Chapter Seven Volume Two: The Shackles of Fate (I)

Six months have passed since the harsh Winter began. The crops have long stopped growing, the land has been barren for a long time. The earth had become infertile, the sun still shined brightly but the coldness of nature had become even more intense. Sicknesses and diseases propagated themselves like a horny Greek god having children.  

Humans and animals alike could not survive, twenty percent of mortals died in Greece in just six months. Continuing this pace would lead to the death of all mortals in under two years. In the relentless winter, humans would pray in vain to the gods. They lost hope in the face of the gods' indifference.

It was only when a "middle-aged man" named Orion prayed near the warm fire that hope was restored. 

“Oh, Great Goddess of the Sacred Fire, 

"You are the binds of family, 

“You who warm our homes  

“The Expeller of Evil, 

“I pray for your divine goodness. 

“I pray for the warmth of your heart, 

“Please save us.” 

A divine aura enveloped Orion. A shade of color escaped the fire, it burned with life and hope. Colors started dancing as a figure was soon seen materializing from the red-golden fire. She was a stunning crimson-haired woman with pale eyes. A smile spread across her face as she looked at the man in front of her. 

He bowed and then said, “Please help us!” with tears in his eyes. Hestia looked at him with pity, she waved her hand, a warm pulse escaped it and healed the men, woman, and children. Then with a snap, the man now had a beautifully forged golden coin in his hand, “You have my blessing and I will look out for everyone but resolving this matter is beyond me. Pray to Hades” she vanished in a fire shower.  

Orion stepped out and faced the wrathful Winter, then taking the coin in his palm, he prayed, his voice seemed to be drowned in the wild blizzard. 

“Oh, God of the Dead and the Living, 

“Thou the Hospital One, 

“Holiest and illustrious ruler of all, 

“Please help us face the wrath of Demeter. 

“I summon thou in respect and reverence.

“I pray with favor for thy benevolence”

 In an instant the world changed, gone was the dead forest, and Orion was now in a gigantic library. The shelves were made of dark wood and seemed endless as if reaching the heavens. They were all full of a multitude of books, some of them seemed perfectly normal, while others were surrounded by an aura, either divine or demonic.  

There sat a handsome young man with silver hairs in front of the farmer. This man just looked at him and in an insignificant moment, Orion was now sitting in a comfortable chair in front of the God of the dead. 

Hades had his legs crossed as he was reading a book. Without even acknowledging the presence of the mortal he said "So, why have you contacted me?” 

“My l-lord, my n-name is Orion, I a-am a f-farmer, the land has grown c-cold. The crops cannot grow, and our cattle will not be able to survive for long.” He trembled under the harsh gaze that Hades gave him as he finished talking.  

“What is the reason for that?” he asked with a calm voice that seemed to silence reality itself.  

“D-” he looked around before continuing "Demeter's child, Persephone, has been kidnapped.” His voice was full of fear. He almost jumped from anxiety as Hades squinted his eyes. 

‘hmmm… it seems like Persephone could not escape her fate’, he thought before inquiring, “And how do you know that” he hadn't been informed about that thought that may have been because he had been a bit isolated from most of the living. 

"S-she has been asking everyone if they saw her daughter, so the news spread everywhere.” He explained with a tired and sorrowful face. 

*Tching* cracks appeared in the air, they were gone from the library. Both of them stood outside in Orion’s village, some sort of translucent barrier seemed to protect this village from the cold weather. As Hades' silver hair flutters in the wind, he stretches his arm and then grasps his hand with a whoosh. 

The dead animals back to life, plants grew, and life came back with every step the God of the living took, reality seemed to suffocate, till his presence disappeared and he stood in the air kilometers away from the ground.  

His purple eyes shone, His gaze was riveted on the Earth, he saw almost everything and everyone in Greece before finding Demeter. Her fury caused nature to be destroyed as she ran from house to house at great speed. 

Darkness rushed to her like a predator to his prey. Shadows swallowed the goddess of the harvest. Bones grew from the earth. It looked ominous, like a haunted cemetery.   

“What?” she blurted till she saw a being with pale skin, four white wings, and a golden crown on its head. “Hades!” she snarled, “Are you the one who kidnapped my daughter!” she asked with clear anger in her voice. 

Without even waiting for an answer, she charged at him, convinced that he had kidnapped Persephone. Thousands of plants and leaves followed her as she ran at him, in her hands was a black scythe. She slashed the air with her scythe, following her will an uncountable number of natural weapons flew toward Hades.

*Whoosh*, straightaway Hades’ hand was on Demeter’s face, he gripped her head and brought her to the ground boom, the Earth cracked under the pressure. 

“What do you think you are doing?” Asked the god of the dead, his voice was so icy, it was as if reality itself became “cold” because of it.

“Listen here bitch, I don’t fucking care about your daughter, okay?" he scowled without any care for his sister’s bleeding face. 

“Now what I want you to do, is to stop this unneeded calamity or I will fucking kill you, I have better things to do than searching for your daughter!” Hades said  

“Like wha-" she tried to ask before the pressure on her head became even stronger. “ A small piece of advice for you, ask Zeus because I am pretty sure he knows who kidnapped her, hell he was probably asked by the kidnapper for your daughter’s hand.” He declared.

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Look at my other book: HP: The Rise Of A Serpent