Chapter 95: Ch. 95: The Calm Before the Tempest

Ch. 95: The Calm Before the Tempest

As we continued down the bridge, the mood between us shifting. I could feel the wind picking up, and with it, a growing tension. It was now or never— time to ask the question that had been gnawing at me for centuries.

"Why did you ask me to save humanity?" My voice was steady, but I could feel the weight of the question linger between us like the dark clouds overhead. My hair whipped behind me, the gusts picking up speed, but I stood my ground. "You sent Hermes to pass on the message. So, I'm guessing there was a deeper reason behind it."

Poseidon let out a long huff, rolling his eyes. "Always with the tough questions, huh, brother? Fine, I'll satisfy your curiosity." He kicked a stray rock over the bridge railing, watching it fall into the darkness below. "I knew Zeus would listen to you. That's why I had Hermes pass on the message. You know how boring it is being the only one who enjoys the waves of my ocean empire?

The gods up here—" he gestured vaguely toward the heavens "—are too busy with their own vanity to notice it. I wanted humanity spared because I wanted another species to acknowledge the beauty of my waters, to ride my waves. That's all."

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I stared at him in disbelief. "That's your reasoning? Really?"

Poseidon brushed his hair back with an exaggerated motion. "Mock me all you want, but it's the truth."

The longer we walked, the more uncertain I became about him. Poseidon, the god of the seas, the one who was also be the man in red, was too good at keeping his intentions murky. I could never tell if he was playing some deeper game or if his words were as simple as they sounded. Something about this night, about the way the wind swirled and the skies darkened above, felt off.

Maybe it was the conversation— or maybe it was a premonition.

"Dammit, why do you have to be so complicated?" I breathed out, frustration bubbling beneath the surface.

Poseidon chuckled softly, a deep sound that echoed like waves crashing against unseen shores. "You're one to talk, Hades."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I don't know what to say anymore."

"Then don't say anything." His voice was sharp, almost dismissive. The air between us grew thick with unspoken tension. I wanted to keep talking— to figure him out— but I was also afraid of pushing too far.

"How long are you going to keep up this 'good guy' act?" Poseidon said suddenly, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade. "You know you're not one for sympathy. I doubt it will last long."

I clenched my fists, feeling the urge to punch him rising, but I held back. Instead, I asked, "Why do you hate me so much?" Thunder crackled across the sky, almost as if the heavens were mirroring the storm brewing between us. "Please. I need to know."

Poseidon stopped walking, turning to face me for the first time since we started down this path. His eyes, normally so calm and collected, were hard now, filled with something darker. "I'm getting tired of your half-hearted sentiment, Hades. Drop the act. You know what you did."

I blinked, taken aback. What had I done? The Hades he was talking about had wronged him in ways I couldn't fully understand yet, but the bitterness in Poseidon's voice was unmistakable.

"You were always Zeus' favorite," he continued, his tone bitter. "Always the mature one who could do no wrong. Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, we could shoulder your responsibilities for once? But no, you never let anyone in. Your biggest flaw as an elder brother is that you never shared the weight with those who cared to shoulder them."

His words struck a chord I wasn't prepared for. Was this really about neglect? Could it be that Hades distance, and isolation, had driven him to this point of hatred? But there had to be more to it. This kind of resentment didn't just spring from something so small. Something else lurked beneath the surface, something he wasn't saying.

"I think we should part ways here brother," Poseidon said, turning his back on me. The way he said "brother" was laced with venom, not affection. He started walking away, his silhouette fading into the misty night. I could feel him slipping further from my reach, like sand slipping through my fingers. If I didn't stop him now, I might never get another chance.

"Wait!" I called out, my voice carrying over the wind. I strode up to him and found him waiting there, I handed him the umbrella Madame Perisa had given us. "Here. You might need this."

Poseidon looked at the umbrella, his expression unreadable. For a moment, I thought he might reject the gesture outright, but after a long, tense silence, he took it from me— hesitantly, as if weighing the significance of the act.

"Thanks," he muttered. "Don't stay out too long yourself."

(THE CHARACTER "POSEIDON" LIKEABILITY OF YOU HAS INCREASED BY 10)

(TOTAL LIKEABILITY: -260)

It was a small victory, but even the smallest chip in the wall between us felt like progress. I would keep at it, no matter how long it took, until that wall came down completely.

"Bye then." I turned first, not wanting to linger and become more of a nuisance. It still felt strange, turning my back on the one who had, not so long ago, tried to kill me. But reconciliation, if it ever came, would take time.

Before I could take more than a few steps, Poseidon's voice cut through the wind again. "Hades." His tone was serious now, and I stopped in my tracks. "Did you really mean what you said about making up?"

I smiled, despite the rain that had started to fall, light at first but growing heavier by the second. "Yeah," I said, looking over my shoulder at him. "Every word." S~eaʀᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

When I turned back around, Poseidon was already far down the street, almost as if he'd vanished into the storm. I let out a frustrated sigh. "Did he run or something?"

I shook my head, feeling the weight of the night pressing down on me. Today had been fun, but also exhausting in ways I hadn't anticipated. The reunion with Hades' brothers, the weight of the unspoken words between us, and the dark mystery of Poseidon's resentment— it was all swirling in my mind like the gathering storm.

As the rain began to fall more steadily, I ducked into a side street, heading toward the place I had been thinking about since we left Madame Perisa's. "I think it's down here somewhere," I muttered to myself, my footsteps quickening. If my memory served me right, somewhere in this part of the city was Talos' apartment.

I had to know if she was okay. She had just lost her father— though it was two hundred years in the future, that kind of pain wouldn't fade so easily. I feared she might still be in turmoil, and I needed to be sure she made it back safely.

The shadows of the night grew longer as I turned down the street, a sense of foreboding creeping into my bones. Something wasn't right. The streets were too quiet. And in the distance, just at the edge of my senses, I could feel something— someone— watching.