Champions of the Gods | Original Story | Ongoing

Chapter 3

The gods in Olympus really couldn't be bothered with events on earth. Until that is the Champion of Persephone was stolen by Gaia. That's when everyone in Olympus began going into a state of doomsday panic. Satyr's shouted from rooftops quite literally-"The sign! It's the sign! The end has begun!" Nymphs were packing their bags as if they had someplace to go to seek refuge from the end of the universe, and minor gods kept asking for an audience from the Oracle of Delphi like she had anything of substance to tell them aside from the prophecy everyone already knows.

Olympus was in chaos.

Zeus made it absolutely illegal to say the full prophecy or let anyone outside of Olympus know, lest it causes more panic. The king of the gods, for once, was happy with their inability to travel out of their realm. If the whole universe panicked as much as the Olympians did, the entire universe would be plunged into chaos, and that would only be playing into Chaos' power. He could already feel him growing stronger by the second and worried about his Champion.

December was the only one that could catch Chaos' pieces since he controlled his lightning. The boy would have to grow stronger, and he wasn't sure that December could handle what would happen next. They were so young, barely two decades into their lives. To Zeus, who was more than a millennia old, they were nothing more than children.

Fate often puts the innocent with the heaviest burdens.

It would only be the start of a difficult road from this point forward. He felt sorry for December and still wasn't sure how he would tell him. Did he need to know? Sometimes prophecies still played out how they should, even if those involved didn't know about it.

The boy already had too much on his plate, he thought. The weight of the universe would make anyone crack under pressure. Zeus thought, looking back at the days he and his family fought Kronos and the other titans. He was more than weeks old, innocent too, yet he had to fight something larger than himself for the world to flourish. It was supposed to happen. The fates don't care how young you are or how hard it'll be for you. If it is willed, then it would happen. That was just how it was.

As soon as the kidnapping happened, his Champion immediately sent word for an audience, but Zeus didn't know what to say, and Olympus was in mayhem. So he ignored December's request and tried to appease his people by giving speeches and reassuring the public. For five days, he did this until the satyrs stopped shouting from rooftops, nymphs from hiding, and minor gods from finding every way possible to get off the realm or harass the oracle of Delphi for an answer.

The next thing he did was call the Twelve for a meeting. It was time to prepare for the things to come.

—--

The Twelve sat on their thrones, looking at each other with unease. Zeus began, "The countdown has already started. Persephone's Champion has been abducted, and soon enough, the events stated in the prophecy will happen. We have to prepare."

The gods shifted in their seats, "What kind of preparations do you have in mind?" Athena asked almost mockingly, a quizzical expression on her face.

"Do we warn our Champions?" Demeter added, worry in her voice.

"They're weak compared to us. We have to find a way to be on earth. Not here." Ares suggested, angry and impatient.

"Have some patience, Ares." Hermes chided, "You know the realms will cross in time." The warrior glared at the messenger. Hermes made a face, and Ares almost threw his spear at him.

"Enough." Zeus' voice thundered across the pantheon. "We will not tell our Champions of the prophecy. It must play out without their knowledge lest they do anything to stop it from happening."