IN THE GREEK REALM
'' PUSH FORWARD!'' Kratos killed one Chaos creature and commanded the army to not fall backward. By this point, very few mortals remained and some Gods died.
Atreus and Angrboda were at Kratos' side after a Chaos creature almost killed the girl. Pandora was still fighting, but she too had some injuries here and there.
SLASH
A Chaos creature slashed Kratos's back. It drew blood, but it wasn't nearly enough to kill him.
The God of War sparred a glance at the creature, '' Begone.'' He simply used the Blade of Chaos to kill it.
After that, he looked around the area, ' We lost too much... Poseidon, did it fail?'
Just in time, Kratos heard something that sounded like someone had torn a paper. He looked towards the sound and was surprised the portal was closing, '' Poseidon, that son of a bitch, did it!''
Sure enough, soon after the portal closed and no more Chaos creatures entered the Greek Realm. That meant they only need to deal with the ones here.
That envigorate Kratos, who shouted once again, '' THE PORTAL CLOSED! WE JUST NEED TO KILL THE REMAINING ENEMIES AND WE WIN THIS WAR!''
Kratos had used his powers, so his shout was heard across the Greek Realm. It made every survivor's blood boil and they gained strength to end this once and for all.
After shouting, Kratos looked around the area where the portal used to be, ' I don't see Poseidon...'
Deciding to check that later, Kratos returned his attention to the fight.
HOURS LATER
SCREWWWW
After killing one more Chaos creature, Pandora stopped. She could not feel any other presence around her. Sure enough, when she looked around, no more Chaos creatures were around, only some of her allies.
'' Did we win?'' Pandora asked herself.
One mortal collapsed to the ground. But he had a smile on his face, '' We did!''
That was enough. Those who heard it began to scream with joy, ''YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.''
And when one person did that, all the rest did. Soon after, the entire realm was in ecstasy over the victory. The residents of the Greek Realm lost a lot, but in the end, victory came. The sacrifice of those who died was not in vain.
Near the place where the portal was, Kratos was looking around, looking for some sign of Poseidon, but he already searched the place with his powers and nothing.
'Poseidon...'
Sensing other presences approaching, Kratos saw that the one leading the group was Athena. Although she tried to hide it, she was clearly worried.
Athena quickly came close to Kratos. She was accompanied by Hephaestus, '' Have you found him?'' She was clearly talking about Poseidon.
Kratos shook his head, '' I'm sorry... I don't think he passed through the portal.''
That meant that either Poseidon died fighting or he was alive but trapped in Chaos.
Athena said nothing for some time, as she was too stunned to do anything. She recovered a few moments later, '' Go deal with things, I'll stay here for a while.''
Kratos nodded and patted Athena's shoulder, '' See you soon.''
Hephaestus wanted to say something but left after some time. He too, had to help others and Athena could handle herself.
After everyone left, Athena was left alone. She stood there for hours but it felt like years for her, ' Love... what should I do without you?'
Although she was considered one of the smartest Goddesses around, she was completely lost about what to do next. But she knew she could not stay like this.
' I will have you searched all around in the Between the Realms and in here... But I can't stay put, we have to move forward.' Speaking of moving forward, Athena remembered something, ' He gave me a book he wrote. I'll check it now.'
Only a few hours passed since the war ended, and Athena still had time to check the book before she went to check the state of the realm. She departed towards her home.
Arriving soon after, Athena looked around the house and sure enough, she found his book. She didn't hesitate and opened it.
The first few lines of the book were: 'Love, if you're reading this, it means I'm dead or something like that. First things first, I love you always.'
Athena smiled at that, ' He never changes...'
' When you read this book you'll note I left some messages to some friends. Please pass it to them when you can.'
This was all that was written on the first page. When she flipped to the seconds, the contents there surprised Athena a little.
' Now, what I'm about to tell you it's all true. It might seem like a lie, but it's not... First, I'm not the real Poseidon. Well, at least not his soul. I know you well enough to know you suspected something was wrong with all that thing with Evil who made me lose 'my' memories. They were never there to begin with.'
Athena did suspect something was wrong, but she trusted the new version of Poseidon, ' Turn out, he was really a new Poseidon... This information changes nothing for me. I still love him.'
After recovering from this information, she continued reading, ' I want you to know that my love for you is genuine and always will be. Anyway, I came from another universe. Don't worry, I explain everything in detail later on in the book, but you can also ask Yggdrasil. That old tree knows much more than anyone alive... Don't worry, I still think you're the best.'
' In my other universe, the civilization was more advanced. I wrote some of the things we had there and I trust you or Mimir could easily replicate it with the help of Hephaestus and other Gods. Those new things will help our realm go forward, beyond your wildest imaginations.'
Sure enough, the next pages of the book were filled with information about things in Poseidon's old earth. Hundreds of pages, with all information he could remember.
Things like agriculture, the Internet, music, computers, cell phones, sports, cars, etc. Poseidon wrote down everything he thought sounded useful for the better development of the realm.
Next were the things he wrote to his friends. The only person he told his true identity was Athena, but the letters were also filled with love towards his family and friends.
The last page was the book had it written, ' If, only IF, I don't come back, I want you to know I will always love you and the kids. Take care of Neptune and Minerva for me. I know you'll raise them to be better Gods than we could ever hope to be... If any problems arise, talk to Kratos or Hephaestus. They will help you.
With love, your dear Poseidon.'
Athena was crying at this point. She could feel the love Poseidon had for her and his kids. And the knowledge he left could prove useful to the development of the realm. ' I'll use what he left... Thanks, love.'
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Getting up and hiding the book somewhere in the house, Athena grabbed the messages Poseidon left for his friends and left the house. The grieving Athena was gone, now she was the Queen of the Greek Realm, and she had a lot to do.
Arriving at the Meeting Area, Athena regrouped with the survivors. She saw a lot of her family, but she also didn't see some familiar faces, ' I don't see Thoth...'
There was several other who weren't there, but Thoth was a friend. So she noted right away, ' So he didn't make it...'
Athena saw Mimir talking with a Valkyrie and approached him. '' How are our numbers?''
Mimir excused himself, and talked to Athena, '' We lost too much. Heimdall died, Thor is in a coma, Anubis died, and Thoth is not located until now, not to mention we lost about 80 to 90% of the Mortals and mystic creatures. But - we won.''
Athena sighed, '' At least that... Send someone to grab all corpses they can find and bring them to Olympus. We will give them a proper funeral, and will not differentiate between Gods and Mortals.''
Mimiir nodded, '' Leave it to me... any news about Poseidon?''
Athena shook her head, ''Not yet.'' She then said goodbye to Mimir and went to the high point of the Meeting Area. She was melancholic
, because the last time they were here, Poseidon was leading the meeting while she was at his side.
Touching his place, Athena sat down. It made some noise and everyone looked at her.
Athena looked around and saw everyone important was there, even people injured. They knew here would be the place where they would meet after the war ended, so everyone gathered here, ' Even Kratos is here. He's with Laufey and Atreus. I'm glad they survived.'
Still, that was not the time for her to think that. Now, Athena had to focus on resting and recovering the forces of the Greek Realm. So, she started speaking, '' First things first, we confirmed there is no more presence of Chaos Creatures or its corruption. The places we found with it, we purified with the Flame of Olympus. And if you ever were to find any presence of Chaos around here, tell us immediately.''
Athena looked around, '' I'm proud of the fact I fought alongside all of you. We lost too many, some lost lovers, kids, and a member of the family, but - their sacrifice was not in vain. We won!''
'' We won a war that we had not even a 1% of chance of winning. We did the impossible... The ones who died in this war are heroes and we will honor their memory forever and in the best way we can.''
Athena stayed silent for a moment. She was thinking about what Poseidon would say in this situation. After a moment, she smiled.
'' Now, all we have left is to mourn the ones we lost, feast with the ones who survive, and prepare for the future. We lost Poseidon, our strongest God around here, but that doesn't mean we are vulnerable. I count on all of you to protect the Realm if the need arises.''
At this point in time, the resident of the Greek Realm didn't know the portal from Choas to here were closed forever.
'' So, I don't want anyone to have sad faces tomorrow. Today we mourn, tomorrow we move forward! We have to.'' Athena got up at that point, as she finished her speech.
No one cheered that much, but the majority was relieved the war ended.
'' Here.'' Athena passed Hephaestus a letter.
'' What is this?'' Hephaestus took it but had no idea from whom it was.
'' Poseidon knew it was a suicide battle. He left a message for you.'' Athena touched Hephaestus's shoulder, '' He considered you a brother. Let's make sure we honor the ones we lost.''
Hephaestus looked at the letter with a complicated gaze. Pandora was alive and close to him, '' Dad, will you read it now?''
'' No. We will read it tomorrow after the funeral. Today we mourn the dead.'' Putting the letter away, Hephaestus left the meeting area alongside his family.
Athena then passed some letters around. The last one she gave to Kratos, '' Here. A message from Poseidon.''
Kratos took it, '' Thank you. And I'm sorry.''
'' Thanks.'' Athena then left the area. She knew where her children were, so she went to visit them, ' They were fighting in this war but no one died.'
'' Athena, wait!'' Looking toward the direction of the voice, Athena could see Freya and Isis approaching her.
The duo catches up to Athena, '' What happened?''
Freya looked at Isis. She immediately said, '' We found this out before the war started, but we didn't want Poseidon to have more in his mind... We both are pregnant.''
Athena was shocked for a moment, before smiling, '' That's good. Make sure to check yourself regularly''
'' We will.'' Freya could see Athena was happy, '' We knew this news would make you happy, so we came after you right away.''
'' It did. I'm just glad more parts of our husband's legacy will be around... Now, if you excuse me, I'll visit my children.''
After saying goodbye to Freya and Isis, Athena's mood improved slightly, ' That's good news... Now, I just need to find a way to tell Minerva and Neptune their dad would not be coming back.'
Sighing, Athena arrived where the kids were. ' Here goes nothing.'
When she entered the place, she could tell Minerva and Neptune were crying, '' What happened?''
Her childere looked at her, '' We know dad died...''
Athena hugged them, '' I'm sorry... but don't cry too much. Your dad would be sad to see both of you in this state.''
Neptune stooped crying. He looked at his mom with conviction, '' Mom, I'll protect you in father's place!''
Athena smiled at that, '' Thanks...''
Minerva recovered immediately, '' No, I'll be the one who protects Mom!''
That seems to do the trick and the sibling recovered their mood. Athena smiled at the scene, ' Poseidon, this is only possible because of your and the other's sacrifice.'
After that, just like everything else, time passed like the wind.
500 YEARS LATER
Time changes everything and the Greek Realm was completely different than 500 years ago. Long gone were the days when the only light you had was fire, and now everything had changed.
Huge buildings, cars, streets, many people riding bicycles, and other people messing with their cell phones. If Poseidon saw how it looked, he would be surprised at how fast everything evolved.
Sure, the information in Poseidon's book helped, but it only showed the way to go, not how to get there. What Athena and the others did was incredible.
And in the middle of all this technology was Mount Olympus, with Yggdrasil branches scattered around the Realm. On one of these branches was the little realm of Kratos, but that's a story for another time.
And on Mount Olympus, Athena was near Yggdrasil. She often comes to talk to the tree after 'stepping out' of the throne.
50 years ago, the old generation of Mount Olympus Gods decided to leave the responsibilities to their children. Of course, they still took care of Realm, but now they were more relaxed than before. In the age of Zeus they did practically nothing, in the age of Poseidon they did too much, and this was a well-deserved rest.
Neptune, the new leader of Olympus, ruled the Greek Realm with kindness and wisdom. Any kind of rebellion, even if it never happened in the last 500 years, would be fought by his sister, Minerva, alongside Luve.
These two, by the way, had a strange relationship. Everyone knew something was going on, but they never revealed anything. Neptune was still single, but he didn't care much about this. After all, he was immortal, so he had time to choose a partner.
The people who came from other realms adapted quickly to their new home. While their original Realms were gone, they found a new place to stay. Some people wanted a new place to build a house, and Yggdrasil used her powers to make another realm. The one Kratos ruled over was one out of five.
Five was a number everyone agreed on, with each realm being ruled over by a God, while this God responded to Neptune or Athena.
Now, at the present time, the realm was peaceful. The last war was 500 years ago and the newest generation doesn't know much about fighting but still followed some small training regime. While Gods walk among them, they don't fear them that much.
While some Gods think that made them weaker, in case Chaos invades again, others wanted to maintain the status quo. They reached a compromise to train them a little and that was it.
Some Gods, like Kratos, made their realms home to people who liked to fight. The main army, in case of an invasion, was located there.
Amaterasu and Susanoo also had their own realm, the same with Ra and Isis. Freya also asked for a realm and was granted. Mimir was helping her rule the realm with fair judgment. He swore to never make the same mistake again.
Speaking of Mimir, he had married Sigrun, and they're now a couple.
Poseidon's son with Freya was named Froton, and he took after his mother. He liked to fight quite a bit. He didn't like the responsibility of ruling a realm, so when his mother offered him, he rejected it. He wanted to fight, and his mother granted that wish. He now was free to travel the realms, looking for a fight.
Now, Poseidon's daughter with Isis was another thing. Her name was Hope. She actively wanted to help make the realm better. She was so good at it that Ra had her as his secondhand woman. That position belonged to Thoth, but he had died in the war.
This brings us to today. Athena was near Yggdrasil, to speak with her. The two of them often talk with each other, to pass the time.
Arriving close to Yggdrasil domain's, Athena felt the familiar push. She just relaxed and let her soul go to the domain.
Opening her eyes, Athena could see Yggdrasil in human form in front of her. Ratatoskr, who somehow managed to make his physical form stay in the Yggdrasil domain, was there too.
Their 'kids' also made their presence known. Athena one time wanted to ask how this would be even possible, but she held herself back.
'' Good morning.'' Athena got up and greeted everyone.
''''' Good Morining Aunt Athena!'''''' The little trees anserewd Athena. Ratatoskr waved at her.
'' Good morning. What brought you here today?'' Yggdrasil made a table and some tea and passed it to Athena.
Athena took a sip, '' I don't know. I felt something was going to happen today and came here to check with you. Do you know anything to make me worry?''
Yggdrasil thought for a moment, '' Nothing comes to mind... WAIT! How many years since the war?''
'' Today marks 500 years exactly. Why?''
Yggdrasil gave a genuine smile, '' Some time from now, you might have a big surprise. But that is for later, let us talk about other things.''
The duo continued their conversation until Athena felt it was time to go, '' It was nice to see you again.''
'' You too. You're free to visit anytime you want.''
After saying goodbye to everyone, Athena left Yggdrasil's domain. She looked at the sky, ' Yggdrasil was acting weird today, and I don't have any idea why... Doesn't matter anyway.'
Looking at the stars in the sky, Athena remembered Poseidon, ' Love, I miss you. I just wanted you to know we are okay and tomorrow looks brighter... I just wanted you by my side.'
After remembering the past some more, Athena returned to her home, thinking about what comes next.
----
SOMEWHERE IN CHAOS
After hundreds of years, a small seed, that no one thought would amount to anything, started to sprout....