Eye for an Eye, Eye for a birthday present

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Maybe something more than just the stereotype 'interesting, pls continue' review/comment? Wink.]

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Hades was terrified.

He was the lord of the underworld, the keeper of the abyss, the watchmen of Tartarus, the King of the Dead, the master of wealth and agriculture...and he was scared. Shitless.

A woman of great beauty sat in front of the king with a soft smile, a cup of mint tea held in her slender fingers. Her healthy brown skin was glistening with a thin sheen of sweat from the afternoon sun while her silver hair was slightly ruffled by the breeze, which only added to her alluring charm.

Her athletic body of perfect proportions (Hades could recall the vivid images in a heartbeat even if he didn't want to) was wrapped underneath a revealing toga of pure white which contrasted well with her skin, hiding only the vital parts and leaving the rest to his imagination.

The wild passion...Hades shook his head. He mustn't get distracted! Especially if she is going to ask him about his...

"What is it you want of me, Caenis?"

As if sensing Hades' arousal and budding uneasiness, Caenis giggled. Hades loved the shallow dimples on her cheek when she did that. Caenis' lustrous lips teased the edge of the cup seductively, savoring the mint blend inside. Mint.

Hades really didn't want to know why she chose that blend. To think of the shitload of satire behind it...!

"My lord, my savior...my love. Could it be that you were...avoiding me for the past few months?"

Hades winced. He tried to explain, but Caenis spoke first.

"If I hadn't used our ring today, you wouldn't have shown up before me, I'm sure. Oh, Hades...why do you act so cruel...? Is it because you feared your wife would harbor ill intentions towards me? Or is it..."

Caenis walked over to him and stroked his cheek. In a sultry voice barely above a whisper, she continued.

"...Towards our son?"

Hades felt his mouth dry. His throat felt like sandpaper.

"My lord...did you know our son was kidnapped?"

Her tone was almost casual as if she was talking about the weather, and that scared Hades even more.

Of course, he knew about the kidnapping...after Persephone took off with his son, that is.

The souls of the deceased and the living are both under his domain, after all. He could sense when a living soul entered the realm of the dead.

He was so alarmed that he blasted through the walls of hell just to reach her, praying that he wasn't too late. Oh, the surprise when she said with a giddy expression that he, Caenis' son, was hers!

Hades licked his cracked lips. He must stop this mess before it gets out of control.

"Caenis-"

"Did she harm my son?"

Her tone took a steep dive when she uttered these words. So sudden was her change, Hades felt cold sweat trickle down his spine. No longer was there the teasing, but an impenetrable shell, an amiable facade that shrouded her animosity. Or was she masking her fury all along?

Most likely, Hades concluded. Caenis' smile reminded him of Persephone's. It was the exact same smile she wore on her face when she found out about his small fling with Mint...right before she squashed her under her foot. That traumatic stain of green haunted his dreams for decades.

Wait...Mint?

Hades jolted, as a sudden realization flashed through his head. Caenis was announcing war. Not a war between mistress and wife, but a war between mothers.

"Caenis-!!!!"

"Where is my Zagreus?"

Silence reigned. The atmosphere was so heavy, that Hades felt he could choke on it. A single drop of sweat trailed down his forehead and splattered against the ground.

Just as abruptly as she changed her tone, Caenis relaxed.

"I'm sorry, my lord. I've been most...forceful."

Hades was terrified, even more so than before.

The way Caenis' crimson eyes glowed...now she knew. He didn't know how, but from their short exchange (if one could even call it that), she had deduced what had transpired and why.

Caenis knew that her son was in the underworld, and judging from the way her lord wasn't distressed, her son was not mistreated in any way.

From there, it was simple reasoning. What would that kid-crazed pedophile of a goddess do to her beautiful son? There was only one explanation.

Persephone, the boy-lover...had sunk her filthy claws into her son, probably justifying her nonsense as an 'adoption'. An act of brutal revenge.

How dare she!!!

Caenis slowly traced her finger along Hades' lips.

A radiant yet undeniably vicious smile blossomed on her face, like a poisonous rose. She brought her lips near his neck, and playfully nibbled at his earlobe.

"I have only one small favor I need to ask of you, my lord. If you would hear me out...?"

Hades could do nothing but reply with a stiff nod.

'God grant me wings', the Lord of Death prayed. He couldn't care less about the irony.

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I think babies drink milk.

Also, I'm pretty sure babies aren't capable of logical thinking, nor aware of the sense of self, or have the basic knowledge of our world.

Guess what. I'm all those, minus the milk part. I'm drinking golden blood. Ichor. Mmmm...root beer.

Nope, I'm not a vampire, sorry to dash your dreams. At least, I don't feel any craving for blood or feel like turning into a bat or hanging upside down.

My 'mother' is chanting something as she feeds me her glowing blood through her cut wrist. Very occultic. ...Is this some Chuthulu cult? Am I the baby sacrifice? I really hope not.

"Drink, my child. Drink, drink, drink. Change, change, change."

Yes, this was downright satanic alright.

I can feel my body rebuilding itself. The bones creaking, my vessels squirming, my muscles dancing, my belly flipping...it was like...my very nature was rebelling, reforging, and...reigniting.

A jolt shot through my spine as a bolt of lightning streaked out of my left eye.

A bolt of lightning, silvery azure in color, and divine in its heavenly wrath.

It tore through the semi-dark palace I was now in and made a large crack in the marble ceiling.

A bolt of freaking lightning flew out of my eye.

I would've freaked out if it wasn't for the fact my mother looked even more freaked out than I.

She slowly touched my left eye, her fingers prying open my eyelids. For a terrible second, I thought she was about to poke out my eyes.

Then, she started to chuckle. The chuckle continued for a long while, her face twisted in a horrifying sneer.

"That whore!", Demeter spat out between chuckles. "The nerve of that filthy slut!"

She stomped. The palace floors splintered like glass. I stayed very still. Best not further aggravate a raging beast.

"Not only did she seduce my husband, but she also shamelessly lay out her gaping hole for the King of Olympus! Because of her, my son would now carry the risk of receiving the Queen's ire!"

The woman threw back her lush hair and laughed. The red lips were a stark contrast against her white skin.

Bloody. Dangerous. Malicious.

I shivered.

"Oh, to think that my son would retain the blood of Zeus among all gods, to think that he would devour the potent power in the womb, his unborn twin! As expected of my son, the son of our most glorious Hades! Ha, hahahaha! You see, father!? The son of the man you did not give a throne of Olympus to, now wields a fragment of your power!"

My 'mother's' eyes opened wide.

For the first time since I gained consciousness, I saw my reflection in her dark orbs.

Black, straight hair. Pale, white skin. Crimson red right eye. And my left eye, still sizzling from the arcane force.

It was a dazzling shade of electric blue.

My mother softly stroked my cheek. A drop of Ichor splattered against my cheek. More followed as it dribbled from the gash on her wrist, but she didn't seem to care. With a euphoric sigh, my mother smiled sweetly.

"You are fortunate to have me as an excuse. Yes, the power of Mighty Lord Zeus, reignited by the blood of his daughter. Yes, that should do nicely."

I hiccupped. My mother gently rubbed my back.

"Come now, child. It is time for your baptism."

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"Are you sure, my lady?"

"Yes, sister. I am."

Persephone and a hooded woman clad in misty grey robes stood at the shore of a gushing river. The water that swirled in the wild torrents was...peculiar, to say the least. A misty gray bordering black.

The woman let out a low sigh.

"As the goddess with the authority of binding divine oaths, to show favoritism by blessing an individual would tip the scales of fate in his favor, resulting in a gift of tremendous power. However, with great power, comes a great price. A devastating price."

Persephone giggled. The woman furrowed her brows.

"My lady! This is no joking matter! Regardless of my will, the price shall come! It is Fate!"

The cries only made the woman giggle more.

"A-apologies, dear sister. I meant no disrespect. Say, I heard the goddess of judgment who tips the scales, is blind. A price for her absolute authority over sin. A price."

The woman gasped. She lifted one quivering finger and pointed it towards the queen of death.

"...M-my lady...are you...!?"

"Would mine suffice?"

"My lady, lord Hades would be-"

"Sister...my friend...my dear, dear Styx...would it be enough for the price of your river...your river of oaths and punishments?"

Persephone took a step forward, her lips an inch away from the other goddess' ear.

"Bless my son. Bless him so that All Weapons that are Divine shall never scratch his skin. Bless him so that All Weapons that are Mortal shall never hurt his flesh. In return-"

Persephone brought her fingers to her face. Styx reached out a hand, trying to stop her-

"-My eyes, you shall take."

-Alas, the goddess was too late.

Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Persephone gouged out her eyeballs with her fingers, tearing apart her divine flesh and severing her ability of sight...for eternity.

Ichor spurt out of her empty eye sockets and gushed down her cheeks, raining upon the underworld like tears of gold. Persephone smiled as if the gruesome injury was nothing but a pinprick.

She lifted her hand towards Styx.

The spheres of divine flesh emptily gazed at the goddess' haunted face. With a trembling hand, Styx took the sacrifice.

"The contract is settled."

A carefully wrapped bundle of purple silk materialized in Persephone's arms. Styx realized the silk was the shroud of Nyx, a shroud said to hide all that is precious in the darkness of the night.

Carefully, Persephone gave Styx the bundle. A realization dawned over the goddess as she carefully unwrapped it. What was inside, made Styx forget everything about her fear for her lady.

"...My...what a beautiful child...!"

Beautiful could never be more of an understatement. Stunning or attractive could not describe the sight that assaulted her mind.

The sleeping baby was bewitching. So mesmerizing, so breathtaking, Styx even forgot what she was meant to do.

"Yes, the most beautiful boy in the world."

Her lady's words dragged her out of her trance.

Persephone's empty sockets were pointed towards her child. Somehow, Styx knew that even without sight, the blind queen could see her prince as clear as day. An obsession, a love so strong, it warped the very mechanisms of the world.

Styx nodded, a solemn expression hardening her face. Silently, she made an oath to bless the child with everything she had.

With the baby cradled in her arms, Styx stepped onto the surface of the raging river and walked to the center of the current. The river tides started to spin and spiral in a giant circle, creating a maelstrom of stormy gray water in a matter of seconds.

"On the name of Styx, daughter of the primordials Nyx and Erebus, and Goddess of Oaths and Contracts, hereby, I shall bless thine sworn heir with my river.

May All Things that are Divine never sear thy soul.

May All Things that are Mortal never tear thy flesh.

May nothing corrupt thy mind or shackle thy freedom.

For tis' I, the Styx, that shall pledge this oath.

So as I pray, River Fortress: Iron of Styx (Σίδηρος της Στύξ)."

The rampaging typhoon collapsed and condensed, swirling around the infant and bathing his body in the enchanted river streams.

Crimson tattoos appeared all over the baby's white skin, engraving it with the divinity of the highest level. Styx walked back to where Persephone stood on shaking legs, to the blind woman with golden tears trailing down her cheeks, and returned the boy to its mother.

Persephone hugged her child tightly, murmuring blissful words under her breath. Styx's legs gave way as she crumpled onto the ground.

The last thing Styx heard before she fainted from exhaustion, was the ecstatic laughter of a queen, loud enough for all the world to hear.

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A few years later, a rumor that the river Styx would grant a baby invincibility started to spread among the goddesses.

Hearing this, the river goddess Thetis gleefully dipped her demigod son in the river, believing that it would make her son stronger than any man on earth. However, she held him by the heel in fear that he might drown.

Thus, it was said his heel forever remained mortal and weak.