The scent of blooming ambrosia floated in the air, clinging to the last golden rays of day. Underneath a sacred olive tree, Hera and Persephone sat together, sipping divine nectar. Around them, the celestial flowers swayed as if listening.
Persephone laughed softly. "Mother Demeter thinks I've grown too quiet in the Underworld. She worries Hades makes me forget spring."
Hera smiled. "You are both sunlight and shadow, child. Perhaps that's why you're so beloved."
Persephone laughed.
"Do you think Hades truly understands love?" Hera asked, stirring her drink absently.
Persephone smiled softly. "He tries. In his own way. He just… forgets to speak it aloud."
A long pause lingered.
Then Hera said quietly, "Persephone… do you ever feel like Olympus was never meant for us?"
Persephone tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Hera's gaze darkened for a second—but just a second.
"…Nothing."
[Flashback – Days Earlier: Hall of Secrets]
In a chamber behind the Throne Hall, wrapped in silence and cold marble, Jin's voice danced like smoke in Hera's ears.
"Do you ever wonder why you're always second?" he whispered.
Hera's lips tightened.
"You are the Queen of the Gods. Yet Zeus holds Olympus like a cage, not a kingdom. Persephone rules half the year. Athena earns praise for every strategy. But you? They only remember your wrath."
"They laugh at you."
Hera did not answer.
"They say your wrath is your only legacy. They fear Zeus, admire Athena, worship Persephone… but you? They endure you."
Her fists clenched. "Enough."
Jin stepped closer, his voice gentle and poisonous.
"They've stolen your divinity and repackaged it as cautionary tale. But you—are the mother of Olympus. The Queen. Let them bleed to remember that."
Hera's breath trembled.
And he whispered one final seed:
"Do whatever you want. Not what Olympus expects."
[Present – Garden of Fragrance]
"I'm sorry, Persephone."
The words were so soft that Persephone almost didn't catch them.
She turned. "Hera…?"
The dagger was already in motion.
Forged from celestial bone, ancient and cruel. It slid between her ribs like a whisper of betrayal.
Persephone gasped, golden ichor staining her white robe.
"No!" she gasped, stumbling back as golden ichor spilled like sunlight across the grass. Her lips moved, trembling: "Wh-Why…?"
Hera's eyes glistened, but her voice stayed steady.
"Because they gave you everything they denied me—love, admiration, legacy.
And I'm tired of smiling while they forget who I am. They call you Queen of the Underworld… but I was Queen before kingdoms even formed."
Another stab.
"I envied you," Hera whispered. "And I hated that envy."
With trembling hands, she drove the dagger again—twice more.
Persephone collapsed in a bed of ambrosia flowers, blood blooming around her like a twisted garden.
[Moments Later – Depths of the Underworld]
Hades walked alone, ascending the obsidian staircase that led back to the mortal realm.
In his hand, he carried a single rose wrapped in silver starlight—a flower that only bloomed in the Soul Garden, plucked for her.
He whispered to himself, smiling softly.
"She said she missed the stars.
Tonight, I'll take her to the rivers of fire.
She always loved the heat."
A memory surfaced—her laugh echoing in the Hall of Echoes, the way she traced his name across his cold skin.
His immortal heart, long thought frozen, beat warmly tonight.
He stepped through the veil and into the Garden of Fragrance.
And then—
He saw her.
Sprawled among golden flowers.
Her eyes open.
Her body unmoving.
Blood like a shattered sunset across her dress.
The rose slipped from his fingers.
"Persephone?"
His voice cracked.
"Perse…?"
He dropped to his knees beside her, hands trembling, lifting her head gently.
"Wake up," he whispered, voice breaking like ancient stone. "Come, my spring… wake up…"
He pressed his forehead to hers.
"I brought you a gift."
Her blood touched his cheek.
And in that moment—something inside Hades died.
Thunder echoed through the underworld.
The rivers boiled.
The air turned black.
A scream shattered the garden.
Demeter appeared, eyes blazing, falling to her knees beside her daughter.
""My daughter! My light!, Who did this?" she roared.
And behind them, Jin stepped forward, his expression calm but cold.
"Hera. I traced her divine essence.
She's fallen into madness.Power-drunk. She must be stopped."
Demeter snarled, fury consuming her. "Then she will die."
Demeter stared at him, rage quaking her body.
"She will suffer."
Jin turned to Hades, whose face was now carved in stone.
"What will you do, Lord of Souls?"
Hades slowly stood.
His voice was low, quiet—but within it, infinite wrath.
"I will empty the heavens…
and bury Olympus in silence."
Next morning, Jin moved swiftly to the Devine Court. He saw everyone was already there.
Poseidon:
"Zeus never trusted us. Hera wants his throne. If she wins… we all drown in obscurity."
Demeter:
"Take back what she stole. I will kill her."
Hades:
"Let the dead rise for your wrath. It's time Olympus learned to fear the grave."
To Dionysus, Apollo, Hermes, Artemis, Hephaestus—each, he whispered what they wanted to hear.
Even Ares, restless for war, thirsted for chaos.
They followed.
Artemis wanted truth.
Dionysus wanted chaos.
Hermes wanted freedom.
Apollo wanted recognition.
Hephaestus wanted respect.
They all followed.
Amidst gathering clouds, Hera stood infront of them as a Supreme Leader, she adorned in green and gold, unrolled the ancient scroll from the Oracle Temple.
Her voice, proud and booming, filled Olympus.
"The Mother's hand shall mold the end.
The Pawn shall rise with a crown unseen.
The Queen shall bleed for a throne undone."
She looked to Zeus.
"I am the mother.
I will no longer be silent."
The gods turned, the air thick with betrayal.
Even Zeus, King of Kings, could not quell the tide.
And then—only then—Jin stepped into the light.
His face bore no crown.
But his eyes held dominion.
After this incident, Jin and Athena stood beneath the quiet stars. Between them, silence—a quiet that screamed of everything undone.
"You've turned gods against gods," she whispered. "You've split Olympus at its very heart."
"I never split it," Jin said. "I just let them see it for what it always was."
She narrowed her eyes. "And what are you going to do now, Jin Shang?"
He looked into the dark sky.
"Every god is an embodiment. Zeus—order. Hades—soul. Poseidon—depth.
You are wisdom. And I am balance. The balance denied, forgotten, chained…"
Athena blinked. She understood.
She nodded. "And balance cannot exist in tyranny."
He turned to her. "Exactly. That's why—"
Before Jin could respond—the blade struck.
Ares, grinning, impaled Athena from behind.
A celestial sword, piercing Athena through the back, bursting from her chest. Blood sprayed against the tree.
Her eyes widened—shock, betrayal, pain.
Behind her: Ares, laughing maniacally.
"She's always talking. Always thinking. This is war—not a lecture."
"Enough talking," he spat. "Let's end this wisdom."
He stabbed again. Again.
Jin stepped forward, slowly.
"You were promised kingship," he said softly.
Ares laughed, chest rising with pride. "Then give it to me, 'balance'. Let's see if your justice has teeth."
Jin stepped closer.
"You didn't want the crown. You wanted my attention, Ares," he said softly.
He raised his hand.
"Now—have it."
With one brutal movement, Jin crushed Ares' heart in his hand.
Bones shattered. Blood exploded in all directions. Ares didn't scream—he simply stopped.
Jin dropped his corpse like ash in the wind.
He knelt before Athena's body. Speaking in a broken whisper:
She still clung to life—barely. Her soul flickered at his fingertips.
He whispered, voice cracking with raw pain:
"In chaos… they respect violence.
In fear… they obey power.
But no one kneels for wisdom.
Not here. Not anymore."
He cupped her soul in his palms.
"This place does not deserve you.
You were born to guide—not bleed.
You were meant to lead—not fall forgotten in a war for noise.
Where pride screams, wisdom dies.
And where wisdom dies—I rise."
He stood, holding her body gently.
"Sleep now.
When I build the world anew—
you shall be its mind.
I'll build a world worthy of you."