The God of Underworld
Chapter 115 - 14

In the cave where the giants hid, there is the deepest chasm of the world, far from the songs of birds or the laughter of men, where the roots of the mountains drank molten fire and the air was thick with the scent of brimstone and blood, sat a throne carved from obsidian and bone.

Upon it reclined Porphyrion, King of the Giants.

The chamber was vast, lit only by the slow glow of lava streams and the faint pulses of divine runes etched into the walls by ancient hands—runes whose meanings had long since been forgotten by the gods who feared them.

His golden crown rested lopsided on his tangled mane of hair, and his brow furrowed in rare contemplation.

His massive hand rubbed the side of his temple, fingers brushing against coarse skin that seemed too tight, too brittle.

Something was wrong. Porphyrion can feel it. Not in the situation, but with him.

Something is wrong with him.

"Mortals…" Porphyrion muttered under his breath. "What foolish creatures. Fragile. Short-lived. Arrogant. And yet…"

He paused, leaning further back into his throne, the stone groaning beneath his titanic weight.

"To think they are the one who can kill us. They are a threat, and they must…" he frowned, shaking his head. "No. Father would disapprove."

He grimaced.

Hades.

The name alone carried gravity.

Porphyrion had only met the Lord of the Dead a few times since they were born. Despite being his children with the primordial earth, Hades barely pay any attention to them, treating them 'failed' products.

All of them, with the exception of Nekyria, their sister and the one beloved by Hades and Gaia.

Though none of the giants expressed any emotion, but they all felt intense jealousy and hatred to that sister of theirs who took all their parent's attention.

But he digress.

Porphyrion knew that launching a campaign to exterminate mortals would displease his father.

Hades had long kept the balance of life and death, managed the cycle without sentiment but with a relentless devotion to order.

To flood the Underworld with a billion untimely souls? That would be chaos. It would earn not just the ire of Hades but all of gods who rely on mortal faith to live.

Porphyrion's hand fell from his head and rested on the arm of the throne.

His breath slowed. His gaze became vacant.

He knew he shouldn't.

But why?

"But why do I feel… that he would allow it?"

He didn't understand this thought.

It wasn't his. Or was it?

He couldn't tell anymore. His mind felt fogged, as if someone had whispered in his dreams and made him believe it was his own idea.

And just as he thought of that...

A strange heat swelled behind his brow.

Without warning, a third eye—silent, lidless, abyssal—opened on his forehead.

He did not realize it.

It looked around the chamber, scanning the flickering shadows. Its pupil was not a circle or a slit, but a swirling spiral, deep and eternal, like the mouth of a black hole.

It gazed. It observed. It measured.

Then, as suddenly as it came, it vanished.

The eye closed. And Porphyrion, unaware it had ever appeared, blinked slowly, shaking off a sense of dizziness he couldn't explain.

He seems to have thought of something just now, but he forgot.

Well, no matter.

For now, he must eliminate the threat to their lives. And by that, he meant mortals.

*

*

*

Far away, high atop a Primordial Mountain that pierced the sky and reached the stars, Gaia, the Earth Mother, stirred in her sleep.

Her domain was vast.

It was not merely the mountains and forests, but the soul of the world, the raw, living foundation upon which existence stood.

She existed in silence, half-slumbering in her sacred domain where even gods dared not disturb her.

But now, she frowned.

"What...is that?"

Her voice, though soft, cracked the stone around her peak.

She reached out with her power—Primordial, ancient, infinite—and swept through the flows of reality.

And there it was: a small, subtle presence, like a hairline fracture in the firmament of her domain.

A whispering presence belonging not to a divine nor mortal.

It was 'alien'.

A foreign presence she haven't felt since the dawn of creation.

But Gaia didn't care about any of that.

It had dared to reach into the realm of a Primordial, and so it will vanish.

Gaia's presence surged like an earthquake through the spiritual plane.

Her will, raw and ancient, slammed down on the presence like a mountain falling on an insect.

She did not need to see the intruder. She did not need to know its name.

She crushed it beneath her essence, suppressing it utterly.

The presence recoiled and vanished into the dark corners of the cosmos.

Gaia didn't bother chasing. She wasn't interested in anything beyond her domain, no matter how curious she was about the intruder

After all, she has far more important matters than paying attention to some foreign presence.

Like watching Olympus fall for example.

*

*

*

Meanwhile, in the dim halls of the Underworld, where torches burned without flame and rivers of memory whispered lullabies to the dead, Hades sat at a marble table.

The dining hall was austere but grand, with obsidian columns that reached up into a ceiling carved with constellations only the dead could see.

And in it, three figures can be seen having dinner with Hades.

Aphrodite, in her resplendent beauty, sipped wine from a silver goblet beside him.

Hecate, cloaked in shadow and flickering candlelight, quietly ate from a bowl of pomegranate seeds.

And Hera, regal and composed, engaged in light conversation with Hecate about the effects of war against giants had to Olympus.

Nekyria was currently being taken care of by Thanatos, who is surprisingly good with children.

Hades rarely spoke during meals, but he enjoyed these moments of peace.

It was when he was about to take a bite of his food when suddenly, he froze mid-motion.

The fork in his hand trembled slightly, before clinking softly onto the plate. His eyes narrowed.

That calm, unshakable aura he wore like armor cracked for just a moment.

"Did you feel that?" he asked, his voice low, like thunder buried in the earth.

The three goddesses turned to him.

Hecate blinked, frowning.

Aphrodite paused, tilting her head.

Hera's brows knitted with concern.

They stared at each other before turning back to Hades and shook their heads.

"If you're talking about how you feel hot and bothered, that's me." Said Aphrodite, raising her hand, "I've been using my authority to raise your lust in hopes that you push me down have your way with me."

Hecate frowned at her, "That's why I felt annoying buzz trying to mess with my mind, it's you."

Aphrodite smirked, but said nothing.

Hera remained silent, simply staring at Hades. "...what is it?"

"Something just… entered my domain," Hades anseered, rising slowly from his seat. "It feels slightly similar to the one I felt when I was investigating those fragmented souls."

Hecate was the first to stand beside him, her voice grave. "Is it trying to invade our realm?"

"No," he said. "It merely observed for a brief moment, and did nothing."

Aphrodite leaned forward. "...is it gone now?"

"Yes," Hades answered, staring at the darkened wall as though it might speak to him. "It vanished as soon as I turned to it. Whatever it was, it didn't want to be seen. I couldn't even pinpoint its location."

"Then we should increase our vigilance." Hera said, "I will order the gods and divine spirits to always be cautious and report anything they find suspicious."

Hades nodded. Although it probably won't help as much, but it's still better than doing nothing.

*

*

*

Far beyond the sight of gods, mortals, or even Primordials, in the dark tapestry of uncharted part of the world, the foreign entity blinked.

It had probed and touched the minds of kings. It had whispered lies as truths. It had worn Porphyrion like a mask. It had tested Gaia's strength and vanished before being consumed.

And it even dared peak at the king of the dead.

All this so it can make plans ahead to make sure it can consume this universe.

It can no longer wait.

Whatever is trying to stop the advancements of mortals is doing a good job, even it can do nothing about it.

So it decided to just consume this universe even if it's premature. It wouldn't help it much, but it's better than waiting for nothing.

To do that, it would use the giants, after all it is still too weak to confront any of the strongest beings in this universe.

But it won't be long.

Soon.

Soon it will devour all of creation.

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