Chapter 172 Death's Incarnations

In a bleak and dreary land within the depths of the greek underworld, an extremely large palace could be seen standing alone in a field of dead souls that were roaming about aimlessly.

Sleeping peacefully outside the front gate was a massive and ferocious black dog with three heads.

Every snore sounded by the great beast caused the rocks underneath him to tremble as if they were going through an earthquake.

Suddenly, the three headed hound woke up and stared at a certain spot as if it was waiting for something to appear.

"Grrrrr..."

Even though the beast's growls were low, they still sounded like rolling thunder and were equally as menacing as the rest of his appearance.

The spot where the guard dog was looking suddenly vibrated and shadows rose up to take the form of a massive... man?

He was well over six feet tall and his upper body was muscular and toned beyond belief. Adorned in traditional Egyptian robes and jewelry, the man would have looked extremely captivating had his head not been that of a ferocious Jackal.

Holding a massive bronze staff that was almost as tall as he was, this man was obviously Anubis, the Egyptian god of death, funerals, and mummification.

"Down, Cerberus. I've been invited."

The voice of the ancient god was as dark as it was powerful. It easily conveyed with it the feeling of speaking to a ruler of death.

"Grrrr..."

The guard dog of the underworld obeyed this stranger's command, but he didn't look quite happy about it.

The jackal headed god walked right past the irate guard dog and strode purposefully into the bleak castle that was waiting for him.

Pushing open the massive doors, Anubis was immediately greeted by a beautiful woman with soft olive skin and inky black hair decorated with spring flowers.

She wore a racy black dress that accentuated her impressive assets and made her look like a slice of heaven in this abysmal hell.

"Lord Anubis. You are the last to arrive, the others are already waiting for you in my husband's study." The woman spoke politely.

Anubis was rather impressed.

It was common knowledge that this woman hated her husband, yet she was able to refer to him as such without looking liked she was on the verge of throwing up afterwards.

"I'll see myself there. Thank you, Persephone."

Before the spring goddess could respond, the jackal god began heading up the stairs to join the rest of the important figures already in attendance.

When the god was out of earshot, Persephone finally dropped her entire welcoming wife act and sighed in relief.

"Fuck... What the hell has that bastard so worked up that he actually invited guests down here? He's never done something like this before!"

She didn't know what had happened, but her husband had left his throne about a day ago to handle some 'important matters.'

When he returned, he was shaken up in a way that she had never seen him. He'd immediately called for a meeting with certain entities, declaring it as a matter of upmost importance.

Even the mention of his father escaping from Tartarus had not terrified him as much as he was now, leaving her utterly perplexed and afraid.

Who or what was more terrifying than a titan of creation?

-

When Anubis entered the meeting room, the eyes of multiple recognizable and famous figures landed on him.

He was able to recognize them all rather easily.

Sitting by an open fire with a scowl on her face was a woman who was every bit as fearsome as she was sexy.

Wearing her famous black cloak that maintained her beautiful looks, she was positively alluring.

From the Norse pantheon, she was Hel. The goddess of the dead and ruler of Helheim.

Standing a few feet away from her was a man clad from head to toe in a white hooded robe.

Behind his back were eight snow white wings that looked to be softer than the clouds.

From the Abrahamic pantheon, he was Azrael. The angel of death responsible for guiding the souls of deceased mortals to the afterlife.

Sitting behind a desk with a worried look in his tired eyes was the man who had called all of these beings of death to his home.

"It is so rare that you are in the mood for visitors, Hades. To what do I owe this uncharacteristic invitation?" Anubis asked. "Don't tell me you have finally become lonely?"

Hades ignored the Jackal's mocking tone and gestured for him to sit down. Anubis obliged, but only because he was interested in what the Greek god of the dead had to say.

Once Anubis was seated and all eyes were on him, the weary god took a deep shaky breath before he spoke.

"I need to know... Has anything happened to the primordial beasts within your pantheons?"

"You'll have to be more specific, Hades..." Azrael asked.

There were many primordial beasts and keeping tabs on all of them was nearly impossible.

Hades realized he had indeed gotten ahead of himself and placed a hand on his chest to calm himself down.

"The trihexa, Nidhoggr, or Ammit."

"My pet is fine, not that it's any of your business." Hel replied coldly.

"Ammit rests next to my throne back in my realm. Did you seriously call me here just for this?" Anubis growled.

Only Azrael seemed to fall into a deep silence as he wondered why Hades would ask such a thing.

"Azrael?"

"...The trihexa remains in hell slumbering underneath Lucifer's palace."

With the last piece of the puzzle confirmed, Hades let out a small sigh before raising a hand to his brow.

"This doesn't make any sense... He's reforming without his remains?" He muttered.

"Have you finally gone senile down here?" Hel asked coldly.

"Honestly! What is the matter with you?" Anubis asked.

Hades looked up to see he was receiving glares from two of the gods in the room, only the Archangel seemed to understand his words were no mere ramblings and now wore a similar expression of fear.

"W-What of Typhon, Ouroboros, or Leviathan?!"

Hel and Anubis did not understand why the angel of death was suddenly asking about more famous monsters, but it was odd to see the usual calm and composed figure suddenly become erratic.

"Typhon is currently still underneath that mountain my brother put him under, and Leviathan has not moved from it's resting place in what the humans call the Mariana trench. As for Ouroboros, checking up on it is all but impossible since it cannot be found unless it wishes to be."

Azazel was possibly even more horrified than before.

"WHAT ARE THE TWO OF YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Anubis finally roared.

All of this confusing back and forth was giving him a massive headache and he was beginning to lose his patience.

"Search your records for the first being to ever be killed." Hades said.

A unique trait among the more powerful beings of death was that they were all divided from the original concept of death itself.

Therefore, the inside of their minds were like a library containing the deaths of every being in history.

The gods took a moment to close their eyes and focus but once that was done, their expressions became riddled with confusion.

"What... is that?"

"What does that monstrosity have to do with the primordial beasts??"

Azarael took the liberty of explaining to the two younger death entities in the room.

"He is the first of the Chalkydri and the one that sought to end creation before it even began. Upon it's death, his remain were divided and eventually they took on lives of their own."

The young gods did not need to ask what those remains might have been.

They were the most feared monsters and deities in all of creation.

The trihexa that is said to walk the earth when Lucifer finally declares war upon the human race.

Nidhoggr, the evil dragon who gnaws at the roots of the world tree with the goal of finally entering the mortal world.

Ammit, the horrifying hybrid of a crocodile, a lion and a hippo that devours impure hearts and condemns humans to eternal restlessness.

Typhon, the terrible beast of destruction that is feared by even the king of Olympians and is widely seen as the father of all monsters.

Leviathan, the primordial beast of the seas and goddess to all who dwell in her depths.

Ouroboros, the cosmic serpent that eats it's own tail to satiate it's endless hunger and greed. Said to symbolize infinity and all that is never ending.

"But then, what is the final fragment?" Anubis asked.

Instead of answering immediately, Hades gestured to the space around them.

"It is Tartarus. If something had happened to it, all of our realms would have long felt the effects."

As the personification of every conceivable underworld, Tartarus suddenly going missing would have a disastrous effect on all of them. The trillions of souls it was harboring would suddenly be released, along with any prisoners locked within it's darkest depths.

"What makes you think that he is resurrecting if all of his fragments are still separated?" Hel asked suspiciously.

"Because I've seen him. He is the very same being that Jaldabaoth has placed a bounty on."

Needless to say, everyone in the room had heard the story of the mortal that had somehow scorned the god of destruction and creation, and was now living acting under the influence of the fallen Lucifer.

It was the first time in thousands of years that all of the gods and higher beings were discussing the same topic.

What is so special about this mortal for the price on his head to be so high and illicit all of this attention?

Now they knew but they were still the only ones.

The secret of the first dragon and his death are stories that have been buried by the sands of time. The only reason Azrael knew is because his lord is the one that actually killed the beast.

Hades knew because there isn't an awful lot to do down in the greek underworld with Thanatos acting as his helper, so he spent quite a few centuries going through the records of every being to ever die.

As the two youngest gods present, Hel and Anubis had never even heard of the first Chalkydri or even realized that he existed.

"So what if some old dragon is resurrecting? He can't possess even a quarter of his original power if he does not have his remains." Hel scoffed.

Hades expected this sort of reaction from the icy goddess.

Sitting up in his chair, Hades' eyes burned with an infernal red light as he tried to convey the seriousness of the threat that they all faced.

"You're right, Hel. He doesn't. But there is more that you should hear before you dismiss my words so casually."