11 Titanomachy (V)

The Underworld was dark, the only natural light being from the five rivers that circulated it, and the lava flows that spurred themselves from the earth. Souls walked across the landscape, without any real destination in their minds, for this afterlife of mortals, no paradise as the final reward, but also no hell for eternal suffering. Not even a purgatory for neutral souls.

They just wandered and wandered, sometimes even failing in the rivers, for they had no true will, their consciousness sleeping deep within them. Some souls were even older than some civilizations but they had no stories or grand tales to tell.

'This is the Underworld' Hades thought analyzing the landscape and its inhabitants, he didn't feel anxiety or anything like that when he step into the underworld using one of its passages that were present in the mortal world.

Rather he felt a sense that he came back home after a long voyage in the outside world, of meeting an old friend or lover after a long time. He felt that he belonged here which was strange.

But he didn't ponder it for a very long time as he walked towards Tartarus, he didn't know exactly where it was but the realm seemed to be guiding him to his destination. It didn't take long for him to reach the ultimate prison/torture place in all of Greek mythology. Hades first thought was that he may have walked into the biblical hell.

Rivers of blood and fire flowed freely, monsters stalked the shadows in search of prey, old and decayed structures made of a mix of bone and stone dotted every single part of the surface, and above the skies was an immense red mist that covered the stone sky. Hades continued to walk across Tartarus, for what else this place was if not the Greek Hell, the monsters that hid further entered in the shadows, for they recognized an apex predator.

As he was walking Hades felt that he was being watched. "Come out" It was probably not a very smart choice but really what he could do, kindly wait for them to appear, at least this way he would know if they were enemies or allies.

The space surrounding him became both bright and the dark, a rather interesting paradox, not that Hades cared as he felt an immense pressure wash over him that nearly put him to his knees.

{What did I tell you, brother, it seems that I was right} A feminine being spoke, her skin composing of bright yellow light with a black hole in her bust, she was covered in dark-gold robes with two halos, one in her head that was covered by a hood, and one at her legs.

{Was it not why I that convinced you to follow with this} A silver armored male spoke back, he had a flowing cape made of living shadows, his head was covered in a hood, and he did not have a face more like a mass of shadows rather than a facial structure.

{I am going to ignore that}

{Shush, let us talk with our guest} The woman grumbled before nodding {We greet you Olympian, to our home, I am Erebus, and this is my wife Nyx}

"Okay" Was the only thing Hades said to the two Primordials, which caused Nyx to be annoyed. {Really? No screaming or anything like that}

"I can understand being surprised by your presence but why would I scream?"

{He makes a good question sister} Erebus said, his words seeming to make Nyx annoyed. "Well, you see I am looking for my long lost uncles, so if you two know where they are that would help"

{Just continued following this path and you will find them, alongside Kampe} Erebus explained pointing at a path that Hades was pretty sure was not there before. He thanked them before he made his way to the Forgotten Ones. As he left the two Protegenoi start a conversation with each other.

{So what do you think?} Erebus asked Nyx who thought before saying {He shows more promise than his siblings, with the rate that he is going he will soon achieve the same level of power as us and our siblings,} Erebus nodded at her analysis.

{So is he worthy?}

{Yes, Erebus he is, you were right, there happy?!} Erebus simply chuckled before pulling her into a hug which Nyx melted into {If everything goes right he shall bring order to the future chaos of the Multiverse}

Nyx scoffed in her husbands embrace {His and his kind resistance to acausality is not as great as our's brother, he will not remember the crisis that will appear} Erebus shook his head at her words {He will yet surprise you sister I can feel it,}

~~~~~~~~

Kampe was bored, the female monster had been stationed to guard over the Hecathochires and the Cyclopes by orders of King of Cronos, in the first thousand years she had enjoyed tormenting the ancient ones, the feeling of power that she had over them was intoxicating, but recently she had gotten bored out of her mind, not even hearing her prisoners scream in pain as they tried to free themselves from their heavy chains brought her pleasure anymore.

She needed some action in her life, she had heard of the Great War as tales of it had reached even the underworld, and wanted to join but she knew that she would be reprimanded by King Cronos if she left her post. Her hands were tied on the matter. But she knew that she would have some new playmates, she heard that one of the rebels had a pretty face, maybe she would keep him as her pet if he begged hard enough.

"Hey, you!" She heard a voice calling out to her and she turned around looking for the producer of the admittedly nice to hear sound and spotted what might be the most beautiful man in all of the Titans domain "Yeah you! You are Kampe right!"

"Yes I am," Kampe said recovering from the daze she had when she looked at his face, maybe she could ask King Cronos to reward her with him as her bedwarmer "Who are you, a messenger of King Cronos" Surely he was that, after all, who would be suicidal enough to confront her, who was equal to one of the Elder Titans themselves.

"I just wanted to make sure before did this!"

"Did wh-" Kampe felt every single part of her be electrocuted by the black lighting that exited the unknown man's fingertips. Every single mouth attached to her body screamed in both pain and anger before she fall to the ground. But she wasn't named the jailer of the forgotten ones for nothing as she immediately got back up.

Kampe growled at her attacker, summoning two whips made of the flame of the River Pyriphlegethon and swop them in the direction of Hades, who simply dodged all of the attacks before rapidly moving towards Kampe and giving a right hook under her upper face sending her straight up. Hades rapidly flew just above her and gave a vicious ax kick sending Kampe down with an explosive force that shattered the rocks and caused a minor earthquake throughout the area of Tartarus that they were in.

Hades then blasted Kampe's slowly rising body with a million bolts of lighting until her body started to emit smoke and become charred. Each time he saw her body start to move by even the slightest movement he would launch his lighting against her, making Kampe experience true agony, before she was finally killed.

Hades nodded at the smothering skeleton below him and flew towards the chained prisoners. The Hekatonkheires and the Cyclopes had seen better days, the first had each of their hundred hands chained with hooks that dug into their flesh, they had been blinded in each of their fifty heads and their faces mauled by Kampe's fire whips.

The Cyclopes had been constantly whipped from every angle in their bodies, their skin had become a scorched black not even their natural regeneration being capable of healing all of the damage, they no longer had lips, and their eyes were an ebony black.

And Hades could see the pain of both thirst and hunger in each of their bodies. Kampe was not their jailer but also their torturer on the orders of their brother.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but I shall none the nonetheless say, Kampe is dead, and I am here to free all of you" His words seemed that have awakened the slumbering Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires as they shifted their gaze towards his direction their titanic bodies shifting under the pressure, for the latter were even larger than both Titans and Gods.

They did not speak for they didn't need to convey the words. 'Please free us' were the words and Hades did exactly that, he remembered the myths and knew which power he should use against both Kampe and the chains that held his uncles.

Black lighting bolts it each chain that held the forgotten ones, turning the ancient stygian iron into pure dust. All of them collapsed on their knees but found the strength to get back up.

"I can heal the damage that she did to you," Hades said, it was one of the tricks he had gotten thanks to the war, while he could use his elemental powers to do it, he could also make 'miracles' that would heal the body.

"Heal.The.Wounds.Please" A trio of deep voices ranged out, they were the cyclopes who even without lips spoke, for they could converge words even without a face much like other divine beings. The Hekatonkheires did not speak but Hades could see that they wanted the same thing as their brothers.

Hades willed it and all of the wounds and scars inflicted by Kampe and other beings were completely healed, the charcoal skin of the cyclops returned to its normal grey, alongside their ears, eye, and teeth. The blinded eyes and torn arms of the Hekatonkheires returned to their normal state. They were in shock to discover that their bodies had returned to their state before their imprisonment, they did not feel so much hunger or thirst as before and in fact, felt like they could hold the world above their shoulders like nothing.

Not that they would try.

"Okay, now let me tell you six something that you can help with" Hades explained to them about the Titanomachy that was happening on the mortal world right as they spoke, they were surprised that Rhea had been the one who told him about them, they were particularly happy about the torment inflicted on Atlas as he was the one that helped imprison them.

"So will you help me defeat the Titans?"

A second passed, and then both the Hekatonkheires and the Cyclopes knelt before Hades who smiled and thanked them.