Ch. 64: Rain (V)
I was utterly taken aback by the splendor of the man standing before me. His golden locks shimmered in the dim, rain-soaked light, each strand dancing like threads of liquid fire. The aura radiating from him wasn’t just godlike— it redefined the very essence of divinity. His presence alone was a force, palpable and overwhelming, as though Zeus himself was sculpted from the purest of storms, his every breath sending ripples through the air.
Why would Zeus be on my side? I couldn’t fathom it. He already knew I was an imposter. Zeus, the King of the Gods, feared and revered for his untapped power, unmatched among deities. The only ones capable of rivaling him were Hades, Poseidon, and perhaps Hera—the queen of the gods. But Zeus? The last person I imagined coming to my aid.
He had been obsessed with Hades, his relationship with his brother toxic, filled with love, respect and obsession. He should be filled with rage at me, this intruder, yet here he was, protective, standing between Poseidon and me.
Poseidon, on the other hand, was a terrifying sight. His ocean-blue eyes quivered in their sockets, trembling with an unspoken fear. He clutched his trident tighter, his knuckles bone-white. The bruise on his face, where I’d struck him earlier, throbbed with rage. “Zeus, brother is gone,” Poseidon spat, his voice trembling with anger and desperation. “This is an imposter from another world! An *otherworlder*! Don’t let him fool you! Step aside, and let me finish what I came here to do.”
The air between the two brothers was thick with tension, crackling like the prelude to a storm. I could feel it suffocating me, tightening around my chest. Greek gods were pride incarnate. Stubborn, unyielding. Convincing one to change course was like halting a hurricane with a whisper. And this— this was on the verge of something far worse than a family squabble. This was war.
Would Zeus, with all his power, decide to kill me? It would be justified. I was a pretender, an imposter. But I had no intention of dying.
“Haa~” Zeus exhaled slowly, a sound that carried the weight of an approaching tempest. His head tilted, golden eyes locking onto mine with an unexpected tenderness, an emotion that, against all odds, felt like… love. “My brother,” he whispered, his voice soft but unshakable, “is right here. Not an imposter.”
The atmosphere around us shifted violently in an instant. Zeus’s expression hardened, and his eyes, once filled with warmth, became hollow, soulless. A wave of dread washed over me.
“And if anyone,” he said, his voice a booming decree of doom, “lays a finger on him—” His voice dropped to a deadly whisper. “—they will die. By my hand.”
Poseidon’s face twisted with disbelief. “Hey, Zeus—” he barely managed to speak before Zeus moved, faster than the lightning that crackled in the storm above us.
The blow Zeus threw was devastating. His fist collided with Poseidon’s chest, and the sky itself screamed in response. Thunder exploded across the heavens as a massive bolt of lightning struck down with Zeus’s punch, sending Poseidon skidding across the ground, carving deep trenches in the earth. The shockwave shattered the ground beneath our feet, throwing me off balance. The air smelled of ozone, and my ears rang from the sheer impact.
Poseidon staggered, clutching his chest, blood dripping from his lips. “A-Ack!” He choked, gasping for breath, his chest heaving as he struggled to stand. The god I had barely been able to scratch was brought to his knees by a single blow from his brother.
Zeus advanced, each step a thunderous declaration of his power. “Come on, Poseidon. Stop being a coward and fight me seriously!” His voice was filled with an unhinged excitement, eyes gleaming with battle-lust. “If you don’t give me everything you’ve got right now, I will kill you.”
Poseidon’s hands trembled as he raised his trident. His face was pale, eyes wide with fear and frustration. But he knew Zeus was not bluffing. The air grew colder, moisture drawn from every droplet of rain, from the very atmosphere itself, as Poseidon summoned all the water he could command. The raindrops ceased to fall—they hovered in mid-air, sucked into Poseidon’s weapon like gravity had turned on its head.
“WATER CONTROL: WAVE OF DESTRUCTION!” Poseidon roared, and the world itself seemed to tremble in response.
The wave he conjured was titanic, an impossibly massive wall of water that rose higher and higher, its peak disappearing into the storm clouds above. It loomed over us like a vengeful god, the weight of the ocean itself poised to crush everything beneath it. My heart skipped a beat. If he had used that attack on me, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.
Frantically, I dragged my broken body towards the lifeless form of Hecate. I had one arm— one damned arm— and here I was, trying to protect a corpse against an attack that would obliterate everything in its path. The wave was beautiful, in a terrifying way. A pure embodiment of Poseidon’s wrath.
“You forced my hand, Zeus!” Poseidon cried, tears streaming down his face.
Zeus didn’t stop. He marched forward, fearless, his body alight with golden electricity. The atmosphere around him buzzed with power, the air warping from the sheer force of his presence. “Shut up and do it,” he snarled, daring Poseidon to strike.
Poseidon brought down the massive wave, a tidal force meant to annihilate anything in its way.
And then— TONG!
The sound reverberated like a bell tolling the end of the world. My heart raced, my breath caught in my throat. I expected to be consumed by the water, to be torn apart, but the wave never touched me.
I looked up in disbelief. Zeus stood at the heart of the destruction, unbothered. His hand was raised, a single finger casually stopping Poseidon’s trident mere inches from his skull. A surge of golden lightning exploded from Zeus, swallowing the wave whole, disintegrating it in an instant. The sky itself seemed to split as thunder echoed across the heavens. The sheer force of it all sent me and Hecate’s body skidding back.
I stared, awestruck. The only word that came to my lips was, “Beautiful…”
How could anyone possess such power? Poseidon’s strongest attack, nullified as if it were nothing. If Poseidon was a beast, then what was Zeus?
The battle raged on, the two gods locked in combat, and yet here I was, broken, barely able to breathe. My eyes darted to Hecate, hoping for some miracle that she’d awaken, but there was nothing. Just silence.
And amidst the chaos, as the blaring of horns filled the city and the world descended into pandemonium, I realized this was all my doing.
I trembled with rage and uncertainty, caught in the middle of a war between gods.
If I revive a magic castle I will mass release 10 chapters
