All over the years, billions of lives have been lost in the river styx thanks to the war. Others, on the other hand, have fallen of age. Some unlucky comrades have gotten lost due to illness or a poisonous fruit they consumed hoping that would put an end to their hunger. But all of these deaths have been related to one thing only: Gods.
The Olympians have lived joyfully on top of the Mount Olympus after the titanomachy, the event where the all-mighty Zeus defied his father and the other titans; promising every being on earth a future where they would live freely and not fear of losing their lives if they made one wrong move. An empty promise that would only benefit his kind, after all. Only a couple beings that weren't like Zeus himself survived, but were punished just for being part of the titanomachy. Divine beings like Atlas, who carries the weight of the world as a punishment for leading the titan rebellion against the god of thunder and lord of the sky. Others titans like Helios chose to not defy the wrath of the king of gods and sided with him before the conflict, knowing they had secured a spot in Olympus and avoid getting jailed with the rest of the monsters and titans in the Tartarus.
No God felt the need to be defied ever again, asides from minor conflicts to them like the Trojan War. They were all completely aware that there was no being strong enough to defy them, even if they had the gadgets or instruments to end them. No one would ever defy any Olympian. That until one morning.
As Helios rode his chariot all across the sky, A beautiful divinity opened her eyes, and slowly sat up on her bed made out of the most comfortable texture on all earth. Pure cotton, along with feathers of a divine goose and the kindest of leaves to maintain her perfect skin: it was Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty and desire. She stretched out her arms, letting out a satisfied moan of being awaken with the warm sunlight Helios always brought. Being a god was incredible, and she was well aware of it. She gently removed the duvet off her body, her perfect build being shown for no one but the sky and the clouds to admire. She pushed herself off the bed, and walked towards the balcony in her chambers. It was just a regular morning, one of the millions she had lived already. Even if the routine was boring at times, Aphrodite always found the way to make it more exciting. With her bare body exposed, she crossed the curtains that gave her the privacy she did not need and waved at Helios in the distance, her hand slightly curved to catch some of the gentle breeze that sent a shiver down her spine.
"Good morning, sun boy." Aphrodite called out, her voice already mischievous despite holding hints of the initial drowsiness any person would have after waking up.
Helios slowered the pace of his pegasus, his bright yellow eyes already roaming around Aphrodite's body, feeling attracted like a magnet. Regardless of being a god, a monster or a human, her presence will always provoke such effect. That is how things have worked for centuries already. He waved in the distance, happy to see that his friendship with the goddess of love was not too broken already. After all, he was the one who exposed the goddess and Ares when Helios caught them during an intimacy act. In his defense, they were in the middle of a garden.
"Morning to you too, Dite!" Helios called back, his natural enthusiasm embracing the natural warmth of his voice and his gaze. He was the sun, after all. He would always provide warmth.
The Sun God then sped up his chariot once again, leaving Aphrodite with an amused smile, eager to see what would that day bring to make her feel more enthusiastic. She had lived long enough to feel bored, and whenever she felt like that, she always played with the mortals to entertain herself. She was selfish, greedy and stubborn. That is what made her be, well, her.
After dressing up with a beautiful dress made out of the best silk, she walked outside of her chambers, her footsteps, though bare, resonated through the empty and gigantic halls of the Olympus. The palace was beautiful to say the least, but not as beautiful as Aphrodite. When she got to the main hall where the Gods were already enjoying ambrosia and drinking nectar, she noticed the absence of a certain god among them all: Hephaestus. Her husband, and even if she did not like him as a lover, she always appreciated his company. Pushing her thoughts aside and thinking that perhaps Hephaestus was just working inside his workshop, she joined the rest of the gods, and took a small ambrosia. The divine fruit gods always ate, the one that would even bring immortality to mortals if they were to consume it. She took a bite of it, savouring the magical flavors the forbidden fruit always brought. She was too lost in the conversation with the other gods that she had forgotten the absence of her husband. And considering Ares was sitting on the table too, made her forget even more.
Hours went by, the conversation was even more entertaining than ever, even if Aphrodite and Ares were already devouring each other just with their gazes and constant compliments to each other. Ares slowly reached his hand out to Aphrodite's, passing his thumb over her knuckles and caressing her skin as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. He was gentle with her, he was loving with her. He was everything Hephaestus could not be to Aphrodite. The goddess of love could not contain the need to lean closer, to feel Ares' body warmth and start to look at his lips with desire. Her silent spell was casted, and Ares started to lean closer as well, ready to embrace her lips with his in a loving kiss, a forbidden one that would surely make some gods disagree.
"Hephaestus is dead! " Hermes called out in a rush, as he got launched all the way from the entrance of the palace to the wall next to the dining table, hitting his back with the white concrete and making him let out all the air he had in his lungs.
Aphrodite stopped the kiss and pulled away immediately at hearing those words. Initially, she thought it was a lie, and the rest of the olympians agreed silently with the goddess' expression of skepticism and annoyance. Why would Hermes joke with such thing?
"You have forgotten, Hermes. Gods like us, we cannot die. Do not try to fool us around and explain why would you hit yourself with the wall like that." Aphrodite said as she stood up from her seat and walked towards the god messenger.
She crossed her arms, her eyebrows furrowing with annoyance and what was about to be a pout. But Hermes seemed pretty serious and scared. He called out everyone in the palace, almost as if begging to be heard.
"I'm not lying!"
Aphrodite rolled her eyes and kicked Hermes' divine sandals a little bit.
"Yes, you are. Hephaestus cannot die because he is a god. Just like you, and m—"
Aphrodite was interrupted the moment Hermes pulled out something from the bag where he usually carries letters, objects, or various things he finds in his daily routine. This time, every single being in the Olympus was silent, even the servants and demigods. No one dared to ask, to scold Hermes, nothing else. A single tear rolled down Aphrodite's eye, while her initial annoyance transformed into a shocking wave of grief she had never felt before.
She was witnessing her dead husband's head.