Hades was currently resting in his chambers as he planned his future endeavours. One endeavour in particular.He wanted to create his own species, the same way Zeus had when he cursed Lycaon, unknowingly creating an entire race of werewolves. Or how Hecate had created Empousa.
If you were to question the ruler of the underworld as to why he wished to do this he"d tell you it was to strengthen his army, but the truth was he had bored in recent years.
The fight between him and his brothers had taken place 5 years ago, and to a G.o.d this was nothing, however Hades had the mind of a G.o.d and mortal moulded together. He found these last five years excruciatingly dull and tedious.
Thanatos and Macaria were now 20 years of age and were roaming the world, leaving Hades alone with only a few others for company.
He summoned Nadia into his chambers and told her to sit still as he thought of a design for this new race. They needed to be strong and ageless, but most importantly they needed to represent Hades. He wanted people to look at them and see an immediate resemblance.
Shutting his eyes, he focused on what he wanted her to become.
After 3 minutes of waiting Nadia began to shine a light that was both bright and dark simultaneously. Once the light died down there stood a very different woman.
She had become far more beautiful and grown large bat wings on her back. Her skin had paled drastically with no trace of blood present. If you were to touch her it"d feel the same as touching the coldest of ice. She"d grown short, but sharp fangs that could break through marble and were poisonous.
Hades had made her undead, Nadia had no heartbeat, she wasn"t breathing nor was she moving, and looked like a statue. He had taken inspiration from what vampires in his previous life were pictured as. Her flesh was harder than stone and she could give a demiG.o.d a run for their money, easily overpowering the half-blood children of minor G.o.ds, especially in the dark.
Hades planned to have most of this species reside in the underworld so he gave them the same affinity for darkness he had. They would be able to manipulate and travel through the shadows, not necessarily as powerful or natural as his own children, but good enough. They also gained his control over the earth, just on a much less infinite scale. They would be stronger in the dark and feel more comfortable, although a downside was that they"d find the sun irritating and uncomfortable.
Hades had a satisfied look in his eyes as he ordered Nadia to go test her limits in a training room.
...
Hades had travelled to his largest temple and summoned his priest, Alec. It was the same priest who"s legs he had healed. The mortal had proven to be most diligent in his service and worship to his lord, saviour and G.o.d.
Hades rested on his throne and turned to his servant, "Alec, gather the 100 most loyal and fanatic worshipers in the main hall. Make sure to choose those that are willing to leave their current lives behind and join me in my domain. You have 30 minutes" He ordered nonchalantly.
Despite his surprise, the priest didn"t hesitate and immediately went about his task.
Minutes later 100 men, woman and even children in black robes entered the hall. All the children were accompanied by an adult, probably parents wanting to have their children embark on this "new life" together, Hades thought.
Sitting up straight he scanned the room and noticed every person over the age of 20 seemed to have his mark on their arms. He had left Alec a device that could imprint the tattoo on those he believed worthy, he trusted the priest as he had sworn an oath on River Styx.
With a thought the room was sound proofed, "All of you here have chosen to join me in the Underworld and leave this life behind. Know that if you follow you will no longer be human, you"ll become...."
Hades paused as he realised that his new species didn"t have a name. Remaining silent he internally mused, Demon? No that was already taken. Fiends? Devil? Maybe Vampire? The name was available as they didn"t actually exist, the closest thing being Empousai (singular: Empousa).
After half a minute Hades decided to think of a name at a later date, he did have long time after all, and continued speaking, "You will be... more. Stronger, faster, never ageing, but most importantly, you will be my people. So, who is willing?" He asked softly.
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The room was still for a moment, n.o.body making a single move. Then one by one his followers got on their hands and knees and kowtowed on the ground. Although it wasn"t obvious, Hades could see some of the mortals were trembling and a few were even sobbing.
Looking into their minds he could see that this meant more to them than he had known. They felt beyond honoured to be chosen for what they believed to be an "Ascension" of sorts. Their lord and saviour had picked lowly mortals such as themselves and seen them as worthy soldiers.
The room was swiftly engulfed in the same light Nadia had been earlier as the process began.
...
Hades had taken his worshipers to the underworld and placed them within a small settlement he had built specifically for this purpose. They didn"t need to eat as the underworld would give them the energy they required, although Hades chose to still deliver luxury food monthly along with weapons.
It also wasn"t essential that G.o.d be present at all times as the underworld was his domain, and unless rare circ.u.mstances took place, he was practically all-seeing.
Although the settlement was small, the land was enormous since the underworld was a whole lot of nothing. He had tasked them to build a city and start a civilisation, his own underground Atlantis. Despite their "undead" status, they were still capable of having children who would age normally until their body reached its peak.
He had warned them to stay clear of important locations for their own safety, such as the River Styx, the River Lethe, the judgment pavilion, the Fields of Asphodel, the Fields of punishment, the Isles of the Blest, Elysium, the walls of Erebos and the most obvious, Tartarus.
.....
Slowly but surely, time ticked by and 7 years had pa.s.sed. Things had been calm until a few days ago. Recently immortals had witnessed strange phenomenon"s related to the dead take place across the globe. Mortals who had died coming back to life, only for a short amount of time, seconds at most, before reverting back to dead.
Today Zeus, who was fed up with these anomalies, called an emergency meeting on Olympus.
It didn"t take long for the 7 Olympians to gather in the throne room, "I have convened all of you here today to discuss and hopefully solve the problem the underworld has been experiencing with making sure the dead remain dead." Zeus started, his voice laced with annoyance.
With these few words the other G.o.ds immediately turned to the deity responsible, the G.o.d of the dead, death and the underworld, Hades.
They clearly expected an explanation, having all been inconvenienced by the sudden turn of events. Hades laid back on his throne with a look of false exhaustion, "Whilst I may not have the most domains, the ones I do possess are extremely large and important. They each require close attention which I alone struggle with at times." He spoke tiredly.
The other G.o.ds and G.o.ddess"s eyes widened slightly in shock at seeing the usually stone cold Hades look so... mortal. So vulnerable. "Perhaps it"s time you share your duties with another, you shouldn"t have had such powerful domains to begin with." Poseidon spoke inconsiderately.
Hearing his words the other G.o.ds thought Hades would fervently object since sharing a domain could be troublesome if the wrong person was chosen, even if it was a small portion, however his next actions surprised them further. "Hmm. Maybe you"re correct brother, nevertheless I know the G.o.ds find domains having to do with death undesirable, and I would not wish to force this fate onto another. I have already thought of this outcome and believe my children to be the most suitable candidates to bear this burden." He replied cooperatively.
Zeus turned mute for a moment whilst the other G.o.ds had a look of understanding on their face, "Then it"s settled, summon your children immediately!" He spoke louder than intended, since he desired to get this over with as soon as possible.
Zeus was more than happy to go through with this, as he only saw it as an opportunity to possibly inconvenience his brother and solve a problem. Whilst it wouldn"t actually lessen Hades" power at all, it could if either of his children stood against him. Not by much, barely anything, but it would. It was as if the all four G.o.ds of the north winds, south winds, east winds and west winds each worked together to lessen Zeus"s command over the sky"s, it would accomplish something. Zeus would still have control, but it"d slightly less efficient until they were taken out of the picture.
This was also a problem that occurred in overlapping domains and even started fights between G.o.ds sometimes.
As for the other Olympians, they didn"t see a problem with it and only wished to leave.
Obviously, Hades wasn"t actually struggling with his duties and was also glad to have his children become true immortal G.o.ds. He knew that his son and daughter would never stand against him, so he would keep every ounce of strength he had. In fact, this only served to increase the overall power of his "faction" by adding two more G.o.ds to his list of allies. He only needed to Zeus to feel like it was his action of calling a meeting that lead to this outcome, so he wouldn"t think the worst of Hades" children becoming G.o.ds.
Even on the off chance that they did become his enemies, as long as they were within arm"s reach he could strip them of their power as it was still his domain, not to mention the fates that were under his control or his spear.
Although he didn"t want things to be too easy, those were last resorts, only for worst case scenarios.
Shadows began to gather in the centre of the hall as Hades pulled his children from the Underworld. He had already informed them of what could very well happen and the two had prepared themselves.
The two 27-year olds had their duties explained to them, before a minuscule portion of each G.o.ds divinity pooled together into ball of gold. It was just enough to spark its own source. Hades then released a slightly larger and deeper part of his own divinity, and ball transformed into a blackish gold and split into two.
The divine energy flew towards the twins and entered their body"s. Instantly the throne room was filled with the sound of pained screams and they began their transition into G.o.dhood.
It was minutes later the world welcomed Thanatos, the minor G.o.d of ghosts and death along with Macaria the minor G.o.ddess of blessed death, and the underworld. Just from the aura they were radiating it was clear they were at the peak a minor G.o.d could reach, since they had been extremely powerful DemiG.o.ds, and only major G.o.ds could defeat them.