1 Winter Night

It was a dark place, a place where even the slightest of light couldn't penetrate. And yet it didn't seem cold, nor unfriendly. It was quite the opposite as a matter of fact.

The darkness seemed to embrace warmly whoever came near in pure elation as if a celebration was going on. Invisible shadows danced around to a soundless music as an immeasurable time passed by.

Then, there was a soft cry. The sound tickled the ears of everyone around them causing them to cease their celebration, and stand around in utter awe. A lady, a beautiful lady arrived into the darkness bringing with her the only source of light in the darkness. She was adorned with a dress made up of swirling galaxies, her face was pale yet beautiful, and her eyes shimmered like two dark nights lit with beautiful stars. She was staring into the bundle of darkness in her arms with a lovely expression, the face of a loving mother.

In an instant, the darkness started to gather around a single point and condensed into a handsome man with black hair and black eyes. The man reached out and caressed the child gently.

Seeing this, Nyx gave a heavenly laugh.

"Erebus, it seems that you have some fatherly instincts in you after all?"

Erebus let out a wry grin before withdrawing his hand. "It would be a sin to hate a child as beautiful as this."

"Indeed," said Nyx with a warm smile. "He is just to precious."

There was a flash of light as two gods wrapped in heavenly light appeared. Upon seeing them, Erebus opened his arms in joy.

"Aether, Hemera. I am surprised to see you two here, is it not time for day?"

Hemera replied with a radiant smile. "The world can await the goddess of Day for a moment of two as she is seeing her little brother."

Aether gave a shrug. "Light cannot shine without day so I here I have come, following my sister. Plus, I was getting kinda bored."

Several other figures starters to appear and Erebus began naming them off one by one.

"Moros, Thanatos, Hypnos, Momus, Oizys, Nemesis, Apate, Philotes, Geras, and Eris. I see that you have come to see your mother."

They all gave nods before staring at Nyx, who was still engrossed with the child in her arms.

"What is his name?" Asked Philotes with a excited smile. "What is he the god of?"

Nyx took a moment to stare into the baby in her arms. His mixture of white and black hair seemed to glow like snow under the moonlight clashing with the darkness of night.

"He is Nelian. Nelian of Winter Night."

A slight cold breeze blew past the group of gods in a playful manner, causing everyone to go silent.

"It's a wonderful name mother. May he find friendship in the darkest of rooms."

"I think he is my favorite brother already. I give him the blessing of Day."

"He is indeed adorable. May he be gifted with pleasant dreams."

".... May the light shine on his path."

"Blame will not come his way, but away from him."

"Pain and distress will watch over him as a constant guardian."

"Retribution shall fall upon others if harms falls onto him."

"All deceit shall be clear to him in due time."

"Strife will not break him, but make him stronger."

Nyx glanced up from Nelian and gave each and everyone of them a loving smile filled with tears. "Thank you, all. My precious children. This child is still weak, but I pray he will grow up to be strong."

Just as Erebus was about to say something, he frowned. He flickered away into the shadows before immediately coming back. On his face was pure unadulterated rage.

"Gaia's spawn the titans are fighting Uranus. We need to hide, they are approaching here-"

There was a mighty explosion as the sky above started to tremble and shake. Ear splitting roars traveled across the distance, transmitting the anger and pain behind them.

Time would randomly fluctuate, causing deadly tears in space. Sensing the danger, all the gods disappeared immediately.

There was a mighty explosion as the sky collapsed. Multiple fragments of space started to rain down on the universe as Kronos sliced off the genitals of Uranus.

Finally, the battle had stopped and all the gods started to reappear one by one. However, none of them said a word as they felt an overwhelming wave of wrath and despair.

Under the cover of anger, they could feel the life force of one of the gods fading. The life force of an infant god.

Nyx grasped her child with shaking arms and lowered her head onto it.

"Not my child," she whispered with trembling lips. "Not my little Winter Night."

Everyone watched in absolute silence as Night weeped, her starlight tears decorating the slowly fading face of the quiet baby. In the end, the child faded into chaos, the only evidence of his existence being the drapes of darkness that covered him.

The stars on Nyx's dress slowly died out as her eyes become cold and black. Erebus tried to reach out to her but she coldly denied him. Instead, she condensed darkness into a slender sword and struck the ground.

"Gaia."

Her words were colder than the iciest of nights and pierced through the ground. Almost immediately, a figure made up of earth rose up from the floor and answered.

"What is it Nyx, my sister."

Nyx let out a snort. "Bring me the son of yours who defeated Uranus."

Maybe sensing the venom in her voice, Gaia carefully asked, "Why?"

"BECAUSE THE FIGHT BETWEEN YOUR HUSBAND AND YOUR SON CAUSED MY SON TO DIE! I WANT VENGEANCE GAIA!"

Gaia started panic. "Please sister, show him some mercy."

"I'll show him mercy with a quick death."

The two goddesses erupted in emerald green and inky black and started to attack each other. Great trees and massive vines and roots sprouted from the ground and lashed out into the sky as the world went darker than black and tore into the ground.

"Sister! Please! He is my child!"

"Then watch your child die like I have done for mine."

Just as the two of them were about to attack each other once more, Erebus appeared before the both of them and stopped their attacks.

"Erebus, move out of the way."

"Erebus, please tell my sister to calm down and not kill my child."

Erebus sent a bloodthirsty glare at Gaia. "Silence Gaia. Do not forget that the child who died is my child as well. If there wasn't a way to bring my child back, then I would have been the first one to torture your son."

Nyx immediately teleported next to Erebus. "We can bring him back?"

"Did you forget that we had Death by our side? He captured the child's soul right before it descended into Chaos."

"Is he alive then?" Asked Nyx with hope blooming in her once dead eyes. "Can I see him again?"

Erebus shook his head. "You will be able to see him again. However, he is not alive."

"What do you mean?"

"Thanatos sent our child's soul into the vestiges of the future. The fates had decreed that the Winter Night shall be born again."

"Why not just bring him back to life? Is it not easier to do that?"

"My dear, even if he is a baby, he is still a god. And a fading god is hard to bring back. The most Thanatos could do was make sure he will be reincarnated."

"But how long will it be until he does?"

"It will be a long time and when he does, he will have very little of the godly powers he would have possessed. But it is better than seeing him gone forever."

Nyx stared at Erebus with a defiant look and trembling lips before finally speaking. "Fine, I shall not harm Gaia's spawn and I shall wait."

"Thank you sister."

"Do not thank me, for my vengeance runs deep. One day, your son will need my help, and on that day, I shall watch him struggle and die. Erebus, I shall return first to the Mansion of Night and wait for my son. Even if an eternity passes."

Just as Nyx was about to disappear, she stopped and turned around.

"Every year during this time, the night sky shall bare its fangs into the earth and tear down upon the land with unforgiving wrath. Each year shall be a reminder to you Gaia, a reminder of the death of Winter Night. My child."

The temperature of the air slowly dropped as snow started to fall upon the ground. Water and earth started to freeze as plants withered and died. Everything cowered under the power of Night as she slowly descended back to her domain.

The winter nights would never show mercy to anyone until their master returned from the dead.