Olympus.
After some time spent in complete silence in the temple of Hestia, the moment of the gathering finally arrived. And now Hermes led me, Archer, and the still undetected Grandpa to the highest point of Mount Olympus, where the gathering of the twelve Olympians was taking place.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the others, and Hestia stood out the most, of course, while Archer behaved as usual and Hermes, as a skilled and professional diplomat, kept a polite smile on his face with a hint of apology for the antics of his family members.
The goddess of the hearth, since her return to the temple, looked as if she was seriously considering some idea. And, considering her last words, I had no doubt what she was thinking about.
In fact, putting her at the head of Olympus was an extremely good idea, if only because it would reduce their influence on humanity. Of course, in theory, Olympus could lose some of its power, but that could easily be compensated for.
Zeus was the strongest only because he had his own symbol of power — his lightning bolts. And if a similar analogue were created for Hestia, she could surpass Zeus on all fronts. After all, Zeus's dominion is limited exclusively to Greece, while Hestia has gained power bit by bit from all over the world.
There are many gods of the sky, thunder, and lightning, but there are only a few gods of the hearth. Some have already disappeared under the pressure of time, like the Sumerians, as I have discovered, because people no longer believe in them.
- "Once again, I apologize for my sister and the others, Mr. Archaman," Hermes distracted me from my thoughts. "Unfortunately, not all of us can boast of restraint and the ability to adapt to situations."
And then there's Hermes. In all the time we've known each other, he has never shown himself to be an unpleasant person. On the one hand, this was his specialty as an emissary of Mount Olympus and Zeus himself, but nevertheless, it was easy to do business with him.
I would even add him to the list of relatively good Greeks, along with Hestia and Hades. However, the latter may be non-canonical. I haven't met the others personally yet, so let's leave it at that. Heh.
- "But not you, Hermes," I smiled. "Have you always been so polite, or has time had an effect on you?"
- "Thank you for the compliment," he smiled politely. "And your second guess is correct. The flow of time is relentless and eternal, and no one can influence it on a global scale, not even the gods of time themselves. And that is precisely why you have to adapt to it, if you want to survive, of course."
- "Oh dear, I see, it's only thanks to you that Olympus hasn't gone to war with anyone yet?
- "Partly," Hermes replied smoothly, with a hint of pride in his voice. "But any war between pantheons would have no winners or losers. And there are always plenty of strong opponents."
- "Oh, I like you. And, of course, I'll overlook the fact that you're so talkative not only because you want to make up for the inconvenience, but also because Zeus ordered you to," I chuckled, to which Hermes' expression didn't change, maintaining a polite smile.
- "Was it that obvious?"
- "The combination of the words 'adapt' and 'survive' together with 'strong opponents' and the current circumstances? Even I wouldn't have missed that," I said cheerfully. "Won't you share what your father wants, approximately? I don't think such a question should go beyond the scope of his order."
- "Since you noticed such a small detail, you already understand his goals. Is there anything else? Definitely not. My father is quite straightforward in that regard."
- "I see," I nodded. "But he understands that I won't even consider his offer if I'm not offered something in return, right?"
- "Of course, but you'll get all the details at the meeting," Hermes confirmed and stopped. "We're here."
I looked up and began to look around as soon as he spoke.
It was a massive, open building in the shape of a circle, reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum with tall white columns, and right in front of us was a tall double gate five meters high.
The view itself wasn't particularly impressive, as I'd seen better, but the divinity emanating from within? That was pretty cool.
From there, I could feel the presence of Heracles and twelve other auras, meaning that Hades had also arrived. What was quite amusing was that Hades was not one of the twelve Olympians, even though he had his own throne.
In addition, there were a whole bunch of closed fields around this place, comparable in power to rank A spells. I managed to analyze them, and most of them were not intended to protect against attacks, but against espionage and the like. Understandable, I would say.
And while my eyes were studying all this, the doors began to slowly open, revealing a not particularly long corridor, at the end of which a bright white light was visible.
- "This corridor leads to the most important place on Mount Olympus — the Great Hall. That is where the meeting and negotiations with you, Mr. Archaman, will take place," said Hermes, pointing to the other end of the tunnel. "I will wait for you there."
I nodded briefly and, when Hermes left us, slowly walked inside, mentally connecting with Archer and Grandpa.
- "Let's place bets on how this will turn out," I asked them cheerfully.
- "After all your antics, including those you're definitely going to pull? I'd already start preparing the Noble Phantasm of Muramasa," Archer said.
- "Oya? Why so rude? As if I would provoke a war for fun? I'm not as irresponsible as you say, Emiya-kun. Right, Grandpa?"
- "What is my priority, Master?" Grandpa said, stopping in his tracks and almost tripping, then hearing Archer's chuckle.
- "Stop! You talk as if battle is inevitable! When did Archer's rust-filled brain turn MY Grandpa into a traitor? Where is your trust in me?"
- "Even the Grand Servant agrees with me, and you still have doubts, Master?" Archer grinned.
- "Shut up, Queen Shirou, I'm not talking to you! Grandpa?"
- "I trust you, Master," he said stoically, and hope flashed in my eyes. "But I trust myself more."
And the hope that had just been born instantly faded away and disappeared into nothingness. It was as if the strength had been sucked out of my body in a millisecond, my blood froze and turned to jelly, and it felt like I was having a heart attack. My legs seemed to forget what they were made for, buckled, and couldn't hold my body upright, and then my face hit the cold stone floor of the tunnel with a dull thud.
There was only emptiness in my eyes... A bottomless dark space where nothing existed except oppressive silence, inevitable oblivion, and fear of the unknown... When no one and nothing knew what awaited them in a minute, a day, a month, a millennium... And experiencing all these emotions, I...
- "I want to die... Right now..." I whispered in a completely empty voice. "Grandpa... Assassin, as your Master, I order you to kill me..."
- "The Evening Bell did not ring your name. The time has not yet come."
- "Please...?"
- "What have I done to deserve such Masters?" Archer rubbed his temples.
- "No," Grandpa gave his final answer.
- "All right," I jumped up instantly and shook myself off slightly, causing Archer to open his eyes and mouth so wide that Heracles' club could have fit inside. "What?"
- "There's clearly something wrong with you."
- "Just a little," I grinned and calmly walked through the passage.
I found myself in a kind of vast arena, surrounded only by columns, walls, and the open sky, and where the circular stands for spectators usually stood, there were thirteen thrones made of the same white stone as the building itself.
Each god of Olympus occupied his own throne, and all were present, although only two stood out: Zeus, occupying the highest and largest throne, and Hades. Heracles, who was standing next to Zeus, descended and took a seat next to me, nodding approvingly.
Zeus was a muscular, massive old man with a white beard, mustache, and hair, wearing a Greek toga that half exposed his muscular chest. His blue eyes clearly showed arrogance, harshness, and strength, although Morgana was still a couple of levels ahead of him on all fronts.
Hades was essentially a tall skeleton with pure white bones, dressed in a long robe with massive shoulder pads that almost completely concealed his body, and next to his throne hovered a staff with a skull at the end. To me, he looked like a certain character, almost exactly. And considering that Persephone, according to Rizevim, had character traits VERY reminiscent of a succubus from the same anime, then...
I smiled.
I wonder how many more disguised crossovers there are in this world, huh?
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