14 I Go Cave Diving...

Hades POV:

With my mind made up, I decided exploring my temporary home of Mount Ida would be a more helpful waste of my time than watching my siblings stumble their way into making their physical form. And even though I'm sure it would be great blackmail for the future, I am genuinely curious to know what Zeus' childhood home looks like. After all, I can't remember any descriptions granted to it other than it being a cave hidden on the Island of Crete at the base of Mount Ida. 

My initial impressions are that there must be some nature magic going on in this cave for it to be as beautiful as it is because, in my last life, every cave I've been in to was a dark and dreary place, devoid of any light bar any natural sunlight that can seep through any cracks or crevices with a pungent smell of damp. But this place blew those beliefs out of the water, with an almost perfect circular entrance that seemed to attract the sun into the cave; it was like Helios himself was in awe of its beauty, spreading his light to every corner of the cave, from the entrance also came to a waterfall filled with clear sky blue water filled with various Naiads, that ran deep into the depths of the cave flowing through each of the three layers of the cave, splitting the cave into two with only a bridge of moss, cobble, and vines tying the two sides together. 

On both sides of the cave where houses made from trees, that had branches that seemed to move in unison like a sacred dance, With windows made of ice and luminescent plant decorating and brightening the houses, they gave the houses a look of minimalistic beauty. Inside the small town cave were families of Nymphs that radiated in a greenish glow that seemed to give life to any vegetation they passed. And damn, were they hot, like Imagine high fantasy elves slightly smaller, although that could just be because I was so tall, wearing ancient Greek chitons made up from whatever made up their environment, whether it be vines or merely leaves.

Various plants littered the cave-like baubles on a Christmas tree, adding a sparkle of flavor and coloring in an already beautiful habitat, whether they be flower beds made up of colors that would have been called fantasy in my past life or bright-colored mushrooms that reminded me of Mario, each bit of flora was a piece of a jig saw that made up the beauty of the cave. Unfortunately, I learned pretty quickly not to touch any of the flora, as it turns out being the God of The Dead doesn't go well with being a green thumb. Any vegetation I felt would begin to wither and decay under my palm. To avoid getting a bonk on the head from upset Nature spirits, I decided to keep my distance from the plants.

The whole cave gave off a natural beauty that would've been impossible for any mortal to achieve, no matter the time or funding required. No, this beauty only came after thousands of years of dedicated worship by the Nature spirits that made up the cave system, although I'm sure the blessing of Gaea, whose power I could feel deep within the cave's soil, indeed must have helped. It was hard to miss being far more ancient and...Earthly? Then, my siblings, including Demeter.

The view of the cave alone made me wonder if I made a mistake not choosing to be reincarnated as Zeus. I mean, come on, how could he not grow up to be a womanizing asshole when he grew up in a place as beautiful as this, surrounded by fabulous and flirty Nature spirits, and then had to give it all up to come and rule the Cosmos, like I'd be angry all the time, too.

Overall, I'll admit to being exceptionally jealous of any deity related to nature; not only will they be close to all the beautiful nature spirits, but views like this will also be possible to create with their powers. Something that, as the God of The Dead and King of The Underworld, will be impossible to do. After all, life and nature are my antitheses. So, there is no calm nature kingdom for me...

I mean, maybe it's the fact I'm the God of The Dead, thats making me so jealous, after all no matter how powerful I become I will still be bound to the rules of the Underworld. So, no matter how much I want to, no life could be created there. Unless I made plants that were both dead yet still looked good, I doubt I could maintain my image of the badass ruler of the Greek afterlife if I spent my time trying to create flowers, so maybe it's for the best anyway?

Even though I couldn't replicate the cave due to the Underworld's limitations, it gave me some ideas on how I want the Underworld to look when I eventually can claim it as my own. After all, like hell, will I spend eternity living in a pale imitation of Olympus like the original Hades made in his bitterness? Nope, not me. I will ensure that my realm will be as grand and beautiful as my brother's kingdoms.

After finally getting over my little exploration of Zeus' home, I decided it was time to return to my siblings. A lot of time had passed between me creating my physical form and coming out to explore the cave, and indeed, at least one of my siblings had managed to complete the transition from incorporeal to human by now. Meeting my siblings one at a time rather than all five at once seemed more straightforward.