The gods had seen death more tis than they could count. Hell, so of them designed the very concept of it. Mortals lived, mortals died—it was as inevitable as the sun rising. A single man's death? Pfft. Less than dust in the wind. But this one? This one had served his purpose. A disposable pawn, nudged by Apollo's hand to provoke Parker. A test.
And the results were... well. Interesting.
"He didn't hide it," Athena muttered, arms crossed, golden eyes flickering as she replayed the mont of the kill in her mind. "If he was the cause of the gaps in our vision, we wouldn't have seen it—his kill and awakening of this power!"
Apollo exhaled, rubbing his temple. "Which ans the gaps aren't coming from him… but sothing around him."
"Or soone," Hers mused, lounging back like this was so drama flick playing out in real-ti. "Maybe it's Ere. That little shit moved, and we still didn't see her."
"No, it's not her," Nyx said, her voice cool as the void. She rested her chin on her hand, eyes narrowed. "I've been watching that cat since she crawled back into existence. Whatever she's doing, it's not this."
A slow tension filled the air. The gods weren't used to not knowing things. That was kinda their whole thing—watching, influencing, puppeteering. But sothing was threading through the world, weaving holes in their omniscience. And Parker? Parker was now sitting smack dab in the center of it.
And then there was the flas.
The white-hot phoenix fire that had ignited around him, searing through the battlefield like divine judgnt itself. That was what had really fucked them up.
"The Phoenix's blessing," Artemis murmured, shaking her head. "But why him?"
Hera scoffed, eyes cold. "The boy is no virtue. No hero."
"A villain," Athena muttered darkly.
"A demon," said another.
Ares smirked. "Nah. A devil."
All eyes flicked to Apollo, who was suddenly feeling very judged.
"What?" he said, lifting a brow. "You're blaming now?"
"You pushed the pawn," Hers grinned. "You poked the beast."
Apollo rolled his eyes. "Oh, co on. Even if I didn't, fate would've thrown him into this sooner or later. We don't control the strings—we just nudge them."
"Yeah, well, great fucking job nudging," Aphrodite said, sipping from a goblet of nectar. "Now we got a baby devil with phoenix flas."
And worse—White Flas.
The flas of rebirth—but sothing worse too!
Pure. Unyielding. The kind of fire that burned through the soul, not just the flesh—for starters 'cause those flas...
Before any of them could even begin to unpack that nightmare, Parker's voice echoed through the stream energy screen, sharp and biting.
"Not even the gods could've saved him."
Silence.
And then—
"WHAT DID HE JUST SAY?" Ares roared, surging to his feet so fast the ground cracked beneath him. His war axe materialized in his grip, divine fury boiling in his blood. "I SWEAR TO , SOBODY NEEDS TO BEAT THAT BITCH BOY'S ASS!"
The words hung in the air like a slap across the face of Olympus itself.
Athena's fists clenched. "Blasphemous little shit."
Hera scoffed, looking genuinely offended. "This boy—this mortal—dares speak of the gods like we're useless?" Hera's nostrils flared. "Blasphemous little mortal—"
"He mocks us?" Athena hissed, hands clenching into fists.
Apollo's smirk twitched, a crack in the golden mask. "Okay, fuck that." His voice was light, but there was a weight behind it-like the sun itself had narrowed its gaze. "I don't give a shit if he killed that guy, but acting like we couldn't do anything? Like we're just-just helpless?" He scoffed. "Nah. I'm not letting that slide."
Ares, of course, was pissed. No, actually more—
Furious. "Chione, beat that bitch boy's ass!" His voice bood across the divine halls. "Break him!"
Athena and Hera both nodded, arms crossed, satisfied with this course of action. Apollo muttered sothing about making sure Parker felt it.
And oh, did she.
The gods laughed as Parker got his ass handed to him.
Chione was relentless-ice storms, bone-crushing kicks, magic that could freeze the soul-and Parker was struggling. They watched as he took hit after hit, each blow knocking the arrogance out of him, turning that cocky fire into sothing desperate.
Ares was howling. "THAT'S RIGHT! FREEZE HIS COCKY ASS!"
Apollo smirked. "See, this is what happens when you run your mouth."
Even Athena, ever the strategist, looked pleased. "A lesson in humility. Much needed."
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Hera just sipped her wine and said nothing, but there was sothing vindicated in her silence.
Dionysus, half-draped over a couch, lazily lifted his cup of wine. "I'll bet... hmm, let's say, a divine vineyard in Naxos that the kid stays down."
Hers snorted, arms behind his head. "I'll take that bet. I'm putting up-let's say, my best enchanted boots-that he gets back up."
Aphrodite arched a brow. "You like losing, don't you, huh, Dionysus?"
Athena smirked. "Maybe now he'll learn so respect."
Hera rolled her eyes. "Doubtful."
Parker, stubborn bastard that he was, kept talking—mocking the Olympians, laughing even as Chione's ice boot cracked his ribs.
But then—then—Parker did the unthinkable.
And then he escaped.
Right under their noses.
One mont, he was there-bleeding, beaten, barely standing. The next? Gone.
A second too late, they realized.
The real distraction wasn't his words. Wasn't his fight. It was sothing else—sothing none of them had seen. And just like that—
He was gone.
Hers blinked. "Wait, hold up—"
Aphrodite nearly snorted her wine. "Oh my. Did he just—" She burst out laughing. "Ohhh, that was slick."
Nyx's lips barely curled. "He did."
Silence.
And then—Hers just started cackling. "OH, YOU DUMBASSES—YOU ALL FELL FOR IT!"
Aphrodite doubled over, dying with amusent. "Not just them—us. Even we missed it!"
Ares was fuming. Athena looked like she was about to kill sothing. Hera? Hera was rubbing her temple, debating whether or not this was all beneath her. Apollo was stone-faced, but inside? He was pissed.
The gods had just been outplayed.
And not just by Parker.
By Ere.
Because none of them had seen her move. Not the champions. Not the gods. No one.
And that? That was terrifying.
****
The air in Olympus was different now. No more laughter. No more casual amusent. Just the weight of sothing big shifting in the world. A heavy silence draped over the celestial hall, the kind that carried weight beyond words. They stood in a loose circle, their expressions solemn, their divine presence humming in the air like a barely contained storm.
The gem was now in the wrong hands, and for the first ti in ages, Olympus felt the tremor of uncertainty.
"They have it," soone muttered. No na needed. They all knew who 'they' were. And now, everything was about to spiral.
Artemis exhaled sharply, arms crossed, her silver eyes flickering. "The champions—are they even ready for this?"
The Korean deity, the one known as the Lord of the Heavens, gave a slow nod, his expression unreadable. "They are ready," he said simply. "Though the fight will not be an easy one."
A scoff. Soone shaking their head. A low murmur of doubt. Because yeah, sure, the champions had potential, but potential didn't an shit when you were up against forces that could rewrite reality with a snap of their fingers. Worse, gods couldn't step in. Bound by laws!
Then Artemis, ever the pragmatist, raised the real question—the one none of them wanted to voice. "And while the champions are occupied with this... who's stopping the other two god factions?"
A muscle tensed in Apollo's jaw. Dionysus dragged a hand down his face. Aphrodite, standing off to the side, let out a slow, tired breath.
No answer.
Because there wasn't one.
The room filled with that familiar, unspoken frustration—the kind that made even gods feel powerless. They knew what was coming. Knew that once this chaos unfolded, it wouldn't stop at just one catastrophe. The mont mortals and divinity mixed in ways they weren't ant to, shit always went sideways.
"If only humans could withstand the blessings of the gods without needing it..." soone muttered.
A collective sigh.
Because that? That was the real problem. Humans broke under divine weight. They cracked, shattered, turned into sothing unrecognizable with it. And yet, they were the only ones who could stand against what was coming while the champions were occupied.
The irony wasn't lost on any of them.
And so they stood there, staring at fate unraveling in front of them, knowing damn well that things were about to take a turn no one was ready for.
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