Chapter 1

When I first opened my eyes after death, I wasn't greeted by the pearly gates, a chorus of angels, or even flames. Instead, I floated. An infinite blackness stretched out around me, littered with faint glimmers like distant stars. I couldn't feel my body—no heat, no cold. No weight. It was as if I was…nothing.

"So, this is what dying feels like," I muttered into the emptiness. My voice didn't echo—it just was.

Then, a voice—calm, almighty, and genderless—broke the silence:

"You have entered the Void. A place between existence and nothingness."

I jolted, or at least I felt like I did. Floating in space doesn't give you much room for movement. "Okay, I'm not alone… Are you God? Or Death? Or one of those creepy Reaper-types?"

The voice chuckled softly, a sound that resonated through me as though it were vibrating my very soul. "I am Chaos. The Creator of All. The Architect of the Universe. I am neither god nor reaper, but the force that birthed existence itself."

My first thought? This voice is taking itself way too seriously. My second thought? I'm dead, so maybe don't antagonize the all-powerful entity.

"Right," I said slowly. "So…what happens now?"

Chaos paused, as though weighing its response. "You have died before your time. A mistake. However, rather than undo this error outright, I have chosen to grant you a second chance. Another life."

I blinked. "Just like that? No catch?"

"There is always a catch," Chaos replied, its tone carrying the faintest trace of amusement.

I sighed. "Of course there is. Okay, go on. What's the catch? Am I going to be reincarnated as a dung beetle or something?"

Chaos didn't respond immediately. Instead, I got the distinct feeling that it was studying me. Then it spoke again. "Your flippancy is unusual. Most mortals tremble when speaking with me."

I snorted. "Yeah, well, I've had a long day. Speaking of, do you think you could take a visible form? This whole disembodied voice thing is a little cliché."

For a moment, there was silence. Then, the void melted away, and I found myself sitting in a cozy log cabin. A fire crackled in the hearth in front of me, and a steaming mug of coffee sat on the table at my side.

Sitting across from me, in an armchair that looked as ancient as time itself, was a woman. She was stunning, wearing a tight-fitting secretary outfit—pencil skirt, glasses perched on her nose, and her hair pinned back in a perfect bun.

I deadpanned. "Really? A secretary? This is what you go with?"

She tilted her head, clearly confused. "Is this not the preferred aesthetic for young men of your age?"

I groaned. "It's distracting, that's what it is."

She blinked, then shrugged. With a casual wave of her hand, her outfit changed to a simple tunic, much less...distracting. "Better?"

"Much." I leaned back in my chair, taking in my surroundings. "So, Chaos, what's the deal? Who am I going to be reborn as?"

She snapped her fingers, and a thick folder appeared on the coffee table. She slid it toward me with an amused smile. "Read for yourself."

Curious, I grabbed the folder and opened it. The name at the top of the page jumped out at me like a slap to the face.

Hades.

I blinked. Then I blinked again. "You're joking, right?"

Her smile widened. "I do not joke."

I flipped through the file. It wasn't a pretty picture. Seems that the myths really mellowed out the truth. According to what I was reading, Hades was not only banished but imprisoned in the Underworld by Zeus. Trapped there and forbidden to leave or ever enter Olympus, infact Hades was actually really powerful until Zeus chained him and made him nothing more than a puppet for his use. In fact turns out Hades didn't even have any control of the Underworld.

I closed the file and looked up at her. "And what exactly do you plan for me to do with this? Yes I would be able to come up with a plan here and there but I doubt I would be able to even stop Zeus."

"You are right, but yet I want you to change his story," Chaos spoke, her tone serious. "To help you out I shall grant you any three wishes to help you, Choice wise as you only get three."

"Alright, for my first wish. I want to have Memory Manipulation and that means every single one of its applications."

"That is quite a tall order, but I shall grant it to you. You seem to know what you are doing."

I took a deep breath. "Second off, are these the only domain that Hades has? The Underworld, Riches, and the Dead?"

Her smile returned. "Yes, those are his only domains."

I frowned, thinking it over. "For my second wish, I would like to add some new domains."

Chaos raised an eyebrow. "Very well. But lets make this fun and have you roll a infinite number sided dice to see how many you get to get to add on."

She snapped her fingers again, and a dice or marble appeared in my hand and I rolled it in my palm before throwing it and watched as it rolled across the air before coming to a stop as a number appeared on its surface. 

11

You got to be kidding isn't that quite to many domains? including the first 3 that would end me up with 14 Domains total... actually nevermind I know of several Gods that have more domains.

"Alright! Lets add 11 new domains." Chaos said exitedly as she summoned a deck of cards and threw them in the air as an infinte number of cards appeared from the deck and surrounded us. "Each of these cards holds a different domain, take your time to select what you want."

I looked through the floating cards and even stood to walk around as I looked at each and read them. I was not going to just select any random domain I needed stuff that would actually be of help to me in my new life.

It took way to long to read them all, but it was worth it as I set 11 cards infront of Chaos. She looked at them and looked interested in my choice. Now what did I exactly pick?

The first were pretty easy to select as I took the domain over Souls. Then I selected Destruction. Next I took Abyss, as it would allow me to connect the Underworld and Tartarus into one single realm. Of course I took Monsters and Demons as well as that would actually give me dominion over those in Tartartus. Instead of Shadows I decided that I would take Darkness as that would be way more powerful.

Now comes the five domains that do not match Hades at all but I thought would just make him that much more better. I had taken Creation as that would go hand in hand with Destruction. Next I selected Wisdom and Divination as both would make my memory manipulation even more powerful. My last two choices were Primordial Flames and last was the domain over Judgment.

Chaos chuckled softly leaning over slightly. "An interesting combination. You will be an intriguing god, indeed. Now what is your last wish?"

"Can gods grow withought limit or are there a barrier somewhere that stops their growth. What about being controled by the Fates?"

"All gods are born with unlimited potential and can be whatever they want to be. Of course it is only mortals that are limited in their growths. As for being tyied to fate, gods are free from them and are instead overlooked by Ananke, she is the one who creates a set destiny and path for a god to follow to be the best version of themselves. It is not her fault that some of those idiots never get the hint when an opportunity is set infront of them."

"I see than instead for my third wish I would like to ask for the Monarch's ability, Ruler's Authority. And I would like if you could combine the Force Abilities into it to make it more powerful."

"You have gut." Chaos said as she thought it over before shrugging. "Fine, it would make things interesting. Well we are done here, I hope that you have some fun."

The next thing I knew, I was lying on something fleshy, the ground pulsing beneath me like a living thing. I sat up and gagged as the stench hit me—sulfur, bile, and something else I couldn't even begin to describe.

Around me stretched an endless landscape of undulating, slimy ground. Glistening rivers of acid flowed in every direction, hissing and bubbling as they ate away at the grotesque land. The sky was a sickly yellow, veined with red streaks like blood vessels. Of course I would start in the only most comfortable place... my fathers stomach.