If one were to peer into a certain stretch of the void between the universes of the universal sea, they would spot a massive spacecraft streaking across the quintillions of light-years separating the realms of Olympus and Hell.
At its helm sat a man clad in a casual black long-sleeved turtleneck, matching trousers and shoes, with a grey hooded garment inscribed with inhibition magic draped over him.
This was none other than Hades, the Olympian King of the Underworld and father of the prophesied child of destruction, making his way to the home of his unborn child's mother.
His gaze lingered on the shimmering, multi-coloured threads of energy weaving through the void as memories of his father, the Titan of Time, Kronos, surfaced.
'This must have been part of why his Unique Authority of Time was so powerful, and Tartarus was saturated with it, too.
If I hadn't learned to sense it, I would never have realised that what we believed to be his prison was, in truth, just a convenient place for him to recover.
I've also begun to see growth in my own strength over the years. I wonder… will the child be able to use this one day?
Well, that's a matter for the future.'
He laughed lightly as the aura radiating from him increased in intensity. Had any of the Olympians been present to witness it, the sight might have made their eyes pop out in shock.
'Tsk… I still haven't mastered how to keep this in check. How does he always manage it so effortlessly?
I'll need to avoid meeting him until I can control this properly.'
He thought this as he pulled his aura back in and shifted his focus to other matters.
'Persephone's reaction when I first told her was… amusing, at least for me. She was absolutely livid.
Well, it was to be expected. Anyone would be if their spouse suddenly came home, dropped to their knees, and begged for forgiveness for sleeping with someone else.'
He chuckled again at the memory of his wife's fury over the revelation that he had fathered a child with another woman.
But her reaction when I told her it was the prophesied child… now that was priceless.
The chuckling continued as he travelled, occasionally weaving illusion magic to mask his presence from anyone he might encounter. He had no interest in letting his journey be interrupted.
Suddenly, the ambient energies around him turned chaotic, and just as he was wondering what could have caused it, an overwhelming and inexplicable wave of fear crashed over him, one even greater than the terror he had felt when he was about to be devoured by his father, Kronos.
The aura he had been barely keeping suppressed erupted from his body, and the Helm of Darkness materialised upon his head.
In his hands, his twin swords appeared, while a bident floated at his back.
His eyes darted about as he expanded his senses in all directions, desperately seeking the source of the fear gripping him. A cold shiver ran down his spine, his very soul trembling as though his existence itself were under threat.
That was when the words of a prophecy he had heard months ago resurfaced in his mind:
All gods across all worlds shall tremble with fear…
'So that's it… Never thought I'd actually be afraid of my own child's birth.
Some would completely lose it over this. They might even see it as a reason to try to kill the child. But knowing Diablo, there's no way he'd let that happen.'
Dismissing his weapons and retracting his aura, he sighed, ignoring the stares he could now feel on him after his illusions were dispelled.
Without a backwards glance, he crossed the barrier before him and entered the Hell universe.
◇ ◇ ◇
On an unknown planet, situated in a universe completely unknown to Olympus and the surrounding universes, a being lying on a grassy field opened her eyes, staring up at the darkened sun above.
"Should be about now, I think.
A being with the same affinity as mine… his affinity is so strong, I suspect we might share the same type of special skill.
My universal fortune is responding extremely well to."
Speaking softly to herself, she rose from the ground, her gaze locked on the golden cloud of pure energy hovering overhead.
"I already have so many questions… too bad I'll have to wait a few more years for the answers."
She sighed, her expression briefly downcast, before her features brightened as if she had just found a solution.
"First, I'll locate which universe he's in. When he grows up, it will be far easier to find him. If the law of destiny is correct, he is the key to breaking this 'curse' that plagues me."
With that, she tied her light blue hair into a ponytail and spread her six pairs of glistening, pure white wings.
In the next instant, she vanished, casting inter-universal teleportation magic with a speed and proficiency that would leave even the most seasoned drifters in awe.
◇ ◇ ◇
At the same time, various powers throughout the greater Cosmos sensed the birth of the prophesied child, each reacting differently.
Some raged, while others remained calm. Some considered it impossible for the child to fulfil his destiny, while others simply did not care.
A few speculated on the abilities the child might possess that could allow him to kill even gods, while others believed he would have no such power.
Some more knowledgeable beings declared that the child would merely be the first of his kind, with many more like him appearing in the future, though weaker.
◇ ◇ ◇
In a realm best described with a single word, Golden, a woman dressed in black sat atop a throne, shivering slightly before opening her grey eyes.
She ignored the gazes upon her as she rose from the throne.
No aura or power radiated from her, yet she had an intimidating presence that could make the hair on one's arms stand on end.
She stepped out of the throne room into a golden hall where over a hundred figures knelt, speaking in a voice that was euphonious to all who heard.
"It's not a hoax this time. Find him, all of you."
||Yes, My Lady!||
The kneeling figures responded in unison before vanishing from their positions, warping to various locations to carry out her command.
Alone in the hall, the grey-eyed woman spoke softly to no one in particular.
"Finally. After so many years, I began to think I'd been left out by the Cosmos...."
A bright smile formed on her lips, anticipation and amusement shining in her eyes as she muttered,
"If you want to end the gods, you simply have to kill me. Let's see if you're truly up to the task, my slayer."
◇ ◇ ◇
A golden-haired man, radiating a domineering aura as if he ruled over quintillions, tapped the armrest of the throne he occupied and spoke in a solemn voice.
"The fourth of the previous era has returned. The wheel of fate will soon begin to turn once more."
Resting on his lap, her head against his chest, was a woman dressed in a pure black gown that starkly contrasted her white hair and pale skin.
"Soon, we will have to face 'that' again. For now, let us savour the brief time of peace we have. This calm before the storm," she said.
The ambient energies thrummed wildly as the man nodded, then turned his gaze elsewhere and added,
"Yes… until then, we shall bask in this fleeting illusion of peace."
◇ ◇ ◇
At a certain point within the void, an unknown number of light-years away from the regions containing the Hell and Olympus universes, a being drifting through the emptiness halted and fixed their gaze in a particular direction.
The figure was clad entirely in black, a hood drawn over their head concealing their face.
From within the shadow of the hood, two iridescently glowing dots pierced the darkness as the being stared toward a specific universe.
|Finally, 'Last' has returned.|
The words left their lips, the gender of the speaker impossible to discern, before they turned toward the massive spatial rift before them.
They entered the rift, drifting further into the Cosmos beyond, leaving only two words in their wake.
|For Balance.|