Ch. 74: Meeting The God Of The Forge
As we left the cramped apartment, my thoughts were racing. Hephaestus was an enigma, a god who had been cast aside despite his talent. Deformed at birth and thrown from Olympus by his own mother, Hera, he had never truly been accepted among the gods. And yet, he had created the greatest wonders of Olympus. Zeus’s thunderbolt, Achilles’ armor— these were his handiwork. He was a genius, no doubt, but he was also volatile.
Talos pulled her car at a corner of the road and we set out on foot from there.
We passed through the darkened streets, the atmosphere growing thicker with tension. The air itself seemed to hum with anticipation, as if the gods were watching us from their thrones in the heavens. My senses were on high alert. Anything could happen now since the world was in chaos.
I glanced at Talos. “Do you think your father will help us?” I had to know how much of a persuasion I would have to give beforehand.
Talos didn’t look at me, but I saw the faint smirk tug at the corner of her lips. “He’s not one for charity, but if I ask the right way, he’ll at least listen.”
The right way–? I guess they were not in good terms.
Hermes was practically vibrating with excitement, his energy filling the silence as we came closer to a huge factory complex up ahead.
As we crossed the threshold into Hephaestus’s lair, a back door entrance Talos seemed to know, it led into tunnel that Talos said would end at a huge workshop under the factory. As we walked further down the tunnel the air grew dense with the smell of metal and burning coals. The temperature seemed to rise with each step, as though we were descending into the heart of a volcano. Everything about this place screamed power— raw, unbridled, and ancient. It felt incomprehensible, Hermes being a higher god seemed to be the only one who felt it. I deduced that lower gods did not have sixth sense.
The room we entered was vast and filled with countless contraptions, each more intricate and dangerous – looking than the last. Gears, cogs, and pieces of machines I could not even begin to understand every of the contraption– not that I tried. Lay scattered about were tools, the air filled with the humming of power couplings. The walls were lined with tools that gleamed with a dark, oily sheen, and the constant clanging of metal echoed through the chamber. It felt like stepping into the belly of a mechanical beast, alive with secrets.
I was drawn to the sound of hammering of steel, who hammersbsteel in an advanced workshop? And there, in the middle of it all, stood Hephaestus.
He was nothing like the other gods I had seen. There was no ethereal beauty, no divine glow, no imposing stature. Instead, Hephaestus was scarred, hunched, and fierce looking like a wild man. His face was lined with deep grooves from the fires of his forge, and his muscular frame was marred by countless burns and cuts, evidence of a lifetime spent in toil. His eyes, however, blazed with a fire that made it clear who he was— a god, not of beauty, but of creation and destruction.
He stopped hammering and looked up at us, his brow furrowed in irritation. His voice, when he spoke, was deep and gravelly, as if it had been shaped by years of inhaling smoke and ash.
“Talos,” he growled, wiping sweat from his brow with a cloth that looked more like a ragged piece of metal. “You’ve got a lot of nerve bringing strangers into my forge.”
He came closer into the light and I could picture his crisp broam hair and beards, his muscles bulging on his huge arms. He was the true image of a god from the stories I had read.
Talos, for all her bravado, seemed to deflate slightly under his intense gaze. She stepped forward, but her usual sarcasm was nowhere to be found. Instead, her voice was calm, almost respectful. “We need your help, Father.”
Hephaestus’s gaze shifted to me and Hermes, and I could feel the weight of his scrutiny. He did not seem impressed or interested in the matter. In fact, he looked more irritated by our presence than anything.
“And why should I help you?” His eyes narrowed. “I’ve no interest in Olympian politics or your little power struggles. And Hades, eat my dick.”
Hermes whispered into my ear. “I don’t think the big scary guy is afraid of you.”
“Tsk.” I hissed. He wasn’t even moved by the fact that Hermes was standing before him— alive.
“It’s not about that,” Talos said, her voice firming up. “This is bigger. Calamity Zero is coming, and if we don’t stop it, there won’t be a world left to care about.”
At the mention of Calamity Zero, Hephaestus’s expression changed. His frown deepened, and for a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes— concern, perhaps?
“Calamity Zero…” he muttered, as if the words themselves carried weight. He turned and began pacing, the ground beneath him rumbling with each heavy step. “I’ve heard whispers. The end of all things. But that’s not my problem. My job is to build, to create, not to meddle in the affairs of gods and men.”
Heard it before…? But where would he gear about the Calamity from besides the Watcher?
“Maybe it isn’t your problem,” I said, stepping forward before I could stop myself. “But if Calamity Zero happens, there won’t be anything left to build. Not for you, not for anyone.”
There was no way I could he sure Calamity zero would cause the end of all things but as things were Olympus was at its worst.
Hephaestus stopped and looked at me, his eyes boring into mine. For a moment, the room was silent except for the crackling of the forge fires. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, but I refused to back down. We needed him, and this might be our only chance to get his help.
“Tell me Hephestus, where sis you learn of the Calamity from?” I asked in a cold tone half expecting him to respond to me.
“An old myth I can’t remember.” He responded in a low hushed tone.
Then, slowly, a grin spread across his face, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “You’ve got guts, uncle. I’ll give you that. But guts don’t mean anything if you’re not willing to risk it all.”
Was I willing to risk it all….?
“I’m willing,” I said, my voice steady despite the fear gnawing at my insides. “Whatever it takes.”
Author’s Note: I apologize for the errors in the latest chapters. My work had a lot of errors but has been resolved. Sorry for the inconvenience. Please enjoy my work.
If I revive a magic castle I will mass release 10 chapters
