High atop Mount Olympus, where the clouds swirled around marble pillars and golden halls
The assembled gods had gathered together in a formal council. It had been several days since Hephaestus had made his return after vanishing mysteriously with that particular girl.
However, what proved to be most shocking and surprising to all present was the dramatic and remarkable change in his physical appearance. He was no longer afflicted with the deformities that had once marked him; in fact, his new form looked appealing and attractive to most of the goddesses who gazed upon him.
The ones who were most deeply affected and troubled by this transformation were none other than Hera and Aphrodite. To Hera, Hephaestus represented a child she had cruelly abandoned in his infancy because of his deformities and imperfections. And to Aphrodite, he remained the memory of her former husband, the one she had once been bound to in matrimony.
The true reason why they had all gathered here today was to understand and uncover the mystery of how he had managed to accomplish such a profound change. Everyone present knew full well that his god core had been extremely damaged, incomplete, and unfinished since his birth.
The only known way to repair and fix such damage was through the process of sharing their own personal divine energy with the afflicted god. But no one among them was willing to undertake that since it could potentially kill them if they weren't extremely careful and precise in their execution.
That meant that someone incredibly powerful must have done it for him. Someone who was dangerous—particularly dangerous to them and their established order.
The grand hall remained eerily quiet, with all present still unable to properly voice out and articulate what they truly wanted to say about this troubling situation.
Then quite suddenly and without warning, three mysterious silhouettes materialized in the center of the chamber. Everyone in attendance turned their attention toward them, and upon recognizing exactly who they were, they immediately paid their fullest attention and respect.
"The sisters of fate," Zeus announced calmly, though with an undertone of concern.
"Yes," the three figures responded in perfect unison, their voices echoing as one.
Whenever these ancient beings came before the council, it was always for matters of the utmost seriousness, and with their gloomy and ominous aura surrounding them, the gods could only brace themselves and expect the very worst possible news.
The three sisters then pointed directly and deliberately straight at Zeus himself.
"Zeus—" one of them began speaking. "Your actions and behaviors will doom us all," the other two continued and finished the pronouncement.
All of the assembled gods immediately tensed up at these words. Zeus himself appeared to have gotten a little stiff and rigid in his posture.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" He asked with measured caution.
"We have received a powerful premonition," they declared in their unified voice. "Your future actions will provoke and anger a being of immense power who will bring total ruin and destruction to everything we have built," they added with grave finality.
"Who is this being?" He asked with growing concern.
"His true name remains unknown to us, just know this warning well—to keep your thing inside your pants and control your urges," they said coldly and with utter disdain before slowly dissipating and fading away into wisps of smoke.
Now all of the gods present in the chamber stared directly at Zeus with various expressions of concern and accusation. Hera especially looked absolutely angered and betrayed by this revelation.
"You complete and utter ingrate," she cursed bitterly and walked away in visible anger and humiliation.
All the other gods looked at him for a little while longer, their gazes heavy with judgment, before gradually leaving the chamber themselves one by one. Zeus himself remained standing there, visibly tense and troubled by what had just transpired.
There existed a being somewhere so incredibly strong and powerful that even the fates themselves had felt compelled to warn him not to cross or mess with them. This revelation probably meant that they were all in significant danger as well, their very existence potentially threatened.
Erik's Point of View
"So you also have someone special that you like," I asked, allowing a distinct hint of coldness and suspicion to creep into my voice as I spoke.
"Yes daddy," she said with a bright and cheerful smile on her face.
My mouth twitched involuntarily at her response.
"Didn't you say that you would never get married?" I asked, trying to keep my tone measured.
"Hmph, I was still very young and immature when I made that declaration. I'm all grown up now and things have changed," she replied defensively.
Looking up at the moon hanging in the night sky, I let out a long, weary sigh. I suppose I have another man who will be joining our family soon.
"Well then, where exactly is he? I'd like to meet him," I asked with resignation.
She smiled widely and walked out of the room before returning a few moments later with a young man following behind her. I scrutinized the man carefully, taking in every detail of his appearance. He looked rather scrawny and physically weak at first glance.
"What is your name, young man?" I asked directly.
"Hercules," he answered clearly and without hesitation.
I leaned in closer to examine him more carefully. The name sounded strangely familiar to me, though I couldn't quite place where I had heard it before. However, his actual strength level was not bad at all when I sensed it. He was currently at the rank of 6, which was quite impressive. Though I couldn't quite understand or figure out how he had achieved such a level.
Checking further with my abilities, I suddenly realized the truth—he was a demigod, part mortal and part divine.
"Tell me your complete story. I want to hear everything," I said firmly.
He nodded in acknowledgment and began to speak.
"My father was a powerful god who had an affair and slept with a mortal woman, conceiving me. His wife, upon finding out about this betrayal and my existence, made multiple attempts to kill both me and my mother. But despite how lustful and unfaithful my father was in his actions, he did protect me and my mother from her wrath. However, in exchange for that protection, I was forced to drink something called the godless potion. This particular potion made me significantly weaker and more frail than I should have been. But recently, over the past few weeks, I have been steadily getting stronger and regaining my true power," he explained in detail.
My eyes furrowed in concern and confusion. What kind of gods would behave in such a cruel and manipulative manner?
I could clearly see the lingering effects that the potion still had on his physical body and energy. But from what I could observe, it seemed that the effects would completely wear off and dissipate in just a few more days. This must mean that he will reach and attain his full divine power very soon, within a relatively short while.
"Well then, Hercules, let me ask you directly—do you genuinely like my daughter?" I asked, watching his reaction carefully.
He scratched his head nervously and looked somewhat uncomfortable.
"I don't truly know the answer to that yet, to be completely honest. One day when she witnessed and saw the full extent of my strength in action, she literally kidnapped me and brought me here," he said awkwardly.
I froze completely in place and slowly turned to face Moon directly. My eyes narrowed into a stern and disapproving look as she fidgeted uncomfortably and deliberately turned her face away from my gaze, unable to meet my eyes.
"You—"
—your summon has been destroyed—
My eyes immediately went to the system notification screen that suddenly popped up before me, and my expression narrowed with concern and alarm.
"I'll be back shortly. Wait here," I said calmly but with an underlying urgency in my tone.
I immediately switched places with one of my clones and appeared instantaneously on a remote island location. I looked around carefully at my surroundings and observed that there was raging fire and flowing molten lava absolutely everywhere across the landscape.
Then I finally saw it clearly. A massive, absolutely humongous monster of truly terrifying proportions. It appeared to have been made and formed entirely out of pure magma and living fire.
I saw Clyde desperately attempting to fight against it with all his might, but he was easily sent flying backward through the air by one of its devastating attacks.
I underwent a complete transformation into my powerful dragon form and immediately engaged in combat with the creature. The others who had been previously fighting it cautiously stepped back to give me room.
Clyde let out a long sigh of relief upon seeing my figure arrive. As I fought and battled against the monster, I came to realize that it was incredibly strong and formidable. Its power level was remarkably close to mine, making this an evenly matched confrontation.
This will be a long and drawn-out fight, I thought to myself with growing concern. I coated and surrounded fire into my hand, condensing it repeatedly until it reached sufficient density and power, and then punched directly at the monster with all my strength.
It fell backward onto the island and roared loudly in pain and fury. But once on the ground it grew even more furious and enraged, and fire began to erupt violently and destroy everything in its path across the landscape.
I took a deep breath and began to absorb everything around me into my mouth, drawing in the flames and energy. Once I had accumulated enough, I then released the attack back at her with a concentrated beam of pure, searing fire.
Its eyes widened in shock and surprise, and half of its massive body was completely incinerated by the blast. But it growled defiantly and started regenerating almost immediately. Though it was incredibly strong and powerful, I had the ultimate advantage in this battle.
I could consume and absorb all fire, which made me uniquely suited to fight this creature. I ran up to it at full speed and began to consume it directly, devouring its very essence. It tried desperately to fight back against me, but it was no use and futile. I think I accidentally ate and consumed a piece of its core during the process. As I tore into its limbs and began eating them, I suddenly heard a voice calling out to me.
"Father stop!!!" Clyde roared desperately to me, his voice filled with urgency.
I slowly turned my head to face him and saw him holding up a green glowing stone that radiated with mysterious power. I used my inspect ability to identify it.
-heart of Te fiti-
I then looked back at the monster with new understanding and noticed a small hole on its chest where something was clearly missing, and my eyes narrowed in realization.
I grabbed the stone from Clyde's outstretched hand and then looked down at the monster with a mixture of understanding and regret.
"So your name is Te Fiti," I said softly and then carefully placed the rock into her chest where it belonged.
It fit perfectly into place, and immediately the dark clouds began to separate and part to let the bright sun cascade down onto the island, bathing everything in warm light.
I turned back to my human form and watched with fascination as it began to transform dramatically and then decrease in size gradually. Until she reached the size of a normal woman, no longer the massive monster.
Though she had plants and vines covering everything on her body, she still looked strikingly beautiful in an otherworldly way. I watched as she suddenly fell forward, losing consciousness.
I scratched my head somewhat awkwardly, realizing that the reason why she had fallen and was now unconscious was entirely because of me and my actions.
I turned my attention to Clyde and the other three individuals that had shown up and arrived at the scene. Among them were Ariel, as well as the girl and man from our previous encounter earlier.
"I'll take responsibility for healing her injuries and restoring her health, and you need to fix and resolve whatever chaotic situation this has turned into," I said with clear authority and picked up the unconscious woman carefully in my arms.
I then immediately teleported back to the castle through my abilities and gently placed her down in one of the available guest rooms. After ensuring and confirming that she was comfortable and resting peacefully, I made my way to the garden where Moon and Hercules were still patiently waiting for my return.
Note:I changed the the story of Hercules a little to fit the future plans I have.