The day he left us. I remember it perfectly. I mean, how could anyone forget the day they were abandoned, by the one being they thought would never leave? 

It was like any other day in Olympus, Zeus in his temple, Poseidon having a swim in a lake, and Aphrodite gazing at herself on whatever reflective surface she could find. My god, she was a stuck-up princess. But, that’s beside the point, the point is that every god, goddess, and celestial being was living their immortal lives as usual. That includes me as well.

I was on my way to Hades caves in the underworld, to visit him like I usually do. His caves were always dark and cold, which in return often made him very cold and gloomy. To be fair, I never blamed him, the underworld is an exceptionally lonely place. He also never really liked the other beings in the underworld. Hades saw them as nosy, little pests. Besides Cerberus of course. The mutt was his pet after all.

When I arrived at his caves, the mutt was guarding the entrance. Well, more like sleeping by it. That was until I got closer and it perked its three heads up and that tail could knock down Zeus’ temple. “If you think I’m going to pet you the answer is no. Your dad never gives you a proper wash,” I said with a hint of disgust to Cerberus. I continued walking down further into the caves to find Hades and of course, the pup followed me. 

Eventually, I reached the center of the god’s home and found him on his throne, reading, and burning letters sent by someone. His large stature took up most of the space within the throne, his head was facing downward at the letters, and all you could see was his long vibrant blue hair. 

He was heavily occupied by this little “activity” so, I took the opportunity to mess with him. One of the many snakes on my head slithered down my neck and to the rest of my body till it reached the cold stone floor. Slowly it slithered its way up to Hades’ throne, weaving in and out of the many skulls that decorated it, eventually reaching behind his head. It pulled itself back slightly and opened its mouth wide, exposing its fangs. Then, it struck at the nap of his neck. 

“Ah Shit!” He shouted as he hit away the snake and rubbed the back of his neck. His eyes then met mine. They were as if I was gazing into the deepest part of the ocean and all I could see was my reflection looking back at me. Although, at the same time, they resembled scripture, easy to read. “Oh— hello, my love. Sorry, I didn't realize you were here.”

“That was quite obvious,” I said, walking up to the small altar and standing in front of him. “Given the fact, that I came all this way and you didn't even lift your head. You didn't even hear your dog,” I continued with a soft smile, gesturing towards Cerberus who barked as if confirming what I said. 

“Apologies.” He patted his lap, inviting me to sit, which I did. “I’ve just been ‘busy’ for the past few hours.” 

"With what exactly? 

“Garbage.” His voice was teeming with annoyance as he handed me a stack of letters. “To be more precise, Persephone's garbage.” I sifted through the letters, all of which were practically the same. Love letters. Letters containing pleas for Hades to come to see her in Olympus since it's her time to be back home. In one letter she even said she tried coming back early but the dog stopped her. Seemed like Cerberus actually is doing his job correctly. 

"Ugh, that pathetic little thing. She seriously thinks you two are truly husband and wife." 

“Well— love, technically we are.”

I put the letters down from my face and looked at him with a somewhat serious expression. “The only thing stronger than your brother’s lightning is his ego. Which is why you were pretty much stuck with her as your only option to cure your lonesome for so long. But of course, I finally got him to lift that stupid rule.” 

“This is true…”

“Now…” I spoke softly as I leaned closer to his face and threw the pile of letters. Which then ended up in a fire. I grabbed his face with one hand, my nails poking at his cheeks. My hand then turned his face away slightly, and I whispered in his ear, “You have someone better.” I turned his face to meet mine again and smiled at him with nothing but lust. The look on his face whenever I did this was just perfect. His usual pale skin turned dark shades of pink, his ocean eyes filled with excitement and love, and that cheeky grin plastered on his face. 

I inched closer till our lips intertwined, my hand still having a firm grip on his cheeks, his grasping at my thigh. Keeping me close on his lap. We stayed like this for what felt like forever but then that noise disrupted the silence. To this day that noise and the memory of it sends my heart down into my gut. 

When I first heard it, my whole body flinched from not just the sound but the vibration that came from it. Hades had a similar reaction. He pulled back and his flushed cheeks returned to its natural pale state in a matter of seconds. Although I was just sitting on his lap, I’m positive I could feel his heart beating throughout his whole body. Mine was beating just as fast. “What the hell was that?” I question in a shaken voice. 

“That’s— that’s Zeus. He’s calling to all beings of Olympus and the underworld…” Hades said, his voice trailing off. He looked worried and terrified.

”But he hasn’t done that since— since my sister.” 

“This can’t be good…” 

After that initial shock passed we hurried ourselves out of the underworld, as did all the other beings that resided there. We all hastily made our way to Zeus’ temple and for the first time, in what felt like forever, all the gods, goddesses, and beings of Olympus were packed into his home. Zeus was on his throne and had a look of dread on his face as he held his staff. The room was filled with hushing and quiet murmuring. Everyone was trying to figure out what this emergency call was for. 

The god of lightning then tapped his staff against the floor, which immediately silenced all the noise. He stood up and looked around at everyone, his dreadful expression never changing once. He took a deep breath then spoke slowly and gently, “My family and friends of Olympus, you are most likely wondering as to why I have all called you here. Well, I did not call you all so I could talk. Our— our creator has requested that I call you all.” His voice was shaky towards the end. I had never heard him like this before. 

In front of Zeus and everyone in the temple, a ball of light began to form. The beams that came off it were radiant and colorful. It grew larger and larger, no one could look at it for too long due to its immense brightness. Then the light dimmed and disappeared. Before us was our creator, the God. 

When everyone realized who it was, collective gasps killed the silence. God stood there before all of us and in his gentle warm voice spoke to us, “My children, I come to you with great disappointment. You have all failed to make the people of this Earth believe in me, their true God. Instead, they are worshiping you, my children. I love you all dearly but am greatly saddened by your efforts to make them realize who their true God is. Due to this, you, my children will no longer have a majority of your talents and abilities and Olympus will fully combine with the Earth.” 

In an instant panic rose and everyone started asking one question, “why?” Artemis then approached our Father and asked, “Father why punish us? It is the humans' fault that they do not listen to what we say about you! We have tried! We have tried so greatly!” 

“But it was your responsibility to correct and redirect to the truth child. And that is what you have all failed. My children, you also failed at one other task.” 

“What was that task?” Asked Hera. 

“Remaining and treating one another as family. Instead, you have shunned others, placed curses, and banned contact with family.” Zeus turns his head down at that last remark, knowing very well as the firstborn he was responsible for most of these things never being stopped. 

“Please, God! Give us another chance! We’ll do better!” Demeter pleaded. 

“I am sorry, my children,” God said as he then faded away into a bright light once again. As soon as he disappears everyone starts to feel as if part of them is being ripped away. Hades and I cling to each other as we feel strength slipping away from us. We both then see Zeus struggling the most at his throne. He’s connected to all of us and can feel our abilities being stripped away. Hades sees his brother in pain and tries to run up to help him, as do his other siblings, but then suddenly, stone starts to cover his body. It leads up onto his chest, neck, and face, and eventually covers his eyes.

 “No… he actually did it,” Hades says as terror fills his face. 

“Did— did what?” I asked. 

“He placed a curse on himself… one that if he failed as the eldest he’d remain in his place of failure…” Hades explains. It doesn’t take long for everyone to notice what has happened to Zeus. And everyone panics. 

Without Zeus, there’s no order, and no order means— chaos. Everyone ran out of the temple not knowing where to go or what to do with themselves. Their very existence felt useless now. Even I felt like I had no point in being on this plane of existence. But somehow, strangely, I felt a sense of freedom. I was no longer confined to Mount Olympus or the underworld. I was now free to go and do as I pleased, like— like those humans that were dumb enough to worship us. I turned to Hades, his eyes were fixed on his brother who was now nothing but stone. 

“Hades— Hades… come with me,” I mutter and reach my hand out to him. “Come with me. We can— we can leave this place. Leave and forget about it. Come…” I kept my arm outstretched for him, hoping he’d take it. Then, slowly, he turned his head towards me. Those eyes. Those goddamn eyes. He was staring back at me as if I was some foreign creature, an anomaly, a stranger. I could see the pain, disbelief, and despair. Those tears fell down his cheeks as if it was raining. Please take my hand. 

“No.” 

That one word. That damn word made everything stop. The air, time, my breathing, and my heart all stopped. I felt swords slashing at my heart. All I could manage to get out was, “What?” In a shaken voice. 

“I can’t leave here,” He said, turning his head away and looking down at the floor. 

“What do you mean? Yes, you can. We can leave and forge-“

“I can’t leave!” His voice echoed through the building. Those words bounced back into those swords that were now plunging deep into my heart. He’s not once shouted at me like that, it felt wrong and for the first time in forever, rain was now pouring down my cheeks. “I can’t leave my home. Not when all my family is— stuck here,” He explains in a softer but broken tone as he looks back at his brother. 

“What about me…? Am I not family…?” 

He closed his eyes and more tears fell down his face. The silence between us in this hall was so loud. It remained this way for a full minute before he spoke with his eyes still closed. He took a deep breath and said, “Technically— no.” 

Even though I’ve never felt death, in that single moment, I felt as if I was dying. More and more rain kept falling. Although he was still in this building with me, I felt like I was alone now. As if no one was here with me anymore. I haven’t had that feeling in so long. 

“I— I see,” I mutter out unsteadily. “So then this means nothing,” I said as I grabbed a ring off my finger and threw it at the ground in front of him. 

The ring was a gift he gave me long ago. It was a gold band with part of a blue sapphire on top. That sapphire piece came from his amulet, the one thing that contains most of his strength and power. He told me, “that when wearing this ring, you will be wearing my heart.” But I guess both of our hearts can be broken since throwing it caused it to shatter into a million pieces. 

I walked out of that temple, not looking back at him once and not looking back at my old home. Hopefully never seeing it again, or him.