Her face was one of incomparable beauty. Her features enough to make the gods envy her, a trait she was proud of. Her hand where shackled with heavy chains, rattling as she moved up the steps to the courthouse of Mount Olympus.
She smiled despite the fury that she harbored inside her. She was close. Very close.
The cyclops guiding her continued to drag her along, and as they reached the top of the stairs, Zeus himself stood before her, his face covered by the strong white beard, but his scorn still very clear.
The cyclops hand him the chain, and with a sadistic pleasure he sent a surge of electricity through it, making the woman scream in pain. He yanked the chain hard enough to drop her to the ground and began dragging her struggling body to his courtroom.
Inside the gods had already gathered, situating themselves on two opposing sides. Ahead was a small space for the accused to stand and before that a giant chair, crafted from the finest Egyptian marble. A gift from the cyclopses.
Zeus threw the woman’s body into the space and moved to his chair, seating himself.
“Phobus, daughter of Morpheus,” uttered Zeus, his booming voice reverberating through the courtroom “You have conspired against us, halfling. You have made it your goal to end our lives and take our places. You have killed the halfling seeds of many gods here in order to steal from them their power. You have even tried to rally gods of other pantheons to war with us. And finally you stood in my chambers last night, holding one of my lightning bolts, intending to strike me down with it! What say you before we punish you for your treachery and conspiracy!”
The woman identified as Phobus looked Zeus directly into his eyes, a smile, genuine in nature, came across her face.
“It is Fate’s wish for me to ursurp the gods and become the one and only.”
“What madness do you speak of, child!”
“The Oracles at Delphi. They’ve told me it is only a matter of time until the halfling daughter of a god rises to take over their collective roles and rule this universe with one guiding hand.”
“Madness!”
“Truth!”
For a moment Zeus was silent, musing to himself what to do with the scum before him. His face was red with anger, and he looked at his silent brethren before looking back to Phobus with intense disdain.
“Obviously it was not meant to be, proving you are mad. You did not succeed.”
“Oh, I wi--”
“SILENCE!” Zeus booming voice resonated again, shaking the walls as thunder would.
“You are condemned not to death, because such a fate is too kind for you! You will suffer for eternity in the depths of the most horrible places you can think of. You will be stripped of ALL your power, leaving you as nothing more than a mere mortal human being! Does ANYONE here object,” Zeus demanded, never taking his hateful eyes of the woman before him. There was no response.
Zeus nodded, taking the silence for approval and stepped from his seat. He grabbed Phobus by the face, his hulking figure making her small body seem insignificant. She screamed muffled scream into his giant hand, but he did not waver. His hand began glowing brightly for a moment, followed by the most effort Phobus has ever made to fight back since being brought to court, but her resistance was futile. Zeus’ hand stopped glowing, and he tossed the woman to the ground, her face red where his fingers and palm have held her.
She looked at him fearfully, her smile wiped from her face entirely and her fair complexion paling more and more.
“Take her away, Hades.”
The god of the underworld rose, almost gliding to the now fragile human being and picked her up by the back of the neck.
“I will see to her suffering, brother.”
Without another word he disappeared into a dark cloud, taking Phobus with him.
2,000 Years later.
Eziel stood atop a rooftop, gazing quietly at the concrete jungle that was New York. His clothing was drenched with the heavy rainfall lately, but it barely even recognized with the angel.
He could sense a short lived burst of energy behind him, knowing immediately it was his appointment. Slowly Eziel turned around, looking at the man in a rain-denched gray suit. His features were that of an old man, and his fedora and clothing style made him look much like a 1950’s business man.
“What’s an Adjustor doing as messenger?” Eziel asked, his eyes studying the man before him closely.
“Important news for… high ranking officials.”
“How high?”
“The order came from Michael.”
“Very high, then… What is this about, Atrik?”
“We have a problem that needs your undivided attention. Since you’re Earth’s newest lapdog, you’re perfect for the job.”
“Get to it.”
“The godkiller, Phobus has escaped our incompetent neighbor pantheon’s little Hell.”
“You refer to the woman Phobus? That’s before my time.” “It is your time now, Eziel.”
“You want me to handle this, then?”
“You and your… uh.. Friends, you call them?”
“Yes. My friends. I’m not risking their livs in pursuit of her, Atrik.”
“Well, you’ll have to. Or I just need to personally adjust them so it’s their job to do so… but you’re such a fan of ‘Free Will’ I was told to approach you first.”
“How kind…”
“You do have a demigod amongst you, Eziel.”
“I will not risk their lives.”
“It’s an order. Try not to make a habit of disobeying, we’re not all corrupted, and the punishment for treason is very strict, if you’d recall. Unless you’ve spent too much in this place. Do it or I have orders to fix them.”
“...You want me to find and kill her?”
“I want you and your friends to find and kill her. She’s too much to handle for you alone.”
“Why me? Send someone else to fix your problem. Someone better suited.”
“Well… You see, up in the Heavens - all of them - there’s a lot of disarray and tension. Pantheonic war is a consideration. We need our people upstairs to defuse the situation.”
“I’m not included in this?” “You chose darkness, you chose Earth. No, I don’t consider you my brother.”
“I’ll handle the situation down here. Will I receive assistance?” “You’ve got your battalion. Make use of them. And the humans… seem to be doing an alright job, considering.”
“Considering they took down a corrupted garrison of angels and stopped the summoning of Abaddon?”
Atrik’s face contorted slightly to a sneer, his lips tightening and his eyes squinting.
“Yes… that.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“Good. Now, I have work to do. The Norse are as loud and annoying as they are stupid.”
“You should be careful about what you say… we’re not the only agents of a powerful being,” Eziel smiled devilishly.
Atrik straightened up and cleared his throat while adjusting his tie slightly before disappearing.
Eziel’s gaze went back to the city behind him, then up at the Heavens.
“Thank you for acknowledging their free will, Michael…”
She smiled despite the fury that she harbored inside her. She was close. Very close.
The cyclops guiding her continued to drag her along, and as they reached the top of the stairs, Zeus himself stood before her, his face covered by the strong white beard, but his scorn still very clear.
The cyclops hand him the chain, and with a sadistic pleasure he sent a surge of electricity through it, making the woman scream in pain. He yanked the chain hard enough to drop her to the ground and began dragging her struggling body to his courtroom.
Inside the gods had already gathered, situating themselves on two opposing sides. Ahead was a small space for the accused to stand and before that a giant chair, crafted from the finest Egyptian marble. A gift from the cyclopses.
Zeus threw the woman’s body into the space and moved to his chair, seating himself.
“Phobus, daughter of Morpheus,” uttered Zeus, his booming voice reverberating through the courtroom “You have conspired against us, halfling. You have made it your goal to end our lives and take our places. You have killed the halfling seeds of many gods here in order to steal from them their power. You have even tried to rally gods of other pantheons to war with us. And finally you stood in my chambers last night, holding one of my lightning bolts, intending to strike me down with it! What say you before we punish you for your treachery and conspiracy!”
The woman identified as Phobus looked Zeus directly into his eyes, a smile, genuine in nature, came across her face.
“It is Fate’s wish for me to ursurp the gods and become the one and only.”
“What madness do you speak of, child!”
“The Oracles at Delphi. They’ve told me it is only a matter of time until the halfling daughter of a god rises to take over their collective roles and rule this universe with one guiding hand.”
“Madness!”
“Truth!”
For a moment Zeus was silent, musing to himself what to do with the scum before him. His face was red with anger, and he looked at his silent brethren before looking back to Phobus with intense disdain.
“Obviously it was not meant to be, proving you are mad. You did not succeed.”
“Oh, I wi--”
“SILENCE!” Zeus booming voice resonated again, shaking the walls as thunder would.
“You are condemned not to death, because such a fate is too kind for you! You will suffer for eternity in the depths of the most horrible places you can think of. You will be stripped of ALL your power, leaving you as nothing more than a mere mortal human being! Does ANYONE here object,” Zeus demanded, never taking his hateful eyes of the woman before him. There was no response.
Zeus nodded, taking the silence for approval and stepped from his seat. He grabbed Phobus by the face, his hulking figure making her small body seem insignificant. She screamed muffled scream into his giant hand, but he did not waver. His hand began glowing brightly for a moment, followed by the most effort Phobus has ever made to fight back since being brought to court, but her resistance was futile. Zeus’ hand stopped glowing, and he tossed the woman to the ground, her face red where his fingers and palm have held her.
She looked at him fearfully, her smile wiped from her face entirely and her fair complexion paling more and more.
“Take her away, Hades.”
The god of the underworld rose, almost gliding to the now fragile human being and picked her up by the back of the neck.
“I will see to her suffering, brother.”
Without another word he disappeared into a dark cloud, taking Phobus with him.
2,000 Years later.
Eziel stood atop a rooftop, gazing quietly at the concrete jungle that was New York. His clothing was drenched with the heavy rainfall lately, but it barely even recognized with the angel.
He could sense a short lived burst of energy behind him, knowing immediately it was his appointment. Slowly Eziel turned around, looking at the man in a rain-denched gray suit. His features were that of an old man, and his fedora and clothing style made him look much like a 1950’s business man.
“What’s an Adjustor doing as messenger?” Eziel asked, his eyes studying the man before him closely.
“Important news for… high ranking officials.”
“How high?”
“The order came from Michael.”
“Very high, then… What is this about, Atrik?”
“We have a problem that needs your undivided attention. Since you’re Earth’s newest lapdog, you’re perfect for the job.”
“Get to it.”
“The godkiller, Phobus has escaped our incompetent neighbor pantheon’s little Hell.”
“You refer to the woman Phobus? That’s before my time.” “It is your time now, Eziel.”
“You want me to handle this, then?”
“You and your… uh.. Friends, you call them?”
“Yes. My friends. I’m not risking their livs in pursuit of her, Atrik.”
“Well, you’ll have to. Or I just need to personally adjust them so it’s their job to do so… but you’re such a fan of ‘Free Will’ I was told to approach you first.”
“How kind…”
“You do have a demigod amongst you, Eziel.”
“I will not risk their lives.”
“It’s an order. Try not to make a habit of disobeying, we’re not all corrupted, and the punishment for treason is very strict, if you’d recall. Unless you’ve spent too much in this place. Do it or I have orders to fix them.”
“...You want me to find and kill her?”
“I want you and your friends to find and kill her. She’s too much to handle for you alone.”
“Why me? Send someone else to fix your problem. Someone better suited.”
“Well… You see, up in the Heavens - all of them - there’s a lot of disarray and tension. Pantheonic war is a consideration. We need our people upstairs to defuse the situation.”
“I’m not included in this?” “You chose darkness, you chose Earth. No, I don’t consider you my brother.”
“I’ll handle the situation down here. Will I receive assistance?” “You’ve got your battalion. Make use of them. And the humans… seem to be doing an alright job, considering.”
“Considering they took down a corrupted garrison of angels and stopped the summoning of Abaddon?”
Atrik’s face contorted slightly to a sneer, his lips tightening and his eyes squinting.
“Yes… that.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“Good. Now, I have work to do. The Norse are as loud and annoying as they are stupid.”
“You should be careful about what you say… we’re not the only agents of a powerful being,” Eziel smiled devilishly.
Atrik straightened up and cleared his throat while adjusting his tie slightly before disappearing.
Eziel’s gaze went back to the city behind him, then up at the Heavens.
“Thank you for acknowledging their free will, Michael…”
