Divine Ascension: Reborn as a God of Power-Chapter 57: The Schism of Olympus (Part 17)

(1 day till the start of the war...)

Hades stepped through the enchanted threshold of Hecate’s palace—now repurposed into the hidden nerve center of the Nemesis organization. The old sigils of protection that once whispered secrets of shadow magic had changed. Now they pulsed with a new rhythm, something organized, deliberate, and secretive.

He had not been invited, but he didn’t need to be.

As the God of the Underworld, the boundaries of reality often bent around his will, and no arcane barrier could keep him out if he truly intended to enter. The palace’s long corridors were veiled in half-light, cast by braziers that burned with deep violet flame. Golden mosaics of forgotten punishments shimmered on the floor as he advanced—his steps echoing like the tolling of a funeral bell.

At last, he entered the chamber.

Seven figures awaited him around a circular dais of black marble. At its center floated a large, glowing orb—pulsating slowly, surrounded by motes of blue flame. Inside, a silhouette loomed: vague, androgynous, featureless save for two faintly glowing eyes. The leader of Nemesis.

Hades didn’t blink, he was expecting this.

"Welcome," said the voice, distorted and layered, masculine and feminine at once. "To what do we owe the pleasure, Lord of the Dead?"

Hades didn’t answer immediately. His eyes swept over the familiar faces.

Aphrodite, radiant and aloof, reclined on a chaise conjured from seafoam and silk. She examined her nails with detached interest, though her eyes occasionally flicked to him.

Dionysus, disheveled and draped in vines, held a goblet that never emptied. He smiled at Hades with a mixture of amusement and curiosity.

Hecate, regal in her throne of obsidian, met his gaze with no surprise. Her expression was unreadable, though her threefold presence shimmered faintly behind her—maiden, mother, crone.

Poseidon, arms crossed and trident resting behind his chair, nodded once, curtly. His sea-green eyes held little warmth, but no hostility.

Hestia, gentle but firm, sat at the edge of the circle. She wore plain robes and no weapons, yet the fire behind her chair never dimmed. Of all the gods, her presence was the most comforting—and the most watchful.

Hesperia, youngest and most enigmatic, leaned forward slightly. A flicker of twilight hovered over her skin, like a constant dusk.

"You’ve been busy," Hades said finally, his voice as cold and still as the grave.

"So have you," Dionysus said cheerfully, sipping his wine. "Word travels fast—even from the depths of Tartarus."

Hades narrowed his eyes. "I was not in the mood to let Ares continue fucking things up. And Zeus’s decisions have... tested my patience."

"Then perhaps you’re in the right place," Hecate said evenly.

The orb pulsed again.

"Tell us why you’re here, Hades," the leader’s voice echoed from the orb. "You are not one to waste time."

"I’ve come to make it clear," Hades said, his words slow and deliberate. "That I no longer consider myself part of the Olympian order."

A hush fell over the chamber.

Aphrodite stopped filing her nail. Poseidon tilted his head slightly. Even Hestia blinked.

"I will not serve a pantheon that undermines me in my own realm," he continued. "Zeus made a deal about Persephone to her mother without my knowledge. He sent Hermes into Tartarus to bargain with the Titans, without supervision or permission."

"You were supposed to be one of the three pillars," said Poseidon quietly. "Father of the sky, sea, and underworld."

Hades’s lip curled. "Two of those pillars have grown careless. So now I’ll stand alone. Unless—"

He turned toward the orb.

"—you have a better offer."

A moment of charged silence.

Dionysus chuckled. "I told you he’d come. Eventually."

"You know the cost of membership," Hecate said, her eyes glowing faintly. "It is not simple rebellion. It is transformation, reforging the world in a new shape."

Hades’s gaze hardened. "I’m not here for revolution. I’m here to reclaim what’s mine. I want stability, boundaries and order. If you offer that, then I will lend you my influence, my reach—and the dead."

Hesperia tilted her head, curious. "And what would you ask for in return?"

"Noninterference in my realm," Hades said. "No manipulation, no mortals being used as leverage to break oaths and no bypassing me to reach Tartarus. I want full authority restored—what was mine from the beginning."

The orb flickered, voice slow and deliberate. "Agreed."

The word hung in the air.

The gods around the table remained still, some thoughtful, others already shifting their alliances in subtle ways. Dionysus grinned and toasted the air. Aphrodite offered no objection. Hecate smiled faintly.

Hestia spoke gently, "Are you certain of this, Hades? You know what it means."

"I do," he said. "Zeus believes power makes him untouchable. But even kings bleed."

Poseidon, arms still crossed, said nothing for a long time.

Then, with a grumble, he looked toward the orb.

"If he joins," Poseidon muttered, "you’d better make it official. Let no one say Hades walks between sides."

The orb flared bright, and the leader’s voice rang clear.

"Then it is done. From this moment, Hades of the Underworld is no longer a sovereign Olympian. He is a guardian of Nemesis, a god of retribution, balance, and final judgment."

Shadows rippled around the room. The torches dimmed. The oath had been spoken.

Hades inclined his head once, in the barest show of acknowledgment.

Then turned on his heel and walked out without another word.

As the sound of his boots faded into the distance, Dionysus leaned back and murmured, "Well. Things just took a turn it seems."

Aphrodite smiled. "They always are. Whatever, we still have to prepare, as tomorrow he truce breaks."

Everyone present knew that what Aphrodite said was true, so they simply nodded.

And above them all, the orb pulsed with silent approval.

The game had changed. The Underworld now belonged to Nemesis.

(Meanwhile in another place...)

[AKHON POV]

The morning light seeped through the leaves like golden mist, soft and warm, clinging to the air in the Garden of the Hesperides. There was a stillness here that didn’t belong to the world beyond—a silence that tasted like nectar and felt like home.

I opened my eyes to that silence.

The grass beneath me was damp with dew. Above, the trees swayed gently, their fruit glowing faintly in the early light. And beside me, warm and curled close, was Aegle.

Her head rested on my shoulder, her breath steady, her body tangled with mine beneath the loose cloth we’d pulled over us last night. I didn’t move. Not yet.

This was the last day of peace.

Tomorrow, the truce ends. Tomorrow, they come.

I closed my eyes again, just for a breath, trying to hold the moment. The way her hair smelled of citrus and starlight. The way the world felt safe here, in this impossible place between divinity and dream. But I could already feel it—the pressure building at the edges of the realm, the divine threads beginning to tighten.

I moved gently, lifting her arm from my chest, and sat up. The sun hadn’t fully broken the horizon yet, but the sky was already bleeding gold. I could feel power stirring under my skin, ready, alert. I hadn’t slept much. Not deeply. Not since the last envoy from Olympus vanished into silence.

Behind me, Aegle stirred.

"You’re tense," she murmured, voice drowsy but knowing.

I looked back at her and found her watching me through half-lidded eyes.

"I tried not to wake you."

"You didn’t. I’ve been awake," she said, stretching with a sigh. "I was just pretending. Pretending we had more time."

I gave her a small smile. "We don’t."

"No," she agreed, sitting up beside me. "Do you think they’ll attack at dawn?"

"If I were them, I would, but they won’t. They’ll try something clever. Probably."

Her eyes flicked to me. "Then we train harder than clever. Today, we make sure they regret tomorrow."

I nodded. There was no hesitation in her voice. No fear. Only purpose. She’d made her choice long ago, when she stood beside me in Kaeron, when she fought for my name, when she looked at me like I wasn’t just a god, but a man she believed in.

I stood and let the armor come to me.

Not all at once. Not in a flash of light or power. It grew slowly, organically, climbing up my limbs like ivy, formed by the will of my followers, shaped by the faith of those who called me their protector. The plates were dark silver, etched with prayers in ancient tongues. I could feel every name carved into the metal. Every sacrifice. Every hope.

Aegle rose as well. She didn’t need heavy armor—only a tunic reinforced with starlight thread, loose enough to move freely. Her power came not from steel, but from light and speed and unshakable resolve.

"There’s a clearing in the eastern glade," I said. "It’s wide enough for both of us to move."

"I remember," she smirked. "Last time we sparred there, you couldn’t land a single blow."

I gave her a sidelong glance. "I let you win."

"Liar."

She laughed, and I found myself laughing with her.

We walked through the garden together, barefoot over sacred grass. The orchard bowed to us as we passed, the trees parting silently. Somewhere behind us, I could hear Erytheia arguing with a bird, and Hesperia humming to herself.

But it felt distant and faint.

Like the last sounds before a storm.

"Do you think Némesis will come in full?" Aegle asked as we neared the clearing.

"No. That would make it too easy. They’ll send their agents, their probes. They’ll test my strength before they commit probably, just to make sure."

"And Olympus?"

"Zeus is watching. He’ll wait until it’s nearly decided before he moves—at least, I think he will, being honest I don’t have a clue."

"So it’s just us," she said.

"No," I answered, reaching for her hand. "It’s us."

The glade opened before us. Sunlight kissed the edges of the field. There was no wind, nor sound. Just us, and the weight of what was coming.

I summoned my Blade and Aegle summoned her spear. Not the ceremonial one she carried sometimes, but the one she crafted alone, deep in the roots of the Garden—light-bound and star-forged.

So, we started to train, to what is coming.

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