An Utter Defeat

Damn.

Hated to admit it, but that dwarf blacksmith got us good.

On my first day as king, too.

I'm pretty sure when a servant suddenly drew a knife during the cermonial feast, the first thing in every immortal's mind was-"Well, hey, I'm immortal, right? It's not like they can actually kill us, right?"

That was until my trickster of a brother Hermes got a knife lodged in his throat and went limp in his seat, his eyes completely void of any life.

"Aster!" Hephaestus screamed at the assailant as he bursted up from his seat. "You promised me you would kill Ares if I helped you escape! Just him!"

"Yeah...well, too bad my word means shit." He said with a grin. "I was going to just kill father, but since it turns out he's already dead, I think I'll settle with destroying his entire legacy!"

The killer ripped off his servant cloak, revealing a blonde man with the body of a warrior in black body armor. His blue eyes glowed and crackled with electricity.

Just like dad.

Clouds gathered across the sky and a wicked thunderbolt struck the dining hall.

The once-known Utopia above the Heavens-Olympus was reduced to a battlefield. The statues of the Olympians were rubble, the ivory palaces stained with our own blood and guts, the gardens that Persephone loved to take care of were stacks of bodies of the fallen.

This uknown threat killed six Olympians in the mere span of 2 hours.

Over the centuries, I've faced all sorts of adversaries. Giants, my dad, my brothers, my sisters, even the Father of Monsters. I took them all on with a grin on my face.

'So why now? Why was I hiding from one mere mortal?!'

"King of Olympus!" The killer roared at me. "Face your defeat like a true warrior! Are you not the God of War?!"

He kept ramming the doors to the throne room like a mad man. The doors were made out of ten-inch think solid iron, but the demigod's punches and kicks made crater-like dents with every hit. It was only a matter of time before they would come here.

With the thunderstorms aboves and the sound of the blood of my allies raining down on me his voice was barely audible.

I was currently resting on my throne, Athena tending to my handless stump for an arm.

"Athena, you moron! I told you to run! Why didn't you flee with Artemis and Apollo?!" I barked at her.

The kneeling, stubborn grey-eyed woman merely finished bandaging my wound and rubbing a numbing salve over it.

"Damn it, flee!" I pointed my spear at her throat, close enough for the sharp point to draw blood. "Flee or I'll just kill you right here. Don't you understand you could actually die fighting him?!"

Athena finally looked up at me with a glare so fierce it was like I was looking into a mirror. Her black hair was in clumps and bits of flesh clung between her braids. Her grey eyes were filled with storms like the ones above us and hideous, bloody scars tainted her once flawless, pale skin.

"I refuse to abandon my king." She said simply.

I only scoffed as Athena picked up her circular shield and spear, the same weapon combination as me. I still remembered bickering with her over that. If only things were as simple as back then...

"Bullshit." I told her, rising from my throne and picking up my golden spear from the floor. "You've never seen me as your king. You're just like everyone else. When Zeus died, I was crowned the next ruler of Olympus only because I was his firstborn son. No one wanted me, a bloodthirsty warmonger savage as their king!"

Before Athena could protest, the doors finally burst open.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Gods of War." He clicked his tongue.

"Do you realize what have you done, mortal? You and your lot have massacred Olympus and its people. You will be condemmed to suffer eternity in the depths of Tartarus." Athena scowled at the leader.

"Already done that. You still don't seem to know who I am... Then again, my banishment was before you two were born. Did daddy never tell you about me?" The blonde-haired murderer grinned at her.

The fact that he looked like a young version of my father disgusted me to my core.

"To think that Hephaestus would help you still baffles me, but it matters not. You have lost your element of suprise. You won't kill us as easily as the others. As powerful as you may be, surely you must be worn out by now."

"Hate too break it to you, but that wine you all drinked? I poisoned it. Takes away immortality, your godly strength and hazes your mind like you're drunk. Even if you manage to kill me, the Gorgon Toxin will stop your hearts within a day. You wouldn't believe the things you can learn when your father sentences you to an eternity in Hell!" Venom was even laced in his rage.

My eyes instantly met Athena's once he announced we were running on borrowed time. I was positive she realized what that meant.

We were doomed to die.

The dark clouds above us rumbled, and after being struck with Zeus's bolts on multiple occassions, I knew I had to split.

Time to do what I do best!

"Die!" I snarled at him as I lunged straight for him with my spear.

Sure enough, as soon as I leaped out of my throne, a bolt of white lightning crashed onto my throne, shattering into a thousand pieces.

I thrusted my spear straight at his throat, as Athena conjured massive marble pillars that instantly bursted from the ground as tall as small mountains with a snap of her fingers to box him in.

"Amazing! Even after being poisoned, you two can move and use your powers so gracefully!" Aster cackled. "You two are truly the pinnacle of strength amongst the Olympians!"

Aster rammed into the marble pillar on his left with his arm, completely taking out a huge chunk out of it.

I cursed as my stab barely grazed his shoulder. Aster immediately began hitting me with a fury of slashes with speed that matched even mine.

'Impossible! How can he keep up with me?! I'm the strongest warrior alive! Even Athena can't keep up with this kind of intesity! Why has father kept him a secret from us?! Aster, you bastard... exactly what are you?'

I gave out a roar as he brought out a hidden knife from behind his back and slashed me across the cheek.

It didn't take long before I started to get overwhelmed. My strikes were becoming sloppy and reckless. Whether it was due to the poison or my injuries, I felt my heart being squeezed by an imaginary fist everytime I tried to take a breath. He didn't miss a single opening and struck my chest, thigh and arm.

I screamed as fountains of blood erupted from my wounds and I caught a glimpse of my body- my veins were glowing green!

Just as I could sense defeat, I heard something crack and break like an egg. Slightly looking up, I saw pieces of the pillars crumbled apart until the three pillars turned into giant marble versions of Athena.

"Destroy Olympus!" Athena ordered as the marble giants lowered their heads and glared at Aster with their blank, white eyes.

Aster and I both jumped backwards as three giant fists completely obliterated the floor beneath us.

When the fists retreated, a giant chasm was left in its wake.

"Fool! You'll kill us all!" Aster hissed as the remaining floor beneath us began to crack as well.

Athena just sneered at him. Her lips had turned blue and her arms were turning a sickly green like a growing bruise.

"You seem afraid, mortal. Is something not going as you planned?" Athen asked him in the same mocking tone she used with me whenever she bested me in battle.

"Yeah... the thing about War Gods? We're incredibly prideful." I told him as I spat a wad of blood in front of my feet.

"We'd rather die than admit defeat. What were you hoping to achieve fighting against us? That we'd surrender and grovel before you?" Athena laughed as Aster snarled and immediately turned his attention to the statues that were destroying columns, the floor and the ceiling.

Athena finally collapsed and dropped her weapons.

"Stop! Stop! I command you! No!!!" Aster screamed as he summoned a barrage of lightning bolts to strike the statues.

It was too late.

Before the bolts caused the statues to split into pieces, the room we were in suddenly jerked violently to the right and began to move.

Olympus slid off the mountain and was stuck in a free-fall.

Now for the final touch.

Aster must've realized his entire plan has failed, since he used his his powers to summon the winds to float. However, due to all the falling debris, it didn't take long for a giant chunk of the ceiling to hit him and pin him with the rest of the rubble.

His screams stopped when my throne topled over, squishing him like a bug.

It was over.

As we fell from the heavens to our imminent death, I rushed to Athena and hugged her, my arms wrapped around her waist tightly as we were floating in the middle of the room. As my body was pushing against hers, I could feel her heartbeat resonate through my chest.

I stared into her sleepy grey eyes and finally broke down.

"I'm sorry! Shit! Fuck!" I blurted out through the sound of rushing wind in my ears.

Whether it was the fact we would die any second now or the guilt of not being strong enough to protect her, the words came pouring out of my mouth.

"I was jealous of you! You were everything I wanted to be! I-I was too prideful... I should've listened to your advice when I had the chance! Forgive me, Athena! I failed everyone!"

Well, that was absolutely embarassing. Still, it was somehow refreshing. Maybe... maybe after all the carnage and horror I created and also faced, I could now somehow achieve some semblance of peace.

I pictured the time when Athena tried to teach me how to make a tapestry. I was awful at it and got all I managed to create was a picture of a crooked vase. I was grumpy since I just had lost a spar against her, but that somehow made me feel a little better. Heck, it was even fun. An escape of sorts. Gods barely ever spended time with each other for such trivial activities.

I was pulled out of the past when I felt a pair of bloodied lips on mine. I opened my eyes and I was shocked to see it was Athena, her eyes shut and filled with tears. Well, of course it was her. Who else could it be? Still, I was so shocked I started crying.

The sensation was nothing like I ever experienced before. In that moment, I felt something I never felt before, even during my brief relationship with Aphrodite.

Happiness. Like I was in a dream I never wanted to wake up from.

Fuck. Now I REALLY didn't want to die.

As Athena pulled back, she whispered something in my ear.

"I've always admired you, Ares. I wish you were smart enough to realize that. I wish... I wish if a next life exists, that we'll meet again. Come find me. You are my other half." She sobbed as her slim arms hugged me back.

And so are you.

We finally crashed into the ground and I felt my neck snap.