Ch. 90: The Reset
We all lose things in this journey called life. It is a necessity to not have it all. They say the most painful things to lose are love, trust, hope, and time. Time is something I had lost before— though whether I found it again or bent it to my will, I wasn’t so sure. I think I heard that sentiment in a cartoon once. But now, standing on the precipice of another beginning, those words felt more real than ever. I had been given too much time to reflect, to ruminate on my mistakes, and now I was here again in that strange space, cursed to repeat or redeem myself.
In this liminal state, I was nothing more than a strand of thought, clustered together in the fabric of reality. But I wasn’t alone. A dark wisp clung to me, like a shadow that I couldn’t shake. Hades. The real Hades. Dormant. That sliver of him was the reason I existed in the first place, yet why did he remain comatose? Why was he not fighting to take control? Did I kill him to be reborn, or was this something deeper, an inevitable fate we both shared?
As my mind spiraled through those questions, my thoughts began to drift to those I had lost. Talos… where was she now? Was she still suffering because of my mistakes? Because of me? I hated this weight on my shoulders— the responsibility to lead, the lives tied to my every decision. It was a burden I hadn’t asked for, but one I had chosen to carry. And now I had to face it head-on.
Hermes….
Hecate….
Eris….
Hephaestus….
Even the Hermes from another world. They all died because of me, because of my foolish alliance, and Talos was the only one left. I owed her everything. But even now, I wasn’t sure if she would be with me in this new timeline, this reset. Or had I left her behind, lost in the ripple of time?
Yes I had enough time to ponder on it all!
A flash of light tore me from my thoughts, pulling me back into reality— no, something more than reality. I could feel my body forming, my senses coming back in a rush. Air filled my lungs, painfully raw as I gasped for breath. The world around me was blinding, a sea of light that made me stumble back. Then, I hit something solid.
“Big Bro Hades!” The voice came in a frantic shout, so familiar it almost hurt to hear it again.
I blinked hard, my vision slowly adjusting to the figure before me. Zeus. Of course, it was Zeus.
But it wasn’t his face that caught me off guard. No, it was the fact that I was cradled in the arms of Poseidon, the very god who had severed my hand in the heat of battle. Now he held me with an oddly gentle concern, his expression far softer than the cruel smirk I remembered.
“Is it your old wound?” Poseidon asked, his voice unnervingly tender.
I couldn’t find the words. Poseidon? The same god who had once gleefully torn me apart was now asking if I was alright. I managed to mutter something incoherent, my mind racing to catch up with this bizarre moment.
Poseidon continued, “So what you said back then was true, after father damaged our body. You took the most damage of all causing you to hibernate whenever your wounds opened.”
What the hell was he talking about? This seemed too familiar, too real. Then it clicked— I had lived this before. I had been here. This was the moment I had blacked out after defeating Zeus. The moment I collapsed from the toll of the battle. And here I was thinking I was hallucinating again.
Zeus stomped over, his frustration written all over his face. “C’mon! I just got my big bro back, and now he’s gonna disappear again?”
Poseidon placed a hand on my back, attempting to soothe his younger brother. “It won’t take long. He just needs time.”
Zeus’s face twisted in worry, his carefree attitude melting away for a moment. “You better be up in time for my big party in a few hundred years, alright? Promise?”
That’s when it hit me— I had traveled back in time. Hephaestus’ machine, his insane invention, had actually worked. I wasn’t just reliving a memory— I had been thrown two hundred years into the past. The weight of the realization hit me like a wave, crashing into my chest with a force that nearly sent me to my knees.
Even if I had been mentally prepared for the impact being here was a different experience entirely.
But something was wrong. Back then, Hades’ old wound had kept me unconscious for years, yet now I felt… fine. Almost too fine. Why wasn’t I incapacitated like before?
“I’m fine,” I said, brushing off their concern, pushing myself to stand. The confusion on their faces deepened.
“You sure?” Poseidon’s voice was gentle, far too gentle for the man who had once taken my hand. “No need to act tough.”
I looked down at my hands. Both of them. Whole. My right hand, the one Poseidon had severed, was back as if nothing had happened. The shock of seeing it, feeling it, made my heart race. I had both hands again. I resisted the urge to touch them, to run my fingers over the smooth, unscarred skin. I couldn’t let them see my astonishment.
Zeus, oblivious to my inner turmoil, jumped for joy. “Yipeee! Let’s go to the bar and get some drinks my angel brother. Drinks are on whoever’s name starts with an H.” He threw an arm around me, his excitement palpable. He had no idea what I was about to do. What I could do now.
I forced a smile and shrugged. “Sure thing.” But my mind was already racing ahead. Hermes, Hecate, Hephaestus— they were all still alive. None of the horrors had happened yet. I could fix this. I could save them. I could change everything. I had time.
I could stop Calamity Zero!
As we walked down the grand halls of the temple, memories of what was to come surged through me. Prometheus had just been condemned, and here I was, back at the beginning, before the dominoes started falling. Hephaestus would have been proud to know his machine worked, that I was now playing with time itself. But even so, the feeling of predestination, of fate, hung over me like a storm cloud.
I glanced over at Poseidon. He walked beside me, calm, collected, his face betraying nothing of the dark ambitions I knew he harbored. But I wasn’t fooled. I had seen the monster lurking beneath his serene exterior. I knew what he was capable of, and I wouldn’t let him catch me off guard this time.
“Um, Poseidon,” I began, hesitating. I wanted to challenge him, to confront him about his betrayal, but it wasn’t time. Not yet. I needed to play along, to figure out his motives, to get closer to him if I wanted to prevent the disaster I knew was coming. “It’s really nice having you here with me.”
Poseidon looked at me, surprised by the sentiment. For a moment, his mask slipped, and I saw genuine confusion in his eyes. Then, he smiled, nodding lightly. “Likewise, brother.”
I clenched my fists in my pockets. The battle lines were drawn. This time, I wouldn’t let him betray me. This time, I would be ready.
And I wouldn’t lose again.
If I revive a magic castle I will mass release 10 chapters
