Kingdom Hearts: Consumed by Darkness

The throne room of the Underworld was rarely silent, but this silence was not born of peace.

It was the kind of quiet that trembled beneath the weight of a storm.

The shadows twisted unnaturally across the floor as Hades stormed down the obsidian staircase, his cloak snapping like a banner of smoke. Each footstep echoed with the weight of divine rage, rattling the brass sconces and sending waves of cursed flame flickering against the walls.

Pain and Panic, trailing behind him like forgotten curses, stumbled to keep up. "Uh, Lord Hades, maybe you wanna sit down?" Panic offered, wringing his clawed hands. "Try a soothing scream pillow—remember those?"

"Maybe some hot ash cider!" Pain added.

The god of the Underworld didn't answer. His hair flared bright blue, then red-hot with fury. He stalked toward the throne and shoved aside the wisps of soul-stuff clinging to it, whirling on the three robed figures that awaited him.

The Sisters of Fate stood unmoving, their eyes cloudy as the future. Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos—the weavers of mortal destinies. Even they looked mildly unsettling as Hades loomed.

"They're gone," Hades growled. "Twerp, Chick, and Mister Doom and Gloom. I had them right here—right here—and now, poof!"

Atropos remained silent unbothered, but Clotho murmured, "Divine means carried them beyond your grasp."

"Oh, really?" Hades snarled. "Thanks, short and vague! You know what? We're done playing riddles. Show me. Now."

Lachesis calmly extended her hand. "Such vision comes at a cost, Hades."

Hades' eyes twitched. His left eyebrow did a little dance of barely contained wrath. Then he raised one hand and conjured a ball of blue fire the size of a boulder. "How about I pay in flame?"

"You can try but something tells me you won't get any answers. However since you're going to bother us for an hour if we refuse we'll go ahead and show you," muttered Clotho.

The Sisters turned, and Atropos plucked a gleaming orb—their shared eye—from her eye socket and held it aloft. The eyeball shimmered, glowing as symbols of time and fate etched across the air like cracks in glass.

The flame in Hades' hand dimmed slightly as he stepped forward.

The image formed slowly. First a swirling miasma of runes and shifting magic, then a flash of a sigil—one Hades recognized all too well.

Hecate's mark.

The moment it solidified, Hades' eyes widened. Then the flame burst out of control, spiraling upward in a column of raging blue heat.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Pain yelped and dove behind a pillar. Panic nearly tripped over his own feet trying to flee.

"Hecate," Hades seethed, pacing in manic circles. "Oh, she's been quiet for centuries, and now suddenly she's rescuing the kid and his group and giving them teleport rides? That traitorous little spell-snatcher! And Helios—Helios!"

He pointed at the flickering vision, jabbing the air like it owed him a debt. "I gave him a chance to make it up to me. A deal. I was reasonable! And now he backstabs me for the Mistress of Witchcraft?!"

The fire burned hotter.

Then it stopped—abruptly.

Hades took a deep breath, adjusted his robe, and sat on the throne.

"Alright," he said, smiling without warmth. "If they want a war of gods, I'll give them one."

Back in the mortal realm, a quiet sanctuary bathed in moonlight sat on the outskirts of the city. In the dining room was a warm fire, the smell of roasted meat and seasoned potatoes filled the air. Zack hummed cheerfully as he flipped something sizzling in a pan. "You know," he said, glancing over his shoulder, "I look good in this apron."

"You do," Helios said from his seat, cast a Cure spell to heal a bruised wrist and ribs. "Very domestic."

Zack grinned. "These two though?" He gestured with a thumb toward the living room, where Cloud and Thalen sat in silence like melancholic statues. "Hopeless. I swear, I don't even know if they blink half the time."

Sephiroth, leaned against the far wall, said nothing. Kurai was at the window, arms crossed, watching the night with narrowed eyes. Helios, sitting at the long table, picked at his food with one hand.

"We don't have long," he said quietly. "By now, Hades should know we're gone."

"Which means he'll come after us," Kurai murmured. "That's your next play?"

Helios nodded. "The last time I met Zeus, it was at the base of his statue outside the city. I'll try the same tactic."

"Alone?" Kurai turned to him, her voice laced with challenge. "Are you planning to be noble or just get killed for style points?"

Helios looked up. "If Hades wants vengeance, I'd rather it be directed at one of us so that the others can deal with other things. As God of the Underworld, he has the number and we'd eventually fall if he went up against him head-on."

Sephiroth stirred. "And you think the King of the Gods will fall for your tricks this time?"

"No," Helios admitted, "but I think he'll be blinded by rage—enough to give us some wiggle room."

He tapped the table three times. "We split up. Three paths to Mount Olympus. The one who doesn't get attacked tries to make contact with Zeus' statue. The others create enough distraction to keep Hades' eyes scattered."

"Like bait," Kurai said, smirking. "You always did like drama."