ACCR Chapter 6 Interlude; Darkness in Hearts
FAY 437, 2nd Month, Day 7, 10:34 AM
My eyes were closed, with my divine sense unfurled, covering every inch of the colosseum, scanning the people, the place, and the centre itself, the pit, where a bunch of younglings were going at it.
Every sensation, every gesture and pose, every single syllable... All of it, was something that was entering my mind from the hundreds of thousands of spectators, both cultivator and non-cultivator alike.
There was a darkness within this colosseum. Schemes and treachery were afoot. Some of it was blatantly screaming in my face, while there also existed that which was in the shadows, especially from those we had dubbed mortals.
In the beginning, before my tenure as Hades, at the creation of Pantheon... The Era had been glorious, but now, the advent of the Federation had birthed something within the mortals, a yearning to become like us.
My peers could see it. That I knew. Yet, they were ignoring the festering wound.
The plotting and the spying, not to mention the arrogance and entitlement of the gods... All of it was making me irritated and annoyed.
I had known that this was what I was going to be exposed to. The wild cheering was only for the ignorant, plus those I could feel faking it.
My fingers squeezed into the armrest as my annoyance reached a peak. This wasn't supposed to be an event needing my presence!
I felt an urge to shout at someone, yet there was none I could take my anger out on.
Those beneath my throne, the lesser gods, weren't at fault. They were also obligated to be here, just like myself. This was the nature of Pantheon, the law of Zeus.
Posey was a somewhat lucky fellow, having the excuse of having to deal with those sea demons haunting his little coastal domain, allowing him the choice of not appearing.
Though, I didn't envy the man. Those monsters weren't things that I wanted to deal with. Even a Core Formation demon from the ocean could take a person like myself down.
Perhaps if the underground world, my domain, dubbed the underworld, had some threatening tunneling creatures, I wouldn't have had to attend these useless duels.
"How long do I have to endure this farce?" I asked my partner, seated upon my left, on a throne similar to my own in size, yet different in design. Flowers were blooming upon it, diverse in species, yet all alive, thriving upon the throne, like some symbiotic amalgam.
"Evening." Persephone answered, her face a stoic mask. It was a challenge getting a read on the woman's thoughts. Technically, we were married, yet I loved the fact that we only interacted on days like this. She and I were in pursuit of very different things.
I stifled a sigh at her answer. Though darkness was shrouding my form, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't pick up on that.
With that answer, my attention shifted away from the crowds and the battle taking place below, to settle within my mind. Of course, I still left a sliver of awareness for the outside.
There were important things to ponder about. Like the fact that Zeus had failed to attain someone he had wanted. She was a piece, maybe one crucial enough to unravel the skeletons within his closet.
The majority of my attention was momentarily pulled back into the pit of the colosseum when the crowd went wild.
A hand had fallen upon the brown stone ground, Hermes'. Ares had managed to amputate him.
Another sigh almost escaped my lips. This was the problem with these little contests. Ares was supposed to always win. It was something of an unspoken truth.
Decades ago, a Hermes of that time had almost managed to break tradition only for Zeus to meddle with the battle. The non-cultivators hadn't even noticed the foul play!
Lillyanne!
Stolen novel; please report.
The woman had been saved by sheer coincidence. Her luck was certainly something praiseworthy. Escaping the clutches of Zeus wasn't easy.
That brat Reed wasn't powerful enough to truly save the woman from Zeus, but the one standing behind him wasn't someone the lightning god could hope to antagonise at this time.
That was a monster that even I hoped to never have his attention falling upon me.
Besides, though the brat wasn't powerful. His vast wealth couldn't be easily dismissed. Many things were capable of being made easy with money.
Ignoring all that left one single fact. Zeus needed Lillyanne.
I rubbed my chin, inwardly pondering the feasibility of a plan to capture her. It was a tempting thought.
By having her in my hands, I could strike a bargain with Zeus. It was a risk though, one that would cause very many problems with the slightest misstep.
Though, there were some eager pawns that could help me distract the man.
I passed a hand through my hair, roughly tussling my hair in frustration.
The problem with all my plans hinged on whether the secret was valuable enough to go through all that trouble.
What was so important enough that Zeus had to hide it from even us, the Great Gods?
I had spent hours, days and years Contemplating that mystery, yet had not come any closer to solving it.
My agents, the shadows, hadn't managed to purse out anything from their missions.
The only fact that I had managed to glean was the involvement of the sect masters of the other sects! That alone made me certain that whatever was being hidden, was far more important than I had imagined!
There was also the resources that seemingly vanished into thin air. These weren't mere million-credit-worth things, but billions of credits simply vanishing into nothing, as if devoured by a black hole!
Another roar rippled through the crowd, once again jolting me from my mind, bringing me into reality.
Hermes had managed to inflict a gash upon Ares' chest with his sword, wiping the smugness and arrogance from the man's face.
Hermes was a messenger god, one who was supposed to be faster than Ares by an incredible margin. It was commendable that he had managed to injure the other god even with the suppression of the colosseum's array.
Wait! First generation Zeus! Did the secret have a connection to that man?!
Could he have conceptualized a piece of technology far more advanced than even the array circles that gave us three the edge against all other Nascent Souls?
I licked my lips, feeling my heartbeat increase in anticipation and excitement. That Zeus hadn't been selfish in relation to the sects.
But what could such a thing be if it guzzled such a massive amount of resources? So far I had pinpointed that all the large sects had a connection to that.
That begged the question. What kind of Advanced technology was it?
From what I knew of the sects, there was absolutely no way they would have allowed the birth of a power that could threaten them. And yet, they hadn't opposed the creation of the Federation in the slightest!
At the time, I had thought that there was going to be a major altercation, yet nothing had happened?!
Could whatever was eating up the resources be the means that would allow them to overturn the status quo? Or, was there something even larger at play?
There was also the question of how that status quo could be overturned. From what I had gleaned in my limited interactions with the larger Federation, they were powerful enough to take on all the sects combined.
Something was most definitely fishy. And it was tickling my curious bone.
Another cheer rippled through the crowd, entering my ears, and dragging my awareness back to reality.
The mortals were wearing a piece of technology in the form of glasses that allowed them to keep up with the speeds of the cultivators, an amazing contraption invented by the first generation Zeus.
Could the man have created something that was capable of annihilating powerhouses?
Or could it be something that could give the sects a lead that they might be able to maintain in the long run?
I scratched at my scalp, frustrated with the endlessness of the possibilities.
Wait! Could it be...? No no no! That's impossible!
The sky brightened further, with a lightning bolt striking behind me, specifically, Zeus' throne, heralding the rumbling thunder that exploded across the colosseum, with the very rock making up the structure enhancing the sound to the point that it drowned out even the cheers of the crowd.
When the thunder died down, a powerful roar of cheers rumbled from the spectators, far more powerful than that which had been directed at the battle taking place below.
Within the scope of my divine sense, I caught the momentary smirk of vanity that crossed Zeus' face before it morphed into a fake smile.
The wave of his hand marked the end of his glorious entrance before he sat down upon his throne, with his ostentatious hairstyle adding to his imposing stature.
He wasn't beefed up in the body department... Just that his long reign had added that demeanor on him.
My finger tapped the armrest on my left as I wondered whether he truly cared about the undercurrent of darkness among the mortals.
His arrival alone had overshadowed the battle.
"Your highness." Persephone turned her head and gave a nod, which was reciprocated by Zeus.
But I didn't even turn my head. Though his throne was above us, I wasn't the submissive type. He knew that very well.
"Hades, how is that little domain of yours? Is it cozy enough? Is your wife enjoying her time there?"
My finger continued tapping upon the armrest at that question while I contemplated shattering the entire throne and duking it out with the man. His condescending tone was grating upon my ears.
His pointed look as he gazed at Persephone, while asking that question was irritating.
"Same old. Same old. Nothing changes. It's all the same inky darkness. It's akin to an underground prison cell." My voice came out calm as opposed to the sarcasm I had wanted infused.
"Hmm. It looks like Ares, my son, is doing well in the battle." Pride, or any other emotional sign was absent from his tone, as if everything was as it should be.
"A little bird told me that you lost a certain woman by the names of Lilyanne to that brat, Reed."
His eyes narrowed imperceptibly, with a sliver of murderous intent surfacing from the depths of his mind for a moment, no longer than a fraction of a second, only for calm to forcefully take over in an instant.
The prickle upon the back of my neck had caused me to enter a tense state, with my energy riled up in preparation for the man to strike. Just like lightning itself, Zeus had a tendency to strike without any prior warning.
"Why would you want to stick your nose where it doesn't belong, Underworld rat!"
Sometimes, I admired how Persephone was capable of maintaining her cool facade when these verbal barbs were being exchanged.
"Anything related to Pantheon, not to mention you as the sect master, is important intelligence to me." a tiny wrinkle appeared upon his forehead before it smoothed out, though not as fast as the tiny white - blue arcs in his hair.
"That matter has no relation to Pantheon. I will give you a word of advice. One from a Great God to a lesser one; give up on that endeavor!"
"Heh!" I scoffed, with laughter almost bubbling out of me. Do he really think that I was scared of him?!
I shook my head at the preposterousness of that notion. Yet, before my thoughts could devolve even further down that pit, a light bulb moment lit up my mind, chasing away the clouds of darkness that had been burdening me.
Maybe, I should capture her! Wouldn't that be enough to get Zeus to grovel at my feet?
But first, I had to live through this boring duel. My attention shifted to masses, to those that were trying to hide the fact that their eyesight was constantly on us, to those that were only going through the motions when cheering. And to those who were glaring with hatred, yet couldn't do or say anything that would lead to the death of not just them, but their families.
Would it be possible to use their hatred?