Chapter 203 – Olympus

Chapter 203 – Olympus

(Hades) “Here’s the deal phoenixes, once you get up there, trust no one who doesn’t show visible hatred towards Zeus. Even just the slightest amount of hesitation when it comes to showing disgust, they are not to be trusted”

(Persephone) “Lighten up, my adorable husband. Not everyone up there is against us, most might even join in arms if the possibility of his demise seems feasible enough”

(Dermakvar) “Hmph, actually agree with the God of the dead on this. It’s for the best if we trust no one, especially if they ever lived or breathed in Olympus”

(Kellearzar) “You really are a walking contradiction at times Dermakvar”

(Dionysus) “Even though I don’t really live up there anymore, I can see why you might not like us Olympians, Dermakvar”

(Asmodeus) “Heh, heed it no mind young God. He seems to dislike everyone equally, excluding family of course. Truly a dragon who knows how equality works”

(Ikarus) “You know... I’m really starting to feel like we’re the odd ones out in this group now Petra”

(Petra) “Heh, see what you mean Ikarus. We would be the youngest by a significant margin”

‘And here I thought I could never relate even more to my six-hundred-year-old wife... we’ve somehow turned into the awkward kids of the group’

The grand hall of the house of Hades, the place we’ve already been to once before, filled with all kinds of paintings and relics, also holding the portal to the heavens right ahead of us. I’m pretty excited all things considered.

At the very end of the hall sits the blackened run-down portal, covered head to toe in shrubbery with the slightest reflection gleaming from the now powered up portal itself. All portals in this world seem to share that same type of mirror effect, just this one in particular looks like it’s been through some serious wear and tear.

(Ikarus) “So then, shall we get a move on? Unless there’s anything else that needs to be addressed”

...

Both the rulers of the Underworld hold their tongues and the group we’re travelling with all nod in agreement, including the furies as they’ll be acting as our guides.

It’s definitely time to do this! Might as well hype myself up a tad, this is the fabled land of the Gods that keeps getting brought up. Eh, already know I’ll only disappoint myself but fuck it, the Underworld was kinda cool so it might be alright.

Just before we step into the abyss, two things that might be best to mention. The first is that Petra’s hand seems to wanders to a place it probably shouldn’t right now, she really does pick her moments for such a stupid action, just leave my arse alone goddamn it! The second is that Asmodeus seems to pick up on this and whispers something to us as we’re literally entering the mirror like reflection of the portal.

“By the way dark one, you need to put more energy into your barriers if you want to stop sound going though”

(Petra) “...”

“Sorry... what did you just say Asmodeus?”

“Heh, don’t worry about it sister. My room definitely wasn’t next to yours last night and I didn’t hear a peep, honest!”

...

‘What the fuck!? He freaking heard what we di-...’

And just like that, us lovebirds, my parents and Petra’s father, the furies and Dionysus, all enter the heavens...

__________Rread latest chapters at novelhall.com... is this it? The mighty heavens, meant to be the pinnacle of the Olympian civilization and culture, and this is it? I swear this place looks like a respawn location for an MMO or something”

(Petra) “Heh, be careful Ikarus, you’ll turn into Zeki saying things like that”

(Dermak) “Patience little one, there’s a lot more to this irritating place than just this... no idea what you’re comparing it to but you make it sound bad”

(Kell) “It’s been centuries since we last paid a visit up here... to be frank, me and your father still don’t see the appeal Ikarus. Things always change but the aura of the place always remains the same”

(Dio) “To be fair, you do have to search around a bit to find anything worth doing. Boredom runs rampant in this place so you end up spending most of the time searching for fun activities rather than actually doing anything”

There’s no point even asking Petra this right now, she would’ve said already if she could tell but I do raise a decent point. The timespan up here is supposed to be wildly inconsistent compared to back down in the human world.

[<You’re getting sidetracked Ikarus with pointless things, my consciousness is still linked to yours so best not think about it too much>]

‘Right right Aesa...’

Getting back into the moment, I’ve just realized our party of nine has reduced to eight. Who could be missing? Everyone’s favourite third wheel of course!

“...Huh, anyone know where the hell has Asmodeus has gone?”

...

Heh, everyone else looks around as confused as me when all of us have failed to realize Petra’s father has wandered off. Normally, I’d be all for it but we kinda need him, especially up here. These fury sisters and this tour doesn’t exactly seem to be going anywhere, swear we’re just walking in circles now...

“You know, what are you even supposed to be showing us anyways? You three have visited this place before, right?”

(Alecto) “My apologies orange phoenix but the God and Goddess of the Underworld didn’t make it clear what exactly they wanted us to show you. Presumably, they guessed we’d just guide you to the answer?”

(Tisiphone) “It ain’t that sister! Of course, the masters would know the way forward, right? Hopefully it involves getting revenge on the person who killed Lenard”

(Megaera) “Honestly, we’ve never gotten any further than the marketplace before returning home, let alone out of sight of the plaza so I’m not sure where we’re supposed to bring you now”

‘Talk about miscommunication much, we’ve basically been gifted guides that don’t even know how to guide!’

I was hoping Hades and Persephone wouldn’t be useless as much as the other Gods we’ve come across, pretty naïve of me thinking like that. Eh, maybe these three idiots just wanted to impress so they volunteered for a job they really shouldn’t have. Might even be better if we just dump them off now.

As much as I’m normally the one to show visible annoyance when it comes to complaining, everyone else also seems to be a little frustrated from the situation we’ve ended up in. Our main goal is to try and defeat Zeus and the guy who was basically acting as our prophet leaves us with guides who cannot guide, in a world that seems more like a gimmick than somewhere you’d want to live. This is a perfect time to complain, right?

“Young God, any idea how we can go about this now? You’ve spent the most time up here out of us all”

Thankfully, father is able to power through his annoyance... he basically is annoyed twenty-four seven anyways.

“Our best bet would be to try and find people of a similar mind to us, only problem is that might be impossible. Look around, how many people seem to be in uproar over what’s going on?”

As much as Dio says that, there definitely appears to be some odd feeling of resentment lingering in this place, even just the look of distaste sticks on the odd Gods face. Although I’ve never experienced it, maybe it’s comparable to how dictatorships run states? The entire population may put on a brave face but deep down, that feeling of being oppressed can never fully leave. No idea how Zeus is able to go about doing that when I haven’t the foggiest where he is right now... could be me just overly speculating like usual. I need some content to work off right now!

“Hang on, wasn’t this place supposed to be in civil war though? By the sounds of it, this entire world was supposed to be in constant war?”

“We are Ikarus, it’s just that anyone brazen enough to attack like a madmen would’ve ended up in chains or punished already, at least if they were to go about doing that in the agora. No, we need to find the actual rebellion before doing anything of real note”

‘He says that as if we don’t have the literal dragon of end times travelling with us. Mother really is a beast, even in human form like so’

(Petra) “Heh, anyone have any ideas for now, or are we going just going to keep walking in circles?”

“Guess we... could try a bar? A lot of myths and legends normally start that way”

Don’t get me wrong, we all know Dio is probably an alcoholic and this is clearly him trying to be subtle, this idea does seem like the only thing we can go off right now though. The fury sisters are practically useless and already look like they desperately want to leave, maybe they have agoraphobia or something when outside the Underworld? Heh, that was a stupid unintentional pun.

Regardless, they’re useless right now, might prove useful for some cannon fodder down the line but dead weight for now. Eh, it’s a bit harsh but we really can’t be carrying anyone with how things are going to go. Calm before the storm and all that.

‘Looks like we’re heading to a bar. Huh, maybe I’ll finally get to try what this ambrosia crap is like...’

__________

Eventually, we come across a tavern of sorts, now as a party of five when a strange encounter hits us in the face, or more specifically bumping right into my chest and face...

“Oops, sorry for tha-... well, isn’t this just delightful...”