Hers descended swiftly, his sandals’ wings beating against the turbulent winds. The air here was also filled with the scent of blood and burnt flesh. Hers can see the remnants of battle clinging to the ruins below.
Ares stood at the edge of a shattered precipice, gazing down at what remained of his once-proud domain.
His crimson cloak looks tattered and scorched, billowed slightly in the wind but his posture remained straight.
His arms were crossed over his broad chest, his fingers curled into tight fists. The battlefield stretched beneath him and it looks like a grim tapestry of slaughter.
The war god’s forces had fought back with their characteristic brutality. Piles of bodies — both corrupted and untainted — littered the land, weapons still embedded in flesh, armor shattered and stained with blackened blood.
Ares had not hesitated. Unlike Hers who had tried to contain and study the corruption, Ares had opted for a more direct approach.
He had simply killed them if he see that they can not be saved anymore.
Hers landed a short distance away, his boots crunching against the charred stone. Ares did not turn, but he spoke with a low deep voice.
"You’re late. I thought you’d be here sooner."
Hers took a asured step forward. "I didn’t realize there was a schedule."
Ares snorted, his gaze still fixed on the carnage below. "I assu your domain was the sa."
Hers sighed. "Yes."
Ares’ jaw tightened. "How many did you kill?"
Hers hesitated. The truth was, he had tried to spare as many as he could and had chose to restrain them. He wanted study the affliction. But in the end, he had been forced to make the sa call.
"Too many," he admitted. "And not enough. I guess."
Ares finally turned to him, his eyes burning with the embers of battle.
"Tch. You should’ve killed all of them who looks like beyond saving from the start. This disease... whatever it is, it isn’t sothing we can cure." His lips curled in a scowl. "I should’ve known you’d hesitate."
Hers’ expression remained stern. "And I should’ve known you’d slaughter first and think later."
Ares’ scowl deepened, but he didn’t deny it. His gaze flicked toward the remnants of his forces who had survived.
Unlike Hers’ warriors who had managed to subdue so of the afflicted, Ares’ soldiers had left barely any alive.
The few restrained ones were bound in chains reinforced with divine energy, their bodies writhing and twitching as if sothing beneath their skin was still trying to break free.
But there weren’t many of them. Not nearly as many as in Hers’ domain.
"So," Ares said, turning back to the devastation, "what now? We just need to keep killing? Keep burning until there’s nothing left?"
"No," Hers said, shaking his head. "We don’t even know what’s causing this yet. This isn’t so ordinary curse or plague. It’s spreading too fast and changing too violently. And the transformations..." He trailed off, rembering the sickening mass that had ford from his fallen warriors, the way it had rged into sothing beyond comprehension.
Ares was silent for a long mont. Then he exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand down his face.
"I saw it too." His voice was quieter this ti, almost reluctant. "One of them changed right in front of . My best warrior. I put my blade through his skull myself before he can expand further, but it didn’t stop. It just kept... twisting."
Hers t his gaze. Ares wasn’t the type to admit his anxiety and the fact that he was even acknowledging what he had seen ant he knew how serious this was.
"Then you know," Hers said. "This isn’t sothing we can fight the way we normally do. And it’s not just us. I know that this is happening everywhere."
Ares frowned. "You’re saying it’s not just Olympus?"
"No. It’s spreading across the Celestial realms. I don’t know how far it’s gone yet, but I doubt it’s stopping anyti soon, probably the Angels and Demons also experiencing the sa."
Ares was silent, his jaw tightening as he processed what Hers had said. His fingers flexed at his sides, still itching for battle, or like sothing solid he could strike down.
But this wasn’t an enemy he could simply cut apart.
After a long pause, he muttered, "What if it’s the Angels or the Demons? What if they caused this and they trying to weaken us before a full-scale war?"
Hers shook his head imdiately. "They wouldn’t have the power to spread sothing like this so quickly. If they had, we would’ve seen signs of it long before now. This... this is sothing else." His voice was firm, though a flicker of uncertainty passed through his golden eyes. "No, Ares. This isn’t their doing."
Ares exhaled sharply through his nose, his expression hard. He turned back to the battlefield, to the rotting corpses and the writhing corrupted remains of those he had killed.
The weight of the situation pressed against him like an unseen force.
After a mont, he said, "Then we need to et with Zeus and Poseidon. They’ll want to hear about this." He glanced sideways at Hers. "Maybe even Hades, though he usually keeps to his own realm. But if this spreads further, not even the Underworld will be untouched, right?"
Hers nodded. "That’s what I intended. I’ll gather as much information as I can before we et them." He rose slightly into the air, the wings on his sandals fluttering. "I need to see how the other realms are doing. If this reaches every corner of the our realms, we won’t have the luxury of handling this alone."
Ares’ brow furrowed. "And what are you really planning, Hers?"
Hers t his gaze, unwavering. "I’m considering an alliance."
Ares scowled. "With them all?"
"If they’re suffering the sa fate as us, then we all have the sa enemy," Hers said simply. "I’ll visit the Archangels and the Demon King myself, if I have to."
Ares’ expression darkened. He opened his mouth, then closed it, his frustration evident. Finally, he scoffed and turned away. "Do what you want. But don’t expect to trust them."
Hers gave a small, knowing smile. "I wouldn’t expect anything else."
And with that, he soared into the sky, leaving Ares behind watching him go with a deepening frown.
---
As the god of travel, Hers had little trouble moving between the domains of Olympus. His speed and divine pathways allowed him to cross vast distances in re monts, slipping through the barriers between domains with ease.
If he wished, he could even traverse into the domains of the Angels and Demons faster than any other god. But for now, he chose to remain within Olympus, gathering what information he could before considering the more dangerous journey beyond.
He moved swiftly, passing through the territories of other gods and goddesses. Each ti he arrived, he was t with the sa grim reality. Ruin, corruption, and the remnants of battle.
The corruption had spread further just like he had anticipated. So gods still fought desperately to contain the horrors, while others had already retreated and choose to fortify their strongholds instead.
As he passed, he called out to them, urging them to remain calm. He told them that he was going to Zeus and Poseidon and whatever this is, they will find a way to stop it.
His words carried weight but he could see the uncertainty in their eyes. Even gods, for all their power, were not immune to fear.
He pressed on, pushing himself faster, until at last, he arrived at Zeus’s domain.
The sight that greeted him made him sigh heavily.
The devastation was no different here. Grand halls lay in ruin, marble shattered and divine lightning scorched across the land.
The scent of burning flesh and corrupted energy lingered in the air. Whatever had struck the other domains had also touched Zeus’s realm.
Hers descended slowly, his expression grim. He had hoped that Zeus, in all his might, would have fared better. But now, he could see for himself that Olympus was falling slowly.
A sudden burst of lightning split the sky, followed by a blinding flash. The air crackled with energ and when the light faded, Zeus stood before him.
Hers swallowed hard. No matter how many tis he had seen Zeus, he could never quite get used to the sheer weight of his presence.
He rarely eting Zeus alone but now, Hers faced him directly. And in such dire circumstances, that fact felt even more daunting.
"What news do you bring?" Zeus asked, his deep, thunderous voice rolling through the air.
Hers steadied himself. "The corruption is spreading everywhere," he reported. "Every domain I’ve passed through has been struck by it. No one is untouched."
Zeus was silent for a long mont. His piercing gaze swept over the ruined landscape of his own domain, his mind clearly turning over possibilities. Then, with a slow exhale, he spoke.
"No matter how I think about it," he muttered, "I cannot find a real cause for this."
"Then we need to reach out beyond Olympus," Hers urged. "If this is happening to us, then it’s most likely happening to the Angels and Demons as well. We need to know if they’re facing the sa corruption."
But Zeus didn’t respond imdiately. Instead, he remained still, his expression darkening.
A rare hesitation flickered in his eyes before he finally spoke again.
"There is sothing ancient awakening, Hers. Sothing that maybe us, the Angels, and Demons, can’t prepared enough to face it."
The words sent a chill down Hers’ spine. He had expected Zeus to dismiss his suggestion outright, or perhaps even argue, but this was sothing else entirely.
For the first ti since the chaos began, Hers felt true fear.
---
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