Ch. 100: The Tempest & The Shadow (Poseidon’s POV)
I was sitting down with one leg crossed over the other, my eyes closed as I thought in silence. The umbrella Hades had given me throbbing in my hands, I still could not get what Hades has said to me earlier out of my head.
“Brother, what mind game are you playing on me now?” I muttered to myself. “I always feared your brain. Your charm.”
I stroked my small beard at the base of my chin and opened my eyes, the light of the speed train beaming back in my face. “Did he figure out I tried to kill him? Did Hermes tell him my plan?”
I was a bit relieved that Hades did not die. If he had died, I wonder if I would have had a chance to save humanity from Zeus’s wrath. He could have wiped them out of rage. Humanity would be the best subjects to rule over can’t have them thinning out just yet.
I wonder why the black amber failed to work though. The chances of success were high since he was already suffering from serious injuries, so what went wrong? Is Hades immune to black amber?
I furrowed my brow. I hated how he always made me think so much over little things. He was a cunning devil.
Even after being poisoned, he was able to take on Zeus, even though he was holding back. He also managed to show a new ability I never knew he had.
My eyes darkened as my grip on the umbrella tightened. Why was I boiling with rage now?
It was a shame that Hades was still alive, though. With him alive, it would be hard for me to get a new batch of black amber; that thing is still very hard to find in the black market. But why did Hades show such a profound technique? The only reason I see is because Hades was passing on a message to whoever poisoned him that– “I can’t be beat.” Not really, maybe– “I know you’re watching, be warned.”
Compared to Zeus, Hades is a wild card, and that makes him dangerous.
The light on the speed train turned off and then on again. Then it repeated at rapid intervals, speeding up. “He’s here,” I muttered with disgust etched in my voice.
The lights went out permanently, leaving me in the dark. I did not flinch a bit and raised my voice to say, “You’ve come, coward!”
The light came back on in a deep red, and there was no one on the train. It was as empty as a ghost, there was a low humming sound and then a buzz click from the driver’s seat.
I rose to my feet and looked in the direction of it. I could hear the sound of a radio coming from there, indistinct and garbled. “Again with the games,” I hissed in annoyance and started down the path in slow steps.
My proud acquaintance— we never saw eye to eye, but he aided my goal. He was the reason why I found the black book and how I came in possession of the black amber. And also the reason why I had another enemy on the list.
He was insane in levels of intellectuality, his goals and identity concealed in the dark. I had been cautious around him, knowing fully well that he would be the final boss after I had achieved my goal, maybe even the last hurdle.
I approached the driver’s room slowly and stopped before the steel door. The static radio stopped and beeped again. “Poseidon, you are in a state of unrest. You failed to kill Hades. Not to worry, the real game has only just begun. In two hundred years, we will perfect the poison and try again, only this time a newer target.”
I gripped the umbrella tighter and then loosened my grip. No point in losing my cool because of him. “You must not be targeting Zeus. You know he’s immune to the poison. I doubt even you would be so shortsighted.”
There was static again before the muffled voice continued. “Your hubris amuses me. The pawns are not set yet. No one can stop my plan. Our alliance is only a small part of the master plan.”
I was no fool; we could not keep playing each other for long. “Tell me now, what is your true aim…. Mr. Anonymous?”
For the first time, I sensed him truly go quiet for a while before he said, “I do believe my response will not be to your liking, god of the seas.”
“Tell me!” I said in a much stricter tone.
“Fine…” The response was chaotic, and I could hear the sound of metal scratching on a hard surface that made a loud, shrilling noise. It was the first time he let a sound other than his voice come through the line. I wondered if he was trying to pass on a message to me— or a warning. “I want to create a champion strong enough to defeat me. Simple as that.”
A champion to defeat him? Now what was he implying? The fact that he could be an even bigger threat than I assumed him to be was startling.
“And this champion, who is it?” I asked out of curiosity since I was not sure if I would ever get a chance like this again.
I paused for a response as the shrilling noise intensified, causing my ears to rattle slightly. “Yes, yes I have. He was always my first choice, the most powerful god on Olympus. To be clear, I was sure you would never be able to kill him from the onset because that’s just the type of god he is. He is a god who has conquered death itself, though he himself is unaware of his true powers yet.”
My throat trembled as the words escaped my lungs, “H– HADES!”
“Hurts, doesn’t it, to not even be the main show.” The voice cackled. “If you want to be the chosen one, then prove your worth. But it doesn’t matter when I turn this world upside down on you little children.”
“You are not the goal you are just the tempest to my shadow, a sword for my armour. Remember that.”
I flashed with rage as I reached for the door, and then the world went black. When the lights came back on, I was back in the train. The people had reappeared, exactly as they were before.
“Sorcery?” I hated sorcery.
Before me was a guard who reached out to me, perhaps thinking I was crossing a boundary. “Hey, please, sir, I’m going to need you to back off—” The rest of his words were soaked in red as I slashed his throat with my pinky. He gurgled on his words as he collapsed on the ground.
Around me was a ruckus as the other passengers screamed in fear, running in panic. But two words were enough to silence them all. “Blood Overload!”
And all their heads exploded, bathing me in red that dripped down like the rain from before. I was fuming with rage at what I had just heard. That I was insignificant despite all my planning. Preposterous.
I will find this charlatan and end him. He will regret underestimating me.
—
Author’s Note: This is the end of the birthday Mass release and also a thank you note to all my readers for reaching the 100th it would not have been worth it without you guys. Please continue to support me and look out for the future of this book.
The 100th Chapter Reached
If I revive a magic castle I will mass release 10 chapters
