When Hades' eldest daughter finished choosing her weapon and was about to leave her father's armory, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her body froze for a moment when her eyes fell upon the three girls—Odin's daughters—standing before her.
She looked at them with clear anger, her eyes gleaming with open hostility, and said in a sharp tone:
"What do you want, you lying hypocrites?"
The three girls looked at Hades' eldest daughter with obvious arrogance, showing no interest in her rudeness or her angry tone. On the contrary, their expressions were calm and haughty, as if her words meant nothing to them.
One of them spoke in a tone full of pride:
"Do you know what is happening right now, Hades' eldest daughter?"
She looked at them with clear surprise, astonishment evident on her face at that strange, condescending tone, then replied in a voice tinged with suspicion:
"What is happening, girls? Is there something wrong for you to come looking for me after everything you've done?"
The three girls exchanged glances, then one of them said:
"You are now—"
The second continued without giving her a chance:
"Standing before—"
And the third finished the sentence in a cold, arrogant voice:
"The Three Oracles of Asgard."
Then they all said together, in a single voice carrying a veiled threat:
"And you must show respect while standing before us, even while breathing near us. We are no longer of the same rank, you filthy commoner. Now, kneel before us."
Hades' eldest daughter looked at them as if she were looking at a group of fools. She sighed irritably, then moved forward calmly, passing by the three twins without giving them any attention, and said with clear sarcasm:
"If you want to lie to me, you should come up with a better lie than this, you idiots."
The faces of the three twins reddened with anger, and they shouted together without even turning toward her:
"Come back here! You are in our presence! If you wish to leave, you must first take permission from us! How dare you speak to us in this manner, you commoner?"
Hades' eldest daughter suddenly stopped in her place, nearly dropping the weapon from her hand in shock. She looked back to see the three twins standing where they were, their backs to her, without moving a single step.
She thought about it for a moment and felt that something was truly strange. Their tone and manner of speaking were not normal; it did not seem like a simple lie as she had first thought.
She decided to return to her previous spot to make sure of what was happening, but she swore to herself that if the three twins were deceiving her, they would learn very well what fate awaited anyone who dared to do so to her.
When the three girls saw Hades' eldest daughter return to her former place, a subtle smile appeared on their faces. They all smiled at the same time and said together in a proud tone:
"Do you know what power has begun to appear within us, you commoner?"
Hades' eldest daughter looked at them, tightening her grip on her weapon. Until now, she had endured their tone and insults, but she did not want to respond with violence at this moment. The subject they were talking about had caught her attention and stirred her curiosity unexpectedly.
In a strangely gentle tone—completely unlike her usual self—she replied:
"And what is this power that might have appeared within you?"
The three twins smiled at the same time and said together in a condescending tone:
"It is spiritual and prophetic power, you commoner. Do you know what that means?"
Hades' eldest daughter's expression froze for a moment, and she did not know exactly what she was thinking. But a dangerous expression quickly formed on her features at an odd speed, as if a dark idea had been born deep within her mind, and she said in a tone close to a whisper, yet charged:
"And what does that mean?"
The three girls looked at Hades' eldest daughter, a slight sign of concern appearing on their faces at her sudden expression, but that concern quickly turned into inner satisfaction. They felt that her expression was proof that their words had hit their mark.
They stepped back calmly, one step after another, as if they did not want Hades' eldest daughter to sense anything strange, or as if they wished to leave and flee the place before the situation changed.
They said as they retreated, in one voice:
"It means that we will be able to speak to our grandfather. From now on, you filthy, rude commoner must know how to deal with us. Do you understand? And now… goodbye."
The three twins said that, then rushed out of the armory at terrifying speed, as if fear were chasing their steps.
Hades' eldest daughter watched them as they ran, but she did not chase them. She remained standing in her place with a strange calm, while a mysterious aura began to form around her without her realizing it.
Without her knowing, Hades' eldest daughter was awakening her power.
The information the three twins had spoken was feeding on her mind, wrapping around her thoughts and sinking deep within her. She began to mutter in a strange voice inside her mind, as if the echo of her words were repeating endlessly:
"Why them and not me?
Why them and not me?
Why them and not me?"
And while Hades' eldest daughter was submerged in that state, the three twins had already chosen their next target.
They moved quickly, headed toward him, and shouted in one voice:
"You idiot, do you know what just happened?"
At that moment, Poseidon was walking toward Odin's house after he and Hades had received a spiritual message from him. Poseidon thanked Odin inwardly for that action, for if he had not intervened, Hades would have continued beating him mercilessly.
Hades had not found it easy to stop the beating, but that message forced him to retreat, saying with harsh sarcasm:
"How lucky you are, you bastard."
As soon as he said that, he vanished from his place. Poseidon knew then that he had headed straight for Odin's house.
Poseidon did not rush to follow him; instead, he walked slowly toward Odin's house. He wanted the signs of beating on his face to disappear before meeting his brothers. If Athena were to see those marks, she would mock him mercilessly, and he would not be able to raise his face before her again—nor before her or Odin.
As he walked calmly, he kept touching his face to check: had the marks of the beating disappeared, or were they still there?
Suddenly, he stopped walking.
He froze in place when he heard the voices of Odin's three twins speaking mockingly, saying:
"You idiot, do you know what just happened?"