Reincarnated As Poseidon

The ruins of Olympus floated in chaos.

Half-submerged, torn by storm and surge, the once-glorious realm was now a battlefield of water, lightning, and blood. Gods clashed with sea beasts. Sacred halls were lost beneath the tide. And in the heart of it all, Poseidon stood—unshaken.

But in the shadows beneath the waves, Nymera moved.

---

Nymera's Mission

Sliding through cracks in reality, the Goddess of Shadows emerged inside Poseidon's swirling maelstrom. Water warped around her, heavy, pressing, but her form slipped through unseen.

She saw it—the Heart of the Abyss—floating behind Poseidon, tethered to him by dark tendrils of power.

She whispered, "It's feeding on him."

Her dagger of void appeared in her hand.

One strike could sever it.

But as she approached, the Heart pulsed—and sensed her.

---

Poseidon Turns

In the storm, Poseidon froze.

His eyes narrowed. "Nymera."

With a gesture, water spears hurled toward her, ripping through the current. Nymera dodged, blinking through shadows, slashing at the tendrils.

She struck the Heart.

It screamed.

Poseidon staggered, eyes wide, a sudden crack forming in his aura.

---

The Heart Reacts

The Heart of the Abyss pulsed violently, lashing out at Nymera. Shadows poured from it, twisted and alive. One wrapped around her arm, burning like acid.

She cried out, stabbing again.

Poseidon roared.

"Enough!"

With a surge of power, he sent a tidal blast, hurling Nymera from the chamber. She crashed through the wreckage, vanishing into the flood.

The Heart calmed.

But Poseidon… was shaken.

For the first time, doubt flickered in his eyes.

---

A Rift Opens

Far below Olympus, a rift tore through the sea—a tear in reality. And from it… something stirred.

Not Titan.

Not god.

Something forgotten.

Poseidon turned, sensing it.

"What… is this?"

The Heart pulsed—eager.

And Poseidon realized… it was never just power.

It was a key.

To something far worse.

The ocean grew silent.

No roar of waves, no thunder from the sky. Just a deep, unnatural stillness—as if the sea itself held its breath.

Poseidon stood before the rift, a chasm of swirling darkness in the depths beneath Olympus. Jagged tendrils of light and shadow pulsed from within, as if the sea had been torn open to expose the bones of the world.

Behind him, the Heart of the Abyss floated—throbbing, alive.

Aegirion appeared nearby, battered and breathless.

"What is that?" he whispered.

Poseidon didn't answer immediately.

He stared into the Rift.

He remembered.

---

Visions in the Deep

In the space between heartbeats, visions flooded Poseidon's mind—of Dominic, the boy who had died, of Thalorin, the ancient water god who had failed, and of something else—a force older than both.

The Heart pulsed harder.

"Open it," a voice whispered in his mind. "You are ready."

Aegirion saw Poseidon's hand tremble.

"You don't have to," he said. "Seal it. Let this end."

Poseidon turned, eyes clouded.

"You don't understand. This isn't about Olympus anymore."

He looked at the Heart.

"It's about everything."

---

The Origin of the Heart

A presence emerged from the Rift.

Not physical.

A memory, given shape.

Poseidon saw… a being beyond gods—Naelthar, the First Abyss, who had forged the Heart to unmake the seas of the old world.

The Heart was not power.

It was containment.

And now… it wanted release.

Poseidon fell to one knee, gripping his head.

The Heart shrieked.

Aegirion rushed forward. "Dominic! Fight it!"

Poseidon's voice broke. "I can't."

The Heart lifted on its own.

The Rift widened.

And from the shadows, Naelthar's true form began to awaken.

The rift pulsed like a wound in the fabric of reality—vast, unnatural, and hungry. From within, black tendrils stretched outward, feeling for release, for freedom. The ocean trembled around Poseidon, not from his power, but from the awakening of something older than the gods—Naelthar, the First Abyss.

Poseidon stood motionless, eyes locked on the heart of the chasm. His breath came slow, shallow. In his hand, the Heart of the Abyss hovered, trembling with anticipation. It had led him here, guided every step since his death as Dominic. Now he understood.

It wasn't just a source of power.

It was a key.

Aegirion stood behind him, soaked and pale. "Poseidon… you have to stop. This thing—whatever's in there—it's not meant to be freed."

Poseidon's grip tightened. "I know."

He heard Naelthar's voice in his mind—deep, layered, like the crashing of a thousand waves.

> Open the gate, child of the sea. Become more than a god. Become eternal.

Poseidon's thoughts raced. He remembered Olympus falling, the gods driven back, Nymera's cry as she was swept away. He remembered Dominic, lying in that hospital bed, helpless. Was this how it all ended?

Or… how it began?

---

The Choice

The Heart pulsed harder, drawing energy from the rift. The ocean darkened, a massive whirlpool forming overhead.

Aegirion stepped closer, desperate. "You said you wanted to change things. To protect the sea. If you unleash that thing, there won't be a sea left."

Poseidon turned, gaze flickering.

"For so long… I thought I was Dominic," he said softly. "Then I became Poseidon. Now I wonder if either of them truly mattered."

He looked back at the rift.

"Maybe I was just… the vessel."

Aegirion's eyes widened. "Then fight it. Prove you're more than that!"

Poseidon raised the Heart. Its power surged.

> Unleash me, Naelthar whispered. And be free.

---

Decision

Poseidon hesitated.

His hand trembled.

Then—he threw the Heart.

It flew into the rift—

—and shattered.

Light exploded. The ocean screamed. The rift began to collapse, folding in on itself like a dying star.

Poseidon fell to his knees, drained. Aegirion caught him.

"You… did it," Aegirion whispered.

Poseidon looked up, his eyes clearing.

"I remembered who I am."

Far below, the last whisper of Naelthar echoed—angry, fading.

> This is not the end, vessel…

Poseidon stood.

"No. It's the beginning."

The sea was quiet.

For the first time in days, the endless roar of waves had stopped. Above the shattered ruins of Olympus, dark clouds drifted apart, revealing a bruised sky—silent, watching.

Poseidon stood alone atop the broken spire of the Sky Temple. His body trembled, soaked in seawater and blood, eyes fixed on the horizon. The rift was gone, sealed by his hand… but the cost lingered in the air.

Aegirion approached, limping.

"They'll come for you," he said softly.

Poseidon didn't answer.

---

A God Alone

Far below, the gods began to stir. Survivors of Olympus's fall, battered and wary, emerged from the wreckage. Athena, wounded but unbroken, gazed up at the lone figure.

"He ended the rift," she murmured.

Zephyros limped beside her. "But at what price?"

They could all feel it—the change. The ocean had stilled, but its essence was… different. The sea obeyed Poseidon now, not as a god among gods, but as something greater. Something other.

---

Confrontation

Poseidon descended from the spire, barefoot upon the cracked marble. The gods gathered, weapons drawn but not raised.

Athena stepped forward.

"You sealed it. Why?"

Poseidon looked at them—no rage, no malice. Only weariness.

"Because I remembered who I was."

Zephyros frowned. "Dominic?"

Poseidon shook his head.

"No… Poseidon. But not the one you feared. I chose not to become Naelthar's puppet. I chose… my own path."

Silence.

Then Athena lowered her sword.

"You saved Olympus."

Poseidon turned away.

"No. I saved the sea."

---

Aftermath

As the gods watched, Poseidon vanished into the ocean's mist, alone.

The world was safe.

For now.

But deep in the abyss… something still stirred.

The last breath of Naelthar.

A curse unbroken.

The ocean had claimed him.

Poseidon vanished beneath the waves, leaving Olympus in ruins and the gods in uneasy peace. Yet the world did not celebrate. The waters were calm, too calm—watchful.

From the cliffs of Elarion, mortals and demi-gods looked to the sea and whispered a single name.

"Poseidon…"

But no answer came.

---

In the Deep

Far below, in the Tranquil Abyss, Poseidon drifted in solitude. His power pulsed through the ocean, every current and tide an extension of his will, yet his thoughts were distant.

He had sealed the Rift.

Resisted Naelthar.

But something still lingered—an echo, a mark upon his soul.

A voice whispered in the stillness.

> You are not free yet…

---

Old Enemies Stir

In the far reaches of the ocean, beyond mortal maps, a temple of coral and bone rose from the trench. It was the Hall of Vortheos, an ancient god once sealed by the Titans.

Now, the seal cracked.

Within, eyes opened—glowing green.

Vortheos, God of Tides and Ruin, smiled.

"So… Poseidon is unchained."

He rose, power gathering.

"Then it is time for the sea to remember

The sea was no longer still.

From the black depths of the Trench of Kharon, monstrous waves rolled outward, unnatural and cold. The current twisted, disturbed by an ancient presence that had slept for millennia.

At its heart, Vortheos, God of Tides and Ruin, emerged—towering, clad in armor of barnacle and bone, eyes glowing green like deep-sea fire.

He raised his trident and bellowed.

"Poseidon, you usurper—I have returned."

---

Poseidon's Sensing

Far away, in the Tranquil Abyss, Poseidon stirred from meditation. His eyes opened, the water around him tightening like coiled serpents.

Aegirion appeared, frantic.

"There's a shift in the tide."

"I felt it," Poseidon said quietly.

He rose, water forming a cloak around him.

"It's Vortheos."

---

First Strike

On the shores of Mirelia, mortals watched the sea recede unnaturally.

Then it returned—a tidal wave, monstrous, riding atop it a beast of coral and ruin, Vortheos's herald.

Poseidon arrived, slamming into the wave with a wall of oceanic force, shattering the beast with a single blow.

The sea hissed.

Poseidon's eyes narrowed.

"This is only the beginning."