6 06: Poseidon

Amidst a putrid realm, Hera's voice pierced sharply, akin to a stiletto. "When are they arriving?" Her eyes were narrowed. Each step she took resonated akin to a staccato melody. She told of her impatience with a deft click of her tongue against the roof of her mouth. Her arms were crossed, while her back stood straight. She was furious. Patience was not something she was born with.

Amusement danced in Demeter's eyes as she looked at her sister, who was so impatient when they had all the time in the world. She stood up, her movement fluid like tendrils of mist. A soft chuckle escaped her lips, fluttering through the ethereal murk.

"You're acting as if you were still a baby. No, worse. Even Poseidon, who was just born, isn't that impatient." She taunted, a mocking smile playing upon her lips.

Hera's gaze narrowed even further. Her graceful form exuded an air of authority, yet it seemed unaffecting as she snarled, betraying all her composure. "Be quiet!"

"You're not that much better," said Hera.

"Oh~, what makes you think so?" asked Demeter. A teasing tousle of her hair punctuated her words. She closed the distance between them. Her playful grin seemed like the crescent moon.

Within Hera's pink-hued eyes, stars glinted, their luminescent merging with the darkness of the realm. "Your attitude, sister. You are always trying to provoke me. Yet every time something is against you or doesn't happen as you intended it to, you directly fall in rage. You're even more sensible than me."

A chuckle, ladened with hidden bitterness, fled Demeter's mouth. It was but a mere whisper amidst the shadows, yet it seemed to be echoing. "You're saying "every time" as if it was a common occurrence. However, how many times did that happen?"

Sitting on Poseidon's side, Hera's nails repeatedly hit against the enigmatic surface beneath them, akin to a staccato melody. "What does it change? Every time is every time, no matter how scarce those occasions were."

Silken laughter rang from Demeter's side, acting as if unbothered. She toyed with her hair with a smug look. "I rarely lose."

Hera ruefully shook her head and once again clicked her tongue. "And they say, I am the prideful one?" She uttered.

Demeter's lips curled into a triumphing grin. "No, no, no, sister. You are arrogant, not prideful. I have reasons to be proud of myself, yet you. You don't," she said in a playful tone, trying to anger Hera.

And that she did.

Hera was furious, she clenched her fists and started yelling "Be qui-"

"Please calm down. There is no need to be so aggressive," said Poseidon, interrupting the seemingly never-ending bickering of his two sisters. His voice was monotonous, holding no emotions except exasperation.

For a fleeting moment, the shadows hanging in the air seemed to quiver from his voice. Poseidon seemed imperturbable. He exuded an aura of calmness akin to a waveless ocean.

Demeter's features soured. Her smile disappeared. A disgruntled *Tsch* escaped from her lips while glaring at his gleaming blue eyes. "How boring! Hades is more fun, and here I thought I would get another cute brother."

"I don't care about that." Simply responded Poseidon, his gaze unwavering. It seemed even deeper than the ocean.

Demeter's glare intensified, a maelstrom swirling in her eyes. She didn't like his attitude. "Trying to play the calm one, are you? Too bad for you. That's Hestia's job." The goddess tried to anger him, even going as far as lying. Hestia wasn't calm, she was just kind.

However, no matter what she tried, it did not bother Poseidon. "It's called being mature, sister." He retorted.

Demeter's lips rose. "Mature? Don't make me laugh, you've just been swallowed? You don't know anything, little brother." She said almost sardonically, not liking how he meant that she was not mature.

"Your right, maybe I don't,"

"-But?" She asked, her eyes narrowed, wanting to hear more.

"But what?" Questioned Poseidon, looking at her straight in the eyes. Demeter felt like she was being toyed with, and she did not like that one bit.

"Shouldn't you be continuing your sentence with a "but"?" She said, confused, it seemed too easy. He was leading their argument, so why?

"Why should I?" For the first time, he smiled. However, it seemed grim, even though it wasn't his intention. Unlike his siblings, he wasn't a born smiler.

Demeter quickly looked away. "Because, if you don't, you're agreeing with me."

"Yes, that's the point. You do know, you can agree to something someone else said, right?" Said Poseidon.

"Of course!" She unknowingly yelled. As she noticed it, her features darkened. Her smile faded like a dying star amidst Nyx's embrace.

'I lost to a newborn,' she thought, feeling miserable.

Hera's laughter of triumph rang. "See you're fuming." She taunted, overjoyed that not only Demeter got what she deserved but also that her point was proven true.

"Be quiet!"

As their conversation was about to continue with the two sisters bickering, an unforeseen light erupted from the misty horizon. A radiant gleam, in stark contrast with the infernal backdrop, shimmered like stars in the night. Crisping motes protruded. A gentle breeze unfurled in the air, chasing the darkness away. Spread by that gust, a warm scent merged with the pungent smell coming from the ground. Suddenly, vibrant hues emerged shimmering in the misty black canvas, slowly dissolving the fleeting shadows.

Emerging from the heart of the dancing fire, two silhouettes appeared. With each step taken, they sent ripples through the myriad of colors. The very air hanging on their figures seemed to quiver.

As the two silhouettes were revealed, the siblings' discord faded like forgotten vows.

The woman, with stunning, vibrant red hair akin to a phoenix's feathers, went running toward her two sisters. She hugged them with all her might. Her previous divine composure dissipated, her strength leaving as she remembered what had happened.

Hades, however, walked toward Poseidon, his steps measured. His silverish white hair fluttered with a gentle gust of darkness, while his form seemed to be outlined by a delicate mist. His pale blue eyes fixated on Poseidon seemed to pry open his very soul.

"I am Hades," he finally declared after a lingering silence. His voice was akin to whispers of mystery.

Poseidon felt his breath falter under his brother's oppressive gaze. An otherworldly chill coursed down his neck as if the frigid presence of death had already embraced him. He could clearly feel how alien Hades felt. He was beyond his two sisters in power, that was for sure.

"… Mother named me Poseidon," he answered, his blue eyes seemingly swallowed by the vigor of his brother's sapphire gaze.

"A fitting name," mused Hades, his hair like the moon embraced by the gloomy night.

"What are you the god of?" he asked, acting as if this was something he did not know. He now knew he had to keep his knowledge, of what he assumed to be the future, secret.

"I-…I do not know yet," confessed Poseidon, his gaze looking at the repugnant plumes arising from the ground. It was something he would have wished to keep to himself. He could already imagine how his siblings would mock him, yet none of that happened.

Hades' lips curled into an enigmatic smile. "Don't worry. I too was not born with such knowledge." He said before whispering, "let me help you realize your true self."

Hades crouched before Poseidon, their proximity a mere breath apart. A sense of ethereality filled the air. "Close your eyes and let your thoughts run wild," he murmured, his voice majestic and all-knowing.

"Imagine a vast canvas, where everything is yours. Within this realm, you are a god, all-powerful and all-knowing. And then just observe what is manifesting?"

"Is it a concept, something that you cannot grasp? Or is it a physical thing that you can feel and touch?"

"I can feel it," responded Poseidon.

"Then focus on that feeling. Where is it coming from? Does it dwell in the air, where the mightiest rule? Can you feel a cold aura spreading through your entire being, with a darkness veiling everything there is from the gaze of heaven? Or does it swim in the depths of the ocean, where the greatest mysteries lay?"

"In the sea,"

"Then can you feel the sea or just its inhabitants?"

"Both, I feel like the water itself is under my control and as such, so is every being in it."

"Is there more to it? Can you feel something else than just the sea?"

"The very planet is shaking. Tsunamis are being made, and they wash over the earth, terraforming it anew."

"Now open your eyes. As of this moment, dominion over all within the sea is yours to take, Poseidon Halios!"

***

Idk why this chapter was a hell to write.

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