massive form, constricting her movement, her eyes widening in fury and surprise.

"What—!?" Athena gasped.

Zeus narrowed his eyes. "Those chains… what are those?!"

A shadow passed over them, followed by the deafening impact of metal crashing into the battlefield.

From the sky descended a colossal metallic figure, a construct forged in the shape of a giant warrior.

Its joints hissed steam, its plated limbs glowed with red-orange lines of molten magic, and in the center of its chest lay an orb, pulsing with raw divine fire.

The chest opened with a hiss, revealing a bearded god sitting within the control orb.

Hephaestus, god of the forge, his arms soot-covered and his gaze determined, stepped forward from the giant.

"Apologies," Hephaestus said with a grin. "It took awhile to forge chains that can restrain that thing."

The gods stared in disbelief—and then relief.

They stared at the bounded figure of the monstrous Gaia, which was struggling to free herself.

"It's useless," said Hephaestus towards the Primordial, "I made that chains using the anti-divine properties of the Giants. And although you have completely change into something alien, at your core, you are still a divine being."

Gaia roared, but just like Hephaestus said, it was almost impossible for her to free herself

"You took your damn time, forge-god," Ares barked with a half-crazed laugh. "We were two seconds away from losing our guts!"

Hephaestus chuckled, running a hand through his burnt hair. "That bad huh? Then good thing I brought more help."

Before anyone could ask, the sky ignited.

A flaming chariot blazed across the heavens, Helios, the Titan of the Sun, descending in a cascade of golden fire.

He leapt from his chariot, sunlight rippling off his armor as he stared at Gaia.

"So this is the Primordial Mother." He muttered, crossing his arms. "Can't believe Uranus was into that. But I guess we all have a preference."

Just then, vines sprouted from the ground, and the figure of a woman appeared, donning a white robe while holding two sickles.

It was Demeter.

She smiled towards Helios, "She was beautiful before that thing took over her."

"Really? Now I want to see it." Helios smiled.

"Don't let your wife hear you say that."

A gust of wind followed, and Astraeus, titan of stars and dusk, landed beside his daughter Astraea, who still lay in Themis's arms.

"Father…" Astraea breathed.

"I'm here," Astraeus said gently, placing a hand on her head. "Rest. You've done more than enough."

Along with him, the Four Winds, brothers of Astraea and sons of Astraeus, appeared, all ready to fight.

From the sea of clouds came a roar like a tide, and the vast form of Oceanus emerged, rivers swirling around his legs.

"Oceanus..." Poseidon sighed in relief seeing him.

"Look at you, boy." Oceanus grunted, "You look like a wish on land. How pathetic."

Poseidon can only lower his head.

Then, immediately, various other gods started appearing one after another. From Divine Spirits to Greater Gods.

All gods in the overworld gathered to fight against the corrupted primordial earth.

Demeter wasted no time. She raised her sickle, and with a radiant glow, life surged from the ground and into Zeus and the others.

Wounds closed. Exhaustion faded. The light of strength returned to their eyes.

"Rise, Olympians," Demeter said coolly. "We're not done yet. The fate of all existence rests in our shoulders. Do not falter."

And then… the ground cracked.

From the deep darkness of the earth, the soil trembled and ruptured—and from it, a dragon burst forth.

Its crimson scales burned with infernal light, and its serpentine form coiled around the sky like a living storm.

The gods froze. Even Erebus took a defensive stance—until he saw the face of the beast.

"Campe…?" he breathed.

The dragon of Hades, ancient guardian of Tartarus, opened her eyes and smirked with rows of jagged teeth.

"Well, well, seems I'm not too late for the party." she growled, her voice like burning coals, "Just right. I don't know what to do if I arrive and you're all down for the count."

"Campe...did Hades sent you?" Erebus asked.

Campe grunted. "Yeah. He's worried that you wimps wouldn't be able to handle this job."

Some gods frowned at her, but her fiery glare quickly shut them up.

She grinned, muttering 'wimps', once again before turning towards Gaia.

"...how ugly."

She hovered, coiling lazily in the sky as her gaze swept across the gathered divines.

"So many gods and titans… The last time I saw this many gathered in one place…" Campe grinned, revealing her predatory teeth. "Was during the Titanomachy."

She laughed—a deep, feral sound that shook the skies.

"Those were good times," she said longingly. "I could rip and tear all I wanted back then."

Zeus stared at the dragon who once became the symbol of Hades.

"Glad you're here," he said sincerely. "You can go wild as much as you like against that thing."

"Of course," Campe said. "Oh, and I brought snacks, too."

From her tail, she tossed the mangled corpse of a chaos-born wyvern she'd killed on her way up.

It landed with a splatter on Gaia's writhing tendrils.

The gods laughed for the first time in the entire war.

Then, Zeus stepped forward, floating above the godly army.

He raised his hand, and lightning curled into a massive banner behind him—a swirling sigil of Sky, Darkness, Light, Flame, Earth, Ocean, War, and Sun, all together. Thаnk yоu fоr rеаding. This wаs brоught tо yоu by М|V|L*ЕМРYR.

"Look at us," he began. His voice was calm, yet powerful, infused with divine will. "Gods and titans. Brothers and enemies. Primordials and Olympians. All here."

He paused, letting the weight of it settle over them.

His figure, once bent from debauched life and indulgence, stood straight. Like a warrior he once was, like the leader he used to be.

Demeter couldn't help but reminiscent of that time in the past. When Zeus embodied what a true leader should be, before his power and arrogance got to his head.

"Do you know the last time so many of us stood side by side? When we faced Cronus. When we stood against monsters who thought they ruled fate itself."

He turned toward the writhing mass of Gaia.

"And now, another horror rises. Something older than even the stars. Something that wants not to rule… but to destroy."

Zeus extended his hand.

"We do not fight for thrones. We do not fight for pride. We fight for existence itself."

He pointed his Thunderbolt at Gaia.

"That thing has corrupted the soul of Gaia, our Earth, our mother, our foundation. And we must free her. Or die with her."

A wind swept across the army of gods. The sky turned gold. The land vibrated with divine energy.

"Let the stars and storms remember this day," he declared. "This is the day we choose to fight together again. Not as separate gods. But as one pantheon. One family."

He turned to Helios, to Astraeus, to Demeter, to Poseidon and Themis and Hestia, and even to Campe.

"Let the entity know—the divine do not yield."

The gods roared, a sound that echoed across realms. Mountains trembled. Seas parted. The heavens split with light.

Campe cackled, slamming her claws into the air. "That's more like it!"

Poseidon stepped beside Erebus and raised his trident. "Let's tear her apart."

Zeus summoned lightning, a thousand bolts surrounding him. "One last war."

Hestia re-ignited her Azure Lotus. "For the hearth. For the world."

And in the distance, Varn on Herion's walls saw the sky turn bright with divine power. His tired eyes welled with tears.

"...They're fighting too,"he whispered.

He raised his blade one more time.

"Hold the line! The gods are with us!"

And with that, the final war began.